Athoi sat in front of the cave's pond, gazing at her reflection in the crystal-clear water. The soft, ambient light reflecting off the cave walls created a mesmerizing glow around her. "Nabil, do you want to know why I didn't want to team up with you in the beginning?"
"Here? In this situation?" Nabil asked, clearly surprised.
"Wait, I can teleport. I almost forgot," Athoi suddenly remembered.
"Oh yeah, you can teleport. We were worrying about the chests for no reason," Nabil said, a look of realization dawning on his face.
"I can't believe I forgot about my ability," Athoi said, shaking her head. She picked up two chests, and with a flash, teleported them onto a leaf close to the hole in the cave's ceiling. She looked up and saw Leon flying toward them.
"Hey Leon, I'm faster than you!" Athoi teased, her voice echoing in the cavern. She jumped out of the cave, dropping the chests, and then teleported back beside Nabil. She grabbed his hand and teleported both of them to the leaf.
As they exited the cave, Leon emerged last, carrying the chests. His astonished expression at seeing them already out made Athoi laugh.
While Athoi was laughing, Nabil found himself captivated by her joy. "She's really beautiful. Now, while smiling, she looks even more beautiful," he thought.
Athoi noticed the setting sun casting a warm, golden glow over the landscape. She turned to Nabil and caught him staring at her. "What are you looking at?" she asked, trying to sound stern but failing to hide a blush.
"Oh, me? Uh..." Nabil stammered.
"What? Don't falter. Why were you looking at me like that?" Athoi pressed, her face flushing.
Nabil looked down, embarrassed. "I won't lie. Well, actually, I was looking at you. You look beautiful when you smile, and I was thinking that."
Her cheeks reddened even more, and she quickly picked up two chests. "Let's go. I respect your truthful answer," she said, trying to hide her flustered state.
"Don't get me wrong. I didn't mean it in a bad way. I just felt you are beautiful, that's all," Nabil explained softly.
"I understand, you don't have to explain," Athoi replied. "We have to go a long way. We came this far for a cave, and now Whfi is about 3-4 kilometers away."
Leon roared, looking at the sky, and both Athoi and Nabil looked up to see Whfi approaching.
"Looks like Whfi came instead. Wow!" Athoi exclaimed.
She started to teleport all the chests onto Whfi's back. Once everything was set, they sat on Whfi's back, and Nabil opened his map, noticing a red mark where they were standing.
"What's this red mark?" Nabil wondered aloud.
"What red mark?" Athoi asked.
"Look at your map. In my system map, there's a red mark right where we are," Nabil said.
Athoi opened her map and saw the red mark. "Yeah, mine too. It's a red cross mark."
"What could it mean?" Nabil asked.
< It's the mark of the continental dimension > (Nabil's System)
< It's the mark of the continental dimension > (Athoi's System)
"Continental dimension?" they both said simultaneously, their faces lighting up with realization.
"Wait, does that mean it's one of the five dimensions we were looking for?" Nabil said, excitement in his voice.
"Yes, and we found it without even realizing," Athoi replied, astonished.
< No hostile mobs spawn naturally near the 5 square kilometer radius > (Both Systems)
"That's why we didn't find any mobs while mining," Nabil noted.
"Okay, now we have to find the portal and get the crystal," Athoi said, determination in her voice.
"Good that no hostile mobs will spawn nearby. We can freely look for the portal," Nabil said, feeling relieved.
"It's not just about finding the portal. We have to fight a boss, so we can't enter the portal without preparation," Athoi reminded him.
"Yeah, that's right. We can't just go in randomly," Nabil agreed.
"We'd better rest now, then we can do this tomorrow," Athoi suggested.
-----
Two hours later, Nabil and Athoi sat beside a campfire, with Leon sleeping between them. The warm glow of the fire cast dancing shadows on the cave walls. Whfi was lying nearby, also asleep.
"So, in short, you're an American with both Bangladeshi and Japanese genetics," Nabil said, still amazed by Athoi's background.
"Yeah, I am. And I've never visited Bangladesh or Japan in my life," Athoi said, her voice tinged with a hint of sadness.
"Why's that?" Nabil asked, curious.
"My parents never took me there, but I had plans to visit both countries. I guess if I die here, that plan will come to an end," Athoi said, her eyes reflecting the flickering flames.
"Hope you can get out of this place," Nabil said sincerely.
"Why me? You could've said 'we'," Athoi pointed out.
"I know I will end up dying here, but I'm still trying to survive," Nabil admitted, looking into the fire.
"Don't say that. We're a team now, so if neither of us betrays the other, we both can get out," Athoi said firmly.
"By the way, about betrayal. You said you've faced betrayal with three guys before. What did they do?" Nabil asked gently.
"Okay, now that we're talking, I think I should tell you," Athoi began. "After spawning in the world, the first person I met was my ex-boyfriend.
I broke up with him in the real world a few months ago because he was cheating on me and also wanted a sexual relationship, which I didn't want before marriage.
One day, he tried to force me, but I somehow managed to get away."
Nabil listened intently, his expression serious.
"He apologized, and I somehow became his girlfriend again, but after a few days, I found him with another girl, so I finally broke up with him.
He did a similar thing in this world too," Athoi continued, her voice steady but her eyes reflecting a mixture of pain and resolve.
"Did he cheat here too?" Nabil asked, his voice filled with concern.
"No," Athoi replied. "After we coincidentally met in this world, he apologized again. I forgave him, but we didn't restart our relationship. We just teamed up.
Two days later, on day five, while I was sleeping, he tried to do sexual things with me, but I managed to protect myself.
He apologized again. I forgave him once more but kept my distance.
After we killed a dragon on day seven, I got a lot of coins, diamonds, and rubies. For those materials, he attacked me, intending to kill me. The system must have given him a temporary bounty.
I fought back and almost defeated him, but he escaped. On day eight, he saw you. I was still following him, and that's the day I first saw you. My ex, Utso, was about to kill you."
"So that guy was your ex who wanted to kill me after I reached land?" Nabil asked, a hint of shock in his voice.
"Yes, he was. But then he escaped, and I couldn't find him," Athoi said, her voice tinged with regret.
"Oh, I see. And what about the other two guys?" Nabil inquired.
"Well, on day eleven, when I was mining, I saw Nailon and Denial. They are a gay couple from our university.
I was shocked to see them together, and we teamed up. I regretted it almost immediately. Every day, they engaged in sexual activities and felt proud of it. I ignored them because they were gay, and I felt safe from sexual harassment.
The three of us managed to beat a dragon, but I was seriously injured. Seeing this, they attacked me, probably because their system gave them an offer.
The system usually gives offers when it detects a player in a near-death situation, so seeing me, maybe their system told them to kill me. I tried to stop them, but they didn't. I had to fight both of them at once with my damaged body. My healing ability helped, and I was able to kill both of them in that fight. I didn't want to kill them, but they were attacking me, so in self-defense, I fought back and ended up killing them. I regret it, but I had no choice. I still feel sad for them."
"I think you did the right thing," Nabil said softly. "I would have done the same. It's really wrong to attack someone when they are vulnerable. They wanted to kill you for a silly reason, which makes them criminals, not you."
Athoi sighed, nodding slightly. "Let's change the topic. So, you said those elves betrayed you after you knocked down the dragon?"
"Yeah, they did. I still don't know why. The book they showed me was like an art book. The language was incomprehensible, but based on the art, I defeated the dragon. Thankfully, the dragon saved me, and that dragon is Whfi," Nabil explained.
"So that's your story. I think you suffered more than me," Athoi said thoughtfully.
"I don't know," Nabil said, staring into the fire.
Suddenly, a soft, melodic sound came from the cave where they found the diamonds and the pond. Athoi stood up and walked over to the hole, peering down. Nabil followed, and they saw the entire cave was aglow, the leaves creating a magical light.
"How is this still glowing at night? Bright as day," Nabil marveled.
"It looks like a group of something is singing, but I can't see properly. There's something glowing white swimming in the water, and others are jumping around," Athoi observed.
"Are we going down? The system said hostile mobs won't spawn, so whatever's down there isn't hostile," Nabil said, excitement in his voice.
"Yeah, right. Let's go," Athoi agreed, grabbing Nabil's hand and teleporting them down.
They found themselves surrounded by white, cat-like creatures swimming and singing in the water.
"Wow, they're cute," Athoi exclaimed.
Type: Peaceful and helpful> their systems displayed. "Yeah, and the system says they're peaceful. They look like cats, but their legs are shorter, their fur glows, and their ears are too small to see. They're even cuter than cats," Nabil said, smiling. Athoi tried to touch one, but it scampered away. Nabil noticed the Gugus swimming, their glowing fur making the water sparkle. "Look, their fur is making the water glow and seems to be purifying it," Nabil said. "Damn... This fur is why the water was sweet," Nabil realized. Athoi knelt closer to the glowing water. She could see how deep the pond was and noticed a box at the bottom, chained to the ground. She looked back to see Nabil playing with the Gugus. They were licking him and rubbing against him, making him laugh. "Nabil, come here. I found something. I think it's connected with the portal," Athoi called out.