“What the hell is this?!” Hazel nearly yelled, glaring at the panels.

  Out of all things, she didn’t expect to get put under some curse. Especially a curse with such a terrifying description. The five stages of Spider Queen’s mark were rather disturbing, if not absolutely terrifying.

  Not only was it implicating that the spider queen could sense Hazel’s presence while under the effects of the mark, but it also stated that she would be sending her children to try and kill her. And each stage would end up being worse than the last until she hit the final stage. The fifth stage was where the spider queen was going to leave her little nest and hunt the culprits responsible for the deaths of her children, including the sentinels.

  Just what kind of sick joke was this? First, she disturbed a spider’s next on accident when testing her Entropy spell, and now, after finally getting rid of the swarm and sentinels chasing them, she got cursed by the queen? And as soon as she finally got back home? She didn’t even know the nest was there or what was going to happen with her Entropy spell when she used it. How could she get cursed for this?

  Hazel really couldn’t catch a break.

  And it only got worse from there...

  “Looks like you got the same panel, huh?” Zoe called out to the witch.

  Hazel shifted her gaze from her panel to the knight, who simply stared at her with a neutral yet sympathetic expression.

  “Wait...are you saying that you too...?”

  Before she could finish her sentence, Zoe glumly nodded with an exhausted smile. “Yes, it seems that I’ve received the spider queen’s curse as well.”

  Hazel stood there for a moment, processing the Knight’s words before letting out a pained groan. Just as she was about to say something, the other players jumped in.

  “I am under the curse as well,” The mage stated, raising her hand as if wanting to answer a question.

  “Same here,” The Brawler, Kane, jumped into the conversation.

  And lastly...

  “So am I.”

  Hazel rapidly spun her head to face the one person she didn’t expect nor wanted to get involved in this curse deal: Astrid. As she declared that she received the messages as well, she calmly stared at Hazel with a neutral expression, barely displaying any emotions to warrant her current feelings like anger, indignity, etc.

  Seeing that her partner got involved in this mess, Hazel could no longer bear it and buried her face in her hands. As she did, a long and exasperated sigh escaped her mouth. The noise was slightly muffled by Hazel’s hands covering her mouth, but the other players, including Astrid, could still hear the witch expressing her vexation regarding their current situation.

  So, it wasn’t just one person currently under the curse of the spider queen, but all five of them? Hazel could already imagine the kind of chaos that they were about to endure after everything they went through just now.

  ...

  After everything that happened, Zoe the Knight offered Hazel and Astrid a ride to their current hideout. At first, the pair declined, and by the pair, it was mostly Astrid who refused the invitation while Hazel simply followed along.

  However, after a bit of convincing, along with the looming threat of being within the Spider Queen’s range for her to sense their presence, the dark elf and witch reluctantly accepted Zoe’s offer. After accepting it, everyone, including them, made their way over to the military transport vehicles and soon made their way over to the base.

  “So, did you two just finish your dungeon?” Kane asked abruptly, sitting from across Hazel and Astrid.

  “Kane!” The mage hissed at the brawler for being nosy.

  “What? I’m just curious! Aside from us and a few others we ran into, they’re one of the few players who not only finished their dungeon early but also achieved a Class Evolution. Doesn’t that mean they’re strong?”

  Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

  “That doesn’t matter! You shouldn’t pry into other people’s business!”

  “I just wanted to know what their dungeon was like compared to ours!”

  “That still doesn’t-!”

  “Our dungeon was apparently a Fractured world,” Hazel interjected, deciding to answer Kane’s question.

  The two players, who were once fuming in each other faces, now turned to face Hazel with widened eyes, clearly not expecting her to actually tell them. Hazel found this a bit confusing since Kane clearly wanted to know. Maybe it was because she readily told them without giving them too much resistance. She felt that could be the case.

  “A Fractured...world?” Kane tilted his head in confusion.

  Hazel nodded. “Yes. The dungeon was called a Fractured world. A place that used to be like ours, but never for some reason ended up like that.”

  While the witch did plan to tell the group certain things, she had no intentions of confessing to everything. And...it wasn’t like Hazel planned to answer their questions without having some of her questions answered.

  [Astrid Skogr: Are you sure about answering?]

  Hazel spared a glance at her dark elf companion after reading the message using her Astral Eyes. While sitting next to her, Astrid’s arms were crossed as she stared out of the vehicle, clearly keeping her distance from the humans. She didn’t say a word after getting in the vehicle and simply minded her own business as they drove over to their base.

  [Hazel Thatcher: Right now, we need answers, and they’re our only source of communication at the moment.]

  [Astrid Skogr: They could easily lie to you, you know.]

  [Hazel Thatcher: Which is why I plan to take their words with a grain of salt and only tell them the bare minimum of what they want to know.]

  This wasn’t Hazel’s first rodeo when it came to infiltrating the group and gathering information. She did the same thing with those players back in the dungeon on the City Island. Of course, she knew better than to compare those idiots to these people. Especially the Knight.

  Hazel shifted her Astral Eye over to face the knight who was currently talking to another player. Unlike the Brawler or Mage, the player conversing with Zoe was wearing modern military attire, which meant he was from Earth as well.

  This begged the question regarding Zoe. Was she from Earth or Meine?

  [Hazel Thatcher: Hey, do you think Zoe Callahan is from your world?]

  [Astrid Skogr: Why do you believe that?]

  [Hazel Thatcher: Her demeanor, I guess? She seems a bit more experienced in fighting, like you.]

  Honestly, it wasn’t just her demeanor that caught Hazel’s attention but also the atmosphere around her. She didn’t feel like she could be someone from Earth. The way she spoke, the way she talked, they felt different than how someone from her world would act, even if they were currently commanding a group of players.

  [Astral Skogr: Well...considering her name, she could be from the Callahan Family.]

  [Hazel Thatcher: The Callahan Family?]

  [Astrid Skogr: They’re a Family of Knights in the Briarhart Kingdom. From what I heard, the founder was given Knighthood as a reward for protecting the current King at the time during some coup that happened in the castle. I don’t know much other than that. Except...]

  [Hazel Thatcher: What?]

  [Astrid Skogr: ...it’s nothing.]

  [Hazel Thatcher: It sure didn’t sound like nothing.]

  [Astrid Skogr: I said forget it, alright?]

  [Hazel Thatcher: Alright, fine. Have it your way.]

  Pulling her attention away from the chat room, Hazel kept her Astral Eye trained on the Knight, curious about her origins. Suddenly, Zoe turned and faced Hazel, nearly making her jump in response. For a moment, the witch feared that she knew she was being watched.

  “How are your eyes, by the way?” Zoe asked Hazel. “Kane said before that they were bleeding.”

  Hazel maintained her composure, keeping herself from getting flustered. “They still sting a bit, but they are more or less fine.”

  “Will you be able to see soon, then?” The knight inquired.

  Hazel shook her head, looking a bit depressed. “Sadly, no. I’m blind. But it wasn’t from the spider attack. This was from before.”

  “Like back in the dungeon?” Kane asked suddenly, prompting the mage to kick his leg in response while glaring at him.

  From how the mage was acting, she clearly believed that the subject was a sore spot for Hazel. Realizing this, it was better to lean on that idea rather than to reveal one of her trump cards in case things go south. Plus, she might be able to gain some sympathy from the group, making it easier for them to open up.

  “Yes, I did lose my sight in the dungeon,” She answered Kane’s question. “Of course, talking about how I lost them is a bit difficult to answer.” She gave them a somber smile, doing her best to play her part.

  Only one of them saw through her act...

  [Astrid Skogr: Looks like you’re performing another act, huh?]

  Hazel didn’t bother replying to Astrid’s comment, not wanting to give her the satisfaction of giving a response.

  “You don’t have to tell us if you don’t want to,” The mage told Hazel.

  “Thank you for your consideration,” Hazel nodded.

  Now that she discussed her eyes taken care of, it was time to ask some questions about these people and what exactly happened to their world.