May 24, 1256 of the Second Era

The portal vibrated, announcing the arrival of a new adventurer. Ian stepped out as he had done so many times before, calm and with his eyes closed so as not to be blinded by the intense light emanating from the powerful artifact. After waiting a few seconds, he opened his eyes without removing his hood.

In the old days, the portal had been built on a rock that was completely inaccessible. Nowadays, it was inside a heavily walled building completely isolated from the city except for a narrow entrance guarded by only two guards. Decades ago, the gate was heavily guarded, but currently there was a severe lack of troops.

Ian walked purposefully towards the destination he had in mind, however, on the way out of the walled enclosure, a guard motioned for him to stop. He was a newly promoted guard. He was dressed with the standard equipment and behaved as if he was the boss of the place. His race was aslanian, a very common one in Rocky Plateau, a decaying ancient city bordering the desert to the south.

Very haughty, the guard abruptly halted his advance. "Identification!"

Ian's patience began to wear thin, even more so when the inexperienced guard raised his voice even higher. "Are you deaf, stupid? I'm beginning to get tired of your kind. You have too much arrogance. I said; IDENTIFICATION!"

Ian glanced at the senior guard sitting on a stool and cleared his throat. The senior guard recognized him instantly and jumped to his feet so quickly that the stool rolled and hit the wall.

Elbowing his partner as soon as he reached him, he straightened up and waved nervously. "Welcome, sir! Excuse him! The boy is new!" Looking sternly at his partner. "He has never seen an Emerald Star before!"

The aslanian guard's face grew paler by the second as he tried to hide his growing terror.

Without looking at his face, Ian asked calmly. "What's your name?"

The guard spoke as if the words were burning in his mouth. "Ithor, sir! Excuse me, sir! I have met too many insolent adventurers since I joined, sir! I've been reckless!

More relaxed, Ian began to walk towards the exit right where they were. Stopping next to them, he slightly turned to the terrified guard. "Have a nice day, Ithor! Learn from your partner or I promise you an abruptly short life!"

As soon as he left the portal enclosure, the guard pissed on his pants. An Emerald Star stood above everything. It was the judge and the executioner of the universal law that followed the 9 precepts. Disturbing or insulting them was not a crime, but it could bring you closer to death much faster than you wanted.

Finally, Ian stepped out of the fortified enclosure, pausing for a moment to take in the view. From there, there was a spectacular view of the Rocky Plateau city walls and the fields outside. In the distance, a beautiful reddish sunset was disappearing behind the huge mountains to the north. Far to the south, a barren land that led to the original lands of the aslanians.

Ian walked across a rope bridge made of wooden planks held together by rope and secured by wooden pegs. A simple bridge that could only fit one person. Below, a cliff of sharp stones cruelly awaited him in case he fell. At the end, a small doorless opening led him into one of the corners of the city. Puzzled, he noticed that there was no one at the entrance.

Ian had visited the city before. It was a gloomy and humid place. Virtually all the buildings were wooden with black slate roofs. The sun seldom shone brightly, and everywhere was a lingering mossy green hue. The occasional rat could be seen in the streets, but that wasn't out of the ordinary.

Ian entered the city at a steady pace only to find that all the streets were eerily empty. A few individuals could be seen in the distance, but they soon disappeared out of his field of vision. As he passed, some windows and doors slammed shut. Ian had never aroused this kind of terror before, though some might complain of his lack of mercy.

Increasingly annoyed, Ian took from his inventory an item that greatly amplified his Perception and put it on. It was a circlet that he camouflaged with the hood and his own hair. Then, he headed towards one of the taverns where the Guild had a notice board with various assignments, job offers and missions, only to find the same problem. The tavern was almost empty except for a tavern keeper he had never seen before, and a lone adventurer having a drink. However, that was not the strangest thing. The nearby houses were full of people hiding quietly.

As Ian slowly made his way to the notice board in search of something that might give his struggling economy a little boost, the floor of the tavern creaked loudly, drawing the adventurer's attention. He laughed sympathetically, alluding to something that had been left behind on Earth. Something he hadn't heard in years. "Fuck, man! What are you carrying? Are you a garbage truck?”

Ignoring him completely, he headed for the counter. Going to High Abbey without a mission and for no apparent reason was drawing too much attention, and that was not in his plans. He would have to find a reason and, if possible, a partner. Lone adventurers were rare and too suspicious. Only someone powerful could afford to be a loner.

Ian asked the tavern keeper if he knew any interesting rumors, to which the tavern keeper responded unpleasantly. "What's with that fucking question?! As if we don't have enough with what you're doing!"

Ian stopped before reaching the counter and stared at him, waiting for him to say something more productive. However, for some reason, the aslanian tavern keeper pulled out a crossbow from under the counter and aimed it at him.

Despite having that deadly weapon in his hands, he looked very tense and insecure. "Don't come any closer, bastard! There's nothing here for you!"

Ian glanced sideways at the other adventurer in the tavern. "Don't look at me, he was just as rude to me when I asked him for sharim!"

Al-hek was a rather handsome and jovial young man with slightly tanned skin. His hair was short and black. He sported a clean-shaven goatee and wore fine southern silk clothing with a black leather vest. Clothes too thin for the temperature at that latitude.

Trying to prevent the tavern keeper from doing something stupid, Ian removed his hood, revealing a pair of deep honey-colored eyes. His hair was long and dark with violet tones. And to top it all off, a face too handsome to go unnoticed.

Acting calm and without looking at anyone in particular. "I have just arrived from Antharia. I don't understand why there is no one in the streets. Much less, why a tavern keeper friend of the Adventurer’s Guild to which I belong threatens me with a weapon that he's going to eat in 3, 2,...!"

Maybe he could have omitted that. Maybe he could have been nicer, but Ian wasn't like that. If you seek him, you will find him. The tavern keeper would soon find it out.

As soon as he moved the crossbow and aimed at his head, Ian was quick to react. Immediately raising the crossbow, the tavern keeper accidentally shot into the ceiling. With a sharp jerk, he mercilessly snatched it from his hands.

When the southern adventurer noticed the tavern keeper with the butt of the crossbow a millimeter away from his mouth, he knew he had to intercede. Very relaxed, he left the liquor he was holding on the table. "Can you tell he's scared, man?! There is no need for this shit!"

Ian stopped, watching him out of the corner of his eye. The adventurer slowly stood up, acting as friendly as he could. "My name is Al-hek, and yours?"

The tavern keeper responded nervously. "J-jink!"

Al-hek smiled. "I wasn't talking to you, but it's okay, Jink. Tell us, Jink! Why the hell are you attacking us if you know we belong to the Guild?"

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

Annoyed, the tavern keeper replied. "Why don't you show your damn credentials?! Huh?! It's because you're impostors! Bastards pretending to be members of the..."

Tired of all the nonsense, Ian grabbed the tavern keeper and lifted him up with one hand. Then, he dragged him over the counter in spite of the latter's bulk. "Where the hell are Orgh and Laila?!"

Filled with wrath, the tavern keeper spat in Ian's face. "You killed them, motherfuckers! You still have the nerve to ask?! You raped Laila in…!

Al-hek yelled at Ian. "Could you stop being such an asshole?" Addressing the tavern keeper. "We just fucking got here! Don't you get it? If you keep fucking that big guy like that, he's going to stick that crossbow in your ass before I finish my drink. Tell us what the hell is going on, dammit!"

A sudden creak in the wooden floor interrupted the interrogation. Ian looked at Al-hek, and Al-hek looked at whoever was behind him. Ian lowered the tavern keeper down to the floor as he raised his voice. "Finally someone willing to tell me what the hell is going on!"

It was a little girl with a kitchen knife in her hands. Tears streamed down her aslanian cheeks as she walked trembling. "Leave my daddy, monster!"

Ian crouched down so he wouldn't look so scary, but he was so big that even with one knee on the wooden floor, he was much taller than the little girl. "Yes! I am a monster! But I'm one that only eats monsters, not little girls!" Slowly taking out a huge greatsword with a red blade. "I'm hungry! Are you brave enough to tell me who are the monsters that make you cry?"

The little girl hesitantly lowered the knife and spoke in a trembling voice. "All the damn adventurers in your filthy Guild!" At that same instant, Ian turned invisible.

Al-hek unsheathed a dagger and a short sword. "What the hell are you doing?"

At that very moment, three adventurers appeared at the entrance of the tavern. Acting cocky. "Do you have the sharim we asked for yesterday?!"

The little girl ran to hide behind the counter while the tavern keeper tried to hide his concern. Al-hek, for his part, quickly sheathed his weapons.

As soon as he saw them, he understood that something wasn't right. They were acting strange and their voices didn't match their appearance. One of them even carried a bloodstained sack of coins. "Don't make that face, man! Today we'll pay for everything we've drunk this week!"

One of the strange cocky adventurers approached Al-hek. "Where did you come from, buddy? Where are those clothes from? Nib-hab? Rud-hem?"

Al-hek didn't trust them at all. Sneaking a glance at the other two, he noticed that one of them was also wearing some sort of well-made mask. Surely, commissioned to the cult of Nitherts. That gave him a very bad feeling, but their smell caught his attention much more. They smelled too much like aslanians.

"Three more with hoods and cloaks. I see it's normal to be an asshole here."

An awkward silence reigned for at least 3 seconds. The nearest adventurer laughed loudly as the one farther away slowly placed his hand behind his back, possibly reaching for a weapon. "That's funny, man! Want to have a drink with us?!"

In the blink of an eye, and after a strange noise followed by a vibration that disconcerted everyone, the two furthest adventurers flew into the air. The speed was such that when they collided with the stone wall, their blood splattered everywhere. It was as if a pair of mosquitoes had been squashed against the wall.

The surviving adventurer tried to draw his weapon, but Al-hek already had his sword placed at his throat. Shaking his head. "Tch, tch, tch! I wouldn't do that if I were you, buddy!"

Before the adventurer could drop his sword, he began to scream as something unseen lifted him up. "Aaaagh! Damn half-humans! What the hell are you doing? We're going to kill you all!" At that instant, his skull began to crack as if someone was cracking a walnut with their bare hands.

Ian revealed himself at that instant. Everyone watched as he held him down with both hands while crushing his head. The tavern keeper covered the little girl's eyes and ears trying to prevent her from seeing what was about to happen. Al-hek on the other hand, was unwilling to listen to the deafening screams any longer and plunged the sword into his heart. With a quick flick of his wrist, he ended his suffering. He died almost instantly, and with him, the screams.

Ian looked at him angrily, to which Al-hek responded defiantly. "Where the fuck did you want the screams to be heard?! In Antharia?!"

Ian clenched his jaws tightly. With a voice that held overwhelming hatred. "I just watched that bastard and four others rape and kill Laila 3 days ago."

Al-hek looked at him puzzled. "That you just saw it? What the hell...?"

Ian bent down and removed from one corpse a soft mask that hid his aslaninan face. The tavern keeper couldn't believe his eyes. "He's one of ours pretending to be one of yours! Why?!"

Ian asserted. "Two aslanian outlaws disguised as adventurers and a half-human adventurer!" Then, he quickly glanced at the entrance to the tavern. "More are coming. I count five."

Al-hek lowered his tone and pointed to the kitchen door as he spoke to the tavern keeper. "Hide with the little girl and be quiet!" Looking at Ian. "You! Turn invisible again while I get their attention and..."

Ian walked towards the entrance quietly. "No invisibility for another 20 minutes!"

Al-hek didn't ask. He understood that the invisibility didn't come from a skill, but from an item that had that skill attached to it. "So? Are you going to go head-on?"

Ian positioned himself to the right of the front door, right next to a bookshelf. "Sit down and drink to my health! Unless you want to see your pretty southern clothes splattered with blood, don't even get up!"

Al-hek raised his eyebrows in disbelief as Ian equipped himself with a different weapon. With all the calm in the world, he sat down and poured himself a drink. "Ok! What's your name? I want to know the name of the asshole I could die for today!" Ian didn't utter a word.

Hasty footsteps approaching began to be heard from the street. Al-hek guessed that there were at least four, possibly five. Slightly tense, he showed his friendliest face and smiled. As soon as the 5 individuals crossed the wide entrance of the tavern and saw the corpses of their accomplices, Al-hek raised his voice indignant while gesturing with his hands. "I warned them! I swear I warned them that the floor of the entrance was super slippery! But nothing! They came running and.... Well! As you can see...!"

The faces of the fake adventurers could not reflect at all their bewilderment at the sight of all that blood. One of them quickly unsheathed his sword. That one was the first to die. Ian's greatsword went through his head to the sternum. He didn't even have time to scream.

With a strong kick, Ian tossed the inert body onto the other 4, but only caught one of them off guard. The closest one barely felt his head come off from his neck as his mask and hood flew splattered with blood.

The third fell to the ground just after losing an arm and a leg. The screams were terrible. The fourth fell unconscious to the ground after a bash with the weapon's hilt. For some reason, Ian didn't want him dead. The fifth one tried to run away after getting rid of the corpse of the first one. However, when Ian helped him lose a foot, it became quite difficult for him.

Jumping on the fifth impostor, Ian severed the hand with which he intended to draw his sword. Ripping off his mask, he threatened him while clenching his jaws. "What's this all about? Speak or die!"

The aslanian thought of spitting in Ian's face, but in so much pain he just said something strange. "Yaaaagh! Fuck you damn half-humans! Long live Hasharth!" Ian raised an eyebrow and plunged the greatsword into his face.

Without thinking twice, Al-hek approached the one who was screaming, thinking he could get some information out of him before he bled to death. However, Ian got there first and began torturing him savagely, plunging the greatsword into his intact leg.

Al-hek snorted in disgust. "Fuck man! We're not going to find out anything this way! We need to know...!"

Ian rudely interrupted him. "We need more of them to come! It bores me just thinking about having to go out looking for them all over the city!"

Al-hek looked at him with a poker face. "Are you serious? We need to know who they are and what they want...!" Before Al-hek finished the sentence, Ian was already finishing off the aslanian.

Taking his time, Ian responded as he wiped the blood off the blade with the clothes from the corpses. "I already know the answer to both questions and I don't give a shit who they are and what they want!" Staring at him. "Stay here while I...!"

The little girl ran out of the kitchen, dodging the tavern keeper's attempts to stop her. "Monster, wait!"

Ian watched her out of the corner of his eye until the little girl finally stopped beside him. Trembling as tears fell uncontrollably down her cheeks. "Aren't you hungry anymore, monster?"

Ian looked at her seriously. "I'm really, really hungry!"

The answer seemed to light up the little girl's face. "Are you going after the sorcerer then? Are you going after Hasharth? I know where his girlfriend lives! She lives near here!"