When the dragon and wolf duo reached the Dharnas compound, the sun had already set and dusk just passed. The guard in front of the gate greeted the young miss quite eagerly, as the master of the house had inquired about her several times already, which made a stream of cold sweat drop off his brows. Compared to other families, this was the equivalent of bothering him every time he turned around, the marshal rarely even inspected their work so it meant a lot if he asked more than once.

Nisha noticed his concern and calmly greeted him, yet she wondered why he seemed so relieved when she passed his station. Regardless of his unusual behaviour, the elf advanced to the stables first and let her contracted beast rest after a day of exercise and hunting. The wolf did not complain either and quickly rolled together on the ground, happy to be in a familiar terrain.

After Little Lia was sufficiently cared for and bid her master a good night, her master entered the mansion and foundHenry, Luthais and Galanall together in the dining room. Due to her entrance the conversation lulled, then each of them greeted her and invited her to sit down with them.

I will go and serve dinner now, Milord.

The old butler excused himself and Nisha realized that the entire group had been waiting to have their meal until she was home.

She quickly found her seat and greeted the remaining two Dharnas men.

You didnt need to wait for me to dine. Our trip just ended and you probably had to wait for quite a while.

Deep inside the dragon felt quite touched to receive their concern and cherished her family, although she was only adopted into the Dharnas household. She resolved herself to return something to them, even if the elf could never completely repay them.

No, its better to gather everyone and share the meal. Its not an inconvenience and a sign of good manners.

Luthais dignified manners came from a long service period at the royal court. His explanation was concise and offered a way out for everyone, even if he really did not mind waiting for the adopted daughter of the house.

Then I wont be polite.

Since it was arranged that way, Nisha did not make a fuss either and quickly took her seat while Galan and his wife arranged the dishes. Normally this task was supposed to be handled by the servants, but most of them already retired for the evening and only left the old couple available for the job.

As the master of the entire household, the half elf was the first to breach a topic and initiate a conversation. Over an exquisite dish, his cutlery lightly moved while Luthais eyes swept over Henry and Nisha.

You attended the first outing of the turn, right? I remember that there has been a proposal from the academy that made its way on my desk. How did the excursion go, were there any mishaps?

A marshal had many duties pertaining to the security of the capital. Since the [Royal Academy] belonged to the kingdom itself, there were many protocols and necessary arrangements when an entire batch of children belonging to the wealthy and mighty inhabitants prepared to set out for the Wilderness. It was not unusual for Luthais to be informed about their outing.

Overall it was a very rewarding experience. I formed a group together with two of my friends from the warrior class and we earned a lot of contribution points as well as fighting experience. Our mission this time around pertained [Stone Wooled Sheep] and [Bronze Fleece Sheep], hence the difficulty was not too high. How about you, Henry?

After living in the Dharnas Estate for a while, the elf had recognized the characters of almost all residents. Luthais valued brevity and honesty in the reports meant for him. The flattering and flowery words used by nobles and rich merchants gave him a headache, he was a through and through military man. Hearing the summary from this adopted daughter, he nodded his head and looked at his son instead.

Wow, I remember that. We also went on a trip when I was in my first turn to hunt down [Bronze Fleece Sheep], however it was not our first trip. Maybe we hunted [Horned Frogs]? The highlight back then was a [Twin Horned Frog] that a group brought back, even the teachers praised them for hunting down the leader.

As for my class and me, we did not have as much luck as you, it seems there was no suitable mission and we headed into the Dungeon as usual. I got lucky and found a gold golem at the third rank and several [Blood Crystal Deer], so I got a lot of merit points. And with my contracted monsters, I had no trouble at all to hunt on my own. Since it was a good chance to improve our teamwork, its also the first time I brought my [Guardian Griffin] and [Cerulean Sky Owl] out for a round trip.

Under Henrys loving care, the two monsters had rapidly grown up, especially combined with his third rank aura. The griffin grew as big as a horse and rippled with supple muscle all over its legs and possessed strong claws, while the owl remained small enough to nest on his shoulder. It was not to be underestimated though, the innate technique it inherited from its race held considerable might. Named [Azure Sky Dive] the small bird rapidly rushed towards a target and sliced it up with a sky blue edge of aura coating its wings. Combined with the owls small size, close to none of the targets escaped when it set eyes on them.

You didnt go out and make a trip in the Wilderness? I recall that the instructors mentioned that we should accustom ourselves to various difficult terrains since we will have more chances to go out in the future.

It surprised the dragon to hear that her step brother did not go on a similar outing. When the lead warrior instructed them previously, he underlined how each class would go on wilderness training sessions. Now Henry recounted how he entered the Dungeon, and his experiences.

How come your class did not go on an excursion? Did something go wrong?

No, why do you ask? Is there something wrong?

Apparently the young man did not see the issue at all. Galan, his wife and Luthais also looked at her with a question in their expression.

Well, for the warrior trip, dont you usually go and take out a bunch of monsters in the Wilderness? Didnt you go to the Dungeon? I dont understand how that goes together.

She helped herself to a good portion of the meal as well. Although most elfs had an aversion against meat and lived mainly vegetarian, this household maintained a healthy balance between meat dishes and vegetarian variety. Nisha herself had no qualms to eat either kind and relished the chance to fill herself after a long day of hunting and fighting.

Oh that. I understand what you mean. We dont really have a choice though.

At first Luthais was quite puzzled what they were talking about, even when she spelled it out. Only after connecting the odd ends did he figure out the issue.

The half-elf cleared his throat and explained for everyone.

Its difficult to find enough missions suitable for third and fourth rank warriors and magicians. Compared to humans, monsters similarly have a great number of lower ranked monsters and only those without strength have to settle near human civilization. Unless there are special circumstances, at most first and second rank monsters dwell on the edges of the forest.

Therefore, the advanced turns do not always get a quest assigned when the time for the trip comes around. And in the rare case that a fourth ranked monster is reported to the guild, it is often ruled as an emergency mission and a team of adventurers gets dispatched.

While the head of the house expounded on the matter at hand, the others quietly emptied their plates. Even Nisha sneaked one or two bites in while she listened.

So unless there are exceedingly favorable circumstances, the third and fourth turns usually have to replace the Wilderness training with a session in the Dungeon.

One of the reasons why the cards you were issued at the registration also function as membership cards for the [Adventurers Guild]. As for the specifics it depends on the season, during the winter the food shortage sometimes forces higher ranked monsters out of the deep Wilderness.

There are other conditions as well but generally you will see the inside of the Dungeon more often than not when your strength exceeds a certain level. Its just not reasonable to travel that far in a single day.

While the marshal held a monologue, the others in the room generally quieted down and paid rapt attention. For a civilian it was exceedingly rare to get information about the Wilderness. Everyone only knew the term and heard about the dangers lurking in the shadows, but no one really had any details. Those that braved into the unknown generally ended updead or missing, which really meant the same thing but was nicer to hear.

Hence the academy coordinates with the guild and the city watch to organize the trips. Of course the students also get a chance to fight in real conditions as long as there is the opportunity.

It just does not happen that often.

Luthais chuckled at the last sentence and although she did not find it as funny as the old man, she still smiled and thanked him for the explanation.

Among the current members, only Galan had ventured beyond the safety of the official roads.

Thinking back to the days where he roamed through all the lands together with that old fogey he missed the old man, what he would give to share a dinner table with him again.

His wife noticed the misted eyes and melancholic expression and squeezed his hand under the table.

Thankfully no one besides them noticed their small exchange, Galan had some pride to uphold after all.

Nisha respectfully chose not to mention anything she saw with her [Spirit Sight] and focused on her plate.

I understand, that makes sense. Fighting against different monsters in the Dungeon should be good practice too. I wonder, why is it different to fight in the Wilderness then?

After going through a few lightning quick thought processes in her mind, the dragon raised another question.

Just as though he expected the question, Luthais smiled with benevolence, he had a very similar conversation in the past when his son first started to attend the academy.

Indeed, there are differences. For example, you can only harvest a small amount of materials from a monster slain in the Dungeon. Then there is no essence left and the remaining body is next to worthless. Even then, all resources excavated from there are slightly inferior in quality compared to the same one found in the wild.

Therefore it is harder to harvest goods from the Dungeon and the academy also gives less merit points for them.

Henry took up the conversation, he also knew the answer now. And from the standpoint of a senior from the same school, it was his duty to pass down the knowledge.

Aside from that, there is a distinct contrast in the behaviour.

In the wild there are many possible outcomes when you confront a monster. It might fight you, plunder your camp, run away or even stalk you before assessing you as a greater threat and leave.

In the Dungeon, however, there is only a single result whenever you encounter anything that does not speak the same language as yourself. A fight to the death.

As a consequence, its not a good preparation to only fight in the same place with only a single setting. Theres much more in Ator than just a dungeon.

Mixed in his otherwise merry voice, Henry expressed a longing for a greater stage, a sky beyond his current sky.

The rest of the dinner was spent exchanging various stories regarding their experiences on past warrior trips and Galan even convinced Luthais to share a story after he filled his wine glass a few more times than on a normal day.

In the end the family had a good time and retired for the night. Since the following two days did not require the young generation to attend the [Royal Academy] Henry announced that he wanted to sleep in really late, while Nisha had yet to decide on what to do.

When she returned to her room, she basked in the remaining warmth of family and burrowed deep into her covers,with a golden wolf replacing a big and furry pillow on her side.When the stables were closed for the night, the clever wolf ascended the house facade and sneaked into Nishas room to be with her master after sating her hunger.

The sun had set long ago and the elf closed her eyes, tired from a long day full of adventure and excitement and ready to escape into the dream land.