"It's impossible! Menace is just a myth!" yelled a woman wearing heavy armour, sitting at the corner as she smashed her empty beer mug.

The eyes in the inn turned towards the woman. Menace was not a myth. The all-time rankings were something that everybody could see whenever they wished.

"You don't know what true power is! Menace holds true power!" shouted another woman sitting at the other end of the room.

"I don't think Menace is a myth. But, it's preposterous to think that he climbed up the rankings with his power alone!!" exclaimed a man at the centre of the room.

"No you don't under–"

In a matter of seconds, the entire restaurant had started debating about the rising star, 'Menace'.

The people who believed in him, gathered at the right of the room, while the ones who didn't, gathered at the left side.

However, the people like Nox and Zelphar, who didn't wish to get involved in the debate, moved to the back of the room.

Most people involved in the debate were drunk from their heads to their toes. What proceeded couldn't even be called a debate. It was more of a mix of indistinguishable shouting.

Most people believed that a major guild supported Menace from the background, helping him in whatever he needed to become the strongest.

However, a minority believed that he wasn't associated with any guild but climbed the rankings with his own strength.

"You should whisper stuff like that!" scolded Elrid as he pulled on Zelphar's ears.

"Sooooooryy!" cried the elf, trying to break free of the old elf's grasp.

'Maybe I shouldn't have entered my name,' thought Nox as he witnessed the verbal debate between the groups.

Zelphar finally broke free of Elrid's grasp and made his way toward Nox.

"So did you meet him?" he whispered softly.

Nox thought about what to say before finally replying, "Yeah. He looked very cool and strong."

The elf's eyes lit up. It was as if a little child had finally found a hero.

Suddenly, the inn's doors were opened with a bang. The entire room fell silent.

A woman wearing a black t-shirt with black jeans stood outside the doors. Tears dropped from her tiny, muddy face.

"Ignis," mumbled Nox, weaving his way through the crowd, walking towards the woman.

.

.

.

Most players debating moments ago had already returned to their rooms, while a handful stayed behind to finish their drinks.

Nox and his former team member sat at the corner most table.

"It's okay now. Tell me what happened," Nox whispered in as soothing a voice as he could.

Gulping down the water kept in front of her, the young woman said, "I-I rushed here as soon as I came to know that you had returned!" after a pause, she stuttered, "I-It's ab-about Eli and L-Liam."

"Calm down Ignis. I'm here now," Nox calmly said, refilling the woman's cup.

Although Nox was worried when he heard the name of his other teammates, he couldn't show it. After all, Ignis was worried enough as is.

Ignis drank from the cup that had just been refilled before wiping the dirt and mud off her face.

"L-Liam and Elizabeth are mi-missing for the past one w-week!" the young woman finally managed to say.

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'What!?'

"What do you mean?" the man calmly asked.

"T-they had went out together to buy something, a week ago. But, they never came back!" silently exclaimed Ignis.

Tears dripped down her entire face. Dark circles were beneath her eyes, indicating that she hadn't slept for a long time. Her arms and legs shivered violently. She was afraid. But of what?

"It's going to be allright. I'm here now, aren't I," Nox comforted the young woman, brushing his hands through her messy hair.

"Y-yes," Ignis replied, burying her head into Nox's shoulder. He patted her head for some time, comforting her.

Nox knew the pain and loneliness she had experienced these past few days; after all, he had been more or less in the same spot as her.

"You can rest now. I'll take care of everything," Nox said soothingly.

As if she was waiting to hear the words, the young woman lost her consciousness, too exhausted to reply.

Nox beckoned for Margaret, who was standing just a few feet away.

"Is this the thing you wished to inform me?" he inquired.

"That is correct," the red-haired woman replied.

"I see," Nox replied, "Does she have a room here?"

"Yes. She stayed together with her brother," Margaret replied.

"Staying there would only make her remember her brother more. Please, take her to my room tonight," Nox requested, slowly pulling away the young woman's face resting on his shoulder.

"Very well. Where will you stay then?" the waitress asked as she effortlessly picked up Ignis.

"I don't think I'll be able to go back to my room tonight. Do you know anything about the disappearances?" he inquired.

"I do," she replied.

Nodding his head, Nox requested, "Then please, tell me about it when you return after taking ignis to my room."

Offering a bow to Nox, Margaret went away, carefully carrying Ignis' unconscious body.

The man sipped on the glass of water kept in front of him.

Even though he had left his former team, he still cared for them. In the current situation, there wasn't a chance that he would leave them.

Nox had a sudden premonition.

'Moving forward, things will not be as pleasant as they were till now.'

##########

Through the moonlit streets walked a man, covering himself with a dark bluish cloak wrapped around his head. He was about six feet tall, and his fit physique could be seen through his black, half-sleeved robe.

The seams of the robe were a darkish shade of golden. The man wore a full-sleeved black skinsuit under his robe and a blue rope on his waist to keep his loose robe from needlessly fluttering in the breeze.

He carried a ginormous bag on his shoulder, almost double his size. The bag was filled with stuff and was on the brink of bursting apart.

The streets were almost empty, and the shops had already closed down. Although light orbs flew up in the air, they barely emitted any light, maybe since it had been years since their last maintenance.

Many narrow allies connected to the main road that the man was walking on. It could be said that the allies were the real roads of the kingdom. If one knew his way around the back alleys, they could travel incredibly fast throughout the kingdom.

Swish!

The man bent backwards, dodging the arrow aimed at his head by a hair's width.

Before the hood covering his face could drop, he caught its tip and pulled it over his head again.

"What's a human doing out so late at night?" sarcastically inquired a woman coming out of the dark alley beside the cloaked man.

"Not to mention that he's carrying such a heavy load," commented another man, emerging from behind the woman.

"It's our duty to help him. Isn't it?" mockingly asked the third goon, who had appeared beside the other two.

All three donned the same light armour, which had an insignia. The insignia resembled two fangs of a serpent's wide open mouth.

The woman carried a bow, one of the men carried a sword, while the third one carried a mace.

The man covered in a cloak, carrying a huge bag, didn't even flinch at the sudden appearance of the gangsters.

"Such an overconfident fool," the man with the mace muttered, appearing beside the cloaked man.

"Sun," whispered the man carrying the huge bag.

Before the goon could strike the man with his mace, his neck had been severed by a golden dagger held by the cloaked stranger.

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.

.

Ding-ding!

The sound of the bells hanging atop the door of the shop, where the man had just entered, chimed evidently in the silent night.

However, the building that he had entered was a familiar one. It was The Blazing Blacksmiths.

"I'm sorry, but we're closed for the day," informed Matt, cleaning a chest plate hanging on the wall, not bothering to turn around to see the visitor.

The stranger calmly called out, "Matt."

"Justin?" mumbled the blacksmith, turning around.

##########

"Why does he want us to do all the work!?" exclaimed a man pacing towards the door at the other end of the hallway. The man had olive skin and short red hair and wore an expensive three-piece maroon suit.

The gigantic hallway was made of expensive-looking marble, and exceptionally beautiful paintings hung every ten feet. A door at either end of the hallway was at least a few hundred metres long.

Big, golden chandeliers hung from the ceiling, illuminating the hallway with no windows. The floor was covered in a red carpet, and flower vases were spread throughout the hallway. The beauty of the mere hallway made one wonder just how beautiful the rooms must be.

"It's not our place to question the lord," the woman pacing beside the man replied. She had flowy blonde hair, pale skin and wore a blue suit.

"I know! But he has been acting so different these past couple of weeks. It's like he is afraid of something," the red-haired man commented.

"We, just have to obey what he says. If he tells us to go down to the zeroth floor and find out about someone, we do that!" replied the woman, waving back the hair which had appeared in front of her eyes.

"I guess you are right," replied the man sighing, "If the Lord ordered us to find out about this 'Menace' guy, then we have to do that no matter what."

"Glory to the Burning Flame!" exclaimed the guards at the door as they opened the door for the duo wearing the suits.

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