Dark, cold, and boundless—that's how Yaw-Yan would describe the place he's in right now. He was standing alone in the middle of nowhere. Aside from the tiny spot beneath his feet, the rest of the surroundings were swallowed by an endless expanse of darkness.
This wasn't the first time Yaw-Yan had been here, either. He remembered the time he died in his previous world. This was the same place he was dragged into when his body finally gave up back then.
This cold and endless void of darkness was the place Yaw-Yan called the Abyss.
Back in his previous world, he would often have nightmares about this place—especially when his health was failing, and he was in critical condition.
He always felt like his body was being pulled here every time he was on the verge of death.
Only when his time in that world truly ended did he let the Abyss finally take hold of him.
So, he assumed he had just died again—which didn't surprise him. He had faced one of the strongest beasts he encountered. It would have taken a miracle for him to survive that creature.
In short, he was back in the Abyss. And he had no idea what was going to happen next. His eyes scanned the surroundings, searching for anything that might give him a clue, but all he saw was darkness—endless, suffocating darkness.
Still, Yaw-Yan felt like something was different this time. Like something was missing. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but he was sure something had changed, even though most of it felt exactly the same.
Yaw-Yan gave up trying to figure it out and just plopped down on the ground. Truth be told, he was just trying to distract himself from the fact that he was back in this place again—and this time, he had no idea what would come next.
A couple of minutes later, tired of staring at the void in front of him, he decided to lie down and shut his eyes. Maybe when he woke up, the Abyss would already have a plan for him.
Closing his eyes, Yaw-Yan tried to feel the ground he was lying on. Its cold surface quickly crept up into his body, making him shiver from the chill.
Yaw-Yan would've stood up to avoid getting sick—but then he remembered. He was already dead. So, he didn't bother.
But something caught his attention. As his hand brushed the ground, he noticed it wasn't cement-like at all. Its texture felt more like soil—cold, black soil.
Yaw-Yan grabbed a fistful and brought it up in front of his face. Yep, it had the consistency of soil. But his instincts were telling him something was off.
He brought it closer to his nose and gave it a sniff. Nothing. Usually, soil smells like... well, soil. But this had no scent at all. Letting his intrusive thoughts win, Yaw-Yan gave it a lick—and instantly regretted it. Unlike its scent, which had no presence, the taste was awful. He couldn't even describe it properly. It tasted like... cold? Rotten? Regret?
Yaw-Yan spat furiously, trying to rid his mouth of the foul taste. He stood up and looked around. Whatever this dirt was, it seemed like the entire ground of the Abyss was covered in it.
He was about to scoop up another fistful when a sudden pang of pain hit his cheek.
When he opened his eyes, the Abyss was gone. In front of him was the worried face of Amika, tears streaming down her cheeks, her eyes wide the moment she saw him regain consciousness.
The two locked eyes, frozen for a few heartbeats, before Amika realized he was awake and let out a scream that could rival Silao Grande's roar in volume.
Yaw-Yan didn't even get the chance to cover his ears before the smaller girl lunged at him full force and trapped him in a death grip.
"YAW-YAN, YOU BIG DUMB STUPID IDIOT! WHAT WERE YOU THINKING, FIGHTING THAT THING ALONE!? YOU ALMOST DIED, ARE YOU CRAZY!? DON'T DO SOMETHING LIKE THAT AGAINNN...!" The more she cried, the tighter her grip became, leaving the boy breathless.
Yaw-Yan swore he could feel the Abyss calling him back. If this girl didn't let go soon, he might actually die this time.
"C-c-can't b-breathe..." Yaw-Yan tapped her shoulder in desperation, trying to get her to ease up—but Amika only hugged tighter, completely ignoring the fact that the boy in her arms was turning blue.
"Oh my god! A-Amika, let go of Yaw-Yan right now—he can't breathe!" Suina, who also had tear-streaked cheeks, quickly crouched down to pry the smaller girl off the tribal boy, trying to save him from Amika's deadly embrace.
"You guys, seriously!?" Ayato called out, shaking his head with an exasperated smile. "Yaw-Yan just woke up, give him a break, will you?" He crouched down beside Suina to help separate the two. Despite his teasing tone, if you looked closely, you could see the tears quietly welling in the corners of his of eyes.
Standing behind the group of four were two figures quietly watching the chaotic reunion. One of them, a pink-haired girl with a ponytail, chuckled softly at the scene in front of her.
"They're really getting along, huh? Good thing we made it just in time and saved the local boy. I can already imagine how devastated our freshmen would've been if they woke up and found him dead," the blue-haired girl said, watching the group.
She stared at the four people with a soft expression and nodded. It truly was a blessing that her friend had come looking for her. Because of that, she'd been able to leave the sleeping trio in her friend's care and rush to save the boy.
"Thank you for your help, Yuleng. I didn't know what I was supposed to do back there... you helped me a lot."
The now-named Yuleng flashed her a toothy grin and waved off the thanks. "Don't worry about it, Minona. I'm just glad I could help you guys."
After a few more moments of struggle, Suina and Ayato finally managed to pry Amika off Yaw-Yan.
The boy collapsed onto all fours, trying to steady his breathing. He was sure Amika's hug had cut off all oxygen to his brain—he felt lightheaded after escaping her grip.
While trying to compose himself, Yaw-Yan suddenly realized something: he was on all fours... meaning his left arm was healed.
He quickly sat up and checked it over. Not even a scar remained.
Yuleng snorted at his reaction, then tapped her chest confidently and made her presence known.
"Awesome, right? You're lucky I was around! That healing potion in your bag wasn't nearly enough to save your life or fix your arm. The only reason you didn't lose it is me. Name's Yuleng, student of the Lincad Alchemy Department!"
Yaw-Yan looked at the proud girl and bowed in gratitude.
Yuleng quickly waved it off. "No need to thank me. That was just an experimental vial I made. I'm glad it worked on you."
"E-experimental?" Yaw-yan repeated, his voice shaky.
Yuleng nodded. "Couldn't be helped. You were literally one breath away from dying. Waiting for backup to administer a proper healing potion would've been too late. So, I gave you my healing pill. It worked, so you're fine."
The boy nodded in understanding. He remembered just how bad his injuries had been. The only reason he'd survived that ordeal was because the beautiful girl had shown up and saved him.
His train of thought was cut off when his eyes shifted to Yuleng's left—where a familiar face stood quietly beside her.
Yaw-yan gulped. The girl who had saved him from the Blood Collector was staring at him with an unreadable expression. Their eyes met, and Yaw-yan found it hard to maintain eye contact. Quickly, he bowed to her.
"U-um... thank you for saving me, Ms...?"
"Minona. My name is Minona," she replied, her tone calm and emotionless. "There's no need to thank me. You put yourself in danger to protect our schoolmates. Saving you was simply the right thing to do."
Yaw-yan winced inwardly. Her tone felt more like a quiet scolding than a thank you.
Yuleng continued, "Though there was no need to put yourself in danger like that in the first place. Everything was under Minona's control. Even if the beast reached your camp, it would've been eliminated before making a sound. These three were perfectly safe under Minona's supervision."
"O-oh…" Yaw-yan muttered, suddenly feeling more dejected than relieved. No wonder it felt like he was being scolded—the two girls clearly thought what he did was reckless and completely unnecessary.
Minona noticed the boy's defeated expression. She wanted to say something to lift his spirits, but as a sheltered girl, she often struggled to voice her thoughts—especially in front of strangers.
"Though… you're pretty hardcore, not gonna lie," Yuleng chimed in, cackling in amazement as she looked at him. "You went toe-to-toe with a high-level beast and survived for a good few minutes! Even this trio would've had trouble with something like that. So, good job surviving it."
She gave him a big thumbs-up, her grin wide and proud.
"Great! Now you four, pick up your stuff. We're climbing down this beast, and you three have to head back to the Lincad Ark."
"WHAT!?"
Yuleng winced as the trio's synchronized shout nearly burst her eardrums.
She glanced at their confused faces and nodded, confirming they hadn't misheard. "YEP! The newbies who got saved by us were ordered to leave the field training and return to Lincad Ark to report to the teachers. Why do you think I'm here? The kids I was assigned to monitor went down on the first day. I had to save them from a beast they wildly underestimated and nearly got themselves killed."
She waved it off casually. "Don't worry, though. You're not the first group to get sent back—80% of the participants are already out."
"B-but we still have a day left to hunt, and... and..." Amika turned to Yaw-yan, her eyes brimming with tears again.
Suina and Ayato also looked toward him, their faces etched with sadness.
"Sorry, guys. Rules are rules. We can't do anything about it. We'll give you time to say your farewells," Yuleng said gently, glancing at Minona, who gave a quiet nod. The two girls walked away, giving the group of four some space.
Seeing the sorrow on his friends' faces, Yaw-yan tried to lift the mood by flashing his biggest smile.
"S-so this is it, huh..." he said, his voice catching slightly as his emotions got the better of him.
"Yeah, Yaw-yan bro. I think you're right. This is it," Ayato stepped forward and placed a hand on Yaw-yan's shoulder, giving it a firm squeeze. "Thanks for protecting us last night. We got careless and almost got ourselves killed."
"Y-yeah, but they were guarding you, so you three would've been fine even without me..." Yaw-yan muttered, but Ayato shook his head with a smile.
"We only learned that just now. We didn't know it last night. You didn't know that. Isn't that why you let yourself become bait for the beast? Because that was the only way you knew to protect us?"
Yaw-yan slowly nodded at Ayato's words.
"Then that's it. You did protect us, my friend—and we're lucky to have met someone like you."
Ayato pulled him into a hug, patting his back. He felt the wet sensation of tears soaking into his shoulder—and he himself was struggling to hold his own tears back.
When Ayato let go of him, Suina immediately walked toward Yaw-yan. Seeing the tears on his face, she smiled softly and gently wiped his cheeks with her hands.
"Always take care of yourself, Yaw-yan. The world's a dangerous place, so make sure you treasure your life. You're brave, but also equally reckless… and that's what makes you you, Yaw-yan. I'm happy to have a friend like you. I'll always treasure the memories of our time together."
Suina pulled him into a warm embrace. The two swayed slightly as they hugged.
As she let go, Yaw-yan composed himself and looked toward Amika. The smaller girl had her back turned to him, refusing to look in his direction. Not knowing what else to do, Yaw-yan decided to say his farewell.
"Amika… u-um, goodbye. I'm glad we met. And thank you for the stuff you gave me—I'll make sure to treasure it. U-um… be careful out there, okay? I don't have a Soul Core, so I won't be able to help you gu—"
He was cut off mid-sentence when Amika suddenly turned around and tackled him in a tight hug. Her head rested on his chest, and tears soaked the clothes they'd changed him into while he was asleep.
"DUMB DUMB! What are you saying goodbye for!? This isn't the last time we're gonna see each other, you dumbass! It's not like you're going anywhere! I'm coming back here! When I become strong and powerful, I'll return and bring your ass with me! I'm definitely gonna be powerful enough to take you outside this ManaLand to see the world—so just wait for me, okay!?"
This time, Yaw-yan couldn't hold back his tears. He broke into a sob and hugged Amika tightly. Suina and Ayato also began to cry, joining the hug and promising they'd return to visit him once they became strong enough.
From a distance, Yuleng watched the group of friends with a smile. She turned to Minona beside her and said, "Beautiful, isn't it? You think they'll keep their promise?"
"Yes."
Yuleng smiled at her and nodded. "You didn't even hesitate, huh? You watched them bond throughout this whole exercise… they really became that close, huh?"
Minona simply nodded again, and Yuleng let out a soft chuckle.
After saying their goodbyes, the two groups separated—Yuleng leading the trio back to Lincad Ark, while Minona stayed behind to escort Yaw-yan back to his tribe.
They waved to each other one last time. Yaw-yan stood still, watching as the backs of his friends slowly disappeared into the distance.
He lifted his head and looked up at the sky with a sigh. He was definitely going to miss them.
"We need to go now if we don't want to be late and get caught out at night."
Yaw-yan turned toward the first person he had met outside his tribe. Her usual blank expression stared back at him. He gave a silent nod, and the two of them began making their way into the forest.
End of Chapter 11