[DCI] Chapter 37 - Defender's Stigma (Patreon)

Aisha returned her weapon to her side, setting the butt of her axe on the stone floor. Yet, she observed our unexpected savior with caution. It wouldn’t be a lie if I said that the guy in front of us gave off quite nefarious vibes. But, since he had stepped in instead of just watching, there was a chance that he wasn’t as bad as he looked.

“Thanks for the assist. That attack would have at least knocked us back a few meters.” I broke the silence with a grateful nod. “It might be a stupid thing to ask but you are a Defender too, right?”

The dark-clad man reached for the piece of cloth covering the lower half of his face and pulled it up a little. “A newbie?”

His voice was deep and extremely hoarse, as if he had some issue with his throat, perhaps. As for his tone, while it sounded a tad ominous, I couldn’t really feel any malice or disrespect in it. He definitely wasn’t the one to show a lot of emotion.

“He kinda is,” Aisha answered his pondering, setting her greataxe on her shoulder. “It’s like his third Dungeon or so. We actually haven’t talked about the common verification methods.”

The man grunted to himself and gave me a brief look. “It would be wise to fill him in then, especially considering that he’s… a human if I’m not mistaken.”

“Is there something wrong with being a human?” I raised a brow at our potential new ally.

“There are races much more gifted physically, magically, mentally, and in many other areas. As a person quite mediocre in every single one of them, it could quickly get dangerous if you accidentally offended someone you didn’t wish to,” he explained calmly.

“Sound logic,” I agreed. “So, is there a safe way to ask or do I have to judge each case individually?”

“Well, the method I always used was to invite someone to my party. No matter if they rejected or accepted the request, you would feel a little flutter in your mind, different depending on the response. And, if the target wasn’t a Defender, you would experience a slight backlash. Nothing serious, just a tap,” Aisha interjected.

“That’s one way to do it,” the man grunted. “Unfortunately, it requires physical contact, usually done with a handshake. There’s always a lot of suspicion between strangers so not everyone agrees to use this approach.”

“I haven’t met anyone who rejected it in my life,” my beloved partner added.

“You are a drakan. Most races would be afraid of offending you, not the other way around,” he replied and Aisha smirked. “There’s a safer method which most people use.”

“Ah, right, the Stigma.” Aisha snapped the fingers of her free hand.

“The Stigma?” I glanced at her.

“It’s like a tattoo we Defenders can force to show up at will,” she replied while lifting her right shoulder pad a bit and rolling up her protective sleeve. “Its placement varies from person to person.”

She turned the exposed shoulder to me and I watched as some kind of shape began materializing over her mesmerizing scales. It rolled into existence with an effect of a burning paper but played in reverse, I guess. The last glowing embers merged together and formed an extremely familiar mark. A double-edged greataxe of pure black decorated Aisha’s shoulder now. It was no doubt her Class icon.

“Since you initiated it, it would be suspicious for me not to follow,” the hooded man said and brought his right hand to the front.

He took one of his leather gloves off, unrolled a bandage wrapped around his gray hand, and turned his palm up to show us. The same smoldering animation played over his skin and the mark formed two somewhat rounded, cascading cones with two points inside the smaller one. Again, I immediately recognized it as the Assassin's Class icon.

Then, both he and Aisha turned their gazes at me. I showed a wry smile.

“Haven’t ever done this so I have no idea where mine is.”

“Just wish for it to show up and you will feel warm somewhere. Trust me, it’s easy to notice,” my mate explained.

Following her advice, I focused my mind on displaying my Class icon, assuming that it would be the same for me as for them. Soon enough, I did start feeling a slight heat building up on the surface of my skin. But, there was a slight issue…

“I’d rather not show it, honestly.” I chuckled awkwardly.

“Why?” Aisha raised a brow at me.

“It’s in a quite peculiar location. Meaning, right above my dick.”

She looked at my face, perhaps to judge if I was serious, then dropped her gaze to my waist, and finally brought it back up right before exploding into a fit of laughter.

“Seriously? You got yourself a womb tattoo? What are you now, an incubus?” She kept giggling to herself while smacking my shoulder playfully.

“That’s truly a peculiar location,” the mysterious Assassin mused. “I’ve never heard of a mark this close to one’s nether regions.”

“Would you mind if I invited you to a party? Or you invited me?” I asked.

He shook his head. “It’s alright. I found you two fighting against the monsters. That’s enough proof, and you aren’t unwilling to provide more.”

“Thanks.” I nodded at him. “That reminds me, you took down that Death Knight like it was nothing. It’s certainly reassuring to know that someone capable has been assigned to this Dungeon.”

“It was nothing special. Its attention was entirely on the two of you, allowing me to fully utilize my abilities and strike the nucleus. No matter how powerful a monster is, if it has one, it can be felled in one strike.”

I wasn’t sure if he was just downplaying his skills and experience to lower our guards or if he was just an honest person but it wasn’t like I had to pick one right away. It was hard to judge from his composed tone and hoarse voice.

“That still requires some decent finesse. Anyway, thanks again. Are you scouting around?”

“Yes,” he answered shortly.

“Right. If you would like to team up, I think neither of us would have anything against it.” I glanced at Aisha and she nodded with a smile. “Naturally, if you would like to continue on your own, we are not holding you back any longer. We’ve already wasted enough of your time.”

“I prefer working alone. At least until the main objective is discovered. We might have a chance to see each other then. Good luck.”

He gave us a curt nod and started walking away. Right when he reached that short space between the torches where the shadow was the thickest, his figure blurred in darkness and disappeared from our eyes. He definitely wasn’t a starting Assassin, that was for sure.

Rose bolted out of the hidden passage shortly after our conversation partner was gone. She had hidden herself for the entire conversation. I wondered if he could have sensed her or something, but he hadn’t shown any signs of noticing a monster nearby, or another entity if Rose wasn’t perceived as such by others.

We looked at each other with Aisha and she snickered a little. “You will show me, right?”

I smirked at her. “I know just the position for you to have the perfect view.”

She bit on her lower lip while taking a peek at my crotch. “Me too.”

Chuckling, I shook my head. “It will have to wait until we are back. I don’t fancy getting caught with my pants down. Literally.”

“Bummer.” Aisha pouted.

~So, what do you think about our first encounter?~ she asked mentally.

I gestured with my head in the opposite way the man had left. ~He is a bit scary-looking but I don’t know if he’s just a tough guy with a soft heart or if he is trying to gain our trust by acting nice and cooperative. I wouldn’t exactly like to play into the stereotypes here but he is an Assassin in the end.~

Aisha furrowed her brows. ~How do you know? We didn’t invite him to our party and haven’t used any scrolls or crystal orbs.~

~So, it’s just like I thought, huh?~ I rubbed my chin. ~You guys don’t know your Class icons, right?~

~Class icons?~

~Remember the pictures displayed on top of the tiles in the Recruitment submenu?~

~Yeah, of course.~ She sent me a mental nod.

~Those are the Class icons. Do you know what’s yours?~

~I don’t think so.~

~It’s on your shoulder.~

“Wait, really?” Aisha stopped and looked at me in surprise. “Damn, really.”

I turned to face her. “It never occurred to you? I guess those scrolls or crystal orbs you mentioned show text instead, but still, a double-edged greataxe? I bet you’ve seen some that matched the gear or weapons others used.”

“I mean, yeah, but I figured it was just somewhat unique to me since you know, I love greataxes. I thought it was the same for other Defenders, like the Paladin I actually exchanged Stigmas with, who had a sword pointing up with two wings around it. He used one and focused on Healing Magic so it felt fitting. As I said, I usually used the other method.”

“Oh, well. Now you know.” I shrugged and we resumed walking.

“So, you can tell who someone is with just the Stigma?” Aisha continued out loud as we moved far enough from the place of our meeting with the Assassin guy.

“Only their core Class, but yeah. Class icons don’t evolve with gained titles or other attributes,” I explained.

“That’s plenty already. And, let me guess, you know all of them?” She shot me a sly grin.

I chuckled, smiling back. “Definitely not all of them but certainly a lot. Plus, I plan on noting the new ones down each time I stumble on them while rerolling the presets. Who knows when this might come useful?”

“True. If we assume that the majority of Defenders aren’t aware of this just like me, this gives us a huge advantage, especially with someone like you, who has knowledge about different Classes. That guy must have been unaware too or he wouldn’t willingly reveal his Stigma this easily, considering his Class,” Aisha mused.

“Or he was trying to gain our trust. Or he knew about it but didn’t expect us to know either. People who figured it out after seeing the same mark more than once surely exist,” I replied.

“I’m really glad to have you with me.” She bumped into my waist with her hip. “I’m learning something new and fascinating each day.”

“You are welcome.” I mirrored the motion, but while I had stumbled after her mischievous attack, she barely budged and I bounced back, making her snicker. “Anyway, why Stigma?”

“There was none in that game of yours?” Aisha glanced at me curiously.

“Honestly, I’m not sure. There might have been an option like that, but it’s very likely I disabled it right away if it was just a visual setting. Having a mark on your hand or somewhere else was often a sign of being a chosen one or something like that in most fiction, and I never liked role-playing as a hero. It was much more fun thinking of my character as a common adventurer climbing to the very top with pure effort and motivation.”

“Interesting. I know many who would choose the opposite. But, I can easily tell that it suits you.” Our gazes met and we smiled at each other. “As for where the name for this thing came from, well, as you are aware, Defenders can go out and interact with people. It’s not in every realm that this profession is kept a secret from the majority of the population.”

“Ah. I think I can see where this is going.” I cocked my head back in understanding.

“The way we Defenders live is quite special. To some, it’s comparable to selling yourself into slavery for fame or money, or both. We are like prisoners, as you accurately described it shortly after our first meeting. Not everyone is instantly cheering us on or singing us praises for protecting the universe, and being the heroes of the masses. It’s more often that people ridicule us, or at least look at us weirdly. Thus, it’s always been a Stigma as far as I can remember.”

“That sucks but I can see it.” I sighed. “I’m sure most if not all of my relatives and people I know would call my decision to sign the contract moronic or worse. I thought it would be a tad different in the fantasy worlds but I shouldn’t have let the popular fiction cloud my judgment. Society is the same no matter the stage of its technological development or other areas.”

“You are not wrong but there certainly are some who will describe your sacrifice as a valiant and selfless act.” She put a hand on my shoulder reassuringly. “I’m in this because I’m a crazy bitch with hots for fighting so it doesn’t bother me but you need to focus on the positive aspects and not let it get to you.”

I threw my hand onto her shoulder pad too and smirked. “You and I are not so different. You might be a crazy bitch with hots for fighting but I’m a crazy bastard with hots for all this Dungeon and adventuring stuff.”

We laughed together and Rose swirled around us. Confirming with my map that we were close to our little home, I guided us through the last few remaining intersections and Aisha located the quite eye-catching door.

I really had to figure something out to mask them. This was just too obvious.

My drakan mate opened the door for us and we stepped inside, taking a deep, relaxing breath. Nothing like the safe confines of your own, private space where no monster was able to get you. Theoretically.

“What now? We did gather some info on the common inhabitants of this Dungeon and even met a Defender. There should be two more if they are still alive. What’s your plan?” Aisha asked as I helped her out of her armor.

“Aren’t you underestimating them a little? Dead a few hours after receiving the assignment?” I chuckled.

“You never know.” She shrugged. “If someone else triggered the trap we found, they might have been a goner. That Death Knight would have given us a little bit of trouble and there were other monsters too.”

“This might mean that we are up against a Dungeon Core or Master in this case,” I mused. “That or this place is again not created but invaded and has always had plenty of traps. In any case, that guy would have been useful if he accepted our invitation.”

“Why? Are Assassins good with traps?” Aisha asked, starting to take care of my armor.

“Not as much as Thieves or Rogues but they still have the same core so yes, he should have at least somewhat useful abilities to find and disarm them, and certainly set,” I replied.

“That would save us a Subordinate Token.” She nodded in understanding. “At least for this run.”

“Yeah. Especially since I’ve already decided on our next companion. I gotta check the PC if their preset is still there or we will have to wait and pray for something similar to show up in the next rotation.”

“Now we are talking.” Aisha grinned at me. “Who are you going to bed next?”

I shook my head while waving my hand at her and walked to my desk. My playful mate and our spherical friend joined me without a second wasted. We sat down in front of the monitor and I navigated through the menus of DCI Hub. Thankfully, the Classes available for recruitment hadn’t yet been refreshed.

“Which one are we getting, then?” The draconic lady oozed with excitement and I wholeheartedly enjoyed the sight of her swaying tail.

“Which it is, you are right.” I snickered.

A look of pure confusion and consternation took over Aisha’s fair visage. Since it didn’t seem like she would get it, I decided to explain my train of thoughts to her.

“We definitely need to go with something magical so all the physical melee and ranged Classes have to go.” I filtered the undesirable tiles out, reducing their number to ten. “With you, me, and that Assassin guy, we have quite a lot of muscle for a Dungeon where a lot of enemies might be at least resistant to it. There’s a high chance that at least one more person is similar.”

“Right. Magic-wielding Classes are slightly more rare. Thankfully, we got a few of them here. Don’t forget to throw away all the dudes.” She winked at me.

I rolled my eyes as the corners of my lips curled up a little. But, she wasn’t entirely wrong. While I wasn’t looking to definitely turn our new companion from Subordinate to Bonded, it would be wise to leave that possibility open. Not that I had anything against dudes but I wasn’t exactly that much of a guy guy.

“This leaves us with three, huh.” I scratched my head. “Are magical Classes really that much more male-oriented?”

“No idea but I guess it did feel like there were more male Mages and Wizards than females,” Aisha replied. “Now, which one? Hmmm… These two look like magicians maybe… Fire and… earth? No idea what this third one is. A cauldron? An Alchemist? Come on! Turn the descriptions on already! You know I can’t recognize as many Stigmas as you can!”

I chuckled and fulfilled Aisha’s request. The three cards flipped around and showed the details of the respective Classes. We had an Ember Mage, Earthmancer, and a Witch in front of us. My sexy partner snorted after finally catching up on my earlier joke.

“While the cauldron is in fact part of the Alchemist’s Stigma too, the key lies in the details,” I began explaining. “For the Alchemist, it has three small vials right above the rim. For the Witch, it has a stick poking out of it and three small serpents symbolizing fumes, I bet.”

“I definitely would have missed that. But anyway, fire should be decently good against undead. Earth, not so much. I know nothing about Witches. Why is it your current pick?” Aisha questioned me.

“Because it’s very universal and aligns with our goals in general, not just for this Dungeon,” I continued. “While their magic isn’t technically as powerful as that of Mages, Wizards, and so on, they don’t focus on a single element or school of magic, collecting many useful spells and making smart use of them. They often deal in curses and something akin to small blessings, perhaps lucky boons. Plus, they know a lot about making potions, magical trinkets, and maybe even artifacts. Overall, an amazing Class when raised properly.”

“That does sound amazing when you put it like that, doesn’t it, Rose?” Our Pixie friend zoomed around Aisha’s head, clearly agreeing with the drakan woman. “And, I have no doubt in your abilities to properly raise a Class.”

She shot me a warm smile with a hint of mischief in it. I smiled back and winked at her.

“But in all seriousness, this is a great pick, right? What about her stats?” Aisha asked.

We refocused on the screen.

★━━━━━━━━━━★

Strength: 5

Agility: 10

Constitution: 8

Intelligence: 15

Wisdom: 25

Mystique: 5

Ingenuity: 5

★━━━━━━━━━━★

“I think they are great. Intelligence or Wisdom is usually the main one and both seem to be alright here. The rest is low but that’s to be expected. Her skills, abilities, and magic should scale mostly from those two. I would honestly go for it. What do you think?” I glanced to the side to examine Aisha’s face.

“It’s up to you, boss.” She chuckled. “I can work with anything. If you feel like you need a smart and knowledgeable woman in your life, I’ll accommodate.”

Shaking my head, I chuckled too. “You know it’s not about that. I could go with you as the only woman in my life. Don’t forget that.”

A warm smile grew on her lips and Aisha leaned forward to place a peck on my cheek. “I’ll keep it in mind for whenever I’m going to have to put your unruly harem in its place.”

“I’m starting to pity the girls that will join it.” We both laughed. “Here it goes, then.”

I chose the Witch for summoning and went through all the prompts asking me if I was completely sure. The screen reloaded and I was brought back to the Subordinate Management menu with a spinning circle over a shadowy silhouette just like in the past when I had recruited Aisha. The person in question looked at me with curious anticipation and I gestured behind her with a soft smile.

We then watched a black formation show up on the wooden floor and I covered Aisha’s eyes, already knowing what to expect. After the initial blinding darkness receded, the shadowy motes of light formed a feminine silhouette and began uncovering our new companion.

Right off the bat, I could pick on an extremely striking detail. The summoned woman had beautiful, light blue skin. A sparse amount of freckles of deep sapphire color decorated the bridge of her small nose and her delicate, pouty lips were of a similar, full, dark shade. She had a somewhat adorable face, yet carried a note of a lady with her long, straight, white-silvery hair which reached past her waist.

And, in terms of her waist and other features, she was pleasantly slim, having just enough body wherever it mattered. It was hard to judge from a sitting position, but I felt like she was slightly shorter than me, perhaps reaching my eyes or somewhere at that level. She had very modest but perky breasts, currently hidden behind a thin, violet fabric of her bra, which looked more like something out of a swimsuit rather than usual underwear. Her privates were covered with similar material.

The one feature I had initially missed was the woman’s ears. Hers were much longer than mine or Aisha’s. They extended a bit outwards and up, having a somewhat sharp and thin shape. It wasn’t like they were extremely long but when compared to us, she definitely was ways ahead of us.

Then, instead of gasping for air as Aisha had back then, she took a slow, controlled, deep breath, and let it out in the same fashion. Her charming eyelashes fluttered and I got my first taste of her dazzling, purplish eyes as they scanned both of us attentively. Her eyelids remained a little bit lowered as if she was perhaps a tad sleepy, but I could tell from her inquisitive and intelligent gaze that it was just a very misleading impression.

I already had a great feeling about her.