Orario, that's the name of the city where the dreams of all men and women come true. These words are popular all over the world. The city is known as the labyrinth, and it provides everything a person could want: fame, money, power, and even love.
The reason this city is so special? It's quite simple, actually. Orario has only one underground labyrinth known as the Dungeon, and above it, there was a huge city. The city, or rather, the city that flourished because of the guild that managed the Dungeon, had a variety of people living in it, not just humans, but also other races.
As for the people who enter the Dungeon and continue to obtain payment from there to ensure their livelihood, they are called adventurers. There are countless adventurers all over Orario, scattered throughout the gigantic city.
The city where dreams come true.
Many men and women go to the city because of these words, but there was a special event that would change the course that this "peaceful" city was taking. That was…
(Somewhere in Orario.)
Blink
In a dull and empty room like any inn's, a man lived there, looking sharply at the ceiling. He wasn't very productive, he had just kept his eyes on the ceiling for the last few hours, waiting for the dawn. Some would say it was a tedious action, but given the man's origins, it was truly a gift to have so much time to just do nothing.
Glare.
The sun finally reached his eyes, making him instantly stand up and begin to prepare for a new day.
After getting ready, the man caught himself staring at his reflection in the mirror.
His perfectly aligned straight blond hair on a strong and delicate face. Blue-green eyes, deeply embedded in the sockets, watch his current appearance carefully. Pointed ears that left a convincing reminder of hidden talents that his clearly elven nature represented.
This is the face of Kunihito Xiloscient, a true anomaly among the elven race. He stands out above the elves, due to his large stature, reaching 1.81 meters, truly impressive for the nature of his race.
His clothes consisted of a blue jacket with white details, and a white shirt underneath that highlighted his dark blue tie that contrasted with a blue and gold kimono, as well as an orange ribbon that overlaid his torso where a gold medal just above his abdomen was highlighted. His pants were gray, which contrasted with the rest of his outfit, like his black shoes.
Regarding his armor, he wore clearly eastern pauldrons that went up to his elbows, they were black with blue details. The bracers made obviously of the same material, despite a slight orange detail, covered his entire forearm, leaving only the palm of his hand and fingers uncovered by the armor. And finally, the knee guard that reached his shoes.
On top of this beautiful appearance and elegant clothing/armor, there was a ragged cloak that covered his back and was open in the front, and for now, had its hood lowered.
There was something charming about him, perhaps it was his elvish nature or perhaps it was simply his ragged cloak mixed with the clearly good material jacket/kimono/armor that gave him a curious look.
The blonde then goes to his sword by the bedside and picks it up, bringing the hilt close to his lips.
It's a golden two-handed sword with a blue gem embedded in the hilt that has a magnificence and enormity that makes it seem like it was created by inhuman hands.
"The Evil Dragon will be defeated. Everything will be separated into light and shadow. At this moment, the world reaches its twilight," he recites and then kisses the sword's hilt.
The next moment, he attaches the scabbard to his back and sheathes his blade.
Knock
Knock
The two knocks were heard by the blonde, Kunihito then goes to the door and opens it. "Yes?" he responds to the "call" from the figure.
She has blue-gray hair that she keeps tied with a small knot in a ponytail style. Her eyes are the same color as her hair, and she has smooth peach-colored skin. She wears a white blouse with a long knee-length leaf-colored skirt. She also wears a slightly long half-apron around her waist. She wears a pair of brown boots over black socks.
This was Syr Flova, the "gentle" soul who "welcomed" Kunihito in times of need. He didn't like or need her, so he was somewhat hostile towards the woman.
"Ah, it's you…" Kunihito said with a deliberately tired sigh to show his dislike for the woman.
"A mark of irritation appeared behind the woman's head, and she clearly seemed unhappy with the recurring treatment, but tried to ignore it behind the facade of good humor she used with her clients.
"Kunihito doesn't need to be rude, I just came to wake him up in case he was still sleeping," the woman complained with a cute pout.
Kunihito shook his head snobbishly. "Honestly, it's hard to deal with women who fall at my feet. Seriously, you humans really love to stick your noses where they don't belong. I won't deny such behavior because unfortunately it's in your nature, even so…" He narrowed his eyes, making sure she could clearly see his discontentment. "It's so irritating!" He lamented the woman's behavior.
Syr seemed to become more crestfallen by the sarcastic and exasperated way Kunihito reacted to her supposed good deed. She was going to apologize, but before she could, a hand reached out and awkwardly stroked her head.
"Well, at least it's a somewhat pleasant behavior, so you're 20% forgiven for your irritating nature," he expressed with a pleasant smile.
Kunihito wasn't a bad person, just difficult to deal with because of his passive-aggressive personality, something Syr would say is a tsundere.
The thought made Syr laugh lightly. "Kunihi…" The words died in her mouth when her head was struck.
"How many times do I have to tell you to refer to me as Xiloscient-sama?" The blonde declared with irritation in his voice.
"Back to tsun-tsun mode," Syr thought, of course, she would never say that out loud.
"Well, Kunihito-san, you should know more than anyone how your elvish surname with honorifics from the Far East sounds strange…" Syr carefully chose her words so that the man in front of her wouldn't activate his maximum tsun-tsun mode against her.
Kunihito seemed to reflect for a few seconds. "Indeed, it doesn't make sense for me to want others to see me as strange because of a stupid pronunciation," the blonde concluded, but Syr didn't escape.
Smack
"HEY! WHY DID YOU HIT ME THIS TIME!?" She shouted angrily. It was pretty funny to say the least, the blonde didn't hit her with much force, it was just a weak tap that is used as punishment for children in his country of origin, and the punishment seemed to correspond very well with Syr's childish attitude and cute features.
"For not alerting me earlier to my foolish mistake," Kunihiro declared, lifting his chin as a sign.
Sigh
Syr pouted like a petulant child. "So… Are you going to the dungeon today?" The girl asked.
"What did you hand over to me? Maybe the parts of my shiny armor, or perhaps the huge sword on my back?" Sarcasm couldn't help but instinctively appear in the obvious answer to the girl's question.
Syr pouted again and made a cute face. "Kunihito, don't you feel bad for being so rude to a young lady?" She then looked closely at the ironic smile he was giving her.
"You might think so, but I don't," the blonde commented. "By the way, you've been stopping me at this location for far too long. Could you tell me what you want already? I'm getting tired of this pathetically eloquent dialogue." Even as he rudely added his impatience, Syr smiled.
"I imagine you want to eat before heading out for a hard day's work…" She was cut off before finishing her sentence.
"I'm out." Kunihito said, pushing the girl aside and starting to move away.
"Hey, not again, Kunihito. Breakfast is the meal…" Her words fell on deaf ears as the man descended the stairs, leaving the girl talking to herself and huffing in exasperation."
(Downstairs)
"This girl can sometimes be a pain in the ass, humans are really difficult to deal with," Kunihito grumbled in a bad mood.
The unpleasant sound of the man complaining did not go unnoticed by the employees who lived downstairs.
By the way, where Kunihito was currently staying was not an inn or anything like that, it was a pub known as the Fertility Hostess, how did he end up here? He was forced by a waitress he was sure was bipolar, but that was a story for another time.
"Problems in paradise?" The malicious tone came from Anya Fromel, she really didn't miss an opportunity to insinuate about people's relationships, probably why she lived alone until today even though she was pretty, at least that was the conclusion Kunihito had come to.
Anya has brown hair and eyes with cat ears and a tail of the same color. She usually wears the uniform of the Fertility Hostess.
— Not as big as yours, kitten. — Kunihito rudely retorted, which only made Anya laugh at his frivolous nature.
Kunihito had a habit of referring to people by their race, which was strange, and he often tried to make it seem ironic and offensive, but for anyone with a functioning brain, it didn't sound offensive as he was literally just calling them by their race. Was it weird? Yes, but it didn't really seem like an attack on the person… At least compared to what he did with…
"Anya, please don't bother our guest," reprimanded his coworker, Ryuu Lion.
Ryuu is a female elf with blue eyes and green hair. She is extremely beautiful with snow-white skin, often making her called a fairy on various occasions.
Ryuu is frequently seen in a green maid outfit with a white ruffled band, matching white apron, and a pair of brown boots over black leggings.
Your Majesty, I appreciate your concerns, but I find the fact that this little kitten here tries to be annoying quite refreshing. At least she's acting according to her ridiculous nature of seeking attention from others. Could your Majesty at least allow us poor mortals to have that? - This time the sarcasm was not disguised at all, and it was quite clear that Kunihito didn't like Ryuu at all.
It wasn't the first or the last time this happened. Since their first encounter, Kunihito's dislike for Ryuu was apparent to everyone.
Ryuu had never done anything to him, so there was only one conclusion for everyone. He hated elves for some reason. Something must have happened in the past that made him hate their race, which made it very subjective for him to label everyone he interacted with by their race.
It seemed that Ryuu didn't hold any grudges and didn't find the occasional unfriendly exchanges from the blonde really unpleasant because it was clear to her the reason behind it.
Despite being well-disguised under the hood that Kunihito constantly wore, he had a pair of pointed elf-like ears, but he wasn't a pure-blood elf… he was clearly a half-elf, and it didn't take a genius to figure out what probably happened. A good portion of pure-blood elves treated half-elves like trash, nothing more than impure-blooded mixed breeds.
Kunihito must have encountered this type for sure, which caused his hatred for all pure-blooded elves and this fact of labeling people by their races… It must have been a hellish experience.
Even so, Ryuu believed that he knew it was wrong and petty of him to blame all elves for actions that many are against and have nothing to do with. That's why it was never really a personal attack, just ironic jokes, sarcasm, and derogatory nicknames. She could handle it.
Ryuu preferred not to retaliate because it didn't make sense and she, in a way, sympathized with the man. Talking about the issue was also out of the question, they were strangers to each other, and she would probably only worsen the image of pure-blooded elves for the blond. So the path she decided to follow was to be as peaceful as possible.
But of course, if he crossed the line with her or one of her coworkers…
She doubted it would come to that, he seemed to have at least some character.
"Good morning, Xiloscient-sama," Ryuu greeted the half-elf politely.
Due to the recent unpleasant discovery that the blond had the displeasure of realizing, he noticed how his surname sounded being said that way, truly distressing…
"Kunihito, just Kunihito from now on," the half-elf instructed, then walked towards the exit of the pub, leaving the two women behind.
Whistle
Anya looked maliciously at Ryuu. "Looks like our handsome boy is falling for you, poor Syr," the cat said dramatically.
Anya looked maliciously at Ryuu. "Looks like our handsome boy is falling for you, poor Syr," the cat said dramatically.
Ryuu didn't pay attention to her coworker's unwanted comments, he was really taken aback by the half-elf's instructions. To her, it really seemed like he was taking a step forward to overcome his hostility towards pure-blooded elves… To her misfortune, she couldn't be more wrong.
(Guild, Outside)
Kunihito then arrives at the adventurers' guild. The main objective of the Guild is to manage the monster threat created in the dungeon. In addition, the Guild buys magic stones, releases items and maps of the dungeon created by adventurers. The Guild also provides weapons and armor for new adventurers who are just starting out.
The Guild team also takes on the position of advisors for adventurers, often suggesting to what depth an adventurer should go in a dungeon according to their level and abilities, as well as warning them of any special dangers of certain floors and how to prepare against them.
It was quite practical, to tell the truth. If there was something like that in his homeland, there probably wouldn't be so much bloodshed there.
Kunihito then stopped admiring the building and decided to enter the place. His eyes immediately moved to his current advisor, and he walked over to her.
The woman was engrossed in a book, not paying attention to her surroundings. Kunihito couldn't help but find her lack of attention amusing, especially since she was on the clock for a job that, due to the guild's lack of attention, could cost lives. His facial expression, hidden by his hood, became lighter due to the woman's antics.
His counselor had a pair of pointed ears and clear, emerald-colored eyes. Her shoulder-length hair was brown and had a beautiful shine. This beautiful appearance was not of the same type as that of elves, which seemed pure and flawless, but rather a natural type that made it clear that she was a half-breed. She wore a guild uniform on her slim body, black pants and a top of the same color, making her extremely beautiful. This was Eina Tulle.
(With Eina)
As a management receptionist for the Dungeon, her morning was not very busy, since basically all adventurers were inside the Dungeon at that time. Thus, she had free time to read books.
"She then suddenly felt a somewhat penetrating gaze fill her being, Eina Tulle took her focus off the book in her hand and raised her head to face a young man with a playful expression.
She knew exactly who he was, Kunihiro an adventurer from the small family that was currently not in Orario, he had registered a few weeks ago at the guild… And with that in mind, her expression became slightly somber.
"That's a horrible expression, what happened? Wait, I know! Your lavender shampoo ran out and you couldn't find another one of the same brand!" Kunihito declared with a slight smile on his face.
Eina didn't laugh at the joke, they had a friendly relationship, but now was not the time for laughter.
"Kunihito-san, I'm afraid I've already warned you about the tax that each family must pay to the guild to enter the dungeon… Normally for beginner families it takes a few months before we start charging this tax, however, the family must have at least been properly introduced to the guild first, which is not the case for yours." Eina lamented a little having to give this news…
"But if your God doesn't show up at the guild in the next 3 days, we will have to temporarily suspend your trips to the Dungeon." The half-elf concluded.
Kunihito didn't seem at all shaken or surprised, he just continued with the same serene expression. "I understand, it's really a shame, I guess I'll have to find another way to make money." The blonde contemplated to himself.
This left Eina really frustrated by the light way he dealt with it quickly. "Kunihito-san, please don't act so naturally about this, there is a very easy way to deal with this, your God clearly doesn't give a damn about you, the most logical thing for you would be to join another family." Eina declared.
Kunihito shook his head. "That's out of the question, and I would appreciate it if you didn't draw conclusions about me and my God without even knowing us." The half-elf then turned and walked towards the exit.
"Until next time, Eina-san." He made a point of humming in a distant tone as he walked away without a chance for dialogue.
Sigh
"How can he be so calm about everything?" The half-elf wondered.
Eina had known Kunihito for a few weeks, but they had developed a friendly relationship until then, he was too relaxed for her taste… It was really frustrating that she would soon lose a good friend because of an idiotic God that Kunihito even refused to reveal the name of.
(Love Square, a few hours later)
The desire to go to the dungeon had disappeared after the brief conversation with Eina.
He wasn't really upset or anything, it was just a strange feeling he had about this place since he arrived, Orario the city where dreams come true, a place where he had freedom to do whatever he wanted…
Really strange, he lost and gained things all the time in his whole life, nothing ever stayed and he himself never really had the will to keep anything long lasting, nothing that really worth the effort… But for some reason not being an adventurer anymore and not being able to enter the dungeon left a bitter taste in his mouth, he wanted to do something about it…
He just needed to bring his God to Orario and finish with the stupid bureaucracy that exclusively required the God, but then came his main problem, he didn't even have a God to begin with to appeal to…
Life was a drag even for a cheater like him.
(End of chapter)