Exhausted and famished, Erik stumbled into the house, trailed by the gang of children. He had no idea how tiring it was trying to show the orphans the ropes of his burgeoning empire, especially when they had never even seen a burger before, or a water park.

"Alright, gather 'round," he called out, his voice carrying the weariness of the day. The children obeyed, their eyes wide with curiosity. "From tomorrow, you'll start learning the ropes. You'll each get a role in the burger shack or the water park. And remember, a good job equals a good share of the profits."

It was then that he noticed that it was only the children and him in the living room. He paused, frowning, and headed into the kitchen.

"Huh, that's weird..." Erik murmured as he stepped into the kitchen, expecting to find Myrese or, heaven forbid, Talia preparing dinner. The room was empty, the pots and pans untouched. "Myr, Talia, you guys here?" he called out, his voice echoing through the house.

The silence was his only reply. He turned to the children, who looked up at him with worried expressions. "Where are the ladies?"

As if on cue, Talia burst through the door, Illyanth racing behind her. Her eyes were wide with panic, and her breath was ragged. "Erik, we've got a problem!"

Erik's heart dropped. "What's wrong?"

Talia raised the knife that had a glowing pink inscription on the blade. "Myrese has been taken," she panted.

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"This is a first..." Erik muttered to himself, glancing at the message. Talia had gone to gather the rest of their friends, and they had all gathered around the table, their expressions a mix of confusion and fear. Alyssa, Ricteronu, Morthanu, Geritara, Grom, Kinnesthe, and even Dr. Castellanos were present, all looking to him for answers.

"Taken by Vales’ men, will explain soon, need you all now," Erik read aloud from the message, his brow furrowed with concern. "What the hell is going on? Myr got kidnapped?"

"Erik, I believe that may be her previous employers," Morthanu offered, his face tight with worry. "They are notorious in the underworld for their lack of mercy. Ironically, they are also one of the royal families within the Orithane Kingdom."

"Those rich assholes again!" Erik slammed his fist on the table, his eyes flashing with anger. "Alright, we need to get her back."

"Do you have a plan?" Talia asked, her voice tight with anxiety.

"No."

Erik's blunt reply sent a shiver down everyone's spine. He stood up, the chair scraping against the floor, and began to pace. The room was thick with tension as the children watched him, their expressions a mix of fear and confusion.

"Alright, let's give you guys a chance to prove yourselves," Erik turned to the orphans. "Go out and look. Don't focus on looking for anything specific, just gather anything you feel is important," he glanced at the others. "The same goes for the rest of you."

The group dispersed, leaving Erik with his thoughts. He knew he had to be the one to save Myrese, but how? He was just a guy with a pen and a book that talked to him. And what was this about him being a hero? The only thing he had done was bring a larger amount of profit to a village that probably never needed it in the first place.

In fact, Erik couldn't help but wonder if by making Restia Village more prosperous, he had inadvertently painted a target on their backs. The thought weighed heavily on him as he sat and twirled his pen through his fingers. His breathing became quicker as he imagined terrible future scenarios, most of them ending with financial destitution.

"Erik?"

Deep in thought, he didn't react to her voice right away, twirling the pen faster.

"Erik."

He began to mutter under his breath, his eyes glazed over with worry and concern. The pen was a blur in his fingers as his thoughts overtook his focus.

"Erik!"

Talia slapped him across the face, breaking him out of his spiral. He yelped in shock and pain, his cheek stinging.

"What the fuck was that for?!" Erik yelled, rubbing his cheek.

"Have you calmed down yet?" She replied with an even gaze.

"I- y-yeah, actually. Thanks..." Erik said sheepishly, feeling more grounded now. It was the second time he had spiraled after coming to this world, and once again, Talia was there to bring him back. Oddly enough, it was comforting to have someone who knew his true nature and cared enough to slap him out of a panic attack.

"I'm not sure what's going through your head right now, but I believe it would be better for you to think aloud with me here, is it not?" Talia sat down next to him, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"Yeah... thanks again, Talia," Erik murmured, still rubbing his cheek. "So, we've got to get Myr back. But how? If only there was a way to track her down somehow..."

Talia blinked, as if she had just realized something. "Wait, I can trace her mana by using the residue left on her knife."

Erik paused and turned to stare at her for a long moment. "You can do what? And you just now remembered that?"

Talia's cheeks flushed. "I-it's not something I usually do. I don't often need to track people... or, well, I haven't had anyone to track before. But I can try."

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In the middle of their living room, Erik watched Talia intently, her eyes closed and her hand hovering over the knife. She inhaled deeply, focusing her energy. A faint golden glow emanated from her palm, and the knife began to pulse with a soft light. The air around it grew thick with mana.

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"So, I casted a spell that will allow me to determine the timeframe that Myrese performed the inscription magic," Talia explained, her eyes still shut. "If it's recent, it means she's still nearby."

Erik held his breath as Talia continued her incantation, her hand trembling slightly as she worked to unravel the threads of magic left behind by Myrese. The room was silent except for the crackling of golden mana in the air.

He knew it was the wrong time to be thinking about it, but it was during these moments when Talia displayed such mastery of magic that Erik truly admired her. The way her eyes narrowed, her mouth tightened into a straight line as she focused on the task at hand, and her hands dancing in the air with grace as she whispered ancient incantations. The knife hovered in the air between her palms, the inscription on the blade pulsing with a soft blue light.

Finally, Talia opened her eyes, and the light from the knife dimmed. She took a deep breath, and Erik could see the lines of concentration on her forehead smoothing out. "It's definitely recent," she said, her voice low. "They were here, and they took her. I can trail the mana traces, but it's fading pretty quickly."

Erik nodded, his jaw set firmly. "Alright, we need to move fast then," he said, his eyes on the knife. "Where does it lead?"

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The cloth bag on Myrese's head was yanked off, and she found herself in a dimly lit, damp space that smelled faintly of mold. She was thrown onto a cold, hard surface, and her hands were bound behind her back. The ropes bit into her wrists, and she could feel the magic seeping into them, preventing any escape. She took a deep breath, trying to calm her racing heart and glanced around to quickly assess her surroundings.

"Welcome back to the real world, Myrese," a deep, familiar voice chuckled. A pair of red eyes gleamed in the low light, and she could see the glint of a gold tooth. "I see you're still as elusive as ever."

Myrese recognized the voice immediately. It was one of her many former employers, Mr. Vales. His cruel laughter sent shivers down her spine, but she remained stoic, not giving him the satisfaction of seeing her fear. "What do you want from me?" she spat out, her voice steady despite her racing heart.

Out of all her employers, Vales was one of the most sadistic, known for his penchant for collecting rare artifacts and magical creatures. The targets he set up for Myrese usually surrendered their possessions after she failed to kill them and informed them of her employer.

"Oh, nothing much. Just wondering why you failed to complete your last contract," Mr. Vales said, his smile as cold as the damp stone walls surrounding them. "You know how important it is to keep my collection growing. But I guess you've gone soft, playing doctor in this backwater village."

He stepped into the light, and Myrese could see him more clearly. He was dressed in a flashy suit that seemed entirely out of place in the grimy cellar. His hair was slicked back, and a thick cigar dangled from his mouth. He took a puff, blowing smoke into the air. "I wonder, what exactly happened for you to allow the man who's journal I yearn for to live? And not only that, but it seems as though you are... acquaintances with him?"

Myrese's eyes narrowed. "I've had a change of heart."

Mr. Vales laughed, but it was a laugh devoid of humor. "A change of heart, you say? How... quaint. Tell me, Myrese, do you believe that your newfound compassion will protect you from the world you've turned your back on?" He took another puff of his cigar, the smoke curling around him like a living creature. "If anything, eliminating him would've put you in good relations with other royal families such as mine. You've made a grave mistake."

"What's so threatening about a man who reformed a village?" Myrese spat again, her voice filled with defiance. "He's shown no indication of branching out into the three kingdoms anyway."

Mr. Vales leaned closer, his eyes narrowing. "Is that so? Then why is it that I've heard the dwarven kingdom have spoken of plans with this Traveler? Or that his projects are being talked about in the three kingdoms?"

Myrese felt a cold knot form in her stomach. This wasn't good. If Vales knew that much, then he had spies everywhere, and they had all underestimated his reach. "He's just trying to make a better life for himself and the people of Restia Village."

"Using that journal of his, right?" Mr. Vales smirked. "How quaint. But tell me, why would you protect someone who has no idea what you truly are? Someone who could never truly understand the life you've led?"

"I'm centuries older than you," Myrese said coldly. "So don't act like you know everything about me."

Mr. Vales chuckled. "Centuries of killing and you think you've found redemption in a sleepy little village?"

Myrese held her tongue. She couldn't exactly say that all of her assassination attempts ended up healing the target instead. In fact, it was a bizarre feeling to hear someone speak of her redemption when she didn't actually kill anyone. The man's question echoed in her mind as she stared into his cold, calculating gaze.

"I don't need your approval," she replied firmly. "And if you've sent men to bring me here for a chat, you must have something important to say."

"Actually, no, I don't," Mr. Vales said with a shrug. "I just wanted to see the look on your face when my men burn down everything your precious village has built up. If you had just eliminated the Traveler like we agreed, Restia Village would have remained. Though, I would've added that to my collection. The rumored profits are incredibly enticing."

Myrese's eyes went wide with horror. "You wouldn't dare!" she hissed, fury burning in her eyes.

"I've done worse," Mr. Vales said, his tone casual, yet the malice in his eyes was unmistakable. "I'll do anything to get what I want, and you've failed to deliver to me. That's why I'm stepping in."

Myrese struggled against the magical bindings, her heart racing. "You can't! Erik won't let you!"

Mr. Vales blinked, a slow, wicked smile spreading across his face. It had the same aura as Erik's greed, but the difference was that this greed was not for gold or power, but for something more sinister. "Erik? So, you've grown close enough to know his name?"

Myrese immediately sensed that she had said too much, but it was too late to take the words back. She gritted her teeth and glared at Mr. Vales. "What of it?"

He lowered himself to meet her gaze. "At first, I thought I'd let my men have their way with you while Restia Village burns down, but now I'm starting to get the feeling you have a bond with that Traveler. Something that I can use..."

Myrese's stomach turned. "If you lay a finger on anyone in that village, I'll-"

"What? Kill me? You failed to kill the Traveler, so I'm not too worried," Mr. Vales taunted, his smile growing as he stood up. "But, I do find your sudden attachment to this place... intriguing. It seems like you've gone soft. Or perhaps, you've found something here that you didn't have in your line of work. Whatever the case is, I'll exploit that to obtain both that Traveler's journal and the village itself."

Myrese's mind raced, trying to think of a way to warn Erik and the villagers. The knife she had given Trudicana was their only hope. If she could somehow communicate with them, maybe they could prepare a defense or rescue attempt. But as she glared at Mr. Vales, she knew she couldn't give him the satisfaction of knowing how much she cared for these people.

"Have fun, my dear little Myrese," Mr. Vales said, snapping his fingers to call his men forward. "By the time you're broken, I'll have that journal and village in my possession-"

Both Myrese and Mr. Vales flinched from the sudden enormous pressure of mana exuding from what looked like a steel door. She had felt this aura before, and it was familiar.

Mr. Vales quickly recovered as he realized what was going on, but it was too late. A golden burst of magic demolished the door, sending shrapnel and debris flying across the room. Standing in the doorway was none other than Talia, her expression stoic as ever. Behind her, Erik popped into view.

"Myr! I'm here to rescue you!" Erik shouted confidently.

Mr. Vales scowled and barked a command, prompting his men to aim their crossbows at the pair.

"Myr! Talia's here to rescue you!" Erik shouted less confidently as he ducked back behind Talia.