Sword XV: The Rat -Part 2-

"Here we are, the only dungeon on this floor that people could consider safe," Argo said as the two stood at the entrance that looked like some ruins in rubble. "Most of the monsters in here are exact copies of those in the fields. Some of the better ones will try to use their camouflage to their advantage, but they should still go down quick and shouldn't be too dangerous if yer prepared. Compared to that insane dungeon we hit yesterday these guys are a joke."

"That joke may have been responsible for killing off at least one team of players, so don't let your guard down," Ragna ordered. Ever since he'd reconnected with Argo, his usual sharp scowl hadn't left his face on the way here... even while discussing details of the date.

"You… don't think she could'a purposefully killed her team off, do ya?" Argo asked seriously.

"Not a chance; I'm not saying I'm a great judge of character but I can still smell a piece of shit liar from a mile away. I didn't get any of that from Alba, just a real sense of loss after what happened to her team."

"And because of that, ya decided ta date her," Argo noted with a slightly judging tone. "Did ya expect it ta help?"

"Expect? No. Hoped? Yeah. And the fact that she's with Leefa now means I'm able to look into what's actually going on here while knowing she'll be safe," Ragna explained, hoping it didn't sound like he was making excuses. "At least I managed to run into her before she started having other thoughts."

"Not arguing with you there, but are serious that she call you hot?" the Rat demanded. "Seems like 'n oddly forward thing ta say."

"…I'll note that you're not denying her opinion outright."

"Whatever helps ya sleep at night," she bit back. With all of their talking, a group had begun making their way out of the entrance and leading that group was someone they recognized. "Huh, look what th' cat dragged in."

'There's an obvious pun to be made here, but I'm not taking it,' Ragna thought as Diabel showed obvious signs of surprise at seeing the two. "It's been a bit."

"Yeah, not since floor three," the blue haired leader admitted, still wearing the jacket Ragna had given him. "What are you doing here? I thought a dungeon like this would be beneath you."

"Nothing's beneath me," Ragna refuted. "But as for why I'm here, I heard that a team died in this dungeon and all evidence says that they should have been more than a match for this place. I'm here to see the full story with my own eyes."

"People can say that they're prepared to head out of the cities, but unfortunately reality can be far crueler than that. We've already lost too many people on this floor, many I'd wager for that reason," he sighed.

"Yeah, but supposedly these people managed ta take out one of th' named bosses before they started on this place," Argo informed. "Even if they didn't have a tank player, they should have been more than ready. The people we need ta worry about came into this place only slightly above the field monsters and thought they could just play it safe before they were ambushed."

"For what it's worth as information, I've done a full sweep of this place while helping other teams catch up in levels," Diabel explained, signifying why he was at a weaker dungeon with a group Ragna didn't recognize. "Like you said, the biggest problem is being ill prepared in equipment and not having the necessary eye for spawn points, but otherwise we weren't at much risk and still managed to gain experience nicely. Here's the dungeon map."

Ragna and Argo took a quick glance over the info (Argo already had this exact data, but figured she'd keep it to herself and let Diabel contribute a little)

"If there are any secrets undiscovered, you can count on me to sniff 'em out," Argo promised. "We'll make sure that no stone is left unturned and get back to you. Last thing I'd want is for the easy dungeon to turn into a death trap."

"Like I said, I don't know what we could have missed in the two hours we were in there and we needed to watch out for ambushes fairly carefully. I know you both well enough though; nothing I say is going to get you to reconsider. Good luck in finding what you're looking for." Diabel was about to walk off before remembering something else. "There's another team already in there; they were there before we were and we caught them in a safe zone taking a lunch break. They're probably going to spend the entire day grinding in the dungeon, so…"

"Keep an eye on them?" Ragna guessed.

"If you think something's wrong with this place, please do. We've already lost too many people on this floor," the shield user agreed as he started leading the rest of his group back to town… people who didn't seem to have much to say to Ragna. The Reaper had to wonder if he really came off as that intimidating when he wasn't trying to score a date.

"So… we're in a lower level area, one that's been explored to death already, and now there's a group watchin' that'll keep ya from goin' all out," Argo summarized sourly. "I get that this could end up being a dangerous trap, but I still have ta hope that this isn't just another dead end investigation."

"If it is, I'll give you half of what I earn tomorrow to make up for it," the Reaper promised.

"…No need, I can see how serious you are about this." He had to pause at that. Argo was putting something ahead of her own profits? What was the world coming to? "Well? We goin' in or not? You'll need my expert eyes in there if somethin's really hidden away."

"Right. Let's go," Ragna said as the two headed inside, the Reaper obviously taking the front point. While Ragna stood on guard, Argo carefully observed both the map data and their surroundings for any signs of secrets using her skills. It didn't take the two long to come across their first threat… just the most basic of spiders. With one leaping down at them from atop the ceiling, Ragna gave it a fierce backhand that sent it flying straight into the wall… and caused it to shatter from just that simple hit. "…Either my unarmed combat skill has gotten better than I thought, or the monsters here are really that weak."

"Mix of both; you couldn't take out most of the field monsters in one shot yesterday," Argo explained without looking up from her data as Ragna roundhouse kicked another one and beat it just as easily. "Weird… now that I see it ta scale, this place does seem smaller than most other dungeons. Even if it's just fer beginners."

"So you think there's some hidden section?" he asked before using Gauntlet Hades and taking out two in one move. "I thought you said that this place was covered from top to bottom and that's what your map is showing."

"That's what I thought, but I dunno. Still seems a little on tha smaller side," the info broker continued to note. "There's only a few hallways, but they all lead to a center chamber that acts as a safe zone. In terms of monster difficulty, it's a short step up from the regular field monster and they keep 'em in a contained hallways for easy experience grindin'." Argo shook her head. "Still, if you really think that there's something hidden here that means we're going to have to proceed through this place at a snail's pace. This is gonna take all day an' then some."

"Offer still stands if you want half of whatever I make tomorrow," Ragna said as he boredly punched the lights out of another spider. He then saw that Argo was looking at a downed pillar that was leaning at a 45 degree angle. The top of it was close to another pillar that had most of its top knocked off making it easier to reach a trail of pillar tops which lead to an alcove hidden in the ceiling. "Huh, good eye."

"Eyes 're good, but you still need good footing to get up there. It's not just a simple matter of walkin' up there. Ya need a good sense of balance and to time yer jumps just right. There could be spiders that'll try an' trip you up fer fall damage, so you gotta keep a watch out ta-"

"Hold on."

"Hold on ta- WHA-!?"

With next to no warning and even less tact, Ragna roughly picked Argo up by wrapping his left arm around her waist. She could barely make a sound of protest before Ragna leapt up to the alcove in a single bound. Keeping a hold on his info broker for a moment as he checked for spiders, he eventually set her down once he was sure the coast was clear.

"…How th' hell did you score that date?" Argo demanded.

"My rugged good looks and refreshingly blunt personality," the Reaper bragged as the two looked around the hidden room. "So I see an empty chest that's been opened, but is there anything else here?"

"Doesn't look like it; no hidden switches inside the chest, wall doesn't seem to have a double hidden passage, and there's no sort of clue for another area. I think this was just a well-hidden reward plus an ambush spot for tha spiders. Doesn't show up on the map though, so that might explain why this dungeon seems so small. We'll have ta keep our eye out fer other hidden alcoves." Argo headed to the side and was about to simply jump down and take whatever slight fall damage the action would give her, but sighed and turned to her guild leader. "Try to be a little less rough this time."

"Fine," he groaned… and picked her up bridal style before leaping down. "Better?"

"Now yer doin' this on purpose!" she shouted at him, roughly getting out of his hold and dropping to the floor.

'I know I shouldn't tease her when she's agreed to help me with this important job, but after all of her own tricks I can't pass this chance up,' Ragna thought to himself, trying not to appear too smug. "Whatever was up there, think it might've been a key or something to help with exploring?"

"No real way of telling with the chest open, but given its place I'd have ta guess it was just a modest piece of equipment or a healing item one grade higher than what's available in stores. Something easily dismissible like that. If there were any real items that would help us clear this floor to find, then we'd earn them at the end of a long dungeon or at the end of a side quest chain."

"But we haven't found anything, not after clearing just about every major side quest on this floor and not after going through most of the damn dungeons on this floor."

"Try all of the dungeons," Argo told him, leaving Ragna to pause. "That dungeon that we cleared yesterday, the one that we needed your abilities to power through, that was the last one that we could clear. Compared info with some other brokers while ya were on yer date. That was the last one."

"You're kidding; how many people had to give their lives just to get us this far and we're not any closer to getting through this damn floor?" the Reaper demanded.

"If it makes ya feel any better, I recently found out that far fewer player teams are heading to the fields these days. Most of them heard about everyone that had already died and are trying to stay safe now, especially since we're so close to Christmas. Once the festival's over though, that's where the real work resumes," she explained. "Still… never was like this back in the Beta."

"Figures you were a player. I mean I didn't know for certain, but I was still pretty confident that was the case," Ragna admitted. "So just about everything so far has been different from the Beta?"

"Floor 2 didn't look like any other floor I'd seen in the game. Floor three was basic enough, but the sudd'n difficulty spike on this floor's what I'm really worried about. Like what happens once we clear it and the next one's even worse?"

"I dunno, but it's hard to be that much worse than this floor we're already stuck on," the Reaper decided. "For now, I just want to know what's going on here."

"Well…" Argo seemed especially hesitant. "There's another possibility, but yer gonna hate it. It's possible that they might've been killed off by other players." Ragna didn't respond as Argo let the idea sink in for a moment. "I'd think it's a little early for 'em, but… Player Hunters are probably gonna spring up eventually."

"Killing other people and treating it like a damn game," Ragna shook his head.

"Just keep an eye out for players that have a yellow or even a red symbol above their heads; those are the ones who have committed crimes against other players. It'll tell ya what to watch out fer, but don't rely only on that. There's loopholes ta avoid getting marked."

"…I have to hope you're right and saying it's too early. For now, we need to keep moving."

They didn't get much further before finally coming across the team Diable had informed them about. They were fighting off a small group of spiders and had the situation well in hand despite being flanked. Two of them were young men with brown hair and plated armor; the one dressed in light brown used a two-handed staff while the one in purple used a kite shied and mace. Two of the boys were also wearing hats with the heavier armored one using a spear and the more thief like one using a single knife. The single girl of the group wore light colored armor which clashed with her dark hair while she wielded a sword and shield. She seemed the least comfortable in combat of her team, both because of her own timidness and (Ragna could see) she wasn't used to this form of weaponry.

"They look pretty fresh," Argo judged… before giving Ragna the side eye. "Then again compared to you, everyone in tha' game seems on the fresh side. You gonna jump in?"

"Only if they need it," Ragna said silently as he watched the group continue to fight.

Admittedly there were a few times his hand noticeably twitched as the group made a noticeable mistake and he was tempted to rush in and save them, but for now he stood his place and waited. Argo caught onto it, but she smirked as she and Klein were apparently on the same page when it came to Ragna seeing people take damage. The battle took longer than he would've thought, but they managed to finish without any major damage, healing both any injuries and any poison status before looking over the results. They seemed to be congratulating the purple garbed warrior as they claimed a well-earned level up.

'If this is all the place has to offer then they're not in any real damage as long as they don't play it dumb, but if the challenge starts getting more intense then they're in deep shit,' Ragna considered before stepping forward.

"Enjoy the show?" the more thief like one asked with a snicker. Ragna had to wonder if Argo had a long lost brother. "Caught sight of you watching us back there, but decided to focus on the fight."

"It looked like you had things handled," Ragna said as he looked over the player's name: Ducker. "How long have you been in the dungeon?"

"All day," said the member in brown as they stepped forward. Keita. "We figured that most of the player base would spend today getting ready for Christmas Eve, so we figured that we should take the chance to grind up in here while the dungeon are mostly empty. All we've seen today is another team of three led by that shield guy."

"And that's all?" Ragna asked.

"Far as we can remember," said the non-thief hatted member. Sasamaru.

"You look like you've either got something that you need to say or questions to ask," the dark plated member wielding a spear noted. Tetsuo.

"Both. First of all, I'm investigating this dungeon. A group of players got killed here last night, but everything that I know about them says that they should've been more than prepared for this sort of place," Ragna started. Aside from the girl of the group, none of them seemed all that impressed by the news. He decided to move onto more questioning. "Tell me, has your group ever gone against one of the Named Monsters in the fields?"

"We could have, if Sachi here wasn't so paranoid about fighting them," Ducker teased, though still a bit exasperated. The girl off the group didn't say anything, but seemed to blush at her own cowardice. "We told her that we'd level grind here first to make sure that we were ready for it. We could probably take it down now, and if we couldn't I have a teleport crystal on me to make sure we get outta there safely."

"Besides, I don't know what you think you're going to find. We went through this entire place already several times. We've been here since sunrise and nothing's been that tough. In fact, what you just saw us fight is probably the hardest encounter in this place."

Looking over the notes she had for the place, Argo nodded to Ragna after confirming the claim.

"Still, you all should be careful. Those people died in here for a reason and neither of us are leaving until we find out why."

"I thought this place was safe; she told us as much," Keita said, pointing at Argo. Ragna gave an accusatory glare to his info broker.

"I… may have sold this group dungeon info while you were out on yer date," she admitted. "But ta be fair, I didn't know that this place was supposed ta be dangerous… or that they'd be hittin' it so quickly."

'Good lord, now I really hope I'm wrong,' Ragna thought before turning to the other group. "Either way, be careful and maybe considering calling it soon."

"We'll think about it," Ducker promised. Ragna could easily tell they were lying. "Mind working on the other side of the dungeon though? That way we can both work with respawn points and won't get in each other's way."

'Friggen'…' Shaking his head, Ragna started walking off with Argo walking close behind. "How many people have you given info to this place on?"

"Plenty, but I don't keep in contact with many of my customers. Still, talked with quiet a few after tha fact and they seemed jus' fine." A long pause. "…I really hope yer wrong."

"Same. If I'm not though, it's hardly your fault," he said bluntly, giving the shorter woman a reassuring pat on her hooded head. "Just keep looking forward, we'll figure out what's going on sooner or later."

Several Hours Later

"Four times around and we haven't found jack shit," Ragna swore as he roughly reset his sword. "I'm starting to think you've earned that I told you so."

"Starting to?" Argo questioned. It was a slight tease, but it didn't look like she was pushing it here. "Buy us a nice dinner fer two and we'll call it even. Or better, make one."

"After the day we've wasted together, I feel like I'm gonna have to forget about my pride and hope that I can find a nice meal," the Reaper admitted.

"Wasted? I thought you managed to score yerself a killer date," Argo reminded with a sly smile, showing she'd at least tease him on this much. "Was that part of the day a waste?"

"Well… maybe you got me there," the Reaper conceded before opening his menu. "Huh, no new message notifications. Figured I would've heard from Leafa by now." Opening up a new screen he wrote off a quick message and got a response almost immediately.

"What's it say?" a curious Argo inquired.

"Just a summary of what's happened really. They talked long enough for Alba to explain what was on her mind, Leafa gave what advice she could, and Alba's fallen asleep in the room next to her. Leafa's apparently added her to her friend list so she can keep an eye on her and make sure she doesn't leave in the middle of the night."

"She got anything ta say about yer date?" Of course she was asking for the drama. To her (admitted) disappointment, Ragna shook his head.

"No, but she did wonder if she should let Alba know where that we were here when she awakens. I'm thinking no for now, I don't want anything to get her hopes up. At this point, it's hard to say whether or not either of us are even in the right place."

"Not a lot you can do; there's just too much we don't know right now and there's sadly too many things that coulda gone wrong," Ago admitted. "Though I guess an entire team wipe can't jus' be any mistake, even if they didn't have a teleport crystal on hand or a designated tanker."

Ragna didn't say anything, only backhanding a spider that had leapt for an ambush without batting an eye or closing his menu.

"Listen, I get that yer tryin' to get the poor girl some closure, but at this rate yer runnin' us ragged. Maybe we should head back and get some rest? I can ask for info where I can after tomorrow… that good enough?"

"…It might be…" Ragna thought as he glanced at the clock on his menu. It was nearly ten and the two had been through quiet the eventful day. It wasn't fair to keep Argo here, not when she'd followed him through so well and asked for next to nothing in return. Hell, he hadn't even gotten her dinner. "Sorry today turned out to be such a bust."

"…Nah, I still had fun… in yer usual strange way," she said, giving him a pat on the back. "So… that's it?"

"…I guess it is."

-The Center Safe Zone-

"Three levels in one day," Sasamaru said with a long and satisfied sigh. "When we go for that named boss after Christmas, it won't know what hit it."

"Heck, I've still got energy now," Tetsuo said proudly. "Maybe we should make a stop on our way back and-"

"You promised you wouldn't!" Sachi whined. "No more fighting until after Christmas!"

"Relax Sachi, I'm sure Tetsuo was just joking," Ducker said with a laugh that was joined in by everyone except for her. "We're keeping the promise, no more fighting until then… excluding the tournament tomorrow, but we're not in danger there."

"You guys think one of us might stand an actual chance of winning?" Sasamaru asked. "Those last few laps around the dungeon felt so easy, it barely felt like we were dealing with monsters. Just some nice xp and col fodder."

"I dunno, plenty of the top players have probably gone to the really dangerous dungeons. If they've been getting levels there, they're probably leagues above us," Keita said realistically. "But that doesn't mean we can't give it our all tomorrow. All of us get a reward just for entering, so we've got nothing to lose. In fact, I bet we could surprise some of the top dogs and score pretty high."

"That's what I'm talking about!" Ducker said excitedly. "But are you sure you won't join in Sachi? There's no real danger and you'll get paid no matter how well you do."

"I just want to spend a few days without having to worry about fighting," she insisted. She suspected that the others would have an argument to press further, but her team seemed to respect her decision. She gave a small smile at this… which didn't last long. "Uh… guys? Did anyone notice the sudden shift in the air?"

"Shift?" Keita asked as he looked around. "Did you just imagine it?"

"No, I felt something too," Sasamaru agreed. Then the group heard the clacking of spider legs on the dungeon floor. "What the-?"

They were spiders alright, but they weren't like any of the fodder they'd been fighting up until now. In fact, they hadn't seen these anywhere on the floor at all. The largest spider of the group had a pitch black and blood red carapace and stood as big as a large horse. The numerous smaller spiders on its side and following closely behind were either entirely red or black. The red ones looked sleeker and were likely faster via comparison, but the bulk on the black spiders' carapace made it clear that they'd be far tankier.

"Uh… info never said anything about these things," Ducker stated bluntly.

"H-How can they see us!? We're supposed to be invisible inside of the safe zone!" Sashi screamed as she brought her sword out.

"Don't worry, they're probably just here because of their patrol cycle," Tetsuo said, though he looked more than a little unnerved himself. "And even if they can see us, it's not like they can do anything while in here. We'll just take a-"

The lead spider shuddered its body before all of its companions turned and sprayed a collective blast of their webbing. Where there should have been an invisible safe zone barrier was nothing and the group was absolutely coated in the webbing.

"Where's the… safe zone?" Keita stammered out as he stared down the spiders that outnumbered them… and certainly looked like they out classed them. "Ducker! Teleport crystal! Now!"

" I can't get it! This webbing's stopping me!" he shouted as he desperately clawed for the crystal in his pocket, but no matter how hard he clawed for it he couldn't get ahold of it. "Sasamaru! Look out!"

As the largest spider charged forward at the spear user, who tried to unleash one of their skills to keep the monster off. Not only did the hastily aimed attack glance harmlessly against its hide, but neither Sashi nor Tetsuo could step in to take the attack with their shields due to the webs impeding their movement. Sasamaru took the full blast of the spider's charge that sent him flying before he violently slammed into the wall, leaving him deep into the red. With him out of the way, two of the smaller red spiders leaped onto Sashi and Tetsuo. Tetsuo yelled as the spider bit straight into his neck and delivered its poison before he threw it off and fell to one knee. Sashi meanwhile gave a scream as she managed to wrestle hers off and throw it to the floor in front of her. Letting out a desperate scream, she plunged her sword into it again, and again, and again. Now the rest of the spiders were charging forward.

"GUYS!" Ducker screamed as the largest spider came right at him. Fangs out and going straight for his light armor protected chest. The thief leaned back in horror as the spider closed in for the fatal attack.

"HELL'S FANG!"

(Cue Anarchy Reigns Find You)

A fist covered in black flames screamed past Ducker, delivering a devastating straight punch to the spider's face and sending it flying in the hallway and over its cohorts. The rest of the arachnids even seemed to pause in their charge at the sudden attack as the new arrival barreled down on them.

Drawing the Aramasa from his belt and quickly charging a two-handed Blast skill, Ragna made a massive cleaving attack on five of the spiders and sent them flying with that single swing. One of the crimson spiders leapt at him from his left while a bulkier one charged forward from the ground. Swinging his sword in an uppercut, Ragna blasted the grounded one up in the air with one arm before backhanding the crimson one into the wall with the other. Shifting into a single handed Horizontal Slash skill, Ragna rushed forward and cut through the heavier monster to damage it further and put himself in the center of the group. Turning his sword to its scythe form, Ragna made a whirlwind as he performed a full cyclone attack around him cleaving through all of the monsters and destroying the most damaged one. One of the armored ones managed to keep its footing and leapt at him, but he blasted it straight into the ceiling with an uppercut. Letting his sword revert as the spider fell, he cut the creature in a downward slash and destroyed it before it hit the ground.

"…What the hell?" Keita stuttered before he heard the glass shattering sound. His immediate dread turned to relief as a shaken Sachi had finished defeating her monster, but the young girl's eyes looked terrified.

"You'll be okay, jus' start drinkin' this." Turning their heads behind them, the group saw Argo handing Sasamaru a potion from her pouch, able to take items out of her inventory since she wasn't affected by the webbing. Grabbing an antidote, she hurried over to the poisoned Tetsuo while tossing potions to the rest of the members. "Fer safety."

"Th… th-thanks," Sachi stuttered.

"Don't worry 'bout it, jus' enjoy the show," Argo instructed, though her normal carefree tone seemed to be go absent. Not concerning herself with that, she grabbed out her best antidote.

Back on Ragna's side, the spiders had recovered from his wild wind scythe swing and were starting to shudder. Screeching, they sent out another blast of webbing only for Ragna practically vanish from sight before landing on an armored unit and impaling his blade straight through its bulk. Drop kicking it, he had enough force behind the unarmed attack to bowl over a group of enemy spiders and cause his own enemy made projectile to shatter. With a line of spiders before him, he charged and seemed to pass through them as he unleashed a series of sword slashes too quick for the eye to see. All of the spiders in that attack shattered, and Ragna was left to charge a Blast skill as he quickly turned and swung his sword through two armored spiders that had tried to get the drop on him. The remaining three crimson spiders then tried to get at him from a higher angle after climbing on the wall-

"INFERNO DIVIDER!"

Only to have the expected sword swing uppercut as Ragna cleaved through all of them and reduced them to shattered glass shards. With the minions destroyed, Ragna was left to deal with its massive leader that was only now finally crawling back (yeah, Ragna had launched the son of a bitch pretty far with that last punch). Ragna's scowl only seemed to sharpen as he stared down the monster that might've been the cause of death for Alba's team and countless other players. It might've been mere data, but that didn't matter to him. He wanted to break this thing.

The monster glowed red as it activated an actual skill to assist in its charging, making it so that even a heavy shield user would be forced back from the impact. Ragna made no such attempts to block and stood his ground, only waiting until the last instant to deliver another straight punch to the creature's face and stopped in its tracks. Even those behind him felt the force of the spider's charge from the fierce winds that resulted. The spider then went for feral bite to poison him, only for Ragna to flip over the attack.

"Gauntlet Hades!"

He succeeded in overhead attack, but since he didn't have his official follow-up he brought his sword out and cleaved down onto the creature's head. The spider then went for a jagged leg swipe, but Ragna easily deflected the attack before bringing the flat side of his sword down with a satisfying Crunch. Bringing his sword under the monster and flipping it in the air, Ragna didn't even use a skill as he slowly readied his body for an attack.

He released a single sword slash that cleanly cleaved the monster into two separate halves. The force of this attack sent out a massive gale of wind as the monster shuddered a long moment before finally shattering.

(End theme)

"Nicely done," Argo said as she came up behind her guild leader. Turning back to face her seriously, Ragna put his sword back on its proper place on his belt. Glancing behind her, he saw the group he'd saved was already gone. "Th' guy that got poisoned wasn't gettin' healed by any of my antidotes and I'd run out of restorative items before it wore off. Instead, I gave 'em my teleport crystal and sent 'em all back into town."

"I thought the webs wouldn't let them use items," Ragna noted.

"Wouldn't let 'em take out items, key difference," Argo said, putting her info broker skills to work. "Think they'll be fine; any status ailments is healed as soon as you get back into city. Still, this whole thing was messed up. A safe zone that disappears? A monster unlike anything else in the dungeon? It really was a death trap." She couldn't look Ragna in the eye. "…One that I sent people into."

"I already said earlier that it wasn't your fault; everyone else had the same info to work with as you did. And now they've got the info that will keep them from getting killed," he reassured her. "So, this phase is only activated after 10 PM?"

"That's what it looks like," the info broker agreed, getting out of her gloom at least long enough to get to work. "If you hadn't insisted we stayed to make sure this group made it back ta town, that entire team would've been wiped out. You saved all their lives and ya managed to give Alba some closure on her team's death." She mustered a soft smile for him. "Ya did a hell of a lot of good tonight."

"I don't think we're done just yet," Ragna told her as he headed down the hallway that would take them away from the dungeon's entrance, right where the spiders had come from. When they got there, what was previously a wall was now an open entrance to the next hallway. "Guess these things were protecting something after all."

"What tha?" Argo said as she went into her map info. It didn't show this new feature anywhere on it, but as soon as she started to use her Mapping ability, the entryway showed itself. "There was nuthin' like this in tha Beta."

"Be surprised later; I'm gonna need you in there," the Reaper told her sternly. "Probably a lot of damn traps I'll need you to sniff out, and…" He gave Argo a cocky smirk. "We earned quite the load of col and XP on that last fight; think I can turn today around and give you one hell of pay day after all?"

"…Couldn't stop me if you wanted ta!" Argo declared as she brought her knife out.

Ragna was certainly right to bring Argo along as there were nearly as many traps as the over leveled dungeon the two had found the day prior. The info broker was well prepared for them, but on certain occasions Ragna was mere centimeters from setting off a trap before Argo caught on and stopped him. The Reaper wasn't too annoyed and simply let his Rat do her work so he could do his. The monsters around here were close to the level that Ragna had found in the other dungeon, leaving him to wonder how players were even expected to get through here… if they had even survived the opening wave. A good half hour of traveling down the single path later, the two them finally arrived at the true end of the dungeon and found…

"Nothing… no prize door, no chest, not even a boss," Ragna muttered with disappointment as he crossed his arms while Argo scoured around for secrets. "We didn't miss anything on our way in, did we?"

"Can't think of anywhere we could'a missed somethin'," Argo told him without looking back. "And it was jus' one hallway, is this dungeon really gonna be that big of an ass? Seems… cruel, even fer this floor."

"Death game; not much crueler it can get," Ragna suggested as he looked over at one of the walls that had a mural carved into it. "Huh. Argo, come over here and check this out. This seems pretty damn detailed, even if it's a little broken in some places."

"…Huh, never knew you were one for art," Argo said, mostly as a joke as she knew something was up. "So Raggy-"

"Stopping that now, please find something else to call me."

"I'll think about it; so what does yer expert art eye see in the mural on the wall?"

"You don't really need any expert eyes to see it. Two women. The one on the left is where most of the damage is. It looks like she's using some kind of spear and perched on top of it is… can't say for certain, some kind of bird? Her entire head is scratched from the picture, guess these spiders don't really like her. Woman on the right is practically untouched. It looks like she's holding onto a lot of string… That doesn't seem very important, but…" A long pause. "That piece in the center; the circle with a spider on it and those few buildings illustrated." He opened his floor map. "It's a match."

"That spider… I don't think anythin's there, but that could be an entrance to tha floor dungeon! This could finally be our way out!" Argo exclaimed excitedly with a beaming smile as Ragna turned and… hugged her. "Uh… I mean I'm happy too, but why the sudd'n-?"

And dove to the side as something massive crashed down from up above. Ragna had landed on his feet, letting him quickly set Argo down behind him as he grabbed the Aramasa out once more. The spider that had nearly crushed them to death was twice the size of the one Ragna had fought in the hallways, but what's more noticeable was the humanoid top half. It was male and wore heavy armor. With a long battle axe in its left hand and a tower shield in its right, it looked like the suitable boss for the dungeon which was only confirmed with its two health bars and name Dryad Champion. Ragna wasn't annoyed with that as much as with when it had shown up.

"I know for damn sure that thing hadn't spawned in until we read that mural," he growled irately. "After seeing one last final screw you death trap in this god forsaken place, I'm starting to see your point." Taking his eyes of the monster for a moment, he looked back to Argo who was already unsheathing her knife. "You got my back?"

"Always."

Meanwhile -The City-

"You're kidding me."

"Cross my heart I'm not. Guy was honest to god on a date."

"And no fighting in the fields?"

"None."

"And she wasn't a member of your guild?"

"He might've gotten her to join while they were out; lemme check… Nope." Klein couldn't help but give a wistful sigh as he closed his guild's membership roster. "Doesn't mean she never will be. I guess he could be waiting to ask until a second date."

"Second date? You think he'll get one?" Lilly asked before she took a long swig from her tankard.

"I'd put money down saying he will." Apparently the second-in-command had plenty of faith in the first. "It seemed like she was having a pretty good time with him when I went up and talked to them."

"You actually spoke to them?" Lilly asked. "Think you might have ruined a moment?"

"Hardly, what's a good wingman if they won't talk the guy up?" Klein asked with a goofy grin and a thumbs up. Lilly both approved and disapproved of his actions with her simultaneous eyeroll/giggle. "Speak of which, guess who's apparently getting a bit more recognition for his efforts back on floor 3?"

"So you're saying that I should be careful now that you'll have a better pick of the ladies?" Lily had meant it as nothing more than some light teasing, but Klein seemed to freeze up as she said it. "Uh, Klein…? I was kidding."

"I… I didn't even think about that." If anything, it now sounded genuine with just how surprised that he was at himself. "And I know for sure that it would've been the first thing I'd have thought about if I hadn't met you." He then looked Lily in the eye with an expression almost alien for him with how serious it really was. "What we've got between us… I think it's really working out."

"Yeah? I mean, I think so too," Lilly agreed. "So we're going to stay steady then?"

"Of course. Now all I want to do is get out of this game so I can finally meet you IRL," Klein told her. "I… think we're good for each other."

"Can't disagree," Lilly told him with a smile. "But even though we're official now, is it alright if we keep working with our own groups? My guild doesn't really feel like letting men into the sistership just yet and I still have too many people counting on me in there to up and leave them."

"I don't want to leave my group either, so I think that works; I mean it's more like the two of us have different jobs to deal with anyways," the samurai agreed, far from heartbroken over the arrangement. "Yeah, I think this could really turn into something great."

"Sorry to interrupt, but either of you need a refill?" the NPC waitress asked the two. "We're actually about to start breaking out our Seasonal Eggnog if you'd like to try that."

"Much as I like the seasonal stuff, I think I want to hold off until tomorrow. Another round of ale?" Lilly nodded. "Another round of that then." The waitress headed off to grab the fresh tankards. "Speaking of which, is your guild excited the tournament tomorrow?"

"Excited putting it lightly. Everyone thinks that we're going to be walking home with the top prize thanks to Sakura. I know she's going to go far in the tournament, but your guild has some heavy contenders too. No hard feelings if we face off against each other?"

"Nah, you'll just have the chance to see me show my stuff up close and personal," Klein taunted, leaving his girlfriend to laugh at his snarky bravado. "So I hear that there's betting going on if you're not participating in the tourney. Do you know how good Sakura's odds are?"

"Didn't remember hearing about that, but I did overhear someone asking if the Grim Reaper had registered yet. I wonder if they wanted this chance to watch them fight, but maybe they also wanted to put money on him."

"I don't even know if he's going to be there. Aside from when I saw him on his date, Ragna's been spending the last few days with Argo and she promised that she'd let him know about the tournament. I doubt the guy's going to register at the last minute and cause a big scene… intentionally."

"Right, he tends to do that; like it or not," Lilly agreed. "What about the guy from the third floor boss raid? Healthcliff."

"Pretty sure everyone from the third floor boss raid would be there, the only question is my own guild leader," the Samurai sighed. It was then that their next round arrived. "Thanks, I'll close the tab after this." The waitress nodded and head out to serve other customers.

"You know you don't have to treat; I can pay my fair share too."

"Maybe, but tis the season of giving." They both shared a brief laugh at that. "Heard something else recently, though. Apparently Healthcliff made waves by being the champion of floor 3. A lot of people are trying to rally behind him and give him support towards clearing floor 4, which means we'll only be out of here that much quicker."

"If he get us off this damn floor before New Years, that's probably the best holiday joy we could get," Lilly agreed. "Speaking of which, you guys have anything planned for Christmas Day?"

"Dunno; haven't heard anyone plan anything and we've already established that Ragna's not the partying type," Klein added with an eye roll. "Might have to try and kidnap him that day so he'll finally join in some festive cheer."

"Careful; you just got me as your girlfriend," Lilly teased sweetly. "It would be a shame if you threw you life away so quickly."

"Come on; the guy acts all tough and brooding, but he's as good a guy as they come. He wouldn't hurt a fly."

Back to the Dungeon

Ragna roared as he cleave the Aramasa through the Dryad Champion, cleaving the creature roughly in two and finally causing it to shatter. Flipping his sword around, he reset his oversized blade back on his belt with style. Argo had mostly stayed back for this fight, both because her defenses weren't nearly as high but also to gather information on the monster that she could sell. Ragna knew what she was doing and it was perfect since he wouldn't have to worry about saving his info broker.

"Damn, I'm gonna have ta work fast ta get this stuff on tha market before the tournament tomorra," Argo said as she looked over the notes she'd taken. "Still, this stuff's gonna go a long way. It's a shame this is where our partnership ends."

"Just for now, there's no telling when I'll need you to help me explore again in the future," Ragna figured realistically. "But you remember our deal, right?"

"Yeah yeah, I gotta come up with an excuse fer why yer not gonna make an appearance at the tournament," his info broker… sighed. "Bein' honest, was kinda hoping you'd changed yer mind by now."

"No such luck, I'm a pretty stubborn bastard."

"No one's arguin' there!" Argo agreed with gusto, just as a level up screen appeared in front of Ragna. "Nice! Finally scored yer next big one! And yer in for an ability to boot! Mind if I take a look at it?"

'…She's earned this much. Especially after all we went through.' "Just don't ask me for a Christmas present on top of this."

"Won't hold my breath," she promised as he opened the menu for her to. She seemed to be humming to herself as she looked the info over… right up until she suddenly went silent. A haunting stillness. "This… can't be literal."

Blood Kain: Remnant

XP: 0/10,000

By sacrificing the user's hitpoints, this ability allows the use of enhanced versions of Azure Grimoire specific attacks. With extended use and mastery, the cost can be lessened but never removed completely. A perfect reflection of the artifact, as the user will inevitably pay the full price of their own life for this power.

"I…It's jus' text seasonin'. It's gotta be… right? There's no way this actually…"

Turning to Ragna, things were only made all the clearer for the infobroker as she looked at his face. There was a slight surprise in his expression, but not enough to explain the news of ones impeding death. If anything… it was for being caught.

"YOU KNEW!?"

Next Time: The Rat -Part Three-

Author's Note

Pretty cruel to leave everyone with that kind of cliffnote, eh? Next chapter of this specifically will be posted on December 24th, Christmas Eve. Yeah, this is probably going to be one of the more important chapters in this series, likely the most important one thus far. I'm going to do my best to make it worthwhile.

Speaking of updates, I put a poll on my account for my next story update. All of the stories haven't been updated in quite a while and… there's an obvious winner there for right now, but place your votes in all the same.

Of course, my YouTube is still running strong (Storm VII, of course) and I'm making solid headway through Persona 4: Golden after beating both Final Fantasy VII Remake and Super Mario Galaxy. Hope to see you there!

Now, onto the review responses!

The Unplanner: It was up in the air, but I'm happy the character has a decent amount of support.

Neutral40: Seriously, if life wasn't constantly shitting on him he'd actually manage quite well.

P3R50N4: Yeah, Klein needed more love. Originally the dryad was supposed to be its own fight, but since Ragna already had his chance to shine I figured I'd rather do a quick focus on Klein as a character.

Wlyman2009: Hey Leefa wouldn't go that far… I may need to give her more to do.

Kitsune No Hi: Here's some more, only four months later!

pendragonZx and Reclusive Dork: Full OC that I created for the story.

NiceScouge: I doubt Jubei or the Sister would've shared dating tips.

Saber EMIYA: Glad to see you're a fan of my other works as well.

Armedlord2.0: Good options either way, and thank you for the imput.

Rpgfan1: Eh, not really interested in that specific crossover oddly enough. And another Alba supporter, good.

Until Next time everyone! Ciao!