Aenon lowered his daggers and stood in a relaxed stance. Now that his pack was here, he didn't have anything to worry about. The worst outcome was that they would have to retreat. He looked over the 10 people in front of him. He could sense various levels of fear from nine of them. He still couldn't read the green haired woman, but her body language said it all. They were all terrified. His Aura was crushing the will of 8 of them, and the last two were barely handling it.

"You think that will be enough to scare…," the tank began to speak. But Aenon unleased Kingdom of Darkness before he could finish. The wolves spread out and surrounded them all. Eight pairs of grey eyes floating in the darkness around them.

"I'd choose my next words wisely, Guild Leader. I do not appreciate being threatened. I have done nothing to incur this hostility, but if you are so hell bent on pushing me, I will respond in kind," he said in a detached voice. "And you will not like what happens when I retaliate."

The normal party members were completely paralyzed with fear. There's a reason people fear the dark. The terror of the unknown was the most primal form of fear, since no one knew what horrors its murky depths concealed. It was the sum of everything that was dreaded in existence. No matter what a person was terrified of could exist within it. Battle hardened veterans, like the Guild Leader, could suppress the fear to some extent. But not completely eradicate it. It would always lurk at the edges, like a ghostly shadow.

Aenon's eyes bored into the trembling party members. They were all higher leveled than him, but he could see all their levels, except the tank. The rest ranged from level 40 to 45. Meaning they were probably here to clear the dungeon, but they had been a bit late. The more concerning matter for Aenon was the woman that Jenny had spoken so highly of. He wasn't sure how long she had been observing him, and how much she knew. His gaze locked on to the woman, who flinched back.

"OK, this is getting out hand. Lower your weapon this instant, Gorin," she said in a commanding voice. Aenon detected a familiar Aura in her last sentence—she was an Awakened. But something was off about it. Her Aura felt…weak. It didn't command the same presence his did. Even Jenny's nascent Aura felt stronger.

The woman probably knew this, since her words were also laced with an all too familiar soul spell. The man calmed down instantly, before lowering his weapon. She had used soul manipulation to pacify the enraged man. She turned to him next.

"You too…"

"You try soul manipulation on me, and I will end you," Aenon cut her off. He had fallen prey to it once and had vowed to never be affected by it again. All seven wolves growled at her simultaneously, adding weight to his threat.

She took a step back in shock before calming down and saying in a normal voice, "My apologies. It's a force of habit. I have spent too long dealing with childish tantrums. I was merely trying to calm the situation. Nothing more."

"This is me being calm, lady," Aenon said in a low voice.

Aenon could see the helpless smile on her face clearly. But he didn't let his guard down. She was still a blank canvas in his Soul Sense, and words held no value to him. Action spoke louder, and she was yet to do anything to earn his trust. He remained silent, but pulled back his Aura, and dispelled the darkness surrounding them. All eight adventurers collapsed to the ground, some weeping, others shivering uncontrollably.

He gave a sharp whistle, following which all wolves except Bane leaped into his shadow. The tank's eyes went wide as he stared at Aenon's shadow suspiciously. But Aenon ignored the man and continued staring at the female mage.

"I think we got off on the wrong foot. Let us start again, shall we? I am Thalindra Sylvathorn, Assistant Guild Leader of the Adventurer's Guild at Pinespire," she said with a polite courtesy. She then turned towards the tank, giving him a serious stare, conveying a message to behave.

"Ahem, I have already introduced myself. But to further elaborate, I am the Guild Leader. We came here based on reports that a mid-level dungeon was leaking. And that too a Fire Ant dungeon. Nasty little bugs. Better to cull them early before they take root," the man said in a semiprofessional manner. He was still stealing glances of Aenon's shadow.

"The men and women following us are the elite members of the guild…," Thalindra said while turning to the others. She froze mid-sentence when she realized the state they were in. Everyone was sitting on the ground, in various stages of shock. One of them, a man with an impressive beard and bulging muscles, had even soiled himself.

Thalindra turned away in embarrassment and excused herself. She barked an order to her subordinates, telling them to go back and set up camp near the water's edge. She followed them to coordinate the efforts, while also instructing some of them to keep an eye on the now demolished anthill.

This left Aenon alone with Gorin, who looked around in discomfort. The large man kept a close watch on Bane from the corner of his eye but stayed quiet otherwise. Aenon didn't say a word for the full hour it took for the group to set up their tents. When Thalindra came back, she stared suspiciously at Gorin, who simply shrugged and walked off towards his tent. The woman then turned to Aenon.

"Would you be willing to join us?" she asked cautiously. When Aenon didn't respond, she sighed and did something. He was finally able to sense her soul then. And it was strong, putting him more on guard. She still hid a few details from him, but that was ok. Since he didn't sense any deception or traces of soul fragments on her, he complied with a nod.

Aenon followed her to the largest tent the guild master had gone in. When they entered the tent, Aenon found that it was larger on the inside and had an elaborate set of furnishings. A grand table with enough seating for 20 people lay right at the center, with additional seating and even a bed at the very back. The entire ensemble wasn't built for comfort, but efficiency and utility. Aenon walked up to a chair on the side and took a seat, with Bane sitting on the ground behind him. The Guild Leader was already seated at the head of the table. Thalindra took her place next to her boss. She cleared her throat and started the meeting.

"You already know what we are here for. So, how about you enlighten us too. I saw you leaving the nest, which meant you were probably raiding them for resources. The dam break must have been your doing then. As a distraction?"

"Partially correct. Yes, I rigged the dam to draw the ants out. And yes, I meant to raid the anthill. But not for resources. I was targeting the Queen," Aenon replied. He needed to develop good relations with these people, not only for future settlers for his town, but also to get some allies in times of need.

"Oh, I guess you have more summons? Although rare, some summoning Classes do allow multiple beast contracts," Thalindra said while looking at Bane with a tight smile. His presence was making the two humans uncomfortable.

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"Hmm? He is not a summon and neither am I a summoner. I went in alone," Aenon replied casually.

"You went into a Fire Ant colony alone?" Gorin asked in disbelief. When Aenon nodded, he responded in a sarcastic tone, "Yeah right. And you managed to kill the Queen too, did you?"

He started chuckling while shaking his head. When Aenon didn't answer, the man's laughter died in his throat.

"Oh, you got to be kidding me. You expect us to believe, that you solo killed the colony queen? There is a reason I brought two full parties to take on this nest."

Aenon didn't reply. It wasn't his problem whether they believed him or not. But then he remembered something. He pulled up his notification while the man ranted to his colleague about throwing Aenon out for making up lies and such. Aenon ignored it and focused on his screen instead.

Title achieved: Royal Assassin | +30 all stats | Sneak past all defenses and guards, to only kill a monarch and no one else. Assassination is an art, and you seem to want to master it. Well, this was a step in the right direction.

Title upgraded: Untouchable 2 | +50 all stats | Assassinate a highly guarded target and slip out without engaging in combat. Seriously, are you allergic to damage?

Title evolved: (Really) Late Bloomer to Lone Wolf | +2 % Title stats | Ah, a title that truly suits you. You have a full pack of murder wolves at your beck and call. And what do you do with them? Nothing. Instead, choosing to take on an army by yourself.

Level Up | Void Stalker | Level 22 → Level 24 | +8 INT | +20 WIL | +8 PER

Level Up | Abyssal Warden | Level 31 → Level 34 | +24 INT | +30 WIL

Aenon's eye twitched at the snarky descriptions, especially the last one. He was almost certain these were sent out by the System Nurse. He got a mental picture of the draugr woman giving him a lecture with her hands on her hips. He pushed the thought to the back of his mind and displayed his Title of Royal Assassin.

"Ah. That proves it I guess," Thalindra commented while exchanging looks with her boss. "But how…"

Aenon didn't respond, the less he explained the better. And if they jump to conclusions, well it's up to them. He pulled up his stat screen to quickly review it.

Aenon/Ashryn Fenrast

Race: Ascended Human (M)

Age: 13 years

Level 29

Class: Void Stalker (Level 24)

Subclass: Abyssal Warden (Level 34)

HP: 16412

HP Regen: 328/min

MP: 20172

MP Regen: 447/min

Stats - Multiplier: 128 (Locked)

STR: 1641

CON: 1640

DEX: 1645

INT: 2017

WIL: 2237

PER: 1743

Titles (1579 points)

Unfettered Soul (+60 all), Alpha (+20 all), Domain Walker (Withheld), Bulwark (+5 all), Speed Runner (+10 all), Hoarder (+5 all), Landlord (+20 all), Planetary Forerunner (+30 all), Ancient Killer (+20 all), Untouchable 2 (+40 all), Archivist (+5 all), Royal Assassin (+30 all)

Lone Wolf (+2% Title stats)

Prodigious Mage (+10% Title stats)

Nature's Attendant (+200 all stats when within 50 meters of sapling)

Skills (Available SP: 120)

Weapons (Unarmed, Daggers, Traps) | Savant

Stealth (Woods, Urban) | Savant

Tracking (Woods) | Expert

Mana Manipulation | Master

Internalized Skills

Identify

Mana Sense

Soul Authority – Soul Sense, Soul Beacon, Soul Purge (Unfettered Soul)

System's Grace

He was surprised to see that his status screen had included his fake name as well. More importantly though, he was happy that he had crossed the threshold for a C grade evolution. He was still about 870 points away from an S grade, but he was getting there. He just needed to continue doing his solo missions, since otherwise things would be too easy and he wouldn't get any Titles worth mentioning.

He turned back to the pair, who were staring at him with weird gazes.

"Didn't anyone teach you that it is rude to review your status when you have company?" Gorin asked crossly with his arms folded.

"Ignore him, Ashryn," Thalindra said politely while glaring at her partner to shut him up. "Societal conventions can be excused in this scenario. Please, go on. Could you elaborate on how you took down the Fire Ant Queen?"

And so Aenon gave them the watered-down version of his mission. How he had first arrived here to challenge the dungeon and had modified his plan to take out the Queen instead. He didn't explain his abilities, making it sound like he had used a generic explosion type spell to take her out. The two put their heads down, deep in thought before the man spoke up.

"This seems feasible. But it still doesn't explain who you are? And what you are doing here all by yourself?" Gorin asked.

"I am the new owner of the village formerly known as Jadefall," Aenon stated calmly.

"You what?" exclaimed the Guild Leader in a loud voice. Even Thalindra seemed shocked at the revelation.

"What of the previous Village Head?" she finally managed to ask.

"He abandoned the village and left with Ignar's party."

Thalindra had an odd look in her eye as she regarded him.

"You are the one trying to set up a Domain, aren't you?" Thalindra asked cautiously.

Aenon simply nodded but didn't explain further.

"Preposterous. Why haven't I heard of this before?" Gorin asked his assistant.

"Because we left for this mission before Ignar returned," she replied tersely before turning to Aenon. "Since you know Ignar, I am inclined to believe you. Are they all ok?"

"All except their healer," Aenon replied. He was thinking about how much to reveal, since he did have a good impression of the berserker's party. "They should have reached your settlement by now, except Jenny. She decided to stay back

"What happened to the healer?" Thalindra asked seriously.

"He was using World Tree seeds to heal. In other words, he was draining their souls to boost the party. When I detected that and informed Ignar, he killed the elf," Aenon decided to stick to the facts. It would eventually come to light anyway. He of course said nothing about the World Tree now growing in Reality's Edge.

"Impossible. I would have sensed it," Thalindra was surprised. She was still reeling from the shock, when she suddenly stood up. "Gorin, we need to head back. Right now."

"What? We need to first verify…"

"Soul magic is very hard to detect. Even if there was a remote possibility that he spoke the truth, then Ignar's party is in danger. We need to head back. NOW."

She ran out of the tent and started handing out orders to the adventurers. Gorin looked completely flabbergasted at her reaction, while Aenon just sat there observing them all with his Soul Sense. There was a deep sense of dread in Thalindra's soul. After five minutes, she burst into the tent.

"Gorin, lead the party back to the city. I will go on ahead. Ashryn, I know I haven't done anything to earn your favor, but would you please…"

"Sure. I like Ignar and the twins. Wouldn't want anything happening to them. Let's go," Aenon stood up and turned to Bane. "Stay with them while I go on ahead."

"As you command."

Gorin's eyes widened when he heard Bane's voice for the first time. But Thalindra was too worried to register it. She put on a cloak and rushed out. Aenon followed her soon after, and the duo made a mad dash towards the city of Pinespire.

Aenon didn't know what he would find there, but he knew he was running towards a quagmire of political schemes. But unfortunately, he had to. He couldn't have soul sucking powers gaining a foothold this close to his Domain.

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