"Tonberries," Nida winces, his hand going unthinkingly to his side. Yeah, he's got a few scars. "Those are in a different place from the Island for us. And Oretoises are probably like Admantoises given how similar our worlds sound. Those live up in the mountains. They're pretty seriously hunted for the ores in their shells."

But seriously, a place where those things exist deliberately to train you? That's terrifying.

"We don't know why the Islands Closest to Heaven and Hell have the monsters they do. They're just pretty damn intense."