As we all stood there shocked by everything that just happened, I heard noise from the doors. Due to still being bound, I couldn’t turn around, but soon I saw someone move past me and arrived where the chain sat. It was a male attendant who released the chain, before turning to look past us.

“Free their shackles and get them into a private room. Give them anything they need or want, inform their advisors of the situation and investigate. You, take Joan and do whatever it takes to learn the truth behind her actions. You, get these idiots out of here, but inform them to spread the truth of what happened here, don’t hide anything.”

Speaking as he looked at certain people who would’ve been behind me, I felt someone fiddling with the brace around my neck before it clicked, the cuffs and brace falling off.

You are no longer restricted.

Turning, I found a young female attendant. “Aubrey and Alisha, please follow me.” Looking at the others, she spoke before I could ask. “I’m taking you two to a separate room, the others will be separated as they have different advisors.”

“Xia is with us.” Speaking for me is Aubrey as the attendant nodded and looked at Xia.

“Very well, you come with us as well.”

Xia looks at me as I give her a nod. I needed to tell her to stop seeking my permission for things like this, I didn’t feel comfortable with her acting like she did. As we followed behind the young attendant, I saw attendants running in and out of the trial room, one leading a now shackled Joan away while others ushered the adventurers out.

As I’m being led through the building, I felt people staring at me but I kept my head up. We arrived in a small, very expensive looking room.

“I will get food and drinks delivered to you guys as soon as possible, is there anything you guys need?”

“Yea, my bag and all our stuff back.” Folding her arms while sitting on a couch, Aubrey shot the attendant an annoyed look.

“That is being worked on…some of it needs to be…retrieved for lack of a better word. Once we have collected everything, I will bring them to you to verify.” She bows before leaving quickly.

Taking Alice out of my scarf, I was happy to see she was fine and awake. She tilted her head at me before pecking my hands lightly. The attendant had just left, meaning I couldn’t get her any monster cores. Telling her so earned me a peck before she jumped onto Aubrey’s lap.

“I don’t have anything either Alice, sorry. They took everything.” Softly patting Alice, Aubrey smiled before sighing and leaning on my shoulder.

“Alisha?”

“Mm?”

“I’m sorry.”

“For what?”

“Not telling you that the Branch Master was watching through my eyes.”

“He was?”

“Mm, he told me not to tell you, otherwise he would refuse you as a disciple so I went along with it. I only wanted what was best for you, and I had thought you becoming his disciple would be the best thing for you. Though, you already knew what was best for you…I’m sorry.”

Ah, so that’s how Alexander had that memory stone then. I reached over with my free arm, due to Aubrey hugging the other, and patted her head. “Don’t be sorry. In fact, it saved us in the end, didn’t it?”

“I-I guess so.” Seeing a shy expression that I hadn’t seen for a while, I chuckled slightly.

“I do wish they gave us something to do though. Then again, I’m still mentally exhausted.” Sighing lightly, I leaned back as Alice flew onto my head and planted herself in.

“Madam, shall we discuss your battles?”

Turning my head to look at Xia, she was currently standing behind me, as if waiting for an order.

“Mm, tell me one thing about them that you think I should improve. I don’t think I can take in too much. Also, sit down with us, stop acting like a servant.”

“If you wish, Madam.”

“Also enough Madam, call me Alisha.”

“Of course, Alisha.” Saying my name with some formalness to it, Xia sat down next to me.

“Alisha, one of the things I have noticed is you have a lot of unnecessary movement when you fight.”

“Like I’m hesitating?”

“No, not exactly. Like pushing your hand out to shoot out those Ice Spikes, or clapping your hands to release your Domain. Other times when you’re fighting with your fists or dodging attacks, there are times when you’ll swing your arm more than is needed. In a way, your fighting style is very wild, like a monster that is fighting, but has some training behind it.”

“How do I get better at moving then?”

“That isn’t something I can really teach…a good teacher will be able to show you however.”

Thinking of the golden ticket I had, I pursed my lips while remembering that it was still in my bags…that had been taken. Hoping I’d get that back, we talked for a while before the door flung open with a bang.

Turning my head, I saw Elise standing there looking at us with a worried expression. Quickly closing the door, she walked up quickly to Aubrey and I before pulling us into a hug.

“I’m so so sorry. I was off duty, I didn’t even know what happened till just now. To think such a horrible thing happened, I’m so sorry.”

Releasing us, she smiled as she turned to Xia. “You must be Xia. I’m Elise, the advisor to these two. Nice to meet you.”

“Likewise.” Giving a short bow, Xia relaxed. Had she suddenly tensed up, thinking Elise was an enemy?

Sitting on the couch on the other side, Elise looked at us with a troubled expression. “I’m glad you’re all safe, even though you look so exhausted. I want to stay and hear your story fully, but I’m afraid I don’t have the time…this entire thing has become a massive problem.”

Tilting my head, I spoke up. “What’s happened? We thought we’d be brought back for questioning, but that…”

Sighing, Elise shook her head. “I don’t know. No one is telling me anything. All I know is this entire thing has opened a very large can of beans and there are people willing to spill. About what, I have no clue.” Standing, Elise looks at us before saying “It's good to see you both safe.” Leaving us with those words, she left.

“Argh, I wish they’d just give my bag back and let us leave.” Complaining slightly as Aubrey sighs, I nodded along with her. I was starting to get bored, but not only that but I wanted to go home. I was sick of being trapped in a room.

As several hours passed, we had eaten when food came around and I managed to get some monster cores for Alice. Hearing the door open, I turn and see an exhausted Elise walk in and give us a stiff smile.

“Well, this isn’t the first time something like this has happened, nor will it be the last sadly.” Sitting down once again on the opposite couch, Elise sighed.

“I’m not meant to tell you any of this so don’t go asking questions.” Sitting back a bit, Elise glanced at us with a mixture of emotions. “After we…questioned Joan, we found out exactly what happened. The moment she’d escaped from the dungeon her level had been reset to level 1. A punishment from the System for abandoning a mutated quest.

“She also has been cursed. She can no longer gain experience and can no longer use magic, skills or talents. She suffered weakness for a day afterwards, but she was quickly given powerful elixirs by her family, though none can remove a curse that strong.

“Hillock, the bastard who tried to execute you after that horrible trial, is her direct uncle. Her family promised to pay a very large amount to Hillock to do two things. Drag your name through the dirt, humiliate you before finally executing you. Thus Hillock decided to drag you into this trial.

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“Strangely, that family wanted Joan present at the trial, which I found rather odd but whatever. Either way, there isn’t much of a mystery to this, Joan’s family is a noble one, but they will be punished by the city and Guild.

Her motivations were exactly as Amelia had guessed. She wanted the rewards from the mutated quest and wanted the number one spot. She had also been killing off her own group slowly if they were too wounded, how she got away with it remains a mystery since apparently she had no plan to hide it. *Sigh* I thought I’d had a nice day off too.”

Wanting to ask a question, I remember that she had said not to ask any. Aubrey had another idea.

“What about our belongings? Can we leave?”

“We’ve acquired most of your belongings back, we’re chasing up a few bags. Head home for now, I’ll bring it around to your place Aubrey and sort it all out. Don’t worry, it seems the Branch Master is furious right now and is seriously ensuring everything is returned to you.”

Standing, Elise smiled at us before saying “I’m truly happy the two of you returned safely and even made a new friend. Make sure to keep them safe, Xia.” Smiling at Xia, Elise left the room in a hurry. It seems she was rather busy.

“Well, it seems like they’re getting everything sorted for us. What are you doing, Alisha?”

“Mm, I want to go home and relax for a while. What about you?”

“Same. Can I come over to your house for a while?”

Shaking my head, I said “I want to just relax by myself for a few days and figure things out. After that I need to get started on the many things I need to do, like going to the Academy, getting training and so on. After I get things organised, we can meet up and do some requests, okay?”

Looking a bit down, Aubrey sadly nodded.

“Kraa!”

Alice pecks Aubrey’s hands before flying up to her head, gives me a look before snuggling on top. I knew what Alice was saying as I giggled.

“Seems like Alice wants to go with you.”

“Kraa!” Sticking her head up, she pecks Aubrey’s head before playing with her hair. Aubrey giggled a bit while smiling.

“Alright, I’ll look after her for you. Dark-based monster cores all for you tonight Alice!”

“KRAA!” Loudly crying out with some excitement, we both giggle as I turn to Xia.

“What will you be doing, Xia?”

“Staying by your side, Alisha.” Once again bowing slightly to me, Xia looked at me with a bit of determination in her eyes.

Thinking it over, I realised that now she had joined my side, she was in the same position as I was, being hunted by the Church. She’d have nowhere to go and she’d already sworn her life to me. Tilting my head, I knew there was no choice but for her to live at my house. Thankfully my home had two more bedrooms. Well, one was reserved for Elizabeth, while the other was mine, so only one other room.

“Alright. But just don’t be at my side at home, just relax and do what you want, okay?”

As Xia bows slightly to my words, we stand and leave the room. As we exit the building, Aubrey leaves ahead of us while Xia and I wait outside the Guild for Elizabeth. Ignoring people staring at me, Elizabeth comes out shortly afterwards. Telling her about the house, she smiled while chuckling.

“Look at you go, buying a new house and everything! Well, hopefully you have plenty of food, I’m starving for a good meal.”

Feeling shocked for a moment, I remembered I didn’t have any food other than the few fruits and vegetables that I had left over from the ration cubes. As I’m about to suggest we go shopping, I remember we didn’t have our belongings, meaning we had no money.

Telling Xia and Elizabeth about this, Elizabeth sighed. “Well, let's hope they retrieve everything quickly. Well, shall we head off now?” Nodding, we walked down the road while talking about what had happened. Elizabeth had met with Claire alone and she too had been told about Joan’s ‘questioning’ in detail.

***

“Woah, this is much bigger than the house I had in Crater!” Looking at the house I’d bought, Elizabeth sounded rather impressed. Night had fallen some time ago so the street was quiet. Entering the house, I showed Xia and Elizabeth around before showing them their bedrooms, Elizabeth on the left and Xia on the right. They were similar to mine, both had their own baths and had similar furniture.

Elizabeth decided to turn in for the night while Xia seemed unsure on what to do. Telling her to rest for now, I managed to convince her to relax and not concern herself with me while we were here. Entering my own bedroom, I laid down on the bed, glad to have finally returned here. Thankfully I had kept my keys to this house on me, and they hadn’t been discovered when I was searched…or they felt it unnecessary to take them from me.

Getting up, I decided to have a quick bath before finally sleeping. After the bath, I checked over the clothing I had received from The Blade to find they didn’t seem to require cleaning. For the time being however, I put them aside as I put the dress I had received from Flannery instead.

As I laid down, I wondered about where Flannery had gone. She’d left part of herself within my mana realm since I met her, which then shattered while I was attempting to learn Astral Ice. Ever since then I’ve always wanted to speak to her again and ask her why the Church hated me so, and if this so-called Sisterhood was the same.

Sooner or later I would have to confront this Church and remove them as a threat. Xia didn’t know much about them, only their general structure. She wasn’t sure if they had any more assassins, or the levels of those who could fight. Apparently they had used quite a bit in the last attempt, including bringing valuable items like those chains. I had asked her about those chains and learnt they were one-time use, which was a pity but there wasn’t anything I could do.

Thinking about everything as I laid down, I knew there was a lot to do before I could start looking to level again. I’d heard there was another evolution at level 50, though I had to wonder what exactly it implied. The last evolution changed me from a Demonic Fox to a Mystic Lunar Fox, so would something else like that happen at 50?

I had a feeling it would be best to reset myself and train to fill the pieces I was missing. I’ve come to know what I was missing thanks to my time in the Tomb of Lilith, but the question remained as to where I should start. I knew one thing I needed to do was find ways to unrestrict my Race completely. The System message said both times it had happened it had become less restricted, which meant there was a version of my Race that wasn’t restricted…but why was it restricted?

Then there was the case of Elizabeth. That odd link between us where I could feel her presence, how part of my soul, or soul energy, had been used to help stop the corruption within her soul from that spiritual remnant of the God in Crater. Which meant the corruption was still in her soul, however it had been stopped for now. We’d have to find a way to heal her, as well as discover what the link between us meant. Where do we start with that?

Then there were the many things I still didn’t know. The System, magic, the world, dimensional dungeons, and so much more. With my mind filled with questions, I slowly fell asleep.

***

Gently waking up, I opened my eyes to see the light of day peeking through the window. Sitting up and yawning, I looked around for Alice before remembering she was with Aubrey. I trusted Aubrey unconditionally, and I knew Alice would be just fine with her.

Just as I stood up from bed, I heard the soft chime that meant someone was here. Since it wasn’t a high pitch noise, I knew it wasn’t Aubrey. Walking down the stairs, I open it to find Elise smiling. On her back was Aubrey’s big bag.

“May I come in?” Nodding, she followed me inside as I led her to the living room. Sitting down, Elise looked at me seriously. “We managed to retrieve most things, however…all weapons were missing from the bags, which were the easiest things for them to take. As compensation, the Guild will be commissioning everyone with new weapons. I want to check everything else with you now to make sure nothing else is missing.”

Leaning forward while nodding, Elise pulled out various bags and after spending about ten minutes, we found the only thing missing were my gauntlets, Lunaria’s Fury and the gloves, Ursine Gloves of the Berserker.

“Alright, just those two. We can commission you two new weapons, and considering your style, fist weapons would be best, right?” Pursing my lips, I thought for a moment.

“Elise, give me a minute.” Elise tilts her head while looking a bit confused before nodding.

Closing my eyes, I thought about how to make me angry. It didn’t take me long as I thought about the Church and yesterday’s events. Feeling the anger build up in me, I felt something appear on my hands.

Feeling your anger, Lunaria’s Fury answers your call. Your anger doubles the bonuses of Lunaria’s Fury.

Taking a breath out, I calmed myself down as I looked at the supposedly stolen gloves. The moon on the back was starting to dim as I calmed down.

“That’s rather helpful. So they’re bonded to you? By the looks of things they respond to your anger. Well…let's put you down for two weapons still.”

“Elise, could I request to hold that for now? I want to take some time to do training, and perhaps I might find another weapon I could use.”

“Oh? I don’t see why not. Sure, I’ll put that down for you. Also, as further compensation, you’ll be provided 2 Platinum coins.” Handing me six, she smiled. “Two for each of you here. Are those two awake? I want to check for their stuff as well.” Nodding, I headed upstairs and found both were awake after checking.

After telling them about Elise, they also discussed what was missing and about the commission to replace their weapons. As Xia wasn’t an adventurer, Elise gave her an offer to join free of charge, with only the test being needed. Xia looked at me and after I gave her a shrug Xia said she’d consider it.

“Well, that’s all I need to do here. Oh! Actually, one last thing, Alisha. Aubrey wanted to ask if she could take Alice with her to do some hunting requests. I’ll make sure those two don’t overdo it, but it seems like Aubrey is a bit eager to help you train Alice.”

Thinking it over, I didn’t see a reason why she couldn’t. “As long as they don’t overdo it, that’s fine. With Alice knowing that Shadow Creatures magic she’ll be able to look after Aubrey.”

“Of course. Aubrey is also very skilled in getting out of a bad situation, after all until recently I paired her up with new parties to get them adjusted to our various dungeons.”

Thinking about it, I dug out the Tooth of Erebus and a bag of Dark-type monster cores. “Give this to Aubrey. Tell her not to feed the Tooth to Alice unless she starts evolution. Alice will try to eat it, so put it in Aubrey’s bag and just tell her it's in there.”

Looking over the Tooth, she nodded as she put it away. “Such a thing…Northern Hawk?” Nodding, she giggled. “I figured. Well, I’m heading off to find Bloom, Amelia and then Leon. Alisha, come to the Guild once you can, consider it a summons from me. There is something we need to do. Take care, you three.”

Leaving with those words, I wondered what she wanted to do. Shrugging, I knew it wasn’t urgent so I left it for the time being. Turning to the other two, I planned to discuss our plans and what we were looking to do.