The night sky was clear of clouds, but the aftermath of the morning rain remained and made the trek through the woods a trudge. The path that barely existed was blocked by branches with leaves burdened by the rain, and each step was like wading through sludge.

The terrain was unsuitable for travel but Rana had no choice in the matter. The route lead to nowhere and the condition of it made traveling on good days still a challenge. However, she had nowhere to be and unlike humans, she could wander indefinitely.

Still, something nagged her mind. Her escape had been too easy.

When Rana was in the library and sensed the faint hum of mana, she knew she had to leave. There was a marked one attempting to mask their presence, and it was only possible if they were a rogue-class. They had Skills and Spells specialized in tracking and reconnaissance, and the only thing she knew was worthy of attention in a backwater city like Stallhorn was her.

She knew the marked one had still not located her. Hostility was something one cannot hide, and it was usually better to not bother unless a person was trained in the art of assassination. Even then, the training was to repress it, not hide it.

Rana initially wanted to leave straight away, but somewhere in the back of her mind told her not to. The more Rana listened to the music beneath the shroud, she understood it was thanks to her sensitivity with mana that allowed her to discover the approaching rogue-class. The concealment was skilfully prepared, something that was only possible through years of training or a specialized Talent. Either case made the prospect of outrunning and hiding from the marked one unwise. She was level one, and her only asset was her mana sense.

Rana had to trick the rogue-class. Thankfully, her enemy did not know she already knew of their existence. She knew of their intention, now she simply had to identify what was the method of their attempt.

The humming grew louder and the mana beneath weaved into a familiar set of runes. It was the wide-area searching Spell Oversee. It sent out ripples of magic and scanned for movement within the area-of-effect. Oversee was one of the less informative searching Spells, but it had a large range and could cover the entire city depending on the ability of the caster. It was also a unique Spell taught only by the Church and a common tactic of paladins for tacking monsters. Monsters had no mana, they would not know that they were the target, and paladins were the elite forces of the faith when dealing with monsters.

The Church sent a paladin after her. That was why they tried to mask the Spell. The Spell was for tracking monsters, and the monster in question had mana. Her exposure must’ve been due to the incident from Shield City. Still, to send someone this far south, it meant she could not take her predicament lightly.

Rana knew a day like this would come, but she didn’t expect it to be this early. The frontlines should not be stable enough to send even one rookie paladin with High Tower fallen, let alone one with such skill.

However, she was not afraid. She was even confident she would be able to trick the paladin. It was as if she knew how they would act.

Rana ran to the stables. She apologized silently to the owner of the horse she was about to steal but she had to be quick in her preparation before the Spell hit. She lead the horse to one of the open gates. Stallhorn was far from the battlefield and was protected with a ward gate. They had no reason to close them.

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She conjured a Fool’s Fire within her palm and waited for the ripple of magic in stillness. When the wave hit she unleashed the Spell and charred the behind of the horse. With a loud neigh, the horse galloped out of the gate. Oversee only sensed physical movement, not mana. All the paladin knew was that something with mana triggered and bolted on a horse once they sensed the magic.

Rana then stood still and waited for the ripple of magic to move towards the direction of where the horse went. Then, after some time, the traces of magic was no more. It was too easy. The paladin was too careless.

Now, she knew why as what bothered her during her trek revealed himself.

Kai, the captain of a Shield City patrol, stood before Rana with spear and shield in hand. He appeared as how she remembered him during their first encounter. The only difference was he had no jacket. He gave it to Rana as a gift when he still believed her to be human.

“I don’t see my jacket, can’t believe you lost it,” he said. He did not strike her as one for small talk against an enemy. He was smiling but the hostility could not be mistaken. She could see his smile twitch. It was forced. He wanted to buy time. Was he alone, or was he simply gathering mana? “It might not be a piece of magic equipment, but it should still be of a high quality. I reckon you got something better?”

Rana decided to continue to conversation. The rogue-class was still far away and she needed information as well.

“Where is your squad?”

“Just me,” he shrugged but quickly amended the statement when Rana narrowed her eyes.“My punishment for failing to capture you was to hunt you down. Henry volunteered, but I couldn’t let Lexington and Gerald come with me.”

Rana stopped him with another question. She had the information she wanted, she would not allow him to stall for more than what was necessary.

“How did you know?”

“I didn’t. Henry was the one who devised the plan. I did not believe him at first, but he had me convinced,” he said and his smile finally disappeared. His last words were seethed through gritted teeth. “Since then, I regretted ever letting you leave.”

Rana was taken aback by the open hatred. This was not normal. Kai did not hate her for being a zombie. He hated her for who she was. He knew who she was.

“Do you know who I am? Tell me.” she pleaded.

“All I know that I must kill you here and now!”

The captain roared and raised his spear. Red light enveloped his body and the air quaked as his mana core was purged. The battle was inevitable and Rana readied her staff. The two stared into the eye of the other, prying for information within the most subtle of reactions. Rana remained calm on the outside. She would not betray her inner dread. It was not because she was facing a difficult foe. It was because she might finally be able to find out who she was, and the person who held the key to her identify, exhibited nothing but a wish for her death.

It was a moment of weakness, and the captain charged towards her.