From Real to Realm

“Theoden?”

The thin human who debriefed Val’s party was standing in the doorway.

“Ah, yes, come in,” Theoden said, turning. “What did you find out from speaking with them, Vios?”

Vios stepped forward, laying a few books on the cluttered desk.

Behind Theoden, large windows overlooked the guildhall lobby.

“Well, it was a highly unusual delve for the first floor. Especially considering their entire party is brand new.”

Theoden’s eyebrows shot up. “That was their first delve?”

Vios nodded. “Yes sir. Valnarei Strouss just got her badge the day before.”

Theoden walked forward slowly, arms clasped behind his back. “Who else is in her ‘party’?”

Vios flipped through a few pages. “There is Lucia Lionel, Amarisse Trunelle, and Mina Krenos.”

He turned another page. “Ah, but I think they are adding a fifth member soon. Valnarei was seen spending time with Elza Blount.”

Theoden tapped his chin. “A five-person group is a strong baseline. What are their classes?”

Vios skimmed the first few pages. “Valnarei chose Hybrid, Lucia chose Channeler, Amarisse is a Tank, and Mina’s a Striker. Elza Blount is… ah, here—she’s a Mage”

He looked up from the book. “To be honest, sir, their party composition is excellent.”

Theoden nodded, taking his seat finally—the dark wood creaking as he settled in. “It is, but the dungeon doesn’t care how excellent. If it wants to, then it will kill them all.”

Vios paled immediately, gulping. “Are you referring to the ‘appraisal’ theory, sir?”

Theoden leaned back in his chair, looking at the ceiling. “I struggle to call it just a theory anymore. We’ve had too many delves that give it credence.”

Vios flipped through his ledger. “Well, they did run into an unusual amount of monsters, but the Soul Echo they encountered worries me.”

“Indeed,” Theoden agreed. “A Soul Echo being on floor one is dangerous. Hopefully it is just a fringe case, but I’ve given the go ahead for adventurers to be warned at the entrance before they enter.”

Vios looked up, worried. “Will that be enough?”

Theoden sighed. “I don’t know.”

THUNK!

Elza’s ice spike landed just to the right of the bullseye.

“You weren’t kidding. You’re pretty damn accurate with that spell,” Val said, arms crossed.

Mina and Amarisse were busy sharpening everyone’s weapons while Lucia was writing in her ledger.

“What did you call your ability to freeze someone’s feet to the ground again?” Lucia asked.

Elza turned around, closing her tome. “After a few uses the system called it Frozen Feet. Simple and easy to remember, at least for me.”

Lucia giggled. “If it works, then no reason to argue.”

“I think the orb thingy is really cool,” Mina said. “I didn’t expect it to work so well.”

Originally Elza had been hesitant to use any of her magic on them. After some convincing though, she reluctantly agreed to use it on Mina. With the cat-girl being the fastest of them, it only made sense to test how potent it was.

“I’d say it easily halved your speed,” Lucia said, writing something down.

Elza walked up and peeked over the healer’s shoulder. “Whatcha writing?”

Lucia paused long enough to glance over her shoulder. “Honestly, I’m brainstorming ideas for our group.”

Val sat across from her. “What kind of ideas?”

Lucia turned the book sideways. “Honestly, mostly the ideal formation. I’ve got a few ideas for combining our attacks and coordinating. I don’t want to be caught on the back foot while down there.”

The sentiment was shared among the group. No one wanted to risk being caught unprepared. The monsters didn’t care how meticulously you planned, but it helped to be prepared.

“Well, now that I’ve given you a taste of what I can do, what now?” Elza asked.

Val chimed in this time. “I say we take today off. You’ve used some mana and it’s getting late already.”

Elza looked up at the sun. “You’re right. It’s already past midday.”

Val nodded. “We can meet back up tomorrow morning for our first delve as a group. I say this time we focus on testing our group. No pushing too deep, just getting a feel.”

Amarisse finally finished sharpening her sword. “I agree. I think the four of us already have good chemistry when fighting. Adding a mage into the mix requires some adjustments.”

Mina tilted her head. “Really? Like what?”

Elza picked up at that point. “In the middle of battle, the three of you will be in close with whatever we are fighting. I need to be able to cover Lucia, while also assisting you. I need to be able to land my attacks without nicking one of you, or gods forbid, landing a direct attack on you.”

“Exactly,” Lucia said. “Mages require good accuracy and excellent battle awareness to be viable.”

Val smirked. “Good thing you’re accurate already.”

Everyone agreed: take the rest of the day off, meet in the morning for their first delve.

Mina waved as she walked away. “See you in the morning!”

Amarisse was walking next to her waving as well.

Val took the opportunity to stop Lucia for a second. “Hey, I almost forgot to ask. When I checked my stats recently after accepting my class type, two stats were bolded. What does that mean?”

“I keep forgetting you’re new to all of this,” Lucia said, shaking her head. “It means both of those attributes are close to ranking up.

Val’s heart sped up. “How close?”

Lucia shrugged. “It’s impossible to tell. We’ll all get attribute increases through our first five levels, so I wouldn’t worry too much right now.”

It wasn’t exactly what Val was hoping to hear. If she had attributes on the verge of increasing right now, then she wanted to give them a nudge.

“So, no way for me to make them increase now?”

Lucia shrugged once more. “I doubt it, but I’m no expert on these matters.”

Feeling just a bit deflated, Val said goodbye to Lucia.

“Ready to head back?”

Val nodded to Elza’s question.

Elza was leaning against a gazebo pillar. “You realize how hard it’s going to be for me to focus right?”

Val furrowed her brow. “What do you mean?”

Elza threw her hands up. “My religion requires me to appreciate a nice ass. You’re going to be in front of me down in the dungeon. You really expect me not to stare?”

Val chuckled, swatting at Elza. “As long as you don’t hit me with one of those spikes, you can stare as much as you want.”

Elza and Val started walking toward the main gate, ready to head home for the day.

Val felt more confident in their chances. Not only were there five of them now, they also filled their only glaring weak spot.

Tomorrow—we’re kicking the dungeon’s ass.

“VALNAREI!”

Val froze instantly.

That voice… gods no.

Elza was already looking past Val. “Oh wow, she’s cute.”

Val sighed heavily, turning around. “Hey, Lynesia.”

Lynesia glared back at Val. “Really? That’s all you’ve got for me?”

Val looked around. They were just outside the front gate to the guild grounds. “Can we move somewhere less crowded, please?”

Lynesia stopped for a second, realizing others were looking at them. “Oh, uh—yeah.”

Val turned to Elza. “I’ll see ya around.”

Elza didn’t reply; she just gave Val a confused look.

Lynesia practically dragged Val to a nearby alley before blowing up again. “First I find out you’re actually adventuring, but then your parents tell me you just left?! After everything they went through, you’re just leaving them to go play hero with a bunch of idiots?!”

Val gritted her teeth, eyes narrowing. “First off, they are my friends. Second, it’s my life. I will do whatever I want with it.”

Lynesia recoiled at Val’s tone and glare. “W—we just got you back…”

Tears were starting to form. Val could see it—anger giving way to worry and sadness.

“Lynesia—I’m sorry. I just…” Val groaned, spinning around, running her hands through her hair. “I want this so bad. I’ve loved every damn second of it. I’ve met so many good people and feel like I’m finally taking control of my life again.”

Val stopped and looked into Lynesia’s eyes. “I’m not looked at as some girl who’s frail from some magical illness when I’m here. I’m looked at as Valnarei—for what I can do as an adventurer.”

Lynesia’s expression faltered. Val could practically see the gears turning.

“But what if we lose you again? There’s no guarantee you come back from the dungeon.”

Val knew that was the truth. Each delve into the dungeon was a brush with death, tempting the grim reaper—if he existed in this world.

“I know that…” Val rubbed the back of her neck. “That’s why I’ve been coming here for almost a week now. To train some, find a good party, hell, I’ve even got a group who mentored me.”

Lynesia nodded. “I know.”

“I’m trying to get stronger, so—wait. What do you mean ‘you know’?”

Lynesia looked down at her hands. “I… followed you one day. I noticed you were leaving early every day and coming home late. Sometimes bruised and dirty. So I wanted to see what you were doing.”

Val had to give her credit. Never in a thousand years did she think Lynesia would ever follow her. “So you knew before anyone else?”

Lynesia nodded.

“Why didn’t you tell anyone?”

Lynesia bit her lip, fidgeting. “Because I love you, dummy. I didn’t want to drive a wedge between you and your family. I—“ She looked up. “—I didn’t want you to resent me. I couldn’t stand the thought of losing you again.”

Any anger Val felt melted away when Lynesia looked at her like that.

It wasn’t what she’d consider puppy dog eyes, but gods was it cute.

“Lynesia… there’s something I need to tell you.”

As soon as those words left her lips, Lynesia froze, worry coloring her expression. “I—is something wrong?”

Val shook her head, laughing, of all things. “I think I’m in love with you as well.”

Lynesia’s eyes went wide. The poor girl struggled to breathe, let alone speak.

“You good?” Val asked, a smile playing on her lips.

Lynesia finally broke out of her haze, immediately jumping into Val’s arms. “I hoped you felt the same!”

Val almost fell from the sudden launch, but held her up while laughing. She would’ve kept laughing, but a sudden, deep passionate kiss stopped her.

It was their first kiss, not chaste in any way. The kind with an unspoken hunger behind it, one that needed to be sated—soon. When they finally broke the kiss, both were breathless.

“As much as I’d love to do that again, among other things, I should probably go rest. We’re heading into the dungeon tomorrow.”

Lynesia paled immediately and Val set her down.

“Don’t worry. We won’t go far, and we’ve got a good plan.” She leaned in and pecked Lynesia on the lips. “Maybe after our delve tomorrow, we can go back to my place and celebrate a little?”

Lynesia was fidgeting again, worry evident. “Just promise you’ll be careful… okay?”

Val nodded. “Of course, I—I love you.”

Lynesia blushed, then smiled. “I love you, too.”

After such a whirlwind of emotions, Val finally headed to her new place.

Her heart was racing the entire way home. She replayed that kiss in her head time and time again. It was one of the only times she felt truly giddy in this new world.

When she finally got back, Elza immediately popped her head out of her room. “Everything good?”

Val nodded, incapable of hiding her smile. “Yeah, it’s really good.”

Elza tilted her head, smirking. “Care to elaborate some?”

Val wasn’t shy about being into women, but she barely knew Elza. “Maybe another time.”

Elza stepped into the hallway, pouting. “Oh come on! You can’t leave me hanging like that! I was there when she practically had a meltdown in front of everyone!”

Val sighed. “Fine.”

Only after grabbing a drink and settling in did she look back at Elza. The poor girl looked like she was about to burst if she didn’t hear anything soon.

“We may have… made out a little.”

Elza immediately lit up. “How did you flip from meltdown to that?!”

Val laughed as Elza leaped onto the couch, eager for more.

“Well, we already have some history. There’s been some feelings and recently I noticed I felt the same way. So I returned her confession today and yeah, we kissed.”

Elza punched Val in the shoulder. “Good for you! I figured you were into girls, but I couldn’t quite peg you for sure.”

Val grinned. “Yeah, not really into men. Just not my thing honestly.”

Elza was grinning just as much as Val.

“It was kind of heated at first, but we’re good now. She’s actually going to come over tomorrow after our delve.”

Elza wiggled her eyebrows. “Oh really? Should I conveniently find somewhere else to be?”

Val blushed, but shrugged. “That would help my chances.”

Finally Elza stood from the couch. “I’ll see what I can do.”

Val watched her walk back into her bedroom, then relaxed on the couch.

So many things were happening now.

First off, her parents were hurt—badly. That was something she’d need to figure out soon. Lynesia brought up a good point. It was wrong of Val to just walk out after everything they had been through already.

Then there was Lynesia. Val wasn’t on the fence anymore. She was in love with her, without a doubt. It felt like such a long time since she felt this way about anyone.

Finally, the dungeon and her party. Their second delve was tomorrow—their first with Elza. It wasn’t necessarily a make or break moment, but it would decide if Elza stuck around permanently or not.

Handling Lynesia had been the easiest task out of all of them. Val still felt a little bad making her wait for an answer like this, but so much was going on. With her career finally moving forward, it was easier to come to terms with how she felt.

“How do I even begin making up with my parents?” she muttered.

Coming home randomly and just apologizing felt so straight forward, but not a viable option. It wasn’t like she was some teenager who just ran away because she was mad at her parents. There was so much more to the situation than that.

Even while her mind spiraled at what to do next, a grumble from her stomach broke through the tension.

I’m hungry.

Val rose from the couch, heading to Elza’s door and knocking on it.

After a few seconds, Elza finally opened the door, only in her bra and panties surprisingly.

Heat rose on Val’s face as she tried to keep eye contact. “I’m grabbing something to eat—want anything?”

Elza grinned and didn’t answer immediately.

After a few long seconds she leaned against the doorjamb. “Sure, heading out? Or grabbing something downstairs?”

Val motioned over her shoulder. “Just something from downstairs—cheapest option right now.”

Elza turned and walked back into the room.

Val’s eyes inevitably drifted to Elza’s ass.

She quickly looked back up as soon as she turned around.

“Here—two Tacks. I’ll cover tonight, my congrats on the new relationship.”

Val rolled her eyes. “Thanks, but you don’t have to.”

Elza shook her head. “I insist. I’ll be decent when you come back up.”

With that, Elza shut the door and Val turned around.

The stairs creaked under each step as she walked downstairs. A strong scent of cinnamon and cooked meat filled her nose.

I’m really hungry.

When she reached the bottom of the stairs, Marxus looked up from some papers. “Settling in alright, lass?”

Val nodded, smiling. “Is the missus able to make a couple of plates for us tonight?”

Marxus nodded. “One Tack for each.”

Val set the two Tacks down that Elza handed her.

“One moment,” Marxus said, shuffling off his stool.

Val walked over to one of the plush chairs, taking a seat.

The hearth had a fresh fire crackling inside of it, heating the room comfortably. The entire atmosphere felt so homey to her.

Maybe staying here more long term wouldn’t be such a bad idea?

“Here ya go, lass.”

Val rose from the chair, approaching the counter. “Smells really good.”

Marxus smirked. “Of course it is, my wife is a hell of a cook.”

Val just grinned, grabbing the plates and thanking Marxus.

When she pushed through the door to their suite Elza was sitting, fully dressed, at the table.

“About time—I was about to starve to death here.”

Val rolled her eyes as she set the plates down. “Sure you were, poor thing.”

They ate mostly in silence. It was obvious both of them had a lot on their mind, especially Val. Tomorrow was a big day for everyone involved.

Either Elza fit their party, or she didn’t.

But tomorrow would test more than just their formation.

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