LOCATION - YUI

|Location: Shelter 34A|

-YUI-

*Ring, ring, ring~~*

My alarm would always wake me up at precisely five in the morning with a loud noise. It is when I always start my day as I prepare for work.

But instead of waking up refreshed, I woke up with my pillow drenched in sweat as I tried to catch my breath.

The dream I had for a couple of weeks had always been the same, running away from that collapsing building and the screams that drowned my ears. All of this felt fresh to me every time I woke up.

Even the grinning smile on that man's face taunts me, as he wanted me to accept his proposal.

I turned off my alarm as I sat up.

"Save by the bell, I guess." I took a deep breath to calm down.

I started my day right away, choosing the best outfit I could find, and setting it down next to the bathroom. Through the shower, the smell of rusty water rained down on my skin, washing the foamy soap off my body.

I sighed. remembering what day of the month it is today.

I said, but took a deep breath and said, "After what happened, I... never mind, better just focus on things in hand."

"Open field assignment would last for a couple of days or even weeks, such a hassle; well, it's been a month since then, but I hope I can meet their faces."

Since I was a young child, I have repeated the mantra "Better if I clear my mind today, buried deep, buried deep. Calm, I say calmly. HA, there I'm ready." It always relaxes me if I do it as I start my day.

As I hurried outside to dry off and started getting dressed, I opened the simplest or, more accurately, the only thing I had to make breakfast for today. I sat down soon after.

"Wheat flavor powder meal, great! I'm stuck with this; rations won't be delivered anytime soon."

As the label goes, I reap the seal open and chuck every bit of powder into my mouth after, I checked the time, [6:48]

I can't believe I dragged my time in the shower; roll calls are at seven.

Grabbing my keys from the table and tightening the Sertium suppressor belt around my waist, I leaped my butt off the chair and rushed out, slamming my room door shut.

I hurried out of my room and into the standard metal hallway of Dome 13, where my apartment A9 is located.

Outside, the warm sun dipped into my skin, and the people around me welcomed me; their loose clothing attire was very different from mine. The cool breeze and the shelter's copper scent also welcomed me.

A fitting shirt with a neat print of the shelter's logo, my brown fitting above-the-knee shorts, then a hat with a logo 34A, and an armored shoe, Are my attire,

You might think that an archaeologist's job is to uncover the history of an ancient civilization, their culture, and heritage is what we must uncover along with documenting historical text, but that job description is over a thousand years ago, and today as an archaeologist it's my job to find the truth of how the attire Sightseer and I came to be here, and it's my responsibility to be present for every excavation my team would participate in.

•••••••

*SLAM!!*

My superior was waiting for me as soon as I walked into the office. With her flirtatious demeanor, purple hair that falls to her small, slender waist, and golden gaze, Professor Margous is a sponsor from the "Big City" who has been sent to help small shelters like ours.

"Your late Yui, again"

She gave me a piercing look as she crossed her thin arms. I attempted to speak in defense when I found myself in one of my stuttering situations, and her stern tone cut me off.

"Sorry, I swear- I-"

"24 times this month, 24 times," she said.

She reached for a pen nearby and wrote down my sloppy attendance log for the month in the logbook and recorder.

I could only lower my head as I walked away.

Of course, the sight of her recording my every move—'most of it are bad'—hurt to see my future as an archeologist fiddle away, but it's her job, After all, recording is one thing, but she's also our adviser for today's field assignment, which means it's a major expedition.

She always leaves a bad note for me, I just knew it.

I want to talk back, but it might affect our shelter's resources that come from the big city, or worse, it might affect the future of my teammates. All I can do right now is to hold it in.

"Yui!! Sit over there, we'll just have a run-through, on today's excavation, since someone is late"

Waving her hand at me to move aside, she walked past and sat down on her usual chair at the round table, where she could see all of us.

Just two chairs away from her, I took a seat, hunching my head in shame and avoiding making eye contact with everyone in the room, especially from her

"Pssst. Yui"

I heard someone softly whisper in my ear. I slowly tilted my head to the left and saw a familiar face.

"Johann, it's been so long; I assumed you were with Team 1."

He gave me a friendly smile as he set his hat on the table. He also welcomed me with his gorgeous blue eyes and grayish hair. He wore the male version of my outfit—a camouflage shirt and pair of pants that looked great on him.

He crossed his arms and said, "I'm babysitting those three over there; being a sightseer and a senior is a tiring job."

I went with the flow and talk comfortably with him,

"But at least you get to boss around, unlike me, the job description is mostly all about following orders from the adviser"

Johann smiled and gently patted my head.

However, he added, "Look on the bright side, as a sightseer our job is a dangerous one, always fighting monsters and escort missions, our skills, and strengths are our bread and butter, while archaeologists are solely relying on that big head of yours."

I replied, unsure of whether he was complimenting or making fun of my job, "Gosh, I know that, Johann. However, it's not as if I'm not working; both of our jobs are hazardous. If you guys die, I will also die."

I moved toward him because his voice was so soft that I almost couldn't hear what he was saying. He let go of his hand and grinned softly as he said, "Just you know, I'm glad."

"Glad?"

Professor Margous suddenly cleared her throat, I turned around and saw her staring at me, creasing her forehead and madly pouting her lips.

"Ahem!! Thank you, mister Johann, for that explanation, I hope miss Yui would do the same, such as doing archaeologist things and not engaging in idle chatter"

I can't believe I'm stuttering in front of her right now. "Sorry, Ma'am! I-I" I apologized profusely. How could today possibly be worse?

"I want results, not your breath, Miss Yui, so please keep it to yourself. Hmm, where are we? Ah! Yes, the site's location, listen carefully north-west from here and you'll arrive at newly discovered ruins; only minor gods and a few worshippers were sighted nearby."

"Wait, northwest?! If I'm correct based on the collisions of the tectonic plates and the rearrangement of the world's geographic landscape from 1,597 years ago, that should be the ancient capital city of Japan, Tokyo! They have found it. Amazing!!"

I was mumbling to myself and fumbling through my knowledge for more information when I unintentionally spoke too loudly, drawing Professor Margous' attention and causing her to look at me with her piercing eyes "again."

"At least you know something; why didn't you become a geologist instead? Anyway, let's get back to the topic. Johann, take this, and you explain your part."

She talked, placing her hands against her forehead, and waved the file of the mission, handing it to Johann.

"Hi friends, I'm Johann from Division 1, and with me here are three freshly graduated comrades."

Three baby faces stood up and bowed their heads as they greeted us.

"I'm Timmy, 16"

"Hi, I'm Hon, 17"

"Gil, 16"

After giving their greeting, one of my teammates from Division 2.

slammed his clenched fist, whacking the table in front of him, startling the fresh graduates.

"Great!! We're stuck with babysitting!"

He released a domineering aura, and his arrogant temper along with his rough voice made it all worse. The teenagers decided not to lift their heads, shivering.

"Lukas!"

I tried to grab his hands, but Johann stopped me and instead gave me a warm smile as he replied.

"It's okay, Yui, Lukas, you don't have to worry, I'll be facilitating these three, so you can just do the same job as Division 2's Sightseer," Johann said, stepping forward and putting himself between Lukas and the three trembling teenagers as they exchanged stern looks.

Our team is the one that always has to deal with newcomers, so why are you just sitting there, Ron?

Lukas focused on Ronald, also known as Ron, the Division 4 commander. While Ron is much larger than Lukas and Johan and serves as our Division 2 leader, he has always been and will continue to be Division 2's gentle giant despite his size and serious demeanor.

"It's fine for me, and Lukas we just need to follow orders"

"Tch." Lukas clicked his tongue.

Lukas then just sat quietly in his seat, and the teenagers did as well.

"Well, I guess this settles it, for now, I hope you would give me the best of results, traveling time is five days, and if two weeks went by without communication, we'll label you guys under search and rescue or worst dead"

Margous smiles at us before exiting the room and slamming the door behind her.

Roland says, grabbing his team leader's camouflage jacket from the chair, "Let's grab our gears and rations, everyone." Roland then starts to leave.

•••••••

|Location: Shelter 34A, Expedition building|

We left the meeting room with a mobile vehicle that runs on four wheels and headed to a building near the iron walls of the shelter, which serves as our protection against the gods.

I arrived with my teammate at the building, the smell of iron rusting filled my lungs, and the sight of the iron wall gave me shivers down my spine every time. Just the thought of leaving the shelter always scares me.

I've always had a bad taste in my mouth and felt weak just thinking about going out where those gods are.

A creature with unimaginable strength and everything in its body capable of killing anyone unfortunate enough to come into contact with one, we call them gods. There is always a high chance of coming across one during excavations, and there will always be casualties.

The term "gods" refers to the creatures that survived the massive apocalypse of 2002 years ago, which left only a quarter of the world's population and a small amount of habitable land.

They are a creature of incredible strength, and they are further broken down into the categories of apostles, minor and major gods, and the weakest worshippers.

"Hey! Yui where here, wake up girl"

Kate pulled me out of my deep thoughts; her purple eyes with a slight grin greeted me.

Kate, my childhood friend, she's a little bit of a trickster and always teases Lukas, but she can also be a good listener, she's my very close friend.

"Ah!!"

"Girl, we better head inside, grab the things we need and change into our suits. So, stop thinking about unnecessary things, nothing will happen like last month"

"Yes, Kate your right, it's just that what if I will mess up again"

Kate then grabs my shoulders and looks me in the eyes, She warmly smiles at me and kisses my forehead, comforting me.

"Girl, just think positive, okay?!"

"Okay"

I nodded, and she then pulled me out of the vehicle and headed into the building, the signage always leaves an impression on me.

(Expedition Gears)

•••••

|Location: Armory|

Inside, we immediately went to the armory workshop. The sound of drilling and hammering filled the huge room, and the smell of iron and numerous other things ran around, crossing our noses every time.

"Kate? Why are we here? The gears are on the second floor."

"I'm here for my katana"

Kate began to look around, and finally, her eyes widened with a smile that stretched from ear to ear.

"Guliet!! Girl"

Kate rushed to the blonde girl. They both smiled and exchanged pleasantries. Her apron is full of grease and sweat, and on her right hand, there's a hammer. She was a mechanic and a weapon forger, people who are assigned to create weapons for Sightseers.

"Kate good timing we are just about to do a test run for your swords upgrade, oh and who is this young lady"

"You never visit the armory? anyway, she's Yui, our team's archaeologist"

Kate looked at me, as she introduced me.

"Oh, the brainy type, nice to meet you, name Guliet, sorry for not shaking your hands; as you can see, I'm quite a mess," she says.

"That's fine, I'm just following Kate here," I said.

She apologizes, "Oh, I see, how about we go Kate, and grab your weapon, sorry Yui but only the owners can enter further."

"It's fine I'll wait here"

Shortly after Kate had briefly joined Guliet in a room, she had come out carrying a long, thin black blade that was fastened to a belt around her waist.

"Took you long enough, let's go"

••••••••