The ambiance was unusually calm in the pub located in the desert city of Sabasa. People were unusually silent, only discussing in whispers and in short sentences. There were no clamors accompanying the sound of empty beer mugs being slammed on table, and even the music was a light melody that didn't dare trouble the quiet of the place. And yet, people were going on their daily lives as usual. Their existence wasn't more at a threat than usual, and if anything, it was even the opposite.

A new customer entered, slightly intimidated by the heavy ambiance as he was looking for his friends. After a moment, he noticed one of them inviting him to sit. He cautiously walked at the table even as one of the waitresses brought another round of drinks to the customers. Once comfortably installed, he finally allowed himself to break the unusual silence.

"So what's happening?"

"Shhh! Don't disturb them…"

The newcomer looked at where his friend was pointing, and he could see three men silently drinking together. The first of them was a muscular redheaded warrior who was wearing a blue garb with a large sword on his back. While his appearance already told everyone so, his posture definitively affirmed his heroic nature. The second man was a blond-haired one, who looked just as strong as the first, even if all his muscles were hidden beneath a brown, leathery armor that covered most of his body and which was completed by a tabard. A humongous sword was resting on the wall just by his side. At first, the client thought the third one of them was a boy: He had a small, delicate-looking frame and was wearing a brown and green ensemble that looked like the travelling robe of a mage. His gaze and stance were just as assured as the remainder of his drinking companions, silently confirming he was just as much a part of the group as the two other ones.

"Those are three of the Seven Legendary Heroes… Three!" The man was still talking in a whisper. "The red-haired one is named Lars, the blond one Novissa, and the young-looking fella is Lauratt if I got it right. Nobody knows why they're here… Some people say that it's a sign that another assault of the Monster Lord is on the way and they came here to help defend the city. Some others say that they're looking for a treasure." The man chuckled. "There are even a few simple-minded fellas who think that they're here to relax far from their partners and enemies… This sounds even more ridiculous when I say it. Anyway, most people thoughts they were myth, even after that Château Romantique suddenly replaced Grand Noah from nowhere for a moment. It's epic! And look at them, so silent, so proud, so focused… They're like the legendary heroes of the old times who saved the world again and again without batting an eye… Nothing like so young'uns neer-do-well that get in bed with the first monster they see."

His companions leaned back and nodded in agreement as he understood the reference: The hero that had saved Sabasa from a demonic ploy then from the Monster Lord's assault had disappeared from public eyes. There was a rumor that the hero Luka had suddenly become sick from an illness brought from another world as he lived with companions, but several people heard from a cute girl that the hero had apparently gotten quite busy with all those succubi companions of his… Of course, everybody denied it as bitter hearsay, but the smallest doubt remained.

"That's a bit harsh after what he did…"

The man drunkenly made a dismissive gesture while shaking his head negatively, spilling the content of his tankard around.

"Noooo, it's not. He's a damn idiot. A damn pervert… Now, those fellas… I can tell that they're the kind who live pure lives and don't give in to the first skank like that!"

He looked at them again. The three legendary heroes were regularly looking at each other, but their mouths remained unmoving. Not a single word was exchanged, and yet, there seemed to be a lot of messages circulating between them. The man's curiosity was piqued. How were they communicating? What sort of magic was at play to allow them to talk to each other with nobody around them was none the wiser? Or was it the steel bond that linked heroes that had saved their own worlds time and time again, while they were all working together in what would be the greatest challenge they ever faced?

And last, what kind of impossible quest could they currently be talking about?

Lars, Novissa and Lauratt had indeed traveled to Sabasa in an attempt to relax on their own, far from everyone. The first of them wanted to be as far from Grand Noah as possible where Est was making a name for herself, even as is own partner wanted to keep an eye on the Queen of Dreams. The second one was getting tired of being drained by both the Cursed Sword Sisters and his companion Tarsa, and the last of them wanted to take a break away from his companion Rigeo, as the latter had an alarming boost in her libido since they joined Succubus Village, all while remaining far from the Ilias Continent where several Nightmares and Fulbeua herself had taken residence. Each of them had tried escaping to different places, and each time they left quite quickly because the sheer number of monsters that tried to bed them before incidentally meeting again in Sabasa. Without a word, the three of them ended joining and travelling together, if only to cover each other's back.

Right now, they were all laying low in the pub in an attempt to finally enjoy some much needed tranquility. Being randomly forcibly teleported into a world to find themselves instantly engaged in a conflict against an Alliance of monsters that included their own enemies had been exhausting, and each of them thought that once the portal was closed, the situation would return to normal. However, they found themselves forced to hunt down the different Alliance members as they could still wreck the world on their own. And once they were done…

They found themselves having to deal daily with both those Alliance members and the hero's own companions. It had been the killing blow that nearly sent them over the edge, and they could only appreciate that the ones that lived in the city of the burning sands were either not interested or too polite to make a move after being pushed away. The heroes themselves were a bit puzzled by the unusually silently behavior from the locals, but when they understood that it was born from a mix of fear and respect for them, they didn't want to complain in the slightest. As people came in and left, they simply enjoyed the lack of any form of pressure. The only possible cloud they could see in their illuminated days was their ever slimming gold pouches. Granted, they weren't quite at the risk of being thrown into the street any time soon, but extra travelling funds couldn't hurt either. They had already informed the bartender, who told them that people would always appreciate any form of help from heroes with reputation such as theirs .

They only had to wait for a day before an unusually dressed man showed up. He was wearing a square hat that was often associated with scholars, but he was also wearing a discolored lab coat over a metallic armor, and thick travelling boots. The man directly made a beeline to their table as soon as he noticed them and took of his hat.

"I heard that you were willing to help people in need… Are you still available?"

They nodded in unison. Lars pushed a chair and invited the man to sit.

"Thank you… but where are my manners? My name is Veran, I work with the alchemist guild which recently expanded into Saloon and Magistea Village. We work to harvest rare materials in dangerous zones, and while our skills are usually enough to keep most… forthcominh monsters at bay, we recently had a few issues… You see, the Safaru Ruins north of here is the home of the earth spirit, Gnome, who's usually pretty shy. However, recently, a few local monsters became more powerful for mysterious reasons. We didn't approach them yet, and don't know if they're hostile, but nobody wants to check on their own for obvious reasons."

Lars leaned back. They were probably companions of the hero who returned to their home after the incident involving their Pocket Castle. Both of his companions nodded in acknowledgment.

"The real issue, however, is the so-called Administrator Tower. It is a place that apparently teleported from another world, and is certainly ripe with resources… However, the tower itself is highly isolated, far from civilization and, most of all, an incredibly powerful monster supposedly made this place her residence. Needless to say, this can be a risky mission, but the reward will be at the level of the danger you will face, and I have no doubt heroes as powerful as you will be able to deal with these inconveniences just fine. Are you interested?"

Lars looked at his two partners. Lauratt shrugged. They could use some extra gold, and the young man was more confident in his skills than he had been in the past. He had fully recovered, and even became more powerful than he was at his apex beforehand.

Novissa slowly breathed in and out. He was fine if they travelled north as long as they didn't cross the sea. Or didn't get anywhere near Grandeur where Tarsa was repeatedly performing. And also if they kept away from any place that acted as a den for succubi like Succubus Village, Grand Noah or Iliasburg. Overall, he was fine as long as they didn't run too high a chance of running into more sex fiends. Even if it was apparently impossible in this world…

Lars himself thought that it would be a good occasion to shake off any rust that could have formed after the end of their latest adventure. As much as he enjoyed the tranquility, he remained a man of action. And besides, there was probably no better occasion to discover the world they were in than by helping locals while earning money.

The three men nodded in unison.

"Perfect!" Veran clapped his hands together. "I was sure I could count on you. We will leave tomorrow at dawn then."

The very next day, Veran was relieved to see the three heroes waiting for him as soon as he arrived at the pub. He gave them a beaming smile, even as they silently greeted him with their usual stoic expression, and they left the city as the sun started rising.

As they crossed the desert, Veran got to understand firsthand that their reputation as legendary heroes wasn't unfounded: even as they were all walking through the endless dunes under a burning sun, not a single one of them was complaining. They all kept walking forward with the same iron mask they always had on their face, advancing at a steady pace one step at a time in silence. Even himself, as loquacious as he usually was, didn't want to disturb their focus as the three heroes were assuredly examining their surroundings, repelling monsters through their sheer, mighty aura alone. After what felt like an eternity, they finally arrived in sight of the famous Safaru Ruins. He opened his mouth as he prepared to unleash an explanation about the origin of these ruins to the trio of hero, but he abstained. He already had been lucky enough to recruit them for this task, he didn't want to leave a bad impression on them by talking too much. The group stopped at the entrance of the ruins, and he had no doubt that the heroes were carefully examining their surroundings to make sure that not a single monster was currently preparing an ambush. The red-headed man and the young boy stepped forward, and the last member of the trio invited him to step in while the man himself followed as a rear guard.

As they cautiously proceeded through the shady ruins, Veran noticed several signs of monster activities. While they didn't make more noise than that, he noticed the fresh streaks across the ground, likely created by one of those desert scyllas that was now hiding under the sand. He then fully appreciated the strategic genius of the heroes accompanying him: As they were forced to progress in line because of a narrow passageway, the strongest of them was the last to pass, fully ready to riposte against the monster that was inevitably going to attack them from behind.

And indeed, barely a few minutes later, monsters attacked just as he expected: An unusually large sandworm girl suddenly appeared and blocked the exit in front of them by using her extremely large body, while a desert Scylla spawned from the ground behind them and attempted to drag the hero down. The man reacted extremely fast and jumped high enough to avoid her tentacles before readying his large sword in an attempt to cleave his opponent in two as he fell like a meteorite. The Scylla herself dodged the attack back, and two local ghost spirits joined her even as the two other heroes that were accompanying Veran were busy with the giant sand girl that had spawned.

Veran was impressed by the strategic acumen displayed by the monster which was only equaled by the skill of the heroes. Even as they were unable to support each other, as the narrow path prevent them from fighting on the same front without getting in each other's way, each one of them was holding at bay the enemies without so much as breaking a sweat. Even the one behind him was fighting on his own against several monsters without showing sign of relenting under the intense assault. As the fight went on, Veran temporarily forgot about the reason of his presence, and even started dreaming of being like those legendary heroes, and wondered what type of adventure would forge one of those characters in the bastions of hope they were today as they remained calm in every circumstances. How lucky they could be…

However, Novissa himself was far from being calm in the present moment. The swordsman had underestimated just how much he would badly endure the heat in the desert with his heavy armor. Lars was apparently more used to travel and was wearing only a light tunic, while Lauratt's skills with magic allowed him to remain cool, but he had nothing to protect himself against the searing heat. When they finally reached their destination, he had felt utterly exhausted and had taken a second to enjoy the shade offered by the walls before entering, even letting their client step in before him. He had been so exhausted he hadn't even noticed the signs of an ambush, and he was forced to face the larger group of monsters alone, even as he was still reeling from the crossing of the desert.

In a smooth movement, the hero used his humongous sword to violently slice at the Scylla who barely had the time to glide back to avoid the attack. The sword ended half-buried into the wall after Novissa's violent attack. The Scylla and her two ghost companions grinned before the hero fully let his rage express itself and pulled out his sword to strike at his opponents again, generating a powerful cold wave in the process. The trio of monsters shivered, but they didn't slow down their assault as the Scylla attempted to grab him while the two ghosts casted hexes after hexes. Their spells themselves didn't slow down the hero much as he tried to riposte each time one of them showed up. However, the ghosts used their natural intangibility to evade his furious strikes by hiding in the walls that made for the pathway before using various spells in an attempt to wear him own each time he was forced to focus on the Scylla.

Eventually, Novissa completely snapped and cut apart one of the tentacles of the desert Scylla in a series of rapid strikes that caught her completely off-guard. Surprised by the sudden pain, she ran away in a panic while screaming in fear.

"I'm sorryyyyy!"

Fortunately for her, Novissa didn't give chase and instead focused on the ghost spirits that were hiding in the walls. He repeatedly struck at one of them, sending rock shards flying around. Shocked by the display of violence, the two ghosts left and completely disappeared as they decided that the risk wasn't worth the pain of dealing with someone so brutal. As he felt their presence recede, Novissa calmed down and focused on the other end of the narrow path, where his two partners were fighting a large sand worm girl. Lars was doing his utmost to keep attracting her attention while Lauratt chained ice spells one after the other, even as the huge monster somehow looked more dazed and confused than outright aggressive. After a short moment spent suffering the assault of the two heroes and ineffectively trying to swat them away like flies a few times with her hand or a large club, she decided to simply leave them and look for anything else that could be more entertaining.

Once they were sure that not a single monster would attack them again, the heroes left the narrow hallway and Lauratt healed the little damage his partners received during the fight, all under the amazed guess from Veran.

"That was amazing! I knew I had made the right choice by recruiting you for this mission! Those monsters didn't stand a chance! I'm sure that whoever stands in that tower will fall just as easily to you. You are the greatest hope this world has ever seen, and…"

As the man kept trailing off in his praises of the hero, Novissa and Lauratt both stared at Lars, who managed to share his agreement as he stared back: The faster they were moving, the sooner they would be done with this mission and be rid of this annoying sycophant.

Luckily, whether it was because he tired out or was too impressed by the heroes to continue, the man soon fell silent and the party reached the deepest part of the ruins without further interruption. The heroes noticed some movement, and, before they could react, Veran pointed at the small form that had appeared.

"It's Gnome, the earth spirit! I heard that she was very shy, how lucky are we to be able to see her!"

The small monster seemed to be wandering around when she noticed the party. She tilted her head in confusion when she noticed Lauratt, and the boy answered in kind. The party remained on their guard as she strolled toward the group, but they didn't draw their weapon in preparation for any fight. The earth spirit examined the young-looking man in confusion as she sensed his pact with Salamander.

"…"

"…"

"…"

"Huuuh, what's going on?"

"…"

"…"

"Are they… communicating?"

Novissa glanced sideways at Veran who slinked back. After a moment, Gnome shrugged and left to play with mud dolls. After recovering from his surprise, the scholar started to examine his surroundings while the hero kept an eye around in case monsters would randomly start attacking them again. To everyone's relief, nobody jumped on them and the scholar finished his work rather fast and in silence. Before they knew it, the party had left the ruins and was on their way toward the town of Saloon, walking at a brisk pace even as the landscape turned from a desert to a wasteland. The sun was still high in the sky when the party arrived in sight of the settlement. As they got closer, the scholar expressed his surprise.

"This town is a bit bigger than I remembered…"