It was close to midnight. The cold silver light of the moon reflected the red faces of Chen and Nel as they sat on the balcony, holding a glass of wine each. After the cake and dinner, they finally opened the vintage bottle. Loui bailed out after the first glass and went to bed, leaving the guys alone. She was a sensible woman and knew when to give space.

“Today, I met two weird guys,” Nel said, taking a sip from his glass. “I think they are from guilds.” Remembering those guys, Nel knitted his brows and looked at Chen, who was staring at the half-broken moon in the sky, “they wore same style clothing and had a bull logo on their chest.”

“A bull’s image on their chest?” Chen frowned, trying to recall if he had heard of any guild with that symbol. Before applying for Ares, he had investigated a lot of guilds. But, he had never heard or seen of a guild bearing that mark. “I don’t know. What happened?” Chen asked worriedly.

“Well…” Nel relayed the events that unfolded inside the dungeon. In the end, Nel looked at Chen with excitement. “Chen, in the future, you will also become strong like them. I bet you two will become even stronger than them.”

However, Chen didn't share his excitement. His head was filled with the information Nel told him. His eyes looked cloudly and unfocused when he faced the hanging moon in the sky. Sometime later, he turned his head towards Nel, who was tipsily enjoying the wine, and said, “Nelly, if possible, can you not go to dungeons for a few days?”

“Huh!?” Nel narrowed his eyes as he looked at worried-faced Chen. “Why?” He asked, putting down the empty glass on the floor.

“You met two strange but strong hunters in a dungeon. Kove also mentioned seeing a few of them coming into Hunter’s Association. I also got the news that the Ares guild that we joined has sent a few of their best ones here. Even a dumb person could realize something big is about to happen.” Chen sipped from his glass.

“What even the people from your guild came?” Nel gaped at the news. Now that Chen said it, he began to realize it as well. He looked at the darkness surrounding the moon as if it was trying to swallow what remains of it. Nel saw a likeness of it to his sinking ship of a life.

It was clear that the dungeons had become dangerous since so many powerful hunters had come for some reason. The safest course of action was to don't go there and stay put for a few days. But Nel couldn't afford to do it.

“Alright,” He nodded his head. “I’m going to bed. You should also go to sleep.” Nel took his empty glass and put it in the sink before walking over to the couch. Loui had already set up nice bedding for him with blankets and sheets. “Good night, Chen!”

“Ouu! Good night!” Chen repeated. He sipped a mouthful of wine and looked at the bright moon, feeling a little lost. “You know,” Suddenly, Chen spoke while looking at the moon, “It is rude to eavesdrop on two grown men’s conversation.”

From behind Chen, the space rippled as the figure of Loui emerged. She was wearing a set of purple baggy short pants and a tanktop. Loui silently sat next to Chen, took the glass he was holding, and sipped a mouthful. “Hmph! What grown men? One is still immature, and the other tries to do everything on his own.”

“That’s hurtful, you know!” Chen pouted, leaning on Loui and resting his head on her shoulders. “Hug me to make me feel good! Please!!?”

“Eww! That’s disgusting! Get away from me,” Loui made a gagging face as she pushed Chen away from her.

“Wow! This time it really hurt!” Chen gasped dramatically.

“Get serious,” Loui snapped. Her eyes were fixed on the glass of red wine as she looked contemplative. “My instincts are telling me that Nelly is in a bind. He bought a [Skill crystal] from the black market. It might have cost him a lot of credits, and his savings shouldn’t have been enough. I think—”

“Maybe he took a loan from those loan sharks… is what you are saying, right?” Chen finished for her. Loui nodded her head, sipping a mouthful of wine silently.

“I know that already, Lou,” Chen sighed before looking at the moon. Melancholyness flashed on his handsome face that reflected the gentle moonlight. “But what can I do? Unless he asked for help, we can’t really intervene. But—” He sighed again, “I don’t think he ever will.”

“You both are way too stubborn!” Loui condemned, glaring daggers at Chen. She was complaining about their selfish attitudes of handling everything on their own.

“It is for our pride, Lou,” Chen corrected her.

“It's just your overinflated idiotic ego.” Loui countered.

A deafening silence reigned. Loui continued to drink from her glass.

“It’s a guild war, right?” She asked suddenly. Chen nodded his head, “Yes.”

“Mr. Leomord asked us to participate too. Why did you hide it?” Loui asked. “Is it to protect him or is it so that he won’t get himself tangled in our mess?”

“Both actually,” Chen sighed, rolling around until his head rested on Loui’s lap. “From what I gathered, they’ve chosen Vedan because it is way too isolated from the rest of the cities. As long as they took their battles into dungeons, the association will close an eye and look the other way.”

“Sigh~ Why are they fighting anyway?” Loui asked curiously.

“No clue,” Chen mumbled. “However, since so many guilds are getting involved, I think it should be because of something big. It’s just…”

“What is it?” Loui raised an eyebrow as she looked at Chen’s frowning face.

“I feel a bit stifled. It's like some people you don't even know coming to your backyard and dig around wantonly.” He sighed. Chen felt both angry and helpless when he heard about the reason behind the guilds’ gathering. “What right do they have to fight a bloody battle in our town? How many of our people will get hurt? I feel ashamed at my powerlessness to stop it.”

“Tch~” Loui clicked her tongue as she flicked on Chen’s forehead. “There you go again with your selfish ego trip. You are neither the head of governing body nor the chairman of the Vedan Hunter Association, why are you wasting your time thinking about this? It’s not your job. Don’t get ahead of yourself.”

“Wow~ Lou! You could’ve put it in a nicer way, you know?” Chen complained. His ego took a critical hit after hearing Loui’s harsh statement.

“Hah! My vocabulary doesn’t contain soft words.” She snorted.

“Then read more book—Ahh! What the hell!!” Chen screamed in midsentence when Loui pulled his left ear harshly. He became teary as he glared daggers at her. In response, Loui smirked and shoed a smug look on her beautiful oval face.

“What courage! How dare you give me that look!” Chen playfully glared at her. Reaching for her neck, he pulled her head to him as their lips met in a wonderful kiss. With the cool night and gentle moon as the background, a romantic time was shared between them.

The night passed uneventfully for them.

However, a deep undercurrent was brewing in the town. More and more mysterious people gathered as time passed, giving rise to big and small conflicts. Suddenly, people found the streets were no longer safe.