Everything happened in the blink of an eye.

They just finished a rather grueling battle with one of the easiest Rank-II monsters around. Loui and Gamby were left exhausted, with the latter running out of mana. Their performance was horrendous as their coordination was all over the place. Despite the problems, they had managed to knock it down and immobilize it.

All that was left was for Heart to deliver the final blow. Then, out of nowhere, a silhouette they can’t see attacked them with invisible weapons. Instinctively, everyone hugged the ground as they sensed the danger even though they couldn't see it.

“Hah~ suckers!” A clear feminine voice echoed throughout the rocky clearing before fading out.

Loui lifted her head and stared ahead. Level 2 [Predator’s Instincts] activated as mana flowed into her eyes, enshrouding her pupils in orange light. All her five senses sharpened, which gave her a supernatural perspective of her surroundings.

A blurry outline of a human revealed itself lurking around the body of the orc they had subdued. She did something to the monster and retreated out of her sight.

Loui frowned. Even with her advanced senses, Loui failed to keep track of that figure. She could only watch as the blurry humanoid outline gradually disappeared into the woods surrounding the clearing.

“What was that!?”

Loui whipped her head and stared pointily at Heart. The said healer was kneeling under a tree far away from them with a fearful look on her face. Next to her was a man in a white mask that covered half of his face. A tanto, drawn from its sheath, was held in a reverse grip in his hands.

No one bothered to reply to her.

“Coast clear?” Chen asked in a whisper. Even though he was lying on his stomach, his magic was ready to help Loui at any moment.

“She’s gone.” Loui nodded her head. Just to be sure, she looked around alertly. Not sensing that blurry figure anymore, her tensed heart relaxed. She got up from her prone state and turned to look at the masked man who seemingly teleported there out of nowhere.

“That was random,” Chen dusted his pants after he climbed on his feet with the help of Loui. “What was she after?”

“Probably to last hit the orc,” Loui guessed.

“A kill steal?” Chen rose an eyebrow. He shook his head with a chuckle. “Never thought we’d meet one in this situation.”

Kill steal is a term coined for an action where another hunter would last hit a monster, thus stealing a lot of GE. It was considered a despicable action and was frowned upon in the community. If there was enough proof, the HA could even punish the offender by revoking their license.

It was a widely known fact that the one to deliver the killing blow to a monster would get the most GE. Killing one Rank-II was already hard enough. If someone steals the score before they can enjoy the benefits of their labor, then conflicts are bound to happen. There were even recorded cases where blood feuds have occurred due to kill steals.

“Shit!” Gamby cursed after he came to his senses. His left hand hung limply to his side from where his life essence dripped, painting the ground red. He was too exhausted to move and therefore could only use his hands to block the dart thrown by that invisible figure.

Who’d have thought some kind of poison was applied to the tip? Gamby’s left hand numbed instantly. He couldn't even feel it anymore, let alone move.

Gamby’s shoulders visibly shook as he tried to grasp the situation. An ugly frow twisted his face. Gritting his teeth, he half-ran towards the cold corpse of the Maned Orc.

“Ye be kidding me!” His accent became heavier after he lost control over his emotions. The monster was deader than dead and almost all its GE was gone. His teeth made a clattering sound as he ground them in anger. “After al’ that hard wok, we got nothin’?”

He threw his hammer to the ground, causing a spiderweb crack to form on the hard soil. He marched towards the masked man while his nose flared with anger.

“Ae!?” He reproached the assassin. Eyes red, a glare sharp enough to cut steel shot at the man. “What were ye doing?” Gamby growled. “Some bitch barged in and took our prey right under our noses! Where were ye then?”

Chen and Loui walked over to see how things would escalate. They were feeling frustration in their hearts as well. They had done so much work to kill that beast, but it got stolen by someone else. Unfortunately, as newbies in the guild, they have no right to show their anger.

“I was doing my job.” The masked man said calmly. “Sir Leomord asked me to take care of Miss Heart no matter what. The rest is not my concern.”

“You!!” Gamby looked like he’d explode on the spot. He glared daggers at the man, snorted, and then walked away. “I’ve gotten tired of this farce.” His frustration echoed across the clearing.

Chen and Loui silently watched his back as he disappeared into the horizon.

“Well..” Chen dragged the ‘l’ part. “He got such a short fuse.”

Loui shook her head exasperatedly.

XXX

After paying the restaurant owner the amount he owed, Nel took his parcel and left. Half of the pain on his face had vanished during the meal. Adding points to Endurance really does have many advantages that couldn’t be seen right away.

He scanned his surroundings to see if he was getting pursued. Spotting nothing suspicious, he walked out. Nonetheless, the open streets were still safe. They wouldn’t dare to make a move on him in the middle of the road.

Nel changed his plan to go back to the dungeon.

A frustrated grunt left his mouth as he walked aimlessly amidst the crowd. Some people have their eyes set on him and he doesn’t even know why.

The only clue he knew was they were looking for some girl. Now, Nel really felt bad for breaking his promise to Lola. But Sean was right. He was not handling people with bad intentions the correct way.

While lost in his musings, Nel didn't see where he was going and bumped into someone. “Hey! Can’t you see ahead of you?” A somewhat familiar voice complained. He looked up to apologize, only for the words to die in his throat.

“Ah!” The girl gasped. Her face lit up into a smile, “It's you!”

XXX

“Never thought I’d meet you like this,” Amelia said, leaning on the backrest of the street chair.

“Me either.” Nel agreed. His head was resting on his open palm as his eyes skimmed over the crowd vigilantly. “Did you get the message?”

“Huh!?” Amelia tilted her head to one side. “A message! when?”

“I've left a message for you at the HA office next to the south dungeon,” Nel said, raising an eyebrow as he looked in her way.

“You did? I haven’t gotten any, though.” Amelia shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t have a handphone anymore. I guess they have no way of contacting me.”

“Did you lose it?” Nel asked.

“Destroyed.”

Silence fell between them as both reminisced about the day they met. It was a day they’ll never forget in their lives.

“Come to think of it, I’ve not thanked you yet.” Amelia leaned to one side and looked at Nel with gratitude.

“Don’t worry about it. I did what I should be doing,” Nel said, returning her smile with his own.

Although, he said that, in his heart, he felt quite good. To have his help recognized felt quite good. At least the setback he suffered to his ego wasn’t in vain.