Akira watched the man carefully, looking for any reaction. All she got was those unnerving eyes boring into her own. If only he wasn't wearing that damn mask, then maybe she'd be able to gauge him better—to pick up on his expressions, the subtle ways facial muscles moved, and the look in his eyes. The combat robes he wore didn't help either, the baggy and poor fit hid any hints at his body language.

She thought about probing his aura but was afraid she'd get caught and have it blow up in her face. What she could do was feel the aura he gave off passively, and she noticed right away that it had changed slightly from the last time she'd seen him. Whatever had been in the ethnicity part of his aura was now gone, replaced with something more generic.

Akira wasn't sure what to make of it but was fairly certain it was an ability of some kind—another to add to the list. It could've been an effect of expert aura control, but she had felt his crude technique and could even feel him using it at that moment. That wasn't mentioning the fact that that kind of aura control took years of practice and honing, and the man was too low-leveled to have that kind of experience.

Despite the abnormality, Akira was confident that this was in fact the man she was looking for. The feeling of minor queasiness brought on by his aura ability and the bloodiness of the aura itself made her sure of that, not to mention the unique eyes and mask.

She glanced at the notes he'd been taking before she approached and found them indecipherable, written in a language she didn't know and didn't recognize. What she did recognize were the diagrams of rituals—simple ones. She also noticed all the basic-level magic theory books lying around but didn't mention them, only noting that for later.

"Is there something I can help you with?" the man asked after a moment, his voice cautious but even, as though he were halfway between being ready to fight or flee.

"A few days ago, you killed a vipercat—one I was contracted to kill. I watched you do it, and I have a recording of you doing it. Your aura is slightly off, but I remember that mask."

It was a dumb thing to say in hindsight. Immediately, the tone for their conversation became hostile, which would only make things harder for her, but being face to face with this man brought forth all the frustration and annoyance she'd been forced to swallow over the last week. She would've loved nothing more than to introduce the guy to her spear and drag him back home by hook or crook, but her mother made it clear that he needed to come willingly and quietly.

The man was silent for a few moments and seemed to sit as still as a statue. The only indication that he was alive was a slight turn of his head, as though he were listening to something or looking past her.

Akira thought it slightly suspicious and was watching every move he made. She'd seen him slink away through the shadows once before and knew how fast he could be. If he tried to get away or fight, she was ready to move in an instant. She had to be careful though—any move here would draw all kinds of unwanted attention.

Eventually, the man spoke. "So what? Is that why you're here?"

Akira was taken aback by the brazenness and lack of care he seemed to have despite being called out, as though he had no concern over the fact that, with one word to the Adventurer's Guild, she could make his life a living hell. Things were made even worse by the cold eyes that stared back at her; it irked her to no end and only made her want to punch the guy even more.

Just who did this guy think he was? Going around and taking people's contracted kills, then having the temerity to have an attitude and ego about it, as if he were some big shot. Akira immediately painted him as arrogant and conceited. Sure, he seemed pretty strong based on what could be felt in his aura, but he was still around level 25—just barely having made it into low Copper. She could wipe the floor with the guy if she really wanted to.

Gritting her teeth, Akira was forced to push down a retort. Hostility would get her nowhere, and she needed to turn things around, even if it felt like swallowing shit. She had to play nice and get this man on-side—or at least to the point where he'd willingly follow her out of the city. Sucking in a deep breath, Akira let the open hostility fade from her expression, trying to put on something more inviting.

She leaned in, checking to make sure no one else was listening. "Look, I know what you are, and me and my family want to help you."

The two of them held each other's gazes for a tense few seconds before his aura suddenly changed—and not in a good way. It was like looking at a pond that had suddenly gone very still, and his aura now felt more like a golem's than a person's. Akira didn't know how he'd done it, but it unnerved her.

"You don't look eager to help," he said, his voice void of emotion, his eyes becoming much sharper. "Who are you and what do you want?"

Akira swallowed, feeling things weren't going her way, and realized that she didn't know what kind of means this man had. Whatever an outworlder was, it was clearly important and powerful, and things were quickly going wrong. At this point, she saw no other option than to lay it all out and be truthful and hope it would be enough to, if not turn things around, then at least stop them from devolving any further.

"My name is Akira Anuk. I'm from a powerful family here in the region, and we want to help you," she said. "My mother and I are the only ones who know what you are, and she wants to help you before other people figure it out."

The man stared her down for a few moments more, as though taking time to process her response.

"Why should I believe you? And what happens should I refuse?"

"You don't have to believe me, but it is the truth. Assuming you're from the area, you should know my family's reputation. I would highly recommend that you come to our family estate. It's safe there, and from what my mother intimated, you'll need safety and protection once people find out what you are," Akira said, licking her lips nervously, purposefully ignoring his second question. What could she say that would satisfy this man?

She watched him, waiting and searching for any answer in his body language, only to find it was futile. Another tense few seconds passed as he thought, and Akira could feel her muscles ready to cramp.

Finally, the man stood, and Akira was ready to move until he spoke.

"Very well," he said, the words like a slap in the face. "I'll go with you."

Akira blinked up at him, once more taken aback. "Really? Just like that?"

She'd been expecting to do a lot more convincing and persuading—maybe even some negotiating to get him to accept. To have him agree so easily after their initial interaction was surprising, but then again, her family's strength and prestige were well known. Someone with such rocky foundations would be a fool not to jump at such an opportunity. Even though she was suspicious and filled with questions, she'd make both the man and her mother answer them.

"If you'd like, I can decline instead," he offered.

"No!" Akira said, a little too loudly, grabbing curious looks from a few nearby. She quickly added, "I just didn't expect you to come so readily."

"I have my reasons," he said, picking up his notes only to have them disappear into thin air right before her.

Akira was reminded of just how many abilities he seemed to have and wondered what that storage ability was.

Without another word, the masked man picked up the books arrayed around him and carried them stoically toward a cannid librarian nearby. Not willing to let him get too far from her, Akira stood quickly and caught up to him.

Stopping at the librarian's desk, the man dropped off his books. "I'm sorry, Runa, but something has come up. Would you be able to take care of these for me?"

"Of course, dear," the wolf-woman smiled. "I'll put these away. You just go on ahead and take care."

***

Lukas stepped out of the library, the elf-woman, Akira, at his side. Her appearance and their short conversation had nearly led to a heart attack. It was only made worse when she told him she knew what he was. In that moment, his mind had all but shut down, and in his panic, something had happened. It was as though his emotions packed themselves up and left.

A switch had been flipped, and suddenly the world was hollow again, his emotions disappearing entirely. Lukas was scared about what that might mean, terrified that it would drain the life out of him like it had back home. The only difference was that this time the world didn't become some bleak wasteland where energy was sucked out of him. Instead, the effect was oddly calming in an unnerving way, allowing his mind to settle into a clearer state, devoid of rampaging emotions.

Even so, his eerie new state wasn't something he could look into at the moment. As much as he wanted to throw off the feeling and pretend it never happened, he had to focus on what was happening now.

Lukas didn't believe for a second that Akira and her family actually wanted to help him. He had no idea who they were or what their supposed reputation was. The only reason he hadn't bolted out of the city and back into the forest was Akira's level. She was level 61, far beyond anything he could hope to fight. The chances of him slipping away, if she decided to stop him, were slim.

That wasn't the only reason, though. Sera had been at his side the entire time, listening intently. Lukas was still annoyed that she had somehow missed someone spying on him—limited perception or not—but she was the only one he could totally trust. Even with her limited perception, she had gotten a read on Akira and sensed that, while she wasn't happy about it, Akira was telling the truth, or at least what she believed was the truth.

Lukas wasn't convinced, but Sera insisted. Going with Akira now, while no one else knew what he was, meant he wasn't completely backed into a corner yet. Talks and negotiations could be slow, so long as they didn't try anything. Going along for now could lead to valuable benefits, and if they ever tried to box him in, he could slip away into the shadows.

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At least that's what Sera claimed, Lukas could never be so optimistic. He really preferred not to go, he was certain he'd be walking into a trap he'd never walk out of, but he trusted Sera's judgment. Had she advised him to run off and disappear into the forest, that's exactly what he would've done, even if he didn't want to skip town so soon.

For now, he'd play along and reap what benefits he could, but the moment something felt off, he'd vanish.

"Where are you taking me?" he demanded.

"My family has a compound up north," Akira said, pulling out an electric-blue crystal. Closing her eyes, Lukas faintly sensed mana moving within the crystal in some strange way. Before he could identify the crystal, she slipped it into a pouch at her waist—one no bigger than the crystal itself.

"It's not too far from the city," she continued. "We'll be going there so you can talk to my mother."

Lukas looked at her suspiciously. "Why?"

"Because she wants to meet you and make a deal," Akira said, starting down the library steps.

"What kind of deal?" Lukas asked warily, not far behind.

"She didn't say, but if I had to guess, it'd be based on whatever it is that makes an outworlder special."

Lukas narrowed his eyes at the elf. "You don't even know what an outworlder is, do you?"

She hesitated for a moment before shaking her head. "I don't. But my mother does. She found mentions of outworlders in old family records after I told her about you. She said it's best if as few people as possible know that you're an outworlder—and what that means."

"And how do I know your mother won't screw me over?"

"She won't," Akira said adamantly. "I know my mother well enough. She's obsessed with making the family stronger than the previous generation and improving, but she won't step on someone else to do it. She views that as dirty and hollow—something that will only drag the family down and taint our name."

"We'll see about that. Improving the next generation is exactly what I want to avoid being used for," Lukas said, watching her carefully.

She gave him an assessing look. "You know what makes you so valuable?"

"I do."

"What is it?"

"Best not to say here," he said, gesturing to the crowded street they were walking down. "But if your mother sent you, of all people, to fetch me, then I expect you'll find out when we meet her."

Akira's grouchy exterior cracked as curiosity peaked through in the form of a raised brow. "What makes you say that?"

Lukas noted her seemingly impossible beauty, as well as her lithe, lissome body that seemed purpose-made to draw the eyes. "I have my reasons."

The two walked in awkward silence for the next few minutes. Well, awkward for the elf anyway. Lukas still had his emotions tucked away, not trusting himself to let them out. He needed to stay under control and not panic. This was the worst-case scenario so far.

He'd been found out immediately. Hell, he'd been found out before he even entered the city, by the sounds of it. Now he was being taken to the estate of a powerful family who wanted to use him for purposes he wanted to avoid. He didn't know what they had planned for him, and he didn't like that. The only reason he hadn't bolted yet was because he didn't want to go back to scrounging through the forest again so soon—and because Sera had told him to wait and see.

"What did you do to your aura?" Sera asked Lukas as they approached the city gates.

"What do you mean?"

"When the elf told you she knew what you were, your aura changed. It wasn't like what your ability can do—your aura's the same, but your emotions aren't visible. Not even to me. How are you hiding them?"

"I'm not hiding them. I suppressed them."

"You suppressed them?" she asked, surprised. "That's usually only something a person can do at a higher rank, with years of training and discipline. Even then, emotions usually leak out."

"Before—before coming to this world, I lived life passively. I don't know why, but back then it was like I was asleep—unable to feel or do anything. Then, when I came here, it was like I was awake for the first time. I felt emotion, had energy and drive."

"You don't talk about your life back in your home world much," Sera said.

"There's not much to tell. And thinking about home just reminds me of how much I missed out on. That, and thinking about my family kicks up an emotional storm I don't know how to deal with."

"Well, if you ever want to talk about it, you can tell me."

"Thank you."

"I'll still make fun of you," Sera added, "but I'll listen."

"So, why'd you do it?" Akira asked him.

"Why did I do what exactly?" Lukas asked, already dreading the answer.

Akira scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Poach all those contracts. From what I gather, what you are is valuable to a lot of people, and stealing all those contracted kills drew a lot of attention—something I would've thought you'd want to avoid."

"I didn't know that's what I was doing," Lukas said flatly. "I was lost in the forest, looking for the city, killing any beast I came across. I didn't know anything about contracts."

"How could you not know?" she frowned.

"You'll find out soon enough."

She snorted. "Gods, you sound like my mother. Why weren't you wearing any armor when you were out there? You're wearing some now—and you were just in the city."

"I didn't have any armor at the time."

"But you had that mask."

"The mask is from a benefactor," Lukas said.

"Does this benefactor know that you're an outworlder?"

"Yes."

"Then why are you here?" Akira pressed. "And why give you a mask but no armor?"

"I was given much, but none of that is your concern."

Akira's nose scrunched up with annoyance, "Well, where'd you get that armor? You couldn't have been in the city for more than a day."

"I got it off a corpse."

"Did you kill them?" she asked, scowling.

"Yes. They were bandits threatening to kill someone, so I killed them."

"Mmm," she hummed thoughtfully.

"You know," Sera said in his mind, tone almost gleeful, "she just pointed something out for me."

"And what's that?" Lukas asked mentally.

"Less than twenty-four hours passed from when you entered the city to when someone figured you out."

"Technically, they figured it out before I was even in the city."

Sera snickered. "Even worse. I'm so glad you stumbled into my cave. Watching you over the years is going to be the best."

The rest of the trip was spent in relative silence. Lukas wasn't sure what else to do, so he just kept walking and kept silent, thinking of ways to escape should he need to. The elf didn't seem so accepting of the quiet, trying repeatedly to get him to answer her questions, all of which he answered with as few words as possible—or didn't answer at all—much to her annoyance.

Lukas didn't care. He was going to play his cards extremely close to his chest until he knew more about his situation. There was no point in giving away information that might only hurt him in the future.

Eventually, Lukas was led off the main road, down a smaller, more private one that led into the forest. He was slightly hesitant at first but ultimately decided it was for the best. If these people had their compound tucked into the forest, it would only make it easier to escape if he needed to.

Not much later, a wall and guard station came into view. As they approached, Lukas observed the wall, noting that it wasn't very tall—similar to the city wall—but he easily made out the magical scripts etched into the stone. Lukas figured he could jump the wall easily if need be, assuming the magic defenses couldn't be used to keep him in.

Approaching the guard post, two guards stepped forward. Both were elves, and Lukas caught a whiff of their auras. They were at least a rank higher than him. He wasn't sure which rank exactly, not having felt the aura of someone just slightly above him before—at least not someone whose power wasn't godly or so distant he couldn't gauge it. If he had to guess, though, he'd say they were Bronze Rank. That was based solely on the slight increase in the quality of their auras compared to his and Akira's.

"Mistress Akira," one of the guards greeted. "Home so early? And I see you've brought a guest," he said, giving Lukas a look of mild interest.

"That's correct," Akira nodded, "He's here at the behest of my mother and shall be treated as an esteemed guest."

"Of course, my lady," the guard bowed, "We'll just need to check him before allowing him through the gates and onto the grounds."

"That won't be necessary," Akira said, shaking her head. "I brought him here on urgent business, and we need to see my mother immediately."

The guard looked unhappy but knew better than to argue. "If you say so," he muttered, waving them through the gate.

Stepping through, Lukas felt like he'd truly entered the lion's den, a feeling not helped by the heavy thud of the gate closing behind him. Before him stretched a private road that twisted lazily through the trees, a hint of a large building visible deeper in the woods.

"You see those guards?" Sera asked smugly, jabbing a thumb back at the gate. "They didn't even acknowledge me. I'm so intimidating. Maybe you should start doing what I tell you, since I'm so scary."

When Lukas didn't react, she scoffed and kicked the ground dejectedly. "You're no fun like this. Let's get this over with so I can get back to messing with you."

"I'm glad you have your priorities in order," Lukas said dryly.

"Of course I do. Who do you think I am?"

As he and Akira walked down the road toward their destination, they passed a group of people of different races, all dressed in armor. Lukas guessed they were adventurers on their way toward the city. They gave him and Akira curious looks but seemed wise enough not to ask any questions.

The further they traveled, the more of their destination Lukas could see. At least, he assumed it was their destination—he couldn't imagine where else they'd be going. A massive lodge came into view, tucked among the trees like a hunting retreat designed for nobles. Seeing such a place made Lukas feel another wave of hesitation. There was no doubt in his mind there were hefty magical protections on the building.

The closer they got, the more people he saw milling about the grounds. Many of them looked their way, some even poking rudely at Lukas' aura. Any who did so received a piercing glare in return—and they promptly stopped. Thankfully, none of them seemed able to see past the aura mask Lukas had in place. He didn't expect that to last forever, but for now, it didn't matter. Akira and her mother already knew enough.

Entering through the main doors, Lukas was greeted with a large, spacious atrium filled with beautiful potted plants and furniture that could've been considered art. Before Lukas could truly take it all in, Akira led him further inside, earning even more curious gazes.

Ignoring them all, Lukas and Akira forged ahead until they reached a part of the massive lodge where they finally stopped running into other people.

Not much longer after that, they came to a stop at a door. When Akira went to open it, Lukas steeled himself for whatever was to come next.

The door swung open, revealing an exquisite-looking parlor with a single occupant.

It was a gorgeous elf woman who looked remarkably like Akira. Had he not been told beforehand, Lukas would've guessed this was her older sister. But knowing who he was meant to meet, there was no doubt.

As their eyes met, the woman smiled warmly and stood.

"Hello," she said. "I'm Kora Anuk."

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