Maric walked in the bustling city. Due to his busy schedule as a noble family who had to socialize, he didn't have enough time during the day. Maric then chose the afternoon as the perfect time for him to get out and about.

The fact that the original purpose of his adoption was to build relationships that would benefit the Noir family meant that he had to work hard.

It would have been more comfortable if the relationship had formed naturally, but as Maric's awareness of the situation grew every year. He understood that he could not ensure that a natural relationship would come his way without him having to do anything.

Somehow he had to act on his own.

So he visited various patisseries or jewelry stores to determine if there was a suitable gift to make the children of nobles or the children of kings willing to befriend him.

He tasted various foods that he thought were quite delicious and gift-worthy, he would buy them later when the noble party was held again and not for now. There were a lot of events coming up, so Maric clearly had enough opportunities.

Maric wandered around the city by himself without any company.

It made him feel very comfortable and more efficient. He could have done this until morning, so he could map out all the good food and fancy jewelry.

Therefore, he also recorded everything he saw into a small book.

"A necklace? Who made this necklace?"

Maric said that as his eyes fell on the jewelry in front of him.

A well-made necklace caught his attention. There were tons of intricate carvings that seemed to match and exude a certain kind of aesthetic value.

The mysterious salesman with a black hood in front of Maric then replied.

"That person..."

'The material itself is not very good, but the carving is very beautiful. Whoever the artisan is who made this thing must have great skill, it's a pity that he doesn't seem to be well known.'

Maric's eyes watched the mysterious hooded vendor. Some of the items the man was selling were actually very beautiful and probably much more beautiful than what was available in the big stores.

But it was obvious that the skill and materials used were not on the same level. This made Maric even more intrigued.

Since the skilled artisan chose to sell his work in the slums, he was probably paid very little.

Then perhaps Maric could buy the materials himself and ask the artisan to make a very luxurious piece of jewelry.

Maric then asked.

"Where can I find someone who can make that necklace? Would you mind telling me?"

The hooded merchant then looked at the necklace Maric was pointing at, he just looked at it without saying anything.

The cloth the man was wearing looked shabby with the hood slightly torn. Seeing that, Maric nodded his head.

"I can give you 12 silver coins. Take me to the artisan."

The mysterious hooded man then immediately grabbed a cloth mat from the surrounding items. He seemed to want to leave immediately.

Before he left, his eyes turned towards the coin in Maric's hand.

"Then, follow me."

Maric then handed the 12 silver coins to the hooded man and immediately followed right behind him.

Some time passed just like that.

The afternoon grew darker, replaced by a full moon in the sky.

Maric followed the hooded man to every street he passed. He could barely remember how many intersections he went through. It seemed so long ago.

'How much longer? It's already midnight.'

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The night was getting darker and the people on the street were disappearing one by one.

All that was left around was silence with some lantern light from a few homeowners who forgot to turn off the lights.

Just then, the hooded man in front of Maric then stopped in a narrow alley that was very dark.

In front of the two of them, a group of men with black hoods stood in the shadows. They seemed to be talking about something while occasionally turning their heads towards Maric.

Realizing something strange, Maric stopped his footsteps. The hooded men realized this and turned to face Maric.

"What's wrong? We've reached... those artisans you asked for."

A scream then filled Maric's head.

'Do you think I'm stupid! We're just circling around the same place, we've been here before.'

The night wind suddenly picked up. Silence soon filled every crevice around Maric.

Maric now realized that the hooded man had deliberately taken Maric around while waiting for midnight to strike. That was his original intention.

Maric then saw the hooded men gathering together. As that happened, a sound of scraping feet hitting the ground alerted everyone including Maric.

A thought flashed through Maric's head.

He- had to run.

In a short moment, Maric lowered his head slightly only to discover that the hooded man's hand was surprisingly right on top of his head.

The man was trying to grab Maric with a speed that would have been impossible for an ordinary human to do.

The wall of the house behind Maric then collapsed, caused by the blow from the hooded man.

The collapsed wall was immediately filled with dust that spread in all directions.

Maric used the momentum to step on the hooded man's shoulder and jumped onto the roof of the house.

"After him!!!"

The hooded man, who looked like their leader, shouted.

The shouting was so loud that Maric started to get scared. His feet kept jumping from the roof of one house to another.

He had trained for two months with Vincent, but that didn't guarantee that he would win against a group of mysterious hooded men. Maric's only option was to run away.

His legs started to hurt every time he jumped. Several times he almost fell, but because of the urge to survive, he was able to keep his balance.

Several indentations from the impact that shook the body to the bone made Maric occasionally bite his own lips.

Maric then looked behind his back as he continued to run between the rooftops.

"What is it!

From behind Maric. Three extremely long black hands floated into the air, the black hands were like writhing tentacles.

One of the hands then tried to attack Maric, Maric jumped from his current position to avoid the black hands.

From the other end of the black hand, someone hovered above him, the hooded man used the black hand to support his body and jumped.

Leaping through the air and falling near Maric. The three black hands now disappeared.

The hooded man approached Maric, but Maric kept avoiding him. It seemed like the hooded man wanted to grab Maric's hand for some reason.

Maric, who tried to dodge, was knocked down. From behind the hooded man, a black hand reappeared.

As if shouting into the sky, the tentacle-like hand then destroyed the roof of the surrounding buildings, making the area near Maric now filled with thick brown dust.

It was a chance for him to escape, but the long black hand began to get out of control as if trying to wipe away the dust that was still floating in the air.

One of the black hands

hit Maric. As a result of the heavy blow, Maric's small body was flung into the air and fell to the ground.

He fell with his head down.

Due to the head wound and the impact, Maric could barely feel his arms and legs. The only body part he could use was his left hand.

"Aaaa!!!!..."

Using the Kislev language, Maric shouted.

"HEAL!!!"

Parts of his body began to recover slowly.

But Maric couldn't help the pain in his head, his nose was bleeding and his vision was starting to blur.

"HEAL!!!... HEAL!!!"

He was afraid that his eyes might go blind if he didn't cast a spell.

Slowly, Maric's vision returned to normal. One of his legs could be moved and he tried to stand up.

With one of his legs bleeding, he dragged his entire body away from his current position.

Perhaps, the hooded man was still chasing Maric.

"HEAL!!!"

Behind her slowly recovering body, her breathing began to become irregular. He had used so much magic that his heart was now weakened, so he paused for a while to regulate his breathing.

Maric's eyes then looked up at the sky, there the beautiful moon slightly helped Maric to think clearly.

After a while of looking at the moon, he felt fatigue around his neck, Maric then lowered his head.

Just as his eyes looked down at his feet, his body image mysteriously became very dark as if darkness was born from there. Maric's pupils instantly fluttered.

A normal hand came out from behind the shadow and immediately grabbed Maric's leg.

"What! Since when!"

Maric's entire body was now trembling, the fear filled with horror seemed to consume all the hope he had. He didn't expect that a group of hooded men could appear from the shadows.

His mind and body no longer in control, he then tried to use the only offensive magic he had.

"Fire..."

The hand of the man who appeared from the shadows burst into flames.

The original face and body of the owner of the hand then came out and jumped away from Maric.

The man also wore a black hood just like the people chasing Maric.

As the man was holding his burning hand to put out the fire, Maric approached.

He then moved his foot with all his might to kick the hooded man's head, although Maric's foot was not as strong as a knight's but if he attacked a vital point, anyone who did not have magic protection would at least receive physical injuries. Fresh blood flew into the air and then fell down.

As a result of the attack, the man then fainted.

"Damn it.... What did I do wrong, what are you chasing me for?"

Maric who saw the hooded man could hardly contain his emotions. Maric then tried to grab something from under the man's black cloak, he then found a small colored dagger.

The dagger was small so it was very easy to hide. It was also probably the reason why the group of hooded men were not too suspicious to the majority of people.

But it was clear that they might be assassins.

"Who? Who sent you... why me?"

Maric tried to think of a reason why they were targeting him, but he couldn't come up with one that made sense, or maybe it was because his mind was currently in turmoil that Maric couldn't think clearly.

Whatever it was, it didn't really matter because a troublesome problem might come his way soon.

"Damn... damn..."

The pain was still spreading in the head. A trickle of blood then came out of his nostrils.

"HEAL..."

Although his body had now recovered, the fatigue did not completely disappear. Maric's throbbing face then tightly gripped the dagger in his palm.

"Damn it... Because of you, because of you.... I won't let my life be ruined just like that."

With a trembling hand, Maric then swung the dagger in his hand. The burnt hand now separated from its place, blood spreading out like a puddle.

Once again, Maric swung the dagger in his hand. This time, a head with messy hair separated from the body lying on the ground.

A trembling hand then dropped the dagger down.

Maric's breathing was getting more and more irregular, but it was enough for Maric to rest even if it was only for a few seconds.

He then dragged the legs of the man who lost his arms and head to move him to the wall of the building. Grabbing the severed head and placing it in the right place, but due to loss of balance, the head fell onto the corpse's knees.

"Huff..."

Maric who took a slow breath, then stood up once more. His eyes now looking at the moon above the sky while blinking a few times, he then looked behind him.

A pattern was visible.

Fresh blood spread out creating a striped pattern. It was one meter long.

Some of the blood clots were thick and some were faded.

But all Maric needed now was that pool of blood. A pool of thickened blood right under the moon.

"Well what kind of face should I show you."

With no mirror and no rainwater, the only thing that could reflect Maric's expression was blood. It was necessary so that he could see what others saw on his face.

And after Maric had cleaned some of the blood stains on his body, he then cried out like a wolf howling for forgiveness.

"Please, someone help me... There's a monster here!"

The lights from the lamps in the city now lit up, spreading from where Maric was standing to the building near Maric's fight against a group of hooded men.