Fighting could be heard in a dreary dungeon. Metal clashing against metal with fire crackling comfortably in the background.

"Is he dead yet?" someone asked in a shout. "Not quite yet!" another answered releasing a bout of sparks that flew to reignite the flames. They were on an undead, one of many who wandered around the dark caves with two swords, always looking for a fight.

"How's the other two?" "Still standing" a third voice chimed from behind as the human warrior at the front was too busy fending off his opponents to care about answering. "Can you lure that one to them? I'll be able to use Purify in half a minute." "Doing it!" the first voice said as four arrows embedded into his opponent, slowing him down even more.

"Heavens hear my cry and let the fallen rest, return them to their graves, Purification!"

White light washed the cave, blinding undead and stopping their movements. One of them started to shrivel and fizz turning into a puff of smoke and disappearing. The voices cheered lightly and with a new energy fell on the remaining undead who didn't really have much of a chance to win. Their movements started to slow from the numerous arrows marking their bodies and even more hits landed eating away their health little by little. Not long after that the two dissipated into thin air after their comrade, leaving only an iron sword in their stead and letting the cave return to its calm and silent state.

"How are they?" Ace asked quietly, keeping his head low. They had come to meet with his friends using the shortest path that had showed up to be the narrowest and with lowest ceiling one too. In the end they were forced to crawling. At the moment Ace was lying beside Skele in an underground ventilation shaft right ahead of where his companions had been fighting. And in a way spying on them.

"Not too bad. They just took care of three swordbeasts without any casualties."

"There's six of them. If they hadn't done that I'd have to rethink whether they're really my friends. Anyway, what's a swordbeast?" Ace asked in the same whispering voice.

"They're undead mercenaries who carry long swords and are always looking for a chance to fight. That's why there's no other kind of monsters in this part of the cave. Not too strong or smart but really troublesome with their impossible tenacity."

"What are they doing now?"

"Letting the priestess handle the items and then dividing them among themselves. It seems a quite practised method."

"Most likely" Ace agreed. "Wait here. I don't want them to kill you thinking you're chasing me" he said and wormed his way out from the small space.

There wasn't anything to soften his fall so he landed with a loud thud, making dust raise around himself.

"I think I heard something. Stay here!" a voice from around a corner came and Ace smiled. 'Still the responsible one of the party. At least he has the two to aid him there now.' "Everyone come! There's another one! Can't see his level so it might be tough!" Monthu said loudly, swinging his scythe. Ace barely managed to evade it by hugging the ground close and crawling at full speed to the other direction.

When he was a considerable distance away, he turned around jumping to his feet and glared at Monthu. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" he shouted out in outrage.

"Killing an insolent pest" Rover said with a malicious smile. Ace didn't even need to see to know it was there. The guy then proceeded to rush ahead holding his weapon high, ready to chop things up. "Leave this one to me!"

"Hey, careful! We still don't know what he's capable of!" Aurora shouted out from the back, just rounding the corner with Par and Dawn in tow. "He might be a boss of this level!"

"This weakling?" laughed Rover as Ace evaded his attack, not feeling even slightly threatened to draw out his weapons. He dodged for a while, wondering why they didn't recognize him. 'Had the mystic sight not only made me blind but changed my appearance? Some side effect that Skele forgot to mention?'

Arrows flew his way and Ace jumped to the side, letting Rover catch all of them.

"Idiot! Where are you aiming?" he shouted out in anger, falling back a bit. "You went in their path on your own! I can't help if you're that stupid" Hawk retorted releasing another volley which made a nice decoration on the wall. Ace made a note to never be hit by them, they penetrated a wall so what could they do to his fragile body?

"Guys, calm down! This guy's different! He's purposefully trying to create chaos among us so we'll fall apart! Let's go to our battle formation and be done with all the talking!"

Just as Monthu said that Ace heard Aurora casting buffs with Dawn while Par called upon his pets. Then in moments he was surrounded.

"I thought you might be angry but don't you think this is going a bit overboard?" he asked kicking Rover in the stomach and breaking of the circle.

"That bastard! He's going to pay!" Rover roared returning to his position around a new half-circle since Ace had landed near the wall. 'Quite well trained' he noted. 'Like a dog.' "Everyone careful! My mana is on the low side" Aurora said making sure everyone was on the same page.

"Dammit" someone cursed and Ace used it as a sign to move. He didn't take out any weapons, not that he had any beside his Kris, and holding his trustworthy rock went on the offensive.

Rover was his first target since he was the weakest and proudest, which means always needing a good beating. He rushed at the guy who held up his axe to block the attack which Ace anticipated and because of it avoided. He went for falling down and slashing at the unprotected legs.

There was blood on his hands so Ace gave himself a mental high five and crawling away used [Shadow Dash] to evade a scythe and a fire ball coming his way.

There was a slithering sound and guessing it was Par's snake Ace used [Acid Splash] to discourage it from coming his way again. [Evasion] allowed him to avoid another bunch of arrows followed by an ice spear which shattered into million pieces against the wall taking a tiny amount of his health away. "I need to be more aware of my surroundings..." he muttered to himself.

"What? Are you already giving up? Sorry, we're not taking prisoners!" Rover laughed and Ace felt his patience evaporating. There was no way he could survive around this guy for more than a few hours without killing him. It had been the right choice to leave.

"Rover, don't underestimate him!" Dawn shouted out. "He just used magic! He's clearly a boss disguised as a weak undead. There's a big chance he's going to transform to his true form when we get him half way down.

"Hey! What's wrong with my body?" Ace asked surprised. How could he possibly be mistaken with an undead? It shouldn't be happening!

While he was pondering that Monthu came from behind, trying to behead him. The scythe hugged his neck and Ace had to fall backwards so as not to get it separated from the rest of his body.

That was the last straw. Clutching his red neck which thick liquid running down it, Ace glared around himself. "This time you've done it. I'm through with trying to get to you. Go to hell!" he screamed surprising them and picked another stone infusing both with magic. It was simple [Gust] and [Flare] since all he needed was to disrupt their formation and they would fall.

"Ice Field" he hissed pretending to go once again for Rover but actually passing him and smashing at Hawk. Then he hit him a few more times before sliding away and focusing Aurora.

Rover and Monthu tried to rush and help but ice wasn't their usual footing and they slipped crashing. "Wild Vines" Ace said throwing the spell at Aurora and returning to his real targets the two warriors lying on the ground. He hit Monthu on the head a few times before an explosion came to and Ace had to reposition himself.

Through the weeks he'd learnt to not get stunned in shock when the explosion happened but to use the blast to get into a better fighting place. This time he got himself back to the back lines where Aurora's restraints were being burned down by Dawn. The kid hit the girl with the [Gust] stone which pushed her off his immobilized target. He then used [Bolt] to paralyse her for a moment so he could get in a few more hits before having to slide away as Hawk was back on his feet and shooting arrows like mad.

"Dawn!" Rover screamed standing up and noticing what happened while he was down. "What's wrong with this bastard? He's too quick for us to catch!"

"You're what's wrong with him" Monthu hissed in annoyance. "You just had to go and provoke him. Repeatedly on top of that." Ace smiled hearing that.

"Shut up! Like you know anything!" Rover roared once again, trying to run to his friend’s side but being unable. There was some liquid on ice that was making it even more slippery. "What is this..?" he started to ask when Ace activated [Burst].

He heard the familiar sound of cracking fire and jumped to action like he was used to. Diving in, a kick here, a slice there, throw some acid and go the side to evade the counter attacks and then do it all again before getting tired and letting Skele take over. Now Skele was away but Ace was sure he could easily take care of the trouble himself.

*Pshh* The flames hissed when something dozed them off. Ace rushed to there and heard water rushing out and killing off his fires. But it was Par who did it so there was no helping it. He would have to use another tactic to win.

He left the kid to his work, just as revenge purged the fire elemental in acid and electricity making him leave the human world. Then Ace returned to his work of kicking and smashing Rover. He was more than deserving it.

"Heal! Heal! I need healing!" Rover shouted out and Ace hit him another time accidentally having him pushed away. Annoyed by it he quickly exchanged the infusions with [Bolt] and [Acid Splash] as they were more useful when one actually stayed to fight.

"We should retreat!" Monthu finally said, blocking off Ace from finishing Rover. "There's no way we can win against him when we're like this."

"He needs to pay back for what he did to Dawn" Rover hissed in hatred.

"There'll be ti-" Monthu replied over his shoulder at the almost dead guy. Ace used that distraction to push the scythe away and jump over Monthu by activating [Shadow Dash]. He landed right on top of Rover, sitting down on his shoulders and putting the sharp edge of the stone next to his neck. "One more word and you're a dead man."

"At least not as dead as you" Rover said in a mock. The sharp edge of the stone brushed lightly against his skin drawing a droplet or red. "I'm warning you! If you open that mouth of yours again, I won't care even if Monthu will seriously think about separating my head from the rest of the body."

"What do you mean?" asked the aforementioned guy in surprise. "How do you know my name?"

Ace raised his eyes to the heavens. "How should I not know the name of a person who's the only one that has actually made me hesitate in my actions once or twice? You know you should have a received a reward for that. Besides you still owe me a favour! Don't think you're getting out of it by feigning ignorance!"

"Ace?" Monthu asked in disbelief.

"One and only" the kid said with a bright smile jumping to his feet. "What took you so long?"

"Have you seen a mirror recently?"

Ace was surprised by that question. He hadn't taken a bath recently but could he really smell and look that terrible to be impossible to recognize? This was a game to top it off! Everyday necessities weren't such here!

He raised his hands up to look at them but there was nothing there, only the already familiar blackness. 'When will I get used to it?' he wondered.

"Do you see anything wrong with it or do I need to point it out?"

Ace shook his head in remorse. "Sorry forgot to mention I'm blind now. Can't see a damn thing. So how do I look?"

"What do you mean you're blind?"

"You're a walking skeleton with rotten flesh hanging off you handsomely and glowing white eyes. You seem to have dared to finally show your true self" Rover butt in.

"Wow. When did that happen..." Ace said in thought. "No wonder dark magic was healing me..."

"Really? What happened to you?" Monthu asked with a sigh motioning for everyone to come closer.

"Ace is that really you?" Par asked and the kid nodded.

"You're really blind!" Rover laughed in disbelief. "You're looking beside him instead of at the face! Hahaha! You deserve it!"

Ace turned to him with an innocent smile. "And yet I defeated all of you none the less. Do you know what that says about you?"

"You- You're a monster!"

"When why exactly are you taunting me?" Ace asked, not losing his angel like smile.

There was no answer so he turned away. "Yes that's me and I've made a friend which stayed up for long enough. Be nice to him, he's been living in this cave for over twenty years against his will." Rover wanted to say something but after Ace's glance kept his mouth shut. "Skele, Hound come! The introductions are done!"

From the ceiling a large dog jumped down and a skeleton levitated, softly touching the floor. "What kind of introduction was that? You nearly killed them all" he said hitting Ace over the head with his staff.

"Ouch" the kid groaned. "Stop with the violence and meet my friends who were in too much of a hurry last time and didn't have the pleasure of meeting you. The scythe guy here is Monthu. He's kind of a leader of them. The red robed mage kid is his brother Par, my good friend. The white female is Aurora. She's a real priestess so beware of her. And this idiot duo is Dawn and Rover. I left because they were being too annoying. I don't know how I'm going to survive it now but we'll see."

"Hey what about me?" whined Hawk.

"You're unimportant. Just stay in the background and do nothing like always." That shocked the archer into silence. Ace sensed waves of disapproval coming from behind him. "He's Hawk, an archer. Happy now?"

Skele said nothing, taking a few steps forward and creating a small fire. Hound nuzzled Ace and went to lie down by his master.

"What are you all looking at?" Ace asked feeling everyone's gazes on him. "He's a skeleton. They don't like talking." Skele chuckled at hearing that but kept his silence afterwards.

Monthu shook his head and asked. "So what really happened when you left us?"

"If we want to be truthful you all left me while I was playing my flute. It had a wonderful effect of raising a bunch of undead which I killed because their boss was too full of himself. Then I felt lazy, went to sleep and found this guy sitting next to me after I woke up" he pointed at Skele.

"I proved to him that he needs me and he agreed to lead me around the cave. It was great until he tried to help and make me able to see in the dark but turned me blind instead. He's been repaying that depth since then."

"You mean you have been unable to see anything for a couple of weeks?" Aurora asked in horror.

"Yeah" Ace said with a nod. "How else do you think I got accustomed to fighting like this so well? It didn't happen in a single day."

"Shouldn't you have died a gazillion times before managing to learn it first?" Dawn asked in a condescending manner but Ace just laughed. "I had two nannies that would go on rampages if they saw even a bruise on my finger.”

"How did you became an undead?" Par asked touching the bone. Ace could hardly feel it at all. It explained why his hands never bled no matter how much he grasped the sharp stones. Bones aren't made of blood.

"I truly don't know" he said shrugging. "This is the first I heard of it."

"Rot" Skele supplied from his place by the fire. "You've had it even before meeting me."

"Oh right! I had to find a cleric..." Ace muttered. "Can she still heal me?"

"Should. You're still bleeding" Skele said crossing his legs to start meditating. "Wake me up when we need to move."

"Sure." Ace nodded and turned to Aurora. "Can you help me? Pretty please?"

"What do you need me to do?" she asked, ready to aid in a any way she could.

"How should I know?" Ace said, not without a look of surprise. "As far as I know you're the healer here."

The girl felt uncomfortable hearing that. It's true that she was a priestess but that didn't mean she had read every single thing about being one. She had no idea what she could cure and what not.

Not having any ideas she started to sing in a slow manner. "Goddess hear my prayer and sing the hymn for the fallen, those who sought to save the world but fell short, unable to fulfil their dreams and now are forced to wander the world with blackened hearts, lost to the temptation, Cleanse!" The last word was said in almost a whisper and light washed over Ace while his face scrunched in disgust.

He felt something like electricity passing through his head, torso and dividing into the four limbs. Then the pain started. It wasn't anything to fall him on his knees but extremely uncomfortable as if someone was testing how much his skin could stretch out in all directions.

To Ace's delight it was over in a few minutes. "How is it now?"

"It worked!" Aurora said happily. "You're back to normal!"

Ace smiled. "Thanks then. I appreciate your help."

"You should have come earlier" Hawk said leaving the circle around Ace and sitting down by Skele's fire.

Ace ignored his remark and turned to Par. "So what happened while I was away? Have you given your pet a name?"

The kid took the little bird off his shoulder and put it into Ace's hands. "Meet Claw!" he said proudly.

"Nice to meet you Claw!" Ace said seriously, shaking the bird's leg softly. "I hope we can become friends one day."

The sparrow released a soft chirping sound and flapping his wings returned to his master's side.

"You seem to have formed a real bond while I was gone" Ace said with a smile.

Par nodded eagerly. "We did! You should have seen it! One undead managed to get through brother and was about to strike me when birdie started to claw at his eyes! He was struck heavily then but Aurora healed him and he returned to my side!"

"That's amazing! I'm really happy you've become friends! Do you think he'll like me too?"

"If you'll disappear suddenly again..."

'So even he is bothered by me taking a leave? Did they have a talk or had something happened that everyone is making remarks about me?' He faked innocence outwardly. "Ah? Oh I don't plan to leave anywhere now! We need to kill the knights at the front of the cave! We promised to do that together!"

"I don't remember agreeing to anything" muttered Monthu and Ace glared at him. "Well, it was surely not my idea. I don't remember being so kind hearted."

"Wait! What about exploring the dungeon to the end? There might be some treasure there!" Rover said in shock. How could anyone give up halfway when the end might be so close?

"Did you see from which side I have come?" Ace asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Some tunnel?"

"The deeper in one. What could that possibly mean? Maybe that I have already finished and was coming back now? What do you think, ah?"

"You couldn't have! You're just a kid!"

Ace sighed. "Really? That's the reason you chose of all that were at your disposal? That I'm an assassin, alone, blind..."

"And a child. You're in-"

"Just shut up" Monthu said hitting him on the shoulder. "Otherwise we'll meet you in the city when we're done."

"What?" Rover asked uncomprehending.

"He says you'll be dead" Dawn explained taking his hand and then turned to Monthu. "Would he really kill a teammate, a friend?"

"Only Par is Ace's friend, even if he is. What concerns groups this guy will help only as long as he's benefiting from it. You should have already seen that he doesn't really care what he's thought of or how he treats those around him. If we hadn’t recognized him, I'm sure he would have killed us all and not felt a sliver of regret."

"Hey! Don't make me into such a cold hearted bastard!" Ace complained going to sit leaning against the Hound. "Par would have surely survived! I haven't touched him even though I had the chance!"

"What are you playing at?" Dawn asked in anger. "You say you would have killed us all and want us to take it in easily? We should not let you back in!"

Ace raised his head with a half-smile. "Try it then. I'm ready for another round." He heard her take a quick step back and chuckled. "If you want to threaten someone, first make sure can follow it through. Otherwise you’ll just be making a fool of yourself." Then his gaze shifted to the kid. "Par can you come here for a moment?"

The kid did and brushed the demon dog's fur as showed by Ace. "It's so strange!" he shouted out in surprise. "It's like I'm touching fire but it doesn't burn!"

"It's Hound. He's a pet of Skele's and carried me all around. Would you like to ride him too?"

"Can I?" Par asked in wonder.

"Yep! Skele won't mind at all and Hound is a very nice animal. He likes kids!" Ace said with surety in his voice. Hound released an annoyed growl but after Ace hugged him allowed Par to sit on him. "Hold tight! His fur is very slippery!"

"He has no fur" Hawk said from the sidelines.

"Really?" Ace asked in surprise. "Whatever. Hold onto what it is then."

Par laughed a little but it was gone as the beast moved a bit. It took a few careful steps making sure the kid was holding tightly and then started to gallop around.

"Par I hope your eyes are wide open?" Ace asked in a tone saying he knew it wasn't so.

"But it's scary!" the kid complained doing as he was told.

The air rushing at him almost made his eyes water but he quickly blinked it away and carefully looked down. He wasn't that high up but the ground was moving under him in quick bursts and his hands instinctively tightened onto the flame like mane.

Claw chirped and jumped off his shoulder with its wings outstretched. He shot for the ceiling, made a few circles and then returned to flying beside his master.

Par smiled at that and held even tighter. He didn't want to fall off and have his brother forbid him to ride ever again.

"So what have you been really up to?" Monthu asked when his brother was out of the earshot.

"Training" Ace said, not even turning his head as if he was actually following Par's path.

"Only?"

"Only" Ace said with a chuckle. "It's fun having an upper hand on all of you."

Monthu closed his eyes for a moment. He didn't want to imagine what the kid would do now that he was so high levelled. And it was clear he wasn't faking it. The way he played with them. They weren't even worthy to be called his opponents.

"What was the boss here?" he asked changing the theme.

"Some lich with more powers than brains. And now it is time to pay those knights a visit. For the sake of clearing this place if nothing else."

"I remember you calling it madness previously."

"And it was. Previously. Now I'll be on the same footing as them and I trust you have improved some too?"

"Somewhat. Our group has passed hundred while the duo seems to have reached ninety or so. They never agreed to join us."

"Idiots" Ace muttered under his breath so they wouldn't catch it and went to wake Skele up. "Let’s be on our way" he said louder now.

"But I need my mana in case we run into something" Aurora disagreed softly. "I'm all spent."

"No worries. You'll have time for that when I'll go look for a best way to assault them."

"But what if we meet something on the way?"

"Skele will lead us through paths other undead don't wander, won't you?" he asked the Necromancer who stood up behind him.

The mage didn't say anything but whistled calling Hound back and went to meet him. Halfway there he stopped and turned towards the wall hitting it with a loud snap. The wall groaned irritably while opening up.

"Woah!" Rover said in wonder. "How did he know it was there?"

"Twenty years in a prison, child, teaches one many secrets" Skele said coldly and went ahead without looking if anyone was following.

"What's with him?" Rover asked coming to walk beside Ace. It didn't sit well with the kid but he ignored the feeling and answered. "He sees no reason to trust you."

"And he trusts you?” "He's indebted to me" Ace said. "That's a whole different thing."

"Do you trust him then?" "It's not like I had a choice, being blind does that to a person." "Ah! I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said anything."

Ace's head whipped in his direction, disbelief clear on his face. He was hearing things or the guy had gone mad in the last minute.

"Something's wrong?"

The sound of fabric brushing against the wall, someone moving on light steps gave Ace the third most logical explanation to his previous surprise. It was Dawn's work. Just a bit too late to go unnoticed and fool him.

"Nothing. You shouldn't worry about me. I'm fine" he said in an almost cheerful voice and a smile on his face. He could play the friend game too.

"Really? I can't understand how you can stand all that blackness. I would have gone mad in a few days."

"I didn't think it was possible too. But there seems to be some truth in the saying that what doesn't kill us makes us stronger. "

"What do you mean? You're better off blind?"

Ace chuckled. "No. I meant that there's something hidden in the art of surviving without sight too. One should never allow new things pass him by when a chance to learn comes around."

"So what did you learn?"

'But he's persistent' Ace noted with amusement. "To not fear the dark" he said in a detached voice, casting Bolt and sending it past Skele towards a banshee.

It froze in place and Ace dashed forward slashing with his stones that he kept at hand. They were not daggers but did the job none the less. He made them.

The creature fell, dissipating into mist before it could touch the ground.

"How did you know it was there?" Rover asked the moment Ace fell back in step with him. "It hadn't made a sound." "I wonder."

"No, really! How did you do that?" he asked and for a moment Ace believed hearing genuine interest in his voice, as if he was truly amazed. But then he blinked and kicked such ideas out of his head. "Practice makes perfection. Blood spilt too."

"Whaat?" Rover asked unsure of how to take such an answer but Ace had already moved forward to Skele, his back straight and steps brisk.

Dawn came to him. "You seem to have struck a nerve on our little prince. So what's his weakness?" she asked quietly with malice colouring her voice. Rover noted it and would have smiled if the kid hadn't left him so confused. "I don't know. One moment he's here laughing and the next he's talking about blood and walking away."

"You sure you didn't say anything to aggravate him?" she asked, not quite believing him.

"I think I can understand at least what I'm saying myself" he said with a hiss to her. "And if I said I didn't do anything to anger him, it means I didn't!" There was a steel edge to his voice; love could keep his temper down only for so long. "Stop ordering me around and then dismissing my words. I'm not your slave."

Dawn was quick to notice the danger. She kissed him softly and whispered an apology. "I'm sorry, I just feel so uneasy when he's here. Forgive me, please?"

Rover looked her in the eyes and nodded. He didn't want to have an argument with her either. Maybe the kid had him on edge too.

"Do you think we'll find our friends?"

She shook her head solemnly. "Even if they had survived the earthquake, they would have left by now. It's not a few days we've spent here."

Rover had to agree with her words; he took her hand to share some of his strength. "But we're going to kill those knights and gain our proof of it. Then we'll save our guild. The proof. We'll take it from hands drenched in blood if that's what it takes, but we'll do it. Trust me!" The girl nodded and hand in hand they walked forward.

Ace heard every single word of their conversation. Their whispering had nothing on [All Ears] that were in constant use.

He felt happy at having guessed right about Dawn being the master but it was clearly quenched by the show of their emotions.

They were afraid of him.

It was a bitter-sweet feeling. knowing he was feared. It made him want to enlighten them on how little they knew him. If they did, they should be running in another direction as far from the twisted creature he was as they could.

[Instincts of a Predator] warned him of another being nearby and he rushed forward. It felt good to smash against something in full force and then stab and slash with a stone. In a way it was much better than with a dagger. More brutal. It gave a whole different feeling of satisfaction and Ace smiled feeling the monster under him disappear, the ghost hadn't even had time to become incorporeal.

"I can see why you've left their company" Skele said in a level voice. "You have no idea how to control your emotions."

Ace smiled. "Oh but I know. And am sick of it."

Skele didn't ask anything more and Ace didn't feel obliged to explain. His mind was on the problem of killing the knights. Yeah, he was much stronger than before but not their level yet and his team mates were even lower. They would have to be used as bait, that was clear. But what about his part? Should he use his assassin’s skills or not?

They would be greatly effective against living opponents but he was still blind. There was less than fifty percent chance he was going to hit anywhere near a vital spot.

As he was thinking that he heard walls rumbling. 'We're close'. He was about to sneak ahead when he remembered that blackness looked the same everywhere.

Angrily he looked deeper into the accursed darkness as if his staring at it would make it fade away. To his utter surprise a bit of brown penetrated his constant blackness and he stumbled over his own feet.

"You okay?" Skele asked but Ace didn't hear it. He concentrated on his sight wishing the colour to return. His eyes strained, almost watering and again a shadow of brown entered his vision. It was barely discernible from its surroundings but Ace kept staring at it until his eyes felt like bursting out of his sockets. There! A lighter shade of brown!

He closed his eyes giving them a moment’s rest and breathed deeply. His sight was returning! He had gotten used to walking by sound, guessing his surroundings but to say he was not relieved...

"Why are we stopping? Are we making camp here?" Dawn asked, their duo first reaching Ace and Skele who had stopped moving.

The kid nodded absent-mindedly and started staring a hole in the wall again. If only he could grasp the colours and make them stay.

"There's still some way to walk" Skele said looking at Ace, unable to understand what the wall had done to him.

"What is happening?" Monthu inquired coming closer. "Why are we stopping?"

"The kid wants to have a stare down with a wall" Rover supplied helpfully.

Monthu had to agree it looked exactly like that but he asked anyway. "Ace?"

"My sight. I'm on the verge of regaining it. I just don't understand why it cannot stay!" he hissed glaring at the wall that had turned black again once he relaxed his eyes. There was something he wasn't getting.

He concentrated harder and he could almost tell a sharp edge apart, where the blade like part was lighted by [Flare] and where its other side lay in shadow. He tried touching it and didn't get injured. So it was really working; it wasn't an illusion. When why it didn't stay?

"Maybe you're still contaminated?" Skele asked, breaking Ace's train of thought.

"Contaminated?"

"What if you need to be of pure body and mind for the ability I gave you? That would explain why you became blind."

"The curse! That might be it!" Ace agreed in a hopeful tone. "Aurora mind cleansing, purifying or whatever you did again?"

The girl shrugged and cast her spell. It wasn't like they cost her anything.

Ace felt light wash over him and through strained eyes saw it too. It was so white and pure that he had to close them. He waited a few moments before opening them again.

A sea of information assailed him that even hid the world from which a veil of darkness has been lifted.

*Update: Mystic Eyes

You haven't finished the ritual but your body and mind has been cleansed of evil. Whenever you're ready you can open your inner eye. *

*New Skill! Echo [Active]

You've been without sight so long you adapted to use other means to determine your surroundings. Sound gives you as much information as vision to others. There's no such thing as fear of the dark for you.

Warning!

Beware of storms whatever type they might be. They'll nullify your sense of direction.*

*You're pure of body and mind*

Ace blinked a few times at the last message.

"Did it work?" Aurora asked tenderly. "Should I try again?"

"It worked. He looks as if he was hit by a truck" Hawk said putting a hand on her shoulder. "Give him a moment to get used to the wonder."

Ace's eyes instantly found Hawk's. "Shut your trap" he hissed. Yes, colours were a dazzling thing but he was more interested in his new ability. To test it he closed his eyes and made a snapping sound with his fingers in a rhythm. One, two, three...

Behind his eyelids things started to take shape. Forms of people, shapes of weapons tall and thin, a four legged creature with another on its top. It lacked the details of sight but could ensure he never stumbled on anything unaware. "Perfect" he mumbled under his breath and turned to his companions. "I'll go scouting while you rest. Be ready to go once I'm back."

"You sure you're fine?" Aurora asked. "Maybe you should rest with us?"

Ace shook his head, waved to Par who was holding tightly on a black beast with long canines and fire with shadows for fur and jogged towards the sounds of fighting.

He activated [Shadow Veil] and [Silent Steps] cloaking himself in the comfortable silence and went over a corner, keeping close to the wall.

The ten warriors were exactly the same as he remembered. Mountains of men with tons of metal on them who’s clanking could make a person go deaf. Well, at least if one had [All Ears] activated.

Ace shook his head and wondered why ten knights of such high level would stay in a secluded dungeon where they neither trained nor did anything of usefulness. Playing duels wasn't an activity to spend doing day after day if one wanted to reach anything.

There was something more to it. And to the ceiling that was missing only ten or so stones even though the fighting had to be going for over a few weeks. The ground only had that much boulders too.

But the stones were falling after each hit.

Is there a cleaner? Some mage that comes every day to remove all stones and leave the room inhabitable once again? Or..?

A smile touched his lips. If his hunch was correct, this was going to be just too simple.

He turned around and carefully made his way back.

Fire was cracking cheerfully and everyone sat around it drinking from wooden bowls. Aurora was bent over a pot with another of them and a ladle in her hand. She filled it with green looking liquid and passed it to Monthu. "Should I leave some for Ace?" she asked, looking at Rovers outstretched hands for another serving.

"Yes" Ace said startling the group and finding a seat between Skele and Monthu. He was clearly the only daring such a feat as to sit next to a necromancer. "I'm sick and tired of dried food."

Aurora smiled and filled a cup for him that was smaller than others. Ace felt like arguing the point but noting that it matched Par's exactly kept his words to himself. Someone sniggered.

Ace thought about what was waiting ahead and let a serene smile settle on his face as if everything was perfect in the world. That was going to scare them more than any of his threats.

"What did you learn?" Monthu asked after finishing his soup. Aurora took his bowl and washed together with the others' in water provided by Par's magic.

"Nothing new. Still all of them together and fighting among themselves to pass time. They don't seem to have gotten stronger." His eyes went to watch the duo who was enraptured by his words. ’They look as if they really can't believe we're going to face those knights for them.’

"You've got a plan or the usual?"

"Usual" Ace said with a laugh. "I've missed being able to hide in the shadows."

"But your sneak attacks won't work on undead!" Dawn disagreed waking from her stupor. "You should stick to your magic on this."

"It might be so but fights aren't won simply by damage. Superior positioning has a lot on it too. See ya!"

After saying that Ace rose from his seat, petted Hound and returned back the path he'd gone previously. Next to the cavern entrance he cloaked himself in darkness and prepared to wait. He would advance once the group gathered everyone's attention.

They didn't take long marching in without any plan at all. He guessed they agreed to use the same hunting strategy as they had showed by ganging up on him. It wasn't anything spectacular but allowed everyone to have their time to shine.

Monthu and Rover went in first, engaging the five knights themselves. Skele sent in his bone warriors to control two more while Hound took another two for himself. The tenth knight stood by the end of the room, unmoving, watching the scene unfold.

No one paid him attention focusing on those who were in their sights. Hawk sent arrows to support his companions. They were drenched in paralysing poison but for some reason it had no effect on the humanoid enemies.

Par and Dawn stayed on the back, casting balls of fire that blasted knights a step or two back but otherwise seemed not to affect them either. They tried different spells but with no luck. "What is their magic resistance?" Dawn asked rhetorically, frustration colouring her voice. "I can't believe nothing is working!"

Aurora stood alone at the side, her eyes focused on the battle. She kept herself from using any spells and saved precious mana points for healing. And she could see it was going to be required at large amounts. Their two melee fighters were used to keeping opponents at bay but it drained their stamina quickly, making them less agile and more prone to getting hit. Prolonged battles were always perilous for their group.

Ace took it all in and his belief that this was all a farce only strengthened.

He kept to the left of the room and made his way towards the motionless knight. There were cold lights in his eyes that didn't promise anything good. Ace made a circle around him and used [Backstab] followed by [Cut-throat].

It bounced off the armour.

*Dammit! Where was my magma blade?*

The knight instantly turned on him slashing with his broadsword. Ace evaded to the left and this time slashed after having activated [Magma Blade]. It left a mark on the armour but a sword came for Ace again. He thought about blocking it but then remembered he had sharp stones in hands not daggers.

So he jumped back. It was too slow and the blade cut flesh. It took around ten percent of his health but Ace didn't fancy himself a fight and dodging an upward slash used [Shadow Dash] to appear near the other knights fighting his companions.

He slashed at the creatures, did no damage and left there too coming to stand by Aurora. The battle hadn't changed while he had been failing his assassination attempt so he drank a health potion and thought how to go about it again.

"What happened there?" Aurora asked softly, casting a healing spell on Rover. He needed a lot of them being extremely overpowered.

"Out of practice" Ace said as an explanation and it was true. But he had learnt something from it none the less. The guy was a true fighter, not a mage pretending to be one. ’Could I have been only dreaming things?’

It didn't sit well with him and he backed away behind a corner to activate [Shadow Veil]. Once hidden, he came back but this time didn't go straight for the knight. He stopped by the edge of the room and closed his eyes, letting sound take over the place of sight.

He hoped that one day he'll be able to use both senses in unison but it didn't seem to be in the near future. Sound sight was too imperfect as of yet.

But it was still harder to fool.

There were plenty of sounds so Ace didn't have to make any of his own, only to listen. He could discern many human forms on the ground with various weapons but that wasn't what he was looking for. At the sides were tall, broad and thick constructions - walls. He concentrated on them. Was the sound all the same? It seemed so but then he noticed a place empty of sound or should he say where sound and its echo travelled longer.

Ace didn't waste a moment and going by the wall reached the place. It was five feet over his head. Not opening his eyes, he started to climb.

Eyes had said to him that all walls were the same but his handholds didn't cut him. He was sure once again of what he knew. The memory of sharp edges was still fresh on his mind.

When he reached the edge and climbed into a cave, he opened his eyes. He glanced behind himself and saw his friends fighting imaginary opponents with anger and despair in their hearts. Rover fell as if hit and Monthu jumped in front of him like a hero. Ace chuckled; it was the best pantomime he'd ever seen. He could understand why a mage would waste his time here doing nothing but watching idiots fighting shadows.

"Who’s here?" a shrill female voice asked and Ace turned his attention back to the cave he was in. A cloaked figure was huddled in a corner, its whole body trembling. Its eyes were roaming the place but never settled anywhere. "I asked who is here?"

'In this dark cave there's not a chance you can see through my veil. You can stop trying.'

He wrapped his blade in magma and [Curse of the Hungry] while walking behind her. Frightened eyes went past him as if he wasn't even there. It was most likely a crime against all moral codes to kill a terrified girl but Ace never felt like associating with any of them. His stones found their mark and Kris finished her, feeding off her heart.

Five items were the limit that could drop on a death so he chose exactly that many. The fact that he couldn't rob her blind as Ace, didn't mean he had to follow normal rules and receive random items from the drop.

He chose a stack of letters, a beautiful necklace, her cloak, staff and earrings. On another thought he picked twenty gold coins too. For the trouble of having to look through all her items.

Finished he stood up, pocketed his new belongings and went to see how his companions were faring. They were pushed to the entrance of the room and barely holding on. Skele was doing somewhat better; his twenty warriors not tiring out but he was nowhere near winning even with the help of Hound. Not that such a thing was possible against air.

The knight in the corner didn't seem to have noticed anything amiss.

Ace was about to jump down and stop all the idiocy when Rover hissed in pain. The sound was soft and full of regret. It made the kid sit down and look at the ground from his vantage point.

Death was a faraway notion and here was one of the best plays before him. Who was he to interrupt it?

Ace activated recording option and leaned against the wall to enjoy the view. He could save them later on.

Now it was time for sweet revenge.