Garret instantly awoke once the cold touch of snow wrapped around his face. He bolted upright and assessed his surroundings. Dozens of people stood on the other side of the room huddled together staring at him. One man and one little girl sat by him along with the two nobles he saved earlier.

“I’m sorry about before,” the man with the little girl said, “We were sure we got him to leave but he came barrelling through that wall. I should’ve jumped in to help you as soon as I saw him. I’m sure that with the two of us, we could have won.”

Really? Garret felt a bit uneasy about the man in front of him. He knew very well how often people underestimated their opponents, overestimated themselves, or both. Those who made that mistake usually changed their attitudes soon after or they never got the chance to change it.

“Ah,” the man helped Garret to his feet. “I’m Zale Hems, and this is my daughter Alice.”

She looked up at him, “Hi, mihster. Are you okway?”

Garret nodded. “How long have I been out?” he look outside and although the sun shone brightly, it moved a considerable amount across the sky since he last remembered.

“Two hours,” Millicent responded, anger in her eyes. “Mr. Adventurer,” she was referring to Garret. “Are you above working as a mercenary- as a bodyguard?”

“I am, but don’t worry, I won’t let that man have her. I still need to know about the ones behind my friend’s death.” there were other reasons why Garret wouldn’t let the man get to her first but it wasn’t something he wanted or needed to voice.

He stood up and started to walk away.

“H-Hold on boy,” Wous emerged from nowhere and grabbed ahold of him. “You just woke up. I don’t think you’re in any condition to runnin’ after a man who just knocked ya silly. Take a seat and I’ll treat ya to a drink or somethin’.”

Zale stepped in, “I would agree with the owner here. Even if you chose to run after him, I don’t think you’d be able to find him so easily in this city especially if you haven’t been here in a few years. And there’s no rush, everything’s still closed off. Trying to leave the city should still be basically impossible despite the adventurers going in to help now.”

The monsters. Garret knew nothing of the current situation. All his information was two hours old. “What's this about the monsters now? Are the adventurers helping for free?”

“I’m not sure what the current situation is for them but I assume they are. Adventurers don’t have to participate in wars but monster attacks on a city would fall into their job description, I hope.” Zale said while eyeing Garret.

“I’m sure it does,” he responded, leaving the bar. “I’ll take that drink later Wous.”

If all the exits were closed off, then Garret would have an extended time period in which to catch him. If he started searching right away, no matter how big the city was, there was sure to be signs. Anyone crazy enough to pick a fight with five knights surely caused trouble wherever they went.

Barren streets forced Garret to start with the houses. His questioning knocks were usually met with a standard, “Go away,” or, in the chance they opened, “Haven’t seen him,” his search was dead on arrival. Those who hid in their houses couldn’t give him proper information. They were too afraid of the situation outside to even peek through their windows.

So, he broke off from the small area he confined himself in. If no one in the houses were going to be any use, then finding someone before they could find shelter or someone who didn’t have a house was his best bet. Though, he didn't rule out the possibility of finding no one.

He raced past a couple of beggars but they knew about as much as those who hid in their houses. With their faces buried in their arms, they shook while listening to the monsters roaring from outside the walls. Garret hadn’t noticed it until then. The guards which always seemed so abundant in the streets were nowhere to be seen.

“They’re all fighting back those monsters right now,” he muttered.

His constant search eventually led him to a graveyard of wounded people. He stopped once he saw them. Lying either on the ground, against a building, or against a wall, injured men went on as far as his eyes could see. Broken arms, twisted legs, open torsos, torn armor, shattered weapons, those all laid in front of him.

More men than he ever thought needed to protect a city, even one of this size, laid dying. Those who weren’t dead cried in agony. As Garret walked past, the burning determination to track down the man in black faded.

Here was where his family lived. Here was where he made friends and had fun. Here was a place he once called home. Although it could never replace the small village where his childhood took place, the wounded men fueled a fire within him.

A shortcut. A shortcut that took only two days to reach the other city gave him the time he needed to stay and fight. With such a large gap in travel time, Garret could beat the man in black to Aurora City.

A guardsman ran up to him, “Hey you! A-are you just a civilian. If so, please head to the nearest public-”

Garret stopped him, “I’m not a civilian.”

“Then are you an adventurer,” he asked, hope seeping through his voice.

“In a way. I do a few quests here and there for the empire.”

“Would you be willing to help us? We’re a bit short-handed… as you can probably see by all the people here.”

“Of course, I’ll help. My parents do live here after all,” he said as he ran with the guardsman to the walls.

The place was a mess. A giant hole had been torn through the wall and a horde of wild beasts poured through it. Dozens of dead men laid scattered on the ground, everyone else too busy, either defending or taking away the wounded, to safeguard the bodies of the dead.

“Everyone, get back!”

“[Lightning Bolt]!”

“[Whirlwind]!”

“[Fireball]!”

As those in front hurried backward, bundles of lightning bolts shot forth and struck down the advancing monsters. The whirlwind, combined with the fireball, became a twister of flames. A mild form of mixed magic. Not as powerful as true, raw, magic from both users as it would be unstable, but the combination wiped out the monsters and held them back long enough for those at the front to catch their breaths.

As the adventurers, who cast those spells, rested against a building, a tree flew over the wall headed straight toward them.

The man who brought Garret there shouted, “Look out!”

The four adventurers gazed up. As soon as the realization of death dawned on them, the tree was blown into oblivion. Their eyes eventually fell upon Garret whose hands steamed from the immense power unleashed.

“Thanks,” one of them shouted awkwardly. "I think I need to upgrade my lightning bolt."

Laughter rippled through the exhausted fighting force. Whether they laughed because they thought the adventurer was funny, or laughed because of the ridiculous situation the city was in, or because their reinforcement was someone as strong as Garret, he couldn’t tell.

And, contrary to what the adventurer believed, Garret didn't use a simple lightning bolt to vaporize the tree. He used his ability. In many ways, like many other abilities, it was similar to a spell, most notably lightning bolt, but it was also different in the special way that all abilities were different no matter how slight.

“Stand at attention,” a man, clad in armor as illustrious as a knight’s, rode in atop a horse and brought everyone to their feet. He glanced at Garret for the briefest of seconds. “We need to hold back this wave. The men on the east side are doing well, soon enough we’ll have more help. Keep fighting.”

The front liners shouted in unison and quickly replaced their weapons if they were broken and stood at the ready for the whirlwind to die. The man on the horse rode over to Garret and dismounted.

“I am glad you were here to help that group of adventurers over there. If you weren’t, then we would be far more hard-pressed than we already are. I am commander Ferrick Bellard. My deepest gratitude for lightening our load, both in work and spirit.”

Garret was unsure of how to respond. This was one reason why he had trouble in the Green City. Since his father worked at the Merchant’s Guild, he’d sometimes meet with higher-ups in the house. Being civil and mannerly wasn’t how Garret preferred to act.

“Glad to meet you commander. I’m Garret, just an adventurer.”

His gaze lingered on Garret a few seconds longer than what Garret was comfortable with. “I’ll make sure to remember that name.”

He wanted to tell him, “Please don’t,” but this wasn’t a situation in where that would help. The likelihood of meeting the commander again was slim. At least, that’s what he hoped.

“The spell is ending,” the adventurers who had just had a brush with death yelled. “We’ll snipe the bigger ones with our magic! Keep the little guys down for now.”

“Yo Dan,” an adventurer on the frontline yelled, “If you can, keep an eye on the left side. Julius got hurt a little while ago so it might collapse if it’s too pressured.”

“Worry about yourself, idiot.” the man, Julius, responded.

Commander Bellard smiled. “It’s good to have adventurers working with the guards,” he commented. “Strong, smart, and independent while also relying on each other to cover up any weaknesses.”

He watched the loudmouthed adventurers yelled back and forth to each other. Garret’s mind wandered. Perhaps the commander had once wanted to be an adventurer. It wasn’t a strange dream, many people had it.

A smile slipped past his lips for the first time in the day. Sure, he might be working to protect the walls from monsters instead of stopping the man who claimed to be Yeran and searching for a girl named Aisha who may know the perpetrators of the attack that killed Henry, but seeing a noble who wasn’t as stuck up as others he met lifted his spirits... However little it did. He was always told by Anne to make the best of a situation.

Odd that it made him feel better. Maybe instead of chasing after the man by himself, he’d enlist help afterward.

“It’s ended,” the wind magician yelled. “Let’s push them back!”

The guards cheered and the commander unsheathed his blade.

“Well," he said, “I’m headed to the front.”

Garret bent down, picked up a sword which wasn’t broken, and followed. As the monsters came, he cut them down left and right. He killed his last monster months ago. From what he could feel, these were magnitudes stronger.

The sword sunk into their skin and severed their muscles, but it took great strength and half a dozen more attacks to kill a single beast. If a person who couldn’t use magic got their sword stuck in the monster, they’d be completely helpless. Pulling it out would be too hard.

Garret constantly looked around, “[Lightning Bolt],” he’d send one out every time someone was in need. His magic slowly drained from him as the fight wore on.

He wasn’t one for prolonged battles with hundreds of participants. Yes, he enjoyed much smaller battles that didn’t consume as much time and energy. But, he found a strange enjoyment as he and the rest of the men slowly pushed forward. Each step forward filled him with excitement.

The excitement of the tides of battle shifting. A feeling often hallowed when alone. As soon as the first man broke through the hole, the commander shouted for everyone to fall back. “Let them be the one’s to funnel through! We have an advantage that way.”

The men reluctantly fell back but cheered as a few of the monsters scattered. Although there were still many who continued to attack, some already knew it was a lost cause. Hopefully, the matter would be over soon and he’d be able to get back to chasing down his “friend.” Perhaps he’d say goodbye to his parents before he left this time.

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Author’s Note: Today’s a shorter chapter. I wanted to make it longer but I didn’t want to bore those who aren’t particularly interested in this point of view and drag out the chapter. It could have also been shorter but I wanted to give those who read everything something to snack on.

I feel like 2k is an alright place to stop. It also conveys what I need it to. The next time we shine a spotlight back on the city, the battle will most likely be over.

The reincarnation story is coming slowly but the ideas are becoming a bit more refined the longer I think about it. I hope to release it within the month of August but only time will tell. I currently have 8 chapters done and ready for release although I plan to revise things.

I will also be gone next week on a vacation so it’s possible, but unlikely, that a chapter will be released tomorrow to make up for it.

If you liked it, please leave a comment or a rating. Ratings are just helpful in general, especially if accompanied by an advanced review. I’ve been sitting at 3.5 stars at 44 votes forever and would like to see it change if even a little bit. My special surprise should hopefully come soon but I’m not in control of that.