Asdras fought hard between moving his lips to taste the water in the mug or to speak under his breath about the river of questions flooding his mind. His eyes swept over the dimly lit inn, absorbing the place.

The balcony above loomed like a skeletal ribcage. Faded garlands of dried herbs hung in sporadic clumps, casting elongated shadows in the flickering lamplight. The air carried a pungent scent of roasting pork, mingling with the stale stench of ale-soaked wood.

The emptiness of the place pressed against him. At a corner table, a drunkard mumbled a slurred melody, too intoxicated to sit upright. His head lolled back, eyes half-lidded, lost in his private stupor.

Nearby, a young girl picked at her plate with trembling hands, her eyes darting towards Asdras, curiosity masked beneath the dark fabric covering her face. She shook slightly, a mix of hunger and fear evident in her furtive glances.

A woman swept the floor with mechanical precision, her head nodding in time to the innkeeper's nagging. The innkeeper’s voice droned on, a constant stream of complaints that seemed to bounce off her like rain off a well-worn cloak.

Asdras cut into his steak, lifting a piece to his mouth. The meat was tender, and its savory juices brought a brief solace to his growling stomach. His arms felt heavier than before, each movement an effort. He chewed slowly, savoring the fleeting comfort of the meal.

Closing his eyes, the murmurs and clatter of the inn began to blur, fading into the background. The voice in his head rose, layering doubts over answers in a relentless chant.

Asdras massaged his head, thoughts tumbling like leaves in a storm.

'So the goal of this all is to overcome each story and use the fragments to find where she was buried?' His fingers dug into his temples, the pressure a poor substitute for clarity.

'But this all... It's so strange! Like, if that guy and his group know all about this, why not resolve it themselves? Why us?' His eyes snapped open wide. 'Wait! Perhaps they are part of the guys who caused the Eruption!'

His fork almost slipped from his grasp. 'Wait, wait. It can be a harsh conclusion about all of this. But the scene of the mayor... the way the crowd was acting and the way his voice sounded... It's so strange, almost like the way the Deliverer used to tell us stories.'

He sighed deeply, a heavy nod accompanying his resignation. 'Well... it's only the first day here. I need to organize myself better. First, that last message about the current status... What is that? What does it really mean about us? So three of us died, and one was captured? But who?'

His frown deepened, his stomach churning with the bitterness of worry. 'Hell it! Who died? I hope it wasn't any of them...'

Fragments of memories, ones he had desperately tried to block, crept into his mind, attempting to escape their mental jail.

He remembered the face of that little girl, her petite frame, and her beautiful, innocent eyes, despite her ragged state. Her warm hands, a stark contrast to the cold world around them, blurred into a whirlpool of emotions — confusion, sadness, happiness, rage, and guilt.

Asdras shook his head, his hands pressing against his skull as if to physically force the thoughts away. When he finally managed to pull himself back to reality, he registered the girl from earlier standing in front of him, her eyes wide and curious.

The girl standing before him was a vision of paradox. Her eyes, an intense, crystalline blue, were wide with a mix of worry, anxiety, and a flicker of happiness. They darted around, trying to find some sense of stability in the chaos of her emotions.

She had a few freckles on her cheeks and dark brown hair that fell from a hood framing her face.

Her outfit was utilitarian, a sturdy jacket marked with a red cross on the sleeve, hinting at a role of some importance or care. Straps and buckles adorned her attire. Despite the practical nature of her clothing, she seemed out of place, like a delicate flower in a wasteland.

She opened her mouth to speak, but the words seemed to falter, her lips trembling slightly. She closed her mouth again, swallowing nervously, her hands twitching by her sides, before slipping into the pockets of her jacket as if seeking refuge.

Asdras, sensing her state, coughed awkwardly. "Hi, are you one of us?"

The girl drew a breath before nodding, her gaze steady but tinged with a hint of trepidation. Asdras found her behavior peculiar and decided to use the system to read her.

'A common, huh? It seems she experienced a lot this night. Hmm, might as well...'

"Do you want to sit with me?" Asdras asked, pointing at the chair in front of him.

The girl nodded again and clumsily sat down, her eyes never leaving his face. They stared at each other, the silence growing increasingly awkward. The drunkard fell from his table with a loud thud, breaking the tension momentarily. Asdras scratched his head, trying to find the right words.

"Hi, my name is Asdras. How are you?" He ventured, his voice gentle.

The girl fumbled around, looking left and right, before opening her mouth to speak. Her voice emerged as a muffled whisper, barely audible, as if she were speaking through a thick blanket.

"Sorry?" Asdras asked, confused.

She tried again, her effort visible as the veins on her neck strained, becoming prominent like blue rivers against pale skin. Her eyes reddened slightly with the exertion. This time, Asdras thought he heard words, but they were so low that he doubted they came from her.

'What in heaven is happening here?'

The girl abruptly stood, her knee striking the underside of the table with a loud thud. The impact sent a bit of water splashing over the rim of his mug.

She bent forward, closing the gap between them. Asdras caught a whiff of her fragrance — a herbal scent, clean and calming. Instinctively, he leaned back, his hands gripping the hilt of his sword.

Before he could utter a word, he heard her voice. It was low, but distinguishable.

"Sorry, my name is Nova... This is my strain, I'm sorry... It-it causes me to speak this low."

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Asdras’s mouth fell open. He felt a mix of emotions — conflicted between chuckling, asking a question, or letting the silence stretch. But words tumbled out faster than he could control them.

"This sucks..." he blurted out.

As soon as the words left his mouth, Asdras regretted them.

"Sorry... I know..." she said softly. "I have equipment for this... but I lost it."

"Lost it?" Asdras echoed, eyebrows knitting together.

"Yes, I was robbed."

Asdras's body stiffened, his hand tightening on the edge of the table as he leaned slightly forward, his eyes widening.

"Robbed? On the first day? How?"

"I awoke near a lake. An elder saw me and offered to bring me here. I was grateful, but as I was walking, the streets were full of people... I don't like crowds... So I went through the alleys... And a man took my backpack before I realized," Nova said, her eyes glistening with unshed tears.

"Sorry," she murmured, wiping at her eyes. "I'm confused. I didn't wish to be part of this, but they... and now I'm here, without my sister and without my equipment... When I saw you, I recalled your face. I'm happy to see someone like us here," she finished, lowering her head.

"And that message from that booklet... I'm scared. Three of us died, and one was captured... It's only the first day. I heard His Holiness's last words; It's a Corrupted Eruption... It never happened before."

Many questions swirled in Asdras's mind as he listened to Nova, leaving him unaware of the strange gazes the innkeeper and the woman were throwing their way.

"What do you mean by 'never happened before'?" he asked.

"I read it in the books in the church. I'm a Rosa student," she explained.

"Rosa? What is that?" Asdras asked, his curiosity piqued.

"It's a group that took inspiration from Saint Rose and vowed to study medicine and alchemy, serving the church and the communities," she replied.

Asdras scratched his nose, processing this new information. "Are you sure it never happened before?"

"Yes," she said, her face expressing unwavering conviction. "From what I've read, in the last ten thousand years, the most common Eruptions were between Tainted and Ravaged. Plagued and Doomed were labeled as rare. As for Cursed, there are only nine registered instances to this date."

'Well, this took a whole new turn,' Asdras thought.

"Do you know someone else here?" he asked.

"No." Nova sighed. "I knew by name the other participant the church sent, but we're from different fields. I was chosen because of my knowledge of medicine and basic alchemy."

Asdras pondered deeply. "I see. We need to find the others and talk about this challenge. I suspect this world works the same as ours in some aspects, but I'm not sure about it in general. We need to know when the full moon stage will be."

Asdras looked directly into her eyes, making her blush. "You're important to us, Nova, if you're good at medicine. A group of spiders attacked me on the way here. I used the straps from my kit. I don't feel pain because of my strain, but I think it was venomous. Can you check it for me?"

He paused, scratching his head awkwardly. "You know, before I turn into a spider myself or something."

Nova opened a smile, nodding. "Yes, I can do it. But the problem is... I don't have my kit anymore, and I don't have the resources to buy what I need..."

"Wait," Asdras said, glancing at her table. "If you don't have money, how did you order that?"

Nova's face flushed with embarrassment, her head lowering in shame. "I-I was hoping you have..."

'What? What sort of person does this?' Asdras thought, incredulous.

"So..." Asdras scratched his nose, trying to lighten the mood. "What would have happened if I wasn't here? Would you have charmed the innkeeper?"

Nova didn't laugh but instead looked down, her fingers twisting together. "I don't know..." she murmured, her voice barely audible. She sat back in her chair, adjusting her posture as she tried to regain some composure.

'I'm glad I won that yellow one... Well, whatever, at least I found a good person rather than those three bastards,' Asdras thought, his hands clenching into tight fists, knuckles whitening with restrained anger.

Nova's eyes widened slightly, and she drew back, her shoulders hunching as if to make herself smaller. Her hands gripped the edge of the table, her fingers trembling.

"Sure, isn't a problem," Asdras flashed a reassuring smile. "I have money. Do you have a place to stay?"

Nova shook her head, the movement small and tentative.

"Okay, I'll ask the innkeeper for one more room," Asdras said, his tone gentle to soothe her evident fear.

The drunkard wobbled to his feet, his movements a clumsy dance as he stumbled through the inn. He weaved and swayed, narrowly avoiding tables and chairs with an unsteady grace. His steps were erratic, his feet dragging and scuffling on the wooden floor, as if he were moving through water.

As he neared Asdras's table, a pungent smell accompanied him — a strong brew mingled with the sweet and damp scent of earth. The combination was overpowering, causing Asdras to wrinkle his nose.

The drunkard stopped at a beam, leaning heavily against it with his mug in hand. He began to sing, his voice slurred and thick, words tumbling over each other in a disjointed melody.

"Head full of needles, nails, and pain. He comes to bring the storm and rain. Calamity's son, with eyes like flames. Punish us all in his dark name."

The innkeeper's reaction was immediate. He dropped the cup he was polishing, an expensive one, which shattered into pieces as it hit the floor.

His face turned pale, eyes wide with fear, as he hurried over to the drunkard. With shaking hands, he grabbed the man's arm and began to drag him towards the door.

The woman sweeping the floor reacted with a similar fear. Her hands trembled so violently that the broom slipped from her grasp, clattering to the ground. She took a step back, her eyes darting around the room as if expecting something terrible to happen.

Asdras's expression mirrored his inner turmoil, with eyebrows knitting together and lips parted in confusion. He glanced at Nova, who was staring blankly ahead, her eyes unfocused.

'What was that?' Asdras thought. 'As soon as he said that... the innkeeper and that woman...'

The innkeeper returned, sweating and cursing under his breath. He wiped his forehead with a trembling hand as he approached Asdras's table. "We're closin'. Yours was paid with the room, but I need hers too."

"I'll pay hers too. Also, I need another room for her," Asdras replied.

"Okay, but we don't have another room, only yours," the innkeeper said, his gaze shifting to Nova. "If ya want, you can pay half for her to stay in yours."

Nova's eyes widened, her hands twisting in her lap as she glanced down, a flush spreading across her cheeks. Asdras scratched his nose, then turned to look at her. "Are you okay with that? We can take turns sleeping."

A tense silence threatened to rise, but the innkeeper's intense stare and the impatient stomping of his feet forced Nova to nod in agreement.

"Okay, we'll take that," Asdras said, pulling a gold coin from his pocket and handing it to the innkeeper.

The innkeeper took the coin with an annoyed grunt, shouting to the woman, "Three 10 white ones, two 5 white ones, and eight 1 white ones!"

The woman quickly brought the exchange, handing it to Asdras while the innkeeper fetched the 'Closed' sign to finish the day. Just as he was about to hang it, the door burst open. A boy stumbled in, supporting another who was breathing heavily, one visibly wounded.

"Please, we need a room; we have money. Please," the boy pleaded.

Asdras's expression shifted from a deep furrowed brow to wide eyes and parted lips. "Wait! You're here... and what happened to him?"