The next day, bright and early in the morning, two lines of knights flanked the main road from the palace to the main gates. 

Having left the city, past the fanfare, a large group of adventurers made their way towards the newly discovered dungeon. This group was composed of several different smaller groups, the six main adventurers planning on delving into the dungeon along with a few other parties that would be stationed nearby, ready to clean up any escaping monsters. Among these clean up parties were the Ass Clap Associates along with the duo formed by Frazer and Callum. 

With a guide from the adventurers guild leading the way, the group made steady progress towards the dungeon, clearing out any wandering monsters they came across. 

One duo in particular, Sasha and Jayce, were enjoying themselves, as being part of an expedition outside of the palace walls was always a rare occurrence for them, reminiscent of their past adventuring days. 

“I forgot the burden that comes with wearing armor...” Jayce muttered, carrying his long spear and shield on his back, “It’s so much worse than casual clothes...”

Laughing due to the fact she herself wore very light armor, Sasha knocked on the heavier parts of Jayce’s armor, teasing, “You’ve gotten weak then! Remember when we’d spend days in these outfits? You’re already complaining it hasn’t even been an hour yet!”

“You’re definitely right about that,” Jayce agreed, pushing his hair out of his face while plodding through the undergrowth behind Dexter, “I’m sure it’ll be fine once we start fighting, we’ve both kept in shape after all...”

“That’s tru-” Sasha replied before getting smacked in the face by a thin branch, “...That’s true.”

In contrast, all the while, Dexter had been plowing through the undergrowth, his muscular body uncaring about the small branches and bushes, allowing him to bulldoze past any and all obstacles. 

Kaitlyn, on the other hand, had been moving around the group they were traveling in, taking turns talking to the people she was familiar with. She’d spend some time talking with Dexter, then Jayce and Sasha, then move backward and talk with the otherworlders. 

At that moment, Kaitlyn was talking with Rachel and Josephine, asking about the progress they had made on training, “Would you say you’re making progress or not really? It is hard to tell though...”

“I’d say so,” Josephine lamented, kicking a rock to the side while strolling along behind the conversing Damien and Oliver, “It’s definitely slow progress, sometimes I can do a little, sometimes it completely eludes me.” 

Understanding Josephine’s struggles, Rachel pushed aside a tree branch to not repeat Sasha’s mistake, sympathizing, “I get that, I’m having a similar experience I’d say. Some days I feel like I can see where I’m supposed to go, other days... not at all.”

“I... see,” Kaitlyn sighed, pushing aside a bush of her own, “I mean... All I can really say is continue practicing, if you can see it at all that means you’re able to get to that point, so then what determines it would be how much time and effort you put into practice.”

“Yeahhh... that’s the plan...” Josephine agreed with a sigh, motivation and dread both present in her eyes, “We’ll make sure to make you proud, Teacher Kaitlyn.”

--------

With the sun high in the sky, the party came to a stop having arrived at the cave settlement where the original ogres had been found. 

“We’ve arrived!” Dexter’s booming voice informed everyone, scaring off several smaller birds from the trees they had been in, “Although its early, we’re going to be having an early lunch before heading into the spooooky scaaarrry dungeon!” 

Punching Dexter in the arm for his last comment, Jayce then stepped up, no longer bantering with Sasha and Kaitlyn, focusing on the task at hand, “As this is a guild sponsored expedition, as explained in the original summons, the Adventurer’s guild along with the Royal Palace have partnered to bring everyone food, so no need to worry about that!”

Several small cheers breaking out among the adventurers and accompanying guild staff, Jayce waved over a palace attendant who had been guiding along a horse and cart. 

Among the cheers was Alix, who, remembering now the information on the summons, turned to high-five Nao, cheering, “Free food!! I don’t have to eat the random fruits I packed in my bag! Life is good...”

“No... no wonder your bag is so big...” Nao murmured, meeting Alix’s outstretched hand with a weak high-five, “I feel like you need to work on your reading comprehension...”

Fluttering their hand, Alix denied, shaking their head with vigor, “As long as I don’t starve, I’m fine! It would’ve been much worse if the situation was reversed! With me expecting food but then not having any!”

Nodding along in agreement, Nao couldn’t help but marvel at the total difference between the public’s perception of Alix versus the true reality that was Alix.

‘Alix has such a cool reputation, the cool androgynous beauty that charms both men, women, and everyone in between. There are even, like, public gatherings where Alix shows up and... is cool. I could never do those poses that Alix does... Yet, I feel like Alix is the most dense and fidgety person I’ve ever met at the same time. Weird feeling... I wonder how Alix’s fanclub would react knowing this side of them.’

At the same time, Dexter, who was very keen on the different fan clubs formed on the adventurers in his own guild, such as those on him and his old party along with the new up and coming adventurers, scarfed down his food while pondering over both Alix and Nao. 

Having similar thoughts about Alix as Nao, a little less deep, however, as he didn’t know Alix as well, Dexter also marveled at the difference between Nao’s reputation and his actual personality. 

‘His reputation is one of, like, a hard boiled egg, always serious and upright. Running a school from a very young age and stuff. But in actuality... he’s just a big softie. That’s good for our future as adventurers though, not only muscular and in shape, but also kind!’

‘... Oh yeah, there were certainly rumors of him having a few younger siblings, I guess I’ll have to ask about that sometime.’

Esiyx

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