"Hey. Heeeey. Heyyyy, leaaaader? Hey, hey! I know you can hear me! Heeeeey!"

Remilia continued walking without a single trace of annoyance, as she headed towards what seemed to be Radha Hall. Following her were three girls- Valeria the Landsknecht, Scarlet the Landsknecht, and Rin the Medic. Valeria was currently plaguing her with a ridiculously pointless question that, by all means, annoyed the other two girls somewhat, but didn't seem to even enter their recruiter's ears.

"Knock it off, Val..." Scarlet muttered. "Can't you tell she's annoyed?"

The brunette raised an eyebrow. "Annoyed? More like, I don't think she can even hear me!" She turned back to the hooded girl. "Heeeey! Remirez! Remiremi! Remrem! Rimromramrum?"

"T-those aren't even..." Rin mumbled.

Remilia suddenly stopped walking and looked up as she stood in front of the entrance. "...this?"

Valeria blinked. "Huh? Oh, uh, yeah. This is Radha Hall. Not too impressive, huh?" she asked.

Rolling her eyes, Scarlet stepped forward. "Don't forget what you're here for, now..." she said. "The Guildmaster told you, right? To officially qualify as an explorer, you'll need to do a test mission issued by the Radha first. There's nothing to worry about though, it's usually just-"

"Forget that, I'm still asking an important question here!" Valeria interrupted. "Why didn't you go for the name 'Axyl? Or 'Deathclaw'? Or something cooler!?" the brunette asked. Remilia blinked. "I- I mean, 'Mortem'? Don't you think Mortem sounds kinda stupid? What the heck is Mortem?"

Rin scratched her head. "I-if I recall... it's 'death' in one of the ancient forgotten language... L... Latin?"

Remilia blinked. "..." I thought it sounded pretty nice... she replied in her head.

"...huh." Valeria scratched her head. "I guess that's kinda cool... a bit."

"Guess you're not the only weirdo," Scarlet muttered.

"Excuse me!?"

Watching the two bicker was something she already became used to. With that, Remilia turned around and headed into Radha Hall.

The others soon followed after her, with two of the girls still being loud and disruptive.

Inside, they were greeted by an orange-haired man with glasses. "Greetings. Welcome to Radha Hall, center of Etria's government."

"Hi," most of the girls greeted.

The man noticed Remilia and raised an eyebrow. "Oh? I see a new face. Are you new in Etria?" The girl nodded. "I see. You girls are perhaps a newly formed guild, I'm assuming?"

"Yep!" Valeria interjected. "We're the Mortem Guild!"

"M-Mortem?" the man repeated. He seemed to know the meaning as well. "Well... I guess everyone's entitled to their own naming desires." Chuckling, he readjusted his glasses. "My name is Quinn. I'm the subaltern in charge, and you'll be receiving your test... from me."

"Oooh, cool!" Valeria said. "Hurry and tell us, pal! I can't wait to finally kick some asses!"

"Hush, Valeria! You're being rude!" Scarlet hissed.

Quinn merely chuckled more, however. "No, no, it is alright. I like that energetic behavior, it's quite admirable." He pulled out some sheets of paper from his bag. "Let's see... are you well aware of the importance of mapping?" he asked.

The group of girls blinked.

He smiled. "Mapping the layouts of a dungeon floor helps us explorers know what to expect, especially for those who can finally venture deep into the labyrinth without the restrictions for safety." He handed the papers over to Remilia, who noticed they were blank map sheets. "Your duty is to map the first floor of the labyrinth. Are you girls up to it?"

"Hell yeah we are!" Valeria shouted.

"W-we are?" Rin asked.

"Well, it doesn't sound too difficult," Scarlet said. "Right?"

"...I, I guess?"

...it's just mapping, the red-head thought. How hard can it be?

Remilia took the papers and stuffed it inside her cloak... somewhere. "...thanks."

"It's no problem. Now," Quinn pointed outside, "you can't miss the labyrinth, so I probably won't need to give directions. Within the first floor's entrance, there should be a guard stationed there to refresh you on instructions and provide more details if necessary. That should be all."

"...understood." Remilia turned around. "...going now."

"So, uh... Remilia." The girl turned her head to the red-haired companion, who almost flinched from her slow mannerisms. "I, uh, wanted to ask. You're... a Hexer, right?"

"...mm," she voiced and nodded.

Valeria stared. "Oh, so that's why you look so creepy and depressing."

"..."

Scarlet sighed. "You're being rude again..."

Rin blinked. "U-um, sorry about her, Remilia... I- I don't think you're that scary though!" she said. "So, um... don't take it personally...?"

"...mm." Not like I really care.

They continued walking past the gates containing the labyrinth's entrance, an awkward silence surrounding their new leader.

She's quite the odd one... Scarlet mused. But at least she doesn't seem too... out of the world. She then glanced at her brown-haired friend, who was humming random tunes as she stomped forward energetically. Meanwhile, she's just too carefree about this...

"O-oh, look... I think that's the soldier that Mr. Quinn mentioned..." Rin pointed.

The group noticed a soldier standing just a short distance in front of them. He caught their eyes and waved. "You girls are the next ones, hm? Figures."

"Alright, pops. Tell us what to do," Valeria said.

"Weren't you listening to Mr. Quinn at all?" Scarlet asked. "We were given blank sheets, we need to map down the first floor's layouts, and then hand it back to him. There's pretty much nothing else."

"Exactly as the girl says," the soldier replies. "Are you the leader of your guild?"

"Eh... no, it's this girl," Scarlet said and pointed to Remilia. "She's... new to Etria, apparently."

The guard looked at the Hexer closely. "Hmm... I see. It's nice to meet you." He stepped aside for them. "Should you wish to start on your task... feel free to start anytime."

"Roger that!" Valeria shouted. "C'mon, I say we go straight forward!" she said and pulled Scarlet by the arm.

"H-hey, wait, Val!" Scarlet suddenly said. "Don't go too fast! Remember we have to map the floor!"

The brunette Landsknecht tilted her head. "Oh, is that so? Who's in charge of that, then?"

Remilia took out a sheet of paper. "...I'll map." She also took out a fancy pen given by the subaltern. Without any extra words, she began jotting down the structure of the area they were in, walking forward with short intervals of looking up to avoid walking into anything.

"...she's not so talkative, is she?" Valeria whispered.

"Yeah, unlike someone..." Scarlet muttered.

"You're mean."

Rin frowned. "W-wait, we'll lose her!" The orange-haired girl quickly sped her pace, catching up with her new leader. "Umm... s-shouldn't we take it slowly? T-there are monsters everywhere, after all..."

Remilia looked at Rin, her face void of emotion. "...need to finish. Fast."

"I... I see..."

Valeria suddenly grinned. "Hey, then why don't we split up?" she suggested, to which the others looked at her with confused expressions. "I mean, we could cover more grounds, and after meeting up again... you know. It's like putting two puzzle pieces together!"

When did you ever play with puzzle pieces? Scarlet wondered. "I mean... sure, that sounds fine, but we've literally just started. It'll be pretty dangerous."

"Oh, who cares?" Valeria laughed. "I'm sure we'll be fine. I mean, our buddy's a Hexer! She could just curse things to death, couldn't she?"

"Ugh, I knew you didn't do any research." Sighing, the red-head walked to her friend. "Listen, a Hexer doesn't kill using curses like those childish stories you hear. They use curses to weaken their opponents, to help others take the enemy down faster and easier."

"...what's the difference?"

Rin sighed. "I- I don't think she'll get it anytime soon..."

"Well, not like it matters!" Valeria quickly plucked four blades of grass from the ground. "Let's each pick from this, and the two shortest grass form a pair, then!"

"Now you're just being half-assed..." Scarlt muttered.

Remilia, who spent more time looking around and drawing the map whilst listening to her party members, nodded and picked one. "...hm."

"Y-you're fine with this?" Rin asked. The Hexer nodded, putting her at ease. "Then... I, I guess I'll go next." She pulled hers.

"Alrighty, Scar! You're the last one!" Valeria said and turned to her friend.

The girl rolled her eyes. "Ugh. Whatever." She hesitantly pulled hers.

Valeria than opened her hand to see the last blade of grass "Hm. Let's all compare sizes then." Everyone formed a circle and showed their respective blade of grass.

Scarlet blinked. "O-oh..." she grimaced, noticing hers and Remilia's were the shortest. "I... suppose I'll go with you, then."

"Mm."

...really silent and eerie. The girl turned to her other friends. "Rin, keep that idiot from doing anything stupid, okay?" she asked. "I'm slightly worried about your group, after all..." And I want to be in your place, damn it.

Rin nodded and smiled. "D-don't worry! I'm sure we'll be fine!" She turned around to talk to her temporary partner, but found the girl already rushing off. "...ah."

"...here," Remilia whispered and handed her a sheet of paper and the pen she was using. "To map."

"Oh... thanks, Remilia." Accepting what she was given, Rin quickly bowed and ran after the brown-haired Landsknecht, waving to the remaining two.

They stood together in silence, watching as the other girls disappeared from their sights.

"...sooooo... uh. What now?" Scarlet asked.

Remilia shrugged and turned around. Holding her partly-drawn portion of the floor's map, she continued on her way. "...keep going."

"I... I see." The Landsknecht followed her leader in awkward silence, mentally racking up a list of proper conversation starters. However, there was nothing she could think of that seemed alright. That was it- she knew nothing about her leader. Hmm... it would do well to get to know her, since we'll be a guild together now. "S-so, uh, Remilia."

The Hexer's head raised a bit, but she didn't even stop mapping the floor down, nor did she even turned around. "Mm?"

Scarlet scratched her cheek. "What, uh... what town did you come from?" she asked. "It's... not so often we get people travelling from faraway places to Etria just to explore the labyrinth, so you must be from a nearby town or village." She waited a few seconds before frowning. "W-well, I mean, if it's not too personal to touch on or anything... is it?"

"...mmhm." With that response, Remilia... went back to doing what she had already been doing.

...you didn't answer my question! Scarlet wanted to scream, but she held it in. "...w-well, that's fine too, I guess. Then..." What else could I ask? How about... "H-how about your hobbies?" she asked. "Surely you must, um, have something you enjoy doing in your free time?"

"...mm." Again, Remilia doesn't bat an eye to her.

"..." Scarlet sighed. Maybe I should reconsider her team... she thought. But Valeria's... Suddenly, some nearby bushes rustled. Scarlet whipped her head around instantly, reaching for her sword. "M-monsters already!?"

A number of humanoid creatures jumped out from the bushes, their claws sharpened and ready to kill. They lashed out towards the duo, who quickly stepped back and prepared for combat.

"S-stay behind me!" Scarlet exclaimed. "I...I'll handle this!"

"...I can..." the Hexer whispered, but the rest faded immediately as one of the mole-like creatures aimed at the red-head.

The Landsknecht swung her sword forward with a loud yell. Metal with claws clanged against one another, pushing both sides back. "I-it's strong...!"

Remilia stepped sideways. "...hrm!" Exerting a small amount of force, she lifted her arm and seemed to attempt to do something to do creatures. Barely a second of confusion passed by for the warrior before her opponents suddenly started screaming. "...Madness Curse..." Remilia said, as if anwer what she had been wondering in her mind.

Scarlet quickly looked back at the monsters, who all began screeching loudly and flailing around, attacking one another. Two unfortunately caught her in their radius and jumped towards her, claws ready once more. "N-not this time!" The Landsknecht jumped back from where she had been standing, then rushed forward to slash the monsters that were now standing where she was. The sword swiftly sliced through their the head of one of them, causing it to immediately fall down, whilst it continued to slice of the arm of the other creature. It let out a loud hiss and quickly regained its focus, glaring at her before retreating into the bushes.

Meanwhile, the other crazy-turned monsters were just about finishing up their panic battles, with only one of the mole monsters remaining amongst the groups of dead non-human bodies. It slowly turned to the two, blood staining its body. Letting out yet another screech, it rushed towards them again.

"...hmn!" Remilia exerted herself again and cursed the opponent once more. It quickly landed on the grass, taking a few drowsy steps before falling unconscious in front of them. Remilia turned to Scarlet and nodded. "...kill now."

"...o-oh. Right." The red-haired Landsknecht returned the nod and tiptoed over to the fallen creature. She raised her sword and struck down on it, jumping a bit when blood splashed at her legs. "...e-ew..."

Her new Hexer friend put a hand on her shoulder. "...fine?" she asked.

"Huh? Oh, um... I'm fine, I'm fine." She let out a sigh of relief as her hands stopped trembling. "It's just... this was quite new for me. I've... not actually ever participated in any real battles yet, same with Valeria..."

"...mm."

She grimaced. Again with the uninterested responses... Turning back to her friend, she saw Remilia already continuing the mapping process. She sighed, wondering if joining up with her was really the right choice. "Well, let's get back to work, I guess..." she said to no one in particular.

The two continued walking around aimlessly.

"...I like... singing," Remilia suddenly said. Her voice was extremely meek, but it still didn't go by unheard.

"..." Scarlet blinked. ...oh, that. She then smiled. "That's really nice," she remarked with energy. What the hell, so she's actually kinda normal...

"Come on, there's nothing to be scared of!" Valeria said as she dodged a couple of monsters resembling rats and butterflies. "What's the worse that could happen?"

Rin yelped in surprise and jumped sideways as another rat monster tried to bite into her. "P-people don't normally pick up dirty boots lying in the forest anyways!" she replied in a hurry. Another one rushed towards her, attempting to ram into her. The girl held her wooden staff to her chest, to which the rat pushed into- and by way of forces, she was in turn pushed down and her staff dropped. "N-no!"

The mouse readied to attack again, when a sword sliced its head off within seconds, effectively ending its rampage.

"Wow, you aren't good at this," Valeria commented. Then a last butterfly creature flew up to her head, but she quickly turned around and sliced it in half. "Wooo! Got 'em all!"

"H-how are you so nonchalant about this...?" Rin whined. She pushed herself up and grabbed her staff. "This is so d-dangerous... on many levels..."

"Oh, you're just being a sissy," the Landsknecht replied. "Jot down the map and let's go! We've got plenty more places to check out!"

Sighing, the orange-haired Medic pulled the other piece of paper she got and began drawing the structure of the path they were in. After her friend's impatient jogging, they started moving along the area.

"But wow... it's a lot weirder than I imagine," Valeria said.

Rin raised her head. "W... what is?"

The brunette looked around. "I mean, I know this is a forest, but... this place seems so... artificial," she said. "And, like... these monsters are like animals. But so... different."

She's getting all deep again... Rin thought. "W-well, I mean... yeah. That's... part of the mystery that everyone wants to find out."

"True, true." Valeria smiled and stood tall, enjoying a slight breeze. "And I wanna know it all!"

"Um... r-right." Rin didn't slow down in her mapping at all. "...say, will it be okay to leave the bodies of the monsters...?" she asked.

The brunette turned around. "Hm?"

"I-isn't kind of... you know... not good for the environment to leave them around...?"

"Oh, that. Don't worry about it!" Valeria said. "I heard from some people before that the corpses of monsters, well... they sorta disappear eventually," she said. "Like, literally, one guild was camping around an area where they had just killed a bunch of monsters, and suddenly, their bodies, like... dissolved into dust or something."

Rin frowned. "...that sounds a bit crazy. Maybe they actually... b-burnt it to ashes?" she suggested.

"Hm... no, I don't think so." A few seconds later, Valeria remembered something. "Oh, I think they also said it's a bit troubling if you forget to harvest good materials from the monsters."

"...h-harvest... materials?" Rin asked. Oh, I think I remember Mr. Leabo saying some Medica potions can be made with monster materials... "...wait, does that mean..."

Valeria glanced at the various mice and butterfly bodies lying around. "Yep. We're going to get them all before they disappear!"

Rin gulped. "...I-I'll be doing the map... how about you do that?"

"Eh, sure. Don't get all sad about missing the fun after-party then."

Everything's fun for her, huh... the Medic thought as she looked away from the sight of her comrade plunging her knife into the corpses. The sound generated by the fleshy meat wasn't something she could block out though, especially when her hands were busy drawing the map. She mentally winced as more disgusting noises were heard.

"Yuck, look at all these blood and mouse... mice... rodent guts."

P-please don't describe that... Rin wanted to say.

Valeria snickered. "Man, I bet Scarlet's having fun with our leader right now," she mused. "All this scavenging is amazing."

"...you know, I just realized something," Scarlet said. "We haven't... actually collected any valuable materials from the monsters that we've killed. Like, at all."

Remilia shrugged. "...not important..." she said.

The Landsknecht raised an eyebrow. "No, no, it's actually really important. Selling those things help us get more fame, and it also helps the town prosper and make more new stuff, and it might even help us get to meet the Chieftain of Radha faster! Do you know what an honor it'd be to rise that quickly and meet the Chieftain?"

She then noticed the Hexer's hands stopped. "...Chieftain?"

"Oh, you don't know him?" The redhead chuckled. "Chieftain Visil's the man keeping everything in this town together. He's governed over Etria his entire life, supposedly, and he's well-respected by everyone!" She looked away, a small smile forming. "Even I... even someone like me... I'd really love to meet him."

"..." Remilia got up. She turned around and started backtracking her steps,

"...u-um, Remilia?" Scarlet voiced. "We already mapped down those places... w-we just came from there..."

"...materials," Remilia said. "...let's get."

The Landsknecht's eyes widened, before she smiled. "Of course!" she said and quickly rushed besides her leader. "Well, it'll get a bit dirty, so I'll do it. You can keep guard and tell me if anymore monsters are coming. But hey, this is a bit surprising."

"...mm?" The Hexer tilted her head, confused. "What... is?"

Scarlet grinned. "You've only just came here, but you already want to meet the chieftain, right?" she asked. "I mean, I understand perfectly. He's got this... aura around him- no, not just him, anything that mentions him, that he's a very reliable and kind man. Doesn't it just make you want to earn his praise?"

Remilia looked down. "...I..." She remained quiet for a moment, before looking up again. "I have to... meet Visil. At... at all costs."

"Hmmm... then let's get our guild stronger and more well-known, eh?" Scarlet said with a cheerful smile. Remilia nodded, expression unchanging, but she let it slide as she spotted some of the corpses and headed over to it.

True to her duty, Remilia stood close by and looked around for any monsters. "...hm." Getting ambushed now would be troublesome...

"...hm. That's funny." Scarlet wiped a trickle of sweat away. "I could've sworn we killed way more monsters than this..." she said.

The Hexer turned slightly. "...monster bodies disappear. ...eventually."

"Oh, is that so?" Scarlet asked and did another body count. They really were, as implied, less than she remembered slaying. "...well, I guess I should hurry and harvest from these, then."

Reaching her dagger into the mouth of a dead rat monster, she sliced hard enough to remove some tooth. Then she began cutting the hide off the body. Glancing back, she smiled nervously. "Hey, um... do you have a pouch or anything inside your, uh, cloak?"

"..." Remilia shook her head, but winced a bit as she realized their next dilemma- where to store the materials? More importantly, who's going to carry the icky, slimy, raw flesh of rat and mole corpses?

"Oh... oh well, then." Scarlet looked back at the body and scratched her head. "Hmm... I guess we could just ask that soldier for a pouch later. If he has any." She sighed. "I'll carry it for now, I suppose... ew."

The Hexer mentally sighed with relief as she watched her team member move onto slicing the snouts off of the butterfly corpses.