After trekking through the wilderness for over a week, Theo had finally made it to Naraka. He was sleep deprived and hungry, but this wasn’t the time to collapse. By coincidence, he’d found a party to travel with at the dungeon’s entrance. This arrangement lasted for a single day before Theo’s brand was discovered. In the end, he had been left with nothing but his life in the darkness of the first layer.

Needless to say, Theo did not have warm feelings towards these raiders.

“My name is Kaiya, what’s yours?”

“I’m Albert.” Theo replied. “Bye.”

The outlaw turned away and signaled for Vivian and Mavis to keep moving. The two looked at him oddly, but their body language was hidden by the mist. They reluctantly followed Theo while Kayia glared at them.

“That voice was kind of familiar.” Kaiya muttered after the trio left.

“Yea…” Ollie nodded, frowning.

Their experience with Theo had been brief but memorable. None of them had ever seen an outlaw before him, let alone partied with one. On top of that, Theo’s angry and desperate tone had stayed with them long after he’d been left behind. They wouldn’t forget it so easily.

“No…That’s impossible.”

Kaiya was the first to figure it out. She explained her discovery to the others and they had to agree—that voice matched the one in their memories.

“But how did he get this far?”

“And who are those girls?”

Ollie and Tarq had reasonable questions, but Kaiya shook her head.

“Ultimately, we don’t know for sure that this ‘Albert’ is Theo. But if we’re right, then those two girls are in serious danger. He’s probably piggybacking on their group, just like he did with us.”

“What do we want to do?” Nasser asked. “If he’s entering the third layer now, then I don’t need to tell you how he got his gear.”

Ollie’s face paled as Nasser continued.

“We shouldn’t get involved. He might attack us in retaliation.”

“And you’re scared of an outlaw?” Kaiya countered. “In a six versus one?”

“There’s only…oh.”

Kaiya’s party could likely beat Theo on their own, but when Nasser counted the two girls, it painted a very bleak picture for the outlaw.

“These people aren’t even human, Nasser. Not legally, anyway. If you saw a monster walking with two young girls, what would you do?”

Nasser’s expression was grim as he nodded.

“I understand.”

“Then let’s go.”

The party of four followed Theo, Mavis and Vivian down the steep tunnel. It didn’t take long before they found the trio fighting another large arachnid. Kaiya’s eyes narrowed as she saw Theo’s silhouette use what were clearly daggers.

Meanwhile, Theo was scowling. He wasn’t sure if Kaiya suspected him, but their reappearance was worrying. Mavis stood off to the side while Theo and Vivian fought. The slime had already been told not to fight while other raiders were nearby.

An arrow buried itself in the spider’s leg, crippling it. Theo took advantage of this opening to slice through its head. He glared at Kaiya, who lowered her bow with a friendly smile. This expression’s only purpose was to lighten her tone. No one could see her face in the mist.

“Our fights are none of your business.” Theo growled. “You said something similar a few minutes ago, remember?”

“You’re right.” Kaiya admitted. “But we’re travelling on the same path, so we may as well go together.”

Theo wanted to refuse, but she was right. While this tunnel was wide, it wasn’t wide enough for them to completely ignore each other.

“Fine, let’s keep moving.”

With Theo’s tacit acceptance, Kaiya’s group hustled to keep pace with them. Kaiya still wasn’t sure if this man was the outlaw that she knew. First, she had to prove that her instincts were correct.

“You three are moving pretty fast. Shouldn’t we slow down a bit?”

“No.” Theo replied. “We’re fine.”

“It’s somewhat rare to see a party smaller than four, especially in the third layer. How did you three meet?”

Theo kept walking as if he hadn’t heard her.

“Spider…ahead.” Mavis warned while pointing at the ceiling. “There.”

Vivian threw out a lightning bolt and it was swallowed by the mist. In the next instant, a frenzied hiss rang out as a spider fell in front of the two parties. Theo rushed forward and flung his hand down. A pillar of wind crushed the monster in time with his movements. This action also pushed the mist away for a moment, which gave Kaiya an idea.

Pulling Ollie aside, she quickly whispered her plan.

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“When it dies, throw out a gust of wind towards Theo. If it’s him, then you’ll blow off whatever’s covering his forehead and the mist before he can react.”

Ollie nodded while Kaiya turned her attention to the fight. After calling Tarq and Nasser to assist Theo, she drew her bow and nocked an arrow. It was practically impossible to tell through the mist, but she was aiming at Theo. The ranger observed the fight while patiently waiting for it to end.

Just as the spider died, Ollie cast a wind spell. This poorly-timed attack looked like a simple mistake and because Theo fought at close range, they could laugh it off as such. Ollie’s hands shook as he sent the localized gale towards Theo’s head. He knew that no one would be laughing if Kaiya’s hunch was correct.

And it was, of course, correct.

Theo’s headband—a rag torn from his old cloak—flew into the air. This magic also dispersed the mist, giving everyone a clear view of the black ‘X’ mark on Theo’s forehead. Ollie, Tarq and Nasser each sucked in a nervous breath while Kaiya smirked slightly.

“So, you were that outlaw from the first layer.”

Theo held his hands up, but he did not reply.

Frowning, Kaiya turned to his companions.

“I know this must be a surprise, but you aren’t safe with him. Either stand aside or help us confiscate his weapons.”

To her surprise, the female mage walked over to Theo’s side. Meanwhile, their other party member was nowhere to be seen.

As mist rushed in to fill the space around Theo, he grinned.

“They know.”

At the same time, all four members of Kaiya’s group felt something tug on their legs. Hands grabbed them from an impossible angle and pulled the raiders down the slope. Kaiya’s stomach lurched. This tunnel was incredibly steep and it only got steeper near the bottom. Once they started tumbling it would be impossible to stop.

Kaiya grit her teeth and aimed at Theo. As she loosed an arrow, her bow suddenly swerved to the side. The ranger’s pupils constricted as she stared at the silhouetted tentacle gripping her weapon. After a brief fight with gravity, Kaiya was sent tumbling while her bow was carried away. This helter-skelter fall mirrored her mental state.

Why did that woman side with an outlaw?

How did they react so quickly?

These two questions were fairly easy to answer. First, the mage likely had a criminal background of her own. Second, they reacted quickly because Theo had recognized her group and expected this. However, these questions were nothing compared to her main worry.

What grabbed us back there?

This was something that Kaiya couldn’t figure out. She had a sinking feeling that question would haunt her for many nights to come.

When she reached the end of her long and painful fall, Kaiya glanced around at her teammates. All of them were groaning in pain and some bones had clearly been broken, but they were alive. Just before she breathed a sigh of relief, a terrifying thought flashed through her mind.

“Ollie, get up and heal everyone.”

“Uugh. Ok, I’m on it.”

“Hurry, idiot! Just give everyone the minimum they need to stand.”

“Why are you panicking?” Nasser asked.

“Where are your weapons?” Kaiya replied.

The three raiders looked themselves over and found that they were missing some equipment. Tarq had lost his battle-axe. Nasser’s short sword was missing but his shield had followed him down the slope. Ollie, being a mage, never had any weapons to lose in the first place. He grinned for a moment until a gust of wind rustled his hair. The hat that he’d gotten during the blood moon was gone.

While they checked their gear, Kaiya reached for her relatively new backup weapon. She groped at nothing for a few moments and then screamed silently in her head. The dagger that she kept holstered at her side had been stolen.

“If those three get down here and fight us, we’re dead.”

Her companion’s faces blanched when they heard this. They had only been trying to unmask an outlaw. In their imagined worst-case scenario, they would have taken some damage while subduing him. Seeing things go so wrong made their heartbeats skyrocket.

“We need to get out of here!”

“Hurry, Ollie!”

“I’m working on it!”

The instant everyone was able to move, Kaiya ordered them into the third layer. They would hide out for a while, and then return shamefully to the second layer. Losing five pieces of gold-tier equipment was bad enough, but four of those had been weapons. This incident would probably set them back several months.

As she turned for a final glance at the mist-filled cave, Kaiya sincerely regretted ever meeting Theo.

- - -

Several minutes earlier, while Kaiya was suspecting ‘Albert’ of being Theo, the outlaw’s party was walking further down the tunnel.

“Why are we walking so quickly.” Vivian complained. “We can barely see. Isn’t that dangerous?”

“I…keep…lookout.” Mavis replied confidently.

“Remember when I told you about a party that robbed me in the first layer?” Theo said, sighing. “That was them.”

After reconciling with Mavis, Theo had revealed the truth behind that incident. Though, he still hadn’t explained how he became an outlaw. Theo was reluctant to tell them anything about Ravens because of his master’s threat. When choosing between lying again and risking his teammates’ safety, Theo ran away from the topic entirely.

“O-Oh. Did they notice you?” Vivian asked.

“Their leader has a talent for thinking the worst of people, so I wouldn’t put it past her.”

“What do we do?”

“Our goal right now is to gather as much gold-tier equipment as possible. They’re moving to the third layer, so they must have some good ones.”

“Can’t…fight.”

“I’m with Mavis. Not only would we lose, but stealing is just…”

“We won’t attack them.” Theo shook his head. “But if Kaiya recognizes me, then they will definitely attack us.”

“Spider…ahead.”

Theo stopped and stared into the mist. After a few seconds, he drew his daggers.

“Ok, they’re probably going to catch up. Mavis, I’ve seen you move a lot of tentacles at once. Would it be possible to push Kaiya’s group down this slope?”

“…Yes.”

“Then watch them carefully. If they try to expose me, you should get ready to attack.”

“But…can’t…show…slime.”

“They won’t be able to see you. Unless the truth is right in front of them, most raiders will assume that your tentacles are the effect of an enchantment. You can do almost anything with magic, after all.”

“Ok.”

“Also, steal their weapons if you get the chance.”

Vivian opened her mouth to argue, and then begrudgingly closed it. Stealing might be wrong, but these people were planning to harm them. Hypothetically, at least. Taking their weapons was the least violent option. Even though she was worried, Vivian deferred to Theo’s judgement.

Several minutes later, that turned out to be the right call.

The mage, the slime and the outlaw listened carefully as the sound of tumbling raiders grew distant. Theo’s plan had been a stunning success. Vivian was impressed by how smoothly everything had gone, but she wasn’t the only one.

“Think…many times…before. Theo…think…good…quickly.”

“Yea.” Vivian echoed. “I’d even call it a talent.”

“Thanks, but…” Theo trailed off.

“If I couldn’t think under pressure, then I would have died with my brothers.” Theo swallowed those words.

“…Mavis did well too.” He deflected. “How many items did you steal?”

“This many!”

The slime proudly held up five fingers.

“…We’re teaching you about numbers tomorrow.” Vivian muttered.

“Vivian, please store them for now. We can check their enchantments later.”

The mage did as she was told and opened up a portal.

“Oh, wait!” Theo exclaimed.

He rushed over and retrieved Kaiya’s dagger. After quickly appraising it, Theo smiled sadly. No one else reacted, though, because his expression had been lost in the mist.

Theo felt conflicted, but he was undeniably relieved to have Ravens’ weapon back.