"What's that Calamity doing here?"

"It's a bad omen. Something's going to happen again."

"Does that bitch have no shame against showing her face around here?"

The usual whispers and snarls surrounded Claris soon after she passed through Trenta's city gates. She rolled her eyes, long past the point of caring, and stepped into the Adventurer's Guild. The clerk behind the counter stiffened when she saw Claris, but to her credit she remained professional as she recorded the horns and weapons Claris brought and calculated their value.

"32 horns... did you really kill 16 demons by yourself?" she asked.

Claris shrugged. "I just got lucky, that's all."

Hurried whispers echoed around from the adventurers gathered in the lobby.

"16 demons by herself?"

"She must have done something dirty."

"Where did she even find them? Demons don't show up around here."

Claris tilted her head and curled her lips into a sneer. "You could say that a Calamity befell them."

The speakers hushed up and took a few steps back.

Calamity Claris. That was the reputation that kept Claris out of the city, though one that came about through with no conscious effort on her part. It started out from a series of small random incidents, like Claris wiping out a large bandit party because she happened to come across them when they were already wounded by a beast, or happening to be the one to come across a wrecked caravan, or being the last survivor of an attack because the other adventurers nearby were all novices. Pure luck.

Because of that, adventurers believed that she brought bad luck and curses to those around her, and everyone refused to work with her or associate with her. And every time she achieved or failed at something, more whispers about the Calamity grew. It was a ridiculous self-fulfilling title.

"Your total reward from the demon bounty and the sold items comes out to 6,500 levs. Thank you for your business," said the clerk as she passed Claris a pile of coins.

"Thanks for the loot." Claris cheerfully swept them into her coin pouch.

More gasps came from the crowd, along with envious stares at her payout. It seemed the story of the Calamity would get a further boost from here. Even though it was pure luck that a bunch of demons were too focused on capturing Stella while also being in Claris' trap-laden home turf.

"Um," a blonde girl in a hooded sky blue robe called out as she clutched a staff to her chest. "You're not in any party, right? I just arrived and don't know anyone, would you like to group up with me? I can use healing magic!"

Claris raised her eyebrows and blinked at the healer. "Oh, so that's why you haven't heard of me."

A veteran of Trenta grabbed her shoulder and pulled her back. "Hey! That's Calamity Claris, you should stay away from her. She brings misfortune."

"I heard that she slaughtered all of the Grey Wolves bandits in their sleep," another adventurer chimed in.

"If you stay near her for longer than a few minutes, your sword will rust and mysteriously break in battle."

"Monsters are attracted to her, and will attack your group constantly."

Claris' jaw dropped. When did any of that ever happen? The rumors became increasingly fanciful overtime.

"Eh?" The healer held a hand next to her innocent face. "She doesn't give off a bad aura." Her bright emerald eyes seemed to pierce into Claris' soul, as if she could read everything deep inside of her.

Claris sighed and turned to the girl. "It's probably better for you to find other people. Those stories are bullshit, but if you join up with me they'll say similar things about you too. A healer like you can't solo guild tasks, right? You have your reputation to think about."

The healer's eyes drooped.

"There are a few well established parties around, there's probably a few that want another healer. Ask the clerk for recommendations. There are others who aren't grouped up right now too, but-" Claris raised her voice so it carried across the room. "-some rather unsavory stares are coming your way like they intend to eat you up, so I'd be careful."

The healer jerked her head around as a bunch of adventurers pretended to not look at her.

Payback for all the rumors about me, bitches.

Claris left the guild hall without another word.

There was one general store for adventurers that didn't care for the rumors surrounding her, and every time she came into Trenta she made a point of stopping by. Claris headed towards the merchant section of the city and stopped in her tracks.

A swath of shops, including the one she frequented, were shuttered and dismantled. Pedestrians avoided the area and cast fearful glances.

From what they said, someone associated with the area got in trouble with the duke. The duke, facing resistance from certain members of the populace, decided to make an example of what happened to those who defied him and exiled the people living here, whether they had anything to do with his political affairs or not.

Claris ran around asking about their whereabouts. Eventually a guard pointed her in the direction their impromptu caravan had set out, but her face paled. It was an area that faced a lot of monster attacks. Usually caravans hired adventurers to escort them, but from what she heard they left in such a hurry that they barely had any escorts.

She headed back towards the guild.

"Healer girl!" Claris yelled as soon as she swung open the doors.

"Y-yes?!" The healer jumped in her seat and knocked a cup off her table.

Claris ran to her and thrust her hands on the table. "Are you free right now? I need your help."

Her eyes narrowed. “Is someone in trouble?”

"One of my friends got exiled, and I think they're heading into danger. I'm going after them. Can you come along?"

The healer shot up straight. "As a healer, I can't turn back when someone needs help!" There was a light in her determined eyes.

"Thanks." Claris nodded. She addressed the other adventurers. "I think I already know the answer, but any of you coming along?"

An uneasy silence fell across the lobby.

"They were exiled by the duke, right? If he hears about it it'll be a lot of trouble," a swordsman muttered.

"Hmph." Claris threw a few coins on the clerk's counter for renting a horse and ran out, pulling her new healer by the hand.

"Wait!" The healer gasped and tried to catch her breath.

"Sorry for that, but I don't want to lose any time," Claris said as she helped the girl onto a horse in the guild's stables. She lifted herself up in front and took the reins. She dashed out of the city as fast as she could.

The caravan had a head start, but she assumed they had a lot of wagons with them and that some had to walk on foot. She hoped that they could catch up with a horse running at full speed.

"Um, you're Claris, right?" asked the healer.

"Yeah. Sorry for not introducing myself properly," Claris said over her shoulder.

"It's okay. I'm Lenili, I came from the Aureal Kingdom. I look forward to working together!"

Claris wracked her brain. "I can't recall any Kingdom like that. Did another king rise up or something? There aren't many human countries big enough to be called a kingdom though."

"That's because it's an Elven country."

Claris whipped her head around. "You're an elf?"

Lenili blushed and lowered her hood. Her ears weren't as long and pointy as the stereotypical image, but they were still noticeably different from human ears. "More specifically, a half elf."

"Isn't it bad to let me know? Ever since the pope branded your kind as heretics..."

"I'm pretty good at reading people's auras. Yours seemed kind, and I just had a feeling."

"Is that why you didn't listen to the Calamity stories?"

Lenili laughed. "They were pretty far-fetched."

"Tell me about it." Claris chuckled. Her eyes narrowed. "I see a group. I think it's them."

Ahead were a handful of wagons arranged in a circle, with a group of people huddled inside. Outside were a few fighters engaged against a pair of desert wolves, the rest of the small pack lying dead on the ground. Judging by their movement, some of them weren't seasoned fighters, but people who barely wielded weapons until now. Some were injured and lying inside the wagon circle.

The desert wolves were a light brown, close to the shade of the sand around them. Each one was almost the size of a wagon, and they circled around the caravan and poked holes in the group's defenses.

Claris launched one of her chained spinning blades from her gauntlet and whirled the chain around to build up momentum. The blades whistled as they cut through the air around her, and she launched it forward. The blades shot in between a wolf and a fighter. Both of them turned to look at the sudden intruder, and as she pulled the chain back the blades gouged out one of the wolf's eyes. She snapped it back against her gauntlet when it returned.

"Lenili, take care of healing from behind," she said as she rode the horse to the wagons. Lenili nodded and climbed off into the protected group.

Claris rode her horse to disrupt the other wolf's attack then dismounted. She wasn't used to cavalry combat and staying on the horse would be more dangerous for her.

The fighter she saved gasped as he saw her. "Calamity Claris? What are you-"

"Shut your mouth," Claris growled and unsheathed her sword. "Can you fight or not? If you never used a weapon until now get out of my way and hide behind the wagons."

The man didn't waste any time dropping his sword and climbing into hiding.

Claris rolled her eyes.

Another man came up to her, but this one was bulkier and rough around the edges. He wielded a two handed greatsword and had armor on him. "I wouldn't have thought we would ever work together."

"You're from the guild, right?" asked Claris as recognition dawned on her. "Is it just you?"

"There's 2 more of us in fighting condition, and 2 injured." He took up position next to her as the half-blinded wolf circled back to engage them.

"I brought a healer."

The man grinned. "I hope she knows her stuff then."

"So do I. Let's go!" Claris dashed forward as the wolf howled. She threw her chained blades towards its left, where it was blinded. The wolf leapt out of the way as the blades arced past. She activated her Metallurgia on a chain segment and the blades whipped back to dig into the wolf's side.

The wolf yelped and staggered, taking a second to regain its footing - but that second was enough for the adventurer to land a blow with his greatsword.

Claris snapped her chained blades to her gauntlet and rushed in. The wolf swung at her and gashed her upper arm with its claw. She clenched her teeth through the pain and swung her sword through its neck. The desert wolf collapsed at the same time she fell to her knees from the pain.

"Shit," Claris cursed as she looked at her shoulder.

The adventurer helped her up. "Do you need to withdraw?"

"I'll be fine, this is nothing." She sheathed her sword and spun her chained blade around. "Let's get the last one."

They ran around the wagons to where a dual-wielding swordswoman danced with the wolf with help from a fire mage.

"Dale!" the swordswoman yelled as she saw them approach.

"Got it!" Dale ran in to parry the wolf's attack as the woman dropped down to slash at it. They jumped away as the wolf lashed at them again, a second before a fireball exploded in their previous position.

Claris watched the party at work. There were two front-liners. She stayed at range and used her chained blades as her main weapon, whipping the beast over and over again. The more it bled, the less strength it had and the wolf's movements slowed down noticeably. Its life was cut short by Dale's beheading.

The group panted, darting their eyes around to check for danger, and slowly calmed down from the adrenaline.

"Why did you bring the Calamity over? Our luck's going to get worse," said the mage.

"Quiet, Rick," said Dale. "If she got here even a little later we might all be dead."

The swordswoman gave Claris an appreciative nod.

"You're the leader?" asked Claris.

"The name's Dale. Thanks for the assist." He offered a hand, and she shook it.

"No worries. A friend should be among this group, I just came to find her." Claris climbed through the wagon wall just as Lenili finished patching up the injured adventurers and merchants. Her hood covered her head again, probably to hide her ears. Looking around, the group probably numbered around 30."Is Chloe here?" She was suddenly assaulted by a ball of fluff.

"Claris!" Chloe yelled while hugging Claris in a bear grip. Her brown hair flowed behind her in low twintails. They had known each other since Claris was a small orphaned boy, and she was the only friend Claris had. "Wait you're injured. Stop being so reckless you idiot!"

"Hey, it was this idiot that saved you, idiot." Claris pushed Chloe away from her. "And it's only a scratch."

"Only a scratch my ass, I can stick a finger into your arm," Chloe snapped.

"Don't actually try to stick one in there!"

Lenili slipped up to her while they were bickering. "Please allow me to help with that."

"Thanks." Claris sat down and turned her injured arm towards Lenili.

Lenili held her hands over the wound and closed her eyes. "Spirits of light, I humbly ask, descend to our foolish bodies and cleanse our malaise." As she chanted, Claris' wound was surrounded by a pale green light. It closed in on itself and no trace of it remained.

"Wow." Claris rubbed her skin where the wound had been. "I haven't seen healing magic this effective and fast."

"Don't underestimate the magic of my people." Lenili whispered with a wink.