Dungeon Masters and Dragon Riders

Chapter 5: Magic is In the Air; From Dusk to Sun-Dawn

Helmsmann Adventure Hall

Mess Deck

The mess Hall was flooded with Adventurers either starting the day or having come back from the job itself. They were enjoying the meals that were being served by the waiters, human or demis, that delivered them. The camaraderie between friends and comrades was shown as they had their meals to start the day. Though it was a lonesome one for Alex as he sat at his table. Though it wasn't as lonely as Ceruleas was rolling on the table, waiting for his food to arrive. Alex was waiting for the others to show up as he figured like before they would find him like they did yesterday. Though there was another addition, as Twilight was now sharing his room with him. And it was kinda awkward as it was pretty small to boot. At the moment, they were waiting for Twilight to get finished cleaning up; apparently all they could afford was a bucket full of clean wash water and rags, meaning they had to strip down and wash themselves off one at a time. Alex was first with Ceruleas and now Twilight was finishing up. Though Ceruleas joked that the two could wash each other faster, but that just caused the two to blush and have it not be awkward.

For now, the waitress walked over with their dishes, as she smiled, her cat ears and tail fluffing up, "Here you go, good sir." She then set the two dishes down gently, as she walked off to go serve others.

Alex smiled at the catgirl, while Ceruleas pounced at his dish, 'Cat ears! Cat Tails! Cat Girls! I'm still in heaven! Thank you mysterious force that sent me here once again!' But then he thought on it as he asked himself, 'I wonder if today's the day we'll get a demi-human in our group. Maybe a female too? Oooh I hope it's a racoon girl! I hope she lets me floof her tail.'

"I'm in a nightmare!" Ceruleas cried out as Alex was given his undivided attention, as he saw his blue cat friend grimacing at his dish, "This isn't the dish I wanted! It's like they're tormenting me on purpose every day!"

Alex looked down and saw that his dish was a plain and measly bowl of what appeared to be oatmeal, and Ceruleas's fish dish was three scrawny sardines. He remembered, "Oh yeah, we don't have enough money."

"What happened to the money we had yesterday from some of the stuff you pawned off from the Goblin's Trove," Ceruleas reminded him. There was still a lot of stuff to go through, but it was enough to sell for money, and he did keep a little bit of the gear for himself until he could afford better gear.

Alex sighed as he had to remind the little furball, "We used half the money to rent that box room here to stay and sleep in. And then the rest we used to get you that all-fish feast for yourself. Remember?"

Ceruleas paled at that, as he sat down and sighed, "We need money all over again."

Alex took a deep breath, and pulled out something, "Well, that's today's agenda."

Ceruleas lit up as he blinked, "You got a job already?"

"Yep, we just need to wait for the others, and…" Alex began, until a familiar voice called out.

"Alex," Twilight called out as she joined up with them, now freshly clean and dressed. At that moment though, the other girls walked on over to the table. Twilight sat down next to Alex while Alisa sat down and scooped up Ceruleas who was nibbling at a sardine, as Alisa asked, "So you three started out with breakfast today?"

"If you can call it breakfast," Ceruleas grumbled.

Ming seemed eager to start the day, as she pumped her fist, "So what do we have for our quest today? Something involving ruins? Maybe even fight off bandits!"

Ember adjusted her glasses calmly as she replied, "Am I the only one that feels this was a repeat of what we discussed a few days ago?"

Alex sighed, "Well, you'll be happy to know that I found a job we can start safely today. And it's right up Twlight and Ember's alley." He then pulled out the flier, as he explained, "Apparently all we need to do is find a book and retrieve it for the owner's family. And it's a local job, so we don't have to travel too far."

"Wait, hold on," Ember replied, not looking happy about it, "We're looking for a book? I know that the last job wasn't exactly the best, and that we got some pretty nifty items, but… seriously? When did we become a lost and found group?"

"Guys, wait," Alex replied as he tried to reason with them.

"I feel like my skills as a fighter are being wasted on this," Ming replied. "I mean, I know we're not prepared, but still…"

Alisa thought on it and smiled, "Well, I don't really mind at all. It does seem like a break from what we went through, but still…"

Alex looked over the request with a neutral expression. 'It's not really a quest to help the girls learn to fight,' Alex thought to himself, 'They could use the cash and there would be more time for training once the job is finished.' He looked at his teammates. "I admit, this isn't the kind of job for combat training, but it's easy cash for supplies. And some of us are kinda low on funds right now. Myself mainly," Alex said to them trying to win them over, "Plus the job shouldn't take all day so we have time for training afterwards. But we're a party, so we should decide together."

All the girls look at each other with mixed expressions as the thought of a simple cleaning job. One that seemed like one not even intended for adventurers, even ones in training.

Twilight looked at the others and could tell they were not that motivated about the job. "He's right though. We need money just as much as we need experience," Twilight added as she agreed with Alex, "Besides, there are worse jobs than just cleaning someone's house. We could've ended up cleaning the sewers."

This bit of info made everyone shiver at the thought of working in the sewers hunting or cleaning. From the stench of trash to the darkness concealing discarded feces and giant rats. It was the kind of job that rookies would rather hunt goblins out in the open than in the dirtiest place in the city.

As the party thought about that option, Twilight maintained a warm smile as she waited for an answer. 'But considering all we have to do is find a book, I don't mind. The client could have a huge library. Imagine all the news books that I've never seen before,' Twilight thought with joy at the idea of seeing new books to read and organize.

Ember looked at Twilight with a stoic expression. 'She's more excited for the books than job itself,' Ember thought to herself. She's known Twilight since the Mages Academy and knew that her friend's passion for books was as strong as ever. Ember sighed, "I have to agree with them. It's not the most experience fulfilling mission, but it's better than not doing any work at all."

"Ember is right," Alisha said as she nodded in agreement, "Even if we're not fighting monsters, we're still helping people. That's one of the things adventurers do after all."

Ming was silent with her arms crossed. 'Finding a book.. how is that supposed to help me get better at fighting. Don't get me wrong, the last job was a learning experience, but still… I wish we could do something that'll showcase my skill and raise my level,' she thought to herself not liking the sound of this. Suddenly, the memory of her first job fighting goblins flashed before her eyes. The loss of her childhood friend, her teammates on the verge of death, her failure to save anyone, and almost becoming a sex slave for the goblins. The pain of that disastrous job caused all confidence to fade and turn into pain as she hugged herself. "I'm... I'm good with it," Ming said to the others with a quiet voice, "My father used to say 'training is everything and everything is training'. I mean, the last job…"

"Please don't remind me," Alex grimaced, as a cloud of agony hovered above him, "The spiders… so scary… so frightening…"

All the girls sweatdropped at this, as they all thought, 'I keep forgetting he's still freaked out about the spiders…'

Ceruleas sat on Alex's shoulder eating a fish. "As long as there's fish involved, then I'm in," he explained in a joyful tone of voice.

"I guess that settles it," Alex said as he took the posting off the wall, "We're gonna take the 9,000,000 Jule job."

At that moment, everyone blinked at this, as they all asked, in shock… "WHAT?! 9 MILLION?!"

Alex blinked, "Uh, did I not mention that?"

The girls and Ceruleas shook their heads, as Ember stated, "You should have mentioned that beforehand! What else does the job require?"

Alex shrugged, "Well, it involves pretty girls in maid outfits. Don't ask me why, but apparently it's the only way we'll get in to the place to get the book."

Everyone grimaced at that, as Ming arched an eyebrow, "That seems rather sketchy."

"Why would it require pretty girls," Alisa asked.

"Wait!"

The figure in question rolled in on a makeshift but ancient-looking wooden wheelchair. The kind of thing you'd expect in a medieval world. She was a teen girl around their age, maybe around Alex's age, a slender curvaceous body with what appeared to be a E or F cup chest, Caucasian skin, yellowish Brown eyes, crimson dark red hair that cascaded down to her knees, with bangs nearly covering her face but on her right bang were a few black adornments. She was quite the beauty to behold. She was wearing a light pink, purple and brown priestess getup that gave her more of a sorceress look than a priestess. Around her neck was a purple gemstone of sorts with a strange black wing-like pendant structure around it. Though oddly enough… she was barefoot.

The redheaded maiden wheeled over to the table, as she smiled, "Hello. I couldn't help but overhear you're going for a job that involves beautiful women."

"We're covered on that, thank you," Alex replied.

"Excellent, then allow me to introduce myself," she replied, ignoring the fact that they said no to her. "My name is Grimla Grimoire, archpriest of the Dark God, Zepheroth."

'Still going, I see,' Alex sighed.

"But before I give you my credentials, I have a question I like to ask the blue-haired gentleman something," Grimla asked, looking at Alex.

Everyone blinked, as they looked to him. Alex then shrugged, as he sighed, "Okay. What's up?"

She then batted her yellow eyes, holding her hand to her chin in a seductive manner, as she tilted her head to coy with him, as she asked, "You have a girlfriend? you still single? I'm currently still single. I know it's hard to believe, but for some reason, I still can't find a man. And here I am at the age of seventeen, practically a spinster."

Alex thought on it, and shrugged, even with the girls giving her a 'seriously' look on their faces, "Nah, I'm single. I don't really have any luck with girls whatsoever. The reason all my comrades are women is because of situation and sheer dumb luck. Say for Ceruleas, he's like a little brother to me."

Ceruleas smiled at that, getting all warm and fuzzy there, "Awww, thanks, Alex."

Grimla giggled, "Well, isn't that a coincidence."

"That being said, I'm not sure what you can contribute to the group," Alex replied. "You said you serve a Dark God named Zepheroth, right? That make you a witch?"

"Hey, don't talk like that! I'm more akin to a Necromancer," Grimla answered. "And Zepheroth is the God of the Undead and Curses."

Ceruleas blinked as he looked to Alisa, "So he's evil?"

"From what she's describing, it's evidence to say yes," Alisa replied.

"YOU TWO SHOULD BE CURSED FROM JUST SAYING THAT," Grimla shot at the two, rather comically.

'My instincts serve me well once again,' Alex thought, as he remembered the stats, 'If I recall correctly, Zepheroth's actually an Interdimensional God from another plane of existence outside of Mid-Gaia. And those that follow said religion have abilities similar to what Alisa can do. But more on the Dark Side and Unnatural. Meaning she can either raise the dead and control them, or other stuff like making curses. It's basically DMDR's play on the witchcraft of Hoodoo in my world. Not to be confused with the religion Voodoo.'

Grimla and the girls noticed his deep thought, as the dark crimson-haired gal blinked, "You've been awfully quiet so far."

Twilight sweatdropped as she smirked, "Yeah, he gets like that a lot."

But Grimla took it the wrong way, as she smirked, "I know, tell me, boy…" She then gently lifted her skirt up, as she slowly seduced him, "Whadaya think? Wanna see what's underneath? All you gotta do is let me in your group, and I'll…" But then she squeaked out a scream, as Ceruleas flipped the skirt up, as everyone, minus a still deep-in-thought Alex, had a glimpse of what Grimla had underneath: Black lace panties with tie-on sides, and a floss-like backside… if they could see it.

Ceruleas blinked, as he seemed unimpressed, "So apparently the Dark Necromancer has a Dark Naughty side to her."

But Grimla pushed her skirt down, pulling her legs inward to avoid another panty skirt flip, as she cried out, "I wasn't actually gonna let you take a peek at my maidenhood!" She then zoomed over to Alex, as she cried in desperation, and possibly clinginess, "Hey, you're gonna take responsibility for this, aren't you? You better put a ring on me and make me your wife! BECAUSE AFTER WHAT YOU JUST SAW, I WON'T LET YOU GO!"

"Oh boy, we got a clinger here," Ceruleas smirked, as he waved it off, "Hold your horses there, Lady Buttfloss."

"DON'T CALL ME THAT," Grimla cried out. "It's just that I heard wearing this kind of underwear makes a man head over heels for a gal that wears black undergarments. The sexier the better chances I have to have a man in my life!"

"You realize those are just magazine articles, right," Twilight asked, not buying it. She then shrugged, "I mean, not all guys go after a girl wearing black and daring underwear, right?" But then she slightly blushed a little as she looked over to Alex, who was quiet on the subject, and asked, "Alex?"

Alex blinked, as he snapped out of it and asked, "Huh? Floss for your butt? What?"

"WEREN'T YOU PAYING ATTENTION?!" all the girls shot out.

Alex blinked, "Paying attention to what? I was deep in thought about the blessings that Grimla had by Zepheroth. I wasn't focused on… wait, what happened?"

Everyone blinked, as they realized he didn't even noticed Ceruleas flipped her skirt to give him a panty shot. Though Grimla turned around and smiled with tears of joy, 'Huzaaah! My maidenhood remains intact!' But then felt a sense of emptiness, as her tears switched from happiness to disappointment, 'So then why do I feel so hollow a victory?! DOES HE NOT THINK I'M SEXY?!'

"Heya, fellow Familia recruits," Mr. Z suddenly popped up as he walked on over to them. He then smirked, as he patted Grimla on the head, "I see you've met the only member I had before you all got here."

Everyone processed that info, as they, minus a weepy Grimla, asked, "What?"

Z sat down next to Alex, as he explained, "Yeah, everyone left aside from Grimla. She's the only member that's stayed for a whole whoppin' year."

"A year? That means she must be at least a Bronze," Ming smiled at this realization. She looked to Alex and begged, "We have to bring her into the group. She might even get us bigger jobs after this."

"She's actually an Obsidian ranked adventurer," Z deadpanned.

Everyone had a deadpanned look on their faces, as they turned to her, as she sheephishly confessed, "Sadly… I am. And it's been a year since I've been promoted."

Both Ming and Ember crossed their arms to look like an X as they stated, "Not in the party."

"YOU SHOULD BE CURSED FOR JUDGING ME SO SOON," Grimla cried out, actually crying as a result.

While the trio argued, Alex and Twilight looked to Z as the latter asked, "Why is it like that for her?"

"Mostly due to the fact that being a fellow of Zeparoth, she's been infused with Demon Blood. Making her an Undead of sorts," Z explained, as the two, plus Alisa listened in, as Ceruleas teased Grimla mercilessly about her panties, "She can easily revive back, but the downside is her curses are all 50/50. She can use them, but they can backfire on her, or she dies too soon in battle. That and the fact that she's desperate to join a group made her a bit of an outcast to any other party. And then there's her luck."

Alisa looked worried as she asked, "How bad is it?"

"It's so bad, she's known as the Necromancer of Calamity. It's also the reason why she's in a chair," Z pointed out.

Twilight blinked, "She cursed herself not to walk?" They all turned to look at her in shock and pity.

Though Grimla sighed, "Not… exactly."

"Just how unlucky are you," Ember asked.

Grimla sighed, as she pulled up her skirt to showcase the Jupiter Familia mark on her left calf, and tapped it. Her stats suddenly showed up, as it revealed one particular part highlighted. Her luck. Which was in the negative of 1,000,000. Everyone paled at this revelation, and aside from Alex, everyone scooted over. Though when he saw this, as well as the isolation that she received, he couldn't help but feel that this was something similar to what he and another gamer had gone through. Just because they didn't look impressive with gear or that their job titles were laughable, they were isolated. But his fellow Pillars like Ghallis, Sakura, Nodoka, and even Dante, all welcomed the two. It was only fair that he wouldn't judge her for her luck.

Alex stood up, and extended a hand to Grimla, who seemed surprised, "Well, we'll consider it a trial basis. It's only fair that we could split the 9,000,000 jule job up."

The girls all freaked out, while Ceruleas froze in shock, but Grimla tearfully smiled, "You will?" Alex nodded, as Z looked at the job description, even as Grimla jumped at him hugging him around the waist, "OH THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!"

"Hey, is this the job about burning the book," Z asked. "I think I should tell you this job went up from 9 million to 900 million."

The six adventurers plus flying cat all blinked, as they shouted, "900 MILLION?!"

Later On

Clothing Store

Outside the store, Alex sat patiently on a bench while Ceruleas was eating another fish happily next to him as they waited for the girls in the store.

"I thought we were going on a job, not a shopping trip," Ceruleas asked as he munched on his fish, "Did the girls say what they wanted to buy?"

"They said it was essential to come here before going on the job," Alex answered just as in the dark as his little dragon friend, "I'm sure it's something essential."

"Hope so," Ceruleas said, "I'd hate it if they blew the money from the last job on some fancy dress we don't need." He then stood up on Alex's shoulder, as he smirked, "And who knew that this job was gonna pay 900 million! You know what this means?"

"We can afford a place to stay that isn't a crunched up room, and get better equipment for everyone for better jobs," Alex asked.

Ceruleas nodded, "And if we got more… FISH BUFFET!" But then stopped as he looked at Alex and asked, "You okay?"

"It just seems a bit off that the job's price went up. I mean, don't get me wrong, we need the money, but I don't understand the high price for a book," Alex asked.

Ceruleas shrugged, "Maybe they really need the book."

"Sorry for the wait."

Alex and Ceruleas turned towards Twilight's voice to see her and the others step out. But what they saw made Alex's heart race and Ceruleas tilt his head in confusion.

There stood Twilight, Ming, Ember, Alisa, and Grimla sitting in her chair, all wearing maid outfits. Each one consisted of a white blouse with puffy shoulders and a small apron. The wore a white mob headband, white socks that went up near their thighs, brown shoes, and a red laced tie around their collars. Each girl also wore a vest and skirt in their own signature color. Twilight's was purple, Ming's was pink, Ember's was red, Alisa's was yellow green, and Rose was brown.

Twilight, Alisa, and Ming had happy expressions as they posed in front of Alex. Ember however looked shy but hid it behind a stern face while blushing in embarrassment as she looked away. Though Grimla looked rather seductive, almost playing the part of a maid was something kinky to her.

Alex stared at the girls in surprise as they stood before their group leader and dragon mascot. "Wow... Those look great, girls," Alex said in a confused tone of voice, "But why did you need to buy maid outfits?"

"You said we were going to need disguises for the infiltration job," Twilight said, "So the five of us got the proper disguises."

"While I'm not fond of this kind of attire," Ember admitted in a displeased tone of voice, "If it's necessary for the job, then I'll do what's needed."

"They're right," Ming said, "Gotta act the part in order to get the job done. Plus, I think we pull the look off really well."

Alisa nodded while blushing. "It's a little embarrassing. But I feel like a real maid while wearing this," Alisa said with a smile, "Don't you think so, Alex?"

Alex was silent as he stared at the girls enjoying their undercover jobs. "Yeah... They look great," Alex nervously said.

Grimla snickered as she gently pulled up her skirt while in her chair, "What do you say, Master? Would you like a hot bath, a warm meal?" She then fluttered her eyes as she seductively smiled, "Or… would you like me?"

Alex sweatdropped and blushed, while Ceruleas smirked, "Oh boy, looks like Lady Buttfloss is puttin' the moves on ya faster."

"STOP CALLING ME THAT," Grimla screamed out.

"Alright," Ming declared in an excited tone of voice as she shot her fist into the air, "Maid Squad, let's move out!"

Twilight and Alisa cheered in agreement while Ember had a deadpanned expression from the girls' excitement about going on a job in a maid outfit.

As the four girls headed for the town exit, Alex just stood in place from the turn of events. Ceruleas jumped onto Alex's shoulder while still munching on some fish.

"Looks like the girls thought we were serious about going undercover," Ceruleas whispered in Alex's ear.

Alex nodded in agreement, "I just hope they kept the receipts if this doesn't work," Alex said as he began to walk after his teammates.

"Oh, I don't know about that," Ceruleas said with a playful smile, "They could keep them whenever they want to clean their homes and look the part. I bet you wouldn't complain about it." Alex didn't reply but his face becoming redder was all the proof that Ceruleas needed to know he was right. "Anyway, why the maid outfits," Ceruleas asked.

Alex pulled out the job flyer as he read, "Well according ot this, the guy that the book was last owned by or currently owned by, Galeu Molemeister is a conniving perv who likes sexy girls in maid outfits."

A pause was heard between the two, as Ceruleas looked at Alex and sighed, "They're gonna kill you, you know. The girls?"

Alex nodded, "Yeah, but one of us will die 900 million rich." But then he arched an eyebrow, as he looked at something in particular, 'Still though... why would someone pay so much for a book called Sun-Dawn?'

Molemeister Manor

Once the girls got there, it was a rather emaculate mansion. A bit too big and shiny of one would describe it. The gate surrounding it was large but kept it low enough for all to see. And at the gate was an intercom, as Twilight walked up to it. Meanwhile, Alex and Ceruleas were hiding near the forest the mansion was built next to. The plan was simple: the girls would go in, earn his trust, while one of them opened the gate to allow the two inside and they look for the book.

Twilight pressed the button on the intercom, as she spoke, "Hello?"

"Yes, what do you want," a husky female voice spoke up.

"My friends and I are here to apply for a maid position for Mr. Molemeister," Twilight answered.

Suddenly, the floor rumbled beneath them, and in between them all, a figure shot out of the ground. They landed not too far from them to reveal a big heavily muscled big boobed woman in a skimpy maid outfit with no shoes but white toeless and heeless leggings and footing. Though her face appeared to be rather manish, as the short military style pink hair and deep blue eyes were shown. And her earlobes were rather large. If Alex didn't believe it, he would swear that this was a gigantic Arnold Schwartzenaeger maid of sorts.

Though it got weirder as she did speak in Arnold's Austrian voice and cadence, "So I hear you lot are applying for the maid positions that need to be filled out. All screenings must be done by the Master in person."

"Boyoyoyoyoyoyoyo!"

Suddenly, shooting out of the ground, a fellow appeared before them. He was a man of three feet stature, not a Dwarf, with a pig nose with hair growing out of his nostrils as a moustache, a curl tuff of hair atop his head, pig ears on the side, Caucasian, but more of a comically built figure of a pair shaped body. He wore a dark navy blue business suit to boot as well as brown shoes, a white button up shirt and a gold tie.

He landed on his left foot like a ballerina, as he twirled his left moustache, as he smirked, "Did I hear someone say 'Master'?"

But all five girls paled, as they cringed at the same time, 'More like 'Monster'!'

Moelmeister looked serious, as he scrunched his nose up in deep thought. Though this was creeping the girls out more and more, even Alex who was watching from afar. After a moment of inspecting the girls who stood still, Moelmeister stood before the girls with a calm expression. "After my careful observation of all of you," he said in a calm and professional tone of voice, "My answer is..."

All five girls listened carefully as they waited for his answer. If he said yes, they were one step closer to getting the book, and completing their job. Alex and Ceruleas who were hidden in the bushes also listened carefully hoping for a positive answer.

"...No. Sorry, I'm gonna have to pass."

The moment Moelmeister answered with a straight face, the world became silent for everyone in the area. All five girls were left in silent shock as they stood there after being rejected.

'What the?! But we look like real maids and even have the correct resumes,' Twilight thought in alarm, 'We have the look, the smiles, and the personality of a maid! Where did we go wrong!?'

'Is this guy blind,' Ming asked herself as she hid her shock the best as she could, "What are we missing?!"

The same could be said for Ember who was silent with wide circular eyes.

'I'LL CURSE HIM WITH MAJOR IMPOTENCE! HE'LL NEVER SATISFY A WOMAN EVER AGAIN,' Grimla screamed in her mind.

"Is- Is there a problem with our resumes, Mr. Moelmeister," Alisa asked in a calm voice even though she was on the verge of getting flustered.

"Oh no, no. Your resumes are fantastic," he answered in a comforting tone of voice, "The problem is..." Another moment of silence as they waited for his answer. Suddenly, he had an insulting smile as he glared at the girls.

"YOU'RE ALL BUTT UGLY! Boyoyo!"

Moelmeister immediately turned around and shook his saggy butt at the five girls while pointing at them in an accusing way.

"To work in my services as a maid, a girl must be able to do the work and look the part," Moelmeister explained in a taunting tone of voice, "To put it bluntly, I only select the fairest of the fair."

To illustrate that point, four maids shot right up out of the ground. Some had ape-like faces, pig snouts, inhuman or in-elf ears, and buck teeth, looking cocky at being given the job over them. They had physiques like Twilight and her friends, but have deformed heads, faces, and ears. They looked like the results of failed plastic surgeries.

Moelmeister then straightened himself. "To put it simply, none of you are my type," he said in a mocking tone as he snapped his fingers for the main maid, "If that will be all, have a nice day, you ugly maid rejects! Boyoyo!"

Suddenly, Moelmeister disappeared along with his main maid as the other four maids returned to behind the gates as they shut loudly before the four rejected girls.

A gust of wind blew as Twilight, Ember, Ming, Grimla, and Alisa stood silently outside the gates. They were shocked not from the rejection but for why there were rejected. It was honestly, one of the most shocking and confidence-breaking situations they had ever been in.

Later

Forest Clearing

"HE REALLY SAID THAT!?"

Not far from the Moelmeister Mansion, the girls had sadly wandered back towards their meeting place where Alex and Ceruleas were at waiting for them.

To say Alex wasn't shocked and angry was an understatement. But it wasn't from the girls failing to enter the mansion, it was from Moelmeister insulting his new friends like that. But he was also hurt hearing his friends hurt like that. Ceruleas had wide eyes from shock as well as he stopped eating his fish.

"I can't believe him," Alex said in a flabbergasted tone of voice, "I mean, having a type of girl is understandable, but insulting all of you like that is just mean spirited!"

Twilight, Ming, Grimla, and Alisa looked as though they had lost their will to live as they sat on the ground looking pale and staring off into space. It was a though all confidence in their appearance had been ripped out, stomped on, and spat on right in front of them. Ember however just stood with her back to them while staring in the direction of the mansion.

"Wow... I didn't realize girls cared so much about their appearance," Ceruleas said as he looked AT the devastated girls while eating a new again.

"None of you should take what he said to heart," Alex said trying to cheer his teammates up, "The guy is clearly vain! If anything, he missed out on such great girls to work for him!"

His words looked as though they worked as the four pale girls looked at him with small smiles. But they still looked as though their will to live was far from restored.

"Alex is absolutely right..."

Alex and the others looked up to see Ember shaking as a powerful fire began to burn around her. If they could see her face, they would her grinding her teeth in rage. Her glasses shined brightly preventing the group from seeing her eyes as a powerful fire of anger burned within them.

Grimla with a dark aura over her head, screamed, "ZEPHOROTH, CURSE THAT MOLE MAN WITH INFINITE IMPOTENCE!"

"THAT GUY WOULDN'T KNOW BEAUTY IF IT BIT OFF HIS SAGGY ASS," Ember shouted in rage towards the mansion as the fire erupted from her. She then turned to look at her party with a new form of motivation burned inside of her. "ALRIGHT! We're going to break into that house, find that book, and reduce his home to ashes! WHO'S WITH ME!?"

All four girls leaped on to their as the same motivation Ember was feeling burned within them as the fire of their anger burned as brightly as their comrade's.

"I am! There's no way I can leave a precious book like in the hands of such a jerk," Twilight declared, "Plus, just imagine all the girls who's spirits he crushed with that kind of rejection! It's unforgivable!"

"The Holy Earth Mother promotes peace for all humans and for us not to hold grudges," Alisa said in a calm voice before looking angry, "But I believe she would not allow a soul as mean spirited as his to get away with what he said!"

"No kidding," Ming declared ready to fight, "I'll beat some sense into that guy if it's the last thing I do! In the name of all the maids he insulted!"

Alex just stood there a little scared as the girls' anger and motivation burned brightly than he had never seen before in anyone. Even himself. Ceruleas meanwhile was holding a stick with a fish on the end as it was cooked in the girls' emotional fueled magical fires.

"Say Alex," Ceruleas said getting Alex's attention, "What do you think of the girls?"

"Hmmm... Well... Twilight is very pretty," Alex said while scratching his cheek nervously, "Alisa has a cute sister vibe full of innocence, Ming is a hot martial artist gal, and Ember is a stone-cold but fiery hottie redhead who looks amazing. I've only known Grimla for the day, but I can tell she's really got something to her that draws you to her, even if nobody notices. In fact, all of them... are amazing," Alex finished as he realized something as his pupils shrank with fear as his face went pale. "Oh, I said that out loud, didn't I," Alex nervously asked as he looked towards the girl. 'They're going to be so angry at me,' he thought in fear but their reaction was not what he was expecting.

All five girls were no longer angry and they were staring at Alex in surprise. Suddenly, Twilight blushed, and smiled warmly. 'He thinks I'm pretty,' she thought as she felt a great leap of joy in her heart.

Alisa looked flabbergasted as she looked in all directions for some kind of answer to Alex's compliment. "You-You really think so," Alisa asked feeling happy for Alex's positive opinion of her as her face turned red.

"I hope you aren't just saying that to inflate our egos," Ember said while being on the defensive as she looked away in a huff. Ember was blushing though as a small smile appeared on her face, "But that's very nice of you to say... Thank you."

Grimla's face was bright red, as she smiled, but pulled away, as she was excited and simply flailing her right arm about while her left hand cupped her burning cheek, as she squealed, "Oh, Alex, darling! You don't have to butter us up so much!"

Ming didn't say anything as she smiled while blushing. 'Wow... Still as honest as ever,' Ming thought to herself as she recalled how he was honest in his opinion of Rouhan's doomed goblin slaying plan. But the kindness in his voice was proof enough that his words came from the heart. "All right than," Ming said as her fists tightened as she pointed towards the mansion, "That Mole Man shall soon know the rath of pride-damaged maidens, their leader, and our dragon mascot!"

They all cheered in agreement from Ming's words. They were ready to storm that mansion and complete the job before the end of the day.

"Your mascot declares more fish please," Ceruleas cried while munching on his cooked fish.

Alex's fist pumped as he smirked, "Then let's prepare for operation TS!"

Twilight also got pumped, as she and the other girls were fired up, "Yeah, let's show that mole-man bastard not to mess with a maiden's heart!"

But then Alisa asked, "Wait. What's operation TS?"

"Operation Take'em by Storm," Alex declared.

"The mascot still demands fish!" Ceruleas cried out.

However, unknown to them, the Mole Man had been watching via a spell, as he smirked, "Well, well well. Adventurers coming into my neck of the woods. They must be after something very important. This should be fun and entertaining." He then turned to two figures in the shadows, as he smirked, "You know what to do when they show up and my maids fail."

Next Chapter: Whack-the-Moleman; Magic from Dusk til Dawn