The extent of the destruction became more apparent as they walked through the shattered remains of the city. Evan was surprised when he saw several humans in tattered rags digging through the wreckage. Some of them looked too young and others looked too old. And all of them looked defeated and malnourished.

“Ungifted. Orphans. Elderly. There used to be a time when humanity cared for these people. Sheltered them, clothed them, fed them. But since the arrival of the portals the only thing that matters is strength,” the healer whispered to him.

“What are they looking for?” Evan asked, watching as two children dug through stone with bloodied hands.

Astrid shrugged. “Relics of an old world. Books, technology, anything they can sell or use to survive.”

As they continued walking through the city, the atmosphere began to change. Rubble and twisted metal were replaced by dirt and overgrown weeds. Instead of collapsed structures, he saw complete buildings. Some were truly massive, reaching hundreds of feet into the air.

The farther in, the more alive that the city seemed to become. Stores that sold weapons, armor, and potions lined the streets. Stalls full of delicious smelling food moved back and forth. People moved in every direction. Evan had a hard time trying to look everywhere at once.

Astrid and her friends walked with a sense of purpose. Evan noticed that quite a few people stood and stared at him as he passed. Some of them watched him with blank faces, while others looked at him with undisguised contempt.

Jason slowed down and walked with him. “Ignore them. It’s not entirely their fault. With everything that has happened, people have grown distrustful of anything and anyone not entirely … human I suppose. Those in power have done nothing to alleviate that ignorance, so it continues to spread.”

“Living is easier with eyes closed,” Fenrir growled.

Jason smiled at the core’s voice as he nodded. “Indeed.”

“What about you? Does it bother you that Astrid has let me come with you?” he asked. Deep down he was afraid of the answer. Astrid and Mel didn’t seem to mind him. Maybe even enjoyed his company. But he hadn’t gotten a chance to speak to Jason as much, and the man always seemed to avoid his gaze.

The man laughed and shook his head. “I was mistrustful of you at first. But not for the same reasons that they,” he gestured at the crowd of people who continued to stare at him as he passed, “are. Mel and I heard some of the conversation you had with Astrid last night so I know you’re aware of her Mark.”

He paused for a moment before sighing. “Many people here would claim that she isn’t human. That she doesn’t deserve to live because of her Mark. But she saved me. I owe her my life.” The warrior turned to look at the summoner in the eyes. “If she trusts you, then I do too.” He placed a hand on his shoulder before giving him another smile and walking off.

Evan released the breath he hadn’t even realized he had been holding. “Thank you,” he said weakly. He hadn’t realized how important to him it was that the man trusted him. Perhaps even liked him.

Another quarter of an hour passed before the group stood in front of a two-story building. The building was rather plain, made up of exposed red brick and hidden away behind several buildings that looked identical to it.

There was an old guard snoring on a chair outside the front door. Mel coughed lightly and the guard stood up quick as a snake with his hands on his spear. “Aye, whatchu want?”

“Hi, Brian! We’re just coming back from clearing the blue portal outside the city. Wanted to talk to Sasha and give her the guild’s share of the cores,” Mel said sweetly.

It took a full ten seconds before the guard seemed to wake up enough to respond. “Aye, Miss Melissa! Glad ta see ya still kickin’. Sure thing, go on through. I’ll let the old lady know yer comin up,” the guard responded brightly.

They walked through the front door and into a brightly lit lobby. There was a fire roaring on one end of the building with a bunch of tables. One of the tables was filled with a group of men outfit in leather and mean-looking axes. They all looked over when the group entered the room.

At the other end of the lobby was a row of booths occupied by some men and women behind glass panels. In the middle was a circular staircase that led up to the second floor. Evan noticed that Astrid made the effort to go out of her way to one of the tellers farthest away from the group of men.

Evan followed Mel and Jason to one of the nearby tables and sat down. “So this is your guildhall?”

“No one calls it that, but yea, this is home base. Midnight is still a pretty small guild when all is said and done though. We can’t really compete with the larger guilds in the area. They have more money and higher-leveled hunters. But the guild master is an old friend, and she treats Astrid—and us, well enough,” the archer shrugged.

“What’s the purpose of the guilds?” Evan asked.

Jason’s eyes shined as he started talking in a frenzy. “In general guilds are supposed to be official large-scale groups of hunters that raid portals. But each guild has its own individual purpose. Some of them focus solely on raiding portals, while others act as merchants, mercenaries for hire, and even assassins. Midnight is one of the guilds that focuses mostly on raiding portals and clearing dungeons. They buy the rights to a dungeon portal from the government when one is found and then they send groups to clear them out. The groups pick up anything valuable like monster cores or item drops and the guild sells the items. They take a percentage of the profits to cover the cost of the portal rights and a bit extra. Some of the stronger dungeons are supposed to be full of natural resources like coal, oil, natural gas, and that sort of thing, so guilds will often clear them and then sell the rights to excavate those resources to big corporations—”

There was a hollow thudding sound as a large axe buried itself in the middle of their table. Evan looked up to see a bear of a man grinning at them with one foot on the table.

“Well look who it is. You’re looking as good as ever Melissa,” the man said as he winked at the archer.

Evan watched as Jason clenched and unclenched his fists, his face red. But he didn’t say anything, instead staring down at the wooden table.

“Get lost Dale, Mels is too good for you,” Astrid said as she walked up.

There was a splintering noise as the man removed the axe from the wooden table. “You should watch your mouth, filthy Marked.” He took a step towards the healer. “Before someone decides to shut you up for good,” he growled.

Evan struggled to rein in his rage. This wasn’t his fight and he had no doubt that the healer and her friends could handle themselves. He activated [Summon Shadow] and ordered three of the knights to blend into the shadows of Astrid, Mel, and Jason. Protect them.

Just in case he thought, and Fenrir agreed.

“That will be enough Dale. You will not be fighting in my guild.”

An old, gray-haired woman descended from the stairs at the center of the lobby. She was wearing a green and black jacket with matching pants and her very presence commanded attention.

Besides her stood a man covered in blood. Every inch of his body was coated in wounds and Evan could tell that he was having a hard time standing upright. “I have just been informed that there has been a green-dungeon break in the outskirts of the city. The Hunters Association is being overrun and has sent a call to arms to every guild in Citadel.”

The old woman turned and began to march out of the door. “Let’s go.”