Chapter 4 - Danger

Charlotte

"I-I suppose asking for help can't hurt."

Hearing Charlotte's words the ominous woman then smiled. Inviting her to join in the small tent, Charlotte reluctantly entered the place despite her displeasures. With her being inside and near the orb, the woman then requested Charlotte to place her hand in the menacing orb.

Looking at the woman's gentle smile, Charlotte became even more suspicious. She can't really point it out, but there's just something really off at woman in her vicinity.

"Is something the matter?" The woman asked.

"...N-nothing." Charlotte said.

Placing her small hands in the orb, Charlotte awaits for the results.

"Let's see, let's see..." The woman anticipatedly spoke. Seeing the orb glow in a bright light, the woman's eyes sparkle in delight. It seems that she's oddly happy at the orb's reaction.

Charlotte on the other hand, upon touching the orb felt an odd sensation. Huh... that's weird. My body suddenly felt light. Charlotte thought. As if a heavy burden in her body has been lifted. Confused at the sudden sensation, Charlotte thought lifting her hand away from the orb. But after some hesitation, she eventually decided to stay.

"How truly surprising" Said the woman. "Despite personally seeing it in my eyes, I still can't believe that someone as young as you is harboring such energy."

"Energy?" Charlotte echoed.

"Just ignore that statement of mine, young one. Such detail is unimportant. What's more important is dealing with your problem."

"R-right..."

"Now then, please relaxed yourself as I try and read your circumstances."

Following the woman's words, Charlotte eases her body while touching the orb. Normally such task would be hard for the current Charlotte, but due to her body feeling light from the earlier sensation. Charlotte was quick to relax her small body.

"Good, good, young one. I can easily see now." The woman said. "Hmm... I see. You're currently dealing with a large amount of debt. How truly surprising, for someone as young as you."

Hearing the lady accurately voice her current situation, Charlotte can't help but be impressed. Having perfectly guessed both hers and the little girl's problems, any doubt of the woman being fake has been erased in Charlotte's mind. Thinking more about it, Charlotte assumed that the ominous woman is probably a magic user.

"My, my, my, what a truly sad state you're currently in." The woman muttered. "I even feel bad about it."

"Are you going to help me or not?" Charlotte said.

"Relax, young one. I've yet to see a way to help with your situation."

Seeing how the woman have yet to tell her an answer, Charlotte once again waits in the tent. Standing still with her hands in the orb, Charlotte was very tense in her wait. The debt problem has been bugging her throughout the day, so having it miraculously solve is somewhat surreal for her.

"Hmm... how odd." The woman muttered.

Hearing the woman's mutter, Charlotte can't help but be concerned. "What's the matter?" Charlotte asked.

"It's not much, young one. But for some reason, I can only see an ominous door when checking a way to help you." The woman answered

"A door?" Charlotte echoed. "What kind of door?"

"A wooden one, located in a small house. And it seems to be locked, from my observation."

"A locked door... what does that mean?" Charlotte questioned.

"My apologies, young one. But that's all I can see in you. I can't glimpse any further than the ominous door, when trying to check."

With the woman's words echoing in her ears, Charlotte became disappointed. Her vague words, doesn't reassure or even help with her debt situation. If anything, it just confuses her more.

"What?! I thought you said that you will aid me in my situation, what you've just said doesn't help me at all." Charlotte cried.

"I'm sorry." The woman apologized. "But that's really all I can see in you."

"So, it's a bunch of nothing..." Charlotte complained.

"If you want some sort of comfort, you can rest assure that I'm never wrong in my foresight." The woman said.

"And how's that supposed to help me?" Charlotte questioned.

"Well... you're currently facing a debt problem, right? So trusting my foresight, it surely implies that some sort of door, is a solution for your problem."

Not believing any word of what the woman just said, Charlotte looked the woman straight in the eye. With her sharp gaze jabbing at the woman's presence, huge drop of sweats easily formed in the ominous woman's face. It seems that she's quite frightened at the young Charlotte.

"My, my, quite the scary glare you have, young one. Such scary face is really unfitting for someone as cute as you."

"..."

"...My censer apologies, young one."

"[Sigh...] I suppose this is what I get for expecting much." Charlotte sighed. "Thank you for helping me, I guess..."

"I understand that my aid, didn't really helped much. But I would like to at least wish you good luck. With such burden your lifting, you will truly need it."

Bidding goodbye at the woman, Charlotte then made her way out at the strange alleyway. With her figure slowly fading in the street. The woman then clapped both her hands, revealing the tent to be an illusion. With a soft smile in her face, a dark and demonic wing then slowly formed from her behind. Gracefully flapping both wings, the ominous woman then flew off from the place. Searching for another individual, to satisfy her needs.

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6th Floor Underground of Riverdawn's Ancient Labyrinth, 2nd Oscuridad Estrella

"Three skeletons in the front!" A man with a longsword shouted.

"Got it!" Another one replied. Heading the call of the man with the longsword is another man dressed in ringmail which is layered with a sturdy leather armor. With a round shield and a sword in his hand, he bravely engages the fast-approaching skeletons.

Using the shield in his hand and his strength, the ringmailed man was able to hold the three skeletons by his own. Promptly swinging the sword in his hand, the man was able to loosen up the skeleton's grips. With an opportunity in sight, the man quickly followed with a bash using his shield.

"Nice job, Aaron!" A man in cleric robe shouted. Preparing a mace in hand, the cleric robed man then pointed said mace in the downed skeletons.

Knowing what's about to happen, the man named Aaron quickly retreats from the way.

"Oh, holy mother from above. Please give me strength, as I vanquish evil in the name of your grace." The man in cleric robed prayed. Opening his eyes, the man then shouted "Holy Arrow!" Not long after, a spear of light manifest from the cleric robed man's mace. Which quickly shoot out at the downed skeletons. Getting hit by the spear made of light, the downed skeletons were swiftly turned into dust as an explosion of light engulfs their entire bodies. With their threat now eliminated, the cleric robed man then prayed "May the goddess rest their souls in peace."

"Fucking hell, Gerald." Aaron complained. "Please warn me when you start blasting that spell of yours. I almost got caught along with it."

"Hahaha." The man with the longsword laughed. "Stop complaining will you, Aaron. You should be happier that Gerald assisted you in there."

"Happy my ass. I got that situation under controlled." Aaron said. "Seriously, you shouldn't had wasted your mana in that puny encounter, Gerald. You're our only magic user in this party."

"Yeah-yeah." The man with the longsword spoke. "Anyhow, are you okay Gerald?"

"I'm perfectly fine, Roy." Spoke Gerald. "You should be more concerned about mister complainer here."

"Huh?!" Snarked Aaron.

"[Sigh...] Are the two of you married or something. Cause every time I see you both, you fuckers are always bickering with each other." Emerging from the dark halls of the labyrinth is a scarfed man dressed in leather armor.

"Oh, you're back Peter." Roy greeted. "So, how's the scouting went?"

"I already checked the corners and halls of the place, no treasures and monsters in sight. Quite disappointing really." Peter answered.

"I see..." Apathetically spoke Roy. It seems that his also quite disappointed with their findings. "I guess we have no choice but to leave with our little findings."

"Eh?!" Aaron cried. "Seriously, we're going to leave with our current findings? Can't we just continue and explore the 7th floor?"

"You truly and are a fool, Aaron." Gerald commented. "We already are finished with our quest so continuing further is just extra work."

"Yeah, but today's loot is pretty small than usual. Even with the quest reward, we'd still be short on cash." Aaron said.

"You mean drinking money." Snide Gerald.

Hearing Gerald's remark, the three people of their party suddenly felt as if an arrow hit their hearts. The only reason why they're disappointed with their findings is due to their need of money for drinks. So, with it being told straight to their faces is somewhat hurt their prides.

Seeing the sad faces of his group, Gerald can't help but agree to their desires. "[Sigh...] Fine... let's continue exploring more of this labyrinth." Gerald reluctantly spoke.

With Gerald's words echoing to their ears, the sad looked of the others quickly turned into smiles. Being normal adventurers with no magic, the others are pretty hesitant to venture further of the labyrinth. Especially when undead monsters; whom are hard to deal with, are present

"It's getting late now." Peter said. "We should camp out first before we head further."

Agreeing to Peter's suggestion, the group quickly searched for an area that is good for camping. Not long after their search they manage to find a good spot in the 6th floor. Preparing their things on the floor, the group then tried resting as Gerald creates a bonfire using a Runic Spell.

With the bright fire warming their bodies, the group then prepared their meals for the day. Bringing a pot which they used to create soup, the group then equally shared the soup's portion to each other. And along with their soup, they also brought some bread and dried meat; which most of them used as flavoring for the soup.

Eating their meals peacefully in the dark halls of the labyrinth, the mood that was emitting in the place was quite comfy.

"How bland..." Aaron said. "Are there even spices in this soup?"

"Quit complaining, Aaron. Who do you think was the bright person whom spent most of our earnings on drinks?" Gerald said.

Seeing the two bickered once more, Roy can't help but laugh. Aaron and Gerald don't get along with each other very well, even since their party was created. The two always fought and bicker even for such petty things. But despite their endless bickering, Roy always knew that both of them respected each other. Aaron respects Gerald's calmness and ability to critically think in many situations. While Gerald respects Aaron's bravery to engage danger head on and his undying trust in his allies. Such dynamic makes them the perfect pair in Roy's eyes, despite their constant fighting.

"What are you laughing at?" Aaron asked.

"Nothing." Roy said with a smile in his face.

"[Sigh...] Let's not focus in such things, we're still in a dungeon here." Peter exhaustedly voiced. "Let's check and assess our equipment's first."

"Good call." Gerald agreed. "Considering that we'd decided to venture further."

"Well... my sword and shield are still in perfect shape so I don't think I need to worry much." Aaron explained.

"How about our torches?" Peter asked.

"We still have 5 torches remaining so I don't think that we're that low in that aspect. Plus, even if we did lose our source of light. We still have Gerald in our side." Roy answered.

"[Sigh...] You shouldn't be relying much on Gerald when it comes to different situations, Roy. It's not always that a magic user can have enough mana to conjure a spell." Peter explained.

"You sure are quite the paranoid one, Peter." Gerald noted. "I've been wondering why you're like that."

"Yeah, same here." Aaron added. "You should try loosening up for a bit, Peter. I've heard stories from old people that says that paranoid people die the youngest."

"What kind of stories are you even listening?" Peter asked bewilderedly. "Plus, I'm not that paranoid, I'm just being careful."

"Same thing really" Aaron said.

"[Sigh...] It's just a normal behavior for someone like me. Being a scout, I tend to be the one that faces danger first. So being careful and extra prepared just became a habit."

"I see... That's quite understandable." Gerald noted

"I suppose it makes sense." Aaron muttered. "But you still need to loosen up, thou. Otherwise you'll die young."

"Again, what kind of stories are you seriously listening?"

"Well it seems that we're good in our cases. So, what about you Gerald?" Roy asked.

"I'm fine as well." Gerald replied. "I didn't used much of my mana, so I still have a decent enough stored."

"Magic, huh..." Aaron mumbled. "What a mysterious thing."

"What are talking about now, Aaron?" Gerald questioned.

"I'm just curious, really." Aaron answered "You mention a lot of things regarding magic, but I don't really understand much about what you're saying."

"Then I suggest you to read a book or two." Gerald said.

"But that's very boring, Plus I'm not very literate."

"That's none of my concern." Gerald replied.

"Speaking of magic, I'm also curious." Roy asked "When you say that your mana is fine, how can you tell that it's the case. Are there like signs or other things that helps you identify if your mana is low or not?"

"I think so..." Gerald answered. "There's really no physical sign if one's low of mana other than exhaustion, but in most cases one can just fake it. My honest answer would just be that we sort of feel it."

"Huh?"

"Well, let's contrast it to a bottle of water. Let's say that mana is the water inside the bottle and the bottle represents the body. Even if your eyes are closed, you can still feel the difference of a filled bottle and empty one if you just hold it. The mana in our bodies is similar to said comparison." Gerald explained.

"So, you're saying that if one has no mana, they're lighter in weight." Aaron commented.

"No, you dumbass!" Gerald shouted. "I mean that we can essentially just feel it."

"I get it, I get it, I was just joking." Aaron apologized.

.

.

"In the topic of magic, may I also ask a question?" Peter spoke.

"What is it?"

"Well... I've met a few mages here and there and I'm just curious. Why do you pray every time you cast a spell?" Peter asked.

"Oh? That? It's pretty simple, actually" Gerald explained. "As a cleric, prayer is a part of my oath. So, every time I cast a spell, I always pray to the Goddess above."

"Is it mandatory or just something you do?" Roy asked.

"It's not really mandatory." Gerald said. "I just do it for faith strengthening."

"Faith strengthening?"

"It's the process of increasing your faith." Gerald answered. "For some unknown reason, it is discovered that praying actually improves one's spells. So, with said discovery, most priests and clerics tend to do faith strengthening to improve themselves."

"How fascinating..." Aaron spoke in awe.

Their little discussion went for about a lengthy hour. Busying themselves with stories, the group were able to handle to blandness of their meals. The stories they told varied, from stories about their lives to stories they heard from other people. Which also kept them from getting bored.

With how lively the group was, one can easily misjudge that they're currently not in a dangerous place. But despite their looks, the group were still in their guards.

Finishing their rest, the group then readied themselves to venture out further. But as they begin to make their way to the 7th floor, they were suddenly startled by a loud scream, which was coming from the stairs that leads to the 7th floor.

"What was that?" Aaron quietly asked.

"Stay quiet, Aaron." Roy ordered. "It's seems that something dangerous is at the stairs."

Knowing that a fight is about to begin, Roy quickly looked at Peter whom immediately understood his message. Being a scout, Peter isn't really well suited in direct combat. So, with his understanding of his role, he swiftly hid in the rear back, acting as support when needed.

With their position and weapons ready in hand, they then carefully made their way to the source of the scream.

Arriving at the place, Gerald wrote the runic spell "Ball of light" with his hand. "May the goddess above light thy servant's way." Gerald prayed. With a small of ball of light manifesting in his side, he then tossed the floating ball of light in the suspected place. With the small light illuminating the place, the party manage to found a bloodied body of a man in the ground. Judging from the man's equipment they assumed that the man was an adventurer like them.

"What the hell?" Puzzled by what he had seen, Aaron can't help but say those words.

Wanting to investigate if the man was still alive, the group carefully made their way to the bloodied man. Upon getting closer, they found out the bloodied body has a massive wound in the back. With how great the wound is, they quickly suspected that something sharp must have cause it.

"His dead..." Roy uttered.

Seeing the state of the man, Gerald then prayed for the man's well-being. "May the goddess rest your soul in peace."

Checking the body once more, they found a small hole in the man's head. With such an injury present in the man's body, they suspected that it was the cause of his death. But what bothered them more is what caused said injury. Searching the place, they weren't able to find anything that can cause such injury. As such, the ominous mystery remains.

"What kind of monster could have cause this?" Aaron asked.

"Don't know." Gerald answered. "With such a small and precise injury, I highly doubt that an undead monster can cause this."

"Wait..." Peter muttered "If this person was killed because of the hole in his head, then perpetrator must be near."

"But we already checked the area and found nothing." Roy answered.

"How weird..." Peter mumbled.

"Then that just means that the culprit moved to the 7th floor." Aaron declared. "The stairs are pretty close."

While they were busy, assessing the body. An unknown figure suddenly appeared from the stairs. Seeing the party analyzed the bloodied body, the figure suddenly spoke, which caught the party's attention.

"[Sigh...] More witnesses... what a bother." The figure spoke.

Quickly checking where, the voice came from. The party saw a pale skinned woman with horns in her head. Confused by the woman's presence, their guard was momentarily down for a moment. And in swift manner, the horned woman attacked. Moving faster than their eyes can see, the woman quickly cuts Aaron's hand.

With his hand falling to the ground, Aaron screamed in pain. Knowing the danger that they are in, Roy quickly attacked the horned woman with his longsword, which the woman evades by jumping away from the attack. Following Roy's immediate action, Gerald quickly wrote the runic spell "Heal" from his hand with no prayer, which eases the pain that Aaron was feeling. But with bleeding hand still present, Aaron was still in critical danger.

Quick to react, Peter immediately pulled Aaron back from the fight. Preparing some bandages in hand, Peter then tried covering Aaron's hand to stop the bleeding.

"Peter, take Aaron and run!" Gerald shouted.

"What the hell are you taking about?!" Peter questioned. "I'm not going to leave you all behind."

"You have to." Gerald stated. "The one in front of us, right now is a demon and we're currently powerless to defeat it."

"B-but still..."

"Please Peter!" Roy firmly asked. "Escape with Aaron, and report this to the Guild."

Having no choice at the moment, Peter quickly escape with the injured Aaron despite his displeasure. Wanting the sure escape of their allies, both Gerald and Roy tried holding the pale demon, without hesitation.

.

.

Without even looking back, Peter quickly carried Aaron out in the dungeon. Running from hall to hall, Exhaustion was quickly nearing Peter's body. But knowing the sacrifices his allies made for him, his not about to give up now.

"P-Peter..." Aaron muttered.

"What is it?" Peter asked

"Leave me here and escape by yourself."

"What are you talking about, now?!" Peter shouted. "You're currently bleeding, so leaving you is a death wish."

"That's precisely the point." Aaron said. "I'm just slowing you down, so just leave me here and escape by yourself."

"Both Roy and Gerald entrusted me to save you, dumbass."

"Ahahaha..." Aaron laughed. "I guess you won't be keeping that promise for too long, my friend."

Pushing Peter away from him, Aaron quickly blocked the approaching attack of the horned woman. Seeing the demon once again, Peter can't help but be shocked. It wasn't even that long when he tried escaping.

"Run, Peter!" Aaron shouted.

Biting his lips due to his displeasure of leaving his allies, Peter quickly ran away from the scene. With Aaron holding the demon with his one hand and shield. He was able to give Peter enough time to escape the floor. Seeing Peter's figure fade away, the woman quickly tried eliminating Aaron to no avail.

"[Tssk...] How annoying." The woman said in displeasure.

Smiling at the pissed off demon, Aaron then engages in the fight once more. With his focus now directed at the pale demon, Aaron was able to evade some of its attack. Seeing Aaron's masterful skills despite having one hand, the horned woman was somewhat impressed. But not long after their fight, the injury from his hand was quickly affecting Aaron. Exhaustion can be seen in his face as he blocks the woman's attacks, which the woman took advantage of.

Continuing the pressure, Aaron was quickly getting tired from blocking. And with the perfect opportunity to end the fight, the woman swiftly wrote a runic spell which casted a small dark beam. Seeing the approaching attack, Aaron then tried blocking the thing, in hopes of stopping it. But as the beam approach the deadlocked Aaron, the beam suddenly changed direction, which caught Aaron off-guard.

Shit! Aaron shouted in his mind.

Getting hit in the head with the dark beam, Aaron's lively eyes became darkened. With his body falling in the ground, Aaron of the Beer Party was deemed dead at that moment.

-End