This pavement was large and circular in the centre of the garden with an elaborate circular fountain. Erik glanced at the fountain, illuminating brightly.

"Seras really wastes her time on useless stuff," Erik mumbled as he looked at the fountain and the small orb of light inside the water. It looks good though, he thought to himself with a small smile.

The east gate to the dorm was a double door made of sleek, black-coloured wood. Erik reached the gate and tried to open it.

Is it locked? Erik thought as he tried to open the door, but it didn't budge.

Erik knocked on the door twice, and almost instantly, the door was opened from the inside.

"We got some newcomers," Seras said as she looked at Erik, excitement flickering in her eyes.

"We did?" Erik exclaimed, surprised.

Seras nodded at this. "We sure did," she added as she moved aside from the door, letting Erik walk inside.

"They're asleep though, Like, their first day was long and stuff, ya know," Seras added as she began walking toward the seating area.

Erik turned back to lock the door. "Has Miss Margrave came yet?" Erik asked as he slid the golden bolt lock to secure the door.

"Yeah, she did, she's sleeping herself" Seras added as she walked and sat on the sofa in the seating area. A plate of food sat in front of her on the black marble table—a simple chicken gravy dish with rice.

Erik glanced at the main hall. Seras was sitting in the seating area which was present on the left side of the hall. Two large white sofas were set opposite each other, with two smaller, similarly well-cushioned sofas positioned opposite each other around a large table made of black marble and dark brown intricately designed wood. A large, light bluish crystal chandelier hung above the table.

In the centre portion, there was a door similar to the east entrance—a sleek, carefully crafted black wooden gate that acted as the western exit. This exit was directly connected to Celera's training ground and magic herb garden. It wasn't directly opposite to the eastern gate but it was instead present slightly to the right.

On the left side of the gate was the staircase with golden railings, leading between the first floor and the ground floor.

This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

On the right side of the main hall, there was a similar door to both the entrances, but it was a single door instead of a double door. This door opened into the kitchen. On the left side of the hall, directly opposite the kitchen, there was the door to the library.

Erik walked toward the stairs and returned to his room on the first floor. He changed into his normal clothes, a grey t-shirt and loose comfy brown pants. After changing, Erik walked out of his room, returned to the ground floor, and went back into the main hall. Erik entered the kitchen and looked at the food. He already knew what to expect.

There was a chicken gravy dish with some rice. Looks good, Erik thought to himself as he grabbed his dinner and went outside, closing the door behind him.

Erik walked toward the seating area, where Seras was still eating her dinner, and he took the seat directly opposite her on the long sofa.

"Do we have class tomorrow?" Erik questioned, looking at Seras.

Seras shook her head. "No, I'm not completely sure, but if I'm not wrong, we should have a day off tomorrow. Alisa might know the answer, but she is…"

"Asleep?" Erik completed Seras's sentence with a small chuckle.

"Yeah, something like that," Seras replied with a small smile.

"Why are you this late today, though?" Seras questioned Erik as she took a bite of her food.

"Things happened. Today's exploration was the toughest I have ever experienced," Erik replied with an enthusiastic tone.

Seras's yellow eyes widened. "What happened?" she asked, looking at Erik with slight concern.

"Ah…" Erik turned his head away to not look at her. "I am not supposed to tell," he replied hesitantly.

"What do you mean by you aren't supposed to tell?" Seras asked loudly, raising her eyebrows in a mix of frustration and curiosity.

Erik looked back at Seras. Seeing her face, he realized there was no way she was going to take no for an answer.

She isn't gonna quit, is she? Erik thought to himself.

"The only thing I can tell you is I had a strange monster encounter today," he said.

"What do you mean by strange?" Seras asked, her voice filled with curiosity.

Erik spoke in a serious tone. "That I can't tell you. Sorry, I have given my word to someone."

"Was it something unusual?" Seras asked. Erik didn't respond to this, but just by looking at his serious face, she realized it was.

Erik glanced back at Seras, who now had a serious expression on her face and was staring at the table. It felt as if her thoughts were somewhere else.

Seras turned her head to look at Erik. "Was it life-threatening?" she asked, her voice completely sincere and serious, with no hint of her usual joking tone.

Erik hesitated a bit. "No, it wasn't," he said.

"Don't lie to me," Seras said, glaring at Erik.

"I am not lying—" Erik tried to repeat but stopped when he looked at Seras doubtful expression. He let out a sigh.

"It wasn't exactly life-threatening. I most probably would have been able to escape, which I would have done had it been dangerous for myself."

Seras stood from her seat, the dirty plate in her hand.

"No more solo expeditions for you," she said, eyeing Erik as she stood.

"Sure, no more solo expeditions," Erik said agreeing to her, looking down at his plate.

Seras walked toward the kitchen to place the dirty utensils there, leaving Erik alone, deep in thought.

It's not like I ever want to go solo to the dungeon, Erik thought to himself as he looked up at the chandelier and let out a sigh.