A pained groan could be heard in the shadowy alley. But it wasn’t loud enough to drown out the ugly insults thrown around.

“You useless piece of sh*t! How much did you drink? Get up you waste of space, you hear me?!”

“Hey, did you even listen? The boss ordered you to leave tomorrow! You either secure a dungeon core in the treasure storm zone or you can just die there!”

“Haha. Right. Not like anyone will miss a loser like you!”

The voices gradually got louder as Tepo followed the alley. The young man frowned listening to those vicious words.

Suddenly another voice spoke up. It was struggling, feeble, and wheezing, like a candle about to die out.

“I… no. I don’t want to… I…”

“Shut up!”, interrupted a yell. The sound of a kick followed. Retching could be heard.

But Tepo’s body suddenly trembled in shock. He couldn’t believe it, but there was no mistaking it. This feeble voice was definitely…

“Yerive…!”

As the warrior involuntarily let out a whisper he suddenly sped up. A moment later he turned a corner letting out a loud shout:

“YERIVE?!”

To Tepo’s horror his best friend was lying on the ground against a wall. His own vomit covered his once bright red clothes. Yerive was dirty and disheveled, with blurry eyes and a battered and bruised body.

Three warriors stood above him. They spewed ugly words, abused the young man, and one woman even spit on him.

Tepo immediately saw red. He had just gotten rid of the gangsters troubling his mother and now such a scene appeared before his eyes.

“B*stards! Stop!”, with a loud shout Tepo dashed forwards, quickly activating his [Scan]. The warriors were three-circled aspirants. Same as Yerive.

Those assailants suddenly turned around, looking at the hooded figure in surprise.

“Who dares to interrupt our business? Are you tired of living?!”

But what answered the shouting warrior was a tricky swing of a knife.

In the shadows Tepo used his [Subtle Strike], making his attack hard to spot. The first warrior was slow to react. Only at the last second did a strong wind engulf his feet and push him to evade.

But the sudden attack drew blood anyway. A cry echoed in alley as a cut adorned the warrior’s chest.

“Ahh! F*ck. You rat are trying to kill me?!”

Another warrior finally wrapped his head around the situation. He loudly animated his comrades:

“F*ck. That guy is crazy. Let’s go, kill him!”

The female warrior moved rapidly. A sword appeared in her hand as she dashed towards Tepo.

The young warrior wasn’t impressed. He swung out his knife. But suddenly his expression was incredulous. He had hit empty air. Nothing was in the place where he saw the armored woman just now.

“Argh!”

Letting out a light groan, Tepo tumbled forward. Who knew when the female warrior arrived behind his back and slashed down.

Fortunately a single attack couldn’t break Tepo’s defense. But the impact still disrupted his balance.

“Haha, good job!”

The injured warrior praised as Tepo tumbled in his direction. He viciously stabbed out with his sword, forcing Tepo to parry hastily.

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But something strange happened again. The sword suddenly turned soft, avoiding Tepo’s knife like a fish in water. It ruthlessly aimed for its enemy’s eye.

What are these weird abilities? Is this how a team fights?

Cursing inwardly Tepo reacted instinctively. He activated his trusted [Chaotic Evasion].

Before the sword could find its target, the latter suddenly sped up. Tepo shot past the warrior, coming to a stop some distance away.

The young man was just about to turn around when he felt a pull below his feet. He looked down with shocked eyes, as the cloud below his feet softened and pulled him in.

Suddenly the female warrior appeared behind Tepo again. Her sword slashed down.

Tepo reacted hastily. He activated his [Heated Defense].

Two pained screams sounded out. The female warrior was suddenly engulfed in fire, her defensive spell not offering much protection.

On the other hand, Tepo managed to get rid of the cloud. The spell of a three-circled aspirant couldn’t stop him for long, but the sudden movement twisted his ankles dangerously.

Finalley the young warrior had a moment of respite. The constant attacks kept him on his toes, but now the female warrior is taken out of the equation.

Tepo hastily turned around with a grim look. He connected with his core. Suddenly a golden circle shone above the warrior’s head. It was the [Projection] ability.

The Core of Time acted instantly. A large amount of the Force of Time gathered towards it, fueling the continuous activation of [Subtle Strike]. Nearly invisible knifes began to assault the injured warrior.

“What is this?”

“Lariaa, are you ok?”

The warriors found it difficult to react to the sudden change. With their great teamwork they had forced their enemy into a tight spot but now everything fell apart so quickly.

And Tepo didn’t give his opponents any time to reorganize. He drew his pistol, firing five shots at the uninjured warrior, before dashing at him.

The warrior panicked. He jumped towards the right, trying to protect his vitals. A suddenly appearing defensive layer managed to divert a single bullet, but ultimately, he was still hit in the chest.

Blood rand down the warrior’s armor as his mind was paralyzed due to the pain. Suddenly Tepo appeared before him. A knife enveloped in a white energy slashed through the night, cutting the first throat.

“No! Uravn!”

The injured warrior shouted in horror as he saw his comrade fall. He was distracted for a second. Suddenly he felt a cold on his arm. A strike hit him, cutting deeply into his flesh.

Shocked by this hit, the warrior reacted slowly. This was a deadly mistake against the barrage of attacks fired by the [Projection] ability.

Immediately dozens of hidden knifes cut into the warrior’s body. He couldn’t even scream as he was separated into multiple pieces, an unwilling expression on his face until the end.

And with a thud the female warrior also fell to the ground, her burned body an unsightly mess.

Tepo took a deep breath. Although he wasn’t injured, this fight was rather difficult. If these warriors had at least one six-circled aspirant he would’ve been in life-threatening danger.

I guess that’s the difference between a trained team and a ragtag group of gangsters…

Suddenly a low mumble reached Tepo’s ears. The young man was pulled out of his thoughts as his eyes fell on Yerive’s body.

A blurry gaze looked at him. Yerive’s mouth moved barely as the red-robed youngster wasn’t even sure if his mind was making up hallucinations.

Tepo hastily approached his best friend. He kneeled down, trying to get Yerive’s eyes to focus on him.

“Yerive! Yerive. Hey, bro! Look at me! It’s me, Tepo!”

“Te… no.”

“Yes, yes. Tepo! What happened to you? Why are you here?”

“I…”

Yerive head slowly sagged forward towards his chest. Blood ran down the corner of his mouth, the blue around his eyes barely discernable in the darkness.

“F*ck! What did they do to you? Yerive! Hey! Stay with me!”

Tepo lightly patted his friend but received no reaction. Panic slowly crept into his mind.

“Hey, Yerive! Quick! Take this pill! I will bring you home and let you get better.”

Suddenly Yerive seemed to be triggered by something. The young man moved abruptly, almost swatting away the pill on Tepo’s palm.

“No, no! Not home! I don’t… not… home!”

Tepo was confused and frightened. He watched Yerive hyperventilating, not certain what was going on.

“Ok, ok! I won’t bring you home, alright?”

“Not… home.”

With those words Yerive tried to nod lightly but wasn’t able to muster any strength. The youngster’s body laid limp against the wall.

F*ck what happened to him? What did those b*stards do to my friend?

Tepo was glad that Yerive was still breathing at least. He carefully opened his friend’s mouth and put the pill in.

It’s alright even if the pill only dissolves slowly. It should be enough to stabilize him.

With a frown on his face Tepo looked around. A disgusting smell permeated the area. It was a mix of blood, vomit, and burned flesh. Tepo gritted his teeth as he looked at the three corpses.

You guys deserve it!

This time the young man felt no guilt at all. His best friend almost died here and those warriors didn’t appear as it they cared.

Pieces of sh*t. Why did you target Yerive?

Suddenly something fell into Tepo’s eyes. The warriors had insignias on their chests. It was a black pickaxe with a word written above it.

Lirane?! Are those guys working for the Lirane Minerals Group? For Tondka?!

But our rivalry wasn’t that big, was it? Would he go so far as to send someone to kill Yerive? Or was it a coincidence?

Hopefully everything will become clear once Yerive wakes up…

Tepo turned back towards his best friend, his expression softening. He took out another robe and wrapped Yerive in it before picking him up.

Next, he activated his [Projection] again. A large amount of [Infectious Flames] scattered in the area, burning all evidence away and only leaving ashes behind.

Only some piece of metal remained, which Tepo had to take into his storage bag before he vanished into the darkness.