“Go, go, go! Subdue him, now!” someone yelled.

A witch growled and raised her staff. A fireball appeared in front of her and then launched toward Ezra. He jumped to the side and dodged it. A moment later, a man in chainmail rushed toward Ezra and swung his sword down at Ezra’s head.

Ezra reached out his hand and grabbed the man’s wrist, stopping the attack. The man tugged his hand back.

Ezra held on, locked the man’s shoulder joints, and broke his arm with a smooth motion. The sword clattered to the ground and chainmail man let out a scream.

Ezra recalled Filamenta, and flipped her into a reverse grip. Chainmail tried to step backward, but Ezra held on.

“[Polymorphism],” Ezra said. Filamenta expanded to the size of a dagger and he stabbed through the man’s throat.

1302/2300

“Advance team failed!” someone yelled. “Move in!”

Two windows exploded into shards as multiple people jumped in.

Sharp - Rogue - Lv. 34

Strenga - Berserker - Lv. 43

Terrin - Mage - Lv. 36

Ezra growled and rand toward the window closest to him. He aimed for the berserker with the axe and raised his needle for a stab.

A rogue with a dagger blocked his attack.

The rogue smirked. “Nothing personal, One-Eye. But the bounty just went through. You’re already a dead man, so you might as well stop causing trouble.”

Ezra leaped back, dodging another attack from the axe-guy. Behind him, Ezra could hear the footsteps of four others coming from behind. This was rapidly becoming untenable. He was severely outnumbered—even if he killed this batch, more would come along.

Ezra parried a dagger blow and thrust out at the rouge. The attack sank into his shoulder, forcing a cry out of the man.

734/1030

Ezra pulled back for another attack. Footsteps echoed and Ezra halted his thrust to jump to the side, barely avoiding an overhead cleave. He needed to get out, but he couldn’t think—his mind was overwhelmed with the amount of enemies coming at him. A single mistake would get him killed. He dodged an axe swing with a jump, then used [Air Attack] to get out of the way of an incoming arrow. The arrow whizzed by him and pierced into the wood of one of the support logs.

Filamenta. Options.

“Your only shot is escape,” she said. “The door is almost certainly barred. The windows are the only exit, but they’ll await you.”

He needed a way to startle them or stun them long enough for him to escape into the city. But what could do the trick—?

He was broken out of his thoughts by the sight of a sword coming for his head. He parried the shot with Filamenta, then thrust out, stabbing the swordsman through the armor and into the chest.

1340/2300

He felt steel pass through his thin leather armor from the side and into his chest a moment later.

1402/1500

He choked back a scream and faced the rogue. The rogue pulled his dagger out of the wound, but before he could fully bring his arm back, Ezra grabbed the man’s hand and pulled him in. The rogue’s eyes widened and he tried to lean back. Ezra stabbed toward his head as he continued to pull. The needle sank through the man’s nose and into his skull.

132/1030

Ezra pulled back and stabbed forward one more time.

0/1030

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The man slumped over. Ezra pulled out his needle and dodged an incoming attack from the berserker.

It was time to take his leave. He equipped [Titan’s Grasp I] with a few rapid swipes and looked toward the window.

One of the mages stopped an incantation. “He’s going to make a run for it!”

Ezra ran forward and jumped up. “[Air Attack]!”

He broke through one of the windows and flew through the air. The entire guild was surrounded. One of the men placed himself in front of Ezra to block him.

Ezra reached out and crashed into the man. [Titan’s Grasp] kicked in and the ground shuddered when the man crashed to the ground. [Cat’s Grace] let him land softly and he sprang into a run.

He ran into the city street. Behind him, he could hear dozens of footsteps. A glimmer echoed from the side of his vision and he tilted left. A moment later, an arrow skimmed the side of his neck.

568/1020

He growled.

“Archers on the main streets,” he muttered. “They’re really going all out.”

“You won’t be able to go via the rooftops if they have people stationed there,“ Filamenta said.

Ezra turned right, his movements as smooth as butter. He entered a thin alley and pounded his feet against the hard stone. He continued running for several minutes until the sound of footsteps was so far away that he couldn’t hear them anymore.

He slowed his run. Blood dripped from his cheek and onto the ground, while his jacket was turning dark red. He reached out a hand to support himself against the wall.

“Jackasses,” Ezra muttered. “I guess that’s what you get for working with a bunch of warriors for hire.”

Filamenta was silent. Ezra dragged himself forward, his other hand pressed against his chest wound.

“[Stitch Wounds],” he whispered.

His cuts mended themselves slowly, string repairing the holes in his body.

He stepped forward two steps, then paused.

In the darkness, a large, armored figure stood at the intersection for the next part of the alleyway.

Nobinar - Heavy Knight - Monster Slayer II - Lv. 51

Ezra growled and clenched his fist around Filamenta.

“You too, huh?” he said. “Just because we’ve worked together doesn’t mean I’ll roll over and die.”

Nobinar closed his eyes.

“Tell me, did you kill anyone?”

Ezra tensed his legs. “They tried to murder me.”

“A shame,” he said.

He leaned against the wall and crossed his arms.

Ezra’s eyebrows furrowed. What was he doing? He drew his left foot back.

“Officially,” Nobinar said. “I’m obligated to listen to emergency orders from the guildmaster, regardless of my personal opinions. It was part of the contract we signed when we became mercenaries.”

“And what about unofficially?”

“Unofficially, this is a sham, and I have no interest in supporting it. As far as I’m concerned, I saw absolutely nothing while I was posted in this area.”

Nobinar… was helping him?

“But why?” Ezra said.

“I’m a soldier first before I’m a mercenary,” Nobinar said. “And unless I’m given a damn good reason, I’m not killing a comrade.”

Ezra took a step back and narrowed his eyes. “I’m no comrade. We were on one mission together and you’ve taught me one or two grappling moves. That’s it.”

“That’s it, and that’s enough for me.”

Ezra was silent for several seconds. He took a step forward, then another. He walked by Nobinar, his eyes focused on him, and his body tensed. When it was clear that he wasn’t attacking, Ezra broke off into a run.

Nobinar was a weird guy… but Ezra felt a flicker of gratitude. He’d need to pay him back somehow once this shitshow was over.

Before long, Ezra found himself in front of the inn. Prise needed to know that he’d be heading out—perhaps Dumrivil would be able to track him down through Prise, which would be ideal.

Ezra opened up the door. Prise was at the front desk, sipping a cup of herbal tea. She looked up, her bushy hair flopping behind her.

“Welcome back, Ezra—” She stopped and stood to her feet. “Oh my gods, you’re covered in blood!”

Ezra looked down. “Don’t worry, it’s not mine. Uh, most of it.”

Prise stepped around the counter to get closer to Ezra. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

“The worst of it was taken care of.”

Prise stared at his wounds.

“How did this happen?” she said. “I just don’t understand.”

“We underestimated Villscha. He managed to get the bounty through. They laid a trap for me—I hope Dumrivil picked up on what’s happening and got out.”

Prise turned pale.

“Oh gods, that’s… oh no.”

Ezra shrugged. “You should be fine, and once we get that information, this’ll all be cleared up. If anyone asks, I was just your tenant, and that’s it.”

Prise gave an unsteady nod. “R-right.” She glanced at her tea. “Do you want a cup? I feel like you need it.”

Ezra was about to say no before he paused. Truth be told, he was feeling pretty tense. He’d expected this to happen, at least a little in the back of his head, but he hadn’t expected to have so little warning.

“Sure,” Ezra said.

Prise gave a little nod. “Right, I’ve got some extra. Let me get it.”

She walked around to the back of the counter and poured him a cup. Ezra sighed and grabbed his chest. If things had gone even a little differently, he could’ve found himself dead.

Prise circled back to Ezra and passed him a cup. “Enjoy.”

Her hands shook as she passed him the cup. He took it and she averted her eyes. Ezra raised an eyebrow, then shrugged. He raised the cup to his lips, then paused.

It smelled different. Did she use a different blend than usual?

“What’s wrong?” Prise said.

Ezra lowered the cup.

“It just smells a bit odd, that’s all,” he said. “Did you change blends?”

Prise blinked. “No? It’s the same blend as always. Maybe I over-brewed it?”

Ezra started to raise the cup up, then paused. He looked at Prise’s eyes. She teared up. A sinking feeling entered his chest.

“Prise…” he said. “Please tell me that you didn’t—“

Before he could finish his statement, a cold feeling rushed down his spine. His arm spasmed and the cup fell to the ground. It shattered over the wooden floor. Ezra fell to the ground in a heap.

[You’ve been poisoned with “White Mint Tea”!]

[Inflicted with status effect “Poison”!]

[Inflicted with status effect “Paralysis”!]

[Inflicted with status effect “Spell Lock”!]