I ran alongside Lucidel, entering the now restricted arena. There were security guards everywhere, moving out of the way for Lucidel.

At the start of the hallway was someone's corpse, riddled with holes and with its head decapitated. There was blood spilled everywhere, on the floor and on the walls, a truly horrifying sight.

Death... I got a flashback to my death which happened a little over a year ago. I lingered on the traumatic memory, grabbing my solar plexus where I was stabbed. This was the first time I've encountered death after that time. Chills ran down my spine, but I dismissed the warnings my brain was sending. Taking my gaze from the bloody mess, I looked at the security guard who was standing there.

"He was the perpetrator, at least one of them. There were 3 security guards who suffered fatal injuries, while only a single one survived. A total of four people infiltrated the arena, with one of them dying by my hand," the security guard says.

As I would find out, he was the leader of the security team here, a special forces soldier that Lucidel knew personally. He had a gun resting on his hip, with three glowing pink lines running down it.

"Where did they run off to?" Lucidel questions the guard.

"They went north-east, disappearing in a fast ship. We got the police chasing them currently. However, we'll need reinforcements as all of them are enlightened."

Lucidel’s grave expression told me of the weight that this unforeseen situation carried. "Adam, look for the treasure!" He ordered.

I entered my locker room, searching for my mother's sword that was now mine. It was the only remnant of her, besides the blue mark on my chest.

I knew it would be this way, but hoped to be wrong. The Sunsword was gone, taken by these perpetrators. I was furious to find out I lost it. Another mistake. Notifying Lucidel of my findings, I stared into the floor with gritted teeth. Damn it!! I should've considered the Sunsword to be a liability here. If I knew I can't use it in the arena, I wouldn't have taken it here! If only I took it to the hotel instead of trusting these incompetent security guards!

Lucidel grabbed my shoulder, saying he'll get it back.

"What?"

"It's my responsibility. I was the one who told you that you could leave it here, so I'll get it back."

He asked the security guard if he could locate the police officers chasing the thieves down. The guy nodded, sharing their current location.

"Shit... I've just lost communication with them. I have to call reinforcements!"

"Don't. Call off anyone you wanted to send there. I'll get it done myself," Lucidel commands, preparing to leave on a short notice.

The security guy stops him. "Wait, before you go, I have to inform you of something. They had red hot glowing eyes and their veins were the same color. I couldn't identify their magic, but it was bizarre, so be careful!"

Lucidel nodded, walking outside of the arena. I followed behind, but he stopped me. "Stay here in the arena. I'll be back in an hour tops."

"Why can't I go!?"

"It's dangerous, stay here," he insists.

I tried arguing, but I was cut short by Lucidel's persistency. He wanted to retrieve the Sunsword alone, so I couldn't do anything about it.

"I'd tell you to be careful, but I've yet to see anyone stronger than you," I note.

As he left, something didn't feel right. I was worried for some reason. The trauma I have from past experiences plagues my mind, and I start overthinking the situation. Why did they break into the arena, and steal my Sunsword. It is a national treasure... but how did they know it was there?

Moreover, these intruders with glowing red eyes were strong enough to kill multiple enlightened guards. I didn't like the idea of Lucidel going after them alone.

"I should not worry... Lucidel is a tier 5 mage..."

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I go back to the locker room, finding that my sword I used in the arena was still there. The matches wouldn't start for another hour, so I had time to wait for Lucidel to come back. 20 minutes have already passed from when he left, so I should expect him to be on his way back soon...

As I turned back in the locker room, I jumped back like a scared cat. After yesterday's surprises, another one awaited me in the locker room.

There was a message carved into the wall.

This message wasn't there when I searched for the Sunsword. It had to be carved into the wall while Lucidel and I were outside. The handwriting reminded me of the first message carved into my desk in school: "Beware of strangers.” A short and cryptic message that I still don't understand. This time, the message was much clearer.

‘Follow Lucidel. You'll find him in the abandoned building next to the Central Bank.’

I knew where the Central Bank was. It wasn't faraway from here, but it would take me at least 25 minutes with public transport. I'll follow the message and take a cab.

The message heeds to my instincts, so it is natural to follow it. I don't want something happening to Lucidel, and the whole situation technically arose because of me. Nothing else was stolen besides the Sunsword.

I quickly called a cab, telling the guy where we need to go in a half-panicked frenzy. He drove slowly in the beginning, but I pulled out my sword and told him to speed up, after which he didn't follow the standardized speed limit.

We got there in about 10 minutes, to which I thanked my driver, giving him a tip that doubled the price of the drive.

I looked into the 7 story abandoned building, ready to find Lucidel inside.

"I hope the message is right," I mumble, running into the building.

It was dark, but I could orient myself easily. Once I sensed the overwhelming aura of my general, I knew where he was.

The 3rd floor.

The stairs leading me upwards were made of concrete, just like everything in this building. It was an unfinished project that the government decided to postpone since the funding had to go into other things. There were many buildings like these, since the region of Holdanis is extremely large. Over two billion people inhabited this region, but there was still land without streets and buildings everywhere. That's just how huge this land is.

I entered the 3rd floor, looking around for signs of life. Before I even got there, I could sense Lucidel was fighting multiple opponents.

There he was, with his arms extended forwards. There were 4 opponents, with one of them missing an arm. The 5th one was cut in two, both parts of him laying motionless on the ground. The blood seepage was minimal, since Lucidel's light burnt its victims along with cutting them.

The 4 guys that were alive had glowing red eyes, with their arms having veins which radiated the same color. All of them looked crazed and maniacal, like they've drugged themselves heavily.

"Lucidel!"

He turned around, his face panicked. "Kid! Why are you here!?" he angrily asks.

"I had a hunch that you need help. Looking at you now... OH GOD!!" I almost puke.

Lucidel had his abdomen pierced, with blood leaking into his clothes. The crimson liquid was also running down his arm, and there was a small cut on his face.

"I'm fine kid! Go back!" He grumbles, extending his hand backwards while still looking at his opponents.

"I'm not leaving you to fight alone!"

"You're a liability," he says while one of his opponents dashes forward, trying to pierce him with an ice shard.

His opponent is thrust backwards with Lucidel casting an explosion made of light energy.

"I can help and you know that!" I argue.

I butt in, raising my sword towards our enemies. It looked like my words got to Lucidel, as he raised his arms, ready to fight alongside me. "Just watch your back, their magic isn't conventional."

I nod at Lucidel's words, ready to face the eye-glowing maniacs.

They rush all at once, conjuring up different spells. I jump to the side, surrounding the 4 of them with Lucidel. Once they are between us, we have the positional advantage.

My opponent steps onto the ground, raising chunks of concrete and firing them towards me. I prepare to cut the concrete with my sword, but the stone solid turns liquidy. As I stare at it for a few milliseconds, it turns into water. The abstract magic continues, solidifying again. This time, it turned to ice, with sharp spikes reaching for my head. This all happened in less than a second, so my reaction time had to be quick.

I avoided it just barely, moving out of the way.

My opponent, along with every single one of them had manapools the size of two bottles, twice that of mine.

The red-eyed maniac rushed at me, creating fire in each of his palms. I intercepted his attack, deflecting one hand with my knee, while turning the other with the hilt of my sword. The 2 fireballs hit the ceiling and floor, creating a huge explosion which collapsed both.

The entire building shook as all of us fell down to the lower floor. The rubble falling on my head crumbled on contact with my body.

I dashed forward, swinging my sword with the intention to cut my enemy down. He didn't try and avoid it, rather tanking the attack head on. My sword slashed his chest, but he didn't budge. I could see that he was preparing another spell in his hands, so I kicked him upwards, making his body fly through the ceiling and crash through the 4th and 5th floor.

I looked at Lucidel, observing his battle for a short moment. His feet dug into the concrete with each step, his body evading the oncoming blasts of fire and lightning.

The abandoned building was quickly shifting as all of us destroyed it bit by bit. Lucidel couldn't use any wide-area magic as he risked my life along with the civilians around the building. The problem was that we were located in the midst of the city, surrounded by a densely populated area.

Lucidel glanced at me, nodding his head. I nodded back, jumping upwards to reach my opponent. These thieves are not to be taken lightly. Their strength is incredible, and their magic is tough to get around.