Training in the Goddess’ Realm was a wonderful and mystical experience for the Twelve. The training instructors were skilled, the environment filled with Mana that can be used with no downsides and no circuits. But beyond that, it also provided many areas to allow ample rest and relaxation.

One thing that really helped with this was how natural environments and ecosystems were recreated in certain places. There were calm forests with abundant wildlife, gorgeous beaches with glistening sand and perilous mountains with wonderful views of the Realm.

And one part of this faithful recreation was the wind, sometimes a gentle breeze and sometimes a violent storm.

And today, a gentle breeze swept past the small group of Altair, Polly, Fina and Selen. A group containing people with very keen senses and a certain connection to nature. They in particular found these environments wonderfully relaxing and even good to further their training.

And yet, not a single one of them paid further attention to this breeze.

It blew past them, their bodies and pockets before disappearing into the distance, flowing as it does.

Only when this group was deep in the forest, several kilometres away and the wind brushed up against the dormitory that the Twelve had been staying at for the last 4 weeks did he decide to drop it.

Daron let the whisps of air disperse as he returned to being a human, four small tokens in held in his hands. He did not even bother counting them, he knew he got them all.

As he entered the dormitory he almost immediately turned towards Noelle’s workshop and simply entered, opening the door quietly. Noelle acknowledged his presence with a nod but did not turn away from the furnace.

She did turn around when she heard four small clinks against a table just as Daron’s hands slowly moved from the table to his hips. He didn’t even say anything, he just looked at her, smirking.

A sigh escaped her lips as she moved over and swept the four small chips into a sack where they clinked against others. A total of 11 of these chips now filled said sack, a fact that made Daron very happy and Noelle rather irritated.

“…How did you even get the one I gave to the Goddess?”

“Well, let’s just say that Fina was really good at involuntarily being my distraction while they took a bath.”

“Goddamn that girl’s perversion. Plus, even getting these four at once? Dammit, I really did underestimate you.”

“I’m just that good. Although, putting it on Selen’s hairclip and Polly’s wrists did almost trip me up. Just almost. Playing so dirty when it’s technically our rest day before we leave.”

She could really only sigh. There was no other reaction to be had. Daron just collected the last four chips that she had put on people’s items as part of a bet. She had gone through a lot of effort to put it in the most awkward places for him to reach unnoticed. Not to mention that she only gave him a single day to pull it off.

But he succeeded.

And now it was time to pay up.

“Fine. This is my proper loss. What do you want?”

“Well, how about calling me Master for the first week we arrive?”

She did not utter a word and only lifted her smithing hammer while locking eye contact.

“Alright, jeez, so salty. How about… I dunno… You know what, I’ll just take a rain check on this. Can’t really think of anything. I would ask you out on a date, but…” He had to duck under the hammer that came flying straight for his face.

“… Exactly that would happen. I’ll get back to on you this. Whenever. Buh-Bye!” A breeze picked up in the workshop, stoking the flames in the furnace just enough to put them back in working conditions after Noelle left them unattended for a moment. It moved out through the door, smoothly closing it after itself.

And just like that, Daron had left.

“…Seriously, Lucy is going to hear you one of these days, Daron. And it will be your funeral.” She muttered out loud. One would think she was just making an off-handed comment after the fact, but she could feel the air move around in response to her words, almost like a person shivering in terror.

Although that movement quickly disappeared.

He made haste to his room, even if just to erase some of his traces. On the way he moved past Kal, Amadeus and Bandy on separate occasions, but none noticed him. He wasn’t even moving as wind, but just that good at being unnoticed.

Yet despite that, he navigated the building with a speed that is not usually associated with stealth.

That was what Daron had always specialized in. Moving with nary a sound, to not be noticed as much as possible. At first it was just an idle observation as his friends always seemed surprised to hear him join a conversation, but he quickly made a game out of it.

Walking behind people for as long as possible without them noticing. Walking next to them doing the same. Rushing through a crowded area without bumping into anyone. Then mixing in light movements and brushes, such that none would be bothered to check what happened.

And as he became more and more unnoticed he became more and more daring to keep up the difficulty and excitement of his little game.

Taking the wallet from a person, waiting for them to try and buy something and then put it back just before they check again. Making another steal just obvious enough to be noticed, but not enough for him to be seen and then putting it back at that moment.

He pulled off all this without Mana, just innate talent and effort. And a lot of snarky comments and bets, but those are secondary.

It was truly a miracle that he was never caught.

Well, except by two people.

He arrived at his room just as he was about to be caught by this nostalgia. Instead, he was caught by one of those two people just as finished entering, certain that he didn’t even graze the door.

“You’re back from your bet with Noelle?” Her voice rang out from the bed in one corner of the room. The person in question was not bothered to stand up and just lay there, reading a book with a featureless cover.

Now, instead of Noelle, it was Daron’s turn to sigh.

“Yeah. Nothing does get past you, huh?”

“You think I would miss that she gave everyone a similar small coin somewhere? Plus, you already stole mine yesterday during Bandy’s dance you little cheater.”

“And I thought I was being unassuming and subtle.”

“Nah, you’re the stealthy one. Being ‘unassuming and subtle’ is my job. I bet you had difficulty discerning me in that crowd.”

“I did. Until Fina narrowed her eyes at you for a moment too long. She didn’t even catch a hint of me, just so you know.” His smirk returned, having found something to tease her about. In return she simply stood up, put the book on a nightstand and pushed the guy against a nearby wall.

What happened next…

A knock on the door and it was opened. Kal stood there for a moment, closed his eyes, tilted his head and simply left. He wanted to ask Daron something but didn’t find him anywhere close. If it was just a small game, the guy usually left little traces he could pick up on, but there was nothing, so he assumed that neither he nor Lucy were in.

As he left two giggles rang out from the bed, audible, yet unnoticed by the mage.

Such was standard practice for these two.

There really was only one occasion where they were caught.

And while awkward, it did lead to a wonderful friendship.

A friendship worth dedicating their all to returning to.

***

I feel like I’m with Daron again. That bastard always had a knack to pull me into his shenanigans.

Well, admittedly, those never involved risking my life.

Such were the idle thoughts as Ray stood in front of a large tribal-style hut made entirely out of simple wood logs and some straw. But its size was anything but simple. Rather, calling it a hut was outright wrong. It was more correct to compare it to a mansion.

As is to be expected of a gathering and feasting hall for Orcs, a mass of muscles that averages at 3 metres of height. Another thing that could be expected was the thundering noises ringing out from this building.

And right outside, next to two guards with their own flagons filled with a brownish liquid, most likely beer or ale of some kind, was Ray, hiding in the nearby shadows and carefully manipulating his Mana to maintain this stealth. A little trick that he had been curious about after remembering Daron’s natural abilities.

And as now proven by his actions, it proved quite effective. He was still untrained of course and some hints of his existence still made it out of his net, but they were eliminated as they happened.

He knew that the next time it would be even better.

But for now, he decided to put it to the test by being even more daring.

Of course, he could probably slaughter the entire village. He had already counted and the 200-ish Orcs would not pose a challenge to him, despite the fact that most of them actually appeared to have metal equipment, not like the mere savage dregs he was mowing down a few days ago.

But he knew that stealth would also become important in due time. Or even if not, it would have its own applications as Daron and Lucy had shown him. On several different occasions.

So, when one of the guards moved around to get a refill from a nearby barrel, taking the other one’s flagon with him, he swiftly moved in, sticking to the shadows cast by the remaining, burly figure.

For a moment, he though he heard his own heartbeat loud enough to be heard, and his feet connect with the grass in an almost deafening crunch, but the guard did not appear to have heard. At least, he didn’t turn around to try and find the human invader that was only millimetres from his own back, and almost completely pressed against the wooden wall.

Yet, he did not stand still. One of the most important lessons though to him by Daron, the rogue that he is, to always be on the move. To embody the omnipresent wind and air and never truly stay still. After all, it’s when the air is stagnant that it’s the most noticeable.

It did not even take another second for Ray to open the door and close it without a sound being heard, nor a soul to see as everyone was too busy drinking and partying. What they were partying about did not particularly matter to him.

The only important thing was where they were getting their refills at.

His sense picked up two subdued thuds beyond the partying, the sound dulled by the wood between himself and the source. It seemed that he would actually be able to pull this off.

And so he moved, almost danced through the crowd of Orcs busily swinging their muscled and tattooed bodies around the building, liquid sloshing out of the various containers they were all holding. They were so absorbed that they did not notice that some of the liquid never reached the ground.

One end was absorbed in a weird song with barely rhyme or reason to it, the perfect thing to sing when you are well and truly drunk. The kind of song that created a sense of companionship, despite a lack of coherence. They were so absorbed that they did not notice the light humming trying to emulate this atmosphere.

Another one was busily devouring one of the various whole roast boars that had been prepared. It was so busy and filled with Orcs devouring large quantities at once, even eating the bones, that none noticed a small piece going missing, just enough for a Human to have a few good bites.

Then the final area, the end goal, was filled with obviously more elderly Orcs, larger and more sculpted bodies with both tattoos and scars much more numerous than that of others around the hall. It was a much quieter area, filled with an overpowering aura, born from the multitude of battles these grizzled veterans had survived and won.

And one of them was so massive and covered in an almost breath-taking tattoo. Unlike others, it was only a single tattoo, but one that was extended to cover almost half the body of the Orc. An impressive feat considering its 4 metre height and muscles that made the others look like children.

But even this impressive display of military might did not make it possible for this one to notice the Human that stood next to them, making careful sketches of this marking.

Once done, Ray packed his notebook and moved to the numerous kegs that contained whatever they were drinking. After a taste it was somewhat similar to Ale, but with a bit of a different aftertaste. He would have loved to study that, but he also wanted to finish up.

So he began carefully opening the kegs, pouring a small bluish powder into them that glistened in the torchlight and then resealing them. The quantity he was using was nothing to snort had. He was pouring this substance by the pouchful, just to make sure it would have the effect he needed.

Once he closed the last of the three dozen barrels, Ray simply moved to the other corner of the room and waited to see the effects kick in.

And sure enough, as refills began to happen using those barrels his plan was complete.

At first, as Orcs collapsed they laughed at the victims that did not know their limits or couldn’t hold their alcohol like a proper Orc.

Then as about half of them lay on the floor, the laughter became more quiet.

Once this percentage reached 90, the remainder nervously began getting their weapons.

Of course, it was too late. They had all drunk from the contaminated ale.

Mana Stones ground into dust, then poured into the Ale in such quantities that no being should survive the resulting overcharge of mana, resulted in all but one of the Orcs falling over with a heart attack by the time ten minutes passed.

Ray had found this effect by chance when he absorbed a Mana Stone with a full circuit, which made him roll around in pain for half an hour. Then he tested and found its efficacy as both a drug to temporarily boost performance in small doses and a potent poison to all beings in larger ones.

Of course, the stronger the circuit, the more was required to both support and kill.

Although both options hurt like hell.

And with this at his disposal and a large Orc village he scouted out, this infiltration mission was born. Which resulted in a massive success.

Only the largest, the Warchief, was still standing.

By now, of course, Ray dropped the stealth bit.

It did not take long for the last Orc to begin charging at him with Great-sword in hand and battle cry on its lips. For this particular one, it appeared that the dose Ray put was the perfect one to boost his power to its extremes.

Not that it mattered.

“BUUUULLL-TAAAA----”

A single slice was still enough.

The Orc did not even notice the strike. And by the time it could have, its brain already ceased function.

The next experiment, applying stealth only to an attack, was also successful.

His power could not be matched by any Orc in this forest anymore.

And apparently, neither could his stealth.

Really, while he knew there were more, he only personally knew two people that would be able to match that.

And both of them, while with awkward beginnings, were wonderful friends.

A friendship worth risking his life to returning to.