At Erevan's question, the air around Hannah grew taut, tension rising. Her expression shifted—so subtly that only someone who truly knew her would notice.

Without a word, she picked a single sheet from the stack before her and began to speak.

"Ren and Colin left about a day ago to carry out an elimination." Her voice was calm, at least on the surface. She cast a brief glance at Sophia as she continued, "According to the intel gathered, there were supposed to be at least seven targets." Her eyes returned to the page. "We still have no concrete information about what happened during the confrontation. I visited the site myself and there were traces of blood, but it wasn't theirs, at least, most of it wasn't theirs."

She paused, her fingers tightening slightly on the paper.

"What I did find," she said, "was a message. Written on the wall. Most likely left by the targets."

Erevan leaned forward, his voice low and intent. "A message? What did it say?"

Who would deliberately leave behind clues that could lead straight back to them—especially after facing a pair as strong as Ren and Colin? It made no sense.

Beside Hannah, Sophia had finally stopped inspecting her nails. She was now fully focused on the report.

Clearing her throat, Hannah spoke, her tone steady but edged with gravity. "I'm going to read the message exactly as it was written: 'ORGANIZATION! IF YOU WANT THESE TWO BACK, COME TO QUARATH.'"

She paused for a moment before continuing. "Below that, they included directions—explicit ones—describing exactly where to find them. That's what disturbs me the most. It feels like a trap, and we shouldn't take it lightly."

Carter exhaled sharply, disbelief etched across his face. "So they actually managed to take down Ren and Colin? Even hearing this from you… I still find it hard to believe."

Sophia remained silent, her brows furrowed in deep thought. She was the one who had provided the intel to Hannah. If something had truly happened to Ren and Colin because of a miscalculation on her part... she knew the consequences would be severe.

Erevan took a moment before speaking, his gaze fixed on some distant point as he weighed the possibilities. Voice low he said "There are only two reasons I can think of for why they'd leave a message like that—along with exact directions. Either they plan to wipe us out completely, eliminating any remaining threat... or they want a ransom and don't care if Ren and Colin walk free afterward."

He tapped a rhythmic finger on the table, the sound sharp in the silence.

"If it's the first," he continued, "then even though they're confident in their strength, they're still not willing to take a blind risk. That message is bait. They want to gauge our response—see if we're strong enough to be a threat. If we're weaker, they'll kill us all. If we're stronger, they'll try to negotiate and possibly come to the table as equals."

Hannah gave a slight nod, lips pressed together in thought. Sophia listened intently.

Carter frowned. "And if it's the second reason—ransom? Isn't it basically the same outcome either way?"

"No, there's a subtle but important difference," Erevan said, shaking his head. "If it were the first scenario—no demands, just that we come to them—that suggests they've left room for a peaceful resolution. Maybe a negotiation. But in the second case, Ren and Colin's lives were never in danger to begin with. That means these people never intended to kill them. They're confident they can extract money from us—and they're absolutely certain we'll have to pay. They probably never even considered the possibility of losing."

Hannah adjusted her glasses, her voice calm but firm. "I think the first scenario is more likely. Ren and Colin aren't just skilled—they're among the strongest here on Earth. It's hard enough to believe anyone managed to take them down at all. And the blood I found at the site didn't seem to be theirs. The only way this happened is if the attackers had a significant numbers advantage—and even then, it must have been a close fight."

"I'm with Hannah on this," Carter added with a snort. "If someone managed to bring down those two by luck, there's no way in hell they'd think they could take on the rest of us too—not unless they're suicidal."

Sophia remained silent. Whatever was going through her mind, she kept it to herself.

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Erevan cast a brief glance at Slade, still absorbed in whatever he was reading, then swept his gaze across the room.

"They're waiting for us to take the bait," he said. "That means they won't kill either of them—at least not yet. If they did, everything they've set up would be for nothing. So we have time. Use it wisely."

He leaned forward slightly, voice firmer now.

"Our priority is to find Micah. You have three days. After that—whether we locate him or not—we move to extract Ren and Colin. No delays. I'll see you all back here in three days. Dismissed."

Hannah, Carter, and Sophia nodded in unison. The latter two turned and left without another word.

Hannah stayed behind, her fingers absently twisting a lock of hair. Her expression was unreadable—pensive, perhaps, as if something unresolved lingered on her mind.

Noticing she wasn't moving, Erevan's voice cut through the quiet. "What is it?"

"There's something else I need to report." Hannah took a slow, steadying breath.

Erevan nodded sharply. "Go on."

"There might be a traitor among us." Her hand curled into a light fist.

The words hung heavy in the air.

Erevan's eyes locked onto hers, searching for any sign of doubt or deception. After several tense seconds, he asked quietly, "Who?"

//////////

Nova didn't know what was going on and honestly, even if he knew, he wouldn't have cared. All he was waiting for was their arrival so he could finally earn some money. After all, outfitting the first training room at the base had nearly drained his funds.

As he walked through the bustling city streets on his way back, his mind drifted. The conversation he'd just had with Ynsara, coupled with Jonathan's plans, lingered in his thoughts. He wondered if he'd missed something—anything—that could help him improve his strength.

Without hesitation, he opened his Status.

[Status]

Rank: 0

Name: Nova Grey

Species: Human

Affiliation: None

Level: 27 (170/500)

Mana: Mana Core (Low) (1,011,368/100,000,000), ??? Spinal Node, ??? Perception Node

Class: None

Titles: Goblin Exterminator, Kings Slayer, Survivor, Spear Novice, Troll Exterminator, Orc Exterminator, Rune Novice, Mana Novice, Lord (Giants), Hunter, ???

Stat Points: 343

Attributes:

Strength: 232 (+1,521)

Vigor: 205 (+1,672)

Dexterity: 255 (+4,736)

Speed: 215 (+3,847)

Intelligence: 171 (+1753)

Wisdom: 215 (+2204)

Will: 12

Luck: 10 (+10)

Skills

Active: Spear Thrust (15) (2,671/16,384,000), Spear Jab (15) (69,684/16,384,000), Spear Sweep (16) (8,164,615/32,768,000), Spear Lunge (11) (584,102/1,024,000), Spear Overhead Strike (10) (814/512,000), Sword Slash (10) (641/512,000), Sword Stab (10) (267/512,000), Sword Chop (10) (197/512,000), Sword Sweep (10) (784/512,000), Sword Parry (1) (184/1000), Sword Block (0) (497/500), Blacksmithing (5) (6,472/16,000), Woodworking (0) (54/500)

Passive: Regeneration (15) (3.979.039/16,384,000), Keen Reflexes (8) (5.883/128,000), Momentum Streak (15) (12,089,674/16,384,000), One with the World (Spear) (MAX), One with the World (Footwork) (MAX)

'Regeneration and my Mana Core are steadily improving but my spear skills haven't in a while,' he thought, 'arrays have been consuming too much of my time lately. It was a smart choice at first to stick with a weapon, but if I keep doing that I'll stunt my growth. I'll level up Overhead Strike and Lunge to at least 15 before training with other weapons.'

With a plan in mind, he quickened his pace through the city streets, soon arriving at the base.

As Nova strode through the corridors, the captains lowered their heads out of respect, their eyes only lifting once he passed beyond view.

Inside his room, he stepped onto the faintly glowing Mana Gathering array etched into the floor. Without hesitation, he retrieved Dreamscape from his inventory.

"I should have some free time before that group shows up to pay me—assuming they still have any loyalty to their comrades. If not… well, more free time but less money," he muttered to himself.

He then launched into a relentless rhythm, executing Overhead Strike and Lunge in rapid succession, pushing his limits with every motion.

[Spear Overhead Strike proficiency increased]

[Spear Lunge proficiency increased]

[Spear Overhead Strike proficiency increased]

[Spear Lunge proficiency increased]

Hours passed.

Then, suddenly, two notifications pinged in Nova's mind, one after the other in rapid succession.

[Skill Spear Overhead Strike (14) (8,192,000/8,192,000) → Spear Overhead Strike (15) (0/16,384,000)]

[Skill Spear Lunge (14) (8,192,000/8,192,000) → Spear Lunge (15) (0/16,384,000)]

'How long has it been?' Nova wondered, running a quick mental calculation. 'Roughly ten hours, not too bad.'

He nodded to himself, satisfied, when another notification chimed in his mind. Startled, he immediately checked it.

[Title Upgraded: Spear Novice → Spear Intermediate]

'Spear Intermediate?' he mused. 'Every skill from the same weapon type at level 5 makes you a Novice, at 15 you become an Intermediate… so the next must be at 25?' His curiosity piqued, he quickly pulled up the details of the new title.

Title: Spear Intermediate (Proficiency gained for spear skills is increased by 20 times. Grants +50% to all stats when wielding a spear)

"For something I didn't even expect, this is a very good" Nova said with a small, satisfied smile. These ten hours spent honing his spear skills hadn't been wasted.

"Done with the spear for now. Next up, sword," he muttered to himself.

Just as he stored Dreamscape away and reached for a sword in his inventory, the Distance Token in his pocket vibrated sharply.

He pulled it out and saw Jack's name flashing on the screen. Answering with a lazy tone, he asked, "What is it?"

"Nova, Cassie is back."

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