Chapter 33: About Dungeon Explorations (3)

Khal burst out laughing at Devion’s confusion. As a result, this pissed off Devion, who flicked a lightning bolt in his direction but did not touch even Khal’s hair.

An ice wall appeared out of nowhere to protect him.

Devion sneered. He turned to Ayen dramatically. “Seriously, where?”

“He’s jealous. You don’t need to answer.” Khal smirked, looking so amused.

Devion sharply turned to him again and released bolts of lightning. Khal was prepared to block his attack as usual.

“I also don’t know,” Ayen still answered as he watched this farce go on before him. “That’s how I felt.”

He was also not sure why that was the case. While Devion gave off an amiable presence if he was not speaking, Khal was truly the one who had an assuring presence out of the two.

“You’re doing that on purpose,” Devion accused, narrowing his eyes at Khal. “Don’t trust him. He’s more dangerous than me,” he said, turning at Ayen and pointing accusingly at Khal.

Khal merely smiled knowingly.

“See?” Devion pointed out again.

“What? I’m not saying anything,” Khal responded, the meaningful smile still lingering on his lips.

“Your smile pissed me off.”

“That’s on you.” Khal grinned, as if to provoke Devion more.

Devion’s eyelids twitched, lips pressing into a thin line.

Ayen watched, eyes going back and forth at the two. The bickering of the two never stopped since he met them. He almost wondered how they could sleep together at night.

“Who’s older between the two of you?” Ayen decided to intervene before he was implicated in the fight. Although that was impossible, who knew what would happen if Devion lost his temper more?

Poor Devion, his reputation with Ayen was basically down low.

The two quickly returned their attention to him. The tension lingering in the air disappeared as if it had never been there.

This was actually one of the strange things between the two. They could bicker one moment, and the next, they were suddenly harmonious.

Very unpredictable.

“He is,” Devion replied quicker than Khal, who shrugged and gestured an agreement. “He’s an old man,” he added.

“If I’m old, you’re old too.” Khal did not let it slide this time. “I’m only ten months older than you,” he said in a matter-of-fact tone.

“Still older.” Devion did not seem very affected by it. “How about you? How old are you?” He turned to Ayen.

Ayen did not immediately answer. He realized that besides their names, they did not know a lot about each other. That made sense. Technically, they only met like a week ago.

It was only about Ayen, since the two had known each other for years.

“You never said it.” Ayen looked at the two. “Your age.”

“34,” Khal casually answered. “He’s the same,” he added before Devion could answer himself.

Devion did not correct him, so it must be true.

Ayen shot an eyebrow at Devion. He always acts so immature for his age. Fortunately, his thoughts were not easily shown on his face. And he did not blurt that out.

Or Devion would surely be hurt if he heard it… Not really. Khal would have an even bigger reaction if that happened.

“I’m 27,” Ayen honestly answered. They could easily look it up, and there was no need to lie either.

Devion smiled. “You look younger.”

That was a compliment, and so Ayen did not refute it.

“Have you always been in the association?” Khal also agreed and then asked.

Ayen nodded at them. “For about 7 years now, 5 years on the field.”

His portfolio was not impressive, considering his rank. But he was an old employee, and the association always made use of ’loyal guides.’

Ayen was not loyal, but accepting the benefits would not hurt.

“Have you considered resigning?” Devion blurted a question that made the two look at him. “What? It’s a valid question. I’m curious.”

He did not look like he had a motive by the question.

“I never thought of that. Even now,” he emphasized the last two words to let them know he was not changing his mind.

He was going to the newly assigned zone soon.

“Pfft.” Khal held back his laughter, averting his eyes, and coughed. “Sorry.” He did not look apologetic.

“I only asked out of curiosity.”

“Sure.” Khal chimed in, not sounding convinced.

Devion glanced at him, and Khal smiled at him. He ignored Khal and turned to Ayen again. “Another question.” Changing the subject. “Did you enjoy it? Clearing the dungeon with us, I mean.”

Did he enjoy it? Besides picking up mana cores, Ayen did not really do anything special. The two did the work, and he was only watching.

“I did.” Ayen nodded, admitting that he enjoyed the experience. “Thank you for bringing me here…”

He was not expressive, perhaps before he was, but Ayen’s emotions had been stagnant over the years. He did not know how to properly show his feelings besides his words.

And since he was also not good with words, Ayen had no idea if he conveyed his message clearly to them. And so, he decided to continue and at least made his answer worthwhile.

“Clearing a dungeon has never crossed my mind before, or handling mana cores.” He sounded indifferent, but if only Ayen knew how the light in his eyes glimmered at this moment.

Although his bangs concealed most of this glow, the two could perfectly discern it.

When he was young, he also dreamed of becoming the best guide in the world. A simple but ideal dream for a young aspiring guide. And one of those dreams also included conquering dungeons.

It was a very distant dream; Ayen barely remembered them or reminisced about them. However, those memories were dug up slowly during this exploration.

“I think…” Ayen stared back at the two; his lips did not have a hint of a smile, but his eyes had a glint in them. “It’s really fun.”

He had never been as honest as he was at this moment. And Ayen found out the feeling was not bad. Once in a while, he could spare himself a happy memory.

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