Horgan swallowed his saliva as he mumbled the words she said, “L-Level 90…”

Siola glanced at him, “I may or may not be able to kill that fat goblin, but I’m not the type to take that much of a risk over my own life.”

He glanced down, unable to face her in the eye.

[Piercer]: Then, may I ask why you decided to join us?

[Siola]: …

[Siola]: You asked me to.

[Piercer]: Huh?

[Siola]: What, don’t tell me you guys forget our little convo back at the guild? And like, why did you suddenly go polite at me? That’s creeping me out.

[Six Sense]: Well that’s—

*Clap*

The whole party was silenced by Misty Fang’s clap. Sternly looking at Piercer, “Alright, everyone. We can discuss about this later. For now, our attention should be focused on the poor wounded. April, can you heal them?”

“…” a slight chuckle with a smile, “Leave it to me.”

Siola continues making the light ball and upon making enough of them, they all linked to each other with a light string and extended to a circle, healing everyone within.

Kian was mesmerized by the sparkling light and the golden atmosphere it generates, “Ooooh, so this is the [Heal Array] that the seniors used when they're doing it by themselves. No wonder they were able to save a lot of lives with just this alone.”

“Heheh, while it is handy for healing a group of wounded, this kind of spell is just can never beat a concentrated one of even the basic spells. So be sure to use yours properly, okay?”

“Mm!”

Not bound by jealousy, she looks at Siola with admiration in her heart.

An hour passed by and the party has returned to the carriage with all the women has been healed but still unconscious. Even the driver was shocked by it. Horgan was exhausted since he is the one moving all those people from the cave. Siola lend her hand with a blue jelly potion in her palm, “Here.”

“Ahh… um…” hesitated, but he took it in the end, “Thank you. I apologize for what I’ve said and making you reveal everything… I wasn’t thinking straight.”

“It’s alright, I was planning to tell you guys about it anyway. I just didn’t find the right timing, is all.”

Horgan nodded as he smiles momentarily. He wanted to talk more with her, but she’s already left… to the captain of the party.

[Siola]: So, what’re we gonna do now? There’s still one more Quest left, right?

[Piercer]: Yes, but we can’t possibly leave them alone for too long. We have to get them back to the town as soon as possible. Hmm… the carriage is not enough to transport all these people, so we're gonna need Horgan for this.

[Horgan]: I'll lend my hands for sure, but I don't think my spell will be able to last for that long.

[Siola]: Ah, don't worry, I still got some potions left. Here, these should be more than enough.

[Horgan]: ...

[Piercer]: What's wrong, Horgan?

[Horgan]: Heh, nothing. Then, I shall take them.

[Misty Fang]: Little Kian seems to be exhausted as well, why don’t you take her with you? Six, me, and April can take care of the Quest.

[Piercer]: No, as the captain, I’ll have to—

[Six Sense]: As the Leader of Hill Vines, you have to return and report the existence of the Goblin King while ensuring the safety of the captives.

[Piercer]: But…

[Siola]: What she’s saying is right, captain.

[Piercer]: …

He sighed, glancing at Siola who kept on smirking so smugly. There has been a spark of curiosity that has lighted up in his head, “Fine, but can I ask you one last thing?”

“Oh, is it about my abilities? What kind of monster I could defeat?” standing proudly with her staff held high, “Hah, must be the extent to my limit, huh. Well, let met tell you then, not even a Goblin King can—”

“How old are you again?”

“…”

Not long after the exchange, alongside Kian and Horgan, the captain returns with the captives while having a couple of bruises in his handsome face.

*Fume *Fume

Siola’s cheeks have puffed to the max.

Misty Fang, Six Sense, and her are heading to the next location where goblins tend to ambush the civilians and local hunters when they’re exploring the area. Close to a forest.

Misty Fang glanced at the fuming Siola, those puffed cheeks of hers made him chuckle, “14 years old, looks like the Arcane Academy has a lot to think about.”

Unlike Misty Fang who has accepted the fact that someone like Siola has become a member of his party, Six Sense is sweating nervously and constantly being on edge after the realization.

‘M-Master Rank… even if she’s close to it, doesn’t that make her a B rank already? While it’s true that the guild’s system is based on contribution, the majority of Rank B is at least an Expert Rank.’

‘Wh-What are we going to do if we lose her?!’

Glaring at Siola nervously, ‘No matter what, I have to make sure that I make a good enough impression for her to stay in our party.’

[Misty Fang]: … and that is how you make cheese.

[Siola]: Heeh, isn’t there any other way? Like, a monster who makes a lot of them in their nest or something. Kinda like bees with honey.

[Misty Fang]: Hmm, there might just be. This world is vast after all.

‘And why is Fang talking about cheese with her! There’s no respect in his words at all and she’s being so friendly with him! She’s pretty much twice our level, you know!’

[Siola]: Come to think of it, I haven’t asked you about your level yet. I mean, it’s fine if you don’t want to tell me.

[Misty Fang]: I’m currently at level 48, being a Rogue helps me with the numbers quite a bit for the past few years.

[Siola]: Oooh… and you, miss Six?

[Six Sense]: Hiiiik— Yes?

[Siola]: Hm? Are you okay? I was just asking what’s your level is, and it’s fine if you don’t want to tell me about it.

[Six Sense]: Ahh no, it’s um… 52.

The two notices her uncomfortable atmosphere. Glancing at each other for a moment to confirm it and then one of them said.

“Heheh, come now, just treat me like you used to, miss Six. While it’s true that my level is high, I’m still unexperienced when it comes to a lot of things adventure.”

“But…”

Siola grabbed the dark blue wrist and pulled her to stand side-by-side along with Misty Fang on the other side holding her other hand.

“We’re in the same party and all, but I want us to be friends first and foremost.”

“…”

“Is that fine with you?”

The smile coming from Siola delighted her heart so warmly. It reminded her of a certain human who has said the same back when she was alone in the slums. The human who wields a spear, saving her from loneliness.

“Of course.”

She returned the smile, and the three of them, walking in harmony, continue their journey to complete the last Quest.

***

Inside one of the rooms in Prison Realm's castle.

Shades of floating shadowy skulls flew around her. The breastplate she wore cracked and instead of shattering, it melted. Same goes for her gloves, her knee-long boots, and her panties. They’re all reforming into an outfit that fully cloaked her from the cold, a robe. Woven black fur loosely wrapped around her neck.

She rose from the ground as she saw light entering her room, but there is no one behind that door. There are many who can hide their appearance in this castle, but the one that comes to mind is…

“Mordor.”

Dark shadowy hands creeping up on the dark side of the room, they’re walking… crawling towards her and once they stepped onto the light, they turned into a pitch-black substance resembling the ancient words of Ekolia.

{The Assimilation has begun}

Upon seeing those words, her orange eyes light up, “Inheritance, Bestowal, and Emergence. Does his Majesty knows?”

The substances shifted its form.

{No}

A grin was formed on her face.

Raising her hand and grasping the air, “Ignorance is bliss,” clenching it tightly. Her fangs were visible as the moonlight shines through the window, lighting her delighted face, "But not for him."

***

The captain of Hill Vines, Piercer, accomplished his task of returning the captives back to the Hikanda town and reported the event of the rescue. He’s currently in talk with a man twice his size and a beautiful woman bearing the uniform of a receptionist.

[---]: A Goblin King, huh.

[Piercer]: Yes, Guildmaster Khan.

[Khan]: Heh, you can just drop the formality. We’re all comrades here.

[Piercer]: Ha-haha…

[Receptionist]: Even if that is true and we manage to have a party that is interested in dealing with it, how are you so sure that it would still be there?

[Piercer]: …

[Piercer]: One of our members has sealed up the entrance, it should give enough time for others to swept in and take care of it.

[Khan]: As far as I know, Horgan does have the ability to do something like that, but was it not him?

[Piercer]: No, it was our new member who sealed it up with a wall.

[Khan]: A wall?

[Piercer]: Yes.

[Khan]: ...

[Khan]: Hmm… Alright, I’ll try to contact some B Rank Party, see if there's any that is available. Thanks for reporting this.

[Piercer]: It’s my pleasure, sir.

After bidding his farewell, he left the room. The receptionist lady kept eyeing him when he left with a suspicious look in her eyes, and then the Guildmaster Khan asked her, “What do you think?”

“He was trying to avoid the topic of his new member, but he told the truth.”

“I see. Quite rare to find something like a Goblin King, even rarer for anyone to come back unscathed. But not only that his party did just that, they also managed to rescue that number of captives.”

“It’s unheard of.”

“What do we know about the new member?”

Taking out Siola’s profile on a paper, “A 14-year-old mage. She registered earlier in the day so we don’t know much about her.”

“Alright, keep an eye out for her. Maybe she’s a Traveler in disguise.”

“Understood.”

About a few hours later. Piercer, Horgan, and Kian are all waiting anxiously for the rest of their members to return. Horgan passed an ale to his captain, “I’m sure they’ll be here soon.”

“…” sighing.

*Gulp *Gulp *Gulp

“Did you say anything about her?”

*Pwah*

“Herrm, just… April was the one who sealed up the entrance. I can’t really lie when someone who has the [Blessing of Mary] is around.”

“That’s good enough.”

Horgan notices that Kian is fidgeting around, “What’s wrong, girl?”

“Ahh, it’s just… I was just wondering what would happen if she knows that we’re actually much lower levels than her… will she left?”

“…” patting her head, “I’m sure she won’t…”

“B-But what if…” glancing away, “Powerful people often grouped up with other powerful people. They don’t see people like me as anything worth keeping.”

Hugging her tightly, “Hey, what are you talking about? Haven’t you seen our Guildmaster? He’s strong, but is he one of those people you were talking about?”

“No, but…”

“There is an exception to everything, you silly girl, and I’m sure that she is one of those exception too.”

“…”

Soon, a few more people entered the guild.

“Oh, speak of the devil.”

Piercer’s eyes opened, he quickly stopped chugging his ale and went straight to the returning teammates. Siola and Misty Fang, they seemed to be in their peak mood, but Six Sense on the other hand, she looks worse for wear.

[Piercer]: What happened? Did you guys manage to do it?

[Misty Fang]: Yes, thanks to our new member, April here, doing the majority of the work and have even saved our Six Sense over here from the death’s door, those goblins will never ambush innocent civilians anymore.

[Piercer]: How did that happen…

[Siola]: Ah, there is this boar—

[Six Sense]: NOOO!

Grabbing Siola's shoulders violently. Her eyes shooting blood as her face was covered in sweat.

[Six Sense]: April, you… you’ve promised not to tell them, right?! you’ve promised… and you will keep it… right?!

The sound of desperation that is rarely being seen by the captain made him even more curious, but he decided to let it pass seeing all three of his party is safe and sound. And most important of all, they seem to be having fun.