"Name?"
"Jeanne d'Arc."
"Gender?"
"Female."
"Level?"
"Lv.1."
"Age?"
"Nineteen."
Rose looked up from her paperwork, one brow arched.
"Nineteen, huh? Little late to start adventuring." Her gaze flicked toward Lucas. "Still, better than someone I could name."
"Affiliated Familia?"
Jeanne instinctively glanced at Lucas. He gave her a subtle nod.
"Demeter Familia."
"Place of birth?"
Lucas casually tapped the blank space on the form. "That part's optional, right? No need to fill everything in."
Rose's face didn't so much as twitch. She stamped the parchment, filed it away, and handed Jeanne a small metal tag and a badge etched with the Familia crest.
"Keep these safe. Losing them's a pain to fix."
"Thank you." Jeanne tucked them carefully against her chest.
Rose's lips curved into a sly little smile. Leaning forward, she murmured, "Miss d'Arc, you're a real beauty. Be careful around certain men, or you might find yourself… compromised."
Lucas's mouth twitched violently. His face darkened. Without a word, he grabbed Jeanne's wrist and practically dragged her toward the door.
"Take care of yourself, Miss d'Arc!" Rose called after them.
Lucas stumbled mid-step. Under the gleeful stares of gossip-hungry adventurers, he all but fled the Guild lobby in disgrace.
But just as he crossed the threshold, he suddenly turned back. His gaze locked perfectly on Rose behind the counter.
The wolf-girl's eyes narrowed dangerously as she caught his silent mouth movement.
"Nice white stockings."
Her pupils contracted.
The next second—
CRACK!
The cup in her hand exploded into shards. A vein bulged on her temple as she snarled through gritted teeth—
"FFFUUCKK! YOU SON OF A—!"
Adventurer's Avenue.
They didn't stop until they reached a quieter stretch of street. Jeanne finally pulled her hand free and gave Lucas a pointed look.
"So, exactly how long were you planning to keep holding on?"
Lucas didn't even blink. "What, can't hold hands with my own family?"
Jeanne opened her mouth, then closed it again. His shamelessness was… awe-inspiring.
Under the curious stares of passing pedestrians, her cheeks flushed pink. She jerked her hand away.
"There are people watching! Show a little restraint!"
He grinned. "Got it. So, no holding hands, hugging, or kissing outside—but inside's fair game?"
"Lucas!"
"Pff—love you too!"
Jeanne's face went scarlet as she ducked her head, muttering something under her breath that sounded suspiciously like a prayer for patience.
Their bickering carried them all the way to the massive square beneath the legendary Babel Tower, the gleaming white spire that pierced the Orario skyline. The fountain beside them shimmered in the early light.
Jeanne gazed up in awe. "So that's Babel Tower… The Dungeon's right underneath?"
"Yep," Lucas said, hands in his pockets. "From what I've read in the old chronicles, Orario was originally a fortress built to guard the Dungeon. The Tower itself acts as a kind of seal, keeping the monsters from spilling out."
"A place that endlessly spawns monsters…" Jeanne murmured. "It sounds unreal."
"Don't worry," he said with a knowing grin. "You'll see just how real it is soon enough."
Half a month later, fully recovered, Lucas returned to his daily grind in the Dungeon—this time, not alone.
Descending the spiral stairs into the first-floor plaza, Jeanne scanned her surroundings with sharp, disciplined eyes.
"This is the Adventurer's Plaza," Lucas explained. "Safe zone. Once you pass through those tunnels—" he pointed toward the dark corridors ahead—"that's when the real Dungeon starts."
Before he could continue, he noticed the shift in her demeanor. The moment they'd stepped below ground, Jeanne's entire presence had changed.
Her posture relaxed just enough to move freely, but every muscle was coiled tight like a drawn bow.
"Lucas," she whispered, voice low against his ear, "I can feel something… A constant, faint malice all around us. It isn't directed at me—it's like the air itself hates us."
He raised a brow. "Revelation?"
When she nodded, he nodded back. "Makes sense. The Dungeon's alive. It hates intruders. That hostility you're feeling? That's its will."
"The Dungeon… is alive?" Jeanne's tone was calm, but her eyes were wide. The idea stirred something deep and uneasy in her chest.
"So what is the Dungeon, really?" she asked.
Lucas shrugged. "No clue."
And honestly, he didn't care much. Understanding it wasn't as useful as surviving it.
First Floor.
A wet screech echoed through the tunnel. Two shapes clawed their way out of cracks in the wall—freshly spawned Goblins, eyes glowing red, jaws snapping.
"Ah, the classics," Lucas said, stepping aside. "Jeanne, wanna try your hand?"
Jeanne's brows furrowed. The instant she saw them, a wave of soul-deep disgust hit her like ice water. Every fiber of her being screamed kill it.
Her gauntleted hand tightened around the shaft of her flag-spear. With one smooth step forward—
SHHKT! SHHKT!
Before the monsters even closed the distance, her weapon flashed twice, clean and merciless. Both Goblins dropped with twin thuds, neat holes through their skulls.
Expression flat, Jeanne flicked her wrist, scattering the foul green blood from her blade. The revulsion slowly eased.
"…Damn," Lucas muttered from behind, staring. He opened his mouth, then closed it again. Something about that moment had felt… off.
"You, uh… seem to really hate Goblins," he said finally. "Pretty sure that was your first time seeing one."
Jeanne blinked, then frowned thoughtfully. "It's strange. I just—knew. I had to destroy them. My Revelation was flaring the whole time, warning me to eliminate them immediately."
Lucas's eye twitched. That's a hell of a holy guidance skill.
Still, he couldn't exactly argue. Goblins were vile, especially to someone literally titled "Holy Maiden." No wonder her instincts went nuclear.
They pushed deeper. Each floor blurred into the next.
Every ambush, every encounter ended the same way—Jeanne's spear moved faster than the monsters could blink.
"Yeah…" Lucas sighed after the third floor. "At this rate, the early levels are just sightseeing for you. Let's skip ahead—focus on observing the monsters and terrain for now."
She didn't argue. For her, these weaklings weren't a challenge.
Lucas, a self-taught newbie who'd clawed his way up from nothing, had to earn every inch of progress down here. But Jeanne? Jeanne was a battle-hardened veteran from a literal war. She didn't need practice—just data.
Once she understood the Dungeon's ecology, she'd adapt her tactics instantly.
Floor 2.
Floor 3.
Floor 4.
Floor 5.
Floor 6.
Only then did they slow down.
Jeanne moved like a dancer forged from steel—every thrust clean, every pivot effortless. The flag-spear whirled through the air with sharp precision and impossible grace. Even Lucas found himself staring, momentarily forgetting to breathe.
When he finally remembered to collect the loot, he handed her his water pouch. "Here. Hydrate."
Jeanne shook her head, perfectly composed. "I'm fine. That barely counts as warm-up."
"…"
He took a long swig himself. Watching her, not even winded, he couldn't help but mutter, "Unbelievable… The gap between people is bigger than the gap between man and beast."
"What was that?" she asked.
"Nothing."
And then—his vision flickered. Golden text appeared before his eyes.
[Jeanne d'Arc has slain a Goblin. You gained +1 EXP.]
[Jeanne d'Arc has slain a Kobold. You gained +1 EXP.]
"…Wait. What—"
[Jeanne d'Arc has slain a Dungeon Lizard. You gained +1 EXP.]
"PFFFT!"
Lucas choked mid-drink, eyes going wide as realization hit like lightning.
She kills monsters—and I get experience too?!
"Holy—!"
His heart pounded as excitement flooded through him. The impossible problem he'd been wrestling with for weeks—solved, just like that!
As long as they were in the same Familia, any kill from his teammates counted for him too.
That meant… once the Familia grew, his growth rate would skyrocket.
For the first time in his life, Lucas looked at the future—and grinned like a maniac.