"Ugh," Ryan groaned, gritting his teeth as a searing pain pierced through his skull. It was as if soone had slamd his head with a sledgehamr. Every pulse of pain felt like a drumbeat in his mind, unrelenting and maddening.
'Calm down, Ryan,' he heard a voice whisper in his mind.
It was Nelia.
Slowly, the overwhelming pain began to dissipate.
Ryan sighed heavily as the tension eased from his body. He opened his eyes sluggishly, blinking against the dim light that filled the room. His vision was still blurry, and everything around him felt surreal, like a waking dream. Then, without warning, he felt sothing press against his chest. His body reacted instinctively; his hand shot out and caught whatever it was.
"Kya!" a high-pitched squeak startled him. His blurry vision began to clear, revealing a purple-haired girl with wide, startled eyes staring back at him.
"Huh?" he blurted out, utterly confused. But before he could process what was happening, a sudden force struck him in the gut. The impact made him double over in pain, groaning as he tried to regain his breath.
"Stop! W-why did you do that?!" a panicked voice cried out. Ryan recognized it—it was Shelly. She sounded frantic, her voice trembling as she spoke.
"Ugh," Ryan groaned again, forcing his heavy eyelids to lift and glance toward the source of the commotion. Shelly was standing protectively in front of him, her arms slightly spread as though shielding him from harm. Behind her was a young man, his stance tense and defensive.
"He deserved it… he could have hurt you," the young man said gruffly. His voice was sharp and accusatory, and from what little Ryan could make out through his hazy vision, it was the sa person who had just attacked him.
"He probably thought I was so threat! He just woke up for crying out loud!" Shelly exclaid, trying to reason with the boy.
"Tsk. Yeah, you're right," the boy conceded after a tense pause. Ryan noticed the way Shelly's shoulders relaxed slightly, the tension easing from her fra.
"Wake up, princess. We're about to leave," the boy added dismissively before turning to walk away. Frustratingly, Ryan's vision remained blurry, and his mind felt like a foggy maze he couldn't escape.
'What's happening to , Nelia?' Ryan asked silently, clutching his throbbing skull.
'It's your blessing, it's been acting up since you arrived here," Nelia replied, her voice calm but tinged with exhaustion. 'I've suppressed it for now—that's why you were able to wake up. I don't know what exactly that blessing of yours is, but it seems dangerous,' she continued, her words echoing in his mind.
'But how is that possible…? Zel is gone! You should know that from my mories. So why do I still have the blessing?' he asked, his thoughts swirling with confusion.
'I don't know. But from what I noticed from your mories, that consciousness was only a bridge. The blessing it carried wasn't its own,' Nelia explained, her tone growing more serious.
'What…? But… I… I don't understand. If it's not the true owner of the blessing, why was he so desperate for to rge with it?'
'That… I don't know,' Nelia admitted.
"Hey," a voice interrupted his thoughts. It was Shelly. She knelt beside him, her eyes filled with concern. "Are you feeling any better?" she asked softly.
As if in response, the weight in Ryan's head began to lift. It was a gradual but noticeable change, like cold water pouring over soone burning from the heat of the desert. The sensation was soothing, almost therapeutic.
"Yes, thank you," Ryan replied, noticing Shelly's slender hand outstretched toward him. A soft green glow emanated from her palm—healing magic.
He sighed again, this ti out of relief, as his vision finally cleared. He could now make out the details of the girl before him—beautiful purple eyes that seed to glow like orbs and lustrous purple hair tied in a ponytail that flowed down her back.
Creak.
He heard footsteps, and this ti he saw a familiar face walk in. Behind her was a young man he didn't recognize—but he didn't need to. He could already guess who the young man was supposed to be.
Leon Bladen.
"Get up. You've already wasted enough of our ti," a cold voice cut through the air, drawing his attention back to the girl. Her hair still held the clip he had once gifted her.
"Elena," he muttered.
"Tsk." The young man behind her, Leon, sneered. "This guy's going to slow us down. He'll be a burden. Why don't we just leave him here? Let him sleep as much as he wants."
"No," Elena replied sharply. "That wouldn't be wise. We need as many of us as possible to survive. But…" She fixed him with an icy stare, her voice steady, "if he doesn't keep up and continues to drag us down, then…" Her words trailed off, but the aning was clear.
He t her gaze, and all he saw was coldness—no trace of warmth or emotion. This wasn't the Elena he rembered from the ga. The Elena who had loved Lorelle so deeply that it took almost five volus for the protagonist to win her over, despite how scummy Lorelle had been.
'Nelia, how long have I been unconscious since I appeared in this world?' he asked, his thoughts drifting inward.
'About seven hours, maybe more. I couldn't keep track,' Nelia replied, and the realization hit him—everyone here had already begun adjusting to this strange place.
He exhaled and forced himself to his feet. His head still throbbed, but it was bearable now. As he steadied himself, a voice called out, laced with concern.
"Careful… The pain reliever is only temporary," Shelly said, her expression tinged with panic.
He sighed. "It's alright. I can manage," he said, gently pushing her hands away as she tried to support him.
"Alright… Where exactly are we?" he asked Elena. She looked at him for a mont, her expression unreadable, as if deciding whether answering him was worth the effort.
"We took shelter here after so vampires attacked us. Fortunately for us, it was almost sunrise when we arrived," she said, her tone clipped. Then her eyes locked onto his, piercing and cold. "We would've left this place much earlier if it weren't for you delaying us."
"Sorry about that. I have no idea what happened," he replied evenly, eting her gaze without flinching.
"Fine," she said, her tone dismissive. "But make sure it doesn't happen again. We won't coddle you. We all have ourselves to worry about. If you think you can't keep up, it's better for you to stay here. I'd hate for you to drag us down."
"It won't happen again," he said firmly.
"Good." She turned sharply on her heel, and Leon followed her without a word.
"What's the plan now, though?" he asked, his voice cutting through the silence as they began to leave.
"We haven't had a chance to get a full view of this place yet," Shelly answered softly, her voice tinged with shyness. "Since it's already noon, we're planning to use the daylight to survey the area and decide our next steps."
It wasn't much of a surprise to Ryan. The Shelly depicted in the novel before her descent into depravity—triggered by a cruel violation—was a beacon of innocence. She was kind-hearted, virtuous, and embodied all the traits of a true heroine.
When reading the novel for the first ti, anyone would assu Shelly was ant to be the main protagonist. Ryan had thought so too, back then. But as he continued reading, he learned the hard way that the author of Hero's Quest had a penchant for abrupt plot twists and completely unnecessary narrative deviations. Trusting that author was a mistake he didn't repeat agan.
"Alright, thanks for your help. Again," Ryan said, extending his hand with a faint smile. "My na's Ryan."
The girl frowned at his introduction, her expression skeptical. "But… I heard from my friend that your na is Lorelle," she said, eyeing him as though he were just another liar.
"…Yeah, but I don't go by that anymore," he replied, his tone even.
"Ryan?" she repeated, tilting her head slightly. "I think I prefer the other na… It kind of suits you more." She trailed off, her words spilling out before her senses returned.
"Ah! S-sorry," she quickly stamred, flustered.
"It's fine." Ryan shook his head lightly. "Alright, then. You can call … Riley." He hesitated for a brief mont before extending his hand again, and after so deliberation, she shook it.
Ryan observed her carefully. 'It seems she doesn't know about the rumors tied to the na Lorelle,' he thought, narrowing his eyes as he tried to decipher her unexpectedly cheerful deanor.
'…You're getting entangled in sothing you might regret later,' Nelia's voice echoed in his head.
'Don't misunderstand. She's a Level 7. I'm only Level 1.9. Wouldn't it be wise to lean on her until the exams are over?' he reasoned.
'…Fine,' ca Nelia's resigned reply.
"Shelly Trinika. You can call Shelly," she said, flashing him a bright, disarming smile.
"HEY, SHELLY! LET'S GET GOING!" a loud voice suddenly yelled from outside the dilapidated shop.
Ryan winced, glancing toward the source of the noise. 'Oh, right. There's also that guy,' he thought grimly.
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