"Thanks for coming," Cayden said to his friend as they exited the gates of Valtane, ignoring the pair of legionnaire guards silently watching them leave. It was unusual for guards to be legionnaires – the combat-oriented race was typically employed directly by nobles or the crown in more prestigious positions than simple guardsmen. But recently they had been more common to see in certain areas of the city.

"You've already said that," Jeremy responded.

"Well, it bears saying again. I know you could be making a lot more money and experience delving with your team than coming with us. I appreciate it."

"I'll respond again, then – it's no problem. What are friends for?" He smirked. "Besides, I'm looking forward to watching you flail about."

Jeremy was currently using his [Share Senses] skill with Cayden and Tiana as they walked together to the dungeon. It meant Cayden was missing out on some valuable training time, but none of them wanted to waste the extra hours it would take for Cayden to bushwhack his way blindly through the Lost Forest. Though both Tiana and Jeremy expressed that they would enjoy the spectacle.

He would withdraw the skill from Cayden once they got to the dungeon, but that wouldn't be for hours yet. Cayden and Elise had decided upon an F-ranked dungeon for this delve, the lowest rank that the adventurer's guild could give to a dungeon. Unfortunately, Delver's Academy had no F-ranked dungeons reserved for their students' use, as even the weakest of their reserved dungeons were at least E-rank. And any non-academy dungeons near the capital had week-long – or longer – waitlists for delve slots.

The closest F-ranked dungeon that didn't require a reservation in advance was almost a full day's walk into the Lost Forest, which was part of the reason Cayden was so thankful for Jeremy's presence. While the dangers of the Lost Forest were fewer this close to the capital, they weren't nonexistent, and it was a relief to have his friend nearby.

Financially and experience-wise, Jeremy would gain almost nothing from the delve, as even if they were to give him every experience crystal they collected from the F-ranked dungeon – which he had already refused to accept – it would still be less than what he could earn as his portion from a delve with his team of a higher-ranked dungeon.

If Cayden still had his [Taunt] skill, he would've been much more confident delving without his friend present. But as it was, he had no way to pull monsters off his sister if she was targeted. Jeremy was strong enough that, in an F-ranked dungeon, he should be able to protect Tiana regardless of what happened.

Cayden hoped it wouldn't be necessary. He was fully confident in his own durability, especially in comparison to F-ranked monsters. But precision had never been one of his strong suits, and without vision he couldn't imagine that that would improve. Between her training at the fateweaver compound and her recently acquired [Dagger Mastery] skill – giving her a thirty percent bonus to agility and dexterity – Tiana would hopefully be able to handle the F-ranked monsters.

If should couldn't, though, then Jeremy would be nearby and ready with the save.

Eventually, Cayden hoped Tiana would pivot to a caster build. It worked better with her fateweaver race, which had magic power, magic control, mana, and mana regen as its primary stats. Tiana herself had stated the fateweaver compound had been working toward something similar, a magical-attendant style of build. However, they hadn’t gotten to the point of teaching her any magical skills, not before Valeria had it shut down.

That wasn't something Cayden could offer any advice or training towards. Perhaps, after returning to the academy, they could pay for instruction from one of the caster instructors. She was much younger and less experienced than the instructors were used to teaching, but Cayden couldn't imagine their expert advice could hurt, should they be willing to offer it.

Regardless, even casters needed a backup weapon in case they ran out of mana, so Tiana's training with a dagger wouldn't be wasted. And the experience of fighting and killing monsters was invaluable, regardless of one’s class.

Cayden shook his head. They had a long walk to the dungeon, and someone might have thought he was the one going on his first delve rather than Tiana, from the way he was worrying. He could agonize about his sister's build another day – or, better yet, leave it in Elise's much more capable hands.

They were walking through a gently shaded section of the Lost Forest. This close to Valtane, there were plenty of trails for them to follow, and the path clear and easy to follow. The sun shone brightly above the trees, and though it wasn't technically his own sight, he could enjoy being able to see where he was walking again.

He resolved to enjoy it.

"...Count Mennon and Count Lisbor. And then two more barons this morning, according to the rumors."

"That makes, what? Six noble houses now?" Tiana asked.

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"That I've heard about, yes," Jeremy replied. "It's got a lot of people at the guild nervous. I've never seen the dungeons this heavily booked. Everyone wants to get out of the city, if they can." He gave a wry chuckle. "My team included. They've delved about as much this last week as they did in the previous two months combined."

"I can imagine," Tiana answered. "Six noble houses? Even if most of them were low nobles, the queen is pushing it. I can't imagine the rest of the nobility will accept much more, regardless of whether or not they're the targets."

There was a beat of silence as they all considered the potential grim ramifications until Cayden decided it was time to change the subject.

"How has that been, delving with your old team?"

"It's been nice. I was worried it might be a bit awkward since they've added a new frontliner to replace me while I was at the academy. But the guy seems cool – a nice change from my team during the semester."

Cayden noticed Tiana looking confused and turned to his sister. "They assign us our teams at the academy. Jeremy didn't exactly get along with his teammates."

"Really?" Tiana looked at Jeremy curiously. "What was wrong with them?

"Nothing was wrong with them, exactly," Jeremy replied, awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck as a mischievous glint appeared in Tiana's eyes.

"Oh? Something was wrong with you, then?"

Jeremy spluttered, his face reddening as Tiana cackled. Cayden let her laugh for a few seconds before taking mercy on his friend.

"They were jerks," Cayden explained. "According to Jeremy, at least. I haven't spoken more than two words to them, myself."

Jeremy gave Cayden a side-eyed look. "I could quote some of the things they said, but it’s not stuff that should be repeated in polite company."

"And it doesn't help that your [Bind Minds] skill gives you a feel for their surface thoughts and feelings, as well," Cayden added.

"Ah, I could see how that could make some friendships harder," Tiana nodded, before frowning. "How have you managed to remain friends with my brother, then?"

"Ha-ha. You're hilarious."

For about a minute they simply walked, enjoying the brisk morning air as they followed the trail in silence.

"It...has been interesting with my old team for other reasons," Jeremy eventually said.

"Really? How so?"

"They're...kinda weak."

Cayden turned around, using Jeremy's vision to walk backward down the trail as he raised his eyebrows above the bandages that encircled his head, ensuring his friend could read the surprise on his face.

"Yeah, that was my reaction, too. I always used to be the weakest on the team, at least that's what I thought. And it made sense, considering how much younger I am than the rest. But now, after training so long with my team at the academy..."

"They're weaker than your academy team?" Tiana asked with some surprise.

"No, not exactly – but it's close. If they were to face off three times, I'd guess my academy team would only win once. But they're close to a decade younger than my guild teammates." He shook his head. "It just caught me by surprise. I didn't feel like I got that much stronger over this last semester. I only leveled five times. But in comparison to my guild teammates, the difference is pretty obvious."

"Huh," Cayden replied. "That's not something I've noticed, but I don't exactly have any contacts outside the academy. Did your teammates not level? Or is it just skill growth that makes up the difference?"

"Bit of both, I think. They haven't shared their exact statuses with me, of course, but I think they're still higher level. I don't think they really focus on leveling, anymore, since they usually sell all the experience crystals we loot. It's the skills that make the big difference, though. My teammates aren't BAD adventurers – not by any means. But they aren't nearly as committed to their roles as some of the people at the academy. They're closer to some of the one-off nobles than they are to anyone on yours or the princess' teams."

Cayden nodded. 'One-offs' referred to those who only attended the academy for a single semester – typically those nobles who only did so for propriety's sake, abandoning the combat skills they'd trained in favor of political skills as soon as the semester ended.

"Wait, didn't you have one teammate who's a fourth-year at the academy? What about him?"

Jeremy nodded. "Yeah, he's the one exception. He's definitely still stronger than me, but he's also what got me thinking about all of this in the first place. He's been pushing for our team to delve more B-ranked dungeons, and even potentially some A-ranks, if they're appropriate, but the rest are content where we're at. Which has got him looking for other, stronger teams to join." He shrugged. "There's no hard feelings. We all understand that different people fight at different levels, and adding and losing team members is part of being an adventurer. But it makes me wonder for my future."

They fell back into silence, Cayden unable to think of what advice or comfort he might offer his friend. While he'd quickly outgrown some of the temporary teams he'd delved with back in Avernon, he'd always understood those alliances to be temporary – he'd never been in a situation where he might outgrow those he cared about.

Elise wasn't combat-focused, but she was leagues ahead of anyone else in whatever she set her mind to. He could remember how proud Mr. Heymore – her father – had been of the potions she'd been so dismissive of. And he couldn't imagine she was any less talented compared to her peers in enchanting. If she chose to bend her skills that way, Cayden was sure she could destroy him in a physical contest with just a few of her enchanted items.

And as for Tiana...Cayden had always been playing catch-up to the level of trouble her fateweaver race attracted.

"You having second thoughts about this F-ranked dungeon, then?" Tiana joked.

Jeremy gave a snort. "I think I'll be fine."