Artyom’s mission was complete. He’d found the hero who was in fact from Earth, and learned of how he ended up in this World without a portal. He could turn around, leave the party, and head back to TOAL for his next mission with a sense of accomplishment. Of course, Artyom knew that his time in this fantastical World was far from over.

As soon as he reported his findings to Gus back at headquarters, Artyom knew he’d be assigned a new mission; to figure out why and how this hero was “reincarnated” here with all of his memories intact, something never before seen by TOAL during its numerous interactions with Earthers far from home. Artyom knew in his heart that as long as they held those memories, they were still from Earth. He and TOAL would have their backs.

To that effect, what better way to learn more about what was going on than from the hero directly? Artyom asked to join his team and was immediately accepted, on account of him clearing Crystal Kobold Crossing by himself before anyone else.

Of course, the Great Hero Tommy wasn’t adventuring by his lonesome and obviously worked with a team of incredibly competent specialists in order to surmount the difficult challenges he had to face in order to save the kingdom from the Dark Lord. With the advanced level threat Artyom had to fight through to set up this meeting, he was curious who the hero was working with in order to conquer these threats himself.

Tommy led Artyom back to the main hall in a slow yet steady walk so as to not spill their stacked plates of food. A quick application of Detect Life from Artyom revealed the pathway to be perfectly safe. The hero might seem like a swell guy, but Artyom had been bitten hard enough already to leave his safety to appearances alone anymore.

They made their way into the room, sticking to the walls while Tommy led Artyom over to a sizable group made up of five women. They were each clad in entirely unique dresses, each a varying color of the rainbow and hosting drastically different styles. Likewise varied were their hair, body shapes, and attitudes. But the one commonality between them all was that they were absolutely drop-dead gorgeous. Artyom could only describe it as staring at the most scintillating breakfast cereal, with every individual piece in the bowl made with the most vibrant colors and intense flavors imaginable. Well, all but one, who compared to the others, looked quite average with her brown hair and lithe yet muscular build.

“There you are, Tommy!” exclaimed the one at the front, her flowing red hair and ludicrously sized bosom bobbing as she leaned forward in her plunging neckline dress. Artyom had the decency to avert his gaze, but the Great Hero looked directly at the lady, a big grin on his face.

“Xerica!” replied Tommy, while pulling out the key piece. “Guess what I got?!”

“The piece of the Goddess’ Key!” replied another of the women in a cute cheer as she brought her arms together and jumped into the air in joy. This one had lavender hair in a cross between a long bob and hime cut. She was slightly on the shorter side, with an immature air about her and a petite build with more reasonable body proportions than the others. Well, reasonable for a supermodel.

“Sure did, Lensa!” exclaimed Tommy. “And guess what else I got?”

The others were silent, looking amongst themselves and Artyom.

“A new party member?” asked the average looking lady. The other women looked at her in a combination of surprise and confusion.

“What are you talking about Neitra?” asked the third of the cereal ladies, her button nose wrinkled up and face in a pout. This one had bright, blonde hair and most of her curves in her lower body.

“I mean exactly what I said,” replied Neitra, taking a deep breath and displaying a stern yet calm facade.

“Well, she’s right, Daisy!” exclaimed Tommy. “Say hello to our new teammate, Artyom!”

“Hi everyone,” said Artyom, awkwardly waving at the group. It didn’t take a genius or career weeaboo to see the walking character tropes in front of him. Still, this was a team that was able to get through Crystal Kobold Crossing, so they were probably able to get serious when in a pinch.

“Are you sure you want to add a new teammate, Tommy?” asked the fourth of the supermodels. This one had moss-green hair down to her shoulders and was similarly thin as Neitra, yet without the emphasized musculature. Standing at an average height, she gave Artyom an apprehensive look, before turning to the hero with a questioning glance.

“Sure I am, Ecole!” he replied. “This is the guy who went through the dungeon and got us the key!”

All of the women looked at Artyom in shock, Neitra more in curiosity.

“It’d be good to have someone else witty and resourceful in the party, like Neitra! Besides,” he continued. “I’d like to have someone around to talk about guy stuff with! I mean, I love you all, but it would make me happier.”

The women looked at each other silently, seemingly communicating amongst themselves without speaking a single word, before facing back towards the hero.

“Oh, all right,” said Xerica, the redhead in front. “If it’ll make you happy, we’ll let him in the team.”

“Nice!” shouted Tommy, a huge grin plastered on his face. “You hear that, Artyom? You’re in!”

Artyom nodded in response with a facetious smile. He never had any illusion of his mission being easy, and judging by the subtle glares the other party members were giving him, that wasn’t going to change. His hand never left the flashbang spell scroll in his pocket.

The group mostly dispersed afterwards, agreeing to meet at the city’s Eastern gates the next day at high noon. Tommy and the four women out of a teenager’s fantasy met with various nobles, basking in their high praises and repeating the same trite line about his destiny to defeat the Dark Lord. The ladies he was with alternated between leaning on his shoulder and verbalizing their agreement at everything he said.

Neitra kept some distance from the rest of the group, chatting up the other nobles about more mundane topics. Her eyes were always moving across the great hall, her gaze never in the same place for long. They never seemed to rest for long whenever they fell on the rest of her party, but were exceptionally focused whenever she had Artyom in her sights.

Artyom found a standing table he could place his plate on and began eating its contents after casting an array of spells to determine their safety and edibility. He decided to go slowly to give him a chance to watch the others, and definitely not because he’d get sick by stuffing himself with the several pounds of food on his plate at once.

The rest of the night was uneventful, with the most exciting part of the party being when a violinist’s bow broke mid-performance. Eventually, the Great Hero and his entourage left, along with many of the nobles. Before leaving himself, Artyom decided to check up on Lord Cabbafor to see how happy he was about having his party graced by the hero.

“Oh, thank you Lord Artyom! This has to be the best party Brimhaven has ever seen!” exclaimed Cabbafor. “I couldn’t have done it without you!”

“Hey, no problem! It was a pain to get the hero the invitation, but I’d say it was worth it.”

“Oh, it most certainly was! If you need anything, please let me know. I owe you greatly for this.”

“Sure, I’ll let you know if something comes up.” While Artyom was an expert at burning bridges, he was experienced in using them too. If there was something Cabbafor could help him with on his mission, Artyom wouldn’t hesitate to ask.

Artyom finally took his leave after making sure there was no other business left for him to take care of at the party, and headed back to the inn while making sure he wasn’t being followed. Once he was back, he called Gus and let him know all about that day’s adventures. To no one’s surprise, Gus was equally shocked at Artyom’s revelations and asked him to continue his investigation. In exchange for this new information, Gus sent over the requisitioned gear that Artyom had requested the week prior. With whatever was holding it up still blocking the usual channels, Gus was able to acquire various advanced prototype implements instead.

With his business finally finished for the night, Artyom made sure to set extra wards in his room and fell asleep thinking of what to expect the next day, a strong radio silence pulling him into a dreamless slumber.

Artyom arose with the sun, well before he was supposed to meet with the Great Hero. As much as he desired to take the opportunity to sleep in for once, he didn’t want to risk accidentally missing out on the opportunity he worked so hard to get. So much so that after he got himself ready and returned his rental suit, he waited by the Eastern gates for 5 hours. Admiring the scenery only provided so much entertainment, and attempts at meditating or physical exercise didn’t help to break up the monotony much.

Artyom felt it was a worthy sacrifice however, mostly as a form of atonement for his previous failings getting up to this point. The hero and his party finally arrived as the prismatic sun was reaching its apex. Unlike the night before, they were dressed in more traditional adventurer gear. The women wore variations of wizardly robes, leather armor, and chain mail. The four bombshells in particular seemed to have theirs on too tight. Tommy was dressed in full plate mail made out of a gleaming, silvery metal.

“Hey Artyom! I was scared you weren’t going to be here!” shouted Tommy, as soon as he saw Artyom sitting cross-legged by the side of the road.

Artyom quickly got up and dusted off his pants before walking over to the others.

“Nope, I’m here. I was actually worried you all wouldn’t show up.”

“Great! I hope you’re ready for our next quest!”

When the Great Hero asked him to meet at the city gates, Artyom was suspicious whether or not they’d leave immediately, but prepared himself anyway. He’d eaten a sizable breakfast, as well as purchased edible trail rations and a cheap sleeping bag with the last of his funds. It looked like it paid off, but he was still surprised that the hero was ready to include him in the party without even laying down any ground rules or really getting to know him first. Even Sae and his team took Artyom on a trial mission and had him agree to the team rules first. No matter. Whatever the rules and attitudes of the party would be, Artyom would have to stick around to get his answers.

“Sure am!” he replied with a faux-cheer. Artyom figured it would be best to play the agreeable everyman in this situation until he could integrate himself into the group properly. “So what is the mission?”

The redhead of the party, Xerica, stepped forward with a contemptuous expression and addressed him.

“The Goddess came to the Great Hero in a prophetic vision and told him of a mountain cave where he may go to assemble the pieces of Her key, to then unlock the path to Her holy sword. We’re going to the mountain cave now.”

“Sounds good! I’m ready whenever you are,” replied Artyom, forcing some cheer into his voice despite the bleak aura being put out by Xerica and the other women.

They all made their way out of the Eastern gate, down the path towards the mountains in the distance. While his welcome to this team might not have been very pleasant, Artyom was hopeful that he’d be able to smooth things out with the others soon, and get what he came here for.