Three hours have since passed and I learnt a few things about my fellow captives. The blonde woman was Idrila, who once served as a maid to some count only to be kicked out after she was framed by the head maid for stealing. The brown-haired one was Linda, a former guild receptionist, yet unlike Idrila, she was fired for actually committing the crime of theft from the adventurer’s guild commission shares. That being said, she also spoke of how she felt betrayed, for she wasn’t the only one committing the deed and that her confession was quickly shut down by the very same accomplices she once placed her trust in.

As for the blue-haired Grace, she was the illegitimate daughter of a count, though not the one whom Idrila served. Her mother tried to sell her for a couple of silvers, saying that the two would live a better life, and yet here she was, locked up in an underground dungeon waiting to be sold yet again. Neither of them gave any explanation about how they ended up here though. Perhaps it was a story they wished to keep to themselves, or that they believed it to be too gruesome to tell.

Mayer was the exception and her life was quite interesting. She had been working as an adventurer for over ten years and made a life of success, but fell off due to her inability to reach the next level. Her party members have earned their advanced classes, yet Mayer remained a [Swordsmaster] and resigned from her position as vanguard to train. However, she instead went into a life of drinking. Apparently she simply waltzed into the Flower Gang’s headquarters while drunk one day, beat up several thugs, only to be captured and kept in the dungeons for over a month with barely any food, which explained her current physique. Everyone here was indeed unique.

I was about to tell my own story, about my time with Glen since I doubt they’d probably understand the concept of different worlds and stuff, when Ferrin returned and quickly opened the prison door.

“Hey, you’re alright? Those guys didn’t do anything to you, did they?” he looked agitated, but nevertheless fine.

“I’m alright,” I told him. If anything it was quite eventful after listening to everyone’s stories. “More importantly, did you place them well?”

“Far apart from each other

“Seems like your gamble worked,” said Mayer, who stretched her body immediately after stepping food out of the prison cage. “Young man, you are one honorable person. A shame that you’re working in this line of business. Ought to leave it entirely once we … and who’s this?”

A young girl stood behind Ferrin, roughly two-years younger than him, wearing a simple apron over raggedy clothes long overdue for a good washing. Despite that, her face remained radiant and bore a youthful beauty unlike anything I’ve ever seen. If I were back home, she’d definitely be a contender for the school’s top beauty with boys fawning all around her.

“I’m Ferian. It’s nice to meet you!” her innocent smile and the timid way she brought herself forward would’ve sent people down to the hospital if it wasn’t for their situation. The cuteness radiating from her seemed to almost brighten the mood up just by her presence alone.

“I thought it’d be too dangerous to leave her on her own,” her brother added, “so I thought to bring her here with us.”

“The more the merrier,” I said, as I approached her sister with open arms.

============================

Debuff detected …

Initializing elimination process …

Debuff partially removed!

============================

Debuff? What could that be? And why only partially? Although I was not sure, our escape took precedence. “It’s nice to meet you too. I’m Albert and you better be on your feet cause we’re going to blow up this place sky high!” My exaggeration wasn’t taken likely by the others, who sported cautious expressions in an instant. “Just kidding. I’m not that good of a mage yet, but it will serve as a great distraction for our escape.”

“Hold on, there’s still a few things we need to confirm first,” Mayer turned toward Ferrin. “What’s the situation upstairs? Don’t leave a single thing out.”

“Around twenty remained, everyone else has left the building,” he spoke whilst unlocking the prison door with the key on his person. “Not sure why though. It’s probably some top secret mission since Boss Lorcan also went with them.”

“That wolf won’t dare leave his den unless it’s for something big,” she placed her hand on her chin. “What about the guards?”

Ferrin pulled out a pouch filled with blue powder and returned it to me. “It worked splendidly. One whiff of this and they fell like flies. Your guardian must’ve been quite rich to be able to afford sleeping powder.”

“There’s no way,” I said. “Glen-san said these were sold for only two coppers. Although the pricing may have changed since he did say he bought it in his adventuring days.”

“In no way is there anyone sane enough to sell a pouch of sleeping powder for anything less than a gold coin,” Mayer’s disbelief was apparent, likely speaking through her own experience. She definitely looked the part of someone who’d gone through a lot, both physically and mentally. Could it be that Glen had made the purchase in the black market? It was all the rage back home during last year’s inflation rate. The news was hemorrhaging the channels non-stop.

“Regardless, looks like everything’s proceeding according to your plan,” Mayer praised, showing a slight upturn which made my heart flutter, for it reminded me of my mother. Even the way the two walked bore a great resemblance.

I wondered how everyone’s doing right now. I quickly brushed the thought. There was no use of reminiscing during these times, as I made my way toward Ferrin’s little sister. She seemed to be quite afraid, hiding behind her brother’s back. Rule number one of making friends, a good first impression is a must. “It’s alright, Ferian. We’ll get out of here and after that, we can all share a nice meal in a restaurant somewhere. My guardian’s treat!”

“Sure. I would love that,” told Ferian, though slightly monotonous.

Right when we were about to march up the stairs, Mayer turned toward the three women who we were imprisoned with, whose complexion had worsened considerably, with the blue-haired and brown-haired in particular having not stepped out of the cage. Mayer raised her voice, “Up there, we’ll be facing danger as we make our way toward freedom, yet what use is that freedom shall be yours to determine. If you stay, you would certainly keep your lives, but an uncertain future awaits you once you’re sold off. At best, you’re purchased by a decent employer willing to take care of you, at worst, you’ll live but will end up begging for your life to end. So, make your choice now. You’re either in or out.”

The three fidgeted, the words they wanted to utter remained stuck within their throats, until Idrila made the first step forward. Although her body still trembled, her bravery was a commendable feat that received Mayer’s proud nod. Linda and Grace also followed, though the latter was still struggling to break past the cage’s perimeter, I approached her with the most determined face I could muster. I told her, “You can do this! We can all do this!” And at last, the woman managed to pull herself out of the well of hesitation, and the six of us now made our way topside.

The door swung open and we finally breathed fresh air once more. Two men lay beside them on the floor, utterly knocked out, with one snoring as loud as a whale. The sleeping powder really knocked them good. Better thank Glen-san for that, at the same time deeply apologize for getting myself in this situation.

Mayer picked up their swords, took one for herself and gave the other to Ferrin, who initially seemed hesitant. “You want to protect your sister, no?”

Ferrin took a moment to contemplate before taking the blade as his own, brandishing a new face full of conviction. “Yes. I’ll use it well.”

“Let’s see,” Mayer formed a fist, which bulged the veins solely around her forearm. It looked cool as heck, yet Mayer seemed to be thinking otherwise, showing a hint of disappointment. “One more floor to go,” she muttered, then raised her voice. “I’ll take the lead as the vanguard. Young man, you shall be in the rear. As for you, boy, once I gave the signal, light them up.”

I gave countless affirmed nods and we made our way through the lower hall. Mayer stayed behind for a little while before catching up to us and, while faint, I could see a tiny smidge of red on the stolen blade’s edge. Moving toward the entrance to the ground floor, two others have just arrived from upstairs, whom Mayer quickly took out in a heartbeat, though I didn’t see it happen. Linda, who was behind me, kept shielding my eyes from witnessing the scene. Still, I could hear the sound of the sword slashing through both air and flesh, the thuds of their bodies falling onto the floor, as well as the screams which quickly dissipated into cold nothingness.

And with that, we moved up to the ground floor where, upon turning a corner, were immediately met by three armed thugs, two of whom looked extremely familiar. The eyepatch guy and the guy with the thick beard, casually talking with the bigger and broader fellow armed with a broadsword, whose class was [Swordmaster] just like Mayer. She took a cautious stance after I told her the fact. Nevertheless, she stepped into battle with a warcry, now accompanied by Ferrin struck by adrenaline rush. And once more, I as well as Ferian were kept away from the fight which ensued. Neither Idrila, Linda, nor Grace gave us any opportunity to sneak a peek.

“On your right!”

“Thanks!”

“Watch your flanks. Never give them an opportunity to counter.”

“As I thought, you’ve always been a coward. Where’s that fighting spirit from before?!”

“I—”

Blades continued to clash over and over till a sword was sent backwards flying and hitting the wall. In the corner of my eyes were Ferrin's sweaty palms on the floor, sounding utterly cornered as if a blade was pointed in his neck.

“Now die, TRAI—”

Before he could finish his sentence, the man’s head dropped to the ground, rolling across the floor then turning around the corner. It was the bald eyepatched guy, his one eye still open wide, staring off to the void, still moving due to muscle spasms within the optical nerve until it slowly came to complete halt, as life was finally drained out of the body. As for his body, the thug’s headless torso fell on Ferrin’s lap and continued to spew out blood which soaked his own body.

Ferrin was frozen. His stone gray eyes lay fixated on the dead man’s body, utterly disoriented. The same went for the three women. Their bodies profusely trembled and their mind seemed to have detached itself from reality. Ferian appeared … strangely calm, like I was right now. If anything I felt bewildered on why everyone was so afraid. It was only three bodies. Seven if you add the previous ones. Although I too would probably be freaked out if a body were to suddenly splatter blood all over me.

Then Mayer approached Ferrin and offered her hand. “It’s alright,” she spoke to him in a soft tone. “It’s alright, Ferrin. You survived, and that’s what matters. In the field of battle, that’s the only thing that matters.”

Her words seemed to have touched Ferrin, successfully snapping him back to reality as well as the others. He took her hand and gained the necessary strength to stand back up on his own two feet. Mayer patted his shoulder and gave him a smiling nod of approval, before continuing her march toward the exit. She really did feel like an exemplary figure, whom everyone found themselves willing to follow.

Perhaps because I and Ferian already witnessed the gruesome scene first-hand that no one bothered anymore to cover our eyes. The thick bearded guy was on the ground, a single stab on where his heart was. As for the one with the broadsword, he had several cuts all over his body, but most likely, due to the small space they were in, he couldn’t get any room to swing his large sword, for it got stuck on the wall. He died by a piercing blow dead center through the collar.

Navigating through the base had its fair shares in difficulty. While there was a severe lack of personnel, it was large nonetheless with many turns and intersections that it felt like running through a maze, yet we were fortunate to not meet anyone else until we at last reached the ground floor. There, the true test lay ahead.

If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

Sneaking past the training grounds and ambushing a couple of thugs along their way, they made their way to the backroom of the florist shop which served as a guise toward their operations behind-the-scenes. It was a very large shop the first time I went in, with an assortment of flowers red, blue, yellow, purple, pink—any flower you could think of blossomed out of their tenderly-cared pots and bouquets. There were even strange flowers like this bouquet of orange flowers which were literally shaped like a boot and another, a bulging reddish one, which eerily resembled my aunt’s giant pimple which turned her into a shut-in for a month straight.

Anyway, the door to the outside was so close and there appeared to be no customers. However, there were two people managing the front desk, and they were not to mess with. From the moment I stepped foot into the florist shop, I inspected the statues above their heads. [Reaper] and [Berserker] were their classes. Mayer, who was further on-guard already, felt like this information was but a mere confirmation as to her extreme caution, as she ordered them to silently return to the halls.

“Two advanced classes … this is bad,” she uttered, speaking of the third-tier class after intermediate. It was a topic I wasn’t all too familiar with since Glen only mentioned them in passing, and it seemed to be more during than ever. The Mayer whom everyone perceived to be this upstanding, powerful figure, now lay low at the presence of two people at the front desk.“They’re way out of my league. I doubt I’ll even last two minutes against them both, and who knows how many are watching discreetly out on the streets.”

“Then it’s time to activate my magic then.”

“No, don’t. If it were only you, me, and the young man then maybe, but as there are six of us in total, we’re not in the position to be able to escape from them.”

“Seven,” Ferian corrected, while putting up a smile.

“Right. There’s seven of us,” said Mayer, though she didn’t turn toward Ferian for some inexplicable reason. “Boy, should you ever get yourself in a similar situation as this, I must stress the fact for you to leave no stone unturned. Don’t leave out a single piece of information no matter how insignificant it may seem. That is something I’ve learnt after working as an adventurer for twelve years.”

“I’m sorry,” my heart tugged. I didn’t realize it was such an important thing to mention. Honestly, I thought they could be easily handled by a couple of spells, but seeing, or rather hearing Mayer first-hand really showed what it truly meant to have achieved an intermediate class. The gap was just that large. And who knows how large of a gap was between the low [Mage] I am or a [Swordsmaster] like Mayer against two advanced class owners?

There’s got to be another way. A backdoor to the backdoor where we were at. Ferrin didn’t seem to know though nor did Idrila, Linda, and Grace. Not even Mayer, who had placed her hand on her chin, thinking deeply. Then, out of the blue, the beautiful innocent-looking Ferian raised her hand and said, “There’s another exit past the food storage on the other side. Not many people go there since most often go outside for food, so it should be our best option.”

“Hard to believe that anyone’s not guarding it,” siad Mayer, her eyes narrowed.

“There should be one or two,” Ferian answered. “but I think Mayer could handle them no problem.”

“Even so,” Ferrin added, “the food storage goes through the training grounds though.”

“Then we need only to put Albert's little surprise into action.”

Returning to the halls near the training grounds, we hid ourselves in the closet room full of cleaning utensils, most were unused and the ones that did looked way out due for a replacement, like the splintered broom with half its head missing and the dried brown washcloths smelling like utter diarrhoea. The smell became even more pungent when considering everyone squeezing inside this small room, though I could find enough breathing room thanks to Mayer lifting me over her shoulders.

Embarrassing as it was, the time was nigh to launch the spell I’ve been practicing a while since before I stepped foot into Peryer. Glen said that this spell barely had its use, but I say he lacked creative ingenuity. All it needed was time to prepare and an avenue for which I used to extend its range. The mediums have been placed wonderfully by Ferrin, as I felt their invisible strings tugging on my fingertips.

Three were somewhere northside, while four were at both east and west respectively. The training grounds and our exit was at the west, and the entrance was down south. Thus, I focused on both the east and north, candy pieces I imbued with my own mana. Idea pulled, image formed, and in a soft voice, I uttered, “[Blazing Mines].”

A loud BANG echoed through the halls alongside a small quake trembling the floor and roofs which seeped out dust. Many footsteps came barging in through the halls and upon passing the closet, we all went straight toward the now abandoned training grounds, with Ferian leading us forward through the next hall sections splitting into several paths.

“It’s this way,” she said, when her brother suddenly stopped in his tracks with a puzzled look on his face.

“Wait, that’s the way toward the weapon’s storage. The food storage is this way.”

“Oh, you’re right. I must’ve forgotten,” Ferian scratched the back of her head, letting out a small awkward laugh. They decided to follow her brother from now on, with Mayer following with no hesitation.

Turning around the corner, an old oak door awaited them. Instead of stopping and being cautious over who was behind, Mayer charged straight through, blasting through the door and immediately swung her blade at the first person in sight. However, it was her who was struck, caught by the arm then slammed into the cold stone walls. Her sword fell and in front of them aws the guard standing tall between the gang’s headquarters and their sweet freedom.

Or so I thought, when I finally took a closer look at the man wihtin the ash-scattered alley.

“Glen-san?”— He let go of Mayer and took off his hood, revealing his brown oak hair and brute-ish features— “Glen-san, it is you! You would never believe what happened. We launched a full-scale escape operation with complete success and—Ouch!”

My ears pulled to receive the full brunt of Glen’s scolding. “Do you have any idea of what reckless situation you’ve just put yourself in! I told you to stay close to the inn, yet where do I find you? In a f*cking criminal organization headquarters!”

“I’m sorry, Glen-san. I’ll make sure to—”

“No, you don’t get to say anything to make this right. I mean, what if … what if you die? What are you going to do about that?” his voice started sounding desperate. “You have no idea how precious one’s life is. One wrong move and you’re done. That’s it! No time for self-reflection nor do-overs. You’re done! You’re gone! And soon, no one’s going to remember you.”

“Glen-san, you …,” I looked up and saw a look I’ve never seen out of him. That cold stoic man whom I knew had been replaced, or perhaps, vanished to reveal a layer of truth. Eyes widened, sweat dripped profusely, breaths heard loudly as if he was having palpitations, while at the same time, he kept shaking his head over and over. What could it mean? What was he seeing?

It terrified me, but at the same time, it made me wonder about my actions. If I had followed his advice then for sure I would be safe and Glen-san wouldn’t be as worried as he was now. But if I hadn't then what would happen to the ones standing in terror behind me? If it had been my world … no, even there it was complicated. The same went for Orbiterra, this world both so foreign yet so familiar.

But it was nonetheless a different world.

“I’m sorry,” I said, while gripping onto the ends of my shirt, with tears subconsciously flowing over the guilt which was devouring my insides. “I’m sorry, Glen-san. I’ll do as you say from now on,” I told him, for that would be the best way to truly adapt to Orbiterra.

Glen, however, quickly managed to get his head back straight by ingesting something from a vial. Medicine, probably, which seemed to soothe his mind and remove what distress he just had, returning to the usual Glen-san. Except, he proceeded to kneel down to my level, meeting me eye-to-eye, which was something that we’d never done.

“No, that’s not what I want for you,” he spoke, calmly. “I just … ask you to be careful. If you’re going to do something reckless, talk to me first. We’ll figure something out, alright?”

I silently nodded before receiving an embrace. It was sudden, but warm and comforting. It kind of reminded me of the hugs my parents often gave to me, though neither of them were as large as Glen-san, who was kind of like a soft grizzly bear right now. And it appeared that this sign of affection gave the others some ease, apart from Mayer who still looked pissed, but didn’t want to ruin the moment.

“Woah there! I didn’t take you as the caring type. Seems like the stone-cold swordsman has finally gained a heart after all these years.”

The loud brazen tone came from the far side of the alley. A lone woman with auburn hair barely reaching the floor and wearing a dark crimson robe and a large pointed hat, etched with woven patterns of gold and bore the lightest shades of blue crystals embedded upon their surfaces. Her heels clacked upon the floor, approaching us whilst her two watermelons boldly jiggled and she had a quick puff out of her thin pipe. The smoke seeped out of her mouth to shoot out rings into the air.

At first, I thought Glen would look annoyed, but if anything, it seemed like a burden had been lifted from him. He then released a long sigh and asked, “Has everything been taken care of?”

“It is done,” she answered in an instant, clearly full of unbridled confidence. “Although the payment for my services remains not within reach.”

“You’ll get your payment soon enough, Monvoisin.”

“Not calling me by my first name? How rude. I thought we were close? Close enough that you would be so willing to entrust this child under my care,” the woman carried herself gracefully, while making her way toward me, looking at me with a pair of red eyes seemingly observing my every being. “Katherine Monvoisin. A pleasure to meet you.”

I had no words to say except to be beguiled by her appearance and magnitude of a presence. Even learning her class was useless, as it was replaced by a bunch of cryptic letters which I could not understand.

============================

[Cleanse] received …

Debuff removed …

============================

The notification popped out and what came after was a clearer head, yet strangely filled with doubts. Where did these doubts come from? I wondered, for the answer was at the tip of my tongue.

“Now then,” Katherine strode past both Glen and I as well as Mayer, and stopped right in front of Ferrin. Except her crimson eyes were not fixed toward him, but rather at the girl hiding right behind him. Ferrin’s older brother instincts kicked in, shielding Ferian despite being deadly afraid himself.

“What are you doing?” he asked, cautiously. However, his words didn’t seem to reach Katherine, who instead proceeded to hold his chin and pulled him in as close as their lips were an inch away. His face completely blushed red, as did I, hiding my face yet still peaking through the gaps between my fingers, unable to turn away from this steamy scene.

That was until …

“You poor sweet child. Deceived no longer.”

Her fingers snapped. The ground below became illustrated with paintings of crimson roses. Spreading, searchin, before suddenly converging around Ferian. The painting vanished and red-hot smoldering flames burst from the ground, scorching the little girl as she screamed in cruel agony.

“FERIAN!” her brother tried to reach her only to be held back by Mayer. “What are you doing? I have to—”

“THAT’S NOT YOUR SISTER!” she yelled, and the meaning of her words was quickly revealed, when the little girl named Ferian turned into a blob that did not resemble a human. Its skin did not harden nor crumble under intense heat, but melted into crude oil which splattered all over the floor, followed by a distorted wailing composed of multiple voices: girls, boys, young, adult, old, and even animals. The blob creature tried to escape, but its molten body was bound by transient thorns binding it in place. However, despite being burnt, it remained alive.

“Not hot enough, eh?” Katherine snapped her fingers again and the flame’s intensity tripled, as everyone but her stepped back in order to not get caught by her burning tower which took the form of pluming rose, then dispersed into nothingness. The creature now lay dead on the ground, unmoving. Tts black ooze-like body slowly crumbling into ashes.

Meanwhile, Ferrin dropped to the ground unable to comprehend nor process what just happened. He simply continued to stare at the liquified body of her so-called sister. The gears within my brain finally started to work again, piecing together the pieces of the discrepancies she noticed, which she oddly accepted for some reason. My memory felt foggy still, yet only once the creature died could I recall exactly who or what Ferian was.

“A changeling,” told Mayer. “It’s a demon specialized in infiltration capable of taking any form it wished as well as altering the memories of those it encountered. Despite having no combat ability, they worked as the demon king’s spies and are rather tough to kill. Immune to fire, or so I thought.”

“Anything can be burned if done hot enough,” Katerine added, conjuring a cloak for everyone. “Although, for one to have infiltrated the city under the Kyanos’ watch, it calls for a more tightened security.”

“Maybe you should’ve taken care of these horrendous organizations before it reached this far,” Glen sternly urged. “Who knows how many more have infiltrated the city walls? It might be a just changeling now, but if it were a noble or a sovereign—”

“Then they need only to be eliminated. Just as every demon in this continent is fated to be and nothing will change that fact,” she said. “And no need to worry about me underestimating them. Only fools would succumb to that notion. But anyway, we should head to my estate and get some rest. The sun’s about to set and I’ve already exhausted a bunch of my mana.”

“I doubt our excursion would have depleted you of a quarter of it.”

“Then I’m simply tired from working too hard.”

Katherine Monvoisin, a powerful woman who was most probably a very high-ranking mage. An advanced class or maybe an expert? Her rose flames were unlike anything I’ve ever seen, beautiful yet also terrifying if caught within its grasp. Definitely wouldn’t want to mess with her, but at the same time, I wanted to learn more from her about magic, demons, and everything this world had to offer.

And right as everyone started to follow her, the gangs’ headquarters exploded and a towering flame of roses and thorns erupted from its ruins. Did that mean the Flower Gang was basically finished, just like that? I wondered how Ferrin was now feeling, knowing that her sister had been replaced by a demon and his dreadful employer destroyed in a blink of an eye.

As I thought. This world was so different with magic and monsters existing and loads of nonsense turning up to be real and factual, and yet, in the way people act, it nevertheless remained ever so similar.