Anyway, I decided to open the metal briefcase. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I hoped for money. Judging by Ferzan’s reaction, though, that was definitely not the case. It was going to be something a lot cooler!

  I flipped the two toggle locks up and pushed the top half of the case back. Inside, rows of sharp silver, black, and bronze disks lay neatly arranged on thin metal sheets. At the center of each disk was a soft red button.

  They looked just like the one Ferzan had sent at Caren—the same one that exploded on contact. If these were exactly the same weapons he wielded, then I was more than a little excited.

  There were three rows and ten columns, a total of thirty disks. I reached for one, eager to test it out.

  But the moment my finger touched it, it passed through.

  The disk flickered, and suddenly part of it was gone, replaced by a faint light shining onto my fingertip—like a projection.

  What the hell...?

  I tried again. Same result.

  Confused, I waved my hand through all of them in frustration, like swatting at an annoying mosquito. Not a single one was real.

  I turned to Emill. She covered her mouth with one hand, stifling a childish smile. “Do you like it?”

  At that moment, I felt a deep, visceral hatred rise from my gut. I hated that smug bitch with every fiber of my being.

  She made me excited for nothing.

  I slammed the briefcase shut and dropped it to the ground. Ferzan, finally catching on, cringed.

  “…She does that a lot,” he muttered.

  “I see…”

  To say I was disappointed would be an understatement.

  Emill lowered her hand and spoke as if she hadn’t just crushed my excitement. “Sorry, dear, but I don’t like giving rewards for doing what one should. The experience you gained from fighting someone vastly superior to you is a reward.”

  Blah, blah, blah. I wanted her to shut the hell up. But I had a feeling she had a nasty temper, and I didn’t want to deal with that. So instead, I forced out a response.

  “I’m grateful.”

  “As you should be.” She turned to Ferzan. “Fight.”

  Ferzan nodded and stepped forward.

  I barely paid attention to his match—just enough to know it was short and far crueler than mine.

  He collapsed onto one knee, gasping for air, sweat dripping from his forehead. Blood ran down his arm, pooling around his elbow—where bone jutted out through the skin.

  A shiver ran down my spine. I’d seen my fair share of injuries, but that… that was disgusting.

  What unsettled me even more was the lack of reaction from everyone else—except Tarnisha. She bit down on her lip, watching him with pity. But his mother and grandmother? They looked as casual as if they were watching a child kick a ball.

  The slave guy was in a similar state, though instead of exposed bone, strange blue goo oozed from his arm. I wasn’t sure, but I doubted Julioes had rigid bones to begin with.

  He was definitely holding back against me.

  Emill tilted her head. “You’ve improved… I thought no longer having Farel to train you would've set you back.”

  There was something odd about her tone, as if she wasn’t sure whether to be pleased about that.

  Ferzan pushed himself up, his injured arm hanging limp at his side. “Sir Kaen has been doing a good job.”

  Her frown deepened. “Not good enough. If you had come to Yellowbrim, you would've surpassed all expectations…”

  “I doubt that, Granny. Farel’s the best at what he does. Besides, he and Dad will be back soon.”

  “Soon… soon, soon, soon.” She sighed. “Whatever. I’ve seen what I wanted.”

  “You’re leaving already?”

  She nodded, casually cracking her knuckles. “Yes. Your progress has been steady. Ignoring whatever nonsense they’ve been teaching you about ethics… your education is progressing well.”

  She turned to Abella. Their gazes locked in a silent battle before Abella finally looked away.

  “Take care, Mom.”

  Emill smirked. “I’ll tell your uncle and aunts that your lovely family said hi.”

  Abella slowly nodded. “Before you go… say goodbye to Katie. It’s the least you could do.”

  Emill raised an eyebrow, as if confused by the request.

  Abella’s voice softened—almost pleading. “She only has one grandmother.”

  Emill sighed, shaking her head. “I don’t have the time.”

  “Mom… you can’t be serious.”

  Emill's fingers slid through the air like she was interacting with an invisible device. "I'll make it up to her. She likes science, right? I'll gift her some kind of rare element... Anyway." Her gaze swept over us before she added, "Cha cha."

  And just like that, she and the slave vanished.

  Having that kind of power—an actual power, not one born from a monster—was beyond amazing. But beyond that, that woman was the definition of a cunt.

  Ferzan was getting his broken arm treated by the same doctor. The silk-made spider worked to push his bones back into place. He wasn’t handling the pain well—his fists clenched, his face tight with strain.

  Still, he managed to ask his mother, "I don't get it. Granddad always makes time for Katie. He visits her every month or at least calls her over..."

  Abella sat on a wooden bench, sighing. "Ignore it..." she said, her voice heavy with resignation. "She just... has a lot on her mind. She's busy."

  Ferzan clicked his tongue and looked away. "I'm starting to doubt that."

  I returned to the Katie's bedroom.

  Katie stood near the window, bathed in moonlight. She turned toward me, taking in my bloody state.

  "You came back quick," she noted.

  I closed the door and headed toward the pile of clothes a servant had left near the bathroom. "Well, your granny left, so there wasn’t much reason to stay outside."

  "Oh..." Her voice was neutral. "What do you think of her? You like her?"

  I hesitated, then thought, Screw it. "Yeah. She's super amazing."

  I pulled off my bloody dress and asked, "Is there a dirty laundry basket?"

  She pointed at a tall blue wooden basket near 'my' bed.

  I balled up the dress and tossed it inside before slipping into a plain white Terrafallen dress. I wasn’t a fan of solid white, but I didn’t care at the moment.

  Katie continued the conversation. "Nice. Most people think she’s an asshole."

  "Oh." I hadn’t expected her to say that—not that I disagreed.

  "But she likes you. She almost never likes anyone," she added.

  What was I supposed to do with that information? It wasn’t like I wanted her approval.

  "Congrats," Katie frowned. "If I were you, I’d be happy."

  I could practically smell the animosity in her words.

  Sharing a room with someone who hated me sounded awful. The last thing I wanted was to wake up with a knife in my chest. So I sat on the bed across from hers and said, "You know my entire family is dead, right?"

  Her brows furrowed. "That’s why you’re here. Obviously, I know."

  "Then I’m guessing you can imagine how I feel. I’m kind of jealous of you. Your mom's alive, your dad is clearly alive, and you have your brother. You also grew up in wealth, unlike me. I don’t care about your grandmother’s approval. If I could trade everything to have my family back, I’d do it in a heartbeat."

  If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.

  I wouldn't miss Caren for long. The grief I felt because of him would fade soon enough—but she didn’t need to know that.

  I continued, "But I can't. So trust me, your grandmother's opinion on me means nothing to me. I don't even want it, or care for it."

  Katie bit her lip, then nodded. "Yeah... of course. Sorry. I was just being stupid."

  I walked to her and reached out a hand. "So... no bad blood between us? I promise to avoid your grandmother as best as I can."

  She hesitated for a moment before taking my hand. "Yeah. I don't want to be envious of you, but... it's kind of hard to do that."

  I smiled warmly. "I get it. A couple of years ago, I was jealous of a homeless kid because he didn’t have responsibilities or parents to boss him around."

  That was a lie, but it served its purpose.

  She chuckled. "That’s stupid."

  "It didn’t seem that dumb to me at the time." I waved my hand dismissively. "I was like, ‘He can do whatever the hell he wants, whenever he wants.'. It was stupid, but we all experience that."

  She thought about it, debating whether to share something embarrassing. Finally, she smirked. "When I was learning about viruses and the melting corpse outbreak we had 87 years ago... I thought I could get super rich and influential by creating a new outbreak and blackmailing world governments."

  Oh, this girl was a little demon. I think I liked her a bit.

  "It’s a good thing that became a dumb thought," I said.

  She smiled and then frowned, "You're nice. Now I feel like shit."

  "Well... let's just talk. I'm sure you're fun."

  "I doubt."

  We talked for a while. Eventually, Ferzan came to check on us, carrying dinner—metal plates stacked on a much larger one.

  The sight reminded me of how hungry I should have been. But my stomach felt oddly full, likely from trapped gas. That meant I’d be dealing with stomach pains tomorrow… something I wasn’t looking forward to.

  “Oh, you guys are talking? Nice, nice.” Ferzan plopped down beside Katie’s bed, leaning against it. “I was worried Katie would be a bore.”

  "Shut your ass." Katie took a plate.

  I grabbed the other.

  The meal consisted of wide, grassy leaves, red meatballs, and hard ground provisions like loop figs—pink, grainy figs shaped in a perfect circle.

  It wasn’t what I expected, but beggars couldn’t be choosers… or complainers, I supposed. I thanked him and picked up a food needle—a long, sharp, half-thumb-thick utensil—before stabbing a loop fig and taking a bite.

  The thing was hard.

  I chewed, wincing at the texture. “Why is it so tough?” It felt like biting into a moderately hard tree branch.

  Ferzan shrugged. “Hard food helps build strong jaws. We pretty much have to eat it until we’re done with puberty.”

  I knew about that—it just hadn’t crossed my mind. Beside, I don't think foods were supposed to be that hard. This was asking for... I couldn't recall the weird jaw condition caused by straining the muscles, but that.

  Regardless, I ate everything. The meat had a strange taste, somewhere between goat and rabbit.

  Fun fact: the food needle tip had an adhesive property, making anything it pierced stick just enough to avoid slipping off.

  I glanced at Ferzan’s left elbow, wrapped in a soft yellow rubber. “Does that help with healing?”

  He raised a brow before realizing what I meant. “Oh. Yeah, it keeps it from getting infected or hurting too much.”

  “At least you didn’t get your neck broken, huh?”

  He half-smiled. “Back at you.”

  "So... is training normally this brutal."

  He bit half of the meatball before answering. "If it is meant to stimulate real battle."

  "Until the other person can't continue?"

  He pricked a loop fig, raising it to his mouth. "Exactly. That's how its done back at Yellowbrim."

  Katie added while rolling her eyes, "It's extreme for no reason."

  "That's stupid, it has it uses," Ferzan replied.

  "Sure, every blue moon, but not often. Dad agrees with me, so my opinion is right."

  "And mom agrees with me."

  "Dad knows more." She twirled the food needle.

  "You're annoying, you know that?"

  She smiled and then mocked him. And the banter ended after a short while.

  Before he left, the two of us had a short, private conversation. Then, I collapsed onto my bed, sinking into the cushion.

  Katie threw herself onto her own bed, staring at the one above hers. “Good night.”

  “Yeah, good night to you too.” I hesitated. “Do the lights go off on their own?”

  “Nope.” She pulled out a rectangular black device and pressed a red button. The artificial light vanished.

  Darkness surrounded me.

  I didn’t want to sleep—I knew what would be waiting in my dreams. With nothing to distract my thoughts, my mind would drift back to Ulah… Natasha…

  And Caren.

  I hated to admit it, but I was probably focusing on only the good memories. Or maybe just the emotions tied to them. I wasn’t sure.

  It was hard to explain complex emotional responses.

  I ran my fingers through my hair for no good reason—thinking about them being dead… That some weird woman was behind it… it made my stomach twist. And the way that Balash educator described her—it was eerily similar to how people described Natasha. The two were connected.

  I didn’t want to think about it. But I had to. Ignoring reality wouldn’t make it disappear.

  That woman would probably try to ruin my life even more. Or maybe not. Maybe I was following the path she wanted. I didn’t know. But one thing was certain: I didn’t believe in any grand destiny.

  I slid off the bed, stood up, and jumped through the window.

  Landing hurt like absolute hell, but I didn’t care.

  I pulled out the brown map and found my destination. The lies were already prepared for any nosy guards—permission from Abella, Ferzan tagging along, an “exercise.”

  Then, I set out for the Great Monster Forest.

  There, I could keep my mind busy. Busy and get stronger.

  No more drowning in thoughts.

  Leaving the estate was easy. I wasn’t a prisoner here, so they didn’t seem to care much.

  Traveling on Crusbull, however…

  That was painful.

  The crustacean-shelled bull tore across the landscape, likely exceeding a hundred miles per hour.

  To say I struggled to hold onto its horns would be an understatement.

  Every few seconds, I’d be lifted slightly off its back—only to slam right back down onto its hard shell. If not for my increased durability, my ass and thighs would definitely be bleeding.

  Speaking of…

  System, tell me my stats.

  Strength: E12

  Combat Speed: E12[]

  Traveling Speed: F1[]

  Endurance: E12

  Defense: E10

  Mind: F1

  My speed was still being modified? I didn't have enough rest so that made sense.

  System, how many modification points do I have?

  20

  I considered using them for defense… but I had my eye on something else. So, I saved them.

  Instead, I focused on my destination. Eventually, the monster zone barrier of ether became visible. As Crusbull entered, I felt the prickling sensation—and, strangely, relief.

  I drew my black knife and dagger. I was ready to kill a lot.

  It took an hour, but I managed to kill six monsters—all below level 10. I needed to fight stronger monsters.

  I had a feeling the deeper I ventured into the monster zone, the deadlier things would become. So, I kept moving forward.

  My feet pushed through damp green grass. My hand clutched my shoulder, trying to stop the deep bite wound from that damn flaming goblin.

  But my healing flickered, making it difficult. I compensated by pouring as much ether into it as possible. Every time the aura came alive, the glow was bright red—no longer dim.

  Back in Sundawn

  I stood near the gates, baffled. Blood. Destruction.

  Emergency workers rushed around, rclearing rubble and searching for survivors.

  I turned to one of the knights stationed inside. “What the hell happened here?”

  His rough voice carried exhaustion. “Some weird-ass creature just appeared and did this. Two of ’em.”

  I nodded slowly. So that’s why we were called back.

  The higher-ups suspected people were behind this.

  You don’t call knights to deal with people. They’re just there to look shiny and guard.

  You don’t send adventurers either. Those slaves are for handling monsters.

  You call Vanquishers. People like me.

  We wear red and silver—the colors of Terrafall.

  We move in the shadows, protecting those who walk in the light.

  And we'll kill any man, woman, child or baby to ensure that.

  My thoughts were distracted when I got a telepathic message from a fellow Vanquisher.

  'You there?'

  'Tell me what you got, man.'

  'Right, right. Other than your mom, of course—witnesses and stealth recorders spotted the creatures first appearing on Forkcrown Street. The weirdest part? They all came from a doctor’s office.'