120 Get serious

The area surrounding Eadon was bustling with activity.

The aftermath of the previous battle was still evident from the pieces of torn-out earth and fallen trees strewn around. A good portion of the grain fields had been destroyed and there were currently teams from the town lord's castle and the mage's association going around and fixing as much of the damage as they could.

That which could be fixed with magic was dealt with by teams of low-tier mages from the mage's association. For them, this was an opportunity to train their magic and make contributions to the association and the town lord's castle for rewards later on which they could use to further their studies.

The teams from the town lord's castle took care of clearing the fields and planting new seeds to replace the damaged ones. The workers and farmers went at it with vigor and purpose, only stopping occasionally to wipe their brows or take a sip of cold water to ease their thirst.

Things like these were common, it was nothing that would cause sorrow or despair. The truly valuable yield was protected by magic barriers formed by arrays and they were much closer to the town which made them easier to protect.

As long as one was not lazy or weak, it was impossible to go hungry in this world of magic. But even with the convenience that magic brought, wars and conflict would always create situations of the oppressor and the oppressed. People would always suffer due to one situation or another and seeing someone starve to death was not impossible.

As the workers went around busily, a figure ran past them in a blur and headed towards the forest path leading to the mines.

Vars was running with all he had as his anger fueled him on. He didn't even stop to notice the damage the beast horde attack had brought and rushed right past everything and headed for the path.

Feeling around his right index finger, he felt the ring that was placed there. It had a black set gem inlaid that seemed to swirl with fog.

This inter-spatial ring had been given to him by his father before the battle to protect Eadon. The weapons inside were prototypes, something the dwarven grandmaster was working on. He had given them to Vars to have him test them out and see their effectiveness.

And considering it had succeeded in injuring a magic beast albeit a half-baked one, it was pretty good.

Rubbing the gem on the ring, Vars felt a sense of confidence in dealing with the situation. To him, there was nothing more infuriating than other people trampling on things he had his eyes on.

With his thick black hair flowing through the wind, he spurred himself on and took a path that cut across the forest in a tangent in a bid to reach his destination faster.

Just a few meters behind him, Black Raven was following him in a hidden state. Immediately she left the town, she had dived into the crowds of people moving in and out before silently disguising herself as one of the workers who were keeping busy.

Using the workers and grain fields as cover, she tracked the grandmaster's son as he moved through the fields and entered the forest. She quickly followed and scaled up a tree by the forest edge with nimble movements.

She paused for a moment and watched as Vars veered off the path and cut across the foliage in a bid to reach there quicker.

Shaking her head, she reached into her clothes and took out a small bottle made of silvery metal. She popped off the cork with a twist of her fingers to reveal a clear odorless liquid within.

Dripping some onto her hands, she dabbed it all over her body before putting the bottle back and taking out another similar-looking bottle. This one was filled with fine brown powder.

She scooped some out with a small finger and tossed it into her mouth. She quickly covered it back, put it into her clothes, and waited.

A few seconds later, her figure seemed to blend into the surrounding foliage like a chameleon's camouflage. If anybody was to pass by at that moment, it would take careful discerning or the skills of a ranger to be able to detect her location.

This obviously wasn't an assassin skill she had learned but something she had picked up from a particular adventurer she had been on a mission with.

The clear liquid was created by collecting the early morning dew from a particular carnivorous plant that had scent wiping abilities.

The plant usually had a musky sweet scent that attracted prey in the form of small animals. But when it was full, it took it a long time to digest its prey so it releases a unique solution that would mask its scent and protect it from getting attacked.

When dew is allowed to slowly accumulate on its body during this process, the dew would gain the property of the scent erasing solution. This was very useful for ambushes and hiding from enemies with powerful trackers.

The brown powder on the other hand was something she had bought rather expensively from a particular underground market around the great city of Kurn.

It was said to be made from the remains of a powerful magic beast that was adept in invisibility and camouflage and could make your body temporarily possess those characteristics for a short time.

Of course, powerful assassins of a higher level might not need such things as they would have a corresponding skill for camouflage and anti-tracking. But for now, this was Black Raven utilizing her best resources.

With these measures in place, she moved quickly but silently as she got closer to the bumbling Vars. She had decided to trail him closely to prevent any accidents. If the grandmaster's son was to be ambushed then as someone who was seen with him previously, she would be implicated.

Black Raven had seen enough of this world to know not to underestimate the tracking methods that could be employed. If someone with skill tried to find her identity at her current level, she would definitely be found out!

A few minutes later, the trio led by Redbone came across the same spot. They stopped at the point in the path where Vars cut through the forest. Although the forest was already in a bad state due to the previous beast horde, the fresh damage to the surrounding shrubbery made it easy for them to figure out where he had gone to.

"He is really heading for the mines." Redbone said with a somewhat solemn expression.

'Did he actually find out something? How? There is a traitor amongst the Red hammer guild? Or…...'

Redbone's eyes suddenly flashed as he thought of something.

"Whitesoul, use your…..." he fell silent immediately he started speaking.

Whitesoul was currently offline!

"Fuck!" he cursed under his breath.

Yellow Lily and Silver Tooth were confused over his actions but neither said a word. Redbone fell silent for a while before drawing out his shield.

"We will move quietly from now on. I'll take the lead, Silver Tooth protects our rear and Yellow Lily in the middle. Stay alert and be wary of your surroundings, I suspect that Black Raven might be behind this."

Silver Tooth looked around warily and drew a large hammer. The dwarf took the rear of the team and silently activated a warrior passive skill that would boost his mentality for a while.

Concentration!

He felt his senses broaden slightly as he could see and hear better. There was no accurate way to explain this state. It was like a temporary form where the user's senses would be superhuman for a while.

Of course, it drained on mana quite significantly and left the body feeling weary afterward but it was a good counter for traps and sneak attacks.

Redbone glanced at him before also activating Concentration. With a slight gesture, he led the group into the forest, following the obvious tracks of damaged foliage.

They walked silently while keeping alert at their surroundings, fearful of an ambush from the assassin that was their comrade not too long ago.

A few minutes later, just as they were reaching an area where the trees were getting sparser, a loud sound startled them.

BOOM!!!

Silver Tooth turned his head warily all-around before focusing on the direction the sound came from. Yellow Lily had already prepared a spell and Redbone turned around rather calmly after being startled for a moment.

It came from an area not far behind them and the sound was rather loud as it echoed throughout the forest. It sounded like something heavy hit the ground from a high distance.

"What do you think it is?" Yellow Lily whispered in apprehension. This high elf had her nerves strung taut from staying alert for such a long time.

Redbone's thoughts spurned for a while before finally making up his mind.

"Let's ignore it. Whatever it is should not be our problem, our goal is ultimately Sleeping beauty."

The two other members nodded silently and followed Redbone forward. Though now, Yellow Lily looked visibly shaken and Silver Tooth couldn't seem to stop glancing behind every once in a while.

Redbone's eyes flickered with a slight trace of confusion.

'That came from the mine's path?' It was another factor he wasn't sure of but he was currently helpless.

He decided to let it be and not allow the matter distract him from his prize. They quickly left that part of the woods and headed closer to Eadon's mines.

Atop a tall tree not far from where they previously stopped, a hooded figure in leather armor silently watched them depart. The figure had an elegant crossbow over his back and stands of long brown hair spilled from underneath his hood.

After a while, he turned his head and looked in the direction the loud sound had come from previously.

"The path?" He whispered to himself.

He thought for a few seconds before swiping down with his finger and tapping the air a few times. A while later, a voice sounded out in his ears.

"What is it now, Little eye?"

******************************************************************************************

On the path that led to Eadon's mines, Baldur the monk was panting heavily as he looked at the swordsman that was separated from him by a small crater on the floor.

His leather armor was covered in numerous cuts and he looked miserable as he bent his back slightly to ease the pain he felt from a rather large cut across his chest.

Although the crater separating the two wasn't that large, how such a crater came about in the firm, solid earth was a question that should be asked incredulously.

None of the participating fighters were mages!

Not far away from him, Wind blade Helia was bent slightly and glaring at the swordsman while also breathing heavily. She was squinting an eye that was covered with blood, dripping from a deep gash on her forehead. Her situation wasn't any better than the bald monk.

The swordsman looked at them before glancing at the broken sword in his hand and chuckled slightly with a small pant.

"You guys work really well together. It's amazing! Are you guys dating?" he said teasingly.

"NO!" they both replied with deadpan faces.

"See what I mean? Your chemistry is unmatched!" he sighed mockingly.

Baldur gritted his teeth and looked down at his arms, they had lost their metallic coating.

"You would be a perfect shield warrior" he grumbled under his breath.

"Is that a compliment?" a smile appeared again on the swordsman's thin lips.

He shook his head before swiping his free hand in the air and pulling something out. It was another ordinary steel sword with nothing special about it.

Baldur and Helia shifted their eyes warily as they watched him throw away the broken blade in his other hand. But surprisingly, he didn't stop there. His hand reached out again and drew out another plain sword.

They both looked apprehensively at the swordsman who was waving the swords in his hands in a testy manner.

"You guys are strong." He said in a voice that seemed full of appreciation of the other party.

Leveling his blade against Baldur who was opposite him, he said with a smirk.

"Let's get serious shall we?"

Before Baldur could reply, he suddenly saw the swordsman take one sword to his waist like he was unsheathing it while taking a step forward.

But it wasn't towards him.

"HELIA!!!" he swiftly turned his head to give a warning but it was already too late.

SWISH!

The sword made a sound as it cut through the air. Helia's eyes widened when she saw the attack but she failed to react, her body had taken too much damage.

The smiling swordsman seemed to teleport in her eyes as the blade suddenly appeared in front of her. It was at that moment she realized, since the beginning of their fight, this was the first time the swordsman had used a skill!

THUD!

Baldur watched her fall to the floor with shock and rage painting his facial features. The swordsman turned slowly and shook his blade, blood splattered on the floor dyeing the torn-up earth.

"As I said…..." he looked at the furious Baldur with a grin.

"It's time to get serious."

"UUUAAAGGHHH!!!" a bestial roar erupted from Baldur's throat as his entire body suddenly gave out a shiny metallic sheen.

He swiped down his inventory and grabbed out several bottles, tossing them into his mouth and crunching through the glass directly. Various liquids and pills of different colors went down his throat along with the shattered glass.

BANG!!!

With a stomp of his foot, he cut through the air as he charged towards the swordsman furiously like a huge metal bullet.

The swordsman took a ready stance and opened his arms wide in a welcoming gesture while muttering to himself.

"That's more like it!"