"Beatrice," Shaun says, "It's nice to meet you as well." He gently turns my hand, tracing the outline along the glove. "Isn't it a bit difficult to move your fingers with these?" His teeth grind together as he offers a forced smile.
Frowning, I slowly retract my hand from his grip.
Ah, he must be one of the Essevian dissenters. I find myself among them too, though ironically.
"I mostly wear them for the aesthetic," I say, crossing my arms. "It's a bit challenging to move my fingers, but not a hindrance."
Many already find my face unsettling, not to mention the tentacles on my back. It's best not to draw attention to my right hand as well. Besides, wearing gloves is commonplace in my line of work.
As Shaun turns toward Lilith, his movement causes part of the hood to lift, revealing glimpses of red hair.
"This isn't how the event was supposed to unfold," Shaun mutters, his thumb near his mouth. "She wasn't meant to be on this expedition."
Who wasn't supposed to be here? Lilith? His demeanor and words hint at something sinister. Everything about Shaun so far is unsettling; I need to find a way to distance myself from him.
"Sorry to cut this short, but" I point towards Penny, "I need to go meet my leader for Team 2."
Shaun snaps his head back, and a green glow briefly hovers on his robe before quickly dissipating. Goosebumps rise on my skin as I feel unseen eyes piercing my soul.
"Oh, what a coincidence," Shaun chirps, clapping his hands together. "I'm part of Team 2 as well."
"Wow, what a pleasant surprise!" I smile while walking away. "Mind telling me what roles you signed up for on the expedition?"
How unpleasant. This must be a cruel joke. I don't want to be anywhere near this man. He's setting off alarm bells in my head.
"I'm one of the team's shields," he says casually, walking beside me. "As an inexperienced newbie, I hope to learn from my seniors and help my guild."
"Wow, you were recruited by a guild? Congrats!" I say as I approach Penny's location. "That's quite an achievement!"
He must have been recruited separately, as I don't see anyone else who could be part of his main team.
Shaun's body jolts, and his shoulders tenses.
"Oh, right, I was recruited," he says quickly. "It was earlier than I had expected."
Raising an eyebrow, I turn to look at him. Shaun avoids my gaze and peers at a passerby.
What's with his reaction? Is he lying about being recruited by a guild?
Turning away from him, I slowly shake my head.
It's not surprising, considering adventurers frequently fabricate such tales. Some have even gone as far as falsely claiming to be recruited by the Aequitas guild. While that guild may have lower standards for hiring expedition members, their recruitment process is typically rigorous.
As we near Penny's location, Shaun fidgets with his fingers.
"So," Shaun draws out, "What's your role in the expedition?"
"A porter," I answer, frowning. "I carry things that others found or hunted on this expedition."
Shouldn't it be obvious what my role on the expedition is? I'm an Essevian. I wouldn't be in this position if it weren't for those tentacle parasites.
"Sorry if I made you uncomfortable," Shaun apologizes. "It just feels unbelievable that someone like you does this."
Passing by a humanoid fish, Penny and some members of Team 2 come into view.
"Right," I look over to where the other porters stand. "It's been nice talking to you, Shaun, but I need to join them."
Waving a polite goodbye to him, I begin heading towards the rest of the porters.
"Chirp!" Something squeaks behind me. "Chirp!"
Peering behind me, I see Shaun waving with one hand and clutching part of his robe with the other. Swiftly, he turns around and strides toward a group of humans.
I hope I won't have to interact with him much during the expedition.
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'Clink!' 'Clank!'
The dungeon's massive iron gates are closed shut, barring entry or exit. Countless scratch marks and dried, bloody handprints mar the metal's surface. Nearby lies a small pile of broken bone fragments.
Turning away from the scene, I follow behind my temporary teammates. Some of the human porters give me suspicious looks, their eyes brimming with fear.
Right, I'm an Essevian now. I keep forgetting that. It's strange to be glanced at suspiciously, not because of my asura.
We proceed in silence, occasionally glancing at rodents scampering nearby. Clusters of moss cling to the rocky walls, some adorned with tiny flower buds. The temperature gradually rises as thick, pungent vegetation scents fill the humid air.
'Ffffssh!'
Water spouts out of a fissure in the distance, assaulting my senses with the scent of rotten eggs. The asura around me presses against my body in a constricting but tolerable hug.
The person in front of me abruptly halts, and I quickly stop, barely avoiding bumping into him. Stepping to the side, I peer over his shoulder and catch sight of several tunnels ahead. Penny is talking to someone unseen; their conversation is inaudible from my vantage point.
"We'll be heading inside this tunnel," Penny gestures toward the middle one, her voice amplified. "Watch your step and stay on guard."
Different glows of asuras slowly form around several of my teammates' bodies. A few channel some of it into their weapons of choice. Penny and several other head in first, prompting the rest to file in. I quickly follow the person ahead of me. As we advance, a sudden hunger prickles from the bond's tentacles.
Oh, so now they decide to open their side of the bond. Damn parasites.
Opening my side of the bond, I sent out a questioning prompt. Images of pork dishes flood into my mind, almost causing me to stumble.
After staying in stony silence and completely blocking me for several days, the first thing they do is bombard me with pictures of food. Couldn't we have done this before entering the dungeon? This isn't the time or place for eating.
I send them a firm refusal, then slow my pace. I'm met with several resignations and acceptances in response. One, however, is furious and lashes out at me. Recoiling from the pain, I grit my teeth. Many porters give me strange looks and a wide berth, while those who are Essevians offer knowing and pitying glances.
Fine, if that's how one tentacle wants to play it.
I strike at the bond, releasing memories of being in the cold, and quickly close it.
There. Much better.
Ignoring the constant pounding in my head, I continue to follow the person ahead of me. We traverse through numerous tunnels, occasionally turning left or right. Finally, we halt in an area enveloped by glowing mushrooms stretching as far as the eye can see.
Two people leave the group, standing off to the side with tired expressions.
Penny instructs, "All porters stay here. Apart from those handling food, your task is to gather plants and pack the bodies. Those two men over there will be in charge while I'm away."
I watch as some of the food porters move away from me, beginning to set up a cooking station. The corner of my eye twitches as I bite down on my lip.
How lucky. It must be nice to relax during this expedition.
"The rest of you, follow me," Penny instructs.
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As I continue to cut into the monster's body, my hands feel like lead, joints throbbing with every movement. Fluids spill out of the corpse, drenching the rocky floor in blood.
'Bam.'
Another heap of corpses is added to my overwhelming pile of monster bodies. Every muscle in my back screams out in protest, aching persistently.
"More are on the way," one of the guards in charge says. "Remember to harvest some mushrooms when you finish early."
Pausing in my work, I look up as the man walks away. My eyelid feels heavy, demanding most of my focus to keep it open.
There seems to be no end in sight to this. I'll still be here long after Penny and the others have called it a day.
My stomach clenches with hunger, insistently gnawing at me. The tentacles bombard me once again with images of food.
I'm tired and hungry, ready to collapse. Let's try to get this done as soon as possible. The sooner I finish, the longer I can rest.
Taking hold of my end of the bond, I urge them to resume working on packaging the monster. In response, they express annoyance, mentally swiping at me.
"It's tough going, isn't it, Travis?" chuckled a familiar voice from behind me. "The monster's hide is hard to shed. Take care as you slide the knife through."
"Ughh, Matthew," groaned a raspy voice, "Why?"
"Hey, my jokes are the best. It's how I worm my way into yours and Issa's hearts."
I glance behind me and see Matthew seated beside a snake person. The cobra-like figure has brown scales and towers over Matthew.
Huh, so the cobra is called Travis. Isn't that a human name?
"Sometimes I wonder why my younger self found your jokes funny," the cobra remarks, "Because I sure don't."
"What venom!" Matthew exclaims dramatically. "I think I'm going to die of a broken heart."
"Pff, whatever. Can we please get back on task? The number of monsters we need to finish is ridiculous."
Sighing, I turn away from them and continue cutting the monster I'm working on.
It's fine. So long as they don't bother me, I can pretend they don't exist.
"Eh, the last expedition probably didn't do too well of a cleanup job," Matthew says. "Oh, I got another joke. What's-"
"I'll tell Iss about you slacking off," Travis interrupts with a chuckle. "You wouldn't want that now, would you?"
"Now, wait-"
"BBBBbbbbblllllllaaaaarrrreee!" A monster screams from somewhere far away, echoing off the wall. "BBBBbbbllllaaarrreee!"
Quickly getting to my feet, I clutch the knife close to my chest and glance around. Most porters were already standing, eyeing everything suspiciously. The two guards swiftly assume positions, drawing their asuras and scanning their surroundings with narrowed eyes. Matthew remains composed amidst the tension, meticulously carving away at a monster's body while keeping one hand on Travis.
After a couple of tense minutes, I slowly relax my grip on the knife as a few porters resume their work, leaving a sudden silence lingering in the air after the commotion.
I think I recognize that ear-splitting screech. If I remember correctly, it belongs to a C rank monster, the Vutezal.
Glaring at the ceiling, I bite down my bottom lip.
Don't I have enough problems already? No, of course not. Let's throw in this monster as a bonus as well!
I sigh and slowly sit down. Pulling the monster's body closer, I continue working on it.
It's fine. I can handle this. So long as the dungeon doesn't decide to become unstable.
"Looks like the last expedition missed that monster during clean-up after the dungeon got unstable," Matthew remarks.
They sure did, and now that monster is our problem to handle.