Chapter 17: Back on Track

“And… done.” Lucian snapped shut the small notebook he kept tucked in his breast pocket—a habit he’d picked up from Carlsbad. The merchant swore by it for tracking materials and ingredients, and Lucian had to admit it was useful. Especially for noting down items he couldn’t craft on the spot for customers.

Satisfied, he reached for the glass of cider he’d just poured and stepped outside. A gust of wind greeted him as he spotted Raven standing near the edge of the courtyard, gazing at the open sky. The wind caught her hood, tugging it back and letting her long, brown hair spill free. Huh. Forgot she had long hair. Looks good on her.

Raven turned at the sound of his approach, only for another gust to whip her hair into her face. She let out a small laugh, effortlessly gathering it into a tight bun with quick, practiced movements.

“How are you holding up?” Lucian asked, offering her the cider. She’d earned it. After all, it was thanks to her efforts that they had a fresh lead on a Master Beast.

Raven smiled as she took the cup. “Me? Oh, I’m good. I’m good.” Then, without hesitation, she downed the cider in one go—tilting her head back and draining every last drop. A thin trail of liquid ran down the side of her mouth.

Lucian watched as she hastily wiped it away before handing the glass back. Cute. Like a puppy figuring out how to drink from a bowl.

“Hey,” Raven started, still grinning. “I did tell you that Levy said the Master Beast attacked airships, right?”

“Supposed Master Beast,” Lucian corrected.

“Ah, right. Supposed.” She chuckled. Then, with a sudden shift in tone, she gestured wildly around them. “So… tell me. Why the hell are we on a freaking airship?!”

The massive craft hummed beneath their feet, its sails catching the high-altitude winds as it glided through the sky. They were aboard a commercial airship bound for Whale Hunters’ Wharf—a well-known port city.

Not that the wharf mattered to Lucian. His real destination was a city along the way: Darham. Also known as The Meandering City, Darham was famous for its absurdly winding roads, twisted footpaths, and labyrinthine alleyways. According to his reading, even disability-accessible routes followed the same bizarre, zigzagging aesthetic. And somehow, people were perfectly fine with it.

Lucian had scoffed at the idea at first. “No way people actually tolerate that,” he’d muttered. Yet, despite his skepticism, he had found no records of complaints. No bad reviews. No one had ever spoken poorly of Darham.

Which was why Lucian was mildly disappointed to learn that no recent news had come out of Darham. People were worried, sure—but no one dared get close to the city. The last bit of information had made mention of multiple monster attacks, but that was weeks ago.

Since no one was brave (or foolish) enough to check for themselves, it fell to Darham’s own citizens to provide an update. And because no one had sent any news—not even a distress call—everyone just assumed the city was doing fine. That, of course, only made Lucian more suspicious. If there were rumors of Master Beasts lurking anywhere, Darham seemed like the perfect place to start.

“I knew you were going to be the death of me someday!” Raven finally let out all the nervous laughter she’d been bottling up since they boarded. With an exaggerated groan, she collapsed into the nearest lounge chair—one of many lined up on the airship’s spacious deck.

It was a standard commercial airship, though Lucian found its design surprisingly familiar. Unlike the fantasy zeppelins he might have expected, this world’s airships were more like floating cruise ships.

Multiple decks stacked upon each other. Private cabins and open-air terraces. Luxury amenities designed for leisure.

Their current level—the open promenade—featured rows of lounge chairs facing the sky, perfect for stargazing at night. Just behind them was a lush playing area, complete with real grass, trimmed hedges, and even small insects flitting between the branches.

Beyond that? A beach. On an airship. Complete with a man-made lagoon filled with child-friendly marine creatures. Lucian had taken one look at it and immediately resigned himself to whatever logic (or lack thereof) governed this world.

For the adults, the ship had a gymnasium located by the quarterdeck—just below the gambling hall where he had found Raven earlier. And at the very back of the promenade deck stood the communication tower, marked by a towering antenna. If anything goes wrong, that’s where I’ll need to be.

“Miss, a Berry Coconada, please!” Raven waved down a passing attendant, who happily obliged. Within moments, another staff member delivered her a tall, frosty drink garnished with fresh berries. She took a sip, stretched her legs, and leaned back into the shade before lazily turning her head to Lucian. “You’re a damn masochist for booking this flight.”

Lucian smirked. “You seem pretty relaxed for someone in the middle of a panic attack.”

“Well, I’m not gonna let this experience go to waste!” Raven waved her drink in emphasis. “With Warp Stations and Fast Travel, airship travel has basically become a luxury. Not many people get to enjoy it, so I might as well take advantage while I can.” She tipped back the rest of her drink and sighed contentedly. Then, as if remembering why she was supposed to be mad, she gave him a sideways glare. “I’m still mad at you, though. You literally put me in the line of danger for this.”

Lucian shrugged, settling into his own lounge chair. “You didn’t have to come, you know. In fact, I wasn’t planning on buying a ticket for you at all. You were the one who insisted we upgrade from economy.”

Raven gasped dramatically. “How could you not book a ticket for me?! Don’t you consider me in your plans?! Shouldn’t every major decision in your life revolve around me by now?”

Lucian sputtered. “No! Why should it?”

Raven gave him an exaggerated shrug. “Well, you should,” she said matter-of-factly. “How else is someone like me supposed to make it in this world without the help of someone strong like you?” She leaned in, eyes wide, lips trembling ever so slightly—an attempt at puppy-dog eyes so transparent that Lucian barely reacted.

Still… as ridiculous as she was being, she wasn’t entirely wrong. They’d been through hell together—the Remover, the Dan-gow, and even the cursed Banana-Mama from their first battle. And she had saved his life more than once. If nothing else, she was a valuable asset.

Lucian groaned. “Ugh, fine. I’ll include you in my plans from now on. Just—stop doing that with your face.”

Raven’s serious expression instantly melted into a smirk. She laughed and leaned back, sinking deeper into her lounge chair. Lucian shook his head and closed his eyes, hoping for at least a minute of peace.

He got exactly one minute.

“Actually,” Raven suddenly said, sitting up. “I have another reason for joining you.”

Lucian cracked an eye open. “Oh?”

Raven turned to him, gripping her empty glass. The smirk was gone. “This path you’re on… chasing Master Beast after Master Beast…” Her fingers tightened slightly around the rim. “I know it’ll eventually lead me to the one I’m looking for.”

Lucian blinked. “You’re looking for a Master Beast?” She had to be joking. “You? The same person who begged me to leave the Dan-gow alone so we could live another day?”

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

A second later, something wet smacked him right between the eyes. Lucian recoiled, peeling a damp straw from his forehead.

Raven scowled. “Yes, me. That same lady who did all that.” She huffed, crossing her arms. “But that was before we actually managed to kill one. I thought those things were immortal. But now I know better.”

There was something different in her voice. Lucian had never seen Raven this… serious before. Her usual laid-back, mischievous air was gone, replaced by a steely resolve. Her grip on the glass, the furrow of her brows, the way her gaze didn’t waver—it was the look of someone who had already decided something.

Lucian recognized that look. He saw it every time he looked in the mirror. Stubbornness. Good grief. This is going to be a headache. Still, he couldn’t help but admire the shift in her. It intrigued him enough to prod further. “What exactly happened to you before?”

Raven tilted her head back, letting the wind brush against her face. The airship was open—no balloons, no sails to block the view. Just endless sky stretching out in every direction.

Lucian’s gaze drifted toward the ship’s crystals—the same kind that powered Warp Stations and Fast Travel. He knew little about them beyond their purpose. If I could just get a closer look… If he could examine one up close, he was certain he could figure out exactly how they worked.

“Did you ever wonder why I’m in debt to the Bank of Provera?” Raven’s voice cut through the silence, her gaze still fixed on the sky.

Lucian considered the question. “I did, but I never bothered to ask. If you wanted to talk about it, you’d have brought it up yourself.” Also, because I didn’t really care.

Raven snorted. “What a gentleman.” Lucian smirked but stayed quiet as she leaned back against the chair, her expression shifting. “Well, it all started back when I arrived in Provera… by myself.”

Lucian frowned. “By yourself? I thought your party from the Tutorial was supposed to make it there together?” Unless they died.

“We were supposed to,” Raven murmured. “But one of the party members convinced the others to check out the port cities first. Had some kind of Pirate fantasy, I think.”

Lucian sighed. “Yeah. That tracks.”

“We didn’t know anything back then,” she continued. “Didn’t know the paths, the monsters that could attack us… or the Vakunaua.”

Lucian straightened. “Vakunaua?”

Raven didn’t even let him finish forming the question. “A Master Beast.”

Lucian exhaled sharply. “Figures.”

“We thought it was just another overworld monster.” Raven’s voice darkened. “We soon found out how wrong we were.” She didn’t embellish or build up suspense. She just said it. “It was a massacre.” Lucian stayed silent.

“All of my party members got eaten alive.” Raven’s tone was almost detached, but Lucian caught the tight grip she had on the empty glass. “I was lucky. I fell into the hollow of a tree. Spent two days hiding before finally making my way to Provera.”

Lucian studied her in silence. The way she stared ahead—not broken, but hardened—said more than any tear ever could. She didn’t want pity. She wanted resolve. And maybe… revenge. He nodded slowly. “That’s a lot of hiding.”

“I was terrified,” she admitted. “But I was determined to live. Even when everyone in Provera saw me as a jinx.”

Lucian frowned. “You got labeled as a jinx the moment you arrived?”

Raven scoffed. “Of course I did. Showing up alone was like an omen. Word spread fast. Both the locals and the outsiders started whispering about me. Even the guild refused to help at first.”

Lucian shook his head. “That doesn’t sound like the guild.”

“Things were different back then. There were a lot of new adventurers, even the ones running the guild were fairly new. I don’t blame them for latching onto some superstition to make sense of things.” She took a deep breath. “But there was one party that gave me a chance. Took me in, helped me level up, even let me join their quests. I didn’t want to mess things up like I did the first time, so… I splurged. Took out a huge loan from the bank. Bought the best gear for them.”

Lucian exhaled. “They sound like good people. Who were they?”

Raven stared into her empty glass for a long moment. Then she sighed. “Doesn’t matter now.” She set the glass down and leaned back. “They died. Got eaten up.”

“Wait, you don’t mean…”

“Yup. The Vakunaua. Again.” Raven leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees. “It came out of nowhere. We were deep in the forests near South Town when it swam through the air—just like that.” She made a swooping motion with her hand. “And it was even bigger than before. Stronger, too.” Her fingers tightened into a fist. “The gear I bought my party members? Completely useless.”

Lucian sat up, his expression shifting. “So, you want revenge? You want to get back at the Vakunaua for ruining your life?”

Raven hesitated for a second before shrugging. “Yeah. That… and one other reason.”

Lucian narrowed his eyes. “What other reason?”

Raven smirked, crossing her arms. “It’s rumored that the Vakunaua takes decades to digest inorganic material. It can’t stomach it properly, so it just sits there, rolling around in its belly, basically untouched."

Lucian inhaled deeply, already connecting the dots. Of course. Still a money-grubbing woman through and through. He stood and walked up to her, shaking his head. “Guess that means I won’t be getting rid of you until we kill the damn thing.”

Raven winked and stuck out her tongue. “You’re not getting rid of me ever. We’re a team, after all, right?”

Lucian contemplated that notion for a moment. If I say yes, she’ll never go away. She’s a good fighter… but she’s also a greedy—

“If he doesn’t want to, you can always team up with me, Vespertine.” A deep, gruff voice cut through the terrace.

Lucian and Raven turned to find a crowd of adventurers spilling onto the open deck. At first, Lucian recognized some of them—his customers from the past few days. But they were soon outnumbered by a flood of new faces, each clad in different colored robes, metal-plated armor, and carrying an assortment of oddly shaped weapons.

It was a sea of adventurers. And standing at the back—just past the crowd—Lucian spotted something that caught his attention. A man in a green robe, his entire body concealed save for a single slit in the hood that let him see. Lucian frowned. Wait… haven’t I seen that guy before?

“You’re no jinx in my book!” The booming voice came again, cutting through the noise of the gathering. “You’re always welcome to party up with me!”

Lucian turned his attention to the man making the offer. And what an eye-catching man he was. His shirt—if it could even be called a shirt—was the most bare-chested piece of clothing to ever exist. His trousers, on the other hand, were the complete opposite—comically poofy, gathered at the ankles and tied at the waist with a thick sash. His curled-toe shoes completed the absurd ensemble, but the most striking part of his outfit was his gauntlets—crafted to resemble dragon heads, their open jaws forming the striking surface of his fists.

Raven squinted at him. “Who… the hell are you?”

The man reeled back in offense. “What the—?! You don’t recognize me at all?!” He puffed up his chest dramatically. “I’m Sphyx! The seventh best Martial Artist in the guild!”

That’s a weird thing to brag about.

Raven sighed. “Oh. It’s you.” She didn’t even try to hide her disappointment. Before she could say anything else, Lucian casually raised a hand between them, cutting her off.

“Sorry,” he said smoothly. “But she’s already teamed up with me.”

“Ho, ho! If it isn’t the Beast Killer Blacksmith himself!” Sphyx grinned, stroking the single wisp of hair he was proud to call a beard. “If she won’t join me, maybe you’re looking for someone to add to your roster, eh?”

Before either of them could respond, he let out a loud “Hyup!”—a sound somewhere between a grunt and a war cry—as the crowd instinctively gave him space. Then, moving with exaggerated slowness, he lifted one shaky foot off the ground and struck a series of questionable poses. “I’m not the seventh best Martial Artist in the guild for nothing, you know?”

Lucian leaned toward Raven, whispering, as Sphyx wobbled his way through a form that vaguely resembled Tai Chi. “Why does he keep saying that? Is he really that proud of being seventh?”

“Maybe?” Raven whispered back. “I mean, there are only nine Martial Artists registered in the guild… but he does brag about being the most unconventional.”

Lucian turned back to Sphyx, who was now visibly sweating from trying to maintain his balance. “So what makes you so special, then?”

Sphyx grinned. Slowly, he brought his hands together in a circle and let out a loud, theatrical breath. “While other Martial Artists train their Speed and Endurance, I have dedicated everything—every stat point—to Strength.”

Lucian raised an eyebrow. “That’s it?”

Sphyx smirked confidently. “I may not be as fast, but my fists will crush anyone who catches them!” To demonstrate, he launched a punch—one that moved so slowly that even the casual onlookers could track its path from a mile away. “Nothing easier to capitalize on than an opponent caught off guard, eh?”

“Impressive display.” Lame. Lucian’s gaze drifted past Sphyx, landing instead on the man in green. “But we’ve already chosen who we’ll add to our party.” With a single nudge, Lucian sent Sphyx stumbling—toppling so hard that three other adventurers got caught underneath him in a heap of limbs and exaggerated grunts.

“Hey! That was an illegal push!” Sphyx protested from the floor.

Lucian ignored him, casually striding forward. Raven followed, hurriedly muttering apologies to the annoyed adventurers. They stopped in front of the man in green, who had barely moved through the entire commotion. He only reacted now, tilting his head ever so slightly to look up at them.

Lucian studied him closely. “What about you? Interested in joining our party?”

For a moment, the man said nothing. Then, slowly, he lifted a hand and reached under his hood—scratching the back of his neck in what looked like pure indifference. Lucian’s eyes caught a glimpse of glowing etchings on his skin. I knew it! I saw him the first time I entered the guild.

The man finally dropped his hand, glancing up through the slit in his hood. “Eh, why the hell not?” His voice was casual, almost lazy. “Name’s Ru. No need to introduce yourselves—everyone already knows the famous duo who killed the Dan-gow.”