With a light click, the door from the mini market to the lounge area in the back of the Association HQ opens up and the sight before my eyes puts a smile on my face.

Sitting all together on one of the circular couches next to the small cafe, I see my 3 teammates drinking coffee and eating small pastries.

I begin to walk over and raise a hand, but I'm interrupted by a blond-haired blue-eyed hunter running towards me with arms outstretched.

"Jay, you made it back! I knew you'd be fine!"

With the smile across my face widening, Maria jumps up in the air to give me a hug.

I catch her and reply in a lower tone as I watch Abby stand up from her seat and begin to turn my way as well. She has a happy looking smirk across her face.

"Good to see you too, it's been a while."

I let out a chuckle, then let Maria down, looking into her deep blue eyes.

They seem much deeper and brighter than when I last saw her. She's grown a lot...

I use Inspect and Appraisal to quickly check her level and skills, not bothering to look at any of her gear.

———————————————

[Lv. 391]

Combat Magic [Advanced Ice Summoning]

——————————————-

The green-haired healer slowly walks toward us. I let out another quiet comment under my breath to Maria before Abby arrives.

"You've... gotten a lot stronger."

Maria nods, still looking right at me.

"You seem like you've grown a lot too."

I look away as Abby's voice fills my ears.

"Hey, long time no see."

As she approaches, I blink a few times, looking back and forth at my teammates. They both look a lot older... more mature. Almost like years have passed.

It's been a while in my mind, but still, it's only been a week in the real world.

Their hair looks longer, muscles look more defined, skin is much smoother, and If I'm not mistaken it looks like both of them even grew a few centimeters in height.

Maria wears a dark-colored outfit with silver jewelry and magic items on her wrists and around her neck.

As Abby approaches, I notice her hair falls down and is much straighter and glossy looking. Her facial features are more mature looking too. The healer speaks up before I can get another word in.

"Like what ya see? I know we've changed a little, but is it really that noticeable? Oh- and good to see you're back here in one piece."

I tighten my lips and nod as Abby comes to stand upright next to Maria.

The green-haired healer is dressed in all black with green and gold magic items lining her wrists and fingers too.

I use Inspect and Appraisal to get a quick look at her level and skills.

———————————————

[Lv. 401]

Combat Magic [Advanced Earth Summoning]

Restore [Legendary Grade]

——————————————-

I nod, meeting her gaze for a moment too.

"It's only been a week... both of you-"

Maria cuts me off, grinning ear to ear and turning to Abby.

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"See, I told you he'd notice. Jay pays attention! Hmmph."

I let out a slightly confused, but also relieved sigh as I see Maria acting like her old self.

It's good to see them again, but there's a lot of questions that need to be answered.

My eyes dart behind my two teammates and I finally see an unchanged familiar face of our team's long-range archer approaching. The cool and calculated olive-skinned hunter has sat up from the couch area and is walking in my direction.

I see him smirk while he yawns, stretches, then crosses his arms.

"Ya made it out of the Labyrinth after all, nice to see ya Jay. You look good."

Arie walks over and stands beside the green-haired healer, then gives me a firm nod while reaching out his right hand.

"Looks like you've grown a lot. We have too."

I put out my hand and shake his.

The archer doesn't look different at all to me. If anything, he just looks tired....

I use Inspect and Appraisal to check his level and skills.

———————————————

[Lv. 393]

Spirit Archer [Legendary Grade]

——————————————-

He's no different than before, just some level gains.

Abby and Maria are the only ones that used those upgrade crystals, so it seems they're the only ones with significant physical changes.

I reply with a smile, moving my gaze across all 3 of my teammates.

"I'm glad your training paid off this week. Your appearances, Abby and Maria, was it those crystals that changed it?"

Maria nods happily and responds.

"Yeah, they made my Ice magic a lot stronger as well, I can't wait to show you what this week's training has taught me! We are becoming this year's new Elites, after all. I've definitely caught up to you now Jay!"

I smile, and we lock eyes again.

Arie smirks and walks over to me while throwing an arm around my shoulder.

"Yeah, yeah. We may be the new Elites in training, but you still haven't changed one bit. Over 5 hours late to our first meeting. Come on, enough talk, let's head upstairs."

Abby and Maria laugh and follow behind us as the olive-skinned archer leads us over to the door.

I respond as we walk through.

"Hey, nobody told me there was a meeting today. How can I be late to something I was never even invited to?"

The door shuts behind us as the four of us make it into the lobby.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever you say..."

*Ding*

I catch up with my team, and we share training stories on the elevator ride upwards.

It seems like both Maria and Abby have been going through tough conditioning and new skill control training.

Each of them was given the same amount of MP potions as me this week and told to use them all.

Maria trained at the Yeti dungeon and farmed charms while honing her advanced magic control work with an Elite. Abby mostly trained her new upgraded Restore and Combat Magic skills.

Apparently, she has a very rare healing variant for a skill, two Elites came to supervise.

Lastly, Arie burned through more than his full supply of MP potions, he was training with a high-level Elite in the Great Plains Dungeon.

I'm not sure exactly what they did, but this confirms my suspicions that it was him I sensed when Dungeon Walking through earlier this week.

I fill the three of them in on some of my battles but leave a few details out. Mostly the time dilation training and defeating the Floor Boss parts... I trust them, and will most likely let them in on this secret too, but inside the Association's elevator doesn't seem like the right place to break the news.

All of our mentors had to leave early for an urgent mission, that's the only thing we had in common this week.

*Ding*

Laughing, and enjoying each other's full company again, the elevator finally makes it to the top floor.

The Director's Office.

I gulp as the doors slide open.

The last time I talked with the Director, I gave him a rather explosive attitude. In his eyes, I didn't even get very far up the labyrinth, my cockiness was for nothing.

It's a bit embarrassing, but I'll have to swallow my pride and face him without showing all my cards. He can think whatever he wants, I'm just happy to be back with my team.

I let out a calm breath and eagerly look ahead to watch the penthouse office come into view.

A woman's voice hits my ear and I'm thrown off guard at the sight before me.

"Welcome back, the 81st Vice Region Elite squad. Well, soon to be."

The tall fair skinned assistant of the Director greets us at the elevator door.

I see Leo, the legendary Grade Artificer, sitting at one of the comfortable-looking chairs by the Director's desk.

Sure, his familiar face is shocking, but the fact that these two are the only ones in the room is a bit more confusing in my mind.

I reply to the assistant as I walk through the silver sliding doors into the glass-walled penthouse.

"Where's the Director? I thought we were having a meeting with him today?"

She replies while guiding all 4 of us over to white cushioned seats next to the man in the dark purple cloak.

"Brutus is out of town today, I'll be handling the meeting."

I nod slowly as we get closer.

The outfit Leo wears today is different than last night, but he keeps the same theme. It's collared, a bit more formal looking. With matte black boots and a light purple glow to him, the magical craftsman really stands out in this white-walled room.

He sports a few silver rings and bracelets today too.

The assistant speaks up again.

"Everyone, I'd like you to meet Leo. He's our specialized Association Artificer, he'll be able to fill any requests necessary for your Elite missions moving forward."

The silver-haired man stands up and bows slightly before speaking.

"It's a pleasure to meet all of you today."

He raises his head and makes eye contact with me for a split second, grinning, then bringing his gaze up to everyone else before continuing.

"The Association has prioritized your abilities in order to protect our Region, so I'm happy to be of service to all of you for as long as you serve the Association along my side."

We all respond, introducing ourselves one by one until he gets to me.

"Nice to see you again so soon Jay."

I shake his hand again and tighten my lips into a thin smile as we all get seated. The Director's assistant walks behind the large empty desk at the back of the room.

She waits for all of us to quiet down, then pulls out 4 silver tablets with small crystals on their corners.

They hit the hard wooden desk with a thud.

"Now, let's talk about your new mission to the Dark Continent."