No one could be sure whether an NPC had sneaked in among them—there might even be a high-level NPC, for all they knew. So, before the dungeon officially began, they needed to verify everyone’s identity.
The others didn’t object to this. Very quickly, pop-ups appeared one after another. Ron glanced through everyone’s pop-ups to confirm their information while also displaying his own.
Then he turned to Asta, who was standing off to the side. "Hey, where’s your pop-up? You can’t skip the identity check even if you recognize everyone’s face." As soon as he said this, Ron paused slightly, eyes widening in surprise as he looked toward the girl nad Aurora.
She had already stepped away from her seat, revealing her actual appearance.
Her figure was well-proportioned, with a beautiful face. She wore a pure white dress adorned with prominent lace detailing around the sleeves and hem, which extended just past her knees. A large bow sat beneath her collar, and the calf-high boots on her feet made her look even taller.
Only—this was way too tall!
Ron looked up at her, unable to keep from marveling. Aurora had to be over 1.9 ters tall!
He turned to look at Asta again. The man was frozen in place as if he had turned to stone.
Mouth agape, Asta stared up at Aurora, then looked back at Ron, his lips twitching like he wanted to say sothing but couldn’t get the words out.
Right... the girl he had been eyeing turned out to be twenty centiters taller than him. That probably ca as a shock.
Seeing Asta’s dumbfounded expression, Ron couldn’t help himself—he kicked him squarely in the butt.
Asta jumped, startled. Under Aurora’s curious gaze, he quickly looked away and hurriedly opened up his identity pop-up. He also glanced at Aurora’s information.
A single mother bringing her child to Watson Town for a dical visit.
A single mom? Asta swallowed hard. This dungeon system sure knew how to ss with people.
Just then, a shadow fell over him. Startled, Asta looked up to see the beautiful girl walking over. She smiled sweetly and said, "What’s wrong? You look a little panicked, Asta."
He looked into Aurora’s gentle face, then straight ahead—and his gaze stopped dead on the two soft mounds floating before his eyes.
Wait. He didn’t have to lower his head to get a front-row seat!
Hold on—that was such a dirty thought! If Aurora knew what he was thinking, she’d hate him!
With that terrifying realization, he shut his eyes tight and jerked his head to the side as quickly and decisively as possible. His face was filled with regret, which only made Aurora more confused.
[Look at Asta’s face—I know there’s nothing pure going on in that head of his!]
[He’s holding back well enough, but his thoughts have never been under his control, hahahaha.]
"He’s nuts. Don’t mind him," Ron said with a dismissive wave.
"Hey!" Asta shouted instantly, wanting to curse him out—but when he noticed Aurora still standing nearby, he quickly swallowed the words back down.
At that mont, Ron began to speak again. "Looks like this ti, each of us has our role. So people are even tied into NPC storylines. To stay safe, everyone, rember your assigned identity—and don’t forget you’re playing a part."
The area below had never been quiet—many people were still talking to one another, and so had already left their seats.
Ron hadn’t explored the other train cars yet, so he couldn’t tell just how large this dungeon was, but he could guess that it certainly wasn’t small.
He also didn’t plan on rushing to form a team with anyone. He had already said everything that needed to be said.
"Has everyone gotten a ticket yet?"
Just then, a female voice suddenly rang out. A girl stepped out from the group and asked gently.
She had short, neat black hair with bangs that didn’t even sway as she walked, as if they were glued straight to her forehead.
Her outfit was also unique: underneath was a shirt and tie, topped with a vest. She wore a flared suspender skirt decorated with fresh white floral patterns, and the overall color sche was a blend of blue and violet.
Her sleeves were neatly buttoned at the cuffs. Though the outfit looked elaborate, it was refined and tidy. On her head was a black beret with a slightly crooked blue bow, and in her hand, she held a dark teal walking stick.
It was an outfit that imdiately made it clear who she was. She was a mber of The Graceful Shadows.
An organization obsessed with elegance and perfection in all situations, composed of mid-tier espers and above. Though Ron had no idea how anyone could gather a group of people with such absurdly high standards, there were plenty of independent esper organizations out there. Still, The Graceful Shadows stood out thanks to their distinctive style and thus attracted public attention.
And the cute girl standing in front of them was none other than Nyx, the vice guild leader of The Graceful Shadows.
Her pale blue eyes seed capable of seeing through any illusion. "None of you have ridden a train before? If you don’t have a ticket, when the conductor cos to check, we’ll be kicked off the train."
Just then, Asta finished rummaging through an NPC’s bag and pulled out a brownish-gold ticket.
He didn’t keep it for himself. Instead, he turned to look at Aurora standing nearby, hesitated for a mont, then offered the ticket. "Here, take this. Be careful later..."
"If you need any help, just call ! I’m firm—I’m sure I can help you!"
Asta spoke with great fervor, completely ignoring everyone else.
Aurora accepted the ticket from Asta with sincere gratitude. "This is my first ti entering a dungeon, and I’m terrified... Hearing you say that, I feel more at ease. Could you sit with ? There’s no one next to anyway."
Asta’s eyes practically lit up on the spot. "I... of course I’d be happy to!"
He imdiately scurried off to find his ticket, looking so hopelessly dumb that Ron couldn’t help but frown, his eyes full of unspoken disapproval.
Nyx, smiling at the side, suddenly said, "Asta, do you not realize your position? Acting like that—aren’t you afraid of being used?"
As she spoke, her gaze shifted to Aurora. Facing Aurora’s erald green eyes, Nyx’s smile deepened subtly. She added, almost offhandedly, "Then again, it’s not surprising you can’t resist."
Then she, too, began searching for a ticket. The others had already started moving as soon as Nyx spoke. The sound of arguing and scrambling echoed through the train car.
"Hey, I saw that first!"
"Get lost—it’s mine!"
People kept shoving each other. Just then, the entire space suddenly plunged into darkness. Not only did it grow dark outside, but the lights inside the train dimd as well. Anyone with night blindness probably couldn’t see a thing.
A few people froze for a mont in surprise but quickly resud their frantic search for tickets on the NPCs.
Even without any announcent, everyone could feel it:
The dungeon was about to begin officially.
"Try to get back to your seat before the lights co on again!"
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