Trustworthy Friends and Ensuing Pursuits

Nox and his former team spent the rest of the day eating at fancy restaurants and roaming aimlessly all around the city, seeing the various high-rise buildings and the medieval streets and shops.

Although they talked a lot about random things, Nox was careful not to let anecdotes of his past few days and adventures as Menace and White Mask accidentally slip out.

After a day filled with seeing the city, they finally sat down in a park.

Lush green grass filled the entire ground, with tall trees consisting of dense branches perimeter the edges, distinguishing between the bustling city and the tranquil garden.

A large stone fountain stood at the center of the park, with the statue of a headless, armored warrior on top of a horse, pointing towards the castle walls.

Little children ran around, playing together, while the slightly older people rested on the dense grass or sat atop the numerous benches scattered around the park.

Liam and Ignis sat on a bench together, exchanging jokes and laughing heartily, while Nox and Elizabeth sat on a bench a few feet away from them at the garden's edge, making small talk.

After talking about the beautiful evening with the cool breeze softly crashing against their faces, silence ensued.

Even though Elizabeth had questions that only Nox could answer, she didn't consider it the right time to ask them.

He sat quietly, reclining on the bench, looking up at the sun slowly setting down behind the horizon. The cool evening breeze softly crashed against his face, giving him a much-needed feeling of refreshment.

"So, where did you get the money to buy the gift?" he inquired, still staring up at the sky.

The black-haired, pretty Asian woman paused momentarily before replying in a low voice, "I never said we had any money. We just… stole."

She broke into a burst of soft laughter before continuing, "Since the high-level players would notice if we stole anything, we went for a place with the maximum number of low leveled players around. But, to think that, that turned into something so big…."

She gazed at Nox, her heart heavy with emotions, as his attention shifted to the siblings sitting on the nearby bench. Desperate to express herself, she struggled to speak, but her words remained trapped within her.

"It's getting late. We better head back if we want to reach before it gets too dark," he said, getting up.

As he began walking forward, a hand behind him grabbed the end of his black court's sleeve.

"Th-Thank you," she mumbled, looking down at the ground, trying her best to hide her bright red cheeks.

A soft smile appeared on Nox's face as he softly placed his hand on her head and said in a calming voice, "That's what friends are for."

It was a simple gesture, but in that moment, Elizabeth felt a profound connection, as if a broken part of her soul was being gently healed. Tears welled up in her eyes, betraying the emotions she had suppressed for so long.

'Can I finally… trust someone again?' she wondered, clenching her eyes shut, afraid to let her vulnerability show. It was both a question and a silent plea, one she desperately hoped would be answered with a resounding yes.

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Panting heavily, a guard flung open the doors leading to the cabin of the head recruiter for the Golden Guards, Kaya.

"Ma'am!! Pe-people from the Blazing Flame are here!!" The guard exclaimed, standing at the door.

The beautiful woman, wearing a white robe with golden stripes, slammed down a file before lifting her head toward the guard.

Her crimson eyes gleamed brilliantly as she replied, "Send them in."

The guard standing at the door was pushed aside by a man wearing a three-piece maroon-colored suit over a black shirt. He was just under six feet and had olive skin with short red hair, complimenting the color of his vibrant tuxedo.

"As if we need permission to enter," he scoffed, confidently strolling towards Kaya.

He was followed by a tall, gorgeous woman wearing a three-piece blue suit, which went together with her long blonde hair and pale skin. Her sapphire-like eyes stared at Kaya as she took a seat in front of her, beside her brother, who had already made himself comfortable on a chair.

"I don't think we need to tell you why we're here," the woman said, gazing around the room.

Kaya shot up from her seat before offering them a respectful bow.

'I knew that the people from the top guilds would start to arrive once news about Menace's achievements spread across the Tower. But, to think that two of the top fifty executives of the Blazing Flame would come themselves…' she thought, sitting down on her chair.

The aura that the red-haired man and the blonde-haired woman emitted was immense, to the point that the objects kept in the room began falling down, and a few even shattered.

This was to be expected since they were elites of the blazing flame… two of the best people from the most prominent guild in the entirety of the Tower.

To even become a mere member of it, one has to possess either unimaginable power or extraordinary potential. As such, the power that its elites possess couldn't even be comprehended by the regular participants of the Tower.

"Of course. But I'm afraid that we won't be able to help you in that matter," Kaya replied, gathering all her courage to stop herself from stuttering in front of the mighty players.

"Are you taunting us?" the man inquired, clearly irritated by her reply.

Kaya jumped up from her seat, bowing down and saying, "I wouldn't dare to! Even though we have our best trackers looking for him, even at this moment… we can't find him. His presence completely disappeared after we tried to recruit him."

She was completely sincere in whatever she said. After all, it was no use lying to high-level players since most of them could sense the tiniest bit of arcane fluctuation to tell if a person was lying or not.

"So you basically have no clue about him?" the man asked, slamming his hand down on the wooden table, with just enough force to make a loud bang but not break it.

Kaya trembled as she raised her head to face the man. She was frightened. This was her first time meeting someone as powerful as them. Even though she wasn't weak, she was like an amoeba compared to the people before her.

"That's not true, sir. We combed through all the inns in the kingdom… except one. There was no trace of him anywhere!" she exclaimed.

"Except one?" the blonde woman asked.

Kaya gulped before finally gathering the courage to open her mouth, "The Boar's Hat."

The man and the woman's faces twitched slightly on hearing the familiar name. After all, there was no one in the entirety of the Tower who didn't know about it and its owner.

After a short silence, Kaya continued, "We're in a treaty with them. They won't interfere with us, and we won't interfere with them. As such, no guards are allowed to conduct investigations there, and it's practically impossible to disguise ourselves in front of their staff."

"A treaty! Is that your excuse!?" the man exclaimed, jumping up from his chair.

Kaya's senses started to dim. The aura that he directed towards her was too much for an assassin like her to handle. Her legs shivered, and she was about to give up. It was as if an unimaginable weight had been placed on her firm shoulders.

"Calm down, Kale. We're here just to talk. There's no use blaming them; they have a settlement to look after," said the sweet voice of the gorgeous woman sitting beside him as she lightly tapped him on the shoulder.

"We're done here then! Let's go, Pearl," he scoffed, walking towards the exit.

"I guess we know where to go next," she said, following him.

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In front of a steaming stone forge, Justin stood still, staring at the red-hot piece of metal he held with his gloved hand.

Weapons and armor of all shapes and sizes were scattered around him; some were kept straight with the help of the grey brick wall, while the others lay around on the bare stone ground.

The room was very dark, with the only light source being the fire burning violently in the forge.

The blacksmith firmly gripped the burning steel over an anvil before raising his other hand, with which he held a black iron hammer with numerous engravings and gems embedded in it.

Using his entire arm as a fulcrum, he pounded the red metal with his hammer over and over again, increasing and decreasing the force he applied and changing the areas of the blade he struck… according to his well-honed instincts.

"What…" he mumbled, freezing in place.

No matter what he did or how hard he struck, he couldn't bend the hot metal to his own will. It was as if the layer of rust over it had given it some properties which he had never even imagined of.

Sliding it in the forge at fixed intervals, he kept on pounding the metal, using up all the techniques he had acquired back on his home planet, yet nothing changed in the metal.

But eventually, some sort of a brown mist began seeping out of it… No… It wasn't mist. It was condensed, arcane… dense enough to be perceived through the naked eye.

The next time the blacksmith struck the red hot metal… His hammer shattered.