Deep within the forests south of Lissurian City of Zolis, six people desperately crashed through the foliage, uncaring for the noise they were making. Uncaring of what Monsters they could potentially call down on themselves.

In their minds, nothing could be worse than the two monsters behind them.

The setting sun cast deep shadows, merging with each other and plunging the forest in darkness.

One of those fleeing, a lithe man carrying a bow and empty quiver tripped, screaming out for help. None of his companions stopped. It was already too late.

Before the man even fully landed, a hole appeared in his chest, ending his life efficiently and cleanly.

The next to fall was an older and scarred woman carrying a dagger and hatchet. In her desperation and exhaustion, she miscalculated a jump over a fallen trunk. Instead of falling flat on her face, she managed to turned herself midfall, landing on her back with her weapons raised in a cross.

Her defense was insulting as a large claymore crushed through without resistance, mixing the woman with the earth.

The large man stood straight, prying his weapon loose and shaking it clean. Another man, much thinner but no less fit, landed beside him.

“You gonna take care of those two?” The large man asked, shrugging towards the last two survivors as they crashed through the undergrowth.

“No need. They have already been marked by a bugbear tribe.” Just as he finished speaking, two distinct, but no less terrified, screams resounded through the forest.

“And that would be them.”

“One more mission complete.” The large man scoffed.

“Oh, come on Tom, are you not liking our job anymore?”

Indeed, the two men that had caused such terror was Tom and Mark. Through the years, they had grown. In size, maturity, and power. Though neither were quite yet Experts, they were nearly there, and had both killed Experts before in their missions.

Tom had grown to nearly seven feet tall and was almost entirely muscle. He wore a mix of chainmail and leather with a metal plate covering his upper chest and a closed face armet that both protected and concealed his face.

The claymore he used, typically a two-handed weapon, was instead with a single hand. In Tom’s off hand, he wielded a heater shield, which was currently lashed to his back for quicker mobility through the forest.

Mike was a fit man that blended in well among the crowds. He wore dark fitted clothing and leathers that helped hide him in shadows. He wore a hood and a mask that covered his lower face.

His weapons of choice were a curved sword that remained sheathed on his back and a short wooden staff that could also be carried on his back but was currently carried. The staff allowed Mike to cast his Magic faster and for less Mana.

“I usually do like our jobs. They allow us to fight challenging opponents, allow us to hone our skills. But this? This was just a waste of our time.” Tom sighed, sitting down on the very tree trunk that had caused the woman’s demise.

Mike sat down next to him, “Oh come on big guy! Think of it as recognition of our increased strength. Just last year we would have seriously struggled or even died fighting these guys.”

“I know.” Tom allowed his claymore to sink its point into the ground and hung his head.

Mike focused, “Hey, what’s wrong?”

A moment passed as Tom tried to figure out how to put his feelings into word, “Its just that I feel we aren’t really going anywhere. We joined up as Adventurers to grow strong enough to help Alaster when the time came. We accepted the Guild Master’s offer in order to expedite that and yet it seems like we are just staying the same.”

“Nonsense. And even it was true, just look at us. Even if Alaster had enough power to defeat a hundred experts, he would no doubt have use for two people he could trust and could also defeat a few Experts.”

“But how would we even find him? The world is a big place.”

“Oh please! Alaster? We don’t have to find him. He will probably do something like blow up an army.” Mike joked.

Tom chuckled, “He never was the most subtle.”

Mike laughed, “No, you were never the most subtle. Even when you tried. He just never cared to be subtle.”

Tom joined his friend in laughter, grimacing a few moments later, “That is beginning to stink,” Pointing towards the crushed remains of the woman.

“Then let’s head back to town, report our success at dealing with the bandits, and get a drink.” Mike said, standing up.

“You paying?”

“We share the same money.”

“It’s the principle of the matter.”

“Ah huh, sure it is.”

Tom and Mike leisurely walked through the forest. The sun finished setting, casting the world in darkness and shadow. The more dangerous Monsters became more active, but even they avoided the two.

It was not deep enough in the forest for Monsters strong enough to concern the two, which is why the Bandits found it suitable to set up camp. Close enough to be safe from the Lethal Monsters and find good prey to steal from and murder, but far enough that most Law Enforcement would not be able to locate them.

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Unfortunately for the Bandits, they had killed the son of a prominent merchant. A merchant who was willing to pay quite a large amount for the Bandits’ elimination. The Bandits had made themselves enough a nuisance that the Guild Master had already tasked Mike and Tom with their removal, the additional reward was just a cherry on top.

Normally, such a mission would require some kind of proof of completion, but Mike and Tom and created a reputation for honest, brutal, and efficient mission completion. If they said someone was dead, one could be certain that the someone was in fact dead.

The pair were technically stationed in the town of Calaren, south of Zolis, however, the pursuit of the Bandits inevitably took them closer to Zolis than Calaren. This late in the day, they decided to spend the night in Zolis and return to Calaren in the morning.

The Capital of Lissura was busy throughout the day and night. Ordinarily, settlements would close their gates during the night, but Zolis only closed their gates during times of possible threats. The last time they closed their gates was nearly a decade ago, when a Monster Horde had passed within twenty miles of the city. The gates had remained closed until the Hunters had managed to deal with the Horde.

Mike and Tom walked out of the forest and came into view of the capital.

As one would expect, the Capital was magnificent. Its walls stood over a hundred meters tall and half that thick. Each individual brick had been enchanted to be more resilient against attacks, then the walls themselves had been enchanted to repel attacks. Atop each of the towers, enchanted plates created a protective dome over the entire city, preventing anything from entering or attacking the city from above.

Each gate had an entire Platoon of battle-hardened soldiers guarding it, equipped with devices in order to detect hidden cargo or passengers. Every single person attempting to enter or exit the city was scanned, not even the Nobility was exempt. A pair of ballista stood at each gate, loaded with Magic Piercing bolts.

And that was just the security measures that were public knowledge. Mike was certain that most of the defenses were hidden. Thousands of men and women patrolled and guarded the walls at any one moment. At the first sign of a threat, that number was doubled. And if a threat was identified to be targeting the Capital, that doubled number was once again doubled. In short, the garrison of Zolis numbered in the tens of thousands, though that number was constantly changing and not public.

Even at this hour, there was a lengthy line to enter the Capital. A line that moved quickly thanks to the experienced soldiers, who despite the repetitive and boring activity, did not slack, at least not these ones.

Mike allowed Tom to pay attention to their surroundings while he examined his Status. While their Levels were different, they were very close. They were just a few Levels short of becoming Experts. Tom only had a few Abilities, which he could use with lethal efficiency. But Mike, as a Mage, had numerous Abilities that he constantly had to fine tune. His practice allowed him to focus his Magic into very condensed shots of Wind, making it very sharp and difficult to defend against.

Wind Magic was renowned to be difficult to control due to its innate nature to be free. It was the Element of Freedom after all.

Despite the consistent pace they moved forward, it was still a long line. Mike finished his quick work long before they reached the gate.

The pair passed the time by playing cards, which Mike kept levitated as they moved, allowing them to play a game that ordinarily required a surface.

Eventually, they were only a few people behind the soldiers, so Mike put the cards away, with Tom proclaiming his victory, and both of them took out their Guild Cards, which acted as their identities.

The cart hauling several crates just ahead of them was waved through and the soldier waved the pair forward.

“Reason for entering?” The soldier asked seriously, without a hint of humor or boredom.

“We were looking for a place for the night. In the morning we will leave for Calaren to turn in our Guild Mission.” Mike explained, showing the soldier his Guild Card.

“Anything to declare?” The man asked, writing something down on his clipboard, not bothering to look at the Card.

Another Soldier waved the scanner over the pair. The scanner itself was really just an enchanted disc nailed onto a handle.

“Nothing sir.”

At the nod from the Soldier with the scanner the officer waved the pair through, “Don’t cause trouble.”

“Thank you.” Mike said with a fake smile.

The scanners gave off a weird feeling when they were used. It was uncomfortable for many, but for Mages, it was even worse. The scanner’s enchantment disrupted Mana, so for those sensitive to Mana, it was like ants crawling on every part of them. Thankfully, the feeling only lasted for a moment.

The pair walked under the massive portcullis and through the thick walls. Murder holes lined both the walls and ceiling, allowing the Soldiers to easily attack any intruders, should the need arise.

At the other side of the wall, another que was lined up, waiting to be scanned by guards in order to exit. Many of those entering the city loitered by the gate as they organized themselves, luckily each of the gates had a clearing. The clearing was designed to be clear of any cover attackers could use, allowing the defenders atop the wall to bombard them as they were hindered by more defenders guarding the streets.

It was not the first time the pair had visited the Capital. On their second trip, Mike had calculated the number of attackers that would be required in order to capture the city. He only had the defenses he could see for his calculations, but even those had put the number nearly over a hundred thousand. Mike doubted any nation could field such an army.

After getting out of the way, the pair took a moment in the clearing to stretch and relax for a moment. Or Mike did. Tom seemed strangely tense. Not the kind of tense that signaled impeding combat that Mike had learned. Mike had quickly learned to trust Tom’s strong senses. It had saved his life countless times.

Mike stood straight, his Magic reacting to his state of mind, coming to his control.

“What is it?” He asked, his hand inching towards his curved sword.

Tom continued to look around with a look of confusion in his eyes as he still wore his helmet, “I don’t know. Something smells very…familiar?”

“In what way?”

“I don’t know.”

Without warning or prompting, Tom began walking through the crowd, barging through without care of other’s cries of protest. Mike followed closely behind, offering apologies for his friend while keeping up.

Eventually, the crowd begin to thin as they neared one of the many streets. As it did, Mike was finally able to peer around his friend and see where he was headed. Tom also finally saw the source of the scent, and as he did, he tried to speed up, only to be pulled back by Mike.

“What are you doing? That’s her!” Mike hurriedly put a finger to his mouth and dragged Tom away, taking cover deeper in the crowd. Tom allowed himself to be pulled away.

“Big dummy, look at who she is with!” Mike harshly whispered.

Tom stood straight, easily seeing over the majority of the crowd and allowing him to see.

There she was, Evelyn, now fifteen. Alaster’s sister and last remaining family. Everything inside Tom was screaming at him to barrel through the crowd and give her a crushing hug. But Mike’s warning gave him pause enough to see what his friend meant.

On their third trip in Zolis, the pair had managed to hear a speech from Duke Redmond. The speech had been about a new project to build another city. The Duke had been seeking volunteers to scout the area as well as protect the construction crews and had chosen to speak himself in order to rouse the crowd.

The pair themselves had almost been wrapped up in it. It was a good thing they weren’t, because the expedition had failed, leading to nearly thirty percent of those that left to not return.

However, during the speech, Mike had spotted a young boy behind the Duke. The same boy that he now say talking and joking with Evelyn.

“That’s the boy.” Tom said, realization dawning.

“The same boy. Listen, I want nothing more than to go and hug her. But things are too complicated. We can’t do that. We need to find out more.”

Tom nodded slowly, before his eyes turned dark, “Something is very wrong here. Something that makes me want to kill people.”

Mike agreed, “But for now, we remain hidden. Learn what we can. And once we find out the ones responsible, we will kill them all.”