Apologies for the long delay! Me and lastberri wrote the plans and outlines for several of the future chapters to come already, but FRIITA was busy with an essay for his university, and... put it off until, like, some weeks ago, and still struggles with other stuff. See, that's why you don't keep putting schoolwork off. We could've updated this if you got that over with early on!


It had only been a bit later than morning, when she entered the town. Not quite knowing where she was supposed to head to, the girl had shown her invitation to a passing citizen and pointed at the signature at the bottom of it, in hopes it could be read.

To her dismay, the person didn't quite know how to read it, but a glimpse of basically any other part of the letter made the person's face lit up in recognition.

After being pointed to the right way, she bowed courteously and went on her way, bringing along with her all sorts of baggage and a long, wrapped spear, all of which she carried with no sign up struggling. Her destination was the government base of this town - the Radha Hall, it seemed to be referred to as.

'They have requested the aid of a Highlander,' his tribe's chief had explained. 'I sense wickedness in the far distance. This will be dangerous, no doubt. However... if there is anyone who can handle the disaster that is to befall the town in the far east, it is you.'

...I'm a literal nobody in the tribe, though, the girl thought. The chief himself would've been a much better choice.

'The town of Etria... I am counting on you, to show the true might of a highlander, to show them justice.'

Although she wanted to voice a complaint, the girl supposed she couldn't help it if the tribe leader really believed that much in her.

And so, walking past a strange group of slightly smaller girls, the highlander from another land went to receive the details of what Etria's government needed from her and her tribe. Hopefully she wouldn't have to deal with anything too troublesome during her stay in this peaceful town.


"...so," Scarlet began as she sheathed her sword for an umpteenth time. She had been slaying monsters for quite a while, as her leader walked a fair distant behind, slowly mapping the forestry around them, yet somehow still efficiently casting curses on ambushing monsters without making any mistake. "You're a hexer, huh?" she said - conversation with her new leader was almost impossible, if anything, sadly.

Remilia continued jotting down some details. "...mn."

Someone teach me how to hold a conversation... the redhead wailed in her head.

Another monster jumped from the bushes, a mole-like creature with sharp claws bared in preparation for ambush. Scarlet, having already adjusted to these weak monsters after her tenth slaying or so, simply swung her sword sideways. The blood splatters stained across her armor and the ground, and she bent down to examine the cleanly sliced corpse.

Her new team leader simply continued writing across her share of the map.

...this is really awkward, Scarlet grimaced. Really, really awkward. "So. Curses. They, uh... you seem really good at them," she remarked. Remilia paused slightly, before nodding. "I... I read somewhere that they're dark magic borrowed from a demon, or... something of that sort. Is that... how it is?" she asked.

"...mn." The hexer tilted her head a bit, wondering how to respond. Then, she returned her focus to the map. "...maybe."

The landsknecht blinked. Maybe? "I, uh. I see." Does that mean she's not sure of it herself? Scarlet raised a finger to her chin, the gears in her mind working towards a pointless, more curiosity-driven purpose. Then maybe the whole 'demon powers' are just false rumors. ...then again, we have access to magic, who's to say demons are involved at all anyways?

"...next," Remilia's voice snapped her out of her train of thought. It had been this way for a while, the quiet girl taking note of the room's layout, and then signalling for the two to proceed to whatever next area they could find a path to.

Yet Scarlet still found her shy(?) leader's sudden voice - never with any warning - a threat to her mental health. Scare me to death, would ya?

"A-alright, let's go then."

Following after her, the two took their time and let the peace take over their environment. At times, it felt relaxing, but on the other hand, it was quite awkward and unsettling. All her attempts at small talk with her leader was met with more or less the same responses.

"So... you came from outside Etria?"

"...mmn."

"Do you... travel a lot?"

"...mmn."

"What... do you like to do? In your free time, maybe, I mean. Hobbies?"

"...mmn."

"...you... don't talk that often, do you?"

"...mmn."

This is getting nowhere, Scarlet eventually thought to herself. For a team to work properly, understanding and bond were important factors, logically. However, every passing attempt at getting to know her leader was nonchalantly struck down, most without a clear answer.

How the hell was she supposed to get to know Remilia if "...mn" was all the hexer would say?

Did I choose wrong to join her guild? I wonder...

As another monster jumped at her, the girl effortlessly sliced it in half and watched the creature fall to the grass, its blood staining the greens red. She bent down to examine the corpse - a mole-like beast with sharp, deadly claws - and stabbed it again, albeit less violently and more calmly. She cut off its nails, then its skin. As the redhead took her time extracting the bones, the body began to fade into dust, leaving her with a set of nails, bones, and few strips of skin.

"Ah... damn, it really is time consuming to harvest all these stuff," Scarlet muttered. The girl then paused, and looked up. Remilia seemed to be done mapping the area, strolling over to her. "Oh, sorry, I just finished as well. Did I keep you waiting?"

"...no."

...I really can't tell if she's impatient or patient. Scarlet sighed, before a thought passed her mind. "...speaking of which, you sure work fast. On top of mapping, you've already finished extracting everything, huh?"

Remilia blinked.

"...you did extract materials from the monsters you kill, right?"

The cloaked hexer blinked again, her head tilting slightly.

"...agh. Well. Okay." Scarlet put her new-gained materials into her handbag, which was just about close to full. "Monsters all have a special stone within them, like... a core, I guess. For now we refer to them as grimoire stones, but the real use is a different topic, so I'll save that for later."

Remilia nodded, figuring her companion was about to explain something important.

"Theoretically, these grimoire stones are what powers the monsters and their bodies. When we kill them, their core slowly shuts down, and once it ceases to work, the entire body crumbles to dust," the redhead continued. "The scholars have yet to determine the exact specifics of this, but it's due to that sort of system that the labyrinth isn't littered to the brim with rotten bodies, and that adventuring isn't only about moving forward." (6)

"...hm." The hexer put a finger to her chin, then quietly returned to a monster she had slain after casting her mysterious powers on it. Just as she was able to pluck the blue, crystal-like wings off of a butterfly monster, the rest of its body shattered and became no more than dust on the ground, blew away by an ensuing breeze. "...mn."

Does she not know anything about the basics of adventuring? Scarlet wondered. If that's the case, then... oh, well. Guess I'll need to look out for her. Amused, the redhead walked over to her teammate. "Looks like we'll need to help you prepare for the future when we head back. How about we go buy a new handbag and weapons? I'll help you pick."

Glancing over to the redhead, Remilia seemed to be contemplating something heavily. Eventually, she nodded. "...thanks."

So she can thank too. Maybe she's not so hard to talk to, the landsknecht thought. Just... no social skills, maybe.

As the two began to move again, the hexer then muttered something under her breath. "...singing," she said.

"Hm?"

The pale girl shifted slightly under her cloak. "...hobby. ...singing."

"...ahh, that's. That's nice to know," Scarlet replied. Nice but awkward girl, huh.

...

"You know... I wonder how Scarscar and Remrem are going to do the map at all," Valeria briefly pondered as she unsheathed her sword, scattered pieces of a giant beetle monster falling around her. Rin quickly rushed to pick up any piece she could and tried to pry its hard shell off, but as a result of how cleanly her teammate sliced through everything within, the body quickly crumbled to dust, its core nowhere in sight.

"Ah... Valeria, be a bit more merciful to the monsters..." Rin muttered. "Sometimes it's impossible to get any materials from these beetles..."

"Eh, tomato, potato," the brunette replied, one of several stupid remarks that will never cease to confuse the medic.

"Anyways... why do you think they can't map their areas?" the orange haired girl then asked.

Valeria shrugged. "I mean... the guard only gave us one pen, and I took it. Unless they went back to get another." She scratched her head. "Pens are pretty precious and rare already though, I doubt they'd go around giving anymore. The most they could give away freely like this is a feather, and some ink, but that's pretty tedious to manage."

...she gives a lot more thought than I expect into these things, Rin mused. "W-well, that's only a possibility, right? Maybe they did have another pen to give... who knows?"

"True, true, who knows. And speaking of which..." Valeria grinned as she and Rin came to a stop near the room they had began in, hearing the distant chattering of Scarlet. "They're coming back now. I wonder if Scarlet's the only one talking the whole time? I can imagine Remrem's bored face!"

"That's mean..." Rin said, but stifled a chuckle. Scarlet was indeed quite the chatterbox sometimes, even though she's slightly shy around others. Then again, she does much better than I do with people...

"...and so she just keeps acting like an idiot around everyone. Funny, isn't it? Only a true idiot would go around sharing her hyperactive energy with others," Scarlet's voice seemed to be detailing. "That's why I think Valeria's such an idiot, although that's not entirely a bad thing..."

"...mn." Ah, and there was Remilia's voice. Did she only respond with that sound the entire time? Rin wondered.

"Well, it's not like I... oh, hey." Scarlet smiled at the sight of her teammates awaiting the two. "Sorry we took our time. Did you guys wait long? You sure finished before us."

"Nah, we got here just a bit earlier," Valeria replied. "Welcome back! ...actually, weren't you making fun of me just now? I feel like you were making fun of me just now."

The redhead sheepishly looked away, scratching her cheeks. "Ehhh... well... no, I was just... you know, catching her up on you two, yeah. Better to know more about each other, right?"

"That stinks of bullshittery and you know it."

"You bet I do."

Rin chuckled. "Well, either ways, it's good that you two are safe. Here's my portion of the map," she said and pulled out her sheet of paper. "Were you able to record your areas on your portion?"

Nodding, her hexer teammate pulled out her share of the test and handed it over to the medic.

"So you were able to after all... that's good." So she must've went back to ask for another pen, Rin thought. As I expected, although she's quiet, Remilia seems to be quite the...? The girl narrowed her eyes as she properly examined her leader's share of the map. The ink is... strange...? She stared at it a bit harder, as the hexer tilted her head, confused.

Then, a thought occurred to her. She kept the two sheets to one hand and grabbed one of Remilia's hand with the other. "Um, Re... Ms. Remilia," she began, to the others' curiosity. "Please show me your hands."

"What, what, something happened?" Valeria asked as she and Scarlet stopped bickering. The redhead next to her also went over, uncertainty in her mind.

Instead of trying to hide her hands, Remilia saw no need to conceal anything and showed the medic what she wanted to see.

One of her hand was completely fine, as pale as her face.

The other hand, however, had splashes of dried blood on three of her fingers. It would be normal to assume they were monster blood that scattered onto her, but there were also circular splotches starting from the tip of each stained finger.

Rin bit her lips. "Ms. Remilia... did you prick yourself to draw the map with your blood!?"

"...whoa, metal," Valeria whispered.

"Val, not now!" Scarlet hissed, equally as shocked as the medic. I didn't notice...!

"Mmn," was all the hexer said in response.

"T, that's not good! That's no good!" Rin yelled, surprising the quiet girl. She dropped her maps, which Valeria quickly caught, and put a hand in front of Remilia's 'writing' hand. The girl channeled energy past her own hand, leading to a bright, beautiful glow emanating from her. "Cure." Gradually, the small, stinging pain of the pricks being exposed to the air faded, and Remilia soon felt a lot better.

The blood splotches were still on her hand, of course, but the centers of each pricked fingers were now nothing more than strange rings of dried blood, the centers completely clean of any filth - and within seconds, wiping her hand on her cloak, they were almost gone, smudged into obscurity.

Rin frowned. "Ms. Remilia, you're lucky we're not in any danger right now," she said. "It's not like I can keep using Cure for small things like this. Please don't do anything stupid like this ever again!"

Valeria blinked. "Now, hold on, I get that that's kinda scary, but what's the big problem?" she asked.

"The labyrinth is still a mysterious place! Who knows what kind of diseases you can get infected with, walking around like that?" Rin said. "Especially going around getting monster blood splashed on you! Please think before you do these sort of things!"

Chuckling, Scarlet scratched her head. "Well, that's Rin for you. The health worrywart of our group." She patted the medic on the shoulder. "Go a bit easy on her, Rin. Besides, a part of adventuring and exploration is getting attacked by monsters - naturally we get wounds and that sort too."

"At least that's not avoidable!" Rin said. "...b-but, okay, maybe I'm going a bit too far..." As quickly as she had suddenly became angry, the orange haired girl reverted back to her shy, hesitant self and bowed to Remilia. "I-I'm really sorry for all that. I'm just... worried about what could happen."

Remilia shook her head. "...mnn."

...t-that's all? the medic thought, having expected more complaint and lecturing from her leader, if anything.

"Soooo. Anyways, what say we quickly get this over with?" Scarlet suggested as Valeria pulled the pen from Rin's handbag. "I was thinking we could visit Shilleka's place after this; sell our materials, get some new weapons maybe, and help Remilia here get her own bag to store stuff in the future."

"Oh, yeah, she doesn't have that, does she?" Valeria said. "That's a bummer, boss Remrem. Think of all the things you could've been carrying today... but, well, you're already carrying us around, the team. Good enough, yeah!"

"...you really need to be less casual," Scarlet muttered.

"T, that sounds lovely though. Let's go ahead and finish our test then!" Rin said, feeling excited - she'd love to show her new teammate around town, too!

Seeing no problem with how things were progressing, the hexer simply nodded, as usual. "Mmn."


After the group of four had returned from the labyrinth and submitted their maps to Radha Hall's bespectacled subaltern Quinn, the man's expression went from that of amazement to one of confusion. "I see you girls have achieved your tasks quite speedily, so it probably isn't wrong to assume you split up to cover more areas faster," he said as Valeria grinned. "However... why does this sheet have red... blotchy, ink?" he asked.

Scarlet and Rin looked away, not sure how to answer, while Valeria snickered. Remilia simply didn't care and just continued to stare at him, awaiting their results.

"...right, I won't question that then. Very well, we've seen that you girls are capable of not only mapping the first floor by yourselves," he said, "but splitting up into smaller groups and still managing just fine. For that, I commend your bravery, and declare that you have passed."

"Yes! We did it!" Valeria cheered.

"Keep it down, stupid," Scarlet chastised the brunette, but couldn't stop a smile from breaking out on her face as well. As small as this was, she was now in a real guild, an officially recognized guild, and one that has legitimately cleared a mission! ...even if it was a test.

Pulling out a pouch and a scrolled up sheet of paper, Quinn handed them over to Rin. "For your efforts and success, I award the newly recognized guild, Modem, with 500en."

"500en... t, thank you very much!" Rin replied, the medic beginning to get flustered. This whole thing was starting to get to her, everything was so new, having her own guild now, her own teammates, her own... fame... M-maybe this is all too much for me, what if I mess up, what if, uh, ai, ueh, uggh...

Valeria plucked the pouch out of Rin's hands. "Chill, Rin, you're starting to overthink, aren't ya?" she said. "I could tell by the look on your face. I'll handle the negotiations, no need to worry."

"That makes me even more worried..." Scarlet remarked.

"Rude."

Amused, Quinn then motioned to the scrolled up paper he handed over to the medic. "That over there is an official certificate from Radha that guarantees your status as a legitimate guild. On top of being an important document that you should not lose at all costs, it will also alert other shopkeepers to your status so they know that they can do business with you. Shilleka's place, for example."

"Oh, that's neat! We were just about to head there after this," Valeria said. "This will be really handy then! Thanks, Mr. Glasses!"

"Mr. Gla... um."

Sighing, Scarlet bowed courteously. "T-thank you very much for your time and rewards. We'll make sure not to let you nor Radha down!" She then started pushing Valeria away, not wanting the landsknecht to embarrass the team any further. "A-also, please give the chieftain my... our regards!"

Quinn nodded as he faded away into the depths of the building, the group of four exiting the town's central building.

"Hey, that wasn't so bad," the brunette noted. "In fact... isn't this actually amazing? We're now an official guild. Isn't that... actually, really amazing? Like, too amazing?"

Rin shuddered, nodding in agreement. "Y-yeah... I didn't think we'd ever get this far... something tells me things can only go downhill from here, oh no..."

Scarlet rolled her eyes. "Hey, now, don't go getting paranoid and worrying Remilia," she said, delivering a chop to Valeria's head. "Especially you, don't go stirring up Rin's fears." She turned to Remilia. "Sorry about her, she spouts stupid stuff all the time, as I said in the labyrinth."

"Mn."

"That's just rude."

Smiling, the redhead pointed to a building in the distant. "That over there's Shilleka's store. Let's take a look there and see what we can get you, yeah?"

Remilia nodded. "Mmn."

The four quietly headed over to the place, pushing the door open. A bell rang from within, alerting the store owner - a youthful, dark skinned girl with an extremely revealing attire - to their presence.

"Welcome, welcome! Shilleka's Goods, always op'n to people!" (7)

The girl, which Remilia assumed was the titular 'Shilleka', waved over to them cheerily. The group headed over to the counter, where she stood behind.

"Oh? I see a new face 'round here. Who's this?" she asked, eyeing the hexer curiously.

Scarlet smiled. "This is Remilia, a new explorer in Etria. She's the leader of our new guild, Modem!"

"S-she's a hexer!" Rin added.

"And she's as quiet as whatever can be! Ain't that right, boss?" Valeria snickered.

"...mn."

Shilleka watched as Scarlet sighed and bonked her partner landsknecht on the head, keeping her eye on Remilia. Something about the cloaked, extremely pale girl, was simply... fascinating. She simply could not put a finger on it. "A hexer, eh? Nice t' meet you, Remilia," Shilleka said and extended a hand, to which the girl accepted. "I go by Shilleka here, but in other places, I sometimes go by Sirca, if it sounds simpler."

"Oh, I didn't know that," Rin noted.

"Well, y'know, pen names are a lifetime for travelers and people with jobs, yeah?" the shopkeeper said, but the other girls had no idea what she was onto. "...w-well, whatever. That asides though... Remilia, eh? How curious."

"How so?" Valeria asked.

"They say hexers make a deal with the devil and sacrifice part 'f their bodies for the ability to use dark magic," Shilleka said. "I've never believed all the conspiracy theories 'bout demons and such, 'f course. That's clearly just to entertain all the crazy quacks." She leaned over the counter, smiling at Remilia. "However, that their limbs are restricted is often true, and scholars say it most likely has to do with the cursed artifact that bounds their beings."

Remilia stared back, unaffected by the pressure that was rising in the air.

"Your arms are healthy, your legs are healthy... I wonder just what you sacrificed to the artifact around your neck, Remilia."

"...w-well, maybe the scholars are also wrong?" Scarlet suggested.

"O-or maybe Remilia's just... an exception!" Rin chimed in.

Shrugging, Shilleka plopped back behind the counter. "Well, that's certainly possible too, I s'pose. Although that'd be boring..."

"If the boss Remrem's a genius though," Valeria said, "then her skill tree must be super loaded!" (8)

...? It's not often Remilia hears something that makes absolutely no sense to her, that piqued her curiosity, but here it was, finally. "...tree...?" she muttered, an eyebrow raised.

"...huh? You don't know about the skill tree consciousness?" the brunette asked. Her leader's tilted head answered the question clearly.

"Truly, curious," Shilleka whispered. "...where does the little miss come from, if I may ask?" she eventually spoke.

"..."

The girl scratched her head. "Well, alright. Touchy subject, I assume." The girl shook her head. "So be it. Well, from your hometown's culture, wherever it is, perhaps the skill tree consciousness is known by a different name or logic. It wouldn't be surprising, really."

"I... guess that'd explain that, somewhat," Scarlet said.

"Still, it wouldn't hurt to know a bit more about this, in case you really have no clue," Rin said. "You see, everyone is born with the ability to focus inward, into yourself, and unlock your potential. It's... not so easy to explain unless you have a clear image of it yourself, so..."

"We have all the time, so why don't you try meditating here, right now?" Valeria butted in. "We're all curious, and we're not in danger of any monsters here, so give it a try, Remrem!"

Meditate...? The hexer had no choice but to give this... 'skill tree consciousness' thing a try, she supposed. Closing her eyes, remaining standing, she tried to 'look deeper into herself', whatever that meant.

Maybe... self identity? Or... self worth? The meaning of myself? Remilia's expressions gave no clue to the others that she was struggling with this concept. What... should I be thinking of? ...they said... potential? Then... my powers... and my strength...?

Gradually, an unknown feeling began to take over her. She was still conscious, she wasn't about to faint or slip away from reality, that's for sure. But something, an unknown feeling, was definitely rising within her.

And then... her inner vision glowed pure white.


(6) Grimoire stones only serves to let one use skills from other classes and monsters. 'Monster core' is a fantasy concept often used as 'magic stones that drops when monsters are killed', so it isn't unlikely that they are related.

(7) Shilleka's localized accent is atrociously painful to read and replicate. We wanted to put our own spin on her way of talking based solely on her original Japanese character, but couldn't find any information on whether she had an accent in Japanese or not. (Her dialogue seemed normal casual, anyhow.)

(8) Skill trees, a common feature of fantasy games to do with a player character's classes. No official word is given for how they work in-universe, but logically, they should have to do with one's inner mind, unless the entire world of Etrian Odyssey games is a literal game world. (Think game world system isekais.)