Dio decided to spend his last day in Arnea City in a very productive way-- to stay inside his room and sleep for a day. He was set to do it though Blur had been whining to go around the city before they leave.
He had no choice but to go with Blur or else, he would keep chanting on his head. His hands were inside his pocket while blur was on top of his head as they strode along the market streets.
‘Are you having fun?’ He asked his bond through telepathy.
‘I think it would be more fun if I could eat some meat.’
Dio could imagine his bond grinning from ear to ear when he entered a tavern. “Please give me 4 sets of meat dishes. Just pick the best selling ones.”
‘Dio, are you rich?’ Blur’s voice sounded excited as he looked around.
‘Maybe? My grandfather left me a lot of money.’
He rested his head on the table and closed his eyes. He just
Dio spent the next few days with Mr. Rey Hearth and his crew as they traveled towards the Northwest Territory. Just as promised, Dio went with them as one of their guards aside from the hired adventurers."Dio, it's time for my shift. You can rest inside the carriage."Dio carried the sleeping kitten on his lap as he nodded to the adventurer who called out to him. He moved to enter the carriage and sat at the corner, away from the other adventurers who were chattering during their breaks."This road is too peaceful. I wonder why Mr. Hearth would hire a bunch of adventurers." A young man in his 20's complained as he rested his body on the wooden floor of the carriage."Didn't you know that peaceful roads like this are more dangerous than the ones with lots of monsters and bandits?" an archer said."There are reasons why this road is peaceful. It's either a bigger monster annihilated the monsters living here or the smaller monsters are just in hiding
The traveling Hearth Merchant Guild Crew reached the northwestern lands safely. They entered the Romanov territory, the biggest territory in the northwestern lands, which was ruled by Marquis Romanov. While inside the carriage, Dio felt uneasy when he realized whose territory he was in.The vast lands that he saw a while ago were all part of the territory. With just one look, he could already say that the lord was a good leader who governed the land towards prosperity. Was he a good man? Did his people respected his ways or did he rule by using fear? There were so many questions in his head that he wanted to seek answers for but something inside him was holding him back.You don’t have to involve yourself with them. They are nothing but strangers to you now.He clenched his fists. Going to the northwest territory brought about many unwanted thoughts. He was starting to regret joining Mr. Hearth in his travel.“This is our last stop, D
The carriage stopped in front of the adventurer’s guild. Dio and his bond hopped out of it and went to the carriage where Mr. Hearth was in.It had been three days since he arrived in the northwest, the day had come for Mr. Hearth to uphold his part of the deal.“Have you decided? I have a lot of connections to the Northwest Adventurer’s Guild,” Mr. Hearth said confidently.“Are you sure this will help me find a reason to live?” Dio said in a bored tone.He leaned closer and whispered, “You’ll never know how important life is unless you are on the verge of dying.”“What nonsense. You know how strong I am.” Dio shook his head in disappointment.“That’s right. I know that you are strong but did you know the limit of your potential?” Mr. Hearth smiled. “I am introducing you to a world where you can challenge yourself and surpass your limit. There are too man
After receiving some advice from Joe who seemed to be fond of him, Dio went to the Whiro Dungeon. It is said to be the biggest dungeon in the empire which was known to be a dungeon city. Most elite adventurers are found there since it also was the most dangerous dungeon. Lucky for him because it was also in the territory of Marquis Romanov.They stopped in a forest near the entrance of the dungeon where a huge open space could be found. Blur, after it shrank to hiskitten form, leapedto Dio’s head.The place didn’t give off a dangerous vibe despite all the adventurers moving back and forth from the entrance. Dio, with his hands on his pockets, moved to the entrance and he was welcomed by an elegant atmosphere.“Welcome to the dungeon city! Are you a new adventurer?” a kind-looking middle-aged man said with a smile.Dio nodded his head as a response to the warm greeting he received. He watched the old man smiled and then
“Are you guys rookies?” A man who entered the safe zone with his party asked Calyx. “Yes. This is our first ascent,” Calyx helped with the treatment of those who entered with injuries. On the other hand, Dio just sat at the corner with his eyes closed. “If you guys are still rookies, I think it would be better for you to descend with us,” the leader who introduced himself as James suggested. “Sur--” “If you are coming with them, I’ll be leaving you behind,” Dio cut Calyx off. “Stop being so cold, Arkin. They were extending their help to guide us as we go lower, we should be grateful,” Calyx explained. “I don’t need their help.” He looked at the party members one by one. There was something about them that made Dio feel uneasy. “Rookies who insist that they don’t need help from their seniors always end up dying within the upper floors. You shouldn’t underestimate the dungeons, kid.” James gave him a proud grin. “Just accept our
The following floors weren’t too challenging for Dio and Calyx. They spent a few hours dealing with the monsters they encounter on their journey deeper to the dungeon. Blur, on the other hand, kept his silence as he was comfortably curled on Dio’s head. “Finally, we’re moving on to the sixth floor.” Calyx threw himself on the foldable bed made of feathers when they entered the fifth floor’s safe zone. “We’ll set off after a few hours of rest.” Dio put the sleeping kitten on his lap after lighting a fire to keep them warm. “Arkin, are you not lonely?” Calyx asked out of the blue. “I don’t know. How does it feel to be lonely?” “You don’t even know what loneliness is?” The young man said in disbelief. “I forgot.” “You’re weird.” “Not as much as you.” Calyx shook his head and closed his eyes. A few minutes later, he was already in deep sleep while Dio was on guard. Dio looked around the cold room with two do
They immediately arrived at the location where Trixie’s party was fighting with a lot of chirops. Judging by the way they were catching their breath, it seemed that they were too tired to fight the monsters and it wouldn’t be long before their stamina would be depleted. “Aaaaah!” A girl screamed in fear as she ducked to avoid the chirop’s attack. “Argh!” A man groaned as his ax tried to slash the chirops in front of him but he was clawed by the chirops behind him instead. Another man was struggling to fight a few meters away from the two. By the looks of it, the man who wore a brave mask was their leader. Dio made sure that he was all healed when he raised his hand and envisioned sturdy vines spurting from the ground and piercing the flying monsters. “Vine fountain!” Spear-like vines started growing from the ground and pierced the chirops that were flying around. Since most of the monsters were skewered by the vines, those that were left alive
“Why are you guys still here?” Dio asked with an irritated expression. He was advised to recover for two weeks so he was still staying in the infirmary. However, the people who left the dungeon with him were also there tending to him though he already told them that they could go on their separate ways. “I want to explore the dungeon with you. We’re partners aren’t we?” Calyx smiled. “C-can I join your party?” Randall said as he frowned when he remembered his dead comrades. “Join our party, we will welcome the three of you,” Cyrus said. “I don’t plan on joining a party.” Dio closed his eyes and sighed. “Just go now.” “Fine, we’ll leave for now but don’t you dare ignore us if we ever see each other in the dungeon, okay?” He heard footsteps and the creak of the door being closedso he felt relieved. “You’re all I need, Blur. You won’t leave me, right?” His bond curled beside his head and the act left a smile on his f