Wandering The Site

//Shorter chapter but only because of personal reasons. Next one will be much longer.

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Riveria wasn't sure when they lost track of him, but the next time she turned to look, mainly when they had reached the edge of the campsite, Revan had completely disappeared from her view.

Up until the moment of his disappearance, particularly from when they departed Rivira's wooden fence, Revan had been freely conversing with the other two girls. Though he didn't speak very much, or very loudly, he always directed questions towards whichever one happened to acknowledge him, showing a good deal more emotion than he had in the beginning. At the very least, the boy was opening up more, no matter how slight the crack in the armor turned out to be. It lead Riveria to eventually lower her guard and focus on her own matters, going through the objectives that needed priority and which could be set aside for a later appraisal. When they finally reached the camps border, she had nearly forgotten the youth existed, wrapped up in her own contemplations.

Now, when she finally opted to turn around and look at the stragglers, the child was gone. Only Tiona and Ais remained, casually strolling behind her without a single word being uttered.

"Ais. Tiona." Riveria frowned as she glanced in either direction, making sure she hadn't missed him in the initial scan of her surroundings. "Where's the boy?"

Tiona's eyes widened, a look of surprise spreading across her face as she also glanced around, mimicking Riveria. "He's gone??!! But he was just here??!" She exclaimed in the most dramatic voice possible, exaggerating it far too much for any of it to actually be believable.

Riveria stared at her for a few seconds before turning her head towards Ais, of whom slowly glanced to the side, refusing to meet Riveria's pressing gaze.

After a moment of prying and probing them for information and receiving only a general direction of where he went, the elven woman let out a sigh, touching her fingers to the bridge of her nose. Them having just met the youth, and in a pretty questionable way, the last thing she expected was for them to let him wander off and then proceed to tell her as little as possible.

"Do you know what he left for?" Riveria asked, giving up entirely.

"He said he wanted to look around," Tiona admitted, shrugging her shoulders. "I didn't see a problem with it."

"No, it's fine." Riveria waved her hand, gesturing in the direction they said he went off towards. "But you're responsible for anything that happens to or around him. You two make sure he doesn't stir up any trouble, and get him checked up while you're at it."

"You got it," the Amazon said happily, turning on her heels and briskly walking away, Ais on her heels.

"Let's just hope he doesn't do anything stupid," Riveria muttered, turning around and walking further into the encampment, jade hair fluttering in the wind. "Or upset anyone troublesome."

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"The heck do you want," Was the response Revan received, despite not having uttered a single word. Just a growl and a flash of pearly white teeth, of which had two sets of unusually sharp canines. "Need something? Picking a fight?"

He wasn't sure why he had gotten such a retort, considering that he has just been observing, albeit from a spot one would call up close and personal. Still, Revan wasn't entirely certain that the grey haired males anger was warranted since he hadn't said or done anything to offend him, unless the male was the type to get exasperated from a simple look. Normally, the black haired teen could tell ones emotion and approachability based on body language, facial expressions, and tone of voice, but he hadn't given any of those a single thought when he had walked up to the grey haired individual. He had been far too focused on the fluffy wolf ears protruding near the top of the guys head.

"You cosplay?" Revan asked, tilting his head, ignoring the males angry posturing. He also took note of the large tail attached to the backside of the man.

"The hell is a cosplay?"

"Like dressing up. Basically putting on costumes to look like something you're not."

"What are you even-"

Bete Loga was cut off as the youth, without the slightest hint of hesitation or fear, walked up to him and reached towards his ears, running his thumbs along the base. The young werewolf didn't even know how to fully react as Revan swiftly switched from the ears to the tail, running his fingers along the base of the tail just as he did to the ears. The last thing Bete was prepared for was to be freely groped in the middle of camp, and the only thing he could think to do in that moment was freeze.

At least until the initial shock of the situation wore off.

"Hm. They're real," Revan noted as he fiddled with the wolf tails fluffiness, a look of surprise on his face. "That's quite interesting."

Bete didn't even reply as he twirled around, already swinging his leg towards the black haired youths temple.

Whoosh! Thud!

The armored leg ceased it's movement entirely, moments before it could make sweet love to the side of Revan's head. It had happened far too fast for the youth to even register, but when everything came to a standstill, he was lying on the ground a few feet away, Tione standing in the very spot he had just been standing in. Revan felt a wave of confusion pass over him as the tan women pushed the demihuman's leg away from her arm, forcing him to back up. The two glowered at each other, both poised and ready for a scrap.

"Out of the way Amazon," Bete growled, cracking his knuckles. "This isn't your fight. I'm gonna kill 'im."

"If anyone is gonna beat the shit outta him, it's gonna be me. So back the hell off Bete." Tione crouched low, hands at the ready. From Revan's point of view, it looked as if she was readying herself for a judo match which he found slightly amusing despite the escalating situation.

"Alright, settle down. This isn't exactly the place for that sort of thing. Take it somewhere else."

Before the black haired teen could get a look at who had spoken, he was being lifted by the scruff of his shirt, hoisted off the ground and onto his feet. The last remnants holding up his shirt was torn, causing it to fall off of him, reuniting with the soft ground below. However, that didn't particularly bother him. It was the fact that he had once again been casually picked up like a paperweight that made him feel uncomfortable, the very person who was able to do it walking casually past him.

The new arrival was tall, or at least a bit taller than Revan, standing at around 170cm to his own 160cm. Long black hair that extended past the waist, brown skin that looked almost tan, though not looking quite the same shade as the Hiryute sisters, and a well endowed chest that was pretty difficult to miss. With a white sarashi, a red hakama, and odd looking sandals, she was easily the most normally dressed individual Revan had met that day, barring the pitch black katana attached to her hip. Just like the others, she radiated an aura of power and danger that made the youths instinct scream out in protest, urging him to turn tail and flee in the opposite direction.

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"So, what do we have here?" The new arrival asked, strolling into the heated glares shared betwixt the two fighters. "Something on your minds?"

Tione and the werewolf broke off their little staring contest as the tanned woman approached them, each of them reluctantly straightening up. Revan wasn't too sure on the hierarchy around the campsite, but it was clear that the two combatants held some degree of respect for the eye patched female, or at the very least were willing to listen to her words of wisdom. The grey haired male kept looking over at Revan and snarling, flashing his overly sharp fangs, yet never made a single move towards him. For the few moments Revan had been around him, this was something that could've probably only been done by the arrival of someone with power and or authority. The werewolf didn't seem like someone who took orders from those without it.

The young teen took a mental note of her as he silently watched the three of them interact with each other.

"Not at all. Just kicking a mutt back into it's place." Tione said matter of factly, cracking her knuckles, imitating Bete's previous actions. "Nothing to see here."

Bete sneered, leaning forward. "Go ahead and give it your best shot, damned Amazon."

"You two can settle your differences some other time," Tsubaki Collbrande instructed, her tone leaving little room for any sort of argument. "Bete, Finn wants to see you in the main tent. Sounded pretty important."

"I'll go when I settle things here."

"Alright," Tsubaki shrugged slightly, seemingly no longer concerned with either one of them. "You can explain it to Finn later as to why you're late."

The werewolf's sneer slowly faded, a look that was quickly replaced with one of irritation. Without uttering a single word to either one of them, grumbling under his breath, Bete slipped past the two of them and headed straight towards Revan. Getting up close and personal, the youth could make out every single detail of Bete's face, his breath ruffling the top of Revan's hair. If he hadn't known that the werewolf wouldn't attack him in the current scenario, then he might have actually been a tad worried. All it would take was one punch, not even a well placed one, and he would be napping with the fishes, sleeping the big sleep. Simple logic told him that it was best to keep his mouth shut, to not upset him lest the beast actually lash out.

"You EVER touch me again," Bete pressed his index finger into Revans chest, amber colored eyes filled with anger. "And I'll kill you. A weakling like you shouldn't even be in the dungeon, let alone standing in front of me."

"I think you need a breath mint," Revan rebuttaled, unable to resist, common sense flying out the window.

Immediately, the youth was met with a shove, a firm and sturdy hand to the chest that probably wouldn't have done much to someone on the same level as those Revan had been walking around with previously. But to him, it was as if he had gotten hit with a cannon, the shove itself launching him a few feet away and right back into the ground he had just gotten up from. Afterwards, despite quickly recovering from what should have been a casual push, Revan just remained where he was, faceup, staring at the sparkling jewel of a ceiling. He could still hear Bete walking away, his armor clinking with every step he took.

"Waste of my damn time," Was the last thing Revan was able to make out before the angry tone of voice faded out completely.

(("Worth it.")) Revan affirmed, almost cracking a smile.

He wasn't sure how long he remained on the ground after that, Revan's eyes closing shortly after Bete had left the area. He merely stayed where he was as he processed what he had learned, mainly the bits and pieces about the existence of one called Finn, the nameless one eyed woman, the pointy eared Riveria, the demihuman called Bete, and the Hiryute sisters. There was so much information to compile and arrange that it would probably take Revan a few minutes to get it all properly organized. Even then, most of the intel he possessed involved heavy speculation due to some details being incomplete and other parts completely missing.

He was in a fantasy world. That much seemed pretty clear cut.

Given the fantastic location (Rivera and the ever mysterious dungeon), the different species (Bete the wolf boy and Riveria the elf), the monsters, and the weapon wielding adventurers, it was hard to believe anything else. As a firm believer in reasoning and logic, Revan had tried to write this notion off since the moment he had reawakened from his forced nap, ensnared in thick coils of rope. It just hadn't seemed possible, something that defied the youths very perception on reality, that one would see in countless fantasy based media and literature. However, the more he came to see, the more his own confidence began to waver, challenging his own beliefs and forcing him to reconsider his views.

The proof was in the pudding, and he had to accept it whether he like it or not. The banged up wall on Rivera, the elf and demihuman, Familia's, the very existence of the Loki campsite.

It all pointed towards fantasy being his new reality.

With those thoughts in mind, Revan began tackling everything he learned from the top, shattering what he knew and rearranging the puzzle pieces with a fictional based mindset involved.

For starters, he needed to ascertain where he was.

Based on his current level of knowledge, the teen was about 18 floors deep in a place known as THE dungeon, not A dungeon, meaning there was only one, or at least the only one the Loki Familia was aware of. It was a spot that either spawned or contained monsters within it's depths, though a consistent spawning seemed more probable as Revan highly doubted the adventurers would make repeated trips to an already ransacked dungeon. Rivera had supposedly been rebuilt over 300 times since the initial build and that wouldn't make any logical sense unless the monsters doing it could respawn. In addition, with constant reformation, it would give the Familia reason enough to make trips down into the dungeons interior since they could kill the monsters and harvest items or food from them. Would also explain why everyone Revan met was so damn strong.

They had to fight monsters every time they went underground, meaning that choice Revan made to provoke wolf boy had been an extremely bad call. Bete probably could've crushed his head like a grape and kept on with his day, barely batting an eye.

He wasn't weak like Revan himself was.

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"I'll kill you. A weakling like you shouldn't even be in the dungeon, let alone standing in front of me."

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Adventurers aside, the dungeon seemed to be an expansive place, spanning more than 18 floors beneath the surface of the earth. Based on what Riveria stated, the amount of floors could easily tally up to 30, 40, or even 50.

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"Monsters can come from the lower floors."

"Depending on the number, they could easily overwhelm those staying on the 18th Floor.

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The words seemed to indicate there being more than just a couple floors past the 18th. While presumptuous to guess it was more than 20, Revan was going to stick with a cap of 40 until further information proved otherwise. Following the logic of loot based RPG games his sister played, Revan assumed the lower the floor, the stronger the monster, but again, that was just a mere theory. If it was true though, there was far more levels to the dungeon then a mere 20 or even 40.

Poke. Poke.

Revan faltered for a second, his inner thoughts screeching to a sudden halt as something, or rather someone, pressed against his face. He had been so immersed in finally getting somewhere with his predicament that he had completely forgone reality, not even sensing when someone had approached him.

"You...alive?" A soft, slightly familiar voice asked before Revan felt another press to the cheek.

Slowly opening his eyes, the black haired youth greeted the world once again, the light blinding him for a split second before rapidly adjusting to it. Crouched beside him, still poking his cheek, was the blonde girl from before, the one who has been traveling with Tiona and Riveria.

Revan hadn't given her too much thought before, but now he was pretty much forced to given how close she was in proximity. Granted, it wasn't like he was complaining, especially given how cute she actually was when given a second look.

If he remembered correctly, her name was Eyes. A weird name but he wasn't about to make a comment on that. Would've been the pot calling the kettle black.

The girl was around his height, albeit a full 10cm shorter. Golden blonde hair that extended slightly past the waist, hues the same color as her flowing locks, and a rather fair complexion. She wore a white and black dress, though one that more closely resembled a cloth as she had some legging shorts underneath, along with a defining weapon that looked closer to a rapier than an actual sword. Positioned over the battle cloth was a head guard, breastplate, arm guards, hip guards, and knee guards. Her blue boots ran up the length of thighs, providing coverage to every part of her skin, save for the small bit exposed beneath her battle dress. All in all, she was quite gorgeous and matched the adventurer aesthetic to a tee.

Poke. Poke.

Revan fixed his void like hues onto her golden orbs as she, once again, jabbed softly into the side of his face.

"I'm awake," He mumbled, speaking through the finger pushing his cheek in.

"I know." Ais responded, pulling her hand away. Her face was difficult to read, the lack of emotion on her face making her an indiscernible oddity. Her body language gave nothing away either.

"Then why are you poking me?"

Ais didn't respond immediately, a sprinkling curiosity appearing on her visage, the first emotion Revan had seen on her since he opened his eyes moments ago. She didn't seem like the expressive type so the black haired youth just rolled with, laying where he was as she contemplated an answer.

Though, she never gave one, only answering his question with yet another question.

"How did you..." Ais pointed at a spot near the side of his neck. "...the scar."

Revan reached up and touched the place she was referring to, a long sunken gash that ran down his neck, past the collarbone and onto his chest. Unlike all his other scars and skin discoloration, this one was colored a light purple, and it was easily the wound that stuck out the most. This, it was the one the teen hated more than anything, remembering the story behind it every time it throbbed or was even slightly mentioned. But, since Ais had no idea about it origin, he had no room to fault it as he traced the length of the scar.

"I was 'training' with my dad." Revan admitted, forgoing the amnesiac route entirely. He doubted they had believed the story in the first place. "He may or may not have poisoned the blade before the match. Hard to say really."

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