Mike sat on one of the chairs the diner put out on its patio for customers as he read his book. It was a book he had already read numerous times. He could recite each passage with near perfect accuracy. Yet he had not turned the page in several minutes.

A young woman, the daughter of the diner’s owner, walked over to him, “I’m sorry mister, but we are closing for the time being, may I take the table and chair?”

Mike closed his book and quickly stood up, glancing at the boarded up Diner as the owner’s small family rushed to pack it away.

“Of course, my apologies.”

The woman called over her brother who grabbed the small table and hauled it inside.

“I do hope you open again soon.” Mike said kindly, he had grown to enjoy their tea and pastries. They were expensive, but Mike thought it was worth the price.

“I do as well. It’s a shame what’s happening in the city. All this nonsense about ‘Dark Magics’ being evil.” She responded with a sad shake of her head.

The rising tension between the magics of the city had only continued to grow. Just last week, a low Noble, a Baron, executed a young boy, who had just gotten his Class the day before, for attempting to place a dreadful curse on him. The baron had hung the boy before his family, in public, without any hearing from the legal courts.

Yet not only had the Baron not been punished for the illegal execution, but he had congratulated by his peers, and publicly reprimanded by a Viscount that had been nearby for not executing the entire family.

Of course, there were Nobles who openly rejected these claims, stating that ‘Dark Magic’ had long protected the Kingdom and that they were no different from the so called ‘Light Magic’.

But their pleas did little to sway the voice of the people, or at least the voices of those screaming violence.

Seeing the tension rising further still, with no solution being offered by anyone, many people were choosing to leave Zolis, like the Diner’s family. A family that had no Mages. The father had learned some basic fire spells to help with his cooking, but the rest of the family had no real Magic to speak of.

Yet they were leaving. They did not wish to get caught up with fanatics. They did not agree with the prosecution of ‘Dark Magic’ Users, and felt that if the conflict continued to grow, they would be attacked for their beliefs, or for simply not helping the fanatics.

For the safety of their children, they decided to sell their home and business and leave the capital as soon as they could. The capital, the shining beacon of Lissura. Now people were fleeing it.

Mike shook his head in disappointment as he walked to a nearby wall and leaned against it, opening his book once more.

Despite the growing tension, he was not there on Guild or Taskforce business. In fact, both he and Tom had more or less stepped away from both. They had their own task to worry about.

At first, they had occasionally still taken jobs, but as time went on, and no jobs were offered regarding this prosecution, more and more Members of either the Guild or Taskforce began to step away.

Ordinarily, if a murderer had gotten away from the Guards, the Adventurers Guild would be tasked with hunting them down and bringing them back in. If the criminal was particularly powerful or influential, then the Taskforce would be offered the job. But as more and more murders took place, each with more arroganance and confidence than the last, no bounties were given, despite no arrests being made.

A large number of Guild and Taskforce members were ‘Dark Magic’ Users, had used ‘Dark Magic’ before, or worked with ‘Dark Magic’ Users extensively. As such, the idea that they were now being targeted, both Members and Civilians, and nothing was being done about it, caused many to quit.

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Even now, the Adventurer’s Guild was a ghost town. Even the staff is now a skeleton crew, being managed by only the minimum number. The rumor was that anyone employed by the Guild that spoke out against this prosecution was fired.

It was a truly shameless time in Zolis, but Mike did not care. At least not in any way, that did not affect his current target.

Across the street, surrounded by her many friends and teammates as they discussed their next hunting trip, Evelyn was sitting on the patio of a different diner sipping tea and pointing at different places on a map laid out on the table.

Such was the pattern. Every day, Evelyn and her growing party would meet here at that diner to have a light breakfast, paid for by Duke Junior, as they discussed their hunting plans, then they would head out.

By now, the group had grown large enough that they were splitting into two teams. Mike did not know why they still considered themselves to be one party if they split up so often, but he did not care. Evelyn seemed to be the leader of the large party, even if the little Duke was the one who proposed the soundest plans.

Of course, both Evelyn and the Dukeling had their own bodyguards, who kept hidden and blended into the crowd. This forced Mike to remain distant.

Luckily, Tom had no such issue. When they party left city walls, Mike left the watch to Tom, just like how the bodyguards left it to another group. Out there in the wilderness, it was much easier for Tom to get close enough to hear them, despite his large frame.

Even the few times he has gotten caught, either by the bodyguards, or even once by the party themselves, he was able to casually excuse his presence by claiming to be one of those tasked with ensuring the stronger Monsters kept away from the City, providing a sort of buffer zone for Novices to level up in.

Many such people were employed for this task, and several chose to simply follow along around the Novice Parties, keeping the stronger Monsters away with their mere presence, or being close enough to save them if they got attacked by a Monster that was too strong.

Tom even got the chance to exchange a few words with Evelyn, something that Mike was a bit jealous of, but he had to completely change his way of speaking and his voice. Afterall, they had been her brother’s best friends in a small village. Even after all these years, it would not have surprised either of them if Evelyn recognized them.

So, despite their wish to talk to her, to tell her everything that had happened, they distanced themselves. At least until they knew what had happened to her. Something that had grown increasingly difficult to piece together with the growing tension in the city. Everyone was on guard.

Instead, once the Party left the city, Mike spent his time investigating the cause of the tension. So far, his investigation had led him to an anomaly regarding the slums. More specifically, how they seemed to be growing more organized.

The small crimes that had plagued the district were now few and far between. The roads and walls were now being cleaned by organized crews. Armed thugs now patrolled the streets, not to enforce their will, but to ensure the peace was kept.

The tension of the city seemed to be lessened in the Slums, as if its spread was much slower. But unfortunately, it was still spreading. It was due to this continued spread that led Mike to believe that someone was intentionally spreading the hate. He did not know how, where, or even why, but he was intent to figure it out.

After escorting the Party to the City Gates, Mike made his way through the now much thinner crowds in the streets as he traveled towards the Slums. Now that his focus was no longer on one focused point, Mike was better able to see the people around him.

They were afraid. Either of the ‘Dark Magic’ User, being a ‘Dark Magic’ User, or simply of getting caught in the middle. Most people only left their houses when they had to, and only then, when they were armed. Tom hated to see such fear in the city he had grown up wishing to one day see. A city he had aspired to be a part of.

It used to be that the border between the Market District and the Slum District was obvious, but now, with the Slum’s streets and walls being routinely cleaned, it was much harder to tell the difference. One had to look closely at the stone. Even with the Magic assisted cleaning, the years of grime and filth being caked on, had left a stain on the stone.

Mike paid close attention to when he crossed the border. His Wind Magic made him much more sensitive to subtle changes in environment and Mana. He could feel the number of people in the street next over, he could feel the types of Magic they were using and their general movements.

Sometimes it was overwhelming, and Mike would have to block out his own Magic, but sometimes, especially when he was out in the wilderness, it proved invaluable.

Today, it quickly proved invaluable.

Clinging to the shadow beneath the roof overhang, Mike sensed that the Shadow was darker than it should have been. Acting casually, Mike paid close attention to this weird bit of shadow. And after a few minutes, his attention paid off, when the Shadow moved.