“Where are we going?” Chris-no, Mongrel asked Unnamed. An odd man he followed for reasons he did not know himself.

Call it instinct, but he felt like the halberd wielder could make him stronger. During the skirmishes at Fourth Tide, the man walked into the Empire’s flaming barrage and walked out without a single singed hair.

Mongrel’s self-taught stealth had been utterly useless when he tried to hide from Ebony. Hiding himself physically had its limits and the quality of the equipment he bought wasn’t that high. He couldn’t exactly afford good equipment after he became a freelancer.

There wasn’t a blacksmith that would contract with a one-armed, one-legged freelancer. It would not be good for their reputation if armour made by that blacksmith resulted in a loss of limbs. Buying stuff off the shelf was expensive and custom orders were even further out of reach.

The old man, Wilson also extended an offer but the Bludgeon Academy and their techniques just weren’t suited for him. All his students and instructors were huge and muscular. With a lot of power techniques and an enviable body enhancement skill.

Mongrel struggled with that. With a lineage that barely touched the power of mana, he had been fumbling about with mana manipulation. However, the loss of limbs forced him to learn how to manipulate mana quickly. He was pretty proud of how far he had come in terms of mana manipulation.

A copy of how his old escort party, Dina controlled her wires. He was somewhat glad he listened to her and Rowent chat about mana control tips and tricks.

‘I wonder if they’re still alive.’ Mongrel shook the thought away. He asked around every branch of Z&Z he had been to but they didn’t share such information with him. Listening to conversations in bars and taverns wasn't exactly a good way to find low-level, unknown people.

He didn’t even know if they still worked for the company. They probably were. The shortest contracts that were beneficial in the long run lasted at least a decade and they didn’t ‘die’ like he did. If he understood them right, Rowent probably signed a contract that lasted at least 5 decades or more. A mage needed a lot of resources if they weren’t from a mage lineage.

5 decades was just a third of a Journeyman’s lifespan and getting to Master was pretty much guaranteed for anyone. To a Master with 350 to 400 years of lifespan, 50 years was a cheap price to pay to learn, especially for a continent-wide organisation which dipped its hands into almost every market.

Chris himself signed a 3-decade contract that he had planned to renew. His ambitions were too small. Any random freelancer in bigger cities could beat their ‘elite’ escort party 3 to 1. A small town like Plainston in a safe place at the edge of the Empire made him think he was better than his peers.

Seeing Ebony once in the Cielfast city was a…numbing experience. He was lost and didn’t know how to feel, or how to react.

Was he jealous?

Jealous at how fast and easy the man obtained power.

Maybe not easy, but definitely fast.

Here he was, level 240 after putting his life on the line for the past few years. Perhaps being at a disadvantage of two limbs put him in greater danger and his levels increased faster than he thought possible but then he saw Ebony at 300. Likely already deep into preparation for his next evolution.

All his skills at tier 1s and 2s weren’t hitting hard enough. Barely drawing blood from a Troll. Shiftily edging at the corners of the battlefield and exploding with a mixture of his berserk skills and enhancement was how he tore apart a couple of enemies every skirmish.

That was an accomplishment in the militia. Not many even had more than three or four kills under their belts. That was throughout the entire campaign and he had that number every battle. However, it wasn’t even close to the vanguard or any member of the first assault squad.

Every explosion of power left him weak and powerless and required him to run and hide behind ranks.

Unnamed was the exact image of how strong a warrior should be. Everything that young Chris had hoped to be. Taking on strong enemies by himself and aiding party members that need it the most. Nothing the Trolls could throw at him could make him flinch.

However, that dream had long been crushed.

Mongrel didn’t need or want to be a strong warrior. He just needed enough power not to lose a close one. More importantly, not lose himself. His second Core Skill, Silent Frenzy was an embodiment of his new hopes.

A berserk skill that kept his sound mind relatively intact.

As for the drawbacks, Mongrel hasn’t discovered what it was. Excluding the obvious stamina expenditure and body aches. He knew the tier 2 skill had a drawback, there was no way such a convenient berserk skill existed. It was almost common knowledge. Maybe that knowledge was what made him hold back and he never used Silent Frenzy for an extended period.

Mongrel hopped along on one leg. He preferred to get on the ground with his hand supporting him but he got used to hopping when he was in a city or town so that he didn’t stand out too much.

Unnamed, the halberd user didn’t reply as they climbed up the cliff and re-entered Fourth Tide.

“Boy. The war isn’t over.” The man shed off his casual and relaxed posture and had a hardened expression.

“What? The Trolls retreated and centralised the battle with a duel supremacy at First Tide right?”

“That’s not what I was talking about. This farce can’t threaten the Empire. The only Archdukes fighting are the Elves. The bulk of the army isn’t even present.”

Mongrel was extremely confused at what the man was saying. It was common sense to him that Trolls terrorised their continent, Elva for thousands of years. A war happened every few hundred years and this one was particularly forceful. The number of invaders was unlike at any point in history.

“Don’t be so shocked. Everything changed during the last generation. You should know about some of the Barrier King’s exploits.”

Needless to say, even a country bumpkin like him knew about the Barrier King.

One man who shielded every city and town on the entire continent in a nearly indestructible barrier. Winning the previous war with the least casualties ever recorded.

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

The deaths throughout the continent were said to have dropped so much over the past century that the population nearly increased by a third. Birthrates weren’t exactly high to begin with but freelancers and citizens rarely died.

Citizens didn’t have to fear a dungeon break overrunning entire towns.

They didn’t have to worry about a strong level 400 monster migrating and destroying a town just by passing by.

They didn’t have to worry about getting killed just because their city was near two level 600 creatures fighting.

They didn’t fear suppression of essence from a hoard of monsters that would stun the wall guards long enough for them to fall like dominoes.

The Barrier King made everyone’s home have a level of safety that was unheard of.

As if that wasn’t enough, living in the Capital was said to be a chance of rebirth. The congregation of billions of people had an effect on the average level and experience gain. Almost a century passed after the new King took over and the Capital had undergone mass expansion. Enough to fit every Imperial with housing to spare for further population growth.

The only exception was the 3 Great Farms that took up almost as much land. It was still in the middle of construction and expansion and the food supplies weren’t up to the required quantities. They were lacking farmers, breeders, tamers and numerous support Classes.

Rumours were that the three city lords had reached King ranked as farmers but Mongrel had no clue if that was true. The only well-known fact was that they had Strength and Endurance beyond that of any other farmer. Flattening mountains and ploughing the continent was a part of their daily life.

Healers in Tidal were all considered to be in training because there simply wasn’t a need for healers. Anyone who got sick enough that the natural atmosphere wasn’t enough to heal them would require proper treatment that they could get at the Life Queen’s academy.

In any case, there usually wasn’t a rush for treatment because they would find it hard to die within the City.

The alternative was the dozens of Quest Halls situated throughout the Capital that were near dungeons and freelancers who might be heavily injured. There would be healers stationed there around the clock.

With just the two Royals, the fate of every Imperial was greatly changed.

They made it clear that the healing provided was at the expense of the citizen’s mana and so was the protection the barrier provided but there were no complaints. Taxes were higher and that made it harder for freelancers to make a living but people chose to live in the Capital for a good reason. Unless you were dragged into a dungeon and assassinated, it practically meant paying for immortality.

Minus dying of old age and committing a crime that led to execution.

Mongrel was too young to understand but the citizens in Tidal treated the Life Queen more of a God than any Emperor in the Sovereign Temple.

“So, where are we going? Will you teach me how to get stronger?”

“Oh, I’m too busy for that.”

“Wh-” Mongrel almost stumbled.

“Relax, my techniques won’t work for you anyway. I’ll introduce you and you can work your way up by yourself.”

“Work my way up what?”

“The ladder.”

“I’m looking to get stronger, not work for some shady organisation.”

“Calm down. I don’t work for Lure okay. Shady? Where else can you learn stealth and assa-strong techniques fit for your style?”

“Is that where you trained your body to resist flames and get strong enough to overpower Trolls?”

“What? Ell no! I could do that even before I joined for some mana ores.” Unnamed looked offended that he suggested the man’s power came from the organisation the man was part of.

“...” He silently stared at Unnamed. The halberd wielder sighed and rubbed the back of his dirty head.

“My unnatural fire resistance came due to a special circumstance during my evolution to Grandmaster.”

“What kind of circumstances can make a human fireproof?” Mongrel wasn’t convinced. He didn’t need to have a good eye to know that it wasn’t an equipment effect. Not even the Imperial Knights had armour that allowed them to bathe in flames for a long period.

“The kind of situation where my deadass evolving body was tossed into a volcano. By some miracle, I was tossed onto a ledge within the volcano but half of my body was submerged. I didn’t die. That day is coming for the ones who tossed me in.” Unnamed’s grip tightened so much Mongrel could hear his bones creak.

“In Fragadal’s Sea?”

“Duh. Climbing out naked without a weapon and finding somewhere safe was hell that I’m not sure I’m prepared to face again.”

Mongrel wasn’t sure he had seen an expression more full of hate than Unnamed. It unnerved him a little. Fragadal’s Sea was synonymous with Hoarfrost Glades as a land of utmost danger. To survive without a weapon and weak from post-evolution was an unbelievable feat.

Mongrel didn’t doubt the man’s words. He didn’t know why there was not a trace of doubt that the man was speaking the truth.

“I’m not going to murder for power.”

“Hey! What do you take me for? I’m here risking my life to protect the Empire!” Unnamed yelled.

Mongrel didn’t fall for it. The man was here to level.

“Bah, you’re no fun. Don’t worry, joining doesn’t mean you’ll have to take every job. You have free will to choose whatever you want to do. There are monster-hunting jobs too. The real professionals of the organisation are kidnappers but don’t worry, you won’t be part of that group. I’ll introduce you to a professional thief and robber. He knows his way around the shadows and isn’t afraid of a straight battle of power so I’d say he’s the perfect teacher for you.”

“He’ll teach me just because you say so?”

“Course not. You’ll have to prove yourself. Count yourself lucky because he’s been looking for a student to pass on his skills before he dies of old age. He should be over five centuries old but you better watch your mouth. I’m afraid I’m not a match for these fossils yet. I honestly don’t know if he’s an old Grandmaster or a King. Actually, I don’t even know if it's him or her.”

“...Thank you. Why do I have to join that organisation if I just want to apprentice myself?” Mongrel was honestly a bit desperate to grow stronger before he was truly left in the dust. The sense of self-imposed rivalry with Ebony hasn’t faded completely. He must be less than an afterthought to that expressionless man but that man was the catalyst that changed Chris to Mongrel.

“Don’t be stupid. He’s obviously one of the leaders. The faction that deals with stealing and assassination. To make myself clear, we don’t accept any random assassination missions. We’ve taken missions from nobles to slay another noble that raped their family members. But I digress, it’s still murder no matter what evidence we’re provided with.”

“What kind of organisation is that…”

“One that every noble and member of high society is aware of but hasn’t been disbanded. Once again, not part of Lure.” Unnamed emphasised that they were not a high-priority target and the Empire tolerated their existence.

That was odd knowing what the Life Queen was like. If the organisation was so big, he found it hard to believe it wasn’t squashed out of existence. Were the leaders good enough that the Royals and high nobles couldn’t take care of them?

Mongrel only knew Lure could do that simply because the important members were so good at keeping their identities secret and there were many of them. Unnamed was suggesting that their organisation didn’t work fully in the shadows.

“You’re not sanctioned by the nobles are you?” Mongrel didn’t think he would be diving into such a world.

“I wouldn’t say sanctioned, but…they are part of our customer base along with the rich. Anyway, keep your mouth shut. Brother!” Unnamed stomped his foot the moment they left Fourth Tide and got out of sight.

Mongrel stayed silent as a hand shot out of the ground. A clean bearded face raised from the ground and glanced at them.

“Let’s go, I’m bringing this boy along.”

“It won’t be free.”

“Ore grubber,” Unnamed tossed a pouch towards the head. The face caught the dirty pouch in his mouth before Mongrel panicked when a hand grabbed his single leg and dragged him under.