"Hmmm... this is..." Nox was at a loss for words as he took in the view before him.


    After using the [Dimensional Key], Nox had expected to appear on solid ground. Instead, the door opened in mid-air above a ck sea. The moment he stepped out, he found himself plummeting into the dark waters below.


    ''Dammit, why are these dimensions always so weird?'' Nox cursed as he braced for impact. Falling from such a height would really hurt, and he couldn''t help but imagine the worst.


    What if he used the [Dimensional Key] and a simr situation urred, but instead of a sea, it was a raging volcano? Nox momentarily forgot he was still falling from a great altitude.


    ''This thing is going to get me killed one day,'' he thought, just as his body mmed into the ck sea, causing a surge of water to shoot upward. As expected, Nox felt intense pain.


    Though he fell into the sea, it felt as if he had mmed into concrete. Though he couldn''t see, Nox was certain that a few of his internal organs had shifted from their usual ces.


    Despite the pain, Nox pursed his lips and swam upward with all his might. His body had sunk rtively deep into the water. While it wasn''t as deep as the ocean, it still required at least five minutes of intense swimming before he could reach the surface.


    Having swum in the Luminary River several times before, Nox was adept at swimming, so the swimming itself wasn''t much of an issue. The real problemy in his ribs, which hurt badly.


    After what felt like an eternity, Nox finally broke through the surface and spat out blood. He coughed for a few seconds before looking around.


    There was nond in sight. All that greeted him was an endless expanse of water.


    ''I hope there''snd somewhere. If this entire dimension is made up of water, then I''m doomed,'' Nox thought in horror as he started swimming south.


    Unbeknownst to him, a shark-like beast with a glowing green crystal on its forehead was following the trail of blood he had left behind.


    Thirty minutes flew by, and Nox was still swimming, his stamina depleting by the second.


    [80%/100%]


    And there was still nond in sight.


    "Okay, let''s go a bit more," Nox muttered, still trying to stay optimistic. One hourter:


    [60%/100%]


    ''Dammit...my arms are getting sore,'' Nox''s expression began to turn grim. ''When will this end? Could it be that this ce is entirely made of water?''


    If that was the case, he had wasted the [Dimensional Key] usage, and now he''d have to wait three more days to use it again.


    ''I can''t wait three more days,'' Nox thought as he watched his stamina gradually decrease. Fortunately, just then, he spotted an ind.


    As soon as he saw it, adrenaline coursed through him, and he picked up his pace. Eventually, he reached the shores of the ind.


    Gasp! Gasp!


    Noxy on his stomach, gasping for breath. For a moment, he had thought he would continue swimming in circles until the two-hour duration passed, allowing him to use the key once more to leave the dimension. But fortunately, it didn''te to that.


    Nox continued lying on the sandy ground for a few more minutes. His muscles were sore, desperately pleading for him to sleep...something he couldn''t afford to do. Who knew what kind of dangerous beasts lurked on this ind?


    Staggering to his feet, Nox stiffly turned around to look at the ind where he hadnded, but what he saw made him gasp in shock.


    ---


    Somewhere in Coastal City, an elderly couple was tending to a girl with white hair. The girly motionless on a mattress, her face extremely pale and her lips dry. The only indication that she was alive was the steady beating of her heart.


    "Darling, are you sure she''ll be fine?" the elderly woman asked her husband, watching the white-haired girl with concern. A few days earlier, they had found the girl near their home.


    Since their house was on the lower side of Coastal City, close to the cliff, they suspected she had fallen from there. After all, it wasn''t umon. When they found her, she was almost frozen.


    Later, they discovered a gaping hole in her stomach. Being mundanes unustomed to fighting, they were extremely horrified.


    But seeing that she was still alive, the wife had insisted they take her in, despite her husband''s vehement protests. After bringing her home, they called for a healer to close the wound on her stomach, yet the girl had yet to awaken from heratose state.


    The elderly woman was beginning to worry that the girl might die.


    "The healer said she''ll be fine in a few days. Let''s just wait a little longer," the elderly man with white hair and a beard replied, stroking his wife''s naturally white hair. His words seemed to work, and she visibly rxed.


    "You know, if Anna were alive, she''d be the same age as this girl," the woman said, staring at the white-haired girl, who bore a striking resemnce to someone she once knew.


    "Yes, they would be the same age," the man agreed, flicking a tear from his eye. He didn''t like talking about this topic.


    A few years ago, a magical beast had killed their daughter. The elderly man suspected this was why his wife had insisted on saving the girl; she reminded her so much of their lost daughter.


    The stranger even had their family''s white hair, a trait inherited from the woman''s sister, whom she hadn''t heard from in decades.


    ---


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