Bones made a concerted effort to reign in his aura, a skill he had come to recognize as indispensable for any seasoned adventurer. It was a matter of practicality; those at higher levels of mastery invariably radiated more power, often to the point of it seeping uncontrollably from their being. Without adept control, the mana they emitted could exert pressure over a wide radius. Gold-ranked adventurers with unchecked auras could render weaker companions unconscious, and ordinary citizens might even succumb to the pressure. Moreover, an uncontrolled aura essentially broadcasted to everyone that one lacked finesse in mana manipulation or worse, exhibited an arrogance unbefitting of a skilled practitioner. In either case, it spoke volumes about the user.

Bones walked between the boars, none noticing him. It was only when he was around twenty meters from the nearest boar that it became alert, snapping its head in his direction. They engaged in a brief stare-down before the boar ultimately averted its eyes and ambled away. Good instinct, he thought.

The area was more or less as he remembered it. There were no remaining signs of the ritual, the grass having grown over the holes from which the skeletons had crawled. In the distance, Bones observed one of the boars rooting against the damp soil with its toughened snout, attempting to dig up the ground. “That's exactly where…” tsk Bones cast Bone Lance, sending it flying toward the boar. The spell impaled the creature, sending it sliding a few meters away where its body lay motionless.

Bones approached the spot where the boar had been rooting and noticed that the entrance to the cavern had been widened. The boar was expanding the hole in the cave. He felt annoyed, realizing he hadn't done a good job of hiding the entrance in the first place—an oversight he intended to rectify. He scanned his surroundings, searching for something he could use as a cover, but all he could see were trees and more boars.

"I guess…I could fashion a hatch out of bones and conceal it with branches and leaves?" he mused aloud.

Turning towards the dead boar, he began to walk towards its body. He couldn't conjure bones out of mana, as they would quickly dissipate. He needed physical, solid bones. With a resigned sigh, he unsummoned his equipment and retrieved a sword from his inventory. He knew this part would be messy.

Taking a deep metaphorical sigh, Bones kneeled beside the boar's body and got to work. Roughly an hour later, he stood up, his once-pristine white bones now drenched in blood, surrounded by the scattered remains of the boar.

He attempted to extract the bones using his manipulation abilities, but the connection wasn't strong enough. Perhaps when his mana manipulation reached a higher level, he would be capable of such feats? The thought sent a shiver down his spine. Once the bones were removed from the body, he had no trouble manipulating them to his will.

After stashing the larger bones in his inventory, Bones turned his attention to the distant trees. The next task was to sever long branches with enough foliage to conceal the hatch. The trees in the area were sizable, providing ample material. However, the branches were too lengthy for his needs, necessitating him to cut them into smaller logs suitable for covering the hatch.

Gathering all the materials he needed, Bones set to work. First, he meticulously shaped the bones, straightening them as much as possible, while using spider silk to weave a sturdy net of intertwined bones. Then, he carefully arranged the branches on top of the net, filling in any gaps and securing them with more spider silk. Once he had finished, he covered the entrance and inspected his makeshift cover.

"It won't fool anyone for long, but it'll have to do for now," he muttered to himself.

He proceeded to conceal the construction with dirt, meticulously flattening the ground to ensure that once the grass grew over the hatch, it would blend in seamlessly and be less noticeable.

Using Bone Manipulation, Bones lifted the hatch and jumped down, halting the manipulation mid-jump to close the entrance behind him. The cavern greeted him with its familiar darkness and humidity. Glancing upward, Bones made a rough estimate, concluding that the entrance was situated between twelve and fifteen meters above.

"I might not have enough bones left to make stairs... Ladders, then?" he mused to himself.

Summoning leftover bones, Bones assessed his remaining supply of spider silk. Satisfied with the materials at hand, he determined that he didn't need the ladders to extend all the way to the top, but rather just enough to reach the first platform and another set for the second platform at the top.

Crafting both the ladders and the platform proved to be a straightforward task for Bones. Using smaller bones as steps and long boughs as rails, he secured them together with durable spider silk, fashioning sturdy ladders. As for the platform, he cut leftover boughs into smaller logs and bound them side by side until he created a platform wide enough to stand on.

"I reckon they wouldn’t withstand someone much heavier than me," Bones muttered, considering their durability.

Each ladder measured around five meters in length. Once Bones ascended them, he affixed the platform to the cavern wall. Placing the second set of ladders atop the first platform, he installed the second platform just beneath the cavern entrance.

"This will do," Bones concluded, surveying his handiwork. "Beats climbing the walls just to get out!"

Bones leaped from the second platform and turned toward the markings on the walls at the far end of the cavern. Once, that particular wall served as the entrance to his basement. Now, they marked the entrance to the dungeon. As he approached, the markings briefly glowed with a white light, signaling the prompt to enter the dungeon. This was an expected occurrence, reminiscent of the first time he had entered. However, what surprised him was the subsequent prompt asking if he wished to proceed into the dungeon.

"What happened to being able to continue the dungeon?" Bones muttered to himself, puzzled. He declined the entry prompt and stepped back, scanning his surroundings for any other indications of an entrance to the second stage of the dungeon.

Though the markings on the wall were faint, they remained visible up close. sigh Bones settled into a crossed-legged position and entered meditation.

[...]

In the capital city of Hagos, long after midnight, two figures stealthily traversed from rooftop to rooftop. Their trajectory was westward, towards the brothels notorious for hosting a particular individual who frequented them most nights. Pausing on the flat rooftop of a pub overlooking the square leading to the sinister street teeming with illicit nocturnal activities, they could hear the raucous laughter and clamor emanating from below. In these parts, silence was a luxury rarely found. The taller of the two figures lowered his hood, revealing a shock of blue hair and a piercing, icy stare.

The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

"Belle, you'll wait for me at the pub. Once I've secured the target, I'll join you there."

"Okay, Rayne, but..."

"No 'buts,' you're waiting at the pub! We need to execute this quickly and quietly. It's a smash and grab operation. Over and out!" Rayne concluded before leaping off the rooftop.

"Snatch and grab, Rayne!! Snatch.And grab!" Belle yelled, correcting him.

Down the street, nestled within one of the city's more "prestigious" pleasure dens, Guntar found solace in his umpteenth ale. The past few months had been a series of unfortunate events for him. First, he had been coerced into a deal with an old man, leaving him little choice in the matter. Then, fleeing Westbrook had become a necessity after being robbed by a skeleton of all things. And now? He found himself in a state of semi-hiding, as rumors swirled that the adventurer guild was on the hunt for him. Although no official wanted contract had been issued, Guntar suspected it was personal. He and Trevak had been compelled to reimburse the stolen goods from their own dwindling pockets. On the bright side, Guntar had managed to settle his debt with his employer, but his current predicament meant he couldn't entertain any new job opportunities until things settled down. The thought of relocating east crossed his mind, but the risk of drawing attention while leaving the city deterred him.

"God, this is so fucking boring," Guntar grumbled, exhaling deeply as he ordered another drink, continuing to mutter to himself. "This sucks. Trevak is god knows where on the mission. I can’t go out, and it’s boring inside."

"Would you like me to chill that drink for you, sir?" the waiter inquired as he approached.

"Yeah, that'd be great!" Guntar perked up, turning to the waiter. "I didn’t know they had waiters serving here?"

"They don’t. Over and out," the waiter replied cryptically.

"Over and o…?" Before Guntar could finish his sentence, he was rendered unconscious with a dull thump. Rayne swiftly grabbed him by the collar and dragged him out of his booth, heading towards the window. In a flash, they disappeared before anyone could discern what had transpired.

In the lively Rush Hour pub, packed with patrons, Belle perched on a bar stool, leisurely sipping a crimson-colored beverage. Small fruit chunks bobbed in the glass, lending it an appearance of healthiness, but in reality, it was a potent alcoholic concoction capable of affecting even a silver ranker. And Belle had her reasons for indulging, or so she believed.

"He left?! He freaking left me out!! Like, what?! I’m not good enough? Is that it…?" she vented loudly at the middle-aged bartender across the bar, who desperately sought an escape route. Belle's tirade was relentless, to say the least, and she wasn't accustomed to handling her drinks. At twenty-two, she was barely of legal drinking age and lacked companions to join her in revelry. For the past few years, it had just been her and Rayne.

"That Rayne, screw him! If he wasn’t my mentor, if he wasn’t…wait, what? I lost my train of thought…"

"I’ll have what she’s having," a man interjected, appearing next to the tipsy Belle. She turned to him, scrutinizing his face. "You look exactly… exactly? Exactly like someone who left me here!"

sigh "Sorry, Belle, it needed to be done quickly. How about we get some burgers after the drinks?" Rayne admitted, attempting to diffuse the situation.

snorts "You even sound like him! Alright," Belle relented ungrudgingly, unable to suppress her grin.

----------------------------------------

The constant shivering jolted Guntar awake, accompanied by a pounding headache. His haggard breath formed smoke-like fog in the frigid air of the prison cell.

"Whah…what in the…where am I?" he mumbled, addressing the figure he detected standing in the shadow of the cell. Rayne stepped forward into the light cast by a candle on the wall, his face illuminated to reveal a stoic expression amid the frosty atmosphere. Guntar slowly lifted his head, his eyebrows and beard frosted over. He sneered as he spoke, "You're like…the worst waiter ever! Anyway, I'd like that drink now."

"Hilarious!" Rayne commented, a fleeting smile touching his lips. "I don't think you quite understand the situation you're in. You were a difficult man to find, but you were found," Rayne stated as he circled the strapped Guntar in the center of the cell. Guntar groaned, his head throbbing as he waited for the pain to subside. "I hope you like the cell, it will be your home for a while."

"Why is my head still pounding? What the hell have you done to me?" Guntar demanded, his discomfort evident in his voice.

"The headache won't pass. I've hit you with a Brain-freeze skill, and as long as you remain in this cold environment, you'll continue feeling the effects," Rayne explained calmly. "I'll be leaving you in the cell overnight so you'll have time to think this through."

"But it's not freezing in here!" Guntar protested.

Rayne smiled and turned to leave. "Give it time…"

"Fuck you, man! There's nothing to think about. You hear me?! Don’t walk away from me!" Guntar screamed after Rayne as he departed. "Shit! This sucks balls…" he muttered to himself, frustration evident in his voice.

The prison cell was situated in the dungeons, nestled deep within the basement of the adventurers guild. Typically used as a temporary holding area for adventurers who had run afoul of the law or for wanted individuals awaiting transfer to the city jail, the cells were fairly standard. However, the cell where Guntar was held differed significantly—it was located at the far end of the dungeon and had been modified by Rayne to be far less...pleasant.

Rayne, despite being demoted from his position as the guild leader of the Westbrook branch of the adventurer guild, still retained significant influence within the organization. As a pupil of a guild master, he possessed certain privileges, including the ability to operate clandestinely and beneath the guild's official radar. This included the implementation of covert operations.

The plan to apprehend Guntar had been in development for a month, but Guntar had managed to evade detection during that time. Frustrated by the lack of progress, Rayne decided to take matters into his own hands, disregarding one of the unspoken rules established by the ascendant Domino. According to this rule, individuals of authority were prohibited from exercising their power within Domino's domain—a restriction particularly pertinent within the Underground City, with the western district serving as a gray area in terms of enforcement.

Aware that he couldn't keep Guntar incarcerated for long without drawing attention, Rayne understood the urgency of extracting information from him quickly. He also recognized that Guntar was likely aware of this fact, leaving Rayne with a limited window of opportunity to obtain the desired information.

Fortunately, Domino had been absent from the city for years, leaving his underlings in charge. While these underlings wielded considerable strength and influence within the Underground, they lacked the power to directly oppose the adventurer guild like Domino could.

Belle waited patiently in Rayne's office, idly toying with a puzzle in her hands until Rayne entered.

"...Rayne, was this really necessary?" Belle questioned, her tone laced with concern.

Rayne anticipated her query. Their usual methods didn't involve such drastic measures, but interrogation, even through violent means, was not unfamiliar territory.

"Does it bother you?" he countered, gauging her reaction.

Belle briefly averted her gaze from the puzzle, shaking her head. "Not really. Can I come with you tomorrow?"

Rayne met her determined gaze and considered her request. She was young, perhaps too young for such endeavors, but her determination was evident.

"Alright, if you truly believe you're ready," Rayne relented, nodding in agreement.

"I am, Rayne!" Belle affirmed with unwavering conviction.

"Very well, but you must follow my instructions without question. Understood?" Rayne emphasized.

"Yes, sir!" Belle responded, her resolve unyielding.