After the terrifying roar of the Abyssal River Drake, sleep no longer had any meaning for Lian.
Every time he closed his eyes, two images appeared before him: Kain’s critical condition and the massive army of monsters that had surrounded the base.
In the end, he only rested for a few hours and woke up before the sun fully rose.
As soon as he saw that his skill’s cooldown had finished, he got up.
And after waking up, he realized that he was not the only one who could not sleep or rest properly.
All the awakened ones in the base had been unable to get proper rest because of worry.
The guards and many of the groups formed for the defense of the base were still making final preparations for the start of a large conflict.
The atmosphere of the base was heavier than ever.
There was no longer any sign of the excitement and joy after the cleansing operation.
Instead, anxiety could be seen on everyone’s faces.
Hunters were moving around in a hurry.
Emergency notifications were flashing on the holographic screens, and in every corner, there was talk of the siege and the monsters outside the walls.
But Lian’s mind was locked on another matter: Kain.
He went to the academy information center without wasting any time.
The information center was busier than ever.
Employees were going back and forth between dozens of emergency requests.
Hunters were checking route information, commanders were receiving patrol reports, but Lian went straight to the student terminals.
He opened Kain’s file once again, and then started searching.
All registered missions, all exit routes, all patrol reports, all traces, and even reports of monsters that had been seen in the past week.
Hours passed, but he found almost nothing.
It was as if Kain had disappeared after leaving the base.
Like a ghost, like someone who had never existed.
Lian leaned back in his chair quietly.
He felt helpless.
If he could not even find his movement path, how was he supposed to save him?
He had no clues.
Even if he somehow managed to get out of this base and the siege, how was he supposed to find his foolish friend in such a vast world?
He could be anywhere! Practically anywhere!
At that moment, a voice was heard from beside him.
"Still looking for your friend?"
Lian raised his head.
One of the senior officials of the information department was standing in front of him.
A middle-aged man with holographic glasses and a tired face.
Lian just nodded.
"His condition is critical."
The man was silent for a few moments and then sighed.
"In normal circumstances, I could not show you this information, but now the circumstances are not normal."
"In normal circumstances, when a student’s condition is in danger, we form a committee to save him."
"But as you can see, the situation is not such that a committee can be formed, and even if your friend is in danger, I doubt you can do anything."
"If I knew which direction he went, I might have a chance." Lian looked at him and said quietly.
"Maybe I can help you." The middle-aged man thought for a moment and then nodded.
A few minutes later, new access was opened on Lian’s terminal.
This time, information appeared that had previously been hidden.
Internal logs, emergency tracking, and the last points where a weak signal from Kain had been received.
And for the first time... the map began to change.
A faint line appeared on the screen, showing the movement path and direction: northwest, much farther than the normal range of student missions.
Lian remained motionless for a few seconds, because he recognized that path.
Very well.
It was the same direction that Seraphina and her group had returned from.
The same area where the signs of an ancient ruin had been found.
"No..." a whisper escaped his mouth.
His mind began to analyze the information at high speed.
Kain was foolish, but not so foolish as to enter a death zone without reason.
Kain loved exploration, loved discovering things that others could not find.
He had studied the Ruined Realms for countless hours, of course after him.
Maybe even more than most academy students.
If anyone could guess the existence of an ancient ruin from a few broken pillars and a few worn signs... that person was Kain, still after him.
And if there really was a ruin there... there was a high chance he had entered it alone.
Lian quietly clenched his fists.
"Damn it..." The more he thought about it, the more logical this possibility seemed.
And that made him even more worried.
A few minutes later, he left the information center.
There was only one person who could give him more information about that area.
Seraphina.
The student council’s location had almost turned into a military warehouse.
Boxes of equipment, armors, weapons, potions, magic scrolls, and everywhere was full of activity.
The council members were preparing for the possible defense of the base.
When Seraphina saw Lian, she immediately realized that something had happened, and her smile faded.
"What happened?"
Lian explained all the information: Kain’s critical condition, the northwest route, and its possible connection to the ancient ruin.
The more he spoke, the more serious Seraphina’s face became.
When he finished, a few seconds of silence passed between them.
"Wait... you want to leave the base?" Seraphina then said slowly.
Lian nodded.
"Now? In the middle of this siege?"
Lian gave the same answer again, a quiet nod.
Real worry could be seen in Seraphina’s eyes.
Not the worry of a classmate, not the worry of a mission companion, but the worry of a friend.
"Then I am coming too."
"No." Lian answered almost immediately.
"Lian—"
"No." He spoke more firmly this time.
"This is a rescue mission.
If Kain is really there, we do not know what he has faced."
Seraphina fell silent, and she knew he was right.
In the end, she just sighed.
"Okay... but take care of yourself."
Then she gave Lian everything she knew about those ruin signs and their location.
That was the least she could do to save their friend.
Lian thanked her and then changed the subject and asked.
"What about the request for help from neighboring bases?"
The base commanders had sent requests for reinforcements.
"The commanders sent requests for reinforcements, but the nearest base is very far.
It will take at least two to three days for the forces to arrive."
Lian frowned, two to three days was a very long time.
"And there is no guarantee that the base will survive until then." Seraphina said this more quietly, but its impact was not less.
Lian thought about the base’s massive walls, about the army of monsters outside, about that level thirty-five monster, and finally he took the possibility of the base falling seriously, but he was not worried.
He was sure that if the situation became too dire, the base definitely had emergency protocols to deal with it.
He was not worried about the base.
First, before leaving, he planned to make a significant contribution, and second, he knew that bases always had ready-made procedures for such conditions.
The question was just how bad the situation would get.
This base should be able to hold out for days without problems.
After all, all those defensive arrays were not for beauty and decoration.
After saying goodbye, he went straight back to his room.
He closed the door and just sat in silence for a few minutes.
Then he looked at the Devourer egg that was in his storage space.
The same massive egg, the same red and black veins, and the same calm pulse.
He did not say anything, just looked at it in silence.
In the end, he kept it inside the storage space.
If there was any safer place than that, he did not know it.
No one could see it, no one could touch it, and more importantly... no one could sense its presence.
Even those monsters, maybe when they could no longer find or sense the egg, they would lift the siege.
But right when he was preparing his equipment... the ground shook.
Boom!
A massive explosion.
Then a second explosion.
Then a third.
Screams rose from outside, and new sirens sounded, louder than before, more dangerous than before, and all the room’s screens suddenly turned on.
A red notification appeared on them.
[Emergency Alert]
[Outer Defensive Line Breached]
For a few seconds, time stopped, then the sound of more explosions was heard.
The monsters had finally launched their attack.
Lian immediately went to the window and saw the scene outside.
The sky was lit up with blue lightning, and columns of fire were rising from different parts of the base.
Explosions were happening one after another, and hundreds of Thunder Spine Serpents had charged onto the defensive walls.
The roars of the monsters had filled the entire base.
Lian stared at that hell for a few seconds, then turned back toward the room’s door, placed his hand on the handle, and whispered under his breath.
"I hope you are still alive when I get there, Kain."
At that same moment, the sound of another explosion shook the entire building, and outside... the battle for the base’s survival had begun.