Darkness. Asther doesn’t like sleeping that much. In fact, he wants to avoid this as much as possible. And that’s because of the things that it shows him. Or rather, what it fails to show him.Within his dreams, Asther sees nothing but darkness. Whereas other people dream of lives that are far from reality. Where kings and castles and mystical creatures even exist, Asther himself has never experienced anything else other than the darkness.And that moment is no different. Asther has nothing but the pitch black emptiness that he has never gotten used to. A void that can never be filled by anything. And just like any other time, he only realizes that he is out of this “dream” when light begins to penetrate.“Hey guys, I think he’s finally awake.” These are the first words that Asther heard. Words that came from a familiar tone. That of Octavia.“What…”“Whoa slow down. You shouldn’t talk just yet.” Octavia said. “Wait a moment, I’m just gonna get a towel.”Right after Octavia said this,
Octavia is actually worried for Asther’s sake. Even though she still hasn’t forgiven him for what he did to her back in the manor, when she looks back on the event, she’s sure that he did it for the sake of the mission. Still, this isn’t an excuse for him to use her body for the sake of this mission.But there’s another side of Octavia that is annoyed with this event. A side of her that she didn’t want to acknowledge. That, in actuality, she wanted them to do more than just strip naked.With their bodies in close contact like that, Octavia wanted Asther to own her whole. She remembered all the gruesome training she received under him. She also remembered how competent Asther is. Both as a fighter and a tactician. And for the first time in her whole life, she wanted a man to look at her and nothing but her. She wants his full attention, to grab her body like it’s his and his alone.Yet nothing of this sort happened. That’s the full reason for the slap she gave Asther that night. Becaus
Hades Dungeon. This is the one that is closest to the current location of the group. There is actually a good number of dungeons within Jhinn. In fact, these places come in abundance.Although they are all filled with monsters, the said creatures aren’t actually able to leave the place until they are called forth by the Demon Lord. And since this entity has long been slain by the hero, the dungeons have remained in a dormant state. Meaning, they aren’t worth getting worked up about to the point that they need to be guarded. Nor is there any group fond enough to enter them.The only way a dungeon can be destroyed is by taking out everything that exists inside of this. But as has been mentioned, nobody wants to enter them because of the risk of not being able to escape them anymore.But Asther’s group is different. They don’t have any other choice but to enter this for the sake of training. They need to go inside in order to get stronger. All for the sake of ensuring the safety of Clair
It was already an hour past one when the group returned to camp. They all had bright expressions on their faces. Furthermore, the horses are also loaded with the items. Enough to tell Asther and Claire that the mission succeeded.“How did it go?” Asther asked.“You should’ve seen me.” Octavia said. “I had them completely fooled.”Asther didn’t tell Octavia that she would succeed no matter how bad her acting skills are. She already has the looks of a noble after all. And, her armor is a real one worn by a knight. These things alone are enough for the villagers to take her claims at face value.“You seem to have had a fun time.” Asther commented.“Sure did.” Octavia replied.“What alias did you use?” Claire asked in a tone of genuine interest.“I-It’s Cressinda Belmont.” Octavia blushed as she said this. She isn’t used to talking with Claire in this manner.“That’s actually a good name.” Asther praised. “It sounds like something a noblewoman would have. And you, in particular, look very
As soon as the first streaks of dawn peeked out of the sky, the group was already awake. Tyre and Parch were assigned to cook and prepare breakfast. As for Octavia, she is left with the task of making sure that everything they need is properly prepared and packed.Claire doesn’t need to do anything since she is basically the master of the whole group. But she still insisted in helping out Octavia. Something which the female knight could do nothing about but permit.As for Asther, the necromancer is the one overseeing everything. He moved around the camp, making sure that things are as they should. At the same time, while making these rounds, Asther is also thinking up of the various training courses that he can use depending on how the dungeon looks like.Even though the place is called as such, dungeons in Jhinn are a bit different. They do not look like the inside of a cave nor that of a labyrinth. No. The dungeons inside this world has the attribute of being unique. That is, every
Just as Asther ordered, the group slowly made their way through the designated path. However, Asther is no at the front of the group. Rather he is the one furthest back. And there is a good reason for this.As the leader of the group and, as the one with the sharpest senses, Asther will be able to easily see any enemies from a distance. As soon as he does, he can summon his undead to cover for the others. Giving them enough time to transition to a fight.Of course, the group would never agree to this if any of them needed to be the one at the front. That’s why Asther assigned this role to his devil masked hobgoblin. With the creature riding on the undead wolf that is bigger than the horses that the group is using.With this, the mentioned problem is resolved instantly. Furthermore, this also serves as a way to ensure that the group is using the path that Asther told them to take. With the undead in front, they are sure that they are on the right road. Not questioning it because the un
As soon as Asther finished fighting, the remains of the monsters turned into loot. He didn’t need to bother collecting these himself. He has the undead there to serve for this purpose. And that is exactly what he made the creatures do. They picked up everything for him, all while Asther himself received a new notification from the System.[Notice: The recent display has increased the understanding of your allies. Adding explanations or making them come up on their own regarding how you won would allow them to gain an increase in their intelligence stat.]“So that’s how it is.”Asther was actually wondering how he’d be able to increase the intelligence stat of his allies. It’s not like they have a System just like him. They won’t be able to allocate their status points to the ones that they desire when they level up. That’s why Asther also thought that the first mission would be a chore to finish. Yet, the current display of the System told him otherwise.“Alright, I guess that’s what
“You called?” Claire came to Asther as soon as they finished eating.Asther told the group that he’d have to talk to them one by one. As for those whom he won’t be talking to just yet, all they need to do is to continue their training. Not through sparing matches but by fighting Asther’s undead.This way, they don’t need to worry about holding back while fighting. They can go all out and, they can even use their skills in a fight. As for the risk of getting found out by the monsters in the forest, Asther made them train within the border. A spot which is sure to not have any monsters in it.As mentioned, the first one he called is Claire. This didn’t seem weird, except for Claire who thought that the real fighters should be the first ones called. Nevertheless, she followed Asther’s command. Leading to that current moment.“Do you know why I called you here?” Asther asked.“Is that a trick question or something?” Claire asked. “You didn’t mention anything a while back. All you said is