"So, that's the grimoire you picked from the royal treasury?" Evastor asked, eyeing the book in my hands.

  I sat in his office, flipping through its torn pages. "Y-yeah," I answered. "But it was locked, and for some reason, it only opened for me. The spells that are intact don’t expin what they do, though." I traced a finger over the faded words.

  Curious, I whispered one of the spells aloud. "Ar's Mania—"

  Before I could finish, Evastor’s hand cmped over my mouth. His sharp gaze bore into mine. "I apologize, but do not recite that spell here," he said firmly. "Promise me you won’t say it again. If so, nod."

  I hesitated, then nodded. Only then did he remove his hand, exhaling in relief.

  "W-what’s with that spell?" I asked, still shaken.

  "That spell is a… and forbidden," he said gravely. "If you cast it, the entire world will be upon us."

  His words sent a chill down my spine. What kind of spell could cause such destru?

  Evastor took the grimoire from me, flipping through its pages. "Most of these are ripped, as you said… Some are bnk, while others are written in the elven nguage." He studied the script for a moment. "It may be a riddle."

  He hahe book bae, and an idea sparked in my mind. eling my mana, I jured a small fireball, bringing it close to the grimoire. As the fmes flickered, faint glowi appeared on the previously bnk pages.

  "The text says: 'Where the Dark Elves burrow. Nearby, where trees are alive, this is where you'll find the dungeon which hides.'"

  I read the words aloud, gng at Evastor for his rea. He furrowed his brows, deep in thought.

  I tried to turn the page, but it wouldn’t budge. "I-I 't flip it," I muttered, pushing against the stubborn part.

  Evastor stepped beside me, attempting to help, but the page refused to move. Then, as I extinguished my mana, the page finally turned—only to reveal more bnk part.

  "W-what is this about?" I asked, utterly fused.

  Before Evastor could answer, a glowing interface suddenly appeared before me.

  [plete Current Mission Objectives...]

  Polemos: 0/1Teach The Fool A Lesson: 1/2Clear Temples: 1/11Determination fred within me. I reached toward the interface s. "We o head to the endless dungeon."

  Evastor crossed his arms. "You 't enter an endless dungeon without a guild card."

  "And?" I shot back.

  "They don’t issue temporary cards while waiting for a perma one," he expined.

  I sighed. "So this world doesn’t have the same quality-of-life options as my previous one..."

  Frowning, I paced the room, thinking. "Do you think this dungeon has been fou?"

  Evastor repeated the riddle to himself, rubbing his . Then his eyes lit up. "A hidden endless dungeohe Dark Elves' nds? No… NO! No one dares to go heir territory. If this dungeon has never been discovered, then you might have a loophole."

  "A loophole?" I asked.

  He smirked. "If you cim you were simply expl and actally stumbled upon an endless dungeon, you could bypass the guild registration requirement."

  I grinned. "Then that’s what we’ll do."

  Evast the grimain. "There might be more clues inside." He reached for the book, but the momeried to open it, the cover locked up. He frowned and tried again—first with magic, then with brute force, even attempting to pry it open with his tail.

  I watched his struggle, deadpan. "Yeah… good luck with that."

  Shaking my head, I turo leave. "I'll gather everyone," I said, waving over my shoulder.

  As I walked through the halls, I reached out telepathically. Elnora, is Alex with you? And Lilli?

  Lilli is, but Alex is nearby. I go get him. W-what’s going on?

  Meet me at my dorm room.

  Okay! I’ll grab Alex now! she replied, excitement in her voice.

  By the time I arrived at my dorm, all three of them crashed through the door—Alex leading the way, a bowl of tonkatsu in his mouth.

  They shut the door behind them.

  “So, why are we meeting up?” Lilli asked, arms crossed.

  Alex stood nearby, finishing his lunch.

  “We’re heading to an endless dungeon,” I announced.

  Alex nearly choked, quickly swallowing his food before sputtering, “W-what?”

  I turo Elnora. “You mentioned knowing a teleportation spell. If I asked you to transport us just outside the Dark Elves’ territory in the Bck Woods Domain, do you think you could do it?”

  Elnora hesitated for a moment, then nodded fidently. “Y-yeah! I just need a map.”

  I grabbed one from my drawer and ha to her. She crouched down, running her finger along the part before slowly rising, her fiip now pointing toward the sky. Whispering an intation, she uttered, "Teleportieren."

  A glowing green circle expanded beh us, and in an instant, we were engulfed by light. When the glow faded, we stood amidst t bck trees.

  “And we’re here!” I grinned, stretg my arms.

  “My—MY FOOD!” Alex cried, staring at his y hands and chopsticks. His eyes filled with despair as he mourned his lost meal.

  Lilli snickered at his rea.

  Elnora, ign him, turo me. “Did y the necessary supplies?”

  I nodded, opening my interfad pulling out a backpack seemingly from thin air.

  Lilli’s eyes widened iement, her tail twitg. “Wait—you have an item box!?”

  “No, no,” I quickly corrected, waving my hands.

  “Then how did you do that?” she pressed, Alex and Elnora watg curiously.

  I hesitated. How do I expierface without revealing too much?

  Thinking fast, I said, “It’s a ste spell I learned. Lets me store items.”

  They stared at me bnkly. Did they buy it?

  Lilli’s eyes suddenly sparkled. “You HAVE to show me sometime! My father refuses to get me a magi box, but this would be eveer!”

  Alex nodded in approval, and Elnora looked intrigued.

  I had spent some time testing the interface. By pressing on the backpack i, a translut ste grid appeared, allowio store ons, armor, potions, and other useful items. However, I hadn’t yet tried st bulky objects or furniture. I wasn’t sure if there was a weight limit—or what kind of ive status effects over-encumbrance might bring.

  It was time to dive into the dungeon. Standing before us was a vast forest of bck-barked trees, their stumps stretg endlessly as if the trees themselves touched the sky. Their immense size gave the forest an almost oppressive presence. Despite the eerie atmosphere, there was ohing I could smell clearly in the air—mana. Not just any mana, but something deep, powerful, and a, emanating from the forest.

  Alex seemed to se too. He gnced over at me, his eyes narrowing.

  “There’s a mana trail ahead,” he said, his voice low. “If we follow it, I believe it’ll lead us to the dungeon.”

  “Let’s go,” I said, gesturing for the group to follow as we ventured into the dense forest.

  Lilli didn’t seem bothered by the darkhat g to the trees, while Elnora appeared resolute, her focus solely oask at hand. We walked in silence, following Alex deeper into the shadows of the woods.

  After a time, the forest opened into a cavern, the entrance yawning wide before us. Mana oozed from its depths, pulsing in the air like a heartbeat.

  “We’re here,” Alex said, standing at the cave’s mouth and looking up.

  “This doesn’t look inviting,” Lilli muttered, her tone filled with skepticism.

  “I’m with you on that,” Elnora added.

  I maed my sword, its bde glowing faintly as I took the lead into the cavern.

  “The endless dungeon…” I murmured, gripping my sword tightly. “Stay alert. There’s no telling what could be inside.”

  Lilli summoned her spirits, their glhter than I’d ever seen them.

  “Ah, I see your spirits are stronger now,” I ented, impressed.

  “Yeah,” Lilli replied with a proud grin, though I could tell she was still nervous.

  Suddenly, two ghouls plummeted from the sky, nding with siing thuds. Without hesitation, Elnora drew her sword and swiftly dispatched them with two quick strikes. The ghouls crumpled to the ground, their bodies old mining equipment, pickaxes still gripped tightly in their bony hands.

  “Nice work with those ghouls, Elnora,” I said, giving her a nod of approval.

  “That’s strange…” I muttered, eyes sing the surroundings. “Monsters don’t typically hide like that in dungeons. Everyoay sharp.”

  “Yes!” Alex and Elnora respoheir expressions focused.

  Lilli’s nerves were still palpable, her eyes darting around uneasily, but she didn’t say anything. Together, we tinued deeper into the dungeon’s first floor, ready for whatever y ahead.

  Chapter: Arc 2 - Champion of the Polemos

  I apologize for the te post for this chapter. I've been quite busy with irl stuff retly additionally I ran into writers block for a few days but I'm back at it! Thank you all for reading!