The creaky wooden table groaned under the weight of the platters laid before Kael and Mia.

Steam rose from freshly roasted meat, thick cuts of scarlet-drenched beef, glazed bird wings laced in orange spice, and dark stew filled with tender, root-soaked chunks.

A bottle of dark wine sat between them, its cork already removed.

Kael raised a brow. "Did he say this was their daily meal?"

Mia sniffed at a slice of the meat, her nose twitching. "This is phoenix chicken. And this one…" she poked a marbled strip of red meat "is Tier-5 Spirit Wandering Cow. I'd recognize that aura anywhere. These are premium. Together they're worth… five hundred gold coins, minimum. And that's just what I can tell by smell."

Kael frowned. "And we're still paying one gold coin for all of this?"

The inn owner stood nearby with a grin plastered across his face, hands resting on his big belly. "Eat, eat. You'll not get a warmer welcome than this in all of Lira. We raise most of what you see here ourselves. The meat comes fresh, every few days. Forest's generous. And with fewer mouths to feed…"

He trailed off, letting the words hang there like a loose noose.

Mia's eyes narrowed. "Fewer mouths?"

The man laughed, a low, throaty sound. "Ah, don't mind me. After all the recent monster troubles, some villagers left. Others… didn't make it." He tapped the side of his nose. "But we're resilient folk. Still standing, eh?"

Kael kept his face neutral, but his fingers twitched near the hilt of his dagger. "And yet, no guards. No sound. No markets open."

"People stay in. Fear has a long shadow, Milord." He waved a hand.

Mia didn't take her eyes off the man. "Still. This is a lot to offer for so little coin."

"Bah," the innkeeper waved a hand, "it doesn't cost us much. No trade taxes, no middlemen. Just pick, butcher, and cook. Besides, we don't see many travelers. I was happy to have you two. In fact, I wanted to give this meal for free—but figured you'd find that suspicious." He chuckled. "So, I made it a single gold coin. Makes it seem like a bargain instead of a trap."

That last word lingered too long, like a bad joke no one laughed at.

Kael smiled faintly, lifting his wineglass in mock toast. "That's very thoughtful."

The man nodded, satisfied. "I'll let you two enjoy then. Just call if you need anything. The room upstairs is yours. Clean sheets. Warm fireplace. No extra charges."

With a wink, he turned and waddled away.

Mia and Kael stayed silent until his heavy footfalls disappeared down the hallway.

"He thinks we're a couple," Kael said under his breath. "Should we correct him?"

Mia gave him a sharp look. "Why bother, bro? Let him think as it is. Makes things easier to book only one room."

They both looked down at the food again.

Kael poked a slice of meat with his fork. "But, something is seriously wrong with this. Let's not eat it. Just slowly store the food in your storage ring when you pretend to take some. We have bread and soup in my storage ring."

Mia raised an eyebrow. "C'mon, Bro. Seriously? My ring's full of clothes. Unlike you, mine aren't orderly. I just threw everything there and picked it up whenever needed. If I dump stew in there, I'll have to wash everything with phoenix broth."

Kael didn't budge. "I'm serious. Something is wrong here."

Mia sighed. "Look, I get the paranoia. Weird things were happening around us lately. The innkeeper seems strange, and so is this village, but there's nothing in the food. No mana disturbance, no hexes, not even spiritual anomalies. The meat's fresh. The spices are raw. There is certainly no toxic poison in this. Moreover, I have been an adventurer for years. You can trust my expertise, right?"

Kael hesitated. Then, finally sighed. "Alright. Alright… let's eat it."

They ate sparingly, sipping the dark wine and nibbling at the food without fully relaxing. The inn remained dead silent, save for the occasional creak of old wood under their boots.

After the meal, they headed upstairs. The room was basic, with dusty wooden floors, an old cot, and an oil lantern barely flickering. Kael secured the windows and double-bolted the door, then flopped onto the cot.

Mia curled up on the edge of the same cot, rubbing her stomach. "Eating full makes me feel... sleepy. I think it's just fatigue from the flight."

Kael nodded, yawning himself. "I think it's just fatigue from the flight. We'll rest for a bit and roam around the village until sunset, investigate what's going on around."

"Yeah, let's…" *Yawn* "Let's do that, Brother…"

Soon, they both drifted into sleep before the lamp even ran out of oil.

Downstairs…

The innkeeper quietly re-entered the dining hall, humming a tuneless melody as he wiped the table with a rag too clean for such a filthy place. He glanced at the empty wine jug and smirked. He muttered under his breath. "This set of adventurers always tests for poison, but they didn't know that there is a thing called a sleeping potion, completely harmless to the body. But just one vial of such liquid added to the wine, and not even a Tier-7 will get up for half a day.

He turned toward the stairwell and gave it a long look before returning to the kitchen—vanishing into the dark like a ghost slipping between cracks.

A few hours later;

Outside the inn…

The orange glow of sunset spread over the walled village like spilled blood. The gate remained closed, but from the forests beyond, shapes emerged.

Pale and bald, a dozen figures crawled like animals on all fours, moving with jerky, unnatural rhythm.

Their flesh was colorless. Their eyes glowed faintly with a sickly yellow sheen, and their long tongues flicked out as they sniffed the air.

Ssshhh-ff… ssshhh-ff…

Their grotesque fingers scraped the dirt road as they moved, noses twitching toward the inn.

One raised its head, mouth splitting open sideways in a wide, toothless grin.

Then they rushed.

They moved too fast for natural things—darting across the square like shadows on fire. In moments, they were at the door of the inn, hands slapping the wood, claws digging at the hinges.

Thud. Thud. CRACK.

The door didn't last long.

One by one, they poured inside.

Meanwhile, Upstairs…

Mia's eyes snapped open all of a sudden, as she got this tingle, sensing danger.

Her head throbbed slightly, the world tilting for a moment before she steeled her mind and pushed through the haze. The scent of stale wine clung to her lips, and the dull ache in her limbs confirmed what she suspected.

"A sleeping potion…" she muttered, eyes widening.

She glanced to the side. Kael was still unconscious, his breathing steady but shallow. His skin was pale, and sweat beaded at his temples. Mia clenched her jaw.

"I knew it… Brother was right. We should have been cautious… Ugh… Mia… you are just too stupid to fall into such an obvious trap…"

She stood, legs shaky but solid enough. With a hand gesture, a faint arc of mana formed around her fingertips, cleansing her system with a focused [Dispel Toxins] spell. The dizziness faded almost instantly.

Grinding her teeth, she stormed toward the door, ignoring the creaks beneath her feet. She threw the door open and stalked down the steps barefoot.

The smell of rot and cold dust hit her.

What she saw downstairs turned her fury into a wildfire.

Pale, bald creatures, dozens of them, crawled over broken furniture, sniffing and clawing around.

One of them had its head buried in an empty wine jug, licking the insides like a rabid beast.

Another snarled as it turned toward her, its face twitching unnaturally, as if muscle and sinew weren't quite properly attached.

They froze when they saw her.

Mia's pupils constricted. "What are these…"

She raised her hand. "Get. Out. Of. My. Way."

With a single stomp, the floor beneath her cracked, and a magical circle lit up in a flash of silver-blue light.

BOOM!

The wooden planks exploded upward as a stone golem erupted from the ground, towering above the snarling creatures.

Carved from enchanted granite, its arms were thick as tree trunks, and glowing runes spiraled along its joints.

With a grunt, Mia pointed forward.

"CRUSH THEM ALL!"