Chapter 82: Embers of Courage

I woke up.

A desolate, gray sky welcomed me. As I turned my head, I saw the familiar bed—it was my room inside the housing.

I moved my left arm, the part that had been removed by the Dark Cleric's enchantment. It moved properly. There was no trace of the wound that had been in my right chest as well.

I survived.

I had thought I might not make it back, but it seems I was one step ahead.

I got up from the bed and glanced at the clock. It was 3:45 in the early morning. Everyone in the lounge would be asleep by now.

I lay down and closed my eyes, but my mind was alert.

Finally, I gave up and went to the lounge.

Aaron was sitting on the entrance couch, his head bowed.

I sat down next to him and said, "You look terrible."

"Oh, Hyung-nim."

Aaron looked up at me. There were dark circles under his eyes.

"I'm relieved you're safe. We were all worried."

"Worried, my foot. Anyway, what kind of big battle were you going through to look so miserable?"

"I was pondering the reason we fight."

"The reason we fight?"

"After you left, the city was flooded with corpses. And..."

Aaron's expression darkened.

I didn't want him to say it; I could already guess.

Inside the city, various civilian NPCs resided. Even if they sought shelter within the city walls, there was a limit to how many could be accommodated.

The slaughter caused by the corpses must have been devastating. Jenna, Aaron, Edis, and the others probably saw it all differently.

I looked at Aaron, who was just sipping water with a grimace.

Has his stress level spiked?

If a hero repeatedly engages in combat and training without rest, their stress can accumulate excessively, leading to depression.

Alternatively, witnessing large-scale slaughters or the death of close friends during a mission can also trigger depression. Depression was one of the leading causes of sudden death.

Aaron, who had been sipping water for a while, stood up from his seat.

"I'll go inside first. Rest well, hyung-nim."

"Will you come out with that same expression tomorrow?"

Aaron let out a bitter laugh and replied, "I'll recover by tomorrow."

"Okay, go for it."

"Yes."

Aaron bowed his head to me and returned to the housing.

I sat alone in the dark lounge and hydrated.

I couldn't help but think about the person who had brought me here.

Even this time it was the same. Due to the mosaic around him, I couldn't see the rat's face properly. Only the terrible voice, scratching like metal, remained to me.

Did he say he could wait?

If I had the leisure, I would have asked the Dark Cleric who seemed like he wanted to talk to me, but I killed him.

That day, until Chloe appeared in the early morning, I couldn't fall asleep.

I had spent the night fully awake.

Now that a significant battle was over, I needed to go to lengths to reduce stress.

Originally, it was Anytng's role, but since that guy couldn't handle his business properly, there's no other way.

I spoke to Chloe, who was preparing ingredients in the kitchen, after giving me a greeting.

"Bring out all the ingredients. Cook the best dishes you can."

Chloe hesitated for a moment but soon nodded and brought out all the ingredients from the storage. The new cook who followed Chloe's lead in the kitchen also began to showcase her skills.

Breakfast was the time when everyone in the lounge gathered.

On the table were various exquisite dishes like meat, bread, salad, soup, and more.

Jenna, the first to emerge to the dining area, blinked her eyes in surprise.

"What's this? It's so fancy for breakfast."

"Why, don't you like it?"

"No! It's always welcome if this is how things have been!"

Jenna smiled and sat down.

Soon, the members of the lounge came out one by one. They were surprised once when they saw the food and twice when they saw me. It was understandable. I rarely appeared in the dining area.

The meal began.

I grabbed some bread quickly and observed my party members' faces.

Jenna seems alright, as expected. Aaron is doing well too. Eolka looks fine.

They didn't seem to be feeling great.

However, somehow, they were maintaining a fair level of composure.

I observed the members of the second party.

Both 3-star members seem fine. Asher is managing somehow.

There was compelling reason need to search for Shurn and Maekin, the fifth members of each party since even though I weren't there with them I knew they were already dead.

It was rather expected. Both of them joined late, and their levels were too low.

Dica.

*Huff*

Dica was vomiting.

Edis stood up and supported Dica, leading him away.

Mental management of the party members was also one of the leader's jobs.

The battle was fierce, but there weren't many casualties.

That might be the reason why we're currently alright.

However, it's not in perfect condition.

Stress was accumulating, even if we were aware of it.

And on that day, in the late evening when everyone returned to the housing.

"[Welcome to Pick Me Up!]"

Anytng logged in.

[Loading is complete.]

[T O U C H! (Select)]

The sky lit up.

I was sitting on a bench in the square.

I knew Anytng would come.

The inferior fire elemental stones were given as the tenth floor's clear prize.

In the warehouse, I stored the water and wind elemental stones that we had collected from the weekly dungeons.

With a lively sound, an alert popped up.

[Ace, there is a hero waiting for promotion!]

[Promotable Hero: Han()]

[Tips: To promote, you need to build the expansion building Advancement Hall in the Amalgamation Center.]

Anytng's action window appeared.

The Office tab was touched.

[You have selected the expansion building Advancement Hall for the Amalgamation Center. Would you like to build it?]

[Yes (Select)/No]

*Kururur.*

A faint vibration shook the lounge.

[The Advancement Hall has been completed! From here on, hero promotion is available.]

Then, the item synthesis window appeared.

Inside the synthesis window, red, blue, and green stones were spinning around.

[Starting item synthesis!]

[Selected Materials: Inferior fire elemental stone, inferior water elemental stone, inferior wind elemental stone]

[Finished Item: Poor quality Advancement Stone]

[Success Rate: 87%]

[Synthesis Technique: Automatic]

[Would you like to proceed with the synthesis?]

[Yes (Select)/No]

*Kudangtangtang!*

*Pixie Power!*

"Good!"

[Synthesis Complete!]

[You have obtained the Poor quality Advancement Stone!]

As the warehouse door opened, Iselle jumped out.

She held a rainbow-colored stone in her arms.

"Congratulations on your impending promotion, Master Loki!"

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