"Besides overgrown spiders and killer mannequins, nothing of note. B-But I'm hopeful that the fruits of my labor will come eventually!" Panya kept on a confident face while sitting inside of the carriage. She had the saying drilled into her head from the start. That the largest discoveries often required the biggest resources and usage of time. Nothing had really gotten by her interest as of late, but there was always hope for the next find! The archeologist looked over towards Seere at his introduction, eating it up like a puppy as her eyes widened. Synapses lit in her mind as it all began to come back to her. Everything had snapped back into place as her lips parted in an eager smile.

"Seir!" She said in a giddy tone, leaning closer in her seat with eyes brimming with adoration and wonder. "That's where I recognized the name from! The titles just give it all away! The Key of Solomon, right?" Regardless of her answer, Panya was just so thrilled at the idea of being able to talk with a mythological figure up close and personal. Even if he went on a long tirade about things, she was so engrossed in his words that everything else seemed to lose its luster. Once that was done, the woman smiled at Kurai again. "Sorry, I'm big on mythology. I've read nearly every book on it. From the Egyptian mythos to Scandinavian, if its a story of gods or goddesses, demons or angels, I'llread it."

The roads eventually gave way to a more old setting, as the cobblestone road would make the ride over a bit more uneven. Panya had to hold onto the seat to keep from bouncing all over the place, especially considering that she was currently fawning over a demon prince's existence. Kurai must have come to the same conclusion based on doing the same action. But they had nothing likely faced worse than a little road turbulence before. It was only until the party was out and about past the towering buildings of Motor City and out somewhere more pleasing to Panya's thoughts over cars and such present revved their engine above the starting line that read the name of the race. The archeologist watched in interest while she'd collect herself for the race. They were depending on her as much as she was depending on them! It was time to do this!

Panya looked up from her self motivational inner monologue to see Kurai inquiring about her abilities. She had almost forgotten to lead with that, although some part of her was still reserved about sharing such information off the bat. Idir had always said to be careful. "I'm not one for long ranged fighting, outside of binding. But I can do this!" Her hand opened as in an instant, a large, golden sarcophagus would appear on it, weighing the card down as she held it into her hand. This brilliant piece of history sat in her hands so effortlessly. She picked it up and casually would toss it around as if it weighed as much as a toy ball. "It's no sword or way to go faster, but I can take care of whoever thinks about messing with us."

kurai

"Damn it, damn it, damn it...I knew I should have gone to Russia instead. At least there people have a reason for not owning a car." Panya complained to herself, fussing about while huffing and puffing about missing out on one of the best chances at discovering the secrets of the world. The Crystal Heart did interest her, although she wished to study it and hope its properties could be used for more selfless goals than becoming nigh immortal, if claims were to be believed. Her frustrated eyes fell to the advertisement again, tearing it off of the wall before storming down the street, hellbent on finding some kind of ride to enter this race. But without any guidance, what would poor Panya do?

One such situation appearing before her on the way to the sign up table had presented itself in the form of an odd horse and carriage cart that had been parking on the side of the road nearby. "An old time horse and carriage? In Motor City?" she mused to herself, watching the sight before her. All things considered, it was the most out of place thing in this hub, taken straight out of a history book. But the voice coming from nearby did make Panya stop and watch the scene play out. An eccentric man stumbled around in talking to seemingly nobody. He ranted and raved about driving as she stood there with the gathering crowd. Was this some weird kind of hallucinating man of the city? Or was there something more to this? Regardless, as much as she hated to admit this, it was her best bet to getting involved in the Relic Rally.

Panya slowly pushed through the crowd to approach him as a flash of light heralded the arrival of an armored figure on top of a horse. But this was no ordinary horse! "A Pegasus?!" Panya audibly gasped, her eyes lit up with marvel and elation at seeing such a mythical creature in the flesh. That must have explained the man's argument he was having with himself earlier. That was a relief. For a moment, Panya was pretty certain that he was some drug addict.

"Er, pardon me." Panya said as she approached behind the man, clutching the poster for the Relic Rally in hand as she sheepishly hoped that he would need a plus one for this excursion. "You wouldn't be on your way to the Rally, would you?" Her tone was that of an educated woman that could have been parody. A slight Egyptian accent that was hidden behind a timid pair of eyes currently glued on the Pegasus and the man that had been summoned before them. "I'm in need of a ride to participate and...I was hoping you wouldn't mind the extra help."

kurai

The large tiger circles around them as Panya flailed the sarcophagus around harder, letting out scared and helpless squeals and whines. Rory tried to come up with a plan for this, although the woman would frown at him. "How am I supposed to smash him? He's way stronger than some slime!" She said to him, soon being tackled by the Sabertooth. Her back hit the polished floor of the exhibit, through the only thing standing between her on being mauled to death with a strange, magic sarcophagus with a mummy inside. The feline flexed its claws, swiping as far as it could try while Panya would push back against the strange beast. "Rory! A little help would be nice!" True to his word, the man would jump into action and-

A roulette wheel?

Panya lied on the floor, half scared about an imminent death, half puzzled about what kind of cruel god would curse a man's class to be somewhat random. "Ah-I went to university for a master's in anthropology! Not beast taming!" After some bit of struggled, the sabertooth would eventually figure out that it still could just chomp her head away and did just that. Panya screamed and closed her eyes, waiting for a death that would never come. But as the teeth fell on her, some otherworldly force would pushed the teeth away, yet send the cat staggering back from its own attack. How nice! "Thank you, R-Rory!" The woman said, hopping back up to her feet and handling her weapon. The sarcophagus opened ajar a slight amount, one single bandage removing itself as Panya took hold of it, swinging it around effortlessly.

"I just wa-wanted a nice stroll through the museum! Not almost die by some stupid fake cat!" She complained, swinging the side of her oversized weapon against the enemy. It was pushed back some before the woman then brought the sarcophagus behind her, raising the bandage high in a huge overhead swing. "I'msosorrybutwekindofneedtogetby!" she apologized to the mindless enemy, smashing the golden weapon on top of the cat in a powerful display. She huffed and looked at the cat, broken inside of the crater that she had created from the attack. "Oh, s-sorry. I guess I went overboard."

Rory Perkins

"Oh my. Before the slime, in my tutorial, it was some sort of giant spider. Just thinking about it makes me....Ugh." Panya began to shiver at the thought of such an insect, though would look up at Rory and smile at his assurance. It was a breath of fresh air not to listen to her own self doubt bringing her down all the time. Something about him seemed to be oozing confidence in himself, a trait that Vanya had grown envious of in people. She did appreciate his concern for her and even seemed happy about this little trip in the museum about what they could find. Maybe it would be something good! Or maybe it would just be trouble, like all of the places in this world now. He'd explain his class to her as she listened intently. So unlike her own, his seemed to be way more luck based if anything. Even his subclass shared the godly name that her own class had. Although she wasn't able to see it in action yet, there was no doubt that Panya would be able to guess it was just as manic as this first one.

"Those are interesting abilities you have." She began, putting a finger on her chin. "At least you have more experience than I do. Still, if everything you do relies on luck, we should still be careful." Rory announced that they could go to an Egyptian area on their way which elated the scholar. She seemed to have a bit more pep in her step and followed him inside of the first Ancient Civilization wing. It took the appearance of a massive cave and had a lot of information about Neanderthals. Panya had already known most of the basics, but was holding in how much she wanted to nerd out in front of Rory. She didn't know how he'd react to her quizzing him on things and rambling on about her specific interests.

The two of them were looking at a group of cavemen fighting against one of the largest sabretooth tigers Panya had ever seen. It was pretty massive, at least a full human on the size in length and height. "I'll say. I doubt even the Paleolithic Neanderthals could take down something like that without at least an entire tribe's worth of people." Just as they had finished saying something, the mannequin would rear its head towards them, its eyes a fearsome red. Rory reassured themselves that it was behind a plane of glass that was containing it. He'd then notice that Panya was hiding behind him, shaking trembling in fear as she peaked her head out from behind him. It wasn't until the glass had disappeared that she'd summon her sarcophagus and swing it at the exhibit wildly, pushing Rory away.

"Eeeeek! That's too scary!"

Rory Perkins

"It's nice to meet you, Rory." Panya smiled, happy to see that Rory had been willing to not be too violent for her tastes. The woman breathed a sigh of relief and listened to the man speak. He had the same idea of taking shelter in here no doubt, but what interested Panya was looking inside of this museum for knowledge rather than just the loot that was inside. Even if he didn't share the same outlook, the woman was happy to help him out. Better strength in numbers, after all. He gave a few shots to jump up towards the vent, but only really managed to slap his body against the wall a couple of times. She said nothing, really just awkwardly watching until Rory would give up. "I don't think either of us is reaching that without some help."

He asked what her PWR stat was, which did make her have to pull up her phone to gauge herself. "It's likely weaker than yours, to be honest. My class isn't really offensive." Panya explained while they brainstormed ideas. He must have been magic based if he didn't think he could lift her. They spent a minute or two thinking of ideas before Rory would summon a car inside of the room with them. Like, an actual car. Panya watched in amazement, then cheerfully pumping up this man for such an idea. "This is perfect! Now I can get up there for us. You're a genius." They enacted the plan as Panya gently climbed on top of Rory and managed to squeeze into the ventilation system. It rattled and moved around as she pushed on forward. All seemed well before the sound of creaking and groaning could be heard. In an instant, the vents would collapse on the opposite side of the wall, bringing the ceiling down and exposing most of the things around them. Panya had fallen just outside of the office, landing face first with a smack. "Ugh, I'm okay...I think." She walked towards the entrance booth door and-

Locked. She frowned, having not expected just that. Crap, now what was she supposed to do?! Panya would glance between the door and Rory some before it smacked her in the face. "Oh, right. I think I know how to unlock this." She summoned her class ability as a large sarcophagus would manifest itself on her back. It was grabbed by her hand and carried as if it was weightless. With the weapon in hand, she'd swing at the door to knock it open. The result was the door being blown off its hinges as well as half of the booth gaining foundational damage with a resounding slam. Panya blushed, though would quickly move inside and hit the button for the front gates. The metal bars slowly creaked open, allowing Rory access inside. Once reunited, Panya desummoned her weapon and nervously smiled.

"Thanks for the, ah, help! I owe you." She fidgeted around a bit, not knowing if she should offer some help inside. If there were any more gates, she could try and help! Or at least make sure that he wouldn't get hurt. But what if he wasn't the type to accept help? She didn't want to be a bother. The Egyptian woman would look down the hall some, twiddling her fingers while trying to speak with him.

"I think i-it would be beneficial for us both if we kind of...U-Um, stayed together. Just in case there's monsters inside of here too. Not because I'm scared! I'm just worried about you is all..."

Rory Perkins

Panya was a little confused about what King Tut had meant to her personally for this to give her such a power, although the woman wasn't going to really just look a gift horse in the mouth. "Well, I suppose it would. I was born and grew up in Egypt for some time before moving to England. It's been my life's dream to unearth the secrets of whatever would have lied beneath the sands. Our history only goes back so far, and even then, there's evidence that suggests that the pyramids began construction farther than our records suggest. It's fascinating, really. My people actually..." Once again, Panya rambled on and on as her attention was hyperfocused on lecturing about the history of Egypt and whatever great creatures or animals may have been present. She would go on and on until she either ran out of steam or Idir interrupted her.

Once coming down, she'd take a breath and inhale. "My apologies. I'm just passionate about my work. You can tell why I became an archeologist, I'm sure." She'd recall her sarcophagus away with one hand, still standing before Idir while sizing him up. "Ah-I'm still so excited...Can we go on a mission? Find something to do? I just really want to test my abilities. To put them to practical use outside of slimes!" Panya was bouncing with joy, stepping up to Idir and taking his hand, shaking it up and down. "Can we, Idir? Surely there must be some area you've wanted to indulge yourself in?"

idir