A few hundred meters away from Noone, another battle was coming to a close. The scouts had seriously overestimated their own capability to handle the situation, and they were regretting their actions dearly.

Fear wormed its way into their eyes as they cast glances to the south. Their plan was to attract the attention of the group and kite them into turning their backs on their third member. Meanwhile the third scout would pick the trespassers off one at a time.

Regrettably, they underestimated the other party tremendously. Not only were they overwhelmed by the speed which the group from the Order approached, but they realized quickly that this groups battle prowess was far above what they had assumed.

As the various races of the world get stronger, they tend to develop a sixth sense. This sixth sense acts as a radar for strength, and many people come to rely on this as they engage within the world. To be able to accurately detect someone else’s strength often meant the difference between life and death.

These tribesmen lived isolated lives from the rest of the world. They scouted land which they were instructed to and were offered rewards in the form of advancements and monetary incentives for achievements in the field.

Each one was trained thoroughly, both in long distance and short-range combat. In truth, their battle prowess was frightful, and each soldier was fearless. Each one was a trained militant, even the simplest of scouts.

The tribesman would fight violently against each other during training. Those with high battle merit would be rewarded with the chance to go on expeditions into the common realm to further hone their strength in the service of their tribe.

It was both an extreme honor, and an immense opportunity to be chosen worthy of going to train their skills in the world. The time was soon approaching for another expedition, and these tribesmen were hungry for the opportunity.

They had wandered through and scouted the desolate plains for more than a month, but the deadline was closing soon. If they returned without any achievements, they would have no chance to be chosen. So, when they came across this group of six, they immediately began to follow.

“Two weaklings.” They thought, eyeing the hierarchy within the party. “Those three are dangerous, but we can handle them.” They watched Tobias, Rae, and Sally take up the front and back of the group, obviously putting themselves in the line of danger first.

“What about that one.” One of the tribesmen had pointed to Noone. None of them had seen a being like him before. However, they knew that there was much in the world they were unaware of.

“He’s stronger than the weak ones, but definitely weaker than the strongest ones.” One of the tribesmen assessed. Maybe it was because they were eager or maybe they were just too experienced, but at that moment, they decided they could handle the group on their own.

And their carelessness would lead to their deaths.

Tobias and Sally easily dispatched one of the two tribesmen. Using hit and switch tactics, the tribesman was completely overwhelmed. Soon his armor was cleanly cleaved in half, followed by his torso.

Tobias grunted and hefted his large great-axe over his shoulder, taking a moment to regain his breath. Using the axe one-handed was an immense strain on his muscles. It was not that the axe was too heavy, but the balance required to wield it properly with one hand used completely different muscles than what he was used to.

A few feet away, Feylin and Sarah both fought against the last tribesman wielding two medium sized war-axes. Each one was designed to be held one-handed.

Behind the acolytes Raelith watched carefully, scrutinizing their every movement.

If she got involved, then the battle would end immediately. The acolytes would distract enough of the tribesman’s attention that she would be able to easily strike within his blind spot.

Instead, she decided to use this to train the acolytes further.

The Tribesman heard the sound of his partner being cleaved in half but did not have the time to spare a glance. He was pushed to the edge and was quickly realizing he would probably not be coming out of this alive.

But he fought back violently, attempting to create any opportunity to flee at the very least.

Sarah gritted her teeth, her weapon came up, blocking a violent axe strike. The head of the axe threatened to shatter through the steel base of her weapon, but it held. She was forced to step back; her arms shook from the impact.

Feylin saw an opportunity to absorb the attention. Dashing between Sarah and the tribesman, his sword flashed out at the tribesman’s still extended arm.

The blade bit through flesh, cutting through the golden arm at the elbow. The axe clattered to the floor narrowly missing Feylin’s foot. Just as he was preparing to step back, the other axe smashed into his shield which he had prepared against his side. He was quick to jump away from the strike, absorbing as much of the impact he could.

Despite reacting quickly, his arm still throbbed from the weight of the golden being’s strike.

His eyes tracked the tribesman carefully, suddenly a pole-mace flashed in his peripheral vision. Sarah was already reengaging. The heavy bludgeoned end of her weapon shot through the space. The sound of metal impacting metal resonated in the air, and then a sickening thud. The head of her weapon shattered the armor plating on the tribesman’s chest and crushed into his ribcage. Shattered bone immediately ruptured vital organs. Frothy blood unceremoniously erupted from the man’s mouth.

In the eyes of the three, it seemed the world slowed to a halt. The last precious moment before everything would end. Sarah stared into the man’s eyes. Unlike Noone, who had to take a moment to battle with his own ethics, Sarah had no qualms about what she did. Feylin looked away, closing his eyes just enough to blur the brutal image. Everything about what just occurred was unforgiving, and he could taste the iron of blood in his own mouth.

As the three from Burian watched on, a frown flickered onto their faces. They looked at each other thoughtfully, coming to their own conclusions about Feylin’s and Sarah’s temperaments. Any visible dissatisfaction quickly disappeared though, there was still one more tribesman to deal with.

Tobias took the lead, weaving through stone to back to where he had left Noone only a few minutes before. No one else had seen the third tribesman, but Noone’s disappearance did not go unnoticed. Tobias quickly explained the situation.

“Can he handle a tribesman on his own?” Sarah asked, her voice scratched with genuine concern.

Over the past months, she had talked with Noone a lot while he learned their language. They had grown increasingly interested in each other’s lives. Although Sarah was from the surface, in many ways she was just as sheltered as Noone had been.

And she resonated with his past.

Feylin looked away when he heard her concern. Thoughts only he could know raced through his mind.

“He should be fine, at least for long enough for us to get there.” Tobias said. He recalled the decisive determination in Noone’s eyes when he chose to engage the tribesman alone. Even if Noone would be outmatched in combat skill, Tobias knew he had the raw strength to flee if needed.

As they rounded the last boulder, their cart came into view - and then they saw Noone.

Noone stood above the corpse of a golden tribesman, blood pooled around the body soaking Noone’s feet in the warm liquid. Noone turned at the sound of their footsteps against the cracked grey stone.

Standing above the body, back tall and strong, no injuries could be seen. Even the ragged breathing that followed battle was absent from his form. Sarah and Feylin couldn’t help but feel there was something incredibly intimidating about Noone in this moment.

They all had fought him and been injured by him months ago, but that was a different Noone. A possessed Noone. Sarah and Feylin had disassociated the two identities. One was an animal, capable of nothing but violent battle tendency. The other, a quiet but smart and studious man who lost his home.

Now though, they looked at Noone and their brains shook as though trying to reconcile the two images.

Maybe this Noone… was the more dangerous one after all?