The world of Gaia was divided into two factions: humans and monsters.
Humans were the original residents of this world, while the monsters came from the dungeons. Basically, dungeons that could not be captured in time opened as gates, letting monsters out.
But not all dungeons contained mindless monsters that would hunt down humans. Some rare, high-grade dungeons from B-rank and above were more like small worlds.
Some of these worlds contained entities such as Elves, Dwarves, and even dragons.
By completing such dungeons, even humans could obtain racial blessings or awaken dormant bloodlines.
Aria was like that because of her mother. She was born human, yet the moment she came into the world, an Elven lineage responded to her dormant blood.
She directly awakened as an S-rank summoner.
'Talk about being born with a silver spoon in her mouth.'
Soren was quietly jealous. Now that he thought about it, in this group, only he was a weakling with a B-rank class.
It seemed the developers did that specifically to make Evan stand out.
"Hi, I am Sylvia Everhart, and yes, we are going to the F-rank dungeon. Why? Do you want to join us?"
Sylvia immediately perked up as soon as she saw Aria, or rather, when she realised she was an elf.
Even at the Elite Hunter Academy, finding other races was rare. Not only her, but Aurelia and Evan looked curious as well.
"Mmm..., I-if you don't mind, c-can I join you guys? D-Don't worry, I am an S-rank summoner."
Aria was shy by nature. Seeing Sylvia look at her with wide eyes and pure curiosity, she lowered her head slightly, her face flushed.
Still, she mustered up her courage to ask.
"Yes, of course. We were just discussing inviting someone to our group. Since you are a summoner, you can join. Right, guys?"
Fortunately for her, Sylvia had already taken a liking to her, so she made up a random reason.
"Yeah, I don't mind."
While Soren readily agreed with a nod, Evan and Aurelia nodded slightly in response.
"T-thank you...t-then I will be in your care."
Aria smiled beautifully and bowed slightly, befitting her nature.
"Great...you are welcome."
"So...Aira, right? If you don't mind me asking, what is your level?"
"What can you summon? Are they extremely powerful?"
"Can I look at them?"
Sylvia immediately began asking question after question, grabbing Aria's arm naturally, trying to satisfy her curiosity.
For a moment, Aria was a little flustered, but she still answered everything.
From her words, it was clear she could summon both elementals and beasts at the same level as her. The elementals helped buff her teammates, while the beasts helped her in combat.
Surprisingly, she was already level 15.
To be honest, from how strong she seemed, she did not need to form a team with them and could make her own. Yet, she still came for some reason.
"No, I cannot summon multiple beasts at a time. I am still weak."
Aria answered yet another question from Sylvia while her eyes darted briefly toward a handsome figure at the side. Her cheeks flushed slightly.
Although she quickly hid her gaze, Soren, who had been paying attention, noticed her sneaky behaviour.
'Tch, just like in the dating sim, it seems this girl has a crush on Evan.'
Soren knew exactly why this elf joined their party. Despite her shy and timid exterior, she was actually quite shallow inside.
In the dating sim, she liked Evan the most because he looked handsome and dashing. She was the first character to be charmed by him.
'Come to think of it, why did my charm have no effect on her? How much do I need to increase it to see results?'
Soren thought, frowning at the whopping 25 points of charm he had earned. He felt his charm might have been overshadowed by this protagonist.
"Okay, now that we are all here, let's look at the dungeon we are about to enter."
As Soren was thinking randomly, Evan suddenly spoke, grabbing everyone's attention. They had already decided he would be the captain of this team for this exploration.
"The dungeon we choose to enter is an [F-Rank] one called Goblin Nest," he said, showing the screen on his tablet, which he had taken out from his inventory.
---
[-Dungeon Information-]
[Name: Goblin Nest]
[Rank: F]
[Objective: Survival, Exterminate goblins and destroy the Nest Core]
[Final Boss: Goblin Chieftain]
[Boss Level: Lv. 16]
---
It was a very simple dungeon, perhaps even a bit too easy for their team. But since it was their first time entering one together, they didn't want to take any risks.
After all, the deaths and injuries inside the dungeon were real. This wasn't a game where you could magically revive.
Their only comfort was that, since these dungeons were under the control of the Elite Hunter Academy, the chances of an unexpected threat were extremely low.
Not to mention that participants could leave the dungeon at any time, which made the mortality rate nearly zero.
"So… what do you think?"
Once everyone had glanced at the details, Evan asked again. His question was mostly for Aurelia and Aria, since Soren and Sylvia had already agreed.
Soren, in particular, didn't care much.
This exploration wasn't going to end with a mere F-rank Goblin Nest. No matter which dungeon they chose, they would be transported to the E-rank dungeon afterwards anyway.
All because someone had very bad taste. So he might as well go into the one he knew well.
"Umm… I'm okay with it."
"A-as you w-want…"
Evan smiled after getting approval from both Aurelia and Aria and set the tablet aside.
Then he quickly led everyone toward the portal while giving instructions.
"Since everyone agreed, let me roughly explain how we'll fight. I'll take the front as a melee sword fighter and act as the tank, while Aurelia can deal damage from behind me with her spells."
Evan continued in his role as party captain:
"Soren and Aria will take the middle position since they can't properly defend themselves. Soren can fire arrows from mid-range, and if things get hectic, Aria can summon creatures to guard the rear so Soren won't be attacked up close. Sylvia can heal and buff us from the middle."
It was a basic party formation, and everyone immediately agreed.
Although they had never entered a dungeon as a team before, they had studied the theories at school; they just lacked practical experience.
"Okay, then. Let's enter the dungeon and try to complete it as soon as possible."
Seeing that everyone agreed, Evan gave a dashing smile, making Aria flush red before taking the lead in entering the portal in front. Immidiatley behind, Aurelia also entered dissappering right after.
"Let's go too."
Sylvia was also a bit excited and grabbed Aria's arm before walking towards the shimmering gate. From how things went, it seemed Soren would be the last to enter.
But from his sly smile, it didn't seem like he was complaining.
'Perfect...just when I was thinking about completing one of the quests.'
Rather, his eyes were focused on the perky butt of Sylvia, hidden under her long leggings, the sway of her hips looking particularly enticing as if inviting him to reach out and give it a firm, appreciative smack.
Such a good opportunity, how could he let it go to waste?
So, the moment when Sylvia stepped onto the portal and was about to disappear with Aria, Soren quickly closed the distance before the swirling light could swallow her completely.
"Pah!"
Then, to Sylvia's surprise, his hand moved in a swift, playful motion, delivering a light, teasing slap to her perky butt, followed by a slow, lingering caress as his fingers gently squeezed the warm curve through her leggings.
"Ah..."
The tight leggings barely softened the impact, sending a delicious ripple through Sylvia's flesh, eliciting a gasp from her mouth.
Unfortunately, before she could register what just happened, Sylvia disappeared, vanishing into the shimmering void, leaving only the echoing sound of the light slap and the lingering, warm, soft feeling tingling in Soren's palm.