Wade frowned, his gaze snapping to his door.
Just who would want to see him at this ti of the night? Not to ntion the fact that only Rowan knew he lived here.
He walked to the door and opened it, only to find his landlord, Jas, standing there, his round face pale and slick with sweat.
The older man wrung his cap in his hands nervously.
"Mr. Barrett, Wade, sorry to bother you so late," Jas stamred, his voice quivering. "Please, I need your help. It’s an ergency."
Wade frowned. "What happened?"
"It’s— so adventurers, downstairs," Jas said quickly. "They’re tearing up my shop."
"They’re saying I stole the place from them. Please, you’ve dealt with their type before, haven’t you? You know how to talk to them."
Wade’s expression went cold. He did know their type. Scamrs, opportunists who preyed on the very laws ant to keep order in Hiving.
He exhaled, rubbing his temples. "Let guess," he muttered. "They’re saying they ’caught’ you stealing the shop, so they want it back?"
Jas nodded vigorously, looking desperate. "Exactly that! You know how it works. If an adventurer stops a ’cri,’ they’re entitled to ten percent of the value of whatever was saved. They’re using it to scam !"
Wade sighed. The law had been ant to reward good behavior, but it had turned into just another weapon for greedy adventurers to exploit.
"Alright," he said finally, pushing himself off the doorfra. "Lead the way."
Jas’s relief was imdiate. "Thank you! Thank you so much!"
The short, rotund landlord hurried down the stairs, Wade following close behind. As they reached the shop on the ground floor, chaos greeted them.
Bolts of cloth lay strewn across the floor. Shelves were overturned, and Jas’s young assistant stood helplessly near the counter, pleading with a group of five adventurers who were laughing as they kicked over baskets.
When Wade stepped through the door, the laughter quieted.
One of the n turned, his crooked nose and smug grin instantly familiar.
"Well, look who it is," Ferris drawled. "You!"
Wade blinked once, recognition dawning. His sigh was long and tired.
"Of all the people who could’ve died in the war," he said dryly, "why did it have to be everyone but you five?"
The adventurers erupted in laughter.
"Oh, we didn’t go to that slaughter," Ferris said proudly, spreading his arms. "See, smart adventurers know the right people to bribe. Leave the hero work to idiots who think honor pays the bills."
Wade’s eyebrows rose slightly. "You bribed your way out of the war?"
"Of course," Ferris said, smirking. "You think we’d risk our necks for a city that’ll forget our nas by tomorrow?"
Wade shook his head slowly, a dark amusent flickering across his features. "You know," he said, "I was having a pretty miserable day. But you’ve managed to make it worse."
He turned to Jas and his assistant, who looked terrified. "Go ho," Wade said firmly.
Jas blinked in surprise. "But—"
"Go," Wade repeated. "Co back in the morning. I’ll handle this."
Jas hesitated for a heartbeat, then nodded. "Alright. Thank you, Wade."
He and his assistant hurried out, practically running out of the shop.
The mont the door shut behind them, Wade reached back, turned the bolt, and locked it from the inside. The click echoed in the tense air.
Then, with a calmness that made the five n falter, Wade flipped the sign on the door to Closed and twisted the latch, sealing it completely.
When he turned back to face them, there was no hesitation in his eyes.
Ferris laughed nervously, raising his hands. "What, you think you’re gonna play hero again? This isn’t the battlefield, Barrett."
Wade rolled his shoulders, stretching his neck until it cracked. "Good," he said. "Because I’m done playing hero."
He reached into his inventory, and with a soft shimr of light, Toothpick appeared in his hand.
The adventurers’ laughter wavered.
A thin smile appeared on Wade’s face.
"You’ve actually done a favor," he said, tightening his grip on the weapon. "I’ve been needing a way to relieve so stress."
The room fell silent.
Then, Wade stepped forward.
"Thanks," he said softly. "Let’s begin."
Ferris barked out a laugh, the sound harsh and grating in the quiet shop.
"You think this is the sa as last ti?" he sneered, spreading his arms. "You’re wasting your ti, Barrett. We’ve gotten stronger since then."
The others chuckled uneasily, gripping their weapons tighter.
Wade stared at them, his expression flat.
"Is that so?" he said, his tone almost bored.
Ferris grinned wider. "That’s right. We even have soone new with us now."
He jerked his chin towards a man standing near the back of the group. A tall, wiry adventurer with pale eyes and a piece of cloth tied over his forehead.
"That’s Tripp," Ferris said proudly. "His Origin Skill’s called Auto Defense. You hit him, you hit a wall. Doesn’t even have to lift a finger. Pretty handy, right?"
Wade sighed. "Fascinating."
Tripp smirked, tapping his chest. "You can try if you don’t believe it. Won’t even scratch ."
"Right," Wade muttered. "How about all of you stop talking and attack already?"
For a mont, the five n exchanged glances, clearly uncertain if he was serious. Then Ferris snarled, "You asked for it!" and lunged forward.
The others followed, shouting as they charged.
Wade didn’t move until the very last second. Then, he exhaled.
He sidestepped Ferris’s first swing, letting the blade whistle past his face.
Another attacker ca from the side, and Wade ducked low, sweeping the man’s legs out from under him with one clean motion.
The next swung for his neck. Wade caught the blow on his arm, twisted his torso, and drove his knee into the man’s ribs.
He was surrounded now, but he was calm. Perfectly calm.
"Your turn," he muttered, and swung Toothpick.
Ferris’s grin disappeared. "Wait, hey—"
The axe ca down in one fluid, rciless arc.
It struck Ferris square in the forehead, splitting through his skull with a wet crack.
Blood sprayed across the counter and onto the scattered rolls of fabric.
Ferris’s body went rigid, then collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut.
The others froze, their laughter dying in their throats. The only sound left was the soft drip of blood hitting the floor.
Wade stood over the corpse, breathing slowly. For the first ti in what felt like forever, the knot in his chest loosened.
He reached down and yanked the axe free with a wet squelch, Ferris’s body twitching once but didn’t move again.
Without a word, he reached down, touched the corpse, and it vanished, absorbed neatly into his inventory.
The remaining adventurers stared at him in horror.
"Wha— what the hell did you just do?" one stamred, backing up towards the wall.
Wade wiped a streak of blood from his cheek with the back of his hand, his eyes cold.
"I stored him," he said flatly. "I don’t like cleaning up sses."
The group looked between each other, panic starting to set in.
Wade took a slow step forward, resting Toothpick on his shoulder.
"Now," he said quietly, his voice almost calm again, "where were we?"
The adventurers didn’t answer. Their bravado had evaporated, replaced by raw fear.
"You ca here thinking you’d take sothing that wasn’t yours," Wade continued. "You thought this would be easy. You thought I’d play nice."
He tilted his head, the faintest hint of a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.
"Well," he said softly, "you were wrong."
His grip tightened on Toothpick.
"There’s no escape for you."
The remaining four adventurers scread in panic and charged. Their earlier arrogance had vanished, and in its place was just desperation.
The first man swung wildly, his blade slicing empty air as Wade sidestepped and brought Toothpick around in a tight arc.
The axe bit deep, shearing through the man’s arm just below the shoulder.
Blood sprayed across the shelves, and the adventurer’s scream turned into a gurgle as he stumbled back, clutching the stump.
The next attacker lunged, roaring. Wade pivoted, driving the hamr end of Toothpick straight into his skull.
The sound was sickening, a crack followed by a hollow thud. The man’s eyes rolled back, body collapsing.
Before the corpse could fall completely, Wade reached out, touched it, and with a faint shimr, the body vanished, pulled neatly into his inventory.
The remaining two stumbled back, horror flashing across their faces. One of them recovered just enough to shout, summoning an arrow of mana that blazed blue in the dim light. He fired.
Wade raised his hand, summoning Aegis of Reflection. The shimring barrier ford just in ti, the arrow slamming into it with a loud crack.
The impact shattered the aegis, shards of light scattering, but the projectile had lost its force.
Wade twisted aside, the weakened arrow whistling past his shoulder.
Before the archer could summon another, Wade moved.
He surged forward, feet barely touching the ground, ducking low as the second archer hastily drew another bowstring of mana.
The shot never ca.
Toothpick’s blade flashed upwards, slicing clean through the archer’s neck.
The man’s body froze, the light fading from his eyes before his head toppled.
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