As it turned out, Grim was pretty simple. He got what he wanted and turned into a giant teddy bear immediately after. You really can’t judge a demon by their cover as he pulled Cyrus and Peluna into a tight bear hug. It was warm and Cyrus felt pretty awkward but he let it happen, plus Peluna seemed to be pretty happy about the circumstances so there was little to be said.
Wisely choosing not to object, Cyrus waited until Grim finished his bear hug and released them both. The previous mood was overlapped with a feeling of ease and comfort, welcoming Grim into the party was more uplifting than he had expected. The duo turned trio had spent more than enough time bonding by this point, sharing experiences and getting to know one another a little better. Grim had been able to quickly pick up that Cyrus was fairly closed off about his past and it was obvious that Peluna also lacked that kind of information. Whenever Grim asked a question that poked at the past, Peluna also would get a hopeful look in her eye, though Cyrus never came through a single time.
He didn’t feel bad about not sharing, it was stranger to him that people were open to talking about their past so much easier in this world. Maybe he was the strange one, but that didn’t matter all that much. Regardless, his sights were focused on the first goal of the group. Serence and Billo.
The elf and dwarf were the lowest prey in the chain of command, having been under the employ of the Guild Master and slaughtering their own party ruthlessly, they could not be allowed to live. At the very least, out of all their targets these two would be the lowest leveled as well. Even if they had no real information, perhaps revenge would make him feel better. That empty hole in his chest filled surrounded by anger and resentment needed some focus. Who better to take it out on then those bastards?
There had been no reason to bury the fallen, as the dungeon always took care of its own. It was rumored that the supposed dungeon core absorbed the souls of any who died in order to fuel its power, but as always this was unproven. Another mystery that needed to be solved, that one could wait another hundred levels or so though.
The trio picked themselves up off the ground after some time and Peluna was able to mostly heal the two of them, having had more than enough time to recover her magic. Thankfully, Grim and his party hadn’t been down in the dungeon all that long so he knew the way out and back to the surface. The walk out of the anthill was fairly quiet, not a single living ant could be found inside as if any workers or warrior left had abandoned ship after the death of the Prince. Cyrus wasn’t all that interested in finding out where they had gone either, so long as this Lord was involved he didn’t want to make any further business down here.
Stepping out of the anthill, he and Peluna were greeted with a familiar yet old sight, the massive cavern with several mounds stretching miles across. It was more barren as well, likely also due to the death of the Prince but that was also just speculation. There was no longer any need to rush, being out of danger for the first time in while made Cyrus feel uneasy. He hadn’t had time to drop his guard in a while, the paranoia had long since set in his mind. His eyes darted from side to side, expecting some sort of ambush to come out at any second. His body was tense, resting his hand on the handle of his sword as if he needed to draw it at the sight of movement.
Peluna must’ve been able to see the tension in his body and she slowed down to match his speed. Her gaze was questioning, asking if he was doing alright without saying the actual words. His words were on the tip of his tongue but it was as if he couldn’t find the way to say them. It wasn’t like he didn’t want to express his thoughts and what he was feeling to her, but it made him feel uneasy to do so, like he was tearing his own heart out for someone else to look.
“You don’t have to bottle it up Cyrus, I can tell you’re bothered being back here. Do you want to talk about it?” Her tone was soft, curious but not demanding at the same time. She didn’t want to force him out of the shell he had so carefully crafted.
“I just… feel like we’re going to be attacked. This whole fight with Serence… with other people before you… is taking a toll on me. I’m sorry if it’s making you uncomfortable.” It was strange for him to feel apologetic like he was now, goes to show how much feelings suck. Normally he wouldn’t talk like this and just be blunt, but something about her nature made him unable to do so.
His apology had an effect judging by her surprised expression, it flickered away and was replaced with concern instead. “No, no of course not!” She denied shaking her head eagerly. “I’m happy that you told me, it’s not good that you’re so paranoid. The bad guys won’t always be out to get you, it’s good to relax.”
For whatever reason, her smile was putting him more at ease, his hand fell of the handle of his sword and hung by his side. It felt off putting when his arm was relaxed but he chose to do as Peluna suggested anyways. Her smile only widened further when he listened to her words and his heart started to pound heavily. For whatever reason, the comfort she was giving him only made him queasier, like his stomach was clenching and turning.
Even while feeling like this, he couldn’t make himself turn away or shrug her off again. Looking at her in some small ways seemed to remind him of Trinity, in part he hated that feeling as much as he relished the treasured memory. It’s not like Peluna was at fault for the way his stomach churned, but it wasn’t a topic that he wanted to broach with her. Not yet anyways.
There was always one good way out of a nervous topic, change the subject. “Anyways, we’re almost at the surface so we should focus.”
Cyrus wasn’t so oblivious as to not catch the look of disappointment on her face when he changed the subject but she dropped it all the same. Throughout the entire walk, Grim had wisely chosen to remain at the front of the pack and not include himself in their talk. That wasn’t to say he couldn’t hear them talking or anything like that, sometimes the best thing you could say was nothing. Or the safest for that matter.
Gradually, the anthills fell out of sight as the trio rounded one of the tunnels and the tunnels narrowed once again as they traveled upwards. An old but very welcome sight came into view after just a few minutes, the original pit that’s used to descend into the dungeon. Looking up, Cyrus was able to see the light from the sky searing down into the dungeon, just barely giving any light into the depths of the underworld. Truthfully, Cyrus wanted nothing more than to sprint topside as fast as he could, being stuck underground for so long was far outside of his enjoyment barrier. Though, if he already spend weeks down here what was another 10 minutes?
The trio rounded their way up the circular staircase towards the surface. Gradually the sun became more prominent and felt blinding especially to both Cyrus and Peluna. Spending so long without any real sunlight was a difficult adjustment, going back to having an abundance of sunlight was far worse. It was like having a flashlight shone directly into his eyes from point blank. That wasn’t to say he was complaining, the more they rose, the greener came into view. The tops of trees with gentle green leaves swaying in the wind, what’s more was the breeze itself. Like a brush of fresh air filling his senses and overtaking his entire body. The scents of the world became known, no longer was he in a bloody inferno but now an open world with more possibilities.
The rest of the walk had been pretty mundane, after arriving on the surface Peluna was practically kissing the ground, not that Cyrus blamed her after all. If he wasn’t in the presence of others he might have been doing the same thing. Going from walking on hardened rock and sand to the soft crunch of the grass was wonderful on its own. Even though he was excited to be back on the surface, this was where the real work began.
There was always the chance that he or Peluna would run into an unsavory type. Mainly those being anyone from Serence or Billo’s party who thought that they were dead. Suddenly reappearing after being declared so might cause problems that the three of them weren’t equipped to handle yet. The solution was pretty easy, they needed disguises in order to prevent them from being identified. This would allow them to access all the economic resources that came from Twilight without running the risk of being seen. Additionally, if they chose to do something… drastic, Cyrus didn’t want to be found out.
Cyrus wasn’t sure that if he saw Serence in public he wouldn’t just cut him down then and there. Something about nearly being killed skewed his point of view. Their first destination in town was the armory, taking the most direct possible as to be seen by the least number of people possible. The quicker they were able to get masks the safer they would be. The town was bustling as always, people rushing and bumping into one another to get from place to place. It was nice to see so many races integrating with one another so well, this kind of equality would never be seen on earth. He was sure if other certain other humans were here than the prejudice would come easy. Earth wasn’t exactly known for being all inclusive. Thankfully, Cyrus had no such notion as to act like a child.
Finally arriving after a bit of weaving through a crowd, it was exactly as he remembered it. Walls lined with weapons and a variety of armor pieces, coupled with sorted accessories to match the needs of any true adventurer. While he would love to buy many of the products available, therein lied the issue of money. Grim thankfully, had everyone covered as he had looted the cosmic pouches of his fallen comrades before they had left. At least one of them had been thinking ahead, pooled together they had 40 gold and the 15 silver that Cyrus still had left over from his herbs.
Cyrus was internally debating on if he should ever bring the pair back to his garden. He genuinely wanted to and at the very least trusted Peluna more than anyone else, but the thought of betrayal was too much. If it happened again, from someone he trusted especially, there would be no going back for him. It was an understatement to say that he was barely holding himself together even now.
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The focus for now needed to stay on masks, he had been thinking on what he was going to wear and came up with a pretty good idea. He walked up to the clerk while his two companions were browsing the collections available. If they needed masks, might as well make it stylish at the same time. No point in wearing something you disliked for who knows how long.
The clerk himself was to no surprise a dwarf. Wait was that racist? “You do custom jobs here?” Cyrus asked the short but beefy man.
“We do, depending on what it is for a small convenience fee of course.” His smile was greedy, Cyrus felt like he was walking into a scam at first sight. There was however, an easy solution to a problem such as that.
The dwarf dropped his greedy and frivolous smile right away after Cyrus began to release a bit of aura. His entire posture changed in a way. “But of course, for a distinguished customer such as yourself, we can waive that fee! Please give me the materials you want to use for the item.”
“I’m glad we could come to an agreement.” Cyrus smirked with delight at the change. Reaching into his cosmic space, he pulled the Mandibles of the Prince he was given. “I want this material made into a mask; the leftover can be used for any more pieces of armor.”
The dwarf’s eyebrows shot up as he examined the solid boss armor. “Oh ho! Impressive, I didn’t think you were worth your salts with the way you looked, guess my first judgement was wrong. Since you brought me the materials, the large part of the cost is offset. All my people need to do is forge them for say…12 gold?”
Suddenly, the need for having charisma as a stat made sense. Until now, he never really made use of any bartering or conversation skills besides light heartedly talking with his companions. Talking was far less of his thing than swinging his sword around was. Not that kind of sword.
Thankfully, Grim was not far behind and gave a thumbs up as he browsed a section on his own. With someone else’s opinion in mind, he felt far safer making the deal than before. Wasting no time, he forked over the gold and rejoined his two companions after they finished making their purchases.
They had bought pre-made masks. Peluna wore one befitting of a healer, several fabric drapes with several bright, transparent, colors stretched over the upper half of her face. It did leave her eyes and mouth in view, but the rest of her main features were well covered. Grim seemed to have far less style and chose to go for the more practical choice befitting a tank of his stature. He was strong and so would be his mask. Made of a harder silicon, it was silver and bronze colored with holes at the mouth to allow for flow of breathing. At least if he took a head shot, it would surely hurt less, but only a little.
The dwarf had promised to send one of his people over to their room at the Inn with the gear Cyrus was having made for him. At least that service had been free of charge, like a peace offering for his earlier attitude. Not that he was going to complain about a little extra service of course, who would? The point is, he planned on basically hiding out and getting some rest until he had a mask to work with. From there on, his little rag tag group of misfits would start hunting.
Going outside it was easy to see the streets were beginning to clear up, during the day they had been bustling with activity and many merchants yelled out to sell their wares. As the day progressed, those stalls and stores naturally closed down and gave people less of a reason to be wandering about. Thieves were apparently not much of a thing in many towns, as this was a quick way to get yourself killed. Get caught by the wrong high leveled person and you’ll be executed pretty easily.
At least the Inn was only a couple of buildings down the row, everything needed for adventurers being so close was very convenient. Upon entering, the Silent Inn was exactly how he had remembered it from the last time he was here.
Loud as almighty hell.
Two full tables with several people sitting at them were unconscious from what was likely the aftermath of whatever drinking game they had been playing. For a brief moment, Cyrus wondered what the drinking age here was… if there was even one to begin with. Considering that you can begin dungeon diving at 15, which seemed likely to be the alcohol age as well if there was one. A quick question to Grim wiped that suspicion away, it was either turn 15 or see over the bar. Whichever came first.
Grim took a look back at Cyrus before they approached the counter. “What’s the deal boss, are we sharing a room or should we get separate ones?”
It wasn’t a hard question, there was practically zero chance that he was going to spend a night in the same room as these two. Before he could respond, Peluna made the answer first.
“We’ll just get a three bed room, they usually have a few rooms with extra beds in them.” Peluna answered in his stead. Which was not happening.
“Uh, there’s no way that’s happening. I actually enjoy my privacy thank you very much and enjoy having a room to myself.”
“She’s got a point Cyrus, plus we’ll save a little money by using the same room. On a side note, we’ll be able to bond a little more.” Grim agreed with Peluna, much to the chagrin of Cyrus.
Looking between the pair, clearly he was outvoted against his better wishes. “Fine.” he groaned out. “Have it your way, but if either of you snore than I’ll just knock you out.”
Grim chuckled at his clear disdain for sharing a room and Peluna’s only response was to roll her eyes at his answer. He knew that his two companions were not at all taking him very seriously at this point. At the same time it was sort of relieving, even in a small way he felt more and more like he found a triangle he may be able to trust.
The trio walked up to the counter and paid for three nights in advance along with the meals included, their pockets were beginning to run low but Cyrus intended to solve that problem sooner rather than later. He just needed to decide if he was going to show them the garden or not, it was a tougher choice than he wanted to admit as it was his only safe haven.
“Your room will be on the top floor of the building, someone will be up with your food as soon as it’s ready. Enjoy your stay travelers.” The clerk told them, handing Grim the key as he was the one handling the money.
The room itself proved to be far better than the single room he got for himself a month ago. The room was twice the size in order to make the space for the three beds and there was a part of the room walled off to act as a changing and bathing area. Speaking of bathing, all three of them desperately needed that said bath, they had spent so long underground and only having river water that it was borderline disgusting how he felt. Even the ant blood was still stained on his clothes, which only hit him just now as the high of being in a dangerous area was slowly wearing off. While the town wasn’t safe for him yet, it was better than having to look out for monsters.
Cyrus bathed first, as the other two actually had much more equipment and personal items in their bags since they’d been on this world longer than him. The bath was pretty incredible due to the wonders of magic. A faucet used magic to heat the water so it was steaming before it filled the tub, whatever enchantments were on the faucet also made the water exceptionally clean as well. After he was done, the drain pulled all the water in automatically without any effort on his part. Magic was almost too convenient.
Almost.
While Grim had been taking his turn, Cyrus was snapped out of his relaxation after hearing a knock on the door. Getting up, he had been pleasantly surprised to find that his armor pieces had been completed already. The human delivery man gave him a box filled with a finished mask, a pair of greaves of his arms and a chest plate. The idea behind the armor pieces were that they were all light but extremely tough, able to take solid hits without slowing him down too much during a fight. Each piece was black as the ants were, looking into them was almost like looking into darkness. As much as Cyrus wanted to try them on, that could wait until tomorrow since he already bathed for the night.
A few minutes later a second knock came to the door, as they had been expecting one last guest for the evening. Grim answered this time and a waitress with fluffy brown hair came into the room, the same one as last time when he stayed here. The outfit really did its employees justice, though Cyrus did his best to keep his eyes off and anywhere else. The wall suddenly became very interesting.
Unfortunately, God did not favor him this day and her eyes somehow managed to find his. The recognition in them made it clear that she remembered him from last time and gave a light but suggestive smile. He prayed that she wouldn’t say anything but found that his Luck stat may have been far too low to help him.
“Wonderful to see you again, I don’t suppose you want me to stay with you this time? Others being around is no issue for me.” The waitress’s voice was dripping with a sultry tone and inwardly Cyrus found himself frozen for the first time. Now it was his Charisma that was failing him, the neglected stats were coming back to haunt.
Cyrus became keenly aware of eyes boring into the side of his head, risking a glance he found that Peluna’s arms were crossed and a frown graced her features. The eyes that were normally so bright were narrowed, waiting for his answer. Cyrus believed that he was supposed to be the strong one in the group, but his instincts were screaming that he was in a dangerous position. Like if he made the slightest misstep than he would meet his end right here.
He was scared, oh so scared.
Sweat dripped down the side of his face and he gulped in preparation. Smiling weakly at the waitress. “Thanks for the offer, perhaps next time.”
Wrong move.
The aura coming off Peluna worsened without him even needing to look and he also became aware of snickering coming from where Grim was laying with his food. No thanks to his male companion for helping him out or anything. Promising inwardly to get back at Grim later, he turned his attention back to the waitress.
She was smirking, amused and her eyes full of anticipation. “Then I’ll look forward to next time, get a good rest!”
The moment she left the room a pillow smacked him in the side of the head, not at all being painful but catching him by surprise. “What’s gonna happen next time? Want to tell me about last time Cyrus?” Peluna asked with a voice he couldn’t quite place, while it wasn’t angry the tone wasn’t kind either. Regardless, he felt the need to be careful.
“There was no last time, I swear. N-No next time either, just a slip of the tongue.” He frantically answered her, knowing if he didn’t this would be the end.
“That’s what they all say Cyrus!” Grim called out unhelpfully, fueling Peluna even more.
“Grim’s right, good thing we got a room together or who knows what you would’ve told her.” Peluna huffed in response and began prodding her food.
This was appalling, neither of them took his side. “Come on, what kinda guy do you take me for?”
“You’re not off the hook, but there better not be any next time with that waitress, got it?” Peluna told him sternly. “Not unless you want to make me mad.”
This night was not going how he expected it to. Not that he was sure what to expect in the first place. “How would that even make you ma-“
“Got it?”
Cyrus sighed, accepting his defeat. Peluna would get her way, though secretly he might have accepted one of these nights if he had his own room. Not that he would dare tell Peluna that, she already cut him off. “Yes, I’ve got it.”
“Good, now eat your food.”
Grim’s only response was just to start laughing while Peluna ate with a triumphant smirk on her face. Cyrus was the strongest among them, yet here he was getting bashed around.