Nibo cleared his throat. "Speaking of fighting like hell—we need to talk about that move you pulled. Letting yourself get eaten to attack from inside."
"What about it?"
"Don't ever do it again," Nibo said flatly. "That was insane. Reckless. And if it had gone wrong—"
"But it didn't," Akhil interrupted. "It worked. We got the core."
"This time," Nibo emphasized. "Next time you might not be so lucky. Next creature might have stronger stomach acids. Or multiple stomachs. Or internal defenses you didn't account for."
"He's right," Seth added. "That was way too risky."
Akhil wanted to argue, but he couldn't. They were right. It had been reckless. Desperate. The kind of move you made when you were out of options and running on instinct.
"I'll try to avoid getting eaten in the future," he said finally.
"Try very hard," Nibo insisted.
"Very, very hard," Seth emphasized.
"Noted," Akhil agreed with a small smile.
