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"Hi, Davian."
"Samantha. Samantha Codis, right?"
Samantha smiled brightly and replied.
"You remember?"
Samantha Codis.
An Archery student whose main weapon is a powerful single arrow.
She formed a party with Davian and Nubes during the first midterm dungeon exploration of their freshman year.
She doesn't have the cool demeanor of Bonita, the haughtiness of Latia, or the flamboyance of Vellum.
She has a way of speaking that always makes the listener feel good and comfortable.
Known as the kind Samantha.
She uses a reflex bow, which is a C-shaped bow bent completely backward to string the bowstring.
"What brings you here?"
"I heard there's a cool and awesome club, so I came looking for it."
"Are you the other freshman we heard about?"
"Probably. I'm glad to be in the same club as you, Davian Naone."
Freddy, a junior, asked Samantha.
"May I ask what made you come to our cool and awesome club? Samantha Codis, our junior."
Emma frowned.
"Watch your tone."
Samantha smiled brightly and replied.
"I went into a dungeon with Davian during the freshman midterm."
"Oh, the joint assessment. We saw that too."
"Yes, we were unlucky and there was a dungeon core amplification. But Davian over there..."
Freddy interrupted.
"You mean when he said there was a village nearby and they couldn't leave it like that, so he destroyed the core?"
"Yes! You know about it."
"It's a famous incident. A freshman destroying a dungeon core and taking on a monster wave to save a small village in the forest."
Davian shrugged slightly.
It was just a quest.
It was just to earn Mana Points.
"That's right! I was impressed by Davian and Nubes' actions back then. All this time, I just thought I was lucky to be born with mana affinity. But that day, I realized for sure where and how I should use this blessing."
"You're a great junior, Samantha Codis."
"Watch your tone."
Ariel Frontia entered the club room.
"Is everyone here?"
"Yes!"
"Gather in the meeting room. Let's start the general meeting."
A huge map of the continent was hanging on one wall of the meeting room.
Pins were stuck all over the map, and dates were written next to them.
All of them were dates that hadn't come yet.
"Okay, this is a list of dungeons where core amplification is imminent."
"Those weren't up there yesterday, were they?"
"Wow, when did you do all this?"
"Did the president do all this?"
Ariel nodded.
"Yes, I marked them all last night. I'm graduating soon, and you guys need to focus on your studies to get good grades."
The vice president, Nabero, a sixth-year student, asked back.
"Shouldn't you be focusing on your grades the most, President? You could have asked me..."
"I don't care about grades anymore. I just need to graduate."
"Huh? Why? With your skills, you could get a job anywhere you want if you just focus on your grades in your last year."
Ariel looked at Davian once and then smiled.
"I'm not going to get a job."
"Huh? You're not going to get a job?"
"Yep. I'm going to start my own business."
"Start a business? What kind of business?"
"That's a secret."
Ariel pointed to the map again.
"I've prioritized them according to the order of urgency and the size of the nearby villages. See these numbers?"
"Yes!"
"Every weekend, we destroy one dungeon core according to these numbers. Of course, we only picked dungeons that we can destroy with our skills. We'll have to leave the rest to the royal family or the city guards."
At Ariel's signal, Vice President Nabero handed out sheets of paper.
"And as we've been doing, we'll continue to observe these dungeons in pairs. Check for any anomalies. See if there are any signs that core amplification might occur sooner than expected. Check them one by one and come back. Plan your schedules by pair. I've paired you up with students from the same year. Originally, I mixed the sophomores with the juniors, but you all know Davian's skills, right? This year, I just grouped the sophomores together."
All the seniors looked at Davian and nodded.
He's practically the strongest member of the club, but there's no need to pair him with a senior for safety just because he's a sophomore.
"Okay, that's the end of the general meeting."
Davian and Samantha looked at each other.
Is the general meeting this simple?
Vice President Nabero, a sixth-year student, got up and grabbed Davian and Samantha's shoulders.
"I'm sure you've heard the rumors, but you're probably wondering why our club's general meetings are so short, right?"
"Yes, well..."
"That's because we have a clearly defined task, we're used to doing it every year, and lastly..."
President Ariel shouted.
"Let's go! Let's drink!"
Nabero explained the last reason.
"It's because our president loves to drink so much."
"Oh..."
"She's a complete alcoholic."
A small tavern in the city.
A small pub that probably could only accommodate about twenty customers.
The Dungeon Exploration Club had rented the entire pub for today.
Ariel shouted.
"What are you doing! Drink!"
Davian held up a large beer glass and emptied it to the bottom.
"Davian, hic. You can really hold your liquor."
While Samantha Codis, whose tongue was half twisted, was praising Davian's drinking capacity.
Clang!
Ariel slammed her glass down on the table.
The Dungeon Exploration Club, which had become 14 members with the addition of Davian and Samantha.
Already half of them had passed out.
And half of the remaining half had their tongues twisted.
Ariel held up her index finger towards Davian.
"Davian! You old soul. You can really hold your liquor, huh?"
For Davian, who had been trained with soju.
The beer here was too bland.
They did have stronger liquor here, but until he turned 20, he wasn't allowed to drink anything other than beer, which was considered a low-proof alcohol.
"I only drink beer."
Ariel, who was 23 years old, filled her own glass with wine.
"Then why are those guys like that when they're only drinking beer?"
At the place Ariel pointed.
Freddy and Emma were lying side by side amicably.
Samantha patted Davian on the shoulder and replied.
"That's right, our Davian is very strong with alcohol."
"Our Davian? Have you two been close since the beginning?"
Davian shook his head lightly.
"We worked together on a dungeon exploration assignment during the midterm."
"Oh, really? I see."
Ariel took another gulp of wine and looked at Samantha.
"Samantha."
"Yes, President Un..., I mean President."
"If you followed him here because you like Davian, you still have time to think about it. I hate that kind of thing."
"Ahyo, it's not like that, senior. I joined because our club is too cool..."
Samantha's head dropped suddenly.
Vice President Nabero quickly approached and slowly lowered Samantha's head onto the table.
"I guess she's done too, even though she held on for a while. So, are only the real drinkers left? I won't lose today, Ariel Senior."
Ariel laughed loudly.
"Do you think you can beat me even once before I graduate? Nabero."
"That's today."
"Really? Alright. Drink, drink."
And after a few more drinks were exchanged.
Only Ariel and Davian were sitting up straight.
She certainly had a great alcohol tolerance, but Ariel was also very relaxed because she had drunk so many different types of alcohol.
Unlike usual, a playful smile was blooming on her face.
"Davian, how's academy life? Are you having fun? You're getting everyone's attention."
"I don't know. I wish I could just graduate without getting any attention."
"Graduate? You're worried about graduating now? Davian Naone, who is being praised as the best talent since the founding of Elton Academy?"
"It's not easy when you actually try it."
"You never know what might happen."
"What? Are you secretly a worried type?"
"Let's just say that."
"How about it? Are you meeting any female students?"
"No."
"Why? I would think you would be super popular. The best second-year student. And you have decent looks. And you dress well."
"I'm not interested in that."
"I mean, why? I'm sure there are a lot of female students around you who like you. Right?"
It's not that there aren't any.
"Not really."
"Wow, aren't you being too cold to your friends? How coldly do you treat them that not even one female student has confessed to you yet?"
"Graduation comes first."
"Are you the type to only look ahead? Or is there another reason? Like you have someone else in mind..."
"No, I don't."
"You don't have anything wrong with you, do you?"
Davian shook his head and gulped down his beer.
"Absolutely not."
Ariel also downed her wine in one gulp.
"Anyway, Davian. What I want to say is. Take it easy. I don't know you well, but that's what I hear. It seems like you're only looking ahead and running. A person should know how to rest and sometimes know how to bend. If you're too rigid, you can break."
If you don't know how to bend and you're too rigid, you can break...
Then.
Just train harder so you don't break.
Because if you bend and sway here and there.
You can't clear all the quests in this damn game.
"Everyone has their own circumstances."
"Oh, what's that? Are you telling me not to ask anymore? There's something there. Davian Naone."
"What about you, Senior?"
"Me?"
Ariel's expression darkened rapidly.
But the rising intoxication had no intention of hiding her true feelings.
"There was. Someone I liked. He was a senior, and he was in our club. He was a great person."
What, wasn't she against dating in the club?
"He died. Three years ago. In a dungeon."
"Oh... I'm sorry."
"It's okay. It's already been a long time. It was a dangerous operation. A D-class dungeon core was about to amplify, but it was during vacation, so only half of the club members were left."
"But you still went in. To save people."
"That's right. He was the president, and he took responsibility for putting the members in danger. With his own death."
"Did he sacrifice himself to save the members?"
Ariel nodded.
"Yes. That included me. I had no choice but to watch the body of the person I loved burn away."
'So that's the story.'
There was a reason why she hated people joining this club because they liked someone.
Everyone usually has bright faces and acts like any other club.
But it's also the club that's closest to death.
"Davian."
"Yes?"
"Please take care of us. So that such a terrible thing doesn't happen again. I'm really glad you joined our club. Now I can really graduate with peace of mind."
I'm jealous.
Graduation.
Ariel downed another gulp of wine.
"Davian, I'm really glad you joined our club. Now I can really graduate with peace of mind."
You just said that.
Bang.
Ariel slammed her head on the table and collapsed.
Dungeon Exploration Club.
13 out of 14 members deceased.
Of course, that doesn't mean they actually died.
"What is this? Can I just leave everything here and go home?"
Tomorrow is the weekend anyway.
And this tavern is rented until noon tomorrow.
Squeak.
Davian opened the tavern door and stepped out.
The old wooden door made a loud, albeit not too bothersome, scraping noise.
Late at night.
A warm spring breeze wrapped around Davian's body.
Thump, thump.
"Huh? Davian?"
"...Latia?"
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