Arthur Leywin POV
The dungeon we are riding today is SS ranked called " Pixies Labyrinth ". It is constructed of fifteen known floors and one rest area in the middle
Each floor is different and in some cases, it is made by the preferences of its guardians
First five floors don't have a guardian while floors six to fifteen all have different guardians. Each floor guardian is an AA-ranked beast, except for the last one which is S ranked
In order to go to the next floor you need to kill the guardian, take its key and then locate where the doors to the next floor are. Each floor is constructed as a maze and full of traps which makes finding the doors that much harder
The floor guardians are going like this
6th AA ranked Golem. It has average strength but it's tricky to kill because of its insane regeneration ability, the only way to kill it is by destroying its core
7th AA ranked Ice tiger. As his name suggests it has the ability to manipulate ice which makes it very hard to approach. It is also very fast so one needs to stay cautious
8th AA ranked lion king. It's a giant beast that has both great strength and speed. The most characteristic thing about is that it's guarded by a group of world lions
9th AA ranked tempest serpent. A giant purple snake that lunches lightning at its opponents
10th AA ranked sky queen. Sky Queen is a bird that manipulates wind. The most characteristic thing is that it throws sharp wind attacks at its opponents from the sky. The fact that it flies makes her that much harder to kill
11th AA ranked orc lord. An orc that has the physical strength of the S-ranked beast but its speed is at mere B rank. It usually manipulates terrain with earth magic, but it's easily countered
12th AA ranked puppet lord. A monster that has a unique ability to manipulate the corpses. If I have to compare it to something from my old world, it would be a Licht
13th AA ranked wicked fox. It has nine guardians and the ability to use illusions. Its physical strength is nothing to boast about but its speed is great. Sometimes they reach the level of an S rank, but there have never been records of such a case in this Labyrinth
14th AA ranked bee queen. It has the greatest speed out of all guardians and it has the ability to command bees, which gives her access to a virtually infinite army. It specializes in wind magic
15th S ranked Insectar guardian. An S-ranked beast that is almost as rare as an Elderwood guardian, it also has an appearance of both bug and a human, so it is considered one of the creepiest ones on the continent. It has everything, speed, defense, and strength. Its poison is one of the deadliest in all of the beast glades and its armor is said to be almost as tough as Dragon scales, regular dragons, but it's still incomparable to asuras. It has a tail with a sharp end that can penetrate through some of the toughest armors and barriers with ease. Sometimes it is looking down on its opponents with a mocking look, and it always lets one adventurer survive and escape as if it wishes for him/her to tell the tale. The only reason it is not considered as an SS rank is its low mana reserves. During the war, it was corrupted and made us a lot of trouble, so the council had to deploy a Lance, Bairon to be exact, to kill it. Unfortunately, he charged it too much so we couldn't make use of its body
On the first few floors we are going in formation where Gerd, a dwarven mage that specializes in earth magic, is in the front detecting for traps and enemies, me at the right and Jasmine on the left side as guards, healer and conjurers in the middle and Alea on the rare making sure that we don't get an old good ambush from the back
The first floor was relatively easy thanks to Gerd and his abilities, it's really good to have a dwarf for this kind of situation. Monsters that we ran into were just C to B rank so it was very easy to deal with them
On the second floor were exclusively B-ranked beasts. Given our party's insane strength we were able to defeat them without much problem
It kept on going like this until we reached the fifth floor, where all monsters were A ranked. Partially exhausted from fights on previous floors we had a hard time dealing with them
So far I didn't even use mana since I knew how little my current reserves were, so I could fight in full strength, with just wind magic but still. I also decided not to use Burst step and Realmheart since I was becoming too reliant on it
After finally finding the stairs to the next floor we sat up a camp where we would rest for the night
We lit up a fire and took out some of our supplies so we can prepare dinner. The cooking was being done by our healer, Maria. She insisted on doing it since she had little to no job today. There weren't any serious or mediocre injuries today, so we are all in top shape. Of course, this was to be expected since all of us are high-ranked adventurers
Even though I don't eat or drink many thanks to my asuran body, I still have to visit a toilet from time to time, which was one of these cases. I put Dawn and the other sword back in my dimensional rune and went to the near corner that Gerd protected with earth walls so we could use it as a toilet
After finishing my business I started walking back to where everyone was when suddenly I felt the tip of the sword on my throat. Immediately I activated my dimensional rune and pulled out the sword I randomly took from the auction house
" The downside of keeping your weapon in the dimensional ring is that it takes time to pull it out" I heard an all too familiar voice say the very same phrase as it did the first time we ever talked back in the future
I looked up and saw Alea smiling at me, but the smile wasn't ironic or cynical, it was a smile of genuine happiness that was adored by eyes that radiated hopefulness, expectations, and uneasiness
' Could it be that she...?'
' No there is no way, but still...'
" How strong are you, code name Aureate, Lance Alea ?" I asked her full of hope, but already aware that all my hope will be crushed in just a couple of seconds
Almost at the same moment that these words left my mouth, tears left her eyes
" About this much" My eyes widened as she said that and spread her hands a bit, showing me how strong she is. But that wasn't the only thing that showed to me, there was also that angelic smile, a smile that made me fall in love with her all over again
" A..lea" I muttered as my hand slowly reached out for her
" It's been a while... Arthur"
I didn't say anything, I couldn't, words just simply couldn't leave my mouth.
In the next moment, my mask was already on the floor, my arms holding her around her waist and my face buried in her chest. I was holding her in a tight hug, afraid that I will lose her again If I let go. But what surprised me the most was that she did the same. She held me in a firm hug full of love and passion
The tears started to leave my eyes, after all, I thought that have I lost her, that I would have to start our relationship all over again while having one more thing to hide
But the thing is, I don't want to hide anything from her, because relationships are based on trust, and having secrets would just ruin them, right?
And now, somehow she is back with me. I was reincarnated and she came back in time. The only difference is that I was forced into reincarnation while her regress is accidental
Finally letting go of her I asked her a question that I desperately wanted to know
" How?" My voice was weak and with my face covered in tears and eyes red from crying, I really looked like a kid
" I don't know, it just happened" She answered, her face red like a tomato and her eyes weren't any better
' she is probably embarrassed '
' princess...'
'...'
'...'
I was met with a judgemental comment and silence from Regis, Sylvie, and Dawn
" Did... you also?" She asked, unable to voice what she wanted to say, but it was apparent what her question was
" No, I..." then I proceeded to tell her a story of how I regressed and everything that led to it
I told her some things about war, Alcarya, and Ephoteus... but I avoided the Uto topic
" You were through so much huh..." She said and looked down, it seemed like tears that formed during my story were about to leave her eyes
There were a couple of moments of silence until I noticed that our faces were coming closer
The time seemed to slow down. I saw her getting closer, her sakura-colored lips were getting closer to mine. We closed our eyes. Our lips were just a couple of millimeters away from touching...
From kissing
" Note, is everything okay?" I heard Jasmine call me from the other side of the temporary toilet
Being brought back to reality by Jasmine, Alea and I separated and blushed heavily from embarrassment
I put on my mask to hide my blushing face while Alea tried to hide her face in the back of her right hand while holding the left side of her chest with her left hand
" I-I should go or Jasmine will worry"
" U-um" She nodded and I left back to the camp
I came to Jasmine and sat next to her, not even bothering to say anything
" What took you so long?" She asked me and tilted her head
" No-nothing" I still couldn't speak normally due to what happened just now
She just looked at me and I swear to God that I could see an "?" above her head
' Seems like I avoided the bullet here'
Soon after Alea came back from the "toilet" and this didn't go unnoticed by Jasmine
She had a confused expression for a couple of seconds until her face turned into that of shock and realization
Her emotionless eyes were wide and her mouth was so open that I wanted to say the same thing that Sylvia used to ' Bugs will fly into your mouth if you keep it open that wide'
She just looked at me with eyes that told me that I will have to explain everything later
' seems like I talked too soon '
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After we were done eating we decided on the night shifts
They will go as follow
Note and Alea
Gerd and Maria
Jasmine and one of our conjurers El
And conjurers Loyd and Lucia
After making sure that everyone except me and Alea went to sleep I finally took off my mask
The atmosphere between us was still a bit awkward, neither of us knowing how to start a conversation
" So, what's your favorite color?" I heard Alea ask me awkwardly
" pftt, hahaha" I couldn't help but laugh at her silly question
" Wha-whats so funny!"
" No, it's nothing. It was just too random and sudden" I said while wiping a tear
I noticed that Alea pouted. Guess that even a mature beauty can act like a spoiled kid from time to time
" It's bleached green" I said and, by the look on her face, she seemed confused
"My favorite color" I said while touching the tips of my hair
After she understood what I meant she blushed so hard that even steam came out of her ears
I just smiled at the sight before me. I never thought that I would feel this happy in the dungeon
She just kept looking at the floor, embarrassed and lost in her thoughts
' I wonder what is she thinking?'
Alea clenched her fists and looked at me with eyes full of determination which was the pure contrast to her still red face
" A-arthur!" She said in a high-pitched voice
" What is it?" I asked
" About what you said back then..." She got redder with every word she said until she finally stopped and made a pause " do you still mean it?" She said in a barely audible voice
For a moment I was confused about what did she mean by it
' Haa , I will help you only this once papa ' Sylvie said and then a memory flashed through my head
' Be- because I love you'
'...'
Why did she ask me that?
Will she reject me now?
Was she acting like this just so I would be hurt less?
What if...
' Just be honest with her princess' Regis said
I didn't notice it until now but I was looking at the ground. Finally gaining enough determination, I looked her directly in the eyes. In them, I saw fear, hope, and anxiety
" I do"
Her face brightened and all emotions in her eyes were switched with happiness
" So, it's mutual then?" She said with a smile
After hearing her words my mind went blank
Mutual?
Does that mean...
Seemingly noticing my confusion Alea came closer to me and whispered in my ears
" I love you, Arthur Leywin"
My ears and cheeks went crimson red
'She loves me! She said that she loves me!'
For so long I dreamed about this that it felt like a dream, but it wasn't. It was a reality, the same one I used to curse for so long
I started thinking about what should I do next, what is my next move. I actually knew what I had to do, but was too afraid to do so
Once again, the determination was formed in me and I looked her straight in the eyes
" Alea Triscan, will you go out with me?"
The look on her face was priceless. Her mouth was wide open that I could see her tonsils and eyes were so wide that their previously sky blue color was now almost completely black
She gave me another smile, one so beautiful and pure that I was wondering if she really wasn't an angel
She took my hand and interlocked our fingers together
" Yes"
Never have I imagined that just these simple words could make me feel this happy
Now I think that I actually understand why was Nico ready to go that far for Cecilia. Well even if I understand him, I won't let him succeed in his plan
We talked for the rest of our shift about little things. Our hobbies, families, and sharing some of our stories
" Sylvie huh... I would like to meet her once" Alea said after I finished my explanation about me and Sylvie, an unrelated father and daughter
' I want to meet mama as well ' Sylvie said through our link
I just smiled at her childish behavior
" What are you smiling at?" Alea asked
" Nothing, it's just that Sylvie said that she wants to meet you as well"
" Good! Ah, I need to get her some kind of gift" She said with her fists clenched in an excited manner all the while she is looking at the ceiling with some kind of cute but determined look
I looked at the sand watch that was running out
I put on a mask and headed to the tent where Gerd is sleeping, understanding what am I doing Alea went to Maria's tent to wake her up
We came back. Maria and Gerd will be coming in five minutes so we decided to head to our tents to sleep
We parted our ways and both headed to our tents which were on opposite sides of the camp
Suddenly I felt something pulling me. I turned around and saw blushing Alea. Due to all of this, I was too late to notice that she took the mask off my face
" A..." I wanted to say something but before I could say even a word I felt a soft sensation on my lips
Alea was kissing me. Her soft and warm lips were pressed against mine. I quickly returned the kiss to her and for a couple of seconds it felt as if I was in heaven
After our lips separated she looked at the floor, her hair covering most of her face. Even though it was heavily guarded by her hair I could still see that her face was tomato red
" The-then, good night" She said and quickly ran to her tent
That night I tried to sleep but I couldn't since all I could think of was the unbelievable day I had... it was a bit too much even for me, and that's coming from a guy that took down two scythes in an hour
The hardest part of the night was making sure that Jasmine doesn't notice that I am awake, since she would have killed me if she did
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I WANTED TO MAKE IT LONGER, BUT IF I DID THEN IT WOULD BE JUST TOO LONG AND IT WOULDN'T COME OUT FOR AT LEAST ANOTHER TWO DAYS SO... HERE YOU GO
HAVE YOU NOTICED WHAT IS THIS DUNGEON REFERENCE TO? IF YOU DID, TELL ME WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE SHIP FROM THAT SHOW