The group continued to encounter kobold groups. Leon took on a few alone to practice the Thunderbolt spell and save some time. He also looked around the dungeon as they were walking around. More specifically, he looked at the walls.

Flowerpath noticed Leon’s inquisitive gazes around the dungeon. “Hey Tempest, what’re you looking for?”

Leon didn’t look at her but still answered her, “I’m looking at the walls.”

Flowerpath tilted her head in confusion. “Why? Is there something wrong with them?” To her, it just looked like a normal stone wall.

“Then why are the kobolds mining them?”

Leon’s question caused everyone to stop and look at him. After a few seconds, everyone burst into laughter. “Lad, you’re looking too deeply into this,” BrownBeard said in between his laughter.

Darkshadow agreed with BrownBeard. “Indeed Tempest, this is just the setting for the dungeon. There’s no real reason here. Lots of games do this.”

Leon didn’t laugh and only shook his head. Lots of games do not include Souls Online. He had read the original novel and every character or even monster had a reason for doing the things they did.

After that short intermission, they continued on. Leon barely got any EXP while the rest of the party had already got one level so far.

There had been no elites during the entire dungeon, something Leon was missing. He finally had his prayers answered when he noticed a kobold with a whip barking at the other three workers.

[Kobold Enforcer] (Elite)

Level 12

HP 410/410

The rest of the party didn’t share the same level of thrill as Leon. “He looks pretty mean,” Flowerpath commented.

“Let me take care of the Elite. Beans can help you guys with the commons.” Leon gave out a simple plan.

“Lad, commons are one thing, but Elites are another. Are you sure?” BrownBeard knew Leon was strong, but this was another level.

Leon nodded and didn’t answer his question. Beans jumped out of his robes and moved towards the trio, motioning them to follow him.

Leon walked towards the Elite and pointed his staff at it. Sparks quickly gathered, and Leon fired a bolt. His extensive practice enabled him to decrease the casting time significantly. The bolt impacted the enforcer, who stumbled from the pain.

-180

It looked at Leon with an enraged look and cracked its whip against the floor as it barked. The other three commons dropped their work and dashed towards Leon.

Leon noticed a difference in the kobolds that were charging him. They’re a bit faster, A group buff skill?

He didn’t fear the kobolds as one second later, Beans was already drumming the floor, stunning them. Flowerpath took potshots, and the others hacked away at the frozen kobolds.

Leon ignored the battle next to him and focused back on the Elite. It stomped its foot in anger as it ran at Leon.

Clear intelligence. What could they be mining here? Leon still had doubts about whether this was a normal setting. He waited until the Elite got close. Once it was close enough, it readied its whip and cracked it towards Leon.

Flowerpath kept her eyes on Leon and yelled out as she noticed the incoming whip. “Tempest, dodge!”

Leon looked to be standing still. Just when the whip was supposed to land, it phased through Leon’s body, baffling everyone who saw it.

A few steps to the side, a second Leon appeared and shot an Arcane Missile at the surprised Elite. The missile slammed into the Elite and made it faceplant into the ground.

-195

The Elite crawled up off the ground. Flowerpath almost felt bad for the Elite as it was being toyed with by Leon.

It tried one last time to charge at Leon and whip him in the face when its whip bounced off Leon just before it impacted.

Leon returned the favour with one more Arcane Missile killing the Elite. [Kobold Enforcer killed. Obtained reduced experience for killing a lower levelled enemy. 25% dungeon debuff. Obtained 56 EXP.]

The item was a useless, white graded item that he didn’t even inspect closely. He would probably give it to the group later.

He looked at the commons and saw that the rest had them under control. All three of them were already dead, with everyone staring at Leon again.

BrownBeard sighed and shook his head. “Why am I even surprised?” Everyone else also bitterly smiled at the difference between Leon and them.

The rest of the dungeon went smoothly. They didn’t spot any other elites and soon reached a small hut.

From the inside, the hut was simple and the only things of interest were a note on the table and some chairs.

BrownBeard noticed a new door, and as he tried to open it, a message rang out. [End of the dungeon has been reached. Do you wish to leave the dungeon?]

Leon looked at the note and noticed the writing was in a completely unfamiliar language. It’s unreadable, and no book for a translation either.

“That’s it? This feels a little anticlimactic?” Darkshadow said as he looked around for any treasure chests.

BrownBeard frowned as he had an idea. “It’s likely that the higher difficulties bring more rewards. The Elite was likely the boss.”

Flowerpath pouted at the reason. “That’s dumb. Then why even give the option of easy mode?”

Leon had an idea about that. “Easy mode is basically practice. You can learn about the enemies in a safe environment. Get experience and white items to challenge normal mode.”

The trio fell silent. It was their own fault that they chose easy mode. “So… What do we do now?” Flowerpath asked.

“We could explore the forest some more. Maybe we’ll run into something fun along the way?” Darkshadow proposed his idea.

Leon was hesitant. The dungeon was one big mystery to him and he knew if he left, it would bother him to no end. Just like the email back then.

BrownBeard sighed as he looked at Leon. “Lad, you don’t have to tag along with us, you know.” He knew Leon was strong enough for normal difficulty.

Leon felt guilty. They couldn’t keep up with him and, as a result, they couldn’t join him. “Sorry,” He mumbled.

Flowerpath rubbed his head. “Aww, no worries Tempest!” Leon quickly ducked under the head rub once he realised what she was doing. Sis is the only one allowed that. He thought as he gave her a semi mean look.

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

Flowerpath was a bit surprised at the sudden hostility and Darkshadow clearly noticed the tension as he coughed. “Anyway, let’s move on.”

They exited the dungeon, and a message popped up. [Congratulations on being the first players to beat the easy mode of the Kobold Mines! Would you like to announce your victory?]

Before Leon could even speak up, BrownBeard already decided for him. [Congratulations to an anonymous group of players for clearing Kobold Mines on easy difficulty!]

Leon felt his heart skip a beat as he really didn’t want people to know about the mines or him. “Not much prestige in clearing easy difficulty, is there?” BrownBeard asked the group.

Darkshadow shook his head. “Not really. Beating easy mode isn’t something to brag about.” Flowerpath seemed to disagree, but she said nothing.

They all sent Leon a friend request, and he accepted them all. He was always happy to have more friends in the game. The group waved Leon goodbye as he stayed behind.

Once the trio was far enough, they talked. “He’s quite something else, huh?” Flowerpath said as she looked back towards the dungeon.

BrownBeard nodded, “Indeed, if the lad can be that strong, then what about us?” They were adults and had years of gaming experience, yet Leon was much stronger than them combined.

Darkshadow sighed. “It’s a little disheartening that we struggled with easy difficulty. This game is proving to be more difficult by the day.”

Flowerpath was hesitant for a moment before asking a vital question. “Should we start again? This time with normal characters?”

Their decision to role-play characters had essentially crippled their characters as moving around was difficult and sensitivity could only be at 55% maximum.

BrownBeard shook his head. “That’s unnecessary. We just need to find a way to change our race. Then we can improve.”

Darkshadow nodded. “Indeed, that was the whole reason we’re exploring the surroundings, isn’t it?”

Flowerpath and BrownBeard nodded. They were the ones mostly affected and Darkshadow not so much.

Flowerpath thought back to Leon and asked, “Did any of you think Tempest was a little odd?” The whole time, he seemed uninterested in their conversations and she didn’t notice him looking at them at all.

“There’s probably a reason he’s like that. Maybe he just enjoys being alone.” Darkshadow gave his theory as they talked more about Leon and their dungeon experience.

Back at the dungeon entrance was Leon. He was contemplating entering the dungeon on normal mode, or perhaps do hard mode. Normal mode is likely to have a Super Elite, along with regular Elites and commons.

His eyes narrowed as he thought of hard mode. If that’s the trend, then hard mode has a bronze boss along with the rest. Leon knew he couldn’t beat hard mode but normal mode was doable alone.

Knowing Gaia, Hard mode likely has all the answers to the dungeon. Gaia was harsh, but fair. If someone did something impressive, it would reward them.

Leon hesitated a lot. If he wanted to do hard mode, he needed help. Just Luna might not be enough. I need more help. The only other person he could call was his sister.

He had made it his goal to surpass Rose. If Rose also got a piece of the dungeon, it wouldn’t help his goal at all and likely make his future chances even worse.

Leon shook his head. He was overthinking this. I should at least call Luna. After quickly connecting the call, he went straight to the point and explained the dungeon after some idle chat.

“It sounds really tempting, but I don’t think we can do this with just us two Tempest.” She had the same opinion as Leon.

Leon nodded his head. He already expected her to come to the same conclusion. “You’re probably right. But, I have an idea.” Luna was interested, but she didn’t push Leon for an answer.

Leon took a deep breath. “I have an older sister who’s also playing the game. Thing is, she is fantastic.”

Luna could sense his apprehension in his tone of voice. “And you don’t want to invite her. Why though?”

“I’ve made surpassing her my goal, and I don’t want to ruin my chances accidentally later.” Leon explained, which made Luna laugh suddenly. He was about to get mad when Luna chimed in.

“Tempest, how big do you think this game is?” Leon had a moment of clarity. This was Souls Online, the game was nearly infinite in content and this was only day 3.

Luna continued, “One early game dungeon is nothing compared to the endgame. I’ve heard people speculate it could take a year before someone actually got to the max level.”

Probably longer. Leon added mentally as he sighed with relief, “So I was just overthinking it. Thanks for the advice Luna. I’ll call her and see you here?” The call ended with Leon sending her a ping at his location.

He took a small breath before calling Rose.

Meanwhile, Rose was at the Adventurers’ Guild in the capital of Gurhl together with StarRuby. “Maybe we can do something else for the moment, miss?” StarRuby asked. Rose had asked her to not mention her name in public.

Just as Rose was about to answer Ruby, she noticed Leon was calling her. She frowned a little, as it meant something was up.

She knew Leon wouldn’t call her for idle chitchat, and it usually meant something bad or great was happening. “Hold on, I’ve got a call to answer.” She said to Ruby, who was a little surprised.

Does Miss Titania have other friends? She’s never mentioned them, though.

“Heya Leon, what’s wrong?” Rose had some concerns, thinking MadSmile had already got to him.

“Hey sis, Um, Are you busy?” Leon’s voice trembled with hesitancy as he spoke.

Rose frowned even harder, making StarRuby next to her a little nervous. “No. Leon, what’s going on?” Rose had a sinking feeling that something was very wrong.

“Long story short, I found a dungeon. I was thinking of taking on the hard difficulty, but I don’t think Luna and I are enough, so I wanted to ask your help.”

Rose felt surprised at the news, and her expression softened as relief washed over her. “Leon, you didn’t want to bother me, right?”

StarRuby watched with confusion as Rose’s expressions changed in a heartbeat. Calls happened telepathically, so she had no clue what Rose was talking about.

“Maybe…” Leon didn’t want to admit his goal to Rose. It was too embarrassing to confess his goal of surpassing her to her.

Rose shook her head. “Leon, you’re not a bother to me. You know that.” She scolded him lightly, and Leon had no answer to that.

“As for the dungeon, do you know what it’s about?” Rose was very interested in a dungeon. The earliest dungeon she planned to tackle was the Basilisk’s Swamp, but that wouldn’t be until later.

Leon told Rose the same thing he told Luna. Rose listened and remembered that people had talked about a kobold dungeon in her past life but had discovered it too late to make any impact.

“I’m down for a dungeon,” Rose said, and she glanced at StarRuby. “Would you mind if I took someone along with me? I promise she’s a nice person.”

Rose knew Leon and strangers were a hard mix, but having StarRuby for the dungeon would make it twice as easy because of her healing role.

As Rose expected, Leon was apprehensive. “If it’s only one person, then it’s fine.”

Rose smiled as she couldn’t resist teasing Leon. “I wouldn’t bring an entire crowd with me just to see you. Maybe in the future.”

They bantered for a bit before Leon also send Rose a ping. He’s closer than I expected. Is he also in the capital of Gruhl? Rose didn’t know Leon was so close to her.

“Um, is everything alright, miss?” StarRuby next to Rose attracted her attention as she hesitantly spoke up.

Rose nodded and smiled. “I’m perfectly fine. Follow me. You’re going to meet my younger brother.” After saying that, she walked away towards Leon’s location.

StarRuby gaped with an open mouth as her brain short-circuited. “You have a younger brother!?” This was the first time she’d ever heard of that.

She rushed to Rose in full anticipation of who her younger brother could be. Would he be as beautiful and talented as miss Titania?

“Ah,” Rose stopped as she remembered something. “I have to mention that he’s autistic. Please, keep that in mind.”

StarRuby nodded, “Okay…” She wasn’t very familiar with autism, but knew people struggled with it.

Back at the dungeon entrance, Leon had waited around 10 minutes for his first guess to arrive. Luna quickly came into view and Leon waved at her.

Leon inspected her. “You look sporty.” He said as he looked. Luna had updated her gear. She was now sporting a high ponytail with a black sleeveless martial arts gi and gloves. The gi extended down into simple pants and flats.

Luna didn’t mind the comment and chuckled. “It is sporty. You look sagely with that staff and robes.”

Beans poked his head out as if to say; ‘What about me?’ Luna smiled at Beans. “You always look cute, Beans.” She said and Beans nodded as if to say; ‘Indeed’

After sharing a quick laugh, Luna moved onto the next topic. “So, you asked her?” Referencing Leon’s sister.

Leon nodded. “Yes, she’s also bringing someone else. Another woman.” He was about to be the only guy on an all girls’ team, which felt a little awkward.

“Know what she looks like?” Luna asked, interested to know what his sister looked like.

Leon shook his head. “Nope, haven’t seen her since playing the game.” Internally he knew what Rose looked like. She likely remains the same as described in the original novel.

They shared a moment of silence while they waited. Luna initially struggled with the silence when they first met, but now she was more comfortable with it.

Suddenly, the bushes near them rustled, which attracted their attention. Out stepped two women, and Leon’s focus was immediately on the larger one.

She had long, blood-red hair down to her lower back. Wearing light plate mail and metallic gloves and boots. On her hip was a thin rapier and when Leon looked her in the eyes, he didn’t feel uncomfortable and could notice the same black colour as him.

“Even in the game, we still have the same eye colour?” Leon commented as he smiled.

Rose smiled back. “What a strange coincidence indeed,” As Leon inspected her, she also inspected him. White hair. It suits him more than I thought.

In her past life, they did not allow them to change their appearance during character creation. But now, with that freedom, Leon had chosen white hair.

Luna cleared her throat as the siblings stared at each other. “Oh right, Luna, meet my sister Titania. Sis, meet Luna.” Leon said nonchalantly, making Luna open her mouth in shock as she had to process what Leon just casually revealed.