s exhilarated. The satisfaction of killing the larva was so vast that he even forgot to be disappointed about not receiving a Memory - the special item tied to a Dream Realm inhabitant's essence, whic

and pieces of flesh were lying on the ground. Many slaves were killed. A few had somehow managed to escape and were now running away. 'Fools. They're dooming themselves.' The chain, as it turns out, was at some point broken in two - that's why it suddenly slackened when Sunny was being dragged by the mass of panicking slaves. If their shackles had a less sophisticated locking mechanism, he could have tried to free himself now. However, each pair was fixed to a spec

s deadly. The nearest was mere meters away from Sunny. 'Damn it all!' he thought. And then, weakly: 'I want to wake up.' As strange clicking filled the air, one of the beasts turned its head toward the three slaves and gnashed its fangs. Shifty fell on his ass, whispering a prayer,

was not a speck of dirt or blood on his leather armor. 'He is. Awesome, Sunny thought before catching himself. 'Poser! I mean he's a poser!' With a short nod, the soldier moved forward to face the remaining three larvae. But after taking a few steps, he suddenly turned around and gave Sunny a long look. Then, with one swift motion, the young warrior took something from his belt and threw it to Sunny. 'Save yourself!' With that, he was gone to fight the monsters. Sunny reflexively caught the item and watched the soldier go. Then he lowered his gaze and stu

Run!" Shifty made a move to run away, but was stopped by Scholar. "My friend, I would..." "If you say "advise" again, I swear to gods, I will bash your head open!" The two slaves looked at each other with open animosity. A moment later, Scholar lowered his eyes and sighed. "If we run away now, we will surely die." "Why?!" The older slave simply pointed at the tall bonfire. "Because without that fire, we will freeze to death before the night is over. Until the sun rises, running away is suicide." Sunny did not say anything, knowing that Scholar was right. Actually, he realized it right after strangling the larva. No matter how terrible Mountain King was, the bonfire was still their only lifeline in this frozen hell. It was just as what the broad-shouldered slave, may he rest in peace, had said. There was no need for anyone to kill them, because the mountain itself would do it if given a chance. "So what?! I prefer freezing to death than being eaten by that monster anyway! Not to mention... ugh... turning into one of those things." Shifty was pretending to be brave, but there was no conviction in his voice. He glanced at the darkness surrounding the stone platform and shiver