“It won’t last long. Make it count.”

With Mingus’s words, Lian handed Rosé to Beth.

“Please protect her.”

“Leave it to me.”

Beth held Rosé tightly. Rosé wanted to protest, but she knew she would only be a burden in combat.

“Be careful, Lian.”

“I will.”

With that brief exchange, Lian, Peon, and the knights charged toward the ship. Their movements were much faster and more powerful than usual, thanks to Mingus’s enhancement.

The archers on the ship panicked at their sudden approach. They tried to aim, but the enhanced group moved too quickly.

Lian reached the ship first and leaped onto the deck in a single bound. His sword flashed, and one of the archers fell.

Peon and the knights followed, engaging the remaining enemies. The battle was fierce but brief. With their enhanced abilities, they quickly subdued the attackers.

“Surrender if you value your lives!”

Peon held his sword to the throat of the last standing enemy. The man dropped his weapon and raised his hands.

“We surrender! Don’t kill us!”

Lian approached the captive, his eyes cold.

“Why did you attack us?”

“We… we were told to eliminate anyone who arrived after us. Especially if they had a child with them.”

“Who told you this?”

“A man in black. He came on the first ship.”

Lian exchanged glances with Peon. A man in black. Could it be someone they knew?

“Where is he now?”

“He went inland, toward where the staircase is supposed to be.”

Lian’s expression darkened. If that man reached the staircase first, he might set up an ambush.

“Secure them and search the other ships,” he ordered the knights.

The other ships proved to be empty. Their occupants had likely gone inland as well.

Lian returned to where Beth was guarding Rosé.

“It’s clear for now, but we need to move quickly. The staircase is our destination, and others are already heading there.”

Rosé looked up at Lian, her eyes filled with determination.

“Let’s go. I’m not afraid.”

Lian smiled faintly and picked her up.

“That’s my brave Miss.”

The group gathered their supplies and headed inland, following the map toward the staircase. The real challenge was just beginning.

“There are more people.”

In the direction Lian pointed, people were jumping off another ship.

They carried hook-shaped swords. Not designed to counter magical energy, but explicitly meant for slicing human necks.

“We cannot waste time here. We must go to the staircase.”

Dain checked the map while watching the Ramford knights confronting people ahead.

Three staircases were marked nearby. Since there was a capacity limit, they needed to reach a staircase entrance before the others.

“Go! We’ll handle this!”

Clang! Peon shouted while blocking a sword that had come dangerously close.

Beth gritted her teeth. She hated leaving comrades behind again. But…..

“Get up! Everyone, hurry!”

Beth finally turned away. Rosé had become a small child. Protecting her took priority over everything else.

“Peon.”

From behind Lian who headed to the front, Beth looked back at Peon one last time. He told her with a relaxed smile.

“See you outside, Beth.”

Beth turned her back and ran before she could show her choked-up face. The metallic sounds of swords clashing and scraping followed her like the sound of waves from the day they lost Podrick.

* * *

The ‘starting point’ signified entrance to the tower. And when they arrived at the ‘staircase’ that would lead them to the top, a horrific scene unfolded before everyone’s eyes.

“What is this……”

Beth’s voice trembled faintly. Headless corpses covered the mud stained red with blood.

Lian placed his hand on a black box, avoiding the bodies.

〈SYSTEM〉 Notice regarding Staircase 1

Current location is ‘Staircase 1’. This staircase has been forcibly closed.

Capacity: 4

When capacity is exceeded, all entrants’ heads will be severed and Staircase 1 will be forcibly closed.

Lian said,

“There are five corpses. They seem to have died from exceeding the capacity.”

Lunan, who had been examining the box closely, asked him.

“If the staircase is closed, what exactly is closed? Surely not that box?”

“The box is a marker indicating the staircase has been closed. There was probably an entrance here.”

Staircases appeared in various forms. Sometimes they were huts, other times they took the form of wells.

Lunan frowned as he listened to Lian’s explanation. One thing remained clear—something beyond common sense was happening.

“Let’s try another staircase.”

Beth stepped over the bodies, suppressing her nausea.

Rosé, whose eyes were covered by Lian’s hand, was curious about what they had seen, but her view quickly changed to bushes as the group started walking again.

The next location was an hour away. And Beth finally couldn’t hold back her nausea and had to empty her already empty stomach.

〈SYSTEM〉 Notice regarding Staircase 3

Current location is ‘Staircase 3’. This staircase has been forcibly closed.

Capacity: 2

When capacity is exceeded, all entrants’ limbs will be severed and Staircase 3 will be forcibly closed.

This time Dain placed his hand on the box. He muttered while examining the bodies that had died from excessive bleeding.

“There are two corpses. What could have been the problem?”

Exactly two people had died with their arms and legs severed, unable to take any action. Based on this alone, it was difficult to conclude that the capacity had been exceeded.

Then Lian, after carefully examining the ground, said,

“There was a rat.”

Dain tilted his head to look where Lian was looking. There, a gray rat with its legs and tail cut off trembled. Dain’s Adam’s apple bobbed.

“Don’t tell me even rats count toward the capacity……”

Lian nodded calmly, as if he had experienced this before.

“Bad luck.”

Beth had been listening quietly. She strode over and kicked the box hard. Her contorted face filled with anger.

“D*mn it! I’d rather face monsters!”

Lunan would normally have calmed the hot-tempered Beth, but he remained silent, lost in thought.

Rosé fidgeted with her hands as she heard the increasingly exhausted voices of the four people. Under the cloak Lian had pulled down to prevent her from seeing the corpses, her gaze wavered anxiously.

“Lian, put me down.”

Rosé tugged at Lian’s clothes, squirming. He merely pulled the slipped cloak down more deeply.

“We should move on.”

“Lian!”

“I’m sorry. I cannot put you down.”

No one tried to stop the determined Lian. In this vast forest, the body of a 6-year-old child would easily become a target.

The five began walking again along the dark forest path. The staircase to the northwest was the last point they could reach within half a day. If that too was closed, they would face a long journey.

Lian carried Rosé on his back once they reached a path where trees grew densely. Many thorns scratched arms and legs nearby. He couldn’t wake her now that she had fallen into a deep sleep.

The march continued. The forest after sunset seemed more vast than during the day due to the thick darkness. No matter how narrow the path they walked, it felt like walking underwater or inside a cave.

How much farther did they walk? Lunan had been at the very back when he suddenly collapsed to the ground. His breathing sounded wrong.

Beth threw her bag down and rushed to him.

“Lunan! Are you okay?”

“Ugh, haaa……”

Beth lifted Lunan’s arm to examine the wound. The cotton wrapped tightly around the wound was stained with yellow pus. It emitted a foul smell.

“Lunan. Hold on a little longer.”

“Urgh……!”

Beth slowly unwrapped the cotton. The wound was completely festering and swollen. He had endured until now only because he was an Awakened, but his condition had visibly deteriorated.

“Kuk. Does it look serious?”

Lunan couldn’t turn his head toward the wound. The pain had spread to his bones, making his teeth clench involuntarily whenever his shoulder moved.

“It’s fine. Just some clotted blood.”

Beth pretended not to know and grabbed the end of the unwrapped cotton. It wasn’t easy to find clean cloth in the middle of the forest.

She knew the wound needed to be disinfected and wrapped with fresh cloth, but she couldn’t take risks right now.

But just as she was about to wrap the cloth, Dain approached Beth and handed her a small glass vial that looked like a potion.

Though it was too dark to distinguish the color clearly, it seemed to be green.

“It’s green worm extract. The main food of the parasites inside is human rotting flesh and pus. There won’t be any problem if you wash it off within 24 hours.”

Looking closely, several parasites resembling earthworms wriggled inside the vial. Beth’s face instinctively wrinkled.

“What happens if it’s not washed off after 24 hours?”

“The eyes and brain will be eaten within 36 hours, and the internal organs within 48 hours.”

“……”

Should I use this or not? If you’re going to bring a byproduct, bring one without side effects.

While she looked back and forth between the vial and Dain with such an expression, Lunan tugged at her collar.

“It’s… fine. I’ve tried parasite treatments before in the boundary.”