An Undead Harpy flew over the manor’s roof. Its guttural shriek gave me goosebumps, and my back stiffened. They were a relatively low-level monster that I could easily chop in half with my mana blade, but my body reacted on its own. The putrid flesh and the void eyes reminded me too much of the Lich’s undead army.

Shu sat on the kitchen bench and patted my back.

“Miss Elincia told me this is your first Monster Surge, but don’t worry, it happens from time to time,” the little harpy said with the same maternal tone she used with Loki.

I couldn’t help but smile.

“I guess we have lots of strong friends to help us, so there’s nothing to fear,” I said, shifting in place to face her. “Believe it or not, I saw Risha pick up a Crystal Matriarch once.”

“No way!” Shu said, her little amber eyes shining.

“Yes, way,” I replied.

The stove crackled as Ash added another piece of firewood. The sky was cloudy, and a chilly breeze blew from the northern mountains. It was well past noon, and the day was dim and gloomy. Every now and then, the screech of an Undead Harpy broke the silence, and every time, the kids froze. Captain Garibal’s barrier remained strong, and no monster stayed around for long.

Astrid crossed the door, massaging the Corruption spot on her chest. From her hip hung the gun Ginz had built for her. The thick wooden frame and the wider muzzle gave it the appearance of a blunderbuss flintlock pistol, and her fingers were stained with the residue from Ginz’s experimental shells.

Elincia couldn’t hide her jealous expression. The gun was quite stylish for a rushed piece of craftwork.

Astrid sat near the windows and signaled Zaon to approach. “Care to give me a shoulder massage, Z? I think I dislocated something.”

I expected Elincia to pull out one of her alchemical remedies, but she remained unfazed.

“How are things outside?” I asked.

“The royal army has things under control. The Forest Warden gnawed on the outer wall, but it seems it retreated for now, and there’s only a few undead still prowling around,” Astrid clenched her jaw when Zaon applied pressure on her left shoulder. “Dammit, Zaon! That’s not how you touch a lady!”

“I barely touched you!” Zaon defended himself.

I elbowed Elincia, and she rummaged through her medicine pouch. A moment later, Astrid had an arm out of her shirt and a green, smelly cataplasm around her shoulder. Astrid wasn’t happy with the smell because she pinched her nose and kept it that way as she grimaced. The little ones copied her between laughs.

I let out a sigh of relief and hoped for a second wave not to come.

“Don’t let your guard down. This was only the first wave!” Shu said. Then, as if she had forgotten what she just said, she jumped down from her seat and started chasing the snake twins like she was a stiff zombie.

“They really know the drill, uh?” I said, looking at Elincia.

“They know there’s a high-level Fortifier protecting the orphanage,” she shrugged.

I silently thanked Prince Adrien for lending us Captain Garibal. The orphanage had enough firepower to fend off a few Undead Harpies, but the safest option was always not to engage. We had four members who had recently got their Classes, and I knew they were eager to put them to the test against real monsters.

“Can I go outside now?” Firana interrupted my train of thought.

“No, Firana. You can’t go outside,” I replied before even my brain could fully process the question. I was expecting her to push the matter.

Firana pouted. “But if I kill an Undead Harpy, I’ll probably get two or three levels! Astrid said things are under control, we just have to catch a stray one and beat it to a pulp!”

Ilya seemed to agree despite her silence on the matter.

Before answering, I searched through my memories. The fifteen-year-old me would’ve been thrilled about hunting down zombies. The magic powers were only the cherry on top. I decided not to go too harsh on Firana, but Elincia got ahead.

“You’ll start hunting Slimes, Giant Rats, and Blood Hawks like the rest of us!” Elincia interjected. “A level fifteen undead is too much for any of you. They don’t feel pain, and they aren’t hindered by superficial wounds.”

Firana sighed and threw her head back. “What about a Black Wolf?”

“You will hunt Black Wolves when you hit level ten. Their hide is strong as iron, and unless you can pack a punch, you’ll only scratch it,” Elincia said. “Those are the house rules, and if you don’t like them, look for another place to live.”

The last part was a bit harsh, but Firana refrained from complaining.

The little ones mocked Firana, chanting, ‘You’ll only scratch it’.

[Awareness] informed me there had been five minutes since the last Undead Harpy flew over the orphanage. I looked at Holst’s timer. There was a bit more than an hour of mana into the contraption. I recognized the ‘Gradual’, ‘Recharge’, and ‘Light’ runes, which made sense considering the illuminated crevice surrounding the silver pocket watch. The other runes had to be the ones that determined the flux of mana matched the time set.

It would make a good fuse for an explosive enchantment, but that was a project for future Rob.

“Miss Elincia, would you join me for a moment?” I asked.

Elincia nodded and followed me through the kitchen door.

“They are going to K.I.S.S,” Shu muttered as we left.

“Don’t say those things!” Lyra said.

I wished Shu was right, but kissing was far on the horizon. My greatest worry was Holst’s warning. At least her spelling had improved. I guided Elincia to the sleeping quarters where none of the kids could spy on our conversation. The corridors were cold, but the sleeping quarters were more pleasant thanks to a strategically hidden brazier with Warm Stones.

We were alone.

“I have to go,” I said, pulling the mana timer out of my pocket. “If Holst is telling the truth, Kellaren was only a part of the problem, and the orphanage is still in danger.”

“If he is telling the truth, that is,” Elincia reiterated. “I don’t trust Holst.”

“If Holst wanted to harm me, he would have called me into a deserted alley and not into the Great Hall,” I retorted.

The more I thought about Holst’s words, the more I feared he was right. The stolen documents revealed that Kellaren was the nexus between the Marquis and the Osgirians, but that didn’t answer all the questions. Why would Kellaren want to poison Captain Kiln during the feast? Nowhere in them were any hints that Kellaren had any intentions of becoming the new Captain of the Guard. It was the opposite. Kellaren was going to pledge loyalty to the Osgirians and handle the security of the new caravans. He was going to be too far away from Farcrest to be Captain.

“I don’t think the Marquis put the Silence Hex on Holst,” I said.

Elincia gritted her teeth. “I know. The Marquis wouldn’t want to poison Izabeka. Maybe one of the courtiers? Historically, Lord Tirno’s family were the captains of the Guard until Izabeka’s father. He might want to reclaim the position.”

Generational quarrels between nobles were always an option.

“What about Janus? His nickname is literally ‘the Weasel’,” I pointed out.

Elincia raised an eyebrow, incredulous. “Sir Janus? Really? After everything he has done for us? He got us to the tournament, and we even know about his dirty business. I don’t think he wishes us ill despite his… questionable past.”

That was a good point.

“Besides, I don’t see Sir Janus being willing to put all the work of the Captain of the Guard on his shoulders,” Elincia added. “With all the due respect Imperial Knights deserve, he’s more of a drunkard than a hard-working strategist.”

I couldn’t help but agree with Elincia. Sir Janus seemed too comfortable with the status quo of Farcrest to attempt a climb through the city ranks. Not that he needed it either; as an Imperial Knight, he was already at the cusp, just below the Marquis.

Elincia grabbed my hand and gave me a worried look.

“I know you have to go, but take Risha with you.”

My first reaction was to accept, but Holst’s warning haunted me. Be undetectable, he said. The greater the group, the easier it was to detect, and Risha wasn’t, by far, the most stealthy member of the orphanage. I wondered if I should take Astrid, but the Corruption in her chest had me worried. It was better not to put her in a situation where she had to resort to her skills.

I squeezed my brain.

“Holst plans to make the culprit confess, so we need stealth to overhear the conversation, and I’m the only one in the orphanage with enough mana control to hide my presence,” I said.

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“I could learn,” Elincia interrupted me.

I pulled the enchanted timer. “There’s no time left.”

Elincia grabbed my face and forced me to look into her eyes. “If it happens that you need to do something stupid and dangerous, remember that I love you and that we need you here.”

A smile tugged my lips.

“I wouldn’t change this for anything.”

Before I could lean for the kiss, Elincia dragged me back to the bedroom and prepared a small potion bag. She packed the usual: Health, Stamina, and Mana potions plus disinfectants and an arrangement of potions and ointments for several maladies. When I complained, she shut me down and said we didn’t know what kind of undead I could bump into during the trip to the Great Hall.

While Elincia was packing the potions, I grabbed a few pebbles from my stash and enchanted my version of a flash grenade. Holst had summoned me to the Great Hall, which was a huge advantage. If I got caught, I only had to run and hug the Prince’s boots to be safe. I couldn’t rule out the possibility of the culprit being the Marquis. Things would get nasty for the orphanage if that was the case, but we could always move to Vedras’ domain.

I wished I had more time to experiment with the runes.

Elincia offered me the shotgun, but I refused. I had enough firepower with my mana blades, and she needed something effective against bigger monsters in case Captain Garibal’s barrier failed. I crossed my fingers for that not to be the case.

“We will weather this storm,” I said.

“Of course we will,” Elincia replied, putting the potion bag in my hands and giving me a quick peck. “You’ll get the rest once you return,” she added with a mischievous smile.

Without letting any of the kids see me, I left the orphanage. A cold breeze bit my face, and my breath turned into dense white clouds. I closed my eyes and let my mana sense sharpen. There was a subtle area spell over the valley, and the black clouds covering the sun didn’t help to counteract it. A quick glance at the enchanted timer told me I had shy of an hour to get to the Great Hall.

I pulled up the flaps of my jacket and threw the cloak over my head. Just as Astrid had reported, the Monster Surge had subsided for the moment. There were still a few patrols with the colors of the nobility going around, but no undead in sight. If the Lich had decided to reappear, he was going to stumble upon the surprise of a lifetime: the most powerful warriors of the kingdom were reunited in the city he decided to attack. I grinned. The damned undead deserved it.

I moved through the Northern District’s alleys to cut into the main market. My feet moved automatically over the familiar path while I focused on the small sounds around me. I fed [Awareness] extra mana just in case a Sapling spawned behind my back. While [Awareness] was in charge of the detection, my mind wandered. With Kellaren out of the picture, the list of suspects grew thin.

Who benefitted the most from Captain Kiln’s disappearance? Holst? He was already a Preceptor at the Imperial Library. Janus? The rank of Captain wasn’t more prestigious than being an Imperial Knight. The Marquis? Why would he want to cut his right arm?

In any other circumstances, I would’ve suspected the poisoning was a false flag attack on herself, but Captain Kiln wasn’t like that. She had nothing to gain either. She wasn’t a noble, so she couldn’t ascend to the throne, and she was already famous enough among the citizens of Farcrest. Ginz and Elincia adored her, and even Risha showed lots of respect towards her.

The rustle of cobblestone against cloth brought me back to the present.

“Who’s there?” I asked. If it was a patrol, I didn’t want to get assaulted by mistake.

Janus appeared around the corner, dressed in all black like the day we attacked the manor.

“You are very hard to detect, Caretaker. Maybe I taught you too well,” he greeted as a second figure entered the alley.

Kellaren Odrac-Aias. His skin was pale, his hair caked with dirt, and a grimace of hate disfigured his face. It seemed he had spent the last week lost in the Farlands. The cloak over his shoulders hung by a thread and his riding boots were covered in mud.

“Told you I would serve it on a silver platter,” Janus said.

Kellaren drew his sword and walked forward with the staggering step of a drunk. I channeled my mana. A blue flame surrounded my body, and a bright mana blade appeared in my hand. I let [Awareness] run wild, dispelling any superfluous thought from my mind. Even the surprise and anger disappeared as I put my whole attention on Kellaren’s movements.

“Damn you, Scholar,” he muttered with a raspy voice.

I used [Identify]

Name: Kellaren Odrac-Aias, Human.

Class: Warrior Lv.41

Titles: Silver Warrior, Charismatic, Weasel.

Passive: Riding Lv.5, Swordsmanship Lv.5, Interrogation Lv.7, Extortion Lv.6, Haggling Lv.4

Skills: Rally Troops, Fearless, Iron Skin, Puncture, Armor Fortify, Taunt, Armor Break, Berserk.

Kellaren channeled his mana, and a silvery aura surrounded his body. His Character Sheet hadn’t changed since the last time we fought. Armor Break and Puncture worried me, as they could render my mana shield useless. Iron Skin and Armor Fortify might be able to stop my mana blade, but I was confident in my penetrating power. Silver sparks emerged from his body and his eyes turned pure white. [Awareness] announced he was going Berserk.

I had almost killed Kellaren once, and I was willing to do it again.

Before I could move, however, Janus used Shadow Step, and with a clean swing, he severed Kellaren’s head. The silver sparks died, and his body fell lifeless into the cobblestone. A shiver ran down my spine as the head rolled against an old crate. So much for Iron Skin.

“Don’t mind me, just tying up loose ends,” Janus said, unfazed by the blood and gore. “Regrettably, Caretaker, you died from your wounds after fighting Kellaren.”

I pulled mana from the Fountain just as Janus blinked. [Awareness] couldn’t follow the movement, and for an instant, I was blind. Then, he reappeared behind me and stabbed my mana shield. The Fountain mana held for a second before shattering, but it was enough for me to turn and block. Janus tried to blink away, but I noticed my currents of mana interrupted his spell.

It seemed Janus hadn’t lied when he told me blinking was a delicate matter.

Before I could react, Janus kicked me in the chest and jumped back.

“Izabeka said you have the strength of a level forty, so I was curious about what you can do against me.”

I summoned two flying mana blades and attacked. Janus blinked out of the path of the first one and hit the second when he rematerialized two meters off the ground. The mana blade shattered into fine blue dust. I guessed he had some sort of anti-spell skill but I sensed no surge of mana from his body. It was the raw mana he was pouring into his sword.

“You were working with Holst all this time!” I panted as I had a moment of respite. Even in a fight, my curiosity was greater than my fighting reaction.

Janus let out a dry laugh.

“Holst is as smart as he is prideful, but that’s his main weakness. I knew he would eventually rebel, and the moment he decided to escort after the fight, I knew he was scheming something,” Janus said. “It was very bold on his part to believe two Scholars could beat me at my own game.”

Janus blinked, and I pulled mana from the Fountain. The Corruption on my chest clung to my flesh like the jaws of a spider, but I ignored the pain. There was no time to process the mana. Janus crashed my shield with his sword, but a second one, made up with my own mana, was underneath.

Janus’ sword bounced, and I had an instant to counter. I pushed my [Swordsmanship] to the very extreme, but Janus was faster and stronger than anyone I had faced before. With a simple movement of his blade, he could push my whole arm away and his footwork was so swift my sword could only cut thin air.

Janus blinked, and before [Awareness] could locate him, I felt the sting of iron on my shoulder and warm blood drenching my jacket. I groaned, but when I swung my sword, Janus was already outside my range. He didn’t need to blink to get away. I looked at the timer. The blue line was almost gone. If Holst was as smart as Janus said, he would realize I was in trouble when none of us showed up.

It was ironic to think my survival depended on the orphanage’s bogeyman, but [Awareness] barred me from having any thoughts unrelated to the combat.

“Why are you doing this?” I asked, pulling mana from the Fountain and processing it into mine. My shoulder continued bleeding, and my arm lost its strength.

“I told you I’m tying up loose ends. Your death has to look like the product of a fight,” Janus said, raising an eyebrow. “You don’t deceive me. I know you are stalling the fight, but no matter how much you try to replenish your mana, I can drain it even faster.”

I turned around to run away, but Janus blinked into the opposite exit of the alley.

“You are dying in this place, Caretaker.”

We crossed swords. The only thing that separated me from complete panic was [Awareness] suppressing my emotions. Fighting Janus felt like trying to fend off a bear with bare hands. He wasn’t just a great fighter, but he had superhuman strength and speed. My mana blades were too slow to catch him, and the mana shards weren’t strong enough to harm him. I felt helpless.

“Why are you doing this? I’m not going to reveal we raided Kellaren’s manor. Your secret is safe with me,” I said.

“For a Scholar, you are very naive,” Janus lowered his sword and laughed.

My heart was about to burst out of my chest.

“You are dangerous, Robert Clarke. You appeared in Farcrest, and six months later, you are the favorite of Prince Adrien. Not only that. You started working at the orphanage, and magically, there are two strong contenders for the Imperial Academy,” Janus explained. “Let’s say your mere presence is endangering my position as Farcrest's prodigy.”

I looked at the enchanted timer. Only a sliver of mana remained.

“I don’t want your position or your fame,” I said.

“It’s irrelevant. You already caught the eye of the royalist faction, and so did Zaon and Firana. I can’t allow that to happen,” Janus gave me a wicked smile. “Zaon and Firana will slip away from the orphanage to search for you, I’ll be waiting for them.”

The timer was down.

I loaded my flash pebble with mana and threw it at Janus' feet. He blinked away. Then, I grabbed a second pebble and threw it up over the rooftops. I covered my eyes and hardened my defenses. Janus reappeared just as the first pebble flashed. It wasn’t a direct hit, but he was blinded nonetheless. His face turned into a mask of anger as he covered his eyes.

“I can still sense you!” He roared.

I expanded my mana shield while hiding my presence to hamper Janus’ detection skills. He knew I was there, but his Sentinel skills weren’t precise enough to outline my body. Janus used Shadow Step and broke my mana shield with a single swing of his sword but missed my body by more than a palm. My attacks, however, were useless as he could sense the danger and move away.

The next pebble flashed on Janus’ nose.

“I’m going to skewer you!” Janus growled. “You can’t get away from me!”

I couldn’t. Every time I managed to come close to the exit of the alley, he used Shadow Step and forced me to retreat. I could only stall the combat, but that was everything I needed. Holst might be a bad person, but he wasn’t an idiot.

Janus rubbed his eyes, recovering her sight, and I threw my last pebble. I cast Stun Gaze, but the spell painfully bounced against Janus’ magical defenses. I was running out of options.

My heart skipped a beat when [Awareness] caught the footsteps. Heavy footsteps.

Captain Kiln dashed through the hallway, sword in hand. In an instant, she channeled her mana, and a golden chain emerged from her palm. Janus tried to blink away, but I channeled my mana to interrupt the skill. The magical chain coiled around Janus’ leg, disrupting the currents of black mana within his body and preventing him from using Shadow Step. Then, a second chain caught his wrist and a third his neck. Captain Kiln smiled triumphantly.

“You are supposed to be a mere Knight,” Janus gurgled, trying to ease the chain around his neck with his free hand.

Izabeka tightened the grip with gusto. “Do you really think I still have a Basic Class by level fifty? I’m not a Knight.”

Janus grinned.

“And I’m not a Shadow Fencer, either.”

Black mana swirled around his body, and he was gone.