Helden stared at the evil creature lying at his feet. It was massive, and it was also dead. He had slain it by himself without the aid of his party members. There was an odd expression on his face, and he turned his head towards Vur. Helden had heard of people who had made contracts with elementals, and they were rumored to have an aura around them that increased the abilities of their allies. It seemed like the rumors were true. The humanoid dragon didn’t have only one elemental with it; there were four. Not only that, but silver wisps were occasionally flowing around Helden’s body, and he could feel himself becoming faster or stronger whenever it happened.

“Why’d you stop?” Stella asked from atop Vur’s shoulder. She crossed her arms in front of her chest. “There’s no way you’re tired, right?”

“We’ve been fighting nonstop for three hours,” Forster said and made a face. “We might not need to rest because the fire elemental is recovering our stamina, but this is tiring mentally. If we make one mistake, we can receive a lifelong injury or even die here.”

“That won’t happen,” Stella said and rolled her eyes. “Stop making excuses. With Vur around, even if you die, he can bring you back to life. You don’t have to fight so carefully. All those little scrapes and bruises will automatically recover thanks to Mistle.”

Blau raised her head, looking away from the piece of paper in her hands. “Is this accurate enough?” she asked and turned the paper around. It was a map, and she had drawn it based on Zilphy’s description of the structure.

Stella snorted. “Maps are useless,” she said. “I don’t know why you insisted on drawing one. With Zilphy and Deedee, it’s impossible to get lost. Zilphy can always find a way out, and if there isn’t a way out, Deedee can create one.”

Ingwer pursed her lips. This whole time, she had only raised her staff a single time to cast a protective spell on Helden. “Are we even needed?”

“No,” Stella said. “If Helden didn’t insist on leading the way, then you wouldn’t be fighting at all.” She rubbed her chin. “I suppose you can be here for comic relief. Usually, there’s a pretty funny skeleton around Vur, but he’d been busy with wedding planning. Do you know any jokes?”

“Uh….” Ingwer scratched her head. “What did the crocodile say to the zebra?”

“What?” Vur asked before Stella could say anything.

Ingwer bared her teeth. “Om nom nom nom nom nom nom!”

“That was terrible,” Stella said and made a face. She glanced at Vur’s face. There was the faintest hint of a smile on it. Stella nodded at Ingwer. “Tell another.”

Before Ingwer could come up with another joke, Blau cut in. “Isn’t comic relief used to relieve tension? There’s nothing tense about this situation.”

Ingwer’s gaze shifted back and forth between Stella and Blau. “Should I tell a joke or not?”

“Heads up,” Helden said. “I think we’ve caused too much of a commotion. I think the owner of this place is coming to meet us.”

Stella raised her head, and her brow furrowed. A giant bird had emerged from the top of the spire, and on top of the bird’s back, there was a man dressed in white robes. The bird flew towards the group, descending and landing not too far away. Helden and the rest of the Generis Squad stood in a defensive formation and waited for the white-robed man to approach. How strong would he have to be for him to confidently approach the group instead of running away on the bird?

The white-robed man came to a halt a few meters away from the group just out of Helden’s lunging range. He was a balding man with thin wisps of hair protruding from the sides of his head. “Who are you? Why are you killing my research subjects?”

“I’m Helden of the Generis Squad,” Helden said, staring at the white-robed man with wary eyes. “Who are you?”

“I’m Tobin, a researcher.”

The Generis Squad exchanged glances with each other. “You’re a researcher?” Blau asked. “What’s your field of study?”

“Hair growth,” Tobin said. He gestured towards his own head. “I’m trying to create a serum that’ll regrow one’s lost hair.” He sighed. “Holy magic is capable of bringing the dead back to life, but it’s not capable of regrowing a bald man’s hair just like it’s not capable of healing someone to the point of them growing a third arm.”

“What the hell?” Forster asked. “You’re creating evil creatures in the name of hair growth?”

“Evil creatures?” Tobin asked. “No, no. These are bald people who’ve voluntarily signed up to test my products. Although the serum isn’t quite working yet, I’m getting closer and closer to a finished product.” He frowned and muttered, “The first few tries were horrendous, I have to admit. I didn’t think their head would grow the body of a spider, leaving only a face behind.”

Ingwer’s face paled. “Wait, we haven’t been killing demented creations? These beasts are suffering people?”

“I’m not sure if you can call them people anymore,” Tobin said. “But yes, they used to be human.”

Ingwer turned her torso to the side and vomited. “That’s horrible!”

“It’s science,” Tobin said. “There’s never progress without sacrifice.”

Blau shook her head. “There’s other ways to progress,” she said. “As a scholar, I won’t allow you to continue with such unethical practices.”

Tobin sneered. “Well, if you can get past my strongest line of defense, I might listen to you. Behold!”

Helden raised his sword, and the rest of the Generis Squad readied their weapons. They wore grim expressions on their faces, and their fingers were white from how tense they were. A portal appeared beside Tobin, and the balding man raised an eyebrow. Dozens of pale people walked through the portal in a single-file line. They glanced around, taking in their surroundings while cautiously walking forward. They were half-naked, and they seemed to be made of only skin and bones without a single ounce of muscle on their bodies.

“This is your final line of defense?” Helden asked and sneered.

“Um….” Tobin furrowed his brow. “This has nothing to do with me.” He blinked at the pale people who were still coming out of the portal. “Who are you? What are you doing here?”

“Hey, Vur,” Stella said and tugged on Vur’s ear. “Isn’t that Tafel?”