“Who are you? Why are you here?” Silvy asked for the umpteenth time. A big man in full black plate armor had entered the dungeon an hour or so ago, positioning himself in front of Silvy’s cell, facing away from her. He wasn’t wearing the same armor the guards had and his demeanor was different, more confident, so she was quite certain he wasn’t one of them. She didn’t know who he was, but that hardly mattered.

What mattered was that this guy had arrived here without speaking a single word, not moving from that spot for the past hour. He was quite imposing, and Silvy was curious and bored, spending so much time without company and nothing to do in a dark inhospitable cell, so she had decided to nag him. She had tried asking many questions with a different tone and volume but he didn’t budge or speak at all, not when she was polite nor when she insulted him, not even when she had used her highest pitch scream. So she had resorted to the most annoying thing a child could do.

Ask the same question over and over again.

“Who are you? Why are you here?” she asked again with a candid voice.

Fortunately, Silvy had already freed herself from the restraints and collar, unlocked the cell door and switched the locks with fake ones, so at least he hadn’t ruined all the plans she and the revolutionaries had made. Still, she had nothing better to do, so she was annoying this guy just for the heck of it. It didn’t seem to work, but persistence was key in these types of endeavors. It might not be a smart idea, but at this point it was a matter of pride more than anything else.

“Who are you? Why are you here?” her candid and innocent voice resounded in the dark corridor once again.

The man turned his head slightly to the side, the first thing he had done after taking his spot one hour ago. It had worked, finally! The door leading outside the dungeon opened a second later, letting in light from outside. Damn, she wasn’t the one who had moved him. Thinking about it, though, this guy didn’t seem to care about the darkness…

A guard appeared in her view a few seconds later, flanked by two more. This guard bearing was different from the others, more imposing, and his face… it looked familiar, but she couldn’t see clearly, as he was turned to the side facing the silent guy.

“Lem Redshield, my men told me you came in here ignoring their complaints and didn’t move for the last hour. Care to tell me what’s going on?” the imposing guard asked irritated.

“I was ordered to protect this child.” Lem answered.

He was the platinum rank adventurer! So cool. And so dangerous. Wait, did he say-

“From whom? The king?” the guard asked, skeptical.

“Correct.” he responded with no emotion.

Why did the king want to protect her?

“Why didn’t you just say so?” the guard asked, sighing.

“So you could disturb the king with your questions?” Lem retorted.

Wow, Lem is destroying this guy. Go Lem!

“Wha- why are you telling me that now, then?” the guard asked, not understanding his logic.

“Because now he’s free to talk. If you have any complaints, go wake him up and bring them up to him.” Lem answered without a single emotion in his voice, as he had done for the whole conversation.

Ah, well played! No way these jerks would wake up the king. One point to Lem! Actually, two, because the retorting question was also good. 2-0 for Lem.

The guard shot a glance at Silvy before walking away, the child almost shouting in surprise but suppressing it at the last moment. That was Cazhi! He was a guard?! Inside the palace?! How useless could the governor be to not know about it?! And he seemed important as well, a captain or something!

Once alone, Lem turned forward again, ignoring Silvy. She would not let him do that, though.

“I say you won that conversation by a large margin.” Silvy commented, resuming her annoying diversion. “You know, those guards didn’t even bring me food once. They are jerks. I’m happy you won that argument, even if you’re not answering me like them. At least you are cooler.”

Lem, without a single word, took out a piece of jerky from his bag and threw it behind him into her cell, landing exactly in front of Silvy’s legs, the child watching the food for a second. Did he just react to her words?

“Thank you? But I don’t need food. I just wanted to complain. Why aren’t you talking back? King’s orders?” she asked without success, resuming her questioning after a few seconds of waiting.

“You’re a platinum rank, right? I’m an adventurer too, Silver rank. How did you become so strong? Did you go into many dungeons? Have you ever seen a dungeon core?” she asked, one question after the other without pause. He’ll react, eventually. She had the whole night to annoy him.

He must have realized it too, because he sighed, defeated, turning to face Silvy.

“Will you shut up if I answer these questions?” he asked, almost pleading.

“No.” Silvy answered instantly. Now that she knew he had to protect her, she could annoy him even more. No way he would attack her, right?

“I’m bored. I’ve been imprisoned here for two-three? Days with nothing to do. Now you’re here, and I know you won’t attack me even if I annoy you. So, I’m not going to stop. You can let me speak the whole night, or we can have a conversation.” Silvy smugly answered.

His blue eyes, the only part of the face visible under the helmet, closed, the man sighing again. “Fine. I was getting bored anyway.” he said sitting on the ground in front of her cell. “I became strong fighting strong monsters, like everyone else. I dived many dungeons, and I saw a few dungeon cores in my time.” he said, answering her questions.

“How are they? Are they spherical? Do they light up in the dark?” she asked, interested. She had never heard a description of the cores.

He took out a waterskin, raising his helmet a bit and drinking before answering. “They are spherical, yes. As far as I could tell, they were all identical, a white shining ball suspended in mid-air, in the middle of the biggest room I’ve ever seen.”

“Did you ever touch one?” she asked with sparkling eyes.

“You can’t get close to them, kid. The whole room is filled with aggressive mana, and anyone who gets too close dies. I tried taking a step inside the room once and felt the mana rushing into me, and I’m not even a [Mage]. Spend too long or walk too deep and you’ll die, easy as that. I believe the record is reaching half-way through before dying.” he said as if talking about taking a stroll.

Right, the guild master had told her that in the past. Oh well, at least she had someone to speak with throughout the night.

-----

The king slowly woke up, wondering in what position he would find himself this morning. It’s not that bad he thought, lying stomach down, his arms and legs both straight out to his left, the right arm below his stomach, his head turned in the opposite direction. How he hadn’t killed himself yet with his stupid sleeping habits was beyond him. He composed himself, getting out of bed a few seconds later. Make that a minute later, he thought lying down again. It’s not like he had pressing matters-

The door slammed open, Irhiva walking inside as if she owned the place, clothed and prepared for the day. A pretty blue dress adorned her thin body, her already small curves hidden completely. She really did her best to not catch other men’s attention…

“Your Majesty wake up, please. A long day awaits you.” she said, pulling the tents and letting the sunlight inside. What a horrible woman.

“Why do you do that every morning? It’s not like the Empire will fall in my absence.” he said, a big yawn following his statement, still not getting out of bed.

“You need to interrogate that half-monster child.”

Oh well. Time to face the world again.

-----

“-Having lost my sword, I did the only thing I could do, bashing him in the face with my shield.” Lem narrated the event with passionate gestures, Silvy captured by his every word, her eyes wide open. “Can’t say that was a smart move, as that just made it angrier. Still, luckily I had my teammate-” Lem abruptly stopped his story, quickly standing up and going back to his previous position, the king and a thin woman entering the dungeon with a lantern, shedding light on the surroundings.

The king stopped near the cell, looked at Silvy, then Lem, the woman still outside Silvy’s vision casting a spell and closing the door behind them.

“Were you talking to her?” the king asked incredulous to Lem.

“Err-” Lem tried to speak but was interrupted by Silvy.

“He was narrating his fight against a Drake! I want to hear the end!” Silvy loudly said, impatient, complaining to the king.

“Irhiva, I believe someone abducted and replaced Lem with another person.” the king said, deadpanned, ignoring Silvy’s complaint. He was different from before, more relaxed and laid-back, surprising Silvy.

“It’s all over for us, your Majesty.” the woman, Irhiva, answered, also deadpanned.

“Do you have any last word, my dear Irhiva?” the king said, taking the woman’s hands and asking her in a frightful tone. What the heck were they doing?

Lem facepalmed. “Please, your Majesty. Shouldn’t you carry yourself with more dignity in front of Silvy? She is a half-monster, after all.” he said with a defeated tone.

The king faced Lem again, clearing his throat. “I wasn’t the one narrating my adventure with such passion to the prisoner, Mr. Redshield.” he jokingly answered.

Lem fidgeted in place, a strange sight for such a big man. “Well, I was getting bored…”

The king raised an eyebrow. “Is that why you never partake in my meetings and always find excuses?”

“I- That’s not-... Yes.” Lem stumbled on his words, lowering his shoulders right after. This situation was quite baffling.

“Whatever. I don’t like them either.” the king said waving his hand, turning to Silvy. “So, here we are, Silvy. I’m king Foster Klisser, and I’m sorry for what happened to you, truly. I don’t know if you’ll believe me, but I didn’t partake in this horrible deed. Nevertheless, it happened inside my Empire because of my negligence, so please forgive me.” he said, bowing his head. Did a king just apologize to her?!

She looked at him without knowing what to say, the king waiting a bit. Seeing she wasn’t responding, he tilted his head. “Hello? Please don’t attack me. My apology is sincere.”

She shook her head, awakening from her trance. “No, I’m surprised you apologized to me, sire. I didn’t think…”

“...kings did that?” he finished her phrase. “Well, I do. May I sit?” he asked, motion at the front of her cell.

“Sure…” she said nodding, completely forgetting she should assassinate him. His easy-going personality and frankness had disarmed Silvy. And where was he going to sit? On the ground like Lem? But he was a king...

He walked in front of her cell, bringing out a padded chair, the woman and Lem standing beside him. He had a padded chair in his bag of holding? Talk about priorities...

“Ah, much better. Now, I’ll cut right to the chase. I’m not interested in using or killing you. That said, I can’t just let you go, because you’ll never live a normal life. You do realize that, right?” the king asked.

Silvy nodded, the king continuing. “So, here’s what will happen. Unfortunately, the girl called Silvy will lose control and attack the king. Lem will proceed to eliminate her. Your remains are too important, though, so the king, me, will keep them on his person, sending them back to the capital for further study. However, the carriage bringing them away will be attacked by bandits, your remains lost forever.” he leaned back into his chair, crossing his legs.

Silvy scrutinized him. “Just like that? And why would you do this for me? I might betray you, no?”

“Yes, you might, but I trust you won’t.” the king answered, relaxed.

“Trust me? Why?” she asked, skeptical. This made no sense.

The king smiled. “Because I’m in front of you and still alive.” he pointed to her chains. “They are not locked anymore, aren’t they? You even removed your collar. You work for someone who wants to betray the Empire, and yet I’m still here. Why is that?” he asked with a smug smile.

Silvy immediately corrected him. “I work with, not for them.” then she tilted her head, thinking before answering. “Because I’ve no loyalty towards them. You believe I’m something like a mercenary maybe, accepting the highest bidder.”

“More or less.” the king confirmed. “I doubt you’re an actual mercenary, but feel free to correct me. Anyway, that’s what I offer you, a way out of this mess. Of course, you’ll have to keep your head down, and I’d like to ask you for a favor first.”

“Let’s hear it.” she said, knowing there was always a price.

“Tell me who’s working against me, and you’re free to go. Simple as that.” the king said, a strange glint in his eyes.

“I've got a few questions before that.” she answered after contemplating the proposal for a time.

“Ask away.” the king dismissively said waving his hand.

“How did you notice the chains weren’t locked anymore? I’m sure I did a good job.”

“Oh I didn’t notice. Lem did, the moment he laid his eyes on you, reporting it to me.” the king answered, pointing at Lem.

“How?” Silvy asked, turning to the adventurer.

“When your job is to protect others, you quickly learn to notice every small detail around you. Those locks differ slightly from the ones you had before, so I quickly realized you were unchained. Still, I wanted to see if you’d lose patience and attack me, but you beat me.” he said laughing at the end.

“That’s impossible.” she said, her eyes wide open. She might have believed him before, but now that she knew Cazhi was a guard there was no way he’d overlook something so simple. He must have had access to the locks beforehand, replicating them as best as possible.

“Oh, they are quite similar, I admit. But even the best blacksmith can’t create perfect replicas. They are slightly larger or smaller, have a slightly different shape, or maybe a different shade from the impurities of the metal.” Lem said.

“And you can see something so insignificant?!” she asked, incredulous. Was this even humanly possible?

“Of course I can.” he snorted. “I’ve passed my whole life protecting others. The first step needed to protect someone is to recognize threats and how to deal with them, and details are more important than you believe, kid.”

She shook her head, having a hard time believing something like that was possible. “Unbelievable. Well, my next question is, let’s say I accept your plan. What are the details?”

The king answered. “Lem makes some noise. I hide you in my bag of holding and send you away via carriage, which will leave you somewhere close to Emberford.”

Emberford, the westernmost city of Ivirill, situated by the sea. It’d be far from the frontier, and she’d even be able to travel to another continent if she so wished. It wasn’t a bad deal, especially considering her surprise element was gone.

Lem suddenly turned towards the door leading outside, bringing out a black rectangular shield almost as big as him and drawing his sword. The woman, Irhiva, positioned herself between Lem and the king, helping him stand up. What was going on-

The door shot towards the group, Lem protecting them with his shield, the door smashing and breaking into it, the adventurer not even moving from the heavy impact.

“[Shield Extension]” Lem screamed, a light blue film extending from his shield and covering the entire passage. This film stopped the splinters in mid-air, bouncing back and onto the ground.

Silvy couldn’t see the entrance, but she heard a female voice. “Ah~ and here I was hoping they’d all be dead! Guess it’s time to play with a platinum rank.” that voice… Timapha!

The woman was covered in brown leather armor, two bloody shortswords in hand, her face morphed in a sick smile. She brought a shortsword to her mouth, licking the blood off from it. Behind her, all the guards were lying dead, blood and guts spread across the ground and walls.

“Don’t lower your guard, Timapha. We might have the numerical advantage, but it doesn’t mean it’ll be easy.” Rhahnud appeared behind her, speaking with a calm voice, staring at Lem, Silvy recognizing the voice.

“Siiiilvy!” Timapha screamed. “I expected more from you! Did you fail to free yourself?! No matter, we’ll handle it now. But don’t expect a reward!” saying that, she laughed rushing forward, hitting Lem’s shield with all of her strength. Lem tried to retaliate with his sword, but a firebolt was headed his way, forcing him to defend, Timapha trying to bypass him. The corridor was about two meters wide, so there wasn’t much space to move around, Lem stepping left, blocking the way to Timapha.

The trio kept fighting, Silvy unable to see the progress. If she could, she’d be impressed.

Lem Redshield didn’t have Platinum rank for show. Even two against one, with Timapha, a [Warrior], and Rhahnud, a [Mage], he quickly reversed the situation, advancing forward, pressuring and forcing his opponents into a defensive position. The king and Irhiva were close to Silvy’s cell, and she could see Irhiva with a wand in hand. Silvy’s eyes quickly revealed she wasn’t a strong mage, capable of casting only basic spells, and judging from her trembling, she wasn’t used to a fight either. The king at her side, however, seemed composed and tranquil. Was he trusting Lem to win this fight? That was admirable.

The king, however, wasn’t calm at all. He had almost peed his pants at the explosion, and he was frozen in fear, not composure. He had rehearsed his royal behavior so many times he was currently locked in it. Silvy didn’t know any of that, obviously, and she just thought he was extremely composed even in the face of danger, her impression of him raising.

Silvy activated [Sphere of Perception], trying to understand what was going on a little better. And that’s when she saw him.

Cazhi, invisible thanks to the mantle like Zatha had been, was running on the wall on the other side of her cell, now around two meters away from the king, daggers thrust towards his target.

Silvy had no time, and she had to take a split-second decision. Help the revolutionaries or the king. Who would be more inclined to help her at the end of this battle? The answer was simple.

She pushed against the chains, locks and collar snapping, the noise attracting the attention of everyone. With no time to lose, she brought out her sword from the hidden bag, throwing it between the bars, aiming at Cazhi. “Get down, sire!” she screamed, running out of the cell a moment later.

Cazhi jumped back, dodging her blade, throwing a dagger towards the king, the dagger glinting from the lantern, visible because it had left the mantle. She wouldn’t make it in time! She cast [Mana Blade] knowing it was too late but having no other plan. Irhiva was frozen in terror, Lem was too far, and Silvy too slow. The dagger was aimed right at the king’s heart, and from the liquid on it, poisoned.

Then it happened.

The aura, the composure, the being called Foster, king of the human Empire, changed completely. His right hand shot forth, catching the dagger between forefinger and middle finger, throwing it back in a swift motion. The king didn’t change expression in all of this, made no other movement. Only his right arm moved, so fast Silvy could barely follow, so precise she could hardly believe it. Wasn’t the king incapable of fighting?!

Cazhi was thinking the same thing seeing the dagger flying for his head, but hardly had time to ponder over it. The combatants had increased from one to three, thanks to Silvy’s betrayal and the king’s sudden fighting prowess. Cazhi quickly realized he wouldn’t be able to win against Silvy and the king together, his two comrades already having a hard time against Lem. He had to change the situation, and he had the right instruments. Parrying the dagger, the weapon flying away behind him, he turned, throwing two flasks at Lem’s feet, whistling to signal his companions to not breathe.

Lem dodged the two flasks without turning, but that wasn’t important, the flasks crashing against the ground below him, two yellow and white clouds erupting and covering the surroundings.

The following second, Timapha thrust her sword into Lem’s armpit, a firebolt from Rhahnud impacting against his head, the adventurer already falling to the ground, crashing with a heavy clank, blood quickly pouring out his wound.

Timapha and Rhahnud rushing forward, Irhiva cast a firebolt, easily dodged by both of them. She wasn’t a fighter and would be useless in this battle The king might help her, but she didn’t count on it. Whatever he had done had subsided right after, his being reverted to a normal king short of breath. Most likely it was a Skill to save his life, now gone.

“Greetings, your Majesty.” Cazhi said, the group stopping a few steps away and facing the king. “We are here for your life, as you already guessed, but we are not savages. Surrender and your death will be painless.”

“Bullshit.” Silvy retorted instantly, surprising even herself. “You’d never pass the opportunity to get information from him.”

A moment later she whispered to the king. “I can’t win against all of them. Can you keep the woman busy? I’ll handle the other two.” she wasn’t sure she could, but that was her best shot.

He looked at her, composed (How does he do it?) and whispered back. “I’m sorry, Silvy. Neither I nor Irhiva are fighters. Our best bet would be for someone to hear the commotion, but given that someone has yet to arrive, I fear the worst.” he turned to the opposing group, trying to gain time. “Pardon me, gentlemen, lady. Would you mind telling me who you work for? I’m sure whatever sum they are offering, I can do better.”

Timapha laughed, before pointing one of her swords to the king. “We’re not doing it for money, your Majesty.” she said mockingly. “The world will be a better place after your death. Surrender and we’ll give your woman a quick death. Fight back, and I’ll take my sweet time playing with her…” madness was clearly written on her face, Silvy not scared only because of her suppression.

“You, the gentleman in the back. Wouldn’t you mind more money than you could possibly imagine? Maybe a noble title?” the king said to Rhahnud, seeing the other two weren’t exactly receptive.

“You flatter me, sire, but I’m not in here for the money either.” Rhahnud answered, bowing. “I’m afraid no amount of it will make me change my mind.” with his right hand, positioned on his chest, he rubbed his fingers, a clear gesture for money. His companions, looking at the king, didn’t notice, but his message was clear: his service wouldn’t come cheap.

“I see.” the king said, nodding. “That’s unfortunate because I have a lot of money available. Would you kindly tell me who wants me dead, at least?” the king asked, Rhahnud slowly backing away from his allies.

Cazhi smiled. “I know what you’re doing, your Majesty, but it won’t work. Wasting time also works for us, your bodyguard slowly bleeding to death. And don’t worry, no one will come to your rescue.” he said, taunting the king.

“Unfortunate.” the king answered, shrugging. “Still, can you tell me who’s your boss? I’m quite curious and I’ll die soon anyway…”.

“No, sorry.” Cazhi answered. “I take you won’t surrender?” Cazhi asked one last time, raising his daggers, Timapha following his lead.

“No, sorry. I believe I still have a chance to win.” he said with a slight smile, Rhahnud stepping farther and farther away, now close to Lem’s body.

Silvy saw movement in the back and the next moment, Rhahnud crashed against the wall, spitting blood. Lem followed through his motion, sword thrust into Rhahnud head, removing it a second later, the mage falling dead on the ground. Lem turned towards the other two, his sword and left side dripping blood. Silvy couldn’t see his face as he had a closed helmet, but she felt he was quite pissed.

“The king!” Cazhi screamed, sprinting towards Silvy together with Timapha, Lem also sprinting forward, but slower, weighed down by his heavy armor and wound.

Timapha on her left, Cazhi on her right, the two running towards Silvy, their intentions clear, passing her to kill the king. She wouldn’t be able to protect him from both but knew Cazhi was stronger, so she decided to focus on him, hoping the king and Irhiva could handle Timapha.

She stepped right, swinging her Mana Blade, Cazhi dropping and sliding below it, a dagger trying to cut her leg. Jumping back, she turned and threw her Mana Blade to Timapha, casting another one right after, Cazhi ignoring her and running for the king. She threw the new Mana Blade to him, the other one dodged. The king now flanked, he pushed Irhiva behind himself, changing completely once again.

Timapha swung her swords, one high and one low, trying to cut the king from the left, Cazhi thrusting his daggers from the other side. Silvy watched the two weapons coming closer and didn’t understand what happened after.

Foster slid to the right, not taking a single step, in front of Cazhi, his left hand grabbing Cazhi’s wrist, right hand hitting his stomach, the assassin pushed into the air and turning upside down before being thrown against Timapha, who threw herself to the ground to dodge him.

Heavy breathing came from the king, taking a step back, unstable on his feet. Timapha kept pushing forward, Silvy casting and throwing another Mana Blade on her route, trying to stop her rush, Timapha ignoring the weapon piercing her chest. Irhiva moved in front of the king at the last moment, Foster changing once again.

He lightly touched Irhiva, making her slide to his left, before stepping forward through and between Timapha blades like a ghost, his right knee smashing her chin with elegance.

The king reverted back, but this time his eyes rolled back, falling to the ground a second later, unconscious.

Cazhi was right after but Silvy had arrived. With no other option, she put herself between the king and Cazhi, taking a dagger to her chest, Mana Blade swinging downward. Cazhi rolled away, standing up and facing Silvy once again, before being smashed into the wall by Lem’s shield, body and wall exploding, blood and rocks blasting away from the impact, painting the surroundings red.

Silvy turned to the king, Irhiva already at his side cradling his head, feeling his pulse and breathing, nodding to them a second later, confirming he was alive even if bleeding from his nose. Rhahnud and Cazhi were dead, but Timapha was still alive, unconscious on the ground, slowly bleeding out. Lem was breathing hard and went on his knees a second later, tired and wounded.

“How are you alive?!” Silvy asked, running up to him and passing him a healing potion.

“[Second Wind]. It gives me a second chance, bringing me back from the grave. It’s not pleasurable, I can tell you that.” he panted back, raising his helmet and drinking the potion.

“Wait, that’s so powerful!” Silvy exclaimed. Coming back from the dead with a Skill? That was the first time she had heard that.

“It is, but it’s not without drawbacks.” he said with a cough. “But I can tell you later about it, you’ve earned it.” he slowly stood up. “Now, we need to get out-”

He tried to turn around but was too slow, a blade of air silently cut through the corridor, hitting Lem’s neck between helmet and armor, the spot exposed by his movement. His head flew through the air, the helmet falling away, his expression frozen in shock, his blood adding to the sizable pool.

Who had done that?! Silvy looked towards the door, recognizing a shadow. Zatha! But she was not a mage. Another figure was behind her, his steps calm and collected, someone Silvy recognized after a second.