Guardian of Healing - Etrian Odyssey 2 - Boyxboy

Chapter 7

AN: I said that this was a short chapter, but it's still over three thousand words XD Probably a bit of a filler, but we're at the half-way mark! In any case, hope you enjoy reading~

-

Chapter 7:

Axel tossed out the bag of stones first before he set about pulling himself out of the mining spot. This particular spot of the 16th floor wasn't as deep as the many others in the lower stratums, and that made perfect sense since this floor wasn't as well traversed as the others.

"How did you fare?" Hamza asked him as he offered his arm for Axel to take a hold of.

"I managed to pull out ten stones," Axel replied as he took Hamza's offer arm and hefted himself completely from the mining spot. "Odd finding pink and green stones mixed together."

Hamza simply chuckled as he returned his gaze to their surroundings, eyeing them cautiously before he turned his attention back to Axel. "Ready to meet up with the others, then? We have all that we can gather for now."

Axel nodded his head as he bent down and picked up the heavy sack of gemstones. He had honestly been ready to return to town the second he stepped foot inside the labyrinth. But he knew that would be pointless. He was needed inside the labyrinth while Lynus was needed outside. The very best thing he could do was to do his part to the best of his ability and return with the materials needed to make things easier for Lynus.

He also knew he couldn't rush the others. He wasn't that selfish to put his needs to check up on Lynus above the safety of his guildmates. He would never forgive himself if anything happened to them because of his lack of concentration and poor judgement.

But he had to admit that he was getting a little worried.

About an hour into their trek, his noticed a slight ache in his chest. It wasn't exactly a pain and he was able to forget about it when he was battling against monsters or scavenging for materials, but it was just...there. An ache. That was the only word he could think of to describe it.

Axel idly rubbed at his chest again as he followed Hamza toward the geopole that would take them back to town. The slight ache in the very centre of his chest was more noticeable now. It was annoying. Yet he felt that it was also...a sign of something. It made him feel uneasy.

...He was probably just feeling paranoid and overly cautious. He was just thankful that the geopole was close by.

Stepping into the familiar swirling pink light, Axel was momentarily blinded by a flash of light. As he blinked his eyes a few times to rid himself of the after glare, he found himself standing on the outskirts of town, near the labyrinth's entrance. And thankfully the others had already gathered together, seemingly having completed their own tasks.

"Everyone here unharmed?" Hamza immediately asked as the pulled together in one group.

"We're fine," Jhon was the one to answer and motioned to those with him with a wave of his hand. "We only just returned ourselves, but it appears that we have everything we were sent to gather."

Axel knew that everyone would pull through, but he still breathed a sigh of relief. With these rouge hexers roaming about, he wasn't at all comfortable or fond of breaking into smaller groups. It had to be done, though, and it seemed that everyone got through without a single encounter with said hexers.

All they needed to do now was to pick up Lynus, Lirit, Cedric, and Chi-hung from the hospital and return to the inn where they could sort through their materials. And start experimenting with possible charms and tonics to ward off and maybe even prevent those destructive curses from taking effect.