The midmorning sun cast a shadow over Decon Village. Only a small few dared to leave the comfort of their bed and venture into the cool warmth the sun's rays brought. With so few going through their early morning activities, Red and his grandfather's arrival virtually went unnoticed as they walked across the dirt road.

  'Huh, the houses here look smaller than the ones back in Phera and are built more with wood rather than stone.'

  While his gaze was on everything other than the road and not...

  ""Ow.""

  The being that he collided with that sent him to the ground.

  "Watch where you're going." A monotone voice brought his attention ahead to find a girl, barely a head taller than him, with light, icy blue hair that fell just below her waist and piercing golden eyes that resembled shining, polished gold coins with a half-awake look that slowly turned into a pointed glare, aimed directly at him as she sat up from the ground. Dusting the dirt off her white and pink clothing. "Your eyes are strange."

  He couldn't even get a word out to retaliate before the girl took off walking down the opposite way.

  "Hey! You're the one who ran into me!" His words meant nothing, the girl was already gone.

  "You're the real jerk." He grumbled.

  But rather than continue to groan about what happened, Igneel motioned for him to get up and to follow as he continued to lead him through this new place.

  It was strange... Even by simply walking , the gazes of the few who were out and about were filled with excitement as they waved to the one-armed man, their glee in Red's eyes matched over even surpassed the same looks that those in Phera sent his way.

  They seemed excited as they waved their greetings his way.

  The sight was so distracting that once again...

  "Oof."

  ... to be knocked on his butt after he collided with his grandfather. Looking to his side was another wooden building, but unlike the other homes, it had two stories with a brick base.

  "You need to watch where you're walking, that's twice today." Igneel laughed as he led him inside.

  Passing through the door, the chime of a bell rang out. Looking around it was filled with wooden tables and chairs. The sunlight that entered from the windows was the main source of light. Unlit lamps hung on the walls, and before the bar table, there was a door that led to the kitchen. There was even a large mace mounted above a teller's desk, but Red didn't get much time to look around as a booming voice echoed.

  "Can't you brats read the sign? We ain't open yet, how many times do I... well I'll be damned." A bald dwarven man with a few signs of gray in his thick beard called out, the two men approached one another. "If it isn't Lord Igneel, it's been decades, how ya been?"

  Igneel's laugh overcame the sound of clasping hands filled the building. "Oh, I've been good, just takin' the boy out like I did Lyn when she was his age."

  Red watched the hort, stocky man, maybe a foot or two taller than him, turned to him and quickly bowed his head to greet the man before looking back at him.

  'Is he a friend of Grandpa's?'

  Only to find him slightly staggered back as they made eye contact.

  "So is it safe to assume that he is Lyn's boy, or has your flirting gotten you into more trouble than usual?" The trio turned to the sound of a southern bell type voice, finding a woman with dark skin and faded black hair called out as she made her way down the stairs.

  "LikeI would do that to my wife, this here is my grandson. Red, the dwarf here is Jerome and his lovely wife Heather." Red bowed once again to greet them as they just smiled at him. He had a hard time not thinking about the height difference between them. "They run this building, so we can get a room for the night and exchange those stones you got from those slimes."

  "Wait, can I exchange my stones here?"

  "You're damn right!" Jerome proudly exclaimed, only to be smacked by a scolding Heather.

  "Language."

  "Yes, dear." He muttered before meeting Red's gaze. "You see lad, this building of mine functions as both a tavern and an extension of the guild. Here we help spread requests and jobs such as gathering herbs or slaying monsters, that way the guild can get their hands on more monster stones for experimentation."

  "That's all well and good, but you still offer rooms for travelers to rest and drop off their gear, don't you?"

  Jerome cocked his brow at Igneel's remark. "Oh, so you want to use my tavern as a storage closet?"

  "What, do you not want my business?"

  "Why would I pass up the chance to get some royal coin? If anything, it will help bring more people in, so come on, let's go find you a room."

  "Preferably one with a bath, me and the boy could use one."

  A grinning Igneel and Jerome joked with eachother, even on thier way to the second floor, the old king still tired to get a better.

  "Thank you for letting us stay." Red bowed his head once again.

  Heather smiled down at him. "No need to thank us, sugar. Now, while your Grandpa is getting you two a room, how about coming with me, and we'll get these stones exchanged.

  With a nod, Red quickly followed her to the counter. Giving the older woman an amusing show of him struggling to get into the chair, unitl he was aable to claim his seat. Even if it took him a minute or two.

  "Alright, young man, now go ahead and show me what you collected."

  "Yes, ma'am." He didn't hesitate, reaching into his backpack, he pulled out another small bag and dumped out almost twenty small pebble-sized stones. Watching as Heather started counting them. "I would've had more, but I broke a lot of them by accident."

  Nodding, she counted out twenty stones, comparing their size and shine. "That's nothing to be ashamed of; we all break a few the first few times. I'll tell you this, I've seen dozens of newbies break monster stones much bigger than these."

  "Really? Oh, and this one, Grandpa got it by killing a Berserker Bear!"

  "I see." Sliding the stones into the drawer, the jingle of coins falling in the bag quickly followed.

  —

  With each step, the jingle of coins rang out as they reflected the sun's light. The dirt and grim was cleaned off him, leaving the only thing to dirty his image was a frown.

  "Were they really only worth that little?" With a groaning gaze, he started into his coin bag that was only slightly heavier. "I only got 350 runix for all those slimes."

  "Don't start complaining, it's a good start for someone your age."

  "But Grandpa, you got 15,000 for just that one, while I had a little over twenty... that's not fair."

  Igneel just laughed at his sulking grandson. "That's just how things are. Some stones are worth more than others." Igneel's remark did little to change his mood.

  "Easy for you to say, I just got told my hard work was worth only 350. Maybe I should go find a different monster and take their stone."

  The booming laugh of his grandfather didn't help. "Then you better get stronger, lest we have a recreation of what happened this morning."

  The pouting continued with each step as slowly the familial pair drew on the gazes of others. But that feeling went ignored.

  The small echo of bouncing rubber chased crimson eyes to follow a pale red ball as it bounced across the ground, rolling its way to him, until it stopped at his feet.

  ‘A ball?’ He couldn’t help but pick it up. ‘Where did this come from?’

  “Hey that’s my ball!”

  With a sharp turn to the side, he saw a human boy, running at him with a few others right behind him.

  Without a second thought, with ball in hand, Red darted away from his grandfather’s side to meet the group half way. When he got closer, the group came to a stop and their curious stares turned to glares. Red stopped just a few feet in front of them and presented the forward.

  “Here’s your ball back.” The echo of a bounce traveled from the floor. The lead boy caught it, the group staring at Red. “So what were you guys playing? Can I join?”

  There was a slight pause from the group, looking at each other, quiet murmurs whispered from them. Red just waited for an answer.

  “So can I joi—

  The sound of rubber slapping against skin echoed and he fell to the ground. Grabbing his nose, crimson eyes watched the ball, that just stuck his face, bounced off the ground and returned to the group.

  “Hey! What was that for?”

  “Hurry, bail before the bloodeye gets up!” Looking up, he could only watch the group took off running, calling out to each other as they put distance between them. Leaving Red to sit in the dirt with nothing more than dirt on his shorts and a red mark on his face.

  Looking to the side, finding a mirror that sent his reflection back. He ignited the light red mark that the ball caused, only staring into the crimson that filled his eyes.

  “Are my eyes really that bad?” Rubbing his now slightly red nose, his glare returned. “You jerks didn’t have to throw that ball at me! You could have said no!”

  But his cry was far too late, the group head already gone.

  “Jerks.” His pouting continued for a moment longer until it came to an end when a firm hand landed on his head.

  “Ya know son, sometimes people are just rude, can’t do anything about it.” Igneel smiled down at him. “How about we get something to eat?”

  Red felt his stomach grumble. “Sure.”

  “Alright, now come one boy, there should be a food stand or two somewhere around here.”

  As Igneel took the lead, Red followed his grandfather down the road, but the didn’t get far as an inviting smell came from a small stand just down the street.

  It smelt of potatoes and butter made his stomach take control of feet and had he ran forward and when he arrived, Red watched another kid leave the stand as the man turned his back to the street.

  "Excuse me, sir, what are these?"

  "These are hash brown patties..." The man perked up, turning and looking down to meet Red's gaze. He seemed to hesitate. "But I was just about to close down for the morning."

  "Oh..."

  "However, I think I have enough time to do one last order, so what can I get you?" The man's voice had a slight shake to it.

  "Then can I get three, please, and can you fill them with mozzarella cheese?"

  He went straight to work as the sizzling aroma filled the air once more, and as Red waited, he was still unaware of his grandfather's glare. A detail the cook wished he could have shared.

  It didn't take long for the request to be fulfilled and he was quickly presented three golden brown patties were handed off. "That'll be 100 runix.

  Money and food exchanged hands; the sound of a satisfying crunch followed. "It's good, thank you, sir."

  Red started making his way back down the street, still unaware of the glare Igneel sent the seller.

  With each step, a crunch followed as Red followed Igneel's lead until they arrived in the town's center. In the center was a water fountain surrounded by benches where the pair took a seat. As they sat down, Red not only started on his second hash brown but also reached into his bag and pulled out one of his hero stories.

  "So Red, what do you think of the place so far?"

  "It's a nice place, I just wish there was more to do."

  "Sorry to tell you this but that's the price of small-town living." Looking around, Igneel spotted a drink stand. "How about I get you a drink?"

  Red gave a simple nod, and Igneel got up, making his way over to the drink stand, but not without leaving a taunt. "Just don't go running off this time."

  Leaving the boy to pour, he walked away. Red, in the meantime, reached into his bag and pulled out a book.

  Biting into his next snack, he opened up. 'Now, where did I leave off last night? Oh, right here.'

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  Chirping birds rose with the sun as the spiky scarlet-haired man rose from the warmth of his bed with a groan and stretched his body with a yawn. Just as he was about to leave. A pair of arms wrapped around his waist.

  "Come on, Roland, just stay in bed for a little longer." A woman with long, messy light blue hair prevented him from leaving.

  "Eina, you know I gotta go help tend the fields."

  "You can do that later; the day barely started."

  It was hard for him to ignore her pleas as he returned to the bed's warmth.

  As he turned to the next page, reaching to his side to grab the last hashbrown patty, but he was unable to find it as he could only feel the bench. A look of confusion came over him as he turned away from the book. 'I bought three and I only ate two, right?'

  A crispy crunch snapped his focus to his side. Looking to his side, the first thing he found was icy-blue hair eating what remained of his cheesy hashbrown patty was slowly consumed.

  "HEY! What do you think you're doing? That's mine, I bought that, you can't just take it!"

  His cry only served to cause the thief to turn and face him, meeting his anger with an uncaring golden gaze and an unchanged monotone expression.

  "Hmm? Oh it's Strange Eye, you know my head still hurts from earlier ."

  'Strange eye?'

  ...

  "Who are you calling strange eye!?" The bluenette maintained a disinterested look as she kept eating. "And quit eating my food, food stealer!"

  "Food stealer? My name is Aurali, you should order one with egg next time."

  "Really egg... Wait, don't try to change the subject."

  His protest was ignored by the girl, chomped down on what remained before turning her tilting her head. "You have a book, what kinda is it?"

  Red didn't even get the chance to respond as the girl grabbed and opened his bag and started to look over the books that were there.

  "Hey!" Snatching his bag back, he sent a glare at her. "You can't just look through my stuff without asking!"

  "Is that all you have in here, hero stories?"

  "So what? I like hero stories, they're—

  "Heroes aren't real."

  "What? Of course, they're real. Their adventures and deeds are left behind in these books."

  She seemed to scoff at the idea, her voice barely changed. "Yeah, sure, a book said they did a thing, all for fame to fuel their egos."

  "That's not right. They do it to help people."

  "No, they don't. Heroes are people and people only act when it benefits them."

  Before he could counter, a gruff voice came between them. "Come now, Red, there's no need to raise your voice at a young lady. I thought we raised you to be better than that."

  "My name is Aurali."

  "But Grandpa, she stole my food and then she started going through my bag." Looking over the scene, Igneel could only give a light laugh. A laughter that only served to annoy his grandson and caused the girl to give him a confused look.

  "Aurali, where are your parents?" The moment the question was asked, the girl started looking around slowly. Only to start frantically looking around until, with a single teary eye, she looked back at Igneel. "Well then, how about my grandson and I help you out?"

  Her face went from slightly teary to a gleam.

  "But Grandpa, you said we were going to look around the town. I wanted to see more of this place."

  There was a quiet stillness, blue and yellow pairs of eyes locked onto Red. "So I guess I was right, heroes aren't real and they only help when it suits them."

  "Don't worry about it, Red. We can do both while we help Little Miss. Aurali here find her parents or guardian." Red could only hang his head as Igneel started leading the pair through the town.

  As the day progressed, the more Decon came alive. People leaving their homes and venturing into the sun's warmth, and before long, the newly formed trio found themselves walking through the forming crowd.

  People greeted each other as they opened up their stores, taking the time to clean their front door or to set out a pie on a windowsill. They even passed buy a bookstore, that much to Red's disappointment, he could only see the outside of.

  Passing by a bookstore that m

  "So Aurali, what does your family look like? Can you tell us their names? Or do you know where you live?" Igneel called out.

  "There's Zyreth, she's the one who watches over me. You see, we live in a small..." Her voice started to trail off as she fell behind their pace.

  "Where did you say you live?" Both Red and Igneel turned to find that Aurali had wandered off. "Red, did you see where she wandered off?"

  He could only shake his head, looking into the growing crowd, trying to spot where she had gone. He couldn't help but feel annoyed.

  'So she not only steals my food and tells me heroes aren't real, but after guilt tripping me into helping, she runs off.' Still looking through the crowd until crimson eyes narrowed in on a small shop. 'There she is.'

  With annoyance behind each step he took, Red marched his way through the crowd. Weaving his way between those passing by, it only took a moment for him to arrive next to Aurali. Looking around, she didn't even register his arrival as she liked though the display window.

  "Hey, why did you wander off?" There wasn't even a response.

  'Is she... Hey, don't ignore me!"

  "Oh, Strange Eye, when did you get here?"

  He could feel the corner of his eye twitch. "My name is Red, not Strange Eye! Now come on, my Grandpa is trying to help find your family."

  "I like this flower shop."

  "It's a flower sho—

  Before he knew it, Red was dragged inside as a bell rang out.

  "If it isn't Aurali, I see you brought a friend with you today." A woman called out.

  She could only nod, abandoning Red and ran to the counter. "Did they come yet? You said you placed an order for them, right?"

  "They just arrived this morning, they're in the back. Go show your friend around while I go get them."

  As the woman left, Aurali took hold of Red once again and started to show him the rest of the flora that filled the room.

  Vines covered in orange and purple flowers hung from ceiling pots, while on shelves that towered over him. Pots held flowers of all shapes, colors, and sizes. There were ones that held a darker interior, while others had small markings of different colors.

  'They're all so pretty. I wonder if I should get one for Mom?'

  "These are some of my favorites." Before them was a pair of blue tulips with sun-yellow speckles. "It's hard to keep them bright when they only live for a few weeks. Even when replanting them with Zyreth, they only last so long."

  "Then why do you keep getting them?"

  "I just like them. I could ask you the same thing about those stories. At least my flowers are real."

  Red threw a glare at her that went ignored as Aurali scanned the flowers.

  "If you must know, I like them because I'm going to be just like them when I'm older and go on all sorts of adventures like my mom did." That seemed to pull her attention off the flowers.

  "What did she do?"

  "Well, she traveled all over Ielos and a lot of Keltic, going round helping people, fighting monsters, and doing a lot of cool stuff."

  "She sounds like one of their thrill junkies, Zyreth told me about."

  "Hey, I'll have you know my mom is the best there is."

  —

  "Achoo!" Off in the distance, sitting under the sun's warmth, a sneeze echoed through the yard, causing a pair of royal blues looked at Lyn. "I hope I'm not coming down with something."

  —

  "So what about your paren—

  "Ok, you two, get over here if you want to see something you don't see every day." The woman called out as she reappeared at the counter.

  Aurali's mood shot up as Red watched her run off to the counte,r bringing Red's curiosity with her as once they arrived, the woman pulled back the cover.

  "These are called Constellation Flowers."

  "Constellation Flowers?"

  "They are a type of flower that only blooms on a cool night when the moon is full." As the lid was removed, a set of seven flowers with jet black petals with an outer orange edge that mirrored the coming dawn, and small golden markings that looked like stars. "You see, each one of these flowers has a unique pattern that is rarely found on others of its kind."

  These simple flowers took up the space in Aurali's eyes the moment she grabbed the box. A simple "Thank you" was spoken as she made her way to the door.

  "Wait, Aurali, I'm sorry, dear, you still need to pay for those."

  "Oh, right."

  'Was she really going to leave without paying?'

  Watching as she patted her side, running her hand through her pockets. "How much was it again?"

  "These are going to be about 800 runix, dear."

  Aurali was unfazed at the price as she still searched her person.

  The same couldn't be said for Red. "I'm sorry, what? That's over two times what I had to pay for my hash brown patties."

  "Well, these are quite the rare flowers, and I did have to make a special request to find them."

  While the two talked, Aurali returned to the counter and placed her hand on the table. Only to leave 100 runix behind.

  "I'm sorry, dear, but that's only 100 runix you still need to 700 more."

  "Oh, this was all I had on me. Strange Eye can pay for the rest of it." She didn't even hesitate; there was no look of shame in her golden eyes as she waited for him to pay.

  "What!? Why me? I didn't come here to get any flowers! I only came here cause you wandered off while my grandpa and I were trying to help you!"

  "So why not keep helping me and help me pay?"

  "Why?! You didn't even pay me back after taking my food!"

  Still, her gaze remained unfazed and kept its almost bored expression, even as Red continued to grow agitated

  Crimson and gold stared back at the other, neither one giving an inch.

  'I'm not paying for them!'

  —

  "Thank you, come again, and be safe, dears." That and the sound of the bell ringing as the door closed was all the two heard.

  'How... How did I end up paying for those?!' All Red could do was stare into his coin bag that had less of a jingle to it as it became lighter.

  Aurali, on the other hand, held a happy gaze as she looked over her flowers.

  'Well, at least she seems happier now.'

  "Come on, now we have to go find Grandpa before I get... in... trouble... Hey, Grandpa."

  Standing over them, Red felt his grandfather's gaze locked on them. "My word, it's not even noon and you've run off again."

  "Sorry." Looking up, he found that Igneel wasn't upset; he just held a simple grin.

  "So this is where you ran off to, Aurali, can't say I'm surprised." A new, softer voice joined in as crimson eyes landed on a black haired, dark elven woman standing under the sun.

  "Zyreth!" For once, excitement filled Aurali as she cried out and ran to the dark elf, who quickly snatched her.

  A smile graced her face before turning to meet his crimson gaze. "And you must be Red, Igneel told me about you. Sorry if Aurali here caused you any trouble."

  "Oh, nice to meet you, Miss. Zyreth."

  Igeenl only gave Red a simple grin. "It was quite the surprise to learn that the one we were looking for was an old friend of mine."

  "An old friend?"

  "Look, Zyreth, the Constellation Flowers finally came in!" To Red, it came across as a shock at Aurali's excitement.

  "I see, but you shouldn't have ran off without me."

  "But look, they're so pretty, and Strange Eye bought them for me."

  "How many times do I have to say to it, my name is Red, not Strange Eye!"

  Still, Aurali didn't react, only her facial expression returned to a neutral state as Zyreth tried to hold back her laughter.

  It gave Igneel the chance to move next to Red and lower himself to his level. "Buying a girl a flower and getting a little nickname after just meeting her, you really do take after me."

  "Grandpa!"

  Slowly, Red looked away from his grandfather as the laughter came to an end, and Zyreth spoke up. "How about as thanks for looking after Aurali and paying for these flowers, we go to the tavern for lunch. My treat."

  "Sounds like a good idea to me. What do you say, boy?" Red gave a simple nod. "Alright, let's go before they get too busy."

  ——

  The atmosphere in the tavern was different compared to when he arrived earlier with his grandfather; it went from quiet and empty, to...

  'Huh, it's so much livelier now than when Grandpa and I were here.'

  And lively it was. There were people already day drinking while they waited for a waiter to waitress to bring their food.

  Crimson eyes moved to a small line of adventurers waiting in line. Heather looked over the stones that were presented and handing off the runix they were worth. Even watching a loudmouth complained, disappointed at what he was given, only for Heather to glare down at him. The individual lost all his bark, took his coin, and rushed out the door with his tail between his legs. Both literally a figuratively.

  The sight caused laughter to spread for a moment before everyone settled down and returned to their food.

  'How much longer until our lunch is ready?'

  Returning to the table, Aurali was captivated by the Constellation Flowers while Igneel and Zyreth just talked to themselves.

  "Miss. Zyreth," The dark skinned elf gave him a curious gaze. "You said you're an old friend of Grandpa's, right?"

  "That I am, you see, from time to time I would join him in his travels. He always found a way to make even the simplest, easiest tasks complicated."

  "Bah, where's the adventure with a simple task?"

  "True, those days were never dull." X

  "Look, Zyreth, when you line up the dots on this one, it looks like a heart!"

  "Oh, that's great, and this one here looks like a diamond."

  Looking between the two, a singular question popped into his mind. 'Is Miss. Zyreth, Aurali's guardian?'

  "Um Miss. Zyreth—

  "Alright, sorry for the wait, but here I have your orders." A human waitress cut him off when she set plates down in front of them. "We have chicken alfredo for the older gentleman, a chef's salad with the soup of the day for Zyreth, chicken tenders for Aurali, and a grilled cheese sandwich for the young boy. Will that be all?"

  Red was the only one to speak up. "Can I get a refill, please?"

  "You had lemonade, correct?"

  "Yes, ma'am."

  "Ok, then I'll be right back. If anyone needs anything else, let me know." With a slight bow, she took her leave.

  "Red, isn't that your third refill?" Igneel called out just as his grandson was about to take a bite.

  "What, I like lemonade, it tastes good."

  A slight chuckle came from Zyreth as Aurali just ate. "Well, you better be careful, I remember your grandfather throwing back one too many drinks because he liked the taste."

  Igneel looked as if he was ready to interject, only to fall back, only to lean in once again, about to make a counterpoint, but relented as he returned to his food.

  "So, Red, your Grandpa was telling me that while both of you were out camping, you've been working hard and fighting slimes. Why is that?"

  As he swallowed, a slight bit of joy marked him. "When I'm older, I wanna go out and travel like my Mom and Grandpa did. Have adventures and be a hero."

  The only one of the group who didn't share his excitement. "I already told you heroes aren't real."

  A crimson glare was thrown as their guardians just laughed.

  "I wouldn't say that, after all Red had an encounter with a passing hero."

  "Oh, did he now, care to share the tale?" Zyreth grew interested at the statement, Aurali kept eating as her attention shifted to Igneel.

  "Well, the boy does take after his mother."

  "I know where this is going."

  Aurali held a confused look, shifting between the two adults. Red, however, out of embarrassment, was just tired of staying quiet and occupied himself with his food.

  "So apparently, my grandson takes after his mother so much, he took off chasing a Flame Lizard into the woods first thing in the morning. Leaving me to wake up to find him gone, and when I heard him scream, I almost had a heart attack."

  Red could only try to make himself smaller with each bite he took. 'I wish I could go invisible, I wanna hide from this.'

  "And when I finally catch up, I find my grandson under the protection of a lovely young lady."

  "He was, so where is this young lady?"

  "After she made sure I was reunited with my dear grandson, she and her group said they had plans to explore a nearby dungeon."

  As Igneel hammed his retelling, Red's thoughts shifted to something else. 'That's right, Xaio said that she was going to lead her friends down into the dungeon. I hope she's doing alright. I bet she's beating down a bunch of monsters.'

  As the retelling continued, Red fell deeper into his thoughts. The same couldn't be said for a young girl.

  "What are dungeons like?" Between bites of food, Aurali finally spoke up.

  Red leaned in, curious about what was about to be told as he tried to forget his embarrassment.

  "Where to begin?" Resting his head on his palm. "Well, most dungeons are different from each other, but they tend to follow a similar pattern."

  "Different how?" For the first time today, Aurali and Red shared the same thought.

  "For starters, a dungeon is like an ant hive. Full of descending tunnels that lead to chambers that can be smaller than a village, to even larger than that of Phrea. They can also vary in depth; some may only go a mile or two down while others can go for hundreds of miles below the earth's surface." As he spoke, he took out a pen and reached for a napkin, and started to draw an example.

  "Now that isn't it, these chambers can hold different environments from underground forests and lakes to deserts or arctic. But generally all the chambers in the same dungeon share the similer type of environment."

  Aurali gave her full attention to Igneel as he continued to describe them with firsthand experience.

  "As for monsters, what you encounter can depend on the type of dungeon you're in and how deep you go. Normally, the deeper you go, the bigger and stronger they become and appear in higher frequency. But you're likely to get swarmed no matter how deep you go."

  As Igneel kept talking, they kept eating, even as he started to go into deeper detail, but someone started to zone out slightly.

  'I wonder what kind of monsters are in dungeons? I bet Mom and Dad fought a lot of different monsters.' The image of Lyn and Achilles slaying different types filled his mind.

  "Now it does have risks, but that thrill of pushing yourself, it's a feeling I've yet to forget."

  "Alright, let's quit before you give your grandson any more ideas." Zyreth cut in, giving both Igneel and Aurali another moment to laugh at his expense just as the waitress returned to collect their plates.

  "Now would anyone here like dessert?"

  Both Red and Aurali sent their gaze at their respective elder.

  "Don't look at me, Red. Zyreth said it's her treat."

  So his crimson gaze shifted to the elven woman.

  After meeting him with a smile, Zyreth turned to their waitress. "Sure, I don't mind, so what would you recommend?"

  "Personally, I'd recommend the cookie pizza. It's about five inches and packed with chocolate chips with a—

  The front door slammed open and every occupant stopped their eating, drinking, and gambling. Watching as two bloody individuals limped inside, their bodies marked with wounds and their clothing torn. But as they made their way in, one of them was being carried.

  "Help... us..."

  It was all that one of them could say before her body gave out; both her and her companion fell to the floor.

  But while everyone rushed to help them, Red felt frozen as he took in their apprentice. Two women, one was a draconian with green scales and tan skin, covered with burns and blisters on one side of her body, were lying on top of a human with curly brown hair.

  Wait, they're Xaio's friends, right?'

  He could only watch as those who went to help slowly got the pair off the ground and took them upstairs.

  But one thing came to the forefront of his mind.

  'If they're here then...

  'then...

  'Where's Xaio?'