Author's Note:

So finally it is here. I'm not sure whether it is better because it took so much longer or not, you have to decide that for yourselves.

****

Kirin felt his conscience returning to real world announced by the soft hum of the machines. Somewhere farther away he could also hear another sound.

"It's me Roy! ... Yes, he just awoke. ... Got it. I'll tell you if he tries to go anywhere. ... Yes, yes, I won't lose him."

It was one of his long time ago classmates. Now he was simply a Vera's lapdog.

Kirin, still only half thought unstrapping all the cables to his body, raised his hand. It was delicate, pale and very small. It was three words he hated the most in his life. Even Vera came second to them. They described the worst aspects of his life in great detail. The sickness, the over-protection and never growing up.

"Kirin are you okay? Why aren't you leaving this thing?" Roy asked and Kirin sighted. When will the pretending stop?

"I'm fine! Just tired" he said, getting out. To strengthen his point he yawned widely.

"Can you wait a moment before going to sleep? Vera wanted to make sure you're okay herself, she's on her way" Roy said in a hesitant tone.

"Really? That's great! Will you make me something to eat while we wait?" Kirin asked with a smile. It was better to face it now then push to later date. He had no wish to have her face be the first thing he would see after waking up.

"Uhm... Okay?" Roy said, thinking of any dish he knew how to make.

Together they went to the kitchen and Kirin sat behind the table, looking at Roy expectantly. The guy seemed uncomfortable with his cheeks reddening slightly until he gave up and decided to make something. It was scrambled eggs. Kirin was happy about it as usually his food consisted of fruits, yoghurt and frozen dishes like pizza. He tried not to think about how his organism felt about such a diet.

"Thank you" he said happily just as the doors opened with a bang.

"Ang are you here?" Vera's loud voice came from the doorway.

Kirin took a deep breath and answered her. "Yes! I'm in the kitchen! Roy made me lunch!" he said just as loudly with a happy tone.

"Ang! How are you?" she asked, coming to hug him.

"Fine! Why are you here?" he asked, acting naive. It was his best choice for the moment.

"I'm afraid for you, of course!"

Kirin turned his head sideways as if not comprehending.

"You were talked into running away! I was afraid something happened to you! I'm so glad to see you're okay!" Vera said, hugging him even closer.

Kirin wasn't sure whether he should roll his eyes or scream at the top of his lungs. Both actions seemed appropriate concerning the situation: an over-protective girl before him making an uproar about a game. It was sick, he had no other words for it. That is why he smiled and shook his head trying to get out of her grasp. He needed to breathe after all.

"Nobody told me to do it! I did it of my own free will!"

"What do you mean free will? You can't say that you left yourself! Why would you ever do it?" she asked in disbelief, pushing him a bit away from herself so she could see his face.

"Well, I did! You didn't agree to let me stay friends with Par, just as his brother did! That's why we decided to run away!" Kirin said, explaining. He tried to make it as obscure as possible while not endangering Par and his brother. If he made them at fault, she would never let it go but he couldn't really admit on being the mastermind behind everything. It would be a disaster if she found that out.

"But all you had to do was tell me that! Why would you start acting on your own?" she asked in a sad voice. He couldn't tell if she really felt that way or was just playing the sympathy card. In the end, it didn't really matter. He didn't care either way.

"I did! But you didn't care! You said we were leaving once the quest was finished! Even if Par is my friend!" Kirin said, finally managing to shake her off and stand a bit farther away.

"Well... It's... I'm sorry, sweetie, but sometimes you have to leave some people behind. It happens as your paths split apart. That is how life is, Ang. I'm sorry but nothing can be done about it. You just have to accept it and keep moving. I believe you can do that! You're a strong kid!" she said in a passionate voice. ‘Does she really believe all the nonsense she is spitting or is she just trying to confuse me with obscure ideas? Well, I’m not falling for that.’

"No! We're friends so we have to stick together! Besides we ran away together! There's no longer any need for us to separate!" Kirin said, going for simplicity. It sounded stupid even to his own ears but as long as he looked like a child any stupidity would be attributed to that. No one ever took him seriously so no harm was done.

"That's... not right! You can't just leave like that! What would you parents say about that?" she asked her voice firm.

'That I should do what I think is right? I doubt you would understand that. And neither would they, in truth.' "They always taught me that friends were most important thing in one's life and that you can't abandon them. True friends would do anything for each other! That is why I'm not going to leave him no matter what you say!" Kirin said, taking a few more steps back and crossing arms over his chest. His face was that of an angry kitten, nothing scary at all, only cute.

"Ang..." Vera wasn't sure what to say more. The kid's logic had many holes in it but because it was a child's one, there was hardly a way to explain to him why it was wrong. "You should trust me to know what is best for you. Please, return back to me! I'll make everything all right once again" she said, extending her hands forward with a beautiful smile. Kirin wanted to puke. He had seen that innocent expression way too many times.

"You didn't do it! So don't lie! All you want is to get me away from my friend! It's not going to work!" he said with his voice raised in anger.

"I will..."

"You can't stop me from playing! You're not my mother!" he screamed. "Get out of here now!"

"But Ang..."

"Now!" he roared in a shrill voice.

Shocked into following, Roy left with Vera in moments. There was a horrified expression on her face but Kirin didn't take back his words. He closed the doors behind them and slid down with his back to it.

“Dammit, I hate her! She has no life but one that consists of trying to order me around! I’m not her god damned pet!” he hissed, hitting the ground. “But I failed so badly now... I don’t want to even think about how she's going to retaliate. Why the hell did I even lose my temper? Argh... She's so annoying! I hate how easily she can destroy everything I ever want! What is she going to steal away from me now? It's getting harder, what with already having my freedom, controlling relationships and all interactions. Even my parents listen to her every word as if she was some kind of an all knowing saint! What did I ever do in my previous life to deserve having her now?” he asked, laughing throatily. It was a desperate kind that brought no joy.

Ten hours or so later he woke up in that same spot with tear streaks on his cheeks. "Dammit" he hissed, brushing them off and standing up. He went to kitchen for a cup of tea and biscuits, finishing the cold eggs. Such breakfast in the middle of the night was a usual and it calmed him down. It was a routine thing which meant it either was time to go to sleep or return to Regal Dream and the former had just been done.

'I should enjoy the game while I still can. There's no telling what she'll do now that I pushed her so far. Anyway, I’ll deal with it when the time comes. There’s no way I’d let her to control me more than she already has! My time is mine to enjoy!'

With that in mind he entered the silver cabin and went back to play.

Only a bit more than a day had passed and nothing seemed to have changed. Even the girl whose name he had somehow forgotten was still present. She was changing from one animal to another in quick succession, releasing a single attack from each one. Ace watched her for a bit, trying to understand how it worked and how could one defend against it. From what he could understand it was her ultimate attack that required lots of concentration and even more precision. If she failed a single move, everything would fall apart. This could be nothing but a last resort in a desperate situation.

"Have the villagers passed by here?" he asked, surprising her. She tried to turn around, change forms, defend, attack, get away and it all failed because she lost her concentration and such movements weren't in her practice. It left her legs hairy with hooves, hands with dark blue feathers and only face that of a human. He smiled inwardly. Now he knew a simple way to stop her; it wasn't that hard to shock your opponent and this would leave him powerless.

"What are you doing here?" she asked with pink cheeks, wings enveloping her to hide the mismatched body.

"Seeking information" Ace said, truthfully. "So have the villagers come here?"

"No... They went a long way around here. None dared to get closer than from where they could see the house. But shouldn't you still be resting?"

"Thanks for your concern, but I've got a few things to take care of before my friend returns" he said, turning around and thinking of a best way to get to the closest city.

"Are you so sure he will return?" she asked quietly, not really wanting to sadden him.

"If he doesn't, so much for being a friend of mine. I'll find someone else to continue my journey with" Ace said shrugging, not even turning back.

"Isn't that really cold-hearted? How can you just abandon a friend because of a single disagreement? That's not humane! You should treasure friends!" she said, angrily.

"Stop right there" Ace said, turning back with a glare in his blood-red eyes. "You don't know a single damn thing about me! So shut up and be on your way. I don't want to see your face ever again" he said in a steely voice without it rising at all. But it was as cold and sharp as an icy dagger getting dragged through your veins.

Throwing a last glare her way Ace chose a random direction and started to run. He didn't really care if he was going towards a city or getting himself lost. Everyone today were just trying out the extent of his patience.

Why couldn't they leave him alone? He was smart and old enough to know better himself. They all pretended like they knew what was going inside of him and what was best. What self-righteous bastards! How could they ever truly understand him?

They weren't him, weren't stuck as children and to top it off knew nothing about what it was like knowing you had no future, that you were absolutely different than everyone else and wasn't going to share their dreams and hopes. It was everyone's worst nightmare and yet instead of trying to understand it, they pretended not to see it. An easiest choice. And the worst for him.

He slashed at a passing tree. And another one. Soon he was hitting it and punching, stabbing and slashing, uncaring what it meant for a dagger's durability. He heard birds flying away in fright and his eyes started to shine even deeper crimson.

In moments he was climbing trees and looking for stragglers. Every animal too slow or elderly became prey to his daggers that were soon dripping red liquid. Only a few creatures managed to escape his wrath. Even large animals like wolves and bears were reduced to yapping balls of dust trying to get away as fast as their legs carried them.

Ace ran after them, bare feet making only the softest of sounds on a moss blanket as he stormed towards another prey. They showed no resistance but ran around so it took time and the prize was more worthwhile. He didn't pick a thing and didn't receive a single experience point but there was a smile on his face adorned with blood.

Death was a great thing. It made him feel powerful, as if he could actually control something. He loved it and hated knowing it was fake. But he sowed it everywhere he went anyway. As long as it helped him to take a deeper breath, it was acceptable. Nothing else mattered, that's what he decided by picking to become an assassin. He sowed death and used the fruits of everyone’s hatred to calm his own raging soul. A twisted trade, yet so simple and rewarding.

In time, the forest would be renamed to a Dead Forest as no animals ever lived there. The scare he gave them was passed through generations and no creature ever dared to venture inside where so many lost their lives and returned to the ground.

Ace stopped for a moment, breathing heavily, and looked around. His eyes were deep red, close to brown but not there yet. The madness that made him see everyone as a target had receded but he still wasn't finished. What made him stop was a lack of potential preys. There was nothing breathing for a few kilometres around. Annoyed he brushed his hair and cursed quietly. Now even his golden hair was dirtied.

Having nothing better to do he started walking forward. This time he wasn't running so to conserve energy as he was already out of breath. The quietness surrounded him and an innocent smile surfaced on his face. It felt great to be all alone. His steps became slower and slower with each new one.

In the end, he stopped and sat down on a large tree's root. Breathing deeply, he leaned against it. He rested for a moment before a sound of people talking interrupted him.

"What are we looking for?"

"How am I supposed to know? You should have asked the leader that!"

"I did! He said that escaping animals mean danger is ahead. But he didn't explain what kind of!"

"Can you quiet down? We're scouting now!"

"I'm a warrior not a scout! It's not my problem they weren't smart enough to hire any!"

"Well, now it is. Deal with it."

Their voices disappeared but the rustling continued so Ace used [Shadow Veil] and carefully climbed into a tree. It was an old one with large branches so it was a child's work. From up there, he could see two armoured man with claymores on their backs. They were about thirty and seemed to know nothing about scouting. They weren't even trying not to step on fallen branches and roots as not to make sounds.

But although they looked careless there was a certain feel to them. Their eyes were sharp, bodies relaxed but weapons at the ready. They had to be seasoned fighters. Maybe mercenaries if they talked about being hired? But that would mean there was a caravan or something of the like around here. 'Interesting'

He climbed down and using [Silent Steps] sneaked closer. With [Heart-seeker] he could easily get rid of one of them but what was he supposed to do with the second? In three seconds a good fighter could make minced meat out of him and he didn't particularly want that done to him. There had to be a different way to deal with this situation.

Following after them he went over his spells. Most of them were useless in a close fight, meant only for getting close to a target. Should he use an illusion? But no it had a long casting time. It left him with only two spells. They had to work.

Carefully he sneaked right behind them and murmured "Ice Field". When they lost their balance for a moment, he struck. "Curse of the Hungry! Magma Blade! Backstab! Cut-throat! Heart-seeker!" 'One down, one to go' The other guy quickly regained his footing and hit Ace with his giant sword, taking more than half health points. It made Ace fall and he rolled away to evade another hit that left a big dent on the ground. "Burst!" he shouted out for [Flare] and managed to stand up in the time the man was blinded.

It was an unfavourable situation no matter how he looked at it. The guy had longer reach, heavier weapon and was taller than him. He couldn't block a single attack without his weapon breaking yet one hit would send him to have to have fun at home 'Think, think, think...'

The man got tired of waiting for an attack which wasn't coming and rushed at Ace. The kid barely managed to dodge it. To his surprise the slow looking weapon was actually quite fast when handled with great strength. All he could do was try to evade without even having time to think of anything else.

Once he used his dagger to redirect the claymore and could almost see its durability drop by half. It surely won’t survive another contact. He dodged left and right, escaping death by mere millimetres but his opponent wasn't getting frustrated at all. He was patiently waiting until Ace's stamina would run out.

'Damned good players. What am I supposed to do' Evade to the left, duck and roll forward. 'Not only does he have no openings, I have no time to even take a fighting position!' Quickly stand up, take a step forward and dodge to the right. 'Instincts of a predator keep on saving my life but how long can it last? My stamina is already half way down.' Left, right, turn around, lean back. 'I need a plan!' Jump, lean right. 'And fast!' Evade to the left and take a few steps back. 'What if..?'

"Beloved dreams” Lean left. ”Feared nightmares” Right. ”Different worlds” Right again. ”Same horrors” Jump back. ”Combine into one” Left. ”And come crashing” Jump! ”Onto the mortal souls” Duck. ”Phantasm!" he chanted while dodging the increasingly quickening attacks. There wasn't exactly fear in his opponent’s eyes but he didn't look too happy.

But to the man's surprise it didn't seem like the spell had done anything. The kid was a strange person, able to fight and cast spells at the same time, and although he didn't fail, there was no change. That made the man even wearier but he continued to press on. It was time to finish it off and return to announce his companion’s death.

Unlike the man Ace saw some differences. His carefully chanted spell blurred the lines of his movements and when he moved to right it looked as if he almost didn't move at all. It made the opponent misjudge his position and soon enough Ace saw his chance. The man raised his weapon to double his weapon's damage expecting Ace to be unbalanced while leaning back.

There was only a slight difference which meant everything. Ace was fully on his feet and jumped forward ramming his dagger straight through all the man's armour. "Heart-seeker" he whispered. Dark red blood seeped out from the wound and in seconds was eaten by Kris who used it to repair itself.

Ace at that time was looking at the man's eyes that were light blue and gazed at him with amazement and horror. But in a moment the light disappeared from them and the body fell heavily on the ground. Ace showed the man his tongue and started to loot him. He had nothing besides clothes on his back and a bag full of coins but Ace wasn't nice enough to leave him even that. He took care of the other warrior the same way and gave both of them a silver wing.

It was a stupid idea since one of them had seen his face but at the moment Ace didn't feel like caring about it. He was wholly covered in blood anyway. Even his mother wouldn't recognize him like this. There was not a chance some random guy would.

With that thought in mind, he once again activated [Shadow Veil] and went to look around. These people had to have come from somewhere and he planned on finding out where. It might provide some good amusement if he did and Kris was kind of hungry. He hadn't fed it for some time and the fresh blood was used to repair it instead of strengthen.

Not too far away he stumbled upon a dirt road and following it approached a middle-sized caravan. It contained around fifteen wagons, two horses for each one and only two kinds of people; merchants and warriors. It was nothing like the one Ace had travelled with. This was more straight-forward and probably meant for quickly getting from one place to another without leaving one's country.

Ace went closer and approached a man that was most likely the leader. He stood at the front and kept on looking around. His face was empty but eyes gave away a feeling of uneasiness. "What's taking them so long?" he asked himself quietly but no answer was coming and Ace was the only one who knew an answer to it.

He thought for a moment on the best course of action. There were many people here and they were used to being surprised and dealing with that. If he tried anything, he would be caught in no time. Unless he played around a bit... Phantasm hasn't yet been cancelled and was eating his mana anyway...

That decided it and he left the man to his worries, looking for some prey. It would be better to find some loners first. Only after he killed those, would the real challenge begin. Although, if he wasn't careful, it might end before even starting. These people weren't his usual unprepared idiots, thinking that they're perfectly capable of everything themselves.

Unhurriedly he sneaked away, deeper, where the wagons had banded closer together blocking view from the outside. It was a perfect place for people to start disappearing. A few merchants were talking among themselves so he passed them in search of some solo guys. It didn't take long as he heard sounds of rummaging in a close by wagon.

Ace climbed inside and seeing the man looking the other way at his wares, he didn't waste any time. "Curse of the Hungry! Backstab! Cut-throat! Heart-seeker!" The merchant fell without even a slightest idea of what had happened to him. Ace smiled at that and stole everything while not forgetting to look through what was in the wagon too. Once he was finished, he stood over a corpse and touched his necklace.

"Goddess of Light that know the pain of those that live, please, hear the cries of a Fallen Soul and allow him to let everyone see who he is" he said, making the silver wing duplicate itself for the next five days every time someone was killed in the near vicinity. It simplified the matters but if anyone died not by his hand, the goddess's curse would fall onto him. Sedgart had told it wouldn't be pretty but never specified how.

There was a dead body before him so he awarded it with a silver wing and putting the spell back on sneaked out. It would be a good idea to catch as many people as possible before the alarm was sounded as after that they'll band together and will be so much harder to kill.

Another loner caught Ace's attention. He was petting the horses and telling them sweet nothings. Ace decided to wait a moment and take care of him somewhere else. Firstly animals tended to somehow feel the presence of people even though they were invisible and second the corpse would be in broad daylight.

Some ten minutes or so later the man cursed and unharnessed the horses. Then he walked with them a bit farther away, closer to the forest. "Here, eat some my friends. There is no reason for you to stay there if we're resting" he said, brushing with his hand over the horse's back. Ace looked around and seeing no spectators attacked.

The horses reacted to his presence but the merchant didn't see it in time and blood gushed out from his wounds. He saw nothing before leaving for a few hours in real life time. A silver wing appeared in his bag at the same time. Ace took everything besides it for himself. There was a hundred thousand gold in the pouch. He was going to become one of the richest man alive if all the merchants had this much money.

Everything done, he dragged the corpse in the bushes to be hidden until it disappeared. The curse was a great thing allowing to steal people's belongings but at the same time it left evidence that no other assassin player had to deal with.

"Harry, are you here?" some man asked and Ace shrouded himself in darkness. "Where could he have gone, eh?" the man asked the horses, knowing how important they were to his friend.

Ace took that time to silently circle around and position himself behind. This guy was a mercenary, judging from armour and a giant sword on the back. It will be a true challenge of his speed and the ability to spam all the skills before the man could get his weapon out. Ace wished to take a deep breath but it would make a sound and fail his whole plan so he could only imagine doing it before starting.

The jump on the back to strengthen skills worked out but he didn't expect the man to go for bare handed fight instead of reaching for his weapon. The guy grabbed Ace's shoulder from behind and before [Heart-seeker] could be executed threw him away. Without even thinking Ace used [Shadow Dash] and thrust his Kris forward. "Heart-seeker!" His eyes met the man's who looked in wonder at Ace, knowing without even looking that all his armour had been pierced. "But you're just a..." he whispered with his dying breath.

"So what?" Ace asked, indignantly but the man was no longer capable of answering. Only once he noticed that did Ace's heartbeat pick up. 'I was so close to dying!' When his memory brought back what had just transpired, he was surprised at his own reaction. If he had waited a second or two more, the man would have flattened him with that sword of his. 'How did I do that?' he wondered while bending down to collect his loot.

Inside the bag were a few miscellaneous items along with a photo. From it a happy family of four smiled at him, two four year olds showing their pearly white teeth while their parents looked at them with fascination. 'Kids are usually not allowed here so how could he have made a picture? Or is this a small painting by an artist he knows from real life?' He held it in his hand for a little longer before deciding it was his now. The man had died so all his earthly belongings were fair game and no exceptions should be made.

He pocketed the photo and dragged the body in the same brushes. The other guy was already on the verge of disappearing, his body becoming see-through. Just a bit more time and all evidence about him being here will be erased.

A horn sounded and Ace raised his head to hear it better. It came from somewhere up ahead where he had last seen the leader standing around. Ace had no idea what the sound actually meant but interested he went towards its source.

At the front of the wagons the leader stood with a worried expression, holding a large horn adorned with rubies and sapphires. People were gathering around, although, none seemed to share the leader's uneasiness. They were talking in groups, laughing and joking around.

When the place was full, the leader asked for quietness. He had to shout out a few times before gaining attention from the crowd. "You all saw the frightened run of animals. I sent two of our best fighters to seek their fear's source but it's been more than a few hours and they haven't returned!" A wave of whispers passed through the gathered people.

"What do you think happened to them?" someone asked.

"I don't know! I've been trying to contact them but they're not answering!" the leader said, his voice high pitched. Ace had thought he was a mercenary from his armour but the guy's fear filled actions signalled that he was probably only a merchant dressed up as someone with fighting capabilities. In reality, he was probably sweating horribly under all that heavy armour with his low strength.

"What do you mean can't contact them? Did they have to suddenly leave for some reason?"

"I mean they suddenly lost connection! Both of them!" the leader said, his face growing pale. "This can't be a coincidence!"

The people became unsettled. Even the battle worn mercenaries didn't look too happy about the present situation. They were proud of their fighting capabilities, polished by many hardships but the enemy had taken care of two of them in no time. That was a scary thought when nobody knew that dishonourable actions and trickery were used to achieve that.

"We must do something!"

"But what? We don't know what we're facing"

"Brendon! Come forward!" the leader's said, his voice loudly passing over the crowd. "Hurry up!"

Ace couldn't see the front by being away so nobody accidentally bumped into him but from the commotion could guess that the guy wasn't showing up. Could he have been one of the victims? But there were only three of them...

"Dammit! Harry is missing too! Brendon probably went to make sure the guy didn't wonder off somewhere with his horses. People spread out and find them!"

Ace listened to the command with his mouth wide open; they couldn't have done anything better for him and worse for themselves. Now that most of them were going by one or two, they were easy prey. Deciding not to waste the lucky chance, he left the leader to worry alone. If his plan worked, the guy will be facing much bigger problems than he is now.

On the outskirts of a forest, he felt at home. Although it wasn't very dense, it gave him cover and even those who could notice the slight shifts when rogues moved in hiding, would be unable to see anything here. Now he could freely hunt everyone down.

That was exactly what he did for the next half a day. He would come from behind and assassinate people before they were able to react, making his work easy as no warning was ever sounded. This way of doing things allowed his race’s traits to shine in the best light. He was unable to use [Meditate] to regain his mana quickly but in exchange his mana regeneration was greatly increased, allowing him to keep going without ever running out of it. It was the first time he was truly happy for choosing to become a Celestial.

Past midday those who were lucky enough not to meet him started to gather back around the leader. Their numbers had dwindled so much that there were hardly any of them left at all.

"Where is everyone?" leader asked, desperately trying to control the fear in his voice.

People looked at each other without any idea of where their companions had disappeared. "Maybe they're still searching?"

"Don't kid around! The monster that the animals were running from probably got them! We should have run away the moment we could, now we're all doomed!"

"What are we going to do?"

"I'm getting out of here as fast as I can!"

"Stop it people!" some mercenary said. He was middle aged with dark brown hair, small beady eyes and pristinely clean chain mail. "As you saw it, if we spread out, we'll be goners too! We must stay together!"

'I wish I had killed him too... Now they would be going out alone instead of banding together.'

"Why should I believe you? You might be in league with it!" the same merchant who wanted to run away alone said, his face kind of purple.

"I've been with you since the beginning! And do you truly think I'd still be here if I was planning to kill you all? Wouldn't it be easier to call whatever it is out if I had the power and be done with it?" the mercenary asked in a calm voice but his eyes were throwing daggers at the man.

"You want us to trust you! You'll save your reputation and will be able to do this again! Well, I have another thing coming for you! I'll tell everyone what we faced because of you and that you should be hunted as a rabid dog! Monster!" the man screamed and left in a hurry. One person followed him out.

"Those who still have some brain cells in their heads come closer. We need a plan if we want to make it out alive" the mercenary said, rolling his eyes and looking around to make sure there were no more leavers.

Ace thought for a moment and sneaked away. He could stay and find out how they planned to defend against him but that would mean letting two idiots escape. They didn't deserve that so he went after. He'll deal with the remaining ones later on. They weren't leaving anywhere.

The two were rummaging around their separate wagons, ignoring everything around them. They were too absorbed in their preparations to leave to feel the air shift and a human shape appear behind their backs. It was their end. But not the happy kind.

After making sure that they returned to the game as refreshingly new as when they were born, he sneaked back. The survivors, of which were twenty, were already standing up.

"Hurry up. We must be ready before nightfall. All the creatures come out at that time" the mercenary said, probably assigned as a new leader.

Ace looked at the dispersing people thinking whether he wanted to do something now or not. They looked so pathetic and scared with their shoulders down, distraught faces and lifeless eyes that he didn't even feel like bringing them more misery. It would be like kicking a dog, twice.

Maybe if nothing happened for some time their morale would return? And they would have some traps ready for him. It could actually be some challenge because now it was becoming boring. All he had been doing all day was sneaking behind and using his skills. It was good for feeding his dagger but after the first fifteen kills it lost its charm. There was not even a single occasion where he would feel threatened and would have to use [Phantasm].

'I'll wait for the night. If they make something interesting I'll make sure to protect these caravans until the merchants return, otherwise some accident might happen to it.'

He yawned widely and looked around for a good place to take a nap. He hadn't slept the whole night, raging at the world and it was already past midday. A good sleep would benefit him well.

He looked around for a suitable place and noticed one wagon was different than others, now that he paid better attention to it. It was larger, had more decorations and was pulled by oxen. 'How did I miss it before?' It stood around the middle, surrounded by all others as if being protected. 'Interesting. What could it contain?'

He got inside. What met his eyes were chests bursting with all kinds of items. One contained silk, another weapons, others armour, clothes, food ingredients and some miscellaneous items. Ace passed by all of them and noticed a plank being a bit out of place. He carefully moved it around until it left its place and he saw dark space.

He crawled in, lightening the inside with [Flare]. It was empty. After a bit more looking he noticed another plank that seemed to have been moved recently. There he found a folded up paper.

*Your Highness Marion,

Your faithful servant North Wind has went to meet with the recently freed Vascas castle's lord. There he made a very disappointing discovery that some other lord has taken them under his wing. Your servant wasn't able to find out anything about who it was. There was one clue about the castle's main saviour being a young kid, now called Flare of Hope but it is hard to believe it being truth. People are telling tales of how all alone he infiltrated the castle, found all the survivors, opened the gates and even killed the bandit leader. No other information is available at the moment.

The meeting in the Diamond castle brings joy to your servant’s heart. The lord there was very welcoming and quickly agreed to all the suggestions. He even asked himself whether you were kind enough to offer him your protection. Your servant said it would be an important step for everyone and he can't promise anything but your highness is an honourable man who wishes everyone the best. The lord will be coming with a delegation two weeks from now.

As he had been ordered your servant had went to the bard city Lasran and asked for an audience with its lord on your behalf. The only answer given was that the lord is too busy to meet people at the moment. Three weeks passed by but nothing change so your hireling collected information. It showed up that the lord was actively collecting information on a certain killer named Silver Wing by his sign. There is reason to believe that the lord wishes to find out who it is and gain people's love for that or hire him himself. No contact between the two has been made as of yet. Your faithful servant will stay to control the situation and will report on the usual time.

Long live the king!*

From the first few words Ace knew it was no random note but a very important and secret one. The rest of the text only proved it. 'Nice catch. I should try to sell it to L. I believe he would love to read it' a twisted smile appeared on his lips as he folded the note and put it in his pocket for future use. His plan for now was to take a nap and give the survivors some time to regain normal shape, and he was going to do exactly that.

He hid [Flare] under himself and in blackness closed his eyes. A few hours later the games will begin and Silver Wing will have a lot of fun, hopefully. If they truly wanted, they could run away now, if not, he would see it as an agreement. There were around five or so hours for them to decide or find his hiding place. Either one will be fine for him.