Outside the tunnel, Selena, Sera, and Alavenya were setting up a camp because Selena believed they didn't have to regroup in the city as Nathan would come here sooner or later.
Alavenya sighed. "So, we will be camping here until the tunnel is done, right? I guess we will be wasting a lot of time just waiting. Then again, we're supposed to stay here for two weeks… I guess that's fine."
"Hmm?" Sera tilted her head in confusion. "Isn't that a given? Why do you think Nathan set the time limit for 2 weeks? That's because he knows something is going to happen on the mission."
"Huh?" Alavenya was confused. "What are you talking about?"
"I know, right?" Selena chuckled. "Whenever Nathan is planning a big mission, something big must be happening. I still remember when we first went on a mission together. It's supposed to be a simple mission, which is aiding Alavenya to kill the mature class alien.
"However, during the mission, we end up fighting against terrorists." Selena sighed.
"I know that feeling. When I was supposed to subjugate the bandits, a mature class alien ended up intruding, forcing him to take down the bandit boss and the vice leader at the same time. That was such a mess." Sera sighed.
"Even during the holiday, we end up encountering the person from the Divine Hand Organization." Selena nodded in agreement.
"Nathan's luck surely sucks. He might have acknowledged it and made preparations for it. Now that I think about it, didn't we hear the eruption sound right after he said, 'Happy New Year?'"
"You're right." Selena chuckled. "Well, that was just a natural disaster, so it couldn't be helped."
"Still, finding the tunnel leading to the alien territory is not really a surprise."
"I know, right? I wouldn't even be surprised if we end up finding a warrior class alien on this mission. In fact, I've prepared myself to fight against that alien."
"What are you two talking about?" Alavenya tilted her head in confusion. She was probably the only person who had never experienced a bad thing when going on a mission with Nathan.
Flora had experienced it in the mine. On the other hand, there was a hidden mutant on the mission with Noelle.
Alavenya was the only one whose mission went smoothly, so she didn't understand what Selena and Sera were talking about.
"What? You don't know? Haven't you gone on a mission with Nathan? You didn't experience anything big?"
Alavenya recalled everything that had happened on the mission before shaking her head. "Nothing in particular. Everything seemed to go smoothly."
Selena blinked a few times. "Well, you'll experience it again and again from this point onward. In fact, this tunnel is just one of them."
"The ultimate jinx." Sera sighed. "I have taught you about the words you couldn't say during the mission, right? Why do you think it was necessary? It was because something was bound to go wrong whenever they were spoken for some reason.
"Those words alone meant practically nothing if you went alone, but for some reason, it just clicked with him."
Selena shrugged. "Anyway, it doesn't change the fact that my strength is progressing by leaps and bounds whenever I'm with him. It feels like he's always preparing for the challenge that is about to come, so I'm not really complaining."
Sera nodded. "True. Did something happen on your mission earlier?"
"We were attacked by the mutant when we were trying to get some rest. We were surrounded by a few mature class aliens along with more than a thousand lower-level aliens. The mutant was annoying, but their plan was meticulous.
"Still, Risa ended up becoming a royal vampire in the process, which turned the situation around. So, we finished the mission almost immediately." Selena recounted the scene from earlier.
"Nice. You completed the mission smoothly, huh?" Sera crossed her arms.
"Smooth, what?" Alavenya couldn't say anything. She truly couldn't relate to them. "I don't know what's going on, but I'm glad it works well for both of you."
"Anyway, just think that when everything progresses smoothly, it means it hasn't progressed smoothly. The smooth in our dictionary is that the situation has gone from bad to worse and turned the situation around, which will ultimately complete our mission. That's what the mission progressing smoothly means." Sera explained.
"Right now, the situation has become bad, so expect it to turn worse soon." Selena nodded. "All right. That's enough."
"Yeah." Sera yawned. "Are we going to sleep tonight? Is he going to come back tonight or tomorrow?"
"I—!" Selena abruptly stopped and turned around, looking at the sky. There was a cloud of dust, followed by footsteps from a distance. The sound was so loud that there must be a few thousand people coming in their direction.
"Is that?" Sera smiled wryly.
"Yeah. He must be bringing them here. Let's remove our camp for the time being. Those many people will need a huge area." Selena squinted her eyes. "I'm assuming we'll be securing the place at the end of the tunnel. That's where the situation is going to get worse."
"You're cursing already?" Sera chuckled.
"It's a prediction." Selena shrugged while dismantling the tent.
Alavenya was speechless. She wondered if their lives were that messed up after meeting Nathan. At the same time, it was a blessing in disguise because they could reach the level they had never dreamed of before in such a short time.
Alavenya scratched the back of her head. Her opinion about Nathan was that he was a good guy. He was annoying, but his action had a meaning behind it. If something came up, she could feel relieved whenever she was with him. And she was reliable and treated other people well… except for annoying her.
Alavenya raised her head, finding a dragon flying in the sky. Nathan and Flora were waving their hands while Noelle was nowhere to be seen.
"Ah…" Selena sucked a cold breath. "Did someone jinx Noelle?"
"Ugh. That might be me." Sera smiled wryly. "I mean, Asmodeus, but yeah… Shouldn't we worry about how much worse it will become with all those people here?"