Dawn was about to break and the streets of the town were loud as the shop owners set up their merchandise. Magnum was still sleeping on his clean and soft bed while the mist around the town slowly disappeared.

"Help me!" The sweet voice of a woman kept on rewinding on Magnum's dream. He was standing on a dune and then the dune collapsed dropping him into a cave. In the cave, the woman's voice became louder and a silhouette of a long-haired woman started to form.

"Help me!"

He woke up staring at the ceiling of his room.

“That fucking demon kept me up all night,” he said while massaging his head, “I should have listened and wore those charms.”

He stood up and realized that he had no plans for the day. What is he gonna do again in this town? Get stronger? How? For the first time since he started his quest to kill the Grand Demon, he was clueless about what he would do next. He always thought it was simple. Find the demon and kill it.

“The Knights have issues. The mercs also have issues. Everyone has issues. This world is cruel. I can’t depend on them. And no one should.”

He took his bag from his cabinet and put it on his bed. He then looked out the window and took a glance at his wagon.

“Wait? Why am I so relaxed? I should not trust these people yet.”

He wore a shirt and quickly walked down the stairs from his room which was on the third floor of the inn. He passed some people along the way; some were wearing robes while others looked like mercenaries. They were talking about the desert but turned quiet when Magnum opened his door. Nothing was missing from his wagon. He checked twice and everything was the same as he left. As he headed back up, the smell of breakfast on the first floor was so inviting that he asked the attendant how much he would pay for it. It was free and he was shocked when he heard it. What’s more shocking to him was he could ask them to bring the breakfast to his room. So he did request it to be brought up.

The party that he passed by was gone. They probably went to the old Kingdom as the Inn attendant said.

Back in his room, a map of the country was displayed on the wall. He noticed something different so he took out his map and spread it on his bed. This map was from his parents which had some notes written on some locations. They used it back when they were still mercenaries. He also took out the replica instrument that Matrina gave. His parent’s map doesn't show the “Old Kingdom” that the attendant mentioned but the map on the wall had some ruins drawn on the desert.

“This must be the old kingdom. Wait… what is this?”

On the same spot where the old kingdom was supposed to be, his map has a handwritten note.

“Black Star.”

Both maps also don't show the town he was in. And now he remembered that he did not see the name of the town written on the entrance when he came.

“It doesn’t have a name? Yes! But they’ve been here! White Talon!”

He saw a talon drawn to the location where the town was supposed to be.

“What is this town then? Is this really a haven for mercs?”

He checked the compass and aligned it on the maps. It was pointing to the supposedly, Old Kingdom at the southwest. He pressed it again and it pointed to Midandria.

“Two locations the witch was looking at,” Magnum stared at the map for several minutes. He didn’t say anything. He let his brain remember it but realized one thing. He can’t do anything if he’s too weak as Garvin and Matrina said.

“It looks like I have to be a Knight if I want to get stronger. Maybe Matrina’s master lives here? She wouldn’t ask me to go here for nothing. Okay, it's settled now. I have to check this town and maybe find a master or get stronger by any means.”

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Magnum ate his delicious breakfast and went down. Before he set out, he saw another map in the main lobby of the Inn. It was identical to the one displayed on the wall in his room.

“Hey, Mister.” he approached the smiling attendant.

“Yes, Mister Silvers. How can I help?”

“The ruins, why do scholars go there?”

“Ahh, for the most part for the adventure! The old kingdom was a relic from thousands of years ago back to the age of light. Its magnificent architecture will mistify you. Some go there to look for old instruments, and artifacts from long ago that could fetch a high price from collectors. You should go and see it!”

“That’s all?”

“Yes, that’s all. Are you looking for something specific?” the attendant wondered.

“No, I was just curious.”

“Good, just ask me anything, Mr. Silvers.”

Magnum went out of the inn with more questions in his head. He was curious about this Old Kingdom. Walking outside, he blended well in his casual clothes. His suspicion of the mercs lessened but he needed to be sure. Lots of mercs were walking around. He thought that he would be killed instantly if he angered these mercs so he should play it nice while quietly observing.

A bell rang and the people stopped and looked at each other for several seconds. The bell rang again and the mercs started running.

“Dragons! Levels E to C!” a voice shouted from one of the walls.

The people proceeded to continue whatever they were doing. Magnum followed where the mercs ran. They went towards the southern gate. They started shouting directions and positions. Magnum went out of the gate and saw the wide desert. The town was on a cliff barricaded by stone walls that measured up to his chest. In the desert, huge infected beasts about the size of mother demons started running in their direction and many smaller ones followed.

One merc saw him walking towards the wall.

“Hey!”

Magnum was pulled by a man taller than him. He got pulled back at the gate. More mercs came in and went left and right where huge cannons and arrows were placed. They all got their weapons and started shouting.

“Take your pick 'em blow em up!” The man taller than Magnum was the one giving orders.

Defeaning cannon balls flew exploding upon impact. It went on for ten seconds. After the barrage, smoke and dust rose along with the stench of gunpowder and burnt demons. The march of demons continued. The mercs now released huge arrows from ballistas, raining and piercing the destroyed scales of the demons.

“So this is how mercenaries fight. Father was right."

The huge cannons and ballistas were so effective; the huge demons fell quickly and the leftovers were shot one by one with long-range guns. However, a few were able to survive and kept on moving towards them.

No one said a word until one of them fell down, slashed in half. The next one was also slashed in half. Everyone cheered.

Magnum didn’t bring his lens but he squinted his eyes and saw a man in red oriental armor running in the sand. He was carrying a lance, “He killed them in one slash?”

He tried to follow the man with his eyes but he was gone as quick as his slashes.

“Scavengers! Ready!” it was the tall man again. He started to notice something about the man. He looked like someone he met recently. He looked like Garvin.

“Of course, they need those dead demons as well.”

Magnum watched the operation. Observing everything he can learn. One guy on a tower was looking through his lenses to check for any survivors. “Go!” he said.

Huge beetles with mercenaries on their back started running on the sand. Magnum never saw such huge and quick beetles.

“Kid! What are you doing here! Go back to the town!” A different man pushed him back inside the walls but he went back outside to observe.

“Over already? These are the White Talons. So efficient.”

Magnum walked to the person who was giving orders. They were watching the scavengers in the desert taking demon dust.

“Who was that man killing the demons up close?” Magnum asked.

“You mean dragons? That’s the Guild Master.”

“The Guild Master… ” Magnum said.

The man closely looked at Magnum, “Why do you ask? Are you just curious or do you want to join the guild? We’re always looking for recruits, you know.”

“I’m just curious. Do you use gunblades?” Magnum said.

“Ah! Gunblades? A few still use them. For the most part, it is no longer needed.”

Magnum felt some hope for himself, “Can you kill mother demons using gunblades?”

The man smiled, ”If you want to know more. You visit the guild office.”

“Over Over!” The man at the tower shouted.

The mercs cheered as the scavengers started moving back to the wall. They stood up and went back to town. Meanwhile, Magnum remained and watched the desert. Two mercs walked passed behind him. It looked like they came from below from a trap door beside the gate.

“They said there was good news from the experiments!” One of them said.

Magnum pretended not to hear.

“Which ones? The dragons?” one of them said.

“On the dragons. Let’s go and see!”

Magnum followed the mercs. They walked through the town and then to another gate outside. He stopped there. He saw them going towards the forest at the foot of the mountain. Despite everything that he saw, he’s still suspicious. He started to feel angry but he couldn’t let his anger rouse suspicion.

“What experiments are these mercs doing?”