As I walked behind them, none of them tried to talk to me. They chatted among themselves while I looked around, admiring the scenery. It's so different from what I'm used to.
But even though it's different—and much more "old"—it's also far more beautiful.
The architecture in general draws a lot of attention.
Of course, the thing that stands out the most is the massive tower in the distance. 'So that's the famous Tower of Babel…' I don't know much about it, but I at least know the basics.
There are even Hephaestus Familia shops in that place.
I'm curious.
After walking for a few minutes, I decided to open my status again since I was getting bored.
Level 1
Strength (STR): H 297
Endurance (END): H 212
Dexterity (DEX): H 289
Agility (AGI): H 240
Magic (MAG): H 210
'Pretty average… I think. Could be worse though. I still don't really understand how this status system works or why there's this "H", but I'm pretty sure I'm weak.'
I sighed and looked to the side while keeping my status window open.
Next to me, I saw a woman walking past. Above her head, some strange information appeared.
Name: Eliza
Difficulty Level: Easy
Current Level: You are a stranger to this person.
'Huh?' I rubbed my eyes, not believing what I was seeing. Then I noticed that everyone around me had similar information floating above their heads—even the men!
The difficulty level varied.
Some people had "Easy," while others had "Extremely Difficult." Ais was one of those.
'Is that… the difficulty of winning them over? I guess so. But this shows up even above the guys' heads… Can I turn this off?'
That's when I noticed something else.
Name: Bete Loga
Difficulty Level: Hard
Current Level: Friend
Bete was one of the only ones who had "Friend" above his head. I'm friends with this guy? Seriously? Only Tiona had the word "Friend" above her head. Am I as close to him as I am to Tiona?
Surprising.
"Ethan?"
"Hm?"
"Why are you staring at everyone like that? Is something bothering you?" Tiona asked, slowing her pace to walk beside me.
"It's nothing, sorry." I closed my status window so that all the information would disappear. It was cluttering my vision—really annoying.
"Hmmm…" Tiona looked suspicious. "We're almost there. Are you ready? Last time you almost died, so be careful this time."
I almost died!?
"I'll be careful," I said with a bitter smile.
####
When we approached the tower, everyone cleared the way for us. I felt oddly important and imposing, even though I knew it was just because of my "friends."
I sighed and looked up.
I nearly broke my neck trying to see the top of the tower.
Tiona seemed surprised by how I was acting.
"Hm?" She looked up too. "Did you see something?"
She probably thought it was strange because, before coming to this world, I had already seen this tower many times—at least the person controlling my body had. Who was that, anyway? I have so many questions.
"It's nothing."
"You're acting weird today, Ethan."
"Weird? Why?"
"Well… you said that thing earlier, and you seem amazed by everything. Did you really lose your memory or something?"
"Hm? Ethan lost his memory?" Tione overheard and turned to ask.
"No, of course not."
"Well, you're definitely acting weird." Tiona pouted.
"Alright, let's cut the small talk. We're going down," Bete said, giving us both a serious look.
Ais also glanced back, and our eyes met.
When that happened—
[ Ais Wallenstein's affection for you has increased! ]
[1 → 2]
'Her interest was only 1!?' I hadn't paid much attention before.
####
We went down the stairs toward the first floor of the dungeon. Unlike the others, I started to feel really nervous. I had never seen a monster before, so it's understandable, right?
Huff~~ I sighed and gripped the hilt of my sword.
Tiona noticed and smiled. "You look nervous."
"A little."
"Well, you always get nervous when entering the dungeon. Are you really that scared?"
"Scared? Of course not." I laughed.
"Hmmm…" Tiona grinned and continued down the stairs.
When we finally reached the first floor of the dungeon, I felt my heart start to race.
'Calm down… calm down… don't get nervous.' I coughed a few times and drew my sword. Even though I was on high alert, everyone else was walking like it was no big deal.
They were so calm… Well, they were all really strong.
As time passed, I began to relax.
A few monsters like goblins appeared, but they didn't even get close before being killed and turning into particles of light. I didn't do anything to help.
I just stayed behind, watching.
I started to feel pathetic. Dead weight.
Tsk!
I clicked my tongue and sheathed my sword.
Tiona noticed my frustration. "What's wrong?"
"I wanted to kill something," I told her.
"You should've said so! Ais, can we let Ethan fight next time?"
"We're almost at the second floor. Can you handle the monsters there?" she asked, looking at me.
"Can I?" I didn't hesitate even for a second. "Don't worry, I can handle them easily."
Even though I said that… I didn't actually know how to use a sword.
[ Ais Wallenstein's affection for you has increased! ]
[2 → 3]
####
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