Dungeon Masters and Dragon Riders

Chapter 2: The World of Mid-Gaia; It's Not a Game

Mid-Gaia

1 Hour Later

An hour of trekking on the country road, and heading out near a clearing, Alex was wearily walking out of it. He looked rather ragged and sweaty, as he had been wandering around for an hour. Though it was in every direction to find at least a sign of a town, or at the very least a farm to get a good idea on where he was if he could ask someone. But so far, nothing was spotted. As of the moment, Alex was tired, thirsty, and hungry, and without any clue as to where he was. So far his first time in the world of Mid-Gaia, the main world of the game he spent most of his life playing… was exhausting and troublesome.

As he trekked further, Alex groaned, "Uuuuugh! The least that being could have done was put me near a civilized town or at least some kind of abandoned fortress." He sighed, as he lowered his head, "This is exhausting. And lonely. At least there should be someone around to talk to."

As he said that, he wasn't aware of those he was coming into contact with. As he walked, he accidentally bumped into someone who let out a female grunt, as he staggered back on his mind, as he snapped out of it, "Ah! I'm sorry." But he blinked, as he saw who it was he bumped into.

Before him was five people, and all of them seemed to be perfect for the looks of that world.

The one leading them was a Caucasian male of appearance of being a sixteen-year-old. His frame was lean and slender, possibly packing small muscle underneath, with clear skin, short but untidy brown hair that had a red headband around it, and light brown eyes, and a few bandages on his face, mostly on his cheek and nose to be noticed. He wore a dark blue turtleneck cuff shirt with long sleeves and light blue trim especially on the chest and stomach, with brown gloves and a leather top guard with a metal breastplate held to his chest, as well as having a red sash tied across his chest from right shoulder to left lower rib side. He wore black baggy combat pants with a brown leather belt that the pants covered with the waist going over it, with small brown boots that reached halfway up his greaves. And strapped to his back was a longsword with a black hilt and handle.

The second one he noticed was a sixteen-year-old Caucasian woman who looked like she was dressed like a wizard. She had a slender figure; tight waist, slender legs, clear skin without so much as a blemish on her, and an amazing DD cup chest, well-kept but bouncy flaming red hair that reached her mid back, with two bangs that were draped to her collar bone and almost down her chest, with the front of her hair swept to the left with three bangs draped over her forehead, and dazzling green eyes that she had glasses over. She wore a green dress that went below her knees and showed off her cleavage while being sleeveless and shoulderless, with black boots that reached underneath her knees, a cloak that was draped on her shoulders and reached down her ankles which was held by a red broch which had a yellow insignia of a phoenix on it, black gloves that went up to her elbows, a brown and large pointed wizard's hat. Her only gear on her appeared to be a staff that was on the wand use, so she couldn't lean on it, with four golden structures on it with only a single red gem atop it.

The third one was a fifteen-year-old Caucasian blonde girl who looked rather timid among them. She had a slender but small frame, with a B cup chest, thin waist and despite her dress, had slender legs. Her hair was blonde but was long enough to reach her knees and with bangs crowning her forehead, with two bangs gently touching her collar bone at the tips, and blue eyes. She was wearing what appeared to be a light blue long sleeved shirt that almost covered her hands, a dark blue skirt that went down to her ankles and thick brown boots, while around her waist was a brown belt that had another one attached and dangling at her right hip. In her hands she had a golden-colored staff with a spade-shaped top adorned and decorated with blue orb jewels and with three rings on each side of the emblem. She also had on a white hood resembling something a nun-in-training would wear.

The fourth one was a seventeen-year-old Asian woman who seemed to either be a monk or a Marital Arts Fighter… or maybe both. She was a young woman with a slender figure, and even though didn't look it, was pretty strong, despite her slender frame and B-Cup chest, fair skin, with blue eyes, and long black hair that was tied into a waist-length ponytail, and with the front swept to the right with only a bang tucked behind her left ear and leaving a small strand covering the left side of her forehead. She wore a light purplish-pink Asian style robe-like outfit that reached down to her knees with purple trip on the shoulders, cuffs, collar, and bottom, along with a purple sash belt to hold it in place. She had on grey pants and brown boots, all of her ensemble designed for prioritizing ease of movement with her brown boots being sturdy, complimenting her skills as a martial artist. And topping it off on her shoulders and upper back was a yellow scarf of sorts tied around her shoulders.

But the one he had bumped into seemed to have caught his eye the most. She was a sixteen-year-old Caucasian female who stood 5'4", with a slender and slim body, with a tight waist, firm hips, slender legs, and had a very very perky C cup chest, of which he tried to avoid looking at, lovely skin, a cute face, and the most distinguishing features was that she had violet eyes with long flowing Purple hair, with two bangs touching her collar bone with three bangs covering her forehead, and having a violet and rose-colored streak going down the left side of her back and on her front. She wore a light purple leather protection top with a light purple leather corset guard around her waist atop a magenta turtleneck shirt with a magenta and light purple hood latched on with purple latches on the collar bone. Her sleeves were white with purple shoulder pads and purple leather straps on her bicep, and on her forearms were magenta forearm guards that had a tip on the elbow with purple elbow guards, and with fingerless purple gloves with purple leather straps on the wrists. She had a white shawl guard that went down to her calves on the back and with a light purple front guard, but with each having pointed ends that resembled star points, and on the hips were magenta hip guards, with around her waist a purple leather pouch belt containing pouches and a rear satchel. Her legs were in white leggings with purple leather straps on her mid-thighs, with magenta kneeguards. She had light purple boots that reached up to her knees, with white ankles, toes, and heels, magenta ankle guards, and purple straps on the end fitting part of the boots. But the belt also had a pouch on her right side that seemed rather like it held keys in particular.

The purple-haired girl waved it off, as she apologized as well, "Oh, it's no bother. I should have noticed it too. I wasn't paying attention either."

Alex shook his head as he still apologized, "Nevertheless, I bumped into you. I was just half-exhausted."

The redheaded female wizard grumbled, seemingly annoyed and impatient on this, "So why didn't you take a wagon into Helmsmann? It seemed to make more sense."

'Helmsmann? That's the town located in Europa,' Alex thought on all this info he was getting, as it probably matched the game in some aspects, 'If I remember correctly, Helmsmann's one of the cities located in Europa, nestled near its capital, Melromack. And if I also remember correctly, about ninety miles from the east, it leads to the ocean as well. Though mostly, Helmsmann's near the Frontier. A place that's teeming with monsters and ruins. Though it's nothing like Hesian, the Jungle Lands, or Ashran, the Arabian/Barbarian regions. Those places are like wilderness colonies, while this place is slightly tamed. Guess it's not all that bad.' Coming back from his thoughts, the blue-haired young man asked, "Helmsmann? How far is that from here?'

"Not far at all," the purple-haired girl explained, as she pointed at the road, "It's only about 40 yards from here. Just keep going straight and you'll get there."

"Thanks," Alex nodded. He then proceeded to go off, but stopped as he turned around, "Any chance I might see you all again? I'd like to thank you for the directions."

The brown-haired boy smirked, rather cocky, as he replied, "Well, if you'd like to thank us, meet us at the Adventurer's Guild. Get ready to buy us a round after we take care of a goblin nest not far from here." And then walked on, as he cheered on, "Alright, guys. We're off to slay some goblins."

The troupe then continued onward, but the purple-haired girl looked back at the young man as he continued his trek towards Helmsmann. He was rather oddly dressed, and his behavior was strange; it was almost as if he was lost or confused about where he was. He certainly didn't look like he was from around Helmsmann, or any part of Europa. This peeked the young lady's curiosity at first sight.

"Twilight," the redheaded Wizard called out, causing the girl to jump, as she shot out, "Get a move on. Don't straggle behind."

The girl, now known as Twilight, quickly bolted after them, "Ah, sorry about that, Ember." As she joined back with them, she still wondered about the boy she had bumped into.

Minutes Later

Helmsmann

Once Alex got there, the exhaustion as he passed the gate that surrounded the city within a great wall, which wasn't as hard as he thought since the guards thought of him being robbed by bandits, due to his sweaty nature, his exhaustion waved goodbye as he blinked in great surprise. As he walked in, it looked like a mixture of different cultures, despite being a small city town, with building ranging like apartment buildings and bank buildings, all ranging to five floor buildings bunched together. There were market areas that seemed lively and busting full of different foods and goods. As he went further into town, he noticed a few stand shops nestled in between buildings that dealt with trading and selling drop items; items that were dropped or taken from downed monsters that Adventurers slain and were sometimes used to craft equipment and weapons. There also seemed to be pathways on roads that led to different sections to the cities, as well as one road leading towards a bathhouse. But the biggest feature he noticed was something that was in the center of the city town. It looked like a giant ivory white spiral tower. Maybe it was some kind of landmark, but for some odd reason, Alex had a feeling it seemed to give off a familiar aura that he usually developed whenever he was playing the DM&DR game.

But as he walked through the streets, he noticed most of the inhabitance were humans all around the place, but there were also demi-humans. Beings that were human in appearance but also had animal features, such as eyes, ears or tails, and sometimes even fingernail claws. Such as the Pantherians or Cat People as they would prefer to be called. Smaller humanoids that were around either 3 to 4 feet in height, who looked more shrunk than midget sized with pointy ears, obviously Prums or to those who watched or read Lord of the Rings, Hobbits, minus the big hairy feet. And then there were the more buff appearance version of what was a Prum, but was actually a Dwarf, due to the dirt-covered gear and the big bushy beard. And as he continued further, he saw elegant beings of graceful beauty and pointed ears. He nearly drooled when he realized they were elves.

He stopped for a moment, as he snickered, 'This is so unbelievable! It's like I'm at a comic con and everyone's costumes are stellar. But this is even better! THEY'RE REAL!' he shot his hands up in the air into fists, as he smiled, tearfully screaming on the inside, 'I LOVE THIS MID-GAIA WORLD! AND I LOVE DEMIS!'

But he stopped as his face grew into silent surprise, as he sniffed the air, and then lowered his hands down, as he sniffed at his arms, and then cringed. 'Man, I'm gonna need a bath before I decide to go to sleep. I smell like a sweaty gym sock,' Alex thought. He then passed what appeared to be a bread store with a window, and saw his reflection. He blinked, as he touched his face, studying his features, 'Boy, I look exactly like my game avatar. It's hard to believe this is me here.' He then blushed as he remembered his discovery, 'But then again, I still have a hard time believing I've got a body like this… much less equipped with um… that.' He sighed, as he looked down at his clothing, 'Still though, I should probably get some new clothes. I need to fit in this new world, otherwise I might get arrested for dressing weird. Or hanged for that matter.'

But then stopped for a moment, as he blinked, 'Wait, I don't have any currency in this world. In fact, I don't have any of my equipment. Not even weapons. All I've got are the clothes on my back.' And then the fear of living on his own slowly started to creep up on him, as his thoughts raced, 'I need a job fast. If I don't have anything for whatever this world's currency is, I'm screwed. Forget living off the streets, I've got a horrible feeling that slavery might be something to watch out for. If I get caught by slavers or if I can't pay anything or in debt, I might be sent into slavery.'

He shook his head, as his face hardened, as he tightened his fists, 'No, I'm not gonna give up that easily. I'm gonna do something about it.' But then slumped in defeat, 'But what can I do? I could never hold a part-time job for long, and I suck at anything, except…' but then Alex lit up, as he realized, 'Wait. Adventuring. That's what I'm good at. I mean sure, this is the first time living it, but I've got a huge knowledge based on monsters, enemies; particularly strategies on weaknesses, their habits, and infiltrating their territories.'

Alex smirked, deciding on his path, as he gently slammed his fist into his open hand, and declared to himself, "Alright then, I'm gonna become an Adventurer today." But then slumped, as he grumbled, "Only I don't know where the Guild is."

He sighed, as he scratched the back of his head, and sighed in defeat, "Great, the day I want to enroll as an Adventurer, and I don't know where the Guild is."

"Excuse me, young man."

At the sound of that rather energetic but mature voice, the blue-haired boy straightened up with a look of surprise in his face. He turned to look to his left and spotted a fellow dressed in a brown cloak. When he opened it up, he seemed like a usual Caucasian male in this 30s or 40s from his appearance. His build was tall and lean, but oddly enough have silver white hair, and he appeared to be taller than Alex by a few inches, with a thin chinstrap of scruffy beard and a jovially spiky hairstyle ending n a characteristic forelock, as well as having rectangular spectacles framed in front of his hazel eyes. He seemed well dressed as he wore brown boots with a pair of silver white gray pants with a sleeveless turtleneck shirt with a gray shirt underneath with white cuff forearm guards, and a yellow belt that had a strange insignia on a yellow belt buckle, depicting a cross or X shape with four circles in the empty spaces.

The man smirked, as he walked over, "I couldn't help but overhear you're looking for the Adventurers' guild to sign up. I was on my way there myself after a few errands." He placed a hand on his shoulder, as Alex arched an eyebrow at him, while he smirked, making his eyebrows bounce, as he asked, "Interested in joining a Familia while there?"

For a moment, Alex was silent, as he looked at the gentleman, and then finally asked, "Um… are you trying to deceive me and try to sell me to a brothel? Because you're kinda acting like it."

Suddenly, the man shot away, and crouched down on the ground in a fetal position, crying while pounding his left fist's bottom on the ground as if hammering it, as he pouted, "I've never felt so much shame in my life! I'm not a pervert! I mean sure I have a tendency to go after pretty girls and women now that I'm single. But still, I'm being sincere with the whole Adventurers' guild and all. I'm just trying to find people to join my Familia! And the one guy I find who wants to join thinks I work at a whore house for males to be used for desperate single women! I'm garbage, I'll never be able to show my face in public again! BWAAAAAHAAAAAAAAAA!"

The mere sight of this caused Alex to sigh, grumbling, 'Okay, there's no way this guy could be a pervert if he takes it that hard.' He took a deep breath, and spoke up again, "Sorry. It just seemed too good to be true. If you're still up to it, I'd like to join."

Suddenly, the man bolted up, as he bolted back to Alex, as he returned to normal, albeit a runny nose was still going, "Perfect!"

'He recovered quickly,' Alex sweatdropped. He was suddenly dragged by the arm by the enthusiastic white-haired man, as he gulped, 'And for crying out loud, he's stronger than he looks!'

Adventurers' Guild

When Alex and the strange man had finally arrived, with Alex back on his feet and walking, he got a glimpse of the Adventurers' guild itself. It was near the outskirts of the other side of town, built on a hill to give it some lift to overlook the rest of Helmsmann, and near the rear entrance to the wilderness forest that was the Frontier. The main building was huge with three floors, and with two sides sticking out of the front two doorway stairwell entrance, boxing it in between. On these two were banners showing the official insignia of the Guild, which were an array of different nation flags and colors. The upper floor, the third floor, above the guild's entrance was a balcony of sorts, probably the main office. The place looked like it was made of well-fine brick, as well as gold painted plating with white wood and green colored wood for the trim edges.

Alex blinked, as he looked at the place, "Whoa. This looks way better up close."

The man smirked, as he patted him on the back, "If you think the outside's something, wait 'til you see the inside."

Once they walked the steps and went inside, Alex blinked, as he saw how vast it was on the inside. A spot known as the Pantheon was a wide space with counters for adventurers to talk with their advisors and also had an exchange area, mostly for hidden treasures or stuff they couldn't use to upgrade their equipment or weapons, in exchange for the currency that Alex had heard called Jule. There were also meeting rooms where adventurers could talk one on one with their advisor without anyone else hearing them, but were located upstairs. From the left, he noticed a hallway that led to the back which led to a library, as well as a downstairs gear supply station in which they could go instead of spending too long looking around town. Also on the left were tables and chairs, possibly a waiting area or a place to converse one another. And on the right, there was also what appeared to be a galley or cafeteria in case Adventurers came back hungry and couldn't go to a tavern. The employees of the Guild, the receptionists and inspectors, all had the same uniform on: a set of navy blue vests, white dress shirts underneath, a yellow jabot for the women or a yellow tie for the men, brown boots for males and black heel shoes for females, a long black pencil skirt for females or black pants for the males, but finally a three-strap black belt to complete the look.

Alex looked around in wonderment, as he mentioned, "This place looks so professional and clean.'

"Well, it' has to be, m'boy," the gentleman stated, as he adjusted his glasses, as they walked to one of the more vacant counters. "If this place was a pigsty, this place would be more of a den of mercenaries than adventurers. We Guildmates and Familia houses have to keep our appearance to keep up our reputations."

At the counter they were walking to, one receptionist was a little tired and almost falling over face first. She was a young beautiful pale lady of Alex's age, possibly eighteen or nineteen, with pale skin, raven black hair cut in a bob that touched her neck with her hair in front parted to the right with a bang tucked behind her right ear, a beautiful figure with D cup boobs nearly jumping out of the uniform's vest, and her eyes shown to be Grey Black with her ears slightly pointed, indicating she was a Half elf, but had blue gem earrings on them. She was almost about to fall over, as her stomach growled, as she sighed, 'I wish I had something to eat. Or at least on my lunch break. I need…'

"You okay?"

She suddenly bolted up, looking freaked out, as she blinked at a strangely dressed blue-haired young man. She freaked as she fidgeted and flailed about, "Ah! I wasn't sleeping! I was just…!"

"It's okay, Eina," the man gently assured her with his hand held up to halt her ranting. "We're not gonna report you to the others or the Guild Master."

The girl, known as Eina, shook herself to get her head back on, as she cleared her throat, "Oh. Mr. Z. I see you're in today." She looked at Alex, as she asked, "And who is this?"

"Oh, this is um…" Mr. Z began to introduce, but then drew a blank, until he looked to Alex, and asked, "Y'know, in the rush over here to get you signed up to be an Adventurer, I never got the chance to introduce you to myself. More less learn who you are."

Alex sweatdropped, 'He just realized that?' But shook his head, as he bowed, "My name is Alexander Killian. Or Alex for short." He then looked to Eina, as he smiled, "I'd like to sign up to become an Adventurer because… well, reasons." But then looked a little concern, as he asked her, "Is this a good time?"

Eina smiled as she nodded, "Of course, I have the paperwork, and shall have an Adventurer tag made for you right away."

Alex shook his head, "No, I mean. Um…" He then patted his stomach, as he asked, "You sure you're okay right now?"

Both Eina and Mr. Z blinked at that in surprise, as the half elf girl realized, 'Oh, he's asking me if I'm okay. Usually, people just demand for a tag and all. He seems a bit strange, but rather considerate.' She shook her head, as she smiled, "Nah, I'll be alright. Why don't we get you signed up, your tag ready, and then if you want to right now, assign you to a Familia."

As she got the paper ready, Alex asked, "What's a Familia? I'm not completely understanding what that is."

"A Familia is basically like a faction of Adventurers that forms a kind of Guild within the guild," Mr. Z explained as he leaned on the counter. "Usually some of the Familias are based in Exploration of ruins, Dungeons, and sometimes unexplored regions. A few are delivery services like the Artemis Familia, but also deal with hunting down Monsters that cause damage or harm to villages. The Hephaestus Familia are Smiths, meaning they're in charge of making weapons and armor and other trinkets, but they're also powerful so they're usually given the title Warrior Smiths. The Hermes Familia are also explorers, but they also deal with trying to infiltrate or bargain with the Black Market. The Hades Familia are also explorers, but their secondary function is to solve problems, whether common or battle, much like the Familia I'm a part of."

'Hmm, I never imagined there'd be different kind of jobs and such when being an Adventurer. And the Familias I've heard sound pretty interesting, but…' Alex thought for a moment, but then looked to Mr. Z, and asked, "What Familia do you belong to?"

"The Jupiter Familia," Mr. Z replied, as he adjusted his glasses. "We're an Exploration Familia, but we also deal with odd or common jobs around town. We also accept quests that need an Adventurer's touch. You might say this is the Familia where heroes are born."

Alex lit up, as he asked, "Really?"

Mr. Z nodded, but then got gloomy as he hunched over, "Though these days, due to an incident 40 years ago, this Familia's been brought down in humiliation and shame, thus we don't have any members."

Seeing this guy like this, Alex felt sorry for him as he sadly frowned at him in sympathy. Even as Eina set the paper and pen in front of him, Alex thought, 'Man, he's got it tough. Nobody wants to be in his Familia all because of one incident.' He looked at the page as he took the pen, 'Maybe when I sign in, I'll join…. his…' though paled as he saw the page. 'Oh no.'

The writing to him was… foreign, barely distinguishable to anything he ever seen or read before in his life. 'Crap! I forgot, I'm in another world,' he dreaded as he shook with the pen in his hand, 'I don't even know what this says. Dang it, why couldn't I have at least one ability to even read this writing.'

"Um, sir," Eina asked, as she looked at him in concern, catching his attention, as she asked, "Can you read and write?"

Alex gulped, "Um, yeah, I can read and write. I can do this." He once again looked at the page, but then lit up as he recognized it, 'Wait a minute. This looks like the sign-up sheet that's in the game when you're registering into the guild for the first time in the RPG DM&DR game that first time. It's in the same order. I've done it so many times, that I actually know what to put down where.' Alex smirked, as he began writing down, 'Okay. I can do this.' Quickly, he filled out all the spots with no problem, as he sighed, handing Eina the sheet, "Here you go."

Eina took the sheet to look over the sheet, and blinked in confusion, as she looked to Alex and arched an eyebrow, and asked politely, "Um, what does this say, exactly? I thought you said you could read and write."

Alex gulped, as he asked, "W-Why? Did I not fill the blanks correctly?"

"Um, no you did," Eina replied, as she scratched her cheek gently, sweatdropping, "It's just… um… I've never read this language before."

Knowing this was gonna be hard to explain, Alex thought it up, and replied, "Well, I can read and write. I just can't read and write in the language you have here. Sorry."

Eina sighed, as she shook her head, "I'm sorry, but I…" but then it was snatched by Mr. Z, as she blinked, "Mr. Z?"

"I'll handle the paperwork, Miss Eina," Z replied, and looked to Alex winking, "Leave me to fill out the forms, but I suggest you learn the written language to avoid stuff like this in the future."

The blue-haired boy nodded, "Understood, sir."

The half-elf lady sighed, as she shook her head, half-smirking, "Alright, I'll allow it. This once." She then pulled out a military dog tag and handed it to Alex, "Here you are. Your name's been inscribed as well as age and other information on it. In the event of your um… demise, it can be used to identify you."

'That's pretty grim there,' Alex thought on the demise part. But then he noticed the tag's color, and pointed out, "Why's the tag porcelain colored? I thought tags were usually made of metal."

Z adjusted his glasses as he finished writing up Alex's information on a new form and handed it to Eina for filing and getting him in the system, "It is, but it's colored Porcelain to rank you your current status as an Adventurer."

Alex arched an eyebrow, as Eina explained, "You see, Adventurers are identified by the rank officially assigned to them by our Guild's Association and some times the Gods that are in charge of their familias, as well as honorary Titles. The ranks' ascend from Rank 10 to Rank 1. The material for the tag is also made depending on one's rank as an Adventurer." She then pulled out a list of ranks, as she pointed out, "As the following chart says here."

Alex looked at the chart and saw the following down the rank:

Rank 10: Porcelain

Rank 9: Obsidian

Rank 8: Steel

Rank 7: Sapphire

Rank 6: Emerald

Rank 5: Ruby

Rank 4: Bronze

Rank 3: Silver

Rank 2: Gold

Rank 1: Platinum

Once he looked enough to make sure he knew it, Alex asked, "So Porcelain is the lowest depicting as it's the Rookie color then, right?"

Eina nodded, "Yep, all newly registered Adventurers are given Porcelain as a Rookie start. But as an Adventurer's rank increases, so does the material of their tag. Gold Rank Adventurers mainly work for the national government, and only the Heroes are allowed to become Platinum-Ranked. But the most you'll find out in the field and in the Exploration Familias are Silver-Ranked, so they're pretty common."

"How does that work," Alex asked, scratching his chin. "The whole rank increase thing?"

"Well, it's mostly done during a promotion interview," Eina explained as she completed filing his paperwork. "The promotion is made based on a variety of factors: trustworthiness and an ability in completing quests are among the most known factors."

Alex pondered on that possibly, even as Z got his attention, "So have you decided on what Familia you're planning on joining up with? I was thinking if you'd like, you could join the Loki Familia. They're actually the big shots around here, though you might wanna be careful around the Soma or Apollo…"

"I'd like to join your Familia, Mr. Z," Alex quickly answered, softly smiling at the man who had done so much for him. "Seeing as how you helped me find my place here and register my information for me, it's the least I can do to be a member of your Familia."

Both Z and Eina blinked at that, as they processed that information an answer that they did not expect coming from him, as both were thinking, 'Uh… come again?'

Alex, sensing the tension, scratched the back of his head, as he asked innocently, "Um, is that a bad thing or was it to hasty?"

In a split second, Z shot down and bowed on all fours, as he tearfully looked at Alex, grinning and crying, "IT'S NOT, NO IT'S NOT! I'M SO HUMBLED BY THIS DECISION! THANK YOUUUUU! I PROMISE I SHALL NOT LET YOU REGRET THIS DECISION, MY BOY!"

Alex sweatdropped as he scooted back a bit, as he gulped, 'This guy's way too happy-crazy for this scene.'

Z suddenly shot up, and pulled something from his back satchel bag. It was a stamp of sorts, and held the symbol that was on his belt buckle, as he smirked, "Where would you like the Familia Mark? It can be put on anywhere on your choosing of your body, though I highly recommend sticking it on your um… privates."

Alex blinked, "Okay…" And then pulled his collar down a bit to showcase his left peck, "Would this spot work?"

"Perfect," Z replied.

Eina got a gander at it, and blushed a little, getting a nosebleed in the process. Both looked at her, as Alex asked, "You okay?"

Eina looked away, covering her nose, "I'm okay. You just caught me off guard with the chest showing is all."

Z sweatdropped, as he stamped on the boy's left peck, "You really need to find yourself a boyfriend, Eina."

Eina quickly shot out, "DON'T BUTT IN MY PERSONAL LIFE, MR. Z!"

Once he pulled the stamp off, magically, a blue tattoo of the mark appeared on Alex's chest, as he blinked, "So what's the mark's special ability? Is it just there for show?"

"Sort of, but it's also there to help create and activate your Status Magic," Z explained.

Alex blinked, "And how does that work?"

"Simply tap the mark where it is, and it'll display it for you," Z replied, tapping his left peck to indicate Alex's mark location.

Alex blinked on that, and gently tapped his left peck. Suddenly, a light blue screen popped up before him, showing his current stats. He was amazed to see this as he nearly jumped back and gasped at it as he examined it. It showed his name, his Adventurer Rank as well as Adventurer Title: Slayer, much to his relief, but also showed his HP, MP, SP, Attack, Defense, and so forth. Though when he looked at it, he saw that none of his previous magic or moves from his gaming save and such didn't go with him, 'Dang it. I thought if I had my Avatar's form, I'd have all my spells and power attacks. Guess none of that works here, or I have to re-learn everything. Guess that means I'm level…' Alex then carefully looked at his name and under it to see the level… and then paled as he saw something he didn't expect. There where his level was shown… it said Lv. 150. He innerly freaked out, 'My level's still the same?! I'M STILL LV.150?! That feels like it's too much of a cheat!'

Eina blinked, seeing the expression on his face, "Is something wrong, Mr. Killian?"

Quickly, he caused the screen to disappear, as he sweatdropped nervousness along with a less-than-believable assured smile, "Oh, it's nothing. I just… thought I saw Lv.0. If I was at there, then I'd be in real trouble." He then cleared his throat, as he asked, "So, what now?"

"Well, now if you'd like, you could get started on small jobs," Eina replied, as she pointed to the wall on the right side of the building, showing a bulletin board loaded with flyers and job requests, "You're porcelain, so I'd recommend small jobs like helping out with farm work, cleaning stables, clearing the sewers, or um…" She then became a bit nervous as she mentioned, "Goblin slaying."

Alex arched an eyebrow, as he inquired on Eina's strange behavior, "Goblins? What's wrong with that? If you know what you're doing, you'll come out alright when dealing with them. So long as they're stragglers."

As Z looked at the forms, and stats, of Alex, in which he silently freaked and ran off, Eina explained, "Well, it's just that Porcelain Adventurers seem to take a Goblin Slaying quest without much thought in it. I know that they're the weakest monsters as they have the bodies and intelligence of a ten-year-old, but the Porcelains… well…."

"They underestimate their abilities. They probably have killed one when before they were adventurers and believe that they're an easy target. Never suspecting that the goblin they killed was a straggler; a goblin that escaped and wandered out in the wilderness without a horde to belong to," Alex surmised. "Right?"

Eina was a bit surprised by this young man's knowledge on the goblins, but that faded as she nodded in agreement. "Yeah, and they either die or survive just to come back and quit," Eina sadly lamented. "And when I suggest the quests to more seasoned adventurers, they brush it off." She sighed as she leaned on the desk, "I'm starting to wonder if it was okay to let those five deal with the goblin quest they chose."

'The five? The ones I bumped into earlier? Now that I think about it, they mentioned something about slaying goblins,' Alex thought back, and then blinked on that in confusion, as he requested with his hand out, "Do you have a copy of the quest? I'd like to see it for confirmation." Eina politely did so, as Alex looked at the quest, as he mumbled to himself, "Goblins taking crops, livestock from local farms, and…" He then paled as he read the final part, "… kidnapping three women?"

Eina looked a bit confused and worried about his reaction. Though in the back of her mind, she figured he'd try and rush in, play the hero to save the damsels in distress, so she shrugged, "Well, that's usually what happens with goblins, isn't it?"

But then she jumped back a little, as he was getting close to her face, a look of worry and concern plastered on it, as he continued to ask, "What was the party like? How many members? Did they have any potions, antidotes? What were their weapons and armor like?"

Taken a bit back by this, the half-elf lady answered, "Well, um, five in total: one male and four females. No, the warrior said they didn't have the money for it, and um… well, they were all Porcelain ranked."

Alex paled at this info, as he looked at the job, "What's the location?"

"It's about 20 miles outside the city walls; the location is on the job quest flyer from the villagers that said they had an idea on where the goblins were coming from," Eina answered back. She then saw him turn around and about to run out. When she did see this, her instincts kicked in as she got out from behind the desk, and asked, "Wait! What are you planning to do?"

"I'm gonna go after them," Alex replied, as he was about to sprint out.

But Eina ran up in front of him, gently stopping him from going, "You can't. you don't have any equipment or weapons."

Z was walking back, holding a satchel as he was making his way back to the desk. Though eh stopped as he witnessed the scene, as Alex protested, "It doesn't matter. If I can get to them before they go in, I won't need to."

Eina was slowly starting to worry, as she asked, "I don't understand. Why are you panicking?"

"The kidnapped women are a pretty big reason," Alex replied, as he explained in further detail. "If the goblins are kidnapping women, it means they intend to use them as breeders. Mostly to push their numbers up in the double or triple digits. That means there's more than just three in this quest. Those five are gonna get slaughtered before they know what's about to happen. But even worse, if there's more goblins then there are definitely hobgoblins close in guarding the nest. A variant of goblin that's more like a Champion to them."

"Even so, you should…" Eina insisted.

"You might need this then," Z popped up, holding a satchel bag to Alex, as he explained. "It's the Adventurer's Starter set. Mostly for beginners. It comes with the following items for the adventurer that is starting out in the world: two torches, one gasoline lamp that can be fitted to the belt in case you need both hands, rope, some chalk to use to mark your way around in case you get lost, 3 healing potions and 2 antidotes. And don't worry, the kit is free of charge; I scraped some Jule up to pay for it myself. Think of it as a gift."

Alex graciously took the satchel bag, and looked in it to confirm all was in place, and sighed in disappointment, "Wish there was some Kingsfoil." He slipped the bag on, and then bolted out, "Thanks. I'll be back with the others!"

Eina still called out, "Wait! You don't have a weapon or anything else!"

Alex didn't turn around, but called back, "I'll manage!" And then was out of there in a flash.

Eina blinked, and looked to grow worried, "He doesn't have a weapon. Not even armor! What's he going to do?" Z merely adjusted his glassed, as she looked at him angrily, and shot out, "And what's wrong with you?! You should have stopped him!"

"I don't have to worry, Eina," Z replied, as he looked to where Alex had bolted from. "It was only a gander at his stats, but I'd say he'll be fine. There's something different about this one." And then smirked, "Something that tells me he'll come out alright with the others."

In the lounge area, a figure in a black and red hooded cloak had been listening to the situation, and put down a cup, as he got up, and picked up a rather impressive looking red and black bow.

20 Minutes Later

Forest Outskirts

Alex blinked at what had happened as he had found the cave entrance, much to his relief. When he had reached outside the walls to the place where he had met the five, he was clueless and panicking on what to do. But then something clicked as he saw the footprints, and identified them to be four female footprints and one male. Apparently even though his magic and skills didn't come with him, his stats as Slayer still had some basic skills: like tracking footprints and following trails with ease. It was because of that, he managed to find the location to where the goblin slaying job was at. In a rocky hillside covered in trees and green, he had found the cave entrance. It wasn't that hard to know it was a Goblin's lair… mostly because there was a totem adored with a red and black sash, gold pieces, and an animal skull.

Alex gulped as he realized what it was as he sighed, "Great. A Totem. That's an indication that a Goblin Shaman's in the mix." Since he had no weapons, he had to make do on something. A rock, sharp stick, or heck, he'd take a Balloon Monster; seeing as balloon monsters were actually the real weakest monsters ever, it wouldn't be hard for him to use it as a projectile. But no such luck. However, he spotted something nearby as he walked over to it.

It was a large oaken branch, big and thick enough to be used as an arm shied, and conveniently there was a part of the branch to be used as a handle. He picked it up and looked at it carefully on inspection, until he arched an eyebrow, "Hmmm, guess this will do. Hope nobody makes any Thorin Oakenshield references." He was about to look for more stuff, but then he spotted something growing near the totem. He ran over to it, and saw a bright leafy green plant with white flowers growing with them.

Alex lit up as he was elated to see what it was, "Kingsfoil." He knelt down and started picking up a whole bunch and stuffing it in the pouches. "This is too great to be true here." However, he stopped, as he suddenly heard screaming in the cave. "No time to fool around," He then looked down and pulled out a torch, lighting it up, as he looked to the mouth of the cave, "Time to go to work." And rushed on in there, hoping that he wasn't too late.

40 Minutes Earlier

Adventurer's Guild

"I'd like to become an Adventurer," the young blonde girl said.

She was currently being registered at the counter desks, and the receptionist registering her was Eina. She seemed more awake and less hungry now, as she processed the young lady's paperwork, as she asked the usual, "And you can read and write?"

The blonde girl nodded, "Yes. At the orphanage at the Earth Mother Church, they have classes to do so. They taught very well there."

Eina then presented the girl a porcelain tag, "Here you are. Your Adventurer's tag."

The Blonde girl graciously took it with her left hand, as she examined it, "Porcelain?"

"It's usually the color for Beginners or Rookies," Eina explained the importance of the color of the tag. "The tag also indicates your name, age, Adventurer Job. And if something is to go wrong, it can be used to identify you. So don't lose it."

The blonde nodded, "Of course."

Then Eina pointed at the board, "Over there is where we have our usual jobs for adventures. Since you're a beginner, you're more than welcome to pick one suitable for your current rank. Another option would be if you'd like, you could join a veteran's party or a silver rank party. Silver's are actually the most common out in the field, and have more experience, so if…"

"Hey, wanna join our party?"

The Blonde girl looked as she spotted the Brown-haired Warrior, and the others, standing on the sides, Twilight among them as well. The warrior then smirked, as he explained, "I heard you're a priestess for the Earth Mother Temple? My group's got a quest we picked out, and we're in need of a healer. The quest is urgent, so we're looking for someone who's an expert in healing right on the spot. Interested?"

The blonde girl scratched her cheek, as she was uncertain, as she asked, "I don't know. What kind of quest is it?'

The Warrior smirked confidently, as he pointed out, "We're slaying some goblins."

Eina was a bit shocked by this, though the blonde girl was a bit confused, as she asked, "You're going after goblins?"

The Warrior nodded, "Sure are. They raided a village, and if stealing food and livestock wasn't enough, they kidnapped some of the village's girls." He then looked to Eina with confidence in his eyes, "We need to rescue them as soon as possible."

A bit nervous and worried for them, Eina calmly advised him, "Um, but you're all Porcelain rank, like she is. This might be a bit too much for your first quest. If you wait a little white, I'm sure I can find a Silver rank to accompany you, and…"

"Oh please, I took care of a few goblins in my village beforehand. They weren't all that tough," the Warrior smirked. He then looked to the four girls, as he smirked, "And besides, we've got ourselves a celestial Summoner, a Wizard, and my friend, Ming here's a Fighter. We're more than capable of handling some filthy weaklings like Goblins."

The Asian girl, identified as Ming, nodded, "Yeah, so you in, Priestess?"

The female wizard sighed, as she looked a rather annoyed and impatient at the priestess's hesitation, "Just make a decision already."

"Ember," Twilight politely scolded. She walked over to the Priestess, as she gently placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "You have to forgive Ember. She's a bit on the impatient side." Ember just huffed and looked away, as Twilight explained, "But it would help out much if you could come along."

The Priestess looked at Twilight, being assured on such, and then looked to the others, as she nodded, "Okay. I'll help. But only if I can do so."

Twilight nodded, "I think you might."

"Alright then," the Warrior smirked as he fist-punched his hand, "We're going on an adventure, everybody."

"Yeah, welcome to the group," Ming smiled.

Even though the five were elated that they had formed a group, Eina was worried about the choices that had been made and what would happen next. Even though during the cheerful celebration, the priestess and Twilight took notice of this too, and seemed silently concerned about this.

Later On

Cave Entrance

After trekking out of the city of Helmsmann, as well as bumping into a strangely-dressed individual who was lost, they had made it to where they heard rumors of where the goblins had kept their nest. They were standing at the entrance, with the Warrior examining the strange totem at the entrance, as he arched an eyebrow, "What the heck is this?" he waved it off, as he signaled them all to follow. Though as they did, only Twilight and the girl seemed hesitant at first, as they followed in.

Inside the Cave

The warrior led the way while holding the only torch in his hand, the Fighter Ming followed behind with Ember the Wizard in the center, and then with Twilight and the Priestess following after. As they trekked in, Twilight looked to her as she decided to try and help take her mind on the uneasiness of the quest, "I never got your name. My name's Twilight."

The Priestess jumped a little, as she cleared her throat, "Oh, um… I'm Alisa. Alisa Argenta."

Twilight pointed to the Wizard, "She's Ember. She and I are graduates from the Mage's Academy."

"Really? You both studied there," Alisa asked.

Twilight nodded, "Pretty much."

The warrior looked behind him, as he winked, "Name's Roudahn." He then pointed to Ming, as he made introductions, "You've already met Na Ming. She and I have been friends since she was a squirt and flat chested."

Ming twitched a vein on her forehead, as she smirked, "Well, flat chested or not, I can still kick your butt, Roudahn."

"Have you all known each other," Alisa pondered.

Twilight shook her head, "Nah, we all met recently at the Guild. Ember and I graduated recently and came to Helmsmann to register as Adventurers. We bumped into Ming and Roudahn and thought we could join up. And that's when we met you."

Alisa smiled at that, but then grew concerned, as she asked, "I know I'm new to this, but shouldn't we have, um… maybe scouted the area?"

"Really," Ember grumbled, as she and the others stopped, "Now you decide to back out?"

"Ember," Twilight politely scolded, but then shared Alisa's concerns, "But she is right, maybe should have…"

Roudahn just chuckled, "You girls have nothing to worry about. Goblins are stupid and are practically the size of ten-year-olds. They're the weakest monsters around, and I would know. Remember, I took down three in my hometown."

Ming had to half-smirk at that as she shook her head, "I wouldn't be bragging about that."

Roudahn smirked confidently, as he pulled out his sword, and smirked, "HA! Not to worry. This quest will be a piece of cake. And after this, we'll be ready and slay a dragon!"

Ember, Twilight, and even Alisa paled at that, as they worried about the idea or situation to befall on them should they take it. Though Ember, being a voice of reason, half smirked as she sweatdropped, "You're getting a little ahead of yourself. But I suppose one day we'll get there."

The smirk on Roudahn's face grew, as he declared, "One day, I'm gonna be a famous Dragon Slayer!" and thrusted his sword in the air, only to strike against the cavern wall, as he tried to steady himself. Walking away from such an embarrassment, as he steadied himself, Ming walked over ot the three girls.

"Even if that blockhead's sword's not enough, you three have nothing to worry about," Ming assured them. "If his sword's not up to the challenge, I've got my fists and feet."

"You're that skilled," Twilight asked, and then she and the others leapt back.

The reason behind it was that Ming was performing very powerful kicks as a display for them. She then stopped as she steadied herself confidently, and then looked to the three, "I may not look it, but my family's one of the few clans alive that have knowledge and experience with the Steel Ryu. The Way of the Steel Body."

"No way," Twilight blinked in amazement. "I heard that was one of the few martial arts that can literally turn the user's body into a living weapon of organic metal. You're basically a weapon yourself."

Ming scratched her head in embarrassment, as they went on, "Yeah, but I haven't fully mastered it. My dad said I was missing something. Something that could awaken it. I got the moves down, but the technique to literally change my body to living steel is something I haven't mastered. That's why I became an Adventurer: to use the Steel Ryu to help others and to find a way to awaken it." She then looked to Twilight and Ember, "What about you two?"

"We're trying to make it on our own," Twilight replied as they went on. "Y'know, being independent women in a world like this."

"Oh, I see," Alisa replied, as she then looked to Ember. When the Wizard got a notion of her looking at her, she huffed and scoffed away. 'Why is she so upset? What did I do to make her dislike me?'

After a few minutes of walking in further, which the entrance dimmed more as they got in further, Alisa's nervousness once again poked out, "Um, did anyone bring any potions?"

"Nope," Roudahn replied, making both Alisa and Twilight shocked at that, as he explained, "We didn't have the time or the money. We needed to go and save those girls. Besides we've got you, Alisa."

"Well, I guess. But I only know a minor Heal spell," Alisa explained further in. "It can only heal minor wounds like stabs or cuts. Nothing too advanced. Though I also have Holy Light, but I'm not certain how that will come in handy. And there are the limits; I can only use both three times each."

"Wait, hold up," Roudahn stopped, as he and Ming ran up to a spot. There, they found an exact replica of the Totem from outside, as he commented, "Weird. Another one."

"It's like the one outside," Ming replied.

As they pondered on this, Alisa stopped for a moment, as she clasped her staff, silently praying, "Here me, Oh Merciful Earth Mother. Please offer us your love and protection. Light the darkness…"

"C'mon, move it," Ember replied, as she and Twilight stayed behind to watch for Alisa, as the female wizard went on. "We're falling behind. The other two ran ahead after us, and I don't wanna miss out on anything."

"Huh," Alisa asked.

Twilight pointed ahead, as all three noticed the darkened area, "They went ahead of us in that direction."

They spotted the two going in further, as the torch light was getting out of range and dimming. The three followed after, as it was darkened a bit, but not enough to cause them to get lost. However, a thud sound stopped all three in their tracks, as the three girls wondered what that sound was. Ember, noticing the frightened tension the Priestess, "What is it now?"

"I thought…" Alisa gulped, "I thought I heard something from behind us."

Twilight wondered on that as well, "I heard something too."

Ember shook her head, "That's impossible, you two. We came in from the entrance and didn't see or hear anything. This is a cave, you hear things all the time. It's probably your imaginations going crazy." However, all three began to hear bare feet running towards them, as well as haggard hissing.

The three looked behind them, and spotted coming from out of the shadows, strange creatures. They were roughly build with the size of ten-year-old children, green skin with bumps on the shoulders and elbows, gnarly toe and fingernails, with big noses and ears, and yellow eyes with horizontal slits, and mouths full of yellow jagged teeth, and dressed in brown tarps and shawls, with brown bandages on their forearms and feet and holding crude clubs and daggers for weapons. These were the Goblins, known to be the weakest among the monsters, but in a group, they were fierce.

Twilight gasped as she and the other two were a bit taken by the appearance, "The Goblins."

Ember, a bit on the startled and scared side, began to chant, as she held her wand staff, "Sagita Inflamare Radius… "

As one of the goblins inched further to her, she readied her staff, as it pounced at her, and called out, "FLAME BOLT!"

A powerful bolt of fire materialized from the red gem atop the staff, and shot right at the Goblin. It struck rough through the creature as it fell to the ground, immediately burning to a crisp. Ember let a relaxed and confident smirk on her face, as she found accomplishment on striking the first blow at the enemy. "Alright, we got one," Ember smirked, as the other goblins inched at her. She smirked, readying another spell, "Sagita Infalmare..."

But suddenly, one of the Goblins shot right at her feet, grabbing her, as she was interrupted. Startled by this, she didn't see the other goblin grab her staff's end and causing her to get distracted. Then a third goblin jumped right at her, kicking her in the chest as she fell flat on her back, as the goblins swarmed her to keep her pinned down. The impact caused her to lose her glasses as they fell to the ground, as one of the goblins stomped on them like it was no big deal. Pinned down, Ember tried to get them off as best she could, but the little creatures overpowered her, as the one that had her staff, yanked it out of her hand.

Seeing this, she called out, "No! Give that back!"

The little goblin smirked, as with ease, he snapped it in two, as he cackled at this scene, while Ember just looked at it in shock. As Ember watched her prized staff get taken by the goblin, her time at the magic academy with Twilight played in her mind as if she was.

She recalled how she learned all about magic and how it could change the very world if one could master it. Due to the students thinking she saw herself above them, Ember didn't make any friends, and the stress of maintaining her family name along with her position of Class Rep only added more stress for her. It wasn't until she met Twilight that her school life began to became fun and the two were able to share their problems and secrets with each other. Soon, the two graduated with the highest honors, received valuable items as presents from their teachers, and headed off together for the Adventurer's Guild.

Flashing back to the present, Ember lost it, as she screamed, "I'll kill you!" And kicked one of the goblins in the face, as she thrashed around to try and free herself.

"Aethra Siderea Stella," Twilight chanted as she held her right hand out, with light purple energy forming at the palm, as she aimed at the Goblins that were attempting to swarm Ember again, as well as to come after them, "STAR BOLT!" And the energy shot out, striking three goblins down in a row, as the three fell down with a smoking hole to where the beam struck.

Alisa was trying her best to help as best she could. Though she lacked combat skills completely, being solely a healer and not in any means of hand-to-hand combat. So all she did was flail and swing her staff around like a bat or club, as she cried out, "Get away from her, you monsters!"

Managing to slip through, one of the Goblins near Ember, pulled out a dagger, as it smirked and snickered at her. The redheaded wizard paled as it held the knife, and stabbed her abdomen. She cried out, tears swelling in her eyes, as she thrashed around, whimpering and crying at the injury.

Twilight heard the screaming, as she turned and saw Ember, failing around and crying as she held a bleeding spot on her stomach. "EMBER!" She then aimed at the goblins and changed, "Aethra Siderea Stella… STAR BOLT BARRAGE!" And suddenly a rain barrage of light purple bolts fired at the Goblins like bullets, hitting them as they fell over. Twilight rushed over to Ember to help her, as she helped her friend keep still, "Ember, just hold still! I'm here!" She looked to Alisa, "Heal her, please!"

Alisa raced over, but just as Goblins were rushing at them, Roudahn charged in, swinging his sword around, as he called out, "Back off, you monsters!" He looked behind her with Ming following after him, "Ming! Protect the others!"

"Got it!" she said as she got to the trio, as Alisa was preparing heal her, as Ming asked, "What happened?"

"They came up from behind us," Twilight replied, as she let Ember's head rest on her lap. "It was around the time you two went on ahead."

Alisa began the healing chant, "Hear me, Oh Merciful Earth Mother. Please lay your hand upon this blessed child. Heal."

"How did we not see that," Ming asked, wondering the same thing as everyone else did, as Roudahn swung his sword around, cutting and slicing through goblins. "Roudahn, be careful!"

Though sadly, he didn't listen, as he still swung at them, "How dare you hurt my teammate! I'll kill every last one of you." He looked back, and called out to the girls, "Just stay with each other! I'll kill these things once and for all!" one of them got lucky and slashed at his leg, but he stabbed him clear through as they surrounded him, but not getting close enough to him due to his sword always swinging around.

As Roudahn sliced his way through the goblins, memories of his past flowed through his mind along with the bloodlust.

Growing up as a farmhand, he was inspired by the tales of his family's and their friend's tales as adventurers. From slaying grand creatures to finding vast amount of treasure, Roudahn knew that being a great adventurer was his calling and destiny. With his childhood friend Ming with him, he knew he would assemble a great team, and full fill his dream.

But what happened next to him was far from what he envisioned for himself.

He whipped around, seeing a Goblin charge at him with a club, as he raised his sword with a downward slash, "YOU'RE THE NEXT ONE! DIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEE!" But as he brought it down to cut it…

CLANG!

His sword had hit the side of the cave, and as a result, it fell out of his hand. Roudahn paled, as he saw his sword fly up in the air… and failed to see the goblins swarm and jump him, pinning him to the ground.

As the goblins swarmed Roudahn, he could feel tremendous pain shoot through his body. As he lifted his head to see what was happening to him, he saw something no one should ever see in their life. The goblins were hacking at his body with their weapons as blood sprayed from his injuries. With every impact, more blood shot out of his body, more damaged flesh and clothing fell off onto the floor of the cave, and more of his bones were broken.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

He cried out in horror as another burst of pain went through his body from his left arm. He tried to move his hand, but he couldn't feel anything through the pain. From the corner of his eye, he saw that the goblins had cut his hand clean off as blood oozed out onto the cave floor. Tears formed in the Young Warrior's eyes at the sight of the hand he had use to carried his sword was now gone forever. It was as though the goblins were shattering his dreams of being a hero.

The goblins continued to hold Roudahn down as they continued to attack him and the pain from each attacked paralyzed him further. The goblins had smiles of sinister delight on their faces as they inflicted more and more pain on the intruder. With each strike, the goblins slowed down their attacks as they knew the boy was now too wounded and broken to get up. They were now hacking at his body slowly, as though they were extending his life only to fill him with more pain before his final breath among the living.

Ming, who was frozen with fear stared in horror as her childhood friend was being slowly chopped to pieces. It was a sight that would make anyone hurl the contents of their stomach out, but Ming's mind was too split between her friend's torment and the three teammates behind her to lose her lunch.

Behind Ming, Alisa and Twilight were looking at Ember in concern who simply laid on the ground motionless.

"Ember, come on," Twilight cried out, "Say something!" Ember didn't seem to hear her friend as she stared at the ceiling with lifeless eyes as tears leaked out. It was as though the dagger was somehow killing Ember's emotions and mind as well.

"I don't understand it either," Alisa cried in horror and confusion, "I used Healing on her but she's not getting any better!"

Hearing this, Ming finally fought through her fear enough to think straight. "You two need to take her and get out of here," Ming ordered as she stood ready for battle, "I'll hold them off as long as I can!"

Twilight and Alisa looked up in horror at Ming's words. "No way," Twilight exclaimed as she stood up and went for her key ring, "You can't beat them alone!"

"There's no time," Ming continued with her back to the girls, "Alisa can't fight on her own and she'll need someone to defend her and Ember if more goblins show up!" Twilight stared as Ming as her arms and hands shook with fear. Despite what Ming was saying, she was horrified at what she was doing to herself.

"But, what about you," Alisa asked with fear on her face, "You'll be on your own!"

"I can still fight," Ming exclaimed as she leapt forward towards the goblins, "I'll take these goblins out and catch up with you three. Now GO!" The moment the distance between her and the group of goblins disappeared, she delivered a powerful kick to a goblin's neck and broke it in the process. Using the momentum, she swung around, and karate chopped another goblin before it could react. It fell to the ground out cold. As soon as she stopped, the bravery Ming had mustered from within her almost went out as the sight before her.

On the ground surrounded by murderous looking goblins was her childhood friend lying in a pool of his own blood. His right forearm, left hand, and left food had been cut off as blood sprayed out of the wounds. He stared at Ming with horrified eyes as tears tried to escape his eyes. He tried to speak but he couldn't get the words out.

"Roudahn," Ming said in horror at her friend in this hurt and broken state. Seeing it though also filled her with anger she could not contain as she made fists and glared at the goblins.

The remaining goblins leaped at Ming ready to do the same thing to her. But Ming proved too fast as she dodged their attacks while delivering her own attacks. With every movement, a goblin fell to the ground with a broken neck or was sent flying to the walls of the cave with blood coming out of their noses.

As Ming continued fighting the goblins left and right, the memories of training with her father played before her eyes.

The way she mimicked her father's techniques at a young age and the proud smile she would give whenever she would improve her skills. When he died, she was filled with sadness from losing both a father and a mentor. She vowed she would honor him and his teachings by becoming an adventurer and helping as many people as she could as he watched over her from beyond.

As a rage filled Ming spun around to deliver another round house kick, she was stopped by a large dark green hand. She looked up to see a sight that would make her blood run cold.

Standing before her was a creature that resembled a goblin, but was much taller, and had a stronger build than the small ones. Like the other goblins, it had yellow eyes, pointed yellow teeth, long ears, and a pointy nose. But this one had the build of a body builder with a beer belly, dark green skin, a yellow earring on its left ear, and a beard filled with black hair. He wore bandages around his forearms, a white band around his left arm, a pair of tattered brown pants.

Ming stared in fear as he bravery and anger went out like the flame of a candle from a slight breeze. The large goblin glared at her while growling. "Weakling," the goblin said in rough voice. "You are… a tiny weakling."

The new goblin began to twist Ming's leg the wrong way creating the sound of bones breaking. "Let go," Ming pleaded as the pain of her legs being twisted filled her, "My LEG!"

But the large goblin didn't listen as it flung her around face first towards the stone wall. Ming felt all the air get knocked out of her as blood began to ooze out of her mouth. The new goblin flung Ming again while releasing his hold on her leg. She was sent flying through the air only to collided with another large goblin's fist. As the impact thundered through the cave, more blood escaped from Ming's mouth as she fell onto the stone floor with a thud, as her hair became undone, as her black hair cascaded free of the hair band.

Alisa and Twilight shook with fear as they continued to guard a still weakened Ember. 'Hobgoblins,' Twilight thought in horror, 'We're not strong enough for them!' She attempted to find the courage to reach for her keys, but the logical part of her mind reminded her she wasn't strong enough to maintain a spirit's presence in their world long enough to defeat all of them.

Ming laid in shock on the floor. All the impacts to her body and frozen her with pain. The smaller goblins used this opportunity of helplessness as they charged forward much to Ming's horror. They began to beat her with their clubs as she shouted and screamed in pain with every attack.

'No! Not Ming,' Roudahn thought in pain as he attempted to get up, but a burst of pain stopped his attempts dead in its tracks. He looked at saw a goblin had cut off the rest of his left arm as he held it up and laughed in his face while blood dripped on his face. He shook with fear as the loss of blood began to affect his senses. But the sound of Ming's cries caused him to focus as he saw something that would haunt him for whatever remained of his body's lifespan.

Ming had been stripped of her clothing by the goblins aside from her boots and was forced to lay on the ground with her butt sticking up in the air. Tears filled her eyes as she tried to find the strength to escape, but a goblin stomped his foot on her face keeping her in place.

Alisa and Twilight stared in horror at the sight before her. The warrior was beaten to pieces while their fighter was easily captured and surrounded by goblins. Both of the girls knew what goblins did with women they captured, but to see the act about to happen was enough to traumatized anyone.

'This can't be happening,' Alisa thought to herself as her sounding staff shook in her hand, 'Why did this all go so wrong!?'

'I can't stand it,' Twilight thought with anger as she stood up ready to jump in, 'I can't just sit by and-'

"Go..."

Twilight and Alisa become stunned at the quiet words filled with fear. It was Ming as she stared at her teammates with eyes filled with tears and the fear of what was to come. "Take her… and run away!"

As soon as she said those words, she felt the claws of these creatures almost dig into her flesh, their grip on her as they dragged her down in the dark. She tried to fight back, but all she could do was scream out for what horror awaited her in the dark. Her screams of defiance and pain filled the cave.

As they attempted to get out, all three girls, including the barely conscious Ember, heard Ming's screams as they heard her struggling. Knowing the fate that awaited her, as they fled, all Alisa could do was cry, as she continued onward with Ember and Twilight, as she cried, "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry…"

Twilight held back her tears as they attempted to get out of there, as she silently cursed herself, 'This isn't right. This shouldn't have happened.'

The hat, broken staff, and glasses of Ember's ensemble and gear was left in tatters. In the dark, Ming's shredded clothes were laid around as fingermarks dug in the dirt were made by the Fighter as she was being dragged further in. and the remains of Roudahn's body was still being hacked apart and torn, as struggled breathing and gagging from Roudahn as one of the goblins gnawed on his severed right hand, as they all cackled.

The three girls retreated back to the entrance as fast as they could, as Roudahn's torch went out, leaving nothing but total darkness.

Moments Later

A Few Minutes Earlier for Alex

The three girls staggered towards the cavern pathway. For a while, it didn't take them long to get close to the exit of the cavern. But beaten, losing two of their party members, and with one wounded but struggling, it wasn't a victory. The goblins still inhabited the cave, and the girls had yet to be rescued, and now another girl was in need of rescuing. This adventure, despite being the first one, had ended in failure. Though it was doubtful that the survivors would live to reflect on this so soon.

Twilight looked haggard, after witnessing such horror. She knew full well what awaited Ming in the caverns. She scolded and cursed herself for being so weak and unable to do anything. Even Alisa was taking it hard, as she wept and repeated, "I'm sorry… I'm so sorry… I'm…"

Twilight wasn't sure where it all went wrong.

She had a great childhood with her family and with her mother's friend, Celestia. When her mother passed away, her family fell into dark times due to her father choosing work over his family, and her brother Shining joining the royal army. Her friendship with the servants helped, but not enough to repair the broken bond between father and daughter. After Twilight left for the magical academy, she gained the friendship of Ember, and the two graduated at the age of sixteen. With the experience gained from the academy, the two felt they could take on anything. But not even Twilight imagined such a fate would befall her and her friends.

However, their train of thought was brought to a halt as Ember suddenly puked. The two stopped as Twilight looked to her friend, "Ember? What's wrong? Are you…?" But paled as she saw her friend's face.

It was pale, sweating profusely, and her eyes showed to be hazy and with dark rings. It was almost as if something was happening to her, as she staggered and struggled to talk, "Twilight, I… I don't feel so good…" She suddenly fell down, bringing both girls down.

Twilight crashed onto her knees, as did Alisa, but Ember fell flat on the ground. Twilight looked to her, as Alisa crawled over ot help her turn her over, as she apologized, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean…" but she too gasped as she saw Ember's condition.

She gagged and stuttered in her breathing, sweating like crazy. Even her dirtied clothing was starting to soak. Then suddenly, she coughed out a little blood, and shivered. Twilight paled at this as she carefully held her friend, "Ember!"

"I don't understand. Why hasn't she gotten better," Alisa cried as she stayed at Ember's side, "The wound was healed up but she hasn't gotten better."

Twilight cried a little, but then she looked over at the dimness of the entrance. There, she saw someone leaning on the side, their back turned to them. Twilight blinked, "An adventurer?"

"G-Go," Ember stammered, as she got both their attention. "L-Leave.. me… please… save yourselves.."

Twilight shook her head angrily at such a thing, "I won't leave my friends here." She looked to Alisa, as she asked, "Please look after her. I'm going over to talk to that man." Alisa nodded, as she got up and ran over to them. She could tell that the man had some gear on, and a leather cap on as a means to protect his head. "Excuse me! Sir! We need your help," she cried out as she got close to him, and gently touched his shoulder to turn him to her.

She gasped and screamed as she saw that the adventurer… was a rotting corpse of one. And from the tag, it was Obsidian: a rank higher than her or the others.

Alisa looked over to Twilight as she yelled, "What is it? What's going on?" Not getting a reply, she looked back to the struggling Ember, as she called, "It'll be okay, Ember. I promise, you…"

But suddenly, an arrow shot forward, striking her in the right shoulder, causing her to fall down, as she cried out in pain.

Twilight turned around, as she saw Goblins approaching from the dark, one of them armed with a bow and arrow quiver with crudely made arrows. But as soon as she turned her back, she was suddenly forcefully pushed down. She managed to try and sit up to see who it was that attacked her. It was another Hobgoblin, only this one had the build of a teenage boy taller than her. It had shaggy spikey black hair slightly covering its yellow eyes, lean build with a lighter yellow shade of green. He had dark brown tattered pants with an animal hide tied around it's waist, with a belt strapped around its chest, a necklace with teeth on it, a skull on his left shoulder to act like a shoulder guard, and its right arm was armored up with leather straps and metal plates and armor, while its left forearm was covered in straps.

It snickered as it looked down at her, as it held up tags, all a mix of Porcelain, Steel, and a few Silver. "Easy prey…" it hissed, as it smirked at her, showing its sharp and yellow teeth. "Dumb humans… coming in… thinking we easy… but they all die or make babies for us… in the end…"

Twilight whimpered and shivered in fear, as she looked over at Alisa, as goblins approached her and Ember.

As the goblins approached Alisa, she subconsciously remembered her time as growing up at the temple.

Even after her mother abandoned her and the church turned against her for unknowingly healing a demon, she remained happy and helpful around the temple, despite being labeled a witch. Finally, she decided to help others outside the temple as an adventurer. But she never imagined her time as one would end in such a terrible way.

But as the Goblins approached, Alisa jumped at Ember, shielding her, as she screamed, "No! I won't let you hurt her! I won't…!" But she was kicked to the side, as the Goblins got to work.

Immediately, as Ember's body was stiff, but she was still breathing as a look of despair was frozen on her struggling face, the Goblins immediately began to work on her. They pulled her gloves off as well as her boots, and then began to strip her dress off. They tore at it piece by piece as she was unable to fight back. And then ripped off her panties, as they drooled at her still but beautiful body, preparing to violate her even if she was gonna die. She was fated to be either food or a plaything.

Twilight looked at this, as did a shivering Alisa, as the Priestess clasped her staff, shivering, as she could only whimper, "Oh Hear Me… Merciful… Earth Mother…"

However, before the Goblins could take this ripe fruit before them, they sniffed the air and looked at the Priestess. Apparently, she had wetted herself, as a small puddle was forming between her legs. The Goblins cackled and laughed at this sight, taking in the futility and hopelessness that these girls had been subjected to now.

Twilight saw this, as she shouted, "Alisa! Ember!" But suddenly, the Hobgoblin punched her hard in the left side of her face.

Her head rung as dizziness and a slip out of consciousness nearly took her. All she could hear was barely audible sounds as she fell back first into the ground, as muffled whimpers and laughs could be heard. But her attention focused back on the Hobgoblin, who towered over her. His drooling smirk sent shivers of fear through her, as he forcefully grabbed her collar, and tore open her shirt, causing her C Cup breasts to bounce and expose her cleavage from her neck to her navel. The Hobgoblin leaned in as he licked her neck up and down and further downward, almost savoring the flesh, as a still stunned Twilight had a hard time moving.

He then pinned her hands over her head, as he smirked, the sounds clearing up as she heard the goblin say, "I save you for myself. You give me babies from now on."

Twilight closed her eyes, trying all her best to be brave in this, but the Hobgoblin taunted, "What's wrong? Scream! Only fun if female screams! SCREAM!"

Twilight tried to keep strong, but the situation was too much for her now. Her friend dying, Alisa in pain, Ming suffering a fate worse than death, and Roudahn dead and eaten. It was all too much for her. Her eyes began to water as they were shut tight, trying to wish this was all a bad dream. Then finally, her mouth slowly opened as she gasped a whimper, almost about to scream, much to the Hobgoblin's delight.

However, all stopped as they heard footsteps approaching them. The smiling faces and cackles of the goblins and hobgoblin stopped as their faces grew to seriously confused. Even Twilight's as she heard footsteps, as did Alisa, as they turned or looked to see from the opening where the footsteps came from. A torch was shown, as they saw who it was. To Alisa and Twilight, it was the same boy that they had bumped into on the way there, only this time he had a torch, a satchel strapped across his chest, and apparently holding a thick oaken branch as a shield. And a look of what appeared to be a mix of determination and generally PO attitude as he slowly approached them.

The goblins' archer sneered as he readied his arrows, and fired three right at him. He quickly brought up the oaken branch, as they all lodged into it perfectly. He then smashed the arrows, breaking them off with the torch like a sword, as it left only three sharp stubs sticking out of it. One of the goblins fumed at the mouth, as it charged right at him, even with Twilight looking in fear. It jumped right at him, but quickly brought up the oaken branch up to catch him as it landed on it. The Goblin drew out a dagger and drew down a cry as it shot to stab him. However, in a quick flash, Alex used the torch as a sword and swatted the dagger out of the goblin's hand and to the side, as he forcefully smash-shoved the Goblin into the wall, pinning him to it with the three sharp stubs sticking into its abdomen. It squealed and flailed around, as it felt its flesh sizzle and burn, and instantly died from the shock. Alex shoved the dead goblin's carcass on the ground for the others to see, as he got their attention.

The Goblin archer fired at him once again, but he tuck-dodged over to the downed dagger. In a quick flash, he brought the branch shield up again, as another arrow struck it, and threw the dagger right between the eyes of the archer. The Goblin spasmed and fell dead flat on its back. As Alex got up, the remaining Goblin shivered and screamed as it turned to flee. Alisa, seeing this, brought up her staff to block the goblin's path, halting it. Before it could react, Alex had run up to it, and swiftly grabbed the arrow off the branch, and shoved it through the neck of the creature. It gagged and spasmed, until Alex took it, and snapped its neck, killing it.

The Hobgoblin snarled, as it shoved the stunned Twilight back on the ground, and attempted to punch the boy. Alex easily dodged it, as it attempted to punch him on the left, but Alex blocked it with the branch in time. But the Hobgoblin hooked underneath, punching him in the face and the gut, and then grabbed him as he threw him against the wall. As the boy recovered, the Hobgoblin rushed over and grabbed both his wrists and pinned him to the wall. He snarled as he pushed further, hoping to break the boy's wrists and force him to let go of the oaken branch… which he did. The hobgoblin smirked as he was gonna have the upper hand… but then Alex reared his right leg and smashed the knee right into the beast's groin.

The hob's eyes went wide, as it groaned, letting go and grabbing its swollen privates. The blue-haired boy grabbed the branch yet again, and a rock in his right hand. Before the Hob recovered, Alex smashed the rock into the side of its head. It shook it off as it snarled at him, but Alex whacked its head again this time with the branch. As the Hob stumbled, Alex grabbed the still lit torch, then rushed to the Hob's head, and smashed the left side with the burning torch. The Hobgoblin roared in pain, as it pushed Alex off, hitting him back into the wall. It knelt down, as it struggled through the pain, as Twilight slowly got back up, witnessing the fight. The Hobgoblin spotted the dagger, and grabbed it, as it rushed over to the still recovering Alex. He quickly caught on, as he brought the shield up for an upper block, but the Hob stabbed lower… but was caught by Alex's hand. Now it was just a struggle to see who would overpower whom. Though the Hob was slowly started to get the upper hand as it snickered, its twisted half-burnt face creeping up a snarled grin.

And in a split second, it gagged as a large purple and magenta scimitar-shaped sword struck through in an upward diagonal from its chest, and a girly-scream battle cry was heard. The impact of the blade caused the blood to splatter on Alex's face, as he shook off some of the excess gunk and saw who it was that struck. A recovered Twilight had managed to get back onto her feet, and somehow pulled out a strange violet and magenta-colored sword, and stabbed the Hobgoblin from behind without hitting the blue-haired man. Twilight whimpered a little, mostly out of aggravation and frustration of what had transpired before this. The Hobgoblin gagged and garbled from the blood and the fatal wound, trying to grab the blade and yank it out. But Alex threw down the branch and grabbed the Hob's head, and without hesitation… snapped its neck, killing it in an instant, as the body went limp.

Seeing this, Twilight let go of the sword as it faded as magical energy, and the hobgoblin fell to the ground, lying dead in an instant. She breathed in and out, and looked at Alex, as she blinked, recognizing him finally, "It's you." She looked at his chest, and saw a Porcelain rank tag, as she blinked, "You're an Adventurer? Like us?"

Alex nodded, "Yeah. Sorry for being late. And yeah, I started today too." He looked over at Alisa and Ember, and then back at Twilight, as he motioned to the two, "We should help them."

Remembering all that, Twilight rushed over to Ember to help support her, "Ember!" she gently held her friend's head, as she pleaded, "Please speak. Say something."

Ember weakly managed to speak, as she teared up, "It… it hurts… Twilight… hurts…"

As Twilight tried to comfort her friend, Alex walked over to the priestess, as he asked, "Can you still talk?"

"Y-Yes, I can," she replied, as he knelt down, but she asked him, "You're an adventurer?"

"Just started today, like you guys," eh replied, as he gently grabbed the arrow, and asked, "By the way, what's your favorite color?"

"Well, it's… wait, what's that have to do with…AAAAAH!" Alisa asked, but then suddenly screamed in pain, as Alex yanked out the arrow from her shoulder. She curled up in pain, as Alex dug into his satchel bag for an antidote.

"Yeah, Doc Bones from Star Trek said talking about something else usually gets your mind off the pain, but it's a load of bullshit. At least that's what he said," he replied, and then handed her a blue bottle, which was the Antidote. "Here, you should drink this right away."

But Alisa gently pushed the bottle away, as she looked to Ember, "No… I want… I want you to give it to her. Help her."

Alex thought about it, but gave the bottle to her anyway, as he got up, "You should drink that. I've got a spare." He knelt down next to Ember, as he looked to Twilight, "What happened?"

Still holding onto her friend, she answered, "They stabbed her in the abdomen with a dagger. Alisa was able to heal the wound, but she's not…"

"She's been poisoned," Alex answered, looking at the girl rather seriously, as he dug into the satchel to look for something. The girls paled at this, as Ember continued to convulse and have difficult breathing. "They make it through a mixture of their own urine and excrement along with a few poison herbs. Their methods may be primitive, but they're effective."

Twilight looked down at her friend, and began to slowly cry, as she could take it anymore, "You mean, she's… she's gonna..?"

"Maybe not," Alex asked giving the girls hope, as he asked, "She was stabbed in the stomach but not near the heart. How long ago was she stabbed and was she walking when you got up here?"

Twilight quickly answered, "It was roughly five minutes ago, and we were carrying her along the way."

"Did she puke?" Twilight nodded, as Alex pulled out a cleaned knife. "Then she might have a chance." He looked to her and advised, "I want you to hold her down and keep her still. I need to reopen the wound." He looked over to the recovering Alisa after she drank the antidote, "Priestess, how many healing miracles can you do?"

"Three Healing, along with Holy Light for each of them," Alisa replied, as she shakingly got back onto her feet. "I've done one healing so far, so that means two left."

"I need you over here when it's time," Alex replied, and looked to Ember as Alisa walked over. "I need you to bear with me. I'm gonna reopen the wound, so try and bear it, okay?" Ember looked at him with tearful eyes, and then back at Twilight for what was to come next. He took the knife, and carefully but quickly cut the wound back open; Ember's eyes went wide with pain as she was about to thrash around as she whimpered. But Twilight kept her pinned even after she cried. Alex then carefully took the poultice of Kingsfoil and gently dabbed it on the wound.

He then looked to the Priestess, as he nodded, "Okay, Healing now." And then took the spare antidote out.

Alisa gently placed her hand on the poultice-covered wound, and chanted, as Alex poured the antidote on, "Oh Merciful Earth Mother, Please lay your hand upon this blessed child. Heal."

The mixture of the antidote and the healing miracle caused the concoction to glow light blue, as it seeped into the Wizard's body. Light blue veins grew around her body, as she arched her back in convulsion, and then finally settled back down, as she passed out with a sigh. Twilight and Alisa blinked in fear, but grew relief, as they saw her breathing easily again without strain or gagging. Twilight sighed in relief, as she looked to the blue-haired man, "Thank you."

"Don't thank me yet," Alex replied as he wrapped Ember's body with her cloak like a blanket. "We still need to get her into town for a proper healer to take care of the rest."

Twilight stood up, as she wiped her tears away, and pulled something out of her belt pouches, "Leave that to me." She then turned around, and wave what appeared to be a golden key with a bull-horn insignia symbol on it, as she chanted, "Open Gate of the Bull. I summon forth TAURUS."

Suddenly, appearing in front of her was a bright glyph circle on the ground. And materializing from it was a figure before them. It was a seven to eight foot brown furred Minotaur with black horns adoring his head, waving dark brown hair that cascaded on his shoulders, a huge buff body built for combat, and a gruff serious looking minotaur face that said, 'don't mess with me.' He wore a leather strap across his chest from his right shoulder to his left hip, with a black and brown shoulder guard on his right shoulder, and a metal manacle guard on his right wrist. On his left shoulder was a grey and dark red shoulder and bicep guard with a brown leather strap on his left wrist. He had a dark brown and red shawl guard that let his tail stick out with a leather front, and on his left leg were light brown straps on his thighs. And on his hind hooved legs were dark red leg guards. And strapped to his back was a massive cleaver-like sword with a jagged saw-toothed front with a metal plate to act like a hammer, a smooth sharp back, and had a brown handle for one hand, with a dark red hilt part with a bull insignia on it.

The Minotaur groaned and roared for a moment, and then sighed relief as he bent forward, "Never fails. Morning stretches are the most important thing of the day, and you skip it. And like that, you feel like a pipe's in place of your spine." He turned to look at the three, as well as a shocked blue-haired boy, but turned to Twilight as he stood straight up and greeted, "Lady Twilight. What services may I ask have you summoned me for?"

Alex carefully scooped up Ember, as Twilight told him, "Can you run right back into town, and take Ember with you back to the Adventurer's Guild? She needs medical attention, quickly."

Taurus blinked in shock, as he asked, "What happened?"

"She's been poisoned by goblins," Twilight asked, as Alex walked by and carefully gave Taurus the unconscious girl, as Twilight motioned to him, "He managed to stay off the poison long enough, but she still needs to see a healer fast."

"Understood, milady," Taurus accepted the task, as he carefully took Ember in his arms.

But Alex stopped, "Wait hold on. I know he's one of the Celestial Spirits, but unless we have something to assure that he's not a threat, everyone in town's gonna cry out Monster Attack, when he sees him." But looks to Taurus as he apologized, "No offense.'

But Taurus took it personal, as he roared angrily, "Oh! I'm a monster now, huh?!" but he calmed down as he looked hurt, "Well, I couldn't pick who my parents were, you know."

Alex took off his Adventurer's tag, as he handed it over to Taurus, of which the two girls took notice of it, as they realized his rank. 'He's a Porcelain? Like us,' Twilight asked, shocked to see a rookie take down goblins, much less a hobgoblin like he did.

"Here, take this," Alex replied, as Taurus gently took the tag. "When you get to the Guild, look for one of the receptionists named Eina. Tell her what happened, and that Alex Killian gave this to you to confirm the situation." He looked to Twilight and Alisa, "You two going with him?"

Twilight shook her head, "I can't. Ming's still alive and back there, and I can't leave you alone to do this by yourself."

"I'm going with you too," Alisa replied as she shakingly got back up onto her feet. "I can still use Heal and have three Holy Lights. I won't abandon anyone else."

All three looked at Taurus who nodded, "Very well. But I'll come right back as soon as Miss Ember is in good hands." And then bolted right towards the exit of the cave, straight to Helmsmann as fast as his hind hooved feet could take him.

Afterwards, Alex immediately started to strip the goblins and Hobgoblins of gear, as Alisa noticed this and asked, "What are you doing?"

"I don't have any gear, so I'll have to make do with what's in front of me," Alex replied, as he put together what he could. Once he was done, he had taken the Hobgoblin's right arm and shoulder armor, an armored forearm and elbow guard from one of the Goblins, and from the dead adventurer his pouch belt and a leather cap. He even took the Adventurer's tag, mostly because he knew he couldn't carry the body with him. He then armed himself with the goblin's dagger, as he looked to Twilight, "Okay, the Priestess can use one Heal and three Holy Lights. Aside from summoning Taurus, can you do anything else or have any other summons?"

"I have the Key summons for Cancer the Crab, and Aquarius the Water Bearer," Twilight replied as Alex brought the goblin bodies together, and took rags of Ember's dress. "I can do two attacks four times each…" and then pulled something around her neck. It was a star pendant of the same colors as her outfit, with a purple star with a light star atop and in the center a magenta star, "And with this I can materialize a sword and a dagger if needed."

"Alright then," Alex asked, as he pulled out the dagger, "Were there any more Hobgoblins?"

Twilight nodded, "Just one more, from what we saw earlier. I think there might have been two total, including this one." Suddenly, they jumped as they heard Alex stabbing and ripping through the Goblins and Hobgoblin's bodies. She gasped as she asked, "What are you doing?"

"Goblins may be weak, but their senses of sight, hearing, and smell are strong," Alex replied, as he started dabbing and rinsing rags in the goblins and hob's innards. "Best way to fool them is to mask our scents. Their blood and viscera work for that." He then thought, 'It was also one of the ways to fool goblins in the game. It was an item called Goblin Masking Musk. I just hope it works in the real world.' He then looked to the two girls, as they were a bit grossed out and uncertain about it, "They're sensitive to the smells of women. Especially those that have skin showing, and those that have wet themselves."

Both girls blushed at their situation in embarrassment, but then back at the boy, and knew that he had a point in this.

Moments Later

The trio were walking back into the goblin's cavern, with Alex leading the way, holding the torch in one hand and his branch shield in the left. However, there was a major difference this time. Twilight was in the rear with the spare torch, with Alisa in the middle. Though there was an even major difference. All three were covered in goblin blood. The girls were less than enthusiastic about it, especially Twilight who had her slightly exposed chest covered in blood. Even Alex felt disgusted, though did his best to hide it, as he asked, "You guys okay back there?"

"I feel violated," Alisa responded, whimpering about it.

"If it makes you feel any better, I feel the same way too," Alex admitted. "But it's necessary sometimes."

Even Twilight had to whimper, as she nearly gagged, "I don't think I'll ever get used to this."

"Well, you might have to. If you can, breathe through our nose; you're gonna have to get used to the smell of blood and viscera. You'll find them everywhere as Adventurers," Alex told them, but in his mind, he was pondering whether that was true or not. 'I mean, I say that, but I don't know. And earlier on, when I fought against the goblins and that Hob, I was more fueled to fighting them than afraid. Is it because of my stats in this world somehow altering my mind when in battle? Or did I feel prepared to deal with this? And killing them… I didn't feel an iota of remorse or hesitation? Instinct maybe? Either way, I'm a bit worried if I face against a person one day.'

However, all three stopped as they saw the scene before them. The totem at the wall, and the bodies of the goblins that didn't measure up against the rookie adventurers. But what really got to everyone, was the torn-up body of the warrior rookie, Roudahn. His right arm had been completely severed and parts of his body had been hacked. It was almost as if the goblins were taking pieces of him to save for snacks later on. But what really set the girls off was the look on Roudahn's dead face; a look of frighten and hopelessness of being eaten and hacked alive, and the upper left half of his face and forehead removed, probably chewed off.

Alex had to hold it on, as he walked over to him and knelt down. Twilight covered her mouth, and looked away, unable to remember the Warrior that led her and the others like this. Alisa wasn't doing better, as she collapsed on her knees, and threw up. As the two were trying to right themselves, Alex took Roudahn's chest plate and slipped it on himself, and looked at his sword. Apparently, the Goblins must have been playing with it to mock him, as they seemed to have broken it, making it shorter than it was before.

He picked it up, as he slid it in a holster attacked to the belt's left side, and looked down at him, "Sorry, I'm not trying to rob you. I'm just making use of your equipment. I just hope it helps us on the long run."

As Alisa got back to her feet, Twilight walked up to Alex, as she looked at the sight before her, and had to ask not just him, but herself, "I don't understand. How did this happen?"

"Were you attacked from behind when you passed the Totem," he asked her, to which she nodded, as Alisa walked up to them. He then pointed in the direction with his torch at the tunnel they were in when they were attacked. There, the two saw a hidden passage from where they passed.

The two girls looked surprised, as Alisa gasped, "But… we didn't see that when we came down here."

"It's a trick of the light down here. You'd need two torches or more just to spot it," Alex explained to them, as he looked around. "If it's only one torch, you'd easily confuse it as a shadow." He grimaced in embarrassment, as he thought to himself, 'I've had a few times in my beginning years when DM&DR became a video game and I screwed up like that dozens of times until I figured it out.' Then Alex pointed at the Totem, "Though it's just a guess, but also for beginners, you also focused on that Totem there."

The two girls looked it, as they both realized in shock that at the very beginning, they were already dead. Though their attention was turned back to Alex as he commented, "This is a sign that the goblin nest has a Shaman leading them. Which would explain the trap; they're not the brightest creatures, but if someone's leading them, they adapt and learn to their design."

Alisa blinked, as she asked, "A.. .Shaman?"

"It's a Necromancer-type of sorcerer. They can summon or draw powers from the dead or use the dead for their bidding," Twilight explained, and looked to Alex. "So there's a Shaman down there leading them? You think it might have brought the Hobgoblins here too?"

Alex nodded, "Most likely. It must be the one leading this horde." He then looked to the girls and asked, "Aside from the Warrior, the Fighter's the only one missing right? The female martial artist?"

Twilight nodded, "Yeah, Ming. She stayed behind to give us the chance to get going."

But alias worried, as she asked, "Y-You don't think she's…?"

"Not sure, but I'm guessing they're gonna save her for the nest, at the very least, I think," Alex guessed. But then stopped, as he saw slight movement, and the tumbling of a rock.

He threw his torch ahead, confusing the girls, as he signaled them to stay put, as he slowly drew the sword out. At that moment, a goblin with a spear crawled towards the light, confused by it, as there was nobody holding it. Suddenly, Alex rushed forward, aiming for the throat, and stabbed clean through killing it. Once it was dead, he signaled the girls to come over. "It was only a scout," he explained, as he pointed forward. "Meaning the nest is down that way."

"How'd you do that? Or more so, how are you able to do all of this," Twilight asked, getting his attention, as he saw her confused face. "You knew more about all the goblin trappings, the totem, and even this?"

'What exactly can I tell her? That I've played a game based on this world ever since I was eight years old and know the ins and outs of all monsters, puzzles, potion mixings, and so on? She'd think I would be some kind of heretic and burn me at the steak,' Alex thought, knowing they'd never believe him. He sighed, as he at least gave her an answer, "Let's just say I've been practicing and learning ever since I was eight preparing for stuff like this."

Alisa and Twilight went wide eye and blinked in shock, as the latter thought, 'There's no way that's possible. Since he was eight?!' But her face calmed down, as she looked at the young man who had come this far to save all of them, 'But still… I feel he's someone I shouldn't just ignore or leave behind. I'd… I…I'd like to know more about him.'

"We're gonna set a trap for the Hob and the other goblins," Alex replied, getting their attention, as he stood up, and looked at Alisa, "Priestess, I'm gonna need you to use Holy Light two times. The first one to blind the nest, and the second when the Hob comes after me." He then looked at Twilight, as he went in detail. "As soon as the Hob's blinded by the 2nd Holy Light when he comes after me, I want you to summon Aquarius. I don't know a whole lot about the details, but I know that Aquarius is a powerful long-range attacker. The Water Bearer might work."

Twilight paled at that, as she gulped, breaking eye contact with him, as she fidgeted, "Um, there's a slight... problem with that spirit in particular." Noticing the confused looks forming on their faces, she confessed, "Aquarius is um… not a reliable Celestial spirit to use… right now."

Alisa seemed confused by that, "Is she unable to be summoned?"

"What? No, no, she can be summoned," Twilight quickly defended, but cleared her throat, "I mean, she's kinda difficult to work with due to um… personality issues. Mostly aimed at me when I ask her of something."

Alex thought on it, as he asked, "Well, how long until she cooperates?"

"Could be a few minutes," Twilight replied, as she sighed.

Alex thought on it for a moment, and then snapped his fingers, "I have an idea."

Moments Later

The Goblin's Nest

The nest of the Goblins was a mess of an area, with a cavern on the side as it held trunks and chests of stuff the goblins that moved in had collected from stealing or adventurers that were dumb enough to face them in their own domain. On a farther corner of the room, sitting on a throne made of human and animal bones, a goblin that had piercings on its ears, dressed in robes and had its face covered sat with a staff in hand. This was the shaman, the leader of the current horde. It snickered and smirkingly sneered at the sight before it.

There having fun was his goblin underlings playing with the playthings, or the women that they have kidnapped. A few were gangbanging one of the human females, while another was beating up an elf girl. And another one was just licking a Prum girl all over, as they all cried in pain, begging them to stop. And the newest girl was Ming, as she was being punched into submission. Apparently even after being dragged to the nest and stripped, even with a bruised ankle, she was putting up a fight. Until finally, the Hobgoblin that beat her up before walked over, to try and stop her. She attempted to kick him again, but he grabbed her leg, as he smashed her into the ground again like a ragdoll, as he groaned, "You are… a tiny Weakling…"

The goblins swarmed her as in her stunned state, some licked at her all over, while they pulled off her boots, and spread her legs in position. The drowsiness and pain were taking their toll, on her. She looked at the goblins, preparing to rape her, as she closed her eyes, almost fading and about to slip into a mind-broken state knowing this would be it.

However…

"Oh Merciful Earth Mother, Abounding in Mercy, Grant your Sacred Light, to we who are Lost in Darkness. HOLY LIGHT!"

Suddenly, a bright light shined from the passage, and then blinded the whole nest. The goblins could only shield their light, being creatures living and used to the darkness, this was a huge surprise for them. Ming managed to make a shape of something rushing at them. It was a young man, running into the next. Alex blazed in as he skidded to a halt, as the Shaman shot up from his throne and attempted to cast a spell.

But Alex reared back with his left, as he shouted, "YOU'RE FIRST, SHAMAN!" And with all his might, he chucked the spear from the downed scout earlier, as it soared like a torpedo right at the Shaman. Striking it hard in the chest, he was sent flying to the wall, piercing the rock, as the Shaman hung limp there dead. Alex whipped around, as he called out, "RUN! SUMMON AQUARIUS!" And then he and Alisa, how stood in the center of the tunnel to where the Holy Light came from, ran out of there, as the goblins dropped what they were doing, and chased after them, with the Hobgoblin coming after too.

At the moment, Twilight pulled out another golden key, with the attributes of a water vase and a blue symbol on it, as she performed the ritual, "Open Gate of the Water Bearer, I summon you forth, AQUARIUS!"

A blue glyph circle appeared in front of her, as the individual spirit materialized. The spirit resembled a young Caucasian beauty of a twenty-year-old woman, with a tight waist, slender figure, and a rather impressive bust ranging to either a DD or an E Cup. She had blue eyes, and light blue hair that looked like it was constantly wet going down to the mid-thigh, with her hair covering her right eye, and a water drop jewel on her forehead like a gem. Her chest was covered in a risqué scale-like bikini that had no string but merely cupper her breasts and went down her back, with a blue bikini bottom, and a blue skirt shawl that went down to her ankles, but exposed her left leg, with blue leggings and arm sleeves that both went up to her shoulder and her mid-thigh, each with white trim on the shoulder and the thighs and ankles. On her wrists and ankles were golden bracelets, and the skirt had white wave patterns, with a gold belt dangling on her right thigh and left hanging on her left thigh. Held over her right shoulder by her hand was a backpack sized urn.

Twilight put the key away, as she commanded, "There's a horde of goblins and a hobgoblin heading this way. I need you to blow them away with your Water Torrent!"

However, the water spirit simply 'Tch'ed at her, as she sneered in disgust.

Twilight shot out, "We don't have time for an attitude! We need your help to take these guys down and save the girls!"

"You realize this place is a cave, right," Aquarius finally spoke out.. .and then got into her face blowing rage like crazy as she roared, "CAVES ARE NUMBER 3 ON PLACES I DON'T LIKE TO BE SUMMONED IN! 1 BEING THE TOILET AND 2 BEING A SPEPTIC TANK!"

At that moment, Alex and Alisa rounded the corner, as the Goblins followed after, with the Hob driving through. They looked around to see where they were, but then spotted Alex at the entrance to a lit part to where the Totem was. The same spot where Twilight was getting the one-sided argument with Aquarius. The Hobgoblin charged and tackled Alex, smashing at his head as he roared, along with the goblins stabbing the limbs and hacking at them. However, they stopped as they realized their target's true identity. It was the Hobgoblin that Alex and Twilight had killed before, simply tied up to make it look like the body was standing.

At that moment, Alex and Alisa ran from the same hideout that the goblins had used the first time. Using their own tricks against them, and bailed for Twilight and Aquarius, who had managed to end the argument. The Goblins and Hob charged again, as they went for her, but Alisa once again used Holy Light to blind them, causing them to stop in their tracks.

As the light died down again, the Celestial Spirit sneered at the Goblins and the Hob, as she 'Tch' another moody moment, "I can't believe I was summoned for this! But at least I get to take my anger out on something!" she then aimed the urn at them like a machine gun, and screamed, "ALRIGHT YOU FILTHY VERMIN, TASTE MY TORRENT!" and from it, a huge blast of water was shot right at them with the mass and ferocity of a tsunami heading at them.

The water shot at them, striking them and pushing them back, as the Hobgoblin fought it back as best it could. But at that moment, once the water died, and the Hob about to charge, Alex charged and thrusted the blade into its gut, tearing it open as it steaming innards spilled out. The Hob tried to keep it from falling out, but Alex stabbed through the neck, killing it as it fell over. But at the moment, they heard the remaining goblins heading towards them.

Alisa paled as she called out, "Ah, they're coming back!"

"What do we do," Twilight asked.

Alex walked over to the downed Hob's body and took the gasoline lamp. He smashed it on the Hob's dead body, spilling the contents of the gasoline on the Hob's body, and then rolled it downward, as the goblins came up. However, they stopped as the Goblins were rolled and pushed down by the Hob's heavier body. Before they could act, Alex tossed his torch on the floor, and immediately a trail blazed forward, and then engulfed the Goblins and the Hob's body in flames. Their screams were echoing through the cavern, as they emulated to death.

Alisa and Twilight walked up to him, as the latter asked, "Was that a gasoline lamp?"

"I figured their bodies were quick to burn up, considering all the crap they roll themselves in," Alex replied.

"But what about the girls? Wont the fire spread," Alisa worried.

Alex shook his head, "Nah, there aren't enough bodies, so the fire won't spread so fast."

Twilight then summoned her sword, as she looked downward as the fire slowly started to die down off the corpses. "So are we going in?"

Aquarius popped up behind, "No way, I did my job…"

"No need," Alex replied, as the three remaining Goblins showed up to attack. But Alex swept him with three quick slashes and stabs, killing the three. "They wouldn't think of us waiting to ambush them. That's usually the problem with them." He waited for more to follow, but it seemed that there was on the three that popped up. "Okay, I think that's…" he started as he turned around, but then blinked as Aquarius was in his face, sneering.

"I take it you summoning me here was your idea, and not Twilight's," she angrily asked, and then got into his face, "Listen up, pal. There are three places I don't like being summoned: Toilets, Septic tanks, and this kind of places. YOU EVER THINK ABOUT DOING THAT AGAIN AND I'LL…!" But stopped as she looked surprised at him, and carefully examined him.

Alex gulped, as he silently asked, 'Uh, what is she doing?'

She hummed in thought, as she described him, "Hmmm, nice build and height, exotic spikey yet cool-looking hair, brains to compliment brawn and looks, slightly sun-deprived skin, and a cute face to boot." She then looked around and smiled at Twilight proudly, "Twilight, I approve of this young man to be your boyfriend."

Both Alisa and Twilight blushed, as they cried out, "WHAT?!"

Aquarius then pulled Alex close, as she whispered, "Be a dear and hook up with Twilight. She's an over-working workaholic nerd who's in need of a good hard roll in the hay. Or five or ten rolls, whichever loosens her up." Twilight and Alex were blushing and stammering as a result of such a thing, as Aquarius pulled away, as she sighed, "Anyway, Twilight, don't expect to summon me again in a week. I'll be with my boyfriend." Then smirked at Twilight, "Of which you could benefit before you get too old." And vanished back to the Celestial.

But Twilight shouted, "DON'T PUT SUCH IDEAS IN EVERYONE'S HEADS!"

Once things had calmed down, especially the emotional turmoil, as they traversed down to the nest. They saw the scene before them aside from the dead goblin bodies. The three girls were injured and slightly banged up, as Alex looked to Alisa, handing her two potions, "Here, heal the girls up and get them ready to get out of here." Alisa nodded, and took the potions, as she rushed over to help them. He then looked to Twilight and asked, "Can you resummon Taurus again? We're gonna need the extra muscle to escort them out of here."

"Got it," Twilight replied, as she stepped back and summoned Taurus in a flash.

As the two were helping the girls along with the Celestial spirit, Alex spotted the down fighter. It was easy to know it was her considering he remembered her hair color. He ran over to her, and inspected her, as she was face down on her side. Looking at her, she was beaten up pretty badly, with a bruised ankle. But he carefully inspected her thighs to see if… he sighed in relief, as he told himself, 'No blood. They didn't rape her. We got here in time to at least stop that.'

He then gently reached down to touch her shoulder, but he jumped back as she screamed and flailed about, "NO! GET AWAY FROM ME! DON'T! NO!" he managed to grab her, as he carefully embraced her, even though she flailed about.

"Calm down. The goblins are dead, even the Hob," Alex calmly told her, as her fighting started to slowly die down, probably either due to exhaustion or him talking to her. This didn't go unnoticed as Twilight saw it and grabbed a blanket as she rushed over. When she got there, he looked to her, as he asked, "Take care of her, okay?"

She nodded, as he gently left the slowly fading from conscious fighter in her arms, as he got up, and she held her tightly, "It's alright, Ming. You're safe now."

Alex walked over to the Shaman, and carefully examined it. However, it flailed about as it tried to get free, causing Alex to jump back, but smash the branch shield in its face, killing it for good. He sighed, "Yeesh, even in reality, the boss is harder to kill." But then he stopped, and looked over at the throne.

Alisa had healed the girls as she had Taurus carry them in his arms, while she ran over to help Twilight carry Ming out. But the two girls noticed Alex smashing the throne apart, and saw him go near a door. Apparently, the throne was hiding it as he grabbed one of the goblin's clubs and opened it. They were too far to see, but both girls helped Ming to walk, as they saw what was in there. In the room where the door led, were ten baby goblins, scared and shivering, huddled together as they knew that the grown goblins were all dead.

Alisa couldn't believe it as she whispered, "Children?"

"Goblins can't procreate with one another, so they steal girls from any species they can. Impregnating them, they multiply like roaches or insects, and in three days tops they grow to fully mature goblins," Alex explained, as he tightened his grip on the club, "If the nest was undisturbed this time around, there would have been more than fifty or a hundred, and they would have attacked a farm or village en masse." He then walked forward, as he was about to strike.

"Wait!" Twilight's voice stopped him, as she asked, looking worried, "Are you… are you really going to kill the children?"

Not turning to face them, he kept his eye on the goblin kids, as he explained, "The survivors would remember this and learn from the past. But even more so, they'd remember our faces. Goblins kill and steal what they need to in order to build their numbers and survive. Which is usually one or three girls in a while. But if they found a nest and told the others… they'd kill for revenge."

"But what if there are good goblins," Alisa pleaded, not able to handle more killing.

"Maybe…" Alex thought on it, as he tightened the grip. But he looked down at the goblin children, their scared faces and whimpers were getting to him. He had already killed two Hobs and enough Goblins as it was. But… was he prepared to kill the children? 'I mean I've killed Goblins and Hobs in the game, and now in reality, but this… nothing could prepare me for this.'

However, one of the Goblin Children saw this sign of weakness, and its innocent face turned to malice smirkiness. It grabbed a rock and jumped right at Alex, as things slowed down and the girls looked in horror to see what would happen.

Suddenly, a red tipped arrow zoomed in and struck through the child's head, pinning it to the wall, as it screamed and squealed in pain. The arrow burst into flames along with the child, as the goblin children were afraid again. The others, including a still alive Alex blinked at this, as they heard a voice call out, "Good tactics in the beginning, but you let yourself down with your guard when you saw those kids in fear. No matter how young it is, a Goblin's still lethal. Don't doubt your instincts."

Before any questions could be asked, barrels came cascading down the path, and going all over the place. Alex spotted them as gasoline, as he shouted, "GASOLINE! GET OUT OF HERE!" Taurus, with the girls immediately bolted, as he ran up the pathway, as flames came down. Alisa ran as well, but before Twilight could run with a still out of it Ming, she looked to see Alex blocking the crib with a barrel, even as the goblin children screeched and squealed, trying to claw their way passed the barrel blocking it.

He ran to Twilight and scooped up Ming, as he shouted, "Now Run!"

And the two bolted with their friend in tow, as the flames were making their way to the barrels. As they had passed the totem in the cave, the flames reached their mark. An eruption of exploding flames bathed and slid over the cavern walls, coming right at the others, as it blew up further, chasing after everyone, as it engulfed and spread everywhere it touched.

Meanwhile

Back at the Guild

Things seemed to go pretty normal for everyone, as it was a usual routine for the receptionists and the adventurers. But one receptionist was looking with a worry and fearful look on her face. Eina just leaned on her desk, as she worried on what to come. Earlier on, a Minotaur, actually being the Celestial Summon Spirit Taurus, had rushed in with a naked girl wrapped in her own cloak and in need of healing and antidotes to fight the poisons in her system. When asked by her specifically, she was told an Adventurer named Alex Killian suggested her to help, and she did. The Wizard was taken to the Earth Mother Healing ward not far from the guild, and the Spirit rushed to return to his master to help.

But it had been almost thirty minutes before anything else. 'I hope they're okay,' she told herself.

Suddenly, the doors opened, catching her attention, as she tried to force a smile. But her smile faded to surprise, as she and everyone else saw the sight before them. There walking in, Alex in armor and covered in blood, carrying a girl in his arms, accompanied by the Celestial Summoner and the Priestess, along with Taurus carrying three maidens in cloths.

Before anything could be said, Alex shouted, "These four are in need of medical attention! Are there healing stations available?!"

Snapping out of it, Eina announced, "All emergency Healers, come to the Pantheon immediately! It's an emergency!"

Immediately receptionists and adventurers rushed over to help them as Healers rushed over. They escorted the girls to healing stations and prepare them for the Earth Mother Healing ward. One of the gently scooped Ming from Alex's arms, as she blinked a little half-asleep as she saw Alex being taken from her, until she passed out again. Both Twilight and Alisa were escorted to the ward as well as Taurus faded away.

Eina walked over to Alex, as she confirmed, "You completed the job like you said. You got everyone back."

Alex scratched the back of his head, as he confessed, "Not everyone. I wasn't able to help the Warrior."

"Nevertheless, you kept your promise," she replied, and then suggested to him, "We should get you to the infirmary, Alex. You need…"

He shook his head, as he corrected, "It's not my blood. It's from the goblins and the Hob I was fighting." But then he blinked, as he saw Eina lower her head and shake, as he blinked, "Um, you okay?"

She whimpered, "Yes. I am now." She managed to confess to him, "This job… it's not the easiest sending others to do this kind of dangerous business. And I… I was worried when you left without any weapons… and I…" She then shot up, as tears streamed her eyes, as she confessed with a smile, "I'm really happy you came back with your promise." She smiled tearfully, as she replied, "Welcome back, Mr. Killi… I mean, Alex."

Alex was a bit taken back, hearing that from someone. Nobody ever said that in his life, but now… He smiled back, as he nodded, "I'm sorry to make you worry."

Up on the second floor, Z had seen the whole thing, and smiled, seeing his child return safely with the others as he promised. At the moment, a man younger than him, with blonde hair and orange eyes in a squint, and dressed similar to a cowboy adventurer with a feathered hat, walked up, looking down at the scene.

"So he's the boy in your familia, pops," the man asked, as he arched an eyebrow, "He doesn't look like much, yet he took down a nest of Goblins, a Shaman, and two Hobs."

"Yeah, don't let his appearance fool you, Hermes" Z smirked as he looked proudly at Alex as he and the receptionist went to the ward. "That kid's something else entirely. Out of this world in more ways than one."

Hermes just chuckled, as he strode off, "Fine by me, but be careful. King Alkray's not gonna be happy you're starting up your Familia again. He's gonna do every dirty trick in the book to make that boy quit and make you suffer… Zeus."

The man named Z, now identified as Zeus, merely looked back at Hermes' retreating form, and back out the windows, "I dunno. Like I said, there's something otherworldly about this kid that could change everything."

A Week Later

Things had returned to normal after a week had passed. The town had gone back to normal, or rather didn't bother to heed on the events that had happened. Nobody cared about what happened to Porcelain adventurers dealing with goblins. Usually they'd just be concerned about the Capital going through Demon Lord invasions and such. So goblins weren't all that in making news. A wagon was leaving town with girls who appeared to be traumatized by the goblin events. However, seeing them off waving to them were three particular girls: the human, Elf, and Prum from the cave mission. They were dressed and healed with little to no scars as they waved goodbye to the girls hoping for the best.

But then they turned and thanked four individuals as the three girls went to find their homes and families again. Once that was done, the four individuals were walking through town.

It's an all too common story.

A village is attacked by Goblins and some maidens are kidnapped. Some rookie adventurers believe that killing the goblins is an easy task and think they can win as their first quest. Only for the adventurer and the party they're with get killed in the process. Or just one gets out and manages to rescue the girls. The girls that are rescued but as a result if they're forced to satisfy the goblins' needs, become playthings and breeders, and in despair, they serve the temples. And then that lone adventurer survives but slips away from the world, never to be heard from again. There's nothing exceptional, as it happens to those who don't take the job seriously.

The four continued to make their way to the Adventurers' guild as they walked up the stairway.

Or so I think. I'm not sure if that's how the world works, but if it does, I don't like it.

The doors opened, as the pantheon was bustling with adventurers and the receptionists hard at work. But at the moment, the four individuals were walking towards a particular receptionist, with Z leaning at the table. Eina was cheerfully conversing with an adventurer dressed in the same gear getup as Alex was, but something was different. He was now wearing a black turtleneck long sleeved shirt that hugged his frame, with blue straps on his biceps with the buckles facing outward, black baggy pants to go with it, and a blue vest with the tail reaching down to the back of his knees with dark blue trim, and held together with a blue satchel belt fitted with a back satchel bag on the rear and two pocket satchels on the side, and brown boots that went up under the knee with blue trim, heels and toes.

"Alex," a familiar voice called out to him.

When he turned around, it was actually Alex, and on the desk was a strange creature. It looked like a feline between kitten and cat in size, with aqua blue fur all over him, a diamond-shaped tip on his tail, fluffy light blue fur on his belly and mouth, as well as a fluffy mohawk of hair on his head, long ears that were pointy with light blue tips on the back, and light blue on his front paws going up to his elbows, and yellow eyes. Though the most surprising thing about the creature was that it had light blue wings. Dragon wings. And was gnawing on a fish like a sandwich.

The creature looked, and spoke in a happy tone, as it smiled, "Hey, guys! I figured you bums wouldn't make it at all."

Before the two were Twilight, Alisa, and two fully recovered Ember and Ming before them. Though it was a bit different than before. Mostly Alisa and Ember's wardrobe.

Alisa was wearing a white and cantaloupe green healer outfit. It consisted of a cantaloupe green turtleneck and white long-sleeved dress with a shirt skirt for mobility purposes with gold trim on the sleeves. On her shoulders was a cantaloupe green hooded and white shoulder shawl with two green tassel belts on the back that went down to her hips and gold trim; it went down to her elbows with the tail going down her mid-back. She had on white thigh high boots with cantaloupe green trim on the legging part. She had a white robe around her waist that exposed the front and had gold trim on the bottom that reached her ankles, and had a cantaloupe green top part on it with a green satchel belt, much like Alex's design on it. And in the front was a cantaloupe green loin cloth piece with gold trim on the bottom connected to the belt, and like the robe went down to her ankle. The outfit was designed for ease of running and travel, as she had her staff in hand.

Ember's outfit had been greatly improved upon. It was a red turtleneck dress with no shoulders with an outer V-neck line like a cocktail dress that hugged at her impressive breasts, with a miniskirt in a V-shape that stopped at her upper thighs, with a black and red leather corset guard tied around for her protection. The broch from her cloak had been fitted on the collar bone of the dress. But the dress had black leather sleeves with red straps underneath the shoulders connecting the sleeves under the armpit part, with black sorcerer sleeves showing red leather forearm guards with red fingerless gloves with yellow straps on the wrists, while her right hand had a red and yellow ring on it. Attached to the red belts on her shoulders was a yellow shoulder shawl that exposed her back but acted like a cloak or something. She had on black leather thigh-high high-heel boots with yellow trim on the ends, yellow V-shaped pentagon kneeguards, yellow heels, and yellow trim on the ankles and at the toe part. She had on a red leather satchel belt of Alisa's and Alex's design, with a black robe shawl around her waist that ended at her ankles with red trim on the bottom and yellow above the red, but embroidered on the center was the symbol of a flaming phoenix in yellow. Her hair had also been equipped with a yellow hair clip in the back, and she had on a new pair of red-rimmed glasses that resembled her old glasses, and was wearing a new black pointed hat with red on the rim and yellow designs on the top part. And in her hand was a new staff that was as long as Alisa's, but was made of golden yellow metal materials, with a red hilt holding atop a figurehead of a roosting Phoenix, with the gem from her old staff embedded into it.

Alex smiled at them all, as he greeted them, "How was the sendoff?"

"The girls are heading back to their families, as are the three that we rescued," Twilight smiled but teased, "You could have gone there and seen it yourself."

Alex blushed as he looked away, while the little creature teased, looking sly, "Well, you know Alex. He's so shy around women." He then joked, "He probably sees you four as one of the guys."

Ember gained a vein on her forehead, as she tried not to blow it, "You're gonna be seeing black and red if you keep this up, Ceruleas."

"Whoa, so scary," Ceruleas mocked, as he rolled over in laughter.

Alex shook it aside, as he looked to them, "You guys ready?"

Alisa nodded, as she patted her abdomen, "Twilight and Ember have their leather armor, but Ming and I went to the store yesterday to get some chainmail."

"And look," Ming replied as she held up her forearms. She was now wearing metal battle gauntlets, as she also pointed at her ankles to show that she was wearing martial arts greaves, "I also procured some arm and leg armor for a martial artist. Like you suggested."

Alex nodded, "Cool." He pulled out a job offer, as he explained, "I found a job that might help you guys in leveling up. It has to deal with Balloon Monsters."

The girls looked surprised on that, as Emer asked, "Aren't balloons supposed to be weaker than said Goblins?"

"Yeah, but they're tricky to connect," Alex explained, as Ceruleas finished up and landed on Alex's shoulder, "They'll help you anticipate the movements of your opponent, and they'll be easy for you guys to handle than Goblins. All they can do is swarm, jump, and bite. Which doesn't hurt all that much. What do you say?"

The four smirked at this, as they all nodded in agreement, as Twilight smiled, "Sure, let's do it."

And with that, the four set off, as Z and Eina waved good luck to the newly formed group before them. The new members of the Jupiter Familia.

But one thing is certain. I still want to be an Adventurer. Because helping people, seeing the world and new sights… it's the reason I'm in this. Other than it being the only thing I'm good at.

Next Chapter: After the First Adventure; the Fate of Those that Fail