Day before the storm.

"Ah... I just remembered... I haven't taken a shower since yesterday...", I said out loud while wearing my usual black attire.

"There's no helping it now... It's already too late...", Eve said. She was sitting on my bed, waiting for me to get ready so that we could leave to go on the forest trip.

"Yeah, I know... Thankfully, I don't smell too bad...", I chuckled.

Nothing special happens in today's trip. In the novel, the protagonist and Sophia's relationship gets better and they spend some quality time together. It was hard to read because of the second-hand cringe I felt while reading romance, but I didn't skip it.

"Let's go. We won't be able to eat any breakfast if we don't hurry now...", I said to Eve after putting on my shirt.

"Whoa, are those new shoes?", Eve asked looking at my feet. They were covered with the {Spirit boots}. They changed colour to black and looked rather cool if I do say so myself.

"Yeah, they are. They look nice, don't they?"

"Yeah...", Eve agreed.

After that little exchange, we left my room and power-walked our way to the cafeteria.

But as soon as we arrived at the cafeteria, both I and Eve's mood changed to gloomy and pissed off. Eve's more than mine.

Julian and Sophia were there. Eating their fucking breakfasts.

I didn't hate Julian, but Sophia on the other hand... She was not good for my temper.

"Samuel... Can we skip breakfast today? I don't feel like eating...", Eve said with a cold voice.

"Yeah, sure. I'm kinda full too...", I agreed and decided to go outside for some fresh air instead.

...

"Hey, Samuel..."

"Yeah?"

"Let's have fun today, okay?", Eve said with a smile on her face.

"... Yeah... Sure...", I had no choice but to agree with her after seeing her face.

'Why is she so good at changing my mood?! I swear I don't feel any magic! Damnit!', I thought.

"Students of the Nexus Academy. You are requested to board the buses now. We will be departing within 10 minutes.", an announcement rang through the hotel and its surroundings.

"Let's go."

--- in the bus ---

I was sitting next to Eve, as usual. Eve looked super excited to go on the trip. Probably because the Mystic Forest is a place with a few Elvish trees...

'Just one day left till the Dungeon Outbreak... I hope everything goes according to plan...', I couldn't help but be worried about the approaching disaster...

"Samuel... Can you tell me something?", Eve suddenly asked.

"What?"

"Why did you risk your life for that artifact?", Eve asked with curiosity.

"... I have my reasons...", I showed clearly that I didn't want to talk about it.

"*Sigh... It's fine if you don't want to tell me... But don't go hurting yourself, alright?"

"Don't worry.", I reassured her.

'In reality... I had no choice but to risk my life to get that artifact... It's because the 'me' in reality is extremely weak... My magic spells might be strong at first... But I have a severe lack of Mana... Eve probably has a mana pool 4 times as big as me. Sophia, more than 4 times... As for Julian, well, he isn't a mage to begin with...'

As I was thinking, we had already reached the destination.

'Wow... this place looks much better in the morning...', I was awestruck by the beauty of the Mystic Forest.

The previous night, when I had come to the Mystic Forest I just wanted to get the Spirit Boots and leave as soon as possible... But now, the forest looked alluring and welcoming.

'This is probably because all of the nocturnal plant-type monsters have gone to sleep...', I concluded.

--- After the trip ---

The trip went by smoothly. No hindrances. I had anticipated some hindrance from Sophia, but she was probably too busy trying to get closer to Julian to have the time to get in the way of Eve.

"Today was so much fun as well!", Eve stretched her arms and said.

"It sure was.", I agreed. Although in truth, I didn't really enjoy the trip too much. It was boring for me.

--- in the bus, returning ---

We were silent for some time before I broke the silence.

"Eve..."

"Yeah?"

"Be careful tomorrow... Always be ready to use magic... and be prepared...", I said in a sleepy tone. My consciousness was fading slowly. I was severely sleep deprived after all.

"What?"

"*Sigh...", with a sigh, I collapsed into Eve's body as my muscles gave out because of the exhaustion.

"Ah! Careful!", Eve prevented me from falling over the seat.

"Hmm...", I couldn't hear what she said clearly.

'So soft... and comfortable... This is better than my pillow...', I thought before falling asleep.

--- Eve's POV ---

Currently, on the bus, Eve was sitting alone. Mentally alone. Physically, she was with Samuel. But Samuel was out cold.

But where did he put his head?

'WHY ARE YOU SLEEPING ON MY CHEST?!?!?', Eve wanted to shout but she couldn't.

She had already done much more intimate things with Samuel, but she was under the influence of alcohol at that time. This time, however, she was completely sober and awake!

'You jerk! You could've slept on the seat's headrest!! Why my chest?!?', once again, she wanted to shout but her lungs were breathing erratically and her heart was skipping beats constantly.

But as she looked at Samuel's face, she calmed down a bit.

"Sleep well...", that's the only thing she could say out loud.

But one thought bothered her quite a bit.

'Be prepared? He said that before the trip as well... why does he keep telling me to be prepared and be ready to cast magic at all times?', Eve wondered.

'It can't be that he's just that worried about me... he seems too serious and specific when talking about it... he must know something...', Eve concluded.

'Whatever... I trust him so I'll heed his advice... I'll be ready at all times tomorrow.'