Conflict struck Sachi's mind instantly. These people seemed friendly, almost harmless, yet they were still his enemy.
"You coming, Sachi? Oh, are you too weak to move on your own? Sorry, I didn't even think about that."
Sachi waved his hand and moved forward. "No, it's fine. I'm still just... adjusting."
Each step against the ground sizzled. Following Gili, they arrived to a cliffside. The broken rocks beneath his feet became loose, dropping down onto the grains of sand on a beach. Without hesitation, the two in front dropped a long distance down onto the sand.
Gili shouted down to them. "Hey! He doesn't have our boots! How is he supposed to survive that jump!?"
The two looked at each other and shrugged. "Carry him on your back?"
Gili sighed. "Pat, use your traffic light and send your pair up here for us to borrow!"
The younger boy looked surprised. "Oh! I didn't even think about that." He unhooked a metal rod from his belt and took off his boots. "Ahh, the sand feels nice!"
The other man looked at him. "You're lucky your socks are heat resistant or you'd have a much different opinion."
Gili shouted again. "Boots please!"
Pat snapped out of his trance and help both the rod and the boots up. "I wish Mercedes was here, I hope I do this right."
The rod in his hand began to glow, obscuring is shape until the glow dimmed and revealed a traffic light that Sachi instantly recognized from his home. The light flickered red, and the boots began to float up to Sachi and Gili at a slow, constant rate.
"I did it! You see that Ali?"
Ali looked very unimpressed. "Congrats, you did the basic thing Mercedes taught you for a month straight."
The boots reached Sachi and dropped right in front of him.
Bewildered, Sachi asked "What was that?"
Gili turned and spoke to him. "Oh, I guess you wouldn't know. We're Champions of different Devils. Pat is the Champion of the Devil of Traffic Signs, so he commands whatever he decides to disobey whatever traffic sign he conjures. That's why the boots move on a red light. Oh, you did come from a realm with traffic lights, right? Please tell me that made sense."
Sachi nodded, now holding the boots in his hand. "It did, but... A devil?"
Gili scratched his head. "Ah, right. You wouldn't know that either. Well let's get on the boat and we can explain it on our way to Limbo."
Gili jumped down, landing next to his companions. Sachi quickly swapped his boots and followed suit.
[Feather Boots of Heat Resistance]
[Uncommon Boots]
[+5 VIT]
[Allows the wearer to sustain longer falls with less blowback]
As they landed, Sachi handed the boots back over to Pat.
"The beach isn't very long, and there shouldn't be anyone here, so we'll be heading back soon."
Ali stopped walking. "Shouldn't be... look ahead."
Gili squinted his eyes. "Where? I can't see anything."
Ali placed his hand on Gili's shoulder. "How about now?"
Gili's eyes widened. "Ooh, I do see it now! How many are there?"
"Just four, same as us."
"Hey, don't count the guy we just picked up, he's not an official member yet."
Ali motioned to Sachi's hip. "But he has a weapon, and if we need to fight, he can be helpful."
Pat jumped. "Fight!? We don't have to, right?"
"...We might."
"Any chance they're friendly...?"
Ali shook his head. "Anyone not part of the guild would surely want us dead, it's not even a question."
They were all tense. Sachi couldn't see who or what they were talking about, but it was clearer than ever now. These three were part of Eternal Flames guild, yet they were seemingly not fighters. They barely looked like they could stay alive alone.
Sachi took a deep breath. "...I can fight."
They all looked at him. "R-really?!"
He nodded. "Actually, can I ask you to leave them to me?"
Gili shook his head, making his arms form a big "X" in front of him. "No way! Our job is to get you back safely, we can't go letting you get hurt already!"
"Then... can you guys fight?"
They all looked at each other, their hesitation spoke for them.
Ali broke the silence. "It's four rogues... Just being unknown is an issue, they could be Champion's with battle-centric powers, it would be haphazard to let you deal with it alone. I can only enhance or worsen vision slightly..."
"My traffic signs only work on things weaker than me..."
Gili shuffled. "I can only clean an area of dust... None of us are suited for fighting, that's why we're out here..."
Sachi thought for a minute, thinking if there was any way they could be useful in a fight. He had lost all of his good equipment, so he was unsure of his own strength here.
'...!'
An idea struck him, and he opened his menu.
[Traits:]
[Blind Fighter]
[When unable to see, your attributes gain a 100% increase]
"Can you distort my vision?"
Ali had a perplexed expression. "I can... but why?"
"Just try it, please."
Ali touched Sachi's shoulder, and his vision began to wobble.
[Trait Activated!]
[Blind Fighter]
'Perfect! I'll just rely on foresight again!'
"Again, please leave them to me, and keep my vision distorted!"
With his now enhanced foresight, Sachi turned, and dashed towards the bandits on the beach. With the boost to his DEX and his stats being doubled by Blind Fighter, Sachi sped across the beach faster than the others could even question him.
They were all shocked. "...What the hell is that guy!?"