The wind blew over the Kuni Steppe. It carried the stench of blood to the air.

Cain sat on a stone, he was watching the Hunters who extracted what was left from the Horde Brawl with Beil sat next to him.

With more Hunters came from Havelvaih, the place became very crowded. Cain also saw some of the Hunters got into a squabble over who’s getting the materials.

He thought if these Hunters were here when the Horde Brawl happened, it would’ve been a total chaos when the looting time began. Fortunately, only Ziraf’s group was there when that happened.

Cain saw Ziraf’s group was coming towards him. Their cart was full of materials from the beasts.

“Are you done, Cain?” asked Ziraf when he and his group approached Cain.

“Yeah, good haul.” said Cain. Cain peeked to their cart, he did not feel any pain on his wrist. Now he was certain, the Dragon Tyrant Rex was the cause.

“Great. You want to come with us, Cain? We’ll go to Havelvaih.” said Ziraf.

“Yeah, sure.” responded Cain. He wanted to find out why the Bracelet of Azure Mysticbone was resonating with the Alpha of Kuni Steppe. But he decided to go to Havelvaih first. He could investigate the Dragon Tyrant Rex later.

He had seen an amazing thing on his first day on Krevias. Now, he couldn't wait to see what kind of city Havelvaih was. And of course, to see the beautiful Olren Lake from up close.

“Nice, you can ignore Rollei’s rant and Vigel’s noisy comment on the way.” Ziraf smirked.

“For real, Boss?” responded Rollei.

“Yeah! For real, Boss!? I mean, I’m not noisy, right? how could my comments be noisy? I just say things that popped up on my mind! There’s no way something like that could be specified as noisy comments!” said Vigel.

“Blargh…” grumbled Rollei.

Ziraf could only shook his head. And Cain just chuckled.

“Also, sorry Cain for what I said earlier. Just like what the Boss said, rants.” said Rollei.

“No worries.” Cain replied.

“Alright, let’s go!” said Ziraf.

They went to Havelvaih on foot. Because the cart was full of materials, they had no choice but to walk. They did not want to overwork the horse that pulled the cart. Their cart wasn't a big type cart like a wagon that could transport goods and people with heavy load. They already estimated the weight of the materials so the horse could pull the cart without having troubles.

Except Beil, he rode the horse on the head. The horse did not seem to mind the otter.

Two other members of the group finally introduced themselves, the woman was Hoffa, she was Trom’s little sister, and the last was a quiet man named Yudey.

“By the way, Cain, sorry if I sound rude, but I don't believe you’re a Grass rank Hunter,” said Ziraf. “You know, with your knowledge and those deep analyzing skills, I bet you’re at least in the rank of River, hmm… maybe Spinel? Topaz?”

Other Hunters also got curious to what their Boss just said.

Cain just laughed lightly. He raised his hand, then, a blue crystal appeared above his palm.

“I am an Aquamarine rank Hunter.” said Cain.

“Damn, he is the lowest.” said Rollei as he saw the crystal.

“That is indeed an Aquamarine crystal,” said Ziraf. “Unbelievable. You have a very vast knowledge about beasts, Cain. Despite being a newbie Hunter.” he scratched his head.

“Indeed, I didn't even know that Grizzly Demonic Gorilla was a young one.” said Trom.

Yudey nodded in agreement.

Cain smiled. “What about you? What rank are you?” he asked the Hunters.

“We’re all Topaz rank, and our Boss is Alexandrite rank.” said Vigel.

“Woah, you’re all in the River rank, veterans, huh?” responded Cain.

Ziraf laughed when he heard Cain’s comment. “Yeah, those kinds of veterans who guessed wrong about which beast will win.” he smirked as he looked to his Hunter group.

“Of course! Those were rare beasts, Boss! The information about them is just like their rarity. How could we possibly know?” responded Rollei.

“Cain knows.” said Vigel, shrugged.

“Yeah, how do you know about those rare beasts, Cain? asked Trom.

“Err… a book?” responded Cain.

“See, Rollei? Read more books!” said Vigel.

“Shut up, Vigel!” responded Rollei.

The Hunters laughed because of their banters.

Cain also asked about the Dragon Tyrant Rex to them. Ziraf told him that beast was already there long before Krevias was founded. Some said that was some kind of sorcerer’s doing in the past. But it wasn't proven because there was no evidence of some sort. Some Hunters tried to subdue this undead beast. But they never managed to do it because the beast was far stronger than it should be. According to the veterans of Hunters and the beast researchers, the Dragon Tyrant Rex in Kuni Steppe was in the same rank of a young adult Grand Dragon in terms of power.

Then, when they discovered it would not attack humans unless provoked, they left it alone. They also did not know why the Dragon Tyrant Rex only attacked the beasts around it and never left its spot.

When Krevias Kingdom was founded, it helped repel some invasions towards Havelvaih from the steppe direction. The soldiers of Krevias knocked the spire where the Dragon Tyrant Rex dwelled with a far-reach magic when the invader was marching around the spire. Disturbed from its slumber, it wrecked the invader’s army that was baffled why there was a beast inside the spire. It also helped neutralize countless large beast hordes in the steppe. After that, the Dragon Tyrant Rex became an urban legend in Krevias, it was given a title by the people of Krevias, the Guardian of Kuni Steppe. Some people thought it was sent by the Goddess to watch over the steppe. Some of them also fanatically worshipped the Dragon Tyrant Rex.

“The Guardian of Kuni Steppe, huh?” Cain rubbed his chin.

“Judging from your response, you’re not from around here, are you?” asked Vigel.

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“No, I am a wandering Hunter.” said Cain. He petted Beil that comfortably sat on the horse’s head. Hoffa asked if she could pet Beil too, Cain nodded in answer.

“Adventurer, huh?” said Ziraf.

“Look, we’re almost there.” shouted Vigel. He was pointing to a direction in front of them.

A statue of woman stood in the view. About 9 feet high. It was made of stone, beautifully sculpted. It was the statue of the Goddess of Nazula.

The Goddess of Nazula was worshipped as the sole god of Nazula. She had many names, the Beginning and the Creator of All were the most used ones. The majority of humans worshipped her across the world.

Near the feet of the statue, there was a smaller statue of skeletal Dragon Tyrant Rex, just like the one in Kuni Steppe. The color of its statue was a bit different from the Goddess statue. Cain assumed the smaller statue was much ‘younger’ than the bigger one.

The statues stood between them and the sparkling Olren Lake. The sparkling came from the reflection of the sun that was slowly descending to the horizon.

“We’ve arrived at the perfect time! A sunset! Beautiful, isn't it?” said Vigel.

“Indeed…” said Cain. He stopped walking.

The Hunters just kept walking, leaving him.

Cain was just gazing towards the sparkling lake.

“Lexa and Higa would love to see this…” Cain let out a bitter smile as he exhaled a deep breath. He held his chest.

Then, he continued his walk. He knew, the longer he gazed the lake, the more he couldn't hold the tears.

They arrived at a small village near the lake. After the security check by the guards, they boarded a ferryboat to cross the lake. The ferry was big enough to carry even twenty four-wheeled carts. The ferry design was simple, but Cain could see it was sturdy, he understood that the ferry was built only to bring the people to the city or vice versa. He also felt there was magic covering the ferry. In fact, the magic was the reason that the boat was moving, because there were no sails on it.

The cart was left in the storage area in the lower deck, Yudey stayed with it, he drew the short straw. Not only them who boarded the boat, there were also others like tourists and traders.

When the ferry was halfway to Havelvaih, the sun was finally gone from the horizon. But, when Cain thought the moon’s reflection was going to shine on the lake, the lake was slowly glowing blue and yellow, denying the reflection of the moon. The glow was illuminating the city in the center of the lake. Then, there were also small sparkling lights on the lake, It was as if the starry night sky latched to the surface of the lake.

“Woaah…” Cain’s expression said it all.

The Hunters just chuckled when they see Cain’s expression.

“Mee~eip.” Beil was on Hoffa’s hands. He also looked to the lake.

“Olrenea gis neus,” said Ziraf to Cain. “The glowing lake that defeated the beautiful moon.” he continued.

“That is true, this is beautiful. The moon is no match for this,” Cain could not take his eyes off the lake. “What was that by the way?”

“Olrenea gis neus? It was from the local tongue of Krevias. My grandma used to teach me about it. But that sentence is the only thing I could learn.” Ziraf laughed.

“I see, that’s cool,” said Cain. “By the way, what will happen if I swim to cross the lake?” asked he.

“You’ll be pinned down by the mages on the watchtowers that surrounds the city. Of course with water magic, Krevias wasn’t only famous for its lake, but also for the powerful water mages.” said Ziraf.

“Rollei here is a water mage,” Vigel pointed at Rollei. “Too bad her rant is stronger than her magic.” Viger shrugged.

“Oh yeah? With this water around, I could send you to the bottom of the lake with just one finger-snap if you don't shut your mouth, Vigel.” Rolley crossed her arms on her chest.

“Pipe down, will you? Look, that’s the harbor. We’ll be docked soon.” said Ziraf.

The harbor was wide, it was a bit crowded with people and their goods. The pier was almost full by some fancy ships and other ferryboats. Their ferry docked on the large empty pier.

“Welcome to Havelvaih.” said Ziraf as he stepped out from the ferry.

Yudey brought the cart out and met with the group.

Cain looked around. He saw the mages on the watchtowers Ziraf mentioned.

“Let’s go to the bar at the Hunter Guild, I’m hungry.” said Rollei.

“Me too!” responded Vigel.

“Go ahead. I’m gonna sell these materials first.” said Ziraf.

“Alright. See you there, Boss!” said Vigel. “How about you, Cain? You can come with the Boss if you want to sell the materials, he knows the place to sell them higher than the normal price.” he added.

“Yeah, sounds good. I’ll go with Ziraf, I guess.” Cain replied.

Ziraf nodded. “Come on.” he took the horse’s reins from Yudey.

Beil rode the horse again on the head.

Cain went to the market with Ziraf.

Havelvaih at night was less lively than Aroum or Haneama. Small stalls were already closed when they arrived at the market. Only the big stalls were still open.

Ziraf approached one of the stalls with a large building behind it.

“Ziraf? Got something to sell?” said the man behind the stall.

“Materials from the Horde Brawl, Redle.” said Ziraf to the man called Redle.

“Oh shit, you’ve got something good?” asked Redle.

Ziraf laughed. “You bet. A Sunburst Liger and a Grizzly Demonic Gorilla.” said he.

Redle grinned while nodding. He clapped his hands two times. Then, several men came out from the building behind him.

“Here.” said Ziraf. Those men began to unload the cart after he pointed to his cart with his thumb.

“So, who’s this?” said Redle.

“Ah, this is Cain, a fellow Hunter. He wants to sell his haul too.” said Ziraf.

“Alright, show me.” responded Redle after they shook hands.

Cain took out some of the materials from the Bag, but not all of them.

“Hmm… these are nice haul.” Redle inspected Cain’s materials.

“Where’s the rest? You don't want to sell them?” asked Ziraf. He did not see the Mountain Ogre’s eyes and the heart of Whitemold Golem.

“No, I’ll use them for something else.” Cain replied.

“Alright, young man… that’ll be… 630 Fuls.” said Redle.

“Come on, Redle. He’s a newbie Grass. Help him a little, will you?” said Ziraf.

“Hmmhh… fine, 700 Fuls.”

“I’d say you take it, Cain. With that amount, you could live easy in Krevias for a month.” said Redle.

“Pff! Hahah! That’ll only last one week for me.” Redle laughed.

“You should stop drinking and wasting your money in the brothel, Redle.” responded Ziraf.

“Piss off, Ziraf. This man has need. Hahah!” said Redle.

Cain shrugged. “I’ll take it, thank you.” he said.

Redle nodded then entered the building. After 10 minutes, he came out with three bags, one of the bags was smaller than the two.

“Here, 700 Fulls coin for you,” Redle gave the small bag to Cain. “And 9590 Fuls coin for you, Ziraf.”

“Woahh! 9590!?” gasped Ziraf.

“Yeah, 6000 Fuls alone for those rare materials you brought,” said Redle.

“Looks like my group’s gonna have a party tonight! Alright. Let’s go to the Hunter Guild, Cain,” said Ziraf. “Later, Redle.”

Cain nodded a bit to Redle, then they rode the cart to the Hunter Guild.

“Your group let you handle the money alone?” asked Cain.

Ziraf laughed, he was handling the horse’s reins. “I know them since they were kids, I cherished them. We split every haul and the quest rewards equally. And yeah, they trust me with those.” he glanced to the coin bags.

Cain was thinking, maybe he, Lexa and Higa would be like Ziraf and his group if the incident with Kingsmight never happened.

The cart stopped in front of a huge building, the Hunter Guild of Krevias branch.

Ziraf took his bags. “Come on.”

“Let’s go, Beil.” said Cain.

“Mee-eip.” Cain put Beil to his hand.

“Here,” Ziraf tossed a coin to a teenager near them.

Then, the teenager led the cart to somewhere behind the building.

Cain and Ziraf entered the building. They looked around on their right. The right area was the bar, while the left area was for Hunter Guild administration.

“There.” Cain pointed to a table. Vigel was waving at them.

They walked to the table. On their way, Cain looked at a group of people with armor he had seen before.

As he got closer, one of the armored men who had his back on Cain suddenly stood up, turned around and bumped into Cain.

“Ah! I’m sorry, I didn't se-.” after he saw Cain clearly, the man was aghast.

So was Cain.

“Bagulv!?”

“Cain!?”

They said at the same time.