Knock knock.

A man in his fifties opened the door of a makeshift office after there was no answer, just as he expected. There was a young woman looking at a parchment very intently; her desk had a tall stack of it. She didn't even realize someone entered the room.

She was beautiful like a flower. Her face looked scholarly and academic, yet enchanting. She had bob-cut black hair and onyx black eyes.

He put a freshly brewed cup of hot tea on the table right in front of her before she noticed.

“Freya, take a break. I’ve got you some tea.”

“Master! You shouldn't have,” the young girl apologized as she stood up. “Thank you very much.”

The man wore a grey robe suited for his old and wizened countenance. He gently sat down on a nearby chair. “How’s the investigation?”

“Stone cold. Whoever did this, did it in a way that’s very hard to trace without peering back in time. Unfortunately, time is not my specialty.”

“Disappointed?” He studied the girl’s expression.

“I have prepared for a cold trail. No witnesses, next to no evidence, charred buildings… dead men tell no tales indeed. Unless one is a necromancer or can go to Heaven to directly ask the souls of the fallen,” she jested a little bit. “...To think this all happened in just a few hours. Almost like the work of several Level 4 or 5s,” Freya stood up and took the tea. The taste of tea was dimmed since she was looking at a half-burned town outside of the room.

“Still, no matter how skillfully one hides their sins, no can escape the justice of the Radiant Lady,” her words were filled with conviction.

“What do you plan to do now?”

“It's too early to give up. I plan to check the surrounding settlements for clues, survivors, eyewitnesses. If I turn enough rocks, something will come out.”

“The neighboring towns are Bunham, Zaker, Govlar. Which one do you plan to visit?”

“Zaker town. If I'm the culprit, Zaker offers more prospects for running away. Bunham’s direction is a dead end and the road to Govlar is filled with dangerous monsters.”

“Good reasoning. Logical and matched with facts. However, let me share something that I picked up after all these years chasing criminals, sometimes even if your deduction couldn't be more correct, the answer is just entirely different.”

The girl accepted the advice of her mentor. She knew her experience couldn't hold a candle to her master’s so she did not disregard his counsel.

But no one can escape the Light, her faith was burning bright in her heart.

***

Cain sat alone at the table, eating his meal slowly while keeping his ears on the ebb and flow of the conversations all around him.

“Last night, there was a commotion. The Blood Skull gang led by Ajoss launched an investigation. Actually, more like a raid than an investigation. They are trying to find Wollter’s murderer by forcing everyone who seemed to know something to confess by breaking their fingers. They got about a dozen people before the authorities stopped them. It was bloody business I tell you.”

“Psst! At the coal mine in the north, a monster arrived and made its nest there. I heard it eats coal and farts fire. Has a hundred legs, iron carapace, and moves in the earth like it was swimming underwater. The guild’s officials are in a bind because they can't find suitable adventurers to fight the beast. At this rate, the blockheads might start throwing bodies at it. Our! Bodies! We should leave town immediately before they issue a mandatory quest.”

“There was a battle between two Pathseekers at Golodoro Hill. Their battle carved a cliff out. Turns out there was a vein of precious metal inside the hill. The Pathseekers left, must be too insignificant to them, but Poyut and Rubaas Company are in a fierce struggle for claiming it.”

“Hear this, hear this. My friend heard this real story from his friend’s acquaintance. He saw a mysterious light fall on a plain. When he went there to look around, there was a woman with pure white wings on her back inside the crater. He nursed her until she regained consciousness and then she disappeared in a flash of light. He had a white feather left behind by her as proof.”

“You know the mayor of Ninnac city? His wife ran away with a bandit. The bandit is a dashing young man with a shining smile. There were many witnesses so the mayor became a laughingstock. Served him right, an old foggy like him shouldn’t have married a young flower. The wife must be too unsatisfied with her married life so she ran away with a dashing young man! Hahahaha.”

“I heard a rumor, Luxore town was destroyed around two weeks ago. I don't know if it's true or not. People said a Demon King appeared and ate the souls of the townsfolk before burning down the town to ashes... You have a family there, right? Do you know anything about this?”

Rumors and gossip entered Cain’s ears unabated. Some were true, some were false, all were interesting. The eatery at the Adventurer’s guild naturally had a lot of adventurer customers. There wasn't a newspaper or morning news in Mokash town so this was the next best thing. He waited for the other four to arrive while digesting the tittle-tattle.

“Happy new year!” The red-haired Lena said cheerfully. Paul, Oliver, and the silent Irene also said their congratulatory line.

“Same to you,” Cain returned the greeting.

Today was the first day in a new year… for people living in the Coalition, anyway. People in this world weren't as connected nor united as people in modern Earth. There were multiple calendars in play.

Although normally new years are seasons of holidays, people in this medieval world have no concept of such things. Except for special days or events, it’s work all day and all year. They don't even have a day off on Sundays. That was why Cain and company were out in the wilds, hunting chicken eggs on New Year’s Eve.

Naturally, the rich and powerful could have holidays whenever they wanted. For there exist men and women with superpowers in this world.

Last night, the news of Wollter’s death made the town enveloped by a dangerous scent. Lena and Paul urged the group to disband and return to the inn early. The party unanimously concurred to hide the fact they had met Wollter before he was killed and never spoke about it.

True enough, there seemed to be a gang war of sorts that night.

As agreed yesterday, today they met to discuss future plans.

“Our agreement is to do a few quests but as luck would have it, we have enough money on us to cover that amount. What do you guys think? Shall we go on more quests?” Lena asked.

Faster than anyone, Cain spoke. “I’m afraid I must decline.”

“Eeehh? Why? Let’s go hunting more monsters,” Oliver whined. His dislocated shoulder already healed. In fact, everyone’s injuries were already healed. “We can kill more of Cockatrices. They’ve got nothing against us!”

“Actually, I’m pretty sure we have got nothing against real Cockatrices. They might not look like it but Cockatrices are draconic you know? That one was not fully grown, or just a lesser variant, or something. Lena didn’t get turned to stone. If she did, well…” Cain didn’t finish. He didn’t need to. “Anyway, I will leave shortly so I think it's wise to stock up some Victa. The fight with the chicken burned quite a bit of my reserves.”

The statement caused ripples in the water and got the others on the table thinking.

“Oh… you’re leaving. That’s a shame… Actually, I wanted to formally make a party with us here… no?” Lena said.

“Apologies, but I must go to a place.” Cain promptly said.

“Where?” Paul asked.

“Valkut city.”

“Hell. That’s far away! Like, a whole Coalition away,” Oliver was surprised.

“Will be quite a journey, I hope,” Cain calmly sipped his beverage.

According to his calculation, the distance from Mokash town to Valkut city was similar to the distance between Perth and Sydney.

“That being said, I’ll stay in this place for another week or so. I need to take care of some things,” Cain added, chasing the unsmiling mood away.

I’ll use this week to rest, build up my repertoire, honing my skills, stock up Victa, maybe create a new Arte or two and improve the existing ones. Most of all, I need to Advance to Level 2. I’m so close! The stronger I am, the better my chance of surviving the journey.

“But enough about me. What’s next for you guys?” Cain changed the topic and with a cheery tone.

“You already know about my debt. I’ll pay what I owe then back to the village,” Lena looked upward to the ceiling.

“Since Wollter is dead, how’s the debt?” Cain asked.

“Well, I still need to pay to the firm but the unreasonable interest is gone. It's quite a sum but thanks to the Cockatrice and you people, I have more than enough.”

“Why not borrow money from someone else?” Irene asked.

“Wollter had the favor of a vicious gang boss and had the monopoly of loaning business in this town. Thanks to the backing, he crushed the competitors violently and raised the interest as much as he wanted in the past,” Paul shook his head.

“Good riddance, the world is better with him gone. For me, I’ve decided to follow my dream. I’ll make it big as an adventurer! See this? It's my grandpa’s journal. It recorded his aaawesome adventures. I’ll carry on his legacy as an adventurer!” Oliver said with beaming eyes.

“Oh? How about the matter about guarding the village?” Cain touched his chin.

“Lena's got it covered, and she has help now.” Oliver sneered.

“Hmmmm,” Cain glanced at Paul whose face was as expressionless as it could be.

“They stayed in one room yester- Ouch!” Oliver whispered to Cain but Lena kicked his leg under the table.

“Hohou...” Cain looked at the pair like a sage.

Lena’s face was as red as a tomato. Paul tried to maintain his poker face but Cain saw his lips were wavering, holding out a smile. Cain gave Paul a wink.

“What about you?” Cain asked the aloof and mysterious archer.

“Nothing much… I’ll be hunting monsters and polishing my skills, that’s all.”

“Hehehe, a Monster Hunter! I’ll toast to that,” Cain raised his mug. “To our future!”

And so the five exchanged a toast for a new chapter of their lives.