Chapter 207: Elara's Realizations!

Somewhere in the winding tunnel leading directly to the bottom of the deep chasm, seven figures tread cautiously, fully alert.

Behind them lay the corpses of the monsters they had slain, rapidly dissolving and leaving behind their drops.

Unlike other dungeons, the drops in this Howling Chasm primarily consisted of wind-attributed materials such as Wind Crystals, Gale Cores, and various monster parts infused with wind mana.

—

[Item: Wind Crystal]

[Rank: D]

[Effect: A crystal condensed from the pure wind mana permeating the Howling Chasm. It can be used as a crafting material, mana source, or catalyst for wind-attributed artifacts and skills.]

—

[Item: Gale Core]

[Rank: D]

[Effect: The mana core of a wind-attributed monster. It contains highly concentrated wind energy and is prized for creating artifacts, enchantments, and consumables related to flight and speed.]

—

[Item: Galeheart Sigil]

[Rank: D]

[Effect: A condensed imprint of the Howling Chasm’s wind currents infused with mysterious energy. When infused with mana, it surrounds the user with a cushion of compressed air, allowing them to float freely and glide through the air for a limited duration.]

—

These were the most common drops obtained from the Rift Hounds and Wolves, along with other miscellaneous monster parts. Although none of them were particularly extraordinary, their value still surpassed that of any E-rank item.

Besides those, there were also a few notable drops this time. For instance, this item Soren obtained from killing the Echo Lurkers.

—

[Item: Veil Silence Bead]

[Rank: D]

[Effects: > Silent Field: When infused with mana, it generates a field of dampened sound that blocks all eavesdropping and sound-based detection within a small area for a short duration. > Veil of Presence: Within the same field, the user’s presence is partially concealed, reducing visual detection and making them harder to notice by nearby enemies. The effect can only mask up to three individuals at a time, and becomes significantly weaker while consuming more mana.]

—

An item that had an effect quite similar to the “Silent Domain.”

Its effect only applied externally, making it a perfect stealth-type artifact. Even now, they were using it to quickly traverse this tunnel, heading directly to the boss chamber.

It seemed even more useful when one considered that it wasn’t a consumable item. All it needed was a high amount of mana to operate smoothly.

‘This is quite useful. Maybe I can ask Isolde to turn it into an artifact that doesn’t need constant input of mana?’

Soren thought, looking at the dark bead in his hand.

After all, if it could be passively activated, he could spend time with his girls without fear of letting others hear, like that time with Sylvia and Aria.

Even completing the daily quest with Elise would become so much easier.

Just thinking about it made Soren smile as he looked at Sylvia, Aria, and Elise, who were chatting among themselves.

Now that they had killed quite a few monsters in the D-rank dungeon, everyone was already above level 45, while Soren himself had already reached level 50. Going beyond that, however, seemed difficult in this dungeon.

“Hey… Soren, can we talk?”

Just as Soren was thinking randomly, he suddenly heard a soft voice from the side.

“Hm?”

When he turned his head, he saw Elara looking at her sister, who was talking with Sylvia and Aria, biting her lip. It seemed she had a lot on her mind and could not even wait to leave the dungeon to talk.

“Yeah… what is it?”

Soren was a bit surprised, as Elara had been avoiding him since that incident the other day. After getting kissed forcefully by him, she had a hard time even meeting his eyes.

But now, she seemed to have gathered her courage as she leaned in slightly before whispering softly, as if afraid others would hear them.

“If y-you don’t mind… can you tell me what your relationship with Sylvia and Aria is?”

This had been gnawing at her heart from the beginning. Although her sister did not react much when Soren became so close with Sylvia, that only made it even stranger in her eyes.

Because even if she did not want to admit it, she could feel that atmosphere between them, just like he had with Elise.

However, did that mean he was playing with her sister?

She did know about his relationship with Aurelia, as her sister had told her. But if he had the same kind of relationship with other girls, too, then… maybe she might regret telling her sister to go after him.

For a moment, her sisterly responsibility surfaced out of nowhere as she looked into Soren’s eyes, carefully watching him, as if to make sure he would not lie.

“Relationship? What do you mean?”

Soren raised an eyebrow, already understanding what she was implying.

Elara, on the other hand, pouted in mild anger, just like that time in the market.

“Don’t act dumb. You know what I mean. Just tell me what your relationship with Sylvia and Aria is, honestly.”

Elara spoke softly but sternly, as if warning him not to lie.

“Ah… you mean that. They are my girlfriends.”

But to her surprise, Soren answered directly without hiding anything, making her eyes widen instantly.

“Wha-… then, my s-sister…”

“Yeah, she is also my girlfriend.”

“…”

Soren nodded so casually that Elara was left speechless, staring at him in disbelief. For a moment, she did not even know what to say, until her expression suddenly twisted in anger.

“You bastard. How could you do that to my sister? You already have her and you still…”

“Hm? What do you mean?”

Just as Elara was about to explode, Soren stopped her and asked, confused.

“Elise already knows about that and has no problem. Don’t worry, I am not playing around with her or anything.”

Soren paused, then suddenly looked at her lips.

“Besides… why are you acting so pure? Didn’t we also kiss each other before? You know, that was my first kiss.”

He whispered with a smirk, making Elara turn bright red. For a moment, she looked around, flustered, and only breathed a sigh of relief when she saw no one was paying attention to them, then cursed in a low voice.

“That’s different, idiot. That was just a mistake, and it was you… wait…”

Just as she was about to defend herself, she suddenly realized something and widened her eyes, her voice quivering slightly.

“Hey… h-how do you know that it was m-me?”

At that time, Soren had been thinking it was her sister. Then how did he know it was her instead?

She thought it was a secret she would take to the grave, but Soren suddenly brought it up, catching her off guard.

For a moment, her mind went blank until she suddenly realized something, turning her attention toward her sister.

“You… damn it!”

In an instant, she understood what must have happened, gritting her teeth in anger. Just as she was about to leave Soren’s side and confront her sister, Soren’s deep voice immediately made everyone alert.

“Stop. It seems we have arrived at the bottom of the chasm. We have some company.”