Jax’s oddly grating laughter echoed throughout the castle. But he didn’t stop there. He continued,

"Or maybe we can use him as bait. The lunatics in the livestream chat said that if I can learn more about the castle, my credits will increase much more than everyone else’s after I leave this place."

[...]

[Someone actually picked such a stupid option?]

[Anyone who stuffs themselves like a pig in a dungeon definitely won’t make it out alive.]

[He really has no respect for the viewers at all.]

[He’s definitely going to die.]

The mocking and angry comments continued to flood the screen. At that moment, another sound suddenly rang out.

It was Nick. He pushed his chair back slightly.

Standing up, he looked at Jax and slowly said, "You’d better not lay a single finger on Silvanus."

He looked strange now, or rather, different. The energetic presence he always carried was gone. He simply stared at Jax and made that declaration.

For a moment, it felt as though Jax’s heart had been suspended in midair. Yet his mouth still couldn’t stop chewing. After the initial shock hit him like a stab wound, resentment quickly surged back into his chest.

This idiot was really turning against his own kind for the sake of an NPC?!

Why didn’t this thing just die on the first day?!

Damn it!

Faced with Jax’s furious glare, Nick said nothing more. Instead, he turned to Silvanus and gently asked,

"Silvanus, are you feeling better now?"

Silvanus gave a slight nod before unable to hold back his question.

"Nick, what’s wrong with you?"

Nick shook his head and replied softly,

"It’s nothing..."

Elya adjusted her glasses, the corner of her lips curling upward slightly. Her eyes openly lingered on Silvanus.

She wondered what was so special about Silvanus besides that face.

The Existence that had promised to protect her had also instructed her to eliminate him. Even Nick, an ordinary person, was willing to put himself in danger just to protect him.

At that moment, Silvanus suddenly looked back and happened to meet Elya’s gaze.

He seemed to pause for a moment before asking in confusion,

"Elya, aren’t you eating breakfast?"

Elya smiled and noticed that Nick had also turned to look at her. She replied softly,

"I don’t have a habit of eating breakfast."

That was true, but they hadn’t eaten anything all night. Even Nick could feel his stomach growling today. Not to mention that this roast pig smelled so delicious. Was there really anyone who could resist eating it?

If Silvanus hadn’t warned him, he would have...

Nick frowned as he looked at Jax and Daniel.

That’s right. Silvanus had warned him about breakfast...

Was it just a coincidence, or did Silvanus know something?

Would a background NPC really know that much?

Now even Elya, whose changes overnight had been the most drastic, wasn’t touching the breakfast. Nick was certain that there was definitely something wrong with the meal.

Elya’s answer was so dismissive of her audience that she could barely be bothered to come up with an excuse to conceal her motives or her own peculiar behavior.

Adjusting her glasses, she continued to wear a gentle smile.

[Finally, this stage has arrived!!!]

[The factions have all been divided now, hahaha.]

[This is amazing. Nick is actually going to side with an "NPC," hahaha.]

[Yeah, we know Silvanus isn’t an NPC, but Nick doesn’t know that.]

[Am I the only one curious about Elya’s change?]

[Could it be that she has been chosen already? This is only a newbie test dungeon. The Gods wouldn’t choose an "Heir" in a brand-new dungeon like this, would they?]

Silvanus had kept the comment feed running before his eyes the entire time, because he was confident enough in his reading speed.

Besides, there wasn’t much for him to do at the moment other than continue acting as a frail single father.

And now, it seemed that he had finally found a few key terms.

Gods? Heir?

Perhaps he should have another private conversation with his "dear" viewers.

Clang!

Crash!

At that moment, a piercing noise suddenly rang out, forcefully interrupting everyone’s train of thought.

Daniel’s plate fell to the floor and shattered into countless fragments. It seemed like nothing more than a small warning. The next moment, he shot to his feet, his back hunched over as he repeatedly retched with his mouth wide open.

But it was useless.

No matter how hard he tried to force himself to vomit, nothing came out except saliva.

Nick frowned and turned his gaze away.

The meat on the table was gone. Between Nick and Jax alone, they had effortlessly finished off the suckling pig that had been enough to feed five people.

Now, however, they seemed to have regained their senses and noticed that something was wrong.

Jax sat where he was with an ugly expression, his clenched fists trembling slightly. Daniel was doing everything he could to salvage the situation, but it was meaningless.

No one else said a word.

Silvanus simply stared at Daniel’s somewhat unsteady figure. He wasn’t sure whether it was an illusion, or simply because Daniel had eaten too much, but Silvanus seemed to be able to see the stomach beneath his shirt protruding slightly.

Perhaps he wasn’t mistaken.

They had already arrived in this world, and both Jax and Daniel had devoured the entire pig without suffering from overeating. In that case, their swollen bellies made perfect sense.

Silvanus spoke softly.

"Is he going to be alright? If no one stops him, he’s going to hurt himself."

At the same time, Elya rose from her seat and walked over to Daniel.

Remaining calm, she said,

"So you’ve finally come to your senses. It was only a meal. There probably isn’t any serious problem."

Daniel slapped away the hand Elya had placed on his shoulder.

Staring at her coldly, he said,

"You didn’t try to stop me either. You didn’t eat a single bite, did you?! We were supposed to help each other survive!"

Elya frowned.

"If you had been smart enough and possessed enough self-control, you wouldn’t have rushed at the food like a pig."

Daniel was left speechless, glaring at Elya.

At that moment, Jax suddenly stood up.

Licking the grease still clinging to his lips, he covered his distended stomach with one hand and sneered.

"So what if I ate? What’s the big deal? If you people are so smart, then don’t eat. Just sit around and starve to death in this freezing place."

With that, he kicked his chair aside and left.

Daniel took a deep breath as if he had finally regained his composure.

His eyes swept coldly over Silvanus and the others.

"Jax already said it. I agree with him. All we need to do is survive the remaining six days. There’s no need to risk our lives trying to figure anything out."

After saying that, he turned and walked away.

Compared to the image of a leader he had tried to present at the beginning, he was now like a completely different person.

Silvanus watched the two of them leave.

The moment he turned back, he found Elya looking at him.

She smiled, appearing completely harmless.

"Looks like I’m the only one who still wants to wake Lord Lethos together with everyone else."

Then she paused briefly before continuing,

"But I believe... we’ll definitely be able to do it."