A tense silence followed the shopkeeper’s sharp outburst, broken only by the soft rustle of billowing cloaks. The group of children shrank back, huddling behind Joe and Shelly for protection.
Joe’s gaze flicked to Shelly. She was putting on a brave front, but her condition was far from ideal. Her mana signature was dangerously low, and he hadn’t forgotten the signs of discomfort she’d shown earlier.
His attention shifted to the four figures standing beside the shopkeeper. They remained still, silent, but their mana signatures radiated an intimidating presence. Not quite on Mikey's level, but still potent enough to demand respect. Joe clenched his teeth in frustration. He wasn’t in great shape either. This wasn’t a fight they could win, not like this.
“What are you waiting for?” the shopkeeper barked. “Kill that bitch! In fact, kill all of them! Those good-for-nothing thieves!”
“If you want to lay a finger on these kids...” Shelly stepped forward, her voice steady despite the odds. “You’ll have to go through me!” A black staff materialized in her hand as she pointed it toward the shopkeeper and his ominous companions, her intent clear.
“Yeah...” Joe stepped up beside her, his black blade already in hand. “If you’re coming for these kids, you’re going through us first.”
The shopkeeper hesitated, his confidence faltering as he glanced at the four cloaked figures beside him. “Why are you just sta—”
Crunch!
A single punch sent the shopkeeper crashing to the ground. The blow came from one of the cloaked figures—by far the tallest of the group. The force of the strike cracked the ground where the shopkeeper landed, leaving him motionless, blood seeping through the bandages on his face.
Joe and Shelly, stunned, tightened their grips on their weapons.
The tall figure pulled back his hood. “Relax. We’re not here to fight you.” His long blue hair cascaded down his back, partially obscuring the emblem of a frozen feather etched onto his cloak. His broad smile softened the tension in the air.
The other cloaked figures followed his lead, lowering their hoods one by one. A girl with braided blue hair revealed a tattoo of a blue flower on her right cheek. Beside her stood a short, bald man with piercing green eyes. The last figure, a black-haired girl with slightly pointed ears, glanced at the group with a calm demeanor.
“My name is Jim,” the tall man said, gesturing to his companions. “These are my party members: Emma, Lucas, and Ava.” He introduced them in turn, starting with the girl with the tattoo and ending with the pointy-eared girl.
Without warning, all four of them bowed their heads. “Thank you so much!” they said in unison.
Joe and Shelly exchanged confused looks as the group straightened up again. Jim’s face hardened, his fists clenching. “You’ve actually done us a huge favor. We’ve wanted to help these kids for a long time, but we couldn’t get close to them because of Mikey. We couldn’t bring ourselves to engage him in battle... because we were cowards.” His voice wavered with shame.
“We stood by and watched the townspeople’s cruelty without intervening. We thought we were keeping peace but that's obviously not true." His grimace deepened. “We focused on stopping Mikey from expanding his influence in the town, which we managed to do, but we never tried to rescue the children he already had under his control. We didn’t want to risk conflict with him and disrupt what we called a ‘balance’—”
“What balance? There is no balance!” Joe interrupted, his tone sharp. “You’re cowards. You were the only ones who could stand up to Mikey, and you did nothing. That so-called balance of yours only led to more children dying!”
“We know,” Lucas said quietly, his bald head reflecting the sunlight. “That’s why we want to make amends. Let us take care of the kids. We promise to give them the care they deserve.”
“Not happening!” Shelly snapped, gripping her staff tightly. “These kids have suffered enough. You expect us to just hand them over after you sat back and did nothing for years?”
Emma stepped forward, her expression somber. “We know we failed. We’re ashamed as adventurers. We wanted to help, truly we did. But you have to understand—a war with Mikey would have hurt the children even more. Worse, it would have endangered innocent people in the town.”
“Why should we trust you?” Joe’s voice was cold, his eyes narrowing.
Jim took a deep breath, meeting Joe’s gaze. “We’ll take care of the kids. We have a safe place where they’ll be well-fed and protected. We can even give them jobs to help them rebuild their lives. We know we don’t deserve your trust, but please... believe us.”
Their sincerity struck a chord with Joe. They had just taken down the shopkeeper, which proved they weren’t entirely bad. And, as much as Joe hated to admit it, their reasoning made sense. A war with Mikey could have resulted in even greater losses. He still bore the guilt of the fifteen children who had died during his battle with Dan. While he despised their inaction, he understood their fear. He turned to Shelly for her thoughts.
Shelly exhaled slowly, lowering her staff. “We’ll trust you, but only if you can guarantee the children's safety.”
Jim reached into his cloak and pulled out a glowing blue stone. He tossed it to Shelly, who caught it but with some difficulty.
“That’s a Pathfinder,” Jim explained. “It’s linked to our mana signatures. As long as we’re alive, it’ll glow and guide you to us no matter where we are.”
He continued, “It’s also registered with the mana signature of the person in charge of our hideout—his name is Ben. If we’re not there, the Pathfinder will lead you to him. You’ll always know where the kids are.”
Joe examined the glowing stone in Shelly’s hands. He’d never seen anything like it. Leave it to Grisha to come up with something so strange. If Grisha was as vast as Syr claimed, a tracking device like this made perfect sense for emergencies.
“Fine, we’ll trust you,” Shelly said at last, her tone firm but cautious. Joe nodded in agreement beside her.
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Joe knew they couldn’t afford to travel with a group of children. This arrangement, while not ideal, was a blessing in disguise. “You’ll need to talk to the kids at the Meat Is Maney store too,” he added. “They need help just as much.”
Jim gave a solemn nod.
Joe and Shelly turned back to convince the children to go with the Frozen Wings party, but it wasn’t easy. Many of the kids were hesitant, their trust shattered by years of hardship.
“Guys,” Viola spoke up, stepping forward. “If Joe and Shelly trust them, I think we should too. They saved us—they wouldn’t trust these people if they were bad!”
“I’m with Viola!” Ed chimed in. “I think we can trust them. At least we can trust Joe and Shelly’s judgment.”
While Shelly continued to reassure the children, Joe walked over to the four Frozen Wings members. He stopped a short distance away, his expression unreadable. “Syr, give me the twenty thousand gold pieces from the Black Forest,” he commanded.
A brown bag, heavy with gold, materialized in Joe’s hand. Without hesitation, he strode up to Jim and slammed the bag against his chest.
“Take this,” Joe said firmly. “Use it to help the kids—every last one of them. Some of them have been abused, some are sick. Make sure they get what they need. I don’t want you digging into your own pockets. I’ll take full responsibility.”
He stepped back, leaving the bag in Jim’s hands.
“You didn’t ha—” Jim started, but Joe cut him off.
“No, I had to,” he said, his voice thick with conviction. “This won’t bring back the kids who’ve died, but it might make life a little better for the ones who are still here. No child deserves a life like that.” His gaze hardened. “But don’t misunderstand me—if you hurt these kids, I’ll hunt you down. Every last one of you. Got it?”
The four nodded, their expressions sober.
Joe turned back to the group of children, where Shelly was still speaking with them. From the look on their faces, they’d finally agreed to go with the Frozen Wings party. As Joe approached, a single thought echoed in his mind:
I couldn’t protect Chloe back then, but I can make sure these kids have a chance at better life.
“They’re ready,” Shelly said with a bittersweet smile.
Joe knelt in front of the kids, his eyes meeting theirs. He could see the tears welling up, their small bodies trembling with emotion. “This isn’t goodbye,” he said softly, a warm smile spreading across his face. “We’ll meet again, okay?”
The children couldn’t hold back any longer. Tears spilled down their cheeks as they rushed to embrace him and Shelly.
After a few minutes, the goodbyes were said. Joe and Shelly waved to the children one last time before turning to walk away.
“What did you say to those guys back there?” Shelly asked as they moved out of earshot.
“Nothing much,” Joe replied, a smirk tugging at his lips. “I just made sure they’ll keep their word. But honestly... I’m thankful they showed up. At least now, I know those kids will be okay.”
“Yeah, me too,” Shelly agreed, her voice tinged with relief.
“So, we’re still going to the Adventurer’s Guild, right?” Joe asked, a spark of excitement flashing in his eyes. “That’s the whole reason we came here—to get myself registered.”
“Yes, it’s nearby, near the edge of town. If we keep heading north, we should reach it…” Shelly’s words trailed off as she stumbled, nearly losing her balance.
“Are you alright?” Joe asked, his concern evident.
“I’m fine,” Shelly replied, clutching her head. But her pale complexion and the unsteadiness in her voice betrayed her words.
“Syr, place the Black Blade in my inventory,” Joe commanded Syr.
The sword on his back vanished into a blue light.
[The Mana Tool: ‘The Black Blade’ Has Been Stored In Your Inventory.]
Joe moved in front of Shelly and crouched slightly. “Get on. You’re clearly exhausted and need to recover,” he said firmly, offering her a piggyback ride.
“Seriously, I’m fine,” Shelly protested, though her legs wavered beneath her.
“Stop being stubborn,” Joe retorted. “You won’t be any good to anyone if you’re this tired. You need to rest. I promise I’ll wake you if anything happens. Besides, the road to the guild is straightforward from here, right?”
Shelly sighed in defeat, her resistance faltering. “Only for a few minutes,” she whispered, allowing Joe to lift her onto his back. Her arms draped loosely around his neck as her head rested against his shoulder. She added softly, “Just for a little while…”
“You got it,” Joe said with a reassuring smile.
Within moments, Shelly was out cold, her exhaustion finally catching up to her. Joe adjusted her weight carefully and continued walking, his steps steady as he moved forward on the path to the guild.
[Now That Things Seem To Have Settled Down, Would You Like Me To Update You On Your Progress?]
“Sure thing, Syr. I actually wanted to check this myself—I couldn’t really keep up with everything while I was fighting Mikey.”
[Let Me Bring Up Your Recent Accomplishments.]
[Main Quest Complete!]
• Reward: 18,000 Rank Points
[You Have Slain The Native, ‘Big Daddy Mikey’ (+23,000 Rank Points)]
[You Have Ranked Up!]
[Rank Up Progress: 13 [1,000/50,000 Rank Points Required]
[Updated Attributes]
• Physical Attributes: 36 (+15 Rank Points From The Black Sheep)
• Mana Attributes: 55
• Psychological Attributes: 22
[You Have Unlocked A New Skill (Soul Control)]
• Description: An Outsider Can Turn Even The Souls Of The Dead Into A Source Of Power.
• Effect: Gain The Ability To Manipulate Souls By Drawing Out The ‘Spiritual Energy ’ That Gives Them Life.
• Note: If You Don’t Have Souls Stored In Your Body When Activating This Skill, The Skill Will Not Take Effect.
• Boost: +25 Rank Points To All Attributes (Subject To Increase Depending On The Number And Strength Of The Souls Consumed).
Joe stared at the notification, conflicted about the [Soul Control] skill. On one hand, it granted him immense power, enough to defeat Mikey. On the other, it came at a steep cost—nearly consuming his sanity. The thought of manipulating the dead felt inherently wrong to him.
Still, the rank-up brought some satisfaction. But as much as he hated to admit it, Syr had been right. He was too weak. That battle with Mikey had nearly killed him. If he was going to find his family, he needed to become stronger—much stronger.
Joe opened his Attribute Window and reviewed the details.
[Attribute Window]
Personal Information
• Name: Joe White
• Overall Rank: 13 [1,000/50,000 Rank Points Required]
• Special Class: Outsider
Skills:
• Outsider’s Enhancement
• Predator [Unique]
• Outsider’s Perspective [Stage 2, Passive]
• Weaponry [Passive]
• Soul Control
Inventory:
• Mana Tool: Black Blade [C Class, Sealed]
• Mana Tool: Scorching Dagger [C Class, Sealed]
• +1 (Rank 4) Mana Beast Core
• +1 (Rank 10) Mana Beast Core
• Dungeon Item: The White Fang [C Class]
• Academy License
Gold:
• 0 Gold Pieces
Attributes:
• Physical Attributes: 33 (+15 Rank Points from The Black Sheep)
• Mana Attributes: 55
• Psychological Attributes: 22
• Mana Pool: 6,870/???????
Joe studied the window. It hadn’t changed much since his last review, which further solidified his determination to get stronger.
After what felt like an eternity of walking, Joe finally saw it. In the distance, standing alone, was the unmistakable silhouette of the Adventurer’s Guild.
Shelly began to stir on his back, but Joe’s steps remained steady. His heart surged with excitement as he neared the building. This was it—his chance to become a registered adventurer and begin his search for his family.
With resolve burning in his chest, he whispered three words to himself:
“Let’s do this.”