Previously, Atlas was stuck in another dimension with his new companions.

[Atlas Pov]

Its been a while since we've been stuck here, I have been constantly checking the whole place for clues to get out of here.

I kept track of the time more or less, 3 months have passed. I wonder how long time has passed on the the outside.

We've kept ourselves busy in one way or another.

Diana tried visualizing different weapons from my memories studying a weapon book. She's great at trying various things, she'll probably have a knack for knowing what's best for people

Faith put in a lot of effort in expanding her mana capacity, and practiced magic spells. I observed that she's a very hard worker, diligent and industrious.

Archer made a make-shift bow with the surrounding trees, he made something that looked like string out of plants. I learnt that Archer is quite the resourceful person, he's creative in using the environment to his advantage.

After everyone finishes what they need to do, I gather them to do some daily strengthening of the body.

We share what we learnt so that all of us can grow together, it also seems that my memory has been greatly improved as I can recall the smallest of details with 100% accuracy.

Faith told me the reason as to why that happens is because of the 'Hive mind' we share.

We also tried playing around with other things like testing what was our limit we could communicate telepathically from afar.

I went all the way from the field while Faith went to another side, the field was almost endless but we got a good distance away from each other.

We had a limit of about 10 kilometres, we also could feel, see and hear each other from a far distance. This way if one of us were to be separated, as long as they don't get too far, we'll be able to locate them quickly.

Our abilities slowly improved and we were quite strong compared to the average human on earth.

There were some rocks that easily weighed 100 kilograms, I struggled to carry it on our first month here but now I'm able to carry it with slight difficulty.

In terms of magic I was able to reach an amateur level, I had some magic to use in combat.

I could produce stone spikes that could rapidly come out of the ground as a surprise attack, there was also a compressed fire ball that could explode on impact.

I haven't found a use for water magic besides for daily chores like washing clothes or providing a drinking source for living things.

Faith has also been discovering her aptitude for magic, she has acquired fire, water, earth and wind.

Basic 4 elemental magic but there were many other sub elements, it would take many years to master or know all of them.

Diana and Archer both learnt to talk physically, I had to teach them for at least 3 hours a day.

Archer also asked whether I could help out with his archery practice, it was more like an aiming practice with small pebbles.

"So you want me to just hold this target?" Archer gave me a piece of wood, it was about the size of an apple.

"Yeah, I couldn't find anything to hold it." Archer held a small pebble in his hand.

"Alright, let's do this." Archer flung the stone precisely at the piece of wood, I lost my gri on it and it flew into the forest.

"Nice!" I'm glad that Archer's aim is improving steadily, the only one who hasn't found a 'thing' to do was Diana.

I guess i'll devote my day to Diana, I want her to find a weapon she can learn that would help us in the long run of our journey.

"Diana... have you found anything you like?" I went to see Diana where she was drawing weapons and diagrams on the ground, I think she hasn't decided yet.

"I haven't..." Diana probably felt dejected, she used her foot to erase the drawings.

"When I visualize holding all different types of weapons in my hands, it doesn't feel right..."

So she's lost on which weapon she should use.

"Diana come with me..." I led Diana to a part of the forest, it had a space cleared of trees.

"What is this plac-" I gave a straight jab to Diana.

"What are you doing Atlas!" I kept pursuing her and kept throwing punches, I even resorted to using kicks.

"Stop talking and fight." She said that weapons don't feel right in her hands, I wonder if this will give her an idea of what she wants.

I was the first one to awake in this world, I have the upper hand concerning strength since I have been enhancing my body.

On earth, I was also educated in martial arts but it was Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.

If I'm able to take her to the ground I'll win, I should focus now on Diana.

A left hook! I need to dodge.

I wonder if knowing some of my memories means they know how to use some Brazilian Jiu Jitsu moves.

"Make sure you pay attention to what i'm doing." I gave a pointer to Diana so that she'll be able to improve faster.

Her punches are fast... Though I would have the advantage in strength, maybe she's more inclined to use speed to overpower me.

I've been in a few fights before in college, I got hit a lot but I didn't go down.

I made sure I forced my opponents into the ground and choke them.

I can't use any choke holds since it won't affect a skeleton.

I lost concentration for a second and Diana was able to get a hit to my skull.

"Wha-" It was heavy, how did she deliver such a heavy blow.

From what I assumed, Diana was able to use her speed and form to add momentum to her punch.

My skull hadn't cracked but I could feel my bones shaking from the punch.

"..." I began to block all the attacks coming from Diana, she noticed that I was shaken by her punch so she took that to her advantage.

"Diana, I wont hold back anymore." Diana instantly backed off and put a distance between us.

A straight dash towards her.

A punch coming from the lef- No, its a fake. It was a right kick, I grabbed her leg and threw her towards a tree.

I heard no bones crack, only the tree shaking and some leaves falling.

Diana came rushing in, I wanted to test something.

I did the exact same move she did earlier, a fake punch from the left to a right kick.

She grabbed my leg like how I did to her! Amazing, she learnt fast.

I countered by using a skeleton's advantage of being able to twisting my joints and giving her a hard left kick that sent her straight to the ground.

A big explosion of dust was kicked up by the force of Diana hitting the ground.

"HA! HAHA!" Diana started to laugh.

Did I overdo it? Has she turned crazy from her loss?

Faith and Archer came running after hearing the commotion.

"What happened?" Faith saw Diana stuck into the ground.

"Brother..." Diana grabbed me and declared.

"My weapon will be my body!" I see... I'm glad she found what she wanted to do now.

"I was just helping Diana deciding on her weapon."

"Oh alright... We should start our daily strengthening now." All four of us headed to an empty space near the forest and started meditating.

We then had a meeting to discuss what we found and shared it with the others.

Diana discovered that she'll use no weapons but use hands only, she wants to learn martial arts.

Archer trained his aim with different styles like throwing and spearing and that his aim is to master many ranged weapons.

Faith has been mastering the four magics that she had obtained slowly.

As for I... I wonder what I did, everyone's been making great progress.

I helped Diana today, I helped all of us by teaching them how to strengthen themselves through visualization.

I haven't improved on myself lately, I've learnt a lot of things from everyone but my progress is really slow.

"Brother Atlas? Is there something wrong?" Diana, Faith and Archer came up to me after our daily training together.

"I-..." I was hesitant to tell them my worries, they'll judge me or even look down on me.

"Brother it's okay to tell us your worries..."

"Its nothing... I just need to clear my head by walking around." I walked away from them and started to head to the forest.

[Faith Pov]

Atlas seemed so bothered by something... As an older sister... I should try to help him!

"Its nothing... I just need to clear my head by walking around." I see... We should leave him be, if that is what he wants.

We all sat down once more while Atlas went to the forest.

"Are you sure we should leave him alone Sister Faith?" Diana seemed to be increasingly worried about Atlas.

"Heh~ Diana you always seem so attached to Atlas ever since you started to speak." Archer made a cheeky comment and got smacked by Diana.

"Shut up! He's just been helping me out a lot! He's a great brother!" That's nice... Sister Diana looks up to Brother Atlas greatly.

"Archer you also seem quite attached to Brother Atlas, you always seem to ask him to help you even if you don't need it..." Oh Diana also has some dirt on Archer heh.

"Wha- I-" A clearly flustered Archer tried to cover himself with his hands.

"Hmph!" Diana gave a victory smirk and crossed her arms.

"We all look up to Brother Atlas... He's reliable and he always helps us when we cant do anything. He always comes up with solutions!" I started to rant about how amazing Brother Atlas was.

"I guess Sister Faith loves Brother Atlas the most." Archer and Diana gave a sly smirk to me as I got slightly embarrassed.

"We should try our best to not be a burden to him and protect Lady Atelie." It was the most we could do, Brother Atlas is the one that gave us some hope for a purpose in this life.

"When we get out of the Demon Continent, do you guys have anywhere you want to go?" Brother Archer seems very excited today.

"I want to journey around the Dwarven Continent! I want to find a pair of good gauntlets!" Diana seems set on finding her weapon.

"How about you Sister Faith?" Diana directed the question to me now.

"The Labyrinth Continent, it bears many great treasures and maybe magical tools that will come in handy for my research in magic." There is also a possibility to get stronger with the dense magic surrounding the continent.

"Ohh, that's interesting." Archer and Diana both nodded in agreement.

"I wonder where Brother Atlas would like to go?" Archer put his hand on his chin and thought deeply.

"He might just travel around the continents, maybe settle down in a peaceful land and take care of Lady Atelie." A good guess from Diana.

"Hehe~ He might actually do that." I gave a slight chuckle and we all began to laugh.

[Atlas Pov]

The forest was silent as usual.

The stars shined brightly as I traversed through the dense forest.

I finally reached a cave, it was my secret spot.

Maybe Faith, Archer and Diana knew but didn't want to ruin my alone space.

But as I entered the cave some rocks glowed and showed a massive pile of bones.

It was from failed necromancy experiment attempts.

By completely using all my mana to create the bones, it'll make my mana capacity increase as soon as it recovers.

Every night i'd come here to attempt to make a skeleton servant of my own, or to do some reconstruction of my skeletal body.

I'm able to freely manipulate the shape of my bones now, my arms can instantly take the form of blades or a mace with spikes.

I also experimented with the density of my bones, I can make them denser than iron or light enough to float on water.

With this ability, i'll be more versatile in different scenarios.

I do have a limit to manipulating my bones, I have a limit to how dense my bones are.

I can absorb bones and increase the density but i'll reach a 'saturation point' where I can no longer absorb bones.

I can also control my body separately if they are detached, I have a limit of 100 metres to how I can feel and control them.

"Why can't I make a skeleton servant!" I was frustrated, my slow progress might get me killed in the future.

The gears started to turn in my head, a ritual was used to imbue a soul unto a skeletal body.

I need a soul to make a working skeleton servant.

"Then... It's impossible for me right now." It was no use of me trying anymore, I don't know how to do the ritual to put a soul.

I look to the pile of bones that I made and formed them into pieces of armor, being able to manipulate other bones is handy.

I can only change the shape of other bones that aren't directly part of my body if I have direct contact and a bit of time.

I was able to make a complete set of armor.

"It fits perfectly!" I tried it on and it was perfect for my body.

I adjusted it to have more mobility than defense, I want to be able to move quicker than my opponent after all.

The armor had flaps that could bend almost every direction, this ensured I had the capability to move unrestricted and still have a decent defense.

I tested the armor if it was battle-ready, I was able to break it with a few hard kicks and punches.

Though it breaks to my attacks, it would be unlikely that a normal human would be able to crack it.

I created a longsword out of the remaining bones, its blade wasn't as sharp as I hoped but it would do for now.

I did a couple swings to test it.

"Hooph! Hmph!" Its a bit hard to swing it, maybe i'll shorten it and lessen its density.

After I got a somewhat satisfactory longsword and testing it, I went out of the cave with the equipment and rested on the fields while looking upon the sky.

I began to stare to the stars, I wonder if they're actual stars.

I didn't feel as happy to be here is what I thought.

"I always wanted to be in this kind of world so why..." I wanted to escape the monotonous life of mine back on earth, that's why I loved reading fantasy books or imagining a fantasy myself.

"Should I find a way back?" There must be a way to get back.

"No... I..." I shouldn't abandon Atelie, the escape plan needs me.

If I just run away that would mean that the chances of Atelie dying would increase, I don't want to be responsible for a death that could've been avoided.

"Damn it... After I help with the escape plan and find a safe place for Atelie, I'll leave and search for a way to get back."

It wouldn't take that long, maybe a year or longer depending on the transport time and detours we might have to take.

I decided to head back to where the rest were, I planned to surprise them with the armor I created.

"Hooph!" I grabbed my longsword and strapped it onto my back.

It'll be at least seven more months until we might get out of here.

"Brother Atlas! We require your help now! Someone is here!" I was alerted by a sudden telepathic communication from Faith.

"On my way! Fill me in!" Was it that weird skeleton? Or could it be another person from earth?

"A woman! She suddenly appeared and started attacking us! Diana and I are stalling her while Archer is gathering rocks to throw!"

The communication was getting hard to hear, I could hear the slight blasts of magic from afar.

A woman? Most probably from earth, only people from earth should be able to come here apart from us.

I ran through the forest and saw Diana going hand-to-hand with a woman with long black hair, Faith was producing sharp rocks that Archer used to support Diana.

"Faith have you tried talking to her?" If they did, we have no choice but to subdue her.

"She didn't give us any time to talk, what's with the armor?"

"I made it with bones, i'll explain later." I need to sub with Diana before she gets overpowered.

"Diana! Switch with me!" Diana's hand-to-hand skills have improved in such a short time, it's good that I was able to help her.

"Alright!" Diana quickly smashed the ground for dust to come up, I came in and was greeted with two swords coming right at me.

"I didn't know that skeletons could talk..." Such a cold tone, I wonder if talking it out would work.

"Hey list-" More slashes coming in from both sides, she's not giving me an opening.

It'll be hard to talk while fighting back, you leave me no choice then.

"Diana- Watch carefully!" I want Diana to improve faster since she was late to finding what style suits her best in combat.

I'll be discarding my longsword first, I haven't had much time to wield it properly so it'll just be a liability.

"Hooph!" I threw it at the woman, she was able to dodge it though.

I tightened my fist and evaded the thrust attacks, she's quicker than I thought.

I'll put some holes into the ground around the area first, I had a plan up my sleeves.

Let's see if she can avoid this, I'll lure her in and counter.

A slash coming from the right to my head!

I quickly duck and grab her right arm, she rearranges her grip on her sword and smacks me away.

"All of you, I need your help." I won't be able to defeat her alone, we'll communicate and outmaneuver her with coordinated attacks.

I can send my plans to them telepathically and they can understand immediately.

"Go now!" I gave them a signal to ready our attack.

Faith produced one large rock and multiple small sized ones.

Archer grabbed the small ones while Diana grabbed the large one.

They were all in place now, all I had to do was now stall her for a few seconds more.

Similar to how I took a deep breath on earth, I opened my mouth like mimicking the action.

The woman came to attack and I grabbed her tightly after evading all of it, I then gave my signal to the rest.

Diana hurled the giant rock to my direction while Faith casted Wind Magic that blew dust around, as expected I lost my hold on the woman as soon as the rock was about to land.

Though I couldn't clearly see, I was able to have a pinpoint location on Faith, Diana and Archer.

Archer began throwing rocks at high speed, he threw it in different directions as he ran around the cloud of smoke.

I could hear the clanging of rocks and swords, I also saw sparks being produced which gave me a general idea of where that woman was.

Now was the time to execute my real plan, there was a reason that I made some holes at the beginning.

While that woman was distracted by Archer, I dug small tunnels using earth magic that I could crawl through.

With the sounds of rocks and swords colliding, I could tunnel to where her exact location was.

I told Faith to give one more gust of wind to send more dust flying as she joins me underground.

Diana grabbed some stones and started to throw them at the woman too, with that there'll be no opening to escape with the rapid suppression of rocks.

I dug a big hole to where the woman was and mixed dirt and water to make a mud-like substance, I was able to observe the estimated height of the woman so this hole would only leave her head not trapped.

Once the hole was filled, all I need to do was break the ground that the woman was on.

"Archer! Diana! We're ready here! Go!" Diana then leaped into the air and attacked the woman.

The ground crumbled to the hole that I made, Diana was then caught by Archer while Faith and I converted the mud into hard earth.

"Hwooh~ That worked well." With that over, we checked for any broken bones or damage to our skulls.

"Hey, its not nice to attack people when they didn't do anything to you." It was time to investigate this woman.

"Skeletons don't normally talk, they just attack people with no hesitation." Seems like a good argument if it was against mindless skeletons.

"Hah~ What faction are you in..."

"What?"

"You heard me, what faction are you in. Divine Demon or Behtman Angel?"

"...Neither..." A suspicious reply.

"Brother... I found this bag near a tree." A leather bag? Must be hers.

"Wait! Don't touch that!" Ho~ Interesting...

The contents of her bag contained a few red potions, a small pocket watch, herbs and a diary.

"Don't look at it!" Such desperation, does it have some embarrassing secrets inside?

"Dear Diary, I got transported into some weird world. I had to wander a forest for a days while eating some weird fruits, I was soon found by fellow humans who spoke a weird language called Trahurae. I've decided to stay with a small family in the countryside, I just have to do some manual labor to survive... Dear Diary, its been half a year since I arrived here. I was able to educate myself about the different cultures, races and languages of this world and I have trained how to fight from a passing adventurer who I now call my master. My Master's training was harsh today as always but I'll continue to do my best. I have told the family that I've been staying with that I would depart and find a way back home, they had grown quite attached to me as I did to them. Tears were shed and I finally departed to a human city called Midas."

I read the book aloud so that everyone could hear, the woman turned red with embarrassment from her diary being read.

Poor girl... She's been dealing with this world for more than half a year.

"Release me this once!" The woman spoke in Trahurae and in Daradian.

If I had a face, I would've smiled and answered her but I only spoke with a dead tone.

"Your from earth..." The journal was written in english so its definitely a person from earth, I spoke in english so that she knew what I actually am.

"How can you..."

"I'm from earth too, you know like MacDonald, kimchi and instant noodles?" That should convince her i'm from earth.

"Name a country from earth then..."

"Huh?"

"Name a country." So many questions...

"Britain, Singapore, India, Malaysia, Japan and South Korea. Happy now?" She won't be able to deny that i'm from earth now.

"You should apologize to us..." Though it was justified that any normal person would freak out if skeletons could talk and move, I explained it to her so she needs to apologize for attacking us.

"I'm sorry then, I didn't know you were from earth Mr?" Ah... my name.

"I go by Atlas here, the one that threw the big rock at you is Diana, the one behind her is Archer and the one going through all your stuff is Faith. Nice to meet you..."

"I'm Ciara." I removed some of the ground surrounding Ciara and pulled her out.

"I'll explain to you where we are first." I gave a summary of where we could possibly be and how long it would take for us to get out of here.

"Do you know what year it is before you teleported here?" If what that writing said was true, only a small amount of time has passed. Luckily, I was able to memorize the months and year calendar of this world.

There were 10 months, there were 5 days in a week and the year here was on the Ezomanic Calendar of 56.

When we were teleported here, we were in the month of Etis and the day was Zehr.

"Its the Ezomanic Calendar of 56, the day was Zehr." Alright this is good, maybe only a few hours passed there while we were in here.

"Was it day or night before you came?" For us, it was evening before we arrived here.

"It was around evening." This confirms that we've been in here for a small bit of time outside.

"Hah~ At least when we get out here, not much time would've passed." I want to know who that weird skeleton was, Savien might have an answer for me.

"Uhh... So how did you end up in this world Atlas?" Should I tell her? Wait, I need to ask her where she was before she got teleported into this dimension.

"First... May I ask which continent were you in before getting here and where were you headed?"

"I was on the Dwarven Continent, I was on a caravan with a few strange adventurers but they're nice people to have us companions. Ah! I was headed to the Dwarven Capital of Milam with them." The Dwarven continent... This is perfect, the escape plan needs us to get there so I'll make use of Ciara and form a connection with her.

"Ciara, you said you wanted a way back." I'll use her wanting to go back to earth as a leverage point, with that i'll persuade her to work together with me.

"We can help each other, as humans from earth. You help me with something then we can both work together to find a way back." This whole conversation was in english, Faith, Diana and Archer couldn't understand what we were talking about but they knew I had a plan.

"...You're not going to stab me in the back or anything?" I'd have no reason to unless she joined the Behtman Angel faction, maybe i'll keep the fact that we're from the Divine Demon Faction.

"Ciara... I'll give you some advice, don't join any factions. Remain neutral, make connections with various capable people that you can trust. Keep your face hidden, we should try and stay in contact." She'll be useful as a trusted friend later on, I need to make sure she doesn't cause any unnecessary attention to herself.

"I'll write that down!" Ciara took her journal and jotted down what I said, its great that she's taking me seriously.

"Hehe... Its nice talking to someone from earth, I always felt tense around people in this world and I couldn't speak as fluently." It must've been tough for her, being alone here at first.

"Your diary mentioned that you had a master, may I ask of your master's name?" He/She could be a good ally to have if their not affiliated to the Behtman Angel Faction.

"He's a middle-aged man, his name is Slade Dalton. He's a veteran adventurer, he's neutral in terms of the factions but he's a good person who is willing to help people even if it doesn't benefit him." He's a good choice to include in the escape plan.

"If you meet him again, could you tell him about me? I'd like him to help me get to the Dwarven continent and into Milam." I'll need all the help I can, hopefully she agrees and convinces him to help.

"Mhm! I'll tell him that if I ever see him again! He's currently traveling in the Labyrinth continent but he said he'll come to Milam to meet me in maybe a few months, the transport here is quite slow." A few months... I'll need to prepare quickly then before that.

"When you reach Milam, make a base there. You should make an organisation, it'll also be easier for us to meet and know where we are until we can get a proper communication device." Is there anything we could use to communicate from far distances besides telepathy?

"I'm not sure if there is any devices like that, the dwarves might be able to come up with something using magic." A good suggestion, I need to study magic more to help and maybe Faith could aid us with this as well.

"Hawh~ I'm kind of sleepy, fighting you guys was tough. Do you mind if I sleep for a bit?"

"Sure... We don't have a reason to attack you and you apologized so we're all good right guys?" We switched back to Daradian and I asked if the rest were okay.

"If Brother Atlas is fine with it, we're fine too." I guess that settles it, Ciara went to sleep with a makeshift bed while the rest of us continued discussing about our plans.

"Did you make that sword by yourself?" Diana had picked up the longsword that I threw during the battle with Ciara, Archer came to observe it and checked its quality.

"Would you be able to make a bow with the same material?" I expected Archer to ask me already, i'll make one for him soon.

"Yeah... just give me a few days, I need to make armor for the rest of you too."

"I'll finally be able to get some practice." Archer then sat down and dwindled some string together, he was probably preparing a bowstring for me to use.

"Is it possible for you to make a magic staff?" Faith is really eager to increase her magic power, she'll have to be patient.

"Unfortunately... I can't do that, we'll have to wait until we get out of here."

"Oh... That's fine then." Seeing Faith so dispirited makes me want to cheer her up, I'll make sure to get her a good magic staff from Savien.

"Let's think of what we want can get when we exit this place!" I'm not that good at cheering people up but I'll attempt to for Faith.

"Master Savien will give us equipment before we bark so its good that we plan beforehand so we won't take up time deciding." We would need decent equipment if we want to protect Atelie properly, Savien said that himself it is a guarantee.

"I'll get a bow that has good durability, maybe a crossbow too." Archer spoke first.

"I told Faith and Archer i'd get a pair of gauntlets, it shouldn't be too big though." Diana was showing us with some gestures of the size of the gauntlets.

"I want a beginner's grimoire, a crystal magic enhancer necklace and a magic staff." Heh~ Faith's been thinking of what she wants, I bet she just reviewed what she read from my perspective back then.

"Do you want to get anything Brother Atlas?"

"I'm not sure yet actually, I'm not really good with weapons or magic. Maybe after I experience more, I'll decide after that."

"That's a good point, maybe our minds will change on what we need." The four of us agreed and we went to mentally rest ourselves until we had to train again.

The next day...

"Hey Ciara... Wake up... Hey!" It was already the next day, the day and night cycles still flow per normal so we're able to keep track of the time here.

"Hungh? Wah!" Ciara jumped of her bed and faced us.

"...Sorry... I forgot that I was here for a moment." She must've had a dream.

"Do you feel hungry or thirsty?" For us, we don't need sustenance. It could be different for living beings.

"I don't feel hungry nor thirsty... That's weird." Does this dimension eliminate hunger and the need for other basic necessities?

"If you do, just tell any of us. We'll assist you if you need food and water." It'd be bad if she died from hunger or thirst, It'd make escaping and finding a good place to stay very difficult.

"So what are you guys going to do now?"

"We're going to train... You wanna join?" Its going to be a long time before we can get out, might as well improve our skills for the future.

"Sure!" Ciara then join our training sessions from now on.

Our growth was progressing well before but now its even quicker thanks to Ciara's tips, her master being a Veteran Adventure wasn't a joke.

"It must be nice that you guys get so many cool powers, I don't have the aptitude for magic. I always have to use a lot of weapons and gadgets."

"Well... Its complicated..." She doesn't know that we're made of thousands of souls combined together.

"Ever since I arrived here, I always thought whether I could go back to earth." Ciara seems much more comfortable with us, she had eyes of a beast when she attacked us.

"But it makes me calmer when you're here, at least i'm not alone." Its a relief to me too, at least she's not hostile.

"Ah! We should make codes so that we know that we're facing each other! If my master ever encounters you, he'll know that its you."

"That's a good idea..." We made a code and we made sure to write it down on paper.

"With this, we'll know if its us or not!" Ciara gave me a big smile and showed it to the rest.

Its amazing that Ciara is able to remain this optimistic, no...maybe she's just hiding it and trying her best.

I wonder why i'm so calm though, was it due to my love for fantasy? It could be just due to my usual calmness, I know I don't panic easily.

When faced with dangerous situations like fighting or maybe important exams, I'd usually stay calm and maybe shake a bit with excitement.

I face everything with overflowing enthusiasm, I don't show it but that's how I feel about it.

I want to be able to enjoy what I can, I don't think there's a limit to how long I live unless I get killed so I guess i'll just improve on myself.

Us And Ciara continued to train together for another 3 months and improved our coordination, we also planned on where we would meet in Milam if we ever arrive there early. We also confirmed our codes to identify each other, we also got to know each other more and eventually we were confident enough to rely on each other as friends rather than a fellow earthling. It was concluded that Ciara would partake in the escape plan, I'll inform Savien and Ms Vera later on.

The 7th month was starting, this marked that we've been in here for half a year. I was meditating on the plains as I strengthened my connection with my senses, everyone was still resting near the stone monument.

I felt the strong gust of wind as I stood up. My senses have been sharpened in these past few months, I felt like something bad was going to happen.

"A- Atl- Atlash!" Huh weird, Its like i'm hearing Lady Atelie. I bet i'm just dreaming.

"Atl- Atla- Atlash! Hehe~" This dream sure is realistic, I can feel something pull my leg.

"Lady Atelie!" Ah, it wasn't a dream...

[Fable Pov]

Its been exactly 2 hours since the incident, Master Savien and Ms Vera are increasingly worried.

I have been reading the private archives and I've found nothing so far, its looking hopeless.

"Ms Vera... I'm here for another- Is that Lady Atelie?!" Ms Vera had Lady Atelie fast asleep on her lap.

"Oh Fable you're here... Do your job and check the orb."

"Why is Lady Atelie... here?" Its dangerous to have a baby near this place~

"She wouldn't stop crying no matter what I did, I couldn't leave her to cry in the room nor leave her with other subordinates. When I came here with her, she stopped crying and started to sleep." Fascinating, it might have something to do with Atlas and the other skeletons.

"I'll put her in her baby basket first... Did you find any clues on why Atlas and the others became like this?"

"I'm st-" Before I could answer, a large explosion could be heard from above.

"Lord Fable! Lady Vera! Master Savien was doing experiments in his lab! It combusted!" A lower ranked skeleton came rushing in and informed us of the incident.

"Fable watch Atelie- ATELIE!" We were distracted for a few seconds but Atelie was able to crawl out of her basket and touched the ominous sphere, she was sucked into it like a spiral.

Ms Vera proceeded to fall unconscious from shock, I too was surprised but it wasn't the time for that.

"Everyone get Mast-" I was interrupted again as the ominous sphere expanded and broke the seal until eventually... the sphere vanished and I saw Lady Atelie and Atlas standing along with three other skeletons.

"Wait how are we..."

[Atlas Pov]

"Lady- Lady Atelie... Why... No, how are you here?" I knew she wouldn't be able to answer me, I was just too stunned by her arriving here.

"Is this baby the Lady Atelie you've been talking about?" Ciara came over and observed Lady Atelie who was just fiddling with my fingers.

"Cute... hehe~ Cute baby..." I see... Ciara is weak to babies, I can see her struggling not to touch Atelie. I admit that Lady Atelie is an exceptionally cute baby, so its not weird if Ciara was to fawn over her.

"Um... Ciara."

"Hm?" She's too absorbed into Atelie now...

"Don't you want to figure out how she got here?"

"Oh! Sorry... do you have any hints or clues?"

"Give me a minute..." I was able to develop my other senses so I had smell, touch and taste. It had taken me a while to develop them to this point and a lot of visualizing.

Hmm... So this is what Atelie smells like... She smells like sweet strawberries. Oops, I got a bit distracted there.

It would be weird that Atelie would be left in the same room as that ominous sphere, I doubt Ms Vera and Savien would just let that happen.

Ms Vera must've been guarding the sphere since she's the second most capable person in the castle, Savien would be juggling all the administrative duties then.

Maybe Atelie sneaked past a distracted Ms Vera?

Otherwise if Ms Vera was paying attention, she wouldn't have let Atelie through.

That's the only possibility I could come up with, I consulted with Faith, Diana, Archer via telepathy and they all seemed to agree with me.

"In any case we shou-" We were suddenly teleported into a dungeon, I didn't recognize this place.

"Everyone get Mast-" A weird looking skeleton was ordering servants while Ms Vera was lying on the ground.

"Wai-" Diana jumped in and when to punch the weird skeleton before I could say anything.

"Well... This is isn't what I was expecting but oh well..." The skeleton blew Diana to the side of the dungeon and brushed the dust off his clothes.

[To be continued...]