Chapter 45

“You’ll need to prove it. Write your name here, then press your rank badge beside it.”

I took the paper the kindly-faced clerk handed me and wrote the name Kain. Then I dipped my rank badge in the red ink, stamped it beside the name, and set it into the basin of water next to the ink.

The ink bled from the badge into the water, and the murky red quickly faded back into clear.

Magic, huh.

Probably a refinement spell. To run that constantly, there’d need to be either mana stones or an inscribed circle. I could sense faint mana near the counter—seemed like a magic circle had been carved there. The moment the water turned clear again, the mana faded. A circle designed for efficiency, only activating when the water grew dirty.

I gave a quiet appraisal of the magical device and handed the paper back.

“Mm, good. You’re set. Off you go.”

I nodded and turned toward the door, but a thought stopped me—John. Maybe I should test something.

Just before stepping outside, I turned back and released a faint trace of killing intent, directed only at the man slumped over the corner table.

No reaction. Too weak?

I sent out a stronger thread of killing intent. The result came instantly—yet not in the way I expected.

“Who’s there!”

John shot upright with a shout, hands flying to his waist as he drew the chakrams in a blur. The smiling eyes hardened into a feral glare as he swept the room with a predator’s focus.

I had to revise my earlier judgment. He wasn’t just Sharn’s equal—he was far beyond him. The timing of that draw… he had pulled his weapons the exact instant his body rose, almost unconsciously. A reflex born of true mastery.

John’s gaze swept the room, sharp and relentless. The mercenaries nearby could only gape at him.

He’d never know who’d sent that killing intent. I had spread it across the whole hall without a clear source. Unless he was stronger than me—or something beyond human—it was impossible.

After a long moment, his eyes softened again. The grin returned. He sheathed his chakrams at his waist and collapsed back onto the table with a careless smile.

“That bastard nearly scared me out of my skin.”

“Damn it, John! Thought my heart stopped!”

Curses rose from all sides, but John only chuckled and sprawled back down.

My curiosity grew sharper. That sudden switch—from vacant grin to lethal predator. Was it a split mind? A wound in the spirit?

Still, I was back where I started. When I’d first walked into the Mel Mercenary Guild, I’d asked if they had contracts worth a hundred gold or more. The clerk had told me no—this border city rarely handled such sums. For those, I’d have to head closer to the capital.

No point wasting time here. If there was no work worth taking, I might as well explore the city. I thought briefly about sitting down to cultivate, but sightseeing won out.

Cultivating could be done anytime. My internal energy stood at eight cycles out of twenty—a twelve-cycle gap from where I had once been. Slowly or not, it would recover.

“Clearance sale, clearance! Oh, beautiful lady, come take a look, cheap as can be!”

“Mom, buy me that one!”

“Make way! Cart coming through! Out of the way!”

As soon as I stepped outside the guild and into the outer streets, noise hit me from every direction. A man straining with a cart bellowed for space, barreling past so close I had to halt.

I glanced after him for a moment, then turned my eyes away and resumed walking into the bustle.

The outer district of the city was a far cry from the quiet center. It was noisy—too noisy. The clamor stabbed at my ears, and none of it felt pleasant.

Shops and eateries lined both sides of the packed street. The smell of food drifted out here and there, making me want to stop and try something, but I had no money to spare.

What weighed heavier on me was the question of advancement. How did one step past the Realm of Insight? The path ahead was completely blank. Without knowing the method, the wall before me only grew higher.

That unease lingered in me as I walked, smoothed only slightly by the cool spring breeze brushing past.

The road was crammed with people, all human. No other races were in sight—probably because this was still a provincial city.

I flexed my left hand as I walked.

Every time, I marveled at how much lighter my body felt here than in the Demon Realm. The air of the Human Realm was clear, fresh, crisp. Just breathing it in made me feel lighter.

I took a deep breath and turned left. That was when someone approached head-on.

I shifted to the side to pass, but the man mirrored me perfectly.

I stopped.

He stopped the same way, stepping the same direction I had. It was like staring into a mirror.

I glanced at his face: short-cropped hair and sideburns reaching down his jawline, giving him a sharp look. His eyes studied me with open curiosity, as though amused by the coincidence.

He looked to be in his thirties. He gave me a long look, but I simply turned away and kept walking. Strange. How had he managed to match me step for step like that?

“Out of the way! Clear the way!”

Another cart barreled through the street. People cried out in alarm and scattered aside.

“Watch it, you idiot!”

“Careful, damn you!”

Angry voices rose, fingers jabbed toward the reckless driver, but the man was already swallowed by the throng.

I wandered the outer streets until the sun dipped low, then angled back toward the city center.

But where would I sleep tonight? My house in the mountains would be safest. I had already memorized the coordinates; one spell and I could return in an instant.

Still… before that, I should stop by the mercenary guild again. Maybe new contracts had come in. I couldn’t afford to ignore the chance.

Wait. Why was there a crowd?

When I had first arrived in Mel, the central square had been quiet—only the occasional carriage or family strolling by. But now, with the sun sinking, a sizable crowd had gathered ahead.

I frowned but tried to ignore it, slipping past the edge of the throng.

“Is this for real?!”

A heated voice rose from the left. Connected to the gathering?

“Of course! Look here! It’s straight from the mayor’s office.”

The mayor was recruiting? For what?

“Look at the reward—fifty gold!”

Fifty gold?

That kind of money meant this was serious. Nobody handed out fifty gold without expecting something in return. Whatever the task was, the city was desperate enough to pay well.

I pushed deeper into the crowd. My eyes caught the edge of a noticeboard people were pointing at.

I shouldered past, only to find the back of someone’s head blocking the words. With a quiet grunt, I nudged it aside and read the sign.

“Who the hell was that?!”

The man whose head I’d shoved aside shook himself violently and shouted loud enough to drown out the entire square. People nearby turned their heads toward him, curious at the sudden outburst.

I still couldn’t see his face, but I could tell he was taller than me. And worse, with all his shifting around, his head once again blocked the noticeboard.

I tapped him twice on the shoulder. His furious voice turned sharp and impatient.

“What is it?”

I didn’t bother with words. I kept my gaze on the board and let a thin wave of killing intent seep out as I spoke.

“Shut your mouth and get lost.”

He shivered, paling in an instant, and shuffled away without another word.

At last, the board was clear in my sight. It was a simple white sign with a long sheet of paper pinned to the center. The text was lengthy, but the core of it was clear enough: a monster subjugation mission.

The target was minotaurs. More than ten of them.

Ten… that was no small number. The paper didn’t say where they’d come from, but it gave a location: west of the city, about a day’s travel from the gate.

The reward stood out most of all. Fifty gold per person, with an additional fifty awarded as a bonus to the one who distinguished themselves in the fight.

The city was throwing money around. For me, though, it was a golden opportunity.

They were recruiting thirty people total, with a restriction: only those at Paladin level or higher could apply. At the bottom, a line read: “Recruitment closes at sundown today.” Judging by the fresh ink, the notice had been posted this very day.

Applications were being taken at the mayor’s estate. A bold signature and seal marked the bottom of the page.

The spots might already be filled, but I had to try.

Where was the mayor’s estate, though?

I glanced around. To the left, standing apart from the clustered buildings, was a sprawling mansion.

“Blink.”

Mana surged out of my middle dantian, and the world around me shifted. In the next instant, I reappeared in midair, thirty meters ahead.

Below, the wide avenue stretched out, and the mayor’s estate loomed larger by the second. I let internal energy spread through my body and shot forward, slipping back to the ground without a trace.

To anyone in the crowd, it would’ve felt like nothing more than a gust of invisible wind rushing past.

The wind whistled in my ears as I raced onward. I had to reach the estate before the recruitment closed. I drew on more internal energy, and my pace quickened even further.