Time passed as I watched Lapia with my undivided attention, inspecting the odd aura around the Elf. Stretching an arm, I tried touching it.

My hand passed through unimpeded, coming into contact with her shoulder.

The Elf's right hand, the color of brown sugar, rested on top of my gold one. Her fingers wrapped with mine and she caressed my palm with her thumb after lifting it a little.

A warm tingle spread from my fingertips to the base of my skull, where a pleasant sensation that reverberated through my brain made me close my eyes in content.

The reddish shape around her remained unperturbed even though my hand had gone through. The thickness, color, and consistency were not altered.

Hmm... I squinted my eyes at the woman.

“Nothing yet,” Lapia muttered in slight frustration, flipping a page. “Number of floors, norms on shape, recorded vegetation and minerals, relation between outer ecosystem and inner ecosystem... but not much about the door leading to it.” She tapped the book and let out a huff.

The sound of her voice landing on my ears was warm, salty, and a color similar to the vapor-looking aura around her body.

My eyebrows climbed my forehead, confusion spreading in my mind.

“Unless dungeons are on a completely different realm in Divine Lands...” she stopped talking and her eyes widened. “Or were Divine Lands chosen as such because such dungeons existed here, therefore no information on them would be collected unless the researcher is suicidal... or accompanied a Halve who requested it to be kept a secret.”

“Sounds dodgy,” I commented, enjoying the sensations I was experiencing. “And a little schizoparanoid.”

“Skitsoparanoid?” the Elf repeated in confusion, flipping a page. “What's that?”

I hummed for a second, thinking on how to explain it. “I don't really know how to explain it at the moment,” I concluded after not feeling like doing it.

The Wizard chuckled while nodding. “Dodgy? Yeah,” she picked the line of thought up. “We're talking about Halves, sunshine. Who knows who has wandered into a place they shouldn't, learned something, then met a Halve who told them to keep quiet... or worse.”

“Quite the claim,” I muttered with a smile.

Lapia sighed while shaking her head. “I am aware I have no proof on that, but I have learned of something I shouldn't make public, so it doesn't sound so out of touch.”

I took a deep breath, removed my hand from her shoulder, and sighed, “Can we not go there?”

The Wizard grumbled under her breath and continued reading in silence.

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

A fat caterpillar was moving across my palm, wiggling and dragging its fuzzy body forward.

I followed it with my eyes, smiling at the way the hairs bluishly and sourly tickled my skin. “Are you hungry, little buddy?” I asked and offered a leaf I found on the ground.

The bug's feelers touched the leaf and tentatively inspected the object for a few seconds. After enough information was gathered, it moved towards the food and began a small feast.

I nodded, sharing the feeling of a meal after a productive day of glorious survival.

A black thing passed in front of me like a blur, making me blink.

I looked up and saw a bird flying away. “Tsk! You'll scare my friend,” I chastised the flying animal, then looked down at my hand.

The caterpillar was gone, replaced by a stain of transparent liquid.

I produced a napkin and wiped my hand, then frowned. “You left us too soon, Ilya Natashov Novak,” I lamented the death of my friend who I just met and named.

A branch snapped to my right.

I produced my spear and looked over, ready to engage.

Yolin was approaching on top of Pochi, while the rest of the party followed on their mounts.

The tank had a white-gold blanket of watery gas around her, similar to the aura around Lapia.

The Wizard stood up and walked to meet them.

“What took you so long?” I inquired while standing up. “It's been like... four hours,” I complained and walked to them.

The Oni laughed and dismounted. “So you found a dungeon?” She asked back with a big smile, standing in front of me.

I arched an eyebrow. “I asked you something first,” I insisted.

Lapia turned to me and gave me a look of confusion. “You sent them a message thirty minutes ago,” she pointed out.

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My eyebrows slowly reached their zenith, almost fusing with my hairline. “What are you talking about?” I inquired with a chuckle. “It's been around four hours,” I retorted and turned back to Yolin. “Did something happen?”

Yolin looked me in the eye. “We came here as soon as we got your messages,” she clarified, giving me a slightly confused look.

“Is this a bit?” Pokora asked from behind Pochi, showing up shortly after. We made eye contact and she gave me a playful wink.

The Archer was surrounded by a blue-green fog-like coat.

I held my chin and rubbed my cheeks. Oh well, whatever, I concluded with a shrug. “Come check this out,” I told Yolin while gesturing at the hole in the ground. “Alyssa! Come check it out, too!” I called in a loud voice to make sure she heard me.

Yolin gave me a quick hug and a kiss on the cheek. “Why are you whispering?” she inquired in a giggling whisper.

The sound of the Oni's voice caressed me with sugary comfort and solid strength which was a bit black on the edges like her tongue.

“I'm not, though?” I replied, giving her a confused look. “I'm talking like usual.”

Pokora approached me and grabbed me by the cheeks, then inspected my face. “Your eyes are glowing brighter than usual,” she pointed out. “You're whispering, have trouble with time, and gulp every time someone says something, Natasha. Did you eat something around here?” she asked with serious eyes. “Maybe a tasty-looking mushroom? Perhaps brown with holes in it?”

Yolin nodded. “Yeah, she's a bit out of sorts,” she pointed out in realization.

Lapia facepalmed. “We came across a tribe of Tulmi Elves,” she revealed with a heavy sigh.

“Actually?” Pokora questioned in a loud voice, letting me go and walking to Lapia. “How... what... when... Huh? You have to tell me about them, Lapia.”

The Wizard smiled and nodded. “I will,” she replied.

I tuned them out, knowing what happened, and looked for the Luzo.

She was standing next to me already.

The light purple woman had a pure white smokey breeze around her that looked gentle and soft.

I squinted my eyes and took a deep breath. “Alyssa,” I called to her.

Her red eyes scanned mine and her lips pulled up into a smile. “Yes?” She answered.

“I'm tripping balls,” I sighed, then corrected my words. “I'm on drugs right now, I think.”

The healer smiled wider and nodded. “Did you eat a mushroom?” she repeated Pokora's question.

I shook my head in denial. “The Tulmi Elves gave me some medicinal soup to drink, supposedly to ensure victory.”

She placed a hand on my forehead. “Your temperature is normal... but I doubt Halves get fevers,” she giggled. “Have you checked your status to see the effects?”

“Maybe it was pretty strong,” Yolin, who I forgot was in front of me, commented.

“Maybe too strong,” I agreed with a deep nod. “I can hear smells, temperature, and colors.”

The Oni whistled her surprise. “Damn. How does my voice feel?”

“Sweet, black, and solid,” I replied as I felt it.

Alyssa and Yolin shared a look, then turned back to me.

“Did you find the dungeon before or after you ingested the soup?” Alyssa asked with a big smile.

The Oni was looking at me with concern in her expression.

“Before,” I replied with certainty, giving them both a nod each, yet not knowing why that needed to be asked.

“Oh, alright,” Yolin accepted my words with a shrug. “So you didn't hallucinate it.”

“I found it with Lapia,” I assured them. “She's the one who... used spells to remove the soil.”

Both nodded in understanding.

Alyssa raised her scaly eyebrows at me. “Well?”

I blinked twice. “Well what?” I asked, a little confused.

Yolin bit her lips, fighting a smile.

The Luzo put a hand on my cheek and the other on my neck. “Did you check your status to see the effects of the medicine?” She inquired next to my ear.

“Ah,” I uttered, then replied, “No, I haven't.”

A moment of silence passed.

Alyssa gave my ear a soft kiss. “Can you check for me?”

I closed my eyes for a second, looked into her her eyes, and replied honestly, “Nah. I don't feel like doing that.”

Yolin erupted in laughter, bending forward and hugging her stomach.

Alyssa smiled and giggled. “Are you hungry?”

“Not particularly, no,” I replied while shaking my head.

The Luzo hummed. “Your heartbeat is lower than normal,” she informed me. “Around one hundred and five per minute.”

“Pretty fast,” I pointed out.

“Not for you,” Yolin retorted, still chuckling.

“Mh,” I hummed in acceptance then looked behind them to see if the rest of the party showed up.

Bonte, Bromisnar, Thelea, Elena, and Hanna were on top of their mounts a few meters away, waiting for something.

I gestured for them to approach. “What are they doing?”

“You're whispering,” Yolin pointed out. “Maybe they thought it was some secret so they kept their distance.”

I nodded in understanding. “GET OVER HERE!” I shouted at them, knowing that normal talking would result in whispering.

Alyssa took a step back while covering her ears. “Ouuuhh!”

I winced and produced a healing potion of the highest grade. “Too loud?” I inquired.

The Luzo and the Oni nodded.

“My bad,” I apologized and gave the Luzo a kiss on the forehead.

She accepted the flask and stored it, then activated a skill which made the aura around her glow brighter.

“O бля...” I breathed out.