Across the sand that stretches farther than the naked eye can see, a cold nightly breeze passes through them. The two stand upon the sand, their concentration unbreakable.

Holding his katana with a firm grip, Eis opened his eyes and charged swiftly toward Friedrich. Reacting to Eis' action, Friedrich grounded himself and raised his sword. The two clashed in a flurry of slashes.

Distancing himself, Eis charged again. Changing his direction from straightforward to his left, going around Friedrich. Expecting Eis behind him, he threw a back kick only for it to make contact with air. Looking back, Friedrich noticed Eis was further than the reach of his kick. Before he could assume his position, Eis kicked the sand toward Friedrich's eyes.

Smirking, Eis launched himself toward Friedrich. But before Eis could do anything, his geist fluctuated. As if being covered by the ice, his body stiffened.

"Argh!"

"You damn brat!" Realising Eis messed up, Friedrich smirked and tripped him. Pointing his sword at Eis below, "That's my win." Friedrich declared, his eyes still closed.

Clearing his eyes, Friedrich uttered "Still, you fight so damn dirty."

"How else would I win against a veteran champion?"

"Your physical condition is quite good though?"

"Oh please, you saw through every movement I did. Except, I guess, the last one? Hehe."

"You damn brat!"

"Ok! That's enough Physical intimacy. Eis, you still have to spar against the two of us." Bernadette interrupted, with Heidi behind her.

"Hey, don't make it sound weird. I was just messing with his hair."

"Call it skinship." Eis added. "You might get this a lot but, why does your party have three champions specializing in close combat?"

"We all came from the same village, we're kinda stuck together." Heidi answered. "Anyways, get ready. You have to get a taste of my speed."

"I can't anymore, my geist is fluctuating again."

From a not so distant tent, Frieda was calling the four. "The dinner is ready!"

Friedrich and the others decided that they would take turns helping me control my geist. The three champions will help with my physical condition—Frieda with my geist output, Will with circulation, and Ruhig with anything geist-related. It seems like Ruhig is well-versed with geist, he's probably this party's backbone.

Sitting around the table, we all ate comfortably while the party chatted about the most trivial things. This warm feeling of simply hanging out with friends, with no care in the world—how long had it been since I last felt like this? While we were eating, Friedrich asked why I was on the 60th floor.

"I was being pursued. Outnumbered, I had no choice but to use the holes in the dungeon."

"Why were you being pursued?"

Frieda tried to stop Friedrich's further questioning out of consideration for Eis but he interrupted her.

"It's ok, I want to talk about it." I told the rest about the awakening of the true demon king and the following events related to the awakening

"Must've been tough, huh?" Bernadette uttered with a soft tone.

Maybe it was the cozy feeling surrounding the tent, or maybe he just wanted to be accepted by these people. Eis couldn't stop talking—he told the rest what he had been experiencing, from Azazel's awakening up to how he met them.

Ah, shit... Why did I talk that much? It hasn't been that long since I met these people; I should have just given them a brief summary of why I was here.

"It's amazing how you're still able to push through after all that. This might seem nosy, but you should feel proud of what you've accomplished." Will with a soft smile in his face, encouraged Eis.

"Damn right! You better not slack off and make sure to properly follow our training, so you can show those kids what you're really capable of." Friedrich added up to what Will said.

"I'll do just that, thanks."

.

.

Catching the night breeze and gazing at the stars, Eis sat upon the sand outside the tent where the others were sleeping. Behind him, Ruhig approached.

"Isn't it strange that, on the outside, the dungeon looks like a lighthouse reaching up to the sky, yet inside, it's broader than it appears outside?" Ruhig uttered.

"Its composition is weird too, with holes that look like they lead to lower floors but actually bring you to higher ones."

"Do you know a lot about the dungeon?" Ruhig inquired

"I've read more books than the average person."

"We're similar, huh? Then, did you know that the weird composition of the dungeon is because of the outside world?"

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

"In the books I've read, it's said that dungeons are paths to the outside world. Have you all been to the outside world?" Eis inquired

"Not yet, but that's our goal."

"Why?"

"We all have different reasons, but as for me, I want to compare what's in the books with what's actually out there." Ruhig replied

"What about you, Eis? What's your goal?"

"When my parents were still with me, they would often talk about what lay beyond the dungeon— the never-ending outside world that connected numerous worlds that are constantly being generated. They would often tell me stories of how they traversed countless worlds just to go on a date. But before my parents could even see me grow, they were killed."

"To get revenge... Is that your goal?"

"I would love to, but unfortunately, I don't even know who killed my parents. Rather than seeking revenge, I want to become a legendary hero—a figure so powerful that the bastards wouldn't even think of spreading injustice. Although I passionately want to be like that, what I really want to do is to traverse those countless worlds my parents happily experienced."

"Then you better get rest now, since we're planning on drilling everything we know on you."

"That's a bit daunting."

"I almost forgot to mention, I have an acquaintance who works at your academy. He often complains about how the higher-ups are so strict about confidentiality—so strict that even if something is wrong, they order the teachers to work on tedious tasks they don't even understand."

"Huh?"

"What I'm saying is, assuming you don't get expelled for being an absentee for so long despite being an underperformer, be careful at your academy. Don't worry, it's not like we're going to go around spreading that you told us about Azazel's awakening."

"Thanks, Ruhig. You're a lot more considerate than I thought."

.

.

.

At 44th floor, the group walks on a steep rocky hill. Carefully steering their legs so as to not fall.

"Shit..."

"Why?"

"Look up there, it's a draconic wanderer."

Across the mountain, a monster unbound by any single floor, freely traversing the entire dungeon, could be seen flapping its wings as it flew. Related to dragons, yet inferior. It didn’t seem to have noticed Eis and the others yet.

Just as Eis was thinking that, he felt his head aching as he resonated with the draconic wanderer. Looking at the wanderer from a distance, Eis felt the two make eye contact.

"It's coming this way!" Eis exclaimed.

The wanderer roared and changed its direction to attack Eis and his group. After charging, the draconic wanderer fired a fireball from its mouth.

“Counting on ya'll!”

Jumping from the steep rocky hill, as the fireball closes in, Friedrich draws his sword. Slashing it in half, the fireball scattered causing destruction in the surroundings.

“Frieda, cover for us!”

Frieda conjured a sturdy dome made out of rocks, shielding them from the fireballs. Due to the fireballs, they couldn't aid Friedrich and is still free falling.

“I'm sorry, I attracted the wanderer! Because of me Friedrich is...”

Being overwhelmed by the guilt, Frieda grabbed Eis' shoulders. “If you want to control your fluctuating geist, first you need to be able to calm yourself!”

“We chose to escort you, no one's gon' blame you for what happens kid!” Bernadette exclaimed.

“What happened to that bravado of yours when you saved us?” Heidi asked while grinning as if he just one-upped Eis.

“Besides, a fall from this height won't kill that guy. If he's lucky he might only have a few broken bones.” Ruhig added while smirking.

“I can just heal him anyways.” Will uttered with a smile.

How can they be so confident...

Eis closed his eyes as he inhale. Exhaling, he opened his eyes, and wore an expression filled with confidence. Running outside the dome, Eis leaped from the steep, rocky hill. A draconic claw began to form in his right hand. Drawing his katana, the scabbard started to part halfway as he unsheathed the blade. Tightening his grip, Eis swung the katana, creating ice from the tip that extended all the way up to the draconic wanderer's tail, trapping the monster trailing behind the falling Friedrich.

Unable to control his geist for long, the draconic claws began to crumble.

“Damn it!”

“You did great, kid!” Heidi exclaimed, with Frieda on his back, as he swept past Eis, who was sliding on the ice he had created.

In a swift motion, Heidi passed by the wanderer and grabbed Friedrich. “Frieda!”

Before they could fall, Frieda conjured a material akin to slime to cushion their landing.

“Are you all alright?” Eis inquired immediately upon arriving.

“Yup! More importantly, that wanderer looks like it’s falling.”

“Shit, it managed to escape, huh?”

The wanderer fell, causing dust to envelop the surroundings.

“Well, wasn’t that fun?” Standing on top of the dead wanderer, Bernadette murmured, while Will and Ruhig emerged within the scattering dust.

“Was that you who stopped the wanderer, Eis? Thanks a lot, man, I almost got eaten.” Friedrich uttered while panting.

“You better be thankful. If it weren't for him, we wouldn’t have been able to help you,” Frieda interjected.

“Seriously, how could you do that?” Eis asked

“Well, I trusted you all, and you saved me. Isn’t that all that matters? Hehe.” Friedrich replied with a grin

“To think that you made that leap without a second thought despite your geist fluctuating—how was it?” Ruhig inquired.

“I still can’t fully control it, but I think I can at least do it a lot better than before.”

“Already showing results from the training, huh?”

Before Eis could speak, Friedrich wrapped his arm around His shoulder.

“You’re about to say thanks again, aren’t you? I’m not saying it’s a bad thing, but thanking us for the smallest things can get repetitive, don’t you think? You’re part of our party, so accept it.”

“I’m part of your party?”

“What? You don’t want to be?”

“No! It’s just, you guys are with me because I asked to be escorted.”

“Look, how the hell are other people supposed to form a party if they don’t have anything they need from each other? We met and decided to bond together—that makes us a party, and that’s all that matters.”

“You’re too tense, Eis. Let’s get going, shall we?” Will said, laughing.