Tight.

It was the one thing that occurred to him, and that made him wary.

It should have resulted in a violent reaction, but he remained calm.

His ears twitched first, trying to pick up anything in the surroundings, but they didn't.

All was creepingly quiet, and in the next moment, a blue flicker crossed through the darkness as he opened his eyes.

Now he could see more of his surroundings, and it was dark.

There was a thick stone wall behind him, while before him was what seemed like a wall, but not a stony one.

In the next moment, his hands reached forward, and he touched the wall before him.

That was enough to make him realize what it was, and in the next moment, Everlearn pushed at the wall, watching it shift and fall downwards.

He stepped out into the light after, plummeting to the ground but landing on his feet.

When he did, he looked up and finally realized why things had been tight.

He was inside a stone bookshelf, concealed behind a row of hard-covered books that were nearly as tall as he was.

Looking around, he quickly recognized it.

This was the same room he had been in during his last nightmare.

The room of the little girl, Griffene.

'But I was sleeping in the cage… how did I end up waking in the shelf?'

He mused quietly, and that was when his eyes drifted to the side of the bed, and there was the cage he ought to be in, except half of it had been flattened to the ground, ruined as if a leg had stepped on it.

He walked closer to it, eyeing the irregularity for a moment before he stepped out of the room.

Looking into the living room, it was as still as a grave, and even stepping outside, Everlearn found nobody at all.

Not even a single giant.

But he found something else.

The gigantic horse-like beast that Grilda had ridden was currently dead.

In its stomach was a two-meter-long spear that had been torn through its belly as it lay covered in blood and sand.

He walked toward it and pulled up the spear from the creature's belly.

The second he did, the spear glowed a dim crimson light, its source from the runes carved on the handle.

"Arcane?" he mused in quiet shock.

What was more, the spear was his size, and Everlearn immediately understood.

"This isn't the work of the giants."

The giants were tall.

Even their kids were up to seven meters tall.

There was no way they would be using a two-meter spear.

He had seen what spears looked like before from Gorionda's workshop; they were even more enormous.

That meant whoever owned this spear, which was used to kill the horse, was no giant.

He walked with the spear, moving out to the wider settlement, and everything was quiet as a grave.

There were many objects scattered over the streets.

The beasts of burden were all slaughtered, a spear through their stomach, and gigantic lines dragged upon the ground, most giant-shaped.

By the time Everlearn reached the settlement's front gate, he understood exactly what had happened.

The settlement had been invaded and ransacked.

Like when bandits entered settlements in those ancient books and ransacked everything.

That was exactly what had happened here.

And the confirmation of it was the footsteps at the gate.

Footsteps of beasts, and humanoid ones.

They were easy to mistake for giant footsteps, but Everlearn realized they weren't; his own foot fit perfectly behind them.

"So they got attacked, huh?"

"Griffene must have hidden me within the shelves, and maybe that's why I'm still here."

"I wonder how long it has been since then," he mused to himself, before his eyes turned to the footsteps.

The footprints were still visible, leading far into the distance.

Most likely, if he followed them, he should be able to find whoever was responsible.

But the problem was the breeze he could see brewing in the distance.

That breeze could have wiped off the footsteps.

If he went now and lost them, he would have left the settlement and would be lost in the wilderness again.

It seemed best to stay in the settlement and explore for now, but then the panel flashed.

[Main Quest Issued]

[Mission: Find The Missing Ronkhasa Giants!]

[Rewards:

1. +10 Level Up Cards

2. +70,000 EXP!

3. Shop Tab Will Be Unlocked!]

"So, you're awake this time, huh?" he mused, but then, looking down the panel, a glint crossed through his eyes.

Not from the first two rewards, but the last one.

The Shop Tab!

It was the only tab that had remained locked from the very start, and Everlearn had long looked forward to the day it would finally be accessible.

Yet now, here it was, being given as a reward.

But it wasn't all just reward.

[Punishment:

The Shop Will Be Lost Forever!]

[Mission Difficulty: Insanity!]

His decision to stay back and try to gather more information was immediately thrown out the window.

The longer he waited, the more likely the footsteps were to be erased by the wind.

He stepped into the house closest to him, and when he came out, Everlearn was covered by a thick, dark robe.

These garments shielded against the harsh winds, and this one even had a connected hood, making it resemble a hoodie.

With a thick robe over his shoulders and a runic spear in his hands, he steps out into the chaotic desert wind in search of giants, with the only map being their footsteps and that unknown.

_______

A/N:

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