Arriving at Trogan's eastern gate, Seth pulled his hood over his head and discreetly blended in with a group of commoners. It felt unwise to expect the guards not to be tempted by his bounty. Some people would probably even sell their family for such an amount of gold coins.

As Seth passed between the armored men, one of them caught sight of his face, raising an eyebrow. The cold sensation of behind Identified spread through Seth's chest, then a smile spread on the guard's chapped lips. "Good luck today. I hope you win."

Seth paused briefly, taken aback, before nodding. "Uh, thank you, sir."

After slipping through the gate, Seth navigated through the bustling streets, trying to draw as little attention as possible. To his surprise, he encountered no obstacles and reached the Champions of Chaos' headquarters in no time. The moment he pushed open the door, he heard Toren's voice booming from the inside.

"War? What the hell did they steal in that Rift, for Gaia's sake?"

"Stop being so loud, bloody hell," Yline's voice cut through. "The whole city can probably hear you."

"Who cares? It's not like it would stay a secret for—" Toren stopped abruptly as Seth stepped inside the building. The man spun around, and a broad smile crossed his face. "Hey, kid!"

Yline and Celine sat at the table across the Artificer, eating what seemed to be some kind of breakfast while Orwen, Krystel, Drack, and Lyria stood at the counter in the back. Everyone turned toward Seth. Orwen, who was the only wearing his armor instead of casual clothes, sprang to his feet and moved forward.

"Hey, Seth!" the man exclaimed, gesturing to come closer. "Come sit!"

As Seth moved closer and removed his cloak, Yline immediately reacted. "Bloody hell, kid!"

Seth glanced down to look at himself. His body was littered with scores of cuts, both old and fresh, each one now sealed beneath crusted blood. Now that he was thinking about them, he realized they stung, but at this point, with everything he had endured over the past week, the pain had become nothing more than a faint background noise in his mind.

"Rough week, huh?" Orwen said with a chuckle before turning to the beautiful brown-haired woman next to him. "Krystel, mind healing up our little recruit?"

"Of course," she said, standing up and moving to Seth.

As the Priest placed her gentle hands on him, a warm wisp of white aether flowed outward. The energy hovered on Seth's skin for an instant, then it plunged into every cut and bruise, making the dried blood vanish and closing the wounds perfectly.

Seth frowned. He had seen Wound Cure being cast several times since using it himself on Renwal with the instant spell-scroll, but this time it seemed far more powerful. The spell left absolutely nothing behind, as if he had never been slashed.

"Want me to leave you a few scars?" Krystel asked with a wink while Seth stared at his arms. "Might help impress the ladies."

Seth smiled and shook his head. "No thanks, ma'am."

I feel like I'll have plenty of opportunities to get scars, he thought.

As the woman finished and stepped back, Drack leaned on the counter with his large arms crossed, eyeing Seth with clear disdain. "Getting hit so many times by Gnolls—that's disappointing."

"Oh, come on," Celine retorted, shooting a glare at the bald man. "He was alone in a damn overgrown Rift for a whole week."

Drack shrugged and threw her hands up. "If I'd had Shadow Step while Iron, not a single Gnoll would've been able to hit me."

"Oh really?" Orwen said, grinning ear to ear. "And you would've also been able to jump five Ranks in a week?"

"Damn right, I—wait, what?"

"You've gotta be kidding me," Lyrics exclaimed next to them. "Seriously, Seth, you're starting to make me feel bad about myself."

"Sorry, ma'am," Seth answered, rubbing the back of his neck. "I'll slow down in the next few weeks, don't worry."

"How many damned Gnolls did you kill?" Drack growled with a grimace.

"That's not the most important part," Orwen said, padding the bald man's back before stretching his hand out. "Mind if I look at your vita, kid?"

Seth nodded before pulling out the purple crystal orb out and handing it to the man. "But just so you know, I used one of Toren`s wands during the fight with the beast recorded in my vita."

"You meant you killed it with the wand," Drack huffed with a smirk.

As Orwen infused aether into the vita, white words appeared in the purple orb, and everyone leaned forward to read them.

Adventurer Vita ( Iron 3 ☆☆☆) Name: Seth Adventurer specialty: Beast-Hunting Class: Primalist Beast slain: Rank-45 Gnoll Barbarian Subclass: Beastmaster Number of contracts: 7 Rank: 30 (Low-Iron) Contract difficulty: Iron 4 Branch: Champions of Chaos

"A Rank-45 Gnoll Barbarian!" Lyria exclaimed first. "An Iron fire-blast wand can't kill that!"

Orwen burst into laughter that echoed through the room. Almost immediately, the aether in the air shifted, hinting that someone had activated the non-disclosure ward. "Drack, you should stop underestimating him. That's the son of Ulric Elrod! The Draerian ranked 1st in the Non-Legacy Gold and Platinum Ranking of Shenlong's Tower!"

"What?" The bald man's jaw dropped, and words seemed to get stuck in his throat. Apparently he hadn't known. "W-why the hell someone like him is in Trogan?"

"My father fled Draeria and came here, sir," Seth answered. "But ten years ago, an elite legion of his country found him and killed him."

"Ten years—" Drack started before abruptly stopping as things obviously connected in his mind. "That's basically at the same time as the rebellion… don't tell me he's the one who…"

"Exactly," Toren said at the table. "But no worries, our newbie here will fix his father's mistakes in a few years—with our help, of course!"

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Drack's face seemed to untighten, and his gaze softened as a communication orb on the counter glowed a little. Orwen grabbed it and read its content before frowning. "You gotta be shitting me."

"What is it?" Toren asked. "Is it about the upcoming wa—?"

"No," the silver-haired man said, cutting him short before sighing. "It's about the Faertis. They raised the kid's bounty."

"What?" Celine exclaimed. "To how much?"

"A hundred golds."

Almost instantly, a stir swept over the room. Celine, Toren, Yline, and Lyria visibly seethed with anger, hurling insults at the Faertis for placing such an absurdly high bounty on an Iron Wielder's head. Amid the uproar, Celine turned sharply to Seth. "Do you know why they've increased your bounty again?"

"Yes," he answered, the reason obvious to him. "They probably found the body of the Black Hounds' leader."

The chatter ceased abruptly, swallowed by an oppressive silence that hung thick in the air. Everyone's gaze converged on Seth as Celine voiced the question rising in all their minds. "You killed him?"

Seth nodded with a chilling calmness. "Yes."

"And the other Black Hounds?"

"They're dead too," he answered, retrieving Ronard's communication orb and tossing it to Celine.

"What's with orb?" Orwen asked, frowning as his sister examined the artifact.

"It's the one the Black Hounds used to talk with the Faertis, sir," Seth answered.

Orwen's eyes widened in shock. "What?!"

Celine's face twisted with anger, her wrinkles deepening as she tossed the crystal ball to Toren. "The Faertis' name is concealed. Can you find out who it is?"

"Easily," Toren said, catching the orb. "Why are you so mad?"

"Read the last few messages," she spat, his nostrils flaring. "You'll understand."

The moment the Artificer glanced down at the crystal ball, his expression immediately shifted. "Those sick bastards," he hissed through gritted teeth before looking at the other Champion of chaos' members. "They were talking about decorating their garden with the kid's head."

Lyria turned to Orwen. "Is the orb, plus the testimonies, enough to hold up in the king's court?"

"Probably," the man answered. "But the Faertis will probably use whoever wrote those messages as a scapegoat."

The blond Rogue sighed. "That's better than nothing, I guess."

'See?' Nightmare said from within the teardrop necklace. 'Human justice.'

'I know.'

Trying to stay unfazed, Seth took a deep breath as Celine explained to Lyria how even with the orb, it would be hard to convince the king's representatives to hold one of the Twenty Great Houses accountable for everything the Black Hounds had done—which wasn't really surprising to Seth. Nobles can pretty much do whatever they want, he thought. Why would freaking human trafficking be any different?

Orwen's voice brought Seth back from his thoughts. "You alright, kid?"

"Yeah," he answered with forced calm. "I was expecting this, sir. But it's still disappointing."

"Disappointing?" Lyria exclaimed. "You have no idea how big this could—"

"Lyria," Orwen interrupted gently, raising his hand. Leaning over the counter, the Champion of Chaos' leader snatched out a wooden box from a drawer, then set it down on his lap and turned to Seth. "You wouldn't happen to know a powerful Alchemist by any chance, would you?"

Seth froze for a moment, Marcus' old, wrinkled face surging in his mind. After taking a few seconds to make sure the non-disclosure ward's aether still hovered on his skin, he responded. "Yes, I do."

"Mm-hmm." Orwen rubbed the box's lid before lifting it and taking out a piece of parchment with mold-eaten edges. "You see, when I returned to my house yesterday, I found this little box on my bed… which didn't make me pleased at first, obviously. Who would be, after finding out someone broke into your place?"

Unfolding the parchment, the Champions of Chaos' leader glanced at Seth. "But then this letter brought my smile right back," he said, clearing his throat before reading its content aloud:

"Dear Mister Orwen Silvermane,

I offer you my deepest sympathy for stumbling across that troublesome golden-eyed kid. By now, he's probably getting on your nerves, and you're most likely starting to wish he'd get himself killed by doing something incredibly stupid… as he often does. Trust me, I truly understand the feeling. But unfortunately, here's the thing: that stubborn brat is the son of a dear friend of mine, so I can't just let him die.

So that's why, I'd like to make you an offer: each month, you'll receive a potion like the one in this box, and in return, you'll have to protect him against anyone from Kastal. No need to say that this task will turn out more difficult than it initially appears. This reckless fool will ignore all your advice, act without thinking about consequences, and dive blindly into danger as if Gaia herself was going to protect him. Sometimes, he'll make you even wonder if there's a brain in his skull. If despite all that you decide to take my offer just make sure to inform the rest of your branch about our deal while using that non-disclosure ward of yours.

Regards,

The Alchemist.

Ps. Please refrain yourself from praising him even if he does something extraordinary. The academy is already inflating his ego enough."

"Seriously?" Drack grumbled. "Does he think we're some kind of babysit—holy Gods!" The bald man shouted as Orwen took out a small finger-sized vial with a shimmering indigo liquid from inside the wooden box. The potion aura was dazzling, overwhelming Seth's aether sense and causing his skin to sting as he cast Intermediate Identify.

Magnificent Clarity Potion

Consumable

Tier: ???

Grade: ???

Effects: ???

"What's a Clarity Potion?" Seth asked, looking at everyone's dumbfounded faces.

"Let me show you!" Toren leaned toward Seth and grabbed his shoulder. Aether surged into Seth's arm and words appeared in the corner of his vision from what seemed to be some kind of Share Identify.

Magnificent Clarity Potion

Consumable

Tier: Gold

Grade: Legendary

Effects:

- Increases focus and ability to understand spells/aether for 12 hours.

- Restriction of 1 every 4 weeks.

Legendary, Seth thought, skimming through the description. That old prick really outdid himself.

"How the hell are you not impressed!" the Artificer exclaimed, clearly baffled by Seth's lack of reaction.

"Why should I be? It's just a potion."

"Just a potion?! No wonder that Alchemist despises you so much."

"Calm down, Tor," Yline said as Orwen put back the vial inside the box. "The kid probably doesn't even know Legendary-grade items are prohibited."

"Prohibited? Why? It doesn't make—" Seth stopped mid-sentence as it all fell into place. The king. It's like for the forbidden Rifts with cities inside… he doesn't want people to get stronger than him.

"You see, kid," Orwen said, closing the box's lid with a soft click, "when Calvin told me about your little incident with that noble outside the city, I figured it was a one-time thing. Something that wouldn't happen again." He leaned back in his chair, a faint smirk tugging at his cheek. "Don't get me wrong—killing a noble's fine by me, so long as you don't get caught. And don't go after the Twenty Great Houses..."

The man then tapped the letter and continued, "This here made me realize how wrong I was. Your father's friend wouldn't have gone to such lengths if he thought you'd just sit back and let justice run its course. He knew you wouldn't. He knew you'd throw yourself headfirst into something reckless, even if it was going to get yourself killed or put our branch into serious troubles. Am I right?"

Seth's body tensed as he locked eyes with the Champions of Chaos' leader. "Yes, sir."

Every gaze turned to Orwen as the man's brow furrowed in deep thought, seemingly weighing the option of just expelling Seth from the branch. "Let's say I kick you out and send him back his potion… would you still try to make those Faertis pay? Even if you don't have the strength to do so? Even if it means getting yourself killed? Are you really that determined?"

Holding the man's gaze, Seth felt anger simmering in his chest, then his core began throbbing—not from wrath or fear, but excitement. This was the start of a timed climb: get strong fast enough before the world had a chance to kill him for trying.

But sometimes fighting isn't an option, he thought, recalling the suffocating aura of the giant owl in the golden desert.

Power alone didn't win every fight. People like Lucius had giants standing behind them, and charging head-on was just a fast way to dig his own grave.

"I won't pick fights I can't win," Seth finally answered. "I'll bow when I must—kneel just long enough to survive. Until I'm strong enough to crush them."

Long seconds ticked by then Orwen glanced at Celine and Drack, who both gave him a curt nod, before turning back to Seth. A grin then spread across the man's bearded face. "Then tell your friend the Alchemist we have a deal."

----

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