The Divine Wolf... or?

Chapter 199: Final Preparation!

Even though Ark was a little intrigued, it wasn't like he was going to ask about it or anything, he had enough self-restraint to just move on. As he was absorbed in his own thoughts, the little half-elf gave their group a once-over as well. On the surface, their group didn't look too special, but as she looked a little closer, she realised that these 4 were a bit peculiar.

Not only was there a child in the group, but they also had dwarf in their midst. Although she didn't have a problem with dwarves herself, she knew that they faced plenty of discrimination. To be fair, she faced plenty of discrimination herself in the past. But nowadays people didn't have enough guts to mess with her, she didn't interact much with others in the first place.

Either way, she could see that some of the gear they were buying was for the kid, which was a little baffling. Did this kid really need this equipment? They weren't planning on dungeon-diving with a kid right? Even though she was intrigued, she held herself back in the end. At the end of the day, they were just a couple of adventurers, she'd probably never meet them again.

She locked eyes with Ark for a second and immediately felt like they had a peculiar charm to them.

Although the atmosphere became a little awkward as they locked eyes with each other, Ark quickly tried to defuse it by paying for the gear. After feeling a slight tug on his sleeve, Ark could only smile as he completed the transaction. He was a little dumbfounded by Atar's eagerness to try out his new gear, but he still thought it was pretty cute.

After they left the forge, Ark wasn't sure what he wanted to for the rest of the day. Since there wasn't much they needed to prepare before they ventured into the next level of the dungeon, they could take it easy for the day.

Since they could pretty much do whatever they wanted, the rest of the day was filled with simple forms of entertainment, mostly derived from each other. Not only that, but Ark made sure to practice his magic circles as much as possible, and before the end of the day he felt like he wasn't far from reaching level 4.

Although that was the case, he didn't neglect to have fun whilst practising throughout the day.

As night was approaching, they decided to eat some food at the Lighthouse, at this rate it had practically become a tradition for them to eat there. Both the food and the atmosphere was the best they had found, at least in Moonhill. During the dinner, they all messed around a little, and everyone was a little excited about exploring the next level of the dungeon the following day.

Although they could only imagine what it would look like right now, tomorrow they would be able to see the real thing.

Since they only had one life to live, they all wanted to see and experience as much as possible while they still could. Although the next level of the dungeon was dangerous, it was also known for having great scenery. As Ark thought about life, he was a little unsure of what to think.

Although the mindset of living his life to the fullest was something he enjoyed, he couldn't be sure whether or not he really only had one life to live. He had died before, which brought him to this world, but he was pretty sure that what happened to him wasn't something natural that happened to others.

After pondering for a while, he stopped thinking about it. Although it was a bit peculiar, thinking hard about it wasn't going to change anything. There was no way for him to find out what had actually happened to him, at least for now, so that would have to wait for the future. Whilst he was still in the midst of thinking, a rough voice broke him out of his stupor.

"What're you looking so sullen for Ark? You alright?"

Seeing how both Thufrat and Ephine looked a little concerned for him, Ark realised that he had been putting on a weird expression as he was pondering.

"I was just thinking about life a little, I'm glad I met you guys."

As he was talking, he started to genuinely smile. Although the Lighthouse was known for its bright lights and atmosphere, Ark's genuine smile still seemed to brighten up the entire restaurant an extra level. Although he knew that it might've sounded a little cheesy, Ark was completely serious. Without these three, he didn't know what kind of place he would've been in right now.

After everything he had been through, he wasn't sure if he would've been able to stay himself without their help.

After the torture he had experienced in the Estridsen Kingdom, he was both sad and lonely. It was after this harrowing experience that he managed to meet Atar and Ephine. As he thought about it, his smile grew a little wider. His aching heart had been slowly healing all this while.

Although he was still anxious and nervous about the future, he was happy to have met such amazing people, people he could call his own family.

The mood became a little peculiar, and even Atar, who was usually fairly clueless, could sense the weird atmosphere. Although he wasn't sure what was happening, he only looked at Ark and smiled foolishly. Ark laughed a little upon seeing Atar's antics and ruffled his hair. Seeing how the atmosphere returned to normal, Atar went back to focusing on his food.

Time seemed to pass slowly as they continued to eat in the Lighthouse, and it was soon time to return home. They had grown accustomed to life in the city, but they were still not human after all. They had limited time to do what they wanted, and they needed to return home before they were forced to turn back to their wolf forms in the middle of the city.

If that were to happen, Ark wasn't sure how long it would take before the entire city was chasing after them.

If that happened, their lives would naturally be turned upside down pretty quickly. He chuckled a little at the image that formed in his head, even though it was supposed to be a serious thought.

Although they strolled pretty casually, they still arrived at their home in a matter of minutes, and they were all a little tired. Normally they would all talk to each other and have some fun upon returning home, but they were all a little tired today, and since tomorrow was going to be a special day, they all wanted to make sure that they got enough rest.

If they were tired as a result of their carelessness today, then they would have no one to blame but themselves tomorrow.

They had prepared plenty for this expedition tomorrow, but they were still a little under levelled in the end. If they were not careful and ended up bumping into an enemy way beyond their level, they would have no one to save them but themselves. Before going to sleep, Ark fiddled around with his magic circles for a while, and just before he was going to sleep, they finally levelled up to level 4.