Chapter 09 - Party

Loki and Leo were happily smiling in the kitchen. Gerald apparently left them a final gift when they passed the Crawler test. On top of the round table were multiple pieces of equipment: a dagger, a leather belt full of throwing knives, a round shield, 2 bags, and an iron mace.

The two kids wanted to show their gratitude, but Gerald had already forbidden them from meeting him; thus, they could only haul their gifts and go back to the inn.

"Don't place those things where we eat," Grandma reprimanded.

"Hihihi, sorry Lola, I just can't believe I became a Crawler and have my own equipment," Leo giggled.

"Sorry, Lola, we will remove them," Loki said. "Come on, Leo, let's move them on the floor."

"Okay."

The two kids put down their brand-new toys.

"Hey, Loki, do you think we can start entering a Dungeon tomorrow?" Leo asked.

"Well, it depends. The DCG rule stated that one needs a party to enter a Dungeon, and we need three people to form a party. Based on the things I heard, it will be difficult for us to find a member."

"Why is that? There's so many Crawlers in the guild; I'm sure one of them will be willing to join us."

"Yeah, there's a lot of them. But do you really think they will come to a dangerous place together with a newbie who just recently became a Crawler? No, no one will, unless they have an interior motive, a newbie, or a very bad Crawler."

Leo lingered; he seemed to contemplate Loki's words. "So, how can we enter a Dungeon?"

"Well, it's either we join another party or try our luck and ask Crawlers to join us. Both choices don't sound great, but we don't have much choice."

"I don't want both of you to enter a Dungeon." Grandma sat before the two kids and stared at Leo with worried eyes. "Child, you know we lost your parents from the Dungeon. Are you also going to leave me behind?"

Leo's excitement dampened. "Lola, you know why I have to become a Crawler. I don't want to lose this Inn, and becoming a Crawler is the only way for me to earn enough coins to save it."

"I would rather lose the inn than lose the only family I have."

"But I don't want to lose the inn, Lola." Leo looked sad when he said that.

Loki was uncomfortable with the conversation. He wanted to leave but couldn't find the right time to do so. Grandma's concern was understandable, but he could also understand Leo's stubbornness. If he were in his situation, he would do anything in his power to protect the last thing his parents left for him.

Loki's eyes darted between Grandma and Leo, as the suffocating silence was beginning to affect him.

Are they just going to stare at each other? Ahhh! This is killing me!

When Loki thought the standstill would never end, Grandma finally broke the silence.

"Do what you want; all I'm asking is for you to be careful." After saying that, she stood and left. Her crooked back emanated a sadness that broke anyone who witnessed it.

"Am I selfish, Loki?" Leo asked, his voice weak.

"I don't know. I'm not the right person to ask that question. But, if I were in your position, I would probably choose the same decision you made."

"I see," Leo stood; his usual energetic demeanor was nowhere to be seen.

Loki could only watch his friend walk away, as he had no good words to tell him. He sighed. Just a moment ago, they were happily giggling, and then suddenly, everything became heavy. Not wanting to stay in the unbearable atmosphere, he decided to take his equipment and go to his room. But as he did, he stopped. Leo became so depressed that he even forgot about his items. He lingered, contemplating what to do. Then he picked up his equipment along with Leo's and went to his room.

The next day.

Loki woke up from head pounding banging on his door.

"Who is knocking this early in the morning?" Loki muttered to himself.

"Loki! Loki!" Leo's panicked voice echoed in his room.

Loki stood, walked sleepily to the door, and opened it. "What is it?"

Leo grabbed Loki's shoulder and shook him. "Someone took my things!"

"Stop shaking me; I'm getting dizzy."

"Ah, sorry." Leo let go.

"So, what happened to your things?" Loki asked, still not fully awake as he couldn't properly digest Leo's words.

"My things… Someone took them."

"Your items? Didn't you lef-" Loki couldn't finish his sentence when he recalled that he had taken Leo's equipment and forgot to mention it to him. "Ah, about that. Your items are with me. You knew what happened yesterday; I just didn't get a chance to tell you."

"Really! I thought I lost it! Thank you!" Leo's face brimmed with joy, and he hugged Loki tightly. "Come on, let's have breakfast; we have to hurry into the guild and search for a member."

Loki did just that; he ate, cleaned himself, prepared all he needed, and went their way towards the guild.

As the two kids walked while carrying all their items across the bustling street of Vestia, Loki hesitantly asked Leo. "Are you and Grandma okay now?"

"Yeah, we talked this morning. It isn't like I don't understand what my Lola was concerned about, but there are things that I need to do."

"Like earning coins?"

"Yes, but that isn't the main reason why I want to explore Dungeons." Leo lingered for a while; his mouth would sometimes open but it would close without uttering a word. After a few seconds, Leo seemed to have finally made up his mind and spoke. "I want to know what happened to my parents."

Loki was a bit baffled at what he heard. He thought Leo was someone simple, whose sole purpose in becoming a Crawler was to earn coins. But it appeared that he had his own goal that he must achieve, and a goal that he too thought about doing himself.

Occasionally, when he had free time, his mind liked to wonder about all kinds of things. One of them was searching for his missing father. However, he let the thought go as soon as they entered. Although he loved his father, he had already accepted the fact that he had already been dead. After all, missing Crawlers was a common occurrence inside a Dungeon. His father had been missing for almost 8 years; he had plenty of time to come back to him and his mother. But he never returned.

"How long have your parents been missing?" Loki curiously asked.

Leo looked up, maybe calculating the years inside his head. "I guess 7 years. I don't really remember; it has been so long."

That's almost the same length as my father. Is it possible that their disappearance is related? Loki shook his head. Nah, I'm thinking too much.

After a few minutes of walking, the two kids finally arrived at the guild.

Inside the guild, in front of the red-headed receptionist.

"Oh, look who's here, the golden boys," the receptionist teased.

"Good morning to you too, Miss Casandra," Loki sarcastically responded.

Casandra smiled and spoke. "What can I do for our new Crawlers?"

"We want to enter a Dungeon, but you see… we don't have a party. Is there anyone looking for a member or wanting to join a party?"

Casandra slowly shook her head. "There are few. But don't let your hopes high; it will be difficult to convince them."

"We know that already; thank you for your concern. Can you please give us the names?"

"Wait a second." Casandra took out a pen and paper and began writing. After a while, she handed the paper to Loki and spoke. "Here, I wrote it from best to worst."

Loki scanned the paper and saw 10 names written on it. When he heard that the red-haired woman ranked it from best to worst, his curious eyes wandered from the very bottom of the list and read the name. "Pandora."

"Who is this Pandora, and why is he or she the worst choice?" Leo asked. He had been quiet, but it seemed his curiosity got the better of him.

Loki had no complaints, as he too was curious about the reason.

"My, curious boys, are you? It isn't good to talk to someone behind their backs, you know that, right?"

"Come on, stop teasing us."

"Fine. Rumors say that she is cursed because the two parties she had been part of all died in the Dungeon except for her."

Loki looked at Casandra with deadpan eyes and lost his interest. "Curse? Really? Do you seriously believe in that thing?"

"Why not? What's the harm in believing in those things? You never know if they might save you one day."

"Yeah, yeah. Thank you for the list. Let's go, Leo." Loki turned around and walked to the gathering hub of Crawlers.

Leo didn't immediately follow; he leaned closer to Casandra and whispered. "Is that true?"

Casandra didn't say anything and just shrugged.

"Leo, come on!"

"Coming!"

Loki walked straight to the group of four sitting on the table closest to him.

"Excuse me."

"Oh, to whom do we owe the pleasure?" Said a man with dark red hair and sharp teeth who was wearing leather armor.

Loki ignored the remark and just continued with his objective. "I'm wondering if any of you know these people." He handed the paper to the man.

After scanning the name listed on the paper, the man grinned. "Yeah, I know all of them; in fact, I'm one of the listed names. If I'm correct, you two are looking for a party."

Leo smiled widely. "Yeah, we are! You think we can join you guys?"

The four Crawlers looked into each other's eyes and lingered for a few seconds before all of them burst into laughter.

"That's the funniest joke I've ever heard," a woman who had curly brown hair and wore a white robe said mockingly. "Even if your teacher is a 3-Star Crawler, no one will be willing to risk their lives taking you guys into a Dungeon.

Loki was a bit annoyed, but he didn't let it show on his face. He stared at them with unbothered eyes and casually inquired. "That's a shame. Can you at least point us to the people on the paper?"

"I guess there's no harm in doing that. But let me tell you this: no one will accept a newbie but another newbie. Maybe Pandora will, but that is death in itself." The red-haired guy started pointing to the people inside the guild and naming them as he did. "That's all; the other 3 are not in the guild."

Loki remembered all the people the man pointed to. "Thanks, uhm…"

"Red Fang."

What a weird name.

"Thanks, Red Fang."

After the gratitude, Leo and Loki walked to the people on the list. One by one, they were rejected, laughed at, and mocked.

"I don't think this is working." Leo dejectedly sat on a chair after they got rejected for the 7th time.

Loki thought he could meet someone who would at least consider them a party member. However, the immediate refusal opened his eyes to their dire situation. It seemed entering a Dungeon was far more dangerous than he had expected. He could only sit before Leo and create a new plan.

Amidst Loki's contemplation, a sudden shift in the guild atmosphere garnered his attention. A lot of Crawlers were murmuring to each other. When he traced the target of the whispering, his eyes landed on a petite girl at the guild's entrance.

She wore a black robe with a similarity to that of Father Laryatt. Her short hair was pure black, and her skin was dark too.

Loki could easily discern the discomfort of the girl as she walked across the room while her head was looking down.

"Do you know who she is?" Loki asked Leo, who was also staring at the girl with curiosity.

Leo shook his head. "Nope."

Curious, he leaned to the next table and asked the people sitting there.

"Excuse me, do you know who she is?"

The people on the other table stopped their whispering and looked at him with disbelieving eyes. "Oh, I was wondering who is the ignorant fool who asks the stupid question. I can see why you don't know her. She is the curse Crawler. Pandora."

"Ahh, I see. Thank you."

What? Pandora is a little girl? I thought she would be a crazy old woman. How can they bully such a kid?

When Loki turned his gaze back to the petite girl, he saw her nervously looking around.

Is she looking for a place to sit?

Recalling that she didn't have a party, a crazy idea popped into his head. Raising his right hand, he shouted. "Here! You can sit with us!"

"Hey, Loki!" Leo was startled. "Why are you calling her? Didn't you hear? She is cursed."

"I don't believe in that thing. Father Laryatt always told me that I shouldn't fear death. Dying means that the Goddess is inviting you to her kingdom. If she is really cursed, isn't she the one that is supposed to die? Curses aren't real; even if it does, there's nothing to fear. All we have to do is become strong enough to break it.

Leo lingered; he was still undecided. But it was too late. All the attention was already pointing at them. Crawlers began shaking their heads, pitying the two kids for their impulsive decision.

Loki didn't care. They need another member to form a party. If no one is willing to join them, then he could only choose someone in the same situation as them.