Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

"So this is the lair of the Gorgon," Prince asked as he scouted out the area. His silver hair was lightly ruffled as was his outfit from fighting all of the demon snakes guarding the cave.

Wolf nodded. "The NPC who sent us on this quest said the Gorgon will be found in a cave guarded by demon snakes," he stated calmly. He too was roughed up in appearance form all the fighting. Not as much as his two team mates though. As a beast healer he stayed on the sidelines and healed, only fighting the enemies that came close enough.

Lolidragon huffed. "Those snakes weren't that strong, but they had larger numbers on their side."

Princes nodded his agreement before stepping into the cave.

Though dark and eerie, the cave had a certain sense of beauty to it. Giant cloudy crystals peered out from the sides of the cave, leaving only a thin path to follow. The floor looked like it was dusted with shimmering glitter but was it was actually particles eroded from the large crystals. Snake like veins of mossy green minerals wound their way through the crystals.

As they progressed further into the cave, the group started hearing a hissing noise. This by itself wasn't surprising considering the Gorgon lurked within. What was surprising was that the hissing almost sounded as if it was an ongoing conversation.

The three teammates looked at each other and nodded. Each took up a more defensive stance as they started walking towards a now visible light source.

When they finally reached the source of light, it turned out to be coming from a large cavern inside the cave that had a hole that opened to the sky. Large brick like emeralds lined the walls in all different shades of green. A waterfall cascaded from the opening in the ceiling, gathering in a deep green pool at its base. Torches lit with green fire lined the walls, dancing in the gentle breeze from the rushing water. The floor was padded with a vibrant green moss that was soft to walk on. In the back of the cave was a pile of black silk pillows. It was there that the Gorgon sat, her back to the group, hissing a conversation with someone or something in front of her.

As the party of three moved further into the room, the Gorgon finally took notice and turned to face the group. Although twice the height of any in the group; the Gorgon was exotically beautiful. She had pale white skin with high cheekbones and full green lips. Her torso was covered by a beautiful green and silver corset that hugged her shapely curves. She had no legs, in their place a long elegant snake tale emerged from her hips. Where hair should be, a mass of thin black snakes writhed on her head. Each of the snakes moved on its own, though they were all now focused on the newcomers.

"So another party has come to challenge me," she hissed. She slithered closer to the group and towered over them with her immense height. "The last group was pathetic. What makes you think you could do any better?"

A chuckle came from behind her, turning the attention away from the snake woman.

"Must you taunt them Sanaa," a gentle voice inquired. The same hissing quality could be heard in the new voice that was heard in the Gorgon's voice.

As the source of the voice stepped forward, the group could only stare. It was obvious this person was male, but he was none the less stunning. Long wild black heir with emerald streaks cascaded down his back. His pale porcelain like skin was accented by patches of emerald scales. His nails were black and had a claw like quality to them. Two fangs poked out from beneath his lips which had formed into a gentle smile. His outfit consisted of a light, silvery armor that moved perfectly along his body gaining the appearance of snake scales. What got them, however, were his eyes. All Second Life characters maintained their original eye color. This person's eyes were as green as the emeralds that coated the walls of the cavern.

The Gorgon pouted. "But it's so fun to scare them."

The teen gave her a fond smile, and then turned to scan the newcomers. When his eyes fell upon the thief of the group, his grin widened.

"Miss Lolidragon, how nice it is to see you again," he chirped happily.

Finally snapping out of her daze, Lolidragon leapt forward and engulfed the small teen in a hug.

"Viper! It's so good to see you too!" She let go and put her hands on her hips. "Why didn't you contact me earlier?"

Viper ducked his head sheepishly. "I couldn't remember your player name. After I awakened in the game, I was mobbed by girls all wanting to mother me to death."

Prince could only look at him in sympathy. The same thing had happened to him, but instead they all wanted a piece of him. Like dogs chasing a stake or the mailman.

At the large, wide puppy eyes Viper was giving her, Lolidragon could do nothing but crumble. She hugged him close while petting his head like a prized dog.

"That's ok cutie, Prince had the same problem except it was rabid fangirls instead," she cooed at him.

Viper blushed heavily while half-heartedly attempting to escape her grasp.

"I would have contacted you if I had remembered, Miss Lolidragon." He finally escaped her grasp and gave her a sincere smile. "I am, however, happy that Lady Luck was kind enough to bring us together again!"

Lolidragon and Prince couldn't help but melt at the adorable smile Viper presented them with. Lolidragon couldn't resist the urge to hug him again while Prince just barely managed to restrain himself from doing the same.

Sanaa, for the most part forgotten, regained everyone's attention by slithering up behind Viper and placing her hands on his shoulders.

"Please introduce me to your friends, Viper," she insisted.

Before Viper could even open his mouth, Lolidragon had, once again, took front stage and bounced forward.

"Hi! My name is Lolidragon, as I'm sure you've picked up by now." She pointed at the silver haired elf. "The bishie is Prince and," she moved her arm to point at the humanoid wolf. "The big guy is Wolf!"

The teen stepped forward and bowed politely. "My in game name is Viper," he motioned towards the Gorgon. "My friend here has been given the name Sanaa. Sanaa is the level 40 Gorgon you need to defeat in order to complete the quest. She was originally a normal NPC, but it seems that all the time I spent here with her has caused her to evolve into an AI. It was after that happened that I gave her the name Sanaa."

Lolidragon looked confused. "Although a learning program was built into all game bosses and pets, it should be complex enough to AI in the bosses."

The GM went silent, obviously consulting her higher ups. Her eyes blinked back into focus and she grinned at Viper.

"My bosses have stated that they will be temporarily closing down this quest while they create a new simpler, less intelligent Gorgon." At Viper's despondent look, she quickly continued. "The original Gorgon will be transferred to pet status and will be given to Viper as a companion."

Viper's eyes lit up as he let out a joyous laugh and leapt into Sanaa's arms which closed around him, holding him close.

"Did you hear that Sanaa," he exclaimed. "You can come with me now! I'll even buy you one of those comfy cottages so you have somewhere to stay when I finally start school!"

"School," Wolf questioned.

Viper nodded. "As I'm sure you can tell from my accent, I'm not from Taiwan. My home country is England. I've recently moved to Taiwan but it was too late to start at the nearby school. So I'm simply going to start next year."

"What school are you transferring to?" It was again Wolf who asked this question.

Viper tapped his chin as he tried to remember. He let out a sigh. "I'm sorry, I can't think of the name of it. I'll be sure to tell you when I remember it. Unfortunately, that might not be till I actually start school I'm just so busy with unpacking and getting everything settled. I only play this game at night when I sleep."

Wolf nodded in sympathy, knowing the difficulty in getting settled after a move.

"So what are you guys going to do now that the quest is cancelled," Viper asked, walking towards the entrance of the cave. The rest of the group followed close behind him.

"We're actually looking for more members to add to our party," Prince said.

Wolf nodded. "Yes. More specifically, a mage and archer."

Lolidragon suddenly perked up. "Viper," she exclaimed, causing said person to jump in surprise.

"Yes, Miss Lolidragon?" His voice was hesitant. You could tell he was weary of her mood.

"What job do you have?"

Viper's eyes widened as he finally got where she was going with this. "My job is a necromancer. A mage with the ability to summon the dead to their aid."

Princes eyes glinted in determination. "Then how about you join our party?!"

Shaking his head in amusement, Viper let out a chuckle. "I'm alright with that as long as Sanaa is also fine with it."

All eyes turned to Sanaa, most of them silently pleading with her.

"I am fine with it as long as I remain with Viper."

Viper again laughed as Lolidragon and Prince cheered loudly while Wolf smiled. Well, it seemed as if he had a party now and honestly, Viper couldn't help but think things were going to be interesting now.

Chapter Text

Chapter 2
Prince was moping as his teammates killed Viper’s flaming skeletons. Sure they would gain valuable powdered bone they could sell at a high price, but for each skeleton killed, their team’s fame dropped a point. He couldn’t decide whether to cheer or cry, so he settled for sulking on the side lines.
“Prince, are you ok?”
Prince looked up to see Viper looking at him with a worried look. Nodding his head and standing up, he assured Viper he was fin. Only a bit upset at their massive drop in fame.
The necromancer gave him a smile. “Don’t worry. Once we sell the powdered bone, we’ll be able to buy better equipment. Then we can progress to higher level areas which will allow us to gain that fame back and then some!”

Cheering up instantly, Prince got back onto the battle field only to freeze as a dark blur sped passed him, directly at Lolidragon. A scream echoed through the clearing as the blur killed Lolidragon in a single swipe.

“No! Lolidragon!” Prince raced forward, determined to avenge his friend, paying to attention to Wolf shouting in the background. Before he could reach the attacker, a blur intercepted him, causing him to come to an abrupt halt.

“Run Prince! It’s the Leopard King!”

The shout came too late and soon all Prince could see was darkness.

Light blinded his senses as Prince reawakened. Looking around at the unfamiliar surroundings, he surmised that he had just re-spawned.

“Lolidragon?” He looked around as he called out for his friends. “Wolf? Viper?”

After waiting for a few minutes, he finally got a message from Viper.

Prince,
We are at a restaurant in town. Lolidragon said you and her had visited it before. We are ordering a bit of everything and it should be ready by the time you arrive.
~Viper

After consulting a map, Prince realized he had just been spawned in a part of town he had yet to visit. The restaurant was only 10 blocks away. A smile stretched across his lips as he headed off towards where his friends were. His thoughts were so occupied by the food he would soon be eating that he failed to notice all the girls leering at him when he walked by.

Just as he turned the corner onto the street on which the restaurant was located, he came across a large crowd of people circling around something or someone in the middle of the road.

Curious of what could be attracting so much attention, Prince carefully pushed forward to the inner circle. What he saw astounded him. An elf so beautiful he made most woman pale in comparison. His midnight black hair glinted in the sun. His face was more masculine than vipers but still beautiful to gaze upon. A harp was cradled gently in the crook of his arm while he played a soft and soothing melody.

Drooling slightly at the beautiful male in front of him, Prince could only stare in awe at the man before him.

The bard turned and stared at Prince with an odd look on his face. Before either could react, a melodic voice pierced through the crowd, gaining everyone’s attention.

“Prince,” the voice called out. “Are you in here somewhere?”

All heads turned towards the voice and Prince smiled as he recognized the voice as Viper’s.

“In the middle of the crowd, Viper!”

It took only a few seconds for the crowd in front of Prince to part, admitting the ebony haired beauty to the center of the circle.

Viper gave Prince a sweet smile. “You were taking so long that Lolidragon was afraid you were mobbed by ‘horny fangirls.’” Viper used air quotes on the last two words to emphasize his point. “Those were her exact words, I believe.” He gave a small laugh. “So she convinced me to come find you.”

Laughing, Prince shook his head in the negative. “No, it was that guy getting mobbed this time.” A frown formed on his lips. “But unlike me, they didn’t maul him.”

The lamia laughed again. “Oh stop pouting, Prince. If you could keep up a cool demeanor instead of panicking, they would admire you from a distance instead of trying to molest you.”

Prince raised an eyebrow at the familiarity the other boy showed for this situation.

“You’ve gone through this as well.”

It was definitely more of a statement then a question.

With a sigh, Viper nodded. “Yes, and although there will always be those few fanatics who just won’t give up, most will keep you at arm’s length if you simply act aloof towards their advances.”

As Prince pondered over Viper’s advice, the bard from before approached the petite necromancer. He knelt before him and kissed the lamia’s hand.

“You are absolutely angelic,” he spoke in awe.

Viper froze before an embarrassed giggle escaped his mouth. “Why thank you,” he replied, a shy smile spreading across his lips.

Melting even further at the adorable smile gracing the boy’s face, the bard continued with an introduction. “My name is Guileastos. You, however, may address me as Gui or any other way you wish,” he announced in sultry tone. He placed another kiss on the back of Viper’s hand. “May I have the honor of knowing your name, my gorgeous flower?”

Viper blushed again and graced Gui with a beautiful smile. “I go by Viper.”

Gui grinned. “Viper,” he said, rolling the name on his tongue. “It suits you well. A viper is a beautiful yet deadly creature.”

A laugh escaped Viper. “You flatter me, Guileastos.”

Grinning, Gui stood up and grasped both of Viper’s hands. “Would you allow me to join your part, My Emerald?” A pleading look accompanied the equally pleading question.

Viper turned and sent a questioning look at Prince. Gui, picking up on what the look meant, sent a pleading look to Prince.

Prince laughed. “I don’t mind. The more the merrier! We were looking for an archer anyway.”

Gui grinned and immediately grasped hold of Viper’s right hand and held onto it. “Where to, My Pretty?”

A look of realization passed over Viper’s face. “Oh no! Its been over 15 minutes since I was sent out to get you!” He grasped hold of both Gui’s and Prince’s hands and started dragging them towards the restaurant. “Miss Lolidragon is going to be spitting flames at me for being so late.”

That definitely got Princes attention, who immediately took the lead knowing how dangerous Lolidragon’s temper could be.

“Your other party members would have noticed my addition to the party and should easily be able to deduce you were held up,” Gui mentioned, in hopes of soothing the worry of his petite angel. His effort was rewarded with Viper immediately relaxing and giving him a stunning smile.

“I forgot about that! Thanks, Gui!” Viper gave Gui a hug that caused the archer’s legs to weaken.

Prince smiled at the two but tapped their shoulders to get their attention.

“While that does mean we’re excused for some lateness, that doesn’t mean we should be any later,” he pointed out.

Grimacing at the thought of upsetting Lolidragon, Viper immediately resumed dragging Gui again with Prince following swiftly behind them.

When they finally arrived at the restaurant, Lolidragon was obviously a bit upset with having to wait, but was otherwise happy to see them.

“It’s about time! I was worried you had gotten attacked by rabid fangirls again!” The thief fretted as she checked Prince over for injuries.

“No, that walk you showed me really worked and Viper offered me some advice too. Acting aloof and indifferent kept them away,” Prince replied with a grin.

“Wonderful,” Lolidragon cheered, before abruptly stopping. “Eh?” She turned her attention to Gui who was holding hands with a furiously blushing Viper.

Without a word, Lolidragon made her way over to the pair. With a critical eye, she looked the bard up and down, circling around them. Taking in his outfit, lyre, and the devoted look he gained in his eyes when he looked at Viper. A leer pasted itself on her face as she looked down at Viper.

“Sooooo…..Viper….” Her voice sent chills down the necromancer’s back. “Are you going to introduce us to your new…uh…friend?”

“Um, h-he’s,” Viper tried to stutter out, leaving to Gui to save him.

“My name is Guileastes and I’m your new teammate!” He introduced himself happily, before clinging tightly to Viper’s arm. “And wherever my precious Angel goes, I shall protect him!”

Lolidragon smiled at the enthusiasm. “Good to know!” She turned to the rest of the group. “If we want to gain in fame, I think we should level up and buy better equipment first.”

Wolf nodded. “I heard a group saying that the dragons at Dragon Fury Mountain can be harvested for rare and expensive items. On top of that, dragons are notorious for being great sources of experience points.”

Perking up at the idea of earning more money and gaining levels, Prince cheered. “Yeah! And we can just grind dragons for a few hours or so! That way we’ll gain experience and money!”

It was Viper, who stepped forward to calm the group.

“If we’re going to be fighting a lot of dragon for a long time, we’re going to need a lot of potion to keep ourselves going. I have enough healing and support spells under my belt to double as a healer and keep you buffed up with Wolf. However, there is no spell to replenish TP without us sacrificing some, so we’ll need TP replenishing potions at the least.”

His words seemed to ground everyone as it sunk in. For hours worth of grinding dragons, they would need at least 2 dozen TP potions. That didn’t even include the entrance fee needed for the adventurer’s guild so they could get into the Dragon Fury Mountain area.

Viper sighed before digging into his pocket. He withdrew a very large emerald, gaining awed stares from the others.

“This should get us enough money for the potions and entrance fee.” He then turned and glared at Prince who had opened his mouth to ask a question. “Yes, I have more and no you may not have them. They are for desperate scenarios like this.”

Prince sighed in defeat before perking up. “Well, let’s go harvest some dragon parts!”

Chapter Text

“I think Dragon Slayers suits our team.”

The simple, yet practical suggestion sent their group into a quarrel about what their team would be called. Everyone, except Harry and Gui were shouting out their own suggestions for the team name. Some of which, Viper could only shake his head at in despair.

“Wild Roses!”

Viper sighed and leant back into Gui who grinned happily and wrapped his arms around the smaller male.

“I can only hope they don’t come up with a name that’s too embarrassing. Any future tournaments we enter will use this name as our team’s title,” Viper said, exasperation in his voice.

“The name needs to be subtle yet draw attention at the same time. It needs to describe us yet give none of our strengths or weaknesses away. It also needs to make the opponent under estimate us but needs to be a strong name they’ll remember in times of our victory.”

The statement was so unlike anything else Gui had said up to this point, that Viper turned in the embrace and stared up at him with his bright green eyes. The admiration in those eyes had Gui blushing.

“That’s a very deep and educated point of view, Gui,” Viper said with a hint of awe in his voice. “Most people, even those with age under their belt, don’t have such an in-depth point of view.”

Gui grinned happily and started nuzzling Viper. “I’m most happy to impress my beloved.”

Before Viper could blush, the argument over the team name stopped. Viper and Gui both turned to look at the rest of the group who were all staring at Prince.

“Odd?” The word came out of Lolidragon’s mouth with a thoughtful hum.

“Our group is a bit odd,” Wolf agreed. “We’re full of misfits yet we still cover each other’s weaknesses.”

Lolidragon thrust an arm into the air in triumph. “Great,” she cheered. “We’ll be known as the Odd Squad!”

Everyone agreed on the name and soon they were on their way to Dragon Fury Mountain.

“So…what exactly are we harvesting from the dragons?” Viper looked at the group in question.

“The fangs, claws, scales, skin, eyes,” Lolidragon started listing off. “Heart, liver, and the most expensive item, dragon dicks.”

Harry froze where he was and turned a bright red. He turned and gaped at her.

“Are you serious?”

When Lolidragon confirmed that she was, in fact, telling the truth, Viper could only groan and grumble about how weird and perverted this game was.

“Ah, my beloved. This game was created so you could truly be yourself, no matter what kind of person you are,” Gui said soothingly. “That means the creators must have gotten ideas from all sorts of people.”

Viper pouted up at Gui. “Why do you have to make so much sense?”

That was all it took for Gui’s calm façade crumble.

“Kya!” Gui squealed, launching himself at Viper, glomping him. “You’re so cute.”

They couldn’t see Viper’s face, as it was smothered in Gui’s robes, but they knew he was probably blushing furiously.

Gently, Viper maneuvered himself so his back was to gui and looked at the rest of the group. “Well, let’s get too it then.”

After double checking that they had everything they needed, the group made their way to the base of Dragon Fury Mountain.

It was for about 3 hours that the group grinded dragons. They had decided to end it at that point since their recovery potions were running low and they had acquired a good amount of the dragon parts they had been battling for.

Just as they had finished up claiming the dragon parts, they heard the approach of another group. Turning to look, it was a group consisting of 5 people. Hearing a groan, their group turned to look at Prince who was looking at the incoming group with annoyance. A determined glint appeared in the elf’s eyes when the other group came closer. With a cocky step, Prince advance forward.

“Whadaya wan wid us? Lil girly?” Prince said this with a horrible hic accent.

Viper sighed and put his face in his hands at Prince’s mistake. It was obvious, at least to him, that the person at the front of the other group was male. However, it seemed that Prince thought otherwise. The bishie elf must have assumed this group was another of those freaky fangirl groups and decided to deal with it head on in a rather crude way.

“Who are you calling little girl you ass” the young boy yelled, grabbing onto the front of Prince’s shirt and getting in his face.

Prince blinked in confusion before finally realizing his mistake. He stuttered helplessly as he tried to apologize. Unfortunately, it seemed that the pretty boy was just as hot tempered as Prince. The boy sent a jolt of lighting into his grip and through Prince, cutting the elf’s life by a quarter.

“Hey! How dare you attack Prince,” Lollidragon hollered, sending a dagger at the boy.

“Leave Ming Huang alone!” The boy with spikey hair charged at the busty thief as he yelled at her.

“Please stop this,” Viper yelled, taking a step forward. “This is all a misunderstanding!” He tried to yell again only to let out a pained yelp as an arrow buried itself in his shoulder. It was a blessing and a curse to be able to feel what happened in the game. He stumbled back into Gui who caught him with a worried look.

Wolf rushed over to the necromancer and started healing the shoulder wound. Seeing that the teen was safe, Gui turned towards the marksman with a furious look. “You dare harm my beloved Viper!”

The archer fumed as he charged up his attack. And arrow flew at him from Marksman, forcing him to dodge. That didn’t stop him though. He finished charging his shot and fired it high into the air. The arrow reached the peak of its arc before splitting into hundreds of arrows and raining down on the opposing team.

“Viper!” Gui called as he turned away from his targets towards the young mage.

The necromancer smiled as he sat up. “I’m fine Gui. It startled me more than anything. It hardly caused me any damage.”

The archer sighed in relief and made his way over to Viper. A loud yell froze him in place.

“Heaven’s Nine Fury!”

A bolt of lightning struck the ground in the middle of the group. The resulting explosion engulfed both groups and blinded everyone. When the smoke cleared, only four people remained. Prince was picking himself up off the ground while Wicked who had been on the edge of the blast, was still standing albeit slightly singed. Ming Huang was also picking himself off the ground, a smug smirk gracing his lips. That smirk, however, was quickly wiped from his face when a strong hand wrapped around his throat and slammed him into the ground.Viper hissed menacingly as he barred his fangs at the boy in his grip. Viper himself was untouched by the blast. His long black hair hung down around his face and the light of the setting sun gave him a glow. He looked like a fallen angel. A very angry fallen angel.

“How are you still alive? How do you have no damage?” Ming Huang just manage to choke out the questions.

The normally peaceful Viper gave the mage a grin, showing that all of his teeth were sharp and that beads of venom had built up at the tips of his incisors.

“Take a look at my stats and tell me what you see.” Was the hissed response.

Ming Huangs eyes went blank as he did as asked. When he regained focus, he wore a confused look.

“There’s no data,” he exclaimed. “Your stats and level are missing!”

Viper heard a gasp from behind. He knew it came from Prince but ignored it. Instead he used his free hand to remove the emerald tear-drop earring from his left ear.

“Now try.”

Again Ming Huang’s eyes blanked. The reaction when he returned was different. His eyes widened in fear.

“You’re at the current max level!”

“Yes and just know that if you attack my friends again, I will make your life hell!” With that, Viper drew his hand back and slammed it into Min Huang’s chest. The mage coughed blood before dispersing as his character was sent back to two. Viper looked at the blood on his hand nonchalantly before shaking it off. He looked over at Prince and Wicked.

“Shall we return?”

Prince gave Viper and interested look while Wicked looked slightly frightened and confused.

“You’re at that max level,” Prince asked as he idly watched Viper wipe blood off his hands.

The necromancer gave a shrug. “Yes, but considering that the update happening tonight is essentially going to double the current max level, I don’t see it as very important.”

Nodding in understanding, Prince walked over to Viper and clapped him on the back.

“Well, let’s head back to town. I’m hungry and I’m sure Lolidragon is getting more and more annoyed the longer she has to wait for us.

With that, Prince began to walk off only to freeze and turn around, a sheepish look on his face.

“How do we get back to town?”

Viper sweat-dropped with Wicked. The necromancer walked over to Prince and spun him around in the opposite direction.

“Ah, thanks,” Prince exclaimed cheerfully before marching off in the correct direction with Viper following close behind.

Wicked could only shake his head as he followed the two. Odd Squad most certainly suited their team.

Chapter Text

"Curse those Dark Phantom," Lolidragon shouted as she guzzled down her ale.

She slammed the empty goblet down on the table and demanded another one from a nearby waitress. The waitress nodded and quickly retreated to get away from the rowdy woman.

"I know I can't believe they just attacked us over a misunderstanding."

Prince, while annoyed at being beaten, was mainly annoyed that his misinterpretation of their intentions had caused almost his entire party to be wiped. Well that and the fact that their team had lost out on close to 50 gold because they were unable to pick up the dragon dicks.

Viper sighed at the group, feeling he and Wolf were the only mature ones in the group. He understood that both Prince and Lolidragon would have reacted exactly the same way if a group had approached them the way they had approached Dark Phantom. The lamia, however, decided not to voice this opinion and instead decided to help everyone focus on the brighter side of things.

"Instead of constantly getting frustrated an annoyed over our loss, why not take this as an opportunity to learn how to make our team even stronger?"

Everyone instantly silenced and looked towards the effeminate boy. They all seemed to calm down immediately and get thoughtful looks on their faces. Well, all of them except for Gui.

"My darling Viper, you're a genius and gorgeous!"

With that, the bard quickly latched onto the necromancer and proceeded to cuddle him. A blush bloomed on Viper's face yet he couldn't deny that he liked the attention.

Wolf, the strategist of the group was quickly thinking back to their battle. He focused on what they had been lacking and realized the problem almost immediately.

"The reason we were wiped out so quickly was because of our lack of a proper wizard."

His words drew everyone out of their musings and caused Gui to stop cuddling his beloved. Once he had everyone's attention, he continued on with his theory.

"It's true that while we have two capable long distance fighters, we lack someone who can properly defend and respond with magic," Wolf theorized. "Viper is good for sending out essentially cannon fodder to distract the enemies while Guilleastos can fire arrows from a distance. However, if we want to be able to do strong long distance damage, then we'll need to find a wizard."

Everyone around the table clapped at his sound logic.

"But where to find one," Prince mumbled.

"Um…excuse me?"

The quiet voice caught the attention of their group and they all turned to look at the shy young woman who had approached their table.

"I…I overheard that you're looking for a wizard," she inquired hesitantly. "My name is Yullian. My main element is fire and my sub element is wood. I'm also at level 36."

Viper couldn't help but sigh as pandemonium broke out.

"You're a girl right? You like guys?"

"You're not allowed to make any advances on my beloved Viper!"

With that last exclamation, Viper was yet again pulled into a tight hug by Gui.

"Why do you want to join us," Wolf asked.

The girl seemed to turn even redder and stuttered as she tried to convey her reason.

"I..I just heard your conversation just now and…and I was moved?"

Her reply almost seemed more like a question making Lolidragon and Wolf even more suspicious of her reasons to join. Their team was known to have odd members, hence the name they chose for their team. So to have such a normal reason for joining, well it just seemed a bit farfetched if anything.

So, in order to see how well she would do on their team, they took her out to the woods so she could show them her skills. Everything seemed to be going well. She was very capable in terms of fire magic and although lacking in wood magic, knew a few to help out in tight situations. She was powerful enough to take down a few of the enemies herself and she seemed to keep a pretty level head. All of this added up to Lolidragon being even more suspicious.

"This is way too good to be true," the thief muttered to herself.

She watched as Wolf asked for all the techniques Yullian knew. The girl blushed brightly and quickly rushed to answer his question as thoroughly and as best she could She seemed almost frantic. A niggling slowly made its way into Lolidragon's mind as she watched the seen. She had an idea on what Yullian's oddness might be and knew of an easy way to test it.

Lolidragon quickly walked over to Prince and Guilleastos. She grabbed both of their arms and dragged them over to Yullian who glanced at the odd situation forming. The thief that shoved Prince and Guilleastos in front of the wizard.

"What do you think of their looks?" Her face was deadpan as she waited for an answer.

Prince whined from his position of Lolidragon holding his face. Guilleastos, on the other hand, was trying to escape back to his beloved Viper in order for some more cuddling.

"Um…Gui has a very organized face and Prince has a very legal face?"

Her reply sent Prince in a tizzy, glancing into a mirror he had produced from nowhere in order to ensure his face was in fact no legal but the same gorgeous face he knew he had. Guilleastos, on the other hand, had retreated to his beloved Viper and was begging the lamia to reassure him that his face was still as beautiful as ever. The lamia gave a light sigh before petting Gui on the head and assuring him he was as gorgeous as always and had nothing to worry about. This response had the bard instantly squeezing the life out of his beloved from his joy.

Lolidragon's eyes narrowed in thought. She quickly grasped Wolf's shoulders and dragged him in front of the girl. The reaction was instant. Her face turned read and she started to look flustered.

"What about Wolf-bro?"

The girl quickly started listing traits she found admirable in Wolf. His well-groomed fir, maturity, and manliness where quickly reassured by the girl. Wolf just looked on in confusion while both Prince and Gui quickly got up in Wolf's face and searched for the features this girl was listing.

"I'm sure girls will definitely like you both too!" She quickly reassured the two men to hopefully sooth their damaged pride, before quickly turning back to Wolf and staring at the priest with a longing gaze.

With both of their prides damaged, Prince and Guileastos sulked. It seemed that there was at least one woman who wouldn't be swayed by their charms.

"Hey, I have an idea," Lolidragon crowed to Prince.

She quickly grabbed his arm and gathered Guileastos and Viper as well. She dragged them all behind a tree so that neither Yullian nor Wolf could see them.

"So we can all see how much Yullian like Wolf right?" The group nodded as one. "But Wolf seems completely oblivious!" She was frustrated at this point and the others could understand. "Why don't we get them hitched!?"

Viper started at her. Please say he wasn't the only one a bit weirded out by this. At seeing everyone else's cheer he gave a sigh of resignation. Apparently he was the only one.

The plans were simple. Lolidragon was simply suggesting using Viagra to essentially force them together. Viper quickly shut that one down with a harsh glare and a lecture on the morals and ethics of drugging people.

"Let's write a love letter in Yullian's style to Wolf-nii"

Viper gave Gui an impressed look.

"That's a very good and subtle way to do it. It might actually work. That's a really great idea, Gui!"

Of course, getting praise from his beloved meant that said lamia was now be squished to the brink of death by the bard.

Gui's plan really had no draw backs and in theory should have worked without a hitch, however, when in concerns with the Odd Squad, things never seemed to go right. While the letter was a beautiful, poetic summery of Yullian's feelings to Wolf-nii, Gui was a genius in literature. So the letter was way above what Wolf could actually understand.

The next plan was Lolidragon's more legal plan. It was the trick the two into having a candle lit dinner. They would send out an invite to a dinner and then have only Wolf and Yullian show up. Well that plan, unfortunately, flunked as well. Due to the group chat, Wolf and Yullian were able to openly communicate with the group, leaving the conspirators with no reason not to answer.

With Lolidragon focusing back on her idea of drugging the two, Prince finally had enough.

"I guess we're doing things the hard way," he growled as he stomped towards an oblivious Wolf. With one strong swing, he knocked the priest out and dragged him back to the group.

"Lolidragon, you get Yullian and stuff her into a wedding gown. Gui, I want you to be in charge of getting Wolf into his outfit and making him look decent. Viper, I want you to go book a church and get everything ready for the ceremony."

Impressed with the take charge attitude, nobody argued and immediately set about to comply with Princes wishes. It took only an hour to have everything set up for the ceremony and just in time. Wolf, who was set at the alter, was finally waking up.

"Hey, why am I tied up?"

Lolidragon gave him a flat look before responding.

"Yullian is in love with you and wants to marry you. Are you willing or no?"

Wolf looked at the group in shock before turning and looking at the door to the chapel which had just open. Yullian walked through looking like the perfect bride out of a magazine. Her dress fit her perfectly and cascaded in layers at the bottom. The smile on her face was bright and gave away her obvious happiness at the situation.

"W-why would you want me? I'm ugly, don't have the money to pay for your equipment, and I'm not worthy of you," he stuttered helplessly.

Yullian huffed.

"You may not have a lot of money, but you work so hard to keep this group together. You're the rock that keeps them grounded and gets them through the tough situations. You have a kind heart and care a lot about your friends. So in my mind, you're perfect!"

Wolf, finally starting to believe her words, smiled brightly and agreed to the ceremony. It was short and simple, but practicality was something both the groom and bride appreciated so it fit them perfectly. Everyone cheered as the newlywed couple walked down the aisle together. With such a happy occurrence, hopefully everything from then on out would also bring joy to the group.