“Yaaro what’re you staring at? Let’s go”

His gaze slowly came unstuck like velcro and he half heartedly muttered, “Yeah, let’s go.”

As they walked, Sholin glanced backwards, concerned about Yaaro’s unusual silence.

“All good?”

“Yeah. Just thinking.”

And indeed he was. Just what were the connections between this dungeon and the letter? Even briefly thinking about it, Yaaro came to a conclusion. Despite how ridiculous it was, it was the only explanation.

Just who was the author of those journal pages? He was a mysterious otherworlder who had managed to create an extremely famous dungeon. And just what happened in those last few days?

Chills ran down his spine.

Lost in thought, he didn’t register the voice calling out to him.

A gentle tap graced his shoulder, breaking him out of his reverie.

“Yaaro. Hi.” An enchantingly soothing voice flowed into his ears. He would have frozen, but his mind was still elsewhere. He turned around and sure enough, there she was.

The long flaps on her headgear waved slightly with every minute movement.

“Hi. Hyphis right?” He said, pretending to struggle to remember her name.

She smiled softly, “Pleasure to meet you.” She curtsied politely, leaving Yaaro unsure how to react. From the back he could sense the countless gazes of people boring into him.

“To what do I owe the pleasure?” He said, trying to sound as refined as possible. He was talking to elf royalty after all.

“Is your team full?”

“Uhhh… Allow me to inquire.” He said, and then briskly walked to Sholin, who with the rest of the group, was looking at something on a desk.

“Sholin, is our team full?”

Despite his best attempt at masking his annoyance, one could see it in his eyes, “Yes we have 5 people. Why?”

“Hyphis asked.”

Immediately the irritation was replaced by curiosity, and then immediately by suspicion, “Hyphis asked? Why?”

“Let me ask.”

“By the way, these nobles never give a straight answer. They always beat around the bush. So you have to keep asking questions.”

With that Yaaro was off to Hyphis, who patiently waited.

“Why do you inquire?” He asked her.

“Because I want to join your team.”

He walked back to Sholin and conveyed her answer.

Immediately there was a wide grin on Sholin’s face.

He pat Yaaro’s back, which Yaaro quickly brushed off, “Tell her we actually do have a spot free.”

“Aren’t we full?”

“I don’t think you understand.”

An eyebrow rose on Yaaro’s face.

“See. Out of everyone she could ask, she asked you. What does that mean?”

“You’re really stretching it.”

“It’s the truth. You see this paper we’re reading?” Sholin excused himself and took the paper that the rest of the team was reading.

“It has the rules, yes. But! It also has a team sign up form. You walked in just as I was about to put in my name.”

Indeed it was. With the exception of Sholin, there were four names already written.

“Now watch this.”

Before Sholin could put pen to paper, Yaaro grabbed his wrist.

“Seriously? You’re going to do this just because she asked?” Yaaro asked.

“See. I’m doing it just because she asked you.” Sholin continued in a whisper, “Listen. You and I both know who we’re talking about. And it’s your last day, are you really saying you’d rather spend time with me than the most beautiful girl in the world?”

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“Yes.”

“How romantic.”

“I don’t know her, but I know you. It’s as simple as that.”

‘Sholin sighed, “Man. You aren’t going to get another opportunity like this.” Sholin forcefully shook off Yaaro’s hand.

“After I’m gone, then what? Once formed, the teams are fixed.”

“Who said that?” Sholin asked, furrowing his brow, “Teams can be changed after each expedition, so this arrangement isn’t permanent.”

“Oh. Then hurry up and write her name.”

Sholin burst into laughter, “See! It wouldn’t hurt to be honest.” And then carefully wrote her name,

Hyphis de Maribelle Lisamour II

Sholin then turned around and explained the situation to his teammates. His teammates repeatedly questioned his decision, but he managed to sway them somehow. Although Yaaro couldn’t hear him, the looks on their faces told him he was making an extremely convincing argument.

He approached the waiting Hyphis and informed her that there was indeed a spot available and that she was welcome to join. As they talked, he saw Sholin jogging far behind Hyphis, then turn around to look at him, and wave with a grin.

Yaaro couldn’t help but grin as well.

----------------------------------------

Everyone in the group, with the exception of Hyphis, retched. Mikhael had even vomited onto the cavern floor. Unfortunately, teleporters were notorious for the disorientating nausea they induced.

“What is that smell?” Yaaro asked, wincing in disgust. It was faint, but what little there was was unbearable. It smelt like a repulsive mix of boiling feces, sewage and rotten eggs.

But nobody could answer. It seemed like it was their first time experiencing such a smell as well.

With Yaaro and Hyphis in the back, and the other three in front, the team started walking. Over time, the smell grew bearable, until at one point, they didn’t register it at all.

This was the third floor. A large, rocky tunnel which remained dimly lit despite any source of light. Unlike other floors, the third, fourth and fifth floors were cordoned off for regular adventurers in lieu of the University’s expedition. Since such an event was the first of its kind, there had been a lot of vehement protests.

Many accused the Adventurer’s Guild of profiteering off their control of the Dungeon. Protests and even some riots ensued.

Despite the overwhelming negative sentiment against the students, Yaaro was the only one who had not experienced their hostility. This was because he didn’t know the language, didn’t care, and blissfully lived in his own world.

Just like now.

Without a care in the world, Yaaro walked along with Hyphis at the back of the group. Sometimes she would ask him something, and he would do his best to put on a straight face.

“You mentioned you were a traveler. Do you have any interesting tales?” She asked, her voice embracing him like a soft, cold pillow.

“Many.” He turned to her with two closed fists, “One fake story, one real story. Pick a hand and I’ll tell you, but you have to guess which one’s which.”

She giggled and touched one fist. Yaaro had to fight to put on a straight face as he told her a story he made up on the spot. As he narrated the story, Yaaro had to fight to keep control of his voice.

In the dim light her doe eyes were magical, almost drawing him into them.

Years of doing presentations in school and University had prepared him for this.

Despite his heart thrashing against his chest, he spoke eloquently, and with a charming flow.

However much he wanted to keep talking with her and hear her voice, there were bound to be natural lulls in the conversation.

During one such lull, Mikhael laughed quite loudly, perking Yaaro’s interest.

“What are you talking about?” Hyphis asked, using the voice.

Being the only one who knew the voice, Claire responded,

“We were talking about summons and Mikhael said something funny.” She said, a faint smile playing on her lips.

“Summons?” Yaaro asked.

“You are not aware of summons?” Hyphis asked, to which Yaaro shook his head.

“What are they?” A faint smile played on his lips as he asked her. As someone who’d read so many webnovels, there was no way he didn’t know. What surprised him was that he hadn’t seen a summon since entering this world.

“You must have seen those dancing statues and the flying dagger in the market.”

He was surprised. It never struck him that those were summons.

“Those are summons?”

“They are just some examples of what a summon can be.” She said, with a soft smile. It seemed she always had a gentle smile, but it never once felt forced. Tenderness radiated from her like springtime sunshine. “This world is vast, and the world of summons, equally so.”

“Do you have a summon?”

“I do not. But all elves receive one during their maturity ceremony.”

Maturity ceremony? Yaaro’s eyes immediately narrowed. Putting two and two together, he quickly deduced that this could mean only one thing.

That she was underage. The pangs of guilt slowly creeped towards his heart as he asked,

“Oh? When is that?”

“In a few years.”

Yaaro’s heart sank, and his jaw fell slack. Almost instantly, his expression collapsed— resembling a person who’d lost both their parents in a car crash.

“When I turn 30.”

“Wh—” at the f—

He’d almost spat his thoughts out.

This… This is a different problem altogether…

For comparison, Yaaro was only 20.

“Are you surprised?” Hyphis asked, noticing his silence.

“Huh? No, why would I be?”

He appeared unbothered— a natural actor. But Hyphis had ears, and nobody in the team missed his expression of surprise.

“Unlike you humans, we elves live very long lives.”

“Is that so.”

Of course I knew that. I’d be surprised if your lifespan was like a fly instead. He thought.

Suddenly the three in front of them stopped. They conversed in hushed, cautious tones.

“What happened?” He asked. Yaaro didn’t need to understand them to know that something was wrong. Claire— the only one who knew the voice— turned back, her face grave, “I think you should take a look at this.”

Parting through the team, the two stepped forward and immediately had mixed reactions.

Because in front of them was a corpse.