The night ran deep. The guild hall stood nearly empty, save for a few drunkards nodding off in the corners and guards barely clinging to consciousness at their posts.
Kano slipped silently through the shadows, descending into the guild's hidden training chamber beneath the library.
Lenor was already there, spinning a slender blade in his hand—a weapon so fine it nearly vanished when held a certain way. His eyes were cold, his stance flawless.
Without a word, Lenor lunged. The attack was fast, almost imperceptible.
But Kano was no longer the clumsy rookie of weeks past. He held his sword one-handed now, dodged with precision, and launched counterattacks with sharp, deliberate strikes.
His movements were clean—swift, accurate, and powerful.
Lenor noticed something new: the boy had learned how to pace himself.
"You've improved. You can fight for an hour now without gasping for breath. But…"
Without finishing, Lenor changed rhythm, launching a barrage of lightning-quick strikes.
"You still can't read your opponent's intentions!"
Kano dodged, but instead of retreating, he countered with both steel and magic. For the first time, his left hand sparked to life—summoning a flicker of flame that singed Lenor's cloak.
The swordmaster halted mid-motion. For the first time, there was approval in his gaze.
"Hmph… At last. You're beginning to understand how to weave power together."
Kano no longer removed his helmet during sessions—it had become a part of him.
His sight in darkness had sharpened. He could now sense the presence of others even without seeing them—almost instinctively.
Lenor ordered him to fight with his eyes closed.
Kano listened to the whistle of the blade through the air, using wind magic to track Lenor's movements, and telekinesis to shift the balance of his opponent's weapon.
For the first time, his blade nearly touched Lenor.
The elf twisted aside at the final second and came to an abrupt halt. His eyes glinted with intrigue and the faintest flicker of surprise.
"You're learning too fast…"
But Lenor knew that no training hall, no matter how secret, could push Kano much further.
"You're ready for more," he said. "It's time to leave these walls. In the morning, take a harder mission."
"I'm ready."
"We'll see…"
Kano stood alone in the dim hall, his blade trembling faintly in his hand—not from fear, but from tension.
He felt it—he'd broken through.
His body was stronger.
His magic, steadier.
His mind, sharper.
He stepped out of the chamber and made his way to his room, feeling, for the first time, a deep and grounded confidence in himself.
After a long sleep Kano awoke with sore muscles, but this time, the fatigue didn't weigh him down. His body was adjusting.
As Lenor instructed, he made his way to the front desk.
Naira was there as always, buried in paperwork, her tusked brow furrowed with focus. But when Kano approached, her gaze lingered a little longer than usual.
"You look sturdier. Lenor didn't send you straight to hell?"
"Not yet," Kano said with a faint grin.
"Well then... here's your assignment."
She slapped a piece of parchment on the desk.
Kano read it aloud:
"Supply Carrier. Crystal Gatherer. Material Collector. Quartermaster."
He looked up.
"Seriously?"
"Oh yes," Naira smirked. "That's all I can give you. They won't let you into a real fight, but someone's gotta carry the loot."
Kano stepped into the town square, where the raiding party was already waiting.
Four seasoned adventurers stood in a loose cluster:
Barton – a mountain of a man with a beard thick as bear fur, the obvious leader.
Rein – a hardened mercenary with a permanent scowl and zero patience for rookies.
Jacques – lean, cunning, a dual-blade fighter with a sharp tongue.
Rudgard – a gnome, expert in alchemy and demolition.
"Oh, our 'assistant' is here!" Barton let out a booming laugh and clapped Kano on the shoulder—nearly knocking him off balance.
"Are you sure you didn't take a wrong turn and end up here instead of the marketplace?" Rein muttered.
"One more burden to carry…" sighed Jacques. "But hey, I'm off-duty today. Good luck out there."
They strapped a massive pack onto Kano's back—stuffed with food, potions, gear. They tossed him a sack for crystals and monster drops, too.
His shoulders buckled under the weight, but he simply nodded.
"I can take it."
On the road to the ruins of an old temple—infested with monsters—Kano walked at the rear.
The group kept the jokes coming:
"Don't forget even the bones! Maybe we'll craft you a good luck charm from them!"
"Let's hope the kid doesn't wander off and get lost."
"You do know you're only getting 10% of our reward, right?"
One thought burned in his mind—"I'll prove to myself I can endure this."
They reached the ruins: a dark, moss-choked place that breathed an eerie whisper through its crumbling stones.
"Well, kid, stay here. We'll handle the real work," Barton said, and the group disappeared into the temple's maw, leaving Kano behind to guard the supplies.
Kano sat on a rock, gripping the sword Lenor had loaned him—just in case. Around him, only forest and stillness. Now and then, a distant explosion or the howl of a beast echoed from the ruins.
"I'm just a mule. But even this… I'll turn into strength."
One hand held the sword; the other, a flickering sphere of flame. He watched the treeline, senses sharpened. The forest felt too quiet.
"They're fighting down there… and I'm just sitting here? Is this a test? Or am I really as worthless as they think?"
At first, everything seemed normal.
But ten minutes later, strange sounds began to seep from below.
Thudding impacts. Ragged breathing. A growl—not human.
Then a scream tore through the night.
"WHAT IS THAT?! IT'S NOT SUPPOSED TO BE HERE!"
"FALL BACK! GODS, IT'S GOT ME—AAAAAH!"
Kano froze. That was Rein's voice. The fireball in his hand winked out.
He heard bones crack. Flesh tear.
Then—an explosion.
And after that… silence.
Kano sat rigid, heart thundering against his skull, a chill breaking across his back.
From the black of the ruins, Barton burst forth—his face a mask of terror. His arms were soaked in blood. His helmet shattered. One eye gone. He could barely breathe, chest heaving in spasms.
He seized Kano by the shoulders, shaking him violently.
"RUN, BOY! THEY'RE ALL DEAD! IT'S COMING!"
Kano couldn't move.
What… What happened?
But then—he remembered.
A goblin's arrow, once buried in his leg.
The fear of dying, the helplessness.
Am I afraid again? Why?
If anyone's still alive down there, I can't leave them.
He stood at the edge of the ruin's gaping mouth, shackled by invisible chains.
The darkness breathed. Damp. Bloody. Wrong. His skin crawled just standing near it.
He held his breath. Stepped forward—and his legs refused.
A voice rose in his mind—disgusting and familiar:
"You're a coward. Just like always. Just like when they laughed at you in the office. When they pushed you around and you swallowed every insult."
Kano gripped the sword tighter.
"That was humiliation. This is death."
Muffled cries echoed from within. Growls. The clash of blades.
He heard Rein screaming to fall back.
He heard Rudgard's howl of pain.
Kano's heart pounded like it would burst. His throat was dry. Cold sweat soaked his back.
Panic gnawed at his insides, dragging him back into that scared little boy.
"Run. You won't change anything."
"You're too weak."
"You'll die just as pathetically as you lived."
He looked down—his hand was shaking.
He could barely hold the sword.
Kano clenched his teeth so hard his jaw cracked.
"Enough."
"I swore to myself—I promised I'd never become that pitiful creature again."
Rage bubbled in his chest—at himself. At the fear. At his own hesitation.
His eyes burned—not from tears, but from fury.
He stepped forward.
Then another.
His legs trembled. His breath faltered—but he kept moving.
"Think, dammit. Move. You want to live your whole life in fear again?!"
With each step, the fear didn't fade.
But neither did his fire.
His defiance.
By the time he entered the ruins, the noise was gone.
No fighting.
No screams.
Just darkness. And the stench of blood.
He inhaled. Once. Twice.
The helmet adjusted his sight, revealing every detail—shattered blades, claw marks, smears of blood on stone.
He knelt beside a trail of blood. Massive paw prints—canine in shape, but enormous. A regular dog could lie down in one like a cradle. His eyes narrowed.
"This isn't just a monster. This is a hunter."
But the worst was yet to come.
As he crept deeper, he saw a figure shift in the gloom.
It was Rudgard, clutching a deep wound in his side.
Kano rushed to him.
"Can you move?" he whispered.
The dwarf flinched, drew a knife, and screamed— "Gods above, are you insane?! RUN, SAVE YOURSELF! THAT THING IS STILL HERE!"
His eyes darted around madly.
Then the darkness moved.
It emerged.
Cerberus.
A nightmare made flesh.
Massive. Primal. Its yellow eyes burned with hatred. Blood smeared the floor beneath its paws.
It made no sound. It didn't have to.
It crept forward, slow, unstoppable—and embedded in its gut, someone had managed to land a blow. A sword jutted from its side, gleaming red with blood.
Kano felt his knees buckle beneath him, as if his body instinctively sought to flee from death itself.
His heart thundered so violently it sent pulses of pain through his chest.
He froze.
Stunned.
Paralyzed.
"This... this is the end."
The thought struck like a hammer.
"This isn't a monster. This is death incarnate."
His body wouldn't move. He wanted to run, to survive—but even that instinct had abandoned him.
Rudgard saw it.
His bloodied face twisted in agony as he cried out,
"I'll distract it! Run!"
He tried to stand, pulled out his knife, and staggered forward, ready to throw himself to his doom.
And something in Kano snapped.
A dwarf who barely knows me… is willing to die for me.
And I? I stand here shaking like garbage?
Anger flared, burning away the fear.
"NO."
A sound burst from Kano's mouth—laughter. Wild, unhinged, defiant.
Rudgard turned, stunned, thinking the boy had gone mad.
But Kano, gripping his sword so tightly his knuckles turned white, stepped into a battle stance.
His eyes, ablaze with fury and resolve, locked onto the beast.
"COME ON!" he roared, his voice cracking. "COME ON THEN! TRY TO EAT ME, YOU FILTHY BEAST! I'M NOT RUNNING! I ACCEPT THE FIGHT!"
Cerberus halted.
It inhaled slowly, tilting its monstrous head.
Nothing.
No snarl. No growl.
Kano realized—It doesn't see me.
It only scented the dwarf.
"I'm invisible to it?"
The hound crouched low, preparing to pounce.
Its yellow eyes gleamed with fresh hunger.
"Think, idiot! Use this!"—the voice in his head screamed.
"Get it together! You have to think!"
A plan flashed like lightning through his mind.
Kano raised his left hand, conjuring a small, pulsing orb of flame.
Shaking, swallowing fear, he waited…
Waited until the beast was nearly upon Rudgard— then hurled the flame hard to the side.
It exploded in a brilliant burst of fire and light.
Cerberus lunged toward it with feral precision.
"Now!"
Kano launched forward like lightning— all fear, all pain, all fury, fused into a single strike.
The sword Lenor had given him sang through the air.
One clean, merciless motion— and the beast's head flew from its body.
For a moment, its massive corpse stood motionless.
Then it collapsed like a felled tower.
Silence enveloped the ruins.
Only Kano's ragged breaths echoed in the dark.
He stood over the creature's remains, barely on his feet.
But he had won.
Not because he was the strongest.
Not because he was fearless.
But because he made himself move forward.
Rudgard stared at him in stunned silence.
His mouth hung open, eyes unblinking.
The throb of blood in his ears.
The tremble in his legs.
Blood dripped from the tip of the sword.
Kano gripped the hilt so tightly it seemed it might snap in two.
His eyes were wide, pupils shaking.
And in his mind, only one thought pounded— "Dead. Dead."
A pause.
Then frantic glances around him.
Blood.
Corpses.
The people he came with.
I killed it… with my own hands.
I killed it.
He couldn't quite grasp it. That he'd truly taken down that nightmare alone.
He let go of the sword with one hand and wiped his face.
His expression—pure shock. Deeper than anything he had ever felt.
Then— a groan.
Behind him.
Kano spun around, sword raised again in both hands.
Rudgard was still there, clutching his gut, dark blood seeping through his fingers.
The shock in the dwarf's eyes mirrored Kano's own.
He said nothing. Couldn't find the words.
Kano turned his gaze into the shadows.
His heart thudded so loud it drowned out every thought.
Not the time to relax… There could be more.
Only when he was sure the ruins were empty did he approach the dwarf.
"Can you walk?" he asked.
Rudgard began to push himself up, gritting his teeth through the pain.
Kano realized the dwarf wouldn't make it on his own and said:
— "Climb onto my back. We're getting out of here—while we're still breathing."
The dwarf let out a hoarse whisper.
"Who are you, kid…?"
Kano didn't answer.
His eyes were drawn to something else—Cerberus' body, crumbling into ash.
And from that ash, something dropped.
A crystal, glowing with a soft, magical light.
Kano stepped forward slowly, knelt, picked it up, and slipped it into his pocket.
That's when he noticed something else on the ground—a collar, etched with runes.
"Kid…" Rudgard groaned through the pain. "Take it… We'll show Lenor."
Kano picked up the collar, returned to the dwarf.
Rudgard hooked his arms around Kano's neck, and the boy carried him, moving as fast as his legs would allow.
Shock, exhaustion, the same thought pounding with every heartbeat— "I killed it… I killed a real monster…"
No pride.
Only bitter clarity.
This world… was rotten to the core.
And to survive in it, one had to become stronger.
Kano ran.
The dwarf felt heavy as stone,
But adrenaline kept his legs moving.
When he reached the city gates, the guards spotted the blood-soaked figure and instinctively reached for their weapons.
But seeing the guild crest on the dwarf's chest, one barked— "What happened?!"
There was no reply.
Kano pushed through the guild's massive doors, which groaned open with a thunderous sound.
Silence fell over the hall.
Everyone turned.
Kano gasped for breath, trying to steady his voice.
"Healer… now… hurry…"
Then laughter cut through the hush.
"Look who's back—loser made it," someone scoffed.
"Where's the rest of them?" came a shout from the crowd.
Anger surged through Kano like wildfire.
Jacques stepped out—the same one who mocked him before the mission.
The one who walked away.
Kano snapped.
He grabbed Jacques by the collar and yanked him forward so hard the man's feet left the ground.
"They're all dead!" Kano shouted, his voice raw.
"Go see for yourself if you've got the guts. Got it?!"
"You've gone mad!" Jacques yelled, struggling. "Get this maniac off me! I didn't do anything!"
"What's going on here?" Naira's voice cut in as she approached.
Kano didn't react.
"Let him go and tell us what happened," she said, more calmly.
Kano released Jacques and stepped toward the table.
He tossed the collar onto it— black runes etched into the leather.
"This… was on the Cerberus."
The room recoiled.
And then—footsteps echoed.
Lenor entered. The guildmaster.
"Kano. Naira. Rudgard. With me. We need to talk."
"Can I catch my damn breath first?" grunted the dwarf, draining a healing potion.
Everyone turned.
The wound was nearly gone.
Lenor sighed.
"Alright. You've caught your breath. Let's talk in my office."
Lenor's office was in its usual perfect order—but his face betrayed a tension that hadn't been there before.
He turned the collar in his hands, studying the runes.
"There's no doubt demons are behind this," he said finally.
"But the runes… they're not demonic. I don't recognize them at all. And that's what scares me."
He looked up.
"You understand what this means?"
Kano met his eyes and nodded.
"Someone's not just unleashing monsters… They're weaponizing them."
Lenor allowed a thin smile.
"Smartest thing I've heard all day."
He turned to Naira.
"Send a team to examine what's left of the ruins."
To Kano— "You've got a few hours to rest. Then I want you back here."
Kano gave a silent nod and headed for the door.
But just before he crossed the threshold, Lenor added quietly— "You're no longer just a pack mule, kid."
They left the office.
Rudgard caught up with Kano.
"Hey, Kano! Let's get a drink to celebrate my survival! I mean… I could've handled it, of course… but still—thanks."
Kano smiled for the first time that day.
"Let's go. That was one hell of a mission."
They headed toward the bar.
But one thought kept spinning in Kano's mind— "Why did Cerberus turn to ash, but the creature the beastkin brought back… stayed whole?"
"Rudgard," Kano asked. "Why did the Cerberus burn to dust, but that other thing didn't?"
The dwarf nearly choked:
"Well… because Cerberus is a monster. The boartusk—he's not."
Kano frowned.
"What's the difference?"
Rudgard's eyes nearly popped out of his head.
"You serious? You don't know the difference between a beast and a monster?"
"Well… sort of. Not completely."
The dwarf's face froze in genuine disbelief.
"Beasts are pure creatures, understand? Born of nature. Of life. Sometimes even love. Sure, they can be dangerous, but when they die, you get meat, materials, sometimes a crystal."
"And monsters?"
"Monsters are born of chaos. Formed from mana. They cannot live without magic. You can't tame them. They are evil—through and through."
"So anyone can just make a monster?"
The dwarf nearly choked again.
"What are you talking about?! No one makes them! They appear—out of rifts in space, or from dungeons. Wherever mana gathers, a new monster eventually shows up. The stronger ones kick out the weaker. Only archdemons, archmages, or ancient races can actually create them."
"Who studies those dungeons?"
"We do! Dwarves! Who else? Our ancestors went down into those depths and came back with trophies of unimaginable power!"
Kano listened silently, but one thought looped in his mind— "Yeah, yeah… I've heard this kind of speech before. From a liar."
And still, the dwarf went on, arms waving, boasting of ancient glories and brave forefathers who carved their fame from darkness.
Night had fallen over the city.