Part 26

"This is your first day?" Hazel asked with a mouthful of food. Evelyn, Jonathan, and I were sitting opposite of her in the hearth. Hazel had a massive plate of food in front of her and was eating it like it was the last plate of food in the world. Icarus was sitting on the side of the table again and had his eyes glued to the plate of food as well.

"Yep. We've been searching for a fourth member, so we haven't actually gone on any quests so far," I said, nodding. Now that I was close to her, I was able to see her appearance with a little bit more clarity. Hazel's body was mostly human, but she was covered with scales in more than one area. Her cheeks contained the largest patches of scales, but she had more on the tips of her ears, a few on her fingers, and even a few on a patch on her neck.

"I see," Hazel said. Her shoulders dropped a little as she heard 'member', but she didn't stop eating.

"You said your name was Hazel? Why don't you tell us a little bit about yourself?" I asked as I appraised her stats again. While Hazel spoke, I focused on her title and status condition.

"Well, I was left in an orphanage when I was young, so I don't remember my parents," Hazel said, "but the orphanage workers were nice to me, so I don't really mind. When I was sixteen, I decided to become an adventurer and explore the world, but you can see the situation I'm in."

"Wait, you're nineteen?" Evelyn asked, her voice full of surprise. I turned to Evelyn, shocked. That was the third time I had ever heard her speak. She was like a quiet mouse, but she was suddenly more active now that Hazel was near her. I chuckled, then turned back to Hazel's stats.

『 Cursed (MAX LVL): A dark status effect, one that only the most unfortunate of people have. A curse restricts a person's growth, preventing them from leveling up. Curses grow with time, so a curse at max level is only possible if cursed at birth. To bring the curse down by one level, the cursed individual must consume a high-grade holy potion. For max level, ten potions are required 』

'Nice to see removing it is possible, but I have no idea how to get a high-grade holy potion,' I sighed to myself. As I continued to delve into my thoughts, I began to lose track of the conversation around me. It didn't take long for the others to notice.

"Hey, what is he doing?" Hazel asked as she looked at my blank expression. I, of course, didn't hear them, but Jonathan immediately began to explain.

"We don't really know. He gets like that sometimes, but he eventually comes back to reality after a minute or two," Jonathan chuckled. Hazel turned to Jonathan, then looked back to me. Suddenly, my eyes widened and a grin formed on my face. Hazel looked back to Jonathan with an uncomfortable expression, as if asking for help, "Don't worry, he gets like that too. Evelyn and I have been trying to figure out what's causing it, but the best we got is daydreaming. It's as if he's looking at something we can't see, but he's powerful enough for us not to worry about it."

"Powerful? But he looks younger than me," Hazel said. Then she turned to Icarus for a moment before looking back to Jonathan, "He's not the one with the dragon, is he? I thought you were lying earlier to get Cal off of your back."

"Nope, he's with Arthur," Jonathan shrugged, "Plus he's more powerful than my dad, despite his age. It's like he's level fifty or something."

"What level is he?" Hazel asked.

"Level sixteen, last I heard," Jonathan said, "But maybe he's level seventeen by now."

Suddenly, before Hazel could continue the conversation, I opened my mouth and began to talk.

"Hazel, I think I have a way to fix your problem," I said. Hazel turned to me, confused.

"Problem?" Hazel asked, more confused than offended.

"You're level one, right?" I smiled. Hazel nodded.

"But that's an easy problem to fix, right? I'll level up eventually, won't I?" Hazel asked. I shook my head, "I mean, I know my rank is low so I'm not surprised by my progress."

"No, your rank isn't low at all," I chuckled, "In fact, it's higher than Jonathan's."

"Wait, what? No way! I'm rank B, you know!" Jonathan replied. I turned to him, then shrugged.

"Try beating rank S," I told him. Jonathan stopped, then looked to Hazel. He had a dazed expression on his face as he met her eyes. He looked back at me.

"Are you sure?" He asked, "You found that out earlier, didn't you? You bastard!"

"No, you're wrong," Hazel said as she stood up. Her eyes were full of tears as she looked at me with an offended expression, "The status plate said I was rank F- no, lower than rank F! Don't try to trick me, Arthur. I've had a hard enough time here as it is."

"I know," I sighed, "But I think I have a way to fix your problem, but you need to keep it a secret. If you can agree to my terms, you'll need to follow me to a place far away from here."

Hazel sat back down and stared into my eyes for a moment before slowly nodding.

"Good," I said as I stood up. As I made my way to my feet, everybody else around me did as well. Icarus hopped off of his seat and made his way to my feet. Jonathan stood up as well, then moved to me and put his hand on my shoulder.

"Wait, Arthur, explain what's going on!" Jonathan said. I turned to him, then shook my head.

"I'm sorry, but this is about something I can't share with you. This is for Hazel and me only. I'll be leaving Icarus with you here, so try not to get into any trouble," I said, "I'll be back in half an hour. Take care of Icarus until then."

I turned away from Jonathan, leaving him at the table with Evelyn and Icarus. The three of them watched as I walked away from the table with Hazel. It didn't take long for Jonathan and Evelyn to sit back down. Icarus kept his eyes trained on the door, almost like he was waiting for me to come back.

"Icarus, it'll be fine," Jonathan sighed, "He'll be back. We just need to wait for him."

"What are we doing here?" Hazel asked as we walked into an alley, "I thought you said we're going somewhere far away from here."

"We are," I told her as I look in her direction, "But first we need to get somewhere private. I can't exactly show what I'm about to do to just anybody."

"You're not going to assault me and take me as yours, are you?" Hazel asked as she moved away from me. I looked at her in shock, which caused her to suddenly laugh. I sighed, then shook my head.

"No, I'm not so evil as to stoop to that level," I told her. I looked back to the alley and continued walking as I explained the situation to Hazel, "Hazel, you're cursed."

"Cursed?" Hazel echoed, suddenly more serious.

"Yeah. That's why you're still level one," I told her, "You think you'll eventually level up, but it'll never happen while that curse is still active. I don't know who cursed you, but I know how to remove it. However, before I explain how there's something you need to know about yourself. Hazel, what race do you think you are?"

"Race? A beastkin, obviously. Can't you see the scales on my face, or were you too busy looking somewhere else? Down, boy!" Hazel laughed as she hugged her chest and twisted her body away from me.

"I see, so you're that type of person," I sighed, "What do you think I am, then?"

"A human, obviously," Hazel said, "Well, maybe you're a half elf. I've heard of some half elfs that don't have pointy ears, so I suppose it's possible."

"Both are incorrect," I told her, "And you're not a beastkin either. You're something called a spirit."

"Like a ghost?" Hazel laughed, "I think you're wrong. I'm not a ghost, as you can see."

"Not that type of spirit," I replied, "What you are is called a spirit, but it's better to think of yourself as an untethered dungeon monster."

"If you think it's a good idea to compare me to a goblin, you should probably stop with the jokes," Hazel sighed as her eyebrow twitched in anger.

"Just let me show you," I chuckled as I stopped walking. I quickly looked around, searching for anybody watching us from nearby. Then, after confirming that we were alone, I turned back to the alley and pulled my arm into the air.

Hazel looked at me with a curious gaze. Then, after a moment, a small flame appeared in the air. Hazel turned to the flame in surprise, but it was already gone by the time she turned her gaze.

"What was that?" She asked. Before I could answer her, the second flame appeared. The flame hovered in the air for a moment before expanding itself into a massive explosion. It continued to expand until it formed a large doorway.

Hazel gasped and stepped back as her eyes glued themselves to the fiery doorway. I turned to her and laughed as I brought my open hand up. She turned to me, then looked at my hand. Then, after a moment of silence, she slowly brought her hand up and met it with mine.

"Let's go," I said as I took a hold of her hand. Then, with our hands held together, we walked through the open doorway and into the dungeon.