The very day after Dungeon Master 07 announced we would leave Miriandelle, we left. It wasn’t much of a surprise, after all. Miriandelle was nothing but a rendezvous point for us Dungeon Masters to gather. There wasn’t even a particular arrangement for our gatherings. The idea was simply to meet up there and proceed as we should agree.

  In the meetings attended by both Dungeon Master 07 and Dungeon Master 10, their reunions always ended with both parting ways, agreeing to meet again in Miriandelle. So, it wasn’t surprising to hear that Dungeon Master 07 wanted us to leave, especially considering the reason he gave.

  The only odd thing about it was the suddenness, but I was still fine with it.

  I was riding Veilleuse-04, my sturdy stallion, with Dungeon Master 09 sitting in front of me. His hair tickled my face with each gust of wind. The rhythm of hooves on the dusty road lulled the world into a monotonous hum. Speaking of monotonous, the silence that I had quickly adapted to at the beginning of my journey now felt oppressively boring. Months spent in solitary journeys had gotten me used to the monotony of traveling alone, but now, with Dungeon Master 07 beside me and Dungeon Master 09 in front, the silence felt oddly soporific.

  A mischievous glint sparked in my eyes. I rested my head on Dungeon Master 09’s head, feigning sleepiness. He, ever the kind soul, didn’t protest. Perfect. With a lightning-fast movement, I reached out and tickled his ribs with my free hand.

  "Dungeon Master 08!" he shrieked, a high-pitched squeal that instantly shattered the oppressive silence. "Dun—Dungeon Master 08! Stop it!" He swatted at my hand, laughter bubbling up despite his protests.

  I doubled my efforts, sending shivers down his spine and reducing him to a babbling mess of giggles and pleas for mercy. The commotion naturally caught the attention of the ever grumpy Dungeon Master 07, who turned his head with a raised eyebrow.

  "Do you want to be tickled too, Dungeon Master 07?" I asked, a playful smirk tugging at the corners of my lips.

  He gave me a deadpan stare. "I can live without that."

  "Aw, come on," I pouted, momentarily forgetting my annoyance with the silence. "You’re no fun, unlike Dungeon Master 09!"

  Before he could react, I launched another surprise attack on Dungeon Master 09. "Dungeon... Master 08... stoooop!" he pleaded, his laughter dissolving into breathless pleas.

  "Alright, alright, you big baby," I chuckled, finally relenting. Turning back to Dungeon Master 07, I couldn’t resist another dig. "Say, not to sound condescending or anything," I began, emphasizing each word with exaggerated sweetness, "but given your rank, shouldn’t we be riding in a super fancy carriage instead of traveling like this?"

  "You’re right." Dungeon Master 07 responded without much of a reaction, "With my rank, this journey should have been done in a comfortable carriage, complete with coachmen and an escort, but I declined the offer. Do you know why?"

  I could already guess why, but wanting the chat to be a little longer, I shook my head.

  "Because of what we’re making this journey for, or at the very least partly for: to help both of you raise your level."

  It was one of the reasons he immediately gave for our departure from Miriandelle: to have us both raise our levels. How? The way everyone raises their level, by defeating monsters, which in this world can be found on the road, far from civilization. The journey was thus a way for him to allow us to level up while he, of a much higher level, supervised our progress. While I didn’t like this comparison, it reminded me a lot of how teachers would watch over kids. Considering the level gap, especially with Dungeon Master 09, the comparison was tragically accurate. But tragic as it sounded, it was obviously a good thing. Having gotten such supervision back in the chateau, I could see both the downsides and advantages of such an approach. The obvious downside, and typically the only one, was that it lowered the overall experience expected from a kill, making the level-up process slower than other methods.

  That being said, this approach does come with a significant set of advantages. One of the biggest is that you won't stupidly and randomly die, which is a huge plus that makes the whole thing worth it. Since leveling up is done through killing monsters, the odds are always fifty-fifty that either you’ll turn into experience for the monster or the monster will turn into experience for you. This method also allows for experimentation in battle, something you can't afford to do when your life is truly on the line.

  You get the edge to try new things, which can result in acquiring skills or leveling up in ways that aren’t conventionally possible within one’s class. While this method reduces the overall experience gained from a kill, it doesn’t seem to affect the pace of skill level progression or the acquisition of new skills. All in all, this approach is quite beneficial to me.

  Admittedly, the results at lower levels might make one second guess its efficacy when compared to the conventional method, but at higher levels, where the difference in level is much more pronounced, it’s clearly the best method. The challenge of leveling up past a certain point is immense. There’s a simple reason why most veteran handlers range from level 9 to 15, and only a handful make it past that segment: the experience requirements for leveling up past that second just get ridiculously demanding.

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  Gone are the days when leveling up meant simply defeating an enemy of your level and gaining substantial experience. Now, the requirements are exponentially more demanding. For those whose job involves defeating monsters, typically common ones, it's clear that past a certain level, there aren't many challenges left that allow for significant progress. As a Verdenkind, leveling up means actively seeking out monsters, a perilous task. Most often, you'll encounter weaker monsters that offer little experience, monsters at your level that don’t provide enough, or monsters that vastly outmatch you. While defeating such formidable creatures would yield substantial experience, the odds are higher that you’ll end up the victim instead.

  That’s why, in the two hundred or so days I’d been on the road since I made it to Auroravia, I had only gone up by seven levels.

  Thinking back, if I had grinded harder, not that I didn’t grind hard; the Goddess knows how much I had to grind to get there, I might have made it two or three levels higher. But that was me being idealistic and greedy.

  Realistically, I wouldn’t have been able to do that without putting myself in dangerous situations like the one with the Frostfang One-eyed Serpent. I made an active effort to avoid such situations. I might be an effectively immortal soul, but the idea of missing this decade's reunion was unbearable, so I played it safe. Or at the very least, relatively safe, as there were many times along the road where I halted my progress to Miriandelle to go monster or bandit hunting to raise my level.

  Having miraculously made it to level 27 alone, I welcomed the presence of someone stronger to look after me during my level-ups. I would hate dying now.

  "An escort and coachmen can only slow our way," Dungeon Master 07 explained. "Though I suppose we could’ve had a carriage without coachmen. But I can hardly imagine myself acting as a coach for the three of us:" Dungeon Master 07 then glanced at me asking, "Can you?"

  I shook my head, just as Dungeon Master 09 did when Dungeon Master 07 glanced at him.

  "That is why we’re traveling like this."

  "I see," I said, resting my head back on top of Dungeon Master 09’s head.

  In that moment, Dungeon Master 07 added, "One more thing. Ahead, we will stop at several checkpoints, one in which it won’t be safe for us to address each other as Dungeon Masters. They’re good at prying into conversations, even when whispering, so get used to your persona’s name."

  Back in Miriandelle, we were rather lax about calling each other by our Dungeon Master names, especially when joined by Dungeon Master 09. Even then, we whispered, so while his warning seemed unnecessary, I couldn’t blame him for reminding us. Teasingly, I said, "Yes, your Divine Emissary."

  He eyed me, "You aren’t quite getting on my nerves as you think you are."

  "Trying to get on your nerves? Who? Me? I would never."

  "Hmph."

  Like that, the three of us continued our journey. We made our way west, which, for me, coming from there, felt counterproductive. But as Dungeon Master 07 said, we weren’t exactly trying to get somewhere specific. We were using this journey as an opportunity to level up, and that made a bit more sense. Treading these roads I’d already traveled to get to Miriandelle, we kept moving peacefully until we passed through a route known to the handlers operating in the region as the Misty Quagmire Wood.

  The name was apt. The path was shrouded in mist, a hazy veil that seemed to swallow the light and obscure our vision. Even for me, with my enhanced sight thanks to [Eagle Eyes], the mist was still noticeable, like a persistent whisper in the back of my mind.

  Through that mist, I spotted something in the distance and warned Dungeon Master 07 and Dungeon Master 09, "There’s something ahead."

  Dungeon Master 07 instantly went on high alert. "Monsters?"

  "No, it’s a carria—no! It’s the wreckage of a wagon."

  Apprehensive, we approached the wreck. It wasn’t just curiosity driving us but also the fact that it was blocking our path. As we got about a dozen meters from the wrecked carriage, I swung my leg over and dismounted gracefully, my boots landing in the squishy, mushy ground. Turning, I lifted Dungeon Master 09 down, his wide eyes taking in the chaotic scene before us. Dungeon Master 07 had already dismounted and moved to the horses, taking the reins of both his and mine, ensuring they remained calm and steady. He led the horses to a tree trunk around which he fastened them before approaching us.

  We haven’t even reached the wagon yet we could already assess its miserable state. One of its wheels lay broken a few feet away, and the sideboards hung off their hinges. Scattered goods and torn fabrics littered the ground, painting a picture of violence.

  Looking at the scattered goods, I noted, "From the look of it, it came from Miriandelle." Spilled on the ground from the baskets were salted fish, their potent smell unmistakable. It was clearly a product of Miriandelle’s city port.

  Dungeon Master 07 nodded. Pacing around the wreckage, he wordlessly noted that the wagon appeared to have been engulfed in flames, the wood charred and blackened. Making my way to the front part of the wagon, I saw what was left of the horses, only bones, meaty chunks and mysterious scattered remains.

  Dungeon Master 07 knelt by a gooey substance on the ground right next to large reptilian footprints. "The culprit seems to have gone that way," he remarked pointing in a direction deep into a side of the forest, "The thing responsible for this was probably chasing the ones driving this wagon. Dun—Arianna, you're more familiar with this road. What do you think it is?"

  Having traveled from the city ahead to Miriandelle, I naturally had gathered info about the road from the local handlers, like I always do when traveling from city to city. I had been warned about the kind of creatures that could be found in these woods. "It looks like it’s the work of a Dra—" I began, but something caught my eye. Thanks to the 180° vision granted by my [Eagle Eyes], I noticed something moving far behind me. Following my gaze, Dungeon Master 07 and I turned around to see eyes shining bright red from within the mist, approaching from deeper in the woods.

  Slowly but surely, their forms were revealed. At first glance, they looked like wolves, but the eerie glow emanating from their fur marked them as something else, animalistic monsters.

  There were about half a dozen of them, though there could be more hiding in the mist. Regardless, it didn't change the outcome I had in mind. Reaching for Dungeon Master 09’s shoulder, I gently moved him behind me as I prepared to swiftly exterminate the creatures. Already pointing at them, I summoned exactly six hexed Frost Daggers around me, the magical blades glinting with an icy blue light.

  I was about to unleash the daggers, which would have made quick work of the obviously low-level creatures, when Dungeon Master 07 called out, "Wait."

  I turned toward him, confused. "Hm?" I asked casually, glancing at Dungeon Master 09.

  "Don't kill them," Dungeon Master 07 said, his voice steady. "This might be Dungeon Master 09's opportunity to acquire some experience. Leave them to him."