n

n

nGeth woke up again a few hours later, this time with his pants on. He looked around the makeshift tent.

nLight filtered through the makeshift canvas, causing him to squint his eyes. After a few seconds of adjustment, he found Sindri sleeping on some furs not far from his.

nShe lay still with her arms crossed over her chest. The light shining through the canvas highlighted her already prominent features.

nGeth stood and lay his blanket over her before donning his equipment once more. He found that his body seemed relatively weak without it.

n'Well, let's see what the rest are like,' Geth thought. He could hear the ruckus from outside making its way into the tent.

n

"-indri see in this guy anyway? We should have just left him in the pit.

" One of the voices said in an annoyed tone.

n

"Now, you know that isn't her character. She wouldn't leave anyone in a place like that.

"

n

"Yeah, but why does he get to stay in the tent?!

" The first voice complained again.

nGeth chuckled softly and lifted the tent flap, stepping out into the morning sun. Three heads turned to look at him, two with curiosity and one with a glare.

nHe nodded at the three young men and proceeded to look around the area. They were somewhere inside of a forest.

nIt looked like they hadn't traveled too far from where the Dungeon once was. Geth could sense odd Mana fluctuations and pick up on some of the strange red Mana as well.

n

"Morning, fellas. I appreciate you boys looking after me while I was out.

"

n

"Boy? Who does this man think he is?

" Geth caught the swordsman muttering under his breath.

nThe boy was tall and carried an impressively large sword on his back. His reddish-orange hair stood out in the morning sun.

nA chubby boy beside him elbowed him in the gut and glared at him. The large boy had brown hair and a bit of a cleft chin. A few undersized axes hung from his waist.

n

"It's nice to see you awake, sir. My name is Peter, my rude friend here is Jack, and the guy with the glasses is Rift. I suppose you've already met Sindri.

"

nGeth nodded,

"It's a pleasure to meet all of you. And yes, Sindri took great care of me.

"

nGeth gave a meaningful stare to Jack as he said this. It seemed like it would be fun to get the boy riled up.

nIt turned out that his hunch was spot on. Jack's face flushed, and his glare only became more irate.

n

"Hahaha! I like this guy!

" Rift touched the rim of his glasses and laughed at Jack's distress.

nJack became even more flustered and stomped off into the woods. This left Geth with the two he found worth his time.

n

"Don't mind him. He's had a crush on Sindri since she first transferred to our school,

" Peter informed him.

n

"Ha! Sorry about that. I was able to tell and couldn't resist the fun.

" Geth walked over and sat on a log near the two boys.

n

"So, what were you guys doing out this way?

" Geth asked curiously.

n

"We aren't the only ones, sir. Hundreds of the others saw the explosion and came to investigate. We just managed to get here first!

" Peter answered him.

n

"Ahh, you can drop the sir if you like. My name is Geth, and I'm probably no more than ten years older than you lot.

"

n

"Well, Geth, may I ask what you were doing bloodied and past out in the center of that calamity? And even more important, how could you survive something like that!?

"

nThe thin young man with the glasses leaned forward as he asked this. His long black hair was pulled back into a ponytail.

n'This guy really looks like an anime character.' Geth couldn't help but notice the resemblance to most of the cocky characters with glasses he'd seen.

n

"The Boss of the Dungeon that was there self-destructed. I managed to get lucky, is all.

" It wasn't that far from the truth.

n

"You're saying that you made it to the final Boss of a Team Dungeon all by yourself? Pfft. Could you be any more of a liar?

"

nThe red-haired young man walked back to the encampment from behind a nearby tree. Geth knew that he hadn't actually walked away.

nThe sensation of his Mana was almost blatant. His presence was akin to a small beacon to Geth's senses.

nGeth just shrugged. He didn't particularly care what they thought of him, though he was thinking of using them.

n'Based on their ages, they should be recent graduates or seniors in high school. I may be able to find more recruits through them,' Geth thought.

n

"Why do you have to be such a dick, Jack?

" Peter asked him.

nJack glared at his friend,

"You really believe this guy's nonsense?

"

n

"Who cares?

" Rift asked while shrugging.

"Even if it is a lie, which I doubt, it wouldn't hurt anybody.

"

nJack stomped his feet a few times while huffing. After his tantrum, he drew his sword and pointed it at Geth.

n

"Fight me!

"

nGeth just raised one eyebrow and looked at the guy, 'What an idiot.'

n

"No.

"

n

"See, guys? He's just a little bitch!

"

nSigh

nGeth stood up from where he was resting and looked at the clown. He pulled out a Strength gem from his storage space.

n

"I tell ya what, kid. If you manage to scratch me with that toothpick you have, I'll give you this.

"

nAll three of the boy's jaws dropped.

n

"We've only managed to find a few of these. And look at the quality! Ours can't compare.

"

n

"De-

"

n

"Wait!

" Rift cried out before Jack opened his mouth, earning him another glare.

"What do you get if he loses?

"

nGeth's lips curled up into a smile,

"Not much. I just want to meet with whatever group you came from. You said there were hundreds, right?

"

nRift touched the brim of his glasses and looked into Geth's eyes. After a minute, he nodded to Jack.

n

"Deal!

"

n