As time went on, the two gradually lost sense of time.

  Sweat dripped down their faces, muscles ached with every step, and the lingering mana made the air feel thick and dangerous.

  Lina’s voice cracked slightly as she muttered, “We’ve been here for an eternity.”

  “Don’t worry, I think we’re out soon,” Nox answered, trying to keep his tone steady despite the exhaustion.

  “The monsters have gotten weaker. We should be around the eighth floor now.”

  They had climbed more than twenty floors while carefully avoiding the monsters. Every shadow, every echo, made them tense, yet they pressed on.

  “Well, I did manage to collect some items thanks to Lina,” Nox thought, checking his dimension bag.

  -Unequipped items:

  -Goblin king’s bat (200% damage to goblins)

  -Black wolf’s claw

  -Level 2 boss crystal

  -5x cave bird’s mana crystal

  -2x rare healing potion

  -Stigma ring (+10% stigma effectiveness)

  -Ring of meditation (+10% mana when meditating)

  “I should be able to craft something good with this,” he thought, a spark of anticipation lighting up his fatigue.

  As they continued to walk, a group of earth lizards skittered toward them, scales rattling like tiny drums. Their yelps echoed unnaturally through the stone halls.

  Nox raised his hand, directing them into the magnetic field, and dozens of ice crystals shot forth, piercing their bodies with sharp, metallic clinks.

  One lizard lunged at Lina, and Nox reacted instinctively, catching it mid-strike. Her eyes widened in surprise, then she nodded in silent thanks.

  After collecting the mana crystals, Nox looked up and spotted the hole they had fallen from.

  “This could be low enough to jump,” he said, a thrill running through him.

  “Uhm, what do you mean by tha—”

  Before she could react, Nox grabbed Lina by the waist, her heart pounding against his clothes as they leapt upward. Wind whipped past their faces, and jagged stone edges scraped their arms.

  They landed unevenly. Lina stumbled, but Nox caught her, steadying them both. Their breaths came in sharp, ragged gasps.

  “That was close,” he said, glancing at her.

  “Don’t do such dangerous things again,” she replied, trampling on his foot. She had gotten completely different compared to before, her expression seemed less tense and cheekier.

  After retracing their path from a few days ago, Nox saw the faint sunset of the outside world through a distant fissure in the dungeon walls.

  “Wait. Before we go out, I want to craft something,” he said, already kneeling to spread out the items from his dimension bag.

  He hesitated over the rare healing potion. “If I waste this, it could cost us,” he thought carefully.

  Nox laid the Ring of Meditation, the cave bird crystals, the earth lizard crystals, and the healing potion together. The items pulsed and glowed, a subtle magical hum filling the air as they fused into a single, brilliant object.

  Lina’s eyes sparkled. “That’s… amazing,” she whispered, trying to hide her excitement while staying alert for nearby monsters.

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  “I have no idea what might come out,” he thought, holding his breath in anticipation.

  -You have combined a new item

  Name: Ring of meditation

  Grade: Artificial

  Type: Ring

  Description: You can only wear two rings at once. +40% mana when meditating, while being healed

  “That’s good, but I’ll always need to be healed, which makes things a bit difficult.”

  “Luckily, I’m able to conceal my items grade, so that my stigma is not revealed for the ‘artificial’ grade.”

  Nox turned to Lina, who looked at his item with an eerie, proud smile.

  “Looks like you need my help for that, huh?” she bragged.

  He laughed softly and took the remaining items from his bag.

  “Should I try combining the other ring with this ring?”

  Nox combined the Ring of Healing Meditation with the Stigma Ring, the healing potion, the Black Wolf’s Claw, and the boss crystal.

  A sharp pain shot through his core, his remaining mana being sucked into the items.

  But what came next left him momentarily dumbfounded.

  “Huh? The same ring came out two times?”

  -Influence through Ring of Healing Meditation combined an item

  Name: Donator Ring of Healing Meditation

  Grade: Artificial

  Type: Twin Ring

  Description: You can only wear two rings at once. The user produces the same amount of mana as the wielder of the Ring of Healing Meditation while being healed.

  “So that means if she has this, she grows as fast as I do,” Nox thought, a heavy sense of responsibility washing over him.

  Lina smirked teasingly. “You better not slack, or I won’t heal you.”

  “Looks like you know what to do now, right?” she said, extending her hand.

  Nox grabbed the ring, intending to place it on her finger, but Lina stopped him.

  “No, not like that,” she said, placing her hand gently on his silver hair and guiding him down onto one knee. He froze, heart thudding, before obediently following her instructions.

  She waited a heartbeat, ensuring he wasn’t uncomfortable, then rested her other hand lightly on his shoulder.

  “This isn’t a marriage proposal, you know,” Nox sighed, complying without question.

  In the academy, it was unusually empty. Only three people stood before the castle.

  Next to their Altair halted Beatrice and Regea, trying to persuade her.

  “We need to go find them!” she said urgently.

  “Yeah, if you don’t send someone, we will go alone,” Regea added. Their pleas were desperate and even Altair seemed concerned.

  However, a familiar voice rang out behind them.

  “Hello, guys.”

  The three turned to see Nox and Lina standing there nonchalantly.

  “You’re here!” Beatrice shouted, rushing forward and tossing her arms around them in relief.

  “We were worried about you.”

  The two explained their adventure to Beatrice, Regea, and even Altair, who listened intently.

  “How many days have passed?” Nox asked.

  “Five. The others left for the missions yesterday morning,” the teacher replied.

  “I can’t give you points, even if you had an item, but your friends here took first place anyways.

  Beatrice proudly held up a red necklace.

  Name: Fire Necklace

  Grade: Rare

  Type: Necklace

  Description: You can only wear one necklace at once. +20% damage with fire attribute

  “That’s nice, but that means Regea is the only one without an item,” Lina said, pointing at her and Nox’s rings.

  “You got twin rings, huh? How romantic,” Altair said with a wide grin. Her gaze went from one to another. It almost seemed as if she was a bit jealous.

  “You should pick your mission quickly. However, now that it’s night, it’s not a good idea…”

  The four walked into the main building, and Beatrice suggested they eat something.

  They exchanged stories of their adventure and even talked about their families. Regea was unusually talkative today, a constant smile playing on his lips.

  “Regea and Beatrice seem to have grown closer,” Nox thought, glancing at Lina, who watched the two quietly.

  When their eyes met, Nox nodded, and the two of them quietly sneaked away.

  “They’ve grown closer,” Lina said, speaking out his thoughts.

  “Yeah, it’s best to leave them alone for now.”

  As they stepped outside, the balcony breeze swept past them, carrying faint floral scents from below. Nox tilted his head, watching the fading sunset.

  The scenery reminded him of the stigma ritual. Back then he was laughed at for having an unknown stigma and wished he hadn’t been born into a noble family.

  “I’m really glad I got to meet you guys,” he said.

  “I grew up in a village where there weren’t any children my age. The others never even recognized me… I was always in the shadow of my two elder brothers.”

  Nox sat down on the bench beneath them.

  “There was only one elderly woman who acknowledged me, but even she was almost never in the village. That’s probably why I got along with her so well too.”

  Nox smiled and reached his hands toward the sky as if trying to grab the stars.

  “But now I feel like I’ve found real friends who accept me as I am.”

  His eyes turned watery for no reason.

  “I hope you guys will stay by my side forever,” he said, just as an arm wrapped around his head.

  Lina, now sitting beneath him, gently pulled Nox’s head to the side and let it rest on her shoulder.

  He gulped heavily and tried to move his head against her firm hands.

  “Shouldn’t the man do this?”

  “When you’re dealing with me, it’s the other way around,” she answered. She pushed his head further down and treaded with her fingers through his silver hair.

  “You’re shorter than me, so I have every right to,” Lina added.

  As the two sat there, it felt like time had stopped.

  For several minutes, neither spoke. The echoes of monsters, near-death fear, and the quiet hum of the dungeon’s magic lingered in the fresh night air.

  In that silence, a bond deeper than words formed, and the closeness of Lina’s presence grounded Nox in a way he hadn’t felt before.

  Nox closed his eyes, listening to her heartbeat as he slowly drifted off to sleep.