We stepped into the Dragon’s Inn while it was still early, with just a handful of patrons already nursing their first drinks of the day. I didn’t see Tori anywhere, but when my eyes met Julia’s behind the counter, she smiled and waved me over.

  “Who’s that?” Amber hissed at my side, gring at the waitress.

  “Julia.”

  “Are you fucking her?”

  “No,” I snorted. “But it might happen,” I added, just before I reached the woman we were talking about.

  “Nice to see you,” I said, leaning against the counter.

  “A successful trip?” Julia asked, smiling and cleaning gsses.

  “Great. We were in Antranth,” I replied.

  “I have never been to the seaside,” Julia said.

  “Really? It's just a few hours' trip,” I said. “Maybe I’ll take you there one day.”

  Julia snorted. “First, I would need to get a free day here, and that’s not coming soon.”

  “You could drop the job and run away with me,” I said, smiling.

  “As if,” Julia snickered. “Tori asked me to tell you she’s at the arena.”

  “Thanks, I was looking for her.”

  “Will you be staying here at night?”

  “Why? You want to join?”

  Julia rolled her eyes exaggeratedly. “In case you forgot, I work here,” she said, raising a gss in her hand between us. “I need to assign rooms.”

  “Two,” I replied. “Besides the one that Tori rents.”

  “One single, one double?” Julia asked.

  “You know me so well,” I replied.

  Julia shook her head with a smile while passing me two keys.

  “Thanks,” I said. “We must go, but we’ll see you ter.”

  “I’ll be busy with work,” Julia replied, smiling, before we moved away from the counter.

  As we walked toward our rooms, I handed Mari a key. Then we went inside to drop off the things we didn’t need for the dungeon. I put my clothes on the table and turned toward Amber, noticing that she was gring at me.

  “What?” I asked, already knowing what her problem was.

  “You can’t just flirt with her like that,” Amber replied.

  “Why?” I asked, stepping toward her.

  She huffed, crossing her arms over her chest, staring into my eyes with a challenge. “Who’s Tori?!” Amber asked instead. “Are you fucking her?!”

  “Yes,” I replied.

  “What the fuck!” she groaned. “How many women are you sleeping with?!”

  “As many as Master wants,” Zoe cut in, wrapping her arms around my chest, hugging me tightly.

  I put my arm around her, reaching low, under her skirt, where I squeezed her ass.

  “They can’t resist me,” I said. “Just like you,” I added, smiling at Amber.

  Amber scoffed, turned around, and walked out of the room. We followed her, Mari joined us in the corridor, and we left the inn.

  “Let’s go to the arena. Cassia should be there too,” I said, heading in that direction.

  “Cassia?!” Amber excimed.

  I chuckled but didn’t answer, walking toward the arena while holding Zoe’s hand. I wasn’t sure if Amber could really accept the fact that I was sleeping with so many women. Still, she had come with us to Ortas, already knowing about Zoe and Azura, so maybe there was a chance.

  When we entered the training yard, it was easy to spot Tori and Cassia. They were sparring with each other with training swords.

  They sparred, moving quickly and exchanging blows as their swords clinked against each other. Both moved with agility, dodging and parrying each other's strikes. We watched for a moment as Tori danced around Cassia, looking for an opening in her defenses.

  But Cassia wasn’t making any mistakes, deflecting every attack until she spotted an opportunity. She struck Tori’s thigh just as she overextended, and Cassia clearly didn’t hold back. Tori’s leg was knocked aside, and she fell onto her back.

  With the new things I’d learned about Tori, I couldn’t help but feel a bit of satisfaction watching her nd on her ass after losing that fight.

  I took a deep breath, reminding myself that I needed to stay calm, before I approached them.

  “We’re back,” I said.

  “Hey,” Cassia replied, helping Tori get up from the ground.

  “How was the trip?” Tori asked, brushing the dirt from her clothes.

  “Great,” I replied only.

  “Have you found what you were looking for?” she asked, not even looking at me, picking up her sword.

  “No,” I replied, clenching my fists. “But I met Amber,” I added, pointing at the drow. “This is Tori and Cassia,” I introduced them.

  Amber measured them with her gaze, mostly focusing on Tori. At the same time, Tori and Cassia looked at her, and there was a lingering moment of silence as none of them spoke to each other.

  “Amber is not exactly a healer," I said finally. “But she’s an alchemist, so with her potions we will have at least some way of healing,” I expined.

  “That’s not perfect,” Cassia said, grimacing. “Can you make them cheaply?”

  “If I need to buy every component, it’s not so cheap,” Amber replied. “But I can gather some of them instead.”

  “Can you fight?” Cassia asked.

  As I smirked, Amber gnced at me, but quickly she focused back on Cassia.

  “I can create potions that might be useful in a fight,” she replied. “But I don't have them with me now.”

  “Were you in the dungeon before?” Cassia asked.

  “Yeah, up to the fourth level,” Amber replied.

  “Okay, I think you can join us,” Cassia said.

  “Pff,” Amber huffed. “I will join if I want.”

  “Let’s go today, we still have time,” I said, wrapping my arm around Amber’s shoulder and pulling her against me. Amber looked at me with a grimace but remained pressed against me, as I hugged her from the side, and the grimace shifted into a small smile.

  Cassia gnced at the sun before she looked back at me. “We won’t have time to pass the entire Level 3, but we can hunt some monsters,” she replied.

  I looked at the treacherous bitch—I mean Tori—questioningly.

  “Sure,” she said, passing the training weapon to Cassia. “I need to go back to the inn for my equipment.”

  “I need to prepare too,” Cassia added.

  “Let’s meet outside the city’s gate,” I said.

  After we split, my women and I walked to the arranged pce. Azura immediately shifted into her wolf form, and it wasn't long before Tori and Cassia joined us in their equipment and with their swords.

  Together we headed toward the dungeon. I wondered if Tori was gonna ask more questions about the trip, but she just stayed silent, behaving like she wasn't even listening, but now I knew that it was her tactic to gather information about me.

  I wasn't sure what to do with her, or how long I could endure having her around. I would love to just tell her to fuck off, but there were reasons not to do that. Beyond what Gemma had mentioned, it was safer to delve into the dungeon with Tori. So for my and my women's safety, I needed to pretend that everything was normal.

  After going through the formalities at the guild’s building around the dungeon’s entrance, we stepped onto the bck disk that would take us to the dungeon. Tori put her hand on the pilr in the middle, and after a brief moment of being covered by the dome, we were at the checkpoint between Level 2 and 3.

  “Level 3 has one new monster,” Cassia said, as we stood in front of the entrance to the byrinth. “Ghouls. They are slow, but quite hard to kill, and have long cws that can rip your body.”

  “Wounds from them are awful,” Tori added. “Infections and other shit.”

  “I have potions that can heal that,” Amber said, gncing at me with a smile.

  “Great that we have you with us,” I said, returning the smile.

  “Everyone’s ready?” Cassia asked.

  After everyone confirmed, we stepped into Level 3.

  With bck walls, a dark ground, and gray mist above us, the pce felt drained of all color, like all life had been sucked out of it. Sounds echoed through the corridors, and even the air carried a damp, nauseating scent that made the pce feel eerie and sorrowful.

  Knowing that monsters were hiding somewhere in those endless corridors, ready to kill us, didn’t do much to ease my nerves. But with all the women by my side, I felt strangely calm, confident they could take down anything waiting in the dark.

  It didn’t take long for that confidence to be tested.

  The first monsters we stumbled upon were skeletons, faster and more agile than the ones on Level 1. But as three of them rushed at us, Cassia and Tori stepped in without hesitation and made quick work of them, ending the fight before anything could go wrong.

  However, it was clear that the monsters were stronger than the ones we had faced so far. The fight was quick, but not as quick as before, it was no longer enough to hit them once or twice for them to crumble into a pile of bones.

  We didn’t get any loot from the monsters we’d killed, so we kept moving through the dungeon. We killed four more skeletons and two demons before stumbling upon a new kind of monster.

  Azura was the first to sense something ahead. She stopped and let out a low growl, lowering herself onto her paws as her fur bristled.

  “Ghouls,” Tori said a moment ter with a grimace on her face. “At least two, but I think there might be more,” she added, using her special hearing to tell what was awaiting us. The same skill she had used to gather information about me. I pushed this thought out of my mind. I needed to focus on the incoming fight.

  “We can avoid this fight,” Cassia suggested. “They’re slow, and we can run away, but they would give quite a lot of exp.”

  “Can we handle them?” I asked, unsure how strong those monsters really were.

  “Yeah,” Cassia replied. “But it would be better not to rush into the fight, py it slower.”

  “What do you have in mind?” I asked.

  “Let’s kite them. They’re slow, so we can just keep our distance. Mari, you’ll shoot at them, either finish them off yourself or weaken them so we can. We just have to make sure they don’t get close to you. Or to any of us, really.”

  “Sounds good,” Tori said.

  I looked at Mari for her opinion. Aside from Cassia, she had the most experience in the dungeons. She nodded, agreeing to the pn.

  “Sure,” I said, and we headed forward, toward the monsters.

  It didn’t take long before we reached them. Three ghouls, disgusting creatures, crawling slowly on all fours. The grayish, slightly green skin stretched tightly over their bones, and each limb ended in long, twisted fingers tipped with jagged cws.

  Their faces were a grotesque blend of human and beast. Sunken eyes glowed faintly with a sickly yellow light, just holes instead of noses, and wide mouths filled with crooked, sharp teeth. Strands of saliva dripped from their maws, leaving a wet trail behind them.

  But their appearance was nothing compared to the smell. A nauseating stench of rot and damp decay hung in the air. I struggled to catch my breath when we heard the sound of cws digging into the hard ground as they crept toward us.

  “Mari, shoot as soon as you're in range,” Cassia said. “We'll keep that distance. And be careful, everyone. They’ll rush at us, and they're faster than they look right now.”

  Soon, Mari raised her hand, and an ice spike shot from her palm, piercing the closest monster’s body. It tore straight through, exposing raw flesh, but there was no blood, just a gaping hole where it hit.

  The monster roared—a mix of pain and fury. Their glowing eyes focused on us, and just as Cassia had warned, all three of them charged. Their cws sank deeper into the ground as they lunged forward.

  As we moved back, it was clear they were slower than us, and we easily held the distance. Mari was shooting at them, focusing her skills on the first one she had already hit. Chunks of its flesh were ripped away and left scattered in the corridor, yet the monster kept charging, unfazed.

  “I won’t have enough mana to kill them all,” Mari said after a moment. The one she was targeting was heavily wounded already, yet still fighting despite many wounds.

  “Spread your attacks, wound them all, then we will finish them,” Cassia replied quickly.

  Instead of shooting at only one monster, Mari focused on the remaining two, wounding them the same way, but again, it only slowed them slightly.

  We kited them like that for a few minutes, keeping the distance safe all the time, but then came the moment when we needed to change our tactic.

  “I’m low on mana,” Mari said. “Your turn now.”

  We slowed down, with Tori and Cassia stepping forward, ready to meet the monsters. All three ghouls were wounded, holes and gashes covered their twisted bodies, yet they still gurgled and roared as they charged at us. Two of them had pulled ahead, while the most heavily wounded one gged behind.

  Tori moved in front of the first monster. It rose onto its hind legs and swung its cws at her. With its long reach and jagged talons, it looked terrifying, like a corpse possessed by a demon, trying to tear her apart. But Tori dashed to the side, and its cws ripped through the ground where she had just been standing.

  She struck back, her bde cutting deep into its side, tearing flesh and leaving a wide, non-bleeding wound.

  At the same time, the second monster reached Cassia. But before it could strike, she lunged forward, stabbing with her sword. The ghoul smmed its cws into the ground to stop itself, and her bde didn't reach it. Cassia immediately retreated, pulling back alongside Tori before the third one could catch up, but it came close, closing the gap thanks to that brief pause.

  “I should fight too,” I said. “With my spear, I can hold the third one back.” With all three of them close, I needed to join in to keep things banced.

  Cassia nodded while we were all backing off. “Be careful. Zoe, watch his back.”

  As we slowed down again, letting the monsters reach us, I focused on the most wounded one, stepping in its path. Its disgusting body looked like it was going to fall apart just from running, yet the greyish flesh somehow held to its bones.

  I positioned low on my legs and struck with the spear, aiming for the ghoul’s head. It pushed my weapon aside with its cwed hand and tried to ssh me with the other, but I immediately stepped back, avoiding it while at the same time striking with my spear again.

  The tip pierced the creature’s body in its chest, easily slipping into its flesh before I hit something harder inside, pushing it back slightly. I quickly stepped back, with Zoe just behind me, to again increase the distance.

  I quickly looked around, checking that everything was going well, and we all moved back.

  “Again,” Cassia ordered, and we slowed down, letting the monsters come to us.

  Doubting the ghoul’s intellect, I feinted toward its head like I had before, but this time, I pulled back before committing to the strike. The monster tried to block, just like st time, but ended up swiping at nothing but air. I lunged forward and drove my spear straight into its face.

  The tip pierced through its head, coming out the other side, and the ghoul became limp as I killed it. But that created a new problem, as its dead body pulled my spear down to the ground.

  “I’m stuck!” I shouted, looking around. Cassia was still fighting her monster, she gnced at me briefly, then struck the ghoul in front of her. Tori had already backed off from her opponent, and when it saw me standing alone, it charged.

  I tugged at my spear, trying to free it from the ghoul’s skull, as Zoe stepped in front of me to block the attack. It wasn’t necessary, I could’ve just abandoned the weapon and run with her, but it didn’t come to that. A moment ter, several ice spikes smmed into the charging ghoul from the side, knocking it to the ground. It rolled a few times and didn’t get up again.

  I finally managed to tear my spear out, with bck ooze dripping from it, and instantly turned toward the st creature that was fighting against Cassia.

  She blocked its paw while stepping quickly to the side, as Tori and I approached the beast, surrounding it. As it focused on Cassia, I stabbed it somewhere around its chest and backed off, avoiding its cws, holding a safe distance.

  But as it turned toward me, Tori moved forward and cut through its back. Left alone, the monster didn't have a chance against all three of us at once, and we quickly finished it, with Cassia dealing the st blow.

  [Level up!][Demon: Zoe Drazathis][Css: Succubus (Level 5)][Stat Points Gained: 1][Skill Level Increased: Increased Charm: Level 2]

  [Increased Charm Level 2 (Passive) – This skill increases attraction toward the owner. Additionally, it grants 4 points to Charisma.]

  It was a shame she didn’t get a new skill, but at least her stats had gone up. I met Zoe’s eyes and gave her a small nod, just to show I’d noticed her level-up.

  “We got a sword,” Tori said, picking it up from the bck puddle and giving it a quick wave to clean it.

  It looked great, not like the worn or broken weapons we’d looted from skeletons before. I walked up to Tori and took the sword from her, pretending to examine it while using my skill to Inspect it.

  [Bde of Decay][Css: 3][Item Level: 3][Condition: Perfect]

  We’d gotten a Css 3 sword before, and it was worth a decent amount. But this one had a higher level and was in better condition, so I hoped it would sell for even more.

  “I’m out of mana,” Mari said.

  “We should head to the exit,” Cassia said. “And perhaps invest in a mana stone for you,” she added, looking at Mari, who in return looked toward me.

  “I will think about it,” I said, wondering how much one could cost. At least we wouldn’t have a problem filling it, as I could take care of that.

  We headed toward the exit, it was close, as we hadn't strayed far. I was still a little worried that if we stumbled upon ghouls again, this time without Mari’s skills, it would be much harder.

  Fortunately, we only met two skeletons and a demon, which Tori and Cassia easily beat, before we reached the ptform. After leaving the dungeon, we headed back to Ortas, where we split at the gate with Cassia and walked toward the Dragon’s Inn.

  The pce was filled as we entered. All the tables were occupied, and two waitresses were running between them in their skimpy clothes, too busy to even look toward us.

  “I’ll order food, and we will eat in our rooms,” I said.

  Mari, without a word, headed toward her room. I put in an order at the counter before we followed Tori to her room.

  “Your share for the loot,” Tori said, pulling a pouch out of her bag. “I took what you owed me, debt’s cleared. And you still get fourteen ryns,” she added, tossing me a pouch. I caught it and passed it to Zoe without a word.

  Now that I knew she’d been selling information about me, I realized I had no way of knowing if she hadn’t also cheated me out of money. But it was already too te to check or to do anything about it.

  “The sword is Css 3, Level 3, and in perfect condition,” I said.

  “Nice,” Tori said. “Might be worth a good bit, but I’ll have someone check it out first for more information. Once I know what it’s really worth, I’ll sell it and we’ll split the profit.”

  “Okay. We could go to the market together,” I suggested, wanting to be there next time she sold our loot.

  “Sure,” Tori said with a shrug.

  “See you in the morning,” I added, heading toward the door.

  “You’re not sleeping here?” she asked, sounding surprised.

  “I have some business to take care of with a certain naughty elf,” I said, gncing at Amber.

  And I didn’t want Tori around, especially when I needed to deal with Amber. Maybe talk to her, expin a few things, make sure she stopped causing trouble. I didn’t need Tori listening to all of that, but I didn't say it all aloud.

  “Sure,” Tori replied, shrugging again like she didn’t care. But I already knew her game, she was pretending to be indifferent while quietly gathering more information about me.

  After that, we left Tori’s room and headed to our own, with Zoe, Azura, and Amber, for a night that certainly wasn’t going to be short.