Successfully joining the group of Humans, Hazel followed Soren and her party as they made their way to a safer location—a place where they could rest and plan what to do next.

While walking through the somewhat desolate streets of the city, Astrid began to communicate with Hazel.

[Astrid Skogr: Are you sure about this? We both know that these people are dangerous, correct?]

[Hazel Thatcher: Yeah, but leaving now would only put us in a bind. Even if we know that they are hostile, we would still have to deal with them in the future.]

[Astrid Skogr: Then why don’t we? All you need to do is lead them somewhere and we can take them down that way.]

[Hazel Thatcher: I’m not saying that we don’t. I’m simply saying that we should hold off until I know more.]

[Astrid Skogr: More what? The people they’ve killed or worse? You’re putting yourself in unnecessary danger, Hazel.]

[Hazel Thatcher: Aw, and here I thought you didn’t care about me.]

[Astrid Skogr: Keep messing around like this and I really won’t care about what they do to you.]

While Hazel was joking with her partner, she didn’t expect Astrid to be so concerned over her safety. Then again, if the mage was found out, Soren and the rest of her party would try to kill her and also grill her for information.

Astrid would most likely kill Hazel to avoid getting found out. Though she would have to deal with Nycteris first, and despite the difference in levels, Hazel doubted that she could kill the Nightwing bat so easily. Not that she wanted to find out.

[Hazel Thatcher: Duly noted. But what I meant before was that I wanted to know if they had any valuables, we could take from them.]

[Astrid Skogr: We could’ve easily done that by spying on them.]

[Hazel Thatcher: True, but with them being focused on poor, naive me, their guard will be down. That and by the off chance that they were good people, I wanted to at least talk to them and see if we could cooperate with them.]

Before realizing that Soren and the rest of her party were dangerous, Hazel felt that these people could’ve been allies and wanted to work with them so they could get stronger. Sadly, that wasn’t going to happen.

[Astrid Skogr: I refuse to work with humans.]

[Hazel Thatcher: She said to the human she currently cooperating with.]

[Astrid Skogr: We both know that I’m only cooperating with you because you are useful to me. And vice versa.]

[Hazel Thatcher: Yes, yes, I know about our little deal.]

“So, you’ve only recently arrived on the City Island, am I correct?” Soren suddenly asked, startling Hazel.

“A-ah, yes...” Hazel replied nervous. “I had to jump on other floating landmasses in the middle of space to make it into the city.”

“Those are a bit bothersome, aren’t they? Especially with those Flying Fractured bastards that attack you.”

“P-please don’t remind me of them,” Hazel shuddered, though she couldn’t tell if she was faking it or not, considering her previous terrible experience with those Flying monkeys. “I-I nearly fell several times because of those things...”

Soren lightly laughed. “Welcome to the club. We experienced a similar scenario when attempting to get to this island. I’m pretty sure we were up against Harpies.”

“We were,” The ranger confirmed with a nod. “There were a couple dozen of the humanoid bird freaks.”

“Yes, we barely managed to escape,” Soren lamented before turning to Hazel. “Did you encounter harpies too, or were they a different breed of beasts?”

If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

Hazel shook her head. “N-no, I had to deal with...flying monkeys.”

“Flying monkeys? That’s a first.” Soren tapped her chin as she spun around and faced the front. “Then again, certain areas do have different monsters so that’s to be expected. This place is no different.”

As Soren and Hazel continued their talk, the group soon arrived at a Tavern building. The blond warrior took a look at the place before nodding her head, as if with confirmation.

“Alright, we’ll be staying here for the moment,” She declared, to which the rest of her group nodded in sync.

Hazel was the only one who simply stood there. But just as the party walked toward the tavern, she scrambled to follow along, not wanting to be left behind.

[Astrid Skogr: They could be using this building to kill you in it.]

She read the message carefully, making sure to keep Soren and the others from noticing her gaze. Astrid was likely hiding on a roof nearby, carefully watching them. But now that they were going inside, she would likely have to find a way to get in as well to keep an eye on Hazel.

[Hazel Thatcher: Doubtful. Besides, this is a Dungeon. Not either of our worlds. If they wanted to kill me, they would’ve done so when we first met to save themselves the trouble. The only reason they’re keeping me alive is likely because of me being a mage.]

Not only that, but Hazel was outnumbered four to one; at least to Soren and the others. If they wanted to, they could’ve easily overwhelmed her with this kind of thinking. It would be less troublesome than leading her into some unknown area when there was literally no one else around them to stop the group.

[Astrid Skogr: So, they want to use you like I am.]

[Hazel Thatcher: While our partnership involved using one another, we still have a mutual alliance between each other. These guys definitely won’t do the same with me. They might make me their slave when they get the chance after buttering up to me.]

[Astrid Skogr: I can certainly see that happening. Which is why we need to deal with them while we still have the chance.]

Hazel hesitated to respond since she was beginning to think the same thing. She only played along with this party so she could get to their base, but something told her that wasn’t going to be any time soon.

There was also the fact that she couldn’t stand being near these people when she knew for a fact that they had bad intentions for Hazel. Just standing near these people gave her the creeps.

But she also couldn’t attack them just yet. Just because they likely believed she was a naive and innocent mage didn’t mean their guards were down. If she tried to take them on now, there could be some unforeseen risks.

Before attempting to deal with these people, she needed to make a plan to do so. But for now, she should get some information about them, if only a little.

But right when she was about to speak up, Soren beat her to it.

“By the way, Hazel, I’ve been meaning to ask. Are you from Gorus or Earth?”

Hearing this, Hazel hesitated to answer, fearful of what to say. However, after thinking it over for a second, she decided to give a response.

“I-I’m from Earth. I-I'm assuming you’re from Gorus, then?”

“We are,” Soren nodded. “Is this your first time seeing a Player from Gorus?”

“H-honestly, it’s the first time I’ve encountered anyone after getting sent to this dungeon. I-I've been on my own for a while now.” Hazel made a light whimper, trying to emphasize her loneliness.

By adding enough pity points, she should be able to keep up her act. At least so she could buy enough time for herself.

The group entered the tavern and was greeted with a devastating sight much like the previous building Hazel came across. Shattered remains of broken chairs, tables, and bottles along with other items all over the floor.

It was eerily quiet, leaving only the sound of footsteps from Hazel and the rest of the group filling the area. To make matters even worse, the place was completely dark, leaving only the ambient light from space that peeked through the occasional broken window or wall.

Hazel scanned her surroundings, making sure that there were no enemies inside. Soren and the rest did the same, keeping their eyes trained all over the Tavern. Then, the blond warrior raised her hand to gather her members’ attention.

“Mya, Conner, while we’re investigating the inside of the tavern, you two will go to the back and see if there are any lingering beasts roaming about. We’ll be using this place as our temporary shelter for at least until we rest a bit. After that, we’ll continue doing our search of the town.”

The Ranger and other Warrior acknowledged Soren’s orders before heading off to the back of the tavern.

[Hazel Thatcher: Astrid, two of Soren’s people are going outside in the back of the tavern. Try and get to them and see if they talk about anything.]

[Astrid Skogr: Right. What about Nycteris?]

[Hazel Thatcher: If things get bad, I’ll tell Nycteris to bust in and save me.]

Nycteris?

Understood...master.

[Hazel Thatcher: For now, see if you can gather any information on the other two.]

Hazel didn’t wait for Astrid’s reply and soon joined Soren and the remaining group as they explored the Tavern. Hopefully, while she was in there, Astrid would have better luck with the Ranger and Warrior outside.

“Alright, guys, let’s get to searching,” Soren declared as the others including Hazel began their search of the Tavern.