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Elna froze for a moment, then quickly pulled Zane inside, glanced around to ensure no one was watching, and shut the door behind them.

“Zane-bro?” she called out uncertainly.
“Yeah, it’s me.” Bathed in a soft white light, Zane dispelled his transformation.
“Thank goodness… I thought I’d never see you again.”
“How could that be? See? I came to find you, didn’t I? Judging from the looks of things… you’ve been locked in at home?” Zane asked.
“…That’s right. My brother… he won’t let me go outside.”
“Why not?” Zane was probably the person who understood the Wishkeeper class best, aside from Elna herself.

It had excellent crowd control, could resist ranged attacks with Blazing Fire, boasted a 4-star Vitality growth rate, and would eventually unlock both Blessing and Spirit’s Heart—skills that made it a nearly perfect support class. In fact, it could even double as a solid damage dealer.

“My powers are almost completely gone… Over the past six months, even my Invoking magic has been nearly drained,” Elna said, her eyes dimming. “My brother’s afraid something might happen to me again, so he’s keeping me locked in this room.”

“…So where is he now? Left you at home and went out to have fun?”

“That’s not it. He went to the Grayridge Plains, looking for that Underground Passage we were in before.”

“Sigh, fine then.”

An awkward silence settled over them. Zane wasn’t exactly the best at socializing—if he were, he wouldn’t still be a single loner.

Eventually, it was Elna who broke the silence. “Zane-bro, did you come just to keep me company?”
“Oh! Right! I almost forgot the real reason I’m here!” Zane suddenly remembered.
“What is it?”
“Little Elna, do you happen to have any alcohol?”

Though Zane’s form of address was a bit strange, Elna still answered with a nod, “Of course. My brother’s a complete drunk. If you want some, I’ll go grab it.”

“Not for me…” Zane scratched his head awkwardly and explained what Sheen had told him earlier.

“The person qualified to mentor Sister Starry… is a drunk…? Wait—could it be!” Elna’s bright green eyes widened. “The Mad Blade—Theo!”

That name did sound kind of epic.

“Is he really that amazing?” Zane asked.

“Mhm! I’ve heard stories about him since I was little. Theo used to be just an ordinary soldier, but he grew stronger through countless battles against the Dark Faction, eventually rising to the level of Sword Saint. But—” Elna’s tone shifted. “They say he fell in love with a witch. The two of them set aside their factions’ hatred and lived together in secret,” she said, cheeks blushing.

What kind of corny romance novel was this?

“But their happiness didn’t last. The witch’s leader—one of the Twelve Monarchs of the Dark Faction, the Enchantress of Shadows, Gernie—discovered the affair and utterly obliterated the witch’s soul,” Elna added with a look of sorrow.

“…”

“After that, Theo spiraled into despair and drowned himself in alcohol. His friends all tried to reach him, but no one succeeded. And even though he’d fallen into grief, his strength never waned. Five years ago, when Dusk City was attacked by the Dark Faction, and all hope seemed lost, he suddenly appeared. Though his swordsmanship was chaotic and wild, every strike carried a madman’s fury. Blow for blow, he fought the Stormlord head-on—and won.”

That sounded like straight-up protagonist material.

“He vanishes as he pleases, and unless there’s good liquor involved, he won’t show up—not even for Miss Sheen, who was once in his party.”

“You’re kidding… That bad? Then doesn’t that mean Starry’s class advancement is doomed?” Zane said, speechless.

“Hmm… there might be a way,” Elna murmured thoughtfully.

…

In the central plaza of Wynwater City.

Everyone had assembled. Shiu had also joined the party.

“Whoa! Zane, not bad at all—this whole party’s made up of elites except for you!” Shiu messaged in private, clearly impressed.
“Tch, it’s you who’s the odd one out here, not me,” Zane replied, unimpressed.
“So, where are we grinding today?” Endless Sea asked.
Zane pointed toward the west gate. “After we cross Grayridge Plains, loop past a small stream and walk straight for about twenty minutes.”

No one questioned it—they set out without delay.

Strangely enough, Starry’s consciousness still hadn’t surfaced. Was she just oversleeping? That didn’t seem like her. He figured he’d ask her once she woke up.

“Um…” YoyoPink suddenly spoke up while they walked across the plains.
“What’s up?” Zane turned, curious.
“I wanted to ask… that little girl from yesterday—where did she go?”
“Little girl?” Shiu was intrigued too.
“…”

Zane hesitated, unsure if now was the time to demonstrate his transformation.

Suddenly, Starry’s avatar picked up an unnatural ripple on the right—an assassin! She instinctively launched an attack.

Though the strike didn’t land, the assassin’s evasive maneuver broke their stealth! A faint outline revealed the figure’s identity.

Their ID was ‘Rainflower Traceless,’ a level 15 Assassin. Despite being exposed, he didn’t panic at all. Instead, he sneered, “Hmph. Stardust, you’ve got some nerve showing your face while there’s a bounty on your head.”

“Why wouldn’t I? Grayridge Plains doesn’t belong to your Rainflower guild,” Starry replied coolly.

At the same time, Zane noticed something strange—the fallen leaves on the ground shifting subtly, scattered footprints appearing and vanishing. More were coming!

Endless Sea had caught on as well. “This is bad—they’re swarming. We can’t fight here. We need to move!”

Shiu nodded. “Got it!”

YoyoPink looked uneasy. “There’s so many of them…”

“You guys go first—head toward the marker I placed!” Zane, controlling Starry, shouted.

There were too many enemies right now—Shapeshifting wouldn’t be safe. If one of the assassins delayed them long enough for the rest of the reinforcements to arrive, things would get messy fast.

“Trying to run? Over my dead body! Everyone—GO!” Rainflower Traceless barked the order.

In an instant, all the hidden assassins revealed themselves—fifteen in total! Their levels ranged from 12 to 14. It was clear Rainflower had pulled out all the stops just to kill them once.

These guys… fine then—you’ll be the warm-up!

Starry raised the Autumn Moon Sword, gathering energy in what looked like a slow, deliberate charge.

Rainflower Traceless’s eyes gleamed with excitement, barely holding back a sneer. Starting with a Heavy Slash against an assassin? So this so-called top-tier player is just another clueless amateur.

Everyone knew Heavy Slash had a front-cast delay of around half a second. Any skilled assassin could use that window to circle behind and land a backstab. The moment you lost sight of them, the tempo shifted entirely in their favor.

Instinctively, Rainflower Traceless darted past her, positioning for the perfect backstab. But as he passed, he caught a glimpse of a sly smile tugging at the corner of Starry’s lips.

This woman… Does she really think she’s reading me like a book? Fine! Time to show her what real skill looks like.

His dagger sliced through the air, creating a whisper of wind— and produced a glaring MISS.

What?! She moved?

Suddenly, it hit him—wasn’t Heavy Slash a Swordsman skill? But she… she hadn’t even chosen a class yet!

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