The Bond That Even Gods Cannot Break

"No, no! What is this?" Sophia's screams echoed through the small cave, her silver hair waving so forcefully that it hit Melissa's face.

Using her bound hands to pull Sophia against her body, Melissa said in an irritated tone, "Don't go losing your damn mind now, snow curls!"

Hearing Melissa's confident and loud voice right in front of her was enough to calm Sophia. Taking a moment to catch her breath, her icy and calm demeanor returned to her face.

"Okay, we need to plan what to do. Ms. Cosmos, using your knowledge, could you fill me in on what this is?"

Seeing how quickly her desperate speech turned formal made Melissa whistle in surprise. She then began to speak.

"Well, if it's like a game, HP would be the abbreviation for health points, in others words, the amount of life we have. Mana is linked to the ability to use magic. Strength, agility, and so on are all self-explanatory."

Putting her free right hand on her messy silver hair, Sophia straightened it slightly before speaking. "What would the class be?"

"I think it's a job. It would usually be something like swordsman, mage, or blacksmith. However, I've never seen one of these in any of the games I've played."

Melissa's gaze focused on the class line [Hedonistic Ritualist]. Somehow, the panel recognized the interest, and another window appeared in both of their views.

---

Hedonistic Ritualist.

The proximity with your lover transcends the barriers of death. The love and relationship of both will be the foundation of strength to overcome the adversities they will encounter.

Class Abilities: 2

Lover's Comfort.

A mouth-to-mouth kiss from your lover will grant an HP increase. A full minute of a complete kiss will recover 10 HP. The intensity of the kiss may influence the speed of healing.

Couple's Fortitude.

The bond of lovers is the most powerful weapon! Embracing your lover for a full minute grant a 5-point increase in any attribute for five minutes. No cooldown. Cannot be stacked.

---

Both girls blushed red upon reading the description that had just appeared.

"Lovers? What do you mean by snow curls being my lover?"

"K-Kissing?"

The way they expressed surprise was different from each other, but both were in shock.

"Hedonism was really a reference to the pursuit of pleasure..."

Placing both hands on her now warm face, Sophia murmured low in embarrassment. However, she belatedly realized that covering her face with both hands meant taking Melissa's hand along.

"Okay, damn it, fine," Melissa, as always, used profanity while analyzing the situation, seemingly unfazed by the fact that her right hand had been stolen. "The 'ritualist' part must refer to this ability... The hug seems acceptable..., but I have no interest in testing the kiss, and I'm sure you don't either."

Melissa looked at Sophia, who was using three hands to cover her face. Finally understanding what the brown-haired girl was talking about, she agreed.

"Yeah, we don't need to test that."

After the shock of reading the initial class description, they calmed down. Melissa then continued the conversation, as she seemed to be the one who understood the situation the best.

"Assuming we didn't experience a hallucination from dying earlier, if this isn't a huge prank, it's obviously another world," she crossed her arms, "both because of this 'system' and the mentions of magic and abilities."

Hearing Melissa's words, Sophia shivered. Going to another world was not necessarily something that excited her.

"Alright, so our only choice is to go through the door and proceed; maybe we'll find a way back."

Agreeing with Sophia, both headed towards the door and pushed it open. On the other side, a long stone corridor stretched endlessly as far as the eye could see.

After walking at a moderate pace, they finally spotted what must be natural light. In unison, they shouted with joy and ran towards the light.

When they reached what seemed to be an exit, the view once again surprised them. The two girls were greeted not by a sunny field, but a vast forest of strange, glowing trees.

[1st Floor - Fluorescent Forest]

[Floor Mission - Cross the Fluorescent Forest]

What both girls agreed to call the system sent another window with a notification.

Still at the cave's exit, the girls could get a good view of the greenish sea in front of them. All of the trees had a mushroom-like shape and were at least eight meters tall. The leafy roof partially blocked the view from above, but it was undeniable that it was not a sky above them but a smooth ceiling of black bricks. Some white crystals were on the ceiling, covering the entire floor with light.

The soft, rhythmic creaking of branches and leaves brushing against each other should have been pleasant. However, the sight of large fluorescent green lanterns, the size of watermelons, hanging like fruits on the trees was strange enough to be unsettling. They were oval-shaped and emitted a greenish glow, a radioactive appearance that sent shivers down anyone who looked.

"Indeed, it lives up to its name," Melissa joked, exploring the leaves with her gaze.

"So... is this a ruin?" Sophia asked.

"I think we've really confirmed the hypothesis of being another world," Melissa said, starting to walk, dragging Sophia by the hand.

"Yes," Sophia agreed. "Fortunately, it gave us a goal. The system pointed out the fact that there is an exit. Since it used the term 'cross,' we should traverse the forest. Also, the warning indicates that we are on the first floor, so we should look for the entrance to the next one."

"I'm starting to not dislike how quickly you think, snow curls," Melissa retorted.

"I do have a name, you know? Sophia Lantana!"

"Yes, yes, princess. Now let's go!" She quickened her pace. "I have no reason to think that a forest in another world will be friendly."

Agreeing with the statement, both began to explore the area. The trees, although enormous, were well-spaced, reducing the risk of getting lost or walking in circles.

"Our primary priority is to find shelter, the secondary is water, and finally, food," Sophia asserted as Melissa led the way.

"Why not focus on water first? I mean, even I'm dying of thirst now," Melissa asked.

Avoiding a hole in the uneven ground, where she couldn't even see the bottom, Sophia replied.

"We can survive up to three days without water, but if we encounter a wild animal while resting, we might not last a single night." Explaining her reason to Melissa, the woman in a red sweatshirt had no choice but to agree.

A significant part of the vegetation on the ground was low, barely reaching the ankles, with some bushes forming a distorted greenish wall. Additionally, the floor seemed to consist of two levels, as it was possible to find small cracks and holes in the ground.

They walked for about an hour. From what they could observe, the large forest inside the cave still extended for tens of kilometers. Sophia concluded that it would take at least two days of walking to go from one end to the other.

Melissa was about to consider climbing a tree to check if the watermelon-sized lanterns were edible when she noticed a strange reaction from Sophia.

"Something wrong?" Noticing that she was breaking out in a cold sweat, Melissa approached.

"Hm... It's something we didn't discuss before... What will we do if we need to... go to the bathroom?"

It took a few seconds for Melissa's gaze to shift from Sophia's nervous face to their joined hands. When she finally understood, she couldn't help but laugh.

"Haha! Do you need to go now? Is it number one, or would it be number two?" Melissa began laughing at the situation. However, seeing how Sophia's blue eyes were only trembling more, she realized she had gone too far.

"Uh...! I'm sorry..." Hearing Melissa genuinely apologize was something Sophia didn't expect to hear, making her wear a shocked expression. "Okay, let's go near that tree. I'll turn around, and I swear I won't look. After all, you'll have to do the same for me later."

Sophia realized how red Melissa was explaining what they had to do. She could tease the girl now, but there was no time for that.

Doing as agreed, Sophia knelt down, and Melissa turned around. As their hands were together, the brown-haired girl had to crouch a bit, trying her best to pay attention to another direction.

After a while, the sound of liquid was heard, and Melissa pushed it to the back of her mind to distract herself by focusing on creating the status window again.

Sophia finished what she had to do quickly and stood up.

"Something wrong?" Sophia asked the confused Melissa, who was observing the status window.

"Well... in all the games I've played, statistics were set individually. So, I started thinking about what it means to have them shared for both of us." As Melissa pointed out, at the top of the spreadsheet, both names were visible on the same line, meaning they shared the same characteristics.

Upon hearing the answer, Sophia also began to wonder about the reason. Thinking of something, she spoke with uncertainty.

"Could we be treated by the dungeon as a single entity?" She raised the hands that were bound. "So... if we share all attributes, it means we will progress equally, but... considering that HP is our life and if one of us receives fatal damage..."

"Both of us die," Melissa concluded dryly.

The idea of sharing the same fate wasn't the most pleasant sensation for the girls. They would have liked some time to reflect on it, but the dungeon didn't give them that time.

"Did you hear that?" Sophia commented.

"Hear what?" Melissa observed as Sophia leaned her ear against the nearby tree, a look of doubt on her face.

"It's high-pitched... and it's increasing in volume."

Since it was a cave, there shouldn't be the concept of day and night, but as if by magic, the light was diminishing to points. In an instant, only the glow of the lanterns on the trees illuminated everything, and at that moment, a loud buzzing resonated.

The sound was uncomfortable, and somehow, it seemed to echo throughout the forest.

"Is this... a beehive?" Sophia asked, covering one of her ears with her free hand. The noise was so loud that it seemed to vibrate the air itself.

After a few seconds, the infernal sound stopped, but the unwelcome surprises didn't.

Slowly, from each lantern, a large white and fluorescent bee emerged. They were the same size as the lantern they came from, so they were hundreds of times larger than a common bee. Each of them had sharp mandibles on what could be considered their face and broad antennae. In their thorax, four forewings and four hindwings vibrated to maintain their flight. Instead of a single stinger at the rear end, four fluorescent stingers were positioned on each leg.

The frightening sight made both girls startle, and they began to run. In all directions, dozens of bloodthirsty bees sought their lives.