Cecillia lifted her head as Derrick walked in front of her. His face was gaunt, and his eyes were dark, but a strained smile still sat on his lips.

“Hey, I’m sorry you had to go through that,” Derrick sighed. “Naira’s been… well… she’s been doing okay for the most part. But ever since we saw the captain, sh— all of us have been on edge really.”

“I’m fine,” Cecillia nodded slowly before glancing at the woman in question. “Is she going to be okay?”

“Eh… she’ll be alright,” Derrick said with a small smile. “We’ll take care of her.”

Cassandra had helped Naira into a seated position on the ground. The woman looked defeated, and her eyes were lost as she mumbled words of nonsense. It was a stark difference to behold, and Cecillia wasn’t quite sure what to make out of it.

“Okay, that’s good,” Cecillia said. “Thanks for the food.”

“The food…?” Derrick caught himself as he glanced at the shattered plates and rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. “I saw that you didn’t eat much. Do you want any more?”

Cecillia shook her head. “I ate enough, it’s alright.”

“How about for your pets?” He suggested. “They look a little shaken up from… earlier.”

Cecillia glanced at Blackie—

‘Where is she?’

The wolf and the slime had disappeared from where they were, but she quickly found them hiding behind a tree. A small smile came onto her face as the two reacted to their master’s gaze.

Blackie stepped out slowly, cautiously glancing in Naira’s direction as Bluey wobbled atop its head.

“You hungry Blackie?” Cecillia asked as the wolf trotted up to her. She ran a hand through its fur as it stared and growled softly at the man.

Derrick laughed before pulling out a slab of meat from his ring. The man tossed it in the air and the wolf greedily leapt forwards to gobble it all up.

“Hungry fellow aren’t yah?” Derrick grinned, throwing the wolf another chunk of meat before turning back to the girl. “Anyways, why did you name her Blackie?”

Cecillia tilted her head. “Because she has black fur?”

“...Makes sense,” he laughed nervously. “What about the slime then?”

“Bluey,” she replied simply.

The man’s expression grew sympathetic, and a moment later he released a sigh. Both the wolf and slime nodded sagely as Cecillia’s eyes hopped between the three with deep confusion.

“What?” she asked.

“It’s nothing,” The man smiled. “But you should get going soon. The others might already be coming back and it's getting late too.”

Cecillia looked up at the sky. Indeed, the sun was just beginning to float near the horizon’s edge.

“What about you guys?” she asked. “Are you guys going to stay in this forest?”

“No, we were actually just going to leave today.”

“To where? Windhaven?”

The man chuckled softly, shaking his head. “No, not Windhaven. We’re considered war criminals, even after almost twenty five years they’ve still got those bounties on our heads.”

Cecillia nodded with a slight frown. If the man had been in the army since she assumed thirteen, and it had been nearly twenty-five years since that incident, then why did he look so young?

Derrick caught the look on her face and shrugged. “It is what it is, we’re traitors after all. Whether we wanted it or not we still have to live with the consequences of going against the king.”

“It’s not that…” Cecillia trailed off. When she had been twenty seven, her features had been noticeably more mature than Cassandra, and the healer had even had a child.

“You just don’t look that old,” she said, and glanced at the two other women. “Neither do they.”

“Aha… I see,” Derrick finally caught on. “I guess at your level it wouldn’t be noticable. But once your constitution reaches a certain point, the rate of your aging slows. There’s even some people out there who have lived hundreds of years. Maybe even thousands.”

Cecillia raised a brow. It made sense, but the whole system thing was still a struggle to swallow. Levels, skills, and a class she couldn’t even use. Regardless, the three days she had existed in this new world had been far better than the last remaining days on earth.

“Do you think you could get that strong?” Cecillia asked.

“I mean… hopefully,” Derrick replied. “It does get exponentially harder though after level one hundred. The monsters here aren’t very strong in the southern human territories. And there is the option of killing other humans, but…”

“I know,” Cecillia said and the man shook his head bitterly. He glanced away and stared off into the distance, trying to find the right words to say. In the end, he only sighed.

“Do you have any last questions before we leave?” Derrick asked.

Cecillia took a moment to think. There were alot of things she wanted to know, but one thing had been pressing on her mind ever since it had happened.

“Who is Elendar and what is a dungeon?” she asked.

Ever since that notification had chimed through her head, she had been filled with questions. There was even that necklace named Aphesa’s Promise, but she wouldn’t reveal that information until she was strong enough. Even if these people have been kind to her, greed affected everyone.

“Elendar was a king from a children’s story. You must be curious why the forest is named after him right?” Derrick queried.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

It wasn’t quite what she wanted, but Cecillia nodded either way.

“Rumors were that this forest was once a grand battlefield where Elendar claimed his greatest victory. He was said to be mighty, one who led his people through every struggle. A great warrior, but also wise and beloved,” Derrick explained, the light in his eyes almost childlike.

“Do you believe the stories?” Cecillia asked curiously. “Do you think they’re real?”

“Haha, who knows,” Derrick laughed. “I used to believe them, but if they were true, then they wouldn’t be mere stories for children. Dungeons, on the other hand, aren't like stories at all and are very much real.”

They were certainly real alright. The champion’s twin blades still existed in Cecillia’s mind and a shiver ran down her spine. If all dungeons were like that, then she wanted nothing more to do with them.

“A dungeon can be many things,” Derrick continued. “To some, mostly those snubbed nosed scholars, they are the birthplace of mana and the source of the magical power in the air. To people like us though,” he said before grinning. “It's a place to get levels and maybe even find some valuable treasures.”

What the man was describing was unlike anything about that tomb and Cecillia frowned.There weren’t any opportunities to level and the only piece of treasure she had found was off of a corpse. Perhaps, the dungeon she had entered was an anomaly.

“What do you mean by getting levels?” Cecillia asked.

“Did your parents not tell you this at all?” Derrick said and the girl narrowed her eyes. “I-I’m sorry… I didn’t mean it like that. Usually, the first thing that a parent tells their child when they’re old enough to live on their own is to never enter a dungeon.”

He waited for the girl to absorb the information before continuing.

“Remember what I said about the birthplace of mana?” he asked.

Cecillia nodded, “So you’re saying that monsters are created in these dungeons through their mana cores correct? Which essentially makes it the perfect place to level up due to easy accessibility and high likelihood of stronger enemies due to the environment.”

It was more so an educated guess as this was the most likely way that a dungeon could work. Even if she hadn’t been in an actual one, the man made it seem that they were of huge importance.

“You’re exactly right. Wow…” Derrick smiled. “That’s basically spot on. Sometimes there might be thousands of them at a time, so towns usually hire mercenaries to keep their levels in check.”

“I see,” Cecillia replied. “But can they be destroyed? Why go through the effort of culling their numbers every so often when you can just eliminate their point of creation.”

These dungeons were starting to become quite similar to the alien hives back on earth. Once those wretched beings had claimed a prime territory to breed, they would implant thousands of eggs into the still alive humans. The ether in the air would then transform those that wished they were dead into living wombs to constantly give their alien offspring life. It was quite disgusting, and humanity’s armies would generally purge these nests through missions or excursions. Cecillia herself had participated in a large number of these alone, and over time, she had grown desensitized to the horrors.

The man shook his head. “Dungeons can be destroyed, although it is extremely difficult to do so. The firepower needed isn’t worth it. And either way, no one in their right mind would want to destroy one.”

Cecillia raised a brow. “Why not? What if people die?”

“Monsters don’t usually leave their dungeons so the only common casualties are from the divers. There have been cases where monsters gather into a horde and leave but that’s if no one runs through and rinses them out for a while. The main reason why dungeons aren’t destroyed but kept around is because they’re quite crucial to the economy,” he explained.

“Because of the mana cores?” Cecillia asked.

“Not just that. Some dungeons have crystals and rare mana infused ores that are used for machinery and even weapons. Not to mention leveling, miners and smiths depend on the dungeons even more than the soldiers,” Derrick answered

‘Guess they’re a natural resource then,’ Cecillia supposed.

If dungeons were like the man had described, then the kingdom with the most dungeons under their control would be the strongest. That might’ve been part of the reason why the residents of Willowmere were forced to leave their homes.

Cecillia glanced up at the man, wanting to ask about any special dungeons. However Derrick looked towards the forest with a faraway stare and she assumed that they were out of time.

“Thanks for all the help,” Cecillia said with a grateful smile.

Derrick laughed and waved a hand dismissively. “It was no problem. I think Cassandra wanted to say a few words to you, and I might have to go intercept the others before they arrive.”

Cecillia nodded and the man turned to leave, yet his steps paused as he came back around.

“Hey um… just one more thing,” Derrick said hesitantly, “Is it possible if you could tell the cap— ah… nevermind. Sorry, forget what I said.”

Cecillia stared at the man blankly. “Why not tell him yourself? You should know where our camp is.”

“It’s really alright, don’t worry. I’m sorry for even mentioning it,” he said bitterly. “Take care Cecillia. I’m sure you’ll be a lot stronger the next time we meet.”

Cecillia waved lightly and the man disappeared. Her eyes floated over to Cassandra and Naira who were sitting on the grass and she walked towards them.

“Hey,” Cassandra said. “Are you doing alright? Naira didn’t scare you did she?”

Cecillia shook her head. “No, I’m fine.”

“That’s good, you didn’t seem very scared. I was just making sure,” Cassandra smiled and shook Naira. The woman’s gaze lifted and her eyes met with Cecillia’s.

“Oh… hey. I’m sorry for exploding on you like that,” Naira said. Her voice was quiet and the corners of her eyes were red. “You’re going to be leaving right.”

Cecillia nodded, but she felt compelled to say something to the woman. As if laying witness to the self from the outside perspective, a sudden feeling of disassociation ripped through her being. Her mind turned to ice, every feeling numb as the world turned monochrome.

“You were weak,” Cecillia stated coldly. “Because of that you couldn’t protect what was important to you.”

As the words left her lips, Cassandra’s eyes widened, and Naira’s shoulders quivered. Cecillia didn’t feel anything, but she instinctively knew that what she had said was wrong. She watched as the woman’s face crumpled, her form growing smaller as if shrinking away.

“I… I was w-weak?” Naira mumbled.

“I’m sorry, I didn—”

Naira took a shaky breath. “No. You’re right… I was too weak. If only I could’ve stopped the Captain. If only I was stronger, then they wouldn’t be gone.”

Cassandra glared at Cecillia and placed a hand on the woman’s shoulder. But the woman only shrugged the gesture off as a fire returned to her eyes.

“Cassandra, I’m fine,” Naira intoned as her gaze snapped onto Cecillia. She released a laugh, nearly broken, but a brimming grin spread on her lips. “I like you Cecillia. I always knew that you were a funny person.”

Cecillia returned the stare emotionlessly and another roaring laugh left the woman’s throat.

“I mean fuck Cassandra. Funny and crazy are basically the same thing right? What was the saying? Two sides of the same coin… right?”

Cecillia felt a growing cold at the bottom of her spine. The hairs on the back of her neck raised and a lingering unease filled her mind.

Cassandra shot her a worried look before mouthing a word. “Run.”

“Cecillia honey. I didn’t think that you were stupid at first, but when a little level eleven tells someone above level 150 that they’re weak, do you think there won’t be any consequences?!”

The aura around the woman’s body detonated and a surge of flames was released. Scarlet rose in the form of a flower’s petals, blossoming in a plume of death and Cecillia was already running. She called for Blackie, leaping into the air as the scorching fires slammed into her body.

With a yelp, she was blasted forward, but a barrier protected her from any serious injury.

“I’ll give you ten seconds to get the fuck out of my sight girl!” Naira cackled. “And tell that son of a bitch that the next time I see him I’ll definitely kill him!”