Solo Dungeon Runner

Alexander was standing outside, further to the side of the entrance where people still hurriedly left the stadium, impatient to arrive home. Titan was right by his side, scratching the back of his head as if caught between a rock and a hard place.

"Like I said…"

"You used me as bait. What if I had picked it up? I'd be dead," said Alexander.

"Dead? No, probably worse... Xcxul probably intended for you to pick it up, but I wonder who actually left it here."

Alexander sighed while shaking his head.

"Using me as bait? That's the only reason I'm participating at the tournament, isn't it?"

"I don't know, you'll have to ask Sunder. After the rumors of Xcxul coming back, right after that whole episode with the eye in the sky, he's been restless."

Alexander blinked a few times while staring at Titan.

"Xcxul? Since that long ago?" he asked.

"Oh, I guess he didn't tell you?"

"He just mentioned that he wasn't dead, not that he was back in business," replied Alexander, dryly.

"Oh well," replied Titan, shrugging. "I'm out, good luck."

Titan slowly walked away, his hands in his pockets as he went back toward the main path leading out of the stadium grounds.

As Titan disappeared into the crowd, Alexander spotted a familiar face approaching.

Fae.

She ran toward him, Alexander opening his arms wide as she jumped in with no regards for her velocity.

He fell backward, holding tightly onto his companion.

"I missed you," he said.

She was holding so firmly, but despite the pressure on his chest he felt relief.

He caressed her head, playing with her hair while he hugged her back.

"You did good," he said. "I'm proud of you."

He could feel her hands clutching him even tighter, unwilling to let go.

Instead of fighting it, he reciprocated her feelings, holding onto her.

After a moment that felt like it lasted several hours, they both eventually got up.

Fae grabbed his hand, her grasp so rigorous he could barely feel his blood circulating at the tip of his fingers.

It didn't hurt, and he knew there was no talking her out of it.

"I'm not going anywhere," he said.

Her gaze was stern, she wasn't willing to take that risk.

"How about this, want some matcha chocolate?" he asked, pointing at a stand a bit further.

She didn't answer.

"Ah, of course, you don't really know what that is…"

He then pulled her toward the stand underneath a large tent. There was a small line, he went to the back while looking at the man working the food.

There were several matcha products, from fluffy cloud cakes to hardened matcha candy. Once the customers chose what base product they wanted, they had several chocolate dips to choose from, ranging from black chocolate to white chocolate.

There even was strawberry and orange-flavored chocolate, something that he felt might be over-the-top.

"Which one do you want?" he asked.

She looked at the options, but quickly diverted her eyes back.

"Of course… I'll choose. I personally get the cake and have him pour some dark chocolate on top of it."

She nodded, locking her choice.

"Same as me? Alright," he said with a smile.

The person in front of them in line turned around, looking at them with an unfazed look that slowly turned into astonishment.

"Y-y-you… Cultist…"

More people at the front of the line turned around, just noticing who stood among them.

They whispered among themselves, their eyes furtively looking at him.

The word cultist kept coming back, but the weight they put on it different from what it was before.

There was a form a respect behind it, paired with the usual fright.

"Don't get the wrong ideas. He's still a cultist. A beast wearing human skin that'll hurt anyone crossing its path."

The voice came from right behind him, those who were whispering suddenly stopped, half of them leaving the queue.

Alexander looked right ahead, he would be next in turn to order. Fae was the one who slowly turned her head to peer at the person behind.

"He's not worth it," said Alexander, still looking ahead.

He heard the man scoff.

"See that? You turn into a puppet like her when you get involved with cultists. She probably can't even form a single coherent thought. He's likely already scrambled her brain, turned her into a submissive servant."

Alexander's expression tightened, he blinked slowly while keeping his attention away.

He barely even noticed how firmly he now held onto Fae's hand.

"She's probably his sex doll by night, dungeon fodder by day—"

Eyes bloomed on Alexander's clothes, a cascading myriad of eyes opening throughout his white robe.

The frantic eyes caught the scene feverishly, as the dungeon runner behind him was laid down by a single punch landed on his cheek.

"You pathetic piece of shit," said the man who landed the punch under his breath.

Alexander turned his head slightly, side-gazing at the man standing there rubbing his knuckles.

He looked like a typical dungeon runner, wearing light armor that both featured leather elements and plating equally. From appearances alone, he looked like a typical melee archetype, most likely fighter.

The man met Alexander's gaze, and rubbed the back of his head while doing a slight bow.

"Sorry, we haven't met before. I'm Nagano, I saw your two fights, they were impressive…"

He then looked at the man on the ground.

"I couldn't support it any longer," he added. "And she looked ready to do worse."

Alexander glanced at Fae, her fiery gaze was still staring at the dungeon runner lying on the ground, tightly holding a sword in her free hand as if she debated finishing him.

Alexander realized how tightly he held onto her, slightly relieving the pressure which brought her attention back to him.

"It's fine," he said.

She slowly calmed down, carefully sheathing her sword.

Everyone around them had taken a slight step back, even those who walked in the middle of path were taking a slight detour as they noticed something was happening.

Alexander let go of his expanded gaze, the eyes tiredly closing on his clothes, leaving no traces behind.

"Nice to meet you, Nagano."