Chapter 170 Monster villages [ 5 ]

-Freddy Siegfried's point of view

The privilege of being in this Dungeon was quite good due to the abundant mana in certain areas.

One of them was in the second biome, after crossing the forest. It was just another forest, but this one was a mix between savannah and swamp.

In one cave, the mana was quite dense, concentrated only by some mana stones that were somewhere. However, I didn't bother to look for them.

There is no need to look for the mana stones if you are already where they are. In this case, Freddy was inside a cave.

A great privilege was the mana inside the cave, just deep inside, in the part where Freddy thought the mana stones were closest.

Finding luxurious places like this was quite difficult in Grade 5 Dungeons, due to the scarcity of mana and because it was an open type Dungeon due to its large size. The mana was low.

If you found a cave with mana stones, it was best to soak up all that mana and advance in strength.

"With the amount of mana, I could reach the third circle in two days," I thought.

I had time and there was no need to go to the temple right away. Anyway, I knew I was ahead of the other cadets. Getting through the forest area of the first biome had been long.

I took it upon myself to get to this place as quickly as possible, and in passing I found this cave with mana concentrated in it.

My thoughts were silent as the mana entered my body like a waterfall, luxuriously brimming with energy.

A warm, refreshing sensation was slowly entering, at a speed that could be described as fast to moderate.

By talent standards, having a fast mana absorption meant being a genius. If it was intermediate, it was a rare talent. If it was slow, just a common talent, something you could see everywhere.

So, I increased the speed.

"My talent is in the highest of high standards," I told myself.

If talents had ranks, mine would be the highest. The high among the high would be just behind the maximum.

So absorbing mana for an hour meant a 20% increase in my ability. Having a high talent made it faster to advance in the circles through meditation.

"Haaa... I'll rest for the time being," I decided.

I stood up and walked out of the cave, looking up at the star-filled sky. This Dungeon looked very much like the outside reality. It was like being in the normal world and not inside a Dungeon.

"Oh, it's midnight," I thought, as I took out a bottle of water and drank some.

Before the start of the semester, all cadets had been issued a bottle with a two-liter capacity of water. As for food, the cadets were to find it by killing edible monsters.

Freddy had studied every possible book on edible and non-edible monsters. Among them were several sea monsters.

"Too bad the nearest lake is ten kilometers away," I said to myself. It was quite far away and I didn't have time to go all the way there, especially since the cadets in groups were probably fighting in the lake just then.

"The lake has the most resources to survive a week, but...," I paused. Staying too long there would delay the time to reach the goal: the temple in the center of the Dungeon.

Thousands of cadets were in this Dungeon, all with the goal of surviving two weeks and reaching the temple.

Muffled sound!

Then I heard it.

"..."

Creaking sounds of broken branches a few feet away. They were footsteps, but not from monsters.

Because of this, Freddy put on his guard. Although if he was a cadet, it wouldn't be a problem; he was in the second circle, while the others were still in the first.

However...

"..."

I was surprised when I felt the mana of a second circle. Who could have that power right now?

"It's impossible for a cadet to have that level," I thought.

A second circle in his half of power. At first, no one had the power of a second circle, and it was impossible for anyone to have advanced that far in such a short time.

"Ah," I exclaimed when I saw the person emerge from his hiding place, though it wasn't exactly a hiding place, but his figure was revealed.

His white hair waved freely in the breeze of the air. Her ash-gray eyes reflected her beauty, and her white skin contrasted with her hair. Luna suddenly appeared, and Freddy looked up at her.

They both looked at each other wordlessly at this sudden appearance.

"..."

"..."

Not a single word, until Luna broke the silence soon after.

"When did you get here?" she asked.

"Ah... I think it was two hours," I replied.

"Mmm, I came because I felt the denser mana. It's that cave, isn't it?"

"Yes."

"Then I guess you'll be my temporary companion," he said.

"It would seem so. Anyway, we had agreed on it last night."

"You're right."

Luna then walked into the cave, just inside the entrance. She stood next to Freddy and suddenly sat down on the floor.

"Sit down," she ordered.

"..."

Though confused, Freddy obeyed, and the two began to talk.

"When did you reach the second circle?" asked Freddy, who, seeing Luna's large amount of mana, knew he had reached the second circle recently.

"Mmm, two hours ago."

"..."

Was that a joke?

"But you're already halfway there. That means you're 50% stronger than me," I remarked.

"You're right. Besides, I ran into a monster from a village and it had a red mana stone."

"..."

It all made sense now. To advance to the second circle, the body uses half of the mana to give that advance. Then the remaining mana is conserved, depending on where you are in the second circle.

That's why Luna was halfway to the third circle, because by absorbing a red mana stone she had had enough to reach the second circle and advance to the middle of it.

Now it all made sense with that explanation.

"You got lucky," I commented.

"I guess you could say that," Luna replied.

"Still, you could make it to the third circle before the two weeks are up, right?"

"Yes, and the answer is right behind me," she said smiling, as if thinking of something.

I understood right away what he meant, so I didn't hesitate to answer.

"I found it first."

"Wow! That was awesome, can't you share it with your best friend?" said Luna with a smirk.

"..."

Was she laughing at me? That wasn't funny at all.

Freddy frowned slightly, but said nothing and sighed shortly after. He nodded and finally spoke.

"It's okay."

"See, everything is solved with a few words," she said.

"If you talk any more, I won't let you into the cave," I warned.

"..."

Luna fell silent and sighed.

"Hey," she said suddenly.

I looked at her.

Her expression changed. She looked... Happy or joyful about something? As I watched her, I noticed she was slightly flushed, as if she was thinking about someone. A smile appeared on her face.

It was strange, but I didn't think too much of it.

"What's wrong?", I asked her.

It took Luna a few minutes to answer, but she finally did.

"I think... I like Asher."

"..."

What the hell!!!

I opened my eyes wide, trying to process the words she had just said. I was so shocked that, if I had been drinking water, I would have spit it out.

Does he like Asher? It's not something I really cared about, but it still puzzled me. I don't know much about such matters, let alone how to give advice on them.

As if reading my thoughts, Luna spoke again.

"I only said it because I needed to get it out," she explained.

"I understand," I replied without hesitation, though I was still surprised.

Asher... seems to have quite a few female admirers at the academy. I hadn't noticed it until now, but it's true.

Then I spoke up.

"Why do you like it?"

"Mmm," Luna murmured, as if in thought. She was silent for a few minutes.

I was just asking myself a question. Asher is aloof, distant, distracted, emotionless, and cold. Also, he seems reluctant to topics like love or something similar.

I more or less understand his personality. He's not exactly like that, but it's true that his looks could drive many crazy. However, his manner would change that for most.

"I don't know. Maybe because I know him well enough to like him," she finally said.

"I see," I replied.

And the conversation ended there. Soon after, Luna and I went into the cave to meditate and try to reach the third circle as quickly as possible....