Maelstromtale

by Hussbek

Stories speak of a mountain where children have gone and never returned, unknown of the mystery which lies within it. Now history repeats itself as a child falls but with a twist as another joins...and to think a mild stroll got him into something thought of as fairy tales.

26. Evens and Odds

A Maelstrom's Tale
Chapter 23: Evens and Odds

Naruto and Ralsei exit through the Great Doors which closes themselves shut as they enter a field where there's purple grass on the ground and red-leaved trees around them. Naruto sees a SAVE Point which he goes to interact with.

(With the door closed behind you, your adventure will truly begin…The power of adventure shines within you. SAVE? Yes/No)

Naruto confirms his save file which displays that he and Ralsei are currently at the Field-Great Door.

"So, we're at the Fields now huh? Alright, let's see what this area has in store for us" thought Naruto, then the two continue down the path in front of them together, entering a long pathway which they walked through into another area.

Music Start: Deltarune OST; The Field of Hopes and Dreams

Upon entering a new area, Naruto started to hear music in the background while seeing the name of this song it showed before them.

"The Field of Hopes and Dreams? Huh, nice name. Has a nice ring to it. Actually, that sounds like something Azzy or Asgore would name, I'm not gonna lie," thought Naruto as he listens to the tune which is not half bad so far for the start of the theme. Anyway, Naruto sees a sign up ahead in front of them which he approaches it and reads it;

Enemies ahead! You're gonna die!

SIGNED, LANCER

Naruto just quirked an eyebrow at this since he doesn't know what to make of this when he finished reading the sign which Lancer signed it to make it look…menacing.

"I don't know if I should take this as a warning or a threat cause I'm gonna be honest; it doesn't feel like it's either of these things," Naruto muttered in mild confusion.

Ralsei just smiled as she spoke "Well, I'm sure Lancer was just giving us a warning to let us know there's enemies ahead of us to be wary of. That's nice of him,"

Naruto doesn't feel the same sentiment though "I'm pretty sure that's not what he intended for but…sure,"

The duo walked through the path when they spotted someone over there. The stranger look like a white slug with diamond motifs on it. It has a single visible arm holding a diamond-shaped dagger and they wear a diamond-shaped hood on its head. Even its eyes are also diamond-shaped. The stranger notices both Naruto and Ralsei and before they could do or say anything, the stranger rushed at them which made them go into battle as they got into their battle stances.

Music Change: Deltarune OST; Rude Buster

[Rudinn drew near!]

"So, its name is Rudinn? Alright, now let's see how we go about this," thought Naruto in his mind, already knowing what he's starting off with.

Obviously, he went over to the ACT button and used Check to find out more about Rudinn while at the same time, concentrating on Ralsei as he selects the DEFEND button for her as she uses her pink scarf which it moved on its own to cover her for protection.

[*Rudinn - ATK: 6 DEF: 0]

[This ambivalent diamond isn't any girl's best friend]

"Face my Diamond Cutter!" Rudinn declares as it summoned diamonds spawning on top of them as they're aiming which appears to be Ralsei as its target first before firing at her. Ralsei had to loosen up her pink scarf a bit for her to see while dodging the incoming diamond attacks that was launched her way. She managed to evade the attacks unscathed while some almost hit her but safe nonetheless as she uncovers herself from her pink scarf.

[Rudinn dislikes its boss, but doesn't care enough to quit]

"This is no different from back at the Underground, just need to find a way to persuade the enemy not to fight. The info should give me clues to pacify it," thought Naruto.

Since it's his turn, he immediately went to ACT and used Convince to talk Rudinn into quit fighting while having Ralsei to DEFEND herself in the process as a precaution "Hey there, I can see you clearly doing a pretty good job. But I gotta ask if you're being paid well enough for it?" he asked.

Rudinn simply replied "Barely,"

"If that's the case, why don't you work smarter instead of harder? Your boss isn't here to supervise ya, so what he doesn't know can't hurt ya and you still get paid,"

"Yeah, I guess that makes sense," Rudinn began to be swayed by his words.

"Exactly. So instead of wasting your energy on fighting us, why don't you just take a load off. You deserve it for being such a hard worker and it's not like your boss is around to see, so you should be fine," said Naruto as he puts his words to work which seems to have fully convinced Rudinn

"That's so true, thanks for the advice!"

"Alright, now it's fully convinced, I should be able to spare Rudinn without issue," said Naruto in thought as he knows this fight is almost over once he spares Rudinn in their next turn.

Rudinn then summons more diamonds spawning from below that move upwards towards them which apparently is targeting Ralsei for the second time. She once again evades the diamonds with little issue and it didn't take long for her to be safe after the attack stopped.

[Rudinn has no strong opinions one way or the other]

Naruto immediately went to the SPARE button which Rudinn's name is yellow which told him all he needed to know that he can ultimately spare him to end the battle which he did as he spared Rudinn and the battle is over while he puts away his Sakabato.

Music End

[You Won! Earned 0 XP and 38 D$]

"Wow! That was impressive. You handled this fight perfectly well with no issue. You sure have a way with words Naruto. It's like you've done something like this before," said Ralsei, happily praising Naruto while clapping her hands to congratulate him.

Naruto simply smiled in response "I guess you could say that I've been through this sort of situation like this before, but it's nothing. Anyways, that was just our first official encounter in real battle and it was only one enemy we faced. There's bound to be more as we go so this is just the beginning,"

Ralsei smiled, wholeheartedly agreeing with him "Right!"

"Alright, so let's continue where we left off and-wait…whoa!" As he was about to finish his sentence, he hears the song from before resume playing and as it did, the theme began dropping the beat which made Naruto like it a lot.

"This song is quite catchy. Really perks you up," thought Naruto while tapping his tap his feet on the ground in time with the rhythm as he listens to the music while it's playing in the background and noting that the grass is lively moving in tune. Ralsei was just watching him with a smile; at first she was confused by his reaction then realized that it's because he's listening to the song which she found it enjoyable to listen to.

Naruto suddenly stopped bopping his head as he began to take a proper view of the new environment and decided to sit down on the purple but comfy grass to properly take in the beauty of the environment whilst listening to the song. It wasn't that he's tired or anything; far from it but he just wanted to pace himself and relax since he's not exactly having a serious deadline on their adventure. There's no telling what dangers that awaits them. Plus, he also wanted to learn more about the Dark World which he's in and the residents that live here since it feels quite similar to the Underground, so he wants to see more of this world as much as he possibly can. Not to mention that they're not in a rush to save the world, let alone looking for Susie in a hurry since he's pretty sure she hasn't gotten too far ahead even if she wanted to so this is fine to at least get to know the Dark World better and getting to know Ralsei while he's at it.

He turned to Ralsei as he beckons her to sit down with him by patting on the purple grass which Ralsei asks curiously "Umm, Naruto? You want to sit down a little?"

"Yup, no need to rush. Just take your time to relax a bit," Naruto affirmed with a smile.

"Ok! A tiny break doesn't sound bad," said Ralsei then she sits next to Naruto, both enjoying the cheerful music and each other's company.

None of them really wanted to get up and save the world at this point and they weren't being selfish either. They just wanted to enjoy the moment with each other's company. Despite them only knowing each other for a couple of hours, it felt like a spark. Giving your trust to someone you hardly knew was scary but rewarding sometimes and both were enjoying it.

Then Naruto began to hum along with the song much to Ralsei's surprise since it's the first she's hearing his soft voice. She reluctantly started singing as well and it didn't take long for them to start singing in harmony. They stayed there, singing, prolonging their break on saving the world. A truly peaceful and sweet moment.

For Ralsei, she had always dreamed of doing something like this with a friend, she had read many stories about such moments and often imagines herself in them, but now she's doing it for real and it already feels much better than how she imagined it would. She felt so relaxed that she started feeling drowsy and began to nod off.

Naruto was suddenly brought back to reality from listening and humming along with the music when he felt something pressed against his shoulder. He looked to his right and to his surprise, found Ralsei sleepily leaning against his right shoulder. Naruto felt a bit embarrassed since he was so focused on the song itself to notice that she was learning on his shoulder. He just sat there, still as a statue as he felt a cold sensation through his spine but didn't move. Yet, he tried to hide the small blush on his face since he wasn't expecting something like this to happen.

"I guess she got very relaxed to the point of almost falling asleep," thought Naruto nervously, he then tried to get her comfortable and shift his position to let her rest her head onto his shoulder more properly which made him blush harder for what he's doing.

Seeing the look of comfort on her face made him smile and close his eyes in content as they just enjoy their tender moment, sitting in silence while peacefully listening to the music.

Couple of minutes had passed and Naruto slowly opened his eyes then realized that he had fallen asleep like Ralsei did. Speaking of which, Naruto sees her still leaning on his shoulder which made him blush but smile at how cute and adorable she looks. However; as much he wants to remain this way for a little while longer, he knows they need to focus back on their mission which is to go look for Susie and saving this world if he wants to go back home.

Naruto attempts to wake up Ralsei by gently shaking her a bit which only made her shift her head closer to his neck with a content smile on her face. Naruto started to blush harder at this predicament for this is not what he intended but still find this too cute. A part of him just wanna leave her be and sleep on his shoulder a bit more while the more logical part of him says that now's not the time for this since he needs to get back on track which is to search for Susie and save the Dark World. Obviously, he went with the latter as the more responsible choice for he has a role to play if he wants to help Ralsei save the Dark World by sealing the fountain.

Naruto tries to wake Ralsei again as he quietly said "Ralsei, come on. Time to wake up," Ralsei was slowly opens her eyes and the first thing she sees is Naruto smiling at her "Morning sunshine,"

She smiled at him and was about to greet him in response but then noticed due to her vision returning to her that she's up close to Naruto's face and even more so that she's leaning her head on his shoulder. Which can only mean…she must've slept onto Naruto's shoulder this whole time!

Out of sheer embarrassment, Ralsei blushed with her black cheeks redder than a strawberry as she removed her head from Naruto's shoulder and pulls her hat over her face to cover it whilst blurting out "O-Oh my gosh! I-I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to sleep on your shoulder like that!"

Naruto simply smiled since Frisk does the same thing and grew less awkward each time, even Azzy does the same since for some reason he's comfortable to be around. "Whoa there, it's okay Ralsei. It's fine, you don't need to apologize for resting on my shoulder. Really. If anything, I chose to let you rest on my shoulder since you were looking a bit drowsy from listening to the music peacefully and I didn't want to disturb you while you were being so comfortable. So, it's okay. I didn't mind it,"

Ralsei slowly lifts her hat to peek at Naruto "R-Really? You mean that?"

"I do. So don't worry about it,"

Ralsei smiled in relief as she seemed to slowly calm down "O-Okay,"

Naruto smiled while thinking "Also I have to admit, you look pretty adorable as you were sleeping onto me. But I'll keep that to myself,"

Anyways, after their moment is over, Naruto rose to his feet while stretching a bit since he was feeling a bit stiff from sitting on the ground for this long and Ralsei watched him do so "Well, I enjoyed our little break together if we can call it that, but I think we should probably resume back our mission which is to go look for Susie first, then help save the world. Don't you agree?"

"O-Oh! Right, I agree," said Ralsei in agreement.

"Alright then, let's get going,"

Naruto extends his hand out to Ralsei which she blushes as she stares at it then towards the blonde who smiles while nodding in encouragement and beckons her to take his hand. Ralsei smiled while still blushing as she accepted his offer by holding his hand then finds herself being easily pulled up to her feet. They stared at each other with smiles on their faces while Naruto is still holding her hand until he realizes he hasn't let go of her hand after lift her up.

Naruto let go while getting his blush under control "A-Anyway, best we get moving,"

"R-Right," Ralsei nodded eagerly in agreement, wanting to do something about the awkward atmosphere.

They resume their journey while inwardly happy about having taken the time to know each other better, especially Ralsei who values this moment with her new friend greatly and hopes that she can have the same with Susie too.

The two come across another sign which Naruto went over to read what it says;

If you're reading this… I guess you're dead.

SIGNED LANCER

"Ok I'm starting to believe he's just messing with us if he thinks one enemy was gonna be enough. Not to mention there wasn't any other enemies we've encountered so far," said Naruto as he's fully convinced Lancer is just screwing around with them for fun.

"Well, I guess we'll just have to wait and see for ourselves. I'm sure everything will be just fine so long as we stick together to overcome any obstacles that comes our way!" said Ralsei, being optimistic like always.

"Heh, I suppose you're right about that. Alright, let's continue moving forward,"

The two continue on their path down through the field, leaving the area in the process. They arrive at a different area as they took a left through the path and soon, they caught sight of Lancer standing next to a sign. They came over to him but not before checking out the sign.

Hey, don't read this sign! It's a work in progress!

SIGNED, LANCER

Naruto didn't say anything to this since he assumes that Lancer probably ran out of things to say to put on a sign so he just ignored it and went straight to Lancer which he took notice of both Naruto and Ralsei approaching him.

"Ho ho ho…well if it isn't my two favorite people," said Lancer, greeting with his typical childish tone. "Psyche! You guys aren't even in my top five!" Naruto just shrugged his shoulders since he didn't really much care about it which was fine by him.

"Lancer! Where's Susie?" Said Ralsei trying to do an angry face but it was cuter than scary.

"You mean the purple girl…? Ho ho ho…You fools! You're too late to stop me…!" Said Lancer full of gusto

Hearing those words filled Ralsei with worry "What did you do?"

"Hahaha…It was SO simple! She beat me up, so I ran away…!" said Lancer proudly as Ralsei got confused while Naruto just sweatdrops at that.

"Well, that would explain why I'm noticing a few scratch marks on his clothes," thought Naruto, considering this to be something Susie would do if someone annoys her then would unfortunately get beat up.

"That's a bit anticlimactic…" said Ralsei as she made a face indescribable "So are you just going to stand there? I thought you would at least run to the right…,"

"Why!? The purple girl's over there!" said Lancer, clearly not wanting to run into Susie and get beaten up by her again.

"Man, whatever Susie did to him, she must have really beat this kid up badly. Well, at least we know she's not far from us which is to be expected of course," thought Naruto, feeling somewhat sympathetic towards Lancer for him getting beat up in spite of him being the enemy.

Anyway, since Susie isn't far from where we are, Naruto decided to explore the other path. They went there to inspect it and saw a tree with some sort of fruit on them. Naruto sees a sign next to it and went to read it;

These types of trees DON'T contain an item that can heal you. Whatever you do, DON'T pick the Dark Candies from the tree and put them in your storage so you can use them to heal yourself! You got it!?

SIGNED, LANCER

"Pfft! Yeah right. Like I would listen to that," said Naruto as he just rolled his eyes at the obvious warning Lancer put on here telling him to not pick the supposed Dark Candies from the tree which it could heal both him and Ralsei which he be a fool to NOT pick them up. Naruto went over to the tree which a text suddenly appeared before him

(There are two objects hanging from the tree. Take one? Yes/No)

Naruto obviously went with yes since it's a no-brainer for him and took the two objects from tree which it identified as the Dark Candy like the sign said. He examined the Dark Candies as they were in a shape of a red-and-black star.

"So, there's food down here as well? Well, I suppose this makes sense given I have two Dark Candies in my hand which is native in the Dark World. Plus, I wouldn't be surprised if they have food down here just like in the Underground but in this case, in the Dark World that's only found here. Not gonna lie though, even though it's identified as candy, it looks a lot more like some sort of fruit to me, but I'm not one to judge. Looks can be deceiving after all," thought Naruto while he contemplates on what he's gonna do with them. He is curious to learn what it tastes like but it might be better if he saves them for later.

As he was debating on what he should do, Ralsei spoke up "Naruto, are you planning on conserving them? It would be beneficial if we save them up for an emergency just in case we are in danger in battle,"

Naruto replied "Yeah, you're not wrong cause I was thinking about that too. How about we save one up for later and use the other to try out? I'll split it up for myself and for you to share as a compromise. Is that alright with you Ralsei?"

"Of course! I don't mind that. If that's what you want then I'll respect your decision," said Ralsei smilingly, making Naruto smile as well

"Alright. Then it's settled," Naruto puts the Dark Candy away into his storage and quickly checks on his stats to see if it's been stored into his ITEMS which he indeed sees it is. However, he also notices that the first item he took from that unknown area when he first arrived in the Dark World is also visible in his ITEMS as well which wasn't originally there before until now "Huh, so I still have that Glowshard I picked up from that other place I found. Good to know I still have it and it's in my ITEMS. Strange that it didn't appear there before when I checked. Better make a mental note of double checking my ITEMS just in case I pick up something or purchase things down here,"

Anyways, he split the Dark Candy into two halves for himself and for Ralsei. He gave the other half to Ralsei which she accepted it with gratitude. Before he tries the Dark Candy, Naruto silently watches her as she took a quick bite out of the Dark Candy while waiting for her reaction of what it tastes like to her. In no time, Ralsei's eyes widening as she appears to enjoy eating that Dark Candy with amazement.

"Yummy! Marshmallows!" Said Ralsei after eating it. Naruto was surprised and curious after hearing Ralsei saying that. Now his expectation is high if it was that good for Ralsei to enjoy.

Naruto immediately bites into his own Dark Candy and needless to say, his face reflexed up with the taste as he smiled savoring it. Ralsei was right, this DOES taste like marshmallows as she described "Wow! This is probably one of the best things I ever tried! Toriel's Butterscotch pie is still better though," he thought, nothing can rival her Butterscotch pie, no contest…well with the exception of Ramen because it's the foods of the gods to him.

After enjoying their Dark Candy, the duo went back to where Lancer was but turn right to go look for Susie. Before they could get farther ahead, Lancer called out to them.

"Hey, if you head that way, my troops will thrash you," Lancer threatened them.

"Is that a threat?" asked Ralsei

"I prefer to think of it as an invitation," Lancer smiled while sticking his tongue out.

Naruto mentally rolled his eyes but didn't say a word as both him and Ralsei continued on where they're going. It didn't take long for them to see another Rudinn there as Lancer said but this one looks slightly different. This Rudinn seemed a little happier compared to the other one they've faced. Nonetheless, he knows how to handle them with ease so this should be no problem for both him and Ralsei. They went up to Rudinn which it took notice of them and immediately run towards them and in no time, they got into their battle phase.

Music Change: Deltarune OST; Rude Buster

[A necklace of Rudinns blocks your path]

Naruto quickly notices that there's not one but two Rudinns now who suddenly joined in out of nowhere which he doesn't know where did the second one came from. Either way it doesn't change anything, let alone the outcome of this fight. He wasted no time going straight for the ACT button and immediately went to Convince the first Rudinn while having Ralsei to DEFEND herself in the process. Obviously the first Rudinn was easily and utterly swayed after telling it to quit fighting. Both were targeted by the Rudinns as they prepare for the incoming attack launched by the Rudinns. Naruto had to evade, dodge and blocking them by using his Sakabato. Ralsei was dodging around as she was doing her best to not get hit by their diamond cutter attacks until they stopped their assault as well as Ralsei uncovering herself from her scarf.

[Rudinn thinks about elaborate stones]

Naruto didn't think too much on that info since he was aiming to finish this fight quickly as possible. Like with the first Rudinn, Naruto did the exact same thing onto the second Rudinn by going to the ACT button and Convince it to not fight as well while having Ralsei to spare the first Rudinn after selecting the SPARE button due to the first Rudinn's name being yellow.

The second Rudinn was utterly swayed like the first one while Ralsei spared the other Rudinn which the only one left is the second Rudinn left standing to get through. It tried targeting Ralsei which she was able to quickly dodge without issue until the Rudinn ended its attack.

[Rudinn thinks about elaborate stones]

Seeing there's only one thing left to do now, Naruto went to the SPARE button and went on to spare the Rudinn without hesitation while having Ralsei do the same which both of them spared the last Rudinn together, ending the battle with no issue.

Music End

[You won! Got 0 EXP and 66 D$]

"Another successful fight. Alright, let's resume our search for Susie. Shall we?" asked Naruto with a smile which Ralsei smiled in return as she nodded in response.

The two continued on their path which up ahead they see a yellow Italian chief with a sad look on his face. Out of curiosity, they approached him as he started spinning.

"Excuse me sir, are you alright? We couldn't help but notice you're looking rather upset about something," asked Naruto out of curiosity and concern but he also noticed there's cake behind the yellow Italian chief on the table but it looks half eaten which makes him suspect it might have something to do with that half-eaten cake behind the guy.

"Mama miba! I'm TOPCHEF! My latest cake worked me to exhaustion! So, I took a little nap…But, Mama miba! A scary noise woke me up! A beast was hunched on the table, eating the cake like an animal! I spritzed it with water, and it hissed and ran off! But my wonderful cake is…" he couldn't finish his sentence with the memory of the event as he was too devastated by his cake that worked him to exhaustion which is now reduced to half eaten beast chow which only made the poor dude cry. Naruto deduced that by Topchef's description about a beast and its behavior, he confirmed that this is definitely Susie's doing without a doubt.

"Aww, Naruto, that sounds like Susie! We must be going the right way! Let's try to keep her out of any more trouble!" said Ralsei urgently.

"Easier said than done if it was that possible," thought Naruto with a grumble.

The yellow Italian chef overheard what Ralsei said as he spoke up "M-M-Mama miba! M-M-Mama SHIBA! You know that beast!? Please don't come back…,"

Naruto bowed to the Topchef in an apologetic way as he said "Look I'm very sorry about this. Rest assured we will try to keep her out trouble to prevent something like this from happening, if possible,"

The Topchef replies "Please see that you do. That beast of yours is a menace, a MENACE I tell you!"

"I'm fully aware of that. Believe me, I would know from my personal experience with her," While the Topchef was still grieving over the loss of his cake masterpiece, Naruto went over the table to get a good look at it to see what kind of damage Susie did to it. As he approached it, a text suddenly popped up

(The remains of the cake are still smoldering… Take a piece? Yes/No)

Naruto wasn't sure if he should take it considering this would be considered stealing but the cake was already damaged enough and Topchef was too busy crying over there without looking as Ralsei tries to comfort him. Naruto decided to pick yes and silently took the Broken Cake which was added to his KEY ITEMS.

"Sorry Topchef but I'm doing this to save this world. Hope he doesn't take notice that I took some cake for myself," thought Naruto as he knows what he just did was wrong but he'll need any healing items in order to be prepared for any situation that's thrown at his way. "Ralsei, come on. We're leaving,"

"O-Oh! Of course," Said Ralsei as she's prepared to follow but not before letting Topchef know everything will be okay and promise she'll make it up to him later before rejoining Naruto to continue on their way.

The two encountered another Rudinn and to be honest, Naruto would much rather avoid fighting the same enemy as he was considering running past him but doing so means he won't earn any D$ which he believes will be crucial in purchasing items and etc. later on. Reluctantly, he along with Ralsei went over to the Rudinn which like previous ones from before, it took notice and run towards them which ultimately began their battle phase.

Music Change: Deltarune OST; Rude Buster

[Rudinn and Hathy blocked the way!]

Naruto was slightly curious about this new enemy whose name is Hathy that joined in the fight. This Darkner resembles of a heart card suit, but their color scheme is green, the color opposite from the color of the hearts suit is red. It stands on three tentacles and appear to wear a crown and a white dress with a green heart on it. Like Rudinn, it only has its right tentacle-arm visible, holding a scepter with hearts on the extremities. Its head is shaped like a heart, and they have a big mouth and no visible eyes. To be honest, Naruto was somewhat happy it ain't just Rudinns they're gonna fight again because he was wondering if there were gonna be any other enemies aside from Rudinns they've encountered so far until now.

Naruto went over to ACT and was about to select Hathy so he can Check to find out what are its stats but he decided he will hold it off as he'd much rather get rid of Rudinn before focusing on Hathy. Like usual, he selected Rudinn and went to Convince it while having Ralsei to DEFEND herself against incoming attacks. He told Rudinn to quit fighting like he did with the others before it which of course, it was utterly swayed by his words. He noticed Hathy couldn't speak but showing a heart-shaped with sharp teeth as both him and Ralsei are being targeted by the swayed Rudinn and Hathy which are preparing themselves against them. Hathy summoned multiple hearts circling around both Naruto and Ralsei as Rudinn spawned diamonds from below moving upwards towards them. They dodged from the diamond attacks while Naruto also use his Sakabato to block most of the attacks without issue as the attacks stopped.

[Hathy has a little secret]

Naruto was curious at that information as he wanna know what kind of secret it is which could help us. Seeing that Rudinn is ready to be spared, Naruto went to ACT and this time, he selected Hathy to Check its stats but before he pressed the button, he noticed two different options; Flatter and X-Flatter which involves Ralsei. Naruto wanna know what those options could do but he decided to wait on that until his next turn so he went ahead and pressed Check button to proceed while having Ralsei to SPARE Rudinn to get it out of the way.

[*Hathy - ATK: 7 DEF: 0]

[I am a little kiss]

Naruto raised an eyebrow at that last part but didn't think too much about it. Once that's done and Ralsei sparing Rudinn, all that's left is Hathy. It started blowing heart-shaped kisses at Naruto due to being targeted. Naruto was a little weirded out by that but he remained calm and focused while being on guard. Ralsei for some reason didn't like how Hathy just started blowing heart-shaped kisses at Naruto like that which was a strange yet odd feeling she felt. She doesn't know why she felt that way when she saw what Hathy did but didn't think much about it as she focused back on the fight while pondering about that weird feeling later.

Anyway, Hathy began to summon a large heart with Naruto being inside it to box him in. The heart started to move in cardinal directions around him until it stopped at the left west side and started more towards left as Naruto has to move along to avoid taking damage before ending the attack.

[Hathy's body beats audibly]

Naruto went to ACT and began to try out the X-Flatter option which he selected as he ordered Ralsei to flatter all the enemies even though it was only just Hathy.

"We don't need EXP. Just encountering your smile is reward enough," Said Ralsei which made Hathy looked away flustered by Ralsei's flattery.

It targeted Ralsei and just like Naruto, she too was boxed in by a large heart as it's moving around until it stopped at the upper north side which began to move upwards as Ralsei followed along so she doesn't get hit which ended the attack.

[Hathy is whispering a lovely spell]

Naruto started to move towards the SPARE button which he selected and have Ralsei do the same as the two spared Hathy which resulted them winning the fight thus ending the battle sequence.

Music End

[You won! Got 0 EXP and 64 D$]

"Alright, I must say it's refreshing to fight someone else that isn't the enemy from our previous battles, right?" said Naruto, putting away his Sakabato

Ralsei nodded in agreement "Oh! Yes it does actually. Hopefully any possible enemies we may encounter are friendly like Rudinn and Hathy are so we can avoid fighting,"

"Who knows but something tells me it might happen sooner than you may realize," said Naruto, given his experience from his past adventures in the Underground.

As the two resumes where they're going, they stumbled upon a familiar tree which Naruto realizes it's another tree that has Dark Candy like the previous one before. Naruto wasted to no time grabbing both Dark Candies and stored them away in his ITEMS for later use. They continued onward which led to a puzzle room with a clock and spikes blocking the way. Naruto sees a sign on the wall which he went over to read what it says;

Check the clock. In order to solve this puzzle, you'll have to hurry.

"Huh, so this particular puzzle has a timer for this. So, I have to solve this puzzle before the clock ends. This ought to be interesting," said Naruto as he's been with Papyrus enough to know what kind of puzzles he'll be doing and this was one of them.

"You done something similar like this before?" asked Ralsei curiously

Naruto replied "Yup. This puzzle should be simple if my hunch is correct about this one in particular. Just follow my lead and we'll get this done," Ralsei nodded while waiting for him to start as he went over to the clock and began to start it up which meant the timer for the puzzle is now ticking.

On the ground, one of the three rocks lit up. Naruto stepped on it and the other two lit up as well. He and Ralsei quickly stepped onto both a little more which caused the spikes to disappear meaning that they completed the clock puzzle.

"Wow! We manage to finish this puzzle within seconds. You're amazing Naruto! You definitely know what you're doing," said Ralsei praising him which Naruto just smiled while rubbing his hand the back of his head slightly flustered from her praising him

"Come on Ralsei, you're making me blush from all your praising. It was nothing really. Besides, that was probably just a basic puzzle that we completed. I'm sure there are others that'll be complicated and challenging for me to solve. So, let's be ready for any challenges that'll come our way, alright?"

Ralsei with a warm smile replied "Okay!"

The two continued on their journey as they exit the puzzle room to enter a new area where Naruto was able to see a SAVE Point up ahead along with a sign next to it. Naruto went over to the SAVE Point first and save albeit there was no message pop up this time, just the name of where he last saved. Naruto save his save file and that said file told him they're now at the Field-Maze of Death. Now he knows where they are while not fazed by the name, he went over to the Sign to see what it says as he reads it;

Behold, the Maze of Death! Prepare to GET LOST, clowns!

SIGNED, LANCER

Naruto just quirked an eyebrow at this but didn't make any comment since he believes Lancer is trying to be threatening which he was failing horribly at. Especially he's going around putting up signs just to deter them from continuing their journey. This doesn't bother him but he couldn't help himself from just shaking his head at this obvious warning.

"Let's just keep going," said Naruto as he walked forward which Ralsei simply followed suit. It didn't take long for them to come across another sign which he went over to see what Lancer put for this one;

Feeling lost yet!? You must be UTTERLY HELPLESS among these twists and turns! Your sense of direction won't save you now!

SIGNED, LANCER

Naruto just shook his head more at this which Ralsei can clearly see he's not amused at Lancer's attempt to act like a villain. She doesn't blame him though since even she can see Lancer is doing a poor job but isn't vocal about it. Nonetheless, hopefully things will get better for the most part as she prefers to be friends with everyone rather than enemies.

Anyways, Naruto was about to head towards the bottom path but he noticed something laying on the ground far from both him and Ralsei. He went to go check it out which it looked some sort of an enemy he never seen before as its appearance resembles of a jigsaw puzzle with a mouse with floppy ears that's wearing a hat. It wasn't the only one though as there's two more are found farther ahead and they all look like they got clobbered which it can only be one thing…Susie.

"Yup, this is Susie's handiwork alright. Leaving a trail of unconscious enemy bodies behind who are clobbered up to the point they might be having severe head trauma from their beating which is probably her calling card as well her trademark. It also looks like this is all been recent for some time now, we must be getting close enough to find Susie at this rate," said Naruto as he's checking the unconscious enemy body to determine its state of condition in which the same can be said for the others as well.

"Oh dear! Then we must hurry and find Susie before she causes more harm to others and herself," said Ralsei out of concern.

"I wouldn't worry about that, she's capable of handling herself well enough but rest assured, we'll find her before something like this were to happen again," Ralsei just gave him a nod in appreciation as she's happy to hear that.

They continue down to the path which they took a right as they happen to stumble across yet another sign which Naruto went over to see what Lancer put out this time;

Hey, wait! Where am I!? Help! Somebody help! I'm lost!

SIGNED, LANCER

Naruto just rolled his eyes at this as Lancer is making it look like he's lost but he's really not. Without a word, he kept going while Ralsei followed when they discover a chest at the end of the path. He went over to it opens the chest which inside is a White Ribbon. As he took the White Ribbon out of the chest, it was put into his ARMORs.

"That ribbon is ARMOR, Naruto! It increases defense. Why don't you try wearing it in the EQUIPMENT menu? I think it'd look great on you!" Naruto just looked at Ralsei while giving her the 'Are you serious?' look towards her as his expression showed that he doesn't believe that.

"Seriously, there's no way I'm gonna be wearing a ribbon on me regardless it's ARMOR. Besides I don't exactly need it to be honest since I'm pretty capable of handling myself just fine with or without ARMOR. Ralsei on the other hand…" thought Naruto as he's sure she needs ARMOR more than he does. That and he can see she'll look cute in wearing a ribbon-wait…this gave him an idea.

Naruto summoned his stats to access his EQUIP option and took out the White Ribbon out of his ARMORs then he went over to her and puts the White Ribbon on her hat. He saw Ralsei blushed at this as he finishes attaching it to her.

"N… Naruto? You're giving it to me…?" She questioned him, blushing. Naruto nodded as he is indeed giving it to her. Ralsei just blushed without saying a word for his kind gesture until she spoke up "Well? Does it look pretty…?" asked Ralsei as she spun around to show him how she looked. Naruto just stared at Ralsei as he couldn't help but remind her of Frisk when she wears that Faded Ribbon on her hair and there's only one word that comes to mind.

"Beautiful…," said Naruto out loud which Ralsei heard what he said which made her blush harder from the compliment. Realizing what Naruto had said, he blushed from blurting that out as he said "I-I meant to say was cute! Yeah, that's right, cute. You're definitely cute with that White Ribbon on. Definitely brings out your cuteness. Hehehe…heh," He was too embarrassed after what he said as he's trying to regain his composure from him blurting out from calling Ralsei beautiful which he wasn't lying about it but didn't want to say it out loud.

Ralsei was blushing still as she's replaying the words Naruto had said in her mind "H-He called me b-beautiful and c-cute? Oh my!" She was embarrassed by the compliments but she's flattered by his honesty.

She heard Naruto speak up "A-Anyway, let's just get going, okay?" Which Ralsei lightly nodded but held a slight giggle at his behavior as Naruto tries to regain his composure while walking a bit faster which Ralsei quickly followed suit. Anyways the two left the area and went to the opposite direction which have led them to a dead end but there's someone over there which happened to be one of the enemies that must've survived getting clobbered by Susie.

Naruto was about to approach the Darkner but it noticed him and his companion as it backed away in fear as it spoke "W-woah! Wait a minute! Even if you're my enemy, I've got to warn you! A purple beast is roaming, clobbering anyone who dares block her way…! *Sob…* We don't even like fighting… th-the King left us no choice…"

Naruto frowned at this as clearly Susie doesn't care who she's hurting if you're her enemy or not. Anyone that gets in her way is gonna end up like the others she clobbered. He heard Ralsei speak "O-oh… Naruto, we need to stop Susie, quick…!"

Which Naruto looked at her and said "I know, that's the idea. It's abundantly clear Susie has no morals to others around her, no matter who she hurts. Best we step up our pace in finding her soon," Ralsei nodded in agreement as Naruto turned over to the Darkner enemy who was tense at Naruto staring at him which he spoke "Look, we're not gonna hurt you. We're actually looking for that purple beast who so happens to be…an associate of ours. Rest assured we'll find her and hopefully stop her from causing too much trouble,"

The enemy Darkner then said "R-really? I hope so, that beast got some serious issues. I thought I was gonna die from her brutality,"

"Well, you're definitely lucky, she must've spared you unlike your allies back there. If there's any consolation, your friends are still alive, just clobbered up good to unconsciousness,"

"It actually does. I just didn't wanna be seen by her as she went on a rampage on my friends as I was hiding,"

"Well, you made a smart choice for doing that. I recommend you take your unconscious buddies over there somewhere safe and get them checked out. Can't tell ya if they might be suffering from brain damage depending how bad Susie must've inflicted on them,"

"I-I'll do just that. Thanks for the advice, Lightner,"

Naruto was slightly confused by being called a 'Lightner' but nonetheless smiled as he said "No problem,"

As they were almost finished talking, Ralsei was listening in on their conversation and she was very happy and proud at how Naruto is genuinely friendly to others. In her eyes, there's was no doubt in her mind that Naruto is truly the hero who'll save the Dark World. She couldn't help but admire him for how he's handling the situation like he's been through this before. It's amazing despite it being his first time him here in the Dark World but he seems to quickly adjust while remaining calm to handle what situations he'll face, especially in battle.

"Naruto is so amazing. I just wish I could be brave and cool like him," said Ralsei thoughtfully in admiration but also wishing she's just like Naruto who's confident in himself while she's just…her.

"Ralsei? Are you okay?" She heard Naruto calling her name which she quickly said

"Oh! Uhh y-yeah! I'm okay. I'm just thinking to myself, that's all,"

Naruto just stared at her for a bit but just simply said "Well okay. It looks like you were in deep thought or something. Just checking to see you're alright,"

Ralsei smiled assuredly "Not to worry about me, I'm okay,"

"Alright then. Well, I'm done talking to that Darkner now so let's focus on finding Susie," Which Ralsei nodded as the two left the path went downward to see two different paths. He went to the right side where there's a dead end with only a sign there. Naruto went over to read it to see what this one says;

Hey, don't look! This sign's private!

SIGNED, LANCER

Naruto wasn't sure why Lancer wrote this but he's guessing he's running out of random things to write on. He simply left the area with Ralsei following him as they take the left side where another sign is there which of course, he reads it;

Oh, it's just this way.

SIGNED, LANCER

Naruto just rolled his eyes at this yet again before he moves forward with Ralsei following behind him. It didn't take long for them to see Lancer standing in the middle of a field until he noticed them approaching.

"Ho ho ho! Somehow, you survived the maze! But don't count your blessings before they hatch…! Let's see how you fare against THIS team!" Said Lancer as he sends 3 Hathys at them which both Naruto and Ralsei immediately got into their battle stance.

Music Change: Deltarune OST; Rude Buster

[Three Hathys blocked the way!]

"Is he serious? Why would he send three Hathys against us? I feel like they're mainly for support rather than offense," thought Naruto for he wasn't sure if Lancer was aware of this or not. Either way, this would be a simple fight he'll have no issue with. Naruto just went over to the ACT button and clicked to the first Hathy and selected X-Flatter which Naruto ordered Ralsei to flatter all the enemies in one go.

"Out of anyone, I'm glad we randomly encountered all of you," said Ralsei as she made the three Hathys feel flattered by her words which was clearly effective. The two were targeted by the Hathys as they were surrounded by a circle of hearts by the Hathys which nothing happened as they just stood there after the Hathys attack ended.

Once it was done, Lancer rushed in there shocked at what he's seeing right now as he said "Hey, why aren't you guys thrashed?! You're totally outnumbered!"

Naruto raised an eyebrow at that as Lancer was seriously asking that question. Ralsei spoke to Lancer "You made a team purely of SUPPORT ENEMIES. Their bullet patterns aren't balanced at all. It's like a dinner made out of three glasses of milk," Both Naruto and Lancer are confused by what Ralsei just said.

"That's oddly specific and weird way to put it," thought Naruto as that's a first he never heard of before.

Lancer was in the same boat as Naruto as he spoke "…And that's, um… Unusual, somehow?"

Ralsei can tell Lancer was confused by her wording which she said "Why don't we talk about this AFTER the battle?" Lancer just nodded as he left the battle.

[Smells like a soft kiss]

"Okay…that was strange? Anyway, back to the fight," Naruto immediately got to work as he went over to the SPARE button and selected the first Hathy while having Ralsei do the same with the second Hathy which both of them spared two Hathys which only leaves the third Hathy left. The last Hathy started making blowing kisses at Naruto as he's being targeted as the Hathy summoned a large heart as it spun around until it stopped and went downward south which Naruto followed along as the attack ended.

[Hathy is whispering a lovely spell]

Naruto simply went to his SPARE button and selected the last Hathy while he did the same with Ralsei which finally he and Ralsei spared the last Hathy with ease.

"Great job, Naruto! We earned 0 EXP and 84 D$!" Said Ralsei congratulating Naruto which he throws a thumbs up.

Lancer appeared from view coming towards them "Sweet! How much do I get?"

Ralsei looked confused "You… lost, Lancer. You don't get any,"

That bummed out Lancer "Oh...," Then he quickly asked "Can I have some of yours?"

Ralsei looked surprised but then quickly said with a cute angry face "No!"

"Fine! What about you-,"

Naruto quickly cut him off "Don't even ask, it's an instant no,"

Lancer once again responded while sticking his tongue out "Fine! Fine! Later, losers!" And just like that, he left from view which ended the battle sequence.

Music End

Both Naruto and Ralsei didn't even get far as they approached to see Lancer still here who hasn't really left after the battle ended.

"Sup," Lancer greets them as if nothing has happened.

"I thought you were running away," said Ralsei in confusion.

Lancer answered with a goofy grin as he said "Yeah, I finished,"

Naruto just couldn't understand what's Lancer's angle but he's just only messing with them just for fun. Either way, he doesn't have time for him, he needs to focus his priority right now "Okay? Anyway Ralsei, let's keep moving,"

"Okay,"

With that, the two left the area with Lancer watching them go. Naruto and Ralsei then entered another clock puzzle room with six rock platforms in the middle.

"Looks like we got another clock puzzle here but this time with six rock platforms. Hmm, let's give it a try," Ralsei nodded as Naruto went over to the clock to start the timer and as he did, Naruto immediately went to the first rock that's glowing, then the second two with Ralsei helping out, however the third is difficult because now they need to get three glowing rocks but couldn't because they lack a third person in their party. They tried to get it completed but unfortunately the timer reached to zero which meant they failed in solving the puzzle.

"Ummm, Naruto, I think we might be missing something," said Ralsei as she noticed what the problem is.

"Yeah, I know. I was merely testing this out which confirms me what I need to know. Unlike the first clock puzzle, this one requires another person to complete this puzzle. However, the only issue here is that we're lacking a third party member in our group which is Susie but we have yet to find her. So, for the time being, we're pretty much stuck with this puzzle for a bit," said Naruto as he wanted to confirm this just to be sure which he got his answer after trying this puzzle out.

"Well, maybe we should try going to the next room?" suggested Ralsei while staying positive which Naruto just smiled

"I guess it wouldn't hurt to check it out,"

With that being said, the two went to go check out the next room and as they look around the corner, they so happen to finally located Susie who appears to be stuck while trying to bash her way through the locked door.

"Ugh, open up you stupid door!" said Susie out of frustration as she tries to make her way through but no luck.

"Having a little trouble opening that door, Susie?"

After hearing that familiar yet annoying voice she didn't wanna hear, she turned around to find both Naruto and Ralsei standing behind her while the former is folding his arms and sporting a frown on his face.

"Oh, great. It's YOU GUYS," said Susie, clearly not happy seeing the both of them here while showing her complete displeasure.

"Nice to see YOU TOO Susie," said Naruto, he too was showing his complete displeasure the way how Susie showed it to them.

Ralsei who was completely oblivious to how those two don't like each other, spoke up "Susie! We were ever so worried about you! …um, how'd you get past those spikes before?"

Susie answered with a smile "Walked through 'em. But this door…sucks,"

Ralsei who cheerfully said while pointing to the room they came from "Aww, don't worry, Susie! It'll open after we solve the puzzle over there!"

Susie smiled at hearing this "Nice. Tell me when you finish it," While in her mind "This is perfect. These two can do it for me while I rest here. I'm sure it won't take long for them to finish and once they do afterwards, I will continue without them. Easy,"

However, what Ralsei said next shattered her initial plan completely "Uh, Susie. We need YOU to finish it. Sometimes, proceeding will take all 3 of us. Furthermore, only Naruto can seal the DARK FOUNTAIN… So, if you don't accompany us, you won't make it home!"

"…" Susie was speechless since she couldn't believe what she's hearing. "So, you're saying I HAVE to stick with you guys," said Susie as if she's making sure what she heard right.

"Yep!" said Ralsei happily.

Susie was at a loss right now. She couldn't believe she practically need these two in order to proceed further onward and what's worse, she need HIS help in order to seal the Dark Fountain if she wishes to leave this world. She heard Naruto speak up.

"Face it Susie, no matter how you look at it, you'll need us. You won't be able to get far ahead without our help, and you definitely won't be able to leave this world without MY help since I'm the one that can seal this Dark Foundation with my SOUL. So, whether you like it or not, we're your only lead you got if you wanna have a chance to leave this place," said Naruto factually.

Susie didn't show it on the outside but on the inside, she was seething with absolute anger. She wanted nothing more than to outright pummel him right then and there and just bite his face off with a savage grin on her face but given her current situation she finds herself in, she has no other choice but to stick with them if she wants to leave this world. She remained silent for a bit before suddenly walking to the two and stood behind Ralsei while looking defeated due to her unfortunate situation.

"…Let's just get this over with," said Susie as she's giving up.

"Yahoo! Susie's back on the team! Cue the fanfare!" Said Ralsei as the music started to play.

Music Start: Deltarune OST; Fanfare (From Rose of Winter)

[*Susie joined the party]

"…" Susie just looked at them as Naruto was smiling a bit which was probably at Ralsei's enthusiasm and Ralsei was doing a little dance with the music. However, he was also trying not to laugh given how he finds this funny it is clearly directed at her which made Susie hate it "I can't believe I have to be with these nerds," said Susie mentally as she couldn't believe her own luck right now. She started to walk away slowly which the music plays again.

Music Start: Deltarune OST; Fanfare (Susie leaves)

[*Susie follows at a distance such that no one can tell she's associated!]

Naruto couldn't contain his laughter as he let out a few laughs at what had just transpired before him. He has to admit that it was satisfying watching Susie looking defeated while the music just plays in the background which only made it hilarious.

After calming down a bit, Naruto along with Ralsei went to the puzzle room which Susie was waiting on them which Naruto went over to the clock and started the timer. Like before, Naruto went to the first glowing rock, next is the second two glowing rock which he along with Ralsei following his lead went over to the two, and lastly the third three glowing rocks which Naruto, Ralsei and the reluctant Susie went over to the three glowing rocks. Once that's done, they heard an echo across the room which sounded like a door has opened which was a clear indication that they completed the puzzle. They return back to the other room only to find someone standing there, dancing happily. This strange individual who resembles a red checker piece with no arms but brown legs protruding from its edge and a smiling dog-like face on one of its flat sides. Naruto was confused because he was wondering how did this dog-like checker piece get in this room without them knowing.

He heard Ralsei whispering to him "Oh, Naruto! I just realized Susie missed the tutorial! Next battle, we should show her how to ACT! I think she might really enjoy that!"

Naruto just smiled at her while in his mind "Oh Ralsei, if you knew Susie ain't gonna be interested in doing ACTing. Hopefully she understands this soon," thought Naruto since he knows Susie is just gonna choose Fighting and not ACTing at all which will be a huge pill to swallow but Ralsei will eventually come to understand this sooner or later. Anyway, Naruto approaches the red enemy checker piece which it notices them and started dancing more, challenging them as the battle sequence begins.

Music Change: Deltarune OST; Rude Buster

[C. Round attacked violently!]

Naruto recall Ralsei's advice to include Susie in an ACT but in his mind, it's not gonna work. Nonetheless, he decided to try anyway just to prove his point that Susie is going to refuse and do the exact opposite of what both Naruto and Ralsei wanted her to do. He went to the ACT button and selected the now named enemy C. Round as he sees two different options which is Warning and X-Compliment which is a new one as it's meant for Susie. Normally, Naruto would Check first to see C. Round's status but he decided to go against that for now as he selected the X-Compliment just to get out of the way while having Ralsei DEFEND. Naruto ordered Susie to flatter the enemy which she obviously objects.

"…what? Why the HELL would I do that? IT attacked US. Let's smash it before it moves," said Susie suggesting a fast kill.

Naruto only just sigh at this while Ralsei spoke up cheerfully "Aww, look, Susie! It seems harmless! If you act nice, we might win without hurting it!"

"…okay, okay. Hey, little guy," Susie called out to it and it stopped dancing for a while. "I really like the axe in your face," Susie landed a blow on it which it took 616 damage from her attack as it was sent flying. "Where'd you get it? Heh heh heh heh,"

Naruto just facepalmed at this as he knew she was gonna attack it without remorse which he expected it to happen. He heard Ralsei coming up to him whispering to his ear "Umm, Naruto, maybe I should talk to her…"

Which he replied in a whisper of his own "If you wanna risk getting on her bad side then be my guest,"

And with that, the battle has ended.

Music End

[You won! Got 0 EXP and 15 D$]

"Well, it could've been worse. At least we didn't earn any EXP due to Susie sending C. Round flying. Plus, we even earned 15 D$ in the process so I guess it's something," thought Naruto as something tells him from now on, he's gonna have to warn other enemies they encounter just to avoid from getting attacked by Susie which he'll be keeping it in mind. Anyway, he sees a sign that was not there before as he went over to read it;

Hehehehehe! I sneaked by and made a sign!

SIGNED, LANCER

Naruto just stared at the sign after reading it and without a word, just headed towards the door with Ralsei and Susie following behind him because he's not even going to bother wondering how. As they entered through the door which they exit the puzzle room, he heard Ralsei speaking to Susie

"Um, Susie, I suppose you missed what I said earlier…As heroes, we have the power to make a peaceful future. So, from now on, let's try to avoid FIGHTing, OK?"

"…" Susie didn't say a word which made Ralsei feel a bit nervous but continued "Umm, what if you just took it easy on them…? If you weaken an enemy, I can use my PACIFY spell. Which, can put exhausted people to sleep!"

"*Yawn*…yeah, you talking is already doing that," Susie yawned

"Well, um, just think about it!" said Ralsei which she quickly went over to Naruto and whispered to him "We might have to WARN enemies about her, Naruto…"

He replied with his own whisper "Don't worry, I already plan on doing that anyway. She won't listen even if you ask her to. It's best we have to WARN our enemies to avoid Susie's brutal attacks," Ralsei nodded as she understood his plan.

They entered through a new area which there was a blue puzzle piece wearing a black beanie hat and a shop. Naruto ignored both temporarily as he walked to the right side of the shop which he sees a SAVE Point as he interacts with it and this time, a message pop up.

(Susie, the violent tormentor, is now your ally. The power of mean girls shines within you. SAVE? Yes/No)

"Seriously? If anything, what shines within me is my burning dislike for Susie. Whatever, let me just SAVE right now," Naruto immediately saves his save file which told him they're now at Field-Seam's Shop. "Seam's Shop? I guess that's the name of that shop next to us. I suppose we could stock up some items to prepare ourselves while seeing if I can acquire information like how I did in the Underground,"

Unbeknownst to him, Susie was watching Naruto as he leads them to the right side of the shop and suddenly, he lifted his hand and touched the wall for some reason. Then strangely, she felt her tiredness being washed away but couldn't understand why.

"That's weird. Suddenly I don't feel tired anymore after Naruto oddly touched the hall. Did he do something?" thought Susie as she couldn't explain what it is that Naruto is doing that's making him look like he's just touching nothing but air as if there's something to begin with which there isn't. Susie shook her head as she decided not to question what happened as she couldn't bother to care about it as the trio walked into the shop.

Music Start: Deltarune OST; Lantern

"Hee hee… Welcome, travelers,"

They were greeted by a stuffed toy cat with a blueish-purple face, brown clothing and a fuzzy, orange scarf or ruff around its neck. The cat's nose is half a triangle, and on the top of his head lies a black patch that looks sewn on. His left eye socket is empty and almost closed and the right one entirely replaced with a button which from beneath it runs a scar.

"Hey, how's it going. So uhh, do you mind if I ask you some questions?" asked Naruto as he's intending to learn some info about him and outside of this world before purchasing anything this guy has.

"Knock yourself out. Don't have anything better to do," said the fuzzy stuffed toy cat since he doesn't mind chatting a bit if that's what the traveler wanted.

"Great. Well for starters, tell me about yourself if you don't mind,"

"The name's Seam. Pronounced 'Shawm'. And this is my little Seap. Ha ha ha ha… Over the years, I've collected odds and ends. 'Course, I've no attachment to any of it. It's just a hobby of mine. Around here, you learn to find ways to pass the time… or go mad like everyone else," said the now named Seam as he introduced himself and his business as a shopkeeper of being a collector.

However, Naruto raised an eyebrow at that last bit about everyone going mad which made him wonder what he meant by that. He decided to shelve that bit of info for later and decided to ask another question "Thanks for telling us about yourself. Now do you have any information about Lightners? So far, we only heard about it from a Legend and I was even being called one as such,"

"Long age, the Darkners lived in harmony with the Lightners. They were like Gods to us. Our protectors. Our creators. Those who gave us purpose…" He smiled "Then, one day we were all locked away in this prison…And the Lightners never returned. Embittered, the King took up arms, aims to take revenge upon the Lightners that left us behind. 'Course, even among his troops, some still distantly hope the Lightners will return…" Seam finish telling him about what he knows about the Lightners which Naruto was quite surprised by this info.

"So, these Lightners were like their saviors and they suddenly just…left? What made them decided to lock the Darkners away? Or better yet…what even happened to them is the better question. Where did they go?" thought Naruto, he wondered what was the Lightners motive in all of this. To be honest, hearing this sounded very similar to how the Humans sealed away the Monsters in the Underground during the war long ago. Only difference is that there was a reason back then but this one…it feels like there's got to be a reason, a point for them imprisoning them. If not then what right did they have for doing this if they were their protectors that gave the Darkners purpose in life.

"Alright then, what can you tell us about this world's Kingdom? It must have a history, right?" asked Naruto out of curiosity which Seam nodded as he answered

"Historically, this land was ruled by the Four Kings, from CARD CASTLE to the East. But recently, a strange knight appeared…and three of the kings were locked away. The remaining king put him and his strange son into power. This land hasn't seen THIS much chaos since…" He stopped; his mouth opened with surprise "Ha ha ha… Well, you don't need to know about THAT,"

Naruto was raising his eyebrow at that, as well at a few things Seam has mentioned. "Okay…I don't know what he meant by that last part but it definitely raises a few questions. However, I'm more focused on what he just told us. Mainly; the four kings and this strange knight he mentioned. I don't know who this strange knight is but something tells me this knight is responsible for having the three kings locked away which meant he or she is NOT friendly. As for the remaining king and his 'strange' son as Seam put it…I have this odd suspicion that he could possibly be referring to Lancer and I don't know why but he does act strangely so perhaps it's a hint to it. However, I don't know who's the king but he could be Lancer's father if he's the only one remaining that's ruling this land," thought Naruto as he comes up with ideas and theories from all this information he was given. He has some suspicions but he doesn't know until he confirms it himself or proven his theory. Nonetheless, he'll figure them out later as he shelved it for later.

Naruto was considering of telling Seam that he, Ralsei and Susie are the legendary heroes that'll seal the Dark Fountain to save this world but something tells him he wouldn't believe it and he wouldn't blame him for not believing it. He decided to go for it to see how it'll play out while seeing his reaction. "Alright, thanks for all the information you've given us. Just one last question, what would you say if I were to tell you that we are the legendary heroes that are here to save this world?" asked Naruto as he waits for Seam's unconvinced reaction. Of course, Seam didn't take it and laughed at this just as he suspected

"Ha ha ha… So, you are the 'heroes' who are going to seal our Fountain? Ha, good luck. It makes no difference to me. Neither Light nor Dark hold a future for a Darkner in my condition," said Seam as he didn't believe it nor didn't care about it.

Naruto was fully aware he wouldn't believe it so he knew better but it was worth a shot. He felt a hand on his right shoulder as he looked over to see who it is which belonged to Ralsei as she's attempting to comfort him even though he's not upset about it or bothered that Seam didn't believe him. Susie doesn't look like she cares as she doesn't feel indifferent about it which doesn't surprise him in the slightest. Naruto accepted Ralsei's gesture but he waved his hand telling her that he's fine which she reluctantly nodded and removed her hand as Naruto focused back on Seam

"I already knew you wouldn't believe it so I don't expect you to actually took my word, but nonetheless, thanks for the info," said Naruto thanking him which the Shopkeeper said

"Sure, it's no problem traveler. So, is that all you're here for or you're gonna buy something here?"

"Yes, I would like to see what you got in store here,"

"Alright, what do you like to buy?"

Naruto was browsing at the items carefully.

Dark Candy: $40

Darkburger: $70

Amber Card: $100

Spookysword: $200

Naruto was planning over what to buy because as of right now, he currently has 307 D$ at the moment. He already has 3 Dark Candies stored away so there's no need for getting more. He inspects the Darkburger which it's a mysterious hamburger that's similar to a regular burger but in their world's version as it heals 70HP. Kinda like with the Underground's Glamburger in comparison. He inspects the Amber Card which is a defensive charm for ARMOR for its stats is good for both Ralsei and Susie but not for himself. And lastly is the Spookysword which is a black-and orange WEAPON that it's mainly use for himself.

"Take your time…ain't like it's better spent," said Seam as he's clearly waiting on him to decide.

Naruto made up his mind and he requested his choice as he asked "Alright, I'll take 1 Amber Card and 1 Darkburger please,"

"Okay, that'll be 170 Dark Dollars,"

Naruto pulled out his wallet which contained Dark Dollars that magically appeared in there which he took out 170 D$, just as what Seam requested. Naruto gave Seam 170 D$ which he accepted it and received the items he purchased.

He looked at Susie for a bit as if he's debating then finally with reluctance, he gave a Susie Amber Card. She took it but Naruto couldn't tell what she's thinking after receiving an item from him. She stared at it for a bit and just put it in her pocket without a word which is as far he'll get from her. While he dislikes Susie a great deal but he doesn't want her to die which is why he was kind enough to give Susie a bit of ARMOR since Ralsei already has ARMOR due to the White Ribbon but she'll need it more than he does.

Anyways, after receiving the items and storing away the Darkburger after giving Susie the Amber Card, Naruto looked at Seam and said "Ok, that's pretty much it. Thanks for the information and the items,"

The shopkeeper bid them farewell "See you again… Or not. Ha ha ha ha…"

Music Change: Deltarune OST; The Field of Hopes and Dreams

The trio exited the shop after getting some items while Naruto acquired information he'll have to ponder about later; Naruto was planning to leave the area to continue on their journey until the three heard someone calling out Naruto's attention which happened to be that blue puzzle piece guy with the hat

"Hey. Hey kid… ya wanna buy a tutorial? It's only 50 Dark Dollars,"

Naruto raised an eyebrow at this as the way he spoke to him like that gave him the impression of a shady dealer. Nonetheless, he's already been tutored by Ralsei but he's supposed this wouldn't hurt to give it a shot, even though he doesn't necessarily need it.

"Sure, why not. I'll give this a shot if it'll help us out in the long run," said Naruto while shrugging his shoulders as he pulls out 50 Dark Dollars to hand out to the blue puzzle guy.

"R-really!? You'll really buy it!?" said the puzzle guy out of shock since he's surprised the traveler is willing to pay him. Naruto was confused by the blue puzzle guy's reaction as he slowly nodded that he is indeed paying him 50 Dark Dollars just as he wanted. The puzzle guy was shock for a bit before composing himself in his shady-like behavior as he said "Hehehe… Right this way, gentleners!" He beckoned them to follow him as Naruto was wondering what was the puzzle guy's behavior all about.

He looked over to both Ralsei and Susie as he asked "What do you guys think? Should we follow him to see what his tutorial is all about?" While he was curious to know what Ralsei's input would be, he honestly doesn't wanna know what's Susie's opinion on this. Despite he preferred Ralsei's opinion over Susie, something tells him Susie would probably say something rude or just don't care in general but for the like of him, he just wanna get it out of the way if she held her tongue of her not saying anything since she surprisingly didn't say a word for a while now after entering Seam's shop.

"I think we should. Perhaps it'll help us in some ways that aren't aware of just a reminder of sorts," said Ralsei happily with optimism.

"I don't care what you losers do, just hurry up and move this along so we can leave already. It's bad enough I'm having to be stick with you nerds just so I can leave this place," said Susie as she doesn't care and wants to leave already.

Naruto just frowned while rolling his eyes at this since he already expected her response from a mile away, but at least he's happy to hear what Ralsei's opinion would be. Plus, he already paid for it so there's no going back from this. Naruto, Ralsei and the reluctant Susie went to follow the blue puzzle piece guy which led to a room where four puzzle pieces are there with the blue one who's just like him as he's standing next to the hole where a sign is placed at.

"We're sorry. We're normally puzzle guys, but… We're been forced to do TUTORIALS just to make ends meet. When the KING got power, he fired everyone and replaced all puzzle makers with HIM… ROUXLS KAARD… Lord of the Puzzles… Be careful…!" said the blue puzzle guy as he's felt obligated to let them know of their situation and who's in charge of puzzles after they got fired from the King. Naruto was intrigued by this information about him learning someone named Rouxls Kaard who's a Lord of Puzzles which means he'll probably will cross paths with this guy soon at some point later on.

He kept this warning in mind as he said "I see, thanks for the heads up. We'll keep it in mind should we encounter him down the line," Naruto went over to the 4 different colored puzzle guys as he's starting off with the red puzzle guy to see what he knows.

"I'm TP Master. Ask me about TP's," said the red puzzle guy as Naruto was thinking about what he'll ask. He already knows what TP is and how to gain it through encounters thanks to Ralsei's tutorial. Despite that, he guesses it wouldn't hurt to ask again in THEIR version of it compared to Ralsei's version.

"What's TP in your version?"

"TP? What's TP? That's what lets you cast SPELLS, see!? When you see that orange bar, cast some SPELLS when it's filled up far. TP…! It's quite a caper! TP! Stands for…Toilet Paper!" Naruto raised his eyebrow at that while Susie just smirked at what she heard as she almost chuckled.

Ralsei decided to correct him as what TP Master said was wrong for what it stands for. "…no, it's stands for Tension Points,"

TP Master looked surprised in hearing this "What, really!?" Alright, so far TP Master was accurate for the most part up until what it actually stands for was wrong. Naruto ended up asking another question

"So, what's your way of Gaining TP?"

TP Master replied "You get TP when you DEFEND. Protect yourself, then cast SPELLS, friend. You also get TP by getting close to bullets. Look for the heart outline when you get close to bullets,"

Susie then decided to speak up "You rhymed 'bullets' with 'bullets',"

"B-because it's important!"

Naruto was fine with this as it wasn't far off from what Ralsei explained to him so I suppose this was fine. Now the last thing that comes to mind is what's the secret behind TP.

"What's the secret behind TP?" asked Naruto out of curiosity which TP Master answered him

"TP only lasts, inside a fight. Once you win, it's out of sight. Having extra, feels unbearable. No point in saving, it's straight-up terrible,"

However, Ralsei interjects as she corrects him "But leftover TP turns into extra money at the end of battle…"

TP Master was shocked at hearing this "You mean I only showed have been using one square!?"

Naruto was surprised to learn he can earn extra money through leftover TP? Now that's something he was not told about it and definitely keep that in mind. Anyways he went to the orange puzzle guy wearing a beanie hat next as he introducing himself

"I'm the Ralsei Master. Ask me about RALSEI's," Naruto was currently thinking what he could ask, unaware Ralsei feels a bit uncomfortable by this especially the orange puzzle guy claimed to be her Master. Naruto already knows she can Pacify enemies when they're tired, however he doesn't know what else she can do. Even so, he'll still ask about it to see what he knows in his own version compared to Ralsei's own version.

"Got anything you know about her Pacify spell?"

"Ralsei's spell's called PACIFY. Use it on BABIES, before they CRY," Naruto was unsure what to make of that answer he was given as he feels that's entirely wrong. Ralsei was even more confused than Naruto as she corrects the orange puzzle guy.

"What? It safely removes a 'TIRED' enemy from combat,"

"What if you're fighting a BABY!?"

Naruto just shook his head at this as it was entirely wrong but that's just HIS way of how Ralsei's Pacify spell works. Anyway, he moves onto his next question which he was curious about.

"Does Ralsei know a Healing spell?"

The orange puzzle guy nodded as he replied "Ralsei has a spell that HEALS, dude. Why use that, when you can eat FOOD?" Naruto felt he might've gotten that backwards as a healing spell is more a better option than wasting your money to restock healing food items.

Ralsei interjects as she answers for the orange puzzle guy "Because you won't have to use up an ITEM?"

That only made the orange puzzle guy realize something as he said "I could have avoided all those empty calories!?"

Interesting, so Ralsei has a healing spell? She definitely fits the role of a healer and it'll definitely help us in the long run. Now that he asked those questions, the only thing he can think of is her Facts which he went for it.

"What are Ralsei's facts please," Asked Naruto still unaware that Ralsei and surprisingly even Susie was shocked at him asking that question.

"Ralsei loves when you give us MONEY. She will hug you, and call you HONEY," said the orange puzzle guy.

Of course, Ralsei angrily in a cute way voiced out "Hey, that's not true! You don't need money to get me to do that!" Naruto just looked at her from hearing that as he was tempted to bluntly say 'Do it'.

"I'll definitely keep that in mind," thought Naruto, he'll definitely plan on hugging her later down the line.

Anyway, he moves onto the next one which is the yellow puzzle guy that's wearing two beanie hats to see what he is. "I'm Susie Master. Ask me about SUSIE's," Hearing this caught Susie's attention as she stared at the yellow puzzle guy as if telling him to NOT say anything while silently glaring at Naruto's back as she doesn't want him to ask something she may or may not like. Then again, it's not like this yellow puzzle guy knows ANYTHING about her so she should be fine but still.

"Got anything about Warning Susie?" asked Naruto despite he already knows but he was curious how long him warning about her will last or anything unaware that Susie was glaring at him from hearing that.

"When NARUTO uses WARNING, SUSIE can't hit. So, make sure to-," The yellow puzzle guy was cut off by Susie with her ominous grin "So there's no reason to use it," Of course, the yellow puzzle guy was nervous as he tried to continue "Unless… Unless you wanted not to hurt-," which again was cut off by Susie but this time, she was giving the yellow puzzle guy a savage look

"SO, THERE'S NO REASON," said Susie as the LAST thing this guy tells Naruto is to prevent her from attacking enemies which they are MEANT to be attacked. Naruto wasn't surprised by this but he supposes this somewhat helps despite he got the gist of it. He asked his next question.

"What are Susie's Facts if you don't mind," Of course, that got Susie staring at him as if she wanted to drill her glare at the back of his head as if looks can kill.

"Susie loves it when you give us MONEY. She will-," He was cut off by Susie as she said

"Nope, don't care," which made the yellow puzzle guy ask.

"Did I say something funny!?"

Naruto just wanted to move along as he can practically feel that Susie hates this and himself more which is not a surprise but he asked his next question.

"What do you know about Susie's Attack?" That caught Susie's attention as this time, she's actually interested in hearing what the yellow puzzle guy has to say to this in mild interest. "Susie always attacks, the foe on top. She'll smash them, with a crushing chop. She always strikes at the first thing she sees…" as soon as he trails off his sentence, he sees Susie staring at him with a grin on her face after hearing this which made him terrified "Oh no, oh no! She's looking at ME!"

Naruto will keep this info in mind to make sure she's NOT doing any of her attacks by Warning enemies to prevent her from causing harm. Now, Naruto wasn't sure if he wants to move onto the last puzzle guy which is the pink one with 3 beanie hats as he has a feeling it's gonna be about him. After some brief thought, he decided to get it over with as he went over to him.

"I'm Naruto's Master. Ask me about NARUTO's,"

Naruto asked "Can I help my fallen friends with Reviving?"

"When HP goes negative, your friends fall down. But bringing them back, is easy-town. Plain foods and spells, work like a charm. And with a MINT, you can cure all HARM,"

Ralsei added in her two cents in this "Even normal items and spells can revive people, huh?"

The pink puzzle guy agrees "Yeah, that's what I'm saying!"

Naruto was pleased with this info as it seems accurate from what he knows so this is fine.

Next, he asked another question "What do you know about my ACTing?"

"If you only ACT, you might start to think 'What about the girl with the scarf in pink'?"

Ralsei answered "If you know ACTing will make the enemy friendly, then you can ask me to SPARE on the SAME TURN. Or, cast PACIFY if you know they'll get TIRED. If you plan ahead, a lot can happen in ONE TURN!"

"Hey, who's the MASTER here, me or you!?" asked the pink puzzle guy feeling like Ralsei is stealing his spotlight. Naruto just smiled at Ralsei with a nod while Susie was just watching without a care.

Lastly, he asks his final question. "Know any Facts about me?"

"It's a good idea, to give us BUCKs. It'll make you happy, and fill you with LUCKs. Over there, is our DONATION HOLE. We had a BOX, but it got STOLE,"

After hearing this, Naruto looks over and walks over to the sign near the hole as he reads it;

Hole Goals

$1 - Monthly tutorial, weekly

$10 - Weekly tutorial, monthly

$100 - Stop making tutorials

Naruto walked to the hole as a message popped up as soon as he interacts with it.

("Donation Hole" If you like our tutorials, please throw your money into a hole. Throw $1/Do not)

Naruto throws in a dollar in the "Hole" which it became "Full" as it's somehow filled to the brim with cash.

He went over to the blue puzzle guy as he told him "Your tutorial was…insightful to say the least. So, I donated a dollar in your donation hole of yours,"

"He he he… thank you very much. At least someone appreciate us unlike our ruler. The KING didn't even give us severance pay… His son just gave us all beanies…Itchy beanies…" said the blue puzzle guy

"Well, I'm sorry to hear that but hopefully some good will come your way at some point. Anyway, we need to get going now so later guys," The colored puzzle guys waving them goodbye as the trio left the area.

After Naruto went to the SAVE Point to save his save file real quick, they left the area which they come across a door in the middle of a clearing which confused Naruto a bit by this. "Not gonna question why there's a door there but something tells me it'll be used later on,"

The trio kept going while walking past the strange door without question. They encountered Lancer who then took notice of them being here as he gave them a goofy smile with his tongue out

"Well, flip my flapjacks! The CLOWNS are back in TOWN!" said Lancer, greeting them. "Well, bad news! Since you last saw me several minutes ago… I've created a brand-new fighting team ready to stop you! Not even the purple girl can stop me now!" He laughed looking at Susie. "Ho ho ho! Are you ready to be…,"

"Stop. Stop talking," Susie interrupted Lancer, looking at him with a disappointed face "'Ho ho ho?' What is that? Why are you saying that,"

"'Ho ho ho?' It's my evil laugh! Scary, right!?" He smiled.

"You sound like baby Santa Claus," Susie joked.

"…Uh, you mean, like, in a badass way…?"

"Shut up," Susie started walking to Lancer and pushed both Ralsei and Naruto aside to reach him.

Music Start: Deltarune OST; Susie

"You REALLY think you know how to be SCARY?" Susie asked Lancer, Naruto looked at Ralsei who wasn't liking where this is going.

"W… well… I…," Lancer tried to give an answer.

"Wrong. Man, wannabe tough guys like you REALLY piss me off," she told Lancer. "Face it. You wouldn't know SCARY… If it picked you up and bit your face off," She walked closer.

"Susie…you better not be doing what I think you're gonna do," Naruto narrows his eyes at Susie. The atmosphere was getting tenser and tenser. He doesn't know if Susie was really going to do that but he was cautious nonetheless if she's planning to go through with her threat.

"Th-that's not true…" Lancer spoke frightened by Susie. He looked upset by Susie's words.

"Oh, really?" She dashed to Lancer, he tried to back away but Susie grabbed him before he even had a chance. "Then why don't we PROVE IT?" She insisted and lifted Lancer in the air. "We'll start with the part… Where your face gets bit off. AHHHHH HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!" The purple monster started laughing uncontrollably with Lancer's unhappy face.

Naruto was slowly reaching for his Sakabato as his left eye was beginning to glow and starting to flicker out of anger as she wasn't bluffing. He glanced at Ralsei who looked worried and concerned by what Susie is about to do which he couldn't blame her for being afraid given that Susie is a brute that enjoys inflicting pain on others. As Naruto watched as Susie looked at Lancer one last time before deciding to bite him while Naruto was milliseconds away from intervening

"Ohhhhh, OK. I get it! Thank you, purple girl!" Lancer thanked Susie for her…action.

"…What?" Was the only response she gave out as she initially stopped what she was doing as she along with Naruto who was just about to subdue her and Ralsei are confused why he's suddenly thanking Susie.

"Thanks! It was kind of you! To teach me how to be scary! With an evil laugh!" Susie doesn't know what to make of this as she was surprised by Lancer thanking her thinking she was teaching him how to be scary which isn't the case and she wasn't joking when she said she was gonna bite his face off.

"Hey, I wasn't…"

"And now…!" He released himself and a small team of purple Darkner puzzle pieces came identical to the ones Naruto and Ralsei met back at the Maze of Death and similar to the multicolored ones back at near Sean's Shop. "You're going to be thrashed! AHHHHH HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA! Merry Christmas!" He ran off.

Naruto looked at Ralsei who was confused as he was. Even Susie seemed confused with that last part. "I guess that's KIND OF an improvement…" She murmured to herself as the enemies grouped and surrounded them as the battle sequence started.

Music Change: Deltarune OST; Rude Buster

[A board of Jigsawrys blocked the way!]

"So that's what they're called. Alright, and I take it the multicolored ones with beanie hats we met are in the same category as them. Good to know. Now, normally I would Check to see they're stats first but given that Susie is with us and what she ALMOST attempted to bite Lancer's face off, I'm definitely starting with Warning them to watch out Susie since she attacks without care and doesn't listen. Plus, at this point, I don't think it's necessary considering its stats is probably low like the rest we've encountered thus far," thought Naruto, knowing that she wouldn't follow both him and Ralsei's lead and just do whatever she wants which is to attack enemies.

Naruto went over ACT, selected the first Jigsawry and proceed to press the Warning button as he and Ralsei warned the enemies about Susie which they went on guard. Susie attacked one of them but it ended up a miss which made Susie annoyed by this because of both Naruto and Ralsei warning them about her.

"P… Put up your d-dukes, bubbo…"

"H… hurting people is cool.,"

"F... Fighting? I love fighting…"

The three Jigsawrys have targeted both Naruto and Susie as they get attacked by their jigsaw pieces, they summoned in a parallel each other outside of both Naruto and Susie. After a short delay, they fly towards each other which the both of the move and dodge out of the way as they connect each other which ended their attack.

[Jigsawry thought of its boss and felt afraid]

Naruto went to ACT and selected one of the Jigsawry and this time, without Susie ruining things in the way, he went to Befriend option while having Ralsei SPARE the first Jigsawry assuming him befriending them will affect the three of them. Naruto barely lifted a finger, and…

"Of course, I'll be your friend!" Said the Jigsawry as the three of them is definitely befriended by Naruto despite he didn't do anything to convince them but he'll take it he guess. Ralsei managed to spare one Jigsawry which only leaves two of them left to spare in their next turn. Susie didn't like how they're being friendly towards our enemies, especially they even spare one of them. She just rolls her eyes at those two idiots trying to ignore them making friends with the enemy as she's attempting to attack them which again, it was a miss which she growled at this.

"... well, if we HAVE to be friends…"

"I always wanted a friend just like you,"

"We're friends now, la la~"

This time, they're targeting both Ralsei and Susie as they did the exact same attack on them which Ralsei was able to dodge and avoid those attacks from getting hit. Same goes for Susie but she almost got hit weren't not for her stroke of luck that she managed to narrowly escape after the attack ended.

[Jigsawry is wishing it could quit its job]

Naruto went over to the SPARE button and selected on one of them while doing the same with Ralsei which the both of them spare the last two Jigsawry which they successfully spared the enemies without Susie harming them which only made her glaring at them for not allowing her to hurt those enemies but only just scoffed at this as if she doesn't care she was just denied from fighting them.

Music End

[You won! Got 0 EXP and 68 D$]

"Unbelievable. You nerds really are trying to be all buddy buddy with our enemies. Don't you understand we're SUPPOSED to FIGHT them? Or are you losers just too scared to hurt them?" asked Susie who was annoyed with the results while at the same time being livid that she wasn't able to land a single hit thanks to both Naruto and Ralsei warning them beforehand.

"I don't know about Ralsei but I'm not afraid to fight back, I just don't want to resort to violence if necessary. We're not here to cause trouble or harm to others EVEN though they're our enemies. There's always a way to resolve these issues without the need to fight if possible. You should try it sometime as it'll benefit you in the long run," said Naruto calmly giving out his reasons.

Susie however retorted "And become a pacifist tree hugger like you two? Nah, I rather bash their heads in as it's more fun that way,"

Naruto shook his head in disappointment "And that right there is the reason why you'll always be alone with no friends because all you know is how to be a bully to everyone around you,"

Susie just glared at him before scoffing "Like I care about your opinion,"

Naruto replied with a frown "I know you don't. You only care about yourself, nothing more, nothing less. Not everything revolves around you, you know,"

"Whatever nerd, are you done now so we can go or what? I don't wanna hear your boring lecture nobody asked for,"

Naruto was just holding back his rage as he was balling his fist out of anger. However, he took a deep breath to calm himself down as he simply said "You know what, yeah, I'm done. I'm not gonna bother wasting my breath on you who clearly doesn't value others but yourself. You're beyond reason with and probably a lost cause. So yeah, we're done," Naruto then walk ahead as he simply said "Let's go," and with that, he took off.

Susie just watched him walk away which she rolled her eyes without care as she just follows him. Ralsei was watching the two of them at how they interacted with each other as she shown a downcast frown, taking notice that they clearly don't like each other. Naruto is trying his hardest to show her that violence isn't always the answer but Susie begs to differ and chooses to do whatever she wants while not accepting her destiny as a hero unlike Naruto. She hopes that eventually they'll get along soon otherwise she fears the party will break apart if nothing is fixed soon.

"Hey Ralsei! Are you coming or what?" She heard Naruto calling out to her which she replies.

"O-Oh! I'm coming!" She runs over to them to catch up as she doesn't wanna get left behind while keeping her thoughts to herself and debating on whether should she talk to Susie again later or not about her issues which she'll think about it later. Anyway, the trio arrived at the gate where there's another puzzle with two boxes for them to solve in order to proceed through the gate it would seem.

"Oh, look, Naruto! Another puzzle!" Ralsei called me as she took notice of this.

Susie groaned at hearing about another puzzle "Oh no,"

"Let's read the instructions!" She walked to the sign on the fence but it was vandalized. "H… Huh!? The instructions are vandalized…! It says… 'Thoust fools, thou will NEVER figure it out now!' Ruining instructions… That's definitely against the rules!" She said as she's mad at the vandalizer. "Then it, um, says, 'PS - I make my own Rules. - RK'"

Susie smiles as she said "Well, that explains that," She ran to the other side of the fence. "Why don't we just climb over this spiked fence?" She asked like it was a normal thing to do and not dangerous.

"Umm, because then we'd get impaled and die…?" Ralsei stated the obvious.

"Cool, I'll work on that and you do the puzzle,"

"Umm, try your best, Naruto!" Ralsei cheered. Naruto just look at Susie, inspecting her "work" as she implied. She was just standing on the fence waiting for something.

"Don't look at ME, Naruto. Puzzles are YOUR job. Along with everything else I don't wanna do," She smiled.

"Lazy ass lizard," Naruto thought scornfully at her refusal to even try. Naruto only shook his head at her in pure disappointment as he focused on doing his thing which is solving this puzzle. As he got a good look at it, this puzzle looks…very simple and straightforward. He deduces that he needs to move these two boxes onto the rock plates in order to complete this puzzle. He decided to go for it and assume it's the case. He decided to try the left box first and just move it towards the left side rock plate which he completed the left so far.

"Great job, Naruto! I think you're on to something!" Said Ralsei encouraging him.

"Hey Naruto, give up whenever you feel like it. It's all good," The monster pointed to the fence while giving Naruto her mocking smirk.

"And give you the satisfaction of seeing me fail? Not a chance, I don't give up that easily. Especially to those who doesn't bother to at least try, like you which is quite pathetic," said Naruto giving his own mocking smirk just to give her a taste of her own medicine. Of course, her smirk turned into a scowl after hearing that from Naruto which she can only growl at him from that remark

"Grrrr… you little smart ass,"

"Why thank you, I'll take that as a compliment,"

That only infuriated her further which made Naruto smile out of victory of shutting her up before resuming back on the puzzle. Ralsei wisely chooses to stay out of this since she doesn't want to get caught in their crossfire while just waiting patiently for Naruto to complete the puzzle without issue. Anyway, seeing he already completed the left side of the puzzle, he did the same thing for the right side and once he completed the puzzle, the gate opened up, showing them that they can now proceed through the gate.

"Wa-ho, you did it, Naruto! Great job!" Ralsei cheered, congratulating him.

"Damn, didn't get to impale myself," Susie murmured to herself.

Naruto just looked at hear after hearing that as in his mind "You didn't do anything at all," he stared at her in disbelief probably for more than ten seconds from hearing the nonsense that came out of Susie's dinosaur-like mouth.

She noticed and gave him the look as she asked "What are you looking at, freak?"

"A disappointment is all I'm looking at here,"

Susie just glared at him with hate as if she wanted to retort back as she's balling her fists but decided it's not worth it to simply waste her breath onto this loser. "Whatever, nerd," She then look at the gate entrance as she said next "Oh well. C'mon, chumps," And then she ran off, leaving both Naruto and Ralsei behind.

"Good job, Naruto…!" Ralsei then walked off too to catch up to Susie which Naruto followed suit.

As the trio entered the gate entrance beyond the puzzle, the section divided into two paths. Naruto investigates the upper path where there's a strange pillar and from there, he finds a sign with another puzzle. He goes over and reads it;

From the bottom, the order of our rooms in Card Castle. Of course, if you haven't been there, you won't know it.

After reading that sign, he went over to the puzzle as he looking over it. This puzzle is based on cards which shows two different card symbols which is; a black club and a red diamond. Naruto has no idea how can do this one as the sign states that if they haven't been in the Card Castle, then they won't know it. Plus, the puzzle has too many possibilities to do it randomly and in order to do this, they need to reach to the Card Castle which must have a clue for this. Until then, he can't solve this puzzle until later so he'll have to come back to this later at some point. Naruto told his teammates they're going to take the other path since this one requires some sort of clue that they need to get to the Card Castle later. Ralsei understands while Susie feels indifferent and doesn't care but listens anyway if it means leaving this place faster than most. The trio turned back and went to the other path where there's another pillar and a patrol of two Rudinns and a Hathy there, hanging. Hathy who was eating a Dark Candy spotted us as it dropped its Dark Candy and warned the others. They ran towards us which ignited their battle sequence against us.

Music Change: Deltarune OST; Rude Buster

[Various guys appeared!]

Naruto already knows how he and Ralsei can beat them, it's just Susie who will attack them without restraint is the issue. So he immediately went to ACT and selected one of the Rudinns and wasted no time Warning their enemies about Susie which they went on guard for it. Susie was NOT happy about both Naruto and Ralsei warning the enemies again about her and it didn't help that once she attacked one of the Rudinns, it was a miss which made her angry. "Are you kidding me right now?!" Said Susie angrily at Naruto and Ralsei which he said "Does it look like we're kidding to you? Because I can assure you, we're not," Susie just growled at him for this as she was slowly losing her temper at not being able to attack the enemy without those two nerds interfering with warning the enemies about her.

"Face my Diamond Cutter!"

'Heart shape showing its sharp teeth'

"Shine, shine,"

Susie remained focused on the enemies with an annoyed expression after hearing the enemies talk as she and Ralsei are being targeted by them which their getting ready for they're attacks. They were surrounded by Hathy's summoned hearts as the Rudinns firing their diamond attack on Susie and Ralsei. They dodge them without issue while Susie uses her axe to knock them away and cut some of the diamond attacks in half after the attack ended.

[Hathy is whispering a lovely spell]

Naruto went to ACT and selected the first Rudinn to Convince it while having Ralsei SPARE the Rudinn afterwards. Naruto convinced the Rudinn to quit fighting which it was utterly swayed by his words, then Ralsei spared it which only leads both Hathy and the last Rudinn afterwards. Susie tried to attack Hathy but like previously, it was a miss which is making her frustrated at not landing a single hit.

'Heart shape showing its sharp teeth…again'

"Long live the guy who pays us!"

Now both Naruto and Susie are being targeted by Hathy and Rudinn as they're preparing themselves for their enemies attack. They repeated their same attack as both Naruto and Susie were dodging and avoiding their attack without fail. However, as one of Rudinn's diamond attacks were heading towards Naruto which he was prepared to dodge when he was suddenly roughly pushed by Susie and he ended up taking damage by one of the diamond attack which made him lose 84 HP but quickly recovered to use his Sakabato to block and counter most of the diamonds until the enemies attacks ended.

[Hathy is whispering a lovely spell]

Ralsei saw what happened as she was stunned and horrified at what Susie just did and went over to him. "Naruto! Are you okay?" She was worried for Naruto as she couldn't believe that she just watched Susie practically sabotage him by pushing him into one of Rudinn's diamond attack which made him took damage. In other words; endangering his life.

"Yeah, I'm fine. It's just small damage I took, that's all," said Naruto telling Ralsei that he's fine after getting up but he did turn to Susie glaring at her furiously knowing what she just did which she only just smirked at him like she didn't just push him back there without a care

"Why you…! Once this battle is over, you and I are gonna have words after this, Susie," Naruto knew that she did it on purpose just to teach him a lesson. He's not gonna let this slide once this is over, not by a long shot after what Susie just did that just endangered his life. He focused back on the fight as he did the same routine with the other Rudinn while having Ralsei SPARE the second Rudinn afterwards. Once Naruto convinced the Rudinn and Ralsei sparing it afterwards, all that's left is the Hathy. Susie tried to attack Hathy which ended up a miss but she wasn't angry about despite its still annoying that she's unable to hurt the enemy, she's was happy that she at least was able to get back at Naruto due to her recent action towards him by pushing him into the enemies' attacks which ended up harming him in the end. That's definitely putting him in his place that he shouldn't mess with her, let alone talking back or roasting her then thinking he can get away with it. However, what she doesn't know is that is FAR from what she's thinking once this is all over. Anyway, Hathy showed its sharp teeth at Susie since it's targeting her which she's been boxed within a large heart. As it spun around and stopped as it went left, she followed suit without getting it as the attack ended.

[Smells like a soft kiss]

Naruto wasted no time as he went straight to ACT and selected Flatter while having Ralsei to SPARE Hathy afterwards. Naruto while keeping in his rage after what has happened to him, called Hathy a sweetheart while complimenting its teeth looked like knives which it started to blushed from this. Ralsei then spared Hathy which was the last enemy hence concluding the end of this battle.

Music End

[You won! Got 0 EXP and 93 D$]

Once the battle was over, Naruto immediately went over to Susie and out a fit of rage, he grabbed her black vest and demanded "What the heck was that back there?!"

Susie was actually surprised by Naruto grabbing her vest while Ralsei was shocked at seeing Naruto angry but she couldn't blame him for it given what she saw. "L-Let go of me, freak!"

Susie demanded Naruto which he refused as he said "No! You and I are gonna have words after that stunt you pulled back there. What's the big idea pushing me in the midst of battle? Huh!?"

Susie then shows her smirk "What? All I did was giving you some 'encouragement', since you losers wouldn't let me fight and all? Plus, I'm just getting back at you from your smart-ass comment back there,"

Naruto was glared angrily at hearing this "So that's it? This was you 'getting back at me', all because you couldn't handle the hard truth which you resorted to sabotaging me in the fight due to me speaking facts?!"

"It was only a little shove. Maybe you should watch where you're walking before tripping over yourself, loser,"

Naruto was beginning to lose his patience with Susie "You purposely put me in danger from your stunt you pulled!"

Susie dismisses that as she said "Not my problem you're so clumsy. So go cry about it if you're gonna whine and complain about it like a crybaby,"

Naruto got into her face "You think this is funny to you? Huh? You really think you can just walk over me as if nothing has happened and get away with it? No, not by a long shot. I'm not gonna let this slide after what you did,"

Susie was getting annoyed who looked ready to start a fight as she said "And what are you gonna do about it, freak? Nothing, that's what. I don't care if I hurt your feelings or physically hurt you in general. Maybe next time you should think twice before mouthing off to me thinking there ain't gonna be consequences. Kinda like what's gonna happen in the next few seconds if you don't. Let. Go. Of. Me," As she warns him while intimidate, Naruto's left eye started glow while flickering in an ominous flowing rage waiting to be unleashed which Susie saw this and was actually starting to feel the pressure as she beginning to sweat from this as Naruto look like he's about to do something, however Ralsei stepped in to stop them.

"Naruto! Susie! Stop fighting with each other! Please, don't do this. We should be getting along, not fight against one other. Naruto, what Susie did was uncalled for but this isn't like you to get angry. Let her go…please?" Naruto looked at Ralsei who was sad but was smiling with the hopes that he would listen to her request.

Naruto then looks at Susie who only just smirked at him in a taunting way which fueled his growing rage, but he took a deep breath "Alright Ralsei, I'll let her go but I'm only doing this for you," She smiled in appreciation. Naruto slowly lets go of Susie but not before grabbing her again as he said this "Make no mistake Susie, I'm not gonna forget this stunt you pulled and I'm gonna be watching your every move from now on, got it? I'm letting you off because Ralsei asked me to but know this is your. Last. Warning. Try this again and I promise you…," Naruto's left eye glowing with a white fiery aura burning brightly which shocked Ralsei as she never saw him do that "You're gonna be facing with severe consequences,"

Susie was getting a little nervous at this as she wasn't expecting him to get this mad and it actually spoked her, especially seeing that weird left eye glowing just like from before but this time up close and personal which she's wondering how is he doing that and starting to think does he know magic despite human's aren't capable of that anymore. After giving Susie her warning while letting her go, she just stood them for a brief second before coming to her senses while dusting off her vest.

"Tch! Whatever. I'm going up ahead," Susie quickly walks away while trying not to show her fear after what has happened. Naruto was trying to calm himself down while Ralsei walks over to check on him.

"Naruto?"

Naruto felt a bit ashamed while speaking to her "I'm…I'm sorry you had to see that. Normally I'm always friendly and usually far more composed. It's just…Susie just makes me so mad due to her causing problems and being a pain towards me. I'm trying my hardest to help her but she's…ugh! Why does Susie keeps being a jerk!"

Ralsei was showing concern for Naruto since she could tell that he's been holding back his anger as much as he could but Susie who doesn't listen and looks down on both her and Naruto has only been angering him every time "It's okay Naruto. I know you're doing this for my sake and I appreciate your efforts. Maybe I should talk to her and get her to listen,"

Naruto shook his head in disagreement "You already tried which she didn't care to listen. Talking to her won't change anything,"

"Um… well, it won't hurt if I try,"

"If you wanna make the attempt a second time then go for it but I can't promise you that it would change anything. I wish you the best of luck IF she listens," Ralsei just smiled as she intends to talk to Susie about her behavior later. "Um… if you don't mind me asking, what happened to your left eye? It was glowing intensely and I think I sense a hint of magic from it," Naruto looked at Ralsei for a bit which she quickly said "I-If you don't wanna talk about it, I'll understand,"

"No no, it's okay. I don't mind telling you. It's just that my left eye glows when I'm either in actual danger or being threatened and it also activates when I'm angry or in battle depending how dangerous the fight is. And yes, I do possess magic from my SOUL,"

Ralsei was surprised and intrigued by this "Wow, you can use magic? That's amazing,"

Naruto smiles, he always seems to calm down and cheer up when with her "Yup, that's right. Anyway, we'll discuss this another time. Right now, we should catch up to Susie before she ditches us to who knows where,"

"Oh! Um…right," Naruto and Ralsei went to go catch up to Susie while Ralsei calls out to him "Naruto?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for doing this for me. You're a wonderful friend that I could ever ask for. I only wish Susie would be the same,"

Naruto only smiled as he said "No problem. Maybe she'll come around…eventually IF she chooses to listen but it's a possibility," He was slightly lying to himself but he was only helping Ralsei to reassure her. She appreciates it as she nods.

They eventually entered a new area they no longer recognize anymore as the floor was black and red along with pillars around.

Music Start: Deltarune OST; Cliffs

It didn't take long for them to catch up to Susie who was waiting for them near the sign as she commented "Took you nerds long enough,"

Ralsei apologized "Sorry Susie,"

"Whatever. Anyways, got any idea what this place is?"

Naruto then spoke "No, but we're definitely not at the Fields anymore. This place resembles of a Chess game of some sort," He took notice of the sign as he went over to it;

When you step into the light, you'll return to where you were before.

Naruto raised an eyebrow at that meaning but noticed up ahead that there's glowing light on the floor which it could be referring to that. Naruto went over to it to inspect.

"What are you doing Naruto?" asked Ralsei out of curiosity.

"I'm testing something out real quick. If that sign was telling us about us stepping on this light, it'll take us to where we were before. I wanna test that out to see it's true," Naruto watched as the lights glow from top to middle to bottom in a repetitive pattern. As he stepped on the middle light, it transported him back to the beginning. "Alright, guess will have to avoid stepping on those lights, otherwise will be back to square one. Follow my lead,"

Ralsei nodded however Susie was about to say something snarky but she immediately shut up the moment Naruto noticed her about to say something he doesn't wanna hear, glaring at her coldly which she reluctantly nodded. The trio proceeded to move forward while dodging the glowing lights on the ground. Naruto was looking around the new environment as this place is strange as it's definitely giving him Chess vibes from this. Even the pillars were looking similar to that of a pawn piece the more he gets a good look of them.

Unaware of the trio, one of the pillars was moving on its own and immediately run towards them after touching the ground. Naruto heard movement from behind both Ralsei and Susie as he called out "Look out!" Both of them turned around to see a moving pillar coming towards them and before you know it, they were dragged into a fight.

Music Change: Deltarune OST; Rude Buster

[Ponman drew near!]

"Ponman huh? Alright, they definitely look like pawn pieces just without that moving black spot which I'm assuming it's their eye. Anyways, how should we deal with them?" Said Naruto in thought as he went to ACT and selected one of them while Warning them which they went on guard.

Susie attacked one of them but it was a miss which doesn't surprise her at this point but she's still annoyed about it though. They apparently can speak as they just targeting both Ralsei and Susie as they fired diamonds from their eye-spot which Ralsei and Susie dodged without getting hit after the attack ended.

[Ponman listens politely despite having no ears]

Naruto went to ACT and selected one of the two Ponman and just took notice of two new options he didn't look at. Lullaby by Ralsei and Goodnight. He doesn't know which to choose from one of them but he decided to try out the Lullaby option which involves Ralsei.

Naruto told her to sing her lullaby which she sang a soft and entrancing lullaby. It proves to be effective as the Ponman fell asleep and surprisingly enough, even Susie fell asleep afterwards as it made them tired.

"Huh, it even made Susie fell asleep? Interesting…," said Naruto murmuring to himself as this could work to his and Ralsei's advantage if Ralsei's lullaby is enough to put Susie to sleep. He'll think of this later but he will admit Ralsei's lullaby was soothing to listen to. Anyways, while the Ponman is asleep, the other Ponman targeted Ralsei as it fired diamonds at her which she dodged them and quickly evades them while gaining 26% TP once its attack was finished.

[Ponman can't keep its eye open]

Since Susie is still asleep, Naruto was free to use SPARE on the sleeping Ponman while having Ralsei use her MAGIC to PACIFY the other Ponman.

Music End

[You won! Got 0 EXP and 48 D$]

"Ughhhh…what happened?" Susie asked after waking up.

"You fell asleep during battle which is over by the way," said Naruto in a flat tone while watching her getting up. "Anyway, let's keep moving," he moved ahead with Ralsei following suit. Susie doesn't know why she suddenly fell asleep but she thinks it might have something to do with Ralsei's lullaby. She'll ponder it later, right now she just wants to leave. The trio came across another glowing lights on the ground which they dodged them again as they continued to proceed on through. It didn't take long for them to come across Lancer facing his back as he spoke.

Music Start: Deltarune OST; I'm Very Bad

"Ha ha ha… So, you've begun to cross the GREAT BOARD… The halfway point to our castle. Hmm… impressive. So, it's a shame…" He turned to us. "You won't make it a step further! Cause my GUYS are about to smash you into blood! Lots of blood! Splooshing blood! Very gross and bad!" He laughed while took out a bucket as thunder was shot from the black and almost nonexistent sky. He remained silent while the thunder lasted to make the moment scarier. Then finally, he called Susie.

Music Start: Deltarune OST; Lancer

"Hey, purple girl, was that scarier?"

"Why are you asking ME!?" She asked sweating.

"Because you're really cool at being terrifying! I wanna be as scary as you!" He said and Susie looked behind to see if he was talking to her.

She quickly walked to him. "You… Want to be like ME?" She seemed surprisingly moved by his words.

"Yeah!" He screamed.

"Well, that's stupid," Susie smiled and Lancer looked at Susie with a sad face. "But, umm, the new laugh isn't as awful. And saying you'd turn us into blood is, uh, cool. …what the hell is up with the bucket, though?"

The little Darkner explained "It's to put the blood in,"

"Oh,"

"Yeah, I'm not, uh, supposed to make a mess. Anyway, thanks for your feedback! I'm really feeling scary!" said Lancer thanking Susie.

"…ummm, no problem, I guess. Haha. …so are your guys gonna attack us, or…"

"…oh! Yeah! …I was so excited I forgot to bring any guys. But NEXT TIME, it'll be the END for—Hey, I've just been calling you guys CLOWNs… Does your team have an OFFICIAL NAME or something?" He asked out of curiosity.

"Oh, Naruto, we should come up with a name!" Ralsei was rather excited, smiling. A name didn't sound bad… Unless it was something stupid.

"No, we shouldn't," Susie disagreed.

"Then it's decided! Everyone puts a name in the bucket!" Everyone wrote something in a paper except for Naruto.

"Alright, everyone's put in their entries! Blue person with red hair yellow stripes, you can choose. Since you look like you don't care," said Lancer giving him to choose.

"Is it because I look uninterested or is it that he assumed I don't care? Said Naruto in thought wondering why Lancer made that assumption. He dug his hand in the bucket as he inspected it and the first thing, he sees is the Crumpled paper. He instantly moves it away as he already knows who it belongs to and whatever Susie put in there it's something inappropriate. Next, he sees is LANCER labeled paper. He moved it away honestly since doesn't wanna know what he put in there for our team's name. No offense to him but it's probably something ridiculous. Lastly, he sees a piece of paper that is neatly folded which he can assume it belongs to Ralsei which he immediately went for it as he grabbed a Neat paper out of the bucket. He opened it up to see what it says and…

"'The Legendary Heroes: The Herald of Fun and Friendship'" Lancer said with an uncomfortable facial expression after Naruto showing him the name.

"Oh, oh! That's mine! See, I think it's the perfect name… Because we're all friends: That like to have a lot of fun," Ralsei confessed. To be honest, Naruto already knew that this is something Ralsei would put, but the name itself sounded like a movie or a game but when Lancer read it like that, it sounded lame and cringe.

"Okay, first… jeez, that's a mouthful, dude. Second, what are our enemies gonna think? That we're gonna be BUDDIES with 'em? Let's change it to something SHORT! INTIMIDATING! Something PUNCHY! Something BAD-ASS!" Susie suggested, enjoying her moment.

"…like what?" Ralsei asked after Susie rejected the name.

"Well, uh… Y'know, for starters… How about… JUST, uh… 'The Fun Gang.'" Susie said with hesitation. "You know, just, uh, concentrating on the 'Fun' part," There was a long silence until Lancer spoke up.

"It's perfect! Well, see ya, Fun Gang! I've got to osmose my afternoon milk!" He laughed as he ran away with the bucket.

When Lancer left, Naruto sees a SAVE Point appeared on the corner board which he went over real quick to save right now as the message popped up before him.

(The power of The Fun Gang shines within you. SAVE? Yes/No)

Naruto saves his save file while telling him the name of the place which is the Field-Great Board despite Lancer already told there where they are. The trio proceed onward while avoiding the glowing lights from the ground. Along the way, they were traveling through a zigzag floor while come across a few Ponman along the way but due to both Naruto and Ralsei's experiencing in Warning the enemies about Susie and putting them to sleep along with Susie, it was an easy victory for them which they ended up winning with 0 EXP and 70 D$ from it. The trio then encountered two strange Darkners while Naruto sees another SAVE Point that's between them. The first Darkner resembles a Knight chess piece with a white horse's stylized head and neck, a spiky mane, a black studded collar. The second Darkner also resembles that of a Bishop chess piece whose head is a diamond, and is perpetually in a Z pose.

Naruto went over to the first Darkner which he immediately took notice and spoke "Woah there, horsie. Ponmen' re scary, but all they're doing is following the King. Us on the Board used to have our own boss… those' n were peaceful times. But now, even the boss's been reduced to the King's peon…"

Then the second spoke up. "Fear not - we, unlike the simple Ponmen, possess FULL faculty over our actions. I, Mr. Society, am far too intelligent to ever bow down to such a tyrant! Unless he asks me. He's very scary, you see," Naruto just raised his eyebrow as the more he hears about this King, he might not be friendly here. Kinda like Asgore in the Underground except he's the EXACT opposite of it as he's very friendly.

"I see… what about your friend here? Does he think the same thing?" asked Naruto out of curiosity.

The now named Mr. Society said "Oh! You mean Mr. Elegance? Well…I suppose he does unless of course the King 'ask' him to bow down which he kinda haft to without question less he doesn't wanna get punished. That goes for me too. Because again, he's very scary,"

Naruto nodded his head at Mr., Society. So basically, this King who rules this land is not a nice one and probably need to watch out for once they eventually reach their destination of getting to the Card Castle which he assumes that's where the King resides, as well as the Dark Fountain itself. He'll definitely need to be ready for him once they eventually confront him. Anyway, Naruto quickly save his save file real quick through the SAVE Point which tells him now there at the Field-Great Board 2 which he assumes we're getting close to reach the end of the area here. Once that's all done, Naruto along with Ralsei and Susie proceed forward and not too long, they already encounter Lancer.

"Hohoho… Well STEP on my BOOTS. If it isn't the Friendly Fun Gang," he said.

"Already our team's name sounded ridiculous the way Lancer worded it like that. Susie really just thought it up on the spot without thinking," Naruto thought as the name Susie came up with on the spot was dumb. He couldn't imagine this get any weirder.

"You boys or girls had better turn back while you can," said Lancer warning them.

"Lancer! What is it this time!?" Ralsei asked Lancer trying to intimidate him but she wasn't intimidating at all.

"Hohoho… I'm simply warning you…!" He moved closer to them in a dramatic way. "Something EXTREMELY dangerous is lying ahead!" And closer. "Hohoho! It's actually really inconvenient!" And closer. "Ha! I can't go home at all because I'm so scared!" Said Lancer smiling but shaking at the same time.

"Wh… What is it!?" Susie asked Lancer. He pointed something behind him and let them pass to see what it was that's making Lancer worried. Behind him was the red checker piece known as C. Round who Susie smashed it away earlier back at the puzzle room at the Maze of Death.

"Oh, hey, little guy…" Ralsei greeted it.

"THAT? THAT'S what you're afraid of?" Susie asked. She thought it would be a merciful enemy but THAT!?

"Yeah…honestly, even I'm on the same boat with Susie which isn't a comforting feeling to agree with her. I find this hard to believe THAT is what's gotten you shaken," said Naruto as he couldn't find it in him to believe this cute thing can be threatening at all. I mean, how could he? Just look at that adorable dog-like face!

"W… Wow, purple girl! Blue person with red hair yellow stripes! You two aren't scared!?" asked Lancer in surprise.

"Uhh, not really. I can't imagine myself WHY I would be afraid of it," said Naruto, he couldn't understand why would Lancer be scared of something like that.

"Yeah exactly. Heh, I mean, why would I be? What's it gonna do?" Susie said challenging Lancer.

"Hmm, well, normally…" Lancer started as he's trailed off from his sentence. The creature walked to the last part of the checkerboard and a crown suddenly appeared fell down slowly from the sky. When it landed on top of C. Round's head as it touched it, C. Round suddenly started to get bigger and gained giant legs. Susie watched it grow six times bigger and was terrified by its new size. Ralsei jumped back with a scared look on her face out of surprised and shock. Even Naruto was taken aback at this new predicament that just folded in front of them as he didn't expect this kind of turn of events that just displayed in front of the trio. "It crushes people to death, I think,"

Music Start: Deltarune OST; Checker Dance

[Here it comes!]

Everyone prepared themselves for battle as they get ready for whatever this creature will throw at them when they least expected it. Naruto was unsure how he'll start off with this but he did went to ACT and learn that instead of C. Round, its name has changed to K. Round instead which chalked it up that it's probably because of the crown it's wearing making it look like a king. Anyway, as he selected its name, he was given two new options which are Bow or Deep Bow alongside Ralsei. Naruto doesn't know how bowing would help in this situation but he'll worry about that later, right now he needs to warn K. Round about Susie attacking it which he did just that as he selected Warning.

Susie of course was annoyed, gritting her teeth at his warning. He always warned everyone about her the first thing they encounter an enemy and immediately warns them about her right off the bat to the point that it's getting extremely annoying to put up with. Luckily for her, the red king didn't seem to understand a single word.

"Oh great. It's incapable of understanding anything," Naruto wasn't liking the situation that he can't warn the red king as K. Round doesn't understand what Naruto tells it. Susie heard this which only made her smirk knowing she can finally attack an enemy freely without Naruto warning the creature since it doesn't understand anything

"Heh, nice," said Susie in thought as she attacked the red king which she actually hit the creature which it took 103 damage from her axe.

Naruto was displeased about this new situation and the same goes for Ralsei since they can't do anything to help the red king without taking damage by Susie since it's incapable of understanding anything. Naruto resumes focus as the red king is targets Naruto by using its legs to jump into the air above Naruto with the intention to crush him. Naruto got out of the way to avoid almost getting crushed by its feet before ending its assault.

[K. Round shuffles furiously]

Naruto was coming up options on how to beat this creature without resorting to violence unlike Susie is doing. Then he thought up a solution. Since that creature got so big and gained legs that can crush people to death, perhaps removing the crown, it will revert K. Round back to its normal cute size. But the only question is, how though? That's when he remembered something on the ACT button where he was given two choices. Bow and Deep Bow. Perhaps maybe, just maybe, if he and Ralsei were to bow to the red king IF the creature could understand what they're doing, they might be able to get him to bow which in turn loosens its crown. He doesn't know if it'll work since it's a long shot but he's willing to try.

Naruto went to the ACT button, selecting the red kings name and before he presses Deep Bow, he went over to Ralsei and said "Ralsei, I have an idea on how we can possibly win this fight without fighting. It's a long shot but it just might work. Follow my lead, okay?" Ralsei smiled as she nodded to him fully trusting him with whatever plan he came up with that'll help them.

"What are those two idiots up to now?" Susie was mildly curious about what they're gonna do now since warning the creature isn't an option. Plus, she overheard some bits about what Naruto said something about a plan. Whatever it is he thought up with, it's probably gonna be stupid. And true to her thoughts, both Naruto and Ralsei bowed towards the red king which Susie just smiled at their pathetic try of ACTing.

However, that all changed when surprisingly, K. Round started bowing back to them which its crown starting to loosen from it.

"That's it, Naruto! It's working! If we can get its crown off… It should turn back into a little guy…!" Ralsei told Naruto while smiling at him, seeing that his plan is working. Naruto nodded now knowing how they'll win this fight.

"How did he…!? Whatever! I will keep attacking," Susie couldn't believe that them bowing towards the red king is actually working in their favor and it's making the creature bowing back to them which makes its crown slowly loosen.

"Susie! Help us bow at it!" Ralsei asked Susie for help as she came back into reality.

"Nah, its crown will come off…when I smash this guy to the GROUND!" She said while showing her yellow teeth.

"…!" Ralsei seemed taken aback by Susie's answer.

She attacked the red king again right on the face as it took 103 damage just like before which she can already see some scratches on its face from her attack. Naruto was then targeted again by K. Round as this time, it started kicking its leg which launches star particles at him, Naruto focused with his Sakabato held in both hands then he swiftly deflected the incoming projectiles until it stopped attacking.

[The crown is 20-percent loose!]

Seeing that Naruto's plan is working, he and Ralsei resolved in repeating the routine of bowing to K. Round which in turn will trick the red king into bowing too and loosen the crown on its head. In Susie's eyes, seeing the two bowing like retards, it makes her feel disgusted, thinking bowing is gonna work in getting that crown off the creature when they should attack to force it off.

Speaking of which, she attacked K. Round a third time, however, something happened. This time, due to Susie's constant attacks at the red king, it felt stressed out and attacked. Suddenly, K. Round practiced Self-Care which the red king summoned a carton of almond milk out of nowhere, then it grabbed the milk with one leg and drank some of it. Once it consumed the milk, K. Round's HP and ATTACK just went up as it's fully recovered to 300 HP and it possibly could be the same for its ATTACK increase to +300 as well. Both Naruto and Ralsei were horrified at what just transpired before them as the red king just regained its lost HP and even increasing its ATTACK damage which to them, this situation has officially turned from bad to WORSE.

"Susie! Stop attacking it! You're making it stronger!" Ralsei screamed after realizing the power of the creature.

"Pssh, and let it think I'm AFRAID? No way!" Susie denied her request.

"Nobody is thinking that you're afraid! For goodness sakes, Susie! You need to stop!" Naruto shouts at her, seeing that violence isn't fixing anything.

"I'll stop when it's dead!" Susie once again denies his request. Naruto just growled at her for not heeding our warning before focusing on the problem that is K. Round.

[The crown is 40-percent loose!]

The ACTing duo that is Naruto and Ralsei continued to Deep Bow while she's somewhat giggling because she's kinda having fun doing this despite the situation as the red king bowed back and its crown loosened some more. Susie kept attacking with it taking damage the more she assaults it. This time Ralsei is getting targeted by K. Round as the creature jumped high above her, it started charging its stomp attack and before you know it, Ralsei got out of the way as it stomps the battleground, however she was taken by surprise by the star particles which unfortunately inflicted 34 damage by that unexpected move and tried to get out of the way as the creature continued to try stomping on her while evading the star particles that erupted out of the ground from its stomp attacks before finally stopping.

[The crown is 60-percent loose!]

Naruto was worried for Ralsei as her HP just got cut in half by K. Round's sudden attack and he went over to check on her. "Ralsei! Buddy, are you alright?" Asked Naruto out of concern.

"I-I'm ok, Naruto. I just wasn't expecting that last move it did, haha…" Ralsei winces the pain but she'll live.

Naruto only nodded and was thinking of using his healing items but he wants to save them for serious situations, like this. But he decided to go against it since they're somewhat halfway there to get that crown off. Still, Naruto was getting frustrated with Susie as all her attacks is not doing anything at all.

"Susie! Seriously, you need to stop! Fighting it is only gonna make things very difficult for us to survive! Just give it up!" Naruto tries to talk some sense into Susie.

"Like hell I give up! Giving up is for dweebs and cowards! And I ain't one of them!" said Susie in defiance.

"Darn it, Susie! You're only gonna get us all killed if you keep this up! At this rate, we won't last much longer within minutes should you continue attacking carelessly! For once just listen to us and stop!" said Naruto, barely keeping his anger under control in but it's not doing him good at this moment given their dire situation.

"Ugh! Just shut the hell up and mind your own goddamn business, freak!" Susie was getting fed up with having to hear Naruto's annoying voice telling her what to do.

Naruto just growled at seeing Susie having no intention of helping, it's up to both Naruto and Ralsei to resolve this issue. He and Ralsei stick with bowing to K. Round which it bowed while having its crown loosen yet again. Susie attacked it with a savage blow which it took damage from it. Naruto was back to being targeted as the red king started to jump high above him like it's flying, then star particles started to rain from its legs which Naruto got out of the way from every last one before the attack ended.

[The crown is 80-percentloose!]

"That's it! Just bow one more time and that crown's coming off! We can do this!" Said Naruto mentally as the crown is almost off of the creature.

Naruto along with Ralsei Deep Bowed one more time which the red king bowed back as the crown's loosened. K. Round suddenly stopped as the crown has finally fallen off of its head due to all the constant bowing and the creature was reverted back to its normal size and just rolls away from view which tells the trio that they finally defeated the creature.

Music End

[You won! Got 0 EXP and 21 D$]

"We… We did it!?" Susie said, relieved that they actually won.

"Wow! You clowns really ARE heroes! You saved the next twenty minutes of my life!" Lancer said happily, making his appearance.

"Yeah, yeah, I am pretty great, huh…?" Susie said boasting of her skills.

Naruto had it up to here with Susie as he scowled at the school bully "Great? Great?! That doesn't even BEGIN to describe what happened back there. You were anything BUT great! You've caused us nothing but trouble! We barely survived that fight weren't not for you continuously attacking it recklessly which only made it stronger!"

However, Susie rudely retorted "And you think I care about what you think? Besides we still won, didn't we? And it was all thanks to me, you ungrateful freak. So how about you shut your pathetic mouth and whine about someone who ACTUALLY cares what you say,"

Hearing her saying that, Naruto was rapidly losing grip of his uncontrollable fury that's just inches away from being fully unleashed on Susie. However, before he fully loses it, Ralsei stepped in as she wanted to talk sense to Susie.

"Ummm, Susie…? Not wanting to downplay your contributions, but…you…didn't actually help at all. You only made everything WORSE by attacking it. If you had just acted nice to it in the first place…we could have avoided that entire battle," Ralsei told Susie.

"Huh? Are you FOR REAL? That thing was BLOODTHIRSTY! The only thing keeping it at bay was MY AXE!" Susie said, feeling frustrated.

Naruto disagrees "Oh please, the only person that was bloodthirsty was YOU. Your axe didn't do much help other than making that thing stronger from you oh so eagerly attacking it,"

Susie got angry "I didn't ask for your opinion!" Naruto only rolled his eyes at her getting heated from him speaking facts.

"And, earlier, you terrorized those troops…" Ralsei continued.

"Those guys were ENEMIES. They're FOR terrorizing," Susie stating the obvious.

"Yeah! She's right!" Lancer spoke up in support of her.

Naruto only scoffed at this. As far as he's concerned, SHE's the one that's been doing the terrorizing. Although she's not wrong that they ARE enemies, but not everyone is meant for causing terror.

Susie heard him scoff which she demanded "Got something to say nerd?"

"I would say something to counter your argument but you won't like what I might say so I'll just settle for a scoff as of now," Naruto retorted

Susie just growled but remain silent while Ralsei resumed "And…you tried to sabotage Naruto by pushing him into an enemy's attack, putting him in danger…"

Susie who didn't care said "Pfff! Not my fault that loser wasn't paying attention to his surroundings. Perhaps he should've watched where he was going before he tripped himself up,"

Naruto however said with a pissed off tone. "You know very well that wasn't the case! You did all that on purpose just to 'get back at me' as you worded, just because you couldn't handle facts I've laid on the table in front of you,"

"Gonna cry about it?"

Naruto was seriously thinking of lashing out on Susie, wanting to put that overgrown lizard in her place but he knew better than to let his anger get the better of him so he took a deep breath and just looked away while severely holding himself back before he does something he may or may not regret.

Ralsei saw this isn't working which she continued further. "And before all that, you ate an innocent person's cake…" Ralsei tried to convince Susie.

She looked at a tree remembering it "Cakes… are also my enemy,"

"…" Ralsei looked at her with semi-closed eyes while Naruto looked at her with a disbelief expression as the only thing he said was

"Huh? That's gotta be the most pathetic excuse I've ever heard of in my entire life. I'm sure even Ralsei finds this…extremely sad," thought Naruto.

"Susie…whether you like it or not…you're a hero. One with the power to bring peace to the future. Could you please start… acting like one?" Ralsei asked with sad eyes.

"...," Susie was silent as she looked away for a brief moment before facing Ralsei again. "Yeah, when you lay it out like that… I've been a pretty bad hero, haven't I?"

"No, you think? You just NOW realize that? Tch! Well, either way, her admitting she's pretty bad at her role as a hero is an understatement of the century," Naruto couldn't agree more with her being pretty bad as a hero.

Susie looked down, thinking before she spoke. "Alright, Ralsei. You got it. I'll change my ways. From now on, I won't be such a rotten hero anymore,"

Naruto who had his arms crossed sported an eyebrow at this "Are you REALLY though? I want to believe that maybe Ralsei finally got through to her to change which is better late than never I suppose but something tells me she's up to something isn't she," He wasn't sure if Susie WAS convinced but he watched and see what'll happens next.

And as if right on cue, Susie ran to Lancer as she announced. "I'll just be one of the BAD GUYS instead!"

Music Start: Deltarune OST; Lancer

"I knew it," Naruto got his answer which he knew something like this was gonna happen at some point unfortunately which was very disappointing. Expected but disappointing nonetheless. Ralsei however was in shock with Susie's sudden change.

"R…Really!? You're going to be on MY team?" Lancer was exploding with excitement.

"Yeah, sounds way easier, honestly," She affirms with a smile.

"Susie, you can't just-," Ralsei tried to tell her something.

"Quiet, Toothpaste Girl! Susie is MY comrade now!" Lancer said loudly, keeping her from speaking.

"Hahaha, yeah, Toothpaste Girl!" Susie joined in.

"We're going to have monogrammed track jackets!"

"Yeah!"

"And sleepovers! Where we tell each other secrets!"

"Ummm, yeah? Anyway, uhh, see you guys never," Susie said.

"Haha! If you can even last that long!" said Lancer as the two of them left.

Music End

Naruto wasn't surprised by this turn of events but he wasn't happy about it. He noticed Ralsei walked in front of him as if staring at what was once Susie standing here before her switching sides with Lancer and gone with him while abandoning her role as a hero. He can tell she was upset with what has happened which he couldn't blame her for it but it was to be expected. Still, feeling concerned, Naruto went over to her as he placed his hand on her shoulder out of worry.

"Ralsei?" Naruto felt concerned for his female Darkner friend.

"Naruto… Perhaps I shouldn't have been so hard on her," Ralsei spoke as if this was her fault that she pushed Susie into switching positions as a villain now.

Naruto shook his head in disagreement "No… you weren't hard on her. Don't blame yourself for what just happened. You were not in the wrong. It was Susie's own decision-making that made her change sides. It's not your fault,"

Ralsei was silent for a bit before answering "…I know Naruto, and I appreciate you saying that. But I just worry that if Susie is too eager to fight…then…well, let's just be kind to her, OK, Naruto? I'm sure Susie will come around soon!"

Naruto wasn't sure about that cause he doesn't believe that she will even if he wants to believe that. Ralsei noticed him looking unsure and she doesn't blame him for thinking that since she understands why he dislikes her given what she's done, still, she needed to try.

"Naruto… I understand it's hard for you to be nice to someone like her despite the rotten things she's done and I appreciate you trying for my sake, but we must keep trying. I'm positive will get through to her. Do you trust me?"

Naruto was surprised by her asking that question but he answered honestly. "Ralsei… of course I trust you,"

"Then trust that we'll keep reaching out to her no matter what. If we keep being nice to her, I believe we'll finally be able to change her ways. OK?"

Naruto was shocked at hearing this from her but he smiled "OK. You got it pal,"

She smiled warmly at Naruto for always staying with her side which made her feel very happy. And so, the two entered the forest to go after Susie while Naruto was pondering in his mind

"Guess now it's just the two of us again but…can I be nice to Susie?"

---

This is Hussbek online with the latest chapter, Naruto and Ralsei take their official first step into the Dark World where the former learns about the going ons as well as interacting with Darkners which many would attack him on sight while some others are more friendly towards him. There were also some bonding moments between him and Ralsei, finding the Princess of Darkness to be quite amiable and at times likening her to Frisk and Asriel. They eventually catch up with Susie and she reluctantly joins them since she can't go back on her own.

But things weren't progressing smoothly at all with Susie always resorting to violence and refusing to cooperate with the others, Naruto disliking her attitude and Ralsei trying to be the peacekeeper between them to little effect. Lancer's constant appearance and antics wasn't helping matters either, more when he views Susie as a mentor of sorts for some strange reason.

After the dysfunctional battle with K. Round, things just broke down with Susie deciding to join Lancer after being scolded by Ralsei for not being a proper hero unlike Naruto. Now it's back to just Naruto and Ralsei, and they still need to continue their while trying to get Susie back on their side…well Ralsei is trying to while Naruto isn't all that keen due to his dislike towards the school bully. Stay tuned to find out what happens on the next chapter, be sure to read and review like always.

This Hussbek from Ghana.

Signing out and staying alive.