The deeper they went, the quieter it became.
No monsters. No traps. Only the eerie stillness of a dungeon long forgotten.
The flag chamber wasn't grand just a circular room with stone pillars, cracked murals, and a single pedestal in the center.
On it stood a small black banner, threaded with silver.
Rika practically skipped forward, eyes glinting. "It's real. It's so real. I thought we'd die by now."
"Don't jinx it," Elrya muttered, scanning the walls for runes.
Rei approached the flag slowly, eyes narrowing. The air here felt wrong — not dangerous, but… ancient.
He grasped the pole. It was cold.
As he lifted it, the chamber pulsed once. A faint shimmer ran along the floor like a ripple.
Then stillness again.
No explosion. No collapsing ceiling.
"Anti-climactic," Regulus huffed. "I wanted a dramatic escape. Maybe a death leap. A crumbling bridge."
"We're trying not to die," Elrya said.
Rei turned to Kajala. "Let's move before something changes its mind."
Kajala nodded. "Lead the way, Captain Serious."
The trip back was smoother. The traps had already been triggered or avoided. No new monsters appeared. Only the echo of their own footsteps, and the strange, far-off sound of… breathing?
No one mentioned it.
Back at the surface, the sun had shifted to late afternoon. Instructor Hael stood leaning on a stone, his one eye glowing faintly.
"Flag?"
Rei handed it over.
Hael inspected it, grunted. "You didn't die. Good start."
Kajala raised a hand. "We almost did, if that counts!"
"It doesn't."
He turned to Rei specifically. "You led. You adapted. You kept them together. Not bad for a magicless nobody."
Rei didn't flinch. "I'm not here to impress you."
Hael smirked. "Then surprise me instead."
He tossed the flag back. "Return it to the Guild Registry. Your team's officially logged. Welcome to the crawl."
They began the walk back to the city, slightly limping, still bandaged, but lighter in spirit.
Regulus kept slipping on the same root three times before he growled and smashed it with his axe. "Nature is my enemy."
Rika poked him in the leg. "You're dramatic. I like that. Are you flammable?"
"No—?"
"Shame."
Kajala walked beside Rei, swinging his scarf like a tail. "You know," he said, voice quieter, "we did good in there."
"We didn't die," Rei replied.
"That's not the same thing," Kajala said. "You led. And I saw it you were in it. Like, really in it. You're meant for this, even if you're weird and quiet and scary."
"I'm not scary."
Kajala grinned. "You're cute when you lie."
Rei groaned, but didn't move away.
As the sun dipped below the horizon, casting golden light over the city towers ahead, a strange sense of peace settled over Rei.
This wasn't the war he had known.
But it was a fight.
And for now — that was enough.
The courtyard of Valebright Knight Academia buzzed with warm lanternlight, laughter, and the clinking of mugs and plates. Long wooden tables were set up beneath the open sky, surrounded by students of all years, instructors, and staff. Steam rose from hot stews and roasted meats, sweet pastries piled high beside baskets of fresh bread.
It was rare to celebrate a first delve, even rarer for a fresh-formed guild to return unscathed.
But Rei's team had done just that — and more importantly, they'd brought back a flag.
Kajala dragged Rei by the wrist toward the food line, scarf fluttering behind him like a victory banner.
"C'mon, you gloomy wallflower! Eat! Celebrate! There's spiced cider and grilled fish with lemon glaze!"
Rei frowned. "I'm not hungry."
Kajala leaned closer, eyes gleaming. "You almost died. That means you especially deserve dessert."
Behind them, Regulus loudly tried to balance three full trays while walking in full armor.
"THE CAKE SLIPS NOT, FOR I—ARGH!"
He slipped.
Again.
Trays hit the ground. Bread flew. A roast duck rolled into Rika's lap. She blinked once, picked it up gently, and began eating it whole.
"I like this place," she whispered, eyes wide and eerie. "There are so many locks on the doors here."
Elrya had taken the farthest corner seat she could find, sipping quietly from a teacup. Her cloak shimmered faintly with healing magic still mending her side. When she saw Rei, she gave a rare, soft smile and nodded once. A silent acknowledgment.
Rei moved through the crowd slowly, taking it in.
Laughter.
Light.
For a moment, he felt out of place. Like he'd stepped into someone else's life. But Kajala was there, poking him every few seconds, offering him strange dumplings, making jokes that didn't land but made him smile anyway.
When the guild all sat together at one long bench — food in front of them, sky overhead, the firepit crackling — Rei felt something unfamiliar.
He wasn't alone.
Kajala raised a mug. "To Team… uh. We still need a name. But for now—"
"To not dying!" Regulus bellowed, already halfway into a second drink.
"To weird basements!" Rika added.
"To Rei," Elrya said softly. "You kept us together."
Kajala winked at Rei. "To the cutest, scariest no-magic swordsman in the school."
Rei groaned. "Stop calling me cute."
Kajala clinked his mug to Rei's. "Make me."
Laughter followed, and Rei couldn't help but let the corner of his mouth twitch upward.
He drank.
And for one evening — one bright, fleeting moment — he let himself believe it was real.
That he belonged.
That the past didn't matter, and death wasn't waiting.
That night, the academy halls fell quiet, lanterns dimming one by one as students drifted off to their dorms.
Their group had been given a shared hall — two bunk beds, one window, and not nearly enough space for Regulus' armor, which clanked loudly as he tried to squeeze it into the closet.
Kajala claimed the top bunk over Rei immediately. "Because I like watching your head from above," he said with a grin, dangling his scarf like a curtain between the beds.
Rei rolled his eyes and lay back, arms behind his head, staring up at the wood planks of the bunk above. For once, the silence didn't feel heavy.
Rika was already curled up in the far corner on a pile of blankets she dragged from who-knows-where, murmuring to herself about trap springs and tumblers.
Regulus snored thunderously the moment he hit the mattress.
Elrya sat by the window for a while, humming softly to herself as she looked out over the academy lights before finally turning in.
Rei closed his eyes.
For now, he could rest.
No battles.
No death.
Just the quiet rhythm of his new life.
And maybe, just maybe — it wasn't such a bad one.