"Rumble, rumble, rumble!"

The earth beneath Roland's feet was no longer shaking. It had gone mad.

The solid ground turned into a raging sea, heaving, collapsing, and tearing itself apart.

Huge chunks of earth flew into the air under some invisible force, then crashed back down. Thick trees gave tooth-aching groans and snapped at the waist like brittle reeds. Stones poured from the cracked mountainside in a hard, rolling rain.

Most deadly of all were the black mouths opening across the ground.

Bottomless fissures spread and widened at terrifying speed.

They swallowed fallen trees, scattered goods, and every unstable thing still standing on the earth.

The echo of soil and stone dropping into the abyss sounded like hell chewing with its jaws open.

"Damn it!"

Roland was thrown off balance by the violent jolts. A vicious fissure, wide enough for a carriage, bit toward Blackwind, who had collapsed to the ground, and Teresa, still kneeling nearby.

Too close. Too fast.

There was no time to think, and no room to hesitate.

"Teresa! Hold on to me!"

Roland shouted at the silver-haired woman. At the same time, power erupted through his body, and he lunged toward Blackwind, who was closer to the fissure's edge.

"Up!"

Roland roared. Both hands clamped around Blackwind's heavy saddle and mane, the muscles in his arms bulging, blue veins standing out.

The unconscious warhorse seemed to sense its master's resolve. It gave a pained neigh and kicked several times amid the mud and shaking ground.

Borrowing that faint force and the brute strength in his own body, Roland dragged his heavy companion several feet away from the collapsing edge.

That was all he could do.

Blackwind went limp again, more white foam spilling from its mouth and nose.

The fissure was already at hand, still widening.

Large chunks of soil peeled away from its edge.

Roland did not even have time to catch his breath. He turned, rolled, and threw himself beside Teresa.

She was still trapped in some unknown agony.

Her consciousness was muddled, and she barely reacted to the catastrophe descending around her.

"Sorry!"

Roland gave a low shout, slid both arms under Teresa's armpits, locked her cold, trembling body against him, and dragged her backward with all his strength.

"Ugh!"

Teresa released a pained groan.

The instant Roland dragged Teresa away from where she had been...

Crack! Rumble!

The ground under that spot collapsed with a large section of earth, sliding down into the bottomless black abyss below.

Flying stones whistled past Roland's cheek.

"Behind us is the only way out!"

Roland swept his gaze around, then dragged Teresa and kicked hard against the constantly breaking ground.

Using both hands and feet, he fought his way toward the only place that still counted as intact: the entrance of the cave where the monsters had stored their goods.

The cave entrance shed gravel as it trembled, but its structure was unusually sturdy and had not yet been torn apart.

Roland slammed his shoulder into several falling rocks, half dragging and half carrying Teresa, while using every bit of strength he had to shove Blackwind's heavy body into the cave.

"Inside! All of you, get inside!"

His hoarse roar competed with the collapsing earth.

When two people and one horse rolled in a miserable heap into the relatively safe area inside the cave...

"BOOM!!!"

Another earth-shaking crash rang out.

An enormous boulder above the cave entrance, large as a house, came down with a shriek of scraping stone and smashed onto the last small patch of open ground outside. Dust spread like thick fog in an instant.

The light was cut off.

In the depths of the cave, only the survivors' heavy breathing, Blackwind's faint and painful neighs, and the continuous rumble of the world's destruction outside remained.

"What the hell is this... the end of the world?"

Roland shook out his aching arms, his whole body tense.

The strange sound from far away had already vanished, but the rumbling outside the cave continued.

After an unknown length of time, the ground finally settled, and Roland's taut nerves loosened a little.

"Huff..."

He released a long breath and activated the white bone around his wrist. In an instant, a bright ball of light dispelled the darkness inside the cave.

By that light, he quickly checked his companions.

Blackwind lay on the ground. The foam around its mouth and nose had dried, and its chest still rose and fell faintly.

Teresa was curled in the corner, silver hair soaked with cold sweat and stuck to her pale face, but she was still breathing.

Inside the beast-hide pouch at his waist, Joe's stiff little body also twitched faintly.

They had all fallen into deep unconsciousness. For now, none of their lives were in danger.

After confirming this, Roland turned and strode toward the cave entrance sealed by the boulder.

"Bang, bang, bang!"

After several heavy strikes, his brow furrowed.

"Damn it. The way out is completely blocked. Fine..."

Roland had never been someone who sat and waited for death.

After briefly assessing the predicament, he shook his head hard, flinging away useless anxiety.

Then, relying on [Light], he turned back and examined the cave before him.

As the light advanced, the full interior unfolded before Roland's eyes.

Vast.

That was the first thought that rose in his mind.

This was not some shallow cave meant only for monsters to pile stolen goods.

The scene before him was more like an underground hall carved out from the belly of a mountain.

The cave's main space was unusually broad, and its height far exceeded the entrance.

The [Light] orb floated in the center, yet it could not fully illuminate the ceiling. It only faintly outlined the jagged stone dome above.

The goods the monsters had moved in earlier were scattered near the entrance. In this enormous space, they looked like children's toys left on the floor.

"Are these... Spell Circuits?"

Looking at the complex, interwoven lines on the illuminated cave walls, Roland frowned.

"Could this cave have avoided being affected because of these Spell Circuits?"

He did not study them in detail. Instead, he stepped deeper inside with caution.

After several dozen steps, the shape of the cave began to change.

Ahead was no longer a single huge space, but several passages of different sizes branching out like the roots of a giant tree, extending in different directions.

Roland stopped. The [Light] orb hovered above his head, illuminating the branching paths.

The passages varied in width. The broad ones could accommodate several people walking side by side, while the narrow ones allowed only one person to squeeze through sideways.

They crossed and interlocked like jagged teeth, stabbing irregularly into deeper darkness and forming a complex underground maze.

The cave walls still bore traces of violent carving or erosion, especially around the passage entrances.

Just as he held his breath and focused, an extremely faint sensation brushed across his cheek.

Wind.

It was weak enough to almost miss, but it was flowing air.

A cool thread brushed his skin, bringing freshness completely different from the stale, stagnant smell deep within the cave.

Roland's spirit lifted.

He focused his senses, listened carefully, and extended a finger, testing the airflow at different passage entrances.

"There's wind... and the directions differ..."

Roland murmured, his eyes sharpening.

"That means these passages aren't dead ends. They may connect to other exits, or even lead back to the surface."

He let out a soft breath, returned to Blackwind and Teresa's side, and sat against the wall.

Whether the passages inside the cave led outside or not, he had to wait for the others to awaken first.

If he went to investigate alone and monsters attacked, his unconscious companions would have no ability to fight back.

With that in mind, Roland opened the occupation panel again and carefully examined the golden text he had not finished reading earlier.

[Warrior occupation detected. Occupation resonance available.]

[Occupation Resonance]

[Squire + Warrior]

[Extra buff gained: Battle Will Covenant]

[Battle Will Covenant: After activating [Fighting Spirit], your mount synchronously gains attribute boosts, but will share the negative effect of your Spirit attribute decreasing. When Spirit falls too low, the mount may lose control and attack allied units]

"This one isn't bad either..."

Recalling the surge in strength after activating [Fighting Spirit], Roland nodded.

"Although my current mount is only a horse like Blackwind, so the buff doesn't look too strong, if I can tame another powerful mount in the future, this [Battle Will Covenant] will be very impressive!"

He continued looking down.

[Squire + Blacksmith]

[Extra buff gained: Keratin Release]

[Keratin Release: When activated, your mount's body surface explosively covers itself in a race-specialized keratin layer, greatly improving defense. The strength and duration of the enhancement are determined by the mount's stamina attribute and growth potential]

"Improving defense? That's also decent, but..."

Roland rubbed his chin.

"Looks like unlike resonance with other occupations, the extra buffs from [Squire] are mostly reflected in strengthening the mount rather than myself..."

His gaze moved down, and another line of text entered his eyes.

[Squire + Juggler]

[Extra buff gained: Illusory Rider Stomp]

[Illusory Rider Stomp: After active activation, every change in direction and leap made while driving your mount leaves an afterimage in place. The number and duration of afterimages depend on the mount's Agility attribute and growth potential]

"Oh?"

Seeing this description, Roland's brow lifted.

"Although it doesn't directly increase strength, the effect is quite practical... If the mount's growth potential and Agility are high enough, when riding through enemies and constantly shifting position, they won't be able to judge my exact location at all!"

His desire for a powerful mount grew even stronger.

Blackwind was of decent quality, but it was ultimately only an ordinary warhorse.

Even with the support of these extra buffs, the improvement would be limited.

"I heard Colin say before that the River Kingdoms have many races. Not only common races like Dwarves and Elves, but even Goblins, highly intelligent monsters extremely skilled in trade... Perhaps there, I can find a suitable mount..."

Just as he was thinking, a painful groan sounded beside him.

Teresa rubbed her dizzy head and sat up, looking around in confusion.

When her gaze touched Roland's face, the vigilance in her eyes faded.

"Mr. Roland, where... is this? And... what happened just now?"

After confirming that Teresa had suffered no injury aside from dizziness, Roland released a breath. Then he described everything that had happened earlier from beginning to end.

"So..."

After hearing this, Teresa's voice came out dry.

"We are trapped in the cave now?"

"Not completely..."

While checking on Blackwind, Roland saw his mount stand unsteadily. Then he pointed toward the depths of the cave.

"I investigated earlier. Although the passages inside are tangled and complex, air is flowing through them. As long as we keep moving in one direction, we should be able to return to the surface. Right..."

He opened the pouch and saw Joe groggily open his eyes, then gently rubbed the squirrel's fluffy little head.

"How do you feel now? Can you stand and walk?"

"I should... be fine."

Teresa braced both hands against the ground and stood. Feeling her slightly weak legs, she nodded.

"Then there's no time to lose. We set out now."

Roland took Blackwind's reins and stepped forward first.

"Although the earthquake has temporarily subsided, there's no guarantee it won't happen again."

Teresa looked at the ball of light floating above Roland's head, her eyes full of doubt. But she did not ask. She merely followed obediently behind.

In the silent cave, faint footsteps began to echo.

The heavy darkness made it difficult to judge the passage of time.

After an unknown length of time, once Roland identified the direction again, he kept walking and asked,

"What exactly happened just now? Why did you suddenly pass out?"

"I don't know either..."

Teresa shook her head, her face pale.

"I only felt that I heard some kind of sound. Then my mind felt like it had been struck hard by a heavy hammer. The pain was unbearable..."

"A sound?"

Hearing that key word, Roland's brow tightened.

If she meant the sound before the earthquake, he had heard it too, but he had only found it somewhat piercing and suffered no other effect.

While he was recalling it, a familiar sensation came from not far ahead.

Roland extended a hand at once to stop Teresa behind him, while controlling the ball of light to scout forward.

On the ground, he saw dense black patterns, exactly the same as those he had seen in Joe's forest.

That cold, rotten aura containing death was also identical, only far less concentrated than it had been in the forest.

Roland took a deep breath. After confirming that he had no abnormal reaction such as tightness in his chest, he scowled.

Every fork in the road ahead had black patterns spreading through it.

"Teresa, do you feel anything strange?"

Seeing the silver-haired woman shake her head, Roland said in a low voice,

"Stay close to me. If you notice anything abnormal, tell me immediately."

"All right, Mr. Roland."

Although she did not understand why Roland was being so cautious, Teresa still nodded.

Fortunately, nothing strange happened as they continued forward.

Although those black patterns kept extending ahead, they did not become thick and dense like those in the forest.

Before long, Roland and the others arrived at the end of the path.

Piercing light poured down from the opening above. Along with it came waves of noise.

Weapons colliding. Humans shouting. Monsters roaring.

Roland's heart sank.

They had found an exit, but outside was clearly not peaceful.

"Teresa, stop."

He immediately lowered his voice and made a gesture for silence. His body pressed close to the cold rock wall as he warily looked upward.

He quickly recalled the ball of light to avoid exposing their position.

Teresa held her breath. Even Blackwind seemed to sense its master's tension and stamped a hoof uneasily.

"There's fighting above. The situation is unclear."

Roland's voice was extremely low, carrying unquestionable gravity.

"Stay here for now and keep quiet. I'll go up and look."

"Remember, unless there is no other choice, or unless I come back and call you, do not come out."

"Then I'll leave it to you, Mr. Roland. Please be careful."

Teresa's eyes were full of concern, but feeling that her body had not fully recovered, she also understood this was the safest course.

Roland nodded and said no more.

He moved his hands and feet, confirming the climbing route.

Although the cave wall was steep, it was not without handholds.

After taking a deep breath, he climbed upward as nimbly and silently as a gecko, his movements careful, disturbing as few loose stones as possible.

The closer he came to the opening, the clearer and harsher the noise of battle became.

The air was filled with the thick smell of blood and dust.

Finally, his eyes cautiously peered over the edge of the cave opening.

Before him was a relatively open stretch of flat ground, but now it had become a chaotic battlefield.

More than a hundred human soldiers in standard armor, wielding spears and shortswords, had formed a loose circular formation and were bitterly holding on.

Their opponents were a monster army of all shapes and kinds.

Goblins, Kobolds, Gnolls...

Mixed among them were quite a few mutant monsters.

The soldiers' spears stabbed against the hard scales of the Mutant Kobolds, but often left only shallow white marks and struggled to cause fatal wounds.

Soldiers screamed and fell beneath the monsters' attacks, and the battle line was on the verge of collapse.

Just as Roland's gaze swept across the battlefield to assess the situation, his sight was drawn to the edge of the battlefield, farther away in the sky.

Beneath the lead-gray sky, a blurry figure so vast it was suffocating glided across the heavens.

The distance was too great for him to see specific details. He could only see an outline enormous as a mountain range.

That thing possessed an unimaginable wingspan. Each powerful beat of its wings seemed to stir the clouds high above, casting down a shadow that made the heart crack with fear.

Its flight carried an ancient and heavy majesty. Merely existing, it emitted an invisible pressure that made the soul tremble.

Roland's pupils contracted to the limit, and all the blood in his body seemed to freeze in that instant.

Was that... a Dragon?

An unprecedented chill shot up his spine and rushed straight to the top of his head.