Eldon was silent. Looking down, with his robes flapping in the wind, he understood. He could not explain it either—no, he could if he tried, but he felt it best to leave it be. Some things were best left without rationalization; entrusted to experience alone.

The silence drew on, as the sun vanished into the horizon and darkness settled over the land. On the ground, lights appeared just as the stars popped in the sky. The most prominent ones were the largest establishments, those closest to the city's center, allowing him to see them from his position. The weakest lights were those only Eldon could see—that of passing abnormals.

The hours wore on. Eldon and Galen sat in complete silence. Galen made no move to chase Eldon away, so Eldon obligingly sat down and focused on watching for Abyss Eye. Galen sat still, eyes straight forward, unmoving.

He’s watching for Abyss Eye too. Eldon couldn’t figure out how he was doing it, but anybody with a brain could reach that conclusion easily. There was no other reason why he would take up this position.

Eldon wasn’t so arrogant as to think his abnormality was the only one capable of effectively identifying and locating Abyss Eye. There were all sorts of weird, insane, and unexpected abnormalities in the world, and the Camps were home to the most obscene of them. There were likely abnormalities that were more effective than his at finding S-ranks.

Galen was a B-rank, meaning he was near the world's peak. S-ranks were legends, rarely seen, while A-ranks were the world leaders. Therefore, B-ranks were the strongest abnormals generally encountered.

The ranks were based on the Spire’s estimation of how dangerous the abnormal was, but other trends could be seen in them. Among these was the observation that higher rank abnormals owned more developed and versatile abnormalities than lower ranks.

This meant they could better handle situations, from survival to massacre; from scouting to fleeing.

Those who wanted to increase their rank usually focused on two things. Either they developed their base power—which could be in the form of increasing control over it or improving the power output—or they innovated, finding new ways to apply the abnormality.

Knowing all this, the chances were high that Galen’s ability to find S-ranks was higher than Eldon’s.

“Galen,” Eldon broke the silence. “You’re B-rank, just like Aiken. I was wondering... Aiken’s behavior on the night of the banquet could be considered unpleasant to some. Is there a special reason why you endure it? Or is it that he doesn’t show it to you?”

Silence.

Moments passed.

Eldon became nervous. Did I misspeak? Maybe that was a little too extreme to ask someone you just met.

“I-if that’s too personal, then I don’t need to know...”

The wind intensified momentarily. It was the only sound to be heard for minutes.

Finally, Galen glanced at Eldon. “Endure?” His voice was plain. “Wrong. I stay with Aiken for reasons much more complex than that. You of all people should understand what I’m talking about. In many ways, you and I are similar.”

Eldon had an inkling of what Galen was trying to say, but now that he had gotten Galen to speak, he couldn’t douse the flame. “What do you mean?”

“You see, people like Aiken and Zachary are special. They are charming, powerful, and charismatic. Unlike us, they have little to no self-doubt at all.”

“I think that’s impossible. Everybody experiences self-doubt, at least at one point or the other.”

Galen smiled. “You would be surprised. Some are built that way. Self-doubt cripples us, limits us, and makes us weaker than we think we are—which, originally, is not exactly a high bar. To lack self-doubt completely is nothing short of a blessing.”

“Not always," Eldon disagreed. "Sometimes, self-doubt helps us rethink and re-plan. I agree it’s a killer most of the time, but it does have its uses.”

Galen was quiet for a moment. “Saying that must be easy for you. You’re not the one whose strength is based on weakness.”

“Huh?” Eldon faced Galen. “What are you talking about?”

“Nothing.” Galen turned away from him. “Forget I said anything.”

In this way, the short conversation came to an end.

Eldon sank back into his thoughts, ruminating. Strength that is based on weakness? He couldn’t understand what it meant, but he was sure it was a major reason for Galen’s decisions.

Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.

He and Galen sat in silence, each with his thoughts.

Farther from the city’s center area, near the walls, the day was over when the sun fell. Sellers closed up and returned to their homes, carriage drivers were through for the day, and Adventurers relaxed in entertainment establishments.

Those who did none of the three flocked to the Central Zone, where the light never fell and activity never ended.

This meant roads outside the Central Zone were dimly lit and empty, devoid of intelligent life.

Zachary’s plan was simple. According to his understanding of Abyss Eye, odds were he would steer clear of the Central Zone. The only reason Zachary could come up with for him to visit it was to observe the ongoing tournament. To that end, he charged Logan with watching that area. However, the most promising opportunity to find Abyss Eye lay outside the Central Zone.

Someone with sharp perception would monitor the Guard House and its surroundings, while someone with high mobility would patrol the most probable spots, like the deserted theaters, arenas, and gardens.

These roles were easily assigned.

Therefore, Zachary presently sat in a deserted theater, catching his breath. He just ran around at nearly his full speed. Before this, after collating the information he could gather about the city, he compiled a list of the likeliest locations. This Hanging Jewel Theater where musicians performed was the fourth on his list.

However, he thought, gasping for air. This place is as empty as it could be. There were guards and wards outside, but the Hanging Jewel Theater was a relatively small establishment. The strongest guard they could employ was C-rank, which couldn’t stop Zachary from infiltrating.

Reaching into his robe, he retrieved a bottle and chugged it down. Then he checked the time. He furrowed his brows.

There was not enough time. If he ran around without stopping, he could barely check all twenty-six probable locations before daybreak. Regrettably, he was human, and there was a limit to his power. He had to stop and rest.

He waited a few minutes, then stood up, looking around for the last time. I hope the order of this list is correct. It was the only way he could realistically find Abyss Eye before time ran out.

Huh? However, just as Zachary turned away, intending to leave, something caught his eye.

Snorting, he threw a gust of flames at a dark corner untouched by the faint moonlight. The fire died out soundlessly.

“Why are you following me?” Zachary folded his arms. “I know you’re there. Come out.”

The corner remained still. Nothing happened. Zachary raised his brow but didn’t move, keeping his eyes on the shadow. Just when a small seed of doubt began to sprout in his heart, the ground morphed and churned, spitting out a familiar figure.

“Following you? I should be the one asking you that,” Aiken said. “I was here first. I hid myself when you came in to check if you were following me. If you had left without noticing me, I would have been sure it was merely a coincidence. However, you called me out, thereby exposing yourself. What do you have to say for yourself? Say, are you trying to benefit from my strategy?”

Zachary sneered. “What strategy could you think up? Do you mean that thing where you throw darts at the planning board and go with whatever it hits?”

Aiken froze. “How do you know that?” His eyes widened. “I knew it! You’ve been watching me!”

Zachary unwittingly gave Aiken an angle, but he countered without missing a beat, “I’ve seen you do it before. So many times.”

“I don’t believe it. Give me an example.”

“Remember when you drew the short straw and had the privilege to choose your assigned attack zone? You did it right in front of everyone.”

A pause. “Another one.”

“There was a time when you disappeared before a battle that turned out to be exceptionally grim, you told me in secret that “the dart” said you shouldn’t go, so you didn’t.”

“I told you that?”

“Yes.”

“Damn.” Aiken fell silent.

Zachary chuckled at his crestfallen expression.

“I’ll be leaving now.” Footsteps were approaching. “Don’t follow me.”

Aiken glanced at the doorway. “I won’t hide next time,” he said. He had already recovered from the previous setback. “That way you’d have no way to retort.”

As he spoke, the ground flowed like mud, clinging to him. He vanished into the ground shortly afterward, leaving Zachary alone in the theater.

Zachary shook his head. Weirdly, he was sure he and Aiken had similar priority lists.

The footsteps grew closer, so Zachary swiftly left, avoiding the guards and wards. As soon as he was out, he released his flames and shot into the distance.

While he was sure there wouldn’t be anyone on the roads and he could use his abnormality without fear of hurting someone, he had to keep an eye out for the possibility. This was why he couldn't run at his maximum speed.

The next place on his list was located close to the city walls. At his rate of travel, it would take about twenty minutes to get there. He spent this time calculating the next steps in his plan. This night was their last chance.

They could not afford to fail.

Tia thought she could wait a long time, but after the hours wore on and night turned to midnight, she couldn’t take it any longer. At some point, the black-haired lady who introduced herself as Sara, brought some refreshments for them.

“Why has no one else joined us here?” Tia asked.

“It’s not that easy to join our group.” Sara smiled. “No one else has passed the test.”

Some other time, Tia might have curiously inquired about this mysterious test, given that she didn’t remember taking any, but her patience was worn so thin that she could not muster the interest.

“What’s going on inside? When will we go in? It’s taking too long.” Tia could no longer stay still. She was fidgeting.

Sara raised an eyebrow at her. “You’re complaining.” She pointed at the other girl. “Lacy was here long before you came. She has been sitting there since afternoon, and she’s not complaining.”

Tia looked at the jittery girl. If she’d been waiting that long, then her anxiety was understandable.

“She’s not audibly complaining,” Tia said. “But I can hear her loud and clear.”

Sara laughed. “Just wait a while. He should be about through.”

“That’s what you said five hours ago.”

“I mean it this time,” Sara said as she left. “Just wait a few minutes.”

Tia crumpled onto the couch, heaving a deep sigh.

Surprisingly, true to her words, a few minutes after Sara left, the door to the adjacent room swung open, and a neatly dressed, pretty girl in camp uniform stepped out.

Tia’s eyebrow twitched. Don’t tell me it’s what I think it is.