Chapter 3

When we entered the dining hall, I heard my name called and saw Dilbar waving at us. He was seated with Ilthvana at a nearby table and both had already grabbed some food. I waved back and we grabbed some food before joining them at their table.

“Ah, hello there, Pathios,” Dilbar said with a hearty grin. “I’m glad you and the others could join us for your meal. We were just talking about what happened today and what our plans for tomorrow will be. We were also trying to figure out how we couldn’t see who and what Silvia truly was before it was too late.”

I tried to give a reassuring smile and said, “The fact about Silvia is, unless we are all psychic and can read the minds of every person we meet, there is no way to know another person completely. Everyone has parts of themselves they don’t show to others, all for our own specific reasons. There are some people who have no issues being open with everyone, while others close themselves off to everyone. The ones with darkness in their hearts, like Silvia or Jonta, have learned to hide that darkness well. That is why their betrayal hits us so hard, because we never see it coming. Katie was Enti’s friend, yet she tried to harm me due to lies that she had been told by a greedy bastard that hid the truth from her. Yes, she was led to believe a lie long enough to allow her emotions to prevent her from listening to the truth, but her actions against me were still a betrayal of her friendship with Entivala.”

I glanced over to see the look of discomfort that appeared on Katie’s face at being reminded of what had happened. Entivala gave her a reassuring hug and I could see she calmed a little.

“She wouldn’t hear of the truth even from Enti because she was led to believe that Enti was blind to it,” I explained. “We were fortunate that we all could move past that and build proper trust again, though I will admit that the collar did help a bit. Silvia came off as a bitch to me right from the start and when I wouldn’t fall into line as she saw it, she tried to pull some crap. She thought she could make up shit and get away with it because she had always gotten her way before. That behavior isn’t what they need from adventurers representing the Pact house, hence why she was booted from your team. Her prejudice towards orcs, while surprising, is expected from a person like her. It’s why she made sure to focus her malice on Grishta, because she knew it would hit hard as everyone thought that she liked Grishta.”

This drew confused looks from the group, so I expanded on my point by saying, “Silvia always came off as above everything and everyone but Darius. Even then she saw him more as property than a person, but that kind of mindset doesn’t happen overnight. She was raised to be that entitled and usually environments that breed that level of entitlement also imbue that person with prejudice. Her family would probably be a richer sort who live in luxury for one form or another, looking down on those who don’t have money and judging anyone that doesn’t look or act like them, as inferior to them. They hide it well through practice, playing nicely with people they despise if they have to, if it means furthering their goals. They will tolerate dealing with those they dislike to ensure they make it to their end game. Once she got the power she had coveted for so long, all pretenses would be gone, and her true self would have been revealed.”

Glancing around the table I could see everyone had a saddened or morose look on their faces after hearing all of that.

“I think you are right Pathios,” Ilthvana said with a twinge of anger in her voice. “The signs of what you speak of were all there if you know what to look for. Examples of her prejudice and hatred, coming out as offhanded ‘harmless’ comments. Her constant need to get her way, to lead the group with Darius and not taking our opinions into account. The way she reacted when you ignored her taunts and made her look like the arrogant fool she was. It was all there, but I was too blind to see it. Casting any doubts aside because I believed she was my teammate and friend.”

I nodded, “I am sorry you had to go through that. None of you should have had to fight someone you considered an ally and none of you deserved to be betrayed by someone like her. I know that given what happened with her it won’t mean much right now, but we would never do something like that to you guys.”

Ilthvana gave a little smile and said, “I will keep that under advisement, but enough of this sappy crap for now.”

The next few minutes were spent breaking down the fight with the scorpions and then with the creatures on the sixth floor. Looking at it objectively to see what we could do the next time around. Those creatures on the sixth floor were the one thing we couldn’t come up with a solution for yet.

“So the plan is to grind for drops, stat increases and possibly levels,” I explained as I finished my last scoop of food. “We also have plans in place to have new upgrades to our equipment to hopefully even the playing field. With you two and Cassandra in the group, it will make our plans a bit easier.”

Dilbar nodded, “I have heard that the difficulty jumps every five floors, in order to make sure things stay interesting, but I guess we lucked out the first time we were on the sixth floor.”

“Well, we saw that firsthand,” I grunted as I stretched my shoulder. “It’s nice to hear things won’t be boring as we continue, but now that we know what to expect, we won’t be caught off guard next time. The big issue with the sixth floor is the fact that a section of it is islands. We weren’t able to find a boat to cross with before we were jumped by those creatures.”

“If I hadn’t been out of Mana from the fight with the scorpion and those things, I could have made a boat out of my magic,” Katie said with a small pout.

I shook my head, “It isn’t just being able to cross to the islands, it’s having something that can handle the space for fighting if there are a bunch of enemies. Besides, we didn’t expect such intense opposition, so we didn’t bring potions. We won’t make that mistake again.”

Katie and the others looked at me with a confused look on their faces, which meant I would need to demonstrate what I meant.

I grabbed some items to simulate islands and said, “It’s obvious that right now we can’t track these things until they emerge from the water. That means that creatures could randomly attack us while we cross to our destination. If it is only a boat that we can just barely fit on, then they could topple it on us and leave us stranded in the water. Even if the stones can save us, I don’t want to even risk drowning. This means that we need a large boat that can not only accommodate us, but not be affected by attack from various creatures. We would need to have the space to fight, without us risking hurting ourselves or others.”

Katie nodded, “You’re right and even if I used up all my mana, I wouldn’t make anything that would work with the party size we will have. Even then, it wouldn’t be propelled in any way like the boats were.”

I noticed a glance being shared by Dilbar and Ilthvana when Katie mentioned the party size. I could tell they wanted to say something but were unsure how to do it.

“Okay I can see something is up,” I stated, drawing their attention to me. “I saw that glance between you two, so what is on your mind?”

Dilbar took a deep breath, “Well since Darius left, we have been a bit uncertain on what to do now. We all had joined together when we all first entered the pact house and had enjoyed the journey we had made together. Darius kinda just ended up the leader and grew to his role over time, though looking back I am sure Silvia had a hand in it. Still, he gave the group directions and with the uncertainty of his return, we aren’t sure what to do next. I am not the leading type and with what happened, I wouldn’t be willing to trust just anyone to lead us right now.”

Ilthvana nodded in agreement, “I agree with Dilbar. I don’t like the idea of having to plan and such. You give me a target and I will take it out. Right now, the only people I trust are you guys.”

“I think I get it,” I replied. “After working with me and Katie during the Champion’s Challenge, you have seen how I can plan things and with the dungeon crawl today you saw how I run things. With the camaraderie and friendship that we built leading up to and during the Challenge, you know you won’t end up in a bad situation. Along with that, you want to keep you busy until you find out about Darius and then you can make a decision on where to go from there?”

They glanced at each other again before giving a nod in response. I glanced at my ladies and saw the same look on all of their faces.

I smiled and said, “I know I speak for all of us when I say we have no problem with that arrangement. You are our friends, and the added help will make it easier for all of us to progress in the dungeons. While we are working on building stats and skills, I want to talk with each of you about ways we can work towards upgrading your equipment to better utilize your unique skill sets.”

Both of them began to smile as they got up to hug and shake all our hands. I knew I made the right call, but I wondered what the future would hold. Dairus might come back, and they would have to choose what to do then. That would be for them to figure out. For now my focus was to make sure we could handle the sixth floor the next time we reached it. For the next hour we began going over plans and expectations. They would coordinate with us but remain autonomous until things with Darius are ultimately settled. Meeting in the dining hall each morning to go over plans.

They agreed that sparring practice would do them well as they were used to dealing with creatures but not other people. The fight with Silvia had thrown them for a loop and they hadn’t ever fought another person to the death until then. We figured spending the next seven to ten days doing quests and grinding on the fifth floor would give us the boost we needed to succeed on the sixth. We made plans to go spar before heading into the Dungeon and Ilthvana said she would make sure that Cassandra was there. I warned her that she may not come as I might have given her an idea or two to speed up her process, but the suggestions I gave were merely from an outside perspective.

With our meal and the discussion completed, we all said our goodbyes and headed to our rooms. We were all exhausted from the day’s events, so we just went to bed. I closed my eyes, wrapped in the warm embrace of the women who loved me and wondered how the day would turn out tomorrow.

I awoke groggy and looked around, trying to figure out if I was in my room or not. I realized that this was somewhere new and shrouded in mist.

“You have caused me great trouble Pathios,” said a voice from the mist. “Why couldn’t you have just left things alone?”

“Because of Jonta,” I replied with some anger in my voice. “You let that Neanderthal run loose! His pathological need to take what he wanted nearly killed me and one of my partners!”

“He was merely a test,” the voice replied. “As was the dragon that you dispatched, and you have removed both from play with ease!”

“Ease!” I yelled into the darkness. “What ease was there in nearly getting killed by that psycho?”

The voice scoffed, “While he may have been a struggle, you were able to deal with the dragon easier than I had anticipated. Especially given your low level and lack of skills at the time.

“What do you want, Kali?” I asked, as my anger rose. “You have played games since I got here and tried to get me killed a few times now. So why have you pulled me here?”

There was an audible sigh, “You really are no fucking fun Pathios. It gets on my nerves, but I have to admit that you make things interesting. You are strong and quite resourceful for a rebirth. So, I am here to offer you the deal of a lifetime.”

“Before you even start,” I yelled, cutting her off. “I will stop you right there. I have no interest in listening to anything you have to offer, helping you or having anything to do with you.”

“You need to rethink this boy,” Kali replied, her tone moving from somewhat friendly to angry. “You have so much to lose already, do you think that this is wise? I would start with those who know you as friends, then those you love. It wouldn’t be a quick death for any of them either. I would torture them in the worst ways imaginable, so as to ensure you suffer for as long as possible, along with them.”

“What’s stopping you from doing that already?” I yelled out into the ether. “Oh that’s right, they are all in the Pact house. That means your access is non-existent and thus you can’t touch them.”

Kali laughed and replied, “They can still be reached as I am reaching you right now. You die in this place, and you die for real. Not to mention I can still find ways to manipulate the threats on the various floors you will travel to, boy, so think hard about your choice. As you already know, you can be reached at any time outside of the pact house too. Keep that in mind when we next meet. For now, fuck off!”

With that I began to feel the dizzy pull out of this dream plane and wondered what would happen next.

I awoke back in our room, once I carefully extracted my arms from under my ladies, I activated my bracer and saw it was still the middle of the night. I mulled over my options of what to do and came to the obvious conclusion. I carefully removed myself from the bed, making sure not to awaken my two lovely bed mates and threw on a robe. Kat’ilth’ana was working at her desk and looked back at me. I just gestured for her to keep quiet, and she merely smiled and went back to work. I quietly exited the room and made my way through the corridors to Tyr’s room. I gave a light knock on the door and a second later it opened.