Vur stood with his arms crossed, standing in the center of the room with Tafel and Lindyss standing at his sides but positioned slightly behind him. Held in his arms, pressed against his upper body, there was a red, statue-like ant. In front of the ant, there was an open jar half-filled with an amber liquid. Vur was holding it up with a third arm, and in his fourth arm, there was a second jar of honey. His fourth arm bent, bringing the glass close to his face, and without a care in the world, Vur took a few generous mouthfuls of the liquid.
The air shimred in front of Vurs group shimred, and a flaming woman, Gaegukja Yeol, appeared. She hovered above the ground with her hands placed on her hips, a faint smile on her face. Welco back. This trial was simply a joke to the three of you, I see.
Vur nodded and turned his head towards Lindyss. As if they had discussed beforehand, Lindyss reached into her pocket and retrieved three jars of honey, distributing them to Tafel, Vur, and herself. Vur stared at the jar he was handed, which he had picked up by uncrossing one of his arms. His wrist wiggled from side to side, causing the amber liquid inside the jar to swirl about. He frowned, but he extended his arm out, offering the jar of honey to Gaegukja Yeol without saying a word.
The flaming woman cleared her throat. Isnt there sothing you have to return to before giving this jar of honey?
Vur furrowed his brow, and Gaegukja Yeol cleared her throat again. Ill give you a hint, the flaming woman said. Her body contorted, the solid bits dispersing into flexible flas, and she took on the shape of a cube. It looks like this.
Gaegukja Yeol didnt remain shaped like a cube for very long. Her body unraveled itself, returning to her original form. She floated to the side and gestured towards the floor. There was a noticeable imprint of a cubes bottom along with cracks that covered the surface. The storage cube, rember? Gaegukja Yeol asked. It was loaned to to complete the mission. If I dont return it, Ill be punished.
Vur nodded. I understand, he said, making eye contact with Gaegukja Yeol. Be more careful next ti with things that dont belong to you. It can be dangerous being a debtor.
The flas burning on Gaegukja Yeols body all stopped at the sa ti. A mont later, they flickered and moved about once more. Half of Gaegukja Yeols mouth stretched out and curled up in a twisted smile as she narrowed her eyes at Vur. To complete the towers mission, you have to place a jar of honey inside the storage container. Handing it to wont do anything.
Vur blinked and turned towards Lindyss again. Her shadow extended, and the ground opened up into a yawning abyss of shadows. Vur maintained eye contact with Gaegukja Yeol as he bent down and stuck the jar of ant honey into the pool of shadows, his arm sinking into the ground up to his elbow. When he brought his arm out, the jar was gone. Vur stood up and looked around. Now that Im done, where do I go?
Ha-ha, Gaegukja Yeol said, enunciating her laughter. You know what? Her body sank down, and her feet touched the ground. She walked in an arc over to Vurs side and very naturally placed her arm around his shoulders. Forget about the cube; Ill consider it as a gift to you. Another one. Itll probably be given away too.
Tafel cleared her throat and placed both her hands on Gaegukja Yeols shoulders. The fire around the flaming womans shoulders burned brighter, but the increase in temperature didnt affect Tafel at all. The demon squeezed down harder and firmly pried Gaegukja Yeol off of Vurs body. My husbands keeping the cube, and its not going to be because you gave it to him as a gift. He found it, and acting in accord with the rules of nature, he kept it.
Gaegukja Yeol giggled and floated back, her body behaving more as if she were floating in a pool of water rather than standing on solid ground. If youre going to keep the cube hidden in the shadows, I wont go down there to retrieve it, but at the sa ti, all the other exam takers who ca with you, Im sure theyll be devasted if they cant complete the mission because the cube is gone. Her eyes seed to glitter as they stared at Vur. Wouldnt it be your fault if theyre sent to the basent as failures?
I got this, Stella said and flew out of Vurs chest. She flitted to the brown runes on Vurs forearm and patted them. But Ill need your help, Deedee.
What wonderfully great idea do you have for to execute today? Diamant asked in a monotonous voice. Stella landed on Vurs arm and gestured while whispering. After an animated mont, Stella stopped moving around, and the brown runes flashed with a dim light. A storefront made of earth rose out of the ground, and Stella cleared her throat before looking at Lindyss. The cursed elf blinked, but upon reading the signboard that ca with the storefront, she couldnt help but roll her eyes.
Although Lindyss thought the idea was dumb, not listening to Stella could be considered an even dumber choice, so the cursed elf waved her arm, and a series of shadowy hands rose out of the abyss, stacking the storefronts counter with jars of honey.
Youre selling my honey? Vur asked, his brow furrowing. For so reason, the pupa he held in his arm seed to be upset as well despite it being unable to express its emotions.
No, no, Stella said. Were selling entrance tickets. The contestants buy the honey, and they put it back inside the cube. Since were keeping the cube, the honey gets sold and returned to us.
Actually, Gaegukja Yeol said. You can keep the cube, but I really do need to hand in the honey to the tower, so the honey that gets sold will be given to .
Vur frowned and stared at Gaegukja Yeol in silence. A few seconds passed. Beads of flaming sweat popped up on Gaegukja Yeols forehead. A few more seconds passed. Gaegukja Yeol shifted about, fidgeting in place. A few more seconds passed. Gaegukja Yeol cleared her throat and walked away. You know what? Never mind.
Tafel blinked and couldnt help but ask, Where are you going?
Gaegukja Yeol turned her head and stared at Tafel with a blank expression. The flaming womans body was only a few steps away from the portal leading into the ant tunnels. Im going to get so honey.
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