A few hours passed as Sin and the others traveled out of Solstar. It was a city surrounded by grass plains, but near the forest as well.
The dungeon they were heading towards was still going to take more than half the day to arrive at.
During this time, Sin and the others yapped a lot. The past... future. Goals and aspirations and what not.
Somewhere along the way, deep conversations even started to bud. This often happened when a group of individuals who had gone through immense hardship before met for extended periods of time.
The lessons they learned from their unique experiences would shine through.
While talking about life philosophies, everyone except Kael and Sin had said their piece.
Scarlet decided that money was what ran life. Wasn't it? With money, there was no stress. To do what you wanted without any fear. Isn't that what freedom was?
Roby was even more blunt: "All I want is a couple whores and a few pints and I'll call it a day. I only fight to survive. Being a Hunter wasn't my original dream..."
Roby usually was only loud and erratic, but for the first time, he became almost enclosed into himself when talking about his past.
Ince's philosophy was less physical: "I think kindness and trust is what runs the world, don't you?" was all she said as she stared at Sin with a smile.
"Hmm..." Sin mused, "That's a loaded question." The obvious answer was no, but the explanation behind that was long.
Kael blurted out: "You know... I believe that searching for beauty in all that exists gives meaning."
When he said this, a more intense atmosphere developed as though instantly. Everyone paid attention to what the swordsman had to say.
"My father taught me a lot before leaving this world." Kael paused, staring out into the sunset with loose eyelids, "Don't just run towards the finish line, or race up the hill. Sure... some climb the mountain to be seen by the world. Some climb it to see the world for themselves. But if you blind yourself along the way, haven't you missed more than what you see in the end?"
Kael was cooking...
"If you glance past everything, the world is gray and ugly. But if you stop and notice the small things in life, everything is beautiful. Every little thing has life, a backstory. It's full of enjoyment and creativity..."
He paused again, his expression sombering, "If I had appreciated everything without moving through life so damn fast, maybe I would have remembered to thank my father for everything he sacrificed for me before leaving me alone to fend for myself."
The aura in the air became denser.
"On his deathbed, my father told me an old family saying... if you see a flower so beautiful that you can't glance past or ignore it... pick it, and take it with you. That's how you know you truly love that flower."
There was a short pause. Sin thought about Kael's statement for a second.
"That doesn't really make sense..." Sin said, capturing everyone's attention for a moment.
"If I really loved a flower... I would never pluck it from its stem. I would leave it there, so that others could also appreciate its beauty."
Everyone's eyes suddenly narrowed, their ears being blessed by such a deep and meaningful quote.
"Wow..." Ince whispered under her breath, "That's... quite beautiful, actually."
Kael almost chuckled after hearing this, "I had... never really thought about it that way. But you're right... it would be better to just leave it alone."
Scarlett smiled warmly, "You have a kind heart, Sin."
"Yeah kid... don't change how you are. Although we all try to act funny, we are fucked up on the inside. Trust me... we have gone through too much for that innocent kindness to still be in us."
Sin raised a brow, "I didn't really mean for that to be deep. That's just what I would do..."
"Exactly. Isn't it amazing?" Ince asked, still in slight awe, "You should be a philosopher or something."
Sin scoffed, "Yeah yeah..." He joked it off in the moment.
Sin doubted that he would ever find a flower so beautiful. But if he did, he would definitely not pick it.
However, Sin also thought that the Ace Hunter group now had the impression that he was more innocent than what he led on.
Sin didn't mind this, since others viewing him as innocent or weak was only a benefit in the long run—as long as he could gain power through it, that was.
In truth, however, Sin's morals had shifted significantly compared to the average person ever since the day his old life ended—and his new one began.
To him, although cruelty wasn't something that he would go out of his way to do, it wasn't something that would pose as a big problem if his own benefit depended on it.
As these deeper conversations continued and Sin got even closer to Ince and the others—they eventually arrived at the quest location.
The dungeon that they were going to be entering looked to be located inside of a cave in the side of a mountain.
Some dungeons were inside of caves—labyrinths created by natural beasts. However, most dungeons were ancient ruins or burial grounds of Spirits.
Structures of the old world, or places where powerful Spirits died and left their Spirit Energy to fester and cultivate an energy-rich environment.
In such an area where Spirit Energy was so abundant—the creatures around the area would naturally adapt and evolve, eventually turning into more powerful beasts that created their domain around the burial ground—in turn manifesting a dungeon.
Agneil stood at the forefront, leading the way. Kael and Sin stayed at the flank. This was because the strongest member usually stood at the back.
Just like in a wolf pack, the alpha always remained at the very back. This was because the old and weaker wolves would usually fall back and slow down the group.
So, in order to make sure everyone goes at a steady pace and no one is left behind, the alpha makes the flow of the group match the flow of the slowest members.
Kael seemed to be the strongest member of Ace. This was self-explanatory, since Kael was the only swordsman after all.
Sin on the other hand was only a bag boy, so he had to stay behind anyways.
Roby, Scarlett, and Ince stood behind Agneil and his guards, being the main front line until danger arrived.
With supplies prepped and weapons ready to be unsheathed, everyone began their trek into the cavern.