PftA Book 3 - Chapter 5 – Making New Friends

I watched from within the intertwined strands that made up the trunk of the tree. It wasn’t completely hollow, but the root-like ribbons left large gaps that were sufficient for me to hide within. My biggest concern was that my white robes would draw attention against the brownish-gray of the tree – a problem I could easily fix with an [Invisibility] talisman.

I frowned as I considered my situation.

Hiding in a tree was arguably worse than using a talisman and openly watching my stalkers. As long as I didn’t attack others while invisible, there shouldn’t be any issue with dishonor or anything. Since all of my stealth-related enchantments included a touch of Void mana, I wouldn’t even have to worry about being seen with Mana Sight unless someone had an advanced form of the sensory skill.

After activating my [Invisibility] talisman, I made my way out of the vine trunk and settled onto the large, nearly horizontal branch. It was nearly two feet wide, which provided plenty of room for me to sit comfortably.

I watched as the group of four searched for me. They were all between level twenty-three and twenty-four and were wearing similar leather armor. None of them had a second profession yet, which wasn’t available until level twenty-five.

It was one of the big milestones in Alliance life.

“Where the hell did she go?” one of the men fumed. Assessindicated his name was Antone, and he was a Butcher with Water and Acid affinities.

I found his choice of profession interesting, but considering the people sent here from Earth would have had to figure out how to survive at first, it made a weird sort of sense, especially if he’d been involved in butchering the mobs they killed for food.

“How should I know? She has a Space affinity, so she probably teleported somewhere,” Kai, a Bowyer carrying a crossbow, said. Given his affinity for Light and the fact that he’d been scouting while invisible, he probably served as the party’s rogue.

“She probably ran back to the village once she realized we were following her,” another man named Gregory said. According to Assess, Gregory was a level twenty-three Leatherworker with dual Metal/Earth affinities. His profession explained the group’s matching leather armor.

The fourth man, Pierre, remained silent. He was a Trader by profession and had an Air affinity. I wondered if he had done like Blaze and taken the profession to gain experience by dealing with the party’s trade.

“I don’t know why. It’s not like we can do anything fun with her anyway. Those fucking dungeoneers are quick to murder anyone who gets marked as an offender,” Antone said in clear annoyance.

“It’s too bad they’re all too strong for us to take out,” Gregory said before muttering, “Fucking aliens.”

I rolled my eyes. We weren’t even on Earth, so calling other people aliens – especially humans – was simply idiotic. If anything, WE were the aliens.

But the idiot had brought up an interesting fact. Aside from Jackle, I hadn’t met anyone else who was obviously not from Earth. I wondered if the rest of the dungeoneers stayed outside the village to avoid interaction with the people of Earth.

“Come on. I don’t feel like wasting any more time hunting for the bitch. I’ll just tell Angie to make friends with her and find out what there is to know,” Antone said. “Nobody can say no to AJ.”

“You’re really gonna let her take your kid around some alien lover?” Gregory asked, aghast.

Antone scoffed. “It’s not like she can hurt him, now can she? The dungeon won’t let anyone hurt an unawakened baby. Hell, he’s safer than any of us. You remember how the dungeon made that barrier around him when the wolves attacked?” The burly man shook his head. “Ain’t nothing gonna hurt that kid.”

“Still,” the Leatherworker said. “I wouldn’t want my woman or my kid around someone who cozy’s up to aliens. Nobody who joins with alien invaders is going to be trustworthy, dungeon protections or not.”

The group had already started heading back to the village. The rogue trailed behind the others, looking back at the trees in curiosity as he walked. The man refused to turn his back to the forest, which was probably smart, considering he was in a dungeon.

Once my stalkers left, I headed further into the zone, exploring everything under the safety of stealth. Knowing no enchantment was truly flawless, I was careful as I scouted the area. About an hour into my exploration, I heard the voices in the distance. It sounded like people were shouting at each other, so I quickly headed in that direction.

By the time I arrived, the conflict was over, and three dead challengers lay bloody on the forest floor. I silently watched as a young elven male with dark silver hair scolded a human girl with bright blue hair in a language I’d never heard before. Thankfully, Universal Translationworked well enough for me to understand them.

“You should have listened to me,” the elf said as he spread a poultice on the human’s injuries. “I told you they were going to attack us the moment they showed up. You shouldn’t have bothered trying to talk to them first.”

The blue-haired girl winced in pain. “But I don’t understand why they would attack like that. Even the worst of the elites don’t attack without provocation.”

“These people are not elites,” the elf said with a near snarl. “Some of them are closer to beasts than people from what I’ve seen. You shouldn’t feel bad about putting down a beast.” He placed a hand on the girl’s shoulder. “You can’t expect the unenlightened to act rational. Maybe Dawn and the others are outliers.”

I wasn’t sure who Dawn was, but the implication was that there were at least a few people from Earth who hadn’t made a bad impression on the duo. Hoping not to make a bad situation worse, I decided to offer my assistance.

“Excuse me,” I said softly. “Please don’t attack. I can help.”

The elf jumped to his feet and spun in a circle, drawing his bow as he formed an arrow of metal from nothing. He looked around nervously. “Show yourself!” he yelled.

I deactivated my [Invisibility] talisman and raised my hands in a common Alliance gesture, indicating a peaceful intent. It was a common form of greeting for adventurers. Seeing it immediately caused the elf to relax minutely, and the arrow dematerialized.

“Are you a new sect elite?”

I nodded. “Technically, though I am also from Earth.”

“Your robes are unfamiliar to me. I haven’t seen any like them before. What sect do you belong to?” the elf asked, having placed himself between me and his wounded companion.

“Epikairos. We’re known for Time and Fate magic.”

“Can you heal?” the blue-haired human asked hopefully from behind the elf.

I nodded. “I can. I even have a Life [Healing] wand to fill in where Time magic falls short.”

“What will it cost?” the boy asked skeptically.

“Nothing,” I said with a sad smile. “I have the mana. It doesn’t cost me anything.”

“But aren’t healing devices expensive?” the human asked.

I shrugged. “Maybe for someone who isn’t an Enchanter. It only cost me time and material.” I took a step forward before pausing. “May I?”

With a hesitant nod, the elf stepped back. I examined the wounds the girl had taken and quickly went to work. It was clear one of the individuals they’d fought had some kind of Air Blade spell since the cuts were clean, and I didn’t see any slicing weapons.

One of the bodies had a spear, and another carried some kind of mace, but I didn’t see any other weapons around. The third man must have been an Air Mage or something similar.

“You said you’re from the same place the others are from?” the blue-haired girl asked while I worked. The elf had taken up a guard position nearby, watching the surroundings warily as if ready for an ambush.

“I am, but I’ve been working with the Alliance for a few years. I was the first person to naturally awaken on my planet during the reintegration, so I have experienced a lot of things the rest of them haven’t,” I replied before focusing on my spell.

“Why are most of them so aggressive?” she asked with a light gasp as the spell started healing her wounds. “Was your planet horrible?”

“No, it was mostly peaceful. There were wars and such, but most people were never exposed to any of it,” I said once the spell was complete. “They’re just scared. They were abducted and placed in the dungeon without warning. I am the only one who actively volunteered to come here, and that was only because my brother was taken. I took his place.”

They both looked at me in surprise. “They didn’t volunteer to enter the Realm Dungeon?” the elven boy asked with wide eyes. “I don’t understand.”

After helping the now-healed girl stand, I sighed. “The Senior Researcher for whatever mana study was being conducted on Earth was an elf named Sir Eri’Non. He abducted ‘test subjects’ and sent them to the dungeon since he couldn’t send them back to Earth once the reintegration started. I don’t know why he made the decisions he made, but it is what it is,” I said with a shrug.

“Why do you speak of him in past tense?” the elf asked. Now that his companion was healed, he no longer looked at me with the same amount of uncertainty. Instead, he seemed more curious.

“He ascended right before I was sent here,” I answered. “I’m not sure who’s in charge now, but there shouldn’t be any more Earthborn cohorts now that the portals are open and Sir Eri’Non is gone.”

“How long have you been here?” the human asked.

“I just arrived a few hours ago,” I replied before realizing that I still didn’t know either of their names, nor had I introduced myself. “I’m Emie deEpikairos, by the way.” I could have just used Assess, but asking seemed much more polite.

“I’m Greta Ano,” the human said with a smile before looking at her friend and nodding.

“Yarrin’Ano.”

I was curious about the surname both individuals had used. Either they were part of the same family, or the surname had dungeoneer implications I was unaware of. Since I wouldn’t know unless I asked, I did.

“Are the two of you related somehow?”

They looked at me in confusion. “No. Why would you think that?”

“Because you have the same surname?”

The elf and the human glanced at each other and smiled as if sharing an inside joke. Yarrin shook his head.

“It’s the city we’re from. There are probably a lot of challengers with that surname since it’s the only city on the seventh floor and nobody really wants to stay there,” the elf explained. “We know things are different in the outside worlds, but for those of us born in the dungeon, we don’t earn a new name unless we leave.”

“How often does that happen?” I asked.

The two companions shrugged and didn’t answer. They probably didn’t know.

“Well, Emie deEpikairos, thank you for the healing,” Greta said as she unconsciously covered the gap in her armor where she’d sustained the worst injury. “Would you like to exchange contacts?”

I immediately agreed and shared my interface contact information with the girl. I extended the connection invitation to the elf as well, but he did not reciprocate. I didn’t pay it any mind.

“We have a separate village established near the Storm zone border in mid-Tier. There is a Merchant who handles all the trades with the central village. He is a human with dark hair, so it’s easier for him to blend in with the humans of Earth than most of us,” Greta said, flicking a hand through her blue hair.

“Really? I’m surprised he didn’t trade with Jackle.”

Yarrin smiled wryly. “Jackle has been there for many decades. He can handle himself within the safety of the city. It’s better for him to be there anyway.”

He didn’t explain what he meant, nor did I ask.

Greta invited me to accompany them back to the other village, and seeing Yarrin had no protests, I followed along. I didn’t really have anything waiting for me back at the central village anyway, aside from a room that had been paid for. Even if I hadn’t been able to teleport back on demand, I wouldn’t have had any issues abandoning the room for the chance to get to know my new friends a bit better.

A/N: Changed to reflect Ano is the only city on the seventh floor.