From Real to Realm

Val stood there, staring.

“You okay?”

“I—it’s good to see you,” Val finally said.

Lynesia gave a tired smile. “That’s it?”

Val swallowed. “I fucking missed you.”

“That’s more like it.”

The two of them stood there, just looking at each other for what felt like forever.

“I heard you were killing yourself training and delving.”

Val opened her mouth to say something, anything, but she closed it.

Lynesia stepped forward, hands rubbing together. “I’ve had some time to think.”

Val’s heart raced.

Lynesia realized she was fidgeting and stopped. “Nothing can make up for the lies,” she finally said. “I lost my best friend, and now I know she’s never coming back. Even now it hurts to think about.”

“I—I’m sorry. I wish there was something I could do…”

Lynesia met Val’s eyes. “Just… look me in the eyes and promise me. Promise me you had nothing to do with her death.”

Val stared into the hazelnut eyes of the woman she loved. “I promise.”

The air between them was frozen for just a moment as Lynesia searched for the truth in Val’s eyes.

“I’m choosing to trust you,” she said, turning to walk. “Now come on, let me walk you home. It’s late.”

Val followed her, unsure if she should say anything else.

The small layer of snow crunched under their feet as they walked. Aside from random strangers’ voices, it was the only noise filling the air between them. It didn’t take long before their silent walk had them arriving at The Weeping Wagon again.

“Did you want to come inside?” Val asked, hand on the front door.

Lynesia started shaking her head, then stopped. “Actually, I think we should talk more.”

Val pushed the door open, then held it for Lynesia.

“Ah, there’s the lass,” Marxus said, wiping his mouth. “I was beginnin’ to wonder where ya been.”

Lynesia smiled at him. “I had some things to handle back at home.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Well, glad to see you’re safe and well.”

“You as well, Marxus,” she said.

The two of them continued up the stairs. When they reached the door, Val unlocked it before holding it open for Lynesia.

As she walked in, she smirked. “Haven’t used the kitchen since I left?”

Val closed the door. “I’m not much of a good cook. Marxus’ wife’s cooking was good enough.”

Lynesia walked over to the table, pulled out a chair, and sat down. Val set her halberd against the wall before doing the same.

The two of them sat in silence for a handful of minutes. Val struggled to make eye contact the entire time.

“You can’t be killing yourself over what happened.”

Val raised her head. “I can’t help it… Being home without you has been painful.”

Lynesia sighed. “It’s still hard to believe what you said. Especially when I’m looking at you like I am now.” She paused. “The hairstyle might be different. You might be stronger and in better shape than before, too, but you still look exactly like her.”

“I know…”

“It’s going to take some time adapting to knowing you’re a completely different person,” she said, leaning forward. “It’s… I don’t know how to explain it.”

Val stayed quiet, letting her figure out how to explain.

“You look like my best friend, the girl I spent most of my life getting to know,” Lynesia eventually said. “But I also know you as the woman I’ve fallen in love with.” She chuckled, shaking her head. “I mean, looking back now? It makes sense why everything about you was different. Your personality, your mannerisms, even the things you liked and disliked. Amnesia really was the only lie that would make sense.”

Val nodded. “Nothing went how I expected it.”

“What do you mean?”

Val took a deep breath, pushing hair out of her face. “I knew most of what I was getting into. The Goddess made sure to get my explicit agreement.” Her knee was bouncing rapidly. “But I didn’t know she had a best friend like you. Hell, I never expected things to progress as they have between us.” Val looked up, locking eyes with Lynesia. “Even with what she told me, I still never saw things going this way. I just… I swear I’m not trying to make excuses… I just don’t know what else to say other than I’m sorry.”

Lynesia finally reached across the table, taking Val’s hand in her own. “Listen. I’m still hurt over the lies and the loss of my best friend. However, I also know that I fell for the woman in front of me right now.”

Tears started hitting the table, and not from Lynesia.

Lynesia still chose to head back home for the night. The talk they had, while small, was enough to alleviate some of Val’s worry. Lynesia seemed like she still wanted to make this work, but getting past the death of her best friend wasn’t easy. The fact that Val looked exactly like the Val Lynesia lost only made it that much harder. Nothing could be done about the situation, and that drove Val up the wall in a way she couldn’t describe.

Val slept in bed alone again that night. She tossed and turned, struggling to get any decent rest. Lynesia’s absence still left a void for her.

By morning, she felt like shit. After blinking herself awake, Val swung her legs over the edge of the bed and leaned forward, elbows on her knees. Today, the group was supposed to fill in on another delve with Stormveil since they were still missing their mage. Honestly, she wanted to crawl right back under the blankets. But then she remembered the talk she’d had with the gods. If something was coming, she didn’t have the luxury of sleeping all day.

“Still no Lynesia?” Amarisse asked, sighing.

Val shook her head. “No, but she might be coming back.”

“Are you sure?” Cera asked. “You said the argument was intense…”

“I know, but we talked yesterday.”

Amarisse crossed her arms. “I told her you were driving yourself too hard. I figured she was the only one you’d listen to right now.”

Mina pouted. “I don’t like filling in with a bunch of random people.”

“Hopefully we won’t have to much longer,” Val said, walking toward the east wing of the guildhall.

This delve wasn’t much different from any others. Stormveil would take multiple people and create a party to clear out areas within the dungeon. Val’s group essentially only needed a mage, but Stormveil was careful above all else. Instead, they sent a mage, a breaker, and an additional channeler.

After entering the chapter hall, Tamsin wasted no time in introducing everyone.

“Alright, nothing crazy for today’s job. Your group is heading toward the eastern tunnels and caverns. Your main goal is to clear out anything you find.”

Val followed the route on the map in front of them with her finger. “Expect anything in particular?”

Tamsin shook her head. “Maybe some higher numbers, but that’s why we gave you three people instead of just the mage you needed.”

Amarisse was on the other side of Tamsin. “Any other groups likely to be in range of us during this?”

“Unlikely, but it depends on the random groups entering throughout the day,” Tamsin said, then she pointed to another spot. “Your closest support is over here. If something goes wrong and you need help, you’ll need to follow their tracks or come back to the surface.”

“With two healers, I think we should be fine,” Cera said, smiling.

“Who are you guys?” asked the breaker attached to their group. “Do you work with Stormveil a lot or something?”

They all turned around.

“We’ve been filling in since level one,” Val said, smirking.

Tamsin nodded. “Val’s team is prime for chapter recruiting at this point.”

Val’s group turned to her, surprised.

“Really?!” Mina asked, jumping in place.

Tamsin chuckled. “Did you guys really not know?”

They shook their heads.

“We aren’t the only ones interested either,” she said. “Word is you two have caught the most attention.”

She was pointing at Val and Amarisse.

“Just us two?” Amarisse asked.

“Your entire group has been gathering attention. Mina and Lynesia not as much, but seeing as they don’t seem to be leaving the group, people are watching.” She leaned back against the table. “Just don’t listen to everything they say to you. Being scouted by chapters is like being wined and dined. It’s all politics.”

The breaker chuckled. “So we should work with you more often.”

“Can’t promise we’re always looking for people to fill in,” Val said, shrugging. “But we’ll definitely keep you in mind for the future.”

After that, they finished wrapping up the briefing. Val’s group had their map with the route and area planned out. It was a simple clearing operation. Kill any dungeon creatures they run into, gather any worthwhile materials or parts, and of course, keep an eye out for new areas if they have appeared.

It took a few fights before the new adventurers were able to smoothly fill the gaps in the party. Having three extra sets of hands was extremely helpful, even if one of them was just an additional healer.

“Jesus, Val,” said Hector, the breaker from before. “You act like I do sometimes.”

Val stomped on the head of a rat. “How so?”

“Behind you!” yelled Cera.

Suddenly, Mina fell from above, pinning the rat to the ground with both kukris. “Got it!”

“You get really aggressive when you see an opening,” he finally said, resting his greatsword over his shoulder. “It’s like you smell blood and just go for it.”

Val looked at the over a dozen rats lying around them. Then she looked at herself. She was pretty covered in their blood.

“I was caught off guard once before,” she finally said. “I won’t again.”

Mina made a noise of agreement.

“Exactly,” Amarisse said in agreement. “Never again.”

Kristal walked up. “Is anyone hurt? I can heal you, I’ve got plenty in reserve.”

“I don’t know why Tamsin sent three of us with you,” Nikolas said, shaking his head. “I barely have to burn through mana to support you.”

Hector chuckled. “That’s how it should be. We take the brunt of the fight, you help cover us, right?”

Nikolas rolled his eyes. “You’re not wrong.”

After a small break to heal minor cuts and rest, they continued on. It was just as Tamsin said during their briefing. There wasn’t much aside from the usual through the tunnels. A few spots held larger-than-normal groups, but even they weren’t much for a group of seven adventurers. No new paths were found, but there were more than a few veins of ore.

“I still don’t understand this,” Val said, holding a chunk in front of her face.

Cera took it from her, turning it in her hand. “It’s normal ore.”

Val rolled her head. “I get that. What I don’t understand is how these veins aren’t mined dry yet?”

“Ah. No one really knows either,” Cera said, shrugging. “The working theory right now is the dungeon somehow provides an endless amount of it.”

“That makes even less sense to me,” Hector said, slamming his pickaxe. “It can’t just exist because the dungeon wants it to.”

Nikolas sighed. “We don’t even fully understand what the dungeon is yet, Hector.”

“I get that,” he said, leaning on his pickaxe. “But come on, it doesn’t make sense.”

“And the fact I can summon a ball of fire that explodes from thin air does?”

Hector laughed. “Okay, you’ve got me there.”

The rest of the delve went just as smoothly. Val eventually found herself curious as to why Tamsin sent them with three additional people as well. Everything they ran into could’ve been handled with just the mage fill-in, easily. Fights were getting even easier as the other three meshed better with each subsequent bout of combat. Before long, it was time to head back for the day.

When the group pushed through the large doors, the sun was getting low in the sky. It wasn’t quite dusk yet, but it was getting there.

“Alright, let’s check in with Tamsin, then I need a fucking bath,” Val said, looking at her body.

The walk from the dungeon to the guildhall was short. The cold air was beginning to really set in for the night.

“So, how did it go?” Tamsin asked, leaning against her table.

“It was a cakewalk,” Hector said, elbowing Val. “I don’t think they even really needed us.”

Val set two sacks on the ground. “I divided everything down the middle as best I could.”

Tamsin grabbed one and opened it. “Not a bad haul.”

Early on, Stormveil made a point to explain how things worked for freelancers working with them. Half of any materials and parts would be given to the chapter, while the other half would be kept by the adventurers.

“So, how’d they do Kristal?” Tamsin asked, grinning.

“They did very well. I’d say they’re ready to take on the Ashen King with us.”

Hector nodded. “I’d say Val’s on par with some Iron 5th classes I’ve fought with.”

Val exchanged glances with her group. “What’s going on?”

“We weren’t chosen for your group at random,” Nikolas said, patting her on the shoulder.

Tamsin shook her head. “They were not.”

“Then what were they chosen for?” Amarisse asked, brow furrowed.

Tamsin grinned. “They were there to evaluate your group. We can’t trust the word of other new adventurers. If we sent some of our own with you, we could get the truth.”

“So what was the point of the evaluation?” Val asked, arms crossed.

Tamsin looked amongst them. “How would you like to fight the Ashen King?”

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