"Oi, Adrian! Catch!"
A red-haired man tossed a low-tier mana crystal toward me. His name? Roderick. A swordsman in his late teens, clad in light armor. He's also the leader of our little group, the "Blood Wolf" Party. Seven members, all gathered by chance.
Veryn, our assassin moves like a shadow. Twin daggers in hand, she fights with blinding speed. No one's seen her real face, but she's earned her spot through sheer skill.
Elara, our mage, is small but deadly. Amethyst eyes, light pink hair, wrapped in deep blue robes. The staff she wields is nearly her size. Ancient languages, history, spells—you name it, she knows it.
Marla, our healer. Holy magic, buffs, purification, you'd think she'd be fragile, but she can handle herself just fine. Against the undead? She's a nightmare.
Kleines, the tank. A walking fortress with a tower shield as big as him. I still have no idea how he moves in all that heavy armor.
Frey, the newbie. Well, we're all new—this party only formed last week. But she joined us today. A wandering knight, a rapier wielder, and somewhat famous. She pulled some strings to tag along for this one dungeon run.
And then there's me. Adrian. The porter.
We came together by chance. But after this job, we'll each go our own - Adrian didn't get to finish his inner monologue
"The heck are you mumbling, you stupid bastard? We can hear you loud and clear," Elara scoffed, flipping her oversized hat back dramatically. "Are you seriously narrating your life like you're the protagonist of a novel? 'Strong in our own way' my ass. Who had to save you when that minotaur chased you down Azure Mountain? And let's not forget—you grabbed poor Veryn and used her as a human shield!"
Veryn, who had been silent until now, tensed up.
"It was a survival instinct!" Adrian argued.
"Instinct!? I still have nightmares! Do you know what it feels like to be face-to-face with a two-ton, raging slab of beef!?" Veryn snapped. "I can't even walk past a butcher shop without breaking into a cold sweat!"
The entire party exploded with laughter.
"Okay, okay, but what about you, Rod?" Adrian deflected, pointing at their red-haired leader. "You're the one who ran into a goblin camp screaming 'I GOT THIS' and then immediately tripped over your own sword."
Rod's face twitched. "That was one time-"
"And then they used your own sword to stab you!"
"THAT WAS A TACTICAL ERROR!" Rod shouted over the laughter. "At least I don't try to poison the party with my cooking!"
"Poison?" Adrian scoffed. "What are you talking about?"
Rod crossed his arms. "You remember those weird blue mushrooms we found in Dark Forest? You said they were safe!"
Adrian blinked. "Wait... you ate those? That was bait for catching Blue Bears!"
Rod's eye twitched. "It was!?"
Adrian turned to Marla. "Didn't you tell them not to eat it?"
Marla replied with a smile that almost reach her eyes. " it might have slipped my mind"
Rod's face twisted in horror. "You bitch!"
Marla burst into uncontrollable laughter, barely able to stand.
"Wait, wait, wait—" Elara gasped between laughs. "Rod, what exactly happened after you ate it?"
Rod rubbed his temples. "I don't remember! One minute I was fine, the next, I was standing on a table in the tavern, passionately reciting an ancient elven love poem I didn't even know I could read!"
The group roared with laughter again.
"Oh my gods," Kleines wheezed, clutching his stomach. "Wait—so that's why the elf waitress kept sending you free drinks afterward?"
Rod paled. "Oh… no."
Veryn, still curled up in a traumatized ball, weakly muttered, "Minotaurs and cows are different…"
The moment she said it, the party collapsed into fresh waves of laughter.
Frey watched. Quiet. Smiling..
This party… their bond was real. Warm. Laughter, insults, memories. They were like family.
If only my own family were like that.
Human life is fragile, but that's what makes it matter. She once wanted to live like them. To belong. To laugh.
But that was a delusion.
Frey gave up on such dreams long ago. She avoids connections. They always end. No matter how much you cherish someone, they slip through your fingers. In the end, she was powerless against fate.
And fate…
She wrote it herself.
Even as they laughed, she could see the truth.
Beneath their normalcy, the Blood Wolf Party was marked by destiny.
Disciple of the sword saint,
Daughter of the tower master,
One of the three saintess candidates,
Daughter of the Assassin Queen
and grandson of the Earthshaker.
Five of them were tied to the strongest people in the world.
That wasn't necessarily good news.
"The stronger the fate, the tighter the chains."
They would be dragged into the coming storm. The connections they carried to the Seven Powers of the World would ignite the flames of war.
But there was one anomaly.
A young porter.
Adrian.
His fate was so weak that Frey could barely see him. Like he didn't belong.
A name that reminded her of someone long dead. A man who she once placed all her hopes on.
He was the heart of the party.
That heart would be crushed soon.
This party won't make it past the lower floors.
Most of them will meet their end. And the ones who does survive , will not leave this city alive.
Tonight, starting from midnight, Vermaris will burn.