“What do you want?”

Kihet lifted his upper half off the floor and squeezed the bridge between his eyes. The mirror lake and blue sky felt so artificial he realized the place at first glance. Shortly after he fell asleep, he was aware he was summoned back to the world of dreams, the Hallow.

Standing before him was someone identical to Lily, but it was Elenora borrowing Lily’s appearance. It was roughly a month since she last appeared, but now that he was in Vivrus, it seemed like an appropriate time for her to confront him again.

“I… I’d like us to try talking again. To be honest, I wanted to contact you much sooner, but after our first meeting it was hard to find the right time.”

“Is it about not going to the Tower? I know I’m not strong enough.”

“I’m glad you understand, but there’s something else I want you to know. I’m aware of the Queen’s condition and want you to refuse it.”

“Do you have any idea what you’re asking for?”

“It’s to protect you-.”

“The Oracle or me?”

The cold gaze she received from Kihet kept her from immediately replying. Elenora sucked her lips as her gaze casted downwards and reluctantly answered, “T-the Oracle.”

“Well, sorry. I am me first, the Oracle second. I do what I think is right. Xu needs help and Vivrus has a request something I can only do.”

“Is there no way talking you out of this?”

Kihet remained silent. It had seemed her words were ignored again, and he already decided.

“I see… then I’ll send you back. Good luck.”

“Wait just one second.” Kihet demanded. “You only told me to not take it, but you haven’t told me why. If you’re trying to persuade someone, at least give a little context.”

“Is that why you refused?”

“Just tell me.”

“O-okay!”

Hearing a small glimmer of hope, Elenora put on a smile and nodded. Using magic, she once again took control of the lake as eight sculptures of robed individuals rose up. Each statue had a necklace with crests on them and beside them, their weapons. Of course, Kihet recognized a few of them as Knight with its sword, Wizard with its spear and Executioner with its guillotine axe. As for others, he saw one with three large shields orbiting around, another holding a sceptre and a buckler, the third with a weapon like an elongated crossbow, fourth with a variety of two-handed weapons on its back, and the last one supporting a coffin upright.

There was something about the coffin that was familiar that he couldn’t put his finger on it. What’s strange was none of the statues held the same tonfa like energy blades as Henrick. It was possible it was materialized from a magic spell as he couldn’t access his weapons at the time.

For now, he waited silently for Elenora to explain why she pulled out these figures.

“There’s something I want to correct from last time. Although the group I’m part of was the Heroes’ party, only •••••• was the Hero. The others are Acolytes accompanying the hero.”

Kihet frowned a bit when he couldn’t hear the name, but Elenora made it clear to point at the Knight to identify who she was talking about.

“How is that different from being a Hero?”

“Acolytes hold traits of the Hero. There are seven, which are strength, wisdom, benevolence, justice, unyielding, retribution and defiance. Just by what crest they were given, should give you an idea about their capabilities.”

“Then I’d assume I haven’t met the Acolyte of strength yet. I would’ve been dead.”

“The ones you encountered were the Hero, Wisdom and Retribution.”

“If there is one I should avoid, which one would it be?”

“All of them, but I would say Strength? Maybe Retribution. You needn’t worry about Defiance. Anyways, you cannot hope to win against any of them without sufficient support and preparations.”

“Got it. So how does all this tie into refusing the Queen’s quest?”

“Earlier I mentioned its to protect the Oracle. Although I cannot help you in the real world, I can in here. I sensed something dangerously close to Vivrus’ capital.”

“You think one of the Acolytes are there?”

“It is, but my powers can only let me know this much. I cannot identify which one of my friends it is. Therefore, you must refuse the request. It’s too dangerous.”

“Dangerous or not, if I don’t somehow clear the dungeon, Xu will be overrun by tower monsters and be attacked by Rozzosea. There’s also my friend who I want to see again.”

“That means you’re going?”

“If possible, I’ll avoid it and smash the dungeon core.” Kihet then remembered his question from earlier. “Say, which one of the Acolytes is Henrick?”

“Who?”

“Henrick.”

Elenora stared at him surprised, as she blinked and tilted her head to the side.

“Can you repeat that?”

“Hen-rick. Did you get that now?”

“I thought I was imagining things, but I really can’t hear that name.”

“So, it’s the same with me hearing the names of other Heroes.”

“It is? Why didn’t you mention that earlier?!” Elenora shouted.

“Their names weren’t important. As for the reason why their names are censored, is only thing that bugs me.”

“Can you describe the person’s appearance?”

“Gold hair, green eyes-.”

“Him?!” She pushed her face against Kihet’s. “How did you meet him?! When?!”

“He saved me and gave me the Oracle’s mark when I was little.”

“And he gave you the Oracle’s powers?” Elenora questioned. Troubled, she crossed her arms and sat in front of Kihet. “I don’t think we’re talking about the same person. Other than ••••••, there’s no one else in the Heroes’ party with the same matching description. Does he rant on about a girl?”

“He never mentioned anything about himself, but he has a scar on one of his eyes. Ring a bell?”

“Can’t say it does. The one I know doesn’t have that, but I’ve met quite a few people with scars on their eyes. None of my close friends bore scars on their eyes.”

There were obvious contradictions between Henrick and Elenora. Elenora claimed she knew all the heroes but did not know who Henrick was as he claimed he was a hero. Either one of them lied, or both told the truth in some way. Nonetheless, Kihet did not trust them and decided it was best to keep all the information to himself until he could identify the liar out of the two.

“The power of the Oracle could only be given by the Creator. What you’re saying doesn’t make sense, but if you weren’t the Oracle, I wouldn’t be able to speak with you.”

“I see.” Kihet nodded.

-There’s more and more questions. I’ve only heard Elenora’s side and if possible, I’d like Henrick to contact me in some way to get his story. But he’s taken by the tower.-

The world around them trembled as Elenora’s form began to glitch.

“What’s happening?”

“I guess we’ll have to stop our chat here. You’re waking up.” Elenora answered, now reverted to her soul form. “I’ll investigate the person who gave you the Oracle’s powers. Meanwhile, Kihet. I know you trust the girl that is with you, but I sense something’s off about her.”

“Lily? What do you mean?”

“I don’t know the specifics but watch yourself and be careful.”

“Listen here. You think you can just spew something out like that without proof? Don’t give me that crap-!”

Before he was able to shoot back with words, the world was engulfed in white then faded to black.

He cracked opened his eyes, staring at the ceiling as he felt something weighing on his entire right side of his body. He looked down at his chest and found Lily clung onto him, still asleep as her drool dripped on his shoulder. No matter how he looked at her, it was impossible for him to doubt Lily was plotting anything against him. If anything, a prank or two was at most he could see her do.

“That bitch is a liar.” He clicked his tongue. “Hey, Lily. Wake up. Why didn’t you sleep in your own bed? Hey, you’re drooling! Seriously?”

“What’s this?”

“It’s Yew Nectar. You can find them in Sanctuary. They’re edible but the main usage is to treat burns.”

“And this?”

“Fervour Weed. From Pamalyra. The smell burning from it can give anyone an adrenaline rush. It’s useful for people who needed that extra oomph in battle or in medicine.”

“I had no idea these plants existed. This is the book you followed to heal me when I had that fever, right?”

“Don’t rip any of the pages.”

“I know it’s important to you. I’ll be extra careful.”

Although Lily couldn’t read Kihet’s language, she breezed through the pages like she was studying its contents. As she flipped to the next topic, occasionally, small doodles would appear on the corner of the pages with their own dialogue boxes. She came across one that looked like Kihet as he was drawn being bandaged by a girl in a frilly dress.

“So this is what the Enui’s language look like. Looks complicated.”

“I think Xu’s characters are more complicated.”

“Really? I guess it depends on the perspective.” She closed the book. “Are you done?”

“I was waiting for you. If you’re done reading, put it back in the chest and lock it.”

“Got it.”

Before they left, Kihet slid the chest containing Malth’s axe and Lemi’s book under the bed. He locked the door and as he passed the key to the innkeeper. He said a few choice words away from Lily’s ears. If anything was misplaced or stolen, it would be on the innkeeper’s head.

“D-dear guests, before you go,” the innkeeper nervously mustered up. “I have a royal invitation addressed to you. To meet with her highness, this pass is required.”

With the Queen having to recently taken the throne, it brought motivation for others with similar goals to take the throne for themselves. Of course, each time the throne was transferred, a forty day grace period came to effect to which challengers could not initiate the ceremony.

They decided the fastest and most familiar route to the palace was to cut through the marketplace. This time, they decided to take the street that led them on the path towards the guild. As they headed down a new road, they noticed the guild hall, a giant pillar of wood holding up the ceiling of the massive city within the great tree. There was a web of bridges that connected the superstructure to other buildings.

“That’s the guild?”

“That’s the guild.”

“It’s tall.”

“Sure is.”

When looking at the guild hall, they felt like ants as they were beholding its size.

“Lily, there’s a lot of people. Stay close and don’t get lost.”

“Then don’t mind if I do~.” She hugged his arm as they entered the crowded streets. “Don’t you think Martha would be jealous if she saw us like this?”

“You’re the only one thinking about that-.”

“Ah, look over there! Those pins look so cute!”

“Lily, I thought we weren’t planning to spend money unless it’s important.”

“Isn’t it fine to just look? That merchant is carrying a lot of neat things.”

She dragged Kihet to a street vendor like a child who found a candy shop. At first, they were suspicious to see an accessories shop that didn’t sell wings or silk clothing. Turns out the owner wasn’t an insectoid, but a Beastman, a Werecat. It wore a large beige colored coat over its grey and white fur. It’s yellow cat like eyes glow under the shade of its hood.

Beside the vendor was a large knapsack filled to the brim with miscellaneous items. Whether it was weapons dangling off one side or a large tower shield covering the entirety of the other, the Werecat had it all.

While Kihet examined the weapons, Lily looked at the accessories. There were many good quality products, but the prices were beyond what they could afford. A good blade from this merchant costed twenty-one thousand silvers to match the price of quality weapons in this country for what it’s worth.

“Ohnya… this is rare. Devil folks. You two aren’t from around here.”

“I could say the same to you. What’s a Beastman peddler doing all the way here from Pamalyra?”

“You know, trying to make a living in these dark times. Help a girl out, would nya? I have some wares you might be interested.”

“We’re browsing.”

“Nyie suppose there are times people are curious of my goods. I’ll be here for a while if you two change your mind. I’m selling these for the cheapest, you know.”

This peddler had knickknacks ranging from children’s toy to weapons and mysterious materials Kihet haven’t saw across the world.

“Do you have any unconventional weapons?”

“Nya? Such as?”

“Something cheap, lightweight, or something can cause a reaction like a making a bright flash or similar. Weapons in general are too expensive.”

“Nyi’m glad you asked. I don’t carry unconventional weapons, but I have ingredients you could use to craft them and high quality magic ink.” The Werecat dug her paw into her large bag of goods. “Let’s see here. Nya ha! How about these?”

She set down two small jars. One was tightly sealed and the other had a wooden plug. When she opened both pots, she warned Kihet not to inhale any of it accidentally. The jar on the left contained clear yellowish liquid while the tightly sealed one was filled with stinky yellow powder that smelled like rotten eggs.

“Do I have nyour attention?”

“You didn’t even tell me anything about them.”

“Right, sorry. Nyahaha!” She laughed. “The clear yellowish clear liquid is something alchemists from my home country refined from crude oil and has a unique property. Pour it onto water, light it with flint and steel and flames burn on water! We also use it to fuel lanterns, making them last longer and brighter than candle lit or those just using crude oil.”

“Really.”

“I will not lie to you, dear customer. Even my own lantern uses it but be sure not to put a flame near it or all of it will catch on fire.”

“Okay, I see that. What’s the other one?”

“Sulfur. It’s mined a lot in Stusis and for some reason, Rozzosea and Xu are big buyers. Nyie don’t get it, but it releases toxic gas when it burns and it’s very slow. Just as you asked, both of these are extremely flammable. If these are the product you seek, I will sell these for a bargain of one hundred silvers! How does that sound?”

“For that quantity?”

“How about eighty?”

“Forty five.”

“Sixty eight. After all, they were brought from across the world and weren’t that easy to obtain. I will nyot lower the price.”

“Fine. Sixty eight.” Kihet counted the coins thoroughly and traded it for the two jars.

“Thank you for your purchase, nya! And because you’re the only one here who has an eye for these things, I’ll throw some information I learnt from Stusis. I don’t remember the recipe, but I heard quicklime and those two ingredients were part of it used to make incendiary bombs. They call it hellfire if I recalled correctly.”

“Hellfire?”

“A flame that can’t be put out by water even if you dump gallons on it. That’s all the information I can give you. Good luck!”

“Hey, Kihet! How does it look on me?”

Before he asked for more information, Lily tugged on his sleeve. He saw her hair done into a bun being held onto by a pin. The one she chose had a small ornament, a glasswork of a piece of leaf, hanging at the end. He looked at the price tag to find the prices about three hundred Silver. After purchasing his goods, they had roughly doubled about that amount.

“Good, I guess.” He answered. She looked the same to him with or without her hair tied up anyways.

“I really wish you’d be more enthusiastic sometimes.” Lily pouted at him and returned the accessory to the vendor. “You should’ve compliment me or something.”

“I don’t get the point of dressing yourself up.” More like he didn’t understand it. To him, everyone looked the same only with their clothes changed up and style differed from their previous appearance.

“Maybe I need to try enough to wow you!”

“Yeah, yeah. Before that, no more distractions. I know you like cute things but let’s earn some money before we get ahead of ourselves.”

“You don’t get fashion, but you understand cute things? You’re weird.”

“I am. And so is everyone else.”

“You’re saying I’m weird too?”

“You do eat a lot. Maybe a bit too much for our finances.”

“I-I can’t help it! There’s food I never ate before! By the way, what did you buy?”

“Some miscellaneous things. I need to experiment with them before they can be used.”

The crowd behind them grew more intense as a new wave of people flood into the market district. Now directly below the guild hall, waves of adventurers walked in and out with quest papers, merchants and citizens filing quests every second. On a bridge three levels above, Lily spotted workers pulling a cart of a creature’s carcass for material salvaging.

“I’m thinking now that we’re here, we might as well register ourselves.”

“Good point. Let’s do that before we make our visit.”

They stopped at the mouth of the entrance, taking in the chaotic scene happening before them. Hundreds of arthropods buzzed around the lobby gathering by reception. Lines snaked on and on, continuing to grow while all tables were taken and the quest board overwhelmed.

“Returning from Quests, over here!”

“Submitting Quests, over here!”

“Quest Accepters, please line here for authorization!”

“Any questions please meet the information clerk in the second floor!”

“Number 138, materials have been procured. Please make your way to the fourth floor to collect your items.”

“Adventures taking on delivery quests, please present your package number at the parcel office!”

“This is the first time I’ve been to a different guild. It’s amazing…” Lily muttered.

“The one in Rozzosea was also intense, but not as much as this. C’mon, let’s move.”

They slipped through the crowd and reached upstairs. The noise was much more tolerable than the floor below, but still loud. They had to wait in line to get service from any of the twelve working clerks. Before Kihet approached the desk, Lily asked to let her speak with the receptionist and practice her Vivirian.

“Hello, many thanks for waiting, travellers. How may I assist?”

“Us register adventurers. Here?” Lily asked.

“Yes, but unfortunately we aren’t allowed to give licences to outsiders-. Hm? Oh my, I’m terribly sorry!”

“What’s wrong?”

“Apologies, it seems the Queen has already made an exception for you two. I hadn’t recognized you two a moment ago. I was informed of your status just yesterday. We have your licences prepared. You were granted the authority to skip Novice and Rookie ranks and are now adventurers of the Apprentice rank.”

“Great.” Kihet’s cheer came out without any motivation. It was unlikely after the job given by the Queen, he would visit any guilds halls often. “Wait, did she know we’d visit the guild?”

“I believe so. Her majesty also assigned a job for the both of you.”

“How shrewd.” Kihet growled. “Give us all the details you have and we’ll consider it.”

“Unfortunately, I was not told of anything, but further instructions will be given to you through two other member who will accompany you on your quest. They are waiting in the lounge on the third floor.”

“Two other members? Don’t tell me we’ll have to split our pay with them. Will we get enough for ourselves?”

“We don’t have a choice.” Kihet turned back to the clerk. “We’ll go meet them.”

“Excellent, now if you will, please deliver this letter to one of them as well. We have someone up there to guide you to the room.” The Clerk passed onto her letter written ‘To: Yixy Agrippa’.

Lily held onto the letter as they headed to the third floor. It was much, much quieter but hallow noises could be heard from the bottom two floors. They were greeted by a circular hallway and followed a guide to their destination. Within the room, there were two people on separate seats minding their business. One looked to be fast asleep while the other’s attention was on a bundle of colored sticks, trying to pick up one by one without moving the others. Neither of them were about to notice their guests coming through the door.

“Ahem.”

“Gah! They’re here?! They’re here! And there’s one with such a scary face.”

The Grasshopper type insectoid fell backwards on the floor then quickly crawled back on his seat. He had four arms, carried a small case on its back. He wore steel gauntlets and a thin robe. Insectoids were confident in their exoskeleton as some rarely worn armor. However, this Grasshopper had a strange shield tightened on his left wrist. It was made out of rawhide and woven rattan. Rattan was a material Kihet never thought would be viable on a shield given how flexible and thin it was. It should be easy to carry and it had much more surface area than the buckler he was carrying.

As for the sword, Kihet couldn’t think he could categorize the grasshopper spiked board as a sword or a club. The handle and flat part of the blade was made entirely of wood with pieces of prismatic crystals embedded on its sides.

“Do you have a problem with that?”

“Not one bit! I was told you’d be here, but I never thought this soon. Have you met with her majesty?”

“We were about to, but then she gave us a quest.”

“As an adventurer, I feel a disturbance towards your approach! There’s supposed to be a certain order how adventurers are supposed to get their quests and you skipped the briefing her highness was supposed to give you.”

“We’re not walking there and back. Can’t you do that in her stead?”

“I suppose… Yixy, get up! It’s your turn!”

“Priqet, quiet down. Urgh… it’s too early in the morning.”

The moth hanged her head. Her glasslike wings fluttered each time she felt annoyed by the Grasshopper’s joyful singing. Instead of being multi limbed like her partner, she had two arms and wore leather pads over her silk vest. She carried multiple vials with a crooked staff dangling a sling at the end that was strung over her shoulders.

“Not the type to return a proper greeting eh?”

“Shut it. Ow… my head…”

“Yixy, Yixy, my dear. You should not have been drinking.”

“You told me to drink!” The moth sighed. At this point she lost all motivation to make a witty comeback. “All because of the damn celebration for that quest.”

“We introduce?” Lily asked.

“Ho? A Devil folk who knows our language? This is a rare sight indeed~! I thought I was going to have to speak in Zuxin and I’m terrible at it.” The Grasshopper twirled around once then he bowed. “Gladly! I am Priqet Cimber, a Tracker. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“Yixy… Yixy Agrippa. Apothecarist.”

“Wu Tomoe, Ranger.”

“Kihet, Fighter.”

Then the room fell silent.

“This, for you.” Lily passed the letter towards Yixy.

“Finally. This headache is killing me.” She dropped the contents of a small phial in her mouth. “Thank the maker my sister remembered. I feel better.”

“Medicine?” Kihet asked.

“Antidotes for hangovers. I could’ve made it myself, but I didn’t want to mess up the measurements and overdose myself. You two have my thanks. Anyways… the Queen… She ordered us to tag along… in case…” The moth ended her sentence with a yawn without finishing.

Kihet couldn’t help but worried about this quest. They have a fighter whose attention could go AWOL and an Apohacarist who could fall asleep any moment.

“That means we’re splitting our reward?”

“Non, non, non!” Priqet sprang up from the ground with his powerful legs. He flung out of his chair, high enough to do a summersault and perfectly land on his two toes. “The Queen has offered to reward you two if, and I say IF, you choose to accept. We were paid by her grace in advance, so no need to worry about your cuts.”

“Tell me about the job.”

“Hm? Are you not interested in the reward?”

“I am, but I rather hear the details first. It is given directly by the Queen.”

“Ho ho, wise choice! Very well. Tell me, were you being tailed when you arrived at the guild?”

“Not that we know of.” Kihet glanced over to Lily, she shrugged and shook her head.

“I’m merely cautious because it is a request from her majesty. Yixy shall begin the briefing~. I’m going to step outside.”

“Where are you going?”

“To send a message to her majesty. I mean, you’re here and we told you what you needed to know.” The Grasshopper excused himself. “After I get word from her, we go and rent a carriage!”

To summarize, the Queen wanted them to hunt down Tower monsters inhabiting a nearby cave. Although beasts inside already prove challenging, the Queen feared the tower monsters’ population increased and eventually expand to the surface. Scouts have failed to detect the number of enemies as they are hidden by a barrier located somewhere in the cavern.

“She’s testing me.” Surely the Queen hasn’t verified his ability to fight against the shadows, so she assigned this quest to test the waters.

“Even so, the miasma is closing towards the farmlands. Vivrus could end up having a shortage of food if that isn’t taken care of.” Lily slid her finger across the map to edify her statement.

“We need the money too…”

“Are you worried?” Yixy asked.

“I got a tip that something incredibly dangerous lurks in the dungeon. I was hoping if there was a way to avoid it.”

“With Priqet, no worries.” Her every word became shorter and she seemed like she’ll fall asleep at any moment. “He’ll do something, about them.”

“And I’m supposed to just believe you?”

“Believe or not, the Queen…” now almost asleep Yixy dug her face into the couch. “Recommended us.”

The insectoids gave Kihet a bad impression from their lackadaisical attitudes. Neither the moth nor the grasshopper looked reliable. Already, he thought about using them as sacrificial pawns if things on the quest turned south.

“Priqet will wake me, when it’s time.” Yixy laid her head on the couch and was fast asleep. “Do some shopping, for now.”

As for Kihet and Lily, they exchanged looks and decided it was best to do some get supplies before they departed.