Without hesitation, Seth dashed forward.

  "No, wait!" Renwal yelled behind.

  Seth ignored him and kept running as Identify's grooves took life in the back of his eye. His focus landed on the closest man behind the girl. The black-bearded bandit, who seemed in his thirties, wore a half-thigh-long chainmail, two oversized gauntlets, and brown leather pants. Anyone could tell the pieces of gear came from three different sets—or three different people.

  Seth thought, frowning before skimming through the attributes.

  Without thinking, he then vigorously forced aether into Quick Step, abandoning precision in favor of speed. Seth ran past the girl and charged straight at the first bandit, tackling him to the ground before he could swing his sword. The man pushed Seth to the side and shouted at his partners.

  "Get the girl while I kill this one!"

  The word 'kill' rang in Seth's ears.

  Before the man could fully get back on his feet, Seth sprung toward him and brought him back to the ground. While on top of the bandit, he grabbed the man's hand and tried to wrest his sword away, but without success—the grip was too damn strong.

  Thinking fast, Seth immediately threw aether-enhanced punches at the man’s face, forcing him to shield himself with his free hand. Each hit made the bandit’s fingers loosen up around the sword’s hilt.

  "Fuck , asshole!" The bearded man rammed his fist right in the middle of Seth’s chest and sent him flying back a few feet.

  Seth slammed onto the road, gasping for air. The pain reminded him of the time a horse had kicked him, butworseGritting his teeth, he pushed himself up and coughed while staggering backward. A cold feeling then rose in his Well and crept through the rest of his body. He had been Identified.

  "A Primalist!?" the bandit exclaimed as he rose on his feet. "What are you doing outside of your little forest? You wanted to die faster by playing the hero? "

  Seeing the shortsword in the man's hand, Seth quickly drew his hunting knife. The situation was bad, badQuick Step wouldn’t be enough to compensate for the difference of Strength and Agility. Yet before he could come up with a plan, the bandit rushed forward, swinging his sword.

  Seth barely managed to raise his knife in time to block. The clash of blades sent a sharp jolt of pain up his arm, forcing him to stumble back a few steps. As he regained his balance, he looked up at the bandit—the man had an enormous grin on his face.

  Seth thought, taken aback. The man was smiling while about to kill another human. As if taking a life was something fun. Marcus had warned Seth that some Wielders were power-hungry lunatics who would kill for coins.

  "Those eyes of yours must creep a lot of people out," the bandit chuckled, moving closer. "I’ll do you a service and gouge them out."

  Without waiting for an answer, the bearded man lunged and his sword snapped toward Seth's neck. Seth whipped his hunting knife up, turning it sideways to parry the attack. Metal shrieked as the blades collided, and he sidestepped to absorb the blow, wincing in pain.

  Before he could react, the bandit struck again, this time aiming for his gut. Suddenly, time seemed to slow as Seth’s core ignited in his chest, flooding him with its mysterious energy. It cleared his mind instantly, burning away the fear and awakening his inner beast. Just as against the Boreal Wolves, his senses sharpened and his instincts reached a new high. In a flash, he slashed his knife down, deflecting the sword’s tip to the side.

  The bandit stepped back, now grinning even more. "You're making this fun!"

  The man launched another attack, but Seth blocked it, letting his instincts guide each of his moves. His pupils dilated, and his muscles tensed. He’d wanted this power to kick in all day yesterday, and now that it had, he was ready to push it to its limit.

  Strike after strike, he kept up with the bandit’s relentless assaults. Each hit made his arm burn even more—though his body didn’t seem to care. The fear that had crippled him seconds before was now gone and replaced by an intoxicating joy.

  "Not bad, kid!" the bandit shouted, still smiling.

  Seth barely heard the man over the heartbeat pounding intensively in his ears. His mind was being consumed by survival instinct. One of them would be dead in a minute—and it wouldn't be him. Itbe himDying right now was not his Path.

  The bandit lunged, thrusting his sword. "Goodbye, kid."

  Seth pushed aether into his free hand, and pain surged through his muscles. Just before the sword pierced his head, he leaned to the side, dodging the blade while driving his fist into the bandit's stomach. The chainmail buckled under the blow, failing its purpose: great against slashing attacks, but not against aether-powered punches.

  The man retaliated with an elbow strike, but Seth ducked beneath and at the same time forced aether into his legs. Grabbing the bandit's head, he then leapt upward and smashed his knee into the man’s face with a sickening .

  Screaming in pain, the bandit staggered back and clutched his shattered nose, dropping his sword.

  "I'm going to kill you!" the bandit screamed before bending down to pick up his weapon as blood dripped on his clothes.

  Seth instinctively funneled aether through Quick Step’s grooves a second time, and his grip tightened on his knife's handle. He was ready to kill that man—his prey—but just as he was about to pounce, his legs gave out, and he dropped to his knees. The forest began spinning wildly around him.

  The thing was completely empty.

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  The bandit stepped over Seth, chuckling as he pressed the blade against his neck. "I’ve got to admit, I’m a bit jealous. That spell of yours is quite—"

  Before the man could finish, an arrow whizzed in from his left and plunged into the side of his head. His expression frozen in time, the bandit collapsed to the ground, a half-embedded shaft protruding from his skull.

  Seth looked to his right. The three other bandits were all lying on the road, arrows sticking out of their heads and chests. A bit farther away beside the horses stood Renwal, completely unharmed, with the red-haired girl, who was calmly securing her bow on her back.

  Rising to his feet, Seth glanced back at the bandit’s corpse behind him, and his stomach churned. The man’s eyes were wide open like his mouth while blood oozed out from the arrow buried in his head.

  Fear crawled up inside Seth’s chest and clenched his throat in a cold, tightening grip. His life could have ended just like that. No real accomplishment. Just a dead body on the side of the road.

  "Hey, Seth!" Renwal shouted, waving him over.

  Pushing his thoughts aside, Seth headed toward them. Curious, he poured aether into his eye and endured the slight increase in his dizziness from almost emptying his Well again while casting Identify on the ponytail-girl.

  Seth tried to recall her speed while she had been running toward him. Had she really been that much faster than the bandits? He couldn't remember, but one thing was now certain—she hadn't needed their help.

  As he got closer, Seth could make out some of the Rogue's delicate facial features: a small, upturned nose, high cheekbones that would make any girl in Sunatown jealous, and striking amber eyes. Beneath, her body was more on the small side, like a teenager's, with no real curve in her leather attire. She stood a few inches shorter than Renwal and looked to be about a third of his weight.

  Seth turned to Renwal and gave him a faint smile. "I'm glad you're—"

  "Your contribution was not needed," the girl interrupted with a flat voice devoid of any gratitude or malice—she was simply stating a fact.

  Seth frowned, tilting his head in confusion. "Uh, I didn’t know you were... that strong. I saw the blood on your armor, and thought you were injured—"

  "It isn't mine," she said, glancing down at the dark stain spreading across her leather breastplate. Her nose crinkled, as if she had just realized she had stepped in mud. Then, she looked down the road.

  Seth followed her gaze and spotted a fourth bandit lying dead in the brush.

  "Well then, sorry for trying to help."

  The young woman simply nodded, then turned away to check the fletching on her arrows.

  Seth blinked, taken aback. Before he could process the strange interaction, Renwal stepped forward and bowed to her, his hands joined together.

  "Thank you for saving us. We are lucky that you arrived before we did."

  The small girl looked at the blacksmith, then nodded once again instead of answering anything.

  Seth thought, biting his tongue.

  The blacksmith's way of thanking her sounded more than fake—. Seth’s gaze fell on the black bow strapped to the Rogue’s back.

  Renwal wasn't doing it for the sake of manners but for their survival. If they were to get on her wrong side, she could probably kill them in seconds.

  The realization washed away Seth's judgment, replacing it with a familiar, bitter taste. It reminded him of the few times nobles had passed through Sunatown—how he, too, would instinctively step off the road, bow his head, and make himself small to avoid drawing their attention. Putting up with someone's attitude because of their Rank and attributes felt shameful as it was with nobility, yet he knew he would have to do the same. From now on, power would be all that mattered. Especially if he got into Trogan Academy.

  he thought with a sigh.

  Seth ambled beside the wagon’s rear, still Identifying things along the road. Ever since they had left the forest, the scenery was back to plain old rocks and dying plants.

  Sitting in the front seat, Renwal was trying to engage in conversation with the red-haired rogue, who was riding the left horse. It was more of a monologue than anything else. The man was bragging about how his forge was the best in the region, while Selena sat rigid in the saddle, her eyes constantly shifting over the terrain as if expecting another ambush at any second.

  However, for the past twenty minutes, the red-haired Rogue had been obsessively wiping down the stain of blood on her leather breastplate with a piece of cloth. The rest of her gear was immaculate—not a scratch or a scuff in sight.

  Seth could guess it was one of the first times she had actually worn it.

  When he had cast Identify on her earlier, there had been no House name. If there had been one, he would have assumed she’d forced a servant to polish the leather to a mirror sheen before she deigned to step outside. Also, the faint curl of contempt on her lip as she scrubbed—like a petulant child annoyed that her new toy had gotten dirty—betrayed that she wasn't wealthy enough to simply buy another piece.

  "So, Miss," Renwal said while keeping his eyes on the road. "Are you also heading to the selections?"

  Selena gave a sharp nod. Then, the young woman turned in her saddle to look at Seth.

  An familiar, cold tingling sensation rose in Seth’s chest—she had just used Identify on him. He tensed, waiting for a reaction, a raised eyebrow, something. But her expression didn't flicker. Just like the bandit, she seemed to see nothing out of the ordinary.

  , Seth thought.

  Selena pointed a gloved finger at him. "Do your golden eyes do anything special?"

  The question sounded almost childish coming from someone who had just slaughtered four men without breaking a sweat. It shattered the illusion of the arrogance Seth had attributed to her. She wasn't a haughty noble looking down on them; she was just another commoner—a socially awkward one.

  Renwal chuckled, shaking his head. "You mean like shooting flames or seeing through walls? Nah. It’s just a color, Miss," the man said before Seth could answer himself. "Like folks born with purple or red eyes. They sure are rare, but they don't do anything magic on their own. They're just different."

  "I have never seen someone else with this color," Selena murmured, her gaze lingering on Seth for a beat longer before turning back to the road.

  "Me neither," Renwal admitted, scratching his long red beard. "The only other one I know of who had the same was his father. Hell of a man, from what I hear. Founded Sunatown nine years ago out of nothing but dirt and rocks. Built the first fifty houses with his own two hands."

  "Was he powerful?"

  The question came out instantly. But the moment it hung in the air, Selena straightened her posture and her jaw tightened. It was as if she regretted asking—or regretted speaking at all.

  Seth frowned, watching the back of her head.

  Renwal didn't notice the shift, though his own expression darkened. "Don't know. Never met him. I arrived in Sunatown after he died."

  A long, awkward silence followed, making the monotonous creaking of the wagon wheels seem even louder. Renwal finally spoke up again, clearly desperate to lighten the mood. "So, yeah, they don't give him any weird abilities," he said, repeating himself. "Unless repelling girls counts. But I'm not sure if it's the eyes or the smell."

  Seth arched an eyebrow. "I can hear you, you know."

  Renwal’s shoulders went up and down with his unrestrained laughter. "And I can you!"

  "Pretty sure it's the rotten food stuck in your double chin you’re smelling," Seth retorted, striding up to get closer.

  Renwal glanced back with a haughty look. "You're just jealous of my physique."

  "Yeah, right! I’ve always dreamt of being out of breath after two steps."

  "I'm a blacksmith, boy. I hammer all day long and do just fine."

  Seth snorted. "Mael hammers all day. Your lazy ass just grinds and polishes."

  "Hey, Miss," Renwal said, turning to the red-haired Rogue. "How much would it cost for you to beat up this arrogant little prick?"

  The moment Seth opened his mouth to retort, he caught sight of a giant structure on the horizon. It was nothing more than a large shadow beneath the setting sun, but he could easily figure out what it was: Arthuri's wall.

  Selina immediately jumped off her horse at the front of the wagon and started sprinting toward the city without saying a word. Stunned, Seth and Renwal stared at her back, both shocked, before exchanging a glance.

  "She leaves just like that?" the blacksmith said, pointing at the Rogue.

  Seth shrugged. "I guess so."

  Renwal immediately cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted, "See you at the selections, Selena!"

  The girl kept running.

  "Well, looks like you've sucked up to her for the last two hours for nothing," Seth laughed.

  ''Oh, shut up,'' Renwal retorted. "You don't understand how crucial it is to have great relationships with Wielders, especially combat ones."

  , Seth thought as he resumed walking.

  The only combat Wielder he had interacted with in the past years, apart from the Faertis' tax collector, was Vandric, Sunatown's Priest—and a good relationship with the man had barely gotten him a ten-percent discount on his mother’s pain treatment.

  Even that had been a battle.

  Vandric had insisted that no treatment could truly alleviate her suffering, that fighting the inevitable was a useless endeavor. But Seth had seen the brief moment of peace the remedies had brought her. Yet, the Priest hadn't believed him, dismissing those as the desperate delusions of a grieving son.

  A sudden shift in the ground beneath pulled Seth from his dark thoughts.

  The wagon jolted a little the moment its wooden wheels climbed up on a new cobblestone road. Ahead, Arthuri's wall grew larger and more impressive as they got closer. The gray stones soared high toward the sky, reaching at least three or four times the height of Sunatown's wooden palisade. The air seemed to blur and waver around the massive structure, as if a thin layer of steam was hovering on its surface.

  he realized.

  January 15, 2026 (7h15PM)

  ----

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