In a not too distant past, back when the Galactic Reconnaissance cruiser Martin Alphen was still in the middle of its fall towards the newly discovered planet, a man fully clad in his protective engineering suit was standing at one corner of the engine room which was now a total mess. The recent mysterious incident had reduced the main engine into an irreparable state, and due to various unfortunate circumstances one man had to stay within the engine room to start the reserve engine. There was no sugarcoating the fact that the one staying to do the task would most likely die, and this man, Isaac Bravomac, had volunteered to do the suicidal task.

There was a huge gaping hole at one side of the engine room, thus making it lack breathable air. The protective suit was airtight and had its own oxygen reserve which was enough to last for several hours, therefore breathing was of no concern. Still, Isaac couldn’t help feeling anxious knowing that he was so close to the end of the line. A bit of doubt and regret began surfacing within him, questioning whether he had really made the right choice. But no matter how much he questioned himself, it was a decision which he could no longer take back, and therefore he steeled his resolve.

“It’s time! Start the engine!”

“You heard that, Isaac!”

Isaac smiled hearing the voice of Artemios and Rocky through the intercom, and then without wasting time he engaged the ignition key of the reserve engine. The engine roared into life, and Isaac sat down on the floor with a sigh of relief, knowing that his final job was done and all that was left was the short wait to his ultimate fate.

From the spot he sat on, Isaac could observe the view beyond the huge gaping hole on the wall. Most of it was just the bright fiery color of the thermal energy shield protecting the ship from the heat of atmospheric entry. He knew that soon everything would go dark and the ship would make its emergency landing, and without being secured to a proper seat he would most definitely perish from the force of impact.

So... that’s it, huh?

Isaac smiled once more. Knowing that his time would soon be up made him feel at peace. The noise of the reserve engine and all the rattling sounds meant nothing to him. All he knew was the fact of the imminent demise, and he no longer had any regrets over it.

I’ve done everything I could, and I just hope for the best of them. Now that it’s coming, I feel dying this way isn’t a bad way to go. And while at it, why not go out doing something crazy?

Isaac briefly laughed, and then he stood up against the downward force coming from the inertia of the thrusters which were trying to soften the fall of the ship. Steadily, he walked towards the gaping hole at the side of the engine room. Every step felt like it weighed a ton, but Isaac kept taking each and every one of them with a huge grin on his face beneath the helmet of his suit. And once the hole was right in front of him, he took a deep breath and did what would have been unthinkable otherwise.

He jumped.

With the biggest leap his legs could provide, Isaac jumped out from the ship through the hole without looking back. He was now in a completely free fall towards the planet he had no good idea about. Despite looking like a typical habitable planet, it could be full of poisonous air or parasitic micro lifeforms lethal to humans.

“WOOOHOOOO!!!!” Isaac screamed in full excitement. He didn’t care about anything anymore. The only thing going on within his mind was the fact that he was now having the highest freefall ever, something which he had been dreaming about doing for a long time.

“Warning. High altitude fall detected.”

The nanomachines in Isaac’s body spoke to him directly from within, but he paid it no heed. His mind has completely gone into tunnel vision towards the thrilling sensation of falling towards the land shrouded in the darkness of night. He had no idea how he would end up once he hit the ground, but he knew the most likely result. In his current state of mind, the unfolding event was merely a chance to find out what the afterlife would be like, if it existed in the first place.

“Warning. High altitude fall detected. Immediate actions required.”

“OH SHUT UP! WOOHOOOOOO!!!”

“Denial of voluntary action detected. Confirm your decision.”

Not paying heed to the nanom’s warnings, Isaac kept screaming in his excitement.

“Incapability of providing discernible answers has been detected. Engaging emergency override protocol.”

“What the-!”

Bzzzt!

Isaac felt a sudden jolt from within, and his consciousness immediately faded. The fact still remained that his body was falling at terminal velocity towards the surface of the planet, the gravity of which was calculated to be the same as what humanity was used to.

“Impact in three minutes.”

“Rate of survival without taking actions... zero, point, zero, one, percent.”

“Calculating possible course of actions...”

“Course of action with highest survival probability found. Rate of survival... two percent. Proceeding to execute the course of actions”

“Overriding the engineering suit systems.”

“Removing the suit’s safety protocols.”

“Adjusting body postures.”

“Engineering suit zero-g thrusters engaging in three... two... one...”

Bwoosh! SPLASH!

Isaac’s nanomachines took over the control of his muscles and made him fall feet first, then it activated the jet thrusters installed in the engineering suit seconds before hitting the surface. The thrusters were designed for zero gravity environment, so it had little impact against the planet’s gravity. However, it still slowed down his fall a little. In addition, by pure chance he fell into a body of water deep enough to slow his fall further before he finally hit the solid ground at the depth. The presence of underwater flora down there also had helped. If one witnessed everything in detail, they could say that Isaac had spent his lifetime supply of luck so he would live longer.

“Checking for bodily injuries... Found none. Proceeding to wake up the host.”

Bzzzt!

“Ow! Alright, alright! I’m awake-!” Isaac rose from his lying down position before realizing that everything felt heavy and he was in total darkness. “What is this place? Is this the afterlife? So afterlife is just darkness after all...”

“Negative, you are still alive and physically healthy.”

“Wait! Am I underwater?”

"Your assessment is correct. We are approximately at least 30 meters underwater.”

“What? Why are we all the way- Hey! You knocked me out when I was freefalling, didn’t you?”

“Correct. You were unable to provide a discernible response regarding the circumstances, so the emergency override protocol was activated.”

“Right, forgot it existed...” Isaac said while lowering his head and putting one hand on the forehead. “What was my chance?”

“Chance of surviving was two percent. However, the probability was calculated with the assumption that the landing point was solid ground.”

“So I lucked out by falling into a body of water, eh?”

“A sufficiently deep body of water, but not too deep for the pressure to crush you along with the suit.”

“Oh god, I must’ve spent my entire life’s worth of luck.” Isaac sighed. “So what now?”

“Oxygen reserves will be depleted in two hours. Heading to the surface is highly recommended.”

“Better get to it then. Oh right, activate dark vision as well.”

Isaac then began walking towards a direction he randomly chose. The fact that he was deep underwater made each step heavy, but it was still not as heavy as the steps he had taken before jumping out of Martin Alphen.

Speaking of which, I wonder if everyone else survived too.

“Hey nanom. Can you track any other crews?”

“Scanning... Result is negative.”

“Must be out of range. Oh well.”

Time passed, and Isaac was still walking. He had no idea how long exactly he had walked, but the numbers projected at the corner of his vision, courtesy of his nanomachines, showed that he was close to the surface, and soon enough he saw it with his own eyes.

“Good. I can see the surface.”

A couple more steps later, Isaac’s helmet-covered head poked out of the surface. The first thing he saw upon sticking his head out was an array of houses, with faint lights visible from several of the windows. Isaac’s first response upon seeing what he saw was a jolt of excitement.

T-This planet has civilization!

But immediately, he gagged himself with both hands and crouched, submerging himself back into the water.

Okay, okay. Calm down. There are people, but they may not be friendly. I need to think of a way to approach them.

Isaac pondered for a few minutes before he made a nod to himself with his eyes filled with determination.

***

“And that’s how I survived.” Isaac said.

Isaac, Elana, and the Mountain Squad were in a separate room within Doctor Duncan’s house, which was lent to them by Doctor Duncan himself after knowing that Isaac and some of the group knew each other.

“I made myself look like a washed up guy, and Doctor Duncan took me in. After taking care of the language barrier I’ve been living with him as his helper. I actually planned to eventually leave to look for you guys, but it turns out you found me first.” Isaac laughed a bit after speaking. “Speaking of that, I’m glad to see you well, Captain. And the others too.”

The mood of Elana and the others were visibly gloomy upon hearing the last part of Isaac’s words. He noticed it, and the smile on his face disappeared without a trace.

“Not everybody survived, did they?”

“Yes, unfortunately.” Elana lowered her head. “I misjudged. It was my fault.”

“Yup, your fault alright.” Isaac said, which made everyone from Mountain Squad roll their eyes. “So, how long?” He asked with a grin on his face.

Elana chuckled with a wry smile. “You’re not making me feel any better, Isaac.”

“Nobody can because you’re just like that.” Isaac shrugged and rolled his eyes as he spoke, still grinning.

And suddenly, Elana hugged Isaac.

“Still, I’m glad that you lived.” Elana said.

Isaac smiled warmly and hugged Elana back. “Yeah. I’m glad to be here.”

Gregory and Ulysses approached and gave Isaac a good pat on his back.

“Way to go, dude!” Gregory said.

“Who would’ve thought that jumping out of the ship made you live?” Ulysses said, followed with a laugh.

“Ha...” Lillie stood still while rubbing her eyes with her right hand. “I’m so glad, that I don’t know what to say.”

Soon later, everybody returned to the examination room. Doctor Duncan had just finished the treatment on Claune and Robin, along with Neil and Jerome who got minor injuries.

“How does it feel now?” Doctor Duncan asked.

“It hurts much less now. Thank you.” Claune said.

“Yeah, same.” Robin said, moving his body around. “Though I’d prefer a healing spell.”

“Tch!” Doctor Duncan clicked his tongue and rolled his eyes the moment he heard Robin’s words.

“Robin!” Claune said, looking visibly upset. Robin was briefly startled, then he lowered his head and put one hand behind it.

“Ah, sorry.” Robin said.

“What can I say?” Doctor Duncan shrugged. “Those who can cast healing spells won’t stay in a mere village.”

“Anyway,” Jerome said. “How much for everyone?”

“A single silver will do.” Doctor Duncan said before turning to Elana’s group, specifically to Isaac. “How was your reunion? I take it that you’re gonna leave with them soon, right?”

“Uhh... well...” Isaac hesitated to give an answer.

“It’s been your plan from the start, wasn’t it?”

“Yeah, but...”

“They are where you belong.” Doctor Duncan gave Isaac a pat on the shoulder. “Don’t worry about me, alright?”

“I’ll repay you someday, Doctor. Thank you for taking me in all this time.”

“Not a big deal.” Doctor Duncan then sat behind his desk. “Anyway, now that I’ve heard your story, I think there should be a merchant carriage heading to the capital city tomorrow morning. It’s getting dark soon so go get some rest at the village inn.”

“Is there any way to make it faster?” Jerome asked. “We have to report to the guild as soon as possible that the abandoned mine, maybe the whole mountain even, is infested with Calamity Beast.”

“Well, I don’t know. Try going to the inn anyway and see if one of the merchants staying there today is willing to make a night trip.” Doctor Duncan shrugged. “Mind you, it’s probably not a good idea.”

“Ah, right...” Jerome sighed. “Anyway, here you go. Thank you for your help.” He put one silver coin on Doctor Duncan’s desk.

Isaac still stayed in the doctor’s house for the night, while the rest of the group went to the local inn. Thankfully the inn still had just enough vacancy, so all members of the group could sleep on proper beds through the night.

Morning came, and Elana woke up feeling well-rested enough. She stood up from the bed, stretched her body, and did a quick exercise.

“Rise and shine, boys and girls!” Elana spoke while clapping her hands once, waking up the Mountain Squad members who all slept in the same room.

“Five more minutes...!” Lillie said, burying herself deeper into her blanket while Ulysses was already sitting and Gregory had already stepped down from his bunk bed.

Elana smiled a little with a little sigh and her hands on her hip seeing Lillie’s morning antics. If it were up to her, and it actually was, she would immediately force Lillie to wake up. However, she decided otherwise on this occasion. A little reward for having done a great job the day before.

Having decided that, Elana went to the open window and watched the sun rising from the horizon. The sky looked clear, assuring her that today’s weather would be fine. She looked down on the array of houses, recognizing Doctor Duncan’s among those at the distance, and smiled once more. She continued admiring the scenery for a couple minutes before turning back and spoke to her wristwatch.

“Wake Lillie up, nanom.”

“Affirmative.”

Bzzzzt!

“Ow! Ow! Ow!” Lillie jumped out from her sleeping position. “Yes, I’m up! I’m up!”

“Good morning, Lillie.” Elana said with her arms folded and smirking somewhat menacingly to Lillie.

“Good morning, Captain. I... I asked for five minutes again, didn’t I?” Lillie said while showing a worried smile on her face.

“Yes, and this time I granted your request. Now get ready.”

“Aye aye, Captain.”

Elana and the Mountain Squad went downstairs after packing up their belongings. Jerome was already there, seemingly negotiating with a merchant guy near the front desk. By the time Elana got within earshot, Jerome and the guy shook hands, implying that they had come to an agreement.

“Good morning, Jerome.” Elana greeted.

“Oh, Elana! Good morning too!” Jerome replied. “And good news! We got someone to give us a ride back to the capital.” He continued, and the guy next to him nodded.

“Good to hear. When will we depart?”

“As soon as his convoy is ready.” Jerome turned his head to the merchant guy. “Which is...?”

“Half an hour.”

“You heard him. Go fetch that guy from the doctor’s house.”

“Will do.” Elana then looked back to Lillie. “Wait here while I go get Isaac.”

“Yes, Captain!” Lillie said.

Elana then walked towards Doctor Duncan’s house, which was only a five minutes walk from the inn. When she arrived she knocked on the door, and the doctor was the one who soon opened the door.

“Oh, it’s you. You’re here for Isaac, aren’t you?”

“Yes. We will depart for the capital soon.”

“He’s packing up. Come in and sit down while you wait.”

“Alright. Thank you.”

Elana entered the house and sat down on one of the seats lined up for awaiting patients. Meanwhile, Doctor Duncan went to the back room and came back less than a minute later bringing two clay mugs, one of which he offered.

“Here you go.” He said. “I hope you don’t mind lukewarm tea.”

Elana accepted the offered drink with a small smile. “Thank you.”

Doctor Duncan then sat on a nearby seat. He was silent for about ten seconds before he broke it.

“Isaac told me a few things about you.” He said. “I’d just say, you have quite an admirer.”

Elana replied without looking at Doctor Duncan. “He was flattering. Don’t take him too seriously.”

“And your reaction just now is exactly what he said.” Doctor Duncan laughed mildly, and Elana just rolled her eyes. “You’ve known each other for long, it seems.”

“About eight or nine years.” Elana replied. “We have been through a lot of things you can’t imagine.”

“Hmm, I can tell that you’re from some military, but not of this kingdom. Are you from Belmott Empire by any chance?”

“No.” Elana shook her head. “We came from a place so far away that we practically know nothing about this kingdom and the empire you mentioned.”

Doctor Duncan didn’t immediately reply. He took a sip from his own mug before speaking. “Hmm, Isaac told me that he fell off from an airship, so the Belmott Empire came to mind.”

“Now I’m curious. Can you tell me anything you know about the empire?”

“Well... I’m not that knowledgeable so I can’t tell much. All I know is the fact that Belmott Empire shares a border with Arxhige Kingdom far northwest from here, and the empire is superior in technology. It’s the only nation who can utilize airships, last I heard.”

“Is the relationship between this kingdom and the empire good?”

“No idea. I’m just a village doctor. You will have better luck asking around in the guild.”

“Right. You have a point.”

Right after Elana replied, the door at the side of the room opened, and Isaac came out from it wearing his engineering suit in its entirety, except the helmet which was folded inside the suit. He also carried a backpack, which Elana assumed was either lent or given by Doctor Duncan.

“Ah, Captain Mayer. Good morning.” Isaac greeted.

“Good morning, Isaac. Are you ready to go?” Elana said.

“Yes, Captain.”

Doctor Duncan drank the rest of his tea and stood up. “That armor suit looks heavy. Are you going to be alright?”

“It’s not as heavy as it looks.” Isaac said, looking around at his own body. “I’ll manage.”

“Alright then.” Doctor Duncan approached Isaac and gave him a pat on the shoulder. “Good luck, lad. May fortune favors you and your comrades.”

“Thank you.” Isaac said. “I will return and repay your favor someday.”

“How many times must I tell you?” Doctor Duncan sighed. “We’re all good.”

Elana and Isaac then left the house. Doctor Duncan stood in front of the door for a while as they walked away, and Isaac waved his hand a few times until they walked far enough. As they continued walking, Elana looked at the backpack Isaac was carrying and wondered.

“What’s in the backpack?” She asked.

Isaac glanced at the backpack briefly before replying. “Some clothes and dry food. I told him I didn’t need that much kindness, but he insisted.”

“It seems we all have been fortunate that all the inhabitants of this planet we have met so far are mostly good people.” Elana said. “Though we still can’t be sure whether it’s the general common sense of all people here, or we simply have been lucky.”

“Just keep our guard up, I say.” Isaac said. “By the way, Captain.”

“Yes?”

“How many didn’t make it...?”

Elana was briefly silent before replying. “Counting you out, fourteen didn’t make it.”

“Oh...” Isaac lowered his head, then he looked at Elana again. “And why do you think it was your fault?”

“I believed the seating room was the safest place so I had them all buckle up there.” Elana sighed. “I couldn’t have been more wrong.”

“Captain, it was a planetary crash landing! You had more than half of the crews surviving when the average rate is below ten percent! You should be-”

“No, Isaac. Even if it’s true, I can’t be proud over a tragedy. We have lost a significant portion of the crews, and that is the fact.”

“Yes, Captain. I concur.” Isaac said. “But you should focus on the ones who survived. They need your orders and guidance. We all do.”

“I’m trying my best.” Elana said. “Though I won’t blame any of them if they decide to part ways.”

“I doubt anyone would even think about that.” Isaac smirked mildly. “Anyone from the squads, at least.”

“But if they do, I won’t hold it against them.”

“We’re just going back and forth at this rate. Let’s stop here.” Isaac chuckled, and Elana did too.

Some time later, as planned earlier, a convoy of three merchant carriages departed from the lake village. The remnants of the expedition group were split among the three carriages, spreading their combat power evenly. Elana sat next to the driver of the second carriage, paying close attention to the live surveillance from the sky courtesy of the Probe Drone while also keeping nanomachine communication links online between her and all members of Mountain Squad.

Thankfully, all the cautions turned out to be unnecessary. The trip remained uneventful through and through, and the convoy arrived at the capital city before sunset. The sky was still not too dark yet by the time they gained entry through the gates.

“Drop off all of us at the Adventurer’s Guild.” Jerome told the driver from within the carriage.

The driver, while keeping his eyes forward, replied. “Yes, we’ve agreed to that. Don’t worry.”

Soon, the convoy of three stopped at the front door of the guild building and all the hitchhikers stepped off.

“What did you tell them back then in the village?” Elana asked Jerome as the carriages left the place.

“In short, free escort.” Jerome replied. “Anyway, we should hurry.”

Elana and Jerome then entered the guild building, followed by everyone else in the group. Because it was already dusk most of the receptionists were available, and therefore Jerome went to the first available one he saw.

“Welcome. How may I help you?” The female guild staff greeted from behind her counter.

“I need to report an infested location.” Jerome replied, and the facial expression of the guild staff immediately changed for the worse.

“A-Alright!” The guild staff immediately lowered his head and produced the familiar keyboard noise behind the counter.

“Only I and maybe Elana are needed here.” Jerome said. “You guys can sit somewhere while waiting.”

Hearing Jerome’s words, the rest of the group dispersed to the nearest vacant seats they could find and sat down. The guild staff then began asking a number of questions, to which Jerome answered with all he knew.

Meanwhile, as Elana listened to the conversation between Jerome and the guild staff, there was something else in her mind. The heavily implied fact that computers existed in the kingdom made Elana begin to wonder how technologically more advanced the Belmott Empire was compared to Arxhige Kingdom, which had already exceeded Elana’s expectations of a sword and magic world.

“The guild will handle it from here. Thank you for the report.”

“Alright.” Jerome said before turning to Elana. “Well, that’s that. With this your quest should also be over.”

“With what happened back there, should I expect it to be a failure?” Elana asked.

“Hmm...” Jerome lowered his head and folded his arms. “It will be up to the guild to decide. Since this is a special case they will need some time.” He then looked back at the guild staff behind the counter. “Right?”

“Yes, that’s correct.” The guild staff replied. “Please check back tomorrow for the final verdict.”

“I see. Noted.” Elana said with a nod. Right after that, she suddenly heard a familiar voice calling out a name.

“I-Isaac!?” It was Billy who called out. Elana turned her head and saw Billy, seemingly having come from the door connecting the guild main hall and the guild restaurant. “Is that really you!?”

Isaac, who was sitting along with the members of Mountain Squad, stood up and shrugged with a sly grin on his face.

“Long story short, yep. I somehow lived.” Isaac said, which prompted Billy to begin grinning ear to ear.

Billy walked straight towards Isaac, and once he was close enough he spoke. “You son of a bitch!”

Whack!

The right palms of the two guys met in what one would call as a ‘bro handshake’, and then they hugged for about five seconds.

“But how?!” Billy asked while holding Isaac’s shoulders.

“It’s quite a story.” Isaac replied. “One thing for sure, I’ve spent my entire life’s worth of luck.”

Billy laughed then he gave Isaac a pat on the shoulder. “Tell me about it later!”

Elana briefly smiled seeing the reunion between the two old friends, but then she reverted her facial expression and turned to Jerome.

“So what are you gonna do now?” Elana asked.

“We will return to the mansion and report everything that happened.” Jerome replied.

“Do you need me to come with you?”

Jerome shook his head. “No. As adventurers you report to the guild. While I, as one of the commanders of Lunavond private soldiers, report to my liege.”

“I see. Then I wish you luck.” Elana said. “If you need any help, you know where to find me.”

“You and your squad saved our lives. That’s more than enough help already.” Jerome said. “In any case, I’ll be seeing you later.”

“Yes. See you later.”

Jerome and his two surviving men, along with Robin’s group, left the guild building. Elana thought about what happened over the course of her first quest, and she decided that she should consult Keith if possible. With that in mind, she turned to the nearby guild staff.

“Excuse me. I think I need to talk to the guildmaster.” She said. “Is it possible now?”

“Certainly.” The guild staff replied. “Guildmaster Keith is currently at the restaurant section. You will find him there.”

“Thank you.” Elana said, and then she approached Lillie’s group. Contrasting what she had seen just recently, now Billy was crying his tears out. Elana silently rolled her eyes with a wry smile seeing that.

“Come on, Bill.” Isaac said. “You’re already an old man with a wife and a kid. This doesn’t suit you.”

“To hell with that. I’m just glad that you lived!” Billy said in the middle of sobbing.

“Alright, alright.” Isaac said right before noticing Elana coming. “Oh, Captain!”

Billy immediately rubbed his eyes and turned to Elana, giving a salute. “Welcome home, Captain.”

“How did it go, Captain?” Lillie asked.

“The guild will decide on that by tomorrow. For the time being, we are home free.” Elana replied. “Therefore, Mountain Squad. You are dismissed for today. Go back to your rooms and rest. You have earned it.”

“Yes, Captain.” Lillie, Ulysses, and Gregory replied in unison.

Elana turned her head to Billy and Isaac. “Billy, get Isaac to meet everyone else. Expect some more tearful reunion.”

“Right away, Captain.” Billy replied.

“I need to see the guildmaster for a minute. I will catch up with you all later.”

Elana then left the group and headed straight to the restaurant section of the guild. It was about right at dinner time, so the place was naturally quite packed with people. Elana looked around trying to find Keith among the people eating or waiting, but then she remembered her conversation with Kurt way back then, and therefore she turned her head to the cook spot.

“Hey, Elana! Looking for someone?” As expected, Keith was there cheerfully waving his hand to Elana.

Elana replied to Keith’s call. “Yes, I was looking for you actually.”

“Then sit down right here!” Keith pointed at the vacant seat right next to the spot he was working at. Elana complied and sat down there. “Here you go! On the house!”

Keith put down a tiny bowl of soup, which one could assume as an appetizer. The bowl was so tiny that the entire content could be comfortably eaten in one gulp, which Elana did. The taste was savory with a smattering of sourness within, and it also gave a sense of warmth. Elana couldn’t help agreeing on the soup being an appetizer, since eating it just now made her crave for more.

“Place your order, then we can talk.” Keith said. “Part of your daily meal, so on the house too.”

“I will take anything you recommend tonight.”

“Coming right up, then!” Keith then began his cooking work behind the wooden partition which, from Elana’s point of view, only allowed her to see Keith from the chest up. Therefore she couldn’t see what Keith was actually cooking. “Feel free to talk while I’m cooking, by the way.”

“Before that, I need to know if it is currently alright to talk with you in your capacity as a guildmaster?”

“Yeah sure. I’m still the same person after all.” Keith replied before turning at the nearest waiter. “Order number twelve done!”

The waiter promptly approached Keith, took the tray Keith had arranged just now, and left to deliver the dishes to the designated guest.

“Well, I want to talk about the quest I just returned from.” Elana said. “It went very badly because we encountered Calamity Beasts out of nowhere.”

“What? Are there casualties?” Keith’s cooking work was momentarily interrupted, but he soon resumed.

“All of the Lunavond private soldiers waiting outside were slaughtered by a rock golem when my team and I got our hands full fending off red centipedes inside the mines we were inspecting.” Elana replied. “Jerome, the leader of the soldiers, reported the mines as infested when we got here.”

“That’s terrible news. I’ll have to arrange an extermination quest as soon as possible.”

“Is such a thing a common occurrence?”

“No, it’s not.” Keith replied. “An infested area occurs once every half a year give or take, and discoveries of those rarely bring casualties. You were just terribly unfortunate. But damn... so many people died just like that...”

“If only we had come out from the mines earlier, maybe there could have been more survivors...” Elana lowered her head.

“No, no, Elana. Focus on the fact that you came back bringing survivors rather than what could have been. By all accounts it could have been much worse, like... you not coming back. I swear to god, Sedhoust wouldn’t like hearing that.”

Elana raised her head and chuckled hearing Keith’s words. “Funny. I got similar advice this morning... Oh, I just remembered. It turned out that one of my crews we thought dead lived. We encountered him by chance and he’s with us now.”

Keith visibly grinned ear to ear and his eyes went wide. “Now that’s great news! With this miracle having happened, could there be more out there?”

“Unfortunately, no.” Elana shook her head and lowered it again. “He was the only one with no body to bury back then.”

“Oh... I see.” Keith said. “Anyway! Here you go!” He put down a plate of meat stir fry in front of Elana, accompanied by a bowl of vegetable soup and a piece of warm bread.

“All right. I’m digging in.” Elana said. “I’d like to talk about something else if it is fine with you.”

“Like I said before, feel free!”

“Twice I have been thought to be from some place called Belmott Empire, and now I am curious about that place. Can you tell me about it?”

“It’s a nation located far northwest from here. Can’t blame anyone for making the assumption because, to be honest, what you and your fellows are wearing would fit in better over there than here.” Keith said before shouting at the nearest waiter. “Order fifteen ready!”

“If that is the case, do you think we should get a change of clothes as soon as possible?”

“Nah, no worries.”

“Good to hear. Anyway, I was told that the empire is more advanced in technology. How much more advanced, if you can tell me?”

“Hmm... To name a few, RVs are commonplace over there, and so is lightning power. Moreover, they have developed airships for military use and are expecting to develop commercial airships in the near future.”

“Is the relationship between this kingdom and the empire good?”

“Order sixteen and seventeen ready!” Keith shouted before replying to Elana’s question. “Not really, but unless something crazy happens there won’t be any armed conflict in the foreseeable future. Think of the two nations like rivals racing in their advancement, to put it simply.”

“I apologize in advance for asking this but... why is the empire currently winning?”

“Sadly they keep their mouths shut so I don’t have a good idea why.” Keith shook his head in mild dejection. “Sedhoust and Vierra should know more, but even for them it’s not an easy topic to talk about.”

“I see. I should change the topic, then.”

“One good thing I can say is that it was thanks to the empire that the Adventurer’s Guild has the technology to communicate instantly between branches. One of the very few things they were willing to share.”

“Pardon me, but are you talking about the clicking noise I often heard from behind the receptionist counter?”

“Yes, indeed. If you’re familiar with its sound I bet back at your home something similar is commonplace too, isn’t it?” Keith mildly grinned at Elana, and then he shouted. “Order eighteen to twenty ready!”

Elana quietly ate her meal while thinking about Keith’s answers so far. It was heavily implied that Belmott Empire was more technologically advanced to the point that cars and electricity were commonplace, and they also had developed computers with network connection. From this information alone, Elana could make an assumption that the empire’s civilization was about equal to Sol III way back in the late 20th century of the previous calendar system. It was primitive compared to humanity’s current technology, but the 20th century of the Anno Domino calendar was the era where humanity had made numerous breakthroughs for technology advancement within a relatively short time span.

If Belmott Empire’s technology is on par with that era, they might start researching space travel soon, if they haven’t already.

“Thank you for the meal.” Elana said, having finished all the dishes she had.

“No prob! If you have more questions later feel free to visit me anytime!”

Elana left the eatery and went upstairs to the floor reserved for her crew. She could hear a commotion in one of the larger rooms, and it was easy for her to guess what it was all about.

Elana quietly peeked through the open door, and everything she saw was exactly as she thought. Isaac was basically swarmed by the rest of the crews who were glad to see him alive. Seeing that, Elana couldn’t help smiling as she entered.

“Oh, Captain!” Theo said, as the first one who noticed. “Welcome home!”

Everyone else around immediately stood upright and gave a salute to Elana.

“Don’t mind me. Continue what you were doing before. Although...” Elana looked at Theo. “Theo, is there anything to report?”

“Oh, well...” Theo said with clear hesitation displayed. His eyes glanced at one corner of the room. Right there, Doctor Kai was standing, leaning to the wall with his arms folded. The spot between his eyebrows was wrinkled, which to Elana was a clear sign that he was not in a good mood. “It’s a pretty long story, Captain. Maybe we should move to a place a little bit quieter?”

Elana, Theo, and Valeria left the room and moved to a nearby room which was currently empty. The latter two then proceeded to tell the former about the recent happenings which involved Doctor Kai, several adventurers, and two of the three heroes. By the end of it, Elana lowered and shook her head, put one hand over her forehead, and let out a sigh.

“So reckless of him, but that’s Doctor Kai for you.” Elana said. “Prioritizing saving lives before anything else, and getting in trouble because of it.”

“I apologize for not being more stern at him, Captain!” Theo bowed. “I should have insisted on having him bring two others along when outside, as per your instruction!”

“It is already done and settled, so no need to be concerned so much about it anymore.” Elana said. “But... Guess I owe Sedhoust a favor now, and I don’t really like it if I’m being honest. There is something about him that irks me for some reason.”

“So, what should we do, Captain?” Valeria asked.

“For now, just continue as normal. I will think about it in the meantime. If you excuse me, I will go back to my room. Go and rejoin the celebration.”

“Yes, Captain! Thank you, Captain!” Both Theo and Valeria spoke in unison.

Elana returned to her room, which was pretty much pitch black because the light switch was off and the window was closed. She turned the lights on, threw her luggage to a corner, and opened the window. The sky was already dark, and this time it was partially cloudy so not much could be seen up above. Elana leaned over the open window and mused, thinking about whether Renne and her crews, along with Nathan and Storm Squad, had made it safely back home with the escape ship.

“I hope you’re safe wherever you are now, Master.”

***

Somewhere in the wilderness at night, far away from the capital city of Arxhige, a group of people were sitting around a campfire. There were two tents nearby, lined up side by side. There were also a few more guys around, standing upright with their weapons readied in full alert, anticipating any threats which may jump at them anytime soon. The campfire was the only source of illumination around due to the fact that the sky was currently pitch black with no stars or moon visible.

One of the people sitting around the fire started speaking. “Is this campfire actually a good idea?” She looked left and right with both of her arms clasping in front of her chest.

“Unless you want to wear night vision goggles all night, this is the only way to see anything now.” The man sitting at the other side of the campfire said with his arms folded. “Just sleep until morning if you can’t stand it.”

“How can I sleep!?” She retorted. “Will I wake up if I do!?”

“Your safety is our priority, ma’am. Even if we have to die for it.”

Another person who was also sitting near the campfire intervened. “Don’t say such a thing easily like that, Nathan. If any of you die, the rest of us will be in disarray.”

“But it’s our duty to carry out!”

“Yeah I know, Lana’s orders and all. But still, what kind of planet is this? The air on the surface is perfectly breathable for us but we’ve been encountering nothing other than strange monsters. I want to make an assumption that these monsters could be the equivalent of dinosaurs of Sol III in its ancient times, but evidence so far implies-”

“Alright, alright, Miss Alphen. I understand.” Nathan intervened.

“I told you to just call me Renne, didn’t I?” Renne said with a glare directed at Nathan.

“Y-Yes, Miss A- Renne...” Nathan stuttered his reply.

“Nevertheless, I know that Lana is still alive somewhere out there.” Renne stood up and looked at the pitch black sky. Her eyes were filled with determination. “I will find her!”

***