End of the Second Floor

(Elysia PoV)

An hour passed, and the marks they made had already filled the labyrinth. Each time they saw a thread, they changed their route. It worked well enough to carry them farther and farther into the maze.

From time to time, several monsters came and attacked them in the narrow tunnels. But every battle was settled swiftly, even without the seniors stepping in.

This time, Arabella and her friends received more chances to take the spotlight. Yet because they were all pure mages, Celina and Irine had to work extra hard at the front as shields while they prepared their spells.

They did not possess magic as dazzling as Elysia’s, which was why they desperately needed a tanker ahead of them. Different from Elysia, who did not need one at all.

Especially because she was the only one in her generation who could use magic without chanting. And she could apply it flawlessly in real combat.

“Sis... is it not too long? We have been here for an hour,” Elysia asked.

Mireya shook her head. “Do not worry. The dungeon here has a time flow slightly different from the outside world. The ratio is three to one.”

Celina, who heard their conversation, turned toward them with sparkling eyes. “Amazing. Does that mean we can still explore for eight more hours in here?”

Mireya nodded. “Yes. There is plenty of time to play.”

A lesson usually lasted three to four hours. This activity belonged to the latter.

They had already spent the first hour introducing themselves and entering the dungeon. Meaning they still had three hours left, which matched Celina’s conversion.

Up ahead, Imaria diligently placed another mark with Arabella. Slowly but surely, Elysia began noticing Arabella’s expression, which looked calmer and more innocent, like an ordinary girl.

A noble girl would always receive pressure to appear perfect in nearly every moment, or so her etiquette teacher once said when she was little.

Fortunately, Elysia’s family never followed such troublesome traditions, which they considered outdated and restrictive. The tendency to allow their children to express themselves freely had become a deeply rooted principle since her great-grandfather’s time.

Without restraints, nobles in Lunestre behaved more expressively and rarely suffered from severe depression. Of course they only learned basic etiquette for diplomacy or banquets with rulers from other lands.

When Elysia turned her head, the corner of her eye unintentionally caught Mireya pursing her lips. Her gaze was fixed forward.

What did she see? No, who did she see?

Elysia followed her sister’s line of sight and found her glancing back and forth between Arabella and the three nobles from The Three Lions.

Elysia was not sure which of them her sister was observing, but it certainly stirred a question in her mind.

What did she see in them? Was something wrong?

She was about to tug her sister’s skirt and ask, but Mireya suddenly quickened her pace, catching up to Syrene.

“Syrene, lend me your ear for a moment.”

Syrene tilted slightly, and Mireya whispered into her ear. Her whisper was faint, perhaps cloaked by magic, for even Elysia with the sharpest hearing in her family heard nothing.

After the whisper, Syrene clapped her hands, drawing everyone’s attention. “Everyone, we will rest here. There is still plenty of time, save your strength.”

“But we are not tired yet, senior.” Celina protested.

“Do not argue. Stamina management is important in dungeon exploration. You must remain fit at all times. We never know what danger may come.”

Though reluctant, they obeyed. Syrene also asked them to turn off their [Night Vision] to save mana and stamina. Meanwhile, Mireya used her magic to create a floating light orb on the ceiling for illumination.

“Rest now, I will keep watch at the front.”

“And I will watch the back. Ah, no being naughty. Okay?”

Syrene walked to the front with her axe resting on her shoulder and a faint curl on her lips. Mireya walked to the back, and before leaving she glanced over her shoulder, offering a warm smile.

Everyone dropped their bodies to the ground, including Arabella and the others. Dirt and smell no longer mattered. All they wanted was to stretch their legs and breathe for a moment.

“Phew. This is annoying, but also so fun.” Irine wiped the sweat on her forehead and looked around. “Is that not right, everyone?”

Celina nodded, then began to unleash a chain of words from her mouth without stopping. Irine’s mouth synchronized with hers. Now, the off switch for those two chatterbox’s seemed completely gone.

Imaria only laughed, while the others had no strength to respond. Elysia was not lacking strength, she had simply given up on responding from the very beginning.

While resting, her eyes accidentally caught Mireya’s silhouette behind them. Her curiosity rose once more, her rabbitman instincts urging her to investigate.

“I want to meet Sister Mira for a moment.”

“What is wrong, Ely?”

“Nothing. I just want to ask something. Wait here for a bit.”

“All right. Be careful, Ely.”

Elysia slipped into the darkness. Without activating [Night Vision], she already recognized her sister only from the shape of her silhouette.

“Sis Mira,” she called softly. “I want to ask something.”

“Wait a moment, Ely.”

She scooped a handful of dirt, then blew it. The dirt suddenly turned into a dove, which then flew off into the darkness at their rear.

Elysia watched with awe and curiosity. Without realizing it, she asked about the bird first instead of questioning her sister’s earlier behavior.

“What was that?”

“Just a messenger. You know, in case something happens.”

Elysia inhaled. In case something happens. For some reason, those words brought her a bad feeling. Phrases like that usually triggered troublesome plots for heroines or main characters in a novel.

You know, in one of his works, William Shakespeare once said:

“All the world's a stage. And all the men and women merely players. They have their exits and their entrances. And one man in his time plays many parts.”

Her daydream was broken when Mireya called her name repeatedly.

“Ely, are you all right?” Her voice trembled with worry as she placed her palm swiftly on Elysia’s forehead. “Are you sick?”

Elysia shook her head and gently moved her sister’s hand aside. “No. I am fine, Sis. I was just curious why you looked at them like earlier.”

Mireya flinched slightly, but quickly regained her composure. “You noticed, did you? How observant.” She stroked Elysia’s head and placed a finger on her lips. “Forgive me, Ely. But I cannot tell you. The stars only allowed me to speak to Syrene. I hope you understand.”

“The stars?”

Mireya only smiled and stroked her head. Elysia did not know why her sister was openly hiding something from her.

Even so, the winter rabbit chose to trust her. For Elysia, Mireya was the most dependable person in her life. Not only because of her intelligence, but also because of the sincerity reflected in her crimson eyes.

Slowly, Elysia melted under her sister’s caresses. Her ears drooped. Her muscles relaxed. Only two people could make her this soft, her mother and Mireya.

“Now, Ely, return and rest with the others. Ah, also tell them that in half an hour we will depart.”

“I understand.”

Elysia left her sister, who sat on a rock and leaned her back against the rough cave wall. Her head tilted upward, staring blankly at the stalactites above that never stopped dripping dew.

Elysia had returned to her friends. She informed them of the rest time given, then sat quietly hugging her knees.

Half an hour passed. Rather than her body, her ears were more exhausted from listening to Celina and Irine’s endless chatter, as if they never ran out of topics.

“Rest time is over, prepare yourselves.”

Syrene emerged from the shadows with fresh blood on her cheek, clearly having slain a few monsters while keeping watch. Mireya followed from behind with soft steps that Elysia could barely hear.

“Ah, Syrene is right. It is time to go.”

Everyone rose. Before they continued, Imaria cleaned them with her magic.

This time, Syrene led the group, while Mireya walked in the rear to protect them from any ambush. Elysia and Imaria were in the center, their fast spell activation meant to shield their companions if a sudden attack occurred.

There was no compromise regarding the exploration formation Syrene had set. According to her, as beginners they had to follow formation discipline as part of their training.

“If you meet an enemy strong enough, you will also need to prepare a joint combat formation. You have not fought together even once since earlier, have you?” Syrene sighed. “Well, your individual skills are already very high.”

In just ten minutes, they had already covered a great distance. They did not return to any place they had passed through before. And they had not encountered a single monster.

Whether Syrene had memorized the route or possessed a detection spell to find the right path, whatever it was, Elysia was certain they had already traveled farther than when they did it alone.

At the final turn, a faint green light shimmered not far ahead.

Irine leapt with excitement, pointing at the exit with blazing enthusiasm in her blue eyes.

“The exit!”

“No,” Mireya corrected her, immediately making Irine disappointed. Seeing her sister’s shoulders sink, she continued, “That is not the exit, my little sister. That is our destination, the end of the second floor.”

“Heeeeh”

Irine grinned and looked up at Mireya. “May I go there first, Sis?”

“Of course. There are no monsters there.”

“Yatta”

Irine ran off without a second thought. Celina hurried after her with the same excitement. They were two voice boxes synchronized almost perfectly.

“W-wait for me, Irine”

However, their excitement spread like lightning and stirred everyone else’s curiosity. Elysia saw wide smiles forming on almost every face. She herself could not deny her own anticipation.

Imaria even ran after them, though her long church skirt restricted her movement a little.

If she had felt younger, she might have raced all the way there with them, but modesty held her back.

Hey, I mean... my age before reincarnation was twenty nine, and if added to my current age of fifteen, it means I have lived forty three years. It would be embarrassing to act childish like they do.

In the end, Elysia only walked slowly, maintaining her elegance and composure.

After a few steps, a faint green glow brushed her face. When she stepped inside, her eyes widened in amazement.

“S-so beautiful...”