Morning sunlight streamed through the spotless windows into the third-floor corridor of the Academy's affiliated hospital, casting bright patches on the polished floor.
The smell of disinfectant was fainter than it had been at night, mingling with the faint aroma of food drifting in at breakfast time.
Nurses passed quietly with their medicine carts, while a few early-rising patients slowly walked the corridor with support from their families.
Everything was orderly, filled with the vitality and peace unique to daytime.
Yet the atmosphere inside private room 306 was entirely at odds with that peace.
Victoria had woken early-or rather, she had barely slept all night.
A persistent, dull ache throbbed in her injured right shoulder, but what unsettled her more was that Sylvia and Greg had not returned all night.
It's already morning... and they're still not back.
Propped against the headboard, she gazed at the gradually brightening sky outside, her gray eyes troubled and her brows unconsciously knitting.
Her worry for Sylvia was simple and intense.
Her innocent friend had little practical combat experience. Now that she had ventured deep into the dangerous, unknown depths of the Dungeon, would she encounter a threat she could not handle?
Greg seemed capable enough, but could he really keep her safe?
When Victoria thought of Greg, however, her feelings became far more complicated.
That mixture of wariness and a trace of awkward gratitude she refused to acknowledge kept her from worrying about his safety as wholeheartedly as she worried about Sylvia's.
That guy... surely he wouldn't do anything reckless?
If he dared to go, he must have some confidence...
Just as these conflicting feelings troubled Victoria, a slightly noisy flurry of conversation approached along the corridor outside, breaking the hospital's quiet.
"...Have you heard? About the Dungeon!"
"Apparently, something happened in the