Moonlight shimmers across the empty square, casting patches of shadows everywhere.

As I sit on a bench looking at the fountain while strumming Genesis aimlessly, an aura suddenly enters my Soul Sight behind me. It is dark, menacing, and filled with contempt. It makes my hair stand on end.

Acting as nonchalant as I could, I secretly track the person's every movement while also playing softly.

One. Two.

There's no shuffling of clothes or sounds of leather hitting pavement, but from the shifts of the human-shaped aura, I count every step that person makes.

Another step. A change in posture.

Aggressive. Holding a small object.

I finally stopped strumming. The person stills their approach only a few steps away from me, the deafening silence lasted for what seemed like eons.

Suddenly, the aura surges forward, filled with killing intent.

So fast!

I can almost feel the cold steel bite into my neck as the figure thrusts its blade, intending to sever my spine from my head. However, they were too focused on bringing me down and did not see the ground had sunken down around them.

I had prepared to use Mold Earth to create a small trap, in hope of ruining their aim at the last moment, and it works. The amount of training I put in to cast magic as subtly as possible seems to have paid off, the spell barely gives out any light.

But it only made the strike less lethal as the blade now aims towards my back instead.

Turning as quickly as possible, I swing my arm around as Genesis vanishes, only to reappear in another form.

*Clang*

The sound of metal clashing tears into the night, disturbing the silence that once shrouded the whole area.

A round, metallic instrument adorned with depictions of climbing vines materializes right on the path of the blade, blocking what would be a heavy blow.

Cymbal.

I realized earlier when I was studying in Music class, that there's no downside to just memorizing the name and properties of every instrument available in storage. Once I have the knowledge in my head, I can summon them almost instantly, which I thought can be utilized in a fight as long as I'm creative about it.

The cymbal is a lot like a round shield, so I seem to have subconsciously manifested it to block the blow. I only meant to call for anything, but this will have to suffice.

I also found out that Genesis can be summoned anywhere around me as long as it's within arms reach, and that it lingers for a moment in space before falling. This proves to be another vital part of using it to block attacks as I don't need to account for gravity. I only need to summon it in the path of an attack at the right time.

Losing all of their momentum, the hostile aura quickly backed off, allowing me to take in their features.

He seems to be the same receptionist guy that spoke to me in the Underground, judging by his size and height, but the top of his face is covered by a mask, leaving only his sneering mouth visible.

He's wearing a deep purple hooded trench coat over top tightly fitted leather armor. All across his body are multiple belts and bandoliers strapped with small daggers and vials, making him look both ridiculous and kinda cool at the same time. His most recognizable feature is his white masquerade-style mask that is decorated with black trims and feathers, and a very pointed nose part made to resemble a bird's beak.

I almost froze in surprise as I recognize this person.

He's another character that appears later in the game as an NPC that helps players clear certain missions or dungeons, essentially being the main character's guide. Although, he never directly fight alongside the heroes, only willing to provide clues for puzzles and clear traps. A Key-type character, you can say.

Details about him were also completely obscured, even his real name, so he had only ever been called by his codename, Crow.

There were talks and speculations of him being released as a playable character later in the story, but even at the end of my previous life, no official announcement was made about him.

The obscure Key character is now somehow confronting me in this dark and lonely night.

We continue to face each other, sizing our respective opponent's threat level.

I quickly summon back Genesis in lute form, preparing to cast any magic to keep him at bay. He seems to be an awakened Knight, so I'm at a disadvantage. As soon as he closes the distance, I'll surely lose, so I have to take the first hit.

Backing away even further, I begin to strum a few chords which cause the mana in the air around me to dance, swirling into spheres of light. Even if I'm not utilizing Genesis to cast spells through songs, the condensed mana is already helpful as I can skip a whole step in casting magic normally.

I just need to attune them to Earth and command the spell to take shape.

Crow must have realized that I'm trying to do something and rushes at me with even more speed than before. Just before he made it through, I quickly use part of the gathered mana to churn the ground before me using Mold Earth, creating patches of raised and lowered stone pavement.

He seems to have caught on to what I was trying, and instead leaps high into the air to avoid tripping, his dagger extends to deliver a savage strike.

Panicking a little, I overcharge what remaining mana I gathered to cast Create Stone and fling it at the approaching man. Dust and dirt gather in the air, quickly forming a stone roughly half my head in size. Before it got the chance to fly, however, Crow has already reached my location.

Thankfully, he needs to use the attack to shatter the stone instead, so I got enough time to back off again.

We're back at the same place before, with everything happening in a span of a few seconds.

I secretly sighed in relief. The training I got at home as well as with instructor Seris Dawn prepared me for actual combat, so I managed to stay relatively calm, but this is the first time I'm fighting with my life on the line.

Or, well, the second time technically. But at the time with the Hobgoblin, I was just fighting blindly and throwing my life away. I was fighting so I could die, now I'm fighting so I could live.

Yes, I want to live.

I feel my blood rushing in excitement, and fear. I might die here, but I'll try my best to live.

Steeling my resolve, I begin to play even more frantically, condensing even more mana. I begin to feel a stabbing headache as I convert large amounts of mana into the Earth-attuned variety and send them all into the ground beneath me.

Stones and dirt roil like ocean waves, crashing forward as bright yellow light fills the area. Crow tries to jump up again, but I command the ground to rise up and catch him.

I suddenly feel a strange rhythm added to my frantic song. A low, thrumming heartbeat, like the very earth is breathing. A spike of pain rushes through my head, breaking me out of my revelation. The sudden shift in the spell trajectory is too much to handle, it seems.

Tendrils of dirt rush towards Crow like living snakes before encasing his right foot, locking it in place. However, a glint of steel suddenly appeared from across the square, and my dirt snakes shattered back into their base component. A heavy hand ax was thrown at the base of the rising structure, cutting it off from the source of mana.

I turn towards the source of interruption to find a short and stout figure, standing in the dark. I can't help but frown. I'm already struggling with one of them, and now Billin has to join in as well.

This is going to be bad. I need to find a way to escape.

Before I have the chance to think over my options, however, a deep, baritone voice rings out from the smaller figure.

"Enough, Emile. We're going to hear him out, not kill him."

Crow immediately sheaths his dagger, his posture now completely relaxed as if we weren't trying to kill each other just a moment ago.

"I just wanted to test him a little and have some fun, that's all."

"Well, that's enough testing, ain't it? The little Weaver is on his last leg."

Shit. He sees right through me.

My head is pounding, and my heart is beating fast. My fingers feel raw from the constant strumming of Genesis, my legs shaking slightly from the headache. I can probably only cast a few more spells like that before collapsing from the strain.

I tried my best to act calm, but I'm already spent.

Crow, or I guess Emile, shrugs like it was nothing.

"I didn't even use any of my tricks yet. I say his stamina is too low."

"How can you compare a Weaver and a Guardian like that?" Billin sighs while shaking his head. "He did well holding out this long."

"Are you guys not here to kill me," I ask with trepidation.

The two of them turn towards me, the dwarf shakes his head again.

"No, what you said in that letter was... interesting. We want to understand how you knew about all that, so we're just here to talk."

"Besides, I could have killed you so many times already during our little spar if I wanted," Crow said with a devilish smirk.

He's right. He didn't use any of his throwing knives or any of his vials that no doubt contain all manner of poisons. I was so focused that I didn't realize he was going easy on me. Damn it.

Well, this is good. Even if I lost, as long as I'm alive, then all is good. Lowering my posture as well, I speak while mentally preparing to run if they decide otherwise.

"I see. Then we shouldn't delay this any longer."

Crow then raises his hand. "Before we go any further, let's all introduce ourselves first. I'll go, my name is Emile, we met before."

He then takes off his mask and hood, revealing that same receptionist that talked to me at the Underground.

"My name is Billin, a dwarf."

The shorter man also took off his hood, revealing a bearded and scarred face. Two large slashes in the shape of an X rest right above his big nose, combined with his sharp, beady eyes making him look very intimidating. He wears a set of leather armor, like Emile, but there's also a metal chestplate that covers his entire torso, the thing looking entirely out of place.

Dwarven runes line the whole piece, causing it to shine the faintest of yellow light. The sigil of hammer and anvil is displayed proudly right in the middle, framed in a decorative circle. It's meant to represent the God of the Forge, I think. How cliché.

That is what I've been looking for, the [Duergar Breastplate].

I decided to also take off my hood and pull down the black cloth that I used to cover my lower face.

"I'm Alean. Please to meet you."

If we're going to work with each other in the future, a certain amount of trust is required, so I understand why they want to introduce themselves. I'll also respect them and give them my name.

Billin reaches his hand towards me, and I give him a firm shake.

"Alean, eh? Strange name."

"Pleasure." Emile only gives me a small nod, which I return as well.

After we finish our greetings, I glance at both of them before speaking.

"So, let's start."