After leaving Emu Town, Rick traveled for five long days toward Easter City. The carriage wheels rattled endlessly across dirt roads, carrying him farther and farther from the life he once knew.
Five days since he left the town where he grew up.
Five days since he said goodbye.
Now, the towering gates of Easter City stood before him—familiar, yet painfully different without Andrew at his side.
After the routine entry checks, Rick finally stepped inside.
The sounds of merchants shouting, horses trotting, and the distant clang of blacksmith hammers washed over him like a wave of old memories. He had visited Easter city so many times with Andrew that nothing here felt unfamiliar. He knew every shop, every alley, every shortcut—and because of that, many people recognized him instantly.
As he walked through the bustling streets, people looked at him—some out of curiosity, some out of recognition. Rick had always attracted attention. Even when he was a child traveling with Andrew, people had stared, but Rick had never let it bother him. He simply kept walking with quiet confidence.
After a while, he arrived at the same inn where he and Andrew usually stayed. Rick pushed open the wooden doors and entered. The inn's warm interior, the scent of roasted meat, the muffled laughter—it all reminded him of a hundred memories.
He requested a room and some food.
Once he finished eating, exhaustion from the journey fell over him like a heavy blanket. He headed straight to his rented room and collapsed onto the bed. He slept deeply, waking only at night to then falling asleep again immediately afterward.
The next morning, Rick woke early—his body automatically falling into the morning routine Andrew had drilled into him. He bathed, ate a proper meal, and prepared himself for the day.
There was one thing Rick had learned clearly from traveling with Andrew:
If you want to move around the world, take quests.
They paid for your food, your stay, your travel expenses—and if you picked wisely, you could even make a good amount of gold.
So Rick decided to accept one.
As he walked through the busy streets toward the quest board, he wondered aloud:
"What kind of quest should I take? A simple delivery? An escort mission? Maybe… if I'm lucky… escorting a noble lady?"
He almost laughed at the thought.
For a second, he imagined himself fighting a powerful enemy while protecting the lady in his arms—saving her in a dramatic, heroic scene.
Rick shook his head, embarrassed at his own imagination, but the small smile stayed on his face as he continued walking toward guild.
Rick's thoughts churned anxiously as he made his way to the Adventurer's Guild. It was his first time entering alone. The last time he had walked through those doors, he'd been with Andrew.And that experience was not a pleasant one because Rick had to hear the mockery about him.
Now he stepped into the guild hall again. As expected, conversations paused, eyes drifted toward him, but Rick forced himself to ignore them. He walked straight to the quest board, searching carefully until he finally found a modest delivery request to the Royal Capital. Relieved, he took the quest slip and headed toward the counter to get approval.
But before he could reach the desk, Luke—notorious troublemakers and self-proclaimed "friend" of Andrew—stepped in front of him. Luke, grinning with thinly veiled mockery, called out, "Well, look who it is—Andrew's little kitten."
Rick tried to brush past them, but Luke grabbed him from behind, laughing. "Relax! I just want to know where your great A-Rank friend is. Didn't he come with you to babysit. "
Rick was getting annoyed by his constant taunt but Rick pushed his hand away and kept walking. He had no intention of wasting time on them.Because every time Rick visited Easter city's guild with Andrew, Luke always kept getting in there way.
At the counter, Rick handed over his guild card and quest slip. But before the receptionist could return them, Luke snatched Rick's card and studied it with exaggerated shock.
"Oh wow," he said loudly, turning so others could hear. "So it's true—you're officially a D-Rank now. And here I thought you will be atleast a C-Rank since your great Andrew's lackey."
Rick's patience snapped at the taunting tone. "Why don't you just admit that your jealous of Andrew because he became an A-Rank before you? Even though you grew up in the same town? Even though you joined the guild earlier?"
Luke stiffened. His smirk vanished. For a heartbeat the air between them thickened.
"What did you say?" Luke growled.
"Mind saying that again?"
The tension in the guild swelled dangerously. Adventurers paused mid-conversation, sensing the spark about to ignite. The receptionist rushed over, trying to defuse the escalating argument.But before he could stop them Rick said
"Didn't you hear me? You don't have the guts to admit that Andrew is more talented than a scared little—"
Before Rick could finish his retort, Luke's fist crashed into his side like a hammer. The impact hurled Rick into the wall, knocking the wind from his lungs. Pain shot through him as he collapsed, gasping.
Luke towered over him.
"Don't start a fight you can't handle," he growled.
Rick struggled to his feet, wiping blood from the corner of his mouth. Despite the throbbing in his ribs, he managed a bitter smirk.
"Looks like the scared cat is angry," he said.
Luke snapped.
"YOU BRAT—!"
He lunged, fist raised. But before the blow could land, cold steel kissed the side of Luke's throat.
A dagger.
Its wielder stood behind him like a shadow that hadn't been there a moment ago.
Ark—the A-Rank assassin.
Blood trickled down Luke's neck where the blade had grazed him. Ark's voice was calm but deadly, the kind that froze the heart.
"There is a limit to stupidity. It would be better if you stop now."
Luke could only grit his teeth. He said nothing. The entire guild watched in breathless silence as Ark withdrew his blade and stepped back. Luke stormed out, humiliated and trembling with rage.
When the guild finally exhaled, Ark bent down to pick up Rick's guild card and quest slip. He walked over and handed them back.
"Thank you… Ark," Rick said, clutching his stomach.
Ark an A-Rank assassin and close friend of Andrew. Rick came to new Ark because of Ark and sometimes they even did quest together.
"I can't believe it." he said. "Looks like you're becoming just as reckless as Andrew. And here i thought you'd turn out better than him."
Rick winced, accepting his belongings.
"I didn't want trouble… It just happened."
Ark sighed. "That wasn't trouble. That was an invitation to disaster. Luke won't forget this. He'll come for you."
Rick gritted his teeth. "I know."
Ark chuckled softly. "Still… I don't mind helping you since I'll be in the city for a while, feel free to rely on me."
Rick inhaled slowly, grounding himself, tension diffusing from his shoulders as he finally caught his breath.
Ark let out a small sigh, though a faint smile tugged at his lips.
"To think you finally became an adventurer… congratulations."
Rick nodded shyly. After the incident with Luke, he left the guild, and Ark naturally followed. Knowing Luke's temper, Ark didn't want to risk Rick being attacked the moment he stepped outside.
As they walked, Rick glanced sideways at him.
"You know… you don't have to follow me."
"I know," Ark replied with a careless expression. "But it's better to be careful than sorry."
"Yeah, yeah," Rick muttered, trying to hide the sting of embarrassment.
"So," Ark continued, "what now? You still have time before your train arrives."
"Well first, I'll pick up my things from the inn," Rick said. "Then I guess I'll rest for a while."
"In that case," Ark said with a grin, "let's head to the training grounds after. Maybe I'll give you some pointers."
Rick almost lit up. Despite everything, he never missed a chance to learn something new.
After collecting his belongings, they made their way to the hunter training grounds. There, the two began sparring lightly, exchanging quick blows. Rick swung with his full strength, but Ark dodged easily—every strike missing by inches, as if Ark already knew the motion before Rick made it.
Eventually they sat down to rest. Rick drank water while Ark watched him with a thoughtful expression.
"It looks like there's no problem," Ark said, "the mana is inside your body… but you still can't wrap it around your limbs."
Rick lowered his cup. "Well, yeah. You already know my body's messed up. There's nothing I can do about it."
Ark chuckled and patted his head. "Man, that's right. I forget sometimes."
His tone was light—playful even—but Rick's eye twitched in annoyance.
"Hey, are you teasing me?"
"Maybe," Ark admitted. "But tell me—how far are you in hiding your presence? You were supposed to train that, weren't you?"
Rick puffed his cheeks slightly. "I was learning it from Mark, but he's not exactly a great teacher."
Ark laughed, resting his hand on Rick's head again.
Ark leaned back against the tree behind him, gazing at Rick with the quiet patience of a seasoned hunter.
"Well, it all comes down to how well you can blend into nature," he began. "Mana is everywhere—flowing freely, without barriers. Humans use the mana stored within our bodies, but nature's mana is… different."
A faint shimmer of aura flowed around Ark as he demonstrated.
"Like this, you can wrap mana around an object—or your own body. But erasing your presence isn't about force. It's about becoming one with the natural flow."
Rick frowned, struggling to grasp the explanation.
Ark noticed.
"Think of it this way. Imagine a marketplace with a hundred people wearing the same clothes and height. Now you must find one specific person among them. Now It's not an impossible task… but it's hard."
Rick nodded slowly. "…Okay, so?"
"In that case when you try to find someone it become hard for our sense's to understand our surroundings, And then even if I stand right in front of you, you wouldn't notice me. Because our senses get confused when we can't distinguish one flow of mana from another."
Ark tapped Rick's forehead lightly.
"When you match your internal mana to the mana of nature, your presence dissolves into the background. The closer your flow becomes to nature's, the harder you are to detect."
Rick let out a long breath, overwhelmed.
"I… understand some of that," he admitted with an awkward smile.
Ark chuckled. "I didn't expect you to understand everything right away."
They chatted like that for a while longer, enjoying the quiet breeze until it was time for Rick's departure.
At the train station, Rick hesitated at the entrance, turning back to Ark.
"I… really want you to come with me," he said softly, anxiety clouding his expression.
Ark flicked him on the forehead again, this time with a gentler touch.
"Don't make that face. You'll be fine."
Ark smiled. "And you can't live under someone else's protection forever. Sooner or later, you have to stand on your own."
Rick swallowed, then nodded.
Ark looked at him proudly. "It looks like the little kid I knew isn't a kid anymore.It looks like i don't have to worry about you anymore."
"That's right," Rick answered, smiling as the train whistle echoed through the station.
Rick stepped aboard with a bright smile.
The train whistle faded into the distance as Rick's journey toward the Royal Capital began. He settled into a window seat, watching the scenery blur past—fields, forests, and the sky slowly shifting colors. For the first time in a long while, he allowed himself to relax.
Meanwhile, back on the station platform, Ark watched the train disappear. With nothing else to do, he turned to leave—until he heard footsteps behind him.
"Hey, Luke."
Ark turned sharply. It wasn't Luke, but Rune—one of Luke's party members. Rune looked tense, eyes scanning the area as if searching for something.
"Rune?" Ark asked. "What are you doing here?"
Rune scratched his head nervously.
"Well… I'm looking for Luke. Have you seen him?"
"Why would he be h—"
Ark stopped mid-sentence. A sudden realization hit him, cold and heavy.
"Someone at the guild earlier had mentioned Luke storming out. Someone else said they saw him heading toward the train station."
Rune's voice faded into the background as Ark's thoughts raced.
Ark felt a chill crawl up his spine and words slipped out of Ark's mouth
"Now…This is bad."
Inside the moving train, Rick stretched and turned—only to freeze.
Luke was standing right in front of him.
Leaning against the seat with a smug grin, arms crossed.
"Yo, brat," Luke said casually. "What did you think? That I'd just leave you alone?"
Rick's heart dropped straight into his stomach.
Only one sentence came out of his mouth.
"…I am screwed."