“That’s because curses are very old and primitive. They are not like modern magic which creates the results you want fast. They are complicated and ritualistic in nature.”

“Why did you learn them then?”

“I didn’t. I was messing with you guys."

Now it was her turn to look smug.

"Food is ready. Do you guys also want to eat?”

Damn. She got me there. We sat down and ate together. The dish was something I never ate before. It had meat with somewhat heavy spice. Potatoes or some other vegetable similar to it soaked the water nicely with several other vegetables. The bread we had was tough-most bread I ate since I came here was tough- and was made out of corn. I was personally used to tough bread, it was hard to find soft bread in combat situations in my previous life. I cleaned my plate with the last of my bread.

“Bless your hands, Ama. It was del-“

“It was Arslan’s turn to cook.”

“And here I wondered why it was so bad. Please learn how to cook, Arslan.”

Damn. It was so close to my liking. The expression on Arslan’s face was priceless.

“You cook then, freeloader!”

“Technically, you guys don’t even pay me for my services. The least you can do is give me food. Good food. This-“

I pointed to food.

“-Is the opposite of it.”

“You ate it all, you fuck!”

After giving the last piece of information I acquired, I got up to leave.

“I will be accompanying her. I’ll inform you guys. Also.”

I pointed to Arslan.

“Next time you come to find me, be more careful. Don’t risk it.”

Arslan gave me a silent nod. He seemed to be tired of struggling with me vocally. I left them and headed for the barracks. It was changed. Constant repairs and rebuilding were happening as I walked around. They were quick. It was just been 4 days but it was changed drastically.

“Shit.”

Every information I gave related to the interior of the slave camp was useless now. Then again, these buildings looked nicer compared to stuffy rooms and walls that didn’t provide protection from outside elements. Better for the beastkin. However, from the looks of it getting inside forcefully also got harder. I moved where guards pointed me towards. It was the place where Captain used to stay. Lmao, she stole his place. Hilarious. I knocked on the door.

“Come in.”

I stepped in. The inside was also changed. Several paintings adorned the walls and Blanche sat on a soft-looking chair. In front of his desk, a bald man standing a little over 2 meters stood. His head was covered with tribal tattoos. Two axes hang at his back. His arms were bare and covered with scars. He wore leather with fur around his shoulders. The fur of a leopard? He looked at me with displeased eyes.

“So this is the boy you talked about? He is skinny.”

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

Ah, this bitch. I really hated being called skinny.

“I looked for you. Where were you?”

Blanche asked me.

“I was taking care of some personal business, My Lady.”

“Hmm. I guess you earned it. This is Duncan the Monster Slaughterer. He is an adventurer I hired for the last dungeon.”

“Hello. My name is Poyr-“

“Nobody gives a shit about the name of a boy who is going to die 5 minutes in the raid.”

I took a deep breath and struggled for it to not turn into a sigh. Blanche’s eyes traveled between him and me.

“He is one of the 3 adventurers I hired for the raid. We will be going in the morning. You, of course, will go in with me. ”

She turned to Duncan.

“I will be speaking with my squire privately.”

He left the room, not without giving me the stinky eye.

“A magnificent person. Is he from the party you mentioned?”

I said.

“Yes. We also have a famed knight to get the attention of the monsters and a priestess of Anshar for healing.”

A tank and a healer. Blanche was a magician- technically more than that- which left the room for a… DPS? That Dunce guy.

“Are you recovered enough, My Lady? It’s just been a night.”

“One good night is all it takes.”

I moved my shoulders.

“I wish I could say the same.”

She smiled.

“Are you making excuses? I didn’t take you for such a man.”

I took a step closer to her.

“What kind of man you took me for, My Lady?”

I said with a seductive tone. I even leaned on the desk. Women found that attractive, didn’t they? She looked at my face for several seconds before changing the subject.

“Even if you are tired, which I am sure you aren’t considering your vitality, you won’t be taking an active combat role most of the time. So you don’t have to worry about it.”

“Will I be there to just look good?”

“You are lucky I actually find you funny. Otherwise, I should have punished you countless times for lack of respect for the command chain.”

“It is a learned skill, My Lady. Humor is a survival skill if you are dumb like me. But is this dungeon really that different from the other three? This seems a little bit overkill.”

She got up.

“This dungeon can be seen as the main one. When a dungeon forms usually mana doesn’t just get distributed equally. This can create more than one dungeons where one main dungeon will be harder with stronger monsters and terrain. Of course, it comes with better rewards.”

I put my index finger to my forehead as if that would help me be smarter.

“It is like aftershocks after a big earthquake? The main earthquake is bigger with smaller aftershocks following it later?”

She looked surprised by my answers.

“That’s a good way to put it. This dungeon has more mana than all other 3 combined. At first, I thought they would be easy but… Mana inside them was higher than when I first discovered them. I wanted to finish it without relying on others.”

Her face turned sour. She looked at me and her face turned to normal.

“I forgot the reason I even got up. Come. I should introduce you to others.”