The Dungeon Tree

"We all set to head out?" I asked, looking back at my group.

Bea nodded her head enthusiastically, "what other friends do you need to find?" Her eyes gleamed with enthusiasm to meet the others.

"Well there's Alice who's the greatest mage I know. She's saved my life a couple times so I think very highly of her. If it weren't for her I'd probably still be lost on floor one of this dungeon. Then there's Fang who's a talking dog we ran into on the first floor. Then there's Akari. I don't know all that much about her yet but when it comes to hand-to-hand combat she has me beat by a long shot. Then there's Emma which Steven can fill you in on."

My sudden attention shift to Steven caught him off guard, "huh? Oh. Emma's my little sister who I value higher than anyone else. I want to find her as soon as possible."

Felix suddenly stepped in, "I've only known these guys for a short period of time and one thing I can say is that they end up bringing chaos with them wherever they go."

I pouted a little, "you make it seem like we're the ones causing all the problems. Those problems we get involved in would have been much greater had we not stepped in. Plus, helping people is what an adventurer should do right?"

Bea gave me a curious look, "you mentioned being lost on floor one of this dungeon. We're not in a dungeon though."

The three of us turned our heads towards her in confusion. It didn't take long for it to click in my head though. Bea had only ever known life on this island. She was never told once that she resides within the World Tree.

"Wanna have your whole world shattered?" I asked with a cheeky grin.

Bea's eyes sparkled with curiosity.

"You see, this here is but a small island within a dungeon called the World Tree. It's about the size of an entire continent and reaches way up high in the sky." I pointed upward.

"A continent?" Bea's head tilted.

"Yeah it's like the island we're on now but way bigger! Outside the World Tree there's five continents that reside in our world."

"So you're from outside this World Tree?" Bea asked.

I nodded, "yup. I entered in the hopes of being the first to reach the top and receive my wish. Because of that, I managed to run into all my friends here. Even Felix over there."

"Woah! So you can get a wish if you reach the top?"

"That's the rumor. I thought it would be best to try it even if it ended up being false. I wouldn't regret entering though if it did turn out to be false. Because of me entering the tree, I managed to make all kinds of new friends that I can rely on." I turned back towards Steven and Felix and gave them a big grin.

Felix blushed and quickly turned his head away while Steven nodded and smiled back.

Felix shook his head and returned to looking at me, "so what do you plan on wishing for if you do reach the top?"

"You mean when I reach the top?"

"Sure."

"Well I come from a poor village that's been hit by a pretty bad drought. I ended up watching the village get smaller and smaller since people kept leaving to find a better place to live but some people, my family included, decided to stay. My wish is to end the drought and bring safe living back to my village."

"Not a bad wish but kinda small don't ya think? Why just your village and not others dealing with the same problems? Even then, what's stopping another drought from hitting your village?" Felix continued to question me on my wish.

I let out a small laugh, "that's fair. I guess I never really thought about it that much. Heck, it might even be better to find a way to help those villages without the need of some wish."

Felix raised an eyebrow, "A way to help them without a wish? Explain."

"We've got people who can use water magic don't we? Although it might not happen in my lifetime, maybe we can have a world where everyone helps each other without the need of some all mighty wish. Still, for now I'll keep a hold of that simple wish. Thanks for the ideas though!" I gave Felix a big grin.

Felix's cheeks burned bright red before he jolted his head to the side to avoid eye contact, "I didn't do anything worth thanking."

The four of us continued to banter until we were stopped at the town gate by Aoi and the rest of his crew. Just like us, they were all prepped to set out and explore the island with us.

"I've left my crew to guard this village while we're gone so it'll just be your group and the commanders on my ship." Aoi said.

Behind Aoi stood his party of individuals who drastically varied in appearance from each other. Vylan was among the small group giving the four of us a big grin.

"These here are my most trusted members of my crew. I'll leave them to their own introductions." Aoi stepped aside and allowed for his team to introduce themselves.

The first one up was someone we had already spoken with, Vylan. He was the one who I talked to before the ship suddenly crashed. He had totally jinxed us.

"I'm sure you already know this but I'm Vylan, Aoi's right-hand man!" Vylan's enthusiasm was met with silence as he stood there in what he probably thought was a cool pose.

The man next to Vylan pulled him back. He gave a light laugh before clearing his throat, "I'm Reiner. As I'm sure you can tell by my pointy ears, I'm an elf. I've got a small amount of mana but my vision is second to none."

This was my first time actually seeing an elf close up. I'm sure somewhere along the line I probably passed one, I just didn't notice the ears. Not that it mattered or anything.

As Reiner stepped back, the man next to him stepped forward. His presence alone sent shivers down my spine. His eyes were sharp and would be enough to make a little kid cry from fear.

That terrifying vibe he was giving suddenly vanished as he spoke up, "my name is Louis and I cook for the crew. I get told I look scary a lot so sorry if I spooked any of you."

The last member of Aoi's guild stepped up after Louis, "the name's Daena and I specialize in wind magic. I can use it to strengthen my arrows which makes me a pretty good marksman."

"With introductions out of the way let's get a move on." Aoi said, pushing his hair back before leaving the town.

Without a word being said, the members of his guild turned and followed right behind him.

"Well aren't they in sync?" I said, looking back at Bea, Felix, and Steven.

"You'll want a guild like that in the future if you wish to go far." Felix said while walking by me.

I nodded, "yeah."