The Chronicles of Leafshade [Isekai/LitRPG]

"Where's that freaking monster?" Muradin shouted, confused and trying to stand up. "What the hell just happened?"

"Hey, we need to move, now," Darwyn warned, scanning the area with narrowed eyes. "I can feel it… that thing was seriously dangerous."

"Relax, it's gone," I said, trying to keep everyone calm. "Do you guys remember what happened last?"

"You beat it?" Orin asked, still dazed. "Last thing I remember, the monster stood tall and raised the staff on its tail… and now here I am, lying down on the floor"

"Same here," Muradin muttered, now fumbling around as if just realizing something. "I was charging at it, and next thing I knew, I was out cold. And… wait, my weapons! Where are they?!"

"Right here," I said, picking up Darwyn's bow near my feet and pointing out the rest. "Don't worry. We're safe."

So I told them everything that happened. How their bodies had gone rigid from Sepharion's spell. How I had to answer each of his riddles on my own. How Sepharion vanished after the last one. And finally, how four portals appeared as our way out.

"If I had to answer those riddles, we'd be monster chow by now," Muradin laughed, retrieving his shield from the floor.

"So Sepharion said he would meet you again…" Orin said with a nervous glance. "Let's hope he doesn't freeze me again next time."

"I don't think he will," I replied. "He shouldn't be hostile to us anymore."

"Alright," Darwyn said, turning to me. "So what now, Erynd? Need a moment before we head out?"

"Nope," I said firmly. "Let's get the hell out of here."

One by one, we stepped into the portals before us.

In the blink of an eye, we were back, standing once more in the clearing with the giant oak tree towering above us.

"Finally," Muradin grinned. "Alright, let's move on to the third floor!"

"Wait," Darwyn said, stopping me with a look of curiosity. "Erynd, try summoning the book. Let's see if you managed to bring it out."

I nodded and focused, summoning the Oberion Codex into my hands.

"Yes! We actually brought it out with us," I said with relief, flipping through the pages eagerly.

"Anything new?" Orin asked, trying to peek over my shoulder.

"Nope… still blank, aside from the first page," I said, a bit deflated.

"Okay, cool, great, you're all caught up. Now can we please get going?" Muradin said, already marching ahead, too impatient to wait.

***

We had been walking for hours toward the portal leading to the third floor. Just like the area near the Oak Tree, it was relatively peaceful. The monsters along the way were manageable, easy to defeat and hardly a threat.

"I swear we've taken down dozens of Thumpers by now, but not a single Soul Fragment has dropped," Muradin grumbled, picking up a few Mana Stones and other standard loot from the ground.

"It's fine, just a matter of time," Orin said, trying to stay positive. "We've still got plenty of chances."

The path was crawling with Thumpers, odd little monsters that looked like oversized rats with rabbit ears and stubby cotton tails.

Suddenly, Darwyn held up a hand. His eyes sharpened.

"Stay quiet," he whispered. "We're being followed."

"Adventurers."

We exchanged tense glances.

Scavengers? Again? That was my first thought.

Darwyn pointed subtly toward a tree just behind and to the side of us. Muradin nodded, moving quickly to shield our flank in case of an ambush.

"What do you want?" Darwyn called out, already drawing his bow and nocking a flaming arrow.

No answer.

He released the arrow anyway, sending it into the tall grass near the tree. Flames erupted instantly, crackling and spreading fast.

"We know you're there. Show yourselves!" he shouted.

Still no answer, until the fire crept closer and Darwyn raised another arrow.

"Wait! We don't mean any harm!" a female voice called out in panic.

From behind the tree, a young human woman stepped out with her hands raised. She was small-framed and visibly shaking, blood smeared across her face and arms. Her limp was obvious as she took slow, careful steps forward.

"Me and my friend… we're hurt," she said. "We ran into a powerful monster. The rest of our party didn't make it. Only the two of us are left."

"Then why were you sneaking around behind us?" Darwyn asked sharply, not lowering his bow.

"We noticed you were heading the same direction. We thought if we followed you… it'd be safer."

"You do realize that's punishable by law, right?" Muradin growled, clearly not pleased. "And we have the right to kill you right here, right now."

"I-I swear, we weren't trying anything. We just… just wanted to stay on a safe path," she stammered.

"I don't care. Just stop following us," I said, still suspicious.

"Please… at least give us potions," another voice pleaded.

This time, a young man stepped out from behind the same tree. He looked a few years older than the girl, maybe early twenties. Blood was all over him, some fresh, some dried into rusty stains. His wounds looked far worse.

"We don't have any spare potions to hand out," I said flatly.

"Eryndor…" Orin's voice was soft with concern. "Can't you just heal them? A little?"

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I didn't get a chance to answer before the man pulled something from his pouch.

"Of course we'll pay you. How about this?"

He held out a small, glowing white orb.

A Thumper Soul Fragment.

I looked to Darwyn for confirmation, then replied, "Alright. One low-rank healing potion. And you stop following us. Understood?"

"H-how about this instead," the girl added quickly, digging through her pouch with trembling fingers. "You can have all of these too… just give us two potions, and let us travel with you. At least until we reach the Royal Guard. They should be easy to find near the portal, right?"

In her hands were a small pile of Mana Stones and monster drops, glinting under the fading light.

"Come on, let's just help them," Orin whispered. "They don't seem like bad people."

"We can't trust them that easily," Darwyn replied, eyes still locked on the two strangers. "They could be faking it."

"Did you sense anyone else nearby? Anyone besides those two?" I asked quietly.

Darwyn shook his head. "Nope. Just the two of them."

"Then we should be fine," Orin said with a shrug. "They wouldn't dare try anything funny. Not with us."

Darwyn glanced between me and Muradin. "What do you two think?"

"As long as they pay up and don't slow us down, I've got no complaints," Muradin muttered under his breath.

"Alright," I said. "But stay alert and don't reveal anything about ourselves."

After that quick huddle, we made our decision.

"One potion," I said, turning to face the two wounded adventurers. "But I'll heal you instead."

[Rejuvenation cast]

I lifted my hand and channeled the spell toward the girl. A warm green light shimmered around her, slowly knitting some of her wounds closed.

Meanwhile, Muradin walked over with a single healing potion in his hand. He exchanged it for the goods they offered: Mana Stones, monster drops, and the Soul Fragment.

"Thank you. Seriously, thank you so much," the young man said, quickly uncorking the potion and downing it like his life depended on it.

"I'm Millie, and this is Brody," the young woman said, introducing them both. "We honestly can't imagine what would've happened if we hadn't run into you. I promise, we won't be a burden."

"I'm Orin Sylvas," Orin replied with a friendly smile. "Don't worry about it. This path's been pretty easy for us so far. We'll keep you safe."

"I'm Darwyn," Darwyn added, gesturing casually. "That's Erynd, and the big guy's Muradin." He kept the introduction short.

"Alright, introductions done. Let's move," Muradin said gruffly, already striding ahead.

"Let's still keep an eye on them," I whispered to Darwyn as we followed. "And use basic attacks only from now on."

***

With the addition of two more people, our journey became noticeably easier, especially now that someone else could help with the grunt work.

Swoosh!

Darwyn's arrow whistled through the air and struck the Thumper right between the eyes, dropping it instantly.

Brody wasted no time. He picked up the Mana Stone that materialized on the ground and handed it to Muradin, who nodded in thanks. Meanwhile, Millie darted around, collecting the remaining loot scattered nearby.

"That's everything," Millie said, handing over a small bundle to Muradin, who quickly tucked it into his pouch.

We'd been intentionally funneling all loot through Muradin so we could keep my and Orin's Soulbound inventories under wraps. No need to show our cards.

"Are you sure we're not giving them a share at all?" Orin whispered to me, her voice laced with guilt. "I kinda feel bad for them."

"Well, they're the ones who volunteered, didn't they?" I replied, casting Rejuvenation on Millie. "Besides, consider it a protection fee."

To be fair, they weren't just dead weight.

Millie turned out to be a nimble swordswoman who fought with a rapier, a slender, lightweight blade made for precise thrusts rather than sweeping slashes. Judging by how quickly she moved, her Agility stat must've been pretty high.

Brody, on the other hand, was a stiletto expert. He carried several of the needle-thin blades and used them with impressive precision, either hurling them at enemies or engaging in close combat with deadly accuracy. Like Millie, his movements were agile and sharp.

It made sense now how they'd managed to survive.

"Yaaay! Another Soul Fragment!" Orin cheered as another Thumper collapsed from Muradin's crushing hammer blow, dropping a shimmering fragment.

I quickly glanced at Brody and Millie to gauge their reactions. But to my relief, neither of them looked upset or resentful.

So far, no red flags from either of them.

We pressed onward, walking and walking until the sun finally dipped below the horizon. Reaching the portal in a single day had been a pipe dream from the start.

"I think we can rest over there," Brody said, pointing ahead at a small elevated area surrounded by large rocks. It would offer decent natural defense.

He didn't even need to suggest it, I'd already had the same thought. The spot was also conveniently far from monster respawn zones.

We headed straight for the spot and quickly set up camp for the night.

"Alright, nice job today, everyone," Darwyn said as we gathered around the fire, enjoying our dinner under the darkening sky.

"Here, you two must be starving," Muradin added, handing a large chunk of roasted meat to Millie and Brody before grabbing another piece for himself.

"So," I began, casually leaning forward, "tell me more about yourselves, and what happened."

"We're from a team called Coin and Dagger," Millie replied as she tied up her long black hair, which had been falling over her slightly masculine face. "It's a relatively new team, just a few months old. Our leader… he was actually a veteran adventurer. He once made it all the way to the third floor."

"We were reckless," Brody cut in. The young man had a small, almost innocent face that reminded me of a puppy, with curly brown hair to match. "We didn't expect there'd be that many monsters. We got surrounded. One by one, our teammates started falling."

His face darkened as the memories washed over him.

"We… we were lucky to find a gap and run," Millie added hoarsely, her voice trembling as tears spilled down her cheeks. "We were cowards."

Orin immediately moved to her side and hugged her gently.

"There was no hope," Brody continued, his voice low. "Even if we hadn't run, they would've died anyway. There were just too many."

"Well, that's the Tower for you," Muradin said, chewing thoughtfully on his meat. "One small mistake, and it's game over."

He looked around and sighed. "Too bad we don't have a drink to go with this conversation."

"Wait, I do, actually!" Brody perked up and pulled out a fairly well-known, expensive drink. The bottle was small, filled with a transparent liquid. "Our team had a tradition, we always celebrated big achievements with a drink. It's not much, but…"

"Oho, now that's good taste," Muradin said, examining the bottle with interest. "Should be just enough for all of us."

I gave the contents a quick check, just to be safe, but didn't find anything unusual before handing the bottle back to Brody.

We formed a circle around the fire, passing the bottle as we swapped stories and laughs, letting the warmth of the drink and fire ease our nerves.

"I just hope I make it back to the city safely... and deliver the sad news to the families of the fallen Coin and Dagger team," Millie said, sitting beside Orin. She took a long swig from the bottle before passing it on.

"I wish I can complete my talisman soon," Orin said, taking a small sip before handing the bottle to Darwyn.

"I hope Ironwood becomes a big, well-known team," Darwyn said, gazing up at the stars. "And that Elena finishes her training safely." He grinned and drained the last drop from the bottle.

We lingered a little longer, chatting and laughing, the kind of late-night talk that made you forget the dangers waiting outside the firelight.

Eventually, we decided to call it a night.

"Alright, let's get some rest. Tomorrow we need to move ou—"

Muradin never finished the sentence.

He collapsed mid-word, slumping to the ground, completely unconscious.

Shit. we let our guard down.

Before I could even move, a crushing wave of numbness hit me. My limbs turned to jelly, my breath grew shallow. The world tilted, blurring at the edges.

Something was wrong. Something was very wrong.

Through the haze, I caught one last clear image.

Brody, if that was even his real name, kneeling beside Muradin with a cold, practiced expression…

…and calmly pulling the pouch from his belt.

Not a trace of hesitation.

Not a shred of guilt.

Then everything went dark.