As Liam walked out of the portal, he felt his stomach churn worse than ever before. He felt nauseated and felt his vision start to swim. Right as he thought he was going to throw up, the feeling subsided and a chime sound echoed in his mind.

Teleportation sickness must have leveled again. He thought as he straightened himself.

He looked at the others and let out a chuckle as Artem and Ariyana were hunched over, upchucking.

“Upchuck Roulette strikes again,” Liam said as Ariyana turned her gaze on him and glared.

Before she could say anything a familiar grandmotherly voice called out, “I am so happy to see you guys have passed the fifth floor.”

Everyone turned to see Adva and Phorge walking up to them.

Liam noticed a look of concern on Adva’s face before it was quickly replaced with a warm smile.

“Thank you, but why are you so happy? Since these dungeons are safe it should have been no problem for us to beat it,” Mercer stated, keeping the knowledge he found out from Liam to himself.

The others looked at him and understood what he was doing.

“We are so happy because you guys were in there for so long. We weren’t too sure how long it would take for you guys to beat it,” Phorge stated.

“How long were we in there for?” Mercer questioned as he looked at him with a confused expression.

“About a day and a half,” Adva answered as she looked them all over.

“How long does it usually take?” Artem asked curiously.

“Almost all the other groups from the other dungeons took about a day or less,” Phorge answered.

Adva looked each of them up and down as she said, “It looks like none of you are badly hurt. Which is good.”

If you only knew how close some of us were to death… Liam thought before something caught his eye.

It was a new portal.

This new portal was bigger than the others and had a multicolored glow to it.

“What’s that over there?” Liam asked as he watched people start to walk through the portal.

Adva and Phorge looked at what Liam was staring at and were about to answer until a new voice replied with some disdain, “That is the portal that leads to the outside world. The elite groups who have already defeated all six floors are leaving.”

Liam and his group scowled inwardly as they recognized the voice and turned to see Nalia approaching them.

“I see you lot are still taking your time,” Nalia continued. “I’m surprised you’ve made it this far.”

“Oh? And why do you say that?” Liam asked with some disgust showing.

Nalia’s eyes narrowed as she pointedly stated, “Watch your tone with me maggot.”

“Nalia!” Adva scolded.

“Stay out of this,” Nalia stated as she looked at Adva. “I’m not one to mince my words nor act kindly to those who are not worth my kindness.”

She looked back at Liam and stated, “I find you unworthy of stepping foot into our beautiful world.”

Liam’s eye twitched. “Oh? And why do you say that?”

Nalia glared at him. “There’s something about you that I don’t like.”

Something about me? Liam thought. He then asked, “Oh? And what is it that you don’t like about me?”

“For one, your attitude towards those who are superior to you. Another is the disrespect you give me. Thirdly, you get carried by others and act like you contribute a lot to your team,” Nalia listed. “Your existence is a joke. And lastly…”

“What do you know about him?” Blair interrupted as she glowered at Nalia.

Nalia turned her gaze on Blair.

“It seems like your disrespect to those who are superior is infecting your teammates,” Nalia coldly stated. “Dragon welp girl, it is rude to interrupt those who are talking.”

Blair and the others were about to say something until Liam put a hand out to stop them.

Nalia turned her gaze back on Liam as he stated, “I guess your dislike of me can be justified if that is the only reason why you don’t like me.”

Nalia’s gazed evened on him as she waited for him to continue.

“However, I have a policy,” Liam started. “You want me to watch my attitude towards those who believe they are superior to me? Not going to happen.”

A memory of a woman yelling at a much younger version of himself popped into his mind.

“I tried that route, didn’t like it. So, I’m not going to do it again,” Liam stated as his anger started to pulse through him. “You’re upset that I disrespect you? Ha, a pitiful person like you needs to earn my respect. I don’t give it to just anyone.”

Nalia’s face started to redden as Liam continued to speak.

“And thirdly, you don’t know what goes on in the dungeon. What makes you think I’m just getting carried by my teammates and I’m not doing anything?”

“You want to know why I think you’re being carried?” Nalia questioned with some rage starting to boil. “I’ll tell you why I think that.”

Nalia’s eyes suddenly lit up with a golden hue as she stared at Liam. As her eyes lit up, a sharp pain suddenly pierced Liam’s and his teammates’ minds.

After a second had passed Adva swiftly slammed her hands together, making both the golden hue in Nalia’s eyes and the sharp pain that had pierced Liam’s mind to disappear.

“Nalia! We have discussed this that you are not allowed to use that magic on them,” Adva scolded.

“And I told you that I do not care what you say,” Nalia whirled on her. She then looked back at Liam and stated, “I was able to see enough to get what I needed. Your teammates are all at level twelve while you are still at level six. Your lack of level compared to the others just proves that you don’t do enough to help your teammates. You’re nothing but a leech.”

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Liam’s teeth bared as he quipped, “You can go ahead and think I am a leech, but at least I am not some weasel bitch.”

A loud smack echoed in the air as Liam’s face turned to the right from getting slapped.

“I will not tolerate being called a weasel bitch,” Nalia stated. “Especially coming from some half-bred fake Arcadian who can’t even receive any of his Beast kin physical traits.”

Liam slowly turned his head as he looked at her. “So that’s what this is about,” Liam started with a calm evened tone. “You must be one of those Beast kin supremist.”

Avery and the others gave Liam a confused look.

“I’ll explain later,” Liam stated.

“I’m not a Beast kin Supremist. I simply think that scum like you are a stain to our race’s heritage,” Nalia corrected.

“Doesn’t matter how you try to justify it,” Liam stated as he felt his blood start to heat up and boil even more.

“I think this is enough,” Adva interrupted as she and Phorge stepped between both of them. Adva turned to Nalia and scolded, “This is no way to act as an Overseer of the Tutorial Area. You’ve overstepped your boundaries too many times. You need to leave this group alone.”

After saying what she had to say to Nalia, Adva turned to Liam and added, “And I know you are heated, but you must watch your mouth. There is no need to be calling anyone a bitch.”

Liam took a deep breath and slowly let it out.

He knew Adva was right, but every time Nalia was around she reminded him of the one woman he really hated. And every time he was reminded of her, he just couldn’t help but get really angry.

“I’m sorry Adva for my foul mouth. We just got out from our dungeon floor run and I seem to be exhausted and went too far when she was provoking me,” Liam started as he looked at her. “If you could please excuse me I am going to go and get some rest.”

“You guys go do that,” Phorge stated as he looked at him with a concerned look as Liam walked away with his group from the trio.

“Oh no you don’t,” Nalia started back up. “You and I are not done talking.”

“Yes you are,” Phorge stated with a cold tone in his voice as he turned to stare at her.

As Phorge started speaking, Liam could feel his danger sense pick up.

Even though he knew it wasn’t directed at him, he could still feel a tremendous amount of power coming from Phorge.

“You have nothing else to say to this team. Do I make myself clear?” Phorge repeated.

Nalia glared at Phorge before finally saying in an irritated tone, “Fine.”

She then stomped off from the two leaving them both frustrated and concerned.

After she was completely out of sight, Phorge quietly muttered for only Adva to hear, “I knew she was difficult and stubborn and can be a…”

Adva’s eyes narrowed on him before he could say what she knew he was going to say.

“Not a very nice woman,” Phorge coughed, catching himself. “But I never pegged her to be part of the Beast kin faction that hates beast kins who don’t have their races features.”

“I didn’t either,” Adva agreed as she turned her gaze towards the area where Nalia walked off to. “There seems to be a lot about her we didn’t know. I just hope this is all that she is hiding. Also, where and when did she learn about his Beast kin race? She wasn’t there when he told us.”

“I’m not sure,” Phorge replied as he shook his head. A thought came to mind before he looked at her with a questioning look while raising a brow. “You don’t think she has anything to do with what’s going on with that portal…do you?”

Adva let out a sigh before looking over to the Black Portal. “I honestly don’t know. I hope not, but if she does have anything to do with what’s going on in there, then she will have a lot to answer for.”

As Liam and his group walked down the path towards the city, Artem asked with a concerning tone in his voice, “What was that all about?”

“Which part?” Liam asked as he kept his gaze forward.

“That whole Beast kin Supremacy thing?” Artem inquired.

“Also, what was up with that magic she used?” Roman added.

“Yeah, it felt like my mind was going to split,” Ariyana stated as she rubbed the sides of her temple.

Liam let out a sigh before answering, “That magic she used was something called Divine Eye. It’s like a divine upgrade to our Assess. It allows the user to look at someone’s stats. However, I think it needs to be fully channeled to get everything and if it’s used for a short amount of time only a small amount is shown.”

“That should be illegal,” Blair scowled.

“It’s like an invasion of privacy,” Avery agreed.

“Do you think someone like her thinks that?” Liam stated.

“What about the other part?” Blair asked. “This is the first time I’ve ever heard of something like Beast kin Supremacy.”

“It’s not just Beast kin, but I guess all races have some sort of Supremacy,” Liam started. “However, with some Beast kin it has to do with the fact that there are those who were born to a Beast kin and a non-Beast kin and didn’t get any beast kin racial features. I still don’t understand why they are like that, but I’m not going to waste my breath over it.”

“Why not?” Roman questioned as he grew angry. “That’s a fucking stupid reason to hate someone and start shit with them over.”

“I agree,” Liam said as he looked at him. “However, I’m not quite sold on that’s why she hates me.”

“What do you mean?” Avery asked.

Mercer thought about it for a moment until a question arrived in his mind. “Do you think…”

“I’m not sure,” Liam interrupted, knowing he would catch on to what he meant. “I have my suspicions, but I’m still not a hundred percent yet.”

“So that’s what you meant back in the dungeon last night,” Blair stated as she realized what they were talking about.

“What?” Roman and Ariyana asked, confused on what was going on.

“Don’t worry about it for now,” Artem said, surprising everyone. “If it is what he thinks, then he will tell us when the time is right.”

“I’m definitely worried about it now,” Roman commented. “If Artem was able to pick it up quicker than me then I’m definitely worried about it.”

“Don’t overthink it,” Liam stated. “I could be completely wrong and trust me, I hope I am, but when I completely know, I will tell you guys.”

“What’s the plan now?” Mercer asked.

“I’m going to head over to the Bubbling Potion and talk to Galin about that material I picked up then I’m going to go take a bath,” Liam stated. “What are you guys going to do?”

“A bath and some food sounds nice,” Ariyana said.

“I agree with you,” Artem nodded.

“I think we’re going to go take a bath and grab some food. Want to meet us at the Dancing Baboon when you’re done?” Mercer asked.

Liam shook his head. “No, I think I’m going to grab something from a stall before heading back to my room after my bath.”

“Are you sure?” Mercer asked as he and the others gave him a concerned look.

Liam nodded. “Yeah, I am feeling pretty tired.”

“Alright,” Mercer said as he looked at him. “Then we’ll see you tomorrow for breakfast?”

Liam nodded and said before turning down a different path, “Sounds good. I’ll see you guys tomorrow.”

Mercer watched as Liam walked away from the rest of them.

I know he tends to over think things, but his hunches are usually spot on. Mercer started thinking. Now that I know what you are considering I can understand why you are hesitant to point your finger at the one you are most suspicion of. She is not one you can call out on without all the proof.

Mercer turned his head to see Blair, Avery and even Artem staring at him. He could see their understanding in their eyes.

He looked at Ariyana and Roman who were talking to each other, still not fully grasping who Liam was fully guarded against.

As Mercer walked up to the three, Blair questioned as quietly as she could, “What do you think?”

“I think we should do what he is doing,” Mercer stated.

“And if he is right and it comes back to bite us?” Avery asked.

“Who said anything about letting it bite us?” Mercer questioned. “We need answers, yes. But we also need strength. As we are now, we are too weak to do what we want to do. Not only that, but I believe there are those who are more powerful than us looking out for us as well.”

“So, then we train?” Artem inquired.

Mercer nodded. “We need to get as strong as we can. We won’t be able to get as strong as we want here due to the limitations placed on us, but once when we get out of here…those shackles will come off.”

“How long do we take before we try and take on the sixth floor then?” Roman asked as the four turned to look at him.

Roman’s and Ariyana’s eyes were determined.

“So, you guys understood what is going on?” Mercer asked.

“I don’t fully grasp it,” Roman started.

“I don’t understand all the details either,” Ariyana added. “But…”

“We know what he is thinking is never something that easy,” Roman continued. “Since teaming up with him, every time he gets like that it is because it’s due to something that is more powerful than we are. So, it’s always easy to understand when we need to tread carefully.”

“So even though we’re all not fully on the same page,” Ariyana smiled. “We are still on some of it.”

Mercer nodded. “I can agree with you there. We’ll get back to work tomorrow. We don’t know how hard this next floor will be and we are going to need to be as ready as we can.”

The other five members nodded their agreements before heading off to the baths.

As the group of six walked away, a dark silhouette popped its head out from the alleyway it was hiding in.

“So, they are finally done with the fifth floor, huh,” the figure said. A wicked grin formed on the individual’s face as it added, “I can now start the next and final phase of my plan.”

The figure then went back into the alleyway and disappeared.