I turned my back on the little campfire.
Away from the living, and into the blackness of the tunnels.
The silver line of the System's waypoint pulsed in my vision, a steady, demanding heartbeat pulling me north.
Back toward the ruins.
Back toward the monsters.
My old gamer brain finally rebooted, but the logic was cold and sharp this time.
Kill stuff.
Get stronger.
Get the cure.
This wasn't some impossible, emotional drama anymore.
It was a grind.
A high-stakes gear check.
Vex was just a world boss, and his little lieutenants were the trash mobs I needed to farm to level up.
The quest to save her had just become my main scenario.
And it started right now.
I walked through the maze of tunnels for what felt like hours, my new [Unbreakable Will] skill just pushing the exhaustion away.
I didn't need rest.
I needed EXP.
The waypoint led me to a part of the undercity that opened up into the ruins of some old royal library.
Dust and busted-up stone were everywhere.
