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The Four Eastern Stars Ventures into the Labyrinth, While the Masked Boy Leaves – Part 07

“Oh, Selyse. Didn’t see you there,” Marius remarked upon noticing the Four Eastern Stars.

“That was a big one right off the bat,” Selyse said.

“Indeed.”

“Well fought. Your sword and your party’s skill level are as high as ever.”

“We were prepared for an Evil Dragon.”

“Evil Dragon?”

“Hm? Oh, yeah. We were ready for a tough battle, expecting it could have multiple heads, but two is not that big of a deal.”

“Um, I don’t remember the Beastman mentioning dragons during the debrief.”

Marius, Selyse, and an unremarkable male member of Kinga Wolf joined the debriefing of the Beastman from Gerhardt’s advance team, who had returned for their regular report. The soldier enumerated monsters like Morax, Lamp Demons, Dead Hands, Vampire Bats, and various demon-type creatures encountered in the great pit, but they didn’t mention anything about dragons.

“In such a large dungeon filled with demon-type monsters, it was reasonable to assume the possibility of an Evil Dragon,” a female cleric from the Azure Blade Nebula chimed in.

She appeared to be in her mid-twenties, slender with a pair of gold-framed glasses, rare items in this world due to the scarcity of technology capable of producing glass with minimal impurities and the precise grinding of lenses. They were available for purchase, of course. For a hefty sum.

“Did you not consider that possibility, Sophie Bloomfield?”

Her sharp gaze went to Sophie, who was dressed in similar robes—though similar might be a stretch. While her attire was clean but slightly faded, the bespectacled woman’s looked almost brand new.

“And what are you wearing? We might be in a dungeon, but the glorious holy city is a stone’s throw away. As individuals permitted by the Church to venture into the outside world, we must present ourselves in a more respectable manner.”

Despite the clear enmity, Sophie responded calmly. “Indeed, I overlooked the possibility of there being Evil Dragons. I admit I was unprepared in that regard.”

“That you were. You should return to the holy city immediately and acquire new vestments. That way, you will at least look somewhat presentable—”

“Saint Rusalka graciously said, ‘Clothing need only protect from the elements. Excess wealth should be given to charity.’ I would rather use the money to buy new vestments to help those in need.”

“Hmph. Classic Rusalka fundamentalism. Money doesn’t move unless it’s spent. Buying new vestments pays the seamstress and weaver.”

“Stop it, Lisa,” Marius intervened, sensing the conversation derailing.

Lisa shot Marius a disgruntled look, then turned to Sophie. “You wouldn’t understand the perspective of central priests.” She stormed off.

“Oh, dear. Sorry for the trouble,” Marius said. “Selyse, I can show you our research materials later.”

“No, it’s fine. We’re only a team of four, but we’ve prepared reasonably well.”

“Got it. Then we’ll go on ahead,” Marius said, leading the Azure Blade Nebula further into the dungeon.

“Who was that jerk?!” Serika blurted out.

“You were uncharacteristically quiet, Serika,” Sara remarked. “Normally, you’d jump right in during such moments.”

“I haven’t used this world’s language in a while! If she started yapping about complicated stuff, I wouldn’t have been able to keep up! I got one thing, though: she’s a jerk. If she had said something back to me, I would’ve been even more annoyed, so I stayed quiet!”

“Not as significant a reason as I had thought,” Sara sighed.

“Anyway,” Selyse said. “This isn’t like you, Sophie. Did you not consider the appearance of Evil Dragons?”

Yesterday, the Four Eastern Stars were discussing dungeon monsters late into the night. With scarce information, they needed to consider not only the monsters sighted by the soldier but also other potential threats.

Sophie was knowledgeable about demon-type monsters, yet she didn’t mention Evil Dragons. A wrong judgment by her seemed uncharacteristic from Selyse’s perspective.

It was very uncommon for Rank B parties like the Four Eastern Stars to only consist of four members. While it wasn’t surprising for rookie groups or those not setting their sights high, like Hikaru’s crew, to have fewer members, parties ascending to Rank B typically had a larger roster.

With higher ranks came tougher commissions assigned by the Adventurers Guild: battles against formidable monsters, dangerous escort duties, covert rescue missions. To complete these tasks, specialized skills were essential, and as specialization deepened, so did the necessity for a larger team, as individuals became less interchangeable.

How did the Four Eastern Stars surmount this hurdle? It wasn’t merely about each member excelling in their roles but also understanding and compensating for one another.

For instance, while Selyse acted as the vanguard, Sara could step in when needed, and Serika’s magic could buy time. Moreover, Sara’s scouting prowess could be supplemented by Serika’s magic, and surprisingly, Selyse could move with considerable stealth.

The four of them communicated their strengths and weaknesses clearly, fostering formidable teamwork, and this trust and ability to complement one another propelled them to Rank B with just four members. But this also presented difficulties in adding new recruits.

Selyse had once half-jokingly, half-seriously invited Hikaru to join the Four Eastern Stars. Sharing secrets as significant as the spell for crossing worlds already implied an existing level of trust between them. Selyse didn’t mind adding members not as skilled as her as long as they could be trusted. Trustworthy individuals were a rare find indeed.

Despite their synergy, there were certain abilities that couldn’t be replicated by the others. These included Selyse’s use of the White Ray Blade, Sara’s lock-picking skills, Serika’s elemental magic, and Sophie’s knowledge of holy magic and demons.

The Four Eastern Stars had made it this far with only four members, and not once had Sophie erred on her monster forecasts. A miscalculation meant a drastic increase in mortality rate, so she had always been exceedingly careful in her assessments. In that regard, Selyse placed tremendous trust in Sophie.

“There’s a lot of debate about Evil Dragons, and there’s no consensus,” Sophie explained. “And to me, the monster we encountered earlier didn’t seem like an Evil Dragon.”

“Not an Evil Dragon?”

Sophie nodded. Selyse, Sara, and Serika, watched her intently.

“Monsters bearing the name ‘dragon’ are just creatures with draconic forms. Nothing more, nothing less. They tend to act alone, so each one has its own unique behavioral patterns.”

“Like the White Dragon we fought back in Cotton-elka?”

Cotton-elka was Paula’s home. To protect the village, the Four Eastern Stars had to fight a White Dragon that came out of the dungeon.

“That’s slightly different. Dungeon dragons are something else imitating real dragons. What I mean to say is, the Evil Dragons in this dungeon, the ones that turn to black dust upon death, are not genuine Evil Dragons. Their creator just wants them to take that specific form.”

“That’s a complicated way to put it. So, demon-type monsters, like the Morax we fought in the great pit are also imitations?”

“No… This is where it gets tricky. Demon-type monsters turn into dust when killed. That is the true form of demon-type monsters. They’re not imitations.”

“Hmm? So, where does the Evil Dragon from earlier fall under? Would it classify as a demon-type since it turned into dust and disappeared?”

“Dragons are typically solid beings. They don’t just disappear. Evil Dragons are rumored to be dragons tainted by miasma, and naturally, they don’t just vanish after being killed. There’s debate on whether tainted dragons should be treated as a separate species, but regardless… considering it turned to dust, it wasn’t a dragon. Hence, I concluded there wouldn’t be Evil Dragons here in this den of demon-type monsters.”

“Hmm… So, what was that dragon-esque thing, then?”

“If I had to guess,” Sophie said, “it was a familiar or something similar created by a demon.”

“That’s impossible!” Serika chimed in. “Creating such a powerful familiar would require immense mana from the conjurer!”

“Exactly. Hence why I did not consider it. As for Lisa, rather than taking everything that I just explained into account and making an informed conclusion…”

Sophie hesitated, but Selyse finished her thought. “She just assumed there would be Evil Dragons since this place is crawling with demon-type monsters?”

“Um, yes, that could be it,” Sophie reluctantly agreed.

“It seemed like that Lisa person hates you.”

“The Church has its own internal politics. Let’s move on,” Sophie redirected with a gentle smile.

Selyse knew about the factional disputes within the Church. As leader of the Four Eastern Stars, she often met with nobles and Church matters were frequent topics.

Selyse was also aware that Lisa was the daughter of a powerful priest in the holy city of Agiapole, and that she often voiced discontent about being sent on missions with adventurers. Following the upheaval in the Church’s power dynamics due to the change in leadership, Lisa’s parents were exiled. Fortunately for Lisa, her expeditions with adventurers saved her from repercussions.

Sophie knew about the Church’s internal strife but kept her grievances from Selyse and the others. Devoted to the saints’ teachings, Sophie aspired to live a life of simplicity.

Unsatisfied by how the conversation ended, Serika said, “So, there might be some super powerful enemy lurking in this dungeon. What’s our move, Selyse?!”

“Hmm? If it’s just a pseudo-dragon like the one from earlier, we can handle it.”

“No! I’m talking about whatever’s using those things as familiars!”

Selyse smiled, the same gentle smile that Sophie showed moments ago.

“Fortunately, Sophie can sense malevolent energy so well. If there’s indeed some super powerful enemy here, we’ll make a quick exit.”