Lilliluka Arde hated adventurers.

Technically speaking, she was an adventurer herself, though she had never been treated like one. She had been born into the Soma Familia, a minor family engaged in both Dungeon diving and non-violent industry. The wine that they sold was the talk of Orario, and their members were known for being productive in the Dungeon as well. But clever observers knew that things were not quite right in Soma Famillia.

The members of the Familia always seemed extremely desperate for money, a fact that puzzled many. They must make a lot of money between their wine and their Dungeon crawling, so why were they so frantic? Hardly a day went by without a member of Soma Famillia arguing with the Guild exchange over the valuation of the day’s spoils. Sometimes, these arguments got violent. It was baffling to most.

Yet Lilli knew exactly why they were like this.

Soma Famillia was in the throes of addiction. Not to drugs but to wine. The “god” Soma made wine that was totally unearthly in its delightful taste and intoxicating effect. Every Soma Familia member had a taste of this heavenly elixir when they were inducted into the Familia, and they were soon hopelessly addicted to the powerful concoction. The only way to get more was to earn more money. The wine that they sold on the public market was defective in comparison, and all the Famillia revenue went towards making the real stuff.

The adventurers of the Famillia took on greater and greater risks to earn as much money as possible to feed their crippling habit. Lilli’s parents were such people, and they had died while she was young. They had entered a floor beyond their level and were mercilessly destroyed, a not uncommon fate for many adventurers but especially common for the members of this so-called Famillia.

But orphan or otherwise, Lilli was property of the Famillia simply by virtue of being born within it. And they took the idea of property very literally. She was given a blessing, of course, and given a tase of the heavenly wine, of course, but she was otherwise treated like cattle. She was relegated to the role of supporter, forced to carry the bags, and do all the drudgery that the rest of the adventurers didn’t want to. That wouldn’t have been so bad, though, were it not for all the other abuse.

She was denied her share of the loot, under the pretense that she had “stolen” her share. A lie that neither she nor her accusers believed. Her party had done nothing to protect her and done nothing to heal her when she was injured. They kicked her around, literally, to vent their frustrations when things were going wrong or whenever they felt that she was getting “uppity” with them. She was physically weak and very small, as a member of the prum species, so she had no easy way to defend herself against the monsters or the adventurers.

She tried to run away, but they tracked her down and stole from her again. She tried to work independently, but adventurers from beyond the Soma Famillia didn’t treat her much better. She tried to get the Guild involved, but they didn’t have the resources to help her. So, she did the only thing she felt she could do. She stole from the people who stole from her.

Weapons, items, magic stones, nearly everything could be pickpocketed or hidden with the correct sleight of hand and an effective use of misdirection. It was made even easier with her magic, “Cinder Ella”, which allowed her to transform her appearance, in a small way, at will. It was the perfect con artist’s magic and over time she learned how to wield it to remarkable affect. Furthermore, everyone underestimated her, thanks to her race and size. They often didn’t bother searching her for stolen items, even when they accused her of stealing! This combination of factors allowed her to get away with hundreds of “crimes” and steal a lot of valuable goods.

She fenced her stolen goods at an illicit dealer with whom she became acquainted and used the funds to buy items and other weapons to defend herself. Even she could use a crossbow. She still couldn’t go into the Dungeon alone, as it cost her more than an enemy’s magic stone was worth to kill monsters using these items, but she continued to steal and save money for her true goal. Freedom.

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She saved money so she could purchase her freedom lawfully from the Soma Famillia. That would make them lose any legal claim over her and make it easier for her to get the authorities involved if they continued causing her problems. They had tried to get her addicted to the wine, and it had worked for a while, but she had eventually broken free of that addiction simply through a lack of funds and time. Now, she only wanted to buy her freedom and live in peace.

Adventurers didn’t matter. They were only there to be stolen from. Given everything that they had taken from her, it only served them right. There was a part of her that even hated herself for this mentality. She wasn’t exactly guilty over her theft, but the hatred that darkened her heart towards these people reminded her of the same hatred and disdain with which they looked upon her. Like their hatred had bred a twisted mirror of itself within her. But she couldn’t allow this self-loathing to stop her from achieving her goals.

She was so close.

What was supposed to be one of her final runs involved her going down to the tenth floor with a party of Level 1 adventurers. She honestly couldn’t remember the name of their Familia, nor did she care. She had been working with them for a few jobs now and felt that they were especially stupid. Except for their leader, a greasy looking man with dark hair and tan skin, it was a gang of muscle-bound brutes who only knew how to swing a sword and pick their own noses.

She had been increasingly brazen in her theft from them, often snatching valuable items out from under their noses. She couldn’t steal equipment from them, as they couldn’t help but notice the absence of a sword. She wanted to work with them on a regular basis and that type of thing would leave them legitimately suspicious. But everything else of value was fair game. Still, it was dangerous to team up with the same group over and over. The money she was making, however, blinded herself to that reality as this team really was capable when it came to monster slaying at the very least. So long as she was careful, she would have enough saved up for her lifelong goal in no more than a few more trips. She was ecstatic.

Her hopes were crushed that day when they reached the seventh floor.

“That should do it. Grab her, Bill.”

She felt an iron bar close around her windpipe, as a tall white man with a mohawk right behind her put her in a chokehold. She gasped, but found no air, and tried to grab at her hidden weapons. The brute, though, was strong enough to easily prevent her arms from going to her hidden pockets.

“Search her.”

The men that groped her were not gentle. They tore away her backpack and her cream-colored outer robe, leaving her in only a red and white blouse, a red skirt, and her boots and leggings. They took her magic sword, her crossbow, and its ammunition, and her most valuable possession. A single key that she kept hanging around her neck.

The greasy man held the key up, the bronze tool glinting in the dim Dungeon light, and Lilli began to despair.

“What’s that boss?”

The man holding her, Bill, asked stupidly as he tightened his grip around her neck callously.

“A key to a gnome storage unit in Orario’s eastern ward.” The greasy man rasped out.

“I figured out that this little shit was stealing from us and had her followed when we got out. She has been storing gnome jewels in this storage unit, which we know because she made a deposit just last evening. Isn’t that right, little prum?”

He grinned maliciously:

“Hit her.”

The blow to her stomach knocked the wind out of her, what little there was still there, and she sank to the ground desperately still gasping for air. Her mind was muddled in pain and fear as it desperately tried to find a way out of this deadly situation. It came up blank.

“And she had a magic sword as well!” the greasy man exclaimed with a greedy smirk on his face, “How did you manage to steal so much without being caught, you little shit?! A part of me is actually impressed! But this is the end of your story.”

On cue, Bill kicked her in the stomach and her vision totally whited out with pain. When she could finally see straight, she noticed that she had been thrown away and into the far wall. The still bleeding bodies of three, barely alive, killer ants had been tossed right in front of her nose as well. They were clicking and screeching, no doubt releasing copious amounts of pheromones to attract their brethren from all over the floor. This room had become a ticking timebomb.

She tried to stand, but a third blow to her stomach knocked all the fight right out of her. They had followed her just to kick her again. She still hadn’t gotten a full breath of air in a while, and she felt herself beginning to pass out.

“Goodbye, now, little prum.” She heard the voice of the greasy man echo, “It was fun while it lasted.”

In no time, the ants had begun to pour into the room, surrounding her in a semicircle, her back to the wall. She finally managed to get a gasp of air. She gasped and chocked as her body fought to keep her alive. But her mind had already begun to despair. Her escape was cut off and she had nothing to defend herself with. She would be a snack for even one of these things. Before they gathered their wits and decided to pounce on her, she managed to weakly cough out a few words. Words she hadn’t said in some time now:

“Some…body. Please help, me…”