Cursed to level 1 with an Ego weapon

"Sigh..." Russell sits at his desk with the expression of someone that just saw chaos unfold out of nowhere.

After everything calmed down and we rested for a bit we got to talk with him in private.

By the average I could observe from people fighting in towns, I can tell not many are prepared for an invasion like this from the monsters. They usually keep to themselves, and with the dungeons appearing and disappearing they usually don't prepare to invade.

We just finished informing what happened

"I still don't get it. What happened to him?" He is rubbing his temples. "He was acting normal before this all happened."

"Maybe he was a good actor." Aurelia, who is leaning against a wall, says. "He seemed well put together before all of this, I could not see it."

"Yeah, me neither. It's like something made him finally snap." I comment.

Russell shakes his head, covers his face and rubs it with his hands.

"Dammit... This is such a mess... We lost half our soldiers and some of the ones that survived disappeared, others were found to be part of the Eye."

"We are sorry you have been going through this..." Lisa comments.

"What will people say when they learn the esteemed General is behind this...?" Russell asks. "At least this is over."

"It is not." I answer with my eyes closed. "You still have to deal with the dungeon out of town."

"What do you mean?"

"Where do you think all the monsters came from? I am sure they all got summoned from that Dungeon. Oswald mentioned Cemillas before he died." I shake my head. "We even found the name of the dungeon in the altar where he seemed to be running the sacrificial experiments with the follower of Sul."

"Salia..." Russell comments the name of the follower. "She was also an esteemed member of the town. You are telling me you believe she was also part of this?"

"We found the altar in her house." Aurelia answers. "Not to comment that Oswald attempted to kill us when we found it."

Now that I remember it, I got a System notification that warned me about the explosion. Where did that come from? If that didn't appear we would be dead.

"It was his job to form expeditions inside the place... He even offered himself."

Russell, like a drum, starts to tap his fingers in the wooden desk, pensative. The problem was deeper than what everyone thought.

Then, someone knocks on the door, and not long after opens it. Is the secretary. "Excuse me, mayor? People from the local adventurers guilds and the wizard's guild need to speak with you. They say it is urgent."

"I will be with you in a minute." Russell answers, then he turns to us when the secretary leaves. Then he stands up and claps his hands together. "I would be dead without that girl... Okay! Ladies, I suppose you all want to rest after today. If you can help in any way you can, feel invited to do so I have to go talk with them to deal with the situation. Here is a small reward for your troubles, and something extra for dealing with the monsters today."

[You received 1 medal!]

[You got 15000 GP!]

I nod. "Thanks. If you need anything, just contact us."

Outside the whole town was a mess. Destroyed buildings, people looking for others, many injured. The different temples are doing services to heal the injured without asking for money while dealing with the dead bodies.

I hate to admit it, but Oswald was right. People are not ready for what is about to go down if the Gates open. And that is a big IF. Because I have no clue if that is the intention the Traveler has, or anyone he has been deemed worthy of his maddening words.

"Amber, shouldn't we worry?" Karina comments. "I didn't consider it, but there is at least an adventurer's guild in town and seeing how Asena knows about the reward for you..."

"Yet she has not taken the chance to win it." I answer "To where it stands, without preparations or proper tactics, I believe Asena can defeat me. Last time I fought her he was A rank in the adventurer's ranking..."

"Then maybe she became stronger?" Karina asks.

"Most likely. Then I wonder why no one attempts to take the reward. It is not like I have been subtle about my presence."

"Maybe people are intimidated by me and my dragon!' Aurelia, proud of herself, claims.

"Glad to see being defeated two days in a row has not destroyed your ego." I answer.

"Surprising, seeing how inflated it is, that it has yet to burst." Karina comments.

That is when a group of adventurers approaches us. A party of three took notice of us and started to walk closer after pointing in our direction.

"Shit... Maybe we will have our answer." I comment, placing my left hand on Bloodless, ready to pull it out just in case.

"You must be Amber!" The one in the front answers, a guy with brown short hair. He looks like your typical warrior class adventurer. "I have been looking for you."

"Have you now?" I answer.

I don't know what, but something about him feels familiar, like I have seen him before somewhere else.

"Yes. I was hoping I would catch you here, actually."

He gets close. I can feel tension, a shiver runs down my spine. My encounters with other adventurers have been filled with either attacks or people making me feel paranoia. If he wants to fight, he better be...

"Thank you!"

"Huh?" The next thing I know is that he is bowing to me. We all are surprised by this.

"You have no idea how thankful I am! You saved my mother and little sister today from a golem! I was desperately trying to find them when the raid started and was afraid something had happened to them!" He advances and places hisnhands on my shoulders.

"Heh?" I ask again. "I... It was nothing! I..."

I am dumbfounded about this.

"Jack, keep it together!" A red hair adventurer that seems to be a rogue class says. "You are making her uncomfortable."

"Well, it makes sense. He almost started to cry when he couldn't find them." A boy that seemed a bit too young to be an adventurer with green short hair and a staff says. "I understand him."

"Please, Lady Amber! If you ever go to the Gryphon's Aid Guild I will invite you to any food you want!"

"Oh?" Arelia gets interested. "I like the sound of that!"

"Aurelia, calm down." I take a step back. "No need for that... I am glad your family is safe."

"I insist... Just consider it." He answers. "I will leave you to your business. Thanks again!"

They leave, and his companions are pestering him for his reaction while we are left alone again in the street.

I am not sure how to feel about this. I was expecting another interaction, but I was left confused.

Behind my back, my traitorious tail is moving.