"Lucan, Silent, any time you guys want to do more Mithril ranked contracts. Let us know. I will submit our names for the monthly competition if I find something that would be a good fit for our group. We already decided to keep your class, we put all of the experience from that contract into the bank. Do you plan on going straight back to the Guild?"

Silent looked to Lucan. "I need to head back to the Shadow realm to meet with my master. If I do another contract, I will get in touch with you." Lucan said.

"Sounds good. Do you mind…"

"Sure." Lucan said handing over the contract. They would turn it in now, and he could claim his reward next time he visited.

The two groups parted.

"Are you coming back with me?" Lucan asked while making his way out of the city.

"Since I am your shadow it would seem fitting. But we still haven't discussed my pay." Silent Night joked.

"Consider it a requirement of receiving my treatment. If you want to be my shadow after you are an elf, we can talk about pay and benefits then."

"Yeah, well see." Silent mocked as they left the city.

It was a long walk back to Shadowsweep through the tunnel. Lucan was slowly casting magic while he walked. The tunnel would be permanently 5% shorter in the future.

"Why does it have to be pitch black." Silent complained. "At least the walls as squishy instead of being jagged. Lead a good route, I am setting my character to auto-follow you. I need to do some research on the forums. And I have been thinking, you should start practicing making bows and arrows. It would be nice to have my own personal fletcher follow me into dungeons."

"Don't get ahead of yourself, you're the one following me."

"I don't know, seems like you were following me around all day. And don't think that I couldn't feel your eyes linger, I know what it's like to be followed."

"…"

"That's what I thought."

"So, your goal is to have my eyes linger on your curvy parts while I follow you through dungeons making you bows and arrows."

"What?! No, I didn't say it like that."

"I don't know… That's what I heard."

"You should just be quiet, it's rude to talk while someone is reading."

Lucan let a minute pass. "They are nice though."

"Who's that?" Silent asked absentmindedly.

"Your curvy parts. They are nice"

"Didn't I tell you to shut up. Why don't you enjoy that silence you are always talking about." She cursed at him.

Lucan chose not to provoke her anymore and focused on enhancing the tunnel.

Under 7 hours later they arrived back on Lucan's front porch. Silent was surprised when Raze was waiting for them. She thought Lucan was just making excuses earlier and figured he had some other reason to come back.

"Master." Lucan greet Raze with a bow.

Silent kneeled. She wasn't sure of what was normally required of an acolyte in the presence of thee Supreme Leader.

"There is no need to kneel, just be yourself. Lucan only bows because he enjoys showing respect to people he respects. I demand nothing from my followers."

Silent Night stood upright and nodded a thanks to the old man who was leaning on a scepter.

"Lucan, I impressed with your leveling today, keep it up and you will be 100 in no time."

"You don't need to fuss with pleasantries with me old man, I got what you want." Lucan pulled out one of the demon beads.

"Lucan!" Silent exclaimed.

"What, I got hidden a quest with great rewards."

"Ha, ha, ha, more like you negotiated a profitable return." Raze said setting a large stack of books on the patio table. "This is everything you need to know."

[You have obtained 'Novice Formation Master' as a profession.]

"Do not fret dear." Raze said to Silent. "Do you believe that man was capable of preventing all 32 from being joined. He wasn't even aware that he had all 32 already gathered. This is for the best, for your cooperation and discretion you will be rewarded 50,000 experience to spend." Raze said, waving his hand and paying her off. "If you two stick together, I believe it should be safe enough for you to poke around in the Forest of the Lost."

"Thank you Master, I will take that into consideration."

"I must be going." Raze said before vanishing into shadows.

"Lucan, you stole from the research lab?" Silent asked, already knowing the answer.

"My Master said he wanted it. I told him I would only take the risk if it was worth it for me. So, I got what I wanted. I know it wasn't the best thing to do but really, should something like that ever be stored side by side."

"That's not the point. Glen was fawning all over us. If we would have asked, he probably would have let you take one."

"Maybe but asking wasn't necessary. I am being the best warlock I can be lately, and I don't want lip for it. I don't like stealing from a nice guy, but didn't you help me join a group of assassins today? Why does this bother you?"

"I am not mad you stole, but you could have let me in on it. If you got caught, we would have all gotten in trouble. And your shadow would have been oblivious to the situation."

"Well, maybe you have a point."

"…"

"Shocking, yes, I can be wrong from time to time." Lucan said while grabbing a book about the basic of formations. "In the morning do you want to set out and ride for the Forest of the Lost?"

"Yeah, it would be good to level there." Silent Night said sitting in the chair, making bandages with her first aid profession.

Lucan read late into the night. He closed his book and decided to go lay down in bed and refresh his stamina while waiting for dawn. Laying in bed he flipped through several different visual skills available for purchases. Many were good but he didn't know which was best. Some appraised items, some could see magic, others could see through stealth or even walls. The problem was, they were all expensive.

Lucan closed the menus and tried to channel ethereal mana into his eyes with his wand. Unfortunately, he felt no effects. Once his ethereal man emptied, he went to bed.

***

Lucan had rented a horse from a villager and was riding south with Silent Night towards the Forest of the Lost.

"You should spend some of that experience Raze gave you." Lucan said to Silent.

"Spend your own, I am saving up."

"Oh yeah, what are you saving up for."

"I don't think that concerns you."

"Ugh, not a single one of my acolytes has bought anything. My lines are out, the fish are there, but nobody wants to bite."

"Are you ever going to make a fishing pole?"

"I might get around to it eventually."

"Yeah, okay."

The forest was a full day's ride away. Nothing was close to Shadowsweep, nothing at all. Lucan and Silent dismissed the horses and set up camp for the night.

"Are you finally going to show me formations in action?" Silent asked.

"I was hoping people would make purchases today, so unfortunately I still lack the right spells."

"Sure okay, I will overlook your impotence this time."

"Geez, do you have to say it so harshly?"

Silent smirked. "Did that hit a little to close to home for you?"

"What, you are speaking nonsense. Don't you have research to do." Lucan quickly pulled out a book after laying out his bedroll in the middle of the field.

Silent laughed at him while setting up her tent.