What a curious chain of events. In the wake of her meeting with the Sentinel Syndicate Esperia's initial goal had been accomplished. However, it didn't change the fact that Esperia still was missing one of the essential things she needed: experience. The absence of life experiences left Esperia in a vulnerable situation and she didn't really like that. Perhaps it was for that reason that Esperia had chosen to visit the Rush Valley within the Sieghart Mountains in recent days. She wasn't entirely certain if things would work in her favor. However, with all her efforts directed to obtaining more knowledge and experience, she had decided that taking on job requests would work in her favor.

Making her way along the outskirts of the town Esperia's gaze drifted from the path leading into the town toward the guards stationed there. Even if she smiled kindly at them in a greeting, there was this twinkle of mischief in her eyes that might have explained why those guards were on edge even if she showed not a single sign of hostility toward them.

Who would blame them? With her knowing everything about them, it was akin to her possessing all their secrets at her disposal. This made her a great risk to them if she would decide to turn against them, but considering she was currently working for the Sentinel Syndicate it was akin to saying she was an ally to them, at least currently.

As she held Morrigan's staff in her hand, almost akin to a walking cane the young woman walked along the path leading toward her destination: a large luxurious looking jewelry store.

Approaching the doorway she opened it and gazed around, a bouncer looking at her as she nodded her head slightly in acknowledgment.

This would be her destination: the man who had commissioned the syndicate for a job.

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It didn't take long for Esperia to be spotted by the owner of the jewelry stone. Not that it was difficult to see Esperia, to the contradictory: with her long white hair and obsidian eyes Esperia had quite an appearance that stood out in a crowd, and that didn't even go into detail about the presence she held thanks to her immense mana and the power of Morrigan's staff.

"Ah~ To think it was you they would send, if I had known I would have prepared a cup of your favorite tea miss Esperia."

Esperia smiled nonchalantly at the man, stopping a few paces away from him as she leaned lightly against her staff. "There is no need to worry about such pleasantries today Archibald, although I certainly would take delight in indulging in a cup of your finest tea later today."

She paused for a moment, her smile remaining as she mused softly. "But for today I will be here on Syndicate business~" Archibald blinked in bewilderment as Esperia mentioned the syndicate, earning a brief smile from the merchant who started to explain things further. "I am glad to hear that the syndicate has been able to gain your assistance in recent days. About the current job I requested help with."

Archibald gestured at the counter, making Esperia follow him and once there watched the man unroll the map. "There has been a recent excavation in a newly uncovered area in the Dawncliff Mine, it appears there are a group of miners and other threats in the area, and I worry if they would prevent me from sending my people to gather new resources."

Esperia raised a hand to her cheek, tapping it lightly while pondering softly. "Hmm, I wonder... Why do you presume I have interest in this matter?"

Archibald smiled knowingly, making Esperia's eyes narrow as she smiled devilishly. "It seems you have something of interest to me~ Care to clarify?"

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Archibald went quiet for a moment, and then started to explain, his voice a hint of interest. "Within the Dawncliff Mine inside the newly uncovered area, the people reported there was this mysterious ruin in the depths of the mine." The words made Esperia frown for a moment, a hand raised to her cheek as she tapped it lightly. "A mysterious ruin you say?" The young woman couldn't help but find herself fascinated by this rumor. "Is there any reference or knowledge on the matter of what the ruin is, or perhaps who made it or what belonged to it?" the inquiry made Archibald shook his head lightly in response as he continued his explanation. "I tried to send in some adventurers in earlier, but unfortunately they haven't returned."

Wait, they didn't return from the ruins? That sounded like quite a worrying concern. No, perhaps Esperia would have to investigate the matter herself. Esperia reached with her hand for the map, scrolling it up as she replied with a smile. "I'll explore the area for you and let you know what can be found there."

Stashing the map away the young sorceress explained further. "Once I deal with the request, I will be investigating the matter further about the ruin." Esperia nodded her head lightly in return as she continued speaking. "I'll try to find out what happened to your adventurers."

And with those words she started to walk toward the exit. "Take care Esperia." Esperia tilted her head lightly to the side in confusion. "Are you worried about me?" Esperia's question followed by a chuckle as she continued. "Don't worry~ I will be careful about whatever is lurking inside those mines." And with those words Esperia started to make her way toward the mine that she fortunately knew the direction from already from her past trip..

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The trip toward the mine didn't take more than a short walk, in fact now she knew the location she had to admit it was getting even easier to find her way or figure out little shortcuts to reach the mine faster. The same thing could be said about the mine itself, she knew from her past trips and the knowledge the world's eyes bestowed onto her, that there were certain sections she should avoid because people had encountered wild creatures like the giant rats from before, or in some cases the section of the mine was under maintenance and at risk of causing a cave-in, so overall she knew the best possible route to take in the shortest amount of time needed, efficiency never had been as pleasant to her as a concept as it did now. Not that she cared too much about the results of the assignment, she wanted to finish the job well and be done with it, but what intrigued her was the rumored ruins where a group of adventurers had disappeared at earlier. How could she possibly not be interested to discover the secrets of that place? The dangerous knowledge that had led to those people to disappear... It would soon be hers to discover!

As she wandered into the mine the first thing Esperia noticed was the fact that it was eerily quiet, not even the usual presence of miners were present which was odd since she was certain this place was a advantageous route that some of the miners knew about. Wat it associated to the disappearance of the adventurers her client talked about before? It certainly seemed like that might had been the case! Especially when she started to arrive at the area the wealthy merchant had mentioned to her, for a area rich in resources she had expected at least some sort of competition to deal with, and yet right now it was empty...

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It was a peculiar situation to say the least, despite the fact that this place should had been crowded with miners, it was eerily absent of any life, or... even mana. She couldn't really describe it, but it felt like there was some sort of suffocating presence in the air, like a miasma of sorts that sapped away her mana, and while it was fortunate that she boasted quite a powerful mana reservoir, Esperia had to admit that just venturing deeper inside was bound to lead her into a trap. Then again, it was likely the adventurers that were send here got caught less aware than her, which meant that it was quite possible that the trap was already spun, and something had already obtained its prey. This could in essence mean that she was capable of turning this trap against the trapper!

Dimming the glow of Morrigan's staff Esperia quietly ventured deeper into the mine, staying close to the wall to make sure she was as much out of sight as possible, and after a short walk into the tunnel up ahead the space cleared, revealing the source of the earlier feeling that shrouded the air.

On the ground were several bodies, most of them still alive, albeit judging from the weak twitches of their body they were under a state similar to paralysis. One unfortunate soul was however already turned into the prey of the predator.

The predator was humanoid in shape, although its arms were bulkier and its fingers were sharpened into claws of some sort. Still, the stench was one that she had grown quite familiar with: a demon.

The fiendish creature was feasting on the corpse of one of the adventurers, while out of its back, a large bulb of some sorts was spreading a collection of spores into the air, likely the miasma that was slowly draining her mana.

At least she had found the source of this uncomfortable feeling...

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The demon was too busy feasting on the corpse, meaning the element of surprise was still on her side. At least as long as the adventurers didn't notice her and tried to call out for help. Good thing that she was hiding near the entrance, but if anything she would need to figure out a way to deal with the demon quickly. Even if she had her mana, continuous exposure to this miasma would surely take its toll upon her also!

Extending a hand to her side she had already thought on the next course of action, a simple but effective strategy: seal up the demon's advantage over her. This would surely make the demon hesitate, and give her the opportunity to kill it. As her fingers traced along the air, a collective of small icicles emerged at her side, which were rapidly flung toward the demon in a collection of two arching waves. Why two? Because as she had anticipated, the demon swiftly turned to the direction of one of the waves upon sensing the approaching coldness of the icicles, a clawed arm swiping the projectiles away, but before it could retaliate, the second wave came from the other side, impaling its back! The demon let out a sickly screech, the iciles doing their work as they froze the top layer of the bulb and gave Esperia the opening she needed. With a swift dash she enclosed the distance between herself and the remaining adventurers, her staff tapping the ground lightly as they were pulled safely into the Kamui dimension!

Now that she had dealt with that, it was time for her to beat the demon in front of her! The creature hissed threateningly at her, no doubt enraged over the loss of his meal, but Esperia merely brandished her staff, preparing for her battle against the fiend!

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The monster was quick to launch an attack against her, a claw sweeping wildly through the air as it attempted to tear at her, but Esperia was quick enough to dodge to the side, a sway of her hand to the side conjuring a solid spear of ice that lunged at the demon's flank, knocking it a few steps back. It seemed her earlier assumption about the demon's vulnerability to ice soon earned a deep snarl from the beast who attempted to lung back at her!

Unfortunately this time the distance between it and her was small enough that its claw reached her, but Esperia was able to maneuver her staff in its trajectory, and rather than being cut she was pushed backward, its raw strength quite overwhelming her!

A grunt escaped her lips as she felt the demon's weight force down against her, and she knew disengaging from it to cast a spell would be dangerous, unless... with a downwards swing her staff hit the creature, making it growl as she used its stunning state to cast one of her Kamui Phases, disappearing from sight as she emerged at the other side of the room, pointing her staff at the fiend that was looking around in bewilderment. Of course, by then it was too late for the fiend, as Esperia had already created a pair of orbs that were cackling with electricity, and with a nudge of her staff launched the projectiles at the fiend! The creature, upon being hit cried out in agony as it collapsed onto the ground, the electricity surging through its entire being as Esperia slowly approached it. It was best to finish off this fiend while she had the chance, and so Esperia pointed the tip of her staff at the fiend, a soft whisper following as its entire body was set ablaze! A piercing howl resounded through the mine as it trashed around wildly, and with her victory assured Esperia watched it slowly disintigrate into ashes! Now that the demon was dealt with she could start to investigate further into the area... then again, the survivors of the demon attack needed medical attention, so for now Esperia decided to return to the town so she could safely transport them back from her Kamui dimension, her research could continue afterwards...

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It was with an odd sense of urgency that Esperia returned to the town, and after ensuring the injured adventurers were being attended to, Esperia made her way back to the jewelry store that had hired her. To be honest, she could hear Morrigan's whispers, inquiring about why she did this in such a roundabout way. Doing a good deed like this might had seemed like she was playing the role of a hero, but in truth the young woman believed that her actions today had been all for her personal gain: By saving those adventurers she earned their trust and in return likely raised her standing among the people of the town, which in return would reflect good for the guild also.

That, and if there ever came a need for it, she might be able to call upon them someday to return the favor. Still, she couldn't entirely dismiss the fact that it was simply... a nice feeling? It was an odd thing to describe, but in the end she did things the way she wanted to. The owner of the store thanked her for the update to the map she had been given and the report about the lurking fiend inside the mine, that had now been dealt with.

Even more, she received a bonus for saving the adventurers their life, although it was in fact part of their payment, not that she was going to decline it!

Upon leaving the store Esperia's gaze shifted up at the Sieghart Mountains, idly wondering what she should do next. Maybe return to the Sentinel Syndicate Guild hall and hang out with Kon? Or maybe see if she could discover anything or anyone new that might fascinate her. There were so many potential stories waiting to be uncovered, and she wanted a taste of all of them!

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