A Face I Haven't Seen in Ages
A modest patch of greenery and rundown brick houses shimmered like a mirage in the desert.
I had no idea what a real dungeon might look like, but from memory, this blue land overgrown with plants and the buildings were a precious safe zone—untouched by the monsters swimming through the sand.
Above all, it offered a ceiling to escape the murderous heat, so it made sense that anyone swept into the dungeon would hole up here.
In truth, it wasn't all that surprising to me, Rohan, since I already knew about it.
The real shock was the unexpected new situation on my head—wait, no, not on my head.
What the...?
Amid the group was a girl I vaguely recognized.
Squatting down to judge if the green plants were edible, she had a boyish hairstyle, yet her face was beautifully feminine, leaving no room for confusion about her gender.
Digging through my memories, I recalled that some of the girls sprawled inside the brick house like they'd collapsed there—I thought I'd glimpsed them back at the Academy City shopping mall when monsters poured out.
And the guys outside, keeping watch around the perimeter.
They all looked about the same age. Probably got separated in a group while traveling together.
Dark circles under everyone's eyes from exhaustion.
First things first, let's get some water to these kids.
I crossed the sand where I'd been hiding my massive frame.
──Shwaaak! Sliding down the slope like it was greased.
As I approached, sure enough, that girl noticed first.
She sprang up instinctively, clenching her fists into a fighting stance.
A few of the guys around her shifted from wary to outright hostile glares.
"Long time no see, Lete."
At my voice, she looked up and met my eyes properly.
One second, two, three.
Her eyes flew wide in shock.
"S-Senior...!?"
As Lete dropped her stance and looked flustered, the group buzzed with murmurs.
I didn't close the distance rashly. Too many eyes were locked on the sword slung across my back and the pistol in my coat.
··
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I started sharing the situation with Lete off in a corner.
As the chaotic atmosphere spread, the girls who'd been hiding from the heat in the brick house crawled out, peeking their heads around.
From their chatter, it seemed Lete's connection to me was spreading naturally.
"Not the best place to say this, but you all look healthy. You're the friends who came to hang out in Academy City that time, right?"
"Y-Yeah... right."
Lete couldn't quite meet my eyes—probably awkward about cutting off contact—but I didn't mind at all.
After learning about the cultural differences between southern Solarea and the Sepia Archipelago, it felt natural. No plans to pry or make it a thing unless she brought it up first.
No way I'd hold back help over something like that.
"The monoliths popped up in Sepia too, huh?"
I tossed out the topic casually, and Lete confirmed it, explaining the situation.
I also learned the group was her classmates from school. Explained the intense stares from some of the guys.
"Same in Academy City. Woke up here after the towers appeared outta nowhere."
"Got it, right. Senior, you alone?"
"Guess 'cause I was heading to school solo."
"···."
An awkward silence.
I smirked at Lete fidgeting and kept up small talk to ease the tension.
"Said you got transported from school, but no uniforms?"
"O-Our school has free dress code, y'know? Orion Academy too, right?"
"Yeah. Uniforms are comfy and tough, so most of us wear 'em."
Orion specified free dress, but almost all cadets wore uniforms anyway.
Pride in attending Orion, sense of belonging.
Except Noah, who'd never worn hers once since enrolling.
Seeing Lete give a small laugh, I slipped in the big question.
"How you handling food and water?"
"Gotta eat monsters, right...? Was thinking plants for thirst."
Quick thinking—worthy of praise.
But a question arose.
"You seen the monsters here? Or did you drop straight in?"
"Dropped nearby, but this is where we ended up moving to, right. Oh, ran into a shark on the way!"
"And you caught it?"
Lete nodded boldly. I was genuinely impressed.
I didn't know her full capabilities, but taking down a Desert Shark unscathed? No idea she was that good.
She wasn't at that level in the mall... super fast growth? Or a special skill?
Of course, there were others who could fight besides Lete.
A male student with a sword.
The one who's been glaring nonstop.
But his skill? Hard to gauge. He hadn't even noticed me approaching quickly.
"Lete, you've gotten a lot stronger, huh? Desert Shark's no joke."
"···!"
Just a compliment, but Lete jolted like she'd been shocked, shoulders trembling.
I was puzzled by the odd reaction, but decided to handle the urgent issue first.
"Anyway, give this to your friends. Make sure everyone who can drink gets some."
I pulled two bottles of spring water from my coat.
Knowing how precious drinking water was here, Lete's eyes shook wildly.
"Th-That..."
About to habitually refuse, she glanced back.
Her friends' eyes gleamed at the bottles, parched lips swallowing hard.
"Just take it. Not asking for anything."
I shoved the water into Lete's hesitating arms.
She stood there clutching the cold bottles, lost in thought.
Then, as if resolved, she whispered.
"Senior..."
"Yeah?"
"Lemme give water to my friends first... can you spare some time?"
"Time?"
"Got something to show you..."
I nodded it was fine.
Lete bowed repeatedly in thanks, then headed to the brick house with the water.
I followed Lete over a tall sand dune.
From the house, this spot was hidden. But peek over, and you could see the house below.
Everyone was staring our way, super interested now that Lete and I came here together.
"Told 'em absolutely not to come up."
"So, what you wanna show me?"
Lete's face flushed as she took a deep breath. Suuup! Inhaled the hot air, then whoosh! exhaled.
Resolved again, she broached the sensitive topic in a quiet voice.
"About contacting you, Senior..."
"Speak freely. I get it. Big cultural gap between southerners and Sepia folks, right?"
I grinned lightly, joking it off.
Lete's face eased a bit as she replied.
"It did bother me 'cause you're from the south—clashing cultures and all. Even consulted my friends about it, right. But more than that..."
"Yeah."
I waited patiently for the rest.
Lete sighed deeply, head a mess.
"Told you about catching that shark earlier?"
"Yep."
"Truth is, I know that monster's way above my class or my classmates' level."
"Right. Was pretty shocked hearing it."
My honest reaction.
Lete explained why it was possible now.
"...Got a skill recently."
"Oh! That's great! Congrats."
Not actually common at all. Super, super rare good news.
Lete bowed in thanks, then hemmed and hawed into the explanation.
"But there's a problem with the skill... Tried controlling it, skipped school for closed-door training at the dojo."
"Must've been busy."
Closed-door training—pretty romantic. Something I wanna try someday.
But Lete's expression darkened, unsatisfied with the results.
"It's a skill with major issues. If I lose focus, it could hurt normal people..."
"Hmm, yeah, that'd be trouble."
Abyss City skills flashed in my mind.
But even those were just fragments. Reality had way too many skills for guesses.
"D-Don't think it's an excuse...! I really wanted to keep contacting you... But if I couldn't fix this, no way I'd make it to the academy anyway..."
Hard to respond to Lete bowing apologetically. Didn't know the skill, so "it's fine" would sound like empty comfort.
Plus, tied to her delicate pride. Couldn't stomach keeping in touch if she couldn't even attend the academy.
So I took it step by step.
"Still, you're telling me now 'cause we're in a dungeon?"
"Felt like the right time. And... after seeing you, I just knew you'd understand."
"Honest—I like that."
I smiled at her bold, spoiled tone.
But Lete's face burned like fire, voice cracking.
"Ugh! So embarrassing I wanna die... Feeling disgusted with myself for seeing opportunity even now..."
"Haha!"
Couldn't hold back—I burst out laughing.
Lete checked again that no one was coming over the dune.
"Just a quick show. Don't wanna cause issues..."
"Got it."
Curiosity peaked, I watched Lete.
As she moved to channel mana in response, she halted abruptly and asked for confirmation.
"...Senior."
"Yeah."
"I didn't want this skill...! You know the hypothesis that acquired skills match the user's tendencies, right...?!"
Her worried eyes were crystal clear to me.
I realized what she feared and smiled reassuringly.
"Don't worry. I get it."
"Phew..."
Lete exhaled in relief, focusing again.
Mana stirred subtly.
Her appearance began to change.
Crack—crack—.
Her sclera turned black, eyes inverting. Horns sprouted from her head, looking solid.
Black wings the size of palms emerged from her shoulder blades, and a glossy black tail—same spot as Noah's—popped out with a poof!, waving.
"!"
And a change stronger than the eyes: an intensely sweet scent, stirring primal urges I'd felt once before, exploded outward.