The Day We Met

The 18th Floor of the Dungeon, in the forest.

The light emanating from the crystal dome spilled into the lush green sea of trees. Even though it was mostly blocked by the dense foliage of the trees, some of it still shone through the gaps in the thinning leaves, illuminating the surroundings and making the blue crystal pillars around each tree sparkle.

Having received Finn's special permission to leave the party, Leo came here and strolled around.

"It's been a year, and nothing has changed at all."

Following the last vestiges of memory in his mind, Leo walked through the forest, observing his surroundings and discerning the path.

"Back then—I think I took this route to leave this place, didn't I?"

Leo thought uncertainly, trying to salvage his fading memories.

He vividly remembered that a year ago, Ai had led Ais out of this forest to the southern tunnel cave, and then through there to the 17th...

Layers.

Now, he finds it rather difficult to retrace the path he took when he left.

"After all, at that time I wasn't in the mood to observe my surroundings or memorize the path; all I could think about was following Ais and getting to the surface as quickly as possible—"

Recalling his disheveled and bewildered state at that time, Leo couldn't help but smile.

Looking back now, he must feel ashamed of himself back then.

But he didn't think he was a terrible person at that time.

A young man from a peaceful world and a peaceful country in the new century suddenly finds himself in a strange world where he has no relatives or friends, and where deadly monsters could jump out at any moment. It's quite remarkable that he didn't wet his pants from fear at that time.

Of course, if he hadn't encountered Ais right away, he might have performed even worse.

"I hope I didn't go to the wrong place."

Leo continued deeper into the forest, reminiscing about the past.

As Leo walked, he began to encounter gurgling springs and cool streams, and fruit trees bearing unknown fruits began to appear all around him.

"Roar!"

A gigantic bear-like monster appeared there, rummaging through the fruit on the tree. It was then drawn by Leo's footsteps and its gaze immediately turned towards him.

"That's... Berg Bear?"

Leo stopped in his tracks.

Berg Bear is a monster that only appears from the 19th floor onwards, and it is a large-sized one.

Its classification level is Lv.2. Although it is weaker than the Minotaur, which appears after level 15, in terms of "strength" and "durability", it is stronger than the Minotaur in terms of "agility" and "dexterity". It can often use its agility, which is not commensurate with its huge body, to drive its prey into a corner and then cut it into pieces. In some ways, it is a more dangerous and troublesome monster than the Minotaur.

The 18th Floor is a safe floor, where monsters are not normally born, and it is not a floor where Berg Bear roam. However, monsters sometimes wander over from other floors, and some even use this great forest and the wetlands to the north of the floor as their base. Berg Bear are one of them.

The gourd-shaped red berries growing on those fruit trees are called cloud berries. They are a type of wild fruit that only grows in the Dungeon and is a favorite food of Berg Bear. Therefore, Berg Bear often come here from the 19th floor to pick these fruits to eat.

Leo has now encountered a Berg Bear that roams near the Cloudberry Tree.

"Roar!"

The giant bear-like monster let out a furious roar upon seeing Leo.

It abandoned the fruit it had just been rummaging through and charged toward Leo at an astonishing speed, kicking up a cloud of dust with ferocious momentum.

It was indeed faster than the Minotaur; once it charged, it was like a rampaging tank, knocking down trees in its path.

Even adventurers at the late Level 2 would probably find it difficult to handle this charge.

Unfortunately, they chose the wrong opponent.

"Bang!"

As Berg Bear leaped high into the air and slammed down on the spot where Leo had been standing, creating a dull thud as if it had hit the ground, Leo had already jumped into the air.

He moved like the wind, leaping up and landing on the branch of the nearest tree in an instant. Then, with a stomp of his foot, he transformed into an arrow, flying towards the giant bear monster.

He was much faster than Berg Bear.

The Berg Bear, was completely unable to react to Leo's actions; before it could even raise its head, a flash of sword light slashed through the air.

"Pfft!"

The cold, moon-like sword light instantly pierced through the fur and muscles of the Berg Bear, cutting into its chest, and finally striking the Magic Stone in its chest cavity with precision, splitting the Magic Stone and its entire massive body in two.

Before Berg Bear could even let out a scream, his body was split in two. The Magic Stone was also shattered, causing his slowly falling corpse to turn into ashes and vanish without a trace.

Leo, who caused all of this, didn't even look back. He sheathed the Dragon Fang Sword, which had been drawn at some point, and continued walking forward.

Later, he killed many monsters from other floors, including large ones and small ones like the Unicorn Rabbit, without being hindered by any monsters.

After another half hour of travel, Leo finally heard the sound of water.

That wasn't the sound of a stream, but rather the gentle sound of water rippling across the surface, like the wind blowing across the water.

Hearing the sound of water, Leo's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly quickened his pace and walked forward.

Finally, the monotonous trees in front of him were gone, replaced by an open space and a pond.

It was a pool of water that was very clean and crystal clear.

The pool is located right in front of a rock wall, from which crystal-clear water flows, cascading into the pool like a small waterfall, creating a pool that is more beautiful, clearer, and cleaner than any surface water source.

Monsters were also lurking near the pool, bowing their heads at the water's edge and quietly drinking, completely ignoring Leo's arrival.

Looking at the pool of water, Leo smiled.

"Yes, this is it."

The crystal-clear water in this pool flows from deep within the building. It can be drunk directly to quench thirst and also heals physical fatigue. It is a place known only to a few adventurers.

Of course, Leo came here not to quench his thirst, nor to heal his fatigue, but because this was the place where he was born.

Leo clearly remembers what happened that day.

At that moment, he suddenly appeared above the pool, as if he had been thrown there by some unseen force. He fell from the sky and crashed into the water, sinking to the bottom of the lake.

The feeling of suffocation is still vivid in his mind, and the sensation of water constantly being poured into his mouth and nose was extremely uncomfortable, causing him to instinctively struggle underwater.

A hand grabbed him as he struggled desperately, pulled him out of the water, and propelled him to the surface.

Then, while coughing violently, Leo was so shocked by the scene before him that his pupils contracted and his mind went completely blank.

Even now, he still often sees that scene in his dreams.

A blonde, golden-eyed girl was right in front of him, holding him with one hand. She was completely naked, in the primal state of a newborn infant.

The girl's skin was fair and tender, covered with water droplets. She was slender with distinct curves, and her features were so exquisite that they seemed otherworldly. Her beauty was beyond description. The image of her soaking in the crystal-clear water was breathtakingly beautiful, reminiscent of the fairies living in forest springs in mythology.

Leo remembers being completely stunned and dumbfounded at the time.

Not to mention that the girl was the most beautiful person he had ever seen in his life, just her completely naked and revealing appearance would surely captivate any woman, let alone a man.

To be honest, at that moment he even had a feeling that he was dreaming, that he had just drowned and that everything he was seeing now was just a fantasy before he died.

After having this thought, he even felt that he could die without regrets, which shows how impactful the scene was for him.

"Ais ----"

As he thought about it, Leo unconsciously whispered that name.

As a result, the owner of the name responded to him.

"----I am here."

The voice came from behind Leo, startling him awake.

The blonde, golden-eyed female swordsman slowly walked out of the forest behind him, her gaze fixed on him, an emotion that Leo couldn't understand flowing within her.

Why are you here?

Leo stared blankly at the other person, then exclaimed in surprise.

"I came with you." Ais came to Leo's side and stood beside him, saying softly, "I saw you leave the group, so I followed you."

"Really?" Leo scratched his cheek, looking a little awkward. "I just wanted to come here for a look."

"I know." Ais seemed to understand Leo's feelings, looking into his eyes, and said, "This is where we first met."

"----Hmm." Leo nodded, smiled slightly, and said with an enigmatic expression, "It's also the place I first came to when I visited this world."

Ais showed no sign of doubt about those words.

"I had just come up from the lower floors," Ais said softly, looking at the pool in front of her. "I came here to wash up because I was very dirty."

When the Loki Familia returns from expeditions, they usually stay on this floor. The female members of the Familia can't help but come here to wash away the dirt and fatigue from many days of battle.

Ais doesn't often come to the Dungeon alone; she only came that day because she had gotten it too dirty.

Upon arriving, she encountered something extraordinary that she had never experienced before.

"----You suddenly fell from mid-air, and I didn't even have time to react."

Ais's tone was different from ever before, sounding both puzzled and puzzled.

"Even if a monster approaches, I can detect it immediately."

Ais is, after all, a Level 5 adventurer with highly developed senses. If someone suddenly approaches this area, unless the other party is a Level 1 or Level 2 adventurer with extremely amazing stealth abilities, she would definitely be able to detect them.

But even though Leo was just an ordinary person with no strength, Ais didn't notice a thing before he fell from mid-air.

"It's as if you appeared out of thin air."

Ais's whisper was muffled by a sudden gust of wind and was difficult to hear.

Leo still heard it.

Do you remember what I said back then?

Leo suddenly said that.

"----I remember." Ais paused for a moment, then said, "You said you didn't know how you got here."

"Yes." Leo nodded and said, "Anything else?"

"And—" Ais pursed her lips, her gaze towards Leo becoming complex, and she said with an inscrutable expression, "You said you don't belong to this world, you don't belong to this era."

Leo lowered his eyes.

That's true, isn't it?

Actually, he didn't originally intend to say that.

The idea of traveling to another world is something best taken to the grave; never mention it to anyone.

But at that moment he was completely at a loss, and dared not openly say that he was most likely a Transmigrator, so he could only stammer out such a riddle-like statement.

At the time, he had no idea that it was precisely this cryptic, charlatan-like statement that touched the heart of the girl in front of him, who didn't blame him for seeing her naked, but instead saved him and only slowly inquired about his origins after he calmed down.

It does not belong to this world, nor to this era.

Isn't this the truest reflection of a young girl's heart?

Especially Leo's eyes at that moment, so blank, so helpless, like a child who had wandered into some unfamiliar place, trembling with fear and trepidation at everything around him, unsure of where to go, utterly lost about the future.

How similar she looked to herself when she was still a child!

So, Ais said it almost reflexively.

"----Is there nowhere else to go?"

That voice, lacking in cadence and devoid of emotion, sounding like a puppet, yet more beautiful than any celestial music, actually carried an empathy and resonance that no one else could perceive.

"Then... would you like to come back with me?"

By the time the girl realized what was happening, the words had already been spoken.

No one knew why she said that. Even her longtime companions in the clan were surprised. She, who had never been interested in anything except becoming stronger, would actually bring a strange boy home.

Who would have thought that when Ais looked at Leo, she was actually seeing her younger self reflected in Leo's image?

That's why she couldn't help but reach out to Leo.

"I've always wanted to thank you again." Leo looked at the beautiful girl beside him and smiled faintly, "Thank you for finding me a place to stay, Ais."

Upon hearing this, Ais lowered her eyes as well.

She said nothing, but simply stood with Leo, quietly gazing at the pool before them.

It was as if I were seeing the two of them who met here a year ago.