"Ugh... I hurt."

With a pained moan, Ava rolled her body over. She took deep breaths as her brain processed waking up. When she finally became lucid, she opened her tent and exited. 

The first thing she saw was Dirk sitting in the middle of their group's tents. Looking around, she noticed that it was oddly quiet. There was nobody around them, at least none that were awake. Not even the teacher was there.

"Good morning."

"Mm. Where is everyone?"

"Out hunting."

"Huh?"

Ava thought for a second before tilting her head. 

"Without us?"

"Everyone left around 4 hours ago. The teacher told us to rest for the day since we fought so hard last night. You guys need to recover, especially those three."

Hearing him, Ava looked over to the three other tents where some snores originated from. She nodded. Alec, Harmut, and Jaxon weren't as conditioned as them. And while Alec trained anima, making his recovery easy, the others would have it much worse. She felt most sorry for Jaxon who didn't excel as much as them. Though, he was being protected the whole battle, so that would compensate for the recovery.

"Hm. So what do we do until they come back?"

"Eat."

Dirk stuck out his hand. Ava looked over and took the food ration from him. He spoke again.

"You're probably sore, and that's cause you didn't eat last night. Always eat before you go to sleep. Though those three are going to have it worse. They didn't even clean their wounds."

He smirked a bit, and Ava's concern grew. Just as she was about to go wake them up, she heard rustling, and Alec came out of his tent.

"Oh, you two are awake... Where is everyone?"

"Out hunting."

Ava dully responded exactly as Dirk did. Alec tilted his head.

"Without us?"

"Well we sure aren't out there with them."

"Huh. Yea. How are your guys' wounds?"

He chuckled at Ava's sarcastic retort before asking. Dirk looked at him and scanned his body. Surprisingly, he found no wounds at all, only the light remnants of some scratches. 

Ava sighed in response.

"I'm fine. Only need a few days to totally heal. What about you?"

"My light attribute gives a bit of passive healing, so it looks like mine healed overnight. It's the other two you should be worried about. Hey Harmut, get up!"

"Ugh..."

Alec yelled into his friend's tent, earning a groan. Harmut came stumbling out a bit later. His body looked ragged, but his eyes were sharp. Dirk saw this and nodded. When he drained his mana, he would often wake up with a clear mind the next morning. It was the same for Harmut.

But a clear mind didn't mean a clear body. Harmut's body was riddled with scratches covered in dried blood. It didn't look like they healed at all, a result of them not being cleaned. His winces showed that they till hurt too.

"Oh, you need to get treated."

Alec examined him with concern. Harmut just looked at him like he were dumb. The next moment though, Alec reached out his hand, and a soft light radiated onto one of Harmut's wounds. 

At a speed visible to the eye, scabs fell off and the wound began to clear up. The skin around it turned pink as it was healed, and when the light dimmed, a barely healed scar was left. It wasn't the most thorough healing, but it cleared up an entire wound. Dirk was a bit stunned, as was Ava. 

He didn't stop there either. Alec went on to heal several more wounds. The healing was light, barely sealing the skin, but that was more than good enough to bring Harmut back to full ability. It all happened in only a couple of minutes too. Meanwhile, Harmut didn't seem that surprised.

"Thanks."

"Sure. When Jaxon gets up, I'll heal him too. What about you, Ava? Dirk?"

"I'm alright. And Dirk didn't get wounded."

"Oh. Really?"

Surprised by what he was hearing, Alec walked over and looked at the shirtless Dirk. Not to mention wounds, Dirk looked to be in the prime of his life. After not seeing even a little bruise, he stopped in thought.

"...So what you did last night was even more amazing than I thought."

He spoke in wonder and slight suspicion. Ava and Harmut also began recollecting the night before. 

Needless to say, if it hadn't been for Dirk, none of them would have made it back as more than a dead pile of flesh. Things had gotten so chaotic so quickly, and it was Dirk's sheer skill and ability that kept them alive. It was he who assessed the situation perfectly throughout their entire retreat and acted to most efficiently keep the group alive. Not only that, but his sense of direction also seemed to be perfect since they wasted no time at all searching for the haven. If it were anyone else, they would have run aimlessly forever, the chaos clouding their judgment. By the time they realized that they needed to go toward the haven, they would have been lost, and it would have been too late. 

Dirk not only protected them but guided them back to safety. Ava could still remember the incredible display of combat he put on during the retreat. How reliable he was in handling the gremlins that became too much for them. In that moment, she saw him as the ultimate pillar of support. Nobody else could move through such a situation with the ruthless stability that he did. And it was this security that helped her keep her cool through the fight. 

She wasn't the only one. While the group didn't immediately break down, it was close to. It would only take one person giving out and dying to kill the morale and fight of the rest. But because of Dirk, that never happened. Dirk became their backbone. 

Ava already admired Dirk, but now his group did too. Alec looked at the stoic and quiet teen in a whole new light. He also looked back and sought to learn from Dirk's display. Not his combat skills, but his leadership. When everything went to hell, it was he that stepped up. Such a trait was most valuable in a proper leader. It earned respect, and Alec, who now respected Dirk, wanted to earn his own respect in that way.

The three continued to ponder the night before. After a while, Jaxon also woke up. The first thing Alec did was heal his surprisingly few wounds, earning him profuse thanks. Jaxon then went on to thank the entire group for protecting him during the retreat. He knew that as high nobles, they had no obligation to help him. It was their valiance and honor that kept him alive. 

This was especially so for Dirk. Jaxon thanked him the most as he knew just how much he protected them. As the one who didn't hardly fight, Jaxon watched the others the entire time. The things he saw amazed him, but the way Dirk controlled the battle was unmatched. He knew that their being alive was all thanks to Dirk. 

Dirk wasn't great at receiving gratitude though. He looked at Jaxon weirdly as he repeatedly shook his hand and sang praises. Eventually, he just tuned Jaxon out with a blank face until he was finished. Ava stood there with a smile, finding humor in Dirk's struggle.

From there, the five washed up once more and ate some food. By the time they were done, their teacher along with all the other students came back. All of them huffed as they went to their tents, light blood stains all over their armor. Seeing that Dirk's group was alive and humming, the teacher walked up to them with a smile.

"I came across your handiwork from last night. I'm impressed. Here."

Saying that, the teacher tossed them a large bag. Alec caught it with both his hands and opened it up, finding a full sack of magic crystals and eyeballs. The number surprised even Alec. 

"Tell me, how many gremlins do you think you guys killed last night?"

"Uhh..."

"867."

"..."

Suddenly, Dirk blurted out the number. Everyone looked at him with surprise, causing him to shrink back a bit.

"I count things."

"Hm, I guess so. I counted about that many too. Among them were around 74 Rank 3 gremlins. Those things aren't nearly as easy to kill, so good job. Honestly, I'm surprised you all are alive. The reason I said to be back before darkness fell was because of the very situation you encountered. To see in the dark, you would need to light up your area, and the gremlins flock to the light even from far away. They follow the cries of their brethren as well. Plus, since they would then be in a group, they become exceptionally hostile. Night time in this dungeon is absolutely the most dangerous time to be out. But you all survived despite pulling in damn near the entire dungeon. Truly, you impress me."

Hearing the teacehr, the group was surprised once more. All except Dirk, who knew exactly how much of what he killed. During the retreat, he had needed to exert more energy to handle the rank 3's quickly. Luckily the gremlins weren't inherently difficult to kill, otherwise things would be different. As for them being lucky to be alive, they truly were. It wasn't hard to know that they made a huge mistake in being out too long. Dirk doubted that they would be able to survive such mistakes in harder dungeons, so he made a note to collect more information next time.

Hearing the number of gremlins they killed, Alec felt the weight of the bag once more. It was surprisingly heavy, and considering the fact that it was filled with magic crystals and eyeballs, that meant there was truly a lot inside. However, he thought for a bit before walking up to Dirk and stuffing the bag in his hands.

"This is yours."

"There are five of us, so I assume we'll split it evenly."

"There wouldn't be five of us if it weren't for you. The money you get from it is yours. Besides, if we go purely by kills, most of it is yours anyway."

Alec chuckled. Dirk looked at the bag before nodding. He had never really needed to buy anything for himself, but it was nice to actually earn something from his own effort. The group smiled, and the teacher smiled at them with a knowing expression. 

After a bit more conversation, the teacher sent the group to the bathing room where their armor was washed. After, he began rounding up the students and having them pack. Everyone was eager as they broke down their tents and bagged their items. In about an hour, every student was outside the haven pointed back to the dungeon entrance. 

........

"Ah! Fresh air!"

"I don't want to come back here ever again."

"Thankfully we at least got loot. I wonder how much these crystals will go for."

As they exited the dungeon, all the students sighed in relief. They were all still covered in grime and smelled, but none of them cared as they embraced the fresh air and bright sun. 

"Alright! Follow me to the association, and we'll sell your loot."

"Yes!"

The teacher waved all the eager students over. They walked down a couple streets before arriving at a large stone building. They all piled inside and were greeted with a large restaurant and reception area. The teacher walked ahead and let the receptionist know what they wanted to do. Money was quickly prepared, as were boxes for items. 

"Alright, how about we let Alec's group go first."

Calling them up, the students watched as Alec walked over in front with his group. Jaxon, who was still holding bags, put the bags full of eyeballs and magic crystals on the counter.

*Clang!*

The bag slammed with rocky weight. A pile of magic crystals fell out. Nearly all the crystals swirled with earth mana while some held air mana. They were all about as big as a marble, and the receptionist looked at a few.

"Grade 2 crystals, red gremlin eyes, and... are these rank 3 gremlin eyes? Impressive."

The receptionist nodded as she started counting out the crystals. She poured out the bag in a box, and the crystals rolled out like a flood. A panel on the box suddenly lit up with a couple runes, the lady translating it quickly before speaking. 

"793 grade 2 crystals, 74 grade 3 crystals, 1586 red eyes, and 148 black eyes. With a rate of 15 silver for the grade 2 crystals, 370 silver for the grade 3 crystals, 6 silver for the red eyes, and 150 silver for the black eyes, we come out with a grand total of 70 gold and 800 silver."

Saying that, the receptionist grabbed 70 gold coins and 800 silver ones. The gold coins were large, while the silver ones were like tokens. After laying out all the money, she piled it into a sack with the sweet clangs of precious metal. Pushing forward the bag, she grabbed the box full of eyes and crystals, bringing it into a back room. 

"...Is this a lot?"

Dirk asked as Alec grabbed the bag. 

From what Dirk learned, this world worked on a system of coins that were issued by each empire. The Horizon empire issued their own standard coins in the forms of silver as the lowest value, gold as the middle, and crystal as the highest value. It was 1000 silver for a gold, and 1000 gold for a crystal. 

Dirk had never spent any money on his own though, so he wasn't sure how much 70 gold would get him. This was basically his first time even seeing it personally. Alec pondered how to answer his question for a second.

"To our parents, 70 gold is nothing. A Marquess can easily handle tens of, if not hundreds of thousands of crystal currency. However, if we were normal kids at our levels, then 70 gold would be decent. It'll handle living expenses and food for a good while. Though if you ever wanted to get a weapon repaired or buy armor, you'd be forking out much more than 70 gold. There isn't much that costs silver, and everything that does is more aimed toward ordinary people like clothes, manaless food, and other basic items. So is 70 gold a lot? For you, not really."

"I see."

Dirk nodded at the useful explanation. It seemed like he would need a lot more money if he wanted to maintain a top notch lifestyle like the one his parents afforded him. He also realized how much money his parents had access to. How much did his mother spend on his armor? Dirk thought about asking her. 

After getting their money, the group gave Dirk 62 gold while everyone else took two. The rest of the students then went up, pouring out their own loot. Unfortunately, there was a pitiful amount of crystals and eyes compared to Dirk's group. None of the groups gained more than a couple gold as it didn't look like any of them killed the rank 3 gremlins which gave the most money. 

Finally, when they were all done, the teacher led them to the outer area of the town. There, several carriages were waiting to take them back to the academy, concluding their 2 day dungeon dive. Ava was excited as she pulled Dirk into the carriage, eager to go back to a nice house. He rolled his eyes, wondering how she would fare against a few week long dungeon dive. 

............

"Home at last! Alright, I'm gonna bathe."

Ava cried out as they walked into Dirk's house. On the way, she had stopped by her dorm to grab fresh clothes. Now, she was heading up to the bathroom to wash up. Although they had taken a dip in water after their night battle, it didn't do much to wash them. She planned on cleaning up thoroughly.

Dirk smiled a bit as she ran up the stairs. Since it was already past midday, he decided to cook up a meal. 

However, it wasn't until an hour later when Ava walked down with damp hair. The first thing she saw was Dirk casually clearing off plates of food. It was one of their normal meals for both of them, but he had eaten most of it. She gawked.

"Ah, why did you eat it all?!"

"Next time don't take an hour in the bath. I cooked this half an hour ago. It was gonna get cold."

"So what? I only fell asleep for a bit! You couldn't wait?"

"Fell asleep?"

"I-I was tired."

Ava reddened as she scratched her head. Dirk looked at her with a dumb face before shaking his head. How does one fall asleep in the bathtub?

"Whatever. We always eat together, so don't take so long next time."

"Or you can tell me and we can eat before I go wash up."

"You seemed pretty eager to wash."

"I was covered in gremlin blood! Do you know how disgusting that is?!"

"I was covered in it too."

"You're not normal! Ugh, whatever. I'll finish the rest." 

Sulking, Ava sat down and ate the rest of the food on the table. Dirk grinned before heading up to wash himself, flicking Ava's forehead on the way past her.