Curse of the Bad Blood Dye

The West Gate was always huge and imposing, like all the other gates. Even on holidays, it was never without activity. That morning, horse-drawn carriages, along with wheeled steam engines, had gathered in front of her, passing left and right, carrying goods and nobles.

Nila grumbled about the cold weather despite her dark red coat, which resembled faded autumn leaves. But she was unprepared for the bitter frost. Ovend stood beside her in his dark green coat with a finely patterned pattern, sharing her discomfort. As they watched the morning rush, they wondered together: "Where is Ethan?"

Suddenly, a metallic sound dragged from Arthur's belt as he saluted at close range. No one knew him before; he was the man Ethan had hired only a day before. All they knew about him was that he was an adventurer of some rank.

Ovend quickly realized that this was Arthur, the guide Ethan had described as really tall, tasked with escorting them out of the walls of Azuria Academy. He saluted, gently forcing Nyla to do the same, though she was lost in contemplation of this strange man.

Arthur chuckled slyly as he responded with a simple greeting, the kind used by commoners. He immediately realized that these were the children he would be accompanying, especially after Ethan urged him to carry out a task related to the red onyx flower. He nodded for them to move soon, then walked away as he authorized them to bring a cart to the nearest mountain, where the looted cave was expected to be located. 

Arthur disappeared into the crowd of people coming and going, while Ethan suddenly appeared from behind the big gate, like the rest of the students who were out with permission on their day off. He approached them, panting from the exertion of running, and looked around curiously before giving a casual greeting, apologizing for his tardiness. He carried two steel swords he had borrowed from the training ground: One for himself, the other for Ovind, who is proficient in magic but didn't mind carrying the sword into the cave, where danger lurked.

Ethan asked anxiously: "Did Arthur arrive before me?"

"He arrived a little while ago," Nila replied sharply, "and then he went to get transportation before we left." Then she added, looking at him skeptically: "What do you really know about his rank?"

Ethan answered without hesitation: "Three gold stars."

 Nila and Ovend faces froze; they hadn't expected an unknown adventurer to have such a high rank! Nila wondered aloud: "Does that make sense? Three stars for someone like that?" she continued with a frown, explaining her reasons:

Nila had never felt the flow of mana within her, unlike Ovend and Ethan. Even if Ethan's mana flow was distorted, he at least had a faint pulse, but Arthur... Nyla looked contemptuously and said, "I didn't see any trace of mana in him!" Ovend agreed, knitting his eyebrows in skepticism.

I asked curiously: "How much did you rent it for?"

Ethan hesitated before answering: "Two gold coins."

"That's insane!" Nila exclaimed, then added sarcastically, "You're a fool to pay that much to an unknown man!"

On the continent of Arentia, lack of mana was not uncommon among commoners, but it was seen as a curse from the gods, imposed on a certain class to prevent them from using magic.

Ovend shook his head skeptically: "He must have tricked us!"

But Ethan insisted: "Arthur may not deserve every piece of gold, but the prestige I felt from him alone justifies his three stars!"

Before the argument could continue, they were interrupted by the sound of a rough horn blaring in the distance. They turned to see Arthur, finally appearing on an old turn-of-the-century steamroller, covered with the remains of vegetables and herbs. He seemed to have convinced the reluctant driver to change his route to the nearby mountain for an extra payment, and then motioned for the team to climb into the rickety cart.

They climbed into the rusty vehicle, where the goods and fresh vegetables were piled next to a pile of junk and tools in the back. Arthur found his place in the seat next to the driver, whom he recognized as Falk.

In the back, the boys struggled with the annoying noise of the engine as the vehicle made its way through the crowds of passersby, past the confines of the village of Sahal al-Qarafa. As they drove away, plumes of smoke rose from the small factories scattered on the outskirts.

Little by little, they climbed the mountain road until the great academy of Azoria came into view, with its towering Azureth tower glittering in the north, casting a shadow over Crescent Hall-the hall that shines brightest during the festivities. But it will shine even brighter in the coming days for the Crimson Full Moon Celebration, the 130th anniversary of Azoria founding, according to the Crimson Moon cycle, which coincides with its full moon.

Nila gestured to Ovend and Ethan with a smile, as if to draw their attention to the scene unfolding before them...

Arthur enjoyed the sound of the old radio, which was playing Iredale, a popular singer from the capital, as it did every night. He concentrated on the sweet music despite the poor radio's distortion, ignoring half of Falk's speech, as he complained about the high prices, his wife and seven children, as well as his old mother to take care of.

In the back, Ethan swayed involuntarily as the vehicle shook from the bumpy road, trying to hold steady, gripping the hilt of his sword tightly. This went on for twenty minutes, during which time he looked very uncomfortable. Nila, on the other hand, showed no emotion, perhaps because she was more accustomed to uncomfortable journeys than Ethan and Ovend , for whom this was their first difficult experience... Or so she thought. Maybe because they are noble?

Despite the difficult paths through the forest, they finally ended up at their destination... not exactly where they wanted to go, but a little further. Falk told them about his fear of approaching the caves and encountering mana monsters and demons, so he bid them farewell before leaving, leaving them alone in the heart of the forest.

Arthur is now with the children, doing his part in the search for the red agate flower.

They walked for a quarter of an hour, with Arthur humming an old song, and the group behind him, who didn't complain about the distance... except for Nila, who was beginning to show signs of exhaustion, with sweat on her forehead. Ethan noticed and helped her along the way until they finally reached their destination.

Arthur knew that from this point on they had to be careful; this was a cave that had been looted repeatedly, and yet, the demons always liked to come back. So, they had no hope of finding any precious treasures or the like. Despite their complete lack of trust, everyone relied on Arthur's expertise, especially since he had no magic.

At the ancient entrance to the ancient cave, Arthur paused, then smiled slyly and said:

"A long time ago, I went with a copper-ranked adventurer, a young boy only a few years older than you, to his first ever cave... despite his inexperience, we traversed it together and he fought hard... but he wet his pants in front of me!"

Arthur chuckled as he remembered the name "Little Orlick". No one else laughed, but Ethan smiled as he recalled how the same thing had happened to him once when he was the guard dog of one of the Vermouth Knights.

Without realizing it, they were deep inside the cave, which looked like an ancient cave decorated with luminous stones, with little to no market value. Despite the coldness of the place, Arthur did not hesitate to advance, especially after he came across some small plants infused with mana, with therapeutic benefits. Nila sat nearby, picking them with interest, with the help of Ovend, who seemed unhappy about it, but had no choice.

Ethan then stood next to Arthur, who was relaxed, smoking his cheap cigarette nonchalantly. Without preamble, Ethan asked if the gendarmes had given him that scar on his chin.

Arthur chuckled, answering:

"Yes, I dared to duel him that day after he offended his masters in a casual encounter in the middle of the road, when it was raining in the skies of the Iron Plateau City as if everything was just a misunderstanding."

Arthur told him how tough that guard was, emphasizing that he was a true monster, but he didn't let him survive without a scar. Then he added in a sarcastic tone:

"If you want to know the whole story, you can ask him yourself when you meet him."

Ovend finally waved to continue, after he and Nila finished collecting the plants she was planning to sell later to Quddis.

Arthur smiled faintly within the cavern's recurring crack, admiring Nela's business mindset.

At that moment, Ethan sharpened his sword when he sensed something strange... He wasn't the only one who felt this slight pressure coming from above.

Arthur grinned wryly, as five huge wings, spanning a meter and a half in length, rose above them, their red necks flexing ferociously.

Ovend froze in place, clutching his trembling sword as he involuntarily pulled Nila behind him, trying to shield her from the oncoming danger.

Arthur explained excitedly: "Red-necked bats... kings of the roofs of dead caves!" Though he didn't expect to come across so many of them during this time.

He signaled Ethan and Ovend to retreat as he stepped forward. Nila showed her concern; Arthur had no magic, and could die in seconds to the red-necked, silver-starred bats.

Still, Arthur chuckled as he walked beneath the flying swarm, ignoring the shrill warning sounds.

From his brass belt, he pulled out a heavy metal pistol and quickly fired two shots into the air, causing the swarm to instantly disperse. Steam rose from the muzzle as Arthur drew another pistol in his left hand, ready for the next attack... The bats rushed in from left and right!

 Arthur shone in the center, firing two heavy bullets. The first pierced the wing of one bat, while the other flew the head of another bat away, leaving its body motionless. At the same moment, the ammunition canisters fell in perfect synchronization with the gunfire.

Arthur didn't move, but smiled confidently. "Two down... Three remain. Correction, only two... The third one got closer than he thought, and took a bullet directly into his skull." Arthur jumped skillfully, covered in drops of blood, his smile still painted on his face.

Ethan was stunned by his unique style of fighting, using only two pistols, apparently, each with eight rounds of ammunition.

In the sky, the two giant bats juggled before landing intermittently, ready to tear Arthur and everything around him apart. But he cleverly dodged them, running alongside one of them before firing a shot into its wing, sending it staggering. He caught him before he could get up, and gave him one last shot, putting him to sleep... without sweet dreams. 

Arthur did it. He got rid of the swarm, leaving only one last red-necked bat. It looked like it was going to scurry away, but instead, it landed suddenly, clotted blood dripping from it, heading towards Neela and Ovend!

Ethan quickly followed, pulling his sword from his belt, trying to cast a spell from afar, but it faded within seconds, as his bad blood color caused a near disaster for his two friends.

The thirsty bat was fast, and about to devour Ovend... until he heard the "melody of death. until he heard the "death note." Arthur's explosive shot rang out, piercing straight through his heart. The bat's body shook violently before it fell motionless, coming to a complete stop at the feet of Ovend and Nila, who stood stunned, breathless at what they had just seen.

Arthur repeated his statement with a cold smile: "As I told you before, demons always like to return to dead caves."

 He turned around and saw Nila frozen in place... She was completely in awe, perhaps of him