The freezing had reached Eis' neck, with his head next. The ice, which had been steadily engulfing his body, stopped at his jaw. Noticing the halt, the dragon opened its eyes. The massive, shadowy figure of the dragon remained still, observing Eis, whose startled expression gradually began to calm.

……

After a moment of silence, Eis opened his mouth and said, “Hey, I’ve experienced this before, but for some reason, just like the first time, my body is filled with chills and fear, leaving me paralyzed. I heard you spouting whatever that was earlier, but—what do you think my goal is, Nephlyde?”

"Ho, I recall bestowing upon you the honor of knowing my name—and with it, my ability," the dragon intoned. The shadows surrounding Eis crept closer as the dragon’s glowing eyes loomed near his head. "Let me make this clear," it continued, its voice a deep rumble. "I deemed you worthy of knowing my name. However, that does not mean you are worthy of wielding my ability." The dragon’s piercing eyes narrowed, perhaps in anger.

“Hmm,” Eis smirked. “Like I said, what’s my goal, Nephylde?”

Nephylde roared, unleashing a powerful gust of wind toward Eis. “You impudent brat!” the dragon’s voice reverberating through the air.

“Look, you were going on earlier about how my determination is weak—how the moment something trivial happens, it gets in the way of my goal.” Cracks began to form in the ice encasing Eis. “So basically, you’re upset that I’m not focusing on my own goal, right?”

…..

Eis let out a soft smile. “I’m asking you—what do you think my goal is? So we can both have a better understanding of each other, Nephylde.” Cracks within the ice casing surrounds his entire body.

Nephylde tilted its head, eyes squinting, still holding an expression of possibly anger. “To get out of this dungeon and graduate. Is that not your goal?”

“Not at all.”

“Then what is it?”

“My goal is to become a hero. And saving people is exactly what heroes do, don't they?”

“How ridiculous. Why would you want to be one?”

“For myself—and for my parents.”

“Hmph, so you were lying to that brat when you said you wanted to prevent tragedy for others?”

That brat? Ruhig? “That falls under the ‘for myself’ category.”

….

The ice shattered, finally freeing Eis’ body. “It seems I need your permission to use your ability. Help me save Frieda and Bernadette, Nephlyde.” The determination to save his comrades was evident in Eis’ eyes.

The shadows in the surroundings began to dissipate rapidly, revealing numerous humanoid figures encased in ice. However, the shadow enveloping Nephlyde remained still, concealing its entire body.

Eis darted his gaze around, his breath hitching as he took in the frozen figures. These are…?

“They are just like you,” Nephlyde responded, as if it heard the unspoken question in Eis’ mind.

Eis shifted his focus from the frozen figures to Nephlyde, its eyes returning to their usual round yet piercing intensity. “I see. I’d like to know their stories.”

“When I deem you worthy.”

"By the way, where am I? Am I being teleported, or what?"

"You are within the realm of our consciousness.”

.

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Eis snapped back into his normal consciousness, his chest heaving, sweat pouring down his face as if he had just run for his life. His breaths came in ragged gasps.

“What’s wrong?” “Tsk, is it another enemy attack?” To Ruhig and the others, while Ruhig was telling Eis to make a decision, Eis suddenly started panting out of nowhere, prompting them to grab their weapon in the midst of preparing.

Eis raised his hand weakly, trying to steady himself. "Oh, it's nothing. Sorry. I must've startled you all.” gasping in between his breath, Eis scoffed.

“Holy, what the fuck was that, Eis!?” Heidi exclaimed.

Will, his face bearing a worried expression “Are you sure?”

“Before I wake Friedrich up, have you decided what to do?” Ruhig stared at Eis, his amber-colored eyes pressing for an answer.

“I’ll help you.”

Ruhig blinked, rather shocked that Eis didn't hesitate at all, followed by a second of silence before opening his mouth, “That was… quick of you.” Ruhig proceeded to wake Friedrich up.

“I never had any reason to hesitate in the first place.” Eis grabbed his katana, and faced Ruhig with a smirk.

Friedrich wrapped his arm around Eis' shoulder, “That's my boy, I raised you well.” placing his palm and messing with Eis' hair as he smiles.

“I’m self-raised.” Eis uttered as he tried to free himself from Friedrich's shackles.

“Isn't this perfect timing?” Heidi muttered.

“Save us a lot of time.” Will added, as he fold their sheets with his eyes closed and a smile, as if he's caring for a sleeping child.

“What do you mean?” Eis inquired.

“You remember during our first meeting, we said that we needed to get to the 10th floor?” Friedrich rattled Eis' memory, “That was because we're tracking down a band with the potential to become a syndicate.”

“Why are you guys doing that, does that have anything to do with you?”

Heidi pressed the tips of his index finger and thumb.

“Ah…”

“Within a week, those who died will turn into the dungeon’s nourishment. Meaning, both their body and geist will disappear and become the dungeon's energy.” Ruhig added. As he speaks, his brows furrowed, “It's the perfect place for crimes.”

Eis stayed silent for a moment before speaking, “Recalling back, I think I remember a time when I was a kid, there was a massive crime syndicate where the government took measures, initiating a full blown war.”

“The battle against the Order of Zekreta.” Ruhig muttered. “After they took down the syndicate, it's speculated that it broke down into smaller groups. The government commissioned adventurers to weed out potential groups to prevent them from rising, and we're one of the adventurers who took the job.”

“So, what's the plan?” Eis initiated.

“We simply follow them.”

“What?”

"The gauging of enemy skills and numbers is all up to Frieda. She's going to transmit information through this." Ruhig pulled a tangerine-colored compass out of his pocket.

“Isn't that what Frieda left behind?”

“We’re going to use this to communicate with Frieda from a distance.”

“How convenient…”

“It's a combined skill of mine and Frieda's.” Ruhig scoffed.

Opening the tent, wind blew inside as light from outside peeked through. Today's weather inside the dungeon was rather melancholic; the rain had just ended, and the clouds had barely parted. Through the gaps in the enormous clouds, the dungeon's light slipped through, casting light on the puddles left by the heavy rain.

“Looks like some kind of special wood slipped into our firewood. Most likely, when burned, it produces sleeping smoke,” Ruhig pondered

“Does it really matter? It was your ability that lets us sleep like princesses anyways.” Heidi dismissed.

“It seems to have backfired on us this time…” Will whispered.

“Wait, Ruhig was doing what to you guys?” Six months had passed since they started traveling together and Eis never knew Ruhig was the reason why they slept soundly.

“Whenever Ruhig does that sparky thing it lets us have a good night's sleep, any adventurers that are practically living in the dungeon like us will kill to have Ruhig as their member just for that,” Will remarked.

“Eh, use that on me too, Ruhig.” Eis protested.

Friedrich grounded his foot in a puddle before turning to Ruhig and the other’s direction. His brown cloak fluttered from the cold wind passing by, with a hint of smell of soil and plant, freshly watered by the rain, Friedrich smirked. “Let's wrap this farce up right away.”

“You're rather calm, Friedrich. Your sister just got kidnapped, you know?” Eis chimed.

“Half a year and you still haven't fully grasped how excellent my little sister is, have you, Eis?”

“Back then, we were completely unguarded so we ended up having you take care of us. But this time around, I suppose we can show you how good we are,” Ruhig remarked.

Eis placed his left hand behind his back, his right hand extending forward with the palm facing up, and his left foot set behind the heels of his right, "I'll be the judge of your performance then.”

Today's weather inside the dungeon is rather melancholic, however, it doesn't feel like it.