"It was brief but I saw someone."

"Two people, actually."

"The bear that survived… its eye…"

SNAP

"Mh?" Ragnar returned to reality and looked at the person snapping back at him.

"Are you alright?" Heimdall looked at the Captain with some worry on his face.

"Yeah… I was just processing what you said."

The Captain took another look to his surroundings; they were at Heimdall Familia's base of operations, although calling a simple tavern like that was perhaps too formal, or even too much for an establishment of that kind. The place had an old feeling to it, similar to other taverns but perhaps it was part of the charm; a `rustic´ place where adventurers would come after a long day of killing monsters or completing quests, somewhere where they (and their money) would be well received. But right now it was almost empty, with very few customers and the only people working were Heimdall behind the counter, another member of his Familia cleaning the tables and a third one wiping the floors.

It made sense, no one would try to get drunk very early in the morning, only the fools or those with enough free time.

And Ragnar's immediate thought was the deity in front of him.

"I see…" The God cleared his throat as he leaned on the counter. "So, let's review everything again, shall we? You'll go to the north road, find the late caravan and help them back here."

"Simple enough."

"If… by any chance you do find the caravan but any of the owners are…" He tapped at the wooden counter, shaking his head at that horrible thought. "Still, bring them to Orario."

"Understood."

"And you will also need to kill all the dragons that are circling around…"

"Will do."

There was a dual reaction, Heimdall sighed while Noel raised a brow in confusion and looked at his Captain. "Are you sure you two can do it? If you need a quiet place to rest we do have the quarters of my Familia, I am sure no one would object. Do know this offer also extends to your Goddess."

"Thanks, Sir, but we are alright." Noel spoke up. "It's true the renovations of Fimbulvetr can be somewhat stressful with all the construction materials and the builders around but it's not that big of a problem."

"Fair enough, but if it makes you two feel better your home might will be prettier than it is now, and maybe you can recruit more people if both Ska-cha and the Captain so desire."

"Ska-cha?" Ragnar repeated that in confusion, it was the first time he heard his Goddess be referred to with that nickname. "Lord Heimdall, I know we are meant to return the favor that Skadi told us about but where is Thom? A level three should be able to do this easily."

"Ugh, I told her to just call it a quest." Heimdall sounded disappointed at those words. "This is not about returning a favor or anything so she might as well not worry about it… then again, you two know how much she worries about… well, pretty much anything." The two kids nodded, having plenty of experience about Skadi worrying already.

"As for where your captain-friend is, I dispatched some of my children to the Dungeon, there are some ingredients we could use for our brews and meals and I doubt anyone would decline the idea of killing more monsters… that is at least half of it." He smiled, albeit it looked more mischievous. "The other half is that I am sure that he would be glad to accompany you two on this quest although just to see how you two are faring after some training."

There have been multiple days over the last few weeks where the dwarf arrived at Fimbulvetr with some more targets and straw mannequins to train the two young ones, and even if there were some improvements (in the eyes of Ragnar and Noel at least) when the sparring session started they would be beaten by Heimdall's captain time and time again.

Still, this was an opportunity for them to prove that their training (albeit not that intensive) worked and treating it as a quest rather than a favor could motivate them even further.

"So let's make a recap: Go north, find the caravan and escort it back. If you find people alive needless to say to help them back here, of course. In the event that you find monsters..." He shrugged. "I'm sure you'll know what to do and I'm definitely sure that Skadi told you to be careful." The kids nodded, almost tired of hearing the same words from their Goddess every day.

"Now, any last questions before I let you go?"

"What about the monsters on the way?"

"How far is it?"

Their questions came almost immediately after and the God had to take a step back and let out a giggle.

"You two sound eager! The caravan left the village that is about two hours away from here, they should've arrived very early in the morning and it's not like the road is difficult to traverse."

"What are the chances of bandits or even a monster attack?" The Captain asked.

"Bandit attacks near Orario is very unlikely considering that we have many high levelled adventurers in here. Monsters on the other hand? There's a possibility, the good news is those are simple creatures so even you two at level one should be able to handle it easily." After noticing that none of the two kids were saying anything else, he clapped his hands. "Alright, you two got your orders, now go out there and complete this quest!"

"Yes!" Ragnar and Noel said in unison with a happy and determined look on their faces. They turned around, bid their farewell to Heimdall and then went on their way towards the northern gate.

While they were still walking down the street there was silence between the two of them. Ragnar could easily say that he was mentally preparing about the upcoming mission but in reality his mind was focused back to the words of that old man. He was sure that his goal was in sight, or rather closer than he initially expected. It was going to be a long trip, he would need to think about supplies, a way to track that creature and of course a valid strategy to beat it.

It was going to be an ordeal.

"Captain?" Ragnar turned his head at the white haired next to him, he nodded his head in response. "I was wondering about the special monster you wanted to hunt down."

"What about it?"

"Well… I agreed to help but you didn't go in detail as to what it was or where or… well, you didn't elaborate on it."

"Huh, I suppose I forgot." The blond scratched his chin.

It was a lie. He didn't want to speak about this topic back at Fimbulvetr, not because he didn't know much of the information, but because he knew that Skadi would forbid him or Noel on doing this hunt.

It was certain that a monster of this caliber was definitely be stronger than them and no matter how many explanations Ragnar could give her or try to reassure that he'll beat the creature, a simple no could end this personal mission before it could even start.

"Well, what we're looking for is a bear. A big one and with an injured eye."

"A bear…" Noel hummed, placing his hand on his chin and thinking. "I believe that there are some bear-like monsters between floors 12 and 14, although that is out of our reach for now…"

"Don't worry, that bear is not in the Dungeon, it's here in the surface, most specifically way up in the northern lands."

"The north?! Captain, I said I would help but I'd like you to consider it a bit more. When do you plan to do this? What does the Goddess think about this?" The calm that the young one presented quickly shifted to worry, not towards this goal that Ragnar had but the Captain himself.

"Nothing so far. I don't plan on telling her anything until I have more information, and I hope you can keep this a secret until then."

"Wait… is it… is right what you're planning to do?"

Ragnar opened his mouth. `Of course it was!´ that's what he would've said at the moment, but something on the back of his mind told him that it wouldn't be wise. Maybe it was the uncertainty? The fact that he hasn't told Skadi? Or maybe that it was a bad decision?

He just smiled at his friend. "Who knows? Until I find more information about it, there's no way to tell if it's right or not." For now he hoped that would quell Noel.

"Oh… alright…" He accepted it but was not too happy about it.

Ragnar proceeded to change the subject, it was best that the discussion about that bear to be put aside for the time being, they had a long road ahead and if all went well then they would be back in Fimbulvetr before the sun set.

Cracking jokes, idle talks or even possible strategies about how to tackle the Dungeon made this not-so-long journey an easy one. This was not the first time for the Captain outside of Orario but it was the first time he left the city, as for Noel it was a complete different world.

The young one was amazed at how different this place was, his life consisted entirely within the walls of the Labyrinth City, whether it was in the surface or underground in the dark depths that was the Dungeon.

For the most part there were plains with some idle farms here and there. Forests in the far distance along with small bodies of water. The sun was accompanying them over the empty skies, another perfect day in the Lower World.

Their feet were growing tired with each step, taking occasional breaks and looking for any signs of a caravan; unfortunately for them there was nothing that could pinpoint a location and the few people they encountered on the way did not know much.

It was going to be a long day for the two of them.

Way in the distance they could see mountains and even some smoke coming from what looked to be a village, on foot that would be at least one or two more hours of travelling and not only that it would not be on the path that Heimdall told them.

At that point the two adventurers began wondering whether the caravan took a different path or perhaps never left at all; not everyone was an honest person and the scummy merchants existed not only in Orario but the rest of Gekai.

A quick trip soon turned to a dull one with no results, but would they have the bravery to return to the city and tell Heimdall that there was no caravan?

Perhaps bravery was not the right word in their minds but rather being embarrassed, not only him but also Skadi had hopes for this and if they wanted to become the best at what they wanted to do they needed to prove it.

But the hopeless trip would soon turn their tide when the leader spotted something in the distance at the side of the road.

"Noel." He received a sound from the person right next to him. "When you think of a caravan, what comes to your mind?"

"A horse-drawn transport, similar to a carriage but for transporting goods. Why?"

"Would you say that a caravan includes many transports?"

"Usually. Where are you going with this, Captain?"

"Over there." He pointed at what he saw and the white haired looked in that direction.

As they were getting closer, their faces changed and showed some more happiness than before. They found the wagon on the side of the door, albeit the sight was not a pretty one. Most of the crates and barrels were on the grass and the carriage was upside down and it all led to a big tree that was nearby.

They ran to investigate and heard noises that were getting louder.

They were not alone.

"Captain!" Noel grabbed his knife and looked at something that was lurking behind the downed wagon.

A giant frog, at least compared to a regular one. During the incursions on the middle levels with Brynhildr they saw a couple but they never had the chance to fight against them as the warrior from Odin Familia took care of them rather quickly. The only advice that she gave them was to watch out for their tongue.

"Finally something interesting to do." Ragnar grinned, taking out both axes and preparing for combat.

The frog jumped from behind the transport and was ready to land on top of the two adventurers but a quick sidestep gave them the advantage.

Compared to an actual frog, this one not only was bigger but it had no eyes where they should be, instead it had one big eye on the top of the head that was shifting between Ragnar and Noel.

"Take this!" The young one dashed and was able to land a hit on the creature's leg only to be pushed back as it jumped again and away from the adventurers.

Before that day, the two boys were informed about monsters living outside of Orario's walls. Some creatures would not appear in the Dungeon and only exist in the surface and vice versa, sometimes it would be a variant of an already existing monster, albeit weaker or even stronger.

The Frog Shooter was a creature that inhabited on the sixth floor, but the one right here was not that powerful; if they had to measure it they could say the surface variant belonged to the fourth floor.

"Captain!" Ragnar had to dodge the jump once again as it landed near him.

Even if the frog was closer to their abilities, it was still a formidable foe. The single eye focused on the blond, it opened its mouth to reveal the tongue at the ready.

Ragnar was already calculating his next move. He would sidestep, dodging the tongue and then doing a clean cut with the axes, from there he would try to jump on the frog and attack its body so that even if it jumped he would still be close enough to keep damaging it.

Alternatively he would use the tongue as another tool to beat it. He would dodge and then grab it, trusting that Noel would then attack the monster from behind.

There were multiple strategies that they could do, the fact that it was an open space as opposed to the more enclosed area that was the Dungeon gave them more leeway on how to do things. When conventional strategies didn't work it would be time to improvise and put their training to good use.

With the mouth completely open, Ragnar positioned his feet for the dodge, hunched forward and focused on the timing.

The frog closed its mouth but the moment it opened it again, the captain was ready to be attacked, but nothing in his mind could've prepared him for the next seconds.

Burp

"Eh?" Ragnar immediately dropped his guard.

It was an inhuman sound, a belch that should not come from a creature like a frog, even less so from a giant one.

The monster belched again, the injured leg started to falter as it looked like it was going to give in and fall. So, rather than attacking the adventurer in front of it, it tried to jump again but the way it did and with another belch made it look like a fun circus show, even more so when the landing was a complete failure.

The frog landed on its back, making more strange sounds as if asking for help.

"Uh…" Ragnar put his weapons away and approached the downed frog in confusion, Noel was following suit.

"Captain… what… just… what?"

"I don't know." He shook his head and kept approaching the beast, pleads of help were getting louder but there was something that stood out as he approached. A stench that inundated his nose, one that he disliked and most importantly reminded him of Heimdall's tavern.

"Ugh, that stench…"

"What is it?" The white haired got closer as well and recoiled at the same issue. "Can't be… is that wine?" Noel looked over his shoulder at the wagon. "So… what do we do?"

"I… honestly I wasn't expecting this so uh…" The adventurers looked at each other. "We just end its suffering?" They shrugged and turned their attention back at the frog.

With knife and axes the adventurers cut and in the end the frog was eliminated in an almost embarrassing display. If anything this quest yielded them with some extra money.

They didn't exchange any words afterwards but the agreed that this `fight´ was best left out of their story when they returned back to the city.

For now, the children of Skadi returned to the wagon to investigate and just as they expected, they found a barrel that had wine as the stench was all over this place.

Further search revealed that this was indeed a transport wagon but the horse was nowhere to be found. Fortunately most of the goods were in roughly good shape while others were definitely ruined like some vegetables, meat or even other items that were made of glass. Whether all of this was destined to Heimdall was unknown.

The damage to the wagon was quite noticeable, and it was even more of a surprise that it could still work.

However, that was not the only thing that Ragnar noticed upon this investigation. There was a tree nearby but most importantly there was something moving by the tree top.

"Noel." The captain warned his friend as he pulled both axes and with a small tilt of his head he pointed at the tree.

The other boy took a glance at the tree and saw the same thing as Ragnar did, there was something moving. He quietly nodded in response and followed him from behind.

The sound of the wind hitting the leaves was the only thing that kept the two adventurers focused. With each step they tried to see what was hiding. Perhaps it was another monster? Or maybe a bird that was watching the `battle´ from earlier? It was curiosity that they needed to sate, even more so if it was something dangerous.

They slowly approached to the trunk and looked at each other before taking a deep breath; their weapons were at the ready and looked up.

"Oh, hey." From one of the branches there was a young individual sitting and holding another branch. "Nice fight you did before, is it all clear?"

"Y-yeah… it is." The captain was starting to believe that the events would not get any weirder. "Climb down, there's nothing out there."

The stranger hugged the tree and slowly slid down until his feet touched the grass. "Phew, people say merchants have it easy but don't remember we are not like you adventurers!"

He was wearing a white shirt with a green vest and also a similar-colored coat. He pulled a puffy hat from one of the pockets of the coat and put it on as he continued to wipe some of the dirt. Below the waist he had some dress pants and fancy shoes, if anything anyone could mistake this person as a noble or a bard rather than a merchant at first.

His black hair and crystal clear eyes were shining bright with happiness after he bowed to his saviors.

"I am Titos, part of a small Merchant's Guild that works with the one in Orario and I cannot thank you enough for saving me and my merchandise."

"You were going to Orario?"

"Yes, I was going to deliver some goods to an old client of ours but I was attacked on the way here. Usually the horses are fast enough to outrun any beast that we could find but this time it was different. I released my horse and climbed the tree as quick as possible."

"Well, glad to know that it worked…" Ragnar nodded. "Say… were this goods going to a God named Heimdall?"

"Oh? You know him?"

"He gave us a quest to find you… well, technically he mentioned a caravan."

"He did, didn't he?" Titos laughed. "It is not the first time Heimdall can commit such a mistake since he thinks that all that he ordered comes in multiple wagons. One is more than enough!" The adventurers looked at each other and laughed. "In any case, can I ask for your help? I could use some bodyguards for the road."

"Sure, we can do that."

That was it. Their mission was a success, they found the `caravan´ with all of Heimdall's order as well as the one transporting it. Fortunately there were no injured ones, at least physically since Titos was on his knees, crying over all the goods that were lost after the attack.

It took half an hour to put everything back in place, or rather everything that was still salvageable, turn around the transport and then for Titos to call the horse back. After that they were back on the road, with both Ragnar and Noel climbing on the back along with the boxes, barrels and the unbearable stench of wine while the merchant was on the front.

"All in all, I am glad that things ended up well, I will have to give Heimdall a talk about what happened, though I doubt he'll be angry about it."

"He seems to be very carefree, I am sure you two can reach an agreement."

"Definitely! Though I hope that now he will put a bit more effort and send someone for protection. Not to offend any of you two that is." Titos had his eyes on the road. "By the way, you said you were part of what Familia, again?"

"Skadi's, she and Heimdall are friends so it's less of a quest and more of a favor."

"Favor, quest, regardless you did what you were asked to and without you I think I would not be on the way to Orario!"

"Still, one of those frogs can be annoying but it's not that much of an issue." Ragnar commented only to earn a confused look from the merchant.

"Eh? That frog did not do all that damage. It was something else…. It was like a bear, but… big, super big! And it was also injured apparently." Titos raised his arms to accentuate the size of the monster that attacked the transport but was startled by Ragnar quickly grabbing him by the shoulders. "Eh?! W-what are you doing?!"

"A bear?! This close to Orario?"

"I know, right? It must've been a special bear since it was big and someone must've injured too given that one of its eyes was missing."

"What happened?" Ragnar stood up, his eyes widened and pressing more onto Titos' shoulders for answers. "Where is it? Where did it go? Where is that bear?!"

"Ow ow ow ow, stop." The merchant pushed the captain away, or rather his arms. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you. Okay… it… it disappeared."

"What?" Noel joined the conversation, completely confused at the statement made by the other person.

"It… it did that! It attacked the wagon, and I run to hide in the tree. It followed me and…well, when I was in a safe spot it disappeared. Out of thin air, it left no traces or anything."

"Are you sure that's what happened? I mean, was there someone else nearby?" The white haired kept questioning the story of Titos.

"Not that I saw. I-I mean I do find it strange that something like that disappeared out of nowhere. It could've been magic, no, it has to be, right?"

"Captain, if that bear was near Orario…"

"I know." Ragnar sounded slightly dejected, he did get some answers out of this and even then felt slightly disappointed. "Sorry, I didn't mean to act like that."

"It's alright, in fact it was best that you didn't face that thing, it was terrifying, and you would need an army to beat it!"

"Let's hope that is not the case…" The captain sat down right next to Noel once again, thinking about the strange creature that attacked Titos.

It had to be the bear. The description fits, the injured eye but the real question is what was it doing all the way down there? What was it searching? And if that bear was supposedly controlled by a person shouldn't there be at least someone nearby?

He felt this was too much of a coincidence, what if it was just another bear? It was technically possible but they would live in bigger forest areas, not on plains, and even if they tried to get close to a river to drink, there was nothing nearby.

What? Why? How? And most importantly: Where?

Those were the multiple questions that Ragnar kept asking to himself, was someone playing tricks on him? Or what if the bear was actually hunting him down? It all boiled down to coincidences, there was no basis for his theories so at the end of the day what could he do? Investigate something that has no correlation with something else? Where could he even do it?

He was left to his own thoughts. Noel wanted to help him but knew that no matter how much he tried to talk about it he couldn't get his attention so for now he talked with Titos for the rest of the trip.

While it took them about three hours walking with all the breaks they did, an hour long trip on a horse was certainly a time-saver.

"Ah, here you go." From one of the crates, the merchant pulled two vials with a red liquid in it and handed them to Ragnar and Noel. "It's the least I can give you for helping me get here after all that happened."

"Oh, no need, we were just doing our duty."

"Please, I insist." They had no other option but to take the health potions. "Now, I'll set you free, I need to keep track of the inventory here so I might take a while." Titos climbed to the back of the wagon and the two adventurers were ready to leave when the former called them out again. "Actually, there is something you can do. If you can tell Heimdall that he can send some of his people to retrieve the goods, I'll appreciate it."

"We will, have a nice day!" Noel waved at the merchant and the two adventurers took their leave.

Right now all they had to do was go back to Heimdall's tavern and then home to rest. Despite not doing much, the long travel tired the two adventurers and it didn't help that the smell of wine still lingered in their noses.

"Noel… what do you think of all this?"

"About that monster?" Ragnar gave an affirmative sound. "I… honestly don't know, if Mister Titos said he didn't see anyone then I don't know what to say. Even then, a bear should not be around this area, right?"

"Right? There is something off about all of this, and I intend to figure it out. One way or another."

"Captain… what is the plan?"

The blond remained quiet for a moment. Even if this supposed threat was near Orario, what else could he do? "Ask for information I suppose. If that monster is no longer where it was supposed to be then someone else must've seen it. Maybe ask more merchants or people arriving from the north gate?" He sighed. "Whatever the case, if we are going to deal with it at some point then we will need help."

"What about Thom?"

"No." Came the immediate response. "He will be useful, that much I know, but he will tell Heimdall and in turn he will tell Skadi and she will forbid us from even leaving the city."

"Then who else?"

Ragnar had another idea, perhaps not the best one and definitely unsure if they will accept. The captain stopped on his tracks and took a glance at the tower that was looming in the distance.

"I have an idea." He then turned at his friend. "Noel, go to Heimdall's and tell him about the merchant, I will go find someone to help us." With those words he started to run down the street.

"W-wait, what will I tell Skadi?!"

"Tell her I'll be back before dinner!" He yelled back at Noel before disappearing amidst the crowd of people.

From there, he headed to Babel, or rather the outside of the tower where he would sit on a bench to wait until the person showed up. It was a gamble whether they were inside or haven't gone at all, but if their meeting in the past has been an indication then he could strike gold in this very place again.

Two hours passed and he was feeling hungry already, the sun was past its zenith and the only thing he earned were the glances of some other adventurers who were passing by, some even asking if he was alright.

He would see many people going in and out of Babel in those two hours, sometimes even recognizing certain people from walking on the streets.

Right before he was going to give up, he saw a small group of adventurers coming out with a certain uniform, and among that group he recognized the one individual he was looking for.

"There…" He stood up and strutted towards this group. "Hey, excuse me, let me through. Without hesitation, Ragnar grabbed the arm. "We need to talk."

"What now?" If there was one thing that stood out from Brynhildr, at least to the Captain, was her annoyed look whenever he was around.

She looked at the rest of the group from her Familia and tilted her head as if telling them to continue without her. Next she moved her arm to quickly release herself from the blond.

"What do you want?"

"You."

Bryn's eyes widened and a faint blush was seen on her cheeks. "W-what uh… what?! Are you stalking me?"

"What? No! I was waiting for you to show up at the tower, that is all! Listen, I need you for something specific."

"Uh huh…" With the flick of the wrist, Bryn pointed the tip of the spear right at Ragnar's neck. "Think your words carefully next because I am thinking about something and if ends up being true, then you will be in trouble…"

Ragnar did not notice at first, only when he moved his head and felt the cold metal of the spear touch his skin. "There is a monster that needs to be dealt with, and I know you are strong, we could really use your help…" The spear moved away from its dangerous position, instead it was the back of it that bonked the captain on the side of the head. "Ow!"

"And what makes you think that I will accept, even more so what makes you think that I will care about it?" Bryn began walking away from the tower, feeling that he was following her.

"Because… I don't know, we helped each other in the past? And maybe it can be useful for you to level up."

"So because we helped each other escape and fought the last time, we are suddenly friends?" She sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "What even is it that you are looking for?"

"A giant bear with an eye injury." That response alone was enough to stop the girl from Odin Familia on her tracks. "It was seen hours ago on the northern road, away from Orario when it shouldn't be nowhere near this part."

"This bear… did it have black fur?" She looked at Ragnar from over her shoulder, one eye focused on him as the only response was a simple nod of his head. "And the eye injury… where was it?"

"It was… the right eye, a spear caused the damage."

"Would you say this bear has magic properties?"

"Uh… it shouldn't… but the person that saw it said that it disappeared."

"Mh…" Bryn closed her eye and then turned around, facing the captain directly. "We heard a rumor earlier, about a creature that mysteriously appeared on the tenth floor. So we went to investigate every nook and cranny of that place but other than the usual monsters there was nothing." She could see he was going to refute her claim.

"That is… until this bear that you described appeared out of nowhere and started attacking us; we were able to escape but it almost killed one of ours. We believe it was some sort of ambush but at times the Dungeon can work in mysterious ways."

"Then… it's in the Dungeon?" Ragnar was surprised if not confused. What happened in between? How did it get down there? He shook his head, the opportunity was ripe for the taking. "Bryn, I know that I'm going down there and Noel is helping me too. I know that we are not that strong nor we are that many, but we… I need to see that creature dead."

"Why is it so important to you?" The blond remained quiet, looking at her in the eyes. Even if he didn't use any words she understood that there was some history behind this search, she also knew that any attempts to pry it out would be pointless. "Fine, but the magic crystal is mine, it's the least I ask if I help you."

"Fine by me." Ragnar raised his hand, looking at Brynhildr with a smile on his face. "So… deal?"

The warrior looked back at him, she was not smiling at first, it was a serious look that turned into a brief smile as she shook his hand. "Deal."

All the chips are falling in place and Ragnar's hunt for the bear is soon nearing its end and while three level 1 adventurers might not seem enough, they all have confidence and a plan to eliminate this creature.

Of course this plan is not guaranteed to succeed but we'll see. The hunt is on!

That being said, thanks to everyone for reading the story and following it thus far. We are nearing the end of the first act soon but for now it's time for waiting.

Hope you have a good week and a nice February in the next coming days, until then, have a good one and as always:

See you in the next chapter!