An Extra’s POV

"Huu…"

Once Rey was done collecting all the Monster Cores, he heaved a heavy sigh.

As misty breaths escaped his lips and nostrils, he could clearly see the gateway to the next Floor.

The doorway existed at the furthest end of the ring—almost as if it was being guarded by the Boss Rey had just defeated.

That was his next destination.

"I Leveled Up three times just now…" Rey mumbled, realizing just how much EXP he must have received from the Boss and his minions.

With every Level Up, it got increasingly difficult to do so again.

Considering the fact that Rey had Leveled Up a total of five times before reaching the Boss Room by killing hundreds upon hundreds of BigFoot Monsters, it was surprising that he was able to Level Up three times just from a hundred others and a Boss.

'The BigFoot Monsters here were holding weapons, so they're probably stronger than the ones I faced outside…' Was Rey's line of reasoning.

The Boss had to also be quite strong.

With those thoughts in mind, Rey was happy he didn't dawdle at all.

'I still have about two hours left. I can still challenge the next Floor, right?'

Rey knew he was pushing it, but he liked his current streak.

He didn't want to ruin the momentum.

'If I can reach Level 30—no, Level 35—today… I'll be satisfied!'

He stared at the black gate that led to the next Floor. It wasn't covered in frost or anything, which surprised Rey.

That had to mean that the gate had special properties, or… the Floor that it led to was extremely hot.

Rey braced himself more for the second possibility.

"I'll have to speedrun this one…" He whispered, more white clouds of cold air escaping his lungs.

Time wasn't on his side.

*******

Alicia silently read her book in the library, flipping through the pages with a small smile on her face.

She wasn't smiling due to what she was reading, but because of something else.

… Someone else.

'In a few more hours, Rey will come here.' She didn't want to explicitly admit to herself why she was happy about this prospect.

But she was.

current book in her hands—a literature text regarding the common

was so long

lot had happened since then, and so she wanted to revisit the literature and see if she could have a new, more informed,

encountered a bunch of mundane things—like the outlawing of eating certain foods out in

done to ensure proper sanitation of

applied to high-brow areas like the Capital. Places such as the

limitations and transactional oversights were

have been too complicated for Alicia to grasp in the past,

a way, she found

was she learning so much about a world that she intended

of this…' As she chuckled, a dark thought

to go back…

to cause her bright smile to

it too much, though, she quickly brought

there were a lot of mundane, inconsequential regulations recently placed on previously accepted

of them

used to

the slave trade was the rising conflict beteeen the Humans and other Races, as well

The rise of the

invaded, and the Human Kingdoms began to band together, a

them was the

some who engaged in the slave

they were considered among the highest kinds of criminals in the United Human

operated in secret—deep in the inner recesses

just awful… selling humans as a

matter the world, the stain of slavery remained in

wasn't

issues with this place.' As

was a familiar presence she could spot from a mile away, and

'R-Rey?!'

boy she had been thinking of for so long now entered the Library and

doing here

usually came to the Library in the night. She still didn't know what he did in his spare time, and while she had been

with a smile

'Hmm. Strange…'

her, she usually

'He smells nice!'

time was

didn't want to think he did—but he just didn't have

with

I was thinking we should go to the Town

her brow in

in the library. He was often very interested in reading as much as he could, and he even sought her consultation

even been thinking of introducing him to the current book she was