Urik, Rohan, and Gildi walked along the main road to Celis.

"So how do you want to handle this."(Rohan)

"We should ask around first see if anybody knows him."(Gildi)

"Celis is pretty big so it will be hard to track him through Rohan."(Urik)

"I can always go through my connections see if anybody has noticed him. If he's as strong as you say he's probably making a play for control of the criminal underworld."(Rohan)

"It's definitely a possibility, if he came here alone we can assume he's already started turning people. The longer we wait the worse it's going get."(Urik)

Arriving at the front gate they bypassed the line and went straight to the guards. The guards ran to stop them but after noticing they just opened the gate.

"We need some information do you remember a man with white hair and red eyes. He most likely came through here around two or 3 weeks ago. He might have had a slave with him."

The guard looked at Urik for couple seconds.

"I wasn't working here when he arrived but that Sounds like Yuuta he's a new adventurer everybody's been talking about. Apparently, he took down a cyclops while still in E rank."

"Thank you"(Urik)

"Rohan go see what you can find out about this Yuuta. Gildi go to the guild and get whatever you can from them. I'll wait at the castle we need to meet with Lord Simkin there's no way we can get away with moving freely without talking to him. Meet at the castle in one hour."

"Understood"(x2)

Rohan disappeared in the crowd and Gildi cast a small spell and vanished. Urik made his way to the castle. Unfortunately, it was very hard for the S class party to move through the city once somebody recognized them they would be swarmed by citizens. On top of that Urik was a dragonkin who's race was rarely seen in public. Unlike Rohan who was the master of stealth and Gildi who could use magic to maneuver through the city, Urik wasn't adept in either he was a warrior through and through. To avoid attention he quickly jumped on to the rooftops and ran through the city it took him less than 5 minutes to make it to the front gate of the castle. He decided to wait for the rest of his party before talking to Lord Simkin.

(It's better to have all the facts before talking to nobles.)

Urik sat criss-cross meditating till Rohan and Gildi were done with their tasks. About 15 minutes later Rohan walked out of the shadows and Gildi materialized in front Of him.

"What did you find out?"

Gildi spoke up first.

"I went to the guild and talked to the guild master she hasn't met this Yuuta yet but there are plenty of rumors about him. Killing the cyclops was true and he has moved up the ranks fast he's currently taking his rank up test to C rank in Yuart. To everybody at the guild, he seems like a normal adventurer."

Next Rohan started his report.

"I got the same thing he's mostly an unknown he's only been in Celis for two weeks and before that, I have no information on him. He's definitely not from this kingdom maybe not even this continent. According to my contacts, there hasn't been any movement on the underground side of things he seems to be an ordinary adventurer other than his abnormal strength. The only thing I have to add is I found where he lives it on the west side of the city his house is pretty close to my sisters."

Urik quietly listened to their reports trying to put the puzzle together. He had a perplexed look on his face nothing he heard sounded like the vampires of old. Back when they were around they were more pompous than nobles. They would only take orders from pure breeds and pure breeds took orders from no one.

"Let's talk to the Lord and get permission to investigate this matter more I would not like to give out too much information things could get worse if the nobles panic and do something drastic. I will get him to order Yuuta back to the city then we will search his house and go from there."

Urik was good at hiding his emotion mostly because of his appearance it was hard to get a read on a dragons head. Only Rohan and Gildi could get an insight into his emotion they could tell he looked nervous which happened very rarely and Gildi wasn't sure but she thought she could feel fear in his aura. Which shook her to the core. To think the strongest warrior in the world was scared even if just a little.

They both shook their heads as Urik walked to the gate the guards instantly opened the gate. One of the many perks of being an S rank adventurer was you could get a direct audience with the lord of the city or even a king if the matter was serious enough. Urik told the guard they needed to see Lord Simkin immediately. The guard ushered them into the castle he hurriedly walked to the throne room announcing them to the lord.

"Hello, adventurers what seems to be the emergency?"

The old man with silver hair and pointy ears wearing a crown made of branches and a braided beard that touched the ground. It was rare to see an elder elf it usually meant that they were close to death. But for elves that could still be 10 to 100 years. The three of them kneeled to the lord before Urik walked forward. The guards surrounding Simkin stood at attention their shaking hands moved to their swords before Simkin waved them off. Everybody knew if Urik was an enemy they would be dead already.

"Lord Simkin to put things frankly we have some concerns about a citizen of yours. I would like to keep things discreet we just need permission to handle this matter on our own."

"Hmmm...... tell me what you can and I will decide on whether I can grant you the freedom you seek."

Lord Simkin, by all means, looked like a normal noble but he's known through the kingdom as a mischievous man who always had a plan or two in the works.

"Very well there is a new adventurer named Yuuta who came to Celis two weeks ago. We have reason to believe that he isn't who he says he is and poses a significant threat to the city and to this kingdom. We would like to move freely and investigate this in more depth. We would also like you to summon him back to Celis so we can talk."

A small smirk emerged from Simkins' face at hearing it was Yuuta they were worried about. He quietly stroked his beard as he pondered the information he was given.

"I will summon Yuuta back to Celis but let this be known that he has already made an impression on some important people in this kingdom. I have heard from one of my diplomats in Yuart that he single handily saved the city killing over 20 wyverns by himself. He is currently staying with Vermillion who could very well harbor Yuuta and get the king involved in this matter. Not mentioned he has become a disciple of the greatest magician in the kingdom Avenci. She wrote the king a personal letter saying he was going to be a great asset to our country. He has a quite powerful person backing him so this better be worth the trouble. I owe you a debt that can not be paid Urik so I will trust in your words that this is serious."

Rohan and Gildi's eyes shot open in shock hearing that Avenci took him as a disciple. Gildi herself was trained by Avenci and would never doubt her master's judgment but the same went for Urik. The more the party heard about Yuuta the less he sounded like a threat but Urik had never been wrong before. They learned a long time to never doubt him they would walk through fire if he told them to.

Urik gave a small bow.

"Thank you I understand the circumstances but if I'm right about Yuuta this is a bigger deal than stepping on some toes."

Simkin gave a small nod.

"Lord Simkin there are two matters I would like to ask about?"

"Ask and I will decide."

"Firstly I would like permission to have Rohan search Yuuta's home in the city. Secondly, I would like permission to use the training ground in the castle if I'm right there is going to be a battle and it's going to destroy the city if we don't fight in a controlled area. The training area has wards and barriers plus it is private. I will have the guards escort Yuuta to the training ground and we'll find out if I'm right.

Simkin thought it over you could tell he was hesitant. Having Avenci on your side was a big deal in the kingdom. She trained the best magicians in the world and getting on her bad side didn't just mean bureaucratic drama it had real consequences. Not to mention Lord Vermillion who had the support of many lords and was a close friend and ally to Simkin. But these where S class adventures they deserved as much respect as they could give even Kings have bowed to them for saving their countries.

"Fine do as you please but I hope for my sake that you're right about whatever this is."

"Again thank you but I will tell you everything after I confirmed my theory I don't want unnecessary panic."

Urik turned around and walked out of the throne room followed by Gildi and Rohan.

"Rohan go to his house and look through everything then meet us in the training ground."

Rohan disappeared like usual hiding in the shadows. The sun was setting as the stage was set. It would take a couple hours to get word to Yuart so they had the rest of the night and morning to prepare for the monster that is a vampire. After Rohan left Gildi couldn't help but interject.

"Urik I know you feel certain about this but if he's really being trained by Avenci he can't be that bad right. I mean she is no slouch and wouldn't teach just anybody it took some serious begging for her to consider teaching me."

"It doesn't matter vampires are capable of many things even mind control if they're pure breeds. If she wasn't mind controlled I'm sure she wouldn't care if he was a vampire she was blinded by his talent. Avenci could surely tell how strong he is and knew he was a monster."

Gildi didn't have a response she knew her master was a bit of an oddball she would teach magic to a goblin if he had the talent for it. She always wanted to further the use of magic even if it went against the guild or even the kingdom. So it was certainly possible she knew something wasn't right and didn't look into it like she should have.

They made there was to the training ground it was a giant room the size of a football field under the castle it was used for elite knights and adventures under the employment of the lord to train and fight battles that would cause to much damage in the outside arenas.

Less than an hour went by before Rohan appeared he quickly made his way to Urik to give his report.

"I searched his house there was nothing out of the ordinary he seems to be living with a girl but other than that it was a normal home no secret rooms or trap doors."

Urik nodded his head it was another thing that didn't add up he seemed to be living a normal life at least so far. These slight things chipped away at Uriks confidence he started doubting himself that he was right. He decided to not overthink it and calmed himself by meditating.

"Get some rest we have some time before he gets here. Mentally prepare yourself for what's coming this will be our hardest fight yet."

Nobody could sleep that night their nerves were on edge as the time slowly passed nobody said a word for hours at a time until about an hour before midday a man with red eyes and white hair walked down the staircase to the arena.

He walked into the training ground and got about 10 meters away from the now standing Urik with his hand on his sword ready to draw at a moments notice.

The man with white hair gave a small smile before talking

"I heard you were looking for me."