I listened in on the conversations downstairs as I soaked in the tub. My increased awareness and water connection allowed me to hear conversations I wouldn't be privy to. I didn't have this type of control before the loops. It was nice, to say the least.

However, similar to how sending out my awareness in the forest created an overload of information, listening to half a dozen conversations simultaneously did the same. The spike of information made it hard to gather anything useful. I could restrict my awareness and focus on a conversation or two. I was worried that would lead me to miss out on some information from the missed conversations. The solution was the same as the forest. I restricted the information I received to keywords, cults, blood, gangs, missions, and a handful of other spicy words.

After half an hour of spotty conversations, I focused on the table of adventures. The pitcher of ale on the table gave me a clear hearing of the group of five as they started discussing plans for their mission.

"I do not like it, Captain." The voice was a bit feminine and had a high pitch. "This place is giving me the creeps. It has been two days of sleeping in shoddy beds, and not one of the locals has offered me a better option."

"Perhaps you are not sending out the right vibes." The second voice had a crisp tone and a slightly higher pitch. "Pull your shirt down a bit more."

"If Val pulls it down any further, her tits will fall out," a gruff scratchy voice said.

"What do you know about a lady's attire, Captain?" The crispy voice asked with a hint of accusation.

"Err."

"The only thing Captain knows about a ladies dress is how to—"

"That is enough, Lock," the Captain said, cutting off Lock.

"Sorry, Jin…" Lock's voice was also coarse, leading me to believe Captain Jin and Lock might be from the same area and possibly be long-time friends based on familiarity. "For what it is worth, I agree with Clair. Val is not putting out enough. It is not her attire, though. We need more bait."

"I do not have the right cut for an outfit like Val's," said Clair, her crisp tone sounding extra sharp.

"You do not need to wear an outfit like Val; you just need to be there with her tonight," Lock said.

"I thought we decided that the two of us would be too intimidating for the cult to approach," Val said, her higher voice barely discernible as she whispered the last part.

"What do you think, Mitch?" Jin asked.

"I hate to admit it, but I think Lock is right. No one is approaching Val."

"I just need more time."

"That's not what the mission alluded to," Mitch said, his orcish lazy tongue and low voice stood out from the rest. "Lone travelers were picked soon as they stepped out alone. That's why it's silver."

Silver? The last I saw of the Unruly Gangs mission was only bronze. The mission had been upgraded. Maybe the adventure guild found out about the blood cult. If the mission was silver rank, the adventurer party was probably full of knights and possibly a templar. I had a newfound respect for the group. Not that I didn't respect them before… it was just more now. It took a lot of dedication to reach twelve levels of cultivation.

"That was months ago," the Captain said. "A lot can change in that amount of time. Maybe they are no longer recruiting."

"They were never recruiting to begin with," Clair said in a hushed tone.

I finished washing and drying my clothes as I listened to the party discuss more plans and options. In the end, Lock's idea won out. They would add Clair as more incentive for the Cult to approach the ladies at night. I got dressed, fixed my hair, and headed out my door.

The conversation at the party had gone cold. In fact I couldn't pick up traces of any conversation. Odd but not uncommon in taverns according to the law of lulls.

The creek in the steps hinted at neglect or proper funds for a skilled grounder to fix the issue. A haze of dust welcomed me at the bottom. I realized it wasn't dust before I reached the main floor. Odd, I didn't sense fire mana. The haze was thicker on the ground, hiding the pool of blood I stepped into. I looked down before my next step kicked a headless body.

Water mana surged through my channels, coalescing at my fingertips. I tried to get a sense of the tavern by sending out my aura, but the smoke blocked my mana from spreading for more than a couple of feet. Though I couldn't see the ground, if I focused hard enough, I could make out blurry images of the tavern.

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

Seats were empty, the barkeep was missing, and tables and chairs had been broken. It was a ripe mess.

I didn't want to, but I walked into the middle of the tavern, kicking corpses on the way. I should've headed straight for the exit. I got the sense it wouldn't be much better outside. Whoever did this was powerful.

"Hello?" I called out into the empty, smokey room. My mana was still cycling, and my body was covered in black ice. I couldn't sense any life, but I had the disturbing feeling of being watched. I took another deliberate step and quickly turned.

A smoker stood at the back of the tavern next to the door. She was of average height and wore a hooded white robe that covered her face. Golden scripts were inscribed on the trim of the robe, reflecting the light of the fireball the cultivator held.

"You are a hard man to find," said the smoker, her voice had an authoritative tone that felt extra sharp.

I looked around the room to see who the smoker was talking to.

"They are all dead."

"Oh," I said—more to myself. I took a step back as the fire cultivator stepped forward.

"Relax, I am not going to kill you yet."

"That doesn't sound as comforting as you might think it does." I forced the words out. Judging by my inability to push out my domain, I was dealing with a powerful cultivator. As much as I hated it, I was in the smoker's court.

The smoker laughed, revealing the whitest teeth I'd ever seen. My teeth were pristine themselves, a small benefit of being a dowser. In the presence of the smiling woman, I hesitated to open my mouth. She took another step. The motion jostled her loose robe, revealing a jester crown tattoo on her chest. The smoker didn't bother covering up. She pulled back her hood revealing her olive skin, long slender ears, and white hair.

"Do you know how long I have been waiting in this dump for you?" She asked.

At this point, I was starting to think I had a problem with punctuality. However, unlike Lips the lady bear and Heft the rat bastard, I sensed that the smoker was actually waiting. I was a little intrigued. It helped that she seemed to want to talk and not just kill.

"Five days?" I did some quick math and guessed.

The smoker's head jerked back in disgust as her eyes scrutinized me.

"Five days? Who do you think you are?"

"Well, the days have become a bit of a blur. Lately, hours felt like days."

The smoker nodded. Some mutual ground. Good. I gained a little confidence.

"Then there's this guy at the gate not named Jed, and well, he kind of messed with me."

It was too much confidence. The smoker's scrutiny doubled. I felt like melting under her gaze. She took another step forward. If I could push out my domain beyond arm's reach, the cultivator would stand where my mana got extra potent. That also meant I was standing in a dangerous spot.

"Relax, I will make sure to kill this Jed guy when I am finished with you."

"Thanks…" The word came out more of a question, which I thought was fair given the circumstances.

The smoker smiled, flashing her dangerous teeth. Her eyes sparkled with a bad kind of lust. The smoke around us thickened and heated up. As I started coughing, a trickle of sweat ran into my eye. I wanted to be cool, smile back, and not wipe my eyes. That wasn't happening. I kept my mouth shut, feeling extra insecure, and wiped my eyes of sweat. The smoker's smile turned sour.

"Where is the princess?"

"That's an odd question to ask," I said sincerely. "What princess?" Now, I looked at the smoker with scrutiny.

"Stop playing coy." The temperature rose, and the smoker summoned a fiery staff. As the blazing mana increased around me, I pushed out my own mana to stop from burning. I couldn't exert my power far, but I had enough skill to resist whatever the smoker was trying to do to me with her domain.

"Listen, lady, I have no clue what you're talking about."

"Princess Sunny of the Lumin Kingdom."

"The fallen kingdom of the elves?"

The smoker nodded.

"Sunny died with her parents when their kingdom was sacked." Everyone knew the Jewel of Lochland was dead. The sadness of the princess' death even reached Adleri, an ocean and continent away from Lumin.

"After she faked her death, she fled the land of the elves to come to this dried-out continent where she has been acting like an adventurer and playing at love with a toothless orc."

Despite the biteless dig, I'd never felt so grateful to my ancestors for cutting their tusks as I did at this moment. Tusks were impossible to keep white, and my faltering security would've shattered entirely at this point as the smoker once again smiled.

"Lana is no princess…" I spoke the truth but didn't trust my own words.

Smiley—the elf smoker smiling enthusiast—laughed heartily in response.

"You poor fool. Do you honestly believe Lana was an adventurer who had fallen for a washed-up soldier? She played you and everyone else in your squad—except for her annoying bodyguard."

"What are you talking about?" I tried to make sense of Smiley's words and wasn't having any luck. Lana was more than charming, but she was no princess."

"Summon us some chairs. You at least deserve to know why I am going to kill you."