At the same time Roan visited Cody’s memories, summer was slowly coming to an end, and school was about to begin.

Right now, if things hadn’t gone awry, Eira would be groaning since she would have to start working again and have to deal with pain-in-the-ass students. She would be dealing with paperwork, preparing for the restart of school, and ready the materials she needed to teach the new kids.

However, she couldn’t afford to put in that effort right now as she was occupied with a way bigger problem than work.

“Mina…” Eira glanced at a young girl sitting quietly in the living room in a curled position, hugging her knees. She had long, disheveled brown hair with slight curls, dim blue eyes, pale white skin, wearing a plain white dress.

The reincarnated soon-to-be aircraft engineer struggled to phrase out the words she wanted to convey. While she had faced her fair share of death, both personally and from others during her time as an adventurer, the recent ones that she experienced were some of the most impactful, painful losses the young woman had ever come to face.

And they aren’t even my family, the people I grew up with since my birth. Eira sighed as she imagined the pain and grief Mina was experiencing.

Thankfully, after a few agonizing minutes, the setting sun’s rays peeked into the room, hitting the young girl’s raised face, and she spoke, “They’re alive.”

“What?” Eira blinked her eyes, unable to understand the young girl’s words.

“Braun… Braun is alive.” She uncurled herself and grabbed the silver chain around her neck. She traced the necklace and grabbed the pendant at the bottom, showing the experienced Aeromancer the glowing green gem embedded into a piece of silver.

“What…” Eira swiftly stood up. Although she wasn’t sure, her premonition and vast knowledge as a mage caused her to instinctively know the gem was some sort of magical device related to divination or something of that sort. “Is that?”

“Before we parted ways,” Eira mumbled and gave a downcast look at the pendant. “He gave this necklace and said that if the pendant is still glowing, that means he’s alive and well. It’s so that I wouldn’t have to worry about him so much when he’s dungeon diving”

“Could I—” Eira hesitated. “Could I inspect it for a moment?”

“Sure,” Mina said softly, her voice weak, her eyes shallow.

Three months had already passed since the incident, but Mina appeared as gloomy as ever. Why wouldn’t she? Her whole family, her dearest mentor, and her whole town got blown to oblivion with the suspect nowhere to be found. Her father and mother were already dead, and her brother, though still alive, was nowhere to be found.

He’s just a young boy who had just turned ten, whose whereabouts are unknown. With the recent deaths and the nerve-wracking anxiety about her brother’s safety, Mina felt her mind slowly crumble from the pressure of life.

The only reason she hadn’t collapsed already was due to Eira’s secret prescriptions.

Whenever Mina wasn’t looking, Eira would always add a little bit of magical anti-depressants in her food and drinks so that she wouldn’t feel extremely suicidal despite the current situation. Moreover, upon realizing that Braun might still be alive, Mina must have felt a little bit of hope deep down in her heart that kept her going all along.

After inspecting the pendant, Eira mumbled, “It really does show that he’s alive. If the magical circuit and enchantments are correct… He’s still alive. Somewhere out there, he’s alive…”

“Yeah, he is.” Mina glanced at the ceiling. “And he’s gonna survive, I know that.”

“He would…” Eira returned the pendant to the young girl. “He’s the type to survive with all his might, to struggle till the bitter end. It may have been a while since I last saw him, but I know that boy well.”

“I know.” Mina drooped her shoulders and hid her face. “I may not be sure, but I feel like he’s always been keeping secrets about himself from the rest of us. I just hope those secrets are what’s keeping him alive and well out there.”

Eira smiled gently and patted Mina on the back. “Don’t worry about your brother too much, he’s too smart to put himself in harm’s way. Although considering his nature, he would eventually go to the capital to meet us, but not now.”

The woman recalled the last time the two spoke and clearly felt that one trait about Braun that resonated clearly with her.

“He’s a free-roaming spirit.” Eira grinned. “One of these days, he’s gonna visit us, but right now, he’s probably having his fair share of fun.”

…

“We’re finally gold!” Braun raised his new shiny plate to the sky the moment they got out of the guild. “Gold!”

“Ror!” Bear grinned as he joyfully put on his plate on his chest.

Then, he raised his paw.

Braun grinned and slapped that paw with a loud clap.

Finally, they were entering the big leagues.

They were the elites of the rare class, and Bear was just a fricking uncommon class! He just needs a little more push to reach Rare Class, and they’re truly gonna be a powerful duo amongst gold-plated adventurers.

“I know we only just reached this sand town, but you up to finish our first gold rank quest?” Braun patted his furry companion on the back. “You only need a bit more of class experience, right?”

“Ror.” Bear nodded his head.

“Then let’s go. It’s only gonna take us a few hours to reach there, so by morning, we could finish the quest and rush for the next town. A few more towns along the way and we’re out of the desert,” Braun suggested.

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After contemplating for a while, and feeling his body heating up from the dry weather of the region, Bear agreed.

“Just a quick moment then, I still have to make my weekly profits from the towns we visit along the way.” Braun walked into the alley, and when he walked out, he had become a wizened alchemist wearing purple robes and gold-framed glasses.

“Ror…” The bear sighed as he retreated to a random market stall, and watched from the sides. He ignored the usual glances the local townspeople kept giving him, especially since bears rarely existed in sandy regions like this, and watched his friend’s charade.

“Come one, come all, for I, Edgar Essence!” He dramatically unfolded his cloak, revealing a glimmering array of potions and tonics. “Have come to sell every potion I have at half-price!”

Maybe it was due to the half-price, or because of how outlandish the whole thing was, but a crowd quickly around ‘Edgar Essence,’ and having seen this scene so many times already ever since Braun learned how to do alchemy, Bear knew what was going to happen.

The crowd kept talking to themselves, asking questions along the way when one of them would abruptly shout.

“I recognize you!” A random civilian shouted. “You’re Edgar Essence! The famous Epic Class alchemist from Dunrest Town! I heard you sell highly effective stat-enhancing potions!”

“He’s an Epic Class?”

“Edgar Essence? Never heard of that name.”

“Wait, it’s true, I could see that he’s an Epic Class Alchemist!”

“Does that mean he really sells…”

No words had to be spoken from that point on. Instead, random civilians would begin to go on a glazing spree, upping the fame and merit of Edgar Essence to the point that he didn’t even need to introduce what he was selling to the masses.

This was an expert conman at work, and Bear had to commend Braun’s amazing strategy. Only someone like him in his type of circumstances could pull off these half-scams.

By employing illusions, Roan effectively fooled the entire crowd by glazing himself through fake civilians that recognized ‘Edgar Essence’ from a ‘nearby town’.

The ‘stat-enhancing potions’ he was selling did indeed work, as they would amplify the consumer’s attributes by a degree after drinking. The only problem here is that the amplification was temporary and would wear off in three to six months.

Moreover, it was sold at a ‘cheap price’ of a few gold coins after cutting the price in half, but in actuality, the cost needed to make the potions were a few silver coins at most, since the main ingredient… was dragon poop.

Luckily for the adventuring duo, they had two dragon friends who would provide them with dragon crap for free!

… Yeah, this was a gross scam.

Fortunately, Braun was a wandering scammer and they went from one place to another for weeks at a time. They never settled down, and by the time they had left, their customers were none the wiser to the scam they had fallen for.

Soon enough, Braun had raked in a massive profit, with plenty of adventurers and rich kids drinking their potions with gusto. They shouted in joy as their muscles inflated in size, their minds became sharper, and their speed faster, not knowing that those gains would be gone in a couple of months and Edgar Essence was just a fabricated person.

“Meet me outside town like usual.” Bear heard a voice speak in his mind. “Also, could you buy me some dragon fruit? Really craving some right now.”

Bear glanced at the smiling conman in the distance as he finished his sales and packed up his bags. “Ror.”

The furry companion slowly walked away, meat skewers at hand. He would have condemned Braun’s behavior if he had a good-natured alignment, but he was a bear and the societal norms of humans don’t apply to a bear. Good or bad? He doesn’t give a damn about that.

…

Braun quickly stashed his gold away, wary that others would try and steal from him.

He had done this scam a few times already and had amassed a horde of coins in his pockets, and he still wasn’t caught yet, but he wasn’t gonna tempt fate and test his luck. Braun tried to look for an empty alley to change his appearance, and skedaddle out of town as quickly as possible when he suddenly felt a pair of eyes peeking at him from behind.

Hmm? Braun casually stepped to the side, dodging a dagger flying his way. He turned to look back, his left eye going from a shade of purple to a glowing blue.

[Unique Skill Activated: Eye of Truth]

The whole world slowed down and his hidden attacker came into sight. She hid among the shadows above and stood at the edge of a building’s open window. She wore a dark cloak that hid most of her features, and with the eye of truth, not even her high-rank sneak skill could hide her appearance.

She had black hair and dark red eyes. Her skin was pale white as if it hadn’t been graced by sunlight all this while. The shadows around her flickered, as if alive.

[Aelia Jade - Assassin (Rare)]

“An assassin coming out to get moi?” Braun stepped back, his grin widening menacingly. “What could I, the magnanimous Edgar Essence, have possibly done to receive such treatment?”

“Shut up, scammer.” She leaped to the ground, dagger in hand. “I didn’t think much of you when I saw you last time in Otun, selling potions under the name of Balthazar Elixir, but when I saw the same similar setup as here?” She pointed her dagger at Braun. “I knew something was up.”

“Whoa there, kid.” Braun calmly distanced himself away from the lady. “On what grounds are you saying that I’m this, uh… Balthazar Elixir fella? I’m Edgar Essence! I’m a true and tested alchemist! You’ve seen my potions work, so how are they a scam?”

“I don’t know.” She lunged forward. “And I don’t care! My gut instincts are telling me you’re a scammer, and I’m taking you down!”

A self-righteous type, huh? Braun’s amicable smile faded away as he stretched out his hand.

The dagger slammed against his bare skin, shattering into metallic fragments.

“Huh?” She stared dumbfoundedly at the handle of her dagger. It was her prized weapon, an enchanted blade capable of even piercing through a sandworm’s tough exterior with ease.

“Lookie here, kiddo.” A hand grabbed her by the throat, and Edgar Essence’s bright purple eyes turned a shade darker. Dark red miasma flowed out of his back and covered the entire alley, suffocating the assassin. “You claimed that I’m a scammer, tried to defame me, and even attempted to attack me.”

“If I was any other innocent alchemist, they would have surely perished by your hands.” Braun slammed her against the ground, causing the floor to crack. She spat out blood from her mouth, her consciousness turning into a haze. “But I’m not.”

“Luckily for you, I’m in a pretty good mood today and reached a personal milestone, so I would spare your life.” A blade of mana formed in Braun’s free hand. “However, just to make sure you learned your lesson…”

“AHHHHH!” She shrieked out in pain, squirming in his hands as her left arm was cut off.

Blood leaked out onto the ground, dying the cracked floor red, her blood seeping into the cracks beneath her.

“You really thought there was gonna be no consequences if you failed? Like, what if I was really innocent, you know?” Braun slowly stood up, his body blending in with the shadows like a rogue or assassin’s sneak skill. “You could have killed someone who didn’t do anything wrong!”

“Now, go live life without a left arm, you stupid bitch, and pray we’ll never meet again on bad terms because I’m seriously gonna kill you and take away your soul’s chance at returning to the cycle of reincarnation!”

As the voice slowly disappeared, the girl silently writhed on the ground, clutching her left arm to stop the bleeding. While her enhanced regeneration would slowly deal with the bleeding, her mind was in a state of disrepair, traumatized by the result of her utter stupidity.

…

“You got me some dragon fruits?” Braun asked as he stepped out of the shadows, having returned to his handsome adventuring appearance.

Bear tossed a bright white-colored dragon fruit, which the adventurer inspected with fascination.

“Hohoho, finally, some new fruits to try out.” Braun stepped onto their magical carpet, with the assassin incident already pushed to the back of his mind. “The sugar is gonna help me think of a variety of scams now. Don’t wanna repeat a dumb assassin event again.”

“Ror?” Bear questioned if something happened.

“Nothing, just some self-righteous dumbass.” The magical carpet slowly hovered over the ground, with the sand below them blowing away. “Anyways, you ready for the quest?”

“Ror!” Bear also grabbed a dragon fruit and peeled off its exterior, revealing the supple white flesh underneath.

“Well then, let’s go get you your Rare Class advancement!”