141 The Emotion-Driven Curse

"I guess the only thing we could do is explore the area and see if we could find something," Emile said.

"Hmm... I think you're right," Scarlet Sunset said. The party split off into different directions to figure out the puzzle.

Emile walked up to the lady at the counter. He didn't know what he could say or do to figure out anything.

"Wow, this new guild area is big," Emile said. He began small talk to pass the time.

"Yep," the lady responded.

"Are there any reasons you choose this area?" Emile asked.

"These members live in Lyria City, so they have to be close to the city for them to be able to work," the lady said with a smile.

"Don't you have a guild leader in here?" Emile asked. He had an epiphany when he thought about the guild leader. Deep in his heart, he felt excited.

"We do. The guild leader stays three floors below us," the lady replied with a slight smile. Her emotions never changed. A colorful and bright smile to please everyone.

Behind her were some nice flowers and a small key on a chain that hung on the plant. The flower looked wilted like it hadn't been watered for days. Emile didn't know if the curse affected the plants.

"Is there a way we can go down there?" Emile asked.

"Nope. Everyone is strictly forbidden from visiting the guild leader," the lady continued her smile which turned creepy after some time. Emile couldn't maintain eye contact with her.

"Thank you for your assistance," Emile said. Even though she was possessed, he wanted to give her the proper respect of an actual person.

Severn wasn't supposed to be in the Alchemist guild, but now he acted like a regular member who loved Alchemy just as much as the next guy. It was a weird change.

Emile walked up to Severn and began speaking to him.

"Come back to us," Emile said with some emotion in his voice.

"Why would I come back? And come back to where?" Severn asked.

"Come back to our side," Emile said.

"Why should I join your side when I have my own side of people who are much better than you," Severn said as he moved his finger around the room.

Emile sighed before walking away. In his mind, he felt angry at whoever manipulated Severn's emotions.

[FBS Fulcron was kicked out of the cursed zone for reaching a high level of possession. He will not be allowed in once again]

[Curse meter is now visible]

[You are 40% cursed. When it reaches 100% the system will kick you out of the location. You will see side effects at 60% cursed and above]

The system threw a new element into the mix.

They needed to find and stop the thing creating the curse which acted as a forcefield around the guild. Anyone in the forcefield would slowly become cursed. The party had a high chance of being kicked out if they didn't know what triggered the curse meter.

Emile didn't know how the curse meter increased. FBS Fulcron did something wrong which allowed his curse meter to go to high levels and kick him out.

"What's everyone's curse percentage," Emile asked.

"12%." Flower Queen replied.

"Dude they kicked me out," FBS Fulcron said. He was feeling disheartened since the game kicked him out.

"I think the curse meter rises depending on our emotions," Scarlet Sunset said after a bit of thought.

"My curse meter is at 3%," she continued to prove her point.

"FBS Fulcron was emotional when Severn left which increased his curse meter by a lot," Emile said as he thought about her proposal.

"Mine's at 21%," Nimble Rod replied.

"My curse meter is at 40%," Emile said. He felt slightly dejected for having the highest percentage which increased his curse meter to 44%.

"Yeah, you're right. It is emotions. Mine is at 44% now," Emile said. He tried to control his emotions.

Emile couldn't afford to increase his curse meter more. He was the closest person to Severn, so he felt a wave of emotions when he left. FBS Fulcron also felt a wave of emotions when he saw Severn walk away from the party. The system depleted the meter based on the emotions it detected.

Scarlet Sunset was the best at manipulating her emotions. She wouldn't encounter the difficulties of the location, unlike the other party members.

"Well, the guild leader is three floors beneath us. According to the lady at the front desk, they won't allow us to visit the guild leader," Emile said with a calm tone.

"I feel like that's where we need to look for the curse to end," Scarlet Sunset replied.

"Yeah! It's the guild leader's place, so it should house the most important items and people," Nimble Rod said. His voice had a small amount of excitement contained within it which increase the curse meter to 25%.

Nimble Rod shut his mouth and took a few deep breaths. He was getting rid of the emotion that bubbled inside himself.

"While I was walking around, I saw stairs that led down to somewhere. I didn't want to explore other areas yet, so I stayed up here," Nimble Rod said.

"Lead us to the stairs," Emile spoke in the party chat. He didn't want the others in the guild to listen in on the conversation.

Nimble Rod walked towards the stairs. They soon arrived at the location. There were one or two people around the staircase who were discussing their own things without bothering Emile and the party.

The party walked down the steps with caution.

"That was easier than I expected," Nimble Rod said as they walked down the stairs.

Whenever that line is said, it triggers a cue to make everyone's life harder. At the bottom of the step was a gate.

[Requires a Purple Key with White Stripes to open]

"Are you kidding me? We need to look for a key now," Emile said. His curse meter rose to 49%.

Emile told his party about the curse meter increasing again.

"Emile. Don't talk unless it's necessary," Scarlet Sunset said. She was trying to keep him safe from being cursed and kicked out from the location.

Emile nodded to show he was following her instructions. The party walked up the stairs. Emile messaged the party through the party chat.

He was trying his best to hide the emotions he felt.

"I think I saw the key somewhere," Emile said. He thought about where he saw a key and remembered that it was behind the creepy lady at the counter.

Emile told the party about where he saw the key. They walked to the counter with the creepy lady.

"Can I have that key?" Emile tried his luck.

"No," the lady responded by giving her signature smile at the party.

"We need to steal it," Emile messaged the party.

"I'll distract," Flower Queen and Scarlet Sunset said at the same time.

"She's focusing on me. Nimble Rod, you go get the key," Emile said. The ladies gaze watched him since he started the conversation first. He was the first to talk to her.

"Hey, can you show me the potions you have with you?" Emile said.

"I've always admired a good alchemist," Scarlet Sunset said with some excitement. She risked her curse meter going up by showing emotion. Emotions were one method to control someone and get them to do something.

Nimble Rod walked towards the left of the lady and the counter. He acted like he didn't care about the conversation that was taking place to the right.

The lady talked about her alchemist hobbies and the items she crafted. She seemed enthusiastic about alchemy which was the first time she showed a different emotion other than a slight smile.

Nimble Rod reached his hand out and grabbed the keychain. He stuffed it into his inventory and walked away.

"I got it," Nimble Rod messaged the party. He walked towards the staircase while the party continued the conversation with the lady. They did this so that they had the maximum amount of time before the lady discovers the missing key.

Nimble Rod opened the gate at the bottom. He messaged the party about what he saw.