The Dreamer's POV

Chapter 46: Unexpected Encounter

[00 Months: 01 Days: 01 Hours]

After only sleeping for a couple of hours, I woke up to begin actively raiding Dungeons.

There wasn't any clock in this world, but since I usually found myself waking up by 7:30 AM every morning, and it had been about an hour since I woke up, I had to assume that the clock started somewhere around the 7:30 AM mark.

After waking, I went over a few things I already knew, and I also unsummoned my minion—Root.

'Yeah, the name sucks, but...'

With Root now in my Skill's special slot, I decided to begin my hardcore Dungeon exploration, and continue my journey of leveling up.

'Yesterday, I went around exploring the areas that make up the Wild Lands. It's not very expansive, but it's still a lot of ground to cover, so...'

I had a decision to make.

"Which should I attack first?"

I personally felt like the furthest one from me should be explored first, considering the possibility that there could be other humans in the areas after where I was summoned, and they could explore the Dungeon closer to their territories before I was done with the ones closer to mine.

'That means by the time I'm done with the ones closest to me, there's a chance someone would have explored the ones furthest from me...'

The five Dungeons I had been informed of were mostly exclusive to the Wild Lands, but there was one that stood at the outskirts.

I couldn't take any chance that it would be taken before I could raid it.

"Okay! I've made up my mind! I'll be heading there first!"

And with that, I began my journey towards the Dungeon of Stone.

********

[00 Months: 01 Days: 3 Hours]

After walking nonstop for almost three hours, I finally arrived at my destination.

I didn't know if it was because I already had a destination in mind, or because I was unconsciously walking faster, but it didn't take very long—at least unlike last time—to reach my destination.

"Hmm..." A smile formed on my face as I neared the Dungeon.

'There's hardly any life surrounding Dungeons due to the intense energy that oozes from within it. I don't need to concern myself with wild animals popping out of the blue to attack me.'

This was information I obtained from the Information I got last time, as well as from observation.

Conserving my Energy, I didn't use <Focus> or anything like that, instead I simply tasked my mind on the journey ahead.

... That was my mistake.

"What's taking Jeff so long?"

"Come on, you know he's a slow pisser."

"Pfft. You guys are so vulgar, you're going to make the lady with us uncomfortable..."

"I don't particularly mind."

"Is that so? That's a relief, then."

I heard four distinct voices as I was just leaving the shrubbery that led me to the clearing where the Dungeon was located.

'W-what?!' My eyes widened instantly. 'There are people here??'

It seemed I was already too late.

They seemed to be a lively bunch, with three men and one woman, and then another one who wasn't with them called 'Jeff'

I could see their figures, but before I dawdled any longer, I swiftly returned to the wall of shrubbery that protected me from sight.

From the little I observed from my auxiliary vision, all four of them were standing close to the Dungeon's entrance, and they seemed to be preparing to venture inside.

'Damn it...'

It already threw a wrench into my plans.

'What should I do now?' My thoughts echoed as I internally began to consider my next move.

On one end, I could use my Invisibility Cloak to sneak into the Dungeon, but could I maintain my invisibility for very long, considering my Energy Level?

Besides, how would I be able to fight Demons and Level Up comfortably if the Adventuring Party were close to me, especially if I was invisible?

What if one of them had a sensory ability? That was certainly in the realm of possibilities, and it wouldn't do me any good to be spotted being invisible in their Dungeon Raid.

'There are many factors involved...' My mind trailed.

I was so engrossed in my thoughts that I failed to notice anything around me. Needless to say, that came to bite me.

"Oh? It's you, sleepyhead!" A voice came from behind me, instantly startling me.

"Ueghhhh!!!" I made the most embarrassing sound, leaping away from my location in a flash.

My body moved before I could stop it, and I realized anything, I was already a couple of steps away from her, my guard raised to the maximum.

"Would you chill out, dude. I'm not a scary monster, am I?" The one before me giggled lightly, smiling enthusiastically at me.

'She... she is... the one I met back then!'

The stranger who I had shortly interacted with right before Seraph addressed us.

'She's here?!' My eyes widened as I took in her really beautiful form.

Her pale skin seemed to glow in the early morning sun, and her really skin-tight outfit made her body look all the more irresistible.

Her white and pink hair, coupled with her pink irises, made her appear exotic, and her lustrous lips invited me to—

'Argh! What am I thinking again?'

"Oh, what are you doing back here, Lu?" I heard the voice of one the people in her group echo from behind the shrubbery, and then approaching footsteps manifested.

'They're drawing closer to me!'

What were they going to think? That I was spying on them? Would they try to attack me? Would they attempt to take my life? I had no idea what would happen!

'I should retreat for now using Invisibility Cloak!'

"Hey, sleepyhead..." I felt a gentle sensation course through both of my shoulders, seeing the strange girl close the distance between me and her so naturally and easily that I didn't even have the chance to react.

"... Relax." Her hands were firmly placed on my timid shoulders, holding me down for some reason.

She had a bright smile on her face, and she narrowed her gaze on me—almost the same way she did in the past.

"W-what are you—?"

A slight frown appeared on her face as soon as I spoke, and before I could even.process what could have happened to cause the sudden switch, her group members suddenly appeared from behind the shrubbery.

"Oh, so you were with a boy?"

"Seems like you two know each other."

"Who is he?"

Her bright smile returned, and she turned to face the three men with a bright glow in her eyes.

"He's just a stranger I met once. I don't really know him. I just noticed him hiding behind the shrubs and watching us."

The moment I heard her words, I felt something break within me for some reason.

'Why does that hurt?' I wondered, slightly clutching my chest, but I maintained a relatively stoic expression.

"Oh? So you were spying on us, eh?" One of the party members smiled. He had a bushy beard and a very jovial expression in general.

"N-no. I wasn't really spying on you. I just didn't expect to see a group raiding the Dungeon so early, so I hid myself when I saw you." I managed to blurt out a reply.

'Haa, what am I doing? I should just go...'

"Oh? That's interesting!" Another one, who was more lanky and had a sly appearance thanks to his slanty eyes.

"So you also want to explore the Dungeon, huh?" The other fellow who seemed to be the oldest—an elderly man wearing a hooded robe—chuckled.

'I'll just tell them I'm going to leave now.' I smiled wryly, already feeling the pressure of their gazes fall on me.

'They have equipments from <Shop>, which means they aren't simply survivors. There could even be a Ranker among them!'

It would be plain stupid of me to challenge them at this point.

"Yeah. But since you are all here, I'll just leave, so you don't need to wor—"

"Why don't you just join us?" The bushy bearded man suddenly proposed, his eyebrows raised, and his grin growing larger by the moment.

'H-huh...?!'

"Working in a group is always better than fighting all alone, don't you think?" He added in a jovial tone.

His comrades also nodded in obvious agreement to his words.

"I mean, we formed a group so we wouldn't be picked off by strong Demons in there." The lanky slanty-eyed one grinned.

"United we stand, divided we fall." The old man nodded slowly.

I couldn't believe these people. They were asking me, an obvious stranger, to join their group?

"So, what do you say, young man? Care to work with us as a team?"

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[A/N]

What do you all think Mikey should do? And it seems we have our mystery girl back on screen!

Also, you can check out character arts on the book's profile and even suggest some you'd like to see by commenting.

Thanks for reading.

Cheers!