Chapter 28: Old friends.

Adam’s POV

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I walked toward Hector, his body trembling, blood pooling beneath him, and his health bar hanging precariously at 30%. His eyes darted frantically, his breathing ragged and uneven. As I drew closer, a sharp, panicked scream escaped his lips.

Raw fear.

The kind of fear that seeped into your bones—the kind I had inflicted on him both physically and mentally.

I crouched down, resting an elbow casually on my knee, and flashed him an unsettling smile.

“Now then,” I said, my voice laced with calm menace. “Who’s this Bram you mentioned earlier?”

Hector’s lips quivered, his mouth opening and closing like a fish gasping for air, but before he could say anything, an overpowering stench hit me.

What the hell—?

I recoiled slightly as I saw the dark stain spreading across his pants. His eyes rolled back, foam bubbling at the corners of his mouth before his entire body slumped forward.

“…Huh?” I blinked, looking down at him in disbelief.

Dix and Dara, standing beside me, mirrored my confusion, their expressions frozen somewhere between shock and disgust.

I scratched the back of my head. “Am I really that scary?” I turned to them, genuinely curious.

They both shook their heads in unison, but I could see the doubt in their eyes.

I sighed, I mean I’m just a 14-year-old kid with messy dyed blonde hair, wide red eyes, and puffed-up cheeks. I looked more like an overgrown squirrel than a terrifying demon.

But still… I had beaten him to a pulp. That, combined with the fact that he saw the face of a killer right before being plunged into darkness—yeah, I guess that could break a person.

It’s like fighting a bunch of kids, then suddenly, one of them walks up to you, whispers that their dad’s a mafia boss, and before you can react—bam!—a sack goes over your head, and you’re getting stabbed from every direction.

I shuddered at the thought. Maybe I overdid it.

“We need to move,” Dara said, snapping me out of my thoughts. “Before any of his friends come looking for him.”

Dix, hands casually tucked behind his head, nodded. “Nya, it’d be pretty stupid if he didn’t have someone spying on us.”

I was relieved to see that, despite almost dying just moments ago, these two could still keep their heads in the game.

But, of course, luck was never on my side.

“They took out Hector!” Someone shouted.

We turned toward the source of the voice, and sure enough, a gang of henchmen emerged from behind the stalls. Some were clad in armor, others wielding weapons, but compared to Hector, they all looked... manageable.

That is, until I counted them.

Twenty.

If even half of them had offensive Nexus Cores, we were in serious trouble. No matter how good we were, sheer numbers would overwhelm us.

“C-Can we really take them?” one of the henchmen stammered, his grip on his blade visibly trembling.

“You idiot! They just fought Hector! They must be exhausted!” another one hissed, his voice laced with false confidence.

“B-But they have an alchemist! And potions!”

At the mention of potions, I suddenly remembered something important—my NEP pool was halved after my fight with Hector. Without hesitation, I pulled out a lesser NEP potion from my inventory and chugged it down.

The taste hit my tongue—oddly familiar, like a 7-Eleven blueberry slushie. Strangely refreshing for something meant to replenish magical energy.

While the potion's regeneration effect was slow compared to the sheer size of my NEP pool, it was better than nothing.

I glanced back at my teammates. “What about you guys? You topped off? Need any potions?”

“Nya! Me! A stamina and NEP potion Nya!” Dix practically bounced in place with excitement, his tail wagging like a hyperactive dog.

Dara shot him a sharp glare and folded her arms. “Dix! We’ve already used so many of his potions! They’re expensive!”

Even as she protested, I casually tossed Dix the green and blue vials. Dara's eyes widened in disbelief as her brother greedily chugged both potions at the same time, completely ignoring her scolding.

I shrugged. “Meh, don’t worry about it. Right now, our lives are worth more than a few potions.”

Dara stood frozen, clearly battling her inner turmoil. Her tail stood upright, twitching slightly, and I could see subtle movements under her beret cap—something she rarely allowed to slip. Her face flushed a deep shade of red, her hands tightly gripping the cuffs of her maid outfit.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

It was then that I noticed... since her midsection was exposed from the earlier scuffle, the maid outfit now seemed, well... a bit too revealing. The bruises that once marred her tanned stomach were now completely gone, replaced by smooth and fit glistening skin.

You know, now that I think about it, since her belly was exposed from the fight, the maid outfit… looked strangely more sexual now.

“… An NEP Potion. P-Please…” Dara finally said, her voice trembling with embarrassment as she clenched her teeth.

I quickly handed it over, grateful she hadn’t noticed me definitely not checking her out.

Before I could say anything else, one of Hector’s thugs yelled, “Don’t let them recover their strength!”

I braced myself, expecting them to charge at us, but to my surprise, they started spreading out, surrounding us in a loose formation. Huh. Smarter than they look.

As Dara carefully sipped the potion, I turned to Dix, who was already crouching low, ready to pounce.

“Dix,” I said, keeping my voice low. “Do you know anything about this Bram guy?”

“Nya! I think I do.” Dix nodded, his ears perking up under his beret with interest.

“Great.” I smirked. “Tail him for today. Find me some solid evidence.”

Dix’s eyes gleamed with opportunity, and he flashed his usual smug business smile. “Nya~ I will! But my services aren’t cheap, you kny-ow.”

I crossed my arms, giving him a deadpan look. “40 silver aurens.”

His confident grin faltered. “H-huh?”

“That’s what you owe me for all the potions you just guzzled down. Oh, and let’s not forget—I saved both you and your sister.” My voice was casual, but I made sure to emphasize each word.

Beads of sweat formed on Dix’s forehead as he averted his gaze, his tail twitching nervously. “Y-you kny-ow, now that I think about it nya, I-I should spy on Bram right ny-ow!”

Without waiting for another word, he bolted. With feline grace, he scaled a nearby building in seconds and disappeared into the city skyline.

“He ran away!” one of Hector’s henchmen shouted.

“Don’t worry,” another sneered, cracking his knuckles. “As long as we get the alchemist, we’re good!”

I sighed, cracking my neck. “Alright, let’s get this over with.”

Dara finished her potion with an expression of pure bliss, like a traveler finding water after days in the desert. Her face was flushed, her lips slightly parted, and her tail wagged back and forth happily.

Well, at least she’s enjoying herself...

Unfortunately, now wasn’t the time to enjoy anything. We needed to get the hell out of here.

By the time Dara snapped back to reality, the henchmen had already encircled us. Their leader, a rough-looking guy with a chipped tooth and a nasty sneer, took a step forward.

“Alright, you two! You’re cornered now. If you know what’s good for you, you’ll come with us quietly. Otherwise…” He cracked his knuckles menacingly. “We’ll have to get rough.”

My eyes darted around, scanning for the weakest link in their formation. There. I spotted a guy who looked a little too nervous, with not many people around him. Perfect.

Without hesitation, I pointed at him and activated Rock Skewer.

The ground beneath beside me rumbled, and his eyes widened in panic. He barely managed to roll out of the way as jagged spikes erupted where he once stood. The attack missed, but it served its purpose—creating an opening in their line.

Dara, catching on immediately, threw a wind orb into the opening. It swirled into a mini-tornado, blasting the surrounding thugs backward and widening the gap even further.

“Nice one.” I grinned, but there was no time to celebrate.

Dara, with her superior agility, bolted through the gap first. I followed close behind, but not before slapping a Rune of Sul onto my stomach for an extra boost.

Rune of Sul Effect: Fire Man.

Fire what now?

Before I could process it, my entire body erupted into flames.

For a split second, panic surged through me. But oddly enough, I didn’t feel any heat—only a strange warmth, like standing in the sun. The real problem? Everything around me was starting to catch fire.

“Adam!” Dara’s voice rang out, filled with alarm.

“I’m fine! Don’t worry!” I shouted back, doing my best not to set anything important ablaze. “Scatter and head back when the coast is clear!”

I deliberately avoided saying words like HQ or home—no need to leave breadcrumbs in case the city guards or anyone else was listening in.

Dara kept running, her silhouette darting through the narrow alleys and up onto the rooftops with the effortless agility of a cat. Even though I couldn’t see her face, I could feel her hesitation lingering in the air before she finally called out, “Will you be okay?”

I couldn’t help but scoff. “Pffft! You’re talking to the guy who just took down Hector. Of course, I’ll be okay.” I didn’t slow down, flashing her a confident grin she probably didn’t see.

Satisfied, Dara nodded before leaping onto a nearby rooftop, disappearing into the maze of houses with one last glance in my direction.

And just like that, I was alone.

Well, except for the raging fire engulfing my entire body.

"Alper," Nove's monotonic voice finally returned after a suspiciously long silence, "Our survival probability has decreased by 30% after receiving the Fire Man buff."

I sighed, dodging a fruit stand as I kept running. "Thanks, Nove. Real helpful." There were a couple of things I wanted to ask her about, but staying alive took priority.

The flames flickering around me weren’t burning my skin, but they made me the most obvious thing in the entire market district. A running, flaming beacon practically screaming, Hey Hector's goons! Over here!

I wasn’t too worried about them—most of those guys were just low-level thugs. What really worried me was the city guards. If they were on Hector’s payroll, I was done for.

Just when I thought my luck couldn’t get any worse, something happened that I never imagined in a thousand years.

“Don’t you know it’s pathetic to gang up on a kid?”

That voice—deep, authoritative, and ridiculously familiar.

I skidded to a halt, blinking as a towering figure walked past me with authority. Muscles practically bulging out of his shirt, tanned skin glistening under the afternoon sun, and a giant war hammer crackling with lightning resting on his shoulder.

And beside him—

“There’s no one I hate more than scum who bullies children.” Her voice was filled with righteous anger, her imposing figure standing tall, a towering witch’s hat perched on her head. With a dramatic flourish, she slammed her staff onto the ground, a burst of magical energy rippling from the impact.

...And of course, the undeniable familiar assets she carried bounced with the same magical force.

Thick vines erupted from the cracks in the concrete, twisting and coiling around the legs of my pursuers like hungry snakes. A brilliant blue magic circle materialized in front of the tall woman, and within seconds, a powerful geyser burst forth from the center of the henchmen's formation, drenching them from head to toe.

The muscular man beside her wasted no time. With a heavy swing, he slammed his colossal hammer into the ground, sending arcs of crackling lightning dancing through the waterlogged crowd. The result was instant—screams turned into pained groans as the entire group convulsed under the electric onslaught before collapsing, charred and unconscious.

With their job done, the two turned their attention to me.

“Are you alright, child?” the woman asked, her voice filled with concern as she stepped closer.

My eyes widened in disbelief.

No way... it’s them?!

Standing right in front of me were The Leader and Dona, the very nomads who had saved me back when I first escaped the cave.

And just as that realization hit me, another, much more terrifying thought entered my mind.

Didn’t Erza knew of my location because of Dona...?

Oh crap.

If she did that, then that means... they know who I really am.

Before I could even begin to form an escape plan, I felt a strange sensation wash over me. The fiery aura surrounding me flickered, then vanished entirely, signaling the end of the Fire Man rune’s effect.

And with the flames gone—my face was completely exposed.

both of their eyes widened as they looked at me with shock.

"..."

Oh poop.