(Kazu Xiao POV)

All it took was a step and the entire world changed, I had returned to a world that I thought I had left behind. One I could not say I completely missed.

“…Welcome back…”

Reg said on the other side of the gate before it closed behind us as if he were trying to make that sound like it was a good thing. Of course, we were still in a cave that held one of their Gates and it was not long before we made it out into a clearing in a forest.

The growing hours of the day could barely be seen through the trees that did surround us, but we were not the only ones there.

In front of us four others were waiting for Reg and me with their greetings, I assumed three of them were Red Manes. The last however, seemed to have no connection to them as he looked completely different from the other three, a guy who stood at the back of the group, this stranger’s gaze of red seemed to fix upon me like he was trying to figure me out.

All while a sneer curled across his lips, his messy black hair and attire practically screamed trouble. Not to mention his aura was not anything to laugh at either. He was clearly strong.

The Red Manes with him were about to say something but the stranger stepped forward shoving them aside with his shoulders while his hands rested in the pockets of his overcoat, then he stopped once clear of the three Red Manes.

Crimson eyes glared toward me before a smirk came across his face as he instantly burst from his spot with the intent to take off my head. However, he could never accomplish such a feat.

Even if he thought he had me beat, when he came to a halt and realized his strike had completely missed and despite the glare he had, it was clear he was confused. Standing there at my side with his fist extended.

“… if you’re going to come at me on site, you need to try a lot harder than that,” I remarked, which only caused him to click his tongue in response.

"Heh? This is going to be fun,” He said with a darkened glare before his body twisted with a kick aimed for my stomach, only for it to be avoided by simple momentum and in return he was thrown into the ground.

Although he did manage to recover midair in a spin and his fists at the ready, this time however his grin seemed to widen as he now stood facing me. “Oi, stop screwing around! I heard you were some special guy. Show me some of that power they say you’re packing," he sneered.

I looked to Reg wondering, what exactly was going on but from the look on his face he wasn’t all too pleased either, at this point it was clear to me that this guy was the Hound of black flames.

“…huh? Now why would I do that?” I said flatly, while he glared at me like I was the one with the problem here. “And if I’m being honest, it doesn’t seem like you can beat me. So, there is no point to this at all," I added.

Reg and the other Red Manes stepped aside as they could tell this wasn't going to end well. And yet the hound only sneered.

"Dumbass…” he muttered before at a mere flick of his wrist black flames engulfed his arms. the orange hued flames weren’t new to me as they grew into a familiar yet twisted form.

I was about to let out a sigh at his display, but that was until he swung his flaming fist right at me with a speed that most people couldn't even see.

I, of course wasn’t one of them as I weaved away from his strike without so much as a second thought.

It didn't stop him as he turned around with another strike then another both having the same result. However, his face was quite annoyed by his inability to hit me to the point he roared in frustration before changing tactics.

“Dodge all you want! I’m much faster than you think!" He sneered while I took in this information. In truth, he was not wrong his display of growing speed, attacks and sheer power were impressive, even to my standards.

He certainly piqued my interests, to simply put this guy not only used magical energy but he was around the fourth stage mark, I didn’t expect to run into some guild benefactor to be strong. Perhaps I expected A-Ranked individuals.

Reg, and the other Red Manes weren’t to impressed as they watched from a distance, while I remained watching everything all with a blank face.

The hound had yet to land a hit on me even if he attempted to adapt to me. I was sure if I gave him that time there was a chance he could do so. Despite his fury of attacks one thing stood out and it was just how underwhelming his black flames were. “…Fine, fine. You want to know something interesting, that Magical Energy you're using… why aren’t you controlling it properly?" I asked.

He grew confused at my words as my grip caught his arm of raging flames mid swing before he let out a low growl.

"… What the hell are you even saying…?” he muttered under his breath and brought forth his other flaming fist to attempt to strike me and inflict any sort of damage.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

However, it was rather pointless as my leg struck his stomach in a powerful blow that sent him flying into the nearest tree behind him, with a loud thud.

I looked back to see the growing rage in his eyes, as he stood with a low growl of irritation before dusting himself off. “Heh, so you do have some skills, after all," He remarked with a dark grin, ready to launch himself once more at me.

My amber gaze remained unchanged before I replied with a flat remark, “If you could control that Magical Energy of yours, you wouldn't be in the position you're in now."

The hound snarled in annoyance at my words, and I wasn't really trying to piss him off. I was simply stating facts, but he insisted on throwing himself at me as if he could beat me.

This time I wasn’t going to be so easy on him.

My feet simply slid off the ground with a speed he could never match. The look on his glare was filled with an unsatisfying irritation, as he saw mere specks of myself dart in the air before I stepped toward him.

I wasn’t using any magical energy this was simply what my body and Esoteric Restrictions had to offer. “I’m surprised you could even see that." I muttered when I appeared in front of him and caught him off guard.

To my surprise he also managed to react in time with his flaming grip wrapping around my hand which was inches from his chest. This didn't stop me as I twisted his grip around his attack and swung him to the ground, leaving a loud crash to echo through the forest and I stood over top of him.

It didn't matter if I had hurt him or not, I had to assume he at least knew how to use magical energy to absorb the damage from such blows.

The look on his face never changed as I stared down at him, he seemed to want to continue this battle, but his flames were snuffed out from the pressure that came from me.

“… you must be the Hound of Black Flames, that wasn’t a bad display of skills,” I said to which caused him to sneer as he stood and dusted himself off with a much different attitude then before.

“Tch, I was just seeing if you were worth my time," He scoffed and returned to the other Red Manes before he stopped in his tracks with a glance back toward me, as if he were considering something, before speaking.

"The name is Reiner by the way,” he added as he continued on his way.

Reg, and the other Red Manes quickly moved on without another word to me as if they couldn't wait for us to finish our little display.

“You guys finally done with your little show? because we actually have things to do." Reg stated leaving nothing but the agreement of silence. “Good, let’s get on the carriage to Sura and begin our next step." He stated with finality before the others followed.

My gaze lingered for a moment before I gave a small sigh. Afterall I was off to an interesting start, my partner certainly proved to be an amusing character.

With that we all stepped onto the carriage and rode for some time as we made our way toward the capital of Vectus, Sura.

It didn't take long before an architecture I haven’t seen in what felt like an eternity appeared, the towering walls of marble and steel gates stood firm as we approached them behind a line of other carriages and travelers.

Despite my wandering gaze I could feel Reg's stare looking at me. “What is it?” I asked in response, and his reply was a small nervous chuckle.

"Oh! I was just going to suggest you save your sightseeing until after we get your guild’s registration dealt with. Unlike our red hair you can’t hide your blackened sclera, to them you are a Xiao, a monster of their past. The guild will give you some leniency if we do well, but currently you aren’t…”

“Registered in the guild? Yeah, I got it," I said finishing his sentence, with a small sigh and returned my attention to the confines of the carriage, where the snarl of the Black Hound awaited me.

The entire trip here I remained in the back with Reiner, whose sneer hadn't changed. Although he never said anything, which was fine with me.

Eventually, after registering into the city by Reg and his status as a guild representative and a few paper swaps we rolled into Sura, a capital bustling with races, clans, and guild benefactors from all corners of the world.

The architecture here could never be compared to Mythral, but it did have its own charm.

If I could call the marble streets and various buildings of glossy stone and pillars charming at all. It’s not that it was a bad thing, but I just found it rather boring in comparison.

It wasn’t long before we found ourselves at a large hall that practically shined in a brilliant white hue, the building stood out in this capital like a beacon, and one could easily tell it was the Headquarters of the Adventurers guild.

Reg was the first to exit the carriage, which prompted the others to follow after him, and I was the last.

“The hound will divert most of the attention, just ignore any looks your way, it will be easy enough to blend in." Reg said as if I didn’t remember this feeling, the hate and fear they had toward me, it was something that made me scoff with humor.

“Huh? Do you think I care what they think of me,” I remarked a set of words I had repeated many times in the past, before I left for Mythral

Reg could only nervously laugh before continuing.

"I don’t mean to sound arrogant or anything, but the less attention you get the better chances we have of registering you as a guild benefactor. If you want this to work, we’ll be playing on the laws enacted by the Monarch here. So, we need to play nice for now, it shouldn't take too long," He explained causing my flat gaze to fall onto him before we all stepped toward the guildhall.

“Well let’s get this over with then,” I said as my feet began to follow behind Reg and the others.

As Reg said, many people avoided to look at us all because Reiner scowled at everyone who came near him like he had a rather notorious reputation, but that didn’t stop a few to stare in my direction with an expression, I had completely forgotten until now.

“Is that the Black hound? He’s with a bunch of guild representatives, what did he do now?" A man muttered to his companion, who was also looking toward us with concern.

"Hey?!? Is that?” His companion gulped upon seeing my gaze in his direction before the man frantically replied.

"Shhh… Calm down! They probably captured that monster, it looks like they're taking it to the guild for punishment," he stated shivering in fear, which only made me find some kind of humor in it. I wondered if I missed this side of things or not.

Regardless, my attention didn’t linger long, and we entered the hall of grandeur of white marble that reflected the sun from large windows, while every square foot of this place was filled with people, whether that was at a table or the set of long counters where receptionist talked behind with those who had business to tend to.

With a few mixed glances from the few who looked our way we passed all this chaos and Reg led up a set of grand stairs to an entire hall of offices. At the end of this hall stood a set of double doors, behind them I assumed was the main office of the guild.

"This is it, you ready?" Reg asked only for Reiner to push the door open and stride right in.

"Oi, he’s ready, stop asking him the same damn thing, already." Reiner remarked, with a scoff and a roll of his eyes leaving everyone to follow behind him.