Gradually, Jean felt Dih's hands patting her face. The young girl was a bit rough, so it could almost be called slapping. “Jean, Jean! Wake up!”

When she regained control, Jean covered her face. “I'm fine, I'm fine! I just remembered something.”

“No shit! Do you faint every time you remember something? Something's not right with you!”

“It's not that! It's a memory brought to me by the whispers. I live it as if I were there. That’s why!”

“Really? I've never heard of whispers doing anything like that before.”

“I've remembered something important. Wait here!” Jean rose and ran to the bust with the hole in its chest. “There was a cursed relic here!”

“No shit! There's more of those damn things?!”

“There are a lot of them! Trust me!”

Jean looked for signs of blood on the floor. “If it joined someone, they had to pay the price.”

“The price? You think it killed them? Why should it have? Nothing happened to you!”

“Maybe I'm wrong or maybe...” Jean went back for Dih and guided her as they ascended in the dark through the rune-filled rooms. The water had remained on the lower floors. “I believe the Gabriel who helped me so much in the guild wasn’t the same Gabriel from the dungeon.”

“Why did you bring that up? ... Wait! Have you recovered your memory?!”

“No, no! I remembered when I followed Gabriel to the relic. I didn't see his marks, but I bet the one outside had none, and the one in the dungeon had several.

“Marks? What marks? ... Wait a minute! ... ... You can see them?”

“Yes, why?” Dih's elusive look was all she needed. She didn't want to force her to talk about it, so she put her hand on her shoulder. “Calm down! I never saw anything evil in you. Besides, they've reset with your new body... Shit! That's it! They killed Gabriel to turn him into a spawn. That's why I didn't see anything wrong with him.”

“By the gods! Do you really think they killed him? He... he was a good man!”

Jean nodded, slightly relieved. On some level, she wished Gabriel wasn't aware of everything that was going to happen to them in the dungeon. She would have detected [Weaver] among his marks. Or perhaps she trusted him so much that she never used Identify that way. However...

“Annie and her group knew the whole thing. They even covered up for the spawn when he stabbed me twice.”

Dih clenched her fists. “They're involved?! ... The Guild will hear it from my mouth!”

“Do you think they will do something? They are among the most powerful veterans.”

“That doesn't matter! Those traitors' days are numbered. Our guildmaster will act.”

Jean slowed down. “Tell me more about the Guild!”

Dih looked somewhat hesitant. “Well! As far as I know, there is a branch in each village with a representative. There are usually popular commissions and official requests there. I've only been to a couple of villages and the city of Komhak. A city that looks like something out of a medieval movie. No portals in sight or anything particularly striking, but with a magical atmosphere floating in the air. There, the instructors taught me everything to become a monk. You started there too.”

Jean shook her head. “And the rest of the world? Are there demons everywhere or something?”

“We lived in a fairly quiet area. Most of the demons attack us from the borderlands where the more powerful adventurers repel them day and night.”

Jean sounded disappointed. “You mean there won't be any enemies outside?!”

“Of course there will be!” A grin appeared instantly. Her enthusiasm overflowed from her body from every pore. “Wait a minute! You want to fight?”

“Yes! I can't wait to fight!”

Dih smiled. “No longer afraid of pain?”

Jean cleared her throat. “Not anymore.” Her ability to heal without limit or sequels had taken away her fear. It had destroyed it completely, especially after Gabriel. Now she understood better why Dih had said that with her by her side she felt unstoppable.

Jean gently tugged on her to signal her to keep moving. “You can learn skills outside of your class? I have a skill to share them.”

“You want me to become a cleric as a secondary class? It won't be the same as you. No one heals like you, Jean! What you do is impossible! I knew it from the first time you healed me.”

Jean stopped abruptly; Dih lowered her tone to a whisper. “What's wrong?”

“Nothing, more corpses! Wait here!”

Dih waited patiently for only ten seconds. “More farmers?”

Jean took her time examining the corpses before answering. “No! They look like adventurers. Or maybe bandits. There are 5 of them. Two women and three men.”

After feeling slight tugs, Dih stepped forward into the pitch blackness. “What do you want?”

“You can use her clothes. I hope it's your size.” Jean offered her some pants and a top. “I'm not giving you their underwear! Believe me, you don't want it!”

Dih couldn't help but hold her nose. “Yes! I can tell! … The problem now is putting them on correctly.”

Jean summoned one of her normal skills at very low intensity. From her left hand came a flame that she brought close to a torch she had picked up from the ground. It immediately set her on fire, but she didn't see it directly. It blinded her.

“Girl, you are a box of surprises!” Dih smiled until she recognized some symbols on the clothes. “Shit!”

“What?”

“They have the Guild symbol engraved on their clothes! They were novice adventurers like you.”

“Novice? What does that mean?”

“Only novices who have passed the test can wear a bronze pendant certifying it. They are allowed to attempt it as soon as they reach level 5, but most don't actually give it a try until level 8.”

“Do you think they protected the miners?”

“Yeah! Novice adventurers are the ones who are usually forced to accept popular commissions. They don’t pay too well. Surely the farmers didn't have enough money to cover expenses and thought they could make up for it by helping them.”

Jean observed how they were oriented. They were all facing the exit. “No cuts on their clothing or equipment. They were running from something that could kill them without brute force.”

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“What do you think it was?” asked Dih as she finished putting on the pants.

Jean undressed the rest of the adventurers in search of more clues and let Dih select the equipment that interested her the most. Leather boots, hardened horsehide trousers, a not very comfortable top and a black studded leather breastplate. Leather arm guards reinforced with metal and a simple helmet.

Having found nothing concrete, Jean spread her corruption on the corpses. Little by little, the skin of the corpses turned black except for their veins, which swelled and throbbed in a very dark green color.

Dih couldn't stand the sight and moved on. “I'm going to do some exploring!”

“Wait! I'll be done in a few minutes.”

“Don't worry. I'm just going to take a look.”

««◊◊◊« »◊◊◊»»

Dih ascended in silence, but found nothing but rune-covered walls and darkness. At least so it was until she noticed the remnants of dry, windblown undergrowth. The entrance must be close by.

She was right. At last light at the end of a long corridor of stairs. She considered waiting for Jean, but curiosity got the better of her. She extinguished the torch and peeked out a little.

Outside, the grass in the field was very tall. She could hear the crickets and smelled something familiar that she didn't remember at first. An atmosphere that transported her to the meadow of her parents' farm with the cows, chickens and pigs. How long has it been? Five years? Who would have thought that in one day everything would change.

She took a deep breath and closed her eyelids tightly. “Not now! It's not the time to remember that damn day!

She took a step outside to scan the surroundings, but a strange noise drew her back. Distant bellowing. It didn't take her long to recognize their unpleasant smell. Gobins. Dirty, noisy creatures that rarely came out into the sunlight. What were they doing outside? Was there a cave nearby?

Dih had faced goblins of around level 8 or 9 before. They were extremely treacherous and attacked in groups, but she wasn't afraid of them.

She stepped out to deliberately shake the tall grass for several seconds and hurried downstairs. She plunged into the shadows and waited patiently. Within a minute, five goblins peeked out from the undergrowth.

»Goblin«

Level 6

Name: Black Finger

Details: This creature is too young to pose a problem.

Dih wailed in fear, pretending to be a lost little girl. That infused the goblins with boldness and sadism. Another two goblins appeared. Gloating over their numbers, they laughed menacingly as they descended.

None were above level 8. Bone daggers and wooden clubs. Merely some leather loincloths and zero combat experience. It didn't take a fight with them to know that. As soon as they adjusted to the darkness and realized they were being waited on by a level 18 adventurer, they were scared out of their wits.

Dih walked towards them whimpering. Slowly, so as not to scare them more. She succeeded. They were so stupid that none of them thought about why someone fully equipped was such a coward. Dih pounced on the one closest to the stairs to cut them off. They attacked like possessed, believing her to be as dumb as they were.

After receiving a ki-reinforced punch, his teeth flew through the air and he fell limp on the stairs. In response, the goblins attacked with unbridled fury, but mistakenly tried to thrust their primitive weapons into Dih's studded armor. They didn't even get through the first layer. Only one aimed at her pants. He managed to wound her, but it instantly cost him his life. With one knee, she sank his nose deep into his skull. The next ones lost the integrity of their ribs.

“They're so pathetic that even killing 100 of them wouldn't raise a level.”

Before setting the trap for the next ones, she dragged the bodies into the darkness and piled them up. She supposed Jean would appreciate them more than anyone else. Thinking about that didn't make her feel so good. She didn't like what she had seen.

“[Why do you stress about that? She needs them to stay alive! Your body exists because of that. She's not a lich or any similar monstrosity.]”

Dih looked in all directions as if she believed the puzzling being was actually going to be there. Then she relaxed and went back upstairs. “Leave me alone!”

This time, she went out without her helmet, allowing herself to be seen for a few seconds. She spotted numerous groups of goblins roaming the field. That was very strange. It wasn't a typical behavior for a race that loved dark places.

More than 15 surrounded her, preventing her from using the same trick. Death descended upon them without exception. When she started to bring them down, Jean was already taking care of them. “Fuck! You scared me!”

“I'm sorry, I didn't mean to... You've been hurt! Let me heal you...” Dih looked at her hesitantly. “Calm down! I won't corrupt you or anything. They're completely different skills. I can even absorb your corruption now.”

Dih approached. She had many cuts. The wounds disappeared almost instantly. Not even the scars remained. “Do you mind if I take a few more?”

“Why?”

“Well, I thought you would want them for yourself. It's better to keep strengthening the strongest, isn't it?”

Jean continued to corrupt them. “At this rate I will be able to fully recharge myself sooner than expected. That will allow me to protect you better. It's all that matters to me right now.”

Dih turned away in embarrassment and tried to divert her attention. “To the southeast there are many goblins. There is probably a cave. To the north, about 200 meters away, there is a village. The abnormal goblin population must be recent, because they don't even have wooden walls to protect themselves.

Jean nodded. “As long as the sun doesn't set, I'll stay here. Even at this distance it troubles me.”

No sunbeam was even remotely close to reaching Jean. “Ok! Leave it to me! I'll bring you some more and go explore the village next.”

“Thanks!”

Dih stared at her. “If you get to 100%, are you going to give that guy a body? To Al-Hek?”

“I don't know! It would be nice if someone had your back during the day. At night you will rest while I search for the one who took the cursed relic that was in the chamber below.”

“Are you serious?! There's another Cursed One nearby then?”

“I'm prone to believe it's not the first relic he owns.”

Dih was speechless for a few seconds. “Explain yourself!”

“When the cursed relic first joined me, I lost consciousness. Even the new relics felt strange at first and I didn't use them well. That makes me think he killed them with a cursed skill he already had.”

Jean stared at Dih. “I'd rather you didn't go out alone, but if you're determined to explore... Run away from someone named Choog!”

Dih raised her eyebrows. “You think that dude...?”

“Yes! He possesses the relic that...”

“[That's not the only relic around here.]”

“What do you mean?”

There was no need for him to reply, Jean understood the situation perfectly. She immediately began to put on the clothes of the adventurers.

Dih looked puzzled. “What are you doing?”

“I'm gonna try to go outside! I want to check a couple of things.”

“I want to search for the nearest corrupt relic possessor. I also want to know how many there are in this area.”

The whispers didn't give her what she wanted, but they got close.

[Mission: Survive in a fight against Ak-Crest for 60 seconds.]

“WTF! Survive?” It was clear now that Choog wasn't the most fearsome enemy around.

Jean covered every millimeter of her body and asked Dih to help her get outside. “Do you think this will protect you from the sun?”

Jean smiled. “If I scream it's a no, but I need to get to the top of the stairs.”

“What the hell do you really want to check?”

“Where you shouldn't even go near.”

Jean climbed the worn stairs with her eyes closed. A couple of steps were enough to notice how the sun's rays began to pass through the seams of the garments. It was enough to understand that it would be impossible to reach the end. The indirect light irritated her skin while the direct light caused excruciating pain. However, it did not harm her so seriously. It was as if it burned her soul more than her body.

Focusing on the map was difficult, but she endured it thanks to Healing Hands . As she approached the exit, the arrows of both missions took different directions.

“Shit, shit, shit! Let's turn around!”

Jean tried to run back, but lost her balance. Dih grabbed her at the last moment and carried her back to the shelter of darkness. “Are you okay?”

Jean nodded. “I will be! ... Avoid going near those goblins.”

“That Choog fella is over there?”

“No! Something much worse! If you're going out, promise me you won't go near there. Because if you do, you'll doom us both.”

Dih got goose bumps. If she, at level 35, ensured that, she, at level 18, would die in an instant. “Calm down! I won't do anything reckless.” she muttered with a crooked smile.

She was once again feeling small in a world too big for her. Far from being daunted, she vowed to herself that she was going to change that. For her, and for Jean.