After their late dinner, the group finally settled down for the night. The house they had taken refuge in was too small to accommodate everyone comfortably, so so people curled up in corners of the hallway with spare blankets while others shared cramped bedrooms. No one complained about this. All people tried to adjust with whatever they had.
Liora ended up with a small room at the back of the house, where she woke up today. It was barely wide enough to fit a narrow wooden bed, and with Eli already there—curled up like a cat in the far corner—there was little space for anyone else.
So, no one even tried to join them. It was the only room with a door that fully closed, and perhaps that’s why no one questioned her taking it.
Eli had fallen asleep almost the mont his head hit the thin pillow. Liora could hear the steady rhythm of his breathing, soft and even, like a calm lull in the chaos they’d lived through.
She turned slightly to glance at Eli again. His presence was familiar and sa as before, but tonight sothing about it stirred unease in her chest.
She bit her lower lip and stared at the ceiling.
He had been there when she woke up, sitting silently by her side with that usual guarded expression. He had helped her, stayed close during the chaos, and hadn’t said a word about what had happened in the missing hours after she had blacked out. But no matter how many chances she gave him to speak, he stayed quiet. He did not utter a word about that incident.
Her eyes narrowed slightly.
Soone had saved them. She had no doubt about that. She had seen the damage—felt it in her bones. Their team should have died there. No one could have survived a Level 9 zombie, not in that state. Not without help, sothing... or soone.
And yet Eli said nothing.
Why?
Why would he stay silent?
Liora shifted on the bed, her fingers curling into the blanket as her mind chased one theory after another. Was it soone Eli knew? Soone he trusted enough to keep their identity hidden, even from the rest of them? Was he protecting them... or hiding sothing else entirely?
She stared at his peaceful face, trying to see through the silence he always carried with him.
If it was really soone Eli trusted, then why hadn’t that person shown themselves?
Why go through the trouble of saving their lives only to disappear into the shadows afterward?
None of it made sense. And the more she thought about it, the more certain she beca—Eli was keeping sothing from them.
She turned her eyes away, her jaw tightening.
Liora didn’t like secrets. Not in this world. Secrets got people killed.
And if soone had the power to face a monster like that and survive... she needed to know who. Because one day, they might not be lucky enough to be saved again.
And next ti, she would not be the one lying helpless on the floor, waiting to be rescued.
She watched him for a mont before turning away. She shifted on the bed with her back to the wall, eyes open in the darkness.
But sleep wouldn’t co, however she tried.
Even as she closed her eyes and tried to breathe slowly, her mind stayed awake. Her body still ached in places where the pain hadn’t quite disappeared, and her thoughts wouldn’t stop spinning.
Every ti she shut her eyes, she saw the shadows again. The mont they answered her. The terrifying silence as they obeyed.
Unable to rest, she reached for the system interface, her fingers swiping through the floating screen only she could see. She hadn’t had ti to check her notifications over the past few days. There had been too much going on. Too many life-or-death monts. Now, with a silence around her, she decided to finally catch up.
One by one, the system ssages flooded her vision.
And then—
[Congratulations, Host]
[You have successfully reached Level 6]
Liora’s breath caught. Was not she just previously on Level 4? Her eyes widened slightly as she quickly opened the stats window to confirm.
[SYSTEM PANEL]
Na: Liora
Age: 20
Title: Royalty (Forr Dynasty Princess)
Class: Survivor (Awakened)
Race: Human
Stats:
Health: 630 / 1200
Stamina: 999 / 1000
Strength: 800 / 1000
Agility: 603 / 1000
Intelligence: 837 / 1000
Endurance: 770 / 1000
Character Progression:
Survival Points: 3010
Level 6 (EXP to next level: 2039 / 20000)
Special Features:
Map: [Base]
Soul Realm: [Unlocked]
She blinked slowly, reading over the numbers again and again. Her progress was real. She had not only survived. She had leveled up—from Level 4 straight to Level 6.
That kind of jump was nearly unheard of. But after all the mutant insects she had fought, the horde, and especially the Level 9 zombie... it made sense.
Yet her health hadn’t dropped dangerously. Her system wasn’t in disarray. She didn’t feel like soone who had just barely escaped death. That could only an one thing.
Soone had healed her.
Soone must have used potions or dicine—probably many of them—to fix her body and stabilize her condition. Because Liora rembered it too well: the cracks in her ribs, the gashes in her thigh, the blunt trauma across her chest. She should have been bedridden.
Her expression darkened. Not out of fear—but sha.
She was still so weak.
The only reason they survived that mutated spider was because of sheer luck. The creature had just... died. And after that, they were barely alive when the high-level zombie ca.
Even then, she hadn’t won through strength or skill. The shadows had acted on their own, protecting her like sothing triggered by desperation. Like a last defense.
She didn’t know how to summon them at will. Didn’t even know if she could control them. What if they hadn’t appeared? What if next ti... nothing ca?
She stared at the system panel again. At the numbers. At the power. Then she closed it slowly.
Liora sat up on the bed and looked down at her hands. They were steady, with so scars.
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