The night was quiet. A cold breeze slipped through the wooden gaps of the inn as Raizo stirred awake. Something didn't feel right.
He sat up slowly, the moonlight casting pale silver over his bed. Standing, he walked to the window and gazed out across the street. His sharp eyes caught a sudden blur—a dark figure leaping silently across rooftops.
Raizo narrowed his eyes.
"What was that…? A figure?"
He glanced back at his companions—Shekiah, still sound asleep. He considered waking Shekiah but shook his head.
Quietly, he strapped Voidbringer to his waist, slipped on his boots, and slipped out of the inn like a whisper in the dark.
The figure ahead kept moving—hopping across rooftops with inhuman agility. Raizo gave chase, his steps light, blending with the shadows.
Suddenly, the figure noticed him.
It changed course, diving from the rooftop and disappearing into a narrow alley.
Raizo followed without hesitation.
The alley was pitch black. He couldn't see a thing.
Fingers tightening around his blade, he drew Voidbringer.
Then—clang!
A blade struck from behind. Raizo spun and blocked it just in time.
The assailant vanished into the darkness again.
With a quick breath, Raizo muttered,
"Flame Blade."
His sword ignited with fire magic, casting a red-orange glow across the alley.
The flickering light revealed the figure.
Raizo smirked. "Did I just reveal your weakness?"
The figure clicked his tongue. "Tch."
Then, he lunged.
A dagger flashed as the figure shouted:
"Gale's Wrath, unleash the blade, winds howl, slice the shade! Wind Magic: Wind Slash!"
A blast of compressed wind shot from the dagger straight at Raizo.
Raizo didn't flinch. He swung Voidbringer, slicing through the wind attack like it was nothing.
The assassin froze mid-step.
"What the…?"
Before he could react, Raizo vanished—then reappeared in front of him.
CLASH!
A single swing sent the figure crashing into a wall. Flames caught the hem of his cloak.
Panicking, the figure tore it off—and Raizo's eyes widened.
An elf boy. Light green hair. Piercing green eyes.
Raizo's heart skipped. The resemblance was unmistakable.
"Who… are you?"
The elf said nothing. He quickly chanted,
"Zephyr's Wall, whirlwind's shield, deflect and guard, winds yield! Wind Magic: Aero Defense!"
A swirling shield of air surrounded Raizo, blinding him.
When he slashed through it, the elf was gone.
Raizo stood alone in the alley.
"Tch…"
The sun had begun to rise. He sheathed Voidbringer and made his way back.
---
At the Inn
Raizo entered to find the rest of his party waiting for him. They were already dressed and sitting at the table.
Shekiah stood up. "Raizo… where did you go?"
Fenra frowned. "We were worried!"
Silvia chimed in, "Yeah! You just disappeared!"
Raizo scratched the back of his head. "Sorry. I needed to take care of something."
They sat down for breakfast as the inn's receptionist, Dawn, approached with plates.
Raizo looked up. "Hey, Dawn."
The older woman smiled. "Yes, young man?"
"I wanted to ask... I saw someone sneaking around last night. Jumping from rooftop to rooftop. When I followed him, he attacked me."
Dawn's face grew serious.
"There's a guild in this city," she said grimly. "Mercenaries. Assassins for hire. Paid to kill. If you saw one… you were lucky to come back alive."
Raizo nodded. "I fought one."
The girls gasped.
"You what?!" Fenra blurted.
"You fought one of those assassins?" Silvia asked, stunned.
"And the strange thing," Raizo added, "is… the one I fought was an elf. Green hair. Green eyes."
Silvia froze. Her eyes widened.
"What…? That might be… my older brother."
Raizo glanced at her but said nothing more.
Dawn cleared her throat. "Eat up. Your food's getting cold."
The group nodded and quickly finished breakfast.
Raizo stood. "Tonight, we don't sleep. We stay up and prepare. If they come for us again… we'll be ready."
All three girls nodded firmly.
Raizo turned to them. "Let's train outside."
Dawn raised a hand. "There's an arena nearby. It's safer than training in the streets. Go left three times, then right twice—you'll find it."
Raizo gave a small nod. "Understood. Thank you."
The stone arena stood tall, open to the sky, with targets and sand-filled dummies lined up.
Raizo turned to Fenra. "Can you train Silvia in hand-to-hand combat?"
Fenra blinked. "Huh? Why me?"
Silvia tilted her head. "Wait, why do I need that?"
Raizo crossed his arms. "If we ever get separated… and you're without a weapon, you'll be in danger. Hand-to-hand combat could save your life."
Silvia paused, then nodded. "You're right. I'll do it."
Fenra cracked her knuckles. "Alright then. Come at me."
They trained for hours.
Silvia was no match for Fenra at first. She was knocked down over and over—but each time, she stood back up.
Sweat dripped from her forehead, but her resolve never wavered.
Fenra stepped back, impressed. "You're getting better. You're tough, Silvia."
Silvia smiled, bruised but proud. "Thanks… Fenra."
They bumped fists.
Raizo walked over. "That's enough for today."
Silvia sat down, panting. "You… sure we're going to fight them tonight?"
Raizo nodded. "I know you're tired. That's why… I'm canceling the plan for tonight. We rest. That's the best move."
Silvia smiled in relief… then passed out.
Raizo chuckled and gently carried her on his back.
Fenra smirked. "She looks like a baby sleeping in her father's arms."
Shekiah laughed softly. "Right?"
Raizo smiled. "Let's go, you two."
The girls nodded, and the Dilhaze party walked back to the inn ,
Inside the inn, Fenra gently opened the door to Silvia's room. The quiet click of the door was followed by soft footsteps as Raizo entered, carrying Silvia in his arms. Her face was still pale from exhaustion, and her breathing slow but steady.
Raizo carefully passed her to Shekiah, who stood ready with a blanket. "Put Silvia in her room," he said calmly, though the fatigue in his voice betrayed how much he had carried.
"I'll go to the Adventurer Guild."
Fenra blinked. "Are you going there to hand in the monster corpses from your item box?"
Raizo nodded. "Yeah."
Shekiah gave a small smile. "Okay then. Take care, Raizo."
He nodded once more and turned to leave. The door closed behind him with a dull thud.
Outside, the streets of Azalea buzzed with activity. Merchants called out their wares, children ran past laughing, and guards patrolled with steady discipline. Raizo walked in search of the Guild Hall, but despite his memory and instincts, he found himself making wrong turns. He passed the same fruit stand twice, a narrow alley that led to a dead end, and even a clothing stall where the vendor tried to upsell him a traveling cloak. His calm exterior didn't falter, but his narrowed eyes betrayed mild irritation.
Finally, after asking a local shopkeeper for directions, he found the Adventurer Guild.
The moment he opened the large wooden doors, the sound of chatter and clinking armor filled his ears. Some adventurers were celebrating their successful quests, others debated about upcoming missions. A few groups were arguing loudly over spoils and strategies.
Raizo stepped inside, scanning the room.
That's when he noticed him—
The elf boy from last night.
The one who had confronted him before.
The boy was seated at a table with three other men, all clearly mercenaries from their rugged armor and the wear on their blades. Their faces were rough, seasoned by battles, and their laughter was loud.
Raizo's eyes locked with the elf's. A moment passed. Silence surged between them in the crowd.
"If I talk to him now," Raizo thought, "those guys around him… they look like mercenaries too."
The elf boy's companion leaned closer. "Hey, do you know that guy?"
The elf boy shook his head. "No. Never seen him."
Raizo turned his gaze away, expression unreadable, and walked toward the front desk.
The receptionist behind the wooden counter—a young woman with auburn hair tied in a ponytail and a pair of round glasses—looked up and smiled politely.
"What can I do for you?" she asked.
"I'd like to sell some monster corpses."
Her eyes perked with interest. "Sure. Where are they?"
"In my item box."
She adjusted her glasses. "Alright. Go ahead and bring them out."
Raizo nodded. With a quiet breath, he opened his item box.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
One by one, monster corpses began to appear. Then they came in stacks. Piles. The floor was soon littered with carcasses of goblins, orcs, red boars, shadow wolves, and more. Some were still faintly glowing with latent mana. Others carried unique features—blackened fur, crimson tusks, markings from elite variants.
The room fell silent.
Adventurers stopped mid-drink. Mid-sentence. Even the arguing party halted their bickering to watch the scene unfold.
The elf boy stood halfway up from his chair, mouth slightly agape. His eyes flicked from corpse to corpse, recognizing their rarity, strength… and realizing how easily Raizo must have felled them.
He clenched his fists under the table.
"If I had kept fighting him yesterday… I would've lost. No question."
Back at the counter, the receptionist was stunned into silence. She blinked several times, trying to make sense of the volume before her.
"U-Uh… I think you just wiped out the entire monster race…" she stammered.
Raizo offered a small smile. "I don't think that's that many."
She leaned forward, carefully scanning the heap. "Some of these monsters are rare. A goblin general… red boars… shadow wolves… A king orc too? How did you even get all this?"
Raizo replied casually, "We fought our way through the Forest of Vellium so we could make it here."
"The Forest of Vellium?" Her voice pitched higher in disbelief. "You went through that cursed place?"
Raizo tilted his head. "It wasn't too bad."
She gawked at him, then lowered her gaze to begin counting. Her hands moved quickly, brushing aside bloody fur and cold limbs. She scribbled values onto a parchment.
After a few minutes, she stood upright and looked at him.
"All of this… totals 90 gold coins. Also, some of these monsters carry mana gems. Five of them, in fact. That's an extra 5 gold coins. So, 95 in total."
Raizo nodded and accepted the pouch she handed over.
"Thanks."
And with that, he turned and began walking toward the exit.
Behind him, the guild buzzed again, but this time, whispers followed him.
"Did you see all that?"
"That was insane…"
"Is he a rank B? Maybe A?"
"I've never seen someone pull that much from an item box in one go…"
The elf boy stood up from his seat.
"I'm following him."
One of his companions raised a brow. "Are you sure about that? He's strong."
The elf boy gave a tight smile. "Don't worry. I'm not doing it alone."
Back at the inn, the door creaked open again.
Fenra, Shekiah, and Silvia were seated around a small table, drinking tea. Silvia's color had returned to her face, and her ears perked slightly at the sound of the door.
Raizo stepped in.
He carried the same calm expression, but Shekiah immediately noticed something different. A weight behind his gaze. His shoulders were more at ease, like he had dropped something burdensome on the way back.
"You're back," Shekiah said gently.
Raizo gave a short nod.
"How was it?" Fenra asked.
"I sold everything. Got 95 gold."
"Woah!" Silvia said, eyes wide. "That's amazing!"
Fenra stood up and walked toward him. "You did great, Raizo. Really."
She reached out and placed a hand on his arm. Warm. Grounding.
Raizo blinked slowly. He hadn't realized how tired he was.
Silvia came over too, tugging lightly on his cloak. "Thank you… for carrying me. For… everything."
He looked down at her, surprised to see her eyes shimmering. Not with pain, but with something tender—something he hadn't seen in her since they met.
Shekiah walked forward and joined the others. "You've done more than enough for all of us. You always carry the weight quietly, but we see it, Raizo."
Raizo's throat tightened for a moment.
"…Thanks."
As he looked at the three girls—Fenra, Silvia, and Shekiah—he saw something he never expected.
Trust.
Not just trust in his strength, or his decisions.
But in him.
He turned to look out the window. The sun was dipping low, casting golden light across the rooftops of Azalea. His reflection stared back at him—eyes a little more worn, heart a little heavier… but not alone.
Not anymore.