The Bond That Even Gods Cannot Break

From the tips of their toes to the very last strand of hair, both girls screamed simultaneously as the unpleasant sensation of freezing cold swept through their bodies.

"W-We need to warm up or we'll die," Sophia exclaimed, wrapping herself in a large quantity of green moss.

"E-Even though we're underground, we might find some branches or vegetation if we explore a bit. I can make fire with that," Melissa said as she got up and pulled Sophia along with her.

"Do you know how to make fire without a lighter or matchbox, Ms. Cosmos?" Sophia was surprised by Melissa's statement, to which Melissa shrugged instead of answering. The terrain they were on was surrounded by a river, with the only way out being a cavern entrance as poorly lit as the rest of the place.

Upon entering the cave, several paths in all directions appeared. The place looked like a huge maze of caves, resembling a giant anthill. All of them had apple-like fruits hanging on green vines. Additionally, mold covered large portions of the walls.

"Are there monsters down here too?" Melissa questioned, trying to observe any presence of enemies in the corridors.

"I'm not sure, but for our safety, it's better to move assuming there are," Sophia said, observing Melissa's long ears slightly twitching due to the cold. "Now that I think about it, can't you extract moisture from the vegetation? It would save us from having to explore."

Hearing the suggestion, Melissa nodded and tried to touch one of the vines on the wall. Upon closing her eyes and concentrating for a moment, an expression of frustration appeared on her face.

"It's no use; I feel like doing that would drain all our current mana," Melissa gave up the idea upon noticing the 92/100 remaining Mana points. Reflecting on Melissa's statement, Sophia nodded, and both proceeded with caution to avoid getting lost.

"Hm... it's just a suggestion, but what do you think about activating the [Couple's Fortitude] for safety?" Sophia didn't meet the girl's eyes as she said this, but Melissa could feel her hand tightening.

Scratching her cheek with her finger, Melissa murmured, "I believe so... for safety."

For a few seconds, they considered how they should do it; the corridor was too narrow for Melissa to carry Sophia in her arms as they had done outside. Eventually, they ended up embracing each other face-to-face without looking into each other's eyes.

At that moment, both of them could feel the warmth emanating from their contact, and being so close brought back the strong memory of the intense kiss into their minds. Their hearts were racing, and each tried to calm down so the other wouldn't notice how nervous they were.

After a long minute, the message resonated in their minds.

[Couple's Fortitude activated, select attribute to increase.]

Although investing in vitality seemed tempting, they concluded that, despite being just a guess, an increase in strength might facilitate Melissa's spells. Without further ado, they continued walking down the corridor.

As they had a time limit of less than an hour to explore safely, they decided to use the five-minute warning from the skill as a reminder. If after three repetitions – equivalent to three long hugs – they found nothing, they should return.

After two hugs, their walk was interrupted by Sophia grabbing Melissa's sweatshirt.

"(I heard a noise ahead)," she said in a low voice. Immediately, Melissa positioned herself in front of the silver-haired girl.

Melissa's now emerald eyes tried to study the corridor ahead, and when she noticed the low lighting, she reached out for the glowing fruits. Within seconds, the fluorescent glow increased, revealing their opponent.

"What the heck is that?"

Sounds of branches scraping against the earthen floor marked the creature's movement, no more than a meter tall. Its body had a shape similar to a tree trunk. Roots extended from its trunk like multiple arms and legs in eerie directions. On its chest were four diamond-shaped red eyes, the same color as the leaves growing among the twisted branches. Above its body, a small translucent panel displayed a name.

"Inferior Mandrake?" Sophia took a half step back. Instead of responding to the perplexed Sophia, Melissa extended her free left hand forward again.

"Affecting living creatures is impossible then?" Her forehead creased. "Because it seems to be made of wood, I thought I could control it..."

"No more tests, do you think you can defeat it?"

With a smile that showed all her teeth, Melissa swung her arm horizontally. At that moment, three sharp roots extended from the wall and flew toward the Mandrake.

Letting out a roar, the creature lunged forward to close the distance. Two of the roots missed their target, but one hit its trunk, tearing off three of its arms.

"Damn, it's fast!"

Stepping back to maintain distance, Melissa continued to shoot the roots from underground towards the Mandrake. The creature, although small, was quick and used its roots in this tight space to swing between the walls.

With a leap, the Mandrake launched directly toward Melissa, its remaining sharp arms aiming for her heart.

"No way!"

In response to the girl's remark, two root spikes formed from the ceiling and floor of the cave. The wooden spikes pierced vertically through the Mandrake's body.

Still pinned in the air, the monster writhed for a few seconds before ceasing movement. Wiping sweat from her forehead, Melissa waved her hand, releasing the spikes holding the Mandrake, causing it to fall to the ground.

Instead of blood, a sap-like liquid oozed from the holes, sending shivers down Sophia's spine as she watched the outcome of the fight in astonishment.

[You gained experience.]

A message appeared in front of the girls announcing victory.

"Damn, that's gross," Melissa poked the defeated monster on the ground with her finger, a look of disgust on her face.

"You did really well." Squatting down slowly, Sophia congratulated the girl on her victory, but her forehead soon furrowed. "What are you doing?"

Breaking off parts of the branches that served as the monster's arms, the green-haired girl handed Sophia some pieces of wood. "This wood is dry; I can make a fire with it," Melissa opened her mouth, showing her sharp teeth with a daring smile.

"Uh... I see." Unsure how to react to the branch-like arms that had now become her responsibility to carry, Sophia simply nodded, and they both returned to the inner lake.

As the effects of the skill that would grant access to the secondary class were almost ending, the girl used the remaining mana to gather as many fruits as possible and created a small moss door separating the small lake from the rest of the cave.

After the one-hour period ended, a green flash once again illuminated the cave, and Melissa returned to normal. Looking at the system panel, the girls noticed a timer with 23 hours being counted down below the skill description.

Still feeling cold, Melissa searched for a less damp area of the ground and lined it with the red leaves she had obtained. Then, she created a small nest with green moss and grabbed one of the branches.

"Is something wrong?" Sophia asked as she watched Melissa sit down beside her. Even with her hands occupied, they were so close that their shoulders touched.

"Since we have limited resources, I'll have to create friction without tools, and well... I can't do that with just one hand, you know?" Melissa replied, holding a slightly sharpened branch over another piece of wood. Even at this short distance, their eyes didn't meet.

Understanding what she meant, Sophia opened her free palm, and they both began rubbing the pieces of wood together. It took some time to match their rhythm, and Sophia felt her palm burning as she rubbed the rough wood, but without showing any signs of faltering, she continued.

After several attempts, a small ember formed. Without wasting time, Melissa placed the small ember in the moss nest and blew gently. In a steady rhythm, the ember grew into a small flame and was deposited onto the rest of the wood, creating a small fire.

Watching in astonishment at the girl's work, Sophia couldn't help but be impressed by how skillfully and expertly Melissa had created a fire in these conditions.

"Have you... had experience with scouts?" Warming herself by the crimson flame, which didn't sway much due to the lack of wind, Sophia asked.

"No, it's just something I've picked up here and there," Melissa replied.

Sophia considered probing further, but she noticed Melissa's vacant stare as she watched the fire. Recalling how the girl had mentioned not having a smartphone, Sophia began to wonder what kind of childhood she had had.

Perhaps to keep warm, or perhaps for safety, neither of the girls tried to move away from the other, and their shoulders continued to touch even after the fire had been lit.