Where was I? Oh, that's right. I've told you about the three human heroes. Now let's talk about another.

It is hard to pick who among the remaining six should be next. Going by importance is unfair and debatable, and going for chronological order just seems bland. You know what. I'll tell you about one of my favorites.

The story of Balcan Greenlight the (un)lucky.

He was a beastman born in the year 1313, and the first thing that happened to him in this world was having a black cat jump over his body and break a mirror. Now, to me, that whole 'black cats bring bad luck' thing is ridiculous, but it's hard to say if it was the truth or not in his case. During his early life, Balcan was a magnet for bad luck. From tripping in random stones to have birds and other animals poop on him, people even say that he had a rain cloud constantly following him. It reached a point where the farmers would ask Balcan to walk around the crops during droughts to bring rain. And, as odd as it sounds, that worked.

Growing up was hard for someone who always had bad luck. His family had a lot of issues, from his father losing his business to the miscarriage of all his potential siblings. Even so, Balcan was never blamed by his parents. It was sad that other people didn't have the same type of tact and constantly reminded the child that he was the reason his family suffered so much. It reached a point where Balcan felt obligated to run away. After all, according to everyone else, people would be better if he wasn't around.

I'll stop this just for a moment because I have something to say. I wish I could go back just to smack those people. No child deserves to be treated like that, anyway, back to the story.

Balcan was just 15 years old when he left his family. He wasn't even able to move rooms, but the room he was already in was large enough so that no one would find him. He spent the next three years in a place called the caverns of dread. A massive, sprawling network of tunnels filled with dangers and monsters. During those years, his luck helped him stay alive. Every time he was chased by a large creature, he would stumble upon another one, and they would start fighting. In there, he found a doorway that he could use to level up when he reached the right age and leave this room behind forever, which is exactly what he did. At least at first.

After getting his first level up, he still couldn't tell why his luck was so bad. There were no hidden skills, and his luck attribute was normal, a bit on the lower side, but still normal by all accounts. So, Balcan left the room in search of answers. He wanted to understand why that happened to him, why he was such an unlucky being.

For years Balcan traveled through the MAZE. Everywhere he went, his bad luck followed, from earthquakes to floods and even rampages. All seemed worse while he was around. Balcan failed to notice that after every disaster, he was the first to arrive to help the others. Not just that, but because of his warnings, many lives were saved. About 30 years after the beginning of his journey, he found out why this happened to him. An old orc, well-versed in magic and skills, managed to reveal a hidden talent the beastman had ever since he was born.

You see, Balcan wasn't simply unlucky. Bad luck was attracted to him, yes, but that wasn't all. He was attracted to bad luck as well and could pull it towards himself to ward off from others. It was something akin to a sixth sense, but he could tell when something bad would happen and even pull that to himself. All those disasters and problems that seemed to follow him were nothing more than Balcan taking the bad luck of those around him to himself. The disasters had a smaller effect in the cities because Balcan moved away from populated areas. The rains would be dragged towards him. His father lost his business before it was revealed that his partner was stealing from the city. Even his mother's miscarriages were beneficial. What his skill did was to pull the issue that a baby just days away from being born would have to the baby his mother didn't even know she had since it was just a couple of weeks old.

Realizing that Balcan returned to his home, now that he understood the skill, he could even turn it off when he wanted. During his journey back, he saw every city he saved, every family that survived thanks to his efforts, every life that changed because of one man that wished nothing more than to help others.

In the end, through just trying to help others, even if it was because of guilt. Balcan became a beacon for the people, an ideal that most strive to live by. As for what was Balcan's ultimate fate. Some say he kept traveling, others that he found someone he cared about and decided to retire. Personally, I like the version where he found his family again and lived happily ever after in the city he grew up in. It's a shame that we don't have more information about what happened to him after he decided to return, but as with most legends, we tend to overlook the happy endings.

Now, for the next story…

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Hera couldn't sleep, so she chose to read the book about the Nine Heroes. Balcan's story felt strangely familiar. Or, at least, his skill did. She couldn't help to wonder if the skill he had was anything like her [Silver Lining], but, then again, the effects were considerably different. Hera was curious about the rest, but the sleep got the better of her.

Early next morning, Shane called a meeting before anyone even had breakfast.

"Before we get going, I need to share one thing with everyone," The entire party was gathered in one of the rooms they got for the night. The place was large enough for 4 people, but now it felt a bit cramped with the entire party of seven. Shane was in the middle of the room, between the two large beds, while the rest sat anywhere they could. Mylo was the only one in the ground since he would take twice as much space in the bed because of his massive frame.

"That sounds ominous. Like, very ominous. Are you going to tell us that someone has to die to open the ruins or something?" Blue asked.

"No, not that. How the fuck did you went there so fast?" Shane sighed.

"Well, there is always a twist like that in movies. 'To unlock the doors, the blood of an innocent must be spilled' or something," Blue shrugged.

"That kind of thing only happens in movies. Or video games. Well… in dungeons, but we almost never see traps in a ruin outside those things. There is no point in that. These buildings were not made to trap people or anything like it. They all had an actual function. Like the last one Mylo and I went to was a library. No one would place traps in a place like that. Not to say there weren't any dangers, but they were mostly monsters that made that place their home or the structure of the place. One of the corridors collapsed with our weight,"

"I'm fat, I know," Mylo crossed.

"Dude, you have like, 8% body fat. You are not fat. That's all muscle," Shane rolled her eyes, "Anyway, I want to talk about something else. I told you guys that there were spiders in that room, right? Well, it seems that there are more things than just spiders. There is also this scarab thing that is reportedly the size of a bear and can shoot its stingers at people. They seem to be very hostile with the spiders and keep attacking them on sight. If that wasn't enough, there is a third species. They are called Rock Poly, and just as the name suggests, they are roly-polies that look like rocks. Those seem to be the most peaceful of the bunch, but that doesn't mean they aren't dangerous."

"And do they have any known weakness?" Bonnie asked.

"The spiders seem to be disoriented if we use water, the scarabs really hate lights, and the Rock Poly doesn't have any particular weakness, but as long as you don't hit the shell, they should go down easily."

"That's easier said than done. They should have a pretty tight lock when they curl up in a ball," Alex sighed.

"True, but that's when water and liquid spells come into play. It's not an air-locked thing, so that grease fire thing Hera told me about should do wonders," Shane added.

"Right, then what's the plan to fight those things?" Blue asked.

"We don't. Our goal is not to fight them but to find the ruins. Those monsters are just in the way. Still, if we have to fight, try not to get hit by the spider silk, and use some water spells if you can. Also, stay clear from the walls when we are in their territory. They are called trap door spiders for a reason. Actually, keep an eye out for anything that seems out of place. I'm not sure if you guys know much about trapdoor spiders in general, but they dig holes and hide inside to capture any prey that comes near the opening. Some species even cover the holes with small rocks to make it even harder to notice," Shane pulled up a couple of pictures in her tablet. The spiders themselves were very similar to the ones back on Earth, aside from the size. Luckily, when she showed the picture of their hiding spots, everyone could tell how obvious they were.

Hera raised her hand, "Do we have to worry about poison?"

"Not really. They do have a small numbing agent, but it seems to be so weak that it would take 50 bites from the big ones to start hindering our movements. It's more likely that the bites would kill before you even feel the poison," Shane flicked her tablet a few times to reveal a massive yellow scarab almost as large as a bear with two sets of arms pointing forward, "These are the other faction if that's what you want to call them. Those arms that are pointing forward can shoot stingers. Again, no poison, but these things can penetrate deep into the rocks."

"Hehe," Mylo's giggle made everyone stare at him, "Sorry. Penetrate."

"Would you grow up?" Shane rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, this is not a joke. Can those things break through the Roly Poly's shell?" Blue asked.

"They can, yes."

"So you might say, they penetrate balls deep?" Blue and Mylo started laughing at the joke.

"Oh, what are you? 12?" Bonnie gasped.

"13 and a half, thank you very much," Blue replied.

Shane put away her tablet and just told everyone to get ready. They still had to eat something before going to the next room. During the meal, Hera and Bonnie did their best to explain the behavior of spiders and other insects to Silah. The dwarf had never seen those types of creatures, and having someone so oblivious about the dangers they represented could lead to trouble. In the end, they all agreed that for now, Silah should always stay close to someone else until she felt comfortable.

After about one hour, the group decided to go to the next room before Shane shook her leg out of its socket. The doorway was outside the outpost, but it took just a quick 10-minute walk to get there. The passage was around a bunch of loose rocks and some sand, in the only part of the room that broke away from the forest feeling that the rest of the room had. On top of the doorway, there was a symbol that looked like dried-up ground, much like the aerial view of the valley.

Shane was the first to cross over, followed by the rest. Hera and Silah were the last ones to enter. The blacksmith was looking at a text she got from her family. Despite what she said, it was clear that Silah missed her parents.

"Are you ready?" Silah asked after she finished sending a reply.

"Just one last thing," Hera leaned over and stole a kiss from her girlfriend, "Now I'm ready."

Silah had turned red with that, "That makes one of us."

They smiled and touched the doorway. A message appearing in front of them.

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Would you like to be transported to

Wailing Valley - 7th Layer

[Yes] [No]

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Pressing yes, the pair vanished in a glow of white light.