When Faust left the tent, his head was buzzing.

‘Those two are merciless in their questioning.’ He sighed and walked to his tent. Aquila and Cassius were waiting there already.

The moment Faust entered the tent Aquila jumped up from his bed, yet before he could speak Faust waved off.

“I need to wash. I’m going to the river. You can come with me if you want, the commander’s questions were exhausting.” He explained and grabbed a set of clean clothes.

Aquila nodded willingly and Cassius shrugged.

“Sure, we will come along, but you must tell us the whole story!” Aquila smiled.

It was a fairly warm day and there was a river close to the camp. It was perfect for bathing as it was slow and deep.

“I will, but you won’t believe me.” Faust sighed as they left camp to go for the river which was about a kilometer away from camp. They had informed the guards where they went.

After leaving Faust began narrating the true version of the story, as he had experienced it.

Aquila and Cassius had trouble believing what he told them.

“You can’t be serious. You were in an underground lake? And then you magically woke up? Healed? Who are you kidding?” Aquila asked, moving his hands around wildly, attempting to vent his confusion.

In response, Faust only moved his right shoulder and Aquila shook his head, bewildered.

“No matter how often you tell me you healed… you can’t just heal a broken bone like that!” he tried to argue, but nobody listened to him.

Cassius remained silent for the most part until he arrived at the point where he left the cave. He was just listening. Eventually, he voiced a question.

“You haven’t told anyone but us, right?” he asked carefully.

“No, of course not. Only Leona.” Faust assured him.

“That’s good. You cannot tell anyone. Your body even changed… seeing in darkness, cold resistance, none of that is natural. As you said, there must be a connection between that light source and the Stray Orcs. You were probably the cause of their sudden deaths.” Cassius explained.

The three young men arrived at the river. They were alone there.

“Well well, comrades. Tis the time to get naked.” Aquila stretched himself, threw his clothes off, and jumped into the water, only resurfacing a good ten meters into the river. Cassius and Faust followed.

Faust felt ecstatic. The water on his skin felt better than any bath he had ever felt before. He felt at home. Swimming felt even more natural than running.

He dove down into the river to test out his breath and even after two entire minutes underwater he didn’t have a single urge to breathe. When he resurfaced Cassius and Aquila looked at him expectantly.

“Yes. It's as we suspected. I have gained a certain affinity for water. I don’t feel cold at all in here and swimming feels… incredible.” Faust swam a small circle and relished in the fluidity of his movements. It brought him joy just to swim. He used an entirely new technique, one that came naturally to him.

He swam through the water not slow and clumsy like before. No. He felt like a water snake slithering through the streams.

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Aquila’s lips had turned a bit blue already. They had been in the water for a long time already and it was only spring. It was a warm day, but the water was still very cold.

Cassius laughed. His fat had kept him warm.

“That’s what you get from eating so little!”

Aquila scurried out of the water and laid down on the grass next to the river to let his body dry. His right shoulder had a massive bruise on it.

‘That must hurt a lot.’ Faust thought and gulped, thinking of the excruciating pain from his broken shoulder.

“You did not finish your story, did you?” Cassius asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Well, I left out the part when I found Leona on the way back, but it’s better we tell you that part together.” Faust looked away, grinning like a fool.

Cassius shook his head with a grin.

“Do tell. I know already. Someone like Aquila might’ve missed the tension between the two of you, but even he realized it eventually. If not before, then when you left to distract the orcs.” He explained.

“I guess there’s not much I can say… yes. We’re in love.” Faust scratched his head.

Cassius frowned.

“What about Flora? You will end things with her the moment you get back, right? If not I might have to-“ he was interrupted by Faust who raised both hands in his defense.

“I will, don’t worry. And yes, I will keep it all a secret, to answer your next question. I know we can’t be seen together like that.” His heart clenched a bit when he said that. He didn’t like having to hide, but what else could he do?

“Good. So you understand. I don’t have to tell you what Schenk, or even worse, Mirabella would do to you if they knew?” Cassius started swimming to the riverbank. He too wanted to dry himself up.

“I don’t think it would be that bad right?” though while he said it he knew, that their status was still in the way.

Cassius ignored his question as he knew Faust didn’t expect an answer.

Faust laid down next to his friends and they let the warm sun dry their bodies from the water.

When Aquila heard about Leona and Faust he laughed and immediately started teasing Faust about it.

“You better get used to my teasing! There’s no stopping me!” he grinned devilishly. Of course, he knew he couldn’t do so in front of others, but in private he would give the two a piece of his mind whenever he felt like it.

‘I am so glad to have friends like them.’ Faust thought to himself and fell asleep with the sun on his skin.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Meanwhile in Antioch

Cao Ming was sitting on a couch with four assassins, clad in black, kneeling before him with their heads facing down.

“Over the last week, you have shown to be the most loyal to me out of all those within this small branch.” He calmly explained.

“I will initiate you today. I will show you something, that will surpass your wildest dreams. You have seen what I can do… how I can drain the life out of someone, or other feats that appear abnormal to you…” he paused dramatically. “I will teach it to you and train you into a proper fighting force. All I demand in return is your loyalty. If you happen to betray it… you should know what would happen.”

He smirked devilishly and the 4 assassins looked up. There were three men and one woman among them, only their faces were revealed. They were all about the age of 20, no older.

Assassins didn’t have a very high life expectancy.

“Yes Master!” they replied in unison.

“Good. Now stand up and throw away your coats. They will be in the way of what we do next. Khan, is the door locked?” Cao Ming asked the leftmost assassin who, after discarding his cloak appeared to be a bald man with dark eyes and bushy eyebrows.

“Yes, master.” He nodded.

“Good.” Cao Ming smirked as he opened a chest and took out 4 pieces of parchment. They were sealed.

“I have picked you not only because of your loyalty but also because of your talent… your feats as assassins are far beyond what the rest can offer.” He passed each of them a piece of parchment.

“Put it down next to you for now and sit down. You will need to listen well. I do not want to explain things twice.” He sat down cross-legged and took a deep breath before beginning his teachings.

Elena was one of Cao Ming’s chosen assassins. She didn’t even want to be here. She had only taken on missions from the Tide of Blood, yet when this man appeared he forced them all to stay and do his bidding. He even killed many of their brothers and sisters.

Elena had never taken on missions to kill innocents. She was not as ruthless as one might expect from an assassin. Skilled, yes. Experienced, yes. But she only accepted missions to kill other criminals. The different rival organizations in Antioch paid high prices to see their enemies disappear.

‘I might have no choice now. But you killed my sister. I will never forgive you.’ In her mind, she had long since sworn to kill this man.

‘If I can really gain power from his teachings… then I might be able to become strong enough to take my revenge… I need to devote every ounce of my being to this!’

She was set on taking her revenge. Nothing would stop her. She would not rest until it was done.