The Kori Soaro Kingdom was the most influential nation within its region. Well, that was partly because of its unique ancient landmarks that were scattered throughout its territory. So, in a sense, it wasn’t really fair for the other nations bordering Kori Soaro.

Those unique landmarks were the various ancient dungeons and labyrinths that lay deep underground. It was said that in the early years of the kingdom’s founding, miners hastily began making quarries and tunnel systems in order to dig out and transport valuable ores to the surface. Resources were an essential to a young nation if it ever wanted to grow and expand, so everyone in the mining industry worked swiftly to get as much stone and ores as possible to sell them to contractors. You bet they paid a high price for those resources.

None of the miners or contractors would ever expect to find dozens of dungeons and labyrinths right where they dug. Some hit their pickaxes into the sides of hard, chiseled stone that belonged to the walls of dungeons. Others found little crevices that led to large stone doors: the entrances to the labyrinths. Everyone went wild at those discoveries. Soon the Kori Soaro Kingdom was flooded with immigrants looking for work or looking to strike it rich by identifying dungeon locations. Thus the kingdom grew in both population and wealth through an event known as the Great Dungeon Rave.

The epicenter of such an event occurred at what was now the capital city of Galligar, named after the first king Galligar Sorto. Galligar had a special place in my heart, as it was my hometown. I was born and raised in the nation’s capital. It was famous for their abundance of dungeons and labyrinths all over the place, so much so that adventuring and mapping out entire floors of these dangerous places became legitimate careers. Anyone who wanted to be an adventurer came to Galligar for the experience. No where else was there such a concentration of these ancient places.

Of course, that was my job for a while. I have been a dungeon diver ever since I turned sixteen. I was young, right? Well, I did fine. Managed to keep myself alive for two years on the job. But then I came to a life-changing realization. Well—it was more like a business proposal. Or a startup idea. But I digress.

That idea was a delivery service catered to adventurers! See, adventurers and mappers alike sometimes spend days on end inside dungeons to explore it thoroughly. The issue that arose was food and water rationing when in there for so long. But what if I remove that problem?

Well, allow me to introduce the Glaciare Adventurer Delivery Co.! Adventurers talk to me beforehand, and set a time and date for the delivery. I’d gather all they wanted delivered to them at any location, guaranteed! No matter how dangerous the dungeon, my business ensured that I got there in time with whatever they needed. That would usually be food, but I would occasionally get requests for extra swords or rucksacks that were suspiciously human-sized. Hey, I don’t ask questions. As long as they pay, my lips were shut.

Ahem, anyway. That was exactly what I was doing when I met that group of adventurers. I was delivering food to them, only to be caught up in such a hairy situation. It was very scary, I nearly fainted out of fear. But no one died, luckily. It was all thanks to the mysterious mage that held immense power.

As a way of thanking him, the adventurers and I had invited him to go out for lunch with us at a restaurant. Galligar had the best food in the entire kingdom, so he’d be stupid to pass it up.

As expected, he accepted our invitation. And there I was, guiding my little band of adventurers to a spot I knew would satisfy everyone.

The two displacement mages I fought beside in the dungeon walked sluggishly behind me. They clearly hadn’t worked on their cardio, haven’t they?

“Are we there yet?” Dalat said. His legs shook like a toddler’s rattle, and his sweat dripped down his face.

Are you serious? We’d only just started walking fifteen minutes ago…

I cleared my throat. “Yeah. We should be coming up to it now.”

“Oh, great!” he wheezed.

I mean, I couldn’t blame him. We’d just gotten out of a dangerous dungeon by the skin of our teeth. That would obviously drain anyone. I myself was huffing quite loud, now that I thought about it. If I knew that Accelerate wouldn’t have an effect on that dungeon master, I wouldn’t have used as much magic energy.

Apart from Dalat’s complaints, everyone else seemed quite calm by now. The married mage stared at the tall buildings that lined the market square of Galligar. Even the poorer ones made of wood instead of stone were gorgeous. This was truly the mark of a wealthy nation.

The road was bustling with wagons and carriages, while the sidewalks were crowded with an abundance of consumers and workers alike. You could hear thousands of clacking noises as people stomped their boots on the cobblestone pathways. Even in the tall buildings, you could see families pin up clothing to dry on their clothesline on the balcony. There was definitely no shortage of activity.

In fact, there was so much activity that there was a surplus of guards too. Tons of guards in iron armor and sharp broadswords strapped to their belts patrolled the thriving city. I bumped into some of them before by accident, but they only smiled. But that was just a result of having a large population. The more people there were in a city, the more city guards had to be hired. They had to fit that citizen-to-guard ratio, whatever that was.

I’d assumed that everyone following me at that moment hadn’t been too accustomed to Galligar yet, due to them staring about in awe and wonder. The knight looked at guards passing by and nodded, as if respecting the duty they played in this society. He was clearly of the same mindset, given he was a knight and all. Y’know, that sense of duty to protect the weak. Chivalry, if you will.

The powerful offensive mage did much the same, except towards normal people. He nodded at people who made eye contact with him and smiled brightly. It was his signature greeting, from what I gathered. A small girl had even tripped and fell right in front of us, but he stooped down and helped her back on her feet, all with a charming smile that showed his pearly whites. He was a powerful mage and a man after the people’s own heart.

Sadly, the thief couldn’t make it at the moment. The dungeon master had gotten her pretty good in the thigh, so we had to drop her off at a healer to fix her leg. She swore that she’d run over the second she could to join us for food. She really, and I mean, really didn’t want to miss out on a good Soaran meal in the capital.

Too bad she couldn’t decide when she wanted to leave. That was up for the healer to decide. So that was one person down.

Without a warning whatsoever, I had made a sharp turn down an alley. The height of the buildings that stood on both sides shielded this alley from the sunlight, making it a dark and sketchy place. But that was where the best restaurants were.

Little puddles of water dotted the floor as we all walked through the long alleyway. The knight and offensive mage sloshed their feet about on the puddles as they marched onwards.

“Why are you taking us here?” Dalat once again expressed his complaint. “This place is super sketchy, I doubt any restaurant would be here. Are you trying to rob us?”

I sighed in anguish. What did I do to deserve this distrust? “No, there’s definitely a restaurant down this street. And if anything, you guys could rob me. I’m not stupid enough to steal from a group that could chop me to pieces if they wanted to.”

Dalat didn’t say another word, he simply walked on ahead. The offensive mage chuckled softly.

To be fair, the path we walked on did look very sketchy. But I was sure once everyone filled their bellies, their minds would ease too. Hopefully.

X X X

Just as I had promised, a restaurant was tucked in the corner of the alley’s dead end. Although the surrounding area seemed neglected and run down to an extent, this restaurant looked elaborate. The stone that made up the building was well polished and finely chiseled. The wood planks that made up the from porch of the building looked brand new. Not a nail was bent or out of place. The owners clearly had money

As if to spite Dalat, I grinned. I told him so! He should learn to trust me more often. Well… We had only just met though… I guess it was true to say that hardships bring people closer.

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I went inside, and the rest of my group followed me. We were immediately smacked in the face with an array of different smells and a cacophony of noises. There wasn’t wild yelling like your average tavern, or the putrid smell of alcohol. Nah, this place was classy. The floor beneath us had animal skin carpeting, a man in a silk red coat was playing a harp in the corner, and many of the customers sipped on their drinks with elegance. An aroma of grilled steaks and of soups filled my nose.

Should we waltz in and expect to act as we would in a tavern, that would surely disrupt the peace. So we had to play by their book. You know what they say: when in Kori Soaro, do as the Soarans do. It would definitely be worth it, from personal experience.

I’d been to this place before, which is why I knew of a gem hidden in these parts. The food here absolutely blew me away, so I was more than willing to play the posh girl just to try their food again. My mouth was watering just thinking about the famous Soaran Boks.

Boks were pieces of Kori Soaro’s finest cuts of meat slathered in butter and herbs, then grilled and pierced with a charred stick. They char the sticks to prevent splintering, and also give that smokey aroma as well. Oh I could just taste the crispiness of the edges!

My new friends didn’t look at the environment with as much excitement as myself. The offensive mage didn’t seem to mind it, as he was too distracted staring at the food on plates that waiters and waitresses carried by. Dalat was too pouty to take in the atmosphere. But the knight and the married mage visibly grimaced at the sight of such an environment. As if self conscious, they both looked down at their old robes and even fished through their wallets to count their cash. Right as they were doing that, a waitress greeted us.

“Hello! Welcome to the Soaran Bull Head. How many people are in your party?” she asked. Right in front of us was a pretty girl with long blonde hair tied up in a ponytail. She wore a black apron that both hugged her waist and contrasted the white tunic she wore underneath.

I did a head count, I never really was good with numbers. “One, two, three—Five!” I held up five fingers at the waitress. She nodded happily. And thus we were on our way to our seats!

“Er, this looks kind of expensive,” the married mage whispered to me. We were still following behind the waitress.

He had a sad expression. I guess his wallet didn’t have many coins after all. “Ah, no! Don’t worry about it! The food’s on me. Think of it as compensation for not successfully delivering the food to you guys.”

I still felt bad about that. Back when the offensive mage had saved us by firing a devastating Cautery spell, the box of the food I was delivering had gotten caught in the crossfire. I was sure it was a pile of ash by now.

“Are you sure?” He gave me a look of concern. By now, the waitress had led us to our seats at a table, and we all began to sit down one by one.

“Yes I’m sure.” I’d been doing quite a bit of deliveries this past month, so I had more than enough money in my pockets. I guess you could say my start up business was a success.

Everyone at the table heard what we were talking about and began showering me with praises and thanks. All but the offensive mage said things along the lines of “Awesome, thanks!” and “This food will taste much better now that it's free!”

The offensive mage was the only one to make a proposal. “You think I can split half the bill with you?”

“No, that’s fine. You saved our hides back there, this is to repay you for that too.”

Oh but this man was very insistent on doing so. He put his fist down on the table and rephrased his proposal. “I’m paying half the bill.”

He was so stubborn. We went back and forth to get the other to back down. He even pulled the “a man should pay for a girl” card. That card only worked if we were dating. Even then, I’d still want to help. But he was so willing to pay half the bill, so I gave in.

“Fine, fine. We’ll do it your way.”

The offensive mage made a large grin at me backing down.

Anyways, things proceeded as normal. That same cute waitress walked by again to take our orders. Each of the group ordered some kind of cut of beef. But Yours Truly had to get the Soaran Boks. And so I ordered it, but the words that came out of my mouth made the waitress twitch.

“Uh, are you sure? That’s such a hardy meal, so I’m not sure you’ll finish it.”

Huh? Last time I was here, I didn’t get any sort of response like that from the staff when I ordered the same meal. I wonder why…

It was hard to say why, but the first reason that came to mind was that because I’d been extensively dungeon diving as of recently, I’ve lost some weight and slimmed out. Now that I think of it, last time I was here I was quite a bit heavier than now. But was I heavy enough for them to think “eh, she’ll finish it” ? I doubt it.

“Yes I’m sure. I’ve finished it before, so I can do it again!” I told the waitress sternly.

Right as she left, she murmured something under her breath. “I don’t know, she’s a stick.”

Thanks for the compliment, I guess? All the running around in dungeons paid off well, if I say so myself.

X X X

It took them a little less than half an hour to bring us our food. In the meantime, all of us chatted about menial things. Ya’ know, the weather, recent news, politics, that sort of thing. We even shared stories of our adventuring days like retired warriors telling stories to our grandchildren. We all were adventurers in one point of our lives, that was something we all had in common.

I even got to know everyone’s names formally, at last. So, the man I gave the nickname “married mage” was really named Fiar. Fiar Doniz, that is. The knight was named Kueler, just Kueler. I didn’t know that people who once worked for the kingdom as knights were stripped of their last names. That was the case with good ol’ Kueler. The “offensive mage” was named Eliott Meyne. He preferred to be called “Lio” though, so I had to abide.

Of course, I had already known the other mage’s name, Dalat, when Kueler yelled it at the Dungeon of the Dead. All that was left was the thief. Her name was Christia Roxian, and she wasn’t here. Of course, I introduced myself to everyone too as the Displacement Mage Charliette Glaciare.

Lio raised an eyebrow and hummed after hearing my introduction. But before he could say anything, the waitress dropped food right in front of us on shiny white plates.

Right in front of me sat four Boks, made up of tons of skewered meats that filled every surface of the stick. My mouth was watering. Everyone else had different cuts of meat with differing types of sauces poured atop them.

Right when I began to sink my teeth into one of the Boks, Lio turned his head to meet my eyes. I ripped a piece of meat off the stick and stared back, chewing like an elegant beast.

“Oh right! Thanks for reminding me, Lio!” I had almost forgotten. It was Soaran custom to put the wool cloth they gave you and tuck it into your collar before eating. Because of Soaran meat being extremely juicy, it was customary for people to put the cloth in that manner, to prevent the juices from dribbling down one’s chin and dripping on their tunic. I did exactly that, and the rest followed suit. But Lio was still confused.

“No, that wasn’t what I was going to say. I was just… so surprised to hear that you were a Displacement Mage. I assumed you were an Offensive Mage, based on your robes.”

“Huh? What do you mean?” I asked, staring down at my ocean-blue robes.

“Those are the robes of a Water Mage,” he said. “You didn’t know?”

“No…” I had bought this robe from a wandering merchant. It surprisingly fit me like a glove, even after losing quite a bit of weight, so I thought it must’ve been fate for me to have it. I would have never imagined it to be from an Offensive Mage, a Water Mage nonetheless.

Offensive Magic, the last puzzle to the three sides that are the Magic Family. Displacement, Mimicry, and Offensive Magic. Like its title suggested, Offensive Magic entailed any spells that were meant for harming another person. Although some Displacement or Mimicry spells could harm a person when used right, what sets Offensive Magic apart is that it was developed for the sole purpose of harming or killing an opponent. As a result, each spell shouldn’t be taken lightly, because every single one was lethal. On top of that, it was the only one out of the Magic Family trio to have subcategories, that being water, fire, and terrace.

I looked up at Lio and gave a glance at his own attire. His robes were similar to mine, only that the bottom part of his robes were pants and not just a long skirt. Also, his robes were a dark red, which contrasted my blue. But other than that, the same gold engravings were on his robe. “Is it safe for me to say that you’re a Fire Mage, right?”

He nodded. “Yup! And I’m an expert rank.”

Everyone spit their food out at the last part of his sentence, I even gagged on my food a bit. Expert rank? Really?!

Mages were ranked based on five different skill levels: novice, apprentice, experienced, expert, and veteran being the strongest. Basically, if you can beat another mage of a certain rank, then that means you have rights to that title. So Lio must’ve beaten an expert mage to a pulp already…

I was only barely an apprentice Displacement Mage, so I was a small fry in comparison to him. But then again, I wasn’t surprised. When we were at our lowest, bested by the dungeon master, he fired off the strongest Cautery spell I’ve ever seen.

Just reminiscing about what happened only hours ago made me frightened, though. I still remembered the helplessness I felt, not being able to do anything. I still remembered the face of the dungeon master when we fled, a face that said “We’ll meet again, and I’ll finish you off then.” It sent shivers down my spine. But Lio saved us.

I realized something.

There was a way out of it, out of that crippling fear.

There was a way out of that feeling of helplessness.

There was a way out of danger.

That way was getting stronger.

I swallowed yet another piece of beef, then slammed my fist on the table for dramatic effect.

“Lio!” I yelled.

“Y-yes?”

“Teach me Offensive Magic!”