"Missed opportunities can open another. You just have to know where to look." ~Shallies Mythernal

"Now that you've all had some experience fighting underwater, I now have a proposal." Shallies was preparing one of the kraklings. She didn't intend to cook them yet, since everyone just had some dinner, but she wanted to prepare them for tomorrow. That is, if the others agreed to the plan.

She had expected some awkwardness between her and her students, more specifically, with Ren, but the Shield Knight was paying as much attention as he had always done in the past. She took it as a good sign.

"First, the results from Val's meeting," she said, presenting the seraph beside her.

"The meeting didn't last very long," he began. "My wait took far longer than our talk. But in the end, Miss Hydrangea agreed to let the portal stay open for us, provided that we provide the proper resources to keep it secured. We're also required to let some System-integrated natives of Rullzia Town to participate in maintaining the dungeon."

"They're not adventurers?" Ren asked.

"Not yet," Shallies answered. "Natives of this particular seclusion can't leave the town until they're at least Level 30 Advanced Class holders. Which means, they don't get to go on adventures."

"How do they level up, then?" Grace asked.

"Monsters still spawn even in a seclusion like this," Shallies explained. "It's just how it is. There are Beginner Dungeons here too.

"Now, as for what we discussed earlier, you three now have to decide whether you want to actually close this dungeon or not. I have enough chuchilis to ensure that you gain boosted Experience Points until you get at least one Advanced Class to Level 50."

Shallies observed the three look at each other. They planned to discuss in earnest. But she wanted to give them one more thing to consider.

"Before you discuss, I want to put one more piece of information on the table," she said, showing them again the entire map of the dungeon. This time, however, she included the map underneath the island.

"This place is actually a Joint Advanced Dungeon," she began. "It's not as bad as a Cascading Dungeon, but it's still a little more special than a normal Advanced Dungeon."

Since her three students simply stared at her with surprised expressions, Shallies continued with her explanation.

"As the term suggests, a Joint Dungeon are two Dungeons mashed into one. In our case, it's the island and the ocean around it. However, the thing about Joint Dungeons is that the anchor only latches on a single Dungeon Boss.

"But despite that, this place has two Dungeon Boss Lairs with their own Dungeon Bosses inside it. Can you guys guess which one has the anchor for the Dungeon Gate?"

Grace was the first to realize what the Godkiller was leading into. She massaged her temple. "The anchor is on the Boss on the island, and you're offering us to kill the one in the ocean instead."

"That's exactly what I'm offering to you three. Good job, Grace." Shallies smiled. "This way, you can still kill a Dungeon Boss without closing the actual dungeon. Of course, you'll still get to defeat the one on the island when it's time to close this place."

With a quick message from Stachie, the half-orc received her Good Job Experience Points. She almost ignored it, addressing her teammates instead.

"I want to do it!" she said.

"Of course you do," both Ren and Tayin said and sighed at the same time.

"But you have to remember, Grace," continued the Shield Knight. "We can't breathe underwater."

"But I suppose, since you're offering it to us," Tayin followed up, gesturing towards Shallies. "You have a way to let us do it, right?"

The Godkiller showed them the krakling tentacles, now chopped into bite-sized pieces.

"You'll have these for breakfast. They'll give you a Food Buff for underwater breathing." She showed them the eyes next. "You'll need to eat one of these, too. They'll allow you to see underwater even without sunlight.

"Unfortunately, they're restrictive ingredients, which means they'll prevent any other Food Buff ingredients to take effect when combined with a single meal. That also means they'll take one Food Buff Slot each, the eye and the tentacle."

Ren was rubbing his chin. "So, with the chuchili, that'll take all of our three Food Buff Slots," he concluded.

"That's right," Shallies said, nodding. "No extra Constitution, no extra Mana-Affinity, no extra Mana-Regeneration. That is, of course, if you're taking chuchili as your third Food Buff, since it's also restrictive."

"Shouldn't be much of a problem, right?" Tayin asked. "I'm more worried that I'm stuck with just using Shooting Star underwater."

"If you had more Mana-Affinity, you can actually cast fire-based Spells underwater," Shallies commented. "But yes, you're stuck with Shooting Star for now."

"My Mana-Edges will work there, right?" Grace asked.

"They're mana-based, not fire-based," Shallies clarified. "And you also already did it earlier."

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"Oh, right, right..." The half-orc giggled. "I already forgot."

With that, however, Shallies gauged that the discussion was now heading towards them agreeing to keep the dungeon open. However, she didn't want to let them proceed without all the details provided to them.

"Fighting underwater is a lot different than on land," Shallies began. "I know this statement is admittedly already obvious, but that's actually what catches people off-guard most of the time.

"Whether you can breathe there or not, the place is not your element. Your limbs will feel heavier, you'll expend more energy, more mana, more stamina fighting down there. Even if you can see, you won't see as much as you can on land. The vision you'll be provided with will be grayed out and takes some getting used to, especially since this will be the first time for you three.

"But your biggest problem there, is that all your enemies will be playing on their field. They'll have all the advantages. They can swim faster, see better, and react quicker. Some of them are capable of utilizing mana, and they'll use it without hesitation.

"The monsters underwater are driven by instinct far more when compared to those on land. The entire sea is their battlefield, and they don't assume that the cover of darkness will guarantee their safety. They'll be fiercer opponents."

"That means, the Boss down there is stronger than the one up here, right?" Ren asked, to everyone's surprise.

Shallies had expected Grace to be the one asking the question. But even the half-orc was caught completely off-guard.

Everyone looked at the Shield Knight. Everyone, including a giggling Tayin.

Ren shyly scratched the back of his head and blushed. "I just thought, I wanted to make the underwater Boss pay since it's the part of the dungeon that almost killed Tayin. If it's stronger than the one up here, then I can go all out."

Shallies smiled. "Well, you're in luck, Ren. The Boss beneath the island is a kraken."

In the morning that followed, Stachie did the usual things Shallies would do in The Adventurer's Beginning. Preparing the ingredients for the day wasn't that much of an issue, since she was able to share the Godkiller's Chef Class, and her Class Inventory. She also did some cleaning.

With Apple helping out, they were done before even first light. Neither of them, however, expected a knock on the door.

Which was a surprise for the both of them. Without Shallies at the helm, she and Apple were both constantly monitoring their surroundings. For someone to slip by, they would have to be at least a Level 80 Favored Class holder with multiple-layered veils.

The two looked at each other for an instant, before understanding that they had no choice but to open their door. The tavern might not be open yet in an official capacity, but they did have their lights open and all their preparations were done. Shallies wouldn't have hesitated.

"Good morning," said the stranger. She was a woman, with a beauty that did its best to hide her maternal struggles. But her piercing blue eyes and the air of command she so naturally exuded, were clear signs that she was either a mother of many mischievous children, or a leader of a large guild.

Black hair tied in a large ponytail, topped with an overly large witch hat. Robes made out starlight, and a Staff of Power that emitted a soft light. Stachie immediately realized who this person was.

"Vice-Guildmaster Coraline," said the Goddess of Loneliness and Isolation. She gestured for the guest to enter. "Good morning. We weren't expecting you to be so early."

The Vice-Guildmaster carried the recognition in stride, proudly hinting a satisfied pride with a warm smile. She took off her hat and travel cloak as she entered the foyer, allowing for Apple to hang them on a nearby rack. At the same time, she stored her staff in her Class Inventory.

"I suppose I am," said Coraline. "My daughter was quite enthused when she talked about your tavern, Miss Shallies. But she didn't mention anything about a simulacrum standing in for the head Chef. Your master must be quite the Single-Class Adventurer, indeed, to be able to afford you."

Stachie fought back the tension creeping up her spine. She expected the second leader of the Gaiamaxims Guild to see through this layer of her. Such was an adventurer's experience. Though she was surprised that it only took Coraline a glance, she was still confident that that would be the extent of the Vice-Guildmaster's clairvoyance.

She started with a polite bow. "I'm afraid your daughter and her company failed to see through my disguise, Lady Coraline. Please do not take it against them. They still have much to learn, and I would take it as a favor if you'll keep my identity a secret to the others. To that extent, this tavern and I are at your disposal."

"Mmm." Coraline nodded. "I appreciate your honesty and cooperation. How should I address you, then?"

"Shallies will suffice, Lady Coraline," Stachie said. "Once my master takes my place, it'll be as if nothing's changed."

"Mmm. Good. Shallies it is, then. I have four Builders arriving in an hour. I would like for you to prepare a feast for us. A heavy breakfast, if you will. And let your master know that we'll proceed with building our infrastructure on her land right away, since we already got the go signal from Yoshelle."

"Yes, I've been told to let you proceed straight away. Apple here has already finished migrating all the flora and fauna."

Vice-Guildmaster Coraline took an interested glance at the teacup fairy. Apple, confident as she was, waved merrily at her.

"Quite the accomplished fairy, you are, Miss Apple," she said finally. "Thank you for preparing the land for us."

Much like how people still assumed that Godkiller Bernadette was open to the idea of taking a replacement or a temporary substitute, they also had no idea that Apple had earned the same title and was capable of the same feats.

Even someone like Valor'el had no idea until after she was already a few centuries into the role. It took being summoned by Shallies for him to find out. Of course, people in seclusion under Apple's Divine Mandates already understood not to spread this information. And those stubborn enough to try anyways would be quickly reprimanded. Information was controlled in such a way that proclaiming someone else had become a Godkiller would be perceived as crazy talk, if it came from word-of-mouth.

Cases like Guildmaster Robert, who Apple had personally promoted, were under strict rules to only refer to Bernadette when speaking of the Godkiller.

In short, when Coraline took a glance, Stachie knew that it was of plain admiration for the teacup fairy's feat with regards to preparing three acres of land for the Gaiamaxims. It had nothing to do with checking whether Apple was the Godkiller's Soul Confidant, or not. After all, most people didn't even know Godkiller Bernadette had a Soul Confidant in the first place.

Stachie went to work, and she was done preparing food way before the Builders arrived. They had the feast right there, together with Vice-Guildmaster Coraline. They even invited her to join, but she was careful enough to decline sitting at their table, passing an excuse that she already ate. She did, however, enjoy some coffee while watching them.

It was an expected, yet odd feeling, Stachie realized. She had no intention to join them on the account of Isolation and Loneliness. Doing so would waver her hold against those Concepts. Not outright break her chains around them, no, since both of them were lethargic in the first place. But it would do her well to simply observe from a distance.

Still, the pang she got from Loneliness felt a little too strong this time. Isolation kept her strong and in place, allowing her to just enjoy her cup of coffee while the others ate together.

Apple, as someone who could defy these Concepts without issue, joined Stachie, taking a tea bath. The fairy felt the pull through their bond. She emerged from her teacup and reached out for a hug.

"Thanks, Apple," Stachie whispered. She didn't need to hold back a tear. She was used to this feeling in the first place. But she was thankful for the fairy nonetheless. "We should report to Shallies when we get the chance."

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