In the morning, Kaer said goodbye to Lyra.

Upon returning to Castlecrest, Kaer first went to the Trophy Shop. The store owner looked at Kaer with great interest. Whenever he entered his store, he had only rare objects.

"Good day, Mr. Kaer," greeted the trader respectfully.

"Hello, sir."

The trader urged him to sit on a chair, and Kaer motioned for him to lock the store. Kaer put some unique objects from The Black Wildwood on the table.

"Wow, what an amazing surprise this has been. I never expected to witness that."

"You have money to buy something like that? Or are they going to sell them elsewhere?"

"I'm money, Mr. Kaer. It's money because this is our occupation. That's what we do here. Money. Careful examination of objects for an accurate valuation requires patience."

Finally, the two ended the business and hugged.

"Validate our understanding. You will only tell people where you have these objects. Goodbye, sir."

Throughout the day, Kaer viewed several houses on the market. He selected two neighboring properties situated in the northwest part of the city. He decided on one for his residence and the other to prepare for his mother, Lyra, who had bestowed upon him those precious items.

He chose to spend the night in his arms with Salvianna.

"Good evening, miss!"

"Kaer. I am glad to see you again. Lust inside. Do you stay here at night?"

"If you invite me, I'll stay."

"I invite you."

"What does your sister Enneta do?"

"She is at home. I helped her have an enchantment shop. She is happy."

"Did you hear about Black Essence?"

"I've heard of it but never witnessed it myself. It's exceedingly rare."

"I need a potion from this essence."

"I'll be interested in the formula," Salvianna said.

Kaer approached the woman, lifted her in his arms, kissed her, and began to comfort her. Then he gently placed her on the bed.

In the morning, Kaer looked at the village recently attacked by Agrandaur monsters. A powerful necromancer, he could create an army of monsters using the force of magic. Summons Agrandaur monsters, creatures with great adversity to the living. When they appear, the temperature in the surrounding area drops dramatically.

Agrandaur monsters could continuously feed the necromancer with dark energy. In the shadowed corners of the world, where the step between life and death grows thin, their figures are veiled in shadows, a sinister energy that permeates the air, transforming breaths into mist and heat into cold.

They are the remnants of humanity's darkest imaginings, twisted limbs, and rending claws, a cruel mockery of the natural order.

Yet, their movement has grace and a formidable elegance in their coordination. They are not simply beasts; they are the somber heralds of oblivion. Beneath the moon's pale gaze, their fur is a sea of shifting shadows, muscles coiled with latent power. They are silent sentinels of the night. To look upon them is to feel the pull of the abyss, to sense the fragility of life in a world that harbors such specters.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

And in their midst, the humanoid figures stand as twisted paragons of their kind. Their skin resembles a garden of spines, like ice daggers protruding from their bodies. Their eyes, devoid of soul, glow with a ghostly luminescence, a beacon for the damned. They wield weapons not forged but born of a nightmare, each movement a whisper of desolation. In their wake, the antithesis of life is a reminder of the fragile line that separates the living from the lost.

The necromancer needed many fresh bodies to complete the last ritual, so he began to lure the villagers into the forest, where his monsters killed them. He had gathered a lot of energy and was close to giving birth to a powerful undead, but an anomaly interrupted the summoning ritual. By negating two spells he had used without studying them enough, the Agrandaur monsters attacked him to death. His death has left a void in the balance of power as his army of monsters now roams without the command of their master. They were wreaking havoc, destroying crops and killing residents.

Arriving near the village, Kaer could see fences and houses torn down and crops destroyed. There are signs of a struggle near the barn. Kaer is drawn to the signs near the barn and approaches. The grass is trampled. He imagined the desperate defenders who had tried to hold out against the monsters. Kaer notices tracks leading away from the barn and into the nearby woods. With his hand resting on his bow, he prepares for the inevitable encounter with the pack of monsters.

A strange feeling comes over him. The atmosphere is brimming with unearthly energy. There is a muffled hum in the air. Strange creatures lurk in the shadows. A mischievous, wrinkled-faced gnome emerges behind a moss-covered rock and immediately disappears. A slight stretch of still, dirty water makes him shudder. An army of monsters is waiting to emerge from the depths. He kneels to touch the water's surface and is repulsed by a tingling sensation moving up his fingertips. He hears distant voices speaking in animal language. Leaves rustle underfoot, and the distant hoot of an owl is heard.

Kaer notices movement among the trees ahead. He readies his bow, takes cover behind a thick tree trunk, and looks around. A herd of monsters is seen not far from where Kaer is hiding. They are a fearsome sight with eyes shining with malice. Kaer counts at least seven of them, their number making his heart skip a beat. He took a deep breath, focusing all his attention on the herd leader. He pulled the string of his legendary bow back as far as he could, feeling the weapon become one with his hand. With a quick and precise movement, Kaer releases the arrow. It rises through an ear and flies straight to the chest. The monster lets out a pained howl and collapses.

The surviving beasts, perceiving their leader's fall, shifted their baleful stares to Kaer's concealment. Their eyes shimmered with malevolent luminescence, and their snarls saturated the atmosphere with vows of retribution.

For a moment, they seem uncertain, unsure of what to do, but then their instincts take over. Kaer knew he had little time before they would be upon him. He swiftly notched another arrow, his movements a dance of precision and speed honed by years of training. The monsters charged, their forms a blur of shadows and fury. Kaer knew he must act quickly, or he would be overwhelmed by the herd. He aimed another arrow at the nearest one, then released it, which flew through the air and stopped in the throat. The monster falls to the ground. The rest head for Kaer.

The arrow flew silently yet lethally, a murmur of demise amidst the forest's hush. He stood still, releasing arrow after arrow with blazing speed and accuracy. One by one, the monsters fall. Then, he summoned the ancestral wolves. Kaer finds the lifeless necromancer and takes the Black Circle Bracelet.

Back at Castlecrest, Kaer entered through the wide door of Huzdurwan's smithy. The air smelled of the specific smell of burning coal and red-hot metal. Various tools and implements are hung on the walls, and shelves filled with nuggets and pieces of several types of metals bend under their weight. Kaer stopped in front of a solid table near the entrance. A man appeared from behind a brick oven.

"Hello, my name is Kaer, and I am looking for Master Huzdurwan."

"It's about me. What can I do for you?" the man asked.

Kaer looked at him intently. He was a short, stocky man with prominent muscles and a broad chest. A braided beard covered his face. He wore a protective robe of thick leather and gloves of the same material.

"Can we talk in a secluded place?" Kaer asked, his gaze drifting to the two working helpers.

They climbed a wooden staircase and sat at a table on the upper floor. Kaer placed the Black Circle Bracelet in front of Huzdurwan. The blacksmith looked at the bracelet and briefly rubbed his beard.

"If it were an ordinary bracelet, you would not have bothered to come and show it to me. If it's that bracelet, it means that sometimes stories are true."

"I heard you can extract an essence from this item."

"I've done something like this before, it's true. Can you pay for this service?"

"How many gold coins do you want?"

"I don't want gold money. Whoever has such an object can also find what I want—The Eclectic Dagger. I don't need the item to get rich. I have an old debt that I need to pay, and now I think I will have this opportunity," said Huzdurwan.

"You can get to work, Mr. Huzdurwan," Kaer said. He pushed the bracelet toward the blacksmith, saluted respectfully, and left.