“Aaahhh, I miss this feeling. I feel like I'm born anew all over again. Not like I know what being born feels like,” I muttered to myself as I sat on a thick blanket I spread on the ground, no longer wearing my thread suit. I was taking a break from traveling, allowing my horses to graze on some hardy grass that still managed to grow despite the cold weather while I ate my lunch. The sensation of the sun's light hitting my skin feels good after hours of being cocooned under several layers of fabric.

Standing beside me was my hollow thread suit, Mr. Marion. If somebody else saw him now, they'd probably run away in fear at his grotesque state. His back looked like something tore through him from the inside, leaving behind a large hole that exposed his insides. But instead of blood and organs, the inside simply consisted of a hollow space with the walls lined with soft cushions.

“You don't look so good, Mr. Marion,” I told my thread suit as I ate the hard bread I found in the wagon. It tasted a lot worse than the meat I usually eat from hunting. Not like the meat I cooked tastes good anyway.

I didn't know how to make a fire with nothing but a stick and some dried leaves, so back when I still lived in the woods and hunted animals for food, I cooked their meat using the same spell that Mother Betha used to kill the dire wolves that attacked Erfeld a long time ago by accelerating their metabolism, which turned out to be extremely wasteful.

By the time the meat was cooked to the level I was sure it no longer had bacteria in it, the meat I was left with was extremely smaller in size compared to what I started with, not to mention the bland taste and the dryness. But at least it was filling. The bread I was eating now just made my jaw hurt.

“What do you guys think? Should I hunt for some meat or endure the hard bread and bland biscuits until we reach whatever city lies at the end of this road?” I asked Tedd and Cuddles beside me. I made cute little winter jackets and scarves for them, red for Tedd and blue for Cuddles.

“Don't bother. Most of the animals are sleeping in winter anyway, and all you'll see are squirrels and rabbits,” Tedd replied. “With the savage way you're cooking things, you'll just waste more energy than the dried husks you're eating can provide.”

“Although Tedd may be uncouth in his way of saying things, I'm afraid he's right, Brogen,” Cuddles said.

I agreed. The metabolizing spell that I used to cook meat was a second-circle spell whose purpose was to help sick people recover in the first place. Every time I overloaded the spell, it would use the meat itself as fuel to produce the heat, resulting in a small and dried husk that probably didn't have many nutrients.

I couldn't reduce the power of the spell in the first place since if I did, the meat wouldn't get cooked, and I didn't want to eat raw food when there was a risk of getting bacteria or parasites.

The only reason I was able to do this method of cooking was because of the number of animals I hunted on a daily basis back then, which was a lot. But now that I worked as a merchant and had to travel most of the day, I didn't have time to hunt for food.

“Fine, I'll guess I have to endure with this hard stuff until I get back to civilization,” I grumbled. I wonder if they'll let me in if they knew I talked to stuffed bears?

I glanced behind me where a long object bundled in cloth lay peacefully. Hundreds of magic circles were stitched on its surface, glowing a radiant yellow light. “Hi, Mom. I'm sorry if the ride on the wagon is a bit bumpy, but I promise I'll find a suitable place to bury you soon.”

Inside the bundle of cloth was Mom's body. For two months, I had been preserving her through the magic circles stitched on the cloth that wrapped around her. It was the third-circle Life spell Preservation, which prevented Mom's body from decomposing. As long as I supplied sufficient mana on the hundreds of Preservation spells, Mom's body would remain the same as her state the moment she died.

Honestly, a part of me was telling me that what I was doing was twisted. Carrying around the corpse of your dead mother in a wagon while traveling through the land? Yeah, it sounded wrong when I put it that way.

But on the other hand, I couldn't just bury Mom in the forest. I wanted to bury her where she wouldn't be disturbed by scavengers digging her body up for food, or where grave robbers wouldn't desecrate her grave to see if she had any treasure on her body.

I wanted to bury her in a place where I could always visit her, talk to her about my life and the things I achieve, the mistakes I make, the memories I experience. I wanted to bury Mom where I could share with her how I was growing up now that she wasn't there to see me.

Finding a rightful place to bury Mom also gave me a purpose. The reason I was using to keep on living was that that's what Mom would have wanted for me. She wouldn't want me to kill myself out of grief, nor would she want me to live a life of stagnation. I chose to continue living a painful life because that's what Mom would have wanted.

But on most days, that reason wasn't enough. From time to time, my mind would wander to thoughts of whether continuing to live a life of suffering was still worth it, and that's where my goal to find the proper place to bury Mom came in. By having a goal, I had a purpose to keep on living, because just like what I realized throughout my second life, living was all about having a purpose.

If I look at life from the perspective of solely considering the end, then life is pointless. No matter what I do or what I experience, all of it would be rendered null by my death.

But if I had a purpose, like say, honoring Mom's memory and burying her in a very special place, then even if I died in the future, I'd die knowing that I fulfilled my purpose. Looking back on it now, life is only pointless if I don't give a meaning to living it.

If I went back in time, back to my old dingy apartment with a helium tank beside me and a bag over my head as I tried to gather the resolve to twist the valve, I would have considered the thought of giving myself a purpose. Granted, there was still a high chance that I'd kill myself, but then I'd have a choice of whether I would go out as a miserable man or die a satisfied death, knowing that my life wasn't pointless in the grand scheme of things.

“Even after you're gone, you're still helping me in all sorts of ways, huh?” I said to Mom with a sad smile. I never would have thought that I'd be able to look at life from another perspective, but that's because I underestimated Mom's influence on me.

“Well, I think it's time for us to go,” I said as I stood up. I sent Mom, Tedd, and Cuddles back to the wagon while summoning Mr. Marion over to me. I entered his body through the hole and when my head was snug inside Mr. Marion's hollow noggin with my body curled up in his torso, I closed the hole at his back.

“Alright, back to our peaceful and boring travel to the nearest city!” I exclaimed, assuming Mr. Marion's persona. “I don't know where the hell we are, but I'm sure we're close!”

I fetched the horses, attached them to the harness, and resumed my monotonous journey.

●●●

“Finally!” I exclaimed in my seat as the sun began to set behind me. After two days of traveling, the sight of a walled city in the distance greeted me. “If I had to spend another day traveling with nothing but hard bread for food, I swear I would have gone back to live in a forest.”

As my two horses, who I named Clip and Clop, pulled my wagon nearer and nearer to civilization, the wild plains around me slowly turned to barren farmland and more roads joined with the one I was traveling on. After a few more minutes, I encountered more people on the same road as I was. I made sure to keep my mana properly concealed so that I only emitted a normal person's worth of mana.

I greeted the people I encountered cheerfully, asking them how their day was going and telling corny jokes here and there. All of them just gave me suspicious stares and glares, but I didn't mind. Although I tended to be an introvert in most conversations with strangers, knowing that I was wearing a mask and assuming a persona helped me gain confidence that I didn't have. Maybe because I knew I could just abandon my disguise if I ever get humiliated or if the image of my fake identity ever gets tarnished.

I finally arrived at the large paved road that would lead directly to the gates, and being this near to the city, I looked up in awe at the towering walls that surrounded it. It must've been at least fifteen meters tall from the base up to the parapet. I don't ever want to see what kind of monster would require that tall of a wall to fend off.

As I neared the gate, I saw a long line of people waiting to gain entry into the city. A quick glance at the gate showed me two guards in metal armor inspecting and interviewing every person that wanted to enter, with some people showing some identification papers to speed up the process. Damn, what do I do when they ask me who I am?

I guided my horses to the back of the line while contemplating my choices. Fuck it, I'm just gonna introduce myself as the Great and Magnificent Clothes Master Mr. Marion. If I'm going to keep up my cheerful and bubbly merchant persona while traveling on the road, I might as well use it when I stop in towns and cities.

“Hello there, fellow travelers! How are your days going?” I greeted the group of three people in front of me. There was a burly man wearing heavy-looking armor with a large sword strapped to his back, a lithe and handsome young man dressed in leather armor with a bow hanging behind him, and a beautiful woman wearing a blue robe with a long staff held in one of her hands. Woah, are they adventurers? I only heard of them before, but this was the first time I'd ever seen them.

They all turned to look at me with varying expressions on their faces. The large man looked at me with a neutral but calculating expression, the lithe young man sneered at me, and the woman gave me an amused smile.

“It was going great until you showed up with your weird mask,” the young man told me rudely. “Mind your own business, weirdo.”

“Mathias!” the woman scolded. “Sorry for my companion's behavior, he always behaves with no manners with strangers.”

“No worries there, my fair lady,” I replied with a happy tone. “If dear Mathias here doesn't want to be disturbed, then we can always exclude him from the conversation.”

The young man glared daggers at me. That's when I noticed his ears that poked out of his long blond hair tapered to a point. Wait, are those ears pointed? He's an elf?! That's so cool!

I think I only saw an elf once, back when I was still a baby, but that was the only time I saw a member of the long-eared race. Maybe they're seclusive?

Good thing my face was hidden behind a mask and an artificial face, or else they would have seen my ridiculous expression.

The woman laughed loudly at my words. “A fine point. My name is Zanna by the way, and the big guy behind me is Baxter.”

The large man nodded in my direction but remained silent.

“Nice to meet you, Zanna, Baxter. As for me, I am Mr. Marion, the Great and Magnificent Clothes Master! A pleasure to be of service,” I replied while standing up and doing an exaggerated bow, catching the attention of other people in line. I may look ridiculous right now, but being attention-catching is the name of the game when it comes to business.

Although I was doing the Mr. Marion persona because I was enjoying being an overdramatic jackass, it was also to attract the attention of potential customers. They may think of me as an eccentric man, but they'll come to know me as a seller of clothes, and hopefully I could get some sales from my fame.

Mathias snickered at me while Zanna covered her mouth while giggling. “Are you always this dramatic, Mr. Marion?”

“People call me dramatic, but I think of myself simply as an expressive person,” I replied. “By the by, may I interest you all in some high-quality apparel? I assure you, I sell only the best.”

“Psh, every third-rate merchant says that,” Mathias muttered. “What makes you different, smartass?”

“Well, other merchants don't wear a fine mask like mine, do they?” I quipped. “And take a look at my perfectly-made attire, good sir. It is already a testament to the quality of clothes I can offer. Don't you agree?”

I showcased my long winter coat to my three potential customers by doing a pose. My coat was made with two layers of fabric: an exterior made of cotton to give it a smooth appearance, and a layer of wool beneath it to trap warmth. The collar was lined with the black fur of a dire wolf, lending more warmth to the wearer as well as providing a more fashionable look.

Mathias take a good long look at my clothes and grumbled a reply. “I guess it does look good.”

“Thank you for the compliment, sir,” I replied sincerely. No sense in trying to alienate a potential customer.

“Do you have any nice robes for women my size?” Zanna asked excitedly.

“I do have a supply of long robes like yours, madam, but may I ask what kind of style or design you like?”

“If you have them, I want one made of thick wool with simple but elegant designs, and another made of a lighter material with a more formal look. Oh, and make them blue!”

“I have just what you need,” I replied confidently. “Give me a minute to find it.”

I entered my wagon through the door installed beside the driver seat and quickly made sure that nobody could see the interior of the carriage. The two counters on the left and right side of the large wagon were pulled up, acting as shutters, and a large tarp also covered the entire wagon while I was traveling, making sure that nobody could peek through any gaps.

Confident that nobody was looking, I started creating the robes that Zanna requested. With my third Awakening, creating clothes now only took me half a minute to create, as long as I had a clear image of what I wanted to create and sufficient material. Awakenings would have been pretty cool if they didn't always happen in traumatic situations.

The inside of the wagon was dark, but I needed only my fabric sense to create the robes. Doing them simultaneously, I created two robes with the same shade of blue as the one Zanna was wearing outside.

The first one was made of thick wool that was perfect for the winter season, with simple patterns stitched on the cuffs and hem and lots and lots of inner pockets. I put many pockets since I thought it would be useful for an adventurer like Zanna.

The second one was made of very soft cotton and came with a hood. There was a cloth belt at the waist with intricate designs and the long sleeves had moderately wide openings. I assumed Zanna wanted this robe for formal occasions, so I added a bit of fancy-looking designs stitched with dire wolf's fur without making it look too tacky.

I made both of them with double layers of fabric to give them more durability.

After finishing, I spent a moment assessing my creations and with a satisfied nod, grabbed them from the air and returned to the front of the wagon.

“I'm back! Here are the robes, Miss Zanna, and if I dare to say it, I think it's a perfect match with what you wanted,” I said confidently. My cocky attitude wasn't even an act. When it came to matters of clothing and fashion, I knew I was good at it.

Zanna's eyes widened in awe and quickly took it from my outstretched hands. “These are beautiful! You weren't kidding when you said it's exactly what I wanted! How much are they?”

“The woolen robe costs five silvers while the one made of cotton costs ten,” I replied. The second one was significantly more expensive since I used monster material on it. Even if it only came from a relatively weak monster like a dire wolf, it was still expensive because of its durability.

“That's quite cheap, but I'm not complaining!” Zanna replied as she paid me.

That's cheap?! Being a Platinum-ranked adventurer must be very lucrative if fifteen silvers were cheap for her.

“So, is there anything special with these robes? Why's this one more expensive than the other?”

“The first one is made of the softest wool you can find and is sure to keep you warm in the cold weather. The second one is made of cotton with designs stitched in dire wolf's fur, which is why it's more expensive. Not only that, those robes are tougher than the normal ones you can find in other stores,” I added. “They are resistant to abrasion and can even withstand stabs from knives!”

The three adventurers in front of me suddenly gave me suspicious stares.

“Knife stabs? Really?” Mathias snorted. Even Zanna and Baxter seemed doubtful of my claim.

“Why don't you see it for yourself?” I challenged. Seeing other people doubt the ability of my clothing somehow annoyed me. Probably one of my Authority's quirks.

With a blur of movement, Mathias drew a small knife from his belt and slashed at the woolen robe Zanna was holding, startling her. Holy shit, he's fast. Are they actually one of the more powerful adventurers?

“Mathias!” Zanna exclaimed. “What have you done to my… robes? They're fine?!”

Even Mathias the Asshole had a look of bewilderment on his face as he realized that his knife attack did no damage to the robe.

“I am but an expert tailor and clothes merchant proud of his work, my friends,” I told them. “There is no need for me to lie when I know that I only make the best of the best!”

I expected them to chuckle or laugh at my smug display, but Zanna only looked at me with awe, Mathias with grudging acceptance, and Baxter with a piercing gaze. Was I too dramatic this time?

“How come I've never heard of you?” Zanna asked me. “If you made clothing like this, then you should have at least some reputation in the kingdom.”

“I come from a secluded village, Miss Zanna. It was only very recently that I decided to roam the land and share my work with other people,” I lied smoothly. For some reason, I had no problem with lying when I was assuming Mr. Marion's persona. Maybe because this whole persona is a lie in the first place?

“Then I guess we're lucky to meet a person who's definitely going to become famous in the future,” Zanna said with a chuckle. “Well, if you ever make a big request at the Adventurer's Guild, you can call on us, the Strikers.”

Was that their party name?

“What a striking name for your party! I don't have any particular request at the moment, but I shall do so when the time comes, Miss Zanna,” I said while inwardly cringing at my pun. It's part of the act, I told myself repeatedly.

For some reason, Zanna laughed uncontrollably, Baxter smiled, and Mathias looked at me with indignation.

“That's all you have to say?!” Mathias exclaimed. “We're one of the few Platinum-rank adventurers in the kingdom! Wait, did you seriously talk to us in the first place not knowing who we are?!”

“Don't expect everybody to know who you are, Mathias,” Zanna said while wiping her eyes as she recovered from her bouts of laughter.

Wait, was I actually talking to famous people? Is that why some of the people in line kept watching us throughout our exchange? If that's the case, then why did nobody approach yet and asked for an autograph or something?

“My apologies if I didn't recognize your party,” I said. “I just did not expect such high-ranking adventurers to also wait in line along with everybody else. Don't you have a special pass for this kind of thing?”

“We normally don't wait in line,” Zanna answered. “But security measures in the southern cities have been recently tightened. There's a new species of monster that managed to kill more than thirty people in a farming town southwest of here.”

“What's weird is that nobody, not even the farmers working in the fields at that time, noticed the monster approach,” Mathias added with a frown. “According to the people, the monster just suddenly appeared inside the town and went on a rampage. That's why every person entering the city is being strictly monitored.”

“That is unfortunate,” I said sincerely. “What's the name of the town where the monster appeared? I hope to avoid that place so I wouldn't risk encountering the foul beast.”

I didn't know what the name of the city in front of me was, or where the hell in the kingdom I was. I can't even remember the direction I took when I escaped Erfeld, so even if Zanna told me it appeared in a town southwest of here, I still wouldn't know where that is. I guess I could tell the cardinal directions based on where the sun rose, but I wasn't even sure if it was the same with Earth where it rose from the east, and even then, there might be a few differences if this planet has a tilt on its axis and whatnot.

“The unidentified monster appeared in a town called Erfeld. According to witnesses, it looked like a large spider with tentacles growing out of its back and can move faster than a galloping horse. I advise you to avoid going near that area if you want to avoid the monster, Mr. Marion. We were actually commissioned by the King himself to track down and hunt the monster.”

Zanna's words froze me in place for a few seconds, my mind churning at the various implications of the information I just heard. Thankfully, my mask hid any signs of restlessness on my face since Zanna didn't seem to notice anything weird about my silence.

“This ‘monster’ you speak of must be quite powerful to require a full team of Platinum adventurers to deal with it,” I responded. I didn't know how high of a rank being a Platinum adventurer was, but judging from the cocky elf-boy's indignant attitude when I didn't recognize their party name earlier, I bet it was pretty high up in the ladder.

“I'm sure we're not needed that badly, we're just here to babysit the lower-ranking adventurers in case they trip and fall,” Mathias replied cockily. Zanna slapped him behind the head in admonishment.

“Although Mathias is being an asshat about it, it's true that we're just here as a contingency in case the monster turns out to be stronger than what the reports might indicate,” Zanna said. “Judging from the reports, I'd say the unknown monster is a B-rank threat, but we're here just in case it turns out to be an A-rank.”

After listening to their words, my mind tried to process the fact that they were looking for a ‘monster,’ not a person. I always assumed that the people searching for me knew I was an Ascendant, but hearing this information from Platinum-rank adventurers themselves, didn't that mean I was safe?

If the kingdom was looking for a ‘spider-like monster with tentacles growing out of its back,’ then that meant they won't be looking for a person, practically reducing the chances of me being put on suspicion almost to zero. Have I been stressing about my situation all this time when nobody was actually looking for a twelve-year-old boy with an Authority?

With the relief that I was now safe from active persecution, I happily chatted with the Platinum adventurers in front of me, most of my worries over the past two months vanishing in the wind.

Throughout the conversation, I realized that Mathias turned out to be a decent guy if one ignored his cocky and rude behavior. I later learned from Zanna that Mathias was pretty young for an elf, basically making him an adolescent despite being several decades old already.

Baxter remained silent throughout our conversation, but he did nod in some parts and smiled at others. I was willing to bet that Baxter is actually a pretty wise man who just prefers to stay quiet, opting to observe the surroundings around him.

But despite my good read on the two men's personalities, the one I had issues with was Zanna. For some reason, her behavior felt like an act. She was all cheerful and laid back, but I noticed from time to time the depth in her gaze every time she looked at me, as if she was trying to look into my soul. I don't know if it's just me, but this lady's terrifying.

I was so engrossed in our conversation that I didn't even realize that we already reached the front of the line. When it was the Strikers' turn to be inspected by the guards, the adventurers showed a small rectangular plate of silvery-white metal while Zanna showed them a document she retrieved from the bag hanging on her shoulder.

“Is this good enough identification for you?” Mathias asked with an annoyed tone as the armored guard checked his metal plate.

“I'm sorry, sir, but orders are orders,” the guard said sheepishly. He must have realized that the adventurers were Platinum-ranked that didn't even need to line up for an inspection.

“No need to apologize, sir. You're just doing your job,” Zanna said as she glared at Mathias.

After confirming their identifications, the Strikers moved forward and I was next. Upon seeing my mask, the guards immediately shot me suspicious looks. Yep, I knew it wasn't going to be easy.

“A pleasant day to both of you, gentlemen,” I greeted cheerfully.

“Do you have any proof of identification?” the guard on the left asked, a gruff-looking man that could probably kill with his look.

“Well, you see, I come from a backwater town where identification papers aren't really needed…” I began, but the guard just gave me an annoyed look.

“I just need a yes or no.”

“No, I don't have one.”

“Then please take off your mask and open your wagon. We're going to inspect it for any illegal goods and contraband.”

The Strikers, who turned out to have stopped near the gate, watched me with curiosity. I guess anyone would be curious about the face underneath a mask like mine, but that didn't mean it was okay with me. Even if I managed to mimic a really convincing face, there were still obvious signs that it was fake. For instance, my face did not have even a single acne, wrinkle, or blemish, and if they looked too closely, they'd realize my skin and hair were made of fabric. I just hope they don't notice.

Without much fanfare, I removed my comedy mask, and what they saw was the average face of a young man with black hair and black eyes. Mr. Marion's face was a pretty forgettable one with no outstanding features, except for the extremely flawless tan skin.

The next few seconds were tense as the guard scrutinized my face, then he grunted. “You don't seem to look like any of the criminals in the wanted posters, so I guess you're good. I'd suggest keeping the mask off though, makes you more suspicious than you'd normally look.”

“I'll take that into consideration,” I replied, not like I had any intention to do so. I liked my mask. It gives me a weird kind of reassurance when people couldn't see my face directly. And it looks cool.

The second guard exited my wagon and gave a nod to his partner.

“Looks like everything in the wagon is fine. Do you have a merchant's license?” the first guard asked.

“No, we didn't use licenses back in my village,” I answered vaguely. “Am I not allowed to enter the city with my goods without a license?”

“You're allowed to enter with your goods, but you're not allowed to sell any of it until you get a license from the Merchant's Guild,” the guard replied. “But before you could get a merchant's license, you'll need some proof of identification, so when you enter the city, I suggest you go first to the Guard Station to get a clearance certificate.”

“Thank you for the advice, kind sir,” I replied sincerely. I thought the gruff-looking guard would act like a jerk, but it turns out he's a very nice guy.

With everything good to go, I thanked the guards for their hard work and urged Clip and Clop forward. I met back up with the Strikers, who for some reason waited for me by the large city gates.

“Took you long enough,” Mathias complained, but I could tell he wasn't really serious about it.

“I'm glad I got the opportunity to have a glimpse underneath your mysterious mask, Mr. Marion,” Zanna said with a smirk. “I didn't know you were so young.”

“Then you better not forget it, because that will be the first and last time you'll ever see the face of the mystery that is Mr. Marion!” I exclaimed dramatically, much to Zanna's amusement and Mathias' annoyance. Baxter simply smiled at me.

I didn't know their reasons for waiting for me, but I was inwardly glad. Even if I've only known them for less than an hour, I already considered them close acquaintances, maybe even friends. I normally reserve the term ‘friends’ for people I really like, but the past two months had been extremely lonely, and I couldn't help but crave for someone to talk to. I miss my friends in Erfeld.

Together with the Strikers, we entered through the city's large gates.

●●●

The first thing I did when I entered the city was to get a clearance certificate from the Guard Station so that I had some proof of identification while I did my business in the city.

The process turned out to be simple and only took less than ten minutes. The guard at the front table just asked me for my details and made me place my hand on top of a metal plate device with magic runes etched on it, which turned out to be some kind of Mana Analyzer. The device scanned my hand and the guard went to the back of the building.

When he returned, he handed me the clearance certificate where all the details I provided were printed. Aside from the fake personal details I provided, there was also an image of weird squiggly lines, almost like a messy illustration of an electromagnetic wave with unusual loops and curves. The label to the side told me it was my mana signature. So almost like a DNA sequence, huh?

No wonder they didn't bother verifying whether my details were true since they could just scan my mana signature easily and check their records if I committed any crimes.

But what amazed, or rather, confused me, was the level of technology in this world. They had devices capable of measuring energy signatures and magic printers, yet they still travel in horse-drawn wagons and use swords and shields for weapons. If they had the tools necessary to make advanced devices like those Mana Analyzers, why not employ them on all their stuff?

I filed that question away and met back up with the Strikers, who patiently (except for Mathias) waited for me to finish my business. With the sun already setting, I decided to postpone my visit to the Merchant's Guild, wherever that was, and my search for a wagon repair shop.

Zanna told me they'll be visiting the Adventurer's Guild first before finding an inn to stay in for the duration of their stay. Since I was also intending to find a good inn, I decided to tag along with the Strikers. Definitely not because I wanted to see what an Adventurer's Guild in a fantasy world looks like. Nope, not at all.

The journey through the city was both impressive and disappointing. Almost all of the buildings I saw were impressively made of stone, maybe even concrete, and the roads were paved, reducing the shaking and jostling of my wagon, much to my satisfaction. Even if my entire body was comfortably cushioned in a cocoon of soft fabric, the shaking still annoyed me.

But as we traveled through the city streets, I can't help but notice the gloomy atmosphere that blanketed the entire place. There were no children playing in the streets, I couldn't hear any noises of merrymaking, and most of the people I saw walking in the streets were guards clanking around in their armor as they patrolled the city. I even saw other groups of armed men in different styles of arms and armor that were being looked at negatively by the city guards.

“Miss Zanna, why does everybody look so grumpy around here?” I asked Zanna in a tone lower than my usual. “I expected a lot more chaos and noise in a city housing thousands of people. My village was far livelier than this ghost town.”

“That's because it's almost dark and most stores and businesses are already closed,” Zanna replied, although her face looked like there was something more to the situation.

“You forgot to mention the part where there's a war coming and the army is present in the city,” Mathias added with a sarcastic tone. “Most of the people here are nervous. Although the army isn't conscripting right now, they know the press gangs will come soon when the war begins.”

I never realized that fact. Back in Erfeld, although it was common knowledge, nobody really mentioned the upcoming war and instead focused on tending to their farms and businesses. I guess the threat of war is a lesser priority when your cow is giving birth or when pests are eating your main source of income.

After a few minutes of travel, we finally arrived at the Adventurer's Guild. It was an extremely large stone building with a huge space out in front where wagons and carriages were parked. The building was painted a light brown color and aesthetic designs were etched into the stone. A large sign that said ‘Adventurer's Guild’ hung above the front doors along with the image of a sword and torch crossed together.

“We're just going to inform the Guild Master of our presence here in Vont, Mr. Marion. If you want, you can wait for us out here, I promise we'll be quick,” Zanna said.

“I-I want to come too,” I said with a stutter, accidentally breaking character, but I didn't pay it any mind. There's no way in hell I'm going to pass up the chance to see a real-life Adventurer's Guild!

Zanna chuckled at my behavior while Baxter simply smiled.

“Country bumpkin…” Mathias muttered, but I didn't pay him any heed.

After properly tying down Clip and Clop to one of the posts jutting out from the ground for that very purpose, I walked alongside the Strikers to the entrance of the building.

When we entered the large building, the first sight that greeted us was the long counter in front of us divided into several booths, with a receptionist manning each one. When I looked up, the ceiling must have stretched about five meters above my head where large mana-powered chandeliers illuminated the entire interior with a warm yellow light. Powering those with mana crystals must be pretty expensive.

When I looked around me, my jaw dropped. It turns out the entrance we just entered from was located in the middle portion of an extremely large hall. The hall extended to my left and right, where the large space was occupied by dozens of tables and the walls were lined with bars and stools.

Adventurers with all sorts of bizarre-looking armor and equipment occupied the tables as they ate and chattered with their party members. If my long black coat and comedy mask was a weird fashion sense outside, here, it was the norm. Heck, compared to the other people here, I felt underdressed.

When the heavy double doors shut behind me with a loud sound, the chattering noise in the enormous hall slowly quietened when the adventurers saw the adventurer party that entered.

“It's the Strikers…”

“That guy clad in armor is huge. That must be Baxter the Bully.”

“The stories about them don't do Zanna's beauty any justice.”

“They really do have an elf in their party…”

Susurrations began spreading throughout the hall as the adventurers whispered their thoughts and opinions to each other. I thought it was pretty awkward since most of the whispers were audible to our location, but Zanna and the others didn't seem to mind. They're probably used to it already.

“Who's that guy in the mask? I haven't seen him before.”

“Probably another refugee or monster attack victim that the Strikers decided to help.”

Hey, who are you calling a refugee?! No refugee can afford a fabulous coat like mine!

Acting as if hundreds of eyes weren't watching their every move, the Strikers walked over to the reception counter with me following behind them. I was bitter about being called a refugee, but my feelings were overwhelmed by my self-consciousness as I could feel dozens of gazes on my back.

After what felt like forever, we finally arrived at one of the vacant booths at the reception counter where a man was waiting expectantly for us.

“Good evening, welcome to the Adventurer's Guild,” the man greeted with a polite and practiced tone. “How may I be of service?”

“We're here under the request of His Majesty, King Odis Edrana,” Zanna replied. “We've been tasked with the supervision of the search-and-destroy mission for a new species of monster last seen in a town called Erfeld. Is the Guild Master already aware?”

“Yes ma'am, Guild Master Falck has been waiting for your party's arrival. He's ready to meet with you right now if you wish.”

It was pretty weird listening to a conversation where they were discussing a mission to search for and destroy me, and the fact that the Strikers were personally hired by the King made me tremble a bit. I could only wonder how far the King would go to exterminate an unknown monster in his territory.

A part of my mind was starting to regret ever befriending a team of professional monster-hunters, one of the best ones at that, whose mission was to kill an unknown spider monster, a.k.a. me. Next time, I'll try to reign in my impulses caused by my loneliness.

“Then let's go,” Zanna said eagerly, then turned to me. “Sorry, Mr. Marion, but you'll have to wait here in the meantime. You can speak with any of the receptionists here if you want to know more about how the Guild operates. I promise we'll be quick.”

“It's quite alright, Miss Zanna, I don't mind waiting here at all,” I replied.

“Good luck,” Mathias said with a snicker, much to my confusion. Good luck with what?

With that, the male receptionist guided the Strikers to a door beside the reception counter, where I saw a set of stairs going up.

With nothing else to do but to wait, I began turning towards another receptionist to start asking for information about some things when I felt a tap on my shoulder. When I turned around, the ugly mug of a grinning adventurer greeted me. He was donned in full leather armor and his belt was filled with wicked-looking knives that looked like they were heavily used. He had a face only a mother could love, filled with all sorts of scars he probably acquired from battles.

“Well, well, well, who do we have here?” the roguish man said with a playful tone (I'm gonna start calling him Scarface). I spotted several other men grinning at me from the sides.

Wait, is this one of those tropes I always read in fantasy novels where the veteran adventurers ‘welcome’ the newbie with a hazing? Holy shit, it's really happening! This is amazing!

Although I should probably worry about my own safety, I couldn't help but feel a childish glee at witnessing something I always read about in fantasy novels. I bet this is the part where I tell him who I am and he decides to ‘teach me how things work around here.’

“Good evening to you, good sir,” I greeted with as much politeness I could muster. “The name's Mr. Marion, Clothes Master and Aficionado, at your service.”

“Hoho! Looks like we've got ourselves a polite young man, lads!” Scarface said with a mocking face, which prompted laughter from the other men standing by the sides. “Well, since you're new around here, let me teach you how things work around here.”

I knew it! I almost burst out laughing at how easy it was to predict Scarface's behavior. It's like he's a template of the common thug that usually hangs out in the Adventurer's Guild of every fantasy novel out there!

Although I was struggling to hold in my laughter, I was already preparing myself for a brawl. Although I preferred to resolve the conflict through a peaceful discussion, that didn't mean I wouldn't fight back. Even if fighting back meant I'd have to suffer some major inconveniences like holding back from revealing my Authority, I'm not about to let myself get beaten by a common thug.

But then Scarface utterly destroyed my misconception by putting his arm around my shoulder and turning to every adventurer in the large hall. “The way things work around here, is that we welcome new people like you with open arms!”

Following Scarface's shout, the rest of the adventurers in the hall cheered, with some raising their mugs of beer in my direction while others clapped. Wait, what the fuck's happening?

“Welcome to the Adventurer's Guild, brother!” Scarface said to me while patting my shoulder. For some reason, I was now his brother. “Every member that joins us makes us stronger! Remember, brother, the Adventurer's Guild is a family. Now that you are one of us, you're welcome to come here and hang out with us anytime! You haven't done your registration yet, yes? Then come, come, Sarra can handle your registration.”

“Wait, I'm not—”

I tried to tell Scarface that I didn't intend to join the Adventurer's Guild, but he ignored me and pulled me over to one of the vacant booths, where a young auburn-haired woman greeted me with a radiant smile. “Hi! Are you here to register as an adventurer?”

“No, I don't—”

“Do you even need to ask him that, Sarra?” Scarface interrupted. “He came with the Strikers! Of course he's going to register as an adventurer!”

You fucking bastard, let me talk!

I dearly wanted to strangle Scarface by the throat right now, but unfortunately, there were too many witnesses. I'll wait for you later in some dark alley, Scarface.

Without asking me for a second opinion, Sarra the receptionist placed a registration form in front of me and gave me a small thin cylinder of metal, which turned out to be a pen when I pulled the cap at one end. Could I still tell them that I didn't want to be an adventurer?

I looked around me and saw that the other adventurers were already celebrating my ‘joining the family,’ but I bet they'd take any reason to celebrate just to give themselves an excuse to get drunk. Did Mathias know this was going to happen?

After contemplating my life choices for the past hour, I decided to give up and accept my fate. Fuck you, Scarface…

Before I made my decision, I analyzed the implications it would bring to my life from now on. Although the registration would make a physical record of my existence that would probably be a risk for my safety, traveling around the kingdom without any sort of record or identification would mark me as an extremely suspicious individual, which would probably be more dangerous in the long run.

I intended to register only with the Merchant's Guild to keep the number of my records in the kingdom to a minimum, but I guess registering with two guilds was still acceptable. And I already gave away my mana signature to the Guard Station anyway, so there was no use trying to delay.

With my decision final, I filled in the registration form. It asked for a lot of personal details, but of course, I only wrote Mr. Marion's details, not mine.

Name? Mr. Marion. Wait, or is it only ‘Marion’? I think including ‘Mr.’ sounds better, so I'll include it. Sex? Male. Race? Human. Battle experience? A ‘little.’ Proof of Identification? Clearance certificate issued by the Guard Station. Solo or seeking to join a party? I'm gonna have to go solo to keep my secrets. And the final question: Are you a mage or an augmenter? No—

Before I could tick the box for ‘no,’ Scarface shoved his face beside mine and peeked at my registration form. “What's taking so long, brother? Ah, I see you're on the final question already. Just tick the box for mage and let's get drinking already! I already placed an order for you at the bar.”

I wanted to shout in his eardrums that I don't drink, but I stopped myself. “I'm afraid you're mistaken, Sca— sir, but I'm no mage.”

“Hah, you can't fool us into thinking you're still an apprentice, brother, every mage with a decent mana sense in the hall can notice the complex weave of mana throughout your entire body. Only a master of magic can make mana move like that!” Scarface exclaimed. “No wonder Zanna took notice of you!”

I felt the blood drain from my face as I instinctively prepared myself to fight my way through an army of adventurers to escape the city. The lumps of compressed fabric hidden all over my body writhed as I unconsciously readied them to turn into threadtacles at a moment's notice.

I saw several people in the crowd of celebrating adventurers jerk their heads toward me in alarm, probably the mages. I immediately tried to calm myself and suppress my Authority. Although it didn't show much in my behavior, weeks of living in a forest with packs of dire wolves roaming around made me extremely jumpy from possible threats, and learning that everybody in the hall knew I was capable of magic the moment I entered the room despite my intention to hide it was a big fucking threat.

I forcefully calmed my writhing thread suit and faced Scarface. I was about to ask him what he meant by ‘Zanna taking notice of me,’ but Sarra, who left earlier to do god-knows-what, rushed back to her booth with a panicked expression and shouted at Scarface. “Edwin! How many times do I have to tell you peeking at other's registration forms is illegal?!”

“I-I was just checking up on Mr. Marion!” Scarface stuttered.

“I deeply apologize for any offense committed, sir,” Sarra said to me nervously.

I peeked at the crowd of adventurers still celebrating and noticed that most of them were surreptitiously watching us. I spotted some of the mages with tense looks on their faces, and when I activated my mana sense, I could tell they were preparing to cast magic the moment something went wrong.

“No, no, it's quite alright, Miss Sarra,” I said with as much nonchalance as I could. “I'm sure my friend Edwin was just eager to celebrate my initiation into the Guild.”

“Y-Yeah, that's right!” Scarface said enthusiastically, oblivious of the fact that the celebration almost turned into a bloodbath.

I finished filling up my registration form, ticking the box for ‘mage,’ then submitted it to the nervous Sarra, who quickly filed it away and placed a Mana Analyzer in front of me, similar to the one in the Guard Station.

“If you'll just place your hand here,” Sarra directed.

After confirming that my mana signature was the same as the one in the clearance certificate I gave her, Sarra proceeded to lecture me on the Guild's rules and regulations, but my mind didn't register a single word she said as I finally realized how I stupidly revealed myself as a mage.

Although I made my body emit a normal amount of mana, the fact that I was using my Authority to control my thread suit skipped my mind, which was a pretty stupid mistake on my part. My Authority required mana to use, and that meant the fabric I was controlling also had mana flowing through them. With my mana following the pattern of the fabrics, no wonder they thought I was capable of ‘weaving’ mana into complex patterns when in reality, I was just pumping mana into the fabrics every time I wanted to control them and the complex shape it took was just a side-effect of the mana following the thread's weave.

But the main reason why I didn't notice my blunder was the lack of heat I was feeling as I used my Authority. Given my extremely efficient mana usage due to constant training day in and day out for the past six years, I no longer had any mana waste every time I used my Authority as long as the amount I used was below a certain threshold. Unless I was doing vigorous activity, the mana required to operate my thread suit was relatively small (keyword: relatively), making my mana efficiency almost a hundred percent.

And that lack of heat made me miss the fact that a considerable amount of mana was still exiting my body in order to keep my thread suit functioning. I could have noticed it if I had been using my mana sense, but I haven't found any use for it while living in the woods by myself except for magic training, so I kept it inactive since it took up a part of my concentration meant for using my Authority. As a result, I already revealed to the world that I was a mage because of a pretty stupid oversight on my part. If I get hunted as a rogue mage for this stupid mistake, I swear I'll surrender my own stupid ass to the authorities.

Sarra excused herself for a moment and entered a door behind the counter that probably led to the Guild's offices and other administrative facilities. After a few minutes of waiting and listening to Edwin Scarface babble nonstop, Sarra returned while carrying a small metal plate similar to the ones the Strikers had.

“Thank you for waiting! You are now a certified member of the Adventurer's Guild, Mr. Marion, and this metal plate will serve as your Guild card,” Sarra said as she handed me the metal plate about the size of Earth's credit cards. Some of my personal details were embossed on the metal plate, along with an additional one that showed ‘Rank: Bronze.’

Ignoring my earlier tension from learning that I've been exposing myself as a mage all this time, I was feeling excited about my new Guild card. I'm now a real adventurer!

“We apologize if your adventurer rank doesn't match your abilities, Mr. Marion, but Guild regulations require all new members to start with the lowest rank,” Sarra said nervously. Is she nervous because she thought I was going to lash out and complain?

“No, it's quite alright, Miss Sarra,” I said in a soothing voice. I already regained my composure after panicking a while ago and became aware of my surroundings once more.

Activating my mana sense, I detected the mages in the hall finally calm down after detecting my earlier panic. I could tell because the fluctuations in their mana matched their emotions, and I could see that their mana was back to behaving jovially now that they were focused on celebrating again. Wait, that also means that my mana was probably behaving violently earlier when I was panicking, which was why the mages in the hall managed to sense my inner turmoil.

I resolved to find a way to conceal the mana flowing through the fabrics I was controlling, but I gave that goal a low priority. For now, my mind was busy thinking of the possible reasons why Zanna, who I'm sure was a powerful mage, didn't apprehend me as a rogue mage when we met at the city gates.

Zanna knew I had no form of identification, and I had accidentally revealed little details during our conversations that I was not from around here, solidifying the fact that I had never registered myself as a mage with the Mage's Guild. That was enough information to let her know that I was a rogue mage, yet she didn't try to apprehend me. Was her behavior and that of her party an act all along to lure me here?

They even waited for me as I got my clearance certificate from the Guard Station, which I thought they did since they viewed me as a friend. Did they do that to see if I was a rogue mage with a criminal background?

I grimaced as I realized that I was being led by the nose all this time. I felt my mood plummet as the people I thought were my new friends turned out to be possible enemies. I knew my mana was reflecting my emotions right now, which explained why some of the mages were looking at me with confusion, but I didn't care. I was busy wondering whether hunters from the Mage's Guild would suddenly burst through the door and apprehend me as a rogue mage.

“Come, brother, I already ordered you a drink at the bar!” Edwin Scarface said as he pulled my arm. “I want to drink already, and I also want to see the face behind that mask!”

I followed him to the bar where the bartender smiled at me and handed me a large tankard of beer. I felt a lot of people stare at me as I brought the tankard to my face, thinking that I'd remove my mask to drink, but instead, I disguised my Authority as magic and retracted only the part of the mask covering my mouth and ‘drank’ the beer. I saw most of the adventurers around me, including Scarface, express disappointment. Hah, I may be an idiot who unknowingly reveals he's a mage, but I'm not repeating that mistake.

As for the beer, I manipulated some of the spare wool I had hidden in my thread suit to move towards Mr. Marion's mouth, where it absorbed the alcoholic drink. When I put the tankard back down again, I moved the beer-soaked pieces of absorbent wool inside Mr. Marion's foot so they wouldn't drip all over me. From now on, I'm not accepting any invitations to drink as Mr. Marion…

I chatted and mingled with the adventurers as I waited for the Strikers to finish their business. Although I was nervous about what might happen, I couldn't deny that I enjoyed talking to people again after so long. Turns out Edwin Scarface wasn't so bad as a companion, after all.

The only thing that ruined the fun was the beer soaking through my thread suit's foot.

●●●

“It's a pleasure to meet you, Guild Master Falck. Thank you very much for the warm welcome,” Zanna said with a smile as she shook hands with the tall man in front of her.

“The pleasure is all mine, Miss Gresser,” Falck replied. “It's an honor to be able to meet the legendary Strikers in the flesh!”

As the leader of the party, Zanna was the one handling the discussion with the Guild Master. Baxter was silently listening to them as he sat still on the couch while Mathias roamed around the Guild Master's office, poking around the furniture and displays with a bored expression.

“How was your travel from the capital, Miss Gresser?” Falck asked. “Peaceful, I hope?”

“Please, call me Zanna,” Zanna replied with a smile. “It's been mostly uneventful, except for a few run-ins with monsters. Lucky for us, they only consisted of dire wolves and charger boars.”

“It's a regrettable fact that the monster population isn't being maintained properly,” Falck said with a grimace. “With most of the kingdom's army up north, settlements here in the south have been suffering monster attacks nonstop.”

“Is this related to our mission to find and eradicate the new type of spider monster?” Zanna asked with a raised eyebrow.

“It's not only related to your mission, but your presence here in the south as well,” Falck said. “The presence of a Platinum adventurer party here in the south is enough to make up for the absence of the army. With your help, the monster populations in infested areas could be reduced back to normal levels.”

Zanna frowned at Falck's words as she immediately understood the situation. When she and her party were given the mission to search and destroy an unknown monster in the south, she already had a hunch that the request wasn't simple.

The Adventurer's Guild usually gave out missions to adventurers according to their ranks. This was done to prevent stronger parties from hogging all the easier missions from the lower-ranked adventurers. A search-and-destroy mission for a B-rank monster, like the unknown spider monster, was supposed to be given to a Gold-ranked party but was given to Zanna's party instead.

“So you mean to say we were sent here as a substitute to do the army's work?” Mathias asked with annoyance. “We came here to hunt a mysterious monster, not to clean up monster-infested areas.”

Zanna gave Mathias a frown but did not stop him. Although she would have worded it more diplomatically, she had the same thoughts as Mathias.

“I agree with my party member, Guild Master,” Zanna said with a neutral tone. “The request we took in the capital was a search-and-destroy mission, and we are under no obligation to help the south by culling the monster population.”

“Then how about I offer you another mission on behalf of all the Guilds in the south?” Falck asked with a cunning glint in his eyes. “The Guild Masters in the neighboring cities and towns have sent me correspondences a week ago that should the Strikers ever accept a request to periodically cull the monster populations here in the south, they'll be happy to give a reward.”

Zanna wanted to strangle the man in front of her. Everybody in the room knew she couldn't reject the mission, especially when all the southern Guild Masters were requesting it. If she rejected it, the Strikers could easily damage or even lose their relations with almost half of the kingdom's Guild Masters.

“Fine, we'll accept the mission,” Zanna said through gritted teeth. “But I want to discuss the payments first.”

Falck looked happy and relieved with Zanna's agreement and proceeded to offer them a very generous deal. Doing this mission isn't so bad after all, Zanna thought as the contract for a periodic monster culling for three months was made in exchange for several thousand gold coins.

“I know the Guild has done you wrong for fooling you into this, Miss Zanna, and for that, I deeply apologize,” Falck said with a sincere expression. “But I and the other Guild Masters in the south have no choice. All adventuring parties in the region have already been mobilized to cull the monster population, but they are not enough. Several villages have already been destroyed by monster rampages and we are desperate.”

Zanna felt guilty for a second. That was the problem with having power. One person can help a lot of people if they had enough power, but not everybody. The Strikers were known for helping people in need, but they couldn't be everywhere at once. Zanna was reluctant to stay too long in the south because she also had responsibilities in the north, namely several orphanages that the Strikers had established, but even if Falck hadn't made a very generous reward, her conscience would have forced her to stay and help the villages being destroyed by the monster rampages. I sometimes wish that I'm a cold and evil villainess instead, Zanna thought wryly.

“It's alright, Guild Master Falck, we understand your plight,” Zanna said. She heard Mathias snort in the background, but he didn't say anything more. He probably agreed with her sentiment anyway. Baxter simply remained silent.

“By the way, we brought in a new recruit for the Guild today,” Zanna said with a mischievous smile, which made Falck sweat nervously. This is revenge, Zanna thought with an evil laugh.

“T-That is wonderful,” Falck said with a stutter. “He or she must be special if the Strikers themselves were the ones that brought them. So, who's this new recruit?”

“Well, when we were waiting in line at the city gates earlier, a rogue mage happened to start up a conversation with us,” Zanna began, but before she could continue, Guild Master Falck covered his face with his hands.

Zanna laughed loudly as Mathias and Baxter grinned behind her.