2024-05-28 18:10:21Rainy nights shrouded the world in darkness, a veil many found unsuitable for a hunt. Yet, for those who thrived in the cover of night, it was an ideal time.
The Verdant Brothers, led by the formidable Eren ‘Sun Fire,’ were a renowned team of adventurers capable of tackling the most suicidal quests. When they posted a notice at the Adventurer Guild seeking a porter, Talon seized the chance, believing he could earn guild merits without facing much danger under their protection.
He was gravely mistaken.
Panting behind his shield, Talon winced as blood dripped from his broken arm. His shield, now a warped mess, had partially fused with his left hand from Eren's fiery attacks. The other team members watched, their eyes glinting with amusement, some even laughing at his plight. Anger and helplessness churned within him.
Just half an hour earlier, they had been escorting a treasure-laden caravan from Fort Avarack in the Lupin Mountain Range to Ironflower Duchy under the Duke's request. The rumor was that the Blood Iron Corps had looted a barbarian encampment, rich with gold and artifacts. The Verdant Brothers took the job, but betrayal lurked beneath their intentions.
As the caravan settled in a clearing of Moon Mist Woods, night fell, bringing with it a violent storm. Under the cover of rain and darkness, the brothers struck. They started with the guide from the duchy, then his assistants. The scene felt surreal, a nightmare unfolding in real time.
Eren's calm voice broke the chaos, “Sorry kid, but we can’t leave any witnesses.”
Dropping his bags, Talon readied his shield, “Are you not worried the guild will investigate?”
“For someone about to die, you worry about the wrong things,” Eren smiled, a golden orb of flame growing in his palm. It shot towards Talon, who raised his shield in vain. The explosion hurled him back, carving trenches in the muddy ground.
Eren conjured another fireball, splitting it into dozens. They orbited him like miniature suns, a mesmerizing and terrifying sight. Talon, shaking his head to dispel the paralysis of awe, thought, ‘No. I have to get out of here.’
He glanced towards the northwest, thinking of his hometown. ‘Sorry, sis. Your brother is too useless to make our dream come true.’
Eren flicked his wrist, and the fireballs swarmed towards Talon. “You think I’ll die so easily? Damn you, Eren!” he yelled, gripping his shield tighter. Explosions rocked the forest, golden light piercing the heavy rain.
When the smoke cleared, Talon was still standing, but barely. His shield, now a useless mass, had melded with his left hand. His right arm hung limply, broken. Each breath sent a plume of white mist into the air, his charred clothes clinging to his battered body. With immense effort, he propped up his shield again.
Denzel, one of the adventurers, laughed, “This guy’s tenacious. Hey Talon, I heard you’ve been a Rookie Adventurer for two years. Quite useless, aren’t you?”
Ignoring the jibe, Talon focused on Eren, knowing the next attack would be his last. A desperate hope flickered within him, a futile wish for rescue. But he knew it was hopeless. ‘No, I’m not done yet.’
Eren, an Awakened who had surpassed most, stood as a living testament to the power of Sun Fire Mage. His team, all Awakened, were insurmountable foes for a mere human like Talon.
“Rest well, Talon,” Eren said, a massive fireball materializing inches from Talon’s shield. There was no escape.
Boom!
Golden flames engulfed him, and then there was nothing. By the time the fire dissipated, Talon was gone, leaving only two wet spots on the otherwise scorched ground.
Eren's voice cut through the silence, “Move out!”
“You heard the boss, let’s get moving!” Denzel echoed, rallying the team.
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Chapter 103: Avoiding Debt
After nearly an hour of running, the forest finally opened up into a small clearing. Talon slowed to a stop, his chest rising and falling as he caught sight of figures ahead. He blinked in disbelief. Magnus. Renard. Xara. Raeve. Brythan. All of them—elites of the Blue Devil Guild, and apart from Brythan, they were all at the Warrior level. A cluster of carriages and horses rested just off the path, their reins tied loosely to trees. Clearly, they had been waiting here for some time. Talon’s surprise showed on his face. Magnus noticed immediately, his sharp eyes catching the flicker of confusion. “You’re wondering how I knew you’d come this way,” Magnus said calmly. “It’s my other Profession—Discerning Mage. I foresaw we would cross paths here if I waited long enough.” Talon’s brows drew together. Something about Magnus felt… different. Stronger, heavier, like standing near a mountain. His curiosity rose instinctively, and before he realized it, he had cast his gaze inward toward
Chapter 102: Meeting Familiar Faces
By now, Talon had stripped the tiger of its value like a merchant intent on squeezing every last copper from a trade. Bones, claws, sinew, even fragments of hardened marrow—nothing escaped his practiced hands. The forest floor around them looked more like a butcher’s yard than a monster’s den. He moved with surprising patience, his black blade occasionally flashing as he sliced through tendon or carved neat lines along the hide. When at last he stood upright, his arms dusted with dried blood, the pelt folded carefully over his shoulder, he exhaled in satisfaction. “That should do it. Between this and the core, we’ve got something worth a decent pile of coins.” Reaching into his pack, he drew out a folded pamphlet—creased from repeated use, its inked pages a hunter’s crude guide to the region’s notable beasts. He ran his eyes over it, tapping a fingertip against the section detailing Warrior-level monsters. His expression hardened, a spark of ambition flickering behind his gaze.
Chapter 101: My Life Wasn't Mine
Talon stared at the dead Redbone Tiger for a long moment, then glanced into the shadows between the trees. “If we work together, we can kill warrior-level monsters,” he said suddenly. “Why don’t we hunt a few more?” As he said it, the logic clicked for him. That was why hunters teamed up. Alone, most adventurers hit their limits and had to avoid anything too strong. With a partner you doubled your chances, cut the danger, and increased the reward. It was simply more efficient. Veyra let out a low groan—half annoyance, half resignation. “Fine,” she said. “But if we meet something with weirder tricks than that tiger, you take the lead. I’ve got enough to worry about.” She wasn’t exaggerating. Underneath her calm, she was still fighting the blood-forged shackles that lived inside her soul. Every fight chipped at those chains and left her unable to use her racial powers fully. On top of that, her level had been forced down to Warrior, which l
Chapter 100: Warrior Level Monster Core
Talon slid down the rough bark of a tree and let himself drop to the ground, the weight of fatigue pressing down on every bone and muscle. His chest heaved with ragged breaths, sweat plastering his hair to his forehead. The Redbone Tiger lay sprawled in the clearing, its once fearsome body now nothing more than a broken carcass. Its lifeless eyes glared at nothing, jaw slack, tongue hanging out like a discarded banner of defeat. Across from it, Veyra stood unsteadily, her figure pale even for a vampire. Her right femur jutted grotesquely from her thigh, the bone piercing through torn flesh. Dozens of jagged bone shards stuck out from her torso and arms, tiny spikes that pulsed faintly with residual aura. A normal person would have been dead ten times over, but Veyra’s physiology was a strange, stubborn thing. Already, the shards were being pushed back out as her body began knitting together torn muscle and sealing ruptured veins. Still, the sight was gr
Chapter 99: Facing the Redbone Tiger
The fight with the Redbone Tiger quickly settled into a rhythm of danger and restraint. Veyra, despite being at the peak stage of the Warrior level, found her strength strangely muted before the Tiger’s bone-control ability. In theory, her higher cultivation should have allowed her to brush off such tricks as if swatting a fly. But in practice, she discovered that the beast’s manipulation pressed against her body like invisible chains, constantly tugging at her frame and bones, demanding a portion of her concentration simply to remain unharmed. She could resist it, yes, but not with the same effortless mastery Talon displayed. For her, every forward step came with the fear of her own ribs suddenly splintering against her will.So she took a cautious stance, eyes sharp, shoulders tense. She played the spectator’s role, orbiting the battlefield rather than diving headlong into it, searching for the opening that would never come freely. Her strength was shackled not by la
Chapter 98: The Redbone Tiger
They moved through the forest in silence, still running on leftover adrenaline from their last fight with the Bulwark Team. Their steps were careful now, breaths steady, senses sharp. The path to the Ironwood Plains stretched ahead like a tunnel of fading light and rustling leaves. Two kilometers from the previous battlefield, the trees thinned, and the quiet grew heavier—the kind of silence that meant something dangerous was nearby. Talon stopped suddenly, his senses catching something. Veyra froze beside him, recognizing the way his body tensed. He didn’t look around. Instead, his focus shifted into the Mental Plane, as naturally as slipping a hand into a pocket. There in the Firmament, a new light burned bright and fierce. “Warrior Level,” he said quietly. He could easily recognize the threat level based on the size of the 'Mental Star'. Veyra sniffed the air, her instincts sharp. “Smells like iron and old bone,” she muttere
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