Chapter 6 – Mission

I hum a gentle tune as I lift a leg out of the steaming hot water, my large pitch black wings spilling out the sides of the small bathtub big enough only to fit a single adult person. My wings are massive, so of course they can’t fit inside such a small tub, especially since they are the wings of a vulture.

I can remember what is what but I can’t remember my past… how vexing...

Jacob’s and Meredith’s house is a large two story building not far from the main gates, and is very near the market area, which apparently they own.

It totally did not expect them both to be a very rich family from how they acted and look like. Their clothes are not fancy and expensive, neither is their carriage, and the furniture within the large home is nothing short of basic. They are incredibly modest people that do not flaunt their wealth and do not let money change them.

Needless to say that I started liking them a lot more after I found that out.

And I also found out that Meredith can be very terrifying if I refuse something one too many times. I think she was about to strangle me…

So once I accepted, she forced several crystals in my hands and bought me into the bathroom with her and her daughter, and while they bathed, I used the Cleaning Crystals and the Repair Crystals on my clothes, and one on my rifle too.

The way these crystals work is simple, just squeeze and shatter them in your hand, which turns them into glowing powder that proceeds to do it’s intended purpose.

The article of clothing one wants to clean must be wrapped around the crystal before crushing it, same with the Repair Crystal. As for my rifle, I just needed to crush the crystal against it.

Now my rifle has no more rust on it, and while my thick shirt wasn’t fully cleaned, it was now fully repaired, alongside my pants.

I would have bought a change once I had money, but then I quickly realized that any clothes I wear – the upper clothing to be precise – must be specifically tailored for me due to my wings.

My shirt has a specific pair of cuts along the back that slid down around the sides of my wings when I put it on, instead of just having a large hole cut out over the back.

I sighed and sat up before exiting the bathtub, grabbing the nearby towel to dry myself up after letting the bathtub drain.

“Kaera, you’re clothes are ready!” I perked up at Meredith’s voice, then covered my chest with the towel and my lower body with my wings before opening the door just a crack so to get my clothing.

The smug grin on Meredith’s face didn’t bode well, and a single glance to my shirt told me why. I had only used a single Cleaning Crystal on the shirt, which turned it from a dusty mottled yellowish color to a light yellow, but now the shirt was a bright pristine white and smelled very good.

I let my guard down...

I try my best not to smile, and merely felt my lips twitch as I reach out to grasp my clothes, together with a set of new underwear for me. “Thank you.” Her smug grin grew even more.

I close the door, then snort softly when I hear Meredith cackle while walking away. Truly a dangerous woman.

I quickly finishedrying myself and my long hair – and my wings too – before getting dressed in my perfectly cleaned and more comfortable clothes. This feels a lot better now.

I make sure everything is clean before I exit the bathroom and walk into the hallway, then go back downstairs and into the very large but kind of plain living room.

Both Jacob and Meredith now are in much better clothing than before, and while it’s not fancy clothing, it still makes them look refined and well off.

It’s at this moment that I realize that the reason they use a small wagon and normal clothing is so that they don’t attract too much attention. It’s actually quite smart of them. They act and show themselves as if they aren’t quite wealthy while outside of the city so to not risk being targeted by too many people.

“There you are.” Meredith perked up when she noticed me approach them, her smug expression having turned into a warm friendly smile. What is she planning this time? “Here, I have your payment for your successful job ready!” She turns fully towards me and holds out a fist sized leather pouch, a soft metallic clicking sound coming from within.

“This isn’t something super expensive, is it?” I mumble under my breath as I gently take the leather pouch in my hands while Meredith snorts softly, looking slightly affronted.

“Don’t worry, I managed to hold her back… this time.” I give Jacob a thankful nod while Meredith merely huffs and turns away while crossing her arms.

I know that she wishes to repay me for my services, but being paid and being given some hospitality is more than enough for me. I’d rather she doesn’t go overboard to accommodate me or keep me happy.

“Fine, I’ll try to hold back next time.” The woman rolls her eyes at both me and her husband, making me smile softly. “I’ll get started on dinner then while you two take a quick trip to the Guild.” I perk up at that. I actually wanted to ask directions to the Guild, especially since Meredith told me that it’s quite close to where they live while we entered the bustling city.

“I plan on heading to the Guild to see if the messenger of the War Company I work for is there, or if he has left a message for me.” I turn to Jacob as he speaks up. “If you come with me you’ll learn where it is, and maybe I can introduce you to said messenger and see if the War Company will accept you.” The ‘If he’s there.’ didn’t need to be said, but I do not mind.

I don’t have anything to do now, especially since I do not remember how to cook or do anything relating to that, so I might as well go with Jacob to the Guild. Maybe even find a Quest since I want to raise my level a bit more and hope to get a good Skill that packs a lot of strength behind it.

Like a grenade.

I pause and blink in confusion at that. What’s a grenade?

“I don’t see a problem with that.” I quickly answer Jacob as I put away those thoughts, the image of a somewhat round object with a pin flashing by in my head. Once the pin is pulled, a few seconds delay is given to throw the ‘grenade’, then watch it explode.

“That’s good then.” Jacob nods, and I do not fail to catch the slight worry in his eyes due to my long pause. “Give me a minute to grab my things.” I nod and step aside as he walks off, then go to grab my coat and rifle.

“You sure you’re okay there girl?” Meredith spoke up from the kitchen, which is attached to the living room, and I couldn’t help but smile softly at her worry. “You spaced out for a bit there.” I give a slow nod as I furrow my brows. Being unable to remember everything and just getting flashes of it is going to become increasingly vexing the more it happens.

“It was nothing. Just… a memory, I think.” I hum lowly as I put on my coat while Meredith pauses, the knife in her hand inches away from the carrot she was about to cut.

“Anything concrete?” I furrow my brows and think back on the ‘Grenade’, and all I can see is just… destruction, rubble, blood and death. Lots of death. All in all, nothing pleasant.

Albeit the buildings in that memory look so… different, and weird…

I go to answer, but then notice Meredith’s daughter sitting at the table with her younger brother in the crib. “Nothing worth mentioning.” I hum softly as I give the young girl a meaningful glance that Meredith easily catches. She chews on her lower lip for a second before she nods and turns back to the kitchen.

I’m starting to doubt that if I do gain back my memories, I won’t like what I see. After all, I did wake up in a throne room full of dead corpses. In a city full of corpses and death.

With me being the only survivor.

Did I commit a massacre? Did I slaughter that whole city? So many questions, yet no answers… I only know that I loathe the King of that city for some reason.

I shake away those thoughts and sigh softly as Jacob comes back with a small brown bag thrown over his shoulder. “Okay, I’m good to go.” I nod and pull the hood over my head, then make sure to wrap my wings around my legs as I close the cape around my body and clutch my rifle close, finger on the trigger.

The people in the Royal Capital don’t look that different from those outside, the place just looks a lot cleaner and more well kept, but the people still look on edge and antsy so of course I’ll still keep my guard up against them.

I’ll have to ask Jacob about why everyone looks so on edge all the time later.

“We’ll be back soon honey!” Jacob calls out as he opens the door and holds it open to let me go out first while whatever Meredith had just said ended up being covered by Aisha’s cry, telling her dad to be careful and that she loves him.

The giddy smile on Jacob’s face as he closes the front door behind him made me smile too. That girl is truly adorable.

We walk down the small stone path splitting the front garden in half, a garden that is mostly bare and just has two trees on either side, barely any flowers or anything like that. It seems like neither Meredith or Jacob are the gardening sorts.

We walk out of the small main gate, which is attached to a two meters tall stone wall with a one meter tall iron fence above it. Both seem well taken care off, albeit some of the iron bars of the fence are slightly bent or dented inward.

“Hey, Kaera.” I perk up and turn to Jacob as we walk alongside the wall of his large house, the next building over being a large stall that he and Meredith own. “Can I ask you a question?” I blink and tilt my head slightly, but nod nonetheless. He might not be my current contractor and Master, but he is her husband, so it doesn’t hurt to show just this bit of cordiality.

Besides, it’s just questions.

“What is your race?” I blink again at his question. Has he not seen anyone like me? Is there no one else with wings? Well, I am artificial so perhaps a race like mine doesn’t exist? But I did see a huge humanoid lizard talk with a human near the gates… And that huge humanoid lizard is the only non-human I have seen so far.

“I am a Fallen Angel.” I reply honestly, but keep out the fact that I am artificial as I don’t think it’s very important. “Have you not seen anyone else with wings?” He is a merchant, so he must’ve traveled to many places and seen many different people and things.

“I’ve seen many Demi-Humans, but none with wings.” He chuckles as we take a turn to the right, the street ahead of us being far more crowded than the one we were previously in. “Though the leader of the War Company I work for is a massive Minotaur Demi-Human.” A Minotaur? A huge bull standing on two legs is the first thing that comes to my mind… but the image is rather silly so I hope I am wrong “Still, a Fallen Angel…” Jacob hums softly in wonder before falling silent, thus I let my gaze fall on the chattering civilians around us.

The majority of the people within the capital look far healthier and happier than those within the village we passed through, but that village was within the Forsaken Lands, so perhaps the King or Queen of this place doesn’t really care about them for some reason. Or perhaps they are exiled criminals and whatnot.

The people, while constantly on edge, do not constantly eye me and Jacob as if we were preys. They don’t tail us, don’t study us, they just ignore us. It’s a very sudden and surprising change, but not an unwelcome one.

“There it is.” Jacob speaks up and nods forward, making me perk up and raise my head to look at the large building far ahead of us.

The Guild Symbol hung high above the roof of the building, showing that it is indeed the Guild. It’s large, at least three or four floors. The wall were painted dark red and the roof a light brown, a flag with three triangles of different colors flapping right behind the Guild Symbol.

I ignore the flag and lower my gaze to the main doors, which had a slow but steady flow of people of all kinds and types going in and out.

The large building is within a medium sized plaza, the other buildings around being various shops of all kinds, majorly weaponry and armors, or what seems to be the Magic Crystals Meredith used to repair my clothing. There’s also what looks like to be a fairly nice restaurant on the other side of the plaza. I’ll probably give the place a visit in the future since I seem to be quite the glutton.

“There’s quite a few people visiting it…” Jacob hums as his brows furrow together. It seems like this isn’t normal then. Perhaps something has happened and it’s some sort of emergency? If I remember right, the Dungeon that Jacob’s War Company is guarding has been acting weird, so perhaps it’s related to that.

We swiftly enter the Guild and I instantly notice the group of people standing and sitting around another small group to the right of the large hall. The group at the center had a total of four people, two guys and two girls. All four of them look rather young, maybe nearing their twenties, and they are all equipped rather well.

The group seems to be nervous as they converse with a few specific people among the other group, thought whatever they seem to be talking about doesn’t seem to go so well.

I draw my gaze away from them after I notice that the large group of people around the group of four starts to move away while shaking their heads, some in clear distaste and others with just frowns.

I escort Jacob to the front desk, then turn my gaze towards the large board filled with dozens of papers, some even stacked on each other. There doesn’t seem to be a section made for each difficulty grade, so I’ll have to look through them myself.

“I’m telling you, this is suicide.” I perk up and turn towards group of four that I saw before in the middle of all those people, but now there’s just a team of three in front of them, with their apparent leader looking down at the blonde-haired guy in front of him, possibly the leader.

“Those damn caves are dark as hell and nobody knows what the hell is inside ‘em since anyone with the guts to go in there never comes out to tell the tale, and you want to bring a team down there to look for a Dungeon?” The dark skinned man sneers and shakes his head, his two companions behind him chuckle softly while the blonde haired man’s face falls.

“I know very well how dangerous those tunnels and caves are, but I don’t have a choice. My War Company received an order from the King himself, and you know what happens to those that don’t obey or fail him.” The man grinds out through gritted teeth, making the team of three in front of him falter slightly. It looks like the King isn’t a great man. “My War Company needs to find at least three Dungeons within that damn mountain range, else our heads are on the line. So far we only found one at the cost of five lives, so please…” The blonde haired guy begged softly, gauntlet covered fists clenched above the table.

Caves, tunnels, narrow spaces, dark and ambushes. Two-handed weapons are a big no, ranged fighting could become a hazard and close quarters fights are increasingly deadly. Too much damage to the environment could lead to a collapse, or worse, being sealed in with no way out.

The danger is quite high… but the gains should be even higher. My rifle packs quite a punch, and Analyze should help me detect any weaknesses the monster I might face have, so…

I look towards Jacob and notice that he’s frowning at a letter in his hands, then turn back towards the group of four as the team in front of them finally left.

Oh well, I might as well try. I don’t have anything to lose either way.

“Excuse me.” I speak up as I approach the group, causing the blonde haired man – or boy, since he looks even younger up close – to perk up alongside his team. I don’t fail to notice the glistening Silver Badges strapped to their belts. “Are there any specific requirements to join?” I ask as the boy looks at me with curious but hopeful eyes.

“Anyone near or above Level 10 is welcome to join, albeit those with two handed or large weapon types aren’t best suited for the place where we have to go.” He explains as he straightens his back, making me nod and mentally check on my Level.

“I am Level 7, very likely near Level 8.” He furrows his brows in thought. “I have a ranged Class, but while my accuracy is lacking, I pack quite a bit of a punch.” This seems to gain his interest, and he quickly shares a glance with the rest of his team.

“We’re actually lacking a ranged Class among us.” He states, then offers me a hand with a friendly smile, which a gently take to give it a slight shake. “I’m Chase, and I’m a Tank.” He turns to his left and nods at the other guy in his group, a large man with bulging muscles and a bald head. One of his eyes was clenched shut and probably blind seeing the huge scar running over it. “He is Markus, our Warrior.” The huge man gives me a nod, and I think he tried and utterly failed at giving me a friendly smile.

“This is Jessy, our Thief. She scouts ahead for us and disarms any traps she might run into.” Chase then introduces one of the two girls. Jessy is short, has short black hair and bright green eyes. Her weapons seem to be two small knifes attached to her belt. “And lastly there’s Beth, our Brawler.” The last girl is instead almost as tall as Markus, has bright blonde hair going down her back, and quite the muscles on her… Plus quite the revealing armor.

“I am Kaera, a Soldier.” That seems to draw a confused look from them, but I already expected such a reaction since I doubt many had the opportunity to grab a gun when their System activated. “I do not mind joining you in exploring these tunnels and caves, but I do not know where they are located.”

“That is alright.” Chase nods. “They are situated within the mountain attached to the capital, but their entrance has recently been sealed by the War Company I am part of. How about we meet in front of the Guild tomorrow after lunch time?” He proposes, and I nod after just a few seconds of thinking it over. It’s neither too late nor too early, so it’s perfectly fine.

“That is fine by me. Thank you for having me.” I glance back towards Jacob and see him waiting for me by the doors, so I quickly excuse myself and shake their hands before joining him and leaving the Guild. I do not fail to notice the slight frown on his face as we do so.

“Is everything alright?” I ask as we walk down the now more peaceful and empty road. The Sun is already going down and the sky is turning orange and purple, but luckily Jacob and Meredith live close by so we won’t have to walk in the street while it’s dark out.

“Just… the War Company I work for has lost a few people recently. The monsters within the Dungeon they are guarding are starting to grow in numbers and are getting more and more daring, even going as far as charge onto the surface without a care for their lives.” He explains as my eyes narrow. That doesn’t sound too good, and it sounds quite weird too. Monsters acting in a coordinated manner? Is there a leader behind them or is it the effect of the Dungeon? “I’ll have to deliver extra Magic Crystals just to be sure.” He hums to himself in the end before just shaking his head and sighing softly. This truly is quite weird, but there’s no use thinking about it.

We fall into a comfortable silence as we turn the corner, and I find my eyes trailing and following a man that towards us and then by us, my focus being on how on edge he was. Like he was looking for something.

“Sir, may I ask a question?” I turn to Jacob before glancing behind me and towards the man that just walked by us. Jacob gives me a curious look before giving me a nod, so I go ahead and ask the question that has been on my mind for a while. “Why does everyone I see look so on edge? It’s like… they are looking for something.” I stop when Jacob all but freezes in place, then instantly whirls around to make sure no one is listening in on us for some reason.

“It’s best you do not bring this up ever again.” Jacob warns me, eyes full of fear and panic, yet also greed. But why? What can make people act like this? Is it some sort of drug? A fear of something? But then why the greed?

What is it that they are looking for?

“Trust me on this Kaera.” Jacob all but begs softly. “It’s Taboo. Anyone that even thinks or mentions it just…” He stops himself, then shakes his head, takes a deep breath to calm himself, then turns back to walk home.

I look at his back for a few seconds before falling into steps with him.

This just made me even more curious...