Alexander was happy with the gains obtained, but the cost wasn't low.
His group was far too exhausted to do anything without proper rest. He was also forced to completely empty his stock of potions, otherwise his group wouldn't have lasted so long.
Having no [Health Potions] for an emergency could be a fatal mistake, and the group knew it.
Even the potions contained in the last dungeon's chest were used so Mark and Stella could get up.
"What do you plan to do now?" asked Alexander, with his back to his team while examining the BOSS room.
"Return to the city," replied Stella.
Alexander turned to her and gave her a strange look. "In the middle of the night and with the whole team tired?… I can't tell if that's courage or a death wish."
Too tired to argue, Stella just shrugged. "And what do you suggest we do?"
"I can't choose for you. As for me, I’m going to find a decent place to sleep around here," replied Alexander.
"Isn't it better to go back to the city?" interjected Mark. "It's not that far."
"You two have some reason to want to return to the city. That's why I mentioned I can't choose for you," explained Alexander, implying they could go back alone. "But I want to get used to sleeping outdoors, because it's not realistic to try to return if we go deep into Stellar Forest."
Mark and Stella were still thinking when he encouraged the whole team to return: "You going back would be the best choice, as I still don't feel comfortable sleeping next to you."
"Even though it's not Ocean, I still feel your animosity towards me," he assured seriously.
Stella reflexively turned to Mark—who noticed it—but soon realized she wasn't someone who could judge him.
She herself had her own reservations and complaints.
Seeing the situation getting awkward, Alexander tried to calm things: "Rest a bit. It's unlikely you three will have problems you can't solve if you're recovered and careful."
This was a good course of action, and it made sense. Just as things were improving, a phrase, no louder than a whisper, threw the team back into chaos: "I'll stay. You might need my help if something unexpected happens that requires treatment."
Everyone immediately turned to Diana, who suddenly became interested in observing the ground, and the situation became strange again.
This time it wasn't just a stalemate; the situation became strange in several ways.
Mark and Stella had long noticed that Diana seemed very close to Alexander. This phrase only made some things clearer.
For them, there was no other plausible way for a woman to choose to sleep so close to a man—without any clear need—unless she liked him or trusted him greatly.
He couldn’t deny that he liked Diana’s personality and her company—she seemed to bring him at least a bit of the humanity he lacked. However, they didn’t have that kind of relationship.
After trying to dissuade her for some time, Alexander simply gave up.
This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
She didn't even try to counter his words, just stayed by his side as if she wouldn't change her mind.
Diana's stay, in turn, weakened the group that wanted to return.
They could still try, but the risk would increase without a supporter to provide backup.
Not wanting to take that risk, the "dynamic duo" decided to stay.
Since this would increase his workload a lot, Alexander decided to make some things clear: "You can stay. But I won't be responsible for your comfort."
He didn't wait to find out if they had any complaints and left the dungeon to look for a place that could serve as shelter.
After about 15 minutes of searching, Alexander found a spacious enough cave. And with shelter secured, he began doing other things.
The first thing he did was check the stability of the ground, because without stable ground the next part would be quite difficult.
As soon as he confirmed the stability, he used a small series of |Thrust| against the ground.
With a reasonable hole ready, Alexander analyzed the wind direction and drilled a hole on both sides: one with the wind, which connected to the bottom of the larger hole; another against the wind, which connected just above the middle of the larger hole.
The group was curious about what he was doing—even more so when they saw him put some things in the larger hole and cast an electric spell inside it—but it was just a simple campfire.
Seeing the surprised faces of his companions, Alexander gestured for them to relax: "Don't be surprised by everything. This was just a convenient basic spell. I have no magical affinity with the lightning element."
Hearing him, they quickly understood, as it was common knowledge that a mage could cast any basic spell. They just needed sufficient training, like Lucas—who cast the |Fireball| spell even though he had a lightning magical affinity.
While the team analyzed the campfire with curiosity, Alexander took out a pot with food from his ring—still pretending to use the cloth-like storage item—and placed it over the fire.
Seeing him cover the hole where the fire was with the pot, Mark couldn't help but ask: "Won't that put out the fire?"
He thought for a moment and decided to teach them a bit about survival: "This campfire style is called a Dakota fire hole or Dakota fire. It's designed to be like this, so it shouldn't go out."
Noticing he seemed willing to answer, Stella also joined the conversation: "Why did you make this model and not a normal one?"
"I wanted to test if I could make it, because this model has more advantages in a forest," replied Alexander before beginning to explain why this campfire didn't go out easily, why one should prefer dry things to feed the fire, and things like that.
When he finished explaining, the food was already warm. But since there were only four portions, only one was left between Mark and Stella.
His message was clear: "Decide between yourselves." But since Mark was trying to maintain and increase the good impression Stella had of him, his fate was gloomy and doomed to hunger.
When everyone finished eating, Alexander washed the dishes with |Invigorate| and returned to the cave where he would sleep.
Since finding this cave, he had claimed a large area at the back of it to lie down separated from the others.
Still, he left a warning for them: "Don't go too far. I neither tolerate nor am an accomplice to sordid and unscrupulous attitudes."
With the warning given, Alexander threw a monster skin to each of them and went to his space.
After taking some measurements he was ready to start what he was going to do. But—as soon as he prepared to begin—his team appeared.
"You better move away," warned the young water mage before using the |Water Barrier| spell to create a large, but thin, sphere of water.
As soon as the sphere came into contact with the bottom, ceiling, and walls of the cave, it stopped growing and Alexander's face turned serious.
His actions left the "audience," who watched everything through the thin layer of water, in doubt.
However, as soon as the sphere began to recede, they understood why he became serious.
He had made a magical link between |Invigorate| and |Water Barrier| to clean the area where he would stay.
"What do you want?" asked Alexander as soon as he finished.
"Hmm?… Ah, yes. It's this," replied Mark while showing the skin he had given him. "What's the purpose of these skins?"
"Apparently, a mistake," replied Alexander, sighing. "My bad. I thought you would sleep on the ground. Didn't know you had beds."
This was a simple correlation, but Mark and Stella were too tired to make it.
When they realized this, their faces darkened. They finally understood why Alexander increased his fatigue even more to clean his area.
Seeing his extended hand—which expected to get the skins back—they reflexively recoiled.
These skins paled in comparison to how they normally slept, but they were still better than the cold ground of their harsh reality.
When Mark and Stella walked away embarrassed, Diana remained.
Once she confirmed they had left, she whispered softly: "Can I sleep here with you?"
