After the topic of his light-colored hair, an awkward silence ensued between the two of them as they walked towards the entrance not knowing that a disaster was waiting to fall upon them. Unfortunately, even though the lady basilisk let them go; another one was waiting right around the corner. Without making a noise, the smaller basilisk, which was the younger brother of the lady basilisk that guarded the mountain, bit Dio on his shoulder. “Argh!” Dio groaned in pain when he failed to dodge the surprise attack. He immediately pulled her to the other side to evade the serpent-like beast. Dio held his bleeding shoulder and the lady’s hand trembled in fear as she panicked not knowing what to do. Dio gritted his teeth, the pain coming from the clash between the basilisk’s venom and his healing abilities made him feel wobbly. “W-what should I do?” The lady exclaimed as she tried to wipe Dio’s blood as they ran. “Calm down,” Dio said in a hushed voice as he

“Dio. . .”The voice that he knew so much called out to him. He smiled as he held his mother’s hand and gently tugged her dress. “Mother, I saw a very beautiful flower over there!”His mother let out a soft laugh before following his lead. They stopped at the corner of the garden then he pointed at the budding flower.“Look at how small it is, mother!” He was delighted to show it to her and he was happier when her mother tousled his hair.“It’s a beautiful budding flower, just like Dio.” His mother gave him a gentle smile.His brows furrowed in curiosity. “Like me?”His mother nodded. “Just like Dio, this flower will grow to be amazing.”“Will I be someone

Dio spent the next few days with Mr. Rey Hearth and his crew as they traveled towards the Northwest Territory. Just as promised, Dio went with them as one of their guards aside from the hired adventurers."Dio, it's time for my shift. You can rest inside the carriage."Dio carried the sleeping kitten on his lap as he nodded to the adventurer who called out to him. He moved to enter the carriage and sat at the corner, away from the other adventurers who were chattering during their breaks."This road is too peaceful. I wonder why Mr. Hearth would hire a bunch of adventurers." A young man in his 20's complained as he rested his body on the wooden floor of the carriage."Didn't you know that peaceful roads like this are more dangerous than the ones with lots of monsters and bandits?" an archer said."There are reasons why this road is peaceful. It's either a bigger monster annihilated the monsters living here or the smaller monsters are just in hiding

The carriage stopped in front of the adventurer’s guild. Dio and his bond hopped out of it and went to the carriage where Mr. Hearth was in. It had been three days since he arrived in the northwest, the day had come for Mr. Hearth to uphold his part of the deal.“Have you decided? I have a lot of connections to the Northwest Adventurer’s Guild,” Mr. Hearth said confidently.“Are you sure this will help me find a reason to live?” Dio said in a bored tone.He leaned closer and whispered, “You’ll never know how important life is unless you are on the verge of dying.”“What nonsense. You know how strong I am.” Dio shook his head in disappointment.“That’s right. I know that you are strong but did you know the limit of your potential?” Mr. Hearth smiled. “I am introducing you to a world where you can challenge yourself and surpass your limit. There are too man

“Are you guys rookies?” A man who entered the safe zone with his party asked Calyx. “Yes. This is our first ascent,” Calyx helped with the treatment of those who entered with injuries. On the other hand, Dio just sat at the corner with his eyes closed. “If you guys are still rookies, I think it would be better for you to descend with us,” the leader who introduced himself as James suggested. “Sur--” “If you are coming with them, I’ll be leaving you behind,” Dio cut Calyx off. “Stop being so cold, Arkin. They were extending their help to guide us as we go lower, we should be grateful,” Calyx explained. “I don’t need their help.” He looked at the party members one by one. There was something about them that made Dio feel uneasy. “Rookies who insist that they don’t need help from their seniors always end up dying within the upper floors. You shouldn’t underestimate the dungeons, kid.” James gave him a proud grin. “Just accept our