Simon woke up sluggish, the afterglow of st night’s good meal still lingering. It had been one of the rare days he allowed himself to sck off. With the old man gone, there was no one left to scold him—but the discipline etched into him remained. It pushed him past the drowsiness, made him check his gear and his surroundings.Another day began for Simon.

  Following the old man’s instructions, Simon avoided the main roads, choosing instead to trek without a path but only with a clear direction in mind. In his case, right now, he was keeping the river on his right side. The Umbra Forest was still far from where he was; he could tell it by smell and instinct.

  He didn’t need to hunt right now, as he still had enough supplies at hand. He would evade monster territories using his keen sense of smell. As per the old man’s words, getting attacked on the main roads was more likely than in the forest.

  As he ventured, cluttering sounds and voices reached his ears. It was mostly men. He hastened his pace, seeking higher ground or perhaps a tree for cover.

  He jumped on a suitable branch and perched on it. Surveying the area from a vantage point, Simon spotted the source of the noise. ‘Thieves?’ It always stirred a thrill to encounter them: ragged clothes, an array of different weapons, from pitchforks to just clubs.

  Simon smiled, ‘The Hood and the Mood.’ It was easy to discern what they were. He also knew that the main road was close by from their direction. His blood began to boil.

  There were about 40 thieves in total. Simon hadn’t fought against a fellow in a long time, and given this opportunity, he wanted to test his strength.

  ‘Thieves are there so you can try killing humans,’ the old man's words echoed in his mind. But he won’t kill them that easily, as long as the thieves behaved, Simon would spare them. Still, he hoped they were the worst kind because all and all, he despised thieves to the point of vowing to exterminate them.

  ‘First a strange dungeon, now thieves.’ Simon couldn’t help but find it fun.

  Thief’s side.

  The leader of the thieves smiled. The information they’d received was solid, and even the boss had given him the go-signal. Greed and ambition pushed him forward. More success meant more men under his command. Once an exiled criminal, he had hungered for power—and this was a chance he would never let go.

  Though it sounded a bit shady, the only words from the intel were: ‘A traveling caravan is carrying some important artifacts,’ and it came from a dark-hooded man. It was suspicious, which was why he sent a scout first.

  He heard cluttering sounds, the bushes and twigs created noises to warn them that someone was approaching. As the shadow emerged, it was a familiar face; it was one of them.

  “There are three carriages… but there is a noble in front, bearing the crest of the Elford,” the scout returned with new information.

  They were already in a favorable position for ambush, but the test intel was somewhat both bad and good news. The bad news was the Elfords—they were the family that governed the whole eastern frontiers. The good news was that the information was legit.

  The leader of the bandits thought deeply. If they attacked, some of them would certainly perish, but if he pyed his cards right, he could get away with it.

  “We'd better not mess with them,” one of the thieves commented.

  In common knowledge, everyone who heard it knew that he was right. The Elfords were considered a legendary family of nobles. The eastern frontier was littered with the tales of their exploits, dating back to the era when monster floods were natural around the frontiers. They were not to be trifled with.

  Doubts began to circle around, but the leader knew the words to diffuse the situation. “Trust me, guys… You don’t have to fight them. Just buy time and try to run away if your life is in danger… we strike at night…” the leader confidently smiled. ‘It’s our job to ambush caravans and merchants anyway. Why are these fools getting cold feet now?’

  The bandits were silent. Their leader was a known deviant, a man without scruples. They were thieves, but even thieves had lines they would not cross—especially when it came to their own comrades.

  He had climbed the hierarchy through methods so vile that allegiance meant nothing to him. Ally or enemy, it made no difference.

  The fact that he wasn’t from the eastern continent only eroded what little credibility he had left. They didn’t trust him. Everyone knew it. Yet they were still here.

  But their menting in silence was broken by: “Hey!! Who are you!!?? Aargh!!!” There was a scream from the far end of the group of thieves.

  The leader, stationed on a high vantage point to oversee his band, quickly spotted the commotion. As far as he could see, it was just a single boy. “There!” he pointed out the direction, notifying the whole band.

  But the thieves at the back started fleeing. It was a single kid, using punches and throws to incapacitate the thieves who dared to attack him. “What the hell??!!!” the leader screamed in surprise.

  “That’s just a boy!!! KILL HIM!!!” the leader screamed.

  Eastern Frontier Main Roads.

  The caravan wheels made cluttering sounds, and although the three carriages were traveling on paved roads, the suspension system was not enough to cancel the shaking. They were heading south back to their origin, to the Castle of the Elfords.

  Their mission was to deliver an artifact which was from the newly found dungeon near the Umbra Forest up north.

  A princess was in one of the carriages, she had blonde hair with a color of golden yellow, and she was driveling as she was sleeping. Her tiredness canceled the noises and the shaking; it kept her asleep.

  The window of her carriage opened slightly, and a voice whispered, “My dy… There is a commotion nearby…”

  It was the princess’s attendant who was skillfully riding her horse at the pace of the carriage. But the princess didn’t wake up, so she had to fully open the window and poke the princess’s cheeks. “Hey! Diana!”

  “What was that? Huh? Kiara?” Her face was damp and messy, her true face—one only her family and closest attendants ever saw.

  The unguarded face of the princess made Kiara smile.

  Kiara Stonehart was a slender brunette with a gentle demeanor and a calm, older-sister presence. “Princess Diana, there’s a commotion in the forest. Birds are flying away from the south.” Her voice was clear and crisp, carrying a note of assurance and confidence.

  “I see…” Diana then took a map from the top of the carriage shelf as she wiped her face. She traced the road going south; there was a sharp curve since they would have to ride around the mountains as per the main road.

  “Thanks, what do you think is the distance?” Diana asked for more info.

  “There is still no sound, and the birds didn’t spread that much… maybe around the curve since it is close to the Creek Forest east… more or less,” Kiara answered. She was a hunter, the eldest and most experienced among the attendants that the princess currently had, and her input was always well received.

  Diana needed time to ponder. It could be anything from monsters to thieves. She had to investigate since it was drilled to through her young age that it was her noblesse oblige as a noble to always protect her people and uphold justice, ensuring that no threat went unchecked in her realm.

  “We will arrive there at night time. Don’t change the speed; we will investigate it… Alert the caravan. Wake me up when the sun is almost down… ‘Yawn,’ I’m still tired… let me rest… thanks for the report.” The Princess instantly fell back, clearly exhausted, having likely gotten only three hours of sleep.

  Kiara nodded and smiled, understanding the order. She respectfully bowed before closing the carriage window. She knew why the princess was acting indifferently.

  By no means was the princess zy; she had just returned from harvesting a dungeon core. This magic ritual was a closely guarded secret passed down through the Family of Elfords. The Elfords possessed the magic technology to harvest dungeon cores by breaking a part of them. Once back home, these cores would be used as vessels of magic—much like batteries—and the eastern frontier thrived because of this.

  Not only did it enrich the lives of the people in Elford’s territory, but it also ensured that the dungeon would not overflow. However, this magic ritual of ‘dungeon-core harvesting’ would always take a toll on the user’s body. Though the princess was only 18 years old, she had already been tasked with this multiple times; this was her fourth endeavor.

  Kiara the huntress, the princess’s personal attendant and also a member of the Princess Party, had been by her side for years. She had seen all the hardship she had to go through just by carrying the name of the Elford. ‘Rest well, princess, I got your back!’ She set about spreading the princess’s command.

  But little did the huntress know, fate had already cast its shadow over both her and the princess she served.