Obeying the orders, the guards started changing the teleportation gate coordinates to a new place.
Shadow went in the gate. Before he could react, the world folded inward.
Light swallowed everything and he realized, he was now in a completely different place.
When his vision returned, the first thing he noticed was the sll.
Clean wood. Ink. A faint trace of sothing floral drifting through the air.
Shadow blinked once.
He stood in an office.
A large desk occupied the center of the room, its surface neatly arranged with docunts and a single elegant pen placed with precise care. Behind it, a wide window overlooked a bustling city. People moved below like currents, their distant noise softened by the height.
Chairs were placed across from the desk, positioned for visitors.
But Shadow’s attention didn’t stay on the room.
It shifted.
Because soone else was there.
A woman stood behind the desk, watching him.
She looked to be in her late thirties, yet nothing about her felt diminished. If anything, her presence carried a sharpened edge that ca with ti.
Her crimson red hair flowed down in layered waves, styled like rising flas. It frad her face and drew attention to her cold, calculating eyes.
Her skin was pale and smooth, nearly flawless under the light.
And her body...
Her black dress clung tightly to her curves, the fabric stretched across her chest in a way that suggested it was doing its best not to give in. Each subtle movent caused a slight shift, as if the material itself was struggling to keep everything contained.
Her hips curved outward with a natural fullness, leading into a rounded, well-shaped backside that filled the dress in a way that made her silhouette impossible to ignore. It wasn’t exaggerated. It was simply... there.
Confident. Heavy. Controlled.
Shadow’s gaze lingered for half a second longer than necessary.
That dress is fighting for its life.
What a beautiful creature.
Her eyes never left him.
She wasn’t admiring him.
She was studying him.
"Tell what happened."
Her voice cut through the silence—cold, sharp, and direct.
Not a request.
An order.
Shadow tilted his head slightly.
"Who are you exactly?" he asked calmly. "And where am I?"
He didn’t move. Didn’t lower his guard.
Authority ant nothing if he didn’t understand it ca from who
A brief pause followed.
"I’m Yeldez," she said. "Leader of the Stormwatch Guild."
Her tone remained steady, controlled.
"You’re in the city of Balen. This is the main branch."
She gave him just enough information. No more.
Then her gaze sharpened slightly.
"So tell . In detail. What happened."
Shadow went quiet.
Shadow sighed internally. Here we go. The ’tell everything while I already assu you’re lying’ phase.
He then stepped into the role.
"Our group consisted of ten hunters," he began, his voice steady but slightly lowered. "All F-rank. Our leader was E-rank."
He let a small pause settle.
"We entered the dungeon expecting a normal dungeon clear."
Another pause.
"But sothing was wrong."
Yeldez didn’t interrupt.
"The goblins weren’t scattered," Shadow continued. "They were gathered. Organized."
He watched her reaction carefully.
"We found their nest. A village."
His expression darkened just enough to sell it.
"They had taken the group before us."
A brief pause.
"To use them."
Another pause.
"To eat... or worse."
Yeldez’s expression shifted imdiately, disgust flashing across her face.
Shadow noticed.
’Good.’
"The boss was different," he continued. "Peak F-rank. But it wasn’t just strength."
"It gave orders."
He lifted his gaze slightly.
"Like a commander."
Yeldez’s fingers tapped lightly against the desk.
Thinking.
"There were more than sixty goblins," Shadow added quietly.
His voice dropped.
"I still don’t know how we managed to survive."
A pause.
"How I managed to survive."
Silence filled the room.
Then Yeldez moved.
She stepped away from the desk, each movent controlled and deliberate, until she stood less than a ter away from him.
Close enough for him to feel the pressure of her presence.
’...Personal space is just a myth here apparently.’
Then.
"That," she said softly, "is exactly what I’m asking you."
Her eyes locked onto his.
"How did you survive?"
Shadow felt it.
The shift in tone.
The pressure behind her words.
"According to your file," she continued, lifting a docunt slightly, "you’re a newly awakened F-rank mage."
A slight tilt of her head.
"With dual affinity. Water and fire."
Her eyes narrowed.
"Rare. Specially this combination of fire and water magic, super rare, but not enough."
The air grew heavier.
"It doesn’t explain how you survived sothing an E-rank veteran wouldn’t."
She wasn’t guessing.
She was probing.
Shadow let out a quiet breath.
Then spoke.
"To be honest... that’s not entirely accurate."
"I was evaluated recently, yes. But I’ve been using magic long before that."
A small pause.
"And we didn’t survive because of ."
He looked up slightly.
"It was Mike, our leader."
He let the na carry weight.
Shadow thought briefly. Yeah, let’s give the dead guy so credit. He earned it more than I did.
"He held the boss back. Gave us ti."
"We focused everything we had on it."
A pause.
"It worked."
His jaw tightened slightly.
"But the rest of the goblins..."
He exhaled slowly.
"They didn’t let us walk away."
Silence followed.
"They killed and injured the rest of the group, we barely survived. Then they sent to get help but... They’re gone now"
Another pause.
Yeldez studied him closely.
Too closely.
Her eyes narrowed slightly.
Assessing.
Shadow t her gaze.
And casually squinted back at her.
For a brief mont, the tension cracked.
Yeldez paused.
Then straightened and returned to her desk.
"Sothing is missing," she muttered. "I just can’t put my finger on it."
Shadow remained silent.
Internally, he was already on his nerves.
’Why don’t you shut the fuck up and let it go already’ he cursed inwardly.
’...At this point she’s just suspicious of oxygen in the room.’
"Based on your file," she continued, flipping a page, "you have no known family. No origin."
Her voice lowered slightly.
"So for now, you’ll stay here."
A pause.
"Unless there’s sothing else you’d like to tell ."
Shadow felt it again.
Her aura.
Heavy. Dangerous.
Completely beyond him.
Fighting her now wouldn’t even be a fight.
It would be a mistake.
’Well, guess I won’t have to explain to Marta and Gregor how their son died.’ he thought.
"I’ve told you everything," he said calmly.
A brief pause.
"Alright."
"Talia." She called a na.
The door opened almost imdiately.
A girl entered.
Around his age.
Wearing a maid outfit that looked far too formal for soone like her.
She stood straight, almost unnaturally so.
"Yes, Lady Yeldez."
Shadow glanced at her.
’...She definitely practiced that.’
"This is Shadow," Yeldez said. "He’ll be staying with us for the ti being."
"Take care of his wounds. Handle his needs."
A slight pause.
"I’ll need him later."
Shadow frowned slightly.
"What exactly do you—"
He didn’t finish.
Because Talia grabbed his arm.
And started dragging him out.
"Hey—wait—"
"No questions," she said quickly.
"Or you’ll ask too many."
"...That’s literally the point ."
"You’ll still ask them."
"...Fair, but why do i feel judged by soone my age"
The door shut behind them.
Silence returned to the room.
Yeldez stood alone.
She turned toward the window, her gaze drifting over the city below.
For a mont, her expression softened.
"Is this fate...?"
Her voice was quieter now.
"To finally find soone like him..."
Her hand clenched slightly.
"I hope they were right."
A pause.
"I hope I can still save her."
Outside, the city continued moving.
Unaware of what was happening inside.
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