Sword Saint, a title as feared as it is desired. Only a single person in each kingdom can claim it as his own since it is only bestowed to the best Swordman in each kingdom. Every Sword saint is a force to be reckoned with, capable of obliterating entire armies and killing unchallenged foes. If one tried to classify their strength, then they would be as strong as an S-rank adventurer.

Their sole obligation coming with this title is to face the enemy Sword saint in times of war. Since a Sword saint generally represents a majority of a nation's military might, the death of a Sword saint often decides the end of a war. Today conflicts between nations are mostly decided with a duel between the nation's respective Sword saints.

Such "wars" not only limit the loss of innocent lives but also prove to be more resource efficient than conventional wars. The negative aspect is that Sword saints take time to train and are often not under the direct command of the Ruler.

The might of sword saints is also one of the reasons why no human nation dares to attack the Elven territories. Since each Elven capital has five Sword saints respectively.

Extract from "The masters of the blade".

"What......was.....THAT?" Sephila asked, the two balls of fire in her hands flaring dangerously.

Damnit.

"I crafted a potion." Lena answered honestly with as much calm as she could muster.

Trying to ignore the threatening stance of the other woman, she began to pour the fully stabilized liquid into the prepared flasks. Lena had seen the panic in Sephila's eyes, and she knew that to not let this situation escalate she needed to remain calm.

After filling three flasks she turned back towards a dumbstruck Sephila.

"Could you please put out your torches? The light might wake up the others." She said, gesturing towards Levis and Grant who were snoring a few meters away.

"..." Sephila only stared at her utterly baffled, but her flames disappeared a few moments later.

Lena turned back to her cauldron, preparing for the next batch of liquid mana. She still had a few cores to process after all. The first core had only given her enough for three flasks, which was about another month of food with her current consumption.

Without looking back she addressed the woman behind her again.

"You should try to get some sleep, it has been a rough day for you and Grant mentioned that he wanted to depart early tomorrow. If you turn down your mana sense my alchemy won't bother you, but I can cast an additional barrier if you want."

When she didn't get an answer she turned around again.

"You ok?" She asked. Remaining friendly and calm was always the most important thing. At least Eshen had told her that. Lena had always been the beat the shit out of people before talking person but hey, this worked too.

Sephila only nodded without a word and walked towards her sleeping bag.

This woman is weird, she thought.

But Lena wasn't going to complain since she hasn't been blasted with fireballs. It seemed that this was the most pleasant thing that she could expect from Sephila. The truth was that she had underestimated Sephila's mana sense. She wouldn't have thought that it was so potent, especially since the other two were as mana sensitive as a rock.

Yeah, it kinda was my own fault this time, she shrugged, at least I know now.

Lena erected a small dome-like barrier around the sleeping group and continued with her alchemy. Tomorrow they would reach Enklen, and she would finally become a real adventurer.

When the sun rose hours later and her travel companions woke up, Lena was confronted with a picture that would probably haunt her for weeks. Grant and the fully recovered Levis had strapped dozens of large leather bags filled with crab corpses onto their bodies. Together with their large backpacks and multiple crab legs sticking out here and there, they looked like mutated crabs themselves.

The disgusting smell of rotting fish was nearly visible, and Lena could swear that one of the crab legs was still twitching. She knew that most adventurers didn't have storage items of course, but still, they looked like fucking crab-mules. Grant's bulky armor was nearly invisible with all the stuff attached to it when they were finished.

The thing that threw her off the most however was that they were smiling the entire time like they were carrying bags full of gold instead of dead crabs. She knew why of course, this amount of monster parts was probably worth a lot of coins, but still. In her eyes, nothing was worth enough that she would strap rotting flesh onto herself. There was absolutely no way.

As she turned away in disgust Lena saw Sephila packing her own backpack. The woman had ignored her for the entire morning and Lena had decided to do the same. If they ever needed to spend an extensive period of time together they would need to work out their differences, but since they would part ways in Enklen there was no need.

Soon the others were ready to depart.

The journey to Enklen was relatively silent. With Sephila leading the way and the two crab mules just behind. Lena was trailing behind trying to get a better understanding of her companions, or more precisely, of Sephila. At first it she didn´t want to pry into her secrets out of respect, but since she was being nothing but weird and impolite herself, she wasn't going to restrain her curiosity.

Something about her had always felt off, but now Lena finally realized why. Her mana sense wasn´t working properly. Normally she could see people´s mana flow and density without much effort. It was not only a reliable way to estimate a person´s strengths but was also an irreplaceable tool in combat.

With Sephila however, her mana sight only showed a bright frame of mana, so either she was a mana-filled rock, or it wasn´t real. So she tried to pierce the illusion. Just to be blocked off by an invisible wall. Lena couldn´t help but smirk.

Show me what you hide.

After over an hour of constant prodding and observation, Lena finally managed to get a hang of what was going on. It was an item. Sephila was wearing some kind of artifact that was obscuring her mana vision. It must be quite a powerful artifact at that, since into created a constant illusion around Sephila and blocked any precise sensing attempts. Lena had excluded two separate artifacts since the two spells worked together two perfectly.

All in all, it was nearly impossible to get past it. Nearly.

One thing Lena had learned from Eshen was that artifacts always had flaws. There were either replicated spells or contained spells. Both methods affected the spells slightly. Not in a way that made them fail entirely but still.

A fireball from a mage and one from an artifact could be equally effective in general but the fireball cast by an artifact would still show minor flaws. The fire would burn a little less hot, or the flames would dissipate just a few seconds earlier than the fire cast directly from a mage.

Lena just had to find the flaw.

That or destroy the artifact, but that would just get Sephila´s attention, something she didn´t want at the moment. The two fire spell she had seen last night had been no joke, and Lena didn´t want to be on their receiving end.

So, while Grant and Levis argued about what they would buy with this hunts rewards, Lena concentrated on the wall. Searching for any kind of weakness or crack.

There.

For just a second Lena could see Sephila´s mana. Distorted and fluctuating like ocean waves during a storm, but with intent. She immediately snapped out of it, the wall blocking everything off again, leaving her standing in the forest not a little bit wiser. On the contrary, Lena had more questions than before.

How was this woman even alive? Her mana flow, if it could even be called that, shouldn´t even be working. It was like the mana in a spell that was just about to explode, but....calmer? How the hell wasn´t she being ripped apart by it?

Even if Lena didn´t quite comprehend what she had seen, she did have a theory. One that might even explain the woman´s outburst last night. She had a mutation, a real one.

I guess I let her keep her secrets for now.

Hours later they emerged from the dense forest and found a clear dirt road leading north.

"From here Enklen is just a few miles away. We should reach the city before nightfall if we follow the road." Grant informed her. Lena only nodded and they resumed their travel. Her heart filled with just a little more anticipation.

The first sign of the city was a large tower looming over the hills in front of them. It seemed to be made out of pale limestone and was adorned by a giant rotating blue crystal. A barrier tower. Even from this far away she could feel the power contained in the massive building. A giant pillar filled with enchantments and magic ready to fend off any threat nearing the city.

Maybe I will see one of them in action one day. She thought.

No. If this thing ever springs to action, the city would probably be in so much chaos that she would wish to be a thousand miles away. Lena´s attention was quickly drawn away from the pale tower as the rest of the city came into view.

As the city slowly expanded in front of her, Lena began to realize the sheer difference compared to Maryda.

Enklen was no village, it was a real city. It seemed like a dumb thing to be impressed about, but as she and her group closed in on the city Lena couldn´t stop but compare the two.

She knew that her hometown was no great and important city, it was poor, unimportant and it had never been anything else. But when she looked at the column of Marchant carts slowly pouring in and out of the city in front of her, Lena felt like Maryda was even less than it already was.

The crude wooden wall around Maryda looked like a fence beside the massive stone wall surrounding Enklen. The giant gate was not guarded by a single old alcoholic, but by half a dozen trained guards clad in polished steel and with their hands on the hilts of their swords. As they slowly walked closer to the gate Lena couldn´t fail to see the sharp eyes of the guards inspecting every visitor coming through.

Dozens of archers patrolling the wall, steel-clad gates, guards in sturdy leather armor every few meters.

A simple wolf wouldn´t even come near that wall.

"You seem nervous."

Grant´s voice brought her attention back to her travel companions.

"Maybe. It´s my first time in such a big city." Grant let out a warm chuckle under his helmet.

"I guess that it can be impressive compared to the smaller settlements around the area, but I would advise you to get used to it because Enklen is nothing compared to Knightfall."

Before Lena could answer the guards waved them forward and through a smaller much smaller gate on the side reserved for visitors on foot. Much to her surprise they completely ignored the two crab mules accompanying her, but seemed to be eying Shephila and herself warily. None of them made any indication to stop them from entering though.

As soon as they passed the gateway Lena was hit by the buzzing noise of the city. Hundreds of people walking around paved streets, chatting with each other or haggling over goods. The entire atmosphere was so much more different than what she was used to. She saw children playing around and parents laughing, everybody seemed so....happy. Everybody seemed to enjoy and embrace life in a way that she had never seen before.

She could feel herself smile as she took the entire scenery in. Before her extended a forest made out of colorful houses and bright clothes. A place filled with life.

"We should get going, we shouldn´t block the street otherwise the guards might get grumpy."

Again Grant´s voice brought her attention back to her immediate surroundings.

"So where are we going?" Even if she would never admit it in public, Lena was slightly overwhelmed by the new situation. Dark forests and dungeons filled with monsters were not a problem, but an unknown city filled with people was something different altogether.

"Well, I and Levis need to sell all this stuff and since the adventurer guild is on the way I thought that we show you the way there. But if you already have plans then I guess we separate here."

"No, I would greatly appreciate the help." She answered hastily. Don´t you dare leave me here.

"What are your plans?" Grant asked, turning towards Sephila.

"I have something to do." She said and turned around.

Without another word, she disappeared into the crowd. Levis shrugged.

"She has to get her reward from the guild eventually."

The guild house was less impressive than Lena had anticipated. Compared to the colorful houses all around it looked rather pathetic. It had more in common with a pub than anything else. Old tainted windows, sturdy but simple stone walls, and a brittle-looking door that looked like it had seen at least a few wars.

"Not what you had expected?" Levis asked.

"No, I just... I thought it would be more impressive."

"I see what you mean, it s a matter of perspective I think. The whole adventurer thing is more about the people and the monsters than the building we get paid at. In the end, we spent most of our time traveling and hunting after all. A fancy guild house would just be a waste."

"Maybe you're right."

"Of course, I´m always right. We have to go now though. Until we meet again Lena." Levis said with a warm smile.

"Thanks again for saving us miss Lena. May your adventures be exciting."

Without another word the two men walked away, leaving behind only Lena and the disgusting smell of rotting crab meat.

Time to become an adventurer. With that thought, Lena pushed the wooden door open and entered the guild.

The interior was only lit by simple candles that cast a dim light over the dark wooden floor, giving the entire room a rather gloomy atmosphere. The room was rather large, with a few tables, thick wooden beams, and a large counter on the opposite side of the entrance. Apart from her, Lena could only see around twenty other people sitting at different tables chatting in low voices and drinking from large mugs.

These people would never pass for normal people. She thought with excitement. The excessive amount of weapons that they displayed even surpassed the guards at the city gates. Large axes and shields leaned against chairs, spears, and blades sticking in the floor, a multitude of knives and daggers strapped on sturdy leather and chain armor. Lena even saw a large bearded man that drank from his while holding a dagger in the same hand.

Behind the counter on the far end of the room stood a blonde middle-aged woman in a dark blue uniform with the guild insignia embroidered.

I guess she runs this place.

Without much thought, Lena made her way toward the woman. And immediately regretted it, as the floor creaked so loud that it even interrupted the quiet conversations all around her. Immediately everyones attention was on her, and Lena could see more than a few weapons move closer to their owners.

Since standing still was not a viable option she decided to just keep going, entirely ignoring the screaming wood under her feet. As if her exaggerated armor and her mask weren´t attracting enough attention already. Now her armor was so damn heavy that she risked breaking through the floor. Until now she had never fully realized how heavy it was.

I really hope they don´t think I´m fat!

Luckily she reached the counter soon enough and left the uncomfortable stares behind where it was replaced by the pleasant smile of the woman in the dark blue uniform.

"Welcome to the adventurer guild miss. How may I help you?"

Lena took a moment to take the whole situation in. Now she would finally accomplish her dream and become an adventurer. It had taken more effort than she would have thought and it had cost her more than she was willing to pay, but still. Becoming an adventurer was her dream, her future maybe even her destiny, and she would embrace it.

"I want to register as an adventurer."

The attendant gave her a surprised look but instantly caught herself and pulled up a document.

"Of course. All we need are a few pieces of information and the 10 silver coins as an entrance fee."

Lena placed the money on the counter while the woman wrote a few things down on her document, before handing it over to her.

"You just need to fill out this document. If you have questions please feel free to ask."

After reading through the document ones Lena let out a frustrated sigh. This thing was like one of Eshen´s written exams. It was a series of questions, first about herself and her general abilities, combat, skills, past experience, political standpoint, and even her religion. What kind of ridiculous questionnaire was this supposed to be. She wanted to kill monsters not become a damn bureaucrat.

In her frustration, she turned toward the attendant.

"Do I have to answer every question? Some of them don´t even make sense. "

The woman seemed to know what bugged her and gave an apologetic smile.

"All we technically need are your name and your general specialization and talents. The others are just there due to the last guild reforms."

Lena nodded and began to fill out the document while ignoring everything she deemed unnecessary. If it was all their needed then it was all there would get. Information was a weapon on his own after all, and she didn´t want to be on the sharp end of it. After finishing up she handed the document back to the woman. After glancing through it, her widened slightly and she looked at Lena with a hint of anger.

"You are aware that embellishing your talents here won´t affect your beginner rank in any way are you?"

"Huh... yes." Lena answered slightly confused.

"Everything you wrote down will eventually be tested in Knightfall if you want to increase your rank, and any false information will be punished by a lifetime exclusion from the guild and an eventual fine. Do you want to correct your information?"

"No, not really." Lena had no idea why she was making such a scene for nothing. Everything she had written was true. Her alchemy talent was a bit tricky since she didn´t have any written proof of it, but if they tested it that shouldn´t be a problem. She had been trained by a master alchemist after all.

The woman stared at her a little frustrated but eventually calmed down.

"It´s your own problem. You start as an F-rank adventurer and you can only accept quests of associated rank. Each rank can be improved three times, after which you will be tested and can increase your overall rank in the guild. If you aren´t satisfied with your starting rank you can undergo a specialized test in Knightfall or receive training in combat-related institutions."

She made a small pause looking at Lena with sharp eyes.

"After successfully accomplished missions you will receive the reward indicated beforehand and a number of honor points from the guild. Any questions?"

"Yeah. What are these honor points good for." She had never heard of them, neither from Eshen nor from Grant and Levis.

"It shows your devotion to the guild as a general and is a way to separate adventurers of the same rank. Honor points can be gained for special deeds and can be deduced for crimes or bad behavior. Certain quests also require a certain amount of honor points. Anything else?"

"No that would be all."

"Then here is your adventurer plate." With that said, she handed her a small copper plate.

"Please don´t break the floor on your way out."

She completely ignored her last remark as she felt the small plate connecting to her mana signature. Grant had explained to her how it worked but Lena was too excited to remember. She did it, she was now officially an adventurer. After a few tries, she even managed to attach the small copper plate onto her armor. It might not be very impressive but at least it would add a bit of color to her armor.

With floor cracking steps and a wide, unseen smile she left the guild. Hopefully toward adventure.

As soon as the others were out of sight Sephila vanished into a small side street and hid behind a pile of crates. Moments later she heard her pursuer's footsteps. They were two as far as she could tell. So they still searching for me. She thought.

She had hoped that a week out of town would erase her traces, but apparently, it hadn´t. Not surprising after all the money they lost last time. At least they were only two this time.

"We know that you're here. If you follow us without resistance then we don´t have to hurt you." One of the men said. The sound of a blade being unsheathed followed.

As the footsteps drew closer her body began to morph. Her skin became thicker, her nails turned into blunt claws and her head grew larger and larger.

"The boss just wants to talk. I´m sure that he will even renew his offer if you ask nicely." The other man said, clearly unaware of what she could do. His voice was now only a few meters away from where she was hiding.

5 meters,4, 3, 2,... their blades came down simultaneously. She leaped out of the way and immediately retaliated.

Her claws tore through the first man´s throat with ease while she bit off the other man's head with a single motion. They were dead before their swords hit the ground. Their lifeless bodies silently dropped to the ground. Sephila stayed alert in case she had missed one of her pursuers, but no one came.

With a sigh, the tension left her body and she slowly shifted back into her prior human form. The only differences were her bloodied clothes and the taste of iron in her mouth.