Legendria, seelie bank, Hokō ?Nun, earth priestess

  The door to the large office opened, and to Hoko's displeasure, she had not been warned about the overwhelming smell that wafted out from the other side. It was intense, earthy, and unmistakably reminiscent of blood. The sensation hit her mouth, and the taste, though different from the metallic tang of sucking a scraped finger, was just as unsettling.

  "What is that smell? Is that blood? Why didn’t you warn me?!" she cried, her voice laced with incredulity. Her companions, however, appeared entirely unfazed.

  "Oh, sorry. We forgot—we turned off the smell sense a long time ago," Kurt whispered, leaning slightly toward her while keeping his glowing ever-watchful eye on the now-opening door. "Honestly, with the chance of meeting undead or poisonous plants, it’s saved us a few times... not to mention dealing with Axrithena’s peculiar preference for perfume."

  Damn it, is this some inside joke? Hoko thought, frustration bubbling within her. No matter—just find the smell option in the menu and carry on. She quickly opened her menu, navigating through the settings in search of the elusive option to mute her olfactory senses.

  Before she could act, GasStar abruptly pulled her hand down. "You gotta stomach it for now," he explained in a hurried tone. "Axrithena doesn’t like others being distracted by anything other than herself in her presence. We’ll stop for something nice later to make up for our mess-up, okay?"

  He didn’t bother lowering his voice, even as the door fully opened to reveal an old, crotchety hag. Her dark complexion stood in striking contrast to the luxurious red silk wrapped around her, embroidered intricately with black roses and wild animals ensnared in thorny vines.

  The office itself was a tasteful blend of brightness. The wooden walls curved delicately, seamlessly merging the four primary colors into a harmonious design. Is this the same kind of wood Kaizo’s weapon is made out of? That has to be expensive, right?

  The thought distracted Hoko from the unpleasant smell as her eyes wandered over the room’s furnishings. Her gaze fell on a longsword mounted on the wall behind Axrithena's desk. It was simple, far removed from the exaggerated or magical designs typical of video games. Yet, it carried such an air of significance that Hoko might have believed it to be Excalibur if told so.

  Noticing Hoko’s focus on the sword, Axrithena tsked softly, and before Hoko could react, her leg was yanked forward, forcing her to step into the office. Her attention snapped down to her leg, where blood was pooling over the new boots the game had recently bestowed upon her.

  Hoko opened her mouth to voice her displeasure at the unprovoked attack, which she assumed had come from the hag. Before a single word escaped, Kurt clamped his hand over her mouth.

  "Child, don’t you know it’s rude to ignore your host?" Axrithena spoke, her tone dripping with mirthful cruelty, like that of a disdainful teacher lecturing an unruly pupil.

  Kurt immediately bowed and apologized in Hoko's place. Catching on to his signal, she quickly followed suit, bowing and offering her own apology. "I'm sorry. I was simply impressed by the beauty of your office and your silk robes."

  The hag grimaced slightly, prompting Hoko to hastily add, "And your beauty, of course, as well."

  "Good catch, girl. You are learning," the hag replied, her voice dripping with condescension. "A shame, though, this isn’t my office. These bankers are as cheap as they are ostentatious—I only use it for meetings. But tell me, what did you think of me when the door opened?"

  The massive eye hovering over Kurt swiveled between the hag and Hoko, clearly focused on capturing their conversation. It turned fully toward Hoko, awaiting her response.

  "I was expecting a hunter carrying a recent kill or a ritual sacrifice, with how heavy the smell of blood was," Hoko answered sincerely, keeping her eyes down to avoid meeting the hag's piercing glare. "I can still smell it, but I’m starting to get used to it."

  "You said you were expecting a hunter," the hag retorted, her cruel tone sharpening as her robe began to darken ominously. "Do you think me incapable of hunting after seeing me?"

  Hoko panicked and quickly tried to explain herself. "Well, I mean, you just look so majestic in these pristine robes. I didn’t think someone could hunt something so large—something that would have such an overwhelming odor—without dirtying themselves. I didn’t mean to suggest that you might be weak."

  The hag paused for a moment before responding, her tone more natural but no less commanding. "Passable. Just be quiet for a while, and I’ll consider it repayment for your rudeness."

  Hoko, eager to avoid further displeasing her, immediately replied, "Yes, miss. I’m sorry, miss."

  GasStar tried to motion her to stop, but it was too late. He groaned and explained, "Axrithena is a fey queen of blood and plants. You just agreed to a verbal contract to be silent."

  Hoko opened her mouth to respond, but no sound came out. Startled, she looked at her HUD, where a new icon appeared—a mouth with a red "X" over it, accompanied by a timer reading 32 minutes.

  I think I understand why Kai wants to kill them already... Well, Kaizo and GasStar at least. Kurt wasn’t so bad, and Pearl just seems very reserved, she thought bitterly.

  Frustrated, Hoko stomped her foot, wobbling slightly from the height mismatch between her real body and her avatar. She crossed her arms and glared at the fey hag, her displeasure clear, though it's subjects less so.

  Kaizo quickly picked up the conversation, hoping to prevent the cruel fey queen from deciding that Hoko’s defiant posture was grounds for further punishment. "I apologize for bringing an uneducated Master to our meeting," he said smoothly. "I do value my fellow Masters quite a bit, so I gave her permission to come. However, I barely know her, so I thought it best to see if she could handle you on her own. I apologize if this displeased you, Axrithena, Queen of Blood."

  The hag smiled coldly. "Oh, you don’t have to apologize. Her actions are her own, and you know I enjoy toying with Masters who don’t know their place. Now then, since you have more hands to assist you, I assume you can handle a larger task. That’s good because one has come up. The target is a Master, believe it or not."

  "A Master?" Kaizo raised an eyebrow, skeptical. "We’re immortal. They’d only stay dead for three days. This isn’t some kind of setup, is it?"

  "No, the request is as usual," Axrithena replied, her tone amused but firm. "We’ve caught wind of a Master making incredible progress in the Peaceful Penal Colony dungeon. We do not wish to allow them to conquer it. Not only is he a skilled golem maker, but he also seems capable of putting foes to sleep—even those that should be immune, including elementals and spirits.

  Golems, like his own appear unaffected by his abilities. However he has managed to fend them off regardless. The deeper he progresses, the harder it becomes to follow him. Your task is simple: kill him. If he tries again, we will contact you for another job—assuming you succeed, of course."

  Kaizo nodded, though he remained cautious. "Well, that sounds fine, but why are you so concerned about someone conquering a dungeon? There are random dungeons scattered everywhere. Does this one contain a UBM or something?"

  The hag’s expression grew serious. "No, no. Well, perhaps. But this dungeon is unique. Conquering it will provide a reward greater than a UBM could offer—or so my lord says. Now, go. I do not wish to fail him due to your tardiness."

  The group accepted the quest, and Hoko felt a mix of relief and apprehension. At least they were going after another player instead of an NPC this time.

  To reach their destination quickly, they rented a "dragon carriage." However, Hoko’s excitement at the name quickly turned to disappointment. She had imagined a grand carriage carried on the back of a majestic dragon. Instead, the dragon carriage was just a heavily armored vehicle pulled by tamed monsters instead of horses.

  Stolen story; please report.

  With little fanfare, the group set out, the rhythmic clanking of the carriage's reinforced wheels marking the beginning of their journey.

  Kurt dispelled his giant glowing eye, and the group settled into the carriage. With nothing better to do during the journey, they distracted themselves by catching up on real-world topics. Hoko, who hadn’t connected her phone to the helmet, found herself with nothing to occupy her time. Curious, she leaned over to see what Kurt was watching. To her surprise, he was watching streams of Infinite Dendrogram.

  That seems a little obsessive, but I won’t bother him about it, she thought.

  They browsed through videos until they found a stream that caught their interest: a raid happening near the city they had just left.

  Wait, is that the raid GasStar said we were late for? Hoko thought. Now I kind of wish we had gone. Even if that unicorn would’ve killed me in two seconds flat, it looks amazing.

  The raid had just reached the second phase when the unicorn transformed, sprouting wings as massive mural pieces fell around the battlefield. Hoko watched, captivated, until the boss suddenly impaled Sheko, one of the players in the raid.

  She gasped audibly, even though the game’s graphics toned down the violence significantly.

  "Are you okay? Don’t worry," Kurt said, trying to calm her. "No one’s stupid enough to turn on the pain settings. They’d feel weird, but nothing worse than that."

  "Eh, yes," Hoko stammered. "It’s just... I recognized my brother. He’s the one who got impaled by the unicorn just now."

  "Ah, I see. Unlucky," Kurt replied. "Well, don’t worry. Look!" He pointed to the video feed he was sharing with her. "He survived somehow. His team is healing him. Nothing to wor—"

  Kurt stopped mid-sentence as the unicorn dove straight toward Sheko.

  "Okay, I might’ve spoken too soon. He’s definitely dead now."

  The two of them sat in silence, continuing to watch. The rest of the group seemed indifferent to whatever had caught their attention.

  Hoko watched in awe as her brother began dodging the unicorn’s attacks with incredible, superhuman skill.

  This game is amazing, she thought. It lets you achieve such impossibilities. Kai is unfit like me, but here, he could probably beat our old capoeira tutor in 10 seconds flat.

  As this thought crossed her mind, the gem embedded in her hand glowed briefly before disintegrating. In its place, a mark resembling a winged sandal wrapped around a heroic figure’s head appeared on her skin.

  Everyone in the carriage immediately looked at Hoko, then shouted in unison, "Congrats!"

  She was so distracted by the video that she didn’t respond right away. It wasn’t until Kaizo knocked on the side of the carriage to signal the driver to stop that she snapped out of her daze. The rest of the group stepped out, just as the video reached the point where Sheko finally died.

  Kurt gestured for her to get out of her seat. "Wha—what? Are we already there?" she asked, confused.

  "No, dufus," Kurt replied. "We’re almost there, but look at your hand."

  She quickly glanced at her hand and was shocked to see the mark.

  "It awakened," she murmured. "But I didn’t do anything! I must’ve messed up—I definitely did!"

  "Calm down," Kaizo reassured her. "You can’t mess up awakening your Embryo.

  Whatever it is, it’ll serve you well. Now summon it so we can see.

  If it hasn’t manifested itself yet, it probably means it’s too big to fit in the carriage.

  That rules out smaller items like armor or weapons. Who knows?

  Maybe this is a good sign and you got exactly what you wanted."

  Hoko sighed to calm herself before summoning her Embryo. It was surprisingly easy—barely an effort to focus on what she wanted. The mark on her hand glowed, and light began to coalesce into a humanoid form. For a moment, Hoko felt a spark of hope, but as the figure's details became clearer, her expression turned to one of mortified embarrassment. The form was a marble statue of a large man, bearing her brother’s unmistakable features.

  She choked in shock, unable to form words.

  Kurt, ever tactless, broke the silence. "Please tell me there isn’t something weird between you and your brother."

  Pearl immediately facepalmed, and Hoko opened her mouth to retort, but before she could respond, the statue moved with incredible speed. It punched Kurt squarely in the face, leaving him momentarily stunned.

  "Don’t throw out such stupid ideas," the statue said in a deep, stern voice. "She isn’t mad."

  Kurt, nursing his face and testing his teeth with his tongue, muttered an apology. "Sorry, that was stupid of me. I shouldn’t have suggested something so ridiculous. But... what’s the deal with him?" He pointed at the golem, which simply stared at him without making another move.

  GasStar chimed in with a smirk. "You kind of had that coming, Kurt. But seriously, Hoko, what’s the deal with your Embryo? Why does he look like that?"

  He leaned closer, squinting at the golem’s features, as if he’d noticed something but decided not to voice it.

  Hoko, her face still burning with embarrassment, finally managed to find her voice. "It’s nothing complicated. I just really look up to him," she explained quickly. "Come on, Kurt, you just saw him in that video. And in real life, he’s always helping me with stuff. He knows so much about so many things, and he’s always so serious about his studies. He's also very judgmental so any praise from him is at least honest"

  Kurt, now genuinely contrite, apologized profusely, and an awkward silence settled over the group. After a few moments, it was Changeling who finally broke it.

  "Well, what does he do, then?"

  Hoko raised a finger, intending to explain, but froze. She realized she didn’t actually know. Turning to the golem, she asked, "What do you do, really?"

  The golem mimicked Kai’s familiar exasperated sigh before replying, "You can check your character sheet, but if you’re sure you want me to explain, I will."

  He even copied Kai’s annoying habits perfectly, Hoko thought bitterly. Just answer me if I ask.

  She was taken aback when a voice—identical to the golem’s—sounded directly in her mind.

  "I apologize if this tone annoyed you, but you understand you plan to betray this group, right? It would be better if they didn’t know my abilities."

  Hoko blinked in surprise, grounding herself before replying mentally. "How are you reading my mind? Stop that! And I don’t care if they know your abilities—I’m not planning to betray them right away, and keeping secrets now would make me look suspicious."

  The golem finally responded aloud, rather than telepathically, as Hoko had requested.

  "I think my explanation will make the most sense if I first share my name. My full title is Achilles, Eternally Running. I possess only one ability: it allows me to mark a hostile target within range for one minute. During that time, for each attribute I have that is lower than the target’s, I will increase that attribute by half the difference. When the minute is over, I will reassess the difference or switch to a new target. The boost to my attributes persists for one minute after either switching targets or when there is no longer a valid target.

  "Now, while this isn’t technically part of the ability, I recommend you consider picking up a buffing job. The boost I gain is treated as part of my base attributes, which means any buffs applied to me will enhance those attributes as well."

  Hoko frowned slightly, clearly irritated by the unsolicited advice. "Suggestion appreciated, but I think I’ll choose my own build, thank you."

  "That’s entirely your right," Achilles replied calmly. "I simply thought it would be useful to know."

  "Alright, thank you," Hoko said, her tone slightly softer.

  While Hoko and Achilles conversed, the rest of the group observed from a distance.

  "Is it normal for a Gardener Embryo to be so... opinionated about their Master?" Kurt asked.

  Changeling and Pearl exchanged a glance before answering in unison, "No."

  Changeling elaborated, "We’re supposed to assist and support our Masters. An antagonistic Gardener won’t be very effective at that."

  Pearl added, "I agree. Maybe it’s because her Embryo is based on a real person—and an arrogant mythological figure as well?"

  "Well, I hope it mellows out over time," Kurt muttered.

  Kaizo interjected, "Either way, I doubt it will outright ignore her commands, so it should be fine. Besides, it was quick to defend her."

  "Defend her from what?" Kurt asked, confused.

  Kaizo mimicked the golem’s exasperated sigh. "From you, Kurt. You realize how awful it must feel to be accused of that? Speaking of which, how are you holding up?"

  Kurt winced, realizing the weight of his earlier words. "Yeah, I get it now. Your reactions make it clear I stepped way out of line. Let’s just never bring it up again. Honestly, I barely felt that punch anyway."

  Kaizo smirked. "Damn. So, it’s not that strong."

  Kurt raised an eyebrow. "Wait—you were hoping it would knock out a tooth or something?"

  "Well, I mean, you kind of deserved it," Kaizo said with a shrug. "But more importantly, it would’ve been useful if it were powerful. Aside from Changeling, we don’t really have anyone to fight that Master unless you want to tell me you can fight asleep. And, no offense, Changeling isn’t exactly the best combat Gardener."

  "Alright, fine, fair point," Kurt conceded. "So, back to the carriage?"

  "Yes," Kaizo confirmed.

  The group returned to the carriage, now slightly more crowded. GasStar, meanwhile, occasionally shot suspicious glances at Hoko whenever she wasn’t looking.