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.

Garb

 

Class: Farmer

Rank: 8 (Mid-Copper)

Subclass: -

 

Farming Rank: 3/20 (Low-Copper)

 

Strength: 19

Arcane Power: 7

Toughness: 15

Well Capacity: 7

Agility: 17

Regeneration: 9

A Farmer? Seth thought, frowning before skimming through the attributes. Higher Strength, Toughness, and Agility than me. Shit.

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. Just a bit more and—

"Fuck off, 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, but far worse. Gritting 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 fucking Primalist!" the bandit laughed as he rose on his feet. "And you think you can be some kind of hero."

Seeing the shortsword in the man's hand, Seth quickly drew out his hunting knife. The situation was bad, really bad. Quick 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.

He is… thrilled? 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. He's one of them.

"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. His instinct took over in a flash and 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 core 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. It couldn't be him. Dying 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 crunch.

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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.

No, you won't.

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.

What the hell is happen—shit. My Well.

The thing was completely empty.

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. It seemed that the damsel hadn't been in distress after all.

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.

If she hadn't killed him, I'd be… 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. No wife. No kids. Nothing. 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.

Selena

 

Class: Rogue

Rank: 10 (Mid-Copper)

Subclass: -

 

Strength: 17

Arcane Power: 18

Toughness: 12

Well Capacity: 12

Agility: 30

Regeneration: 10

She's Rank 10!

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 young 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.

So powerful and barely five feet tall.

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

"Why did you interfere?" the girl interrupted, staring straight into his eyes.

Seth frowned, tilting his head in confusion. "Uh, I didn't know you were... that strong. I thought you needed some—"

"I didn't need any help," she spat, cutting him short again.

Wow, calm down, Seth thought as he walked past her to grab a water flask in the wagon. Selena—what a lovely name for someone so incendiary. "Well then, sorry for helping."

"You're forgiven," she answered, completely missing his sarcasm.

Seth started coughing, startled by her response. Before he could even catch his breath, 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 smiled at the blacksmith. "You're welcome."

What the hell, Renwal? Seth thought, biting his tongue. When did you turn into such a bootlicker?

The girl had been so disrespectful, yet the blacksmith was thanking her as if she was a goddamn hero. It almost sounded fake—oh. Seth's gaze fell on the black bow strapped to the Rogue's back.

Power.

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.

A bitter taste arose inside Seth's mouth. Putting up with someone's attitude because of their Rank and attributes—it felt so shameful. 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.

Welcome to the Wielders' world, Seth, 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 conversations with the red-haired rogue, who was riding the left horse—but it was more of a monologue than anything else. The man was bragging about how his forge was the best in the region. According to him, of course.

"Even if I'm not a Wielder, my weapons are the best Miss could fin—"

"Why does your man have golden eyes?" Selena asked abruptly, pointing back at Seth.

I'm not his man, and I have a name, Seth retorted in his head while gritting his teeth. Without the strength to back it up, putting that shameless girl in her place wasn't an option.

"Oh, Seth's eyes? He got them from his father. A great man," Renwal said. "He founded Sunatown nine years ago, which started as nothing more than a desolate plain in the middle of nowhere, and built the first fifty houses by himself."

"Is he powerful?"

Renwal's face darkened. "I never met him. I arrived at Sunatown after his death."

"Do those eyes have any special abilities?" Selena pressed, showing no sign of compassion.

"Like shooting flames or seeing through things?" Renwal asked with a chuckle. "No, not really. Unless repelling girls count. But I'm not sure if it's the eyes or the smell."

"I can hear you, you know!" Seth shot from the back.

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

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

"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?"

Selena instantly spun toward Seth, eyeing him from head to toes; a cold tingling then rose in his Well.

"Twenty common coins."

Seth's eyes widened as something struck him—neither the young woman nor the bandit had said anything about his core or Link's additional attribute. Does that mean it doesn't show when they Identify me.

Renwal stroked his long red beard thoughtfully. "That's a fair price, but I can't pay that much just to watch him get his ass kicked."

"Just spectate the selection tomorrow, then," Selina replied, her voice devoid of any emotion. "You'll see me beat him for free."

Seth's jaw dropped. "And why are you so sure of that?"

The small girl turned back to the road. "You've got lower attributes than anyone who'll be there. Some of them awakened months ago, some almost even a year. There's only two months of selections per year, you know right? And on top of that, you're a Primalist. That's basically a non-combat class."

Ouch.

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."

I guess I don't, 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.

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.

An aether barrier, he realized.

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