Hreijinda looked around in awe as she beheld the pale grey corridor Sir Yuulvan had teleported her in. It was an impressive pce, and she was equal parts curious and confused about the lights. It was alien to her senses, in how it seemed to have little magic and how that magic activated them.

  A presence made itself known, and Hreijinda shivered a little as she id eyes upon it. The woman in front of her... wasn't human. She wore a long white coat, and a pair of goggles, but her bearing was almost maid-like.

  There was no wasted energy as she approached Hreijinda and Sir Yuulvan, her movements impossibly smooth and graceful. Hreijinda knew at this moment within her soul that this woman was not someone she wanted to get into a fight with.

  Her bck-sclera'd eyes pierced deep into Hreijinda's soul... and she smiled slightly. "I am Xajymzia," she said. Her voice held no sense of menace, and Hreijinda let out a breath she was holding. "May I have your name ?"

  "Hreijinda.", Hreijinda answered with a slight bow. "Are you the Warden ?", she asked, making sure to have confirmation of the woman's status within the dungeon.

  "No. The Warden sleeps at this time of the morning." Hreijinda raised an eyebrow, taken a bit aback. "But for now, let us focus." The woman in front of Hreijinda was impenetrable, but she seemed to be the businesslike type, so Hreijinda would behave as such in turn.

  "Then, let us begin.", Hreijinda said, and Xajymzia smiled.

  "One st thing first.", Xajymzia said, and she turned around. "Let's show you the facilities, at least those which are relevant.", she said, and Hreijinda nodded.

  The women walked around, and Hreijinda was led throughout the pale grey rooms as Xajymzia expined functioning of the various devices. She had never seen any of those before, and couldn't even imagine where those originated from.

  "Ah, this is... impressive. The Warden set all of this up ? ", Hreijinda said as she looked around at the st of the rooms. She turned to her teacher. "I see why you wanted to do this research here." Her teacher simply smiled enigmatically, but there was a glimmer of pride in his eyes.

  "Yes, she did it yesterday.", Xajymzia answered. "She added a few of those things after our first tour as well, especially the toilets and catering hall."

  "That expins the slight differences.", Sir Yuulvan said. "Frankly, for something she calls an hack job, she did superbly.", he continued, Xajymzia answering by raising an eyebrow, adopting a complicated expression.

  "Speaking of catering...", Hreijinda asked, realizing that it could in fact be a major complication.

  "I shall handle that part.", Xajymzia answered with a smile. "One of the many things I am, and the first of them in fact, is a maid." Hreijinda nodded with a smile, her anxiety fading in turn. It was not just an impression, then.

  "Superb.", Hreijinda said. "We begin when you're ready."

  "Buuuhhhh...", Zoemie said as she woke up. "2 PM. Jeez.". She had stayed te st night, trying to figure out new additions to the hospital wing, including the curse. She rubbed her eyes and shook her head.

  Ultimately, she had decided the old man was right. I don't actually have to give a fuck about what those people do with their second chance. Therefore, she had simply not used any curse on the hospital.

  "Let's go grab breakfast.", Zoemie decided, but she first indulged in a bit of curiosity, using her Warden ability to see how things were going. There were four people in the room. The old man, another not quite as old but still middle-aged man lying in the bed, Xaj, and a teal-haired young woman.

  Zoemie hadn't quite known what to expect from the old man's student, but she was younger and prettier than Zoemie had expected. Zoemie teleported her mask. It didn't react much to the student, and a bit but not much more to the middle-aged man. A bit like that spearwoman.

  "Urgh. Focus. People need to eat." She teleported to the kitchen, and ate her breakfast, her thigh bouncing as she considered what to do. She wanted to game, but at the same time she wasn't sure she wanted to waste that opportunity. It was complicated and frustrating.

  After her routine, Zoemie returned to her bedroom, impatient and jumping in pce. Still working in the hospital wing. The middle-aged man in the bed was now sitting on a chair, and appeared to be doing okay.

  Zoemie took a deep breath and teleported to the bathroom. She needed to get properly dressed. Just in case.

  Hreijinda sat down in the plush chair within the catering hall. It was very comfortable, and she would have liked to have one in her residence as well. They were currently taking a break.

  They had a procedure that seemed to work. It had taken a few false starts, but they were getting there. The thought made Hreijinda boil with energy. They were winning the battle against the curse.

  Xajymzia had proved herself both a gracious host, and very helpful. In fact Hreijinda had been worried she would have nothing to contribute, but it had ended up being not a problem. Teamwork was important, after all, especially when dealing with something as complex as this.

  "Shall we return to it ?", Yuulvan asked, and Hreijinda nodded, opening her mouth. Suddenly, she sensed a presence in the edge of her consciousness. Xajymzia and Sir Yuulvan seemed to notice it as well.

  If Hreijinda was to describe Xajymzia's presence, her aura in a single word, it would be "controlled". Xajymzia's movements were smooth, her personality subdued, if indubitably ferocious against her enemies. She was a calm presence, a steady monolith.

  This one felt like a burning blizzard, a raging windstorm. A juggernaut of a force that nothing could stop once it stepped onto the warpath. "Is the Warden here ?", Hreijinda asked, a bit uneasy, and Xajymzia nodded with a slight smile on her face.

  Hreijinda closed her eyes and took in a deep breath, considering how to introduce herself. A short young woman then came out of a side door, wearing what appeared to be a strange-looking mask. "Heya. How are things going ?", she asked, her voice oddly raspy from such a short and scrawny figure.

  "Excellently.", Sir Yuulvan answered. "We have something approaching a reliable procedure."

  "Superb.", the Warden said, nodding. Hreijinda could feel through the words that the Warden meant it as honest support for their actions, rather than something born out of any sense of personal investment. It was a little strange, but it was sincere.

  "But first, allow me to introduce to you my student.", Sir Yuulvan continued, and Hreijinda smiled, turning her head towards the Warden.

  "My name is Hreijinda.", she said as she stood up. "So it is you who fell 2-7-4 ?", she asked, looking at the Warden. She bore almost no trace of the curse, and Hreijinda was curious. How did she pull it off ?

  "Yeah, well, Xaj helped, but...", the Warden took in a breath, before going to seat herself, Hreijinda following her. Once they were both seated, the Warden started talking again. "So, I didn't even know about that Apocalypse thing, or what it even is. until the old man told me about it.", the Warden started, Sir Yuulvan chuckling slightly behind Hreijinda.

  "So, what happened was that afternoon when he came to the meeting room looking a bit freaked out, and I was wondering if something's wrong, and he told me about that 2-7-4 and the true nature of its curse.", she continued.

  She talks strangely. She spoke quickly, and something about her sounded almost a little off. "And I was like, "Hold on. We can blow it up if that's the case.". So one thing led to another and with Xaj's help we blew it up from range.", the Warden summarized.

  "You knew the true nature of its curse ?", Hreijinda asked, her curiosity piqued by the detail. Sir Yuulvan hadn't told her exactly, and she was fine with it. Knowing Sir Yuulvan, he likely didn't tell her either, which mean she knew before.

  "You didn't tell her ?", the Warden asked to Sir Yuulvan instead, who shook his head and confirmed Hreijinda's hunch.

  "No... Not as a slight against her of any kind, but... It is not my first time dealing with information that could be used in the construction of dangerous weapons.", he expined to the Warden. "To prevent bad-faith actors from using it to their advantage, I have as procedure to keep the details to myself until the countermeasures are spread far and wide enough."

  "Uh. Guess that makes sense.", the Warden responded, more surprised than anything. "But to answer your question, yeah. We were taught the basics of it back in school." Hreijinda rose an eyebrow.

  Interesting... She has been to a school before ? Hreijinda's mind raced quickly through the implications. The bastard or disinherited daughter of a noble family ? Considering her personality and behavior, it seemed the most likely backstory for the young woman, but Hreijinda decided to not trust this judgment.

  She did not have enough information to confirm of its validity, so it was best to not risk it. Instead, she focused on what actually mattered to her. "It's a good thing you took the time to kill it."

  "I had no real beef with it either way." the Warden said, shrugging. "I had the opportunity, so I did it. Simple and easy, just killing a big and nasty monster without getting too involved otherwise."

  "Needless to say, we would appreciate if you respected our privacy.", Xajymzia said from beside the Warden, and Hreijinda nodded.She clearly did not do it for the glory. Hreijinda took a mental note of this.

  "Of course. Besides, I don't even know where we are currently.", Hreijinda answered, and she saw the Warden open her mouth, as if to answer, before closing it instantly. It was a little cute, if Hreijinda was honest.

  "Still, you have my personal gratitude." Hreijinda continued, before taking a deep breath. "I... maybe one day the Cursed Grounds will be fully cleansed, and my vigil will be over. This is not something I expected to happen in my lifetime."

  The Warden's mouth seemed to twist a little, as if unsure how to respond, but it was Sir Yuulvan who took over the conversation. "Neither had I, Hreijinda. Neither had I... But for now, shall we return to it ?"

  Hreijinda nodded, and so did Xajymzia. Hreijinda turned to the Warden. "Will you be assisting us too ?"

  The Warden shook her head. "Urm... no, sorry. I'm not very good at this kind of complicated shit, so I'll let the pros handle it. That said, if you need me to add something to the rooms or whatever, just lemme know."

  The three of them looked at eachother for a short while, before Xajymzia spoke. "Everything is fine for now."

  "Super. Go get 'em."

  Zoemie sat back on the plush couch. It was very pleasantly velvety. She was bothered. Xaj, the old man, and his student were busting their asses off... and here she was doing jack for useful shit.

  Why does that even bothers me so much ? Zoemie wasn't sure, but it sat ill with her. She had grabbed a console she had conjured, and another game cartridge, but wasn't quite pying just yet. I need to grab my ptop...

  That game had never came out in English, so Zoemie used her magic to transte it. If I could dump the ROM I could upload that... But it's not something that actually helps anyone in a way that matters.

  Zoemie sighed. She couldn't help because she had no real knowledge of magic. She just brute forced her way through most issues, but this was clearly something that would not be solved by brute force.

  She closed her eyes. That Hreijinda... she talked about cleaning up some contaminated areas ? "Maybe I can help her with that ?" Zoemie said to herself, before she sighed, put it to the side of her mind and booted up the game. Wonder how she didn't get contaminated herself... Maybe I'll ask her.

  "Wait, how the fuck did I get two of... You know what, whatever, let's just maul the game now." Dunno who came up with the implementations for the metals, but dear god even with the nerfs these things are OP as sin. So Zoemie proceeded to do mostly that, her ptop on the side for information.

  Those downloaded guides were a great idea, but it's not always that clear. The magical transtion wasn't quite the exact same. She simply kept an eye on the on-goings in the hospital rooms, but nothing of note was happening beyond their work.

  Well, other than that it was rather slow. In fact it seemed their procedure took a while. Thankfully, everything was going smoothly, so Zoemie didn't have to worry about it further. Just about the only thing Zoemie could help with is in case of violence, but thankfully everything seemed calm.

  That was nice.

  Hreijinda wiped her brow with her forehead. "Shall we call it a day ?", Xajymzia asked behind her, and Hreijinda nodded in agreement.

  "Yes, let us.", Sir Yuulvan acquiesced as well. She was exhausted. But it was the good kind of exhaustion. She took a deep breath to center herself, and smiled.

  "That was good work.", she said.

  "Indeed.", Sir Yuulvan agreed. "We have something to defeat the curse. It's not quite perfect, but we can iterate on it to make it faster and more practical." Hreijinda nodded. "How many people remain in the sickhouse ?", he asked her.

  Hreijinda folded her arms as she activated the beacon telling her that information. "Hmm... We're about halfway there. A bit less, but we won't have to spend anywhere near as much time again to figure out the solution."

  Xajymzia nodded. "You expect a finish by tomorrow, then ?", to which Hreijinda nodded while going back to the catering hall. Using so much magic took its toll on her, and she was famished.

  "Yes, assuming everything goes well." She opened the door, the Warden looking at them, holding in her hands... something Hreijinda had never seen in her life. "Oh, you didn't leave ?", she asked, and the Warden shook her head.

  "Anyhow, it is time for dinner.", Xajymzia said, as more food appeared out of nowhere. Hreijinda knew dungeons were capable of producing things more easily than just about any other method she knew of, but the sheer refusal of most human countries to exploit it had always baffled her.

  Clearly, not all Wardens were horrible monsters. This dungeon's Warden at the very least seemed like a foul-mouthed and rather strange but nevertheless sincere and almost noble person. Still, Hreijinda was not going to compin at the free meal. Plus, the food here was really tasty. She had never seen any of it before, but it really went down the hatch easily.

  The Warden had put down her strange device, she touched another strange device before closing it like some kind of horizontal door. "Oh, I meant to ask, what are these ?", she asked while pointing at the devices the Warden was fiddling around with before.

  "The one on the desk is called a ptop, while what she is holding is a gaming console.", Sir Yuulvan expined. "Expining exactly what these do is... a bit complex. But these items can only be found in this dungeon."

  Hreijinda nodded as she turned her eyes towards the food. This time it was what appeared to be a big rectangle of veggies covered in... grilled cheese, plus she could make out something within the food. "Oh, spinach sagna.", the Warden said before taking her seat.

  Zoemie generally wasn't one for big dinners, but it was fine here. The food was as usual really good, and silence had mostly fallen over the old man and his student. "So,", Zoemie asked. "What are you guys going to do next, anyway ?", she asked, trying to break the ice.

  "I'll likely start preparing to leave.", the old man answered first, and Zoemie nodded, a bit glum. He had mentioned he was only staying for a while. "I have several extra stops to take on the way, moreover."

  "I shall go back to my vigil, meanwhile, and start cleaning up the Cursed Grounds.", the student answered. "Will you still visit by spring ?", she asked the old man, who nodded. "I shall be gd to show my progress, then."

  "Vigil ? Cursed Grounds ?", Zoemie asked, trying to not sound forceful. She was kind of curious, but at the same time didn't want to pry too deep. She barely knew that student girl, after all.

  "The Cursed Grounds are an area north of my residence that was affected by the curse a long time ago, and I took it upon myself to ensure no one wandered too deeply in.", she expined.

  "So that's where the people in the sickhouse came from.", Zoemie deduced. "But how did they even get in those Cursed Grounds to begin with ?" That makes no sense. Why would you go through an area that's known to be cursed ? "And why are you not cursed either ?"

  "I mostly tend to travel with a flight spell and teleport the cursed people into the sickhouse from range.", the student started to expin, Zoemie nodding. "Some of them were simply normal people escaping or going in the wrong direction, but for the most part... it's the cssic Northerner hobby of trying to prove their worth through recklessness.", Hreijinda answered.

  "Cretins.", Zoemie replied straight away. Now that's one dangerous dick-measuring contest. Don't they have anything better to do anyway ?

  "I mean, you're not wrong, but, have you never wanted to impress someone ?", Hreijinda asked, and Zoemie took a deep breath.

  "Nothing I could do would impress anyone anyways.", she expined, trying to speak precisely and keep her tone calm. "Besides, what few people I'd even want to impress, well, they think dick-measuring contests are dumb." And they're right. The teal-haired woman giggled slightly, Zoemie raising an eyebrow.

  "Fair enough.", the student answered with a smile. She didn't seem particurly offended or trying to make fun of her, but Zoemie was uncertain. In her experience people could turn on a dime when she was involved. "So, what were you doing with your... ptop ?", she asked instead.

  "Gaming.", Zoemie answered.

  The student's mouth opened, but it was the old man who spoke first. "I believe it would be easier if you showed her.", he said to Zoemie, and she considered for a bit.

  "I guess.", Zoemie said. "If you want to, of course.", she added, looking at the student.

  "Sure, why not ? It could be interesting.", the student said with a smile.