Adam found himself standing in front of the guild gate, this time facing the now empty cobblestone street. The sun had sunk and gone, giving way to a moonlit night. A soft breeze brushed against his skin, sending a slight shiver down his spine as he beheld the coldness of the air.

Lines of tall lamp posts stood along the edges of the streets, giving a hint of warmth and much needed light against the otherwise dim and cold night. Though the people around this small part of Port Silvershore had long since returned to their homes, the rest of the city was still awake, but not for long.

Adam sensed the wave of crowds as they raced all over the city, making their way home. They were like a swarm of ants returning to their individual nests. He had once hated being able to sense people even if they were kilometers away. He hated how he could feel the thoughts of hundreds or thousands. He hated how he always knew what was inside someone's head. It was as if he was robbed of a mercy. The mercy of ignorance as to the reality of human thoughts and feelings.

That said, he came to appreciate his ability as he grew older. People weren't as treacherous or nefarious as many a pessimist would often claim. Yes, it was still wise to not trust a stranger outright, but jerks were less common than a polite person, and Adam had met many, and felt many more.

Soon enough, after an hour or so, the city would become quiet, save for the singing insects and the barking dogs. Adam sensed the animals too. Fortunately, their thoughts were not as complex as that of a human. Or an orc. It made listening to them with his telepathy a bit easier.

Adam was eager to see and hear the shore again, knowing that tonight would be the last time he'd be sleeping under the roof of Baran and Fred. Today's events hadn't been what he expected, but he was thankful that nothing worse came to pass.

He was, however, in a new predicament. One he had some very real doubts and second thoughts over.

"Human!" A rough but round voice called for him from behind, causing Adam to turn towards his reluctant companion.

Ruk the Berserker walked with a skip to his big steps. A terrifying sight to see considering that he was at least eight feet tall and was wide as a wall. The orc was happy, excited, and most of all, thankful for what had transpired in the past few hours.

It was official. Adam was now an Adventurer and a rank 1 anemancy mage. Apparently his powers could be explained as anemancy, a type of magic that specialized with wind and air spells. He and Carnos finalized the details of this and that after their short duel, making arrangements that not only gave Adam the freedom he wanted, but also the protections and privacy he needed.

Life as an Adventurer was fraught with risk, that was the reality of it all, but Adam came to realize that the world he found himself in was itself more dangerous than his previous one. If he were to live, then he needed to learn how to adapt and overcome what this world threw at him.

Thanks to the one-sided duel with the branchmaster, Adam learned that he was not at too much of a disadvantage. Magic and spells could still be countered by psychic power and other means, thereby giving him the confidence that he wouldn't be too helpless if the worst came to past.

That said, he was beginning to question his decision on accepting the party invitation of Ruk. The orc really needed a companion that could calm his so-called Blood Rage. A simple "please calm down" was said to usually do the trick. Usually.

It was a weird fact, really. But Adam had finally stopped questioning the logic of this world. What was real here was none of his business to contend with.

The two of them formed the "Rukdam Duo". A rather unimaginative name for an Adventurer party. The fact that they even needed a party name was a slight surprise.

One of the reasons Adam even considered this proposal was because Ruk himself was insistent. In fact, he was borderline desperate to have Adam as a partner. That combined with Carnos' unexpected and slightly unnerving encouragement for Adam to accept made further resistance seem moot.

At least he had a partner that could very much punch his way out of most problems. Or cleave through them with his ax.

"Mr. Ruk," Adam greeted as he turned to face his large companion. The orc came to a stop just a few feet away from Adam, but even then, the orc towered over him two times over. "I'm guessing everything's done?"

"Ha! Of course! Ms. Elf has assured me of our status. We are now brothers!" Ruk proudly declared into the night, startling a few distant dogs into frantic barking and several birds to flight.

Adam winced at the volume of his partner, but he dared not complain. "I'm glad. Are you heading home? Or, somewhere?"

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

Ruk shook his head, "I'm coming with you!"

"Eh?"

Adam looked at Ruk with confusion clearly visible on his face. The orc, on the other hand, smiled widely as he gave Adam a thumbs up.

"I'm not sure..." Adam was about to try and convince the orc to reconsider, but Ruk was quick to say his piece.

"You and I are now brothers-in-arms. Show me to your people, and I shall introduce myself proudly to them!" Ruk furthered.

"I'm not sure if that will be necessary-"

"Nonsense! They must know that you are in strong orc hands! Does it not please fellow humans to see their kind safe and protected?"

Adam felt the conviction in each word that Ruk said. After a second of shaking away his dumbfounded state of mind, he gave in. Maybe Baran and Fred wouldn't mind. Hopefully.

Adam and Ruk made their way through the district. Thanks to his telepathy and psychic senses, he knew the streets and alleyways with precision, knowing where they went and where they crossed. Using this to his advantage, he made sure to avoid the more crowded streets and instead walked through less desired roads.

The duo passed through shuttered windows and locked doors as their shadows loomed over cold brick walls. It had been a ten-minute walk since they left the guild building, and it would take ten minutes before they would reach the docks.

As the two rounded a street corner, they were met by an unwelcome surprise. A hooded and masked figure flew down from a nearby roof and landed in their way, blocking their path forward.

Adam had sensed the masked figure as she lingered on the roof, thinking that she was merely a dedicated stargazer. He was wrong. Though they were very much being threatened, he found himself more disappointed at the fact that few seemed to appreciate the sea of stars that could be seen in the night.

"We're walking here." Ruk said in an uncharacteristically calm voice. The orc was quick to place himself between Adam and the masked figure with axe in hand, ready to fight. Adam, on the other hand, was wishing for things to not turn violent.

"You misunderstand my presence," The masked figure said, "I am merely here to talk."

It was Adam's turn to speak, "People who want to talk nicely usually don't linger on rooftops or jump in front of others and block their way."

The masked figure giggled behind her disguise. Taking a closer look, the mask itself was plain with two eye holes and not much else. That said, it did little to hide her from Adam's psychic senses.

The figure was a non-human woman with a bunny tail, folded bunny ears underneath her hood, and a dagger hidden between her arms which Adam suspected was poisoned due to the presence of an unknown substance smeared around the surface of the blade.

Adam readied himself, mustering his telekinesis just in case things turned ugly. He vehemently wished for the opposite. If things did turn out violent, Adam planned on simply pushing the masked bunny girl aside, slamming her gently into a nearby wall, and hopefully knocking her unconscious but relatively okay.

"Pardon me, but my boss is just curious. I only have a few questions to ask, and I'll be on my way!" The fact that she sounded very cheerful triggered alarm bells inside Adam's mind. And also, she was lying. The masked figure was bristling with hostile intent, with only the mask hiding her psychotic expression.

Adam wished he couldn't see through the mask with his psychic senses, but lo and behold, he was cursed with the knowledge.

Sending his senses outward, Adam concluded that there was barely anyone around. Most people in the immediate vicinity had locked their doors and windows, paying the goings-on of the outside with little attention. There were also no patrols prowling the street as of yet, with most of the street guards still busy with the crowded streets a district over.

The masked figure seemed to have her guard down, which was either very stupid on her part or she was that confident in her ability to take on an orc and a psychic. Adam doubted she knew about him though. Or did she?

Adam squinted his eyes and focused his power, narrowing it inside the masked figure's mind. It caused the bunny girl visible discomfort as she started to battle a sudden headache. Under normal circumstances, Adam would have found his deep intrusion into another mind appalling, but he was about done with being on the defensive.

Losing his parents, finding himself in a world of magic, and almost losing his life again during the trial made him slightly more willing to use his powers in a more proactive manner.

But he wasn't about to kill again. No. He hadn't the heart, nor did he find the necessity to take another life. Never again. Or maybe, not yet?

Adam shook his head and frowned; he wanted the truth now.

The masked figure grunted and staggered backwards, holding her head as a strong and painful headache overwhelmed her. She fell to the ground, groaning louder as the seconds passed and her headache grew worse.

Ruk turned to Adam and saw the young man with his eyes shining a fierce white glow. It didn't take the orc long to understand that his partner was doing something to their would-be enemy, and he decided it best to let Adam work his strange magic. And thus, he stepped aside.

Suddenly at a massive disadvantage and unable to do anything but struggle against the pain, the masked figure screamed for the intrusion to stop.

And it did, for Adam had found his answer the moment she screamed.

Adam loomed over the masked figure as she panted underneath her mask. She was on all fours, staring at the cobblestone as she recovered from the headache that came and went as if on cue.

"You're here to see my talents. And if I proved to be someone useful, you were to either convince me to come with you or kidnap me and bring me to your boss. You're confident enough in your ability that you think taking on Ruk would be as easy as killing any other wild animal," Adam stated matter-of-factly, "And you are also a cold-blooded murderer, finding no issue with killing."

Something within Adam broke after he read her mind. It was the first time he had done an intrusion of that magnitude, and seeing what he saw, it affected him more than he'd expected.

Adam raised his right hand towards the bunny, "You go by the nickname The Scythe, but your real name is Felsha."

Felsha the Scythe raised her head from the ground, looked up, and saw Adam staring down at her with glowing eyes and an outstretched hand, but it was not there to help her up.

"How did you..."

"Whoever you work for, whatever his intentions are, I don't want to be a part of it."