It Is Alright To Use Spiral Power In The Dungeon

Meeting Hestia

Simon repeatedly blinked as he and Bell exited the Guild headquarters. As his eyes adjusted to the sun shining down from above, he craned his neck up to get a better look at the new land he found himself in. When his eyes fully adjusted he couldn't help but stare at what he saw.

Bell looked up at Simon with a grin, "Yeah. That was my first reaction too. Welcome to the Labyrinth City, Orario."

Bell waved a hand toward the city laid out before them. Crowds filled the cobblestone streets in front of them. Pastoral wooden buildings sat side by side on either side of the street. Some had signs above their doors with words or symbols drawn onto them. Others had people or other races coming and going in and out of their doors.

But one of the main things that caught Simon's attention were the various types of creatures that walked side by side with humans. The ones with animal features didn't bother him much. They just reminded him of the beastmen from his world. The ones that surprised him were the squat humanoids barely taller than his thighs but built like brick houses, the ones with thin frames and pointy ears like Eina, and the ones that were taller than the squat humans but not as tall as regular humans. For a second, he was shocked to see so many types of non-humans in one place. And if what Eina said about her being a half-elf was true, then some of these guys weren't beastmen.

His surprise must've shown on his face, because Bell called out to him, "Simon?"

At Bell's words, Simon shook his surprise off. He turned to the shorter boy and smiled, "Ah, sorry about that, Bell. Just a bit shocked to see this many...um...can I clarify some of this stuff with you?"

At Bell's nod, Simon pointed towards the non-humans in the crowd, "So, the ones with pointy ears are elves like Eina, right?"

"Uh-huh. Though, her's are a bit rounded near the top. It's how you can tell she's a half-elf. The others are full elves."

"And the ones that look like animals are called beastmen, right?"

"Yes. Or animal-people. Or therianthropes. Have you seen beastmen before, Simon?"

"Sort of. What about the shorter guys?'

"Oh, those are dwarves, gnomes, and prums. They're all shorter than humans but each is different in their own way."

Simon nodded and hummed in thought. His hand went to his chin as he considered Bell's words. He briefly thought about Viral and the rest of his friends. Wondering what they would think if they were with him. Yoko would probably start seeing if teaching is a profession around here, while Viral would probably go right back into that Dungeon. He wouldn't want to stay still while there was fighting to do. Simon chuckled and looked up at the sky. As he did, he couldn't help but think about what might be beyond this world's clouds. He knew that the heavens were up there, they had to be. But what did they look like here? Were they same expanse of stars and other worlds that he had seen? Or perhaps something completely different?

His chuckle caught Bell's attention, "Did you have beastmen where you're from, Simon?"

"Yeah. Though they were kind of different from the ones you're familiar with. They looked way more animal-like."

Bell leaned closer, curiosity starting to get the better of him, "Really? And where is your village anyway?"

"It wasn't a village. More like a city."

"Like Orario?"

"Kind of. But the buildings were taller. And made of metal."

Bell's eyes widened at Simon's words. Nervousness filled his tone as he asked, "Uh, how tall?"