Vel's stupefaction lasted more than a minute.
"So we're going out now, right?"
"Yes, you should put some clothes on. I wouldn't want you to get cold."
"Hm… I did find some clothes in her room, but they were the expensive kind stashed away, probably to be sold later if the tribe got into a pinch…"
"So what? Take them."
The haze continued even after Jason and Camelia left the tent.
"What the hell do you mean better than being killed?" Vel finally snapped back to reality. "I would rather… Wait, where are we?"
"That took a while." Camelia muttered under her breath.
"Yeah… Is an effect of the Spell? Did you feel something similar when the choker was put on you?" Jason asked.
"Nope." The Catgirl shrugged. "I guess she just really, really didn't expect to-"
"Take this off," Vel ordered, interrupting Camelia and stepping to stand between her and Jason. "Right now!"
"Just who do you think you are, giving orders like this?" Camelia stared at the female Ogre in front of her with the thinnest pupils. "Lower your tone."
"Take it off." Vel repeated, ignoring the Catgirl completely. "I won't repeat myself again."
While Camelia was quite annoyed at being ignored, Jason didn't mind Vel's reaction too much.
She was standing right in front of him, and the fact that she was 10 centimeters taller was somewhat worrying… Or rather, arousing.
'Ahh…' Jason sighed. 'I really am into tall girls.' He thought to himself.
Before he could respond to the female Ogre, Camelia's hand roughly grabbed Vel's shoulder and spun her around to face her.
"Not so fun when you're the one with the choker, huh?" The Catgirl muttered and cracked her knuckles.
"It was never fun." Vel answered coldly. "Nothing more than a way to keep this Tribe going."
"Oh, is that so?" Camelia peeked beyond Vel at Jason. "You won't mind if I beat her up, right? Just a way to vent and blow off some steam."
"Pretty sure we've already found a much more fun way of blowing off steam." Jason answered with a smirk.
"Yes, I guess you're right." Camelia's gaze went back to Vel. "How about you sit down for now?"
The female Ogre and previous Chief of the Tribe raised an eyebrow.
It was so ridiculous she barely could conceive that the Catgirl would say such a thing.
"Jason?"
"Yes, Camelia?"
"Do I have permission to order your slave around?"
Jason's eyes narrowed the moment that those words were uttered.
[Permission to hold Authority over your Slave has been Requested.]
[Do you accept?]
He thought for a moment.
'The Spell requires the Master to grant permission, and the System is making it easier.'
In a way, the System was assisting him.
"Sure," Jason answered. "Just don't hurt her."
"Yay!"
Camelia clapped her hands, and the biggest smile appeared on her face, and not just because Jason had granted her authority over the female Ogre.
"You can feel it, can't you?" The Catgirl purred as she stepped closer to Vel. "The Spell giving me power over you."
A streak of fear and anxiety had flashed on the female Ogre's face the moment that Jason answered.
Camelia enjoyed the fear-ridden face for a moment, before pointing downwards.
"Sit." She ordered.
"Don't think that I'm…!" Vel's words trailed off as her knees gave in.
Before she knew it, her butt was on the ground.
"Stay here until we're back." The Catgirl said with a sadistic smile before walking past the dumbfounded female Ogre.
"You sure are ruthless." Jason whispered once Camelia joined his side and wrapped her arms around his left one.
"Weren't you glad that I had some bite left?" The Catgirl whispered back before getting on her tippytoes and quickly kissing him. "We're in a strange and unstable situation," She said with a smile after pulling back slightly. "Might as well enjoy it, right?"
"Right." Jason chuckled and placed a hand on the small of her back.
Vel, stunned and confused, remained with her gaze stuck to the ground.
'How… Did this happen?'
A nocturnal bird's cry resonated, and Vel finally took the time to look around her.
"The cliff, and…" She frowned. "The cave? Why would they go in there?"
The female Ogre did not know whether she could stand up or was forced by the Spell to remain seated. Still, she decided not to even test it and just remain seated with her arms crossed.
***
'It's definitely a Dungeon Door,' Jason thought as he passed his hand over the black metallic door streaked with golden motifs. 'The question is…'
He got closer and stuck his ear to the door.
Jason focused on his hearing and, the next second, Camelia appeared right in front of him, doing the exact same thing.
They stared at one another for a bit, before closing their eyes and focusing.
Camelia had a Perception Stat of 23 with the choker on, but her true Perception Stat was 33, massively surpassing Jason's current 25.
Still, with the choker now off and her Stats slowly rising up to match her true strength, their Perception Stats were practically equal.
'I can hear…'
Both opened their eyes at once.
"I counted at least twenty." Jason said.
"Around twenty-eight." Camelia corrected with a nod.
The two stepped away from the Dungeon Door and stared at it for a moment.
'At least we know that it isn't a Boss Room Door.' Jason thought while holding his chin. 'Boss Rooms very rarely have more than 2 or 3 Monsters, usually one or two slightly stronger mobs accompanying the Boss Monster, often referred to as Guards.'
Over twenty made it obvious.
'The whole Dungeon remains intact. The people that came here decided against challenging the Dungeon for one reason or another…'
"I think they might be Demons." Camelia muttered with a gulp.
"Demons, huh? What makes you say that?"
"The scent," She answered while rubbing her chin. "Or maybe the Mana? I'm not sure, but it feels Demonic."
"I see. Ever had experience with Demons?"
"No, but this is what I would expect Demons and their Mana to smell like." Camelia shrugged.
It wasn't the most reliable information, but useful still.
"Any idea how strong they are?" Jason asked as he walked to stand behind Camelia. "Can you tell?"
"Hmm…" She crossed her arms before letting her back and head rest against Jason. "Too strong, probably."
"I see."
Jason took a deep breath and wrapped his arms around her.
"In that case, it means that on the other side of this cliff…"
"Yes." Camelia nodded. "Demons, maybe…" Her voice grew heavier. "Maybe even the Demon Realm."