Was it Regan’s heart, or…

…Like a sprout that Haniel had planted and grown directly in this fertile land, there was a small and tender emotion that had begun to sprout from the moment he entered this territory and faced her, gradually growing, which Regan had been anxiously watching.

It had grown into a tree too large to embrace, sprouting leaves one by one whenever Haniel discovered Regan among the leaves, whenever she spoke to him, whenever she smiled slightly at trivial matters.

It felt like those tender leaves were tickling his heart.

It had grown as large as it could possibly grow, and he couldn’t contain the ache.

“I.”

Regan smiled, his eyes crinkling.

Even though they had fallen into darkness, this moment was dazzlingly bright.

“Then… I will protect you with everything I have until then.”

He couldn’t let her die.

Regan would do his utmost to protect his mate, Haniel.

As he made that pledge, something seemed to change inside him.

With that unfamiliar sensation, Regan clenched and unclenched his fist, then spoke to Haniel again.

“…Listen carefully, Haniel. We need to find the ‘core of the Rift.'”

Regan Fenril was a survivor who had once fallen into a Rift and miraculously escaped.

Therefore, he knew somewhat about what Rifts were and the general method of escape.

Even if it was like hitting a rock with an egg, they had to try—it was better than not trying at all.

The core of the Rift.

It might be an unfamiliar term. Who would know that such a thing existed in a Rift?

That’s why Regan firmly held Haniel’s hand, hoping only that she wouldn’t be afraid.

But… what was this?

Haniel, who had been beaming at Regan’s pledge, was now fidgeting with a very confused expression at the mention of the “core of the Rift.”

“Huh? Yes, the core of the Rift. I know that. The core of the Rift.”

“What? You know?”

“Uh… I’m seeing it now… no, of course I knew it originally. That’s what you purify to escape the Rift, right?”

‘How on earth?’

Regan raised one eyebrow.

In front of him, full of questions, Haniel smiled awkwardly.

In fact, she was just as surprised as Regan.

The tightness in her chest from Regan’s words about protecting her with everything he had was momentary.

Because of this status window appearing right before her eyes!

For the first time ever, a ‘quest’ had appeared!

Could it really be… this much like a game?

Haniel let out a small, hollow laugh.

The status window’s messages dispelled even the tension in the air.

‘What are those black square characters in the Rift name?’

It seems like something she had seen before when the status window was explaining about “dimensions.”

And the uninvited guests probably referred to the Hume trackers Regan mentioned…

And… a blood vessel bulged at Haniel’s temple when she saw the text below.

“What? Purify with vitality? Are you kidding me? Why should I use my vitality for something like this?”

“…Haniel?”

“Ah, sorry. I was just feeling frustrated for a moment…”

Haniel, who had made excuses to the confused Regan after her sudden outburst of madness, looked at the status window again.

‘This tone-deaf status window. Use my ability, strength, and vitality to get through this situation? Setting aside the fact that I don’t know how to “use” them, why should I “use” the vitality I’ve worked so hard to collect to purify something called the core of the Rift? Huh? Are you giving me vitality just to take it back?’

Haniel’s eyes, glaring at the status window in fury, became bloodshot with anger.

It was an emotion similar to the anger of a tenant who had been informed that they had to pay the entire brokerage fee for the house they were leaving.

What made her even more furious was that this status window gave instructions without telling her how to do what needed to be done.

Would it hurt to properly explain through a tutorial? Otherwise, something like ‘Press E (Use Vitality)’…

Ding!

Just then, the status window appeared as if in response.

There are such proverbs?

Haniel stretched her mouth and sneered.

Was the status window trying to say something like ‘practice is better than theory,’ ‘short things need to be measured,’ ‘even if you can’t eat…’ or something like that?

It seems to be suggesting that she should try first before worrying about methods.

Sigh, Haniel took a deep breath and then gripped the axe at her waist firmly with a determined look.

‘I’m quite concerned that the “reward” section says “unknown” and “processing,” but…’

Based on the system’s behavior so far, it probably wouldn’t withhold the reward.

But what about the “Rift fragments” needed to increase the house size? Wasn’t that what it was supposed to give? Haniel grumbled inwardly, mentally tearing the system to shreds.

Haniel’s eyes were filled with the madness and desperation of a tenant who had been swindled out of their money. Those golden eyes that Regan had thought were like the sun now resembled more the glittering light of gold coins reflecting the sun.

‘Now that it’s come to this, I will definitely survive this place, upgrade my house, and that’s that! I mean it!’

Regan seemed deeply worried about how to overcome this difficulty ahead, but she had the reliable status window.

Moreover, it was clearly visible to Haniel’s eyes.

Just as she could normally see the boundary between ‘Haniel’s territory’ and the forest glittering in the ground or air, now too, something was sparkling beyond the tunnel in her field of vision as if showing the direction.

That must be…

‘The location of the core of the Rift, without a doubt!’

The location of the core of the Rift needed to close the Rift!

Just as a gamer can see where the key item needed to clear a dungeon is located.

And like seeing the light of a lighthouse in the middle of the ocean, the system was personally guiding her to where the core of the Rift was.

That makes things much easier.

“We need to find the core of the Rift, right? Let’s go this way first.”

“What? Yes.”

Haniel grabbed Regan, who was uncharacteristically hesitant. The man quickly came to his senses and moved beside her, raising his guard and starting to provide cover.

⋆˚🐾˖°⋆˚🐾˖°⋆˚🐾˖°

A damp and gloomy tunnel.

Although the luminous mushrooms served as lighting, like most things that emit light in nature, the light emitted by the mushrooms had a pale tone, far from the warmth of sunlight.

It was eerie, like the will-o‘-the-wisps said to float above graveyards—a perfect atmosphere for ghosts to appear.

Haniel moved her legs, trying not to think about ghosts.

At least she felt reassured being with Regan, who was as large as a door and as warm as a hand warmer.

„Hold onto me.“

„Yeah, you‘re warm.“

Regan showed a faint smile at her casual remark.

Thus, the two carefully walked through the tunnel, taking care not to fall.

Occasionally, there were sounds of the earth twisting and contorting, along with noises of insects crawling from somewhere, but other than that, the path continued surprisingly smoothly.

After walking for several tens of minutes.

„Oh… here‘s another one. Here too.“

Haniel and Regan were able to discover more Hume tracker corpses following the one they had seen earlier.

Two more Hume corpses, similarly entangled in mushroom mycelium and plant roots.

Although it was somewhat creepy, it was less shocking than when they had first seen the corpse earlier.