"Eleni!" Cir cried out, rushing to Eleni's side to support her, etched across her features as she approached the injured girl.

  Eleni's bright smile quickly morphed into a pained frown as she clutched the right side of her chest tightly.

  "Hehehe, I won," she replied, her attempt at humour u by the evident disfort etched across her features.

  "Is it bad?" Cir asked, her brow furrowing as she observed Eleni's distressed expression.

  "Ha, I'll live. But I need some of my sweets to recover," Eleni responded, her voice tinged with a pyful lilt.

  Cir let out a sigh, a fond exasperation evident in her voice.

  "Sigh, you really are a piece of work," Cir said, shaking her head as she hahe bag of sweets back to Eleni.

  Eleni's eyes lit up as she tossed the fes into her mouth, sav their sugary goodness.

  "Kuuuuh, that hit the spot. This is exactly what I needed," she squealed, her cheerful demeanour belying the severity of her injury.

  Michalis approached the duo, a frown on his fabsp;

  "Geh, how you look so cheerful with an injury like that?" he asked.

  Eleni had broken her ribs when the wyvern's tail had smmed into her side, a painful injury that would have incapacitated most.

  "I don't know, adrenaline probably," Eleni replied, her eyes twinkling curiously.

  "So a masochist, huh?" Michalis muttered under his breath, earning a gre from Eleni.

  "Huh, what did you just call me?" Eleni asked, a vein popping on her forehead aone dangerously low.

  "Nothing," Michalis hastily replied, backpedaling.

  "Michalis, you never learn, do you?" Nikoos said, joining the versation.

  He turo Eleni with a warm smile.

  "By the way, grats, Eleni. You sure are oough girl despite being a scaredy-cat, but you did well to win." he praised.

  "Uh, thank you, I guess," Eleantly replied, her gaze still fixed on Michalis, who wisely remained silent.

  "By the way, where are Dimitra and Vasileios?" Eleni asked, looking around for her other panions.

  "Dimitra is over there looking after Vasiliki, and Vasileios is o her, meditating," Nikoos replied.

  Eleni opened her mouth to say something, but Cir cut her off.

  "Enough talking for now, Eleni. We o get you treated first." she urged.

  Cir pulled Eleni towards Draco, who seemed lost in thought, his brow furrowed in tration.

  "We'll talk ter," Eleni said, exg herself.

  Draco had watched Eleni's fight, his heart pounding with each deadly blow the wyvern nded.

  When he saw the beast pin Eleni down, he had held his breath, praying for her to pull through.

  Thankfully, she had mao turables and emerge victorious.

  'Ugh, this isn't good for my heart. Thankfully, only Cir and Vasileios' battle’s are left,' Draco sighed, clutg his chest.

  As he observed the iioween his familia, his mind wao the peculiarities of the mohey had fought.

  'e to think of it, what is wrong with the monsters I've picked? Some of their as carried a hint of greater intelligence, but I'm pretty sure they're not Xenos or even a mutated species,' Draco pondered, his brow furrowing in thought.

  Watg Michalis, Nikoos, Vasiliki, Dimitra, and Eleni's fight, he became more certain.

  "I must be overthinking things. Perhaps dungeon monsters aren't always a ball of instincts," he cluded.

  "Draco, Draii!" Cir and Eleni called out, snapping him out of his reverie.

  "Ah, sorry about that. Eleni, you did great," Draco praised, giving her a pat on the head.

  "Hmm," Eleni hummed, closing her eyes.

  A tent smile spread across her face as she savoured the warmth of Draco's toubsp;

  It was a brief dispy of tenderness and affe.

  They seemed to be having a moment until Cir cleared her throat, gaining their attention.

  "Ahem, let's get to healing," Draco coughed, quickly withdrawing his hand.

  Taking off Eleni's armour, Draco begaing her wounds.

  As he worked, he couldn't help but notice Cir resting on his back.

  "By the way, Cir, why are you resting on my back?" Draco asked, his voice ced with curiosity.

  Cir had been standing by Draco's side, moral support and keeping a watchful eye on Eleni's dition.

  As Draco teo Eleni's injuries, Cir had gradually leaned against him, finding fort on his back.

  "Oh, I'm just proteg you and making sure you don't miss anything," Cir replied, her voice soft and soothing.

  "You've been doing a great job all day, Draco. But I want to be here in case you need any assistance. Healing es a lot of mind right?" she added.

  Draco's brows furrowed as he heard Cir's response, a hint of exasperation evident in his expression.

  ‘Ugh, that is definitely a lie? This girl is being bolder’ he thought.

  The old Cir, the one he was so familiar with, wouldn't have even sidered the idea of even holding hands, but now, things were ging.

  ‘I wonder what she likes about me. I'm not even trying to make her like me.’ Draco couldn't help but ponder.

  He let out a dejected sigh, questioning whether he would ever see her as anything more than family.

  ‘Ugh, this is not the time to think of such things. I should just let her do what she wants for now. She will eventually discover what she really wants iure.’ he thought.

  Dismissing these distrag thoughts, Draco refocused his attention oask at hand – healing Eleni.

  They had spent a siderable amount of time in the dungeon, and there were still battles to be fought.

  As he tinued his work, Draoticed Eleni’s eyes studying him, a mischievous glint dang within them.

  “Don’t you dare” Draco warned her, he could tell what she wao do.

  “Hmmf” Eleni huffed, remaining silent a herself be treated.

  Cir oher hand was the subtle reas Draade to her as, and the way he seemed to lean batave the impression that he ting, if not weling, her advances.

  ‘Hmm, iing,’ Cir thought, a sly smile pying on her lips.

  She was intrigued by the dynamifoldiween them.

  Dimitra and Vasileios, who had been the se from a distance, exged a knowing look.

  ‘I wonder what's going oween those two,’ they thought, their curiosity piqued by the subtle interpy.

  As Draco tinued his ministrations, the group fell into a fortable silence, each lost in their own thoughts aions.

  …………………………………………………………………………………………………………

  Not long after Draco fireating Eleni, the Bahamut familia began their dest into the 15th floor, which was their final stop for the day.

  From this point on, the dungeon became a bit more dangerous, as certain monsters spawned on those lower levels.

  Knowing this, Draco led the group in a defensive formation, with himself at the forefront.

  Vasiliki, who remained unscious, ced in the ter, with Dimitra and Eleni tasked with proteg her.

  Draco had retly healed Dimitra and Eleni, so he assighem to guard Vasiliki, while Michalis and Nikoos were now free to actively guard the rear.

  It didn't take long for the familia to reach their destination - a room that Draco had specially prepared for Cir's uping battle.

  As a spear user, Cir's on of choice had a particur weakness.

  While the long reach of the spear provided her with an adva also meant that the head of the on was farther from her body, making her vulnerable in close-quarters defence.

  However, Cir possessed a unique skill that somewhat mitigated this weakness.

  Her special ability allowed her brain to, receive, process and send information at an astonishingly fast rate, granting her a remarkable rea time and the ability to stay a few steps ahead of her oppo during battle.

  Obviously such a skill came with a severe recoil if overused, but that didn’t diminish the strength and utility of the skill.

  The oppo Draco had chosen for Cir's trial was called a "Liger Fang".

  This was a tiger-like monster remi of a saber-tooth, with sharp cws, fangs, incredible speed and agility.

  This monster was not inferior to a Minotaur, meaning that at minimum it possessed the strength of a level 2 adventurer and Cir, as a level 1 adventurer, would fa extremely challenging task iing it.

  Draco reasohat with the reach of her spear and her special skill, Cir's ces of success were manageable, but as he peered into the room he had prepared, he couldn't help but feel a sense ret.

  He had taken into at her skills, on, and stats, which put her at around level one and a half, but he had overlooked the fact that stats didn't necessarily transte directly into skill.

  Seeing how eager and hyped Cir was for the battle, Draco couldn't bring himself to dehe opportunity.

  However, he resolved to be ready to intervene if necessary, to ensure her safety.

  "Draco, I am ready," Cir called out, snapping Draco from his thoughts.

  "Sigh, please be cautious and careful, my advice is to strike when……" Draco began, wanting to share an advice based on his experien killing Liger Fangs.

  However, Cir quickly cut him off, holding a fio his lips.

  "Shhh, no, don't tell me anything. It wouldn't be fair to the others before me. I will figure things out on my own. But I do appreciate the worry. How about this - if I win, you have to give me a special reward of my choosing," Cir said, her expression filled with expectation.

  Draco couldn't help but feel a sense of u the prospect of agreeing to such a deal.

  'Ugh, I feel like I shouldn't agree to it. She might ask for something crazy,' he thought.

  "No fair, why do you get to ask for a special reward when we didn't get any?" Eleni quickly interjected, her voice tinged with a hint of irritation.

  'Nice save,' Draco thought, grateful for Eleni's quick response.

  "Rex, Eleni, I was just kidding," Cir said, her expression a bit downcast, sensing the displeasure in Eleni's tone.

  "I thought so," Eleni huffed, her nose fring in satisfa, feeling vindicated.

  'This girl, sigh, I o focus,' Cir thought, ping her arm lightly tain her tration.

  Tightening her grip on her spear, Cir turned and headed into the battlefield, her tail lightly brushing against Draco as she passed.

  "e to think of it, Cir is a tiger beast kin, and her oppo is a tiger-type dungeon monster. Isn't that a bit weird?" Vasileios suddenly remarked, his brow furrowed in thought.

  "Did you purposely arrahis, Draii?" Vasileios asked, his eyes glistening with a hint of curiosity.

  'Of course not, it didn't even y mind until you mentio,' Draco thought, shaking his head slightly.

  "No, it just happened," Draco replied.

  "Oh, I see," Vasileios said, his expression a bit disappointed, as if he had hoped for a more iing expnation.

  'Ugh, did I just lose some onii- points with Vasileios? Just what is he expeg of me?' Draco wondered, feeling a slight pang in his chest.

  "Draii, Cir has ehe room," Dimitra informed him, drawing his attention back to the present.

  Quickly pushing aside any distrag thoughts, Draco pced his hand on the dungeon wall, releasing the liger fang.

  Freed from its fi, the liger faered the room, its eyes darting around the room, soon log onto Cir.

  The liger fang upon seeing her, immediately gauged Cir to be weaker than itself, in other words prey.

  Eveer, she was alone – a perfect opportunity for a solitary huo sate its pent-up rage from being imprisoned.

  Tensing its muscles, the liger slowly strode forward, its head held high until it was a certain distance from Cir.