Hazel soon left the building she was in and cautiously made her way over to the human group they spotted before. All the while, she was keeping in touch with Astrid and Nycteris.

[Hazel Thatcher: Where are they right now?]

[Astrid Skogr: Keep moving forward. If you go through the alleyway ahead of you, they’ll be right in front of you.]

[Hazel Thatcher: Roger, roger.]

Hazel followed Astrid’s direction and strolled over to the alleyway dead ahead of her. It was a narrow path but with plenty of space as evident by the numerous trash cans and other garbage scattered around.

As she crept through the alley, she lifted her arcane dress to avoid dirtying it from the trash surrounding her. It also made it a lot easier for her to move around due to her long skirt that she was constantly tripping over.

Getting closer to the other side of the alley, Hazel abruptly stopped as she spotted her targets before her as they walked past the alleyway. To avoid getting spotted, the novice mage hid behind a large group of trash cans.

While hidden, she peered her head over the cans and observed the human group from a distance. Although she didn’t possess Astrid’s [Eagle Eye] skill, Hazel was close enough to her targets that she could at least make out their appearances.

There were two lightly armored Players positioned at the front of the group. The one on the left was a male with short brown hair who wielded a sword that was currently strapped to his waist.

As for the player on the right, this one was a female with long blond hair that stopped around her lower back. For her weapon of choice, the blond-haired warrior wielded a long spear in both hands.

As for the other two players, the one in the middle of the group was the male Rogue, wearing sleek black robes with leather armor placed over it. His face was covered by a hood and face mask, giving him a very mysterious and deadly appearance. Taking a closer look, Hazel saw throwing knives attached to a leather belt around his waist along with two daggers, likely his main weapons.

Then there was the archer, who wore a similar attire to Astrid. Unlike the dark elf, this ranger had short green hair and green eyes. That and her ears weren’t pointed like a typical Elf.

Taking a good look at them, Hazel could tell that this group had a very good team dynamic. It could be because of how they carried themselves or how they played their roles, but she knew that these players knew what they were doing.

And it was likely because of the female warrior with the spear.

[Soren Barlow– Class: Warrior – Level 16]

Taking a glance at her status, Hazel knew that she was the strongest player. Even if it was only by two levels. As for the rest of her party members, they were Level fourteen like Hazel and Astrid, which made them just as formidable.

If they turned out to be Hazel’s enemy, then she would have a hard time dealing with them on her own. Hell, even if she had Nycteris by her side, this party wouldn’t be easy to take on.

[Hazel Thatcher: What do you make of these guys?]

[Astrid Skogr: Dangerous.]

Hazel rolled her eyes in annoyance before sending a response.

[Hazel Thatcher: Please be more specific. Do you think they’ve killed people before or maybe even enjoyed killing them?]

[Astrid Skogr: It’s hard to say. But I don’t recommend introducing yourself to them.]

[Hazel Thatcher: If I want to know if they're hostile or not, I have to. Just keep watch and tell me anything that they're doing.]

[Astrid Skogr: Alright, but I still think this is a bad idea.]

[Hazel Thatcher: It’s an even worse idea to leave these guys on their own when we don’t know who they are.]

Hazel then moved over to the edge of the alleyway, peering her head around the corner to continue observing the human players. They continued to stroll down a street while eyeing their surroundings carefully.

She needed to try and talk to them to see if they were bad guys or not. But she couldn’t really do that while spying on them. The encounter needed to look accidental or abrupt so that the party wouldn’t draw any suspicion on her.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

[Hazel Thatcher: Tell me where to go so that I can make our encounter look natural and abrupt.]

[Astrid Skogr: Alright, then...]

With Astrid as her guide, the mage left the alleyway and made her way to her new location, finding herself in a desolate street. The road was empty; devoid of anything living or unliving, except for her.

Hazel looked around with unease. If it wasn’t for the fact that she had Astrid and Nycteris keeping an eye on her, she would’ve been more paranoid and distressed over her surroundings.

[Astrid Skogr: They’re nearly around the corner of the street ahead of you. Be prepared.]

[Hazel Thatcher: You don’t need to tell me twice.]

She gripped her staff while carefully walking through the street. Hopefully, she’d be able to play it off and not get instantly attacked when the human party encountered her. But just to be safe...

Nycteris, when I give you the signal, attack the humans. Not a moment later or earlier, got it?

Understood...

If this group were hostile toward Hazel, she planned to run away and lead them somewhere that Nycteris could help deal with them. And with Astrid shooting from a distance, the three of them should be able to take these players down. Even if the humans held the advantage in terms of their numbers.

[Astrid Skogr: Incoming.]

Hazel walked a little further down the street before the human group finally appeared before her just as Astrid told her. The humans turned in Hazel’s direction and immediately spotted her.

The group took defensive positions, drawing their weapons at Hazel. She did the same while trying to look surprised and alarmed. Though, it wasn’t hard looking alarmed when weapons were pointed in her direction.

“Who the hell are you?” The blond warrior, Soren, questioned Hazel.

“I-I can ask you the same question...!” Hazel retorted nervously.

“Wait...you’re human?” The blond leader muttered, getting a closer look at the mage.

Hazel leaned her head to the side. “Uh...yeah?”

“So, it’s not another fractured creature...” The ranger said curiously.

Hazel faltered, unsure of how to proceed. She wanted to know if they were friendly or not, but this first encounter wasn’t going as planned.

Just before the rest of the human party initiated their attack, Soren stopped them by raising her hand.

“I...believe we got on the wrong foot,” she told Hazel. “My name is Soren. Though, you likely already knew that by identifying me, correct?”

Hazel hesitated to respond but did so nonetheless. “Y-yeah, I did. I-I’m assuming you did the same to me?”

“That’s correct, Hazel.” Soren smiled. It wasn’t sinister or evil, but for some reason, it felt...disturbing. As if her smile was fake.

These guys...might not be so friendly after all.

“How long have you been in this city?” Soren asked suddenly. “Despite searching this place for quite a while, you’re the first human we’ve encountered.”

Hazel didn’t know why, but there was something about the blond warrior’s question that bothered her. However, she put that thought aside for now and gave out a response.

“I-I’ve only recently just made it to this place. I-I just came from a magic tower...”

[Astrid Skogr: Why are you mentioning the tower?!]

[Hazel Thatcher: Just watch and you’ll see, alright?]

“A magic tower?” Soren mused. “You mean the floating Tower one, yes?”

Hazel nodded. “T-that’s right.”

“Hmm...” The blond warrior pondered while staring at Hazel. “That would explain the magic dress, then. According to your status, you are a Mage class. And a pretty high-level one at that. Were you able to reach level fourteen all on your own?”

“I...had to if I wanted to survive. Everything in this dungeon had been trying to kill me...”

“You’re not wrong.”

Hazel continued to observe Soren, making sure to take note of her expressions as she spoke to her. She could tell that the warrior was plotting something. She may look sincere and kind with that smile, but Hazel could tell she wasn’t.

This woman...was plotting to use Hazel. Which is why Hazel planned to make use of that.

Just as Soren was about to say something to Hazel, all of them heard groaning nearby. They then turned their gaze over to the source of the noise and spotted a horde of Fractured monsters approaching them.

Soren was the first to act as she drew her weapon while commanding the others.

“Everyone, get ready!”

The rest of her party acknowledged her order, all of them getting into battle positions. However, just before any of the humans could begin their assault, a barrage of mana bolts appeared and tore through the Horde.

Fractured humans didn’t stand a chance as Hazel mowed them down with her spell, slaughtering each one with ease. The battle only lasted several seconds before the horde that just appeared was instantly wiped out, leaving only purple fragments disbursing into the air.

Soren and the rest of her party witnessed the whole spectacle unfold before their very eyes. None of them were even capable of fully comprehending what just transpired.

Soren then turned to stare at Hazel, who lowered her staff after easily massacring the Fractured horde.

“W-what...?” Hazel did her best to feign ignorance at her action while speaking.

The blond warrior faltered for a moment before she made a loud cough to possibly collect herself. “I-it’s nothing. For now, I believe we should find a place to lay low before more of them show up. Will you come with us?”

Hazel resisted the urge to smile after hearing this. It looked like her plan to join the group was successful. But this was only the beginning.

“U-um, sure...!” Hazel replied, pretending to sound nervous as she rushed over to the group.

She might’ve been able to join the group, but there was still work to be done. Even though Hazel knew that these people were bad, she wanted to know what kind of information they had. Whether it was about this city or something else regarding the dungeon.

So, before she planned to deal with them...she was going to see what they knew first.