[Tutorial Dungeon has been completed!]

[You have returned to your newly merged world!]

[All newly integrated residents have not yet completed their tutorial. Until all remaining and living integrated residents return to the newly merged planet, The Initial Integration process will still be in effect. Once all residents return, the next phase of the Integration Procedure will commence.]

Hazel awoke with a start as she pulled herself off the ground. Her head whirled around, trying to discern her location, but she couldn't see anything. All she saw was black.

In a panic, she feared that she was in some void, but immediately remembered that she was wearing her blindfold to block out her Evil Eyes. Expelling a sigh of relief, Hazel soon conjured her Astral Eye to see where she was.

Connecting to the spell, the black void behind the blindfold was then replaced with a rather familiar scenery. It was the Cafe shop from before she was teleported to the Tutorial Dungeon, which meant that she was finally back home.

The interior looked a bit different than before. None of the lights were on, leaving her in semi-darkness. The chairs, tables and other furniture were scattered all over the floor, and the shelves were destroyed, leaving remnants of their presence on the wall or the floor, along with the furniture.

Shattered glass, cups, and several coffee-making machines blanketed the floor where Hazel was lying down. It was clear to her that this shop had seen better days. It looked like she was in the aftermath of an apocalypse.

Then she was reminded that her world essentially was enduring an apocalypse. Not only was Earth being merged with another planet, but there were now monsters roaming around as well. She didn't know what kind or how many there were, but she was certain of one thing; her hometown wasn't the same as it used to be.

But Hazel didn't care. All that mattered now was that she was finally free from the Tutorial Dungeon. She was finally home.

A wide smile formed on Hazel's face after realizing that she was finally free. But her joy only lasted a few moments before she remembered one crucial problem regarding this revelation. She wasn't the only one who came here.

"Crap...Astrid!" Hazel called out to her dark elf partner.

Back when they were leaving the dungeon, there was a notification that stated all players that are part of a party will be teleported to the same location together. So, if Hazel was in the cafe shop...then so was Astrid.

"Astrid, where are you?" The mage slowly stood up, still adjusting to her drone-like vision with the floating Astral Eye.

Her body wobbled around, trying to stay upright but struggled to do so not only from her awkward vision that was disconnected from her actual body but also from the damn magic dress she was wearing. Trying to step forward, Hazel unsurprisingly got caught in her dress and tripped as a result. Before fully collapsing on her ass, something managed to pick her up as she was slowly lifted back on her feet.

She grasped the unknown figure, feeling the soft and comforting fur that could put her to sleep if she rested on it. In fact, she actually has back in the Dungeon.

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Turning her Astral Eye to face the figure, Hazel realized that what she was holding onto was none other than her giant Nightwing Bat familiar, Nycteris.

"Ah, Nycteris..." Hazel breathed a sigh of relief upon knowing that it was her familiar that saved her. "Thank you for helping me up."

"Please...be careful...master..." He told his master, letting out a soft screech while twitching his head.

"I'll try," The mage chuckled. "Anyway, we need to find Astrid. She should be here somewhere in this shop."

Desperate to locate the dark elf, Hazel quickly used her Astral Eyes and surveyed the area. Since she could move the eye anywhere she wished and was obstructed by nothing, she should be able to find Astrid quickly.

After a moment or two, she soon spotted a figure lying near the wall of windows. The figure had long silver hair, wore a green ranger's outfit with a cloak, and had a bow strapped to her back with a magic quiver at her side. It was Astrid.

Hazel pointed in the direction where the dark elf was unconscious. "Nycteris, take me over there."

"Understood..." The Nightwing then guided Hazel over to the wall of windows, making their way to Astrid.

Getting there, Hazel saw through her Astral Eye that they were standing over the dark elf who was still asleep. Without hesitation, the mage crouched down over to Astrid, making sure that she was alright.

She lightly touched her shoulders, before placing two fingers on her neck, checking for a pulse. Thankfully enough, the dark elf was still alive. But it was time to wake up.

"Astrid! Astrid, wake up, now!" Hazel told the dark elf, lightly shaking her body.

The dark elf began to stir, letting out a light groan while frowning.

"Astrid, I'm serious, you need to wake up now!"

Hazel shook her partner a little harder, which did the trick as her eyes shot open; vigilance filling her being. She shot up from the floor in alarm, whipping her head around to get a layout of her surroundings.

"W-what..." She huffed, still disoriented. She grasped her head with a grimaced expression, likely suffering from a headache. "W-what's going on...?"

Hazel hesitated to reply, knowing that the next words that came out of her mouth were going to deeply upset the dark elf. But she also couldn't leave her partner in the dark and decided to just rip the bandage off and get it over with.

"Well..." Hazel faltered. "The good news is we're out of the Tutorial Dungeon. The bad news..."

She didn't even get a chance to finish before witnessing Astrid's face as her eyes widened upon the sudden realization. She whipped her head around again, taking another glance at her surroundings as reality began to set in.

"T-the forest..." She muttered; eyes stricken with fear. "I-I'm not in the Forest! I'm not home!" Her eyes then zipped in Hazel's direction, intently staring at the mage. "Where are we?!"

Hazel stared at the confused and frightened dark elf, unsure of how to explain the situation to her. Only for her to say the first few words that came to mind.

"Welcome to Portland, Maine...my hometown."

It took a moment or two for Hazel's words to register in Astrid's mind. The mage then watched as her partner's face shifted from confusion to realization, to shock, to finally a look of absolute dismay and defeat all in a matter of a couple of seconds.

The dark elf flopped on her back, practically slamming against the tiled floor of the coffee shop. All the while, her eyes were filled with dread as she continued to mutter something.

"I-I'm not home...I'm not home...I'm not...home."

Instead of doing anything, Hazel simply allowed Astrid to have her moment, since she knew that her partner likely wouldn't be able to hear her anyway. The distant look in the dark elf's eyes was all Hazel needed to see to know that no matter what she said, it wouldn't reach her ears.

So, Hazel simply sat there with Astrid, listening to her worried rambling. Waiting until she got it all out of her system so that they could come up with a plan for their current predicament.

While listening, she gazed out the wall of windows, viewing a preview of what was in store for them when they finally left the shop. From the desolate streets that were filled with empty and flipped-over cars, partly destroyed buildings, and deformed pieces of the land all over from the quite literal planetary terraforming from the Merging of two worlds.

It surprisingly reminded Hazel a lot of the Tutorial Dungeon. And that alone gave her dread over what she was bound to face once they were ready to leave and explore the city.

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