"Where are we?" Kathleen asked.

"Look in front of you," Eddy said, gasping for breath.

"What happened? Are you okay? Theo, what happened to him?" Kathleen asked worriedly.

"I am fine. It's just that I've used my Gate spell a bit too much. That's why I'm feeling exhausted. Let's go to the city first—you will need some medical attention."

Kathleen noticed then that somehow they were at the very edge of the forest and, in front of them, the Luminas city gate.

"Let's go," Theo said.

They started walking toward the city door. Luminas City is as big as it is beautiful. The city is surrounded by deep forest on two sides and mountains on the other, so because of protection reasons, it's surrounded by huge walls which cover the city from every side, making it hard to invade by monsters. In the center of the city, there is the largest guild hall in the world, where many adventurers dream of becoming pro adventurers. There is a river which flows in the middle of the city. Luminas City is not as old as other cities, but because of the guild and the surrounding forest and mountain area, a flock of adventurers comes every day. Because of that, a lot of traders from neighboring cities and villages come to Luminas City to sell off their stock, making it the busiest city compared to the other cities.

"So this is Luminas City. I heard a lot of stories from the villagers who came regularly to trade in the city," Kathleen said.

As they approached the city gate, Kathleen noticed the enormous gate and the walls which surround the city.

"This is huge," Kathleen frowned and looked at the people who were waiting patiently just to enter the city.

There were all kinds of people there. Some were traders from other villages, easily noticed by their huge luggage. Some were adventurers wearing armor and carrying swords and bows.

Because there was a line and people were not stopping coming, Eddy went ahead to take the spot. As for Kathleen and Theo, they were walking slowly because of Kathleen's wounds, and also this was the first time Kathleen came to the city, so she was taking in as much of the scenery as possible.

"Hey, miss!" someone called Kathleen from behind.

Kathleen turned to them. Two guys—one wearing light armor, probably a mage, and the other one who called Kathleen was carrying a long sword. Safe to say, they were adventurers who were also entering the city.

"Hey, miss, join us. You won't go far with these losers as your partners," said the swordsman.

Kathleen and Theo tried to ignore them for some time, but they kept following and harassing them. Then suddenly, the mage tried to touch Kathleen from behind. Due to the suddenness of the situation, Kathleen reacted very violently and tried unsheathing her sword. At that very moment, Theo realized what Kathleen was about to do and stopped her from unsheathing her sword.

"Don't do this here," Theo muttered quietly.

"Hey, can you please stop following us?" Theo asked the adventurers.

"Look at this guy—he can talk," the swordsman muttered angrily.

"Oh, did we make you angry?" the mage said, laughing.

Theo was about to say something, but then someone came from behind the adventurers and said in a very harsh voice:

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

"Scram."

Hearing that voice, the adventurers looked behind them and tried to say something, but they froze in absolute shock.

The man stood there silently, not saying a word.

"These guys are with you? I am sorry. We didn't know that. We deeply apologize for our mistakes, sir," one of the adventurers stammered.

Then they ran away in the direction of the jungle.

Theo and Kathleen were surprised. Who was this man? They didn't know him, but still, he had helped them.

"New to the city? From the looks of your equipment and the sword you're carrying, miss, I assume you are here to join the adventurers' guild," the man asked, smiling.

Kathleen was about to answer, but Theo jumped in first. "Yes, we are. Who might you be, sir?"

"Oh, so I was right! I am Barren Blackthorn, a regular member of the guild—though for some reason, everyone thinks of me as some kind of big shot."

Kathleen thought to herself, I'm not surprised. The massive amount of muscles and that huge sword, which puts a normal two-handed greatsword to shame—he's like a wild beast.

Kathleen bowed as she said, "Thank you, sir, for helping us."

"HA HA HA HA!"

"No need to thank me—I didn't do anything," Barren said, puffing his chest.

Barren was not a normal-looking adventurer. With his 6-foot-2 height and massive muscles, he could be compared to a gorilla, though no one actually dared to call him that. The man had brownish hair combed backward, which suited him quite nicely. He also wore heavy armor that bore countless marks of battle.

In battle, Barren was a force of nature, wielding his greatsword with precision and strength that belied its enormous size.

"What are you doing here? I was waiting for you guys at the entrance," Eddy questioned angrily.

Kathleen was so engrossed in her own thoughts about Barren that she didn't even notice Eddy approach from behind. Eddy's voice hit her like a truck, returning her to reality.

"Oh, Eddy! Some adventurers were harassing us when Sir Barren showed up and helped us fend them off," Theo interjected.

"Wait, Eddy," Barren said, surprised. "How long has it been? Where have you been?" Barren asked, smiling.

"Wait—you know my brother?" Theo asked, surprised.

"Know him? We're old friends. When I first joined the guild, I would regularly go adventuring with your brother. Those were the days, am I right, Eddy?"

"Thank you so much, Barren, for saving my brother and my friend," Eddy said with the same dull expression.

"Come on, man, don't say that," Barren said, blushing.

"Is this guy really blushing like a child over a compliment?" Kathleen thought to herself.

"Anyway, let's enter the city first. My friend needs some medical attention," Eddy said.

"Oh, what happened? Let me see," Barren asked Kathleen.

"Nothing, it's just a minor wound," said Kathleen as she showed her upper arm, which had been wounded while running from that woman.

"Give me just one second," Barren said and started chanting:

"By the grace of the sacred star, let wounds be closed, and life restored. Heal."

As soon as Barren's chant ended, a bright, glowing light covered Kathleen's upper arm.

Kathleen was looking at her arm in shock; she had never in her life seen healing magic.

As the light started disappearing, Kathleen began feeling the pain go away. When the light fully vanished, her upper arm was as good as new—not a single scratch remained.

The basic four elemental magics—wind, earth, water, and fire—were very common, so Kathleen had seen them back in the village. But she had never seen any light magic or dark magic spells, so this was a very shocking experience for her.

Kathleen said as she looked astonished at her upper arm, "So this is light magic."

Kathleen knew that dark magic spells were primarily summoning magic, and light magic was for healing. But knowing something and seeing it were two completely different things.

"Thank you, sir," Kathleen bowed once again in front of Barren.

Kathleen couldn't even imagine that this huge guy would use such gentle magic as light magic.

"Hey now, don't embarrass me. Get up. I'm just helping a friend in need."

"But—"

"No 'ifs' and 'buts.' You're a friend of Eddy, so you're my friend too."

"You know what? You remind me of Eddy when we used to adventure. So cheerful, gentle, and always thanking us for every little thing."

Kathleen and Theo were both surprised as they looked at Eddy at the same time.

Kathleen thought to herself, I don't know this guy for long, but gentle, curious, cheerful—are we speaking about the same person?

Looking at Theo's face, Kathleen could easily determine what Theo was thinking too.

"Enough of the useless chatter. Let's go to the city first," Eddy frowned, clearly wanting this conversation to end.

"I know what you're thinking. What I described and what you're seeing are totally different, right?" Barren said, looking very sad.

"O

n that fateful day, the Eddy I knew got lost..."

To be continued.