In times long ago, when humanity’s borders reached all the way to the sea, there were floating carriages called ships that merchants used to trade with the other races. However, every once in a while, one of these ships would sink into the abyss.

If the people onboard were fast and lucky enough, they could use mini-ships built just for these situations to escape. However, the captain would always stay behind. In all recorded cases, he/she would go down with the ship.

‘Dumbass!’ George laughed in ridicule the first time his father told this story. After becoming the leader of his own team, his thoughts remained the same. Even several years later, when he was backed into a corner by a brat who killed seven of his men, George had no intention of sacrificing himself.

At first glance, having everyone split up and run was the best and only option the 3 servants had available. However, their chances of escape weren’t equal.

Unlike his comrades, George had recently broken through the first rank. This made him much faster and harder to catch. Unsurprisingly, after passing four streets and about 50 houses, the man couldn’t see anyone following behind him.

“Phew…” he turned one more corner and finally relaxed.

“Your eyes are shit.” A mocking voice was heard from his surroundings. “I would poke them out, but I’d be doing you a favor.”

From the corner he just passed, a smiling teen holding a knife had casually appeared. When George tried to retreat, the exact same teen appeared from the other end of the street.

“Again with your tricks... You think I’ll fall for that?”

“You have so far.” chuckled Ethan. “Any last words?”

While the two Ethans were slowly approaching, the real one was observing from above. While relaxing on a rooftop in his invisible form, he started releasing tiny drops of mana all around his target. These drops could be used for hundreds of tricks, from creating illusions to controlling the elements.

However, Ethan’s method this time was slightly different. He made one of the drops take a disc like form and placed it right above George’s shoulder. There was another disc right in front of Ethan. When the mage threw his knife through the second disc, it came out of the first, seemingly teleporting itself straight into George’s shoulder.

“Argh!” The man collapsed to his knees. Right after his shoulder started to throb, every bone in his body felt like it was breaking apart.

“You… You can’t kill me! The Wilsons will take revenge. Argh...!”

His muscles began contracting uncontrollably as if he got hit by lightning. Soon, his organs began hurting as well. Several vessels were starting to rupture.

“Hmm…” Ethan had jumped from his spot and was now watching the man with curiosity. “Would they take revenge for someone like you?”

“Of course!” growled George. “I’m a level 1 mage working under Young Master Charles. What do you think he’ll do when he hears you killed his servant?”

“But, I’ve already killed a lot of his servants.”

“Those were level zero nobodies… Argh… No noble worth his gold will care about them.”

“Right… you do have a point.” said Ethan with a shrug. He too believed rank zeros' were worthless nobodies.

There was some sense in George’s argument. After all, it was Ethan’s job to do the hunting. If his prey started seeking revenge as well, things could get complicated.

“Alright.” said Ethan while taking out the knife. “I will save you.”

He placed a hand on George’s head, and the man’s pain quickly receded. After about a minute, only the throbbing torment in his shoulder remained.

“All done. Enjoy your life.” After this quick farewell, Ethan left in a sprint.

“Buahahahaha!!”

He had barely crossed a street when he heard uncontrollable laughter coming from behind.

‘I wonder how long that will last...’

As planned, the moment George tried to move mana within his body, the man’s grin faded. Energy stopped responding to his will.

“What the hell?” He spat out a few curses and tried to feel his circuit. It was still there, but it was a mess. Pathways were tied together in a Gordian knot, and even his mana nodes had moved out of place.

“F**K!” Though he could still somewhat influence his mana, he couldn’t pull it out of his body. Heck, not even pouring it into his limbs was an option.

However, George soon regained his calm. His situation wasn’t as bad as the one who collapsed after trying a spell. Though it would take him months to undo this mess, the man was confident he’d eventually figure it out.

‘Just you wait, you son of a b**ch! You’ll regret not killing me when you could.’ While murderous thoughts ran through his mind, he started laughing maniacally again.

However surprisingly, Ethan was quite looking forward to seeing George as well. He even made a small prayer to the Heavens to allow him to be present when George finally undid the knot within his circuit.

‘It’s gonna be glorious!’ he thought with a grin.

While both men contemplated each other’s fates, one word hung on the tip of their lips.

‘Dumbass!’