Report

The woman was shaken. She was already mentally preparing to take care of the paperwork, but when Haru revealed he was not part of a party, her expression surpassed the surprise.

It was not uncommon for an adventurer to venture alone in the Dungeon. It wasn't the reason for her worry. The information accumulated so far about the Monster Parties indicated they appeared only in the presence of numerous people entering the Dungeon as a party, which is the reason for the name itself. The woman had never heard of a solo adventurer meeting a Monster Party before.

"...I understand. If your injuries are not serious, you can pass freely. Since this information should be enough to review the entire Dungeon mentality and structure, please discuss it with a guild executive. Since you seem like an honest person to me, I'll trust you will deliver the information about what happened to them in detail. You have been lucky and with great skill as you have managed to keep a cool head in the face of such monstrosity, but many others may not be like you."

The guard's words resonated with Haru. Now that he thought about it, reviewing the structure of the Dungeon would make it safer for adventurers, and he believed it could deliver some points for him. But at the same time, he realized the Dungeon's hatred would not affect other adventurers facing the Dungeon alone, but only him.

'I wonder how the point system works in this case.'

He did not even know if it could be considered valid as an attempt to improve the situation, but certainly, this small step wouldn't hurt. Maybe solo adventurers would be recommended to join a party, and they might find being alone was just something they had set on themselves, or that finding a party and making friends wasn't so bad. However, Haru's question wouldn't have received an answer soon.

"... I fully agree with you. As soon as I am in the Guild, I will tell my advisor everything, you can trust me."

Not that Haru wanted her trust, as the two of them had nothing in common. However, Haru saw the guard nod and taking this gesture as approval. He passed her quickly as he wanted to wear clean clothes.

'...Is it possible that every time that adventurer finds himself entering the Dungeon, something strange happens?'

The guard had these thoughts in her mind. She was concerned because it was only the three times she had seen the boy, and of these three, two had been rather...unique.

'I wonder what's going on these days.'

Asking these questions in her mind, the guard returned to her duty...

---

Now at home, Haru undressed as he wanted to check his injuries. Not remembering anything in particular of the wounds he had procured himself, he needed to ascertain the extent of each of them, because if he didn't see the injury, then Haru would be in trouble. His body was sore and at the same time felt pain whenever he tried to move, just for the excessive use of his strength. However, it had brought him the amount of 44 Goblin Fangs and 33 Kobold Nails. They were rare, so the number was unusual for a solo adventurer to obtain. He also seized 108 magic stones, 49 of goblins and 59 from Kobolds on the 8th floor, which had a much larger crystal than the close-ups, therefore more valuable.

'... I don't mind wealth, but at this rate, I will grow suspicious to others..."

He didn't care if the spotlight was on him, but he also didn't want people trying to manipulate him. From what he remembered, the goddess Freya, for example, had done everything to put Bell and his loved ones in dangerous situations, just because there was something that fascinated her. A type of reasoning Haru couldn't understand, but it wasn't needed to understand other people's motives. He knew if Freya didn't stand in his way, someone else would take her place, and he didn't have time or desire to fight someone like that.

He could only be wary of his surroundings even more from now on. Unlike Bell, Haru didn't have in mind to think only about his career as an adventurer, for him, there was much more contaminating the world, even if he did not yet know what would wait for him in the future.

But returning to his wounds, Haru was able to observe how his chest presented a great wound that seemed to have healed long ago, and although this raised many questions, that was not all. The lighter ones were in a state of closure, but it was still visible how recent they were. Scattered throughout his upper body, present from his forearms to the shoulders, and although he couldn't see them well, there were minor wounds on his lower back. But other than that, his lower body was clean, as if he had never faced a Monster Party in the first place.

'...I'd love an explanation as to what the hell all this means.'

From what he knew of himself, Haru possessed no healing ability that would allow him to heal a wound as open as that present in the centre of his chest. It was as if a force tried in every way to sew this part. Somehow, it healed to prevent his death.

But still, he wouldn't have found any solution if he kept questioning the meaning of everything that had happened. He had to tell Misha what happened, without making her worry about him. However, since he couldn't lie to his Goddess, Haru will probably be forced to reveal everything that had happened, but it was not bad. Hephaestus was a rather understanding Goddess. Although his thoughts about the Dungeon had quickly changed, although he would continue to descend knowing what awaited him down there, Haru believed Hephaestus would support him as much as he supported her.

'This world won't change itself after all. The Dungeon is after my life, people would threaten me in the same way, even if everyone turns their back at me, I don't mind at all.'

His thoughts were calm and rational, but somehow, the idea of seeing Misha, Mikoto, Syr, and the others leave him behind because of this matter hurt his heart.

---

Dressed in clean clothes after having a bath, Haru headed to the Guild. There, the situation seemed quiet and habitual, adventurers discussed with some advisors, others were sitting talking privately with them, still, others were escorted inside the Guild so that they could use the Exchange. From the atmosphere alone, Haru realized the guard didn't report anything yet, which made him smile at the thought, as he was sure if Misha hadn't heard the news from himself, then it would end in a new misunderstanding. Right now, Haru didn't want Misha to feel any pain over something like that.

Recognizing Haru from the moment he entered by the gate of the Guild, Misha had a small smile that almost could not contain the happiness in seeing that today, Haru had returned once again. Having him in front of her, she would immediately try teasing him a little, but from his expression, Misha felt that something was wrong.

Once she took Haru to a room, discussing privately with him, her smile disappeared. What Haru told her was enough to freeze her blood. At the words "Monster Party" Misha felt as if her stomach had made a quick turn...but before she could say anything, Haru cleared her mind a little.

"What I am about to tell you rests purely between us. I managed to defeat the entire Monster Party. The problem is, I came up with several injuries. However, they're shallow as the last time, no more than one day should be enough rest."

Unlike before, Haru felt that his pain was passing quickly. If when he came to his senses, the pain was enough to make him walk with difficulty, now it was bearable. He did not know why his body was changing. But he first thought there could be a connection to his parameters. Even if not as the famous rabbit, his growth was still impressive. If not to the limits how much one could grow without using any ability favouring the growth in the first place.

At his words, Misha's expression made him look down. He could see a mile away she was concerned about the injuries that had been inflicted on him by so many monsters. But first, an advisor should not play the role of controlling the injuries, but of reporting the information that had been given to them.

Since it was not so customary to find out new conditions and secrets about the Dungeon as it was like finding a needle in a thousand haystacks, it had been somewhat "forgotten" in time. However, someone like Misha who studied well how the Guild worked in school before getting the job, well knew the degree of the information just received wasn't less than A, perhaps even grade S. Many adventurers preferred to face the Dungeon alone. But if all of a sudden, The Dungeon began to make Monster Parties appear under different conditions than those previously noted, it changed their nature, making them even more dangerous than they already were.

Although theoretically going to warn her superiors was more pressing than Haru's wounds, the latter shook his head and stopped her. He was reluctant, but after a few seconds, he took off his shirt, revealing what was hidden beneath.

The vision of a chest wound, evidently caused by a kobold, which stretched almost from the sides to end at the centre was rather painful for Misha to see, as it was so large it resulted in a fatal wound, yet Haru seemed to be alright. On top of that, the wound itself was already closed, the only obvious thing left is the sign of the monster's claw.

"I can protect myself. I won't die so easily, Misha-san."

He was afraid she might think he was some monster, or that the wound itself was traumatic to look at, but at his words that centred what worried her, Misha breathed for a few seconds closing her eyes, before nodding. But as Haru was about to put his shirt back on, Misha stopped him.

"I want to touch it.. the wound."

Misha became convinced that what Haru had said was the truth. Once again, he had shown that he could manage even when the situation seemed desperate. Haru had comforted her. But seeing how uncomfortable he was acting for the first time, Misha felt the need to touch the wound, making sure he was alright with her own hands, but at the same time could find out the reason for his discomfort.

Her words, made Haru nod as he didn't mind if she touched it.

---

(Yes, I'm sorry for the last lines, that wasn't in any way hinting to sexuality, nor between Haru and Misha nor in my writing to make it look funny. By the way, from the next chapter things will speed up a lot. Ah, I wanted to tell you all something. Since I started school today, 2ch/day is complicated for me, only now I had some free time after too much time. For this, I decided to create a *******. I immediately make you aware that donating does not change the time I have available, it means I can only promise to give my all in the realization of the chapters. If you want to support my work, which I try to carry on with all my free time, then I thank you, but it won't change the number of words I can write, at least until I have time to breathe. Join my server discord to know more about this. discord.gg/y8VBZAp / https://www.pat r eon.com/SkyInTheNight)