“Thanks, Wang-an!” Rhea said, no longer feeling sleepy. Wangshi had carried her safely over fifty feet without much trouble despite her heavyweight gear.

Wangshi grunted in reply as he watched the sludge ooze from the Zombie Mob’s body. It lobbed volley-ball sized goo in every direction, melting everything it touched into a green paste.

After narrowly dodging these terrifying spitballs, Henry spell-casted the same pit-making skill from earlier, however, without Salene’s Water-Fissure skill, the sand churned slowly under the monster's shadow.

“It’s not gonna fall in!” Wangshi murmured, his eyes narrowing as the monster approached Jaime’s position. The light-haired enchanter summoned yellow pointed spears directly above the monster, dropping them as soon as the creature spat out triple sludge balls.

“Jaime-an! Watch out!” Rhea shouted, watching the balls fly toward their team leader. “No! Why is he just standing there?” Rhea stomped her foot and braced her shield in front of her until Wangshi stopped her.

“He’s using Light Speed!”

The gooey ball blasted through a phantom image of Jaime. Lark watched, impressed, as the scattered image shattered into light particles and the enchanter appeared uninjured behind the monster. Brandishing his wooden wand again, Jaime pointed it at the stirring trap pit. “Volo celero.” Lark could feel the air vibrate as if there was static in the space between the wand the ground. The monster’s body fell three feet deeper into the sand, but its ghoulish face made a fuss by spraying acid up into the air. Henry’s griffin retreated to the area above Wangshi and Rhea.

“How long is the warding spell going to take Henry-an?” Rhea asked.

“Anytime now I suppose. The mute won’t speak, and Dula talks too much. So they balance each other out like this ugly mess and the smooth hotshot over there,” Henry remarked coldly, his blue eyes traced over the numerous phantom images Jaime left on the field and the sinking Zombie Mob then closed his grimoire. He lightly tapped the side of his griffin’s ear and landed in front of the pair.

Lark didn’t need to be close by to see how both Rhea and Wangshi kept silent in front of Henry’s red-hot jealousy. He had answered more than what they cared to know.

“A charm spell,” Rhea figured, her lips twisting into another pout once the three stood together and watched the Zombie Mob sink another three feet.

“Where are they - Arelli and Dula?”

“Underground,” Henry nonchalantly answered Wangshi while brushing sand off his green frock coat. “They’re forming a basic penta-ward with Vampire Dust as the base material if you must know that as well. In any manner, you two should go. Your presence is unneeded here.” The white griffin beside them snorted in agreement. Its long feathery neck stretched up, tall and elegant; in the exact bearing fashion as its owner.

Meanwhile, due to Gushi’s Perception skill, Lark was notified of other presences hiding in the forest with him. Though they were closer to the team than him.

Rhea’s bushy eyebrows dipped low and her cheeks reddened like pink lollipops. The dwarf girl had an image of candy red apples, but a sour apple suited her temper. As unbelievable as her adult age was to Lark, he could believe in her raging strength as she threw her shield with tremendous force behind Henry's griffin.

Henry pressed a hand to his ear that got partly grazed.

“What was that Henry-an?” Rhea smirked, after retrieving her steel shield that laid atop an unconscious Redcap Goblin. He pressed his thin lips together in a flat line, and after taking one look at the goblin, he kicked his griffin’s shin. “Wretched bird. Useless.”

That was uncalled for. Both Wangshi and Rhea were frowning as well. But this griffin was no pushover. It waited for the opportune moment to unfurl it's large wing after Henry spotted a strange device in the goblin’s hand. The bird-kicker landed face-first into the sand, while Rhea picked up the disk-shaped item.

“Wang-an, what do you think?” She held it up to the light and swirls of black and green appeared in the glassy reflection. The same colors as Lark’s storage ring from Wangshi.

“Item: Simple Scrying Glass (magic) (uncommon)

A low-grade medium used for sending messages through encrypted images. Not a reliable form of communication.

0.3 lb

Craft materials: glass powder, darkroots, green dye.

Sold/Crafted from the Magic Oddities Guild.

Sold to Joffrey Gullivan for 200 credits.”

Lark’s heartbeat quickened.

Joffrey Gullivan?

He’s here?

Ever since the scan skill enabled him to identify the previous owner of the storage ring, he hadn't forgotten the name, Joffrey Gullivan, who had also inadvertently became the closest link he had to finding the Wishes of the People.

With one look at the scrying glass, Wangshi said, “It appears that we’re being watched from the shadows.” Reaching for his sword, everyone shifted their focus beyond the trees and didn't notice the dire situation unfolding behind them.

“Arelli! Dula! Is the ward ready?” Jaime shouted into one of the tunnels Dula made with his Earth golem. With the Zombie Mob buried eight feet underground, the ward spell should've been ready to go. Sinking deeper into the sand, the monster did not give up using its venomous body to spray acid into the air, which bounced right back into the pit due to the Light Net.

“Dula?” Jaime shouted with more urgency and peered into the darkness when a plume of water shot into the sky— the air pressure knocked him backward. Using a hand to flip himself right-side up, he skidded to a stop on a slope. The flat expanse of the plateau tilted after the reverse waterfall demonstration.

“That was Arelli’s Water Tyrant…they must’ve run into some trouble,” Jaime said. “Wang, Rhea, Hen—where did those three go?”

Unable to see where they went, the Light Net suddenly broke and the Zombie Mob began to lob miniature versions of itself outside of the pit.

“Not good…” Putting away the wooden wand into the rope belt around his waist, a light flickered under his right hand from which a golden sword materialized.

Gushi’s silver body rumbled on top of Lark’s head, pulling up strands of hair like carrots.

“What's wrong?” He patted the slime, who then jumped off his head and over into the deeper part of the woods with its bubble antenna blindingly white. Scrambling after the bounding Gushi, Lark wondered, “Is it Wangshi?”

“There are some peculiarities with the enchanter’s magic. Better get to a safer distance,” Sphinx warned.

“What the hell does that mean?” Lark raised a brow.

“You’re within his range of attack.”

“All the way out here?” Lark wondered. Without Gushi on top of his head, he couldn’t accurately tell where they were anymore, but they were approximately two-hundred feet away from the main battle and less than fifty feet away from Wangshi’s group until they split after the hidden spies.

He kicked a branch out of his way and ran after the jumpy slime. Looking at the sundial watch, he asked Sphinx another question, “Is it possible to use the location scan here?”

“I suppose so, but it would only be accurate to areas only Wangshi has been. Also, if you were to revisit this place in the future, the map would be inaccurate. Though you could always update the map, so I don’t see why not…Hey! You’ve already used it!”

Unblinking, Lark watched as a holographic, three-dimensional map appeared above the watch. A forest textured environment was shaped in a green crescent around the bluff and oasis. A tent representing the adventurers’ campsite was on the bluff and on the opposite side of the oasis were models of destroyed buildings sticking out of the sand. Beyond the oasis, the map was blacked out. Squinting at the map with a slightly disappointed look, Lark remarked, “Why is the map blacked out around the edges?”

“Nothing to worry about,” Sphinx quickly answered. “The Location Scan can change into a two-dimensional map and keeps track of areas you’ve been to and haven’t. It also can tell you, where your allies and enemies are. There’s more to it, but I’ll leave it up to you to figure it out.”

“Wow. Thanks.”

“You know your facial expression and the clear lack of joy really doesn’t match with what you’re saying.”

That was kind of the point, Lark thought, as the textured map changed into a flat gray screen with himself and Gushi as blue dots running in a lightened portion. In the surrounding areas, there were five green dots. One that kept moving around in the plateau and four traveling in the same forest as him in the darkened portion of the map. Unbeknown to the four, they were getting closer to an opened door.

“Is that supposed to mark the second dungeon? Why is the door open?”

“What an interesting development,” was all Sphinx would say on the matter.

Without warning, the air around Lark thinned and a shiver ran down his neck. Gushi jumped back onto his head in time for him to hear a loud boom like a firework overshoot them; another round of red flares shot into the sky. Wangshi’s group had reached the door, but the four dots were surrounded by many red ones.

Pendulous Birdsong branches poised over the decrepit door, which was covered in moss and soot. The laden artwork hidden under the dust was not yet to be admired by the three investigators as they were kept busy by the sudden reappearance of the Redcap Goblins.

The dwarf’s steel armor brushed up against the feathery wood and the friction caused an ear-scraping sound, setting off nearby goblins into a stampede. Equipped with her round steel shield, she dashed into the fray headfirst.

“Rhea!” Wangshi called out in a hoarse cry as the Red Goblins swarmed the two remaining members.

Stone-faced, Henry had his grimoire float in front of him. Now that the grimoire mage was standing with the rest of them, Lark could see a magic circle envelope Henry’s waistline.

Henry Gullivan (human) (Gullivan House) (Friend of Royal Family)

Titles: Celestian Academy Graduate, Beast Tamer, Rare Tome Collector

Known affinities: earth

Age: 22

Lvl 1

Happiness: NA

Conditions: *Depression

STR: 70

DEX: 50

INT: 80

MG: 160

SPT: *20(-10)

LUK: *15(-10)

Skills

Earth Magic - Earth Float

Beast Tamer

Staff Mastery

Tome Mastery

Contract Magic

Alchemy

On the bottom of the black screen, it explained Henry’s mental anguish was spurred on by a recent heartbreak decreased his luck and spirit values. Lark couldn’t help but feel a slight pity for the grimoire mage, though it wasn’t anything more than a singular sorry thought, which quickly went away.

“Imp fulgur besatia.”

Unusual blue electricity crackled around the griffin’s collar after a red light flared from what appeared to be a small crystal atop his staff. With a sharp cry, which Lark imagined what a choking pigeon sounded like, the griffin dove like a speedy arrow towards the ground, hurtling the goblins away from Wangshi and Henry.

“Why would a Beast Tamer need a control spell? ” Lark murmured as he scanned Henry’s magical weapon.

Item: Earth Staff (weapon) (magic) (rare)

+50 MG

+15% Magic Attack, +Bonus Earth damage, +Bonus stats if equipped with tome

Durability 40/50

Graded as a rank D long magic staff. Inlaid with dusky-colored gems on the ovoid head and detailed with hand-painted gold on the sides, gives the impression of expensive aesthetics than practicality. But nonetheless works. Embedded within one of the gems is a contract spell between Henry Gullivan and Beast the Griffin.

3 lb.

Craft materials: Acorn Wood, gold paint, grade D dusk gems.

Crafted by Henry Gullivan

“Nothing to be too upset about,” remarked Sphinx. “Where I’m from, controlling beasts through fear and pain are common methods for training and obedience.”

Disgusted, Lark remarked, “It’s inhumane.” He checked the scan information for the proud griffin.

Beast the Griffin (Contracted Pet)

Happiness: NA

Lvl 1

STR: 50

DEX: 120

INT: 80

MG: 70

SPT: 50

LUK: 20

Skills

Wind Magic - Tailwind, Air Slash, Iron Dive*

Iron Roar*

Flight*

Tracking

“Keep in mind, I never said, the people who control their beasts through pain are any good. But in some form, the beast needs to recognize its owner.”

Lark patted the Gushi-helmet while continuing to jog towards the team. He was some ways out, but he made sure to circle around the main battle area. “Owners should be responsible for their pets like bathing them or feeding them. But more importantly, I don't want the kind of relationship that uses people and cuts them off when they no longer are necessary.”

“Yare yare daze. My owner is naive and a big softie.”

“What was that you said just now - yare yare daze?”

“Good grief, you don’t even know this popular catch-phrase?”

This insufferable…

“Pay attention!”

He was about to scold Sphinx for nearly giving a heart attack for raising his voice all of a sudden until he realized it was actually Rhea who called out.

The female dwarf picked up a fallen crude shield and bashed it against a team of goblins closing into Henry’s and Wangshi’s location. Nearing the end of its durability, she launched the half-broken shield at the attackers behind her.

“Thanks,” Wangshi muttered and released Wind Needles onto a separate pack of Redcap Goblins. The frenzied monsters teemed for blood and turned on their companions riddled with holes. Henry recalled his griffin and began preparing his Mountain Capture spell.

“Wang-an, did you see who set off the red-flares?”

Wangshi shook his head. “I didn’t see anyone.”

Rhea looked at Henry, who only scowled. She swung a one-legged goblin back into the fray and mud-carved spikes erupted from the ground, knocking back the invaders.

“You two, get on—” Henry slapped the rider’s seat on the griffin’s back.

“But Henry-an, what about the flare?”

“It’s obviously a trap! We’re surrounded—” A high pitched scream echoed through the forest causing the three to cover their ears, while the griffin slammed its talons to the ground and tried to cancel out the scream with its own furious roar.

“It’s Vick,” Lark muttered, looking at the map where the team of four green dots were approached by a dark entity. “How’d he get out?”

“The dark enchanter, probably,” Sphinx answered. “The better question is, how’d he find them?”

“He’s calling someone, ‘master’…Should I be really just watching this Sphinx?”

“What we’re part of is like a movie, kid. You can’t change the script anymore,” Sphinx pointed out. “Besides any reckless behavior in here will lead to mind-memory alterations. You know that?”

In response, Lark made a fist but remained crouched behind some trees near the giant stone rock housing the opened door. The scream continued to hurtle down at the investigation team, paralyzing them in place, as the Cursed Human walked closer with its mouth unnaturally unhinged.

“V-vick-an, fight it!” Rhea shouted and punched apart one of the jagged, mud columns with her bare hands. The impact caused the mud to splinter into a thousand pieces and specks of dust billowed creating a dust-cloud. The female dwarf heaved the spear-end of the mud-rock across the field like a javelin, while Wangshi coalesced wind energy around his feet and carried out precise footwork. Dust particles collected around them like a small whirlwind.

As one of its spidery arms slapped down the projectile like a fly, the monster released an enraged, guttural roar; all its anguish from sloughed-off skin to its human dignity fading into one cry. Lark swallowed; the Cursed Human was more terrifying to gaze upon up close. Its red eyes looked runny like uncooked eggs, and the rotten flesh did not hold well. Silvina’s fire magic and her wolf’s ice attacks left the Cursed Human riddled with bubbling blisters and open wounds. Each step it took sounded like a grunt of pain; Lark couldn’t bear to look at it anymore, not able to believe magic caused a human to transform into such monstrosity.

“Huo-fang!” With a fluttering kick, Wangshi forced the wind-energy to fan out like a sandstorm. The monster thrashed its arms at its face as sandy dirt whipped around its eyes and into its throat. Various Redcap Goblins flung into the trees and never got back up.

“Get on!” Henry ushered the two towards the white griffin. Wangshi picked up Rhea and placed her on the rider’s seat with Henry. With the griffin barely lifting three feet off the ground, Wangshi leapt off. “You two leave first. I’ll hold him back.”

“Wang-an!” Rhea shouted in the distance as the griffin took off into the skies. Lark watched as the three dots left the map; Henry didn’t command the griffin to go back and instead shot off for the tents. Lark wiped the corner of his eye with the back of his hand—apparently, Wangshi has always been like this, always trying to play the cool guy.

This is how you always find trouble, he thought.

“It takes one to know one,” Sphinx said with a chuckle. Lark ignored the comment and focused on Wangshi’s sword. The jian was indeed a beautiful weapon; his caretaker had its clean blade pointed at the slowly approaching Cursed Human. Unlike before, Wangshi was handling the jian with one hand instead of two. His right hand gripped the handle with an unnerving calmness, while his left retreated to the side of his waist.

Lark raised a brow. Besides wondering how Wangshi would fight, he also questioned how he could get hold of the sword without anyone noticing to complete the unsealing. Then he noticed the green power crystal glowing on the hilt of the sword, the runic characters on the blade began to activate.

The Cursed Human growled, mouth dripping with sludge from its purple tongue, and its runny, red eyes suddenly blew out red mist. Lark nearly bit his tongue as the abomination charged madly. Ignoring the effects of Henry’s spell, it plowed through the spiky terrain into Wangshi’s territory.

The calm caretaker hadn’t stepped an inch away from his original position, but his arms bulged and strained. A sudden, diagonal slash swept through the air, and behind it, the wind roared fiercely as the first sword strike reached the trees. The barks of trees ripped from the roots up, and branches tore off into the wind current. As ungraceful as the abomination was, it dodged the scissoring wind by hurtling itself down and through the mud spikes. Self-inflicted injuries were apparently the least of its concerns.

Wangshi inhaled through his nose and synchronized his next few movements with a loud exhale. In the next moment, his entire body lifted into the air, and again he reused the same fluttering footwork to gather wind energy around his body and sword. Lark secured Gushi to the top of his head as he felt drawn in by the energy pull. Clenching his jaw, Lark squinted into the windy battle. Wangshi’s definitely going to use Wind Blade, he believed, because his caretaker’s current stance was similar to when he and Mishka took out the giant slime. However, the younger version packed a tougher, more refined sword posture. Once Wangshi had risen more than five feet off the ground, the Cursed Human was no more than a quick sprint away.

“Gua-feng!” With a thundering shout, Wangshi’s movements slowed to a halt. And for a second, Lark thought the abomination had stopped too until its long legs sped through the air about to meet head on with the pointed blade.

It’s gonna snap like a toothpick… Lark’s heart stopped when the spidery limb squared with the thin steel. Instead of hearing the same, jarring metallic snap as Salene’s short sword, an explosive burst repelled the abomination further than the starting line. The monster’s body curled up like a dead spider, as it rolled and tumbled more violently than a pinball machine. However, Wangshi didn’t stop there and continued with a different set of footwork. His left hand retrieved the Love Tassel from his wife and as if praying, his left hand straightened with his thumb pressing down the red strings against his palm. He waved his flattened hand over the jian when the dark creature released an anguished roar.

“Silence you, I’m not good with enchantments like my wife,” Wangshi muttered under his breath while going through the motions of blessing the sword. “This battle won't end unless I recapture you, or you end up killing me, which I intend not to happen!” Grounding his teeth together, he bit into his thumb and dribbled blood down the blade.

Blood Rite? Lark’s eyes widened.

“It’s actually a mix of a charm and enchanting,” answered Sphinx. “It’s also likely that it’s magic exclusive to the Shi clan.”

The bloodstains absorbed into the metal and Wangshi wore an expression the equivalent to: Oh my goodness, it’s working!

Once again, the Cursed Human returned running on all its limbs, except this time it crept over the spikes like a cautious insect, peeking its head in and out into the clearing before moving onto the next stack.

“Hiding won't help you!” remarked Wangshi as he readied into position. The Love Tassel floated next to him, while a blood-colored mist enveloped the jian. Two hands held the hilt of the sword as he raised it overhead and swung down like an executioner. The wind cleaved a straight path through the forest, but the red mist traveled outward binding unconscious goblins in a shimmering rope. Releasing a shriek, the dark creature dodged the oncoming strike by burrowing itself behind a wall of spikes, but the mist was still gunning for it.

Lark scratched his chin. The original Wind Blade had a spectacular helix spin to it, but this time Wangshi had shouted ‘gua-feng’ which sent the monster spiraling backward instead of upwards. Why was it different?

“No, that won’t do. I already promised Mother, I wouldn’t hurt perfect little Henry. But…his teammates are still game.” The man crunched on an apple lazily as he sat atop the stone rock, where the second dungeon was hidden. Lark’s eyes widened in disbelief, instantly recognizing the Gullivan-House crest on his black robes.

Joffrey Gullivan!

He hurriedly outstretched his hand and whispered ‘scan.’ A black box appeared to the right of his head, but as soon as the information fed through his brain, he looked back at the battle and Joffrey had disappeared.

Joffrey Gullivan (human) (Wishes of the People Member)

Titles: Celestian Academy Graduate, Exiled From Gullivan House, Prodigy, Thief, Tier 4 Enchanter

Known affinities: Astral

Age: 21

Lvl 2

Happiness: NA

Conditions: *Sanity

STR: 100

DEX: 100

INT: 320

MG: 200

SPT: 200

LUK: 100

Skills

Astral Magic* - Blink, Star Tunnel, Projection, Psionic Shield, Soul Dagger, Divination

Dagger Mastery

Tome Mastery

Contract Magic

Alchemy - Poison Arts

Enchant

Warding

Astral magic! Didn’t Mr. Federov’s notes say only 1 in 100,000 people were born with this kind of magic? Lark sucked in a chilling breath—Wangshi’s in trouble!—he left his hiding spot despite Sphinx’s protests ringing in his ear.

I’ll be damned if I let him get manipulated by that piece of shit in front of me again. Lark began sprinting down the narrow space in between the trees and over the spikes. Joffrey used that move, Blink, he guessed and surely he appeared in front of the Cursed Human and disabled the red misty chain with a bluish purple dagger.

Only spiritual based skills can cancel out spiritual attacks. Wangshi frowned and called out, “Dark mage, you best stop this foolishness now and return my comrade.” The old caretaker didn’t have a very good poker face nor could he bluff or buff his way out of this one.

“Garbage,” Joffrey spoke in a sinister tone. He was dressed in a long black robe, but Lark spotted the green tinted ring hanging loosely on a chain around his neck. The shape of his dagger changed into a brightly lit arrow. “Aquila, go.”

Emerging from the eight, connected dots, an eagle the size equivalent to Mishka’s Phantom Bat appeared. Its wings spread out into a shallow ‘V’ as it charged alongside the abomination.

Wangshi harrumphed while widening his stance. His last remaining trump card was ‘Wind Blade.’ What he used earlier were basic sword art forms of the Shi Clan supported with wind magic. However, betting a magic skill against constellation arts? He wouldn’t win in a million years, never mind, using a C-ranked wind spell against the highly sought after astral magic. Although he knew this—he gripped the hilt with both hands—he had to try.

Lark could read Wangshi’s determination and that’s why he had to jump out in front of him.