Meanwhile, Somewhere Else. Deep within another region of the Empire.
A young woman with long violet hair steadily walked through the winding tunnels of a large dungeon.
She carried an elegant bow over one shoulder, while a quiver filled with arrows rested securely against her back.
She was none other than.
Arisha Willow.
Following behind and beside her were four fellow adventurers.
Unlike the labyrinth Noah and Damien were exploring, this was an ordinary low-ranking dungeon that adventurers frequently visited to earn money and gain combat experience.
Arisha lived in Elyon City, a prosperous city located within Hayes County.
The county itself belonged to the prestigious Hayes Family.
Walking beside Arisha was a familiar young woman with brown hair tied into a neat ponytail.
It was Emma Hayes.
She glanced sideways at her friend before asking curiously,
"What are you thinking about so deeply?"
Arisha had remained unusually quiet ever since they entered the dungeon.
Normally, she would occasionally join the conversation or point out possible dangers ahead.
Today she simply walked forward, seemingly lost in her own thoughts.
Before Arisha could answer, one of their companions suddenly grinned.
The young man had dark burgundy hair and carried a pair of short swords at his waist.
"Hmm... I think she’s feeling lonely."
Emma blinked.
"Lonely?"
She looked at him with confusion.
"Ricky... what are you talking about? Why would she be lonely?"
Before Ricky could answer, another member of the party—a young woman carrying a staff—covered her mouth with a teasing smile.
"Oh, come on. Isn’t it obvious? Our dear Arisha hasn’t received a single call or message from her prince."
Emma blinked once again.
"...Prince?"
She looked back and forth between the three adventurers, completely confused.
What were they talking about?
After the first semester at Novaris Academy, Emma and Arisha had gradually become close friends.
Once summer vacation began, however Arisha had devoted nearly all of her time to training.
The reason wasn’t difficult to understand.
Noah Eldritch.
The boy who had once lagged far behind everyone else had suddenly risen through the rankings. By the end of the semester, he had secured second place, surpassing every student except Damien.
Even Kaelan, who had consistently ranked near the top, had fallen behind him. Had Damien not broken through to the next Core Rank during the examination.
Noah might have claimed first place. That result had deeply motivated Arisha.
Rather than feeling jealous she had simply resolved to become stronger herself. She even contacted Emma to go with her to a dungeon. To gain more experience.
Over the past three days, Emma had noticed something else. Ever since their party entered this dungeon.
Arisha had been distracted.
She often drifted into thought for no apparent reason. Now her teammates were saying she hadn’t received a message from her "prince."
Emma couldn’t help becoming curious. Who exactly were they talking about?
"Don’t listen to them. They’re just talking nonsense." Arisha replied calmly, though she deliberately avoided looking at anyone.
Her composed expression only made the others smile even more.
The final member of the party finally spoke. He was the oldest among them, appearing to be around twenty-three years old.
Tall and broad-shouldered, he carried an enormous greatsword across his back. Among the four adventurers accompanying them. He was undoubtedly the strongest.
With a helpless chuckle, he looked at Emma.
"She’s talking about Noah Eldritch. Your classmate."
Emma’s eyes widened.
"...What?"
She immediately turned toward Arisha.
The violet-haired girl simply sighed, neither confirming nor denying it.
The greatsword user laughed.
"See? I told you."
He folded his arms.
"She’s been bothered ever since she stopped receiving his messages."
Emma looked at Arisha in disbelief.
"Wait... You really are worried because he hasn’t contacted you?"
She tilted her head thoughtfully before continuing,
"But didn’t you say Noah and Damien entered a labyrinth? If I remember correctly, communication devices don’t work properly inside labyrinths because of their unstable spatial structure."
She gestured toward the dungeon around them.
"It’s different from ordinary dungeons like this one. We can still make calls from here. But labyrinths interfere with long-distance communication. So isn’t that the most likely reason he hasn’t replied?"
Emma already knew that Arisha and Noah kept in touch almost every day after summer vacation had begun.
The two frequently exchanged messages, and Noah even called her two or three times each week. Ironically, Emma hadn’t learned that from Arisha herself.
She had heard it from Lyria.
Lyria and Noah also talked regularly after the semester ended, so she naturally knew how often Noah stayed in contact with his friends.
Sometimes Emma genuinely wondered whether smartphones and social media were making people too dependent on communication.
She couldn’t understand it.
’How could people spend hours chatting through messages every single day?’
She would rather meet someone face-to-face than stare at a phone screen for half the day. Waiting for their messages.
Arisha let out a helpless sigh after noticing Emma’s expression.
"Don’t misunderstand. I’m not distracted because I haven’t received any messages from him."
She looked deeper into the dim dungeon corridor ahead.
"I was simply wondering what Noah and Damien are going through inside the labyrinth."
Her violet eyes became more determined.
"I want to become strong enough to stand beside them. I want to reach their level someday."
Emma silently nodded.
"...That’s true."
Her hand tightened around the gauntlet covering her fist.
Truthfully she felt the same. Damien had already become someone she admired. She didn’t want to keep falling behind while everyone else continued growing stronger.
Arisha glanced sideways at her before a teasing smile appeared.
"But... I’m sure if Damien started messaging you every day...you’d happily spend hours talking to him. And you’d probably wait for his messages every single day."
Emma’s face instantly turned bright red.
"W-What?! N-No! That’s not true!"
The oldest member of the party laughed loudly.
"So... Arisha misses Noah... And Emma misses Damien."
His grin widened.
"Looks like both of you have it bad."
Piara, the young woman with short auburn hair, giggled mischievously.
"Hehe... Sounds like love to me."
Emma’s face became even redder.
"H-Hey! That’s absolutely not true!!"
Her voice echoed loudly throughout the dungeon. The laughter immediately died.
Arisha’s playful expression vanished in an instant. Her golden eyes suddenly shone brightly.
Hunter’s Eyes.
Her innate ability activated automatically. The world around her became sharper.
Every movement. Every fluctuation of mana. Every distant sound. Everything became crystal clear.
She stared into the darkness far ahead. Several powerful life signatures rapidly approached.
Her expression hardened.
Without hesitation, she grabbed her bow.
"Monsters. They’re coming."
The party’s relaxed atmosphere disappeared instantly.
Everyone drew their weapons.
Moments late dozens of giant lizard-like monsters burst out from the darkness. Their thick scales reflected the faint light of the dungeon crystals as they charged with savage roars.
"They’re fast!"
Ricky shouted.
Arisha calmly drew an arrow from her quiver. She pulled the bowstring to its limit. Dense mana rapidly gathered around the arrow until it glowed with a brilliant emerald light.
She released it.
Whoosh!
The arrow shot through the air like a streak of lightning.
Then it split apart. One arrow became many.
More than ten mana arrows formed entirely from condensed mana spread across the battlefield before raining down upon the charging monsters.
Weapon Art—Sky Hunter.
[Second Form: Thousand Feather Rain]
Although the technique normally created far more arrows.
Arisha’s current strength was still limited.
As a result, she could only produce a small number of mana arrows.
Even so each one carried deadly accuracy.
Thud!
Thud!
Thud!
Several lizard monsters collapsed before they could even reach the party.
"Now!"
The greatsword wielder roared. The four adventurers immediately rushed forward to intercept the remaining monsters.
Steel clashed against claws. Magic illuminated the cavern.
The battle erupted.
Meanwhile Arisha remained at the rear, continuously providing cover fire with calm precision. Even while releasing arrow after arrow. A quiet thought crossed her mind.
’...They’re not completely wrong.’
A faint smile unconsciously appeared on her lips.
’I really do... miss Noah.’
While Arisha and Emma with her friends fighting and exploring in dungeon.
Somewhere far to the west of the Empire, a young man found himself facing an unknown danger.
His face was filled with fear and anxiety as he wondered how he had ended up in such a perilous situation.
It seemed his vacation was not going to be normal after all.
He was none other than Kaelan Nightfall.
----
[A/N: Hello, guys!!
I hope you don’t mind that I’m showing the perspectives of other characters. They’re important to the story, and I want you to see what they’re doing during this time and what some of them are about to face.
Don’t worry! we’ll be back to Damien and Noah in another 2–3 Chapters!
Lastly, I hope you’ll keep sending me your Power Stones! The novel has been doing well this month. It’s not a huge jump, but it’s definitely improving, and I’m really grateful for your support.
I’m also slowly working on my third novel, but I’ll probably release it in November or December. Or maybe earlier. For now, I want to focus on my current two novels and make them as good as possible.
Anyways, bye!!]
Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!
Use arrow keys (or A / D) to PREV/NEXT chapter