The moment Dylan pushed open the oak door, the stench of brine mixed with watered-down ale rushed into his nose.
This was a dockside tavern for laborers and sailors—dirty and noisy, just the kind of place Dylan preferred.
“Stew and a drink, send them up to my room.” He flicked a few copper coins to the innkeeper and went straight through the crowd to the second floor.
This was already Dylan’s third day in Clark. Tomorrow, a ship would set sail for the archipelago and was willing to take passengers along the way. Dylan had been waiting three days for that departure.
In recent days, guard patrols had been unusually strict. Perhaps it was because Cloro had killed that spoiled rich kid.
Either way, Dylan kept as low a profile as possible.
Aside from the innkeeper and the ship’s first mate, he barely spoke to anyone.
Back in his room, Dylan took a mana potion from his pack and drank half of it in one go.
He couldn’t photosynthesize in the city, so potions were his only option.
The remaining half he poured onto the Scout.The potion trickled over the creature’s scales, and the backpack it had transformed into looked fuller.
Dylan then drew his sword and carefully wiped it with a cloth.
“Sir, your stew and drink.”
At last—dinner had arrived!
Dylan rose, but after two steps, he stopped cold.
Sir?
Your?
This wasn’t some fine establishment. If tavern waiters here spoke without swearing, that was considered polite enough. How could they suddenly be this formal?
The more he thought, the more wrong it felt.
Downstairs… at some point, it had gone silent.
“Sir, did you fall asleep?” The voice outside the door came again after Dylan didn’t respond.
Now he was certain something was off. There was no way someone here would address him like that.
Silently, he slung the Scout onto his back and gripped his sword.
Creeping to the window, he peered through the gap in the curtain.
Damn it—guards!
He could see at least three below, and who knew how many more were out of sight!
How had he been marked?
Could Cloro have been caught and given him up?
Crack—crack—
While Dylan’s mind raced, the person outside lost patience and began forcing the door.
Facing this, Dylan decisively chose—
“Boss! Boss! I need backup!”
“Huh?”
Lin Jun, who had been experimenting with 【Plant Affinity LV1】, was jolted by the SOS and shifted his focus.
【Mana Sense LV6】
【Airflow Sense LV7】
【Sonic Detection LV6】
With a sweep of these skills, Lin Jun instantly grasped the situation.
“You’re surrounded by thirteen people. What the hell did you do?”
“I don’t know…” Dylan was baffled.
“Should I just kill them all?”
The backpack straps were ready to strike.
There was one Gold-rank and twelve Bronze. In the confined space of the tavern’s second floor, killing them all wouldn’t be hard.
“Don’t, Boss! We’re inside the city!”
No city was without a Diamond-level powerhouse, especially not Clark, a major port linking the archipelago.
If things blew up here, Dylan doubted he could escape alive.
“If we can’t kill them… then…” Lin Jun thought for a second, then the backpack strap pointed. “Across the street, the house with the red roof. Break into it.”
Dylan glanced out the window. Sure enough, diagonally opposite stood a red-roofed warehouse.
Crack—bang—
Just as he confirmed the target, the door burst open.
“You!?”
At the doorway stood several guards and a knight in silver-gray armor. This time she wore a helmet, but Dylan recognized her instantly.
So it was from that encounter?
But why?
No time to think—he smashed through the window and leapt out.
“Don’t even think about running!”
The knight charged, slamming through the wall when she missed him!
Landing from the second floor, Dylan faced two guards lunging with spears. He didn’t dare linger.
Using 【Dodge LV4】 and 【Acceleration LV6】, he slipped past without a scratch.
Behind him, the knight landed and stomped once.
【Swift Step LV5】
Despite her heavy armor, Knight Liadrin moved with startling speed, chasing him down.
And the guards scrambled after her.
Red roof! Red roof!
With his head start, Dylan sprinted to the warehouse.
No time to politely knock—whatever Boss’s reason, he’d just trust it.
【Whirlwind Slash LV5】
His signature move again!
The wooden bar behind the plain door snapped under his strike.
Without hesitation, he dove inside—
Only to freeze.
Why were there so many people in this empty warehouse?
Why were they all in black robes?
Why candles on the floor instead of lamps?
And those circles drawn on the ground…
One black-robed man even had dark magic coiling in his hand.
Every robed figure stared in shock. No one had expected someone to crash in.
And behind Dylan, the knight blocked the doorway.
“Ah, I get it now. This is a gathering of Abyssal Magic users. No wonder I sensed so many high-mana signatures here.” Lin Jun sounded like he had just pieced it together.
Dylan’s face went pale.
What was worse than being hunted by one group?
Being hunted by two groups at once!
“An intruder!” The black-robed men raised their hands, black light flaring.
“So you’re a dark mage. No wonder…” The knight crushed an item, forming a translucent barrier around herself.
“Boss, am I doomed today?” Dylan looked utterly wretched between them.
“Doomed my ass!”
Purple spores burst from the backpack, spreading a sweet, cloying mist.
【Hallucinogenic Spores LV6】
The familiar scent even made Dylan’s head swim.
“What are you staring for? Run while you can!”
Snapped awake by Lin Jun’s shout, and relying on his trained resistance, Dylan slipped into a shadowed corner.
Behind him, knight and cultists clashed in chaos.
“Quick! Activate the circle!” a warped voice screamed.
Suddenly, cold seeped from Dylan’s bones, his whole body wracked with weakness though his skin was unhurt. It felt like invisible hands were slowly squeezing his heart.
Lin Jun could see it clearly—another curse.
【Withering Curse: Maximum HP gradually decreases】
And not only Dylan—his Scout bore the same curse. Worse, there was no time limit.
No time limit meant range restriction!
“Slip out under stealth and get as far as you can!” Lin Jun ordered.
At once, Dylan’s body shifted in color, blending with the wall.
The dim light and lingering spores concealed him perfectly.
Inside, knight and black robes tore into each other.
The cultists channeled the circle to fuel Abyssal magic, felling many guards.
The knight struck at the array itself, each charge breaking through, cutting down cultists despite being driven back.
In such chaos, no one noticed a figure melting into the wall and slipping away.
Once he had some distance, Dylan broke into a run.
The farther he went, the lighter the crushing dread grew.
Just as he relaxed, Lin Jun’s voice warned: “Careful.”
Careful?
Of what?
Scanning the darkness ahead, Dylan spotted a figure approaching.
Loose silk robes, a long and short sword at his waist—both clearly extraordinary.
“Boss, who’s that?”
Silence.
Dylan dared not move. Boss had said “careful,” not “run.”
As the man drew closer, Dylan finally saw him—a plain, ordinary middle-aged man.
Someone like this could be found in any tavern. Aside from the swords, nothing stood out.
But Boss wouldn’t be wrong!
“What happened over there?” the man asked casually.
“I… I don’t know. A knight and guards suddenly started fighting someone…”
Dylan of course wouldn’t mention himself. The man nodded and strolled onward.
But as he passed Dylan, he suddenly stopped, staring at the backpack for a long while, hand on his short sword’s hilt, as though hesitating.
Then, as the magic circle’s curse reached him, his expression shifted—he knew what it was.
He let go of the hilt and vanished instantly.
Only then did Dylan shiver, like prey escaping a predator’s gaze.
Not just him—even Lin Jun had felt that crushing presence, certain for a moment the man would cut them down.
“B-Boss… who was that?”
This time Lin Jun didn’t play dead.
“Well… do humans have someone called a Sword Saint?”
【Name: Elvian Slyne】
【Level: 70】
【Title: Sword Saint】