[IC] Labyrinth

[Dawn]

Around the time when Amanda entered the first floor of the Labyrinth and bore witness to a pair of humans in front of a Goblin corpse, Alexander gave his introduction to Senna.

Sadly, before the newcomer could greet the two already present, and before Senna could offer a reply, a high-pitched though strangely guttural growl came from deeper within the tunnel of the first floor. The humans present would only have a few moments after turning towards the source of the noise before they appeared.

From around the corner where the tunnel curved to the right, two existences appeared, drawn by the death cries of their fallen comrade. Wielding the same trash-tier blades as their compatriot had, they ran forwards at Alexander and Senna. A pair of Goblins and a pair of adventurers, several meters apart with the distance rapidly closing.

They're Goblins. This hopefully shouldn't be much of a fight.

[As a result of Senna Small-stalk's battle, the "Goblin" Lexicon section has been updated.]

[KarinRobo]

Lynn gazed out the open window of her room. It was about 7 am in the morning, too early for her parents to be up (they were getting old, after all), and the servants were most likely busy preparing breakfast. Now would be the perfect time to sneak out and join the rest of the crowds at the guilds. Today would be the day. She did a quick look over of all her possessions: Bag, check. Money, diary, Adol, check. Aria's staff...oops, almost forgot that underneath the bed. Check.

After a few more moments of contemplation, though, Lynn decided that sneaking out from the 2nd-floor window wasn't going to happen. Aria had done it plenty of times, but Lynn never had the courage to follow. She'd have to make do with the back door. Making sure to close the latch to her room behind her quietly, Lynn tip-toed past her parents' room and let out a sigh of relief as she made it down the stairs and to the back door. She placed her hand on the doorknob, ready to set foot into the outside world, and slowly turned it until–

"It's unusual to see you see you up this early, Miss Lynn. Planning an outing, nevertheless. Is there some sort of business you must attend to? Perhaps I could take care of it in your stead."

Lynn visibly jumped in response to the voice, turning around to find that it was just Agatha, one of the Loxaerion family's longest-serving maids. She in particular had always been close to the two children, acting almost as a secondary mother figure. Lynn gave Agatha a small smile and shook her head.

"No, but thank you. I'll be fine. I was just thinking about how it'd be nice to get some fresh air for a change," Lynn replied, nodding half in an attempt to convince herself that this was the truth.
"I see." From the tone of her voice, Agatha clearly didn't believe a word of it. "Please take care not to get swallowed by the crowds. Today is the opening of that Labyrinth, after all."
"I will," Lynn said as she opened the door once more, catching a glimpse of the maid curtseying her farewell as she closed it behind her.

And out into the streets she went.

The first thing Lynn noticed was how out of place her appearance was. Maybe it was just her self-consciousness at work, or her unfamiliarity with the town, but most passerby on the streets wore clothing that seemed a little, well, shabby. It's not that the clothes she wore were out of date, or looked bad or anything—she trusted her sister, who picked them out for her—but they positively reeked of nobility. Still cute, though. Thankfully, her No Presence ability canceled the effects of this out, so she didn't attract any attention.

Around half an hour later, Lynn finally arrived at the academy of Heka, waiting in line for another ten minutes until it was finally her turn. Right before she walked up to the front gate, though, she stopped and hesitated. What should she say? Should she have brought a gift, or an offering or something? What if the God didn't like her? Or, worst case scenario, what if Heka recognized her as the sister of the girl who snuck into the Labyrinth, and struck her down in a bout of fury? Okay, no, let's just start from step one, introductions. How are you supposed to greet a God? Would a simple 'Good morning!' suffice? 'Good day to you'?

Oh, screw it. Dying at the hands of a God would probably be better than dying at the entrance of the Labyrinth. Probably. Lynn knocked on the door thrice and timidly pushed it open.

[Zombehs]

His eyes naturally found the latest adventurer to enter the Labyrinth, but there wasn’t time for him to do much else before a monstrous sound drew his attention in the opposite direction. “Get back,” he warned the archer next to him as his eyes narrowed to try and pick out what creatures lurked in the darkness. It couldn’t have been long, maybe a few seconds, before the pair of goblins rounded the corners and charged towards them.

Having seen the corpse of one, he wasn’t too surprised by their appearance but could only think, ‘Damn they’re ugly.’ Still, if a ranged fighter could take one down even when it closed the distance then did he not have to meet the two without question? Ares would probably think so, and thus he took a single step forward and settled into a defensive stance.

Hopefully the girl had listened and was ready to loose an arrow when an opening presented itself, but Alexander didn’t overly concern himself with that for the moment as he braced himself against the monsters with a smile. The creatures might have been stronger than a regular human, but they could only weigh so much for their size. With his strength it should be easily possible... Shield braced to bash one aside and hopefully leave it vulnerable for the archer, he prepared to parry the other creature’s attack with his blade, ideally in a manner that would force it back and open it to counter-attack.

[Yuri]

Nodding, Senna kneels down before the Goblin's corpse. "My na-"

She's interrupted.

Two Monsters, attracted by their comrade's death cries, come charging from further on in the Labyrinth. Clicking her tongue slightly, Senna lets go of the handle of her throwing axe and takes a step back, letting Alexander move ahead and block the Goblins' advance.

She didn't need to be told what to do next. Reaching behind her, she holds her bow steady and brings out another arrow, watching the unfolding battle for a good shot. Since she was already ready to strike, when Alexander begins to initiate their combo attack, she caught the timing precisely.

"Ha!"

She sharply exhales, and at the same time, lets her arrow fly in the direction of the Goblins. Her target: The Goblin that Alexander attempted to shield bash. Once again, her target was the Goblin's center of mass, although with the way the Goblin was moving, it was very possible that she would score a headshot.

Or not.

Regardless of whether her shot connected or not, Senna quickly readies a second arrow, preparing for her next shot in advance. There was no way she was letting herself be caught off guard again.

[Dawn]

Upon Lynn's entrance to the room in which Heka currently was, the God turned from a small, transparent gem that she held between two fingers to the girl, putting on a rather prim smile.

"Ah, welcome, young one. I am gla-"

The smile disappeared.

Heka cut herself off, her expression drawing into itself as she analyzed the individual before her. "I...do not recognize you, I am sorry to say." She stated with no small trace of confusion, her hand that was not holding the gem holding itself out in front of her body, the palm facing Lynn. A mere instant later, a soft blue orb of light emanated outwards from her palm, flowing towards, into Lynn. The aspiring Guild member would feel a strange sensation, something akin to the eyes of an observer scanning her along the very core of her being, only for the sensation to fade a scant few seconds later.

The confusion on Heka's face was replaced by understanding as she stood up from her seat, nodding. "Ah...I see, then. You are the sibling of the traitor, and you wish to enter the Labyrinth for yourself." She stated curtly. "As that is the case, I will ask you a question. Do not attempt to deceive me, as I will certainly be able to notice such. However, I wish to hear this in your own words. Should I find your answer satisfactory, I will permit you to join my Guild as you so desire. Should I not, you will leave this place, and likely try your luck elsewhere." She explained, pausing for a moment to clear her throat before speaking back up.

"What is your goal in living? What is the purpose you seek to accomplish?"

---

Alexander's increased combat efficacy as a result of being in Ares Guild did in fact help to bring his agility just short of that of a Goblin, closing the gap in their reaction time almost completely. While this was ordinarily not enough to let him simultaneously deal with two Goblins, the initial distance between the two parties also helped.

As a result, between his time to prepare as the Goblins charged, and his agility that was barely below that of a Goblin's, both of his moves ended up being successful.

Goblin1 was struck at with a shield, and in a moment of tactical brilliance decided to bring up its sword to mitigate the blow. Using a sword to block a shield, truly this was a genius among Goblins.

This block didn't work very well. Goblin1's sword cracked slightly under the colliding forces, while the Goblin himself was pushed back a bit. At least he didn't get whacked in the head, right?

Right.

'Cause instead he got arrowed through the chest.

He slumped over.

He's dead.

...

Goblin2 fared a bit differently. His blade collided with Alexander's, at which point the notable gap in strength between the two forced the Goblin back. The low-class monster seethed as it withdrew its blade from the bladelock, as damage would certainly occur to it before it occurred to Alexander, and then abruptly launched a counterattack: a stab at the male's chest, with all the appreciable-but-still-pretty-bad speed of a standard Goblin.

Do your best, Goblin-kun.

[KarinRobo]

As the strange glowy ball flew towards her, Lynn's nervousness quickly turned to panic and then fear, and she backed up a few steps, squeezing her eyes shut. By the time the process was finished, she was ready to burst into tears. As she felt the sensation subside, she slowly opened her eyes, surprised at how she wasn't dead. While listening carefully to what Heka had to say, she turned her gaze from the ground over to the God's direction - this would be first time Lynn had actually seen a God, and Heka's presence certainly was powerful. Not to mention how she was also stunningly beautiful, except now was definitely not the time for that. Still, she found herself able to calm down a little.

And then the question. The question not unlike the ones everyone Lynn knew had been asking her for years - What do you want to do? Are you going to find a husband? Will you take up your parents' duties once they grow old? Each time, she had the same answer: I don't know.

But there was no way Lynn could answer that right here and right now, in front of probably the most powerful being she would ever meet in her life. She stood there in thought for what seemed like an eternity, took a few deep breaths to calm herself, and finally answered:

"I...I want to become someone who can stand on her own feet. To be able to prove to my parents and everyone else—and to myself—that I'm more than just someone who couldn't live up to her sister's legacy. After that...to be honest, I still do not know. But I want to fight for what I believe in and for those I care for. So, please, lend me your strength...! I promise I'll find some way to repay you, so please..." Her voice trailed off into silence as she anxiously awaited the greater being's response.

[Double Capybara]

Amanda was curious to see what was happening in front of her but she was neither crazy or courageous enough to walk too close to the battle. First she saw the other two adventures, two simpletons she guessed, but they looked nice enough and it was always lovely to have someone else between monsters and her, the odd creatures were in front of them it was a bit neat to finally see the kind of things she would face from now even if whatever came next would probably be more intimidating than the two whatevers.

One of the creatures fell quite easily, the other actually managed to attack. Her hand was already in her rapier and she could try to attack the creature, the problem was the chance of also hitting the man's leg, the blade was long and meant for piercing, even with finesse it would probably encounter a leg or two in its route, which probably would make him angry enough to try to kill her, or even worse, to try to sue her.

With a sigh she kept her sword in its sheath, surely the chance to try out her weapon would come eventually.

[Zombehs]

He grit his teeth as his shield smashed into the creature’s weapon and with a roar, he pushed his blow through the shoddy guard and threw the creature back. The sharp whistle of a loosed arrow and subsequent gargle as the creature choked on its own blood let him focus his attention solely on the remaining creature. Though far stronger than a creature its size had any right to be, the goblin seemed to understand it didn’t stand a chance in a challenge of strength against him.

Rather than bring back the shield to his chest given the other creature’s attack was already made, Alexander took a step back with his right foot to help twist his body to the right. Naturally this meant his left hand which held the shield swung in front and blocked the sword’s tip. Course he wasn’t just satisfied with receiving the attack and as such lashed out with his left foot at the creature’s lower body. With a kick strong enough to shatter bones now, it wouldn’t be surprising if the creature had its legs completely swept in the air. From there it’d be child’s play to bring his blade down and end its life.

[Fish of Oblivion]

By the time Vincent had gathered the bulk of his remaining supplies into a more portable form and pulled together the appropriate apparel for what might be waiting for him, the streets were already beginning to fill with people curious about what was happening. By the time he'd left and made it halfway to the guild, the path to Thoth's guild was awash with an excited crowd.

Privy to speed and instinct that greatly exceeded those in the crowd, Vincent was able to make the full use of skills he'd collected over a decade or so of quick getaways. Weaving his way through the crowd with whatever openings he could find, and being careful to keep a tight grip on the case in his hands, it only took him a matter of minutes to clear the most densely-packed of the hundreds of meters before him.

Once he'd made it through to the point that the independent zone was in clear view, with the Thoth Guild just visible besides the hulking form of Ares' Colosseum, it took even less time to clear the remaining crowd. It didn't hurt that those brazen enough to come this close to the territory of the Gods were more inclined to head towards the grander sights in the zone; once Thoth's abode was in clear view, practically no-one remained to slow Vincent down.

When he reached the face of the alchemical laboratory, he reminded himself that he'd been summoned; and so, he reached out to see if the door was open.

It was.

Without any further delay, Vincent pushed his way through, carefully closing the door behind him as he went.

[Dawn]

At Lynn's answer, Heka's expression seemed to fold into itself slightly, the God musing to herself silently for several seconds. "...I see."

Heaving out a slight sigh, she raised her arm back up, palm outstretched towards Lynn once more. A pale blue light seemed to coalesce in the air directly before her hand, and then flowed forwards to make contact with Lynn. The light flowed through her, into her. It felt different than the orb mere seconds ago had, an almost perverse scan of the core of her being by something Other. Rather, upon entering her, this light changed, melting into Lynn's being. It felt like something natural, something right, the regaining of something lost.

And then the power.

She would likely stagger a bit at the initial shock, her perception suddenly changing. The world suddenly seemed to move at a slower rate than it had before, and yet, there was no disorientation at this new fact; it was as if she had always been this way. Power filled her limbs, power beyond what a human had any right possessing. It was different, it was right, it was hers.

Retracting her arm, Heka stepped forward, shrinking the distance between the two of them, and smiled. This was something different than how she had reacted when Lynn had first entered; it was more...full, more genuine.

"I welcome you to my Guild. As a member, you must follow my instructions when given. Though I am no tyrant, I will not always be able to fully explain every direction I give, but you must trust that there is a reason I keep some portions of information secret. I will not control your journey through the Labyrinth, nor will I aid you beyond what I am set to do as per our contract; this is your journey and yours alone. Further, as to the matter of you repaying me for my allowing you to enter my Guild..."

The God pretended to contemplate for a moment before loosing a soft laugh. "You are to become your ideal self, and show me something beautiful."

With that matter done, Heka reached out with her hand that held the transparent, spherical gem, and deposited it in one of Lynn's hands. "This...I cannot explain what this is, not yet. I had promised to myself that the next to leave for the Labyrinth would receive it, so I am gifting it to you; do not lose it. If, in your travels, you come across something identical to this, then place a drop of your blood on that gem, as well as this one. All will become clear then." She stated, dropping her voice to an almost coy whisper.

"Now then, you are dismissed, Lynette Loxaerion. Do show me something beautiful; I look forward to watching you reach the end of your path."

---

Something noteworthy about Goblins is that, on the whole, they are not intelligent.

In fact, while Goblin biology differs from human biology and thus any comparisons should be taken with a grain of salt, an adequate point of comparison is that a standard Goblin's brain is roughly the size of an acorn, and unlike other monsters, they lack a magical capacity to compensate for this fact.

Thus, the result was actually fairly predictable.

The Goblin, who had been busy attacking Alexander's top half, could not have possible considered that he himself would be attacked on the bottom half. Truly, Alexander had to be a member of Loki Guild, to have mastered deception to this extent.

Gob-kun's attack was blocked.

Gob-kun's legs got hurt.

Gob-kun fell back onto the floor and then started trying to get back up.

Why are all these humans such sadists in battle? Dragging it out like this, it's just disrespectful.

---

Thoth was busy.

Excessively busy.

Inordinately busy.

Why, you ask?

You see, the Gods had not set foot in this world in many eras. As such, Thoth had not had access to many of man's creations until now. While the Gods were aware of all mankind had accomplished in their absence, they had merely been observing. Thoth had not been able to truly possess any creations of mankind since their recent Descent, so she was currently absorbed in those very creations.

What are these creations?

Is that a real question?

Do you have any idea how many new books were written over the past few eras? Playing catch-up was utterly hellish.

And you thought your anime backlog was bad.

Thus, Thoth was caught unaware by someone entering her alchemical lab. Vincent was not the first visitor of the day, but she was nonetheless caught unaware, slamming the book she was currently reading shut as she spun around to face Vincent.

"...h-hi."

Thoth offered a greeting to her scary Guild member.

"A-Are you going to the Labyrinth?"

Thoth asked a question to her scary Guild member.

Thoth just wanted to go back to her book.

[Zombehs]

Alexander could feel the goblin's weapon scrape over his shield and he remembered the sensation with a small nod even as his kick connected. 'Don't underestimate anything...' As expected the creature was swept to the ground with what sounded like a painful fall. To make matters worse for the green-skin, a slight twist of his waist let him bring his left foot backwards and down on the creature's arm that held the weapon. He didn't try to grind his heel in to cause pain, but it was a simply precaution to prevent his ankles from any last ditch attempt by the monster. From there he reversed his grip on the sword, so it faced backwards, and then plunged it down through the creature's face.

Exhaling, he slid his weapon free without any trouble and as the corpse twitched its last Alexander stepped away. A spin normalized his grip and caused most of the blood and grey matter to fly off his weapon into the darkness. What little residues remained were wiped off with a rag before he turned to the other two adventurers. To the original younger girl he gave yet another thumbs up, nodded his head in approval, and a grin could just be seen through his helmet as he said. "Good shot there." Given he wasn't about to sheathe his weapons, Alexander ended up twirling his sword around just as something to do as he looked past her to the newcomer that'd shown up just before the fight began. "Hey there." Though he motioned for her to join them with a nod, he ended up with most of his attention on the archer girl given, if he wasn't mistaken, she was about to introduce herself before the goblins had so rudely interrupted.

[KarinRobo]

"Ah, um..." It took Lynn a few moments to process this turn of events before blurting out, "Y-Yes! I will!" She closed one palm gently around the gem and placed her other hand upon her chest, confirming this unfamiliar sensation. "And, um, thank you...!" Lynn gave Heka a deep bow before ducking out of the room, certain that had she stayed any longer, she probably would've messed something up. (Of course, there was a good chance she had already, but she wasn't ready to overanalyze every other word of that conversation at the moment.)

Once she was outside, Lynn turned her attention to the mysterious gem that Heka had given her, rolling it around between her fingers. This...couldn't have been meant for her, could it? Aside from Heka's measly explanation of 'I can't tell you' or whatever, it didn't seem to have any visible function, aside from being pretty. Boy, was it pretty. With a piece of string she miraculously just happened to have in her bag, Lynn fastened herself a necklace out of it, also partially so she wouldn't forget about it or something. Because that was pretty likely.

The next order of business was Labyrinth. Even with her newfound strength/power/whatever(?) from Heka's blessing, Lynn was 99% sure that she would not be able to defeat even the weakest of slimes in the Labyrinth. Not to mention that she still had no idea how to use this staff, or magic, or anything... Thanks a lot, Heka.

Guess she'd just have to wander the streets in search of a group who she could ask to accompany. One would come by. Eventually.

[Fish of Oblivion]

As the patron God of the Guild turned to him, Vincent prepared to stand his ground and explain himself if need be-

"...h-hi. A-Are you going to the Labyrinth?"

Right, he remembered how it had been when he'd 'met' Thoth the last few times he'd checked in at the Guild. Any remaining idea that the summons had come from her vanished- half due to her question, and half because of the way she stared at him like he was a poisonous snake about to strike.

At the very least, though, she would be able to point him in the right direction.

"Good afternoon, Miss Thoth. I received summons-" He began as politely as he could manage for the God in front of him, reaching into his coat pocket and producing the letter that had been sent to him, before showing it to the God, "I assume they were from another Guild member, and I'll further assume they have something to do with the Labyrinth?"

The question was complete formality; to Vincent, it seemed fairly clear that the day the Labyrinth opened had finally come. That would explain the larger-than-usual crowd around the independent zone, as well as why there didn't seem to be many- if any- guild members in the building. At least, if she confirmed as much, he could see about being directed to other Guild members. From what he'd heard of the Labyrinth, it wouldn't do to traipse around in the place by himself.

[Yuri]

Senna held her second arrow ready, but seeing as there didn't seem to be a reason to use it, she lowers her bow. Cautiously, she turns her head, looking over her surroundings closely for any imminent danger before quickly moving across the battle area. While she retrieves her axe and arrows from the fallen enemies, she finishes her introduction.

"I'm Senna, from Cernunnos. Good work, Alexander. Your help was appreciated."

She gives the latest arrival a once-over, before heading over to the Goblins in the turn that she had killed them. One after the other, she searches their bodies for anything lootable, while also trying to get a better feel for the Monster's body structure. It probably wouldn't be a fruitful effort, but at the very least it would do well to know more about these creatures.

"Hmmm..."

Well, there was a limit to what she could discern from a passing glance. She would get a better idea of them if she cut them up, but for now, she could afford to leave them untouched. So, she leaves the corpses where they were. For the time being, she felt relatively safe where she was, but she wasn't the type to let her guard down so easily.

At the first sign of trouble, her first move would be to get behind the others.

She had a role in this team, the least she could do was fill it in.

[Dawn]

The Goblin corpses had nothing short of their rags and swords.

Even in death, they were useless.

---

Thoth seemed to be surprised at the appearance of the summons, as though this was her first time witnessing paper. Of course, it was not, but the comparable surprise was still there.

"...um, I-I didn't put out any orders for a summons..." She mumbled under her breath, turning her head away slightly as she gazed wistfully at her book before snapping herself back to reality with a brief jolt. "B-But yes, the Labyrinth is opening today...I-I think. I-I'm not really in charge of that, H-Heka was the main supervisor." She explained, seeming to shrink back at the mention of Heka, as though she was afraid of her fellow God. She probably was.

Thoth paused for a moment, interrupted by an unwilling yawn that rose up from within her, as if a ghost had been trapped inside of her, and was finally let free. The God blushed furiously following her yawn, turning away completely as she grabbed her book and held it tightly to her chest. "S-Sorry, A-Ares was holding a party next door last night a-and I didn't get much sleep." She stammered out embarrassedly. "Y-You can go to the Labyrinth now, if you want then t-take a flask on your way out, but just one." She murmured, somewhat shakily indicating a row of glass flasks set up near the lab entrance, each filled with a blue-green liquid and labeled "Intermediate Antitoxin☆".

[Double Capybara]

Amanda stepped closer to the corpses just to take a look at the little aberration
"No wonder people locked this up, look at how ugly this thing is."

She took another look at the adventures "Well, I take I will be joining you two on this little expedition thing, name is Amanda of the De Bourgogne family. I'm under Hermes here" she was expecting sorts that looked more fit to the job, veterans and such, but there was no reason for hostility with this group.

[Zombehs]

“Nice to meet ya then Senna, and thanks.” He spared a glance at the corpse by his feet as she examined her own kills, but quickly came to the conclusion that there was little of value to be looted. Disappointing yet expected since the fight had been rather easy so it would have been strange to discover anything worthwhile.

Alexander looked back as Amanda introduced herself as well, though her family name was lost of him. “Hermes huh…” Her blessing didn’t have an immediate use then, but she was welcome nonetheless as simply another fighter. “Alexander,” he repeated for her sake before he nodded towards the depths of the Labyrinth, “let’s keep on going then. Stay behind me and make sure anything that slips past can’t reach Senna ok?”

If she had anything to say in regards that “order”, well Amanda would have to catch up to him to voice them. Senna seemed like she’d be easy enough to work and co-operate with given how she’d handled herself in that brief fight. Amanda… he’d have to wait until the next battle to get an opinion, but he was hopeful at the moment. With shield raised and sword resting on his pauldron, Alexander slowly crept deeper into the darkness.

[Fish of Oblivion]

"... I suppose it doesn't matter who sent the summons," Vincent replied to Thoth as she nervously explained herself. He could have sworn the summons came from the Guild, though perhaps Heka- seemingly as officious as the stories he heard had made her out to be- had merely borrowed some paperwork in order to motivate some of the less punctual Guild members.

He had to admit he was guilty of that much. If it wasn't for the idiot barging in the night before and him needing to restock, he might not have made it to the Labyrinth on the opening day. Leaving everyone else to get a head start and fill their pockets with whatever they could get their grubby little mitts on.

Vincent reflected on that idea as if it had come and personally pissed in his pot. Cutting people a share for their troubles was one thing, letting them swan off and leave him high and dry was another. If the Labyrinth was open, he was going to get in there whilst the going was good, like a lawyer after an ambulance.

In any case, Thoth pulled him out of his thoughts when she started talking again, mentioning being kept up by Ares. Used to being kept awake by noisy goldbrickers too, Vincent offered the God an uncharacteristically sympathetic nod before she finished up and pointed him towards the flasks on either side of the entrance behind him.

"Y-You can go to the Labyrinth now, if you want then t-take a flask on your way out, but just one. Intermediate Antitoxin☆"

"... Still not sure how you're capable of pronouncing that," Vincent grumbled to begin with, before he spoke up louder with, "Thank you for your generosity, I'll be on my way and leave you to your work." And nodding respectfully to Thoth, he turned, only making a quick stop by the entrance to pick up one of the blue-green flasks of Intermediate Antitoxin☆.

He was almost tempted to sneak a second out, but he thought better of it. He'd made it to his age in one piece, getting smooshed by an angry god for pilfering a surplus potion would be an embarrassing way to cap that off, if nothing else.

Stepping out the door and closing it behind him once more, his eyes darted about, looking for anyone besides simple mundane onlookers in the slowly approaching crowd around the independent zone. And he hadn't taken any more than a single step from the entryway to the laboratory, when-

[KarinRobo]

When a giant bird swooped from the air above and scooped Vincent up in its claws, taking him away to the clouds so that perhaps a mere human could understand the full beauty of the Goblin Party in the sky.

Or not.

"Excuse m- aumfph!" A small girl whose height reached just below Vincent's head barreled into his chest headfirst, only to bounce off of his finely-toned manboobs chest and end up on the ground. "Hauu..." Lynn had been planning on asking the next person who came out of Thoth's place, since members of that guild seemed to be the type of people who'd be the most willing to work with her. Someone like this, though...was completely out of bounds of her expectations. Welp, no going back now.

"S-Sorry, Mister! But, um, please listen to my request! Take me into the Labyrinth with you! If you need, I can..." Upon looking towards her bag, Lynn suddenly realized that at least 10 gold had been scattered across the ground in the collision. She hurriedly began picking them back up, accidentally dropping another few in the process.

[Fish of Oblivion]

Coming hot on the heels of his thoughts about pilfering an extra potion, Vincent's mind jumped leagues ahead of him as something hit him head-on in the chest and knocked him backwards into the door. Giant bird or no bird, it seemed as if he was about to be sent up to the Goblin Party in the sky anyway.

But no sound marked his brain's sudden jolt of panic- whilst whoever it was that had collided with him fell safely to the ground, his impact with the door combined with the force pushed into his chest knocked the wind clean out of him. In the moments he was left to stagger about, catching ragged, laboured breaths as his lungs tried to recover from being winded, his eyes darted about and, after a moment, caught sight of the one who'd crashed into him.

A small girl with light-coloured hair, who seemed to steal a spooked glance at him before rattling off a 'request'. Not an angry God- in fact, she seemed marginally friendlier than Thoth had been just moments before, despite the looks towards him that suggested she'd been expecting something else entirely. Though maybe the way he was almost glaring at her as he caught his breath didn't help that much.

Fortunately for Vincent, the blessings bestowed upon him meand he didn't take long to recover, and looking the girl straight in the eyes, he opened his mouth, only for her to suddenly look at her bag and then quickly crouch down onto the ground, scrambling about at something. He paused, his mouth curving into a frown, before his eyes followed her downwards and-

Oh. OH. 'Damn, that's a lot of money,' He thought to himself, almost slack-jawed as he watched her pick up the Gold pieces.

"... Look, pick it up and start from the beginning," He started towards her, crouching down and handing her a piece of gold that had landed by his feet, a visible twinkle in his greedy old eyes as he felt the tiny nugget. Greedy or not, it wouldn't do to drag someone like this into the Labyrinth unless she knew full well what she was getting into. All this gold wouldn't amount to much if he got a civilian killed under the God's watch. "Why do you want to go into the Labyrinth? Are you a civilian or part of a Guild?"