I didn't sleep.
I sat on a fallen log outside the city walls until dawn crept up behind the hills, gray and cold, turning the sky the color of old bruises. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw blood on stone. Heard Lysa's voice break on my name. Felt the moment my blade moved when my heart was screaming at it to stop.
The new skill worked. I could tell.
The pain was dulled. Pressed down. Like someone had stuffed thick cloth around my thoughts.
But it wasn't gone.
I stood and walked toward the city gates, boots heavy, shoulders hunched. I pulled my cloak tighter, hiding the fresh cuts in my armor and the stains I hadn't bothered cleaning. The guards barely glanced at me. Adventurers came and went like ghosts. No one looked too closely unless you gave them a reason.
Inside the city, life continued.
That was the part that hurt the most.
Merchants shouted prices. Children ran through the streets chasing each other with sticks. A baker laughed as flour puffed into the air. The world hadn't paused for my death. It hadn't paused for my return.
I passed a tavern window and caught my reflection in the glass.
I looked the same.
That scared me.
"You should be shaking," I muttered under my breath. "You should be screaming."
The system flickered lazily into view, as if stretching after a good meal.
Emotional Stability: Within Acceptable Parameters. You are adapting.
"Don't say it like that," I snapped.
No reply this time. Just a faint hum, satisfied.
I needed supplies. Food. A place to think that wasn't soaked in memory.
I turned toward a small shop near the eastern square. Old wooden sign. Crooked door. I'd been there dozens of times before.
Mira's Salvage & Sundries.
The bell jingled softly as I stepped inside.
The shop smelled like dust, oil, and dried herbs. Sunlight filtered through grimy windows, catching on shelves stacked with monster parts, broken gear, and odd trinkets adventurers sold when they were desperate or broke.
"Be with you in a moment," Mira called from the back.
My chest tightened.
Mira had always been kind to me. Not overly so. Just… steady. She paid fair prices. Asked how my quests went. Slipped me an extra ration once when she thought I hadn't noticed.
I hadn't seen her since before the dungeon.
I considered leaving.
Instead, I stayed.
She emerged from the back room wiping her hands on a cloth, then froze when she saw me.
"Eron?" Her eyes widened. "By the gods—"
She rushed forward and grabbed my arm before I could react, fingers warm and real. "They said you were dead. Your party came back without you. I heard—"
Her voice caught.
I gently pulled my arm free. Not because I didn't want the contact. Because I did.
"I'm alive," I said quietly.
She studied my face, eyes sharp despite the shock. "You don't look it."
I let out a weak breath that might've been a laugh. "I feel worse."
She hesitated, then nodded toward the counter. "Sit. You're pale."
I sat.
She poured me water from a clay jug and slid it across the counter. Our fingers almost touched. I flinched back before they did.
Mira noticed.
Something flickered in her expression. Concern. Confusion.
"Do you want to talk about it?" she asked gently.
The old me would have.
The old me would've spilled everything. The betrayal. The fear. The anger. The relief that followed.
Instead, I stared down at the water and said, "I need work."
She blinked. "Work?"
"Anything," I said. "Delivery. Guarding. Selling."
She frowned. "You just came back from a dungeon that killed half your party. You should rest."
The system stirred.
Trust Level Detected: Moderate. Non-hostile. Potential Leverage: High.
I swallowed.
This wasn't a battlefield. There were no screams. No blades drawn.
Just a woman who'd helped me when she didn't have to.
"Please," I said. I let my voice crack just enough to be believable. "I need coin. And… distraction."
Mira studied me for a long moment. Then she sighed. "I do have something."
She reached under the counter and pulled out a small locked coffer, iron-bound and heavy.
"A guild runner was supposed to take this to the Iron Vow Guildhall," she said. "He never showed. I don't trust just anyone with it."
Iron Vow.
My stomach tightened.
A mid-tier guild. Not famous. Not weak. The kind that absorbed people like me and wrung them dry with contracts and loyalty oaths.
"And you trust me?" I asked softly.
She smiled, just a little. "I always have."
The words hit harder than any system prompt.
The blue light pulsed brighter at the edge of my vision.
Delivery Accepted. Trust Violation Potential: Moderate → High (If Misused) Reward Projection: Significant. Isolation Risk: Manageable.
I looked at the coffer.
All I had to do was deliver it.
All I had to do was not think about what the system was offering.
"What's inside?" I asked.
Mira hesitated. "Payment. Contracts. A few enchanted tokens. Nothing dangerous."
Nothing dangerous.
I nodded slowly. "I'll take it."
The coffer was heavier than it looked when I lifted it. Or maybe that was just the weight of the choice settling in my gut.
"Thank you," Mira said. "Truly."
I forced a smile. "I won't let you down."
The lie tasted bitter.
The Iron Vow Guildhall sat near the central district, stone walls etched with worn sigils. I didn't go inside.
Instead, I walked past.
Down an alley. Through the backstreets. Toward the river docks where fences were low and guards were lazy.
My heart hammered with every step.
"You can still stop," I whispered to myself.
The system didn't interrupt. It didn't rush me.
That was worse.
I found an abandoned storehouse near the docks and slipped inside, heart racing. I set the coffer down and stared at it like it might explode.
My hands shook as I picked the lock.
Inside: gold. Sealed documents bearing Iron Vow's crest. Three faintly glowing tokens that hummed with contained magic.
Mira hadn't lied.
Which somehow made this harder.
I sank to the floor, head in my hands.
"This is wrong," I said aloud.
Statement Logged. Contradiction Detected.
"Shut up," I snapped. "Just— shut up."
I could take some of it. Leave the rest. They'd never know.
But I would.
I thought of the chains. The lever. The moment they turned their backs on me.
I thought of how easy it would be for Iron Vow to do the same one day.
Slowly, deliberately, I gathered everything.
Gold into my pack. Tokens wrapped in cloth. Documents folded and hidden.
When I closed the empty coffer, my chest felt hollow.
The system chimed softly.
Betrayal Confirmed. Target: Civilian Ally (Moderate Trust) EXP Gained: +22,000 Stat Points Earned: +12 Skill Unlocked: False Sincerity (Active) Isolation Meter: +8%
I leaned back against the wall and stared at the ceiling.
"That's it?" I whispered. "No blood. No screams."
The system replied, almost amused.
Efficiency improves with practice.
I left the storehouse before I could change my mind.
Mira knew the moment she saw my face.
"You delivered it?" she asked.
I nodded. "Iron Vow took it."
She relaxed, shoulders dropping. "Good. I was worried."
She reached under the counter and pushed a small pouch toward me. "Your pay."
I didn't touch it.
"Keep it," I said.
She frowned. "Eron?"
"Consider it thanks," I said quickly. "For everything."
Her eyes softened. "You don't have to—"
"I want to," I said.
The lie slid out smoothly. Too smoothly.
The new skill hummed, warm and wrong.
False Sincerity Active. Deception Success Rate: High.
Mira smiled.
And something inside me cracked quietly.
I left before she could say anything else.
Outside, the city felt louder. Sharper. Like it was watching me.
The system pulsed again, more urgent this time.
Warning. Isolation Meter at 63%. New Threat Detected. Iron Vow Guild is Investigating a Missing Delivery.
I stopped walking.
The words burned.
Potential Target Identified. Guild Trust Density: Extreme.
My breath caught.
Iron Vow.
A guild full of people who would welcome me with open arms.
The system's final message appeared slowly, deliberately.
Next betrayal will change everything. Proceed?
I stared at the glowing words, heart pounding, knowing I'd already started down a path that wouldn't let me turn back.