The girl's name was Myra.

Her eyes instantly filled with tears. They had been teammates for several years.

They had fought together, trained together, and survived countless dangerous missions together. Yet today, after deciding to raid this vortex, nothing had gone according to plan.

First, Cedric had been seriously injured. Then Sarah had fallen under hypnosis. And now...

Now Mika was dead.

Another member of the group controlled a massive fireball and launched it toward the snake's face.

The blazing sphere struck the monster head on. The intense heat engulfed its face, causing it to hiss in pain and retreat slightly.

The man was Rob, another B-rank SIRE just like Gorgon and Lisa.

Gritting his teeth, he shouted, "Let's kill this beast first! Otherwise, we're all going to die!"

Gorgon nodded his head slightly.

"Myra, freeze that viper's tail! Otherwise, Sarah won't be freed from the illusion."

Then he looked toward Lisa.

"Lisa, I'll protect everyone. When Rob stops the flames for a moment, don't let that monster escape. That'll be our only chance to kill it."

Lisa nodded firmly.

On the other side, Myra forced herself to calm down. For a moment, she pushed the grief of losing Mika to the back of her mind.

Raising her hand, she activated her C-rank skill, 'Ice Shackles', and aimed at the snake's tail.

At the same time, Rob continued bombarding the monster with fire, keeping its attention fixed on him. The snake hissed furiously at the terrifying flames.

The moment its attention was completely focused on the fire, Myra launched her skill.

Countless ice shackles shot forward and wrapped around the snake's tail, binding it firmly to the sandy ground. The snake, unable to swing its tail, hissed at Rob, as it couldn't see anyone due to the fire.

Gorgon immediately stepped in front of Rob and raised his massive shield to protect him.

Then Rob stopped channeling his flames.

The fire disappeared altogether.

The enraged snake instantly spat another blob of its terrifying venom toward them.

However, the attack slammed against Gorgon's shield and failed to reach its target. The shield sizzled due to the venom.

At the perfect moment, Myra tightened her control over the snake's tail. Meanwhile, Rob and Gorgon continued drawing the monster's attention.

From the side, Lisa had already finished preparing her strongest sword skill.

A sharp flash cut through the air.

Slash!

Her sword struck the snake's neck with perfect precision. The monster's scales shattered. A clean cut separated its head from its body.

The massive head crashed onto the sand. The body twitched a few times before finally falling limp.

Silence descended upon the battlefield.

Everyone collapsed onto the ground, breathing heavily from exhaustion.

But Lisa didn't even stop to rest. She knew that even though a snake's head was cut off from its body, it could stay alive for a few more hours... She immediately jumped onto the massive head and stabbed it with her sword... At that moment, the snake's eyes finally dimmed.

Myra started sobbing again, "If... if we hadn't entered this vortex, maybe... maybe Mika wouldn't have..."

"What happened to Mika?"

A groggy voice suddenly interrupted her. It sounded as though someone had just woken up from a long sleep.

Everyone turned toward the speaker.

It was Sarah.

She had finally regained consciousness and had overheard the conversation. Cedric, who was sitting beside her, placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Sarah... we couldn't do anything. What happened was an accident."

He clenched his teeth before continuing.

"Mika...He... He died. While you were under the Sand Hypnotist's control..."

"Everything happened so suddenly that none of us could do anything..."

Sarah immediately covered her mouth with both hands. Tears filled her eyes. She was the most emotional member of the group. She stood up immediately,

"No... impossible! How did it happen? Where is he? Let me go to him. Maybe I can..."

Before she could finish, a hand landed on her shoulder. Lisa had already descended from the snake's head and walked over. Sarah immediately hugged her tightly.

"There is nothing left of his body..." Lisa said softly while comforting her. "Only the place where he died remains."

Sarah broke down completely.

At that moment, everyone gathered around them.

Myra joined Sarah and hugged her as well.

The boys remained silent, but they were just as devastated as the girls. Mika had been their teammate and friend for years.

Cedric gritted his teeth.

"Why was there a Peak B-rank monster on the perimeter of the vortex? We haven't even reached the core yet. If that monster was guarding the outer area, then what is waiting for us inside the core?"

Rob's expression darkened, "We need to leave immediately."

He looked around at everyone.

"This vortex isn't normal at all. We need to report it to the authorities."

Everyone nodded.

Even Sarah and Myra stopped crying for a moment and looked toward the others. Lisa nodded her head as well.

However...No one noticed Gorgon's gloomy expression. After a few moments of silence, he finally spoke.

"We can't."

Everyone turned toward him instantly. Gorgon gritted his teeth and spoke in a heavy voice.

"We can't leave because we don't have any Vortex Stones."

The group froze.

"All of our savings were with Mika."

Silence fell over the area. Everyone knew Mika was responsible for carrying the team's belongings.

His Space Manipulator ability was far safer and more reliable than an ordinary Space Ring.

Their Vortex Stones, a special item obtained from clearing vortexes that allowed people to leave a vortex at any time... had all been stored inside his space alongside their savings.

Cedric collapsed onto the ground and grabbed his head.

"Gone..."

His voice trembled, "Everything is gone. How are we supposed to leave this damn place now?"

He clenched his fists so tightly that his hand started bleeding, "Our food, our drinks... everything was stored inside his space."

Lisa's face turned grim, "And the supplies inside our own Space Rings won't last us more than a day or two."

Gorgon also gritted his teeth.

His own B-rank shield had already been damaged. If he was forced to fight another Peak B-rank monster, his shield would completely break apart.

Although he had another C-rank shield inside his Space Ring, using it would significantly reduce his combat strength. He clenched his fists and said,

"We need to keep fighting."

His voice was heavy yet determined. If they wanted to escape this vortex, they had no choice but to continue and clear it.

"We can't just give up like this. At the very least, we need to leave a warning inside the vortex. That way, if someone enters after us, they'll find it and inform the authorities as soon as possible."

Although they were still devastated by Mika's death, everyone nodded.

Sarah walked toward the place where Mika had died a few moments ago.

Together, they built a small tomb using the surrounding sand and placed a stone on top of it.

On the other side, Cedric, Rob, and Lisa found a large sandstone boulder among the dunes.

They dragged it near a thorny plant so it would be easier to spot. Lisa then used her sword to engrave a message onto the stone.

"This vortex is abnormal. We have encountered many dangerous monsters in the surrounding area, including several Peak B-Rank monsters. We do not know what awaits us near the core.

We no longer possess any Vortex Stones and cannot leave this place.

To anyone who finds this message, return to the city immediately and inform the higher authorities about this vortex."

After completing everything, the group gathered together once more. Without another word, they continued their journey toward the center of the vortex.

They were still far away from reaching the core.

On the other side,

Aron was already rushing toward the location where the group had been fighting the Sand Hypnotist Viper.

Following his assistant's directions, he hadn't encountered a single monster since entering the vortex.

Soon, he came to a stop.

His eyes swept across the surroundings and immediately landed on a large boulder near a cluster of thorny bushes.

Aron walked over and read the message engraved into the stone. The more he read, the darker his expression became.

"Shit..."

He clenched his fists.

"This is exactly what I was worried about. They don't even have any Vortex Stones with them."

The little skeleton on his shoulder suddenly turned toward a small mound nearby, "One of them is already dead," it said without showing any expression.

It pointed toward the mound...

"They made a grave over there."

Aron immediately walked toward it.

The grave was simple, a small dune of sand with a stone placed on top as a marker. He crouched down and examined it.

With his eyes, he could clearly tell what was buried beneath the grave.

His vision had become terrifyingly powerful. After his skill advanced to the Legendary rank, his eyesight had reached an unimaginable level. If he wished, he could see even the tiniest details with absolute clarity.

In fact, if Aron truly focused, he could even observe what was happening inside an atom. Nothing could escape his sight anymore.

The grave was empty. Only a few melted remains were left inside. His expression became even grimmer.

Then suddenly,

Aron's eyes narrowed. Near the grave, he noticed a faint glowing spot in the sand. A tiny speck of dust was glowing beautifully.

Aron crouched beside the mound and grabbed a handful of sand. After sifting through it for a moment, he picked out a tiny speck of dust and held it between his fingers.

The little skeleton on his shoulder immediately snapped its head toward him, "You! You did it again!"

Its eye flames flickered wildly, "How did you find that Space Particle? And how did you know exactly where it was?"

Aron blinked in confusion... "Space Particle?"

Before the skeleton could answer, a familiar notification rang out in his mind.

[Ding!]

[Congratulations, Host, for finding a C-Rank Space Particle.]

[Would you like to store it inside the System Space?]