Attack

"Hmph, my Dad is a Stage 4 Aura Master."

Uncle Bernd laughed dryly. He was well aware that the Earl was one of the few real Aura Masters. Aura masters can only call themselves that once they have crossed the third stage.

"I know Miss Annabeth, he is one of the few powerhouses in the Kingdome." He flatters.

It is easier to agree with her and praise her. Hopefully, this will keep her quiet and happy.

"Okay guys let's go"

"Aye!"

______________________________

"Just behind this hill and we are there."

After beating the pack of wolves, they went further into the jungle. Always further to the northeast. They encountered a few other predators but were able to put them all to flight without much effort.

Now they are about to reach their goal.

"Right there, Uncel Bernd. Between the rock and the big tree. It should be buried there."

He points to the place where the chest should be buried.

"Sam and Frank you two shovel the chest free!"

"Aye."

The two get the shovels out of their backpacks while the others spread out and keep watch.

"Hey Felix, I know that the captain wants to help the boy, but isn't the effort too great for just a small chest that a woman hid here during her escape?"

"Sam and Frank you two shovel the chest free!"

"Aye."

The two get the shovels out of their backpacks while the others spread out and keep watch.

"Hey Kron, I know that the captain wants to help the boy, but isn't the effort too great for just a small chest that a woman hid here during her escape?"

"Don't ask so many questions, Ryan. you know how it works, the captain takes requests from clients and together we get them done. In the end, we get paid and then everyone does what they want until the next job. It doesn't matter what's in the chest, as long as we get paid at the end of the day."

Kron and Ryan were two of the three Stage 2 Aura Users in the team. They have been buddies since they were teenagers. Together they joined the guild and are one of the few phase 2 aura users in the city.

Aura users aren't that rare, but neither are they common either.

Only every third person has the potential to become an aura user and even then you need the right training method.

The breathing method to become an aura user is not available to the general public.

There are three paths to become an aura user. One is to join the Knight Academy, which is financed by the royal family and a few nobles. Another is by joining the Adventure Guild.

The last way is to join a noble family. However, many fail in this attempt, as most nobles refuse commoners. Only those who are particularly gifted and who happen to have caught the eye of a noble can join them.

Kron and Ryan are commoners. They have neither the money, the talent nor the contacts to join the academy or a noble family.

So they had no choice but to join the guild. But they felt that this was a good thing. In the academy, they would only be mocked and scorned, and in the great noble family they would be outsiders and bound to servitude.

In the guild they are free and everyone is equal. There is a hierarchy, but it is very flat. And it is based on strength and not what family you belong to.

There are about three hundred Stage 2 Aura fighters registered in the guild in Kaokou. They are the backbone of the guild.

"I know, but aren't you curious about what's in the chest?"

"Not really. Probably gold, jewelry, or the like. I once overheard that the captain knew the mother before the outbreak of the civil war. She was supposed to come from a wealthy family and was separated from her family during the outbreak. Afterward, she fled here with the first best boat. She could not have much with her if she traveled spontaneously and alone. So it must be jewelry that she was carrying."

Kron just wanted to get the job done.

"Tru-."

Without finishing his sentence, Ryan notices an object falling in front of him. It was round and heavy. The ungainly-shaped object rolled in front of Ryan's feet. He focused his gaze directly on the object and the image became clear.

Brown hair, a scar on the chin, and eyes that were filled with cluelessness...

A name escaped from Ryan's mouth, "...Kron."

"Be careful Ryan!"

Ryan was stunned, he couldn't move and didn't notice how a shadow was fast approaching him.

Uncle Bernd immediately grasped the situation after the head fell and warned Ryan.

But Ryan was too shocked to register anything around him, even the voice of his captain.

SWOOSH!

Before Ryan became the next victim, someone pushed him out of the way.

"Ryan pull yourself together."

It was the third 2 Phase aura user in the team, Marshel.

"Huh-what?"

Ryan was recovering right after Marshal moved his body away.

"Be careful, it's a big snake that has severed Kron's head from his body. Come to me immediately and stand in formation."

Uncle Bernd himself only managed to get a brief glimpse of the body after the shadow attacked Kron. According to the shape and the scales, it is a blue-black snake.

The team was alerted immediately after one of them was killed. Sam and Frank threw their shovels and immediately unsheathed their swords.

But the shadow did not wait for them to gather and regroup, it attacked the next best target.

The shadow was fast and approached Annabeth.

CLANG-!

Just as something shot out of the shadows, Uncle Bernd stood in front of Anna with his sword drawn and repelled the attack with it.

Now he could get a better look at the attacker.

"Shit, it's a Night Sword Serpent!" Cursed he loud.