A week has passed since our first day in this dungeon. The dungeon showed no signs of ending as each floor kept getting harder. Luckily it took a while for the difficulty to increase, but it does pile up.

I’ve been keeping count of the floor, and I know for a fact we’re currently taking a break on the 34th floor. We’re eating our rations, sitting in a circle in a tiny cave.

From my experience this kind of dungeon ends around the hundredth floor, it might be less or more depending on pure luck.

Finishing 34 floors in a week is amazing! In my last dungeon in this forest, the dungeon being a D rank, in a week we were only on floor 19.

The fact we made it so far is very impressive!

I cannot contain my excitement!

I need to give credit to the person who helped us get here so far.

Taetel Chaim.

He has by far been the best teammate I could ask for. His battle iq, area awareness, etc, everything is stunning! I never doubted his ability once I heard he was an adventurer, just like my sister!

However, I feel like I, alone, am able to recognize the magnitude of his ability. Minori Arakawa, a girl from Class A, might have noticed it, but she probably dismissed it due to her lack of experience in dungeons.

The same can be said for the rest, except for Leon Basset. Although he knows, the only reason he has an idea is because he is acquainted with Taetel.

Ahhh!!!

Why do I sound so g—

“Are you okay?” Arakawa asked with a worried expression.

“Yep! I’m just a bit tired because of the lack of mana,” I replied, grinning.

But how can I not admire Taetel?

He’s an adventurer!

Ever since I was a little kid, I always wanted to be an adventurer.

No.

I always wanted to be like my sister.

I always copied her actions.

Since she’s an adventurer, I want to be one too.

My sister taught me everything I wanted to know. All of her knowledge impressed me so much as a child. So much so that I began assisting in dungeons at the age of twelve. I gradually learn the ways while carrying the bags of other adventures.

My sister even let me accompany her to some dungeons where I experienced the thrill of being an adventurer. The thrill of exploring, the thrill of giving it your all, the thrill of surpassing your limits.

It’s obvious, but my sister is the pride and joy of my family. Our lives are significantly better because of the money she earns through being an adventurer.

That’s how I could attend this academy in the first place. I cannot express how grateful I am to my sister.

As much as I try to catch up to my sister, I probably won’t ever reach her. In the first place, while being in Class C isn’t horrible, it doesn’t give me much relief.

My assessment wasn’t the best. If I remember correctly it was something along these lines.

Power: F

Speed: F

Technique: C

Intelligence: B

Cooperativeness: C

The only thing keeping me from having self deprecating thoughts is the assessment is based on fighting hand to hand, not on my forte which is magic. I guess the teachers kept that information private as there’s no way they’ll let me in Class C with this.

Both my sister and Taetel share the same characteristics which gives me a sense of security when clearing this dungeon.

Reliability.

If there is a single word to describe Taetel Chaim it would be reliable. As much as I would want to use more words, it will be way too long, and I need to be on guard in case a monster decides to ambush us.

Still, while Arakawa is technically leading us, Taetel is who I feel is the most helpful.

That’s not saying Arakawa is useless! I won’t badmouth my teammate like that! I have standards, y’know!

I looked around, trying to find Taetel. I found him easily due to the tiny space we were in. He was currently conversing with Cynthia Flanders. She seemed to enjoy his company as she smiled and chuckled whenever he appeared to make a joke.

I wanted to shout “Damn, who made you smile like that!” But it was not only unnecessary, but it would embarrass her. Like I said, I have standards!

In a week, he has been with Cynthia most of the time with me, Leon, Arakawa, and Rona, the standings being as I respectively mentioned.

Woah! Why am I counting the time he has spent on other people!

Am I actually g—

“Are you sure you are okay, Keller? You're making a disgusted expression. I know the rations might not taste the best, but it’s all have to eat,” Arakawa asked once again.

“I’m fine! Really!” I responded by raising my arms.

I’ve noticed this, but Arakawa is a good person, she’s always worrying about us whenever we show signs of being in pain.

But like I was saying, why am I counting the time? Well, I just wanted to see how much chemistry we have with each other. I would hate for us to fail because of a lack of communication.

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

The information I gathered is pretty simple, so let’s start from Class A to Class F.

Minori Arakawa.

She has spent most of her time with fellow girls, those being Rona Pearson and Cynthia Flanders. She seems to particularly get along with Rona as they usually hang out when we are eating.

On the other hand, Arakawa barely spends time with us when it’s not about the dungeon, not that there’s anything wrong with that.

When she does, it’s with me, which isn’t saying much, then with Taetel, she mostly talks to him about dungeon related things, and lastly Leon, almost making me think she’s avoiding him, which isn’t the case.

Trust me, I should know.

Taetel Chaim.

This may come as a surprise since I kept saying how reliable he is, but he doesn’t really talk to anybody when we’re eating. He’s just chilling and not talking, well, not exactly.

He actually does socialize, but only when other people approach him. This makes it pretty easy to see who he is with most of the time. Cynthia by far is the one who approached him the most.

She might have a crush on him!

Gahahaha!

Okay, I’m joking! Geez! You don’t have to tell me how I’m blowing things out of proportion. Though I think we can all agree that she does enjoy being with him.

I think I understand a bit.

Taetel is strong.

Not only in the mental sense, but also in the physical sense. He’s well-built, I expect nothing less than from an adventurer! I could see it well when I healed an injury caused by monster who sunk their claws on his arm.

…

…

I’ll be honest, I noticed his scars on his arm.

All I can say is it solidifies his position as an adventurer.

Tiny scars were all over his arm, unfortunately I couldn’t tell how long they were.

I never managed to identify the type monsters who caused the scar. I know for a fact that it was one, but I feel I have never seen it. Kind of shows how strong Taetel is…

The more I think about it, the more I see how I will never catch up to him.

Just like my sister.

I…

Ahh! Why am I worrying about such things!

It’s common for adventurers to have scars!

I also briefly saw something else, but I couldn’t quite tell what it was. I never had the chance to ask as Rona appeared, interrupting my thoughts.

Well, I don’t think it’s very important in the first place. If it was, Taetel would be more careful about hiding his scars, and the other thing. So I can just inquire about it another time.

Oh? What was I saying?

Oh, right, relationships!

The opposite is Cynthia, for a lack of a better words, she’s weak. She’s a frail person, her strength not being enough to damage the monsters. She typically weakens them, utilizing her speed to do a hit-and-run, with the rest of us finishing the job.

So what does her being weak have to do with it?

Heh, okay…tell me.

Who doesn’t admire the strong!?

That may be a possibility as much as them getting along. While I haven’t heard their conversations, it is pretty obvious how engaged she is in the conversation.

Oh, yeah.

I think they also share things in common.

I remember briefly hearing a fragment of one of their many conversations when I went to grab my ration. Cynthia gasped and said something along the lines of “No way! I never knew someone else…” Unfortunately I didn’t manage to hear the rest.

A quick summary for the rest of the rankings for Taetel are me, I sometimes talk to him, Taetel almost never talks to Leon except when we are exploring the dungeon, he sometimes stays back with him when we are talking a quick break, we have to collect the unrefined mana stones before we move on.

Lastly are Arakawa and Rona, these two are self explanatory.

Rona Pearson.

While she’s with Arakawa most of the time, other than that she doesn’t interact much with the rest of us. Getting her to communicate was pretty hard. Of course, this doesn’t affect our chemistry as she isn’t showing any hostility, it’s more like she’s minding her business.

Next in line isssss…meeeee!

I tend to hang out with Taetel when he’s not with Cynthia. Other than that, I leave other people alone. I do sometimes talk to Leon, but at first he stared at me strangely. In Cynthia’s case, I tried to pry about her and Taetel which didn’t end well. I don’t talk much to Arakawa, much less Rona.

Cynthia Flanders.

Who is it?

Gasp, it’s Taetel!!!

How!?

Okay since he’s the obvious candidate, let’s head towards the other one which is Arakawa, Arakawa for some reason really likes asking about the branch of magic she uses.

Like hey, I can do that too!

Can I?

Yeah!

Then it’s me, which isn’t saying much, the Rona and lastly Leon.

Keep in mind this is only counting for free time. It’s only when we genuinely want to hang out with someone. Because if we count the more important conversations about the dungeon, formations, then everyone here does talk, each of us expressing our own opinions.

Leon Basset.

He’s mostly alone, much like Rona. To no one’s surprise, I’m the one who is with him. While he indeed stared at me strangely, I think it was because he didn’t expect someone to approach him.

Then it’s Taetel, though from what I’ve seen, they definitely know each other before the introductions. Not that they are hiding it.

“We should get going. The food rations should last for a month so we don’t have to worry about it running out,`` Arakawa suddenly said. She pointed towards the bag. “A future problem however, is the lack of space. We’ve been collecting the unrefined mana stones, but it seems like space is going to run out soon.”

“How about you give me the ones who hold less value?” Taetel asked, looking up and then downwards as he was talking with Cynthia about something.

Huh…? Why would he need them? He did crush them into dust, but the reason for that was because they held less—ah. Okay, I get it now. Taetel will crush them and use them.

The dust holds a faint scent of mana which monsters detect. Due to this it’s common to use it as bait for weaker monsters, this is what Taetel has been using for them.

I also think you might be able to use the solid version as a bomb, but I heard it’s dangerous as it has a possiblty to burn your hand.

Wait.

Didn’t I see a burn mark on Taetel’s hand?

“That’s fine with me, how about you all!” Arakawa asked for our opinions.

“I’m with Taetel!” Cynthia responded, way too excited.

Cute.

She’s cute.

Oh, no.

I just lusted over Taetel’s woman!

W-w-wait!!!

I’m joking!!!

Chill!

Calm down.

In case you need it.

Humanity is doomed the day when people can’t take jokes…

“Yeah, me too!” I answered, raising my hand.

“I have no objections,” commented Rona.

“I’m fine either way,” said Leon.

“Well, it’s decided,” Arakawa smiled as she clapped her hand.

Break has ended and we need to get going. While rest is good and all, it’s only good when you finish a hard day of work

Gahahahaha!