"You can't randomly break down walls." Anthony scolded Lua, telling him the obvious. "Do your tests outside next time."
And break someone else's wall? Lua lampooned internally, but he couldn't say it out loud. He was feeling quite down.
Anthony sighed and pinched his nose. "The landlord wants 2 shills for the repairs."
And just like that, Lua's day was thoroughly ruined. Not only had he lost respect, he had also lost money. At least he had made a cool weapon, though.
After giving up money and a bit of his self integrity, Lua decided to head to the living room. Victoria had announced a meeting to discuss the next mission with them, and personally, Lua couldn't wait to finally have his input in selecting a mission.
Arriving in the living room, he found the party members gathered around a table. None were sitting down. In the middle of the table was a large map, alongside three pieces of paper around it. As Lua approached the table, he could tell the map belonged to the Kingdom. The map was very detailed, showing all the way down to the smallest of villages. It was a real piece of art.
Victoria gave no mind to Lua's arrival, and began her speech.
"We have three possible quests. I've made sure the receptionists verified the difficulty this time, so it shouldn't be much trouble. We can easily handle these ourselves."
"The first quest takes place in the North, roughly five day's journey. It's in the city of Norgal. The quest is to have us take down a Demon Baron that had started gaining strength at an alarming rate. Estimates show we're more than capable of handling him."
"The second quest is not far from Hunn. It's slightly south, a day's journey. A cave has appeared that is rumoured to have a large dungeon, at a depth of roughly fifty meters. At that depth, most creatures are of easy difficulty."
"The final quest takes place in the border with Armor. Immigration due to the recent war has spiked to unimaginable levels, and the local government is requesting mercenary assistance. That's our furthest destination, going over the Optima Sea to reach Caen. It will take nearly two weeks."
After Victoria explained the situation, the room went silent. They were debating internally. Lua sized up the options, trying to find something that he believed would suit him well alongside the team. He safely eliminated two options, leaving him only one.
Mick began speaking first. "Can we all agree to eliminate option three? It's far too much distance for such a mundane task."
Lua noticed the room had been in agreement, and they debated no further. The options were down to two. Next to speak was Winston, the eyes and ears of the team. He was also one of the most knowledgeable among the members, boasting a high book count.
"We should do the first quest. For a dungeon, my senses are limited in cramped environments, and that will give us a disadvantage."
The agreement was not as high this time around. Among the seven members, only two others agreed with Winston. These two were Anthony and Luna.
Mick chimed into the discussion once more. "Sentient beings are unpredictable, like that wolf. Had Luna been any weaker, we might have been felled by it. The dungeon is the safer option."
Lua noticed that Arc found himself in agreement with Mick, yet refrained from announcing it. Victoria nodded to agree with Mick. The split was 3-2, with Arc and Lua still not sure of their final decisions.
Lua debated the options. A demon.. those are terrifying! One that is also possibly higher level than the one I had fought previously.. it's quite dangerous. The dungeon on the other hand, not much is known about it. All we know is how deep it is and how easy it will be. Victoria didn't explain the types of monsters found inside..
Lua found himself getting closer to one of the options. We might strike it rich if we find something incredible in that dungeon.. Who knows? I could live a lot more comfortably..
Lua decided not to expose his selfish and greedy reasons, and simply agreed with Mick. Arc also chimed in, setting the score to 4-3. Victoria nodded, and announced the triumph of option 2.
"We'll go with the dungeon quest. We'll leave overmorrow, Make sure you're all ready."
Suddenly, Luna voiced her disapproval. She glanced at Lua, but returned her gaze to the group after a short period of time that felt like infinity to Lua.
"This is a bad idea. If you're seeking fame and riches, a dungeon is the worst place for this. Dungeons are unpredictable and violent, and traps are laced all around the space. One misstep could cost us all of our lives."
Mick instantly disagreed with her. "Winston is more than capable of sensing traps."
Luna sighed, failing to change their opinions. Instead, she gave a final remark. "Fine then. Just expect disappointment."
The discussion wrapped up shortly afterwards, but Lua couldn't help but feel he was unprepared after Luna's statements. She had spoken with real concern of their cause, and as an experienced mercenary, Lua couldn't help but feel she had a point. However, on the other hand, Mick and Victoria were also experienced mercenaries. He knew hew could trust their votes.
So, Lua went back to his room. He pulled out a piece of paper, and began scribbling.
He had received a new set of symbols from the gem - more complicated than the last. These symbols really fumbled Lua's brain this time, understanding literally nothing. Unlike the previous symbols, this one lacked the eye of the Lord of Secrets.
The first symbol was once again the documents. The second symbol was a cogwheel, with a rod in the centre. It looked like a shaft that Lua had previously used to transfer rotation energy.
The third symbol was the scythe once more, with an ominous stain at the end. The final symbol was terrifying, however.
It was a humanoid creature, yet Lua could tell from its proportions that it lacked the right to be called a human. It had antlers growing from its head, and it had a back that was bent as if it was a hunchback.