Ten Years of Accumulated Experience

Night. Around three in the morning, Ashur City.

Laughter still faintly echoed in various corners of the city, although not as lively as a few hours earlier.

People had started to rest, or rather, were forced to rest due to the intensity of the night's activities. Whether it was drinking, gambling, or joking around with the ladies of the night.

In the darkness of that night, in a corner of the city, stood a figure.

Clad in a black cloak that covered his entire body, holding a bow in his hand, a spear hanging from his back, and a quiver of arrows at his waist.

The man carefully observed the situation outside Millard's residence from the rooftop of a nearby building.

Shrouded in the darkness of the night, he blended in with the shadows, observing the commotion that unfolded in front of the residence's gates.

From what he could see, the commotion was caused by the abduction of a girl at the bar earlier.

The girl's close companions seemed to have stormed Millard's gate, demanding the return of their friend.

However, not only were they confronted by Millard Family's guards, but they were also stopped by the Ashur City guards, leaving the people frustrated and shouting in anger.

The objective of the man, Cien, was simply to take photos of his uncle or cousin.

He could easily accomplish that the following day or night by following them when they left the house.

Not to mention, Cien was confident that they would both participate in the auction. He could easily take a photo there.

But!

Cien was a Millard. He was a Millard who had been educated by his father.

A Millard who upheld justice. Cien dared not say that he was as fair and kind-hearted as his father. In fact, Cien felt that he didn't care much about justice.

However, at this moment, seeing someone from the Millard family behaving in a way that was far from his father's principles and perhaps their ancestors' made him feel that his father's name was tarnished.

Cien couldn't confront his uncle directly at the moment. The fate of his family was still unknown.

He couldn't act recklessly. But he believed he could help the kidnapped girl without revealing his identity as Cien.

"Tch, I've been abandoned by the Millards, but here I am, trying to keep the Millard name clean. Heh, this might be the curse planted by my father."

Cien noticed that the commotion in front of the gate suddenly turned violent.

The Millard faction and the city guards began to injure the unarmed people with their respective weapons.

The girl's friends tried to defend themselves. The chaos escalated. Spectators from the surrounding area started to gather, but none of them dared to help.

'It's only a matter of time before the victims start falling.'

Cien thought, grabbing one of his wooden Hellteak arrows.

He aimed it at one of the guards from the Millard faction. Before finally shooting it, Cien hesitated between killing the guard or not.

Shoot!

The Hellteak wooden arrow flew swiftly.

Stab!

"Arrgh!!!"

The shot from Cien hit the guard's knee precisely, causing him to collapse and wince in pain.

In the end, Cien decided not to kill the guard.

The arrow shot and the guard's screams startled everyone present, whether they were involved in the commotion or just bystanders. They all froze, as an unexpected event unfolded.

Someone had injured the guard of Baron Millard, who was protected by Duke Bahman!

Before anyone could react and look towards the source of the shot, Cien swiftly launched another arrow. But this time, it wasn't aimed at the guard, but at the front of the house.

It was a special arrow made from Mana Core fragments and Inferno Bear Monster Core powder.

The difference was that this powder had the skill [Explode], causing a massive blast that even scorched the Mana Core itself.

Shoot!

"[Explode]," Cien murmured seconds later.

BOOM!!!

The deafening explosion sound jolted the drowsy city of Ashur awake. Those around Millard's residence were startled by the noise.

As they saw the direction of the explosion, the front of the house had been reduced to rubble, engulfed in raging flames ready to devour the entire building.

Panic was evident on the faces of Millard's guards, as well as the Ashur Knight Squad, who were still bewildered by the unfolding events before them.

This is the first time during their job that someone dares to bomb within the city of Ashur.

Unlike wars and battles against monsters, these knights are somewhat confused about how to handle the situation inside the city.

Those who are watching begin to run here and there, fearing there might be subsequent explosions, which indeed happen when one of the kidnapped girl's friends tries to force their way past the guards.

Before he can enter, an arrow lands in the front yard, not far from the young man, and then explodes, throwing him back towards the street.

"Don't be reckless, young one," murmurs Cien, amused by the panic he caused.

Seeing the situation growing more chaotic and crowded, with the explosions and fires serving as distractions, Cien starts moving in the shadows of the night.

He sneaks in without anyone's knowledge.

Once inside the yard, Cien goes to the side of the house, breaking a window and slipping in.

He crawls and hides in a corner of the room, concealed by the shadows.

Not far from him, Cien can see people running to evacuate themselves, heading towards the back of the house.

Cien can also see his uncle surrounded by five guards. As he walks, he asks about the whereabouts of his son.

"Where is Edmond?!"

"It seems the Young Master is in the back room."

"What is he doing? Has he gone deaf?"

"It seems that the Young Master is busy educating the girl he brought earlier."

Upon hearing that, Raphael became furious.

"You scoundrel! I specifically told you not to approach that girl! Who would have thought she's from Ethel place! Quick, take my son away!"

"Yes, Sir."

The guard began to run.

Cien, who overheard their conversation, was stunned. His wife's name was suddenly mentioned by Raphael, causing his heart to race.

'That girl, Ethel place? ... It seems like I must save her.'

When the area became quiet, Cien moved towards the direction the guard had gone.

Oh, he also didn't forget to take a picture of Raphael earlier. One of his main objectives for coming here had been achieved.

Before we continue, there are a few things to note.

Cien is neither a spy nor an assassin. He is merely an individual with the strength equivalent to a low-ranking soldier.

But!

His ten years of experience in the Death Valley taught Cien some important things.

First, he mastered the technique of walking silently. He learned this indirectly because he didn't want to attract the attention of monsters while searching for wild grass.

Second, his instincts and sensitivity to his surroundings are sharp and keen.

Cien can hear small friction sounds from a distance when he concentrates. This became a habit indirectly, because for ten years he always had to be vigilant and aware of the monsters around him, allowing him to hide before the monsters approached.

Third, his pair of eyes can adapt quickly in the dark.

Not only can they adapt, but his vision is also much sharper in darkness compared to others.

Of course, Cien didn't learn this. His eyes simply mutated slightly from living in the dark forest with little light for so many years.

Before he got the shop, Cien had no source of light at all.

Fourth, Cien had become an expert in evading and hiding.

Unable to confront the monsters in Death Valley, he mastered the art of evasion.

Although Cien disliked close combat, it didn't mean he couldn't do it. He simply felt safer launching long-range attacks.

And fifth, Cien's ability to think and make a quick decision is exceptional. His reactions surpassed the average.

With all the intentionally and unintentionally acquired skills, combined with the aura of death emanating from Hela and Death Valley that always surrounded him, many people who saw him for the first time would be on guard. Some even felt terror (like Mia).

All those people perceived Cien as a strong individual.

However, Cien himself considered his own strength as weak. He could only be strong because of the magical weapons he created.

Now let's return to the story.

As Cien silently followed the direction of the guard, he heard the footsteps of two pairs of feet in the distance.

Quickly, Cien scanned his surroundings and found no place to hide. The sound grew closer, coming from the right junction ahead.

Cien squinted. He channeled mana to his right hand and recited a water magic spell.

When the sound arrived at the front and two figures turned toward Cien, they were startled at the sight of him.

"Eeek–!!!"

"[Waterball]."

Before the screams grew louder, Cien covered the face of a maid with his water magic, rendering her unable to speak or breathe.

The other maid stood frozen for a second and then approached Cien with a knife in her hand.

Cien, who saw this, evaded the attack then immediately gagged the maid's mouth with his left hand, while grabbing an arrow with his right hand, and then pressing its tip against the maid's throat.

Thud!

One down.

Thud!

A second later, the water-strangled maid collapsed, gasping for breath. The maid immediately panicked after she saw her friend already lying lifeless on the floor.

"Stay quiet and listen! Do you know where the kidnapped girl is?"

Cien asked, having lost track of the previous guard while dealing with the two maids. The maid nodded frantically, her face pale and tears streaming down on her cheeks.

"Good. Tell me where she is. I will release my hand, but if you scream, I won't guarantee your life. Understood?"

The maid nodded again. Cien slowly released his grip and listened to the stuttered directions from the maid.

Once he knew the path to follow, Cien choked the maid's neck until she lost consciousness.

While walking, Cien glanced at the window and saw the burning flame that reached into the dark sky.

Cien was not concerned about the fire he had ignited. He was even confident that it would soon extinguish.

And if the Ashur people couldn't put it out in time, after rescuing the kidnapped girl, Cien could conjure rain by himself.

Following the maid's directions, Cien finally arrived in front of a large room. From outside, he could hear the voices of guards and Edmond, engaged in a heated argument inside the room.

'Here we go…'