"That sounds serious," Elaine commented. "But this can't be the first time the Town of Thaloria has dealt with a monster outbreak, right?"
Cynthia nodded. "Over the past two hundred years, there had been three monster outbreaks, each of which destroyed at least half of the town."
"That's right." Efa sighed. "My grandfather was a survivor of the last monster outbreak. He said that if Thaloria faced a calamity once again, I must leave and head to the capital city to ensure my safety."
As Alex listened from the side, he uncontrollably felt some doubt as to whether a monster outbreak was truly going to happen.
He still had knowledge about the game. The Town of Thaloria was the starting point of the players when they chose to begin their adventure in the Kingdom of Avalon, so it should be safe.
That said, he could only think of two possibilities.
First, the monster outbreak did happen. However, it was dealt with before it reached the city.
The second possibility was that the monster outbreak didn't happen, and the rumors spreading around the town merely came from the townsfolk's anxiety.
Both possibilities were likely. But truth be told, Alex was starting to feel unsure whether the events in the game would still follow their due course.
Perhaps noticing his slightly pale face, Dim Dim lightly tapped his hand and smiled at him.
"Dim!" Dim Dim said as he took out a bamboo steamer filled with white custard buns.
"Thank you, Dim Dim," Alex smiled and took one of the buns to eat. "Delicious."
"Dim Dim~" The Dim Sum God's smile widened, making the atmosphere at the table ease up a bit.
"Anyway, if a monster outbreak does happen, what will you do, Alex?" Seren asked. "Will you evacuate with the townsfolk and head to the capital?"
The young man pondered a bit before peeking at his Master, who was quietly sipping his wine.
"Master, are you going to stay?" Alex asked.
"Yes," Cairo replied. "I've always wanted to experience a monster outbreak at least once in my lifetime."
The warriors, listening to Cairo's words, nodded in agreement.
"I can brag to my children and grandkids that I took part in a defense against a monster outbreak. That will be an amazing story to tell," Elaine commented.
"Uh... I'm torn." Efa sighed. "If Elaine stays, I feel like I should stay as well. She will probably haunt me in my dreams if she kicks the bucket, then blame me for it."
"Hahaha! I won't do that."
"... You say that now, but what if you really haunt me for life?"
Seren drank her wine silently while listening to the friendly banter of the two girls, whom she had momentarily fought side by side with.
Truth be told, she planned to stay in the Town of Thaloria to defend it.
Two of her friends had died protecting her from the goblins. She wouldn't be able to forgive herself if she simply ran away without doing anything.
Cynthia's thought was roughly along the same line. Back then, she had also wanted to die and had even tried to commit suicide when she had been captured, refusing to be treated as a broodmare by the goblins.
However, the goblin shaman had put her to sleep, preventing her from taking her life.
Thinking back, if she had succeeded with her plan, then she wouldn't have been saved by Alex.
Although the young man didn't know it, Cynthia planned to repay him for saving her life.
"I think I'll stay as well," Alex said after careful consideration. "If I can't survive this monster outbreak, then surviving the Dungeon of Beginnings will be impossible."
Cairo and the four girls looked at Alex in disbelief.
"Are you talking about THE Dungeon of Beginnings?" Efa asked. "The dungeon spanning over the Mistral Mountains that connects the Capital City of Harmonia with the south-eastern regions of the Kingdom of Avalon?"
"Pfft!" Elaine chuckled before lightly patting his shoulder. "You're funny, Alex. The Dungeon of Beginnings is nothing compared to a monster outbreak. Besides, as long as you stay on the first floor of the dungeon, the enemies you'll face are Rank 1 Monsters at most."
"That's right." Seren nodded. "Wait, are you perhaps going to take the entrance exam for Frieden Academy? Is that the reason why you plan to challenge the Dungeon of Beginnings?"
"Something like that," Alex replied.
"Hehehe, do you want us to help you clear that dungeon?" Efa, who was confident that she wouldn't lose to Rank 1 Monsters, proposed. "You can treat it as my way of repaying my debt to you for saving my life."
"Oh, that sounds good." Elaine crossed her arms over her chest. "I never thought of that. Alex, just say the word, and I'll help you clear that dungeon."
"The only annoying thing about the Dungeon of Beginnings is that the layout shifts every twelve hours. It's basically impossible to map. Also, there are plenty of entrances. So, which one are you planning to take?"
"The Entrance at Briarwood Village," Alex answered without hesitation.
"Briarwood Village?" Seren frowned. "That's a very remote village. It will take you a day to reach that place by airship. Do you really have to go there?"
"Yes." Alex nodded. "It has to be Briarwood Village."
"Can you tell us why?" Efa, who was now genuinely curious about why the young man wanted to go to that town no matter what.
Alex didn't answer right away. Instead, he pondered for a while on how to answer her question.
"I want to see a friend that I still haven't met," he finally answered.
"You want to meet a friend you still haven't met?" Seren blinked. "Can you really say that the two of you are friends even if you still haven't met each other?"
"No," Alex replied. "And that's the reason why I want to see him, so we can be friends."
Cairo felt that there was something more to Alex's story, but he didn't try to pry into his disciple's private matters.
In the end, the group ate, drank, and talked about each other's adventures, putting aside all problems for the time being.
If the monster outbreak did happen, then they would just act accordingly. Until then, they would just focus on this happy moment and celebrate their escape from the hands of their captors.
Meanwhile, inside the Floating Forest...
The Goblin Chieftain and the Orc Chieftain were having a meeting.
The orcs ruled the north of the forest, while the goblins ruled the south.
Since the orcs were mostly located deep in the forest, they were rarely seen by people.
Most of the time, adventurers would find themselves faced with groups of hobgoblins hunting together. This was why only those who were confident in their skills would venture near the center of the Floating Forest.
The Orc Chieftain and the Goblin Chieftain exchanged a cup of blood with each other, sealing their temporary alliance.
Their numbers had increased exponentially over the decade and, with it, friction between the two groups had grown tense as of late.
The only way to resolve the problem was to expand their territory, and the only way to do that was to conquer the nearby town.
As long as they managed to succeed in their plans, they would have a stronghold they could use to rule over the southern regions of the Kingdom of Avalon.
With the alliance sealed by the pact of blood, they would now start preparing their armies for the invasion of the Town of Thaloria, which stood between them and the wide world that was theirs for the taking.