Rin had been awake for a while, and he had heard Shelly’s confession. All he felt after hearing her talk about stopping time was embarrassment.

Since he did not want to make the situation even more awkward, he decided to pretend he had only heard the last part so that Shelly would not feel uncomfortable.

She was currently covered in monster blood and looked a little pitiful, so Rin decided to pat her head. He did not mind getting monster blood all over his hand if it was for Shelly’s sake.

"There is no need to feel gloomy. Everything will be just fine. You should go to sleep now. I will take the next shift."

Rin reassured Shelly as he helped her lie down. Shelly complied with him, but she looked wide awake and showed no signs of falling asleep.

An awkward silence followed as Rin kept waiting for Shelly to drift off, but she never did. So he decided to talk to her to help her relax.

"Are you not tired? You even fought monsters for our sake. You must want to sleep now."

Rin pointed this out, but Shelly replied instantly.

"Maybe it’s because I killed so many monsters, but I am wide awake right now. So if you want to sleep, I don’t mind taking your shift as well."

It was a tempting offer, and Rin was tired enough to almost accept it. But that would not be fair to Shelly, who had already done her part.

"No, it’s fine. Just close your eyes, even if you are not tired. I am sure sleep will come to you soon." 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Rin placed a hand over Shelly’s eyes to force them shut. Shelly did not protest, and within minutes, her breathing evened out. Her body had finally decided it was safe enough to rest for the night.

Once Shelly fell asleep, Rin remained awake alone in the darkness. He blinked as he looked up at the dungeon’s dark sky before noticing the small monsters lingering nearby.

But unlike Shelly, he did not go out of his way to chase them down and simply waited for his shift to end.

The system was quiet as well, making this one of the rare moments when Rin had nothing bothering him.

It was the perfect time to gather his thoughts.

"I cannot believe my most peaceful night is inside a dungeon."

Rin commented, but it was true. For the first time, he felt as if there were no boundaries holding him back and he could freely think about his life and everything that had happened.

Honestly, the apocalypse was already well underway. They had already reached the sixth task, but it was only now beginning to sink in that the world had truly ended.

Soon, monsters would become a common sight outside the settlements, and going out would become increasingly dangerous. The real challenge had yet to begin.

"But how do I know all of this? The original story...how much of it did I read? When did I read it? I cannot remember...Ugh, my head."

Rin rarely got headaches, but when he did, they were severe.

His doctor had once told him they were likely a psychological response and warned him not to push himself too hard if he wanted to avoid complications.

Rin had ignored his doctor’s advice before and had ended up losing consciousness several times. That had been before the apocalypse started.

But now, suddenly blacking out could easily get him killed.

So Rin forced himself to stop thinking so hard.

He slowly calmed down and relaxed his body.

Since he was currently on watch and other lives depended on him, he had no time to dwell on useless thoughts. Rin needed to stay focused until his shift ended and someone else could take over.

Thankfully, he made it through the night and woke Albus when it was his turn.

Albus did not complain and quietly took over. Rin fell asleep the second his head touched the soft pillow he had packed in his inventory.

...

Morning arrived before Rin was ready for it. The monster population began to return, and it was time for their group to start moving again.

The tension was high, and the closer they got to the volcano, the heavier the pressure became.

The potion was still helping them endure the heat, but the temperature was growing too intense for it to work properly.

"So, what are we supposed to do here?"

Albus asked as they finally reached a point where they could see the volcano’s peak.

"We need to throw the core into the active volcano and wait for it to hatch. But we also need to be careful because the guardian spirit will need some time to gather its thoughts. It will go rogue during that period and attack anyone it sees."

Rin reminded everyone of what he had read in the materials Madam Yao had provided. They had all already read the information, but hearing it again helped reinforce the plan.

Serena was the one most at risk, but she still stepped forward first and raised her sword.

"I will clear a path for all of you to move ahead. Since I am the most at risk here, I would rather stay as far away from the core as possible."

Even though Serena said that, the look in her eyes was almost feverish. Rin had a feeling he could not fully trust her right now.

"Let me stay behind and help you too. There are too many monsters for you to break through alone. Shelly and Rin can move ahead and throw the core into the volcano."

Albus added, and no one argued with him.

They did not have time to waste debating, and once the plan was decided, they moved immediately.

Rin and Shelly used the path Albus and Serena cleared for them to push toward the summit. But it was far from an easy journey.

There were monsters waiting near the top, and they became aggressive the second they noticed Rin and Shelly approaching.

The creatures were strong and relentless, but not strong enough that Shelly could not handle them.

"Rin, keep running and leave these monsters to me. I will find a way to hold them back somehow."

Shelly promised as she intercepted the monsters. She was asking Rin to trust her, and Rin did trust her.

So he nodded at Shelly and sprinted toward the center of the volcano.

He had only one goal now— to throw Alex’s core into the volcano.