The break of dawn came slowly as if it was reluctant to reveal what was under the cover of night. It crept across the village, the sunlight was like a hand pulling a rug that hid the sight of dirt and blood. The more it inched forward, the more it uncovered the ugliness that many tried to hide. The misery of the downtrodden, the remnants of fire and uncleaned filth, and bodies that withered away due to hunger or smothered by the cruelty of fellow man.

Was it fear of what would be revealed, disgust of the current state of the world, or simply gleeful sadism that wanted to slowly bathe in the sight before it? She didn’t know the answer to what the unfeeling sun was thinking, but she did know that for the refugees and soldiers patrolling the streets it was apathy. Whatever vulgarity was on display, they met it with the same stone-cold and empty expression of an uncaring haze. It was a reality they accepted. Even the three bodies dead in the middle of the road were simply thrown to the side.

Rana was not complaining, the fewer people cared the less she had to worry about arousing suspicion. Her only minor complaint was that the soldiers did not do their due diligence when it came to disposing of the bodies. There was always a danger of sickness spreading. If they did not value the life of the villagers, they should at least value their own.

She exited the same farmhouse that served food she visited the day before. It was a routine now. She did not need the food, but she needed to minimize the risk of standing out. It was one thing to display foolish kindness and an entirely other to be the only person in a gathering of people desperate for food not needing it. Although, now that she had been here for a few days, she wondered whether or not people would notice.

Rana frowned at the slime that slid down her throat. She could not taste, but she could still feel the texture of the food that was going down to her stomach. It was unpleasant, amounting to what was essentially swallowing bland slush. She wondered if she could quietly get rid of the food. Then, she spotted the same boy from before. His face was bruised from the incident, and his body was still just bone and skin. She walked up to him and handed the boy her bowl of food. He eyed her with suspicion, there was no reason for anyone to be this kind. However, once again, hunger won out. After he finished the food, the boy ran away.

She wondered if it was kindness that propelled her actions. She wished that it was, that her heart was still capable of something good, that she still empathize and help someone that was hurting. However, she knew better. Her actions were nothing more than spur of the moment whims. In the end, if tossing the bowl aside would prove to be the rational choice, she would do it without any hesitation, regardless of how many starving people were there. Then again, what difference would that one bowl make? None.

Rana then left the area and made her way into an empty alley. There was no one following her. Good. She doubted that anyone would, but she could never be too careful. With her enhanced sense of smell, or rather her hyper-attuned one to a singular specific smell, she could easily tell that she was alone.

She waited, the same as always until the guard patrol far into the distance left. She then began her approach. She moved swiftly and quietly. She encountered zero resistance and no obstacles, but that was only until she reached the forest. There were detection wards and she could sense some marked one Skills. The perimeter was definitely not set sloppily. It did not have the intricacy of expert class scouting implementations, but it was nonetheless too heavy for what was being guarded on the surface. No rundown village dedicated to gathering refugees needed such heavy scrutiny for its surroundings. Normally, it would be difficult to get close to a location to see what was going on, and it would take at least days before she could find an opening. However, with her excellent mana sense and enhanced smell, it took but an hour to find the gap within their scouting web.

Rana entered the forest, stopping when she sensed the patrolling soldiers, only moving when they were gone. She finally found it. It was a spot that could see what was going on. She stealthily moved to a tree and climbed onto it, using its thick crown to as a cover. When she reached the top, she was instantly able to direct her sight to where she smelled the humans.

They were soldiers dressed in dark leather and heavily armed. They fanned out and stood like sentries, guarding the area. They stayed still and maintained their position until a replacement came to relieve them. She knew they had to stand for hours. Once in a while, a marked one, presumably their captain, would come in and check up them, to relay orders and listen to reports. That was when Rana had to be careful. There were several times she had to drop from the tree when she felt the risk of being exposed. She didn’t know what they were guarding, but she knew it was important and definitely not normal. What concerned her was that she had no idea what it was.

When the Tree of Ashen Falls fell, Rana had no doubt that the kingdom was shaken. The Church would fear their secret plan to acquire the Foundation Rings was leaked, and those territorial lords with one of the Dungeons her sister raised would fear that they would be next. She had little idea of the current affairs of the kingdom due to her sleep of a century and many Church records being lost within that chaotic time period. However, the reaction to information was usually much more telling than most people realized. There was no doubt that in the coming months, the state of the kingdom would reveal the locations she needed to visit. That was why she stayed here, to see if there was anything she missed, and that was also why this place concerned her. It seemed to be something that was completely related to the huge event that happened just days ago.

This place, whatever was going on, seemed to be ongoing for quite some time. It felt like a sinister tumor, hiding and bidding its time before the moment to unleash its malignancy. That was what her inquisitor intuition told her. She chuckled. To think she acted on intuition rather than solid information.

Rana sat until sundown and continued throughout the night. The moonlight barely punched through the thick forest top, but her eyes were clear. No matter the time, no matter the weather condition, she could clearly see humans and all those still alive. It was not sight, not even smell. It was something more. It was as if she knew where they were. It was like they were part of her reality, something she could track without even physically sensing them.

It was a useful ability, but it still did not give her much information. There was nothing coming in and out of what they were guarding. The soldiers simply switched rounds and reported their patrol to the marked one captain. The reports also did not take long, as if it was simply to confirm whether there were intruders or not.

Then, there she was, a new marked one captain. She was covered in head to toe with armor, but Rana could tell the woman was in her late thirties. There was something amiss, the report was taking too long and it seemed like the marked one was talking, not the guards. Something in the back of Rana’s mind screamed. She did not have time to consider what it meant before she dove off of the tree she sat on. Then, not a moment later, traces of mana spread to where she was. Was Rana discovered? No. The newly arrived captain was experienced. The captain somehow realized the blind spot of their perimeter and took action. It was normally unthinkable for that place to be of use to spies, but what if the spy had abilities that were only possessed by high level marked ones or monsters? The captain had experience dealing with them

Rana was frustrated she did not get to see a full day’s worth of the area, but the information of a capable marked one arriving was enough of a reward for today. She then began her trek back, using her senses to avoid the patrol. Rana returned to the village soon after, but something was amiss. There was a smell, one not of life-essence, but one of blood spilled, blood wasted. She followed the smell and soon enough she found the body. It was in a secluded location, one she was not able to reach with her detection the day before.

There it was, the body of the woman Rana thought she saved. The woman never made it home.