Reyn sat in the cafe nearly all second half-day. Near evening, fencing school students exited in small groups, soon followed by staff end-of-day.
Carriages converged on the school from street ends, stopping at entrance.
"Maloni Blade" was among Longsand's top fencing schools; all instructors were high-paid superhumans. They could afford daily carriage hires to and from work.
Reyn's gaze swept coachmen, quickly spotting Iceberg's carriage—he'd seen it before. But different driver, not the one from attack night. This one was from a rental firm; pure business with Iceberg.
Carriages picked passengers and dispersed. Soon a familiar figure appeared.
Tall, lean man about thirty-five, ordinary looks but strikingly lively eyes and warm, inviting smile. He walked with a school instructress, chatting animatedly, laughing, yet holding dignified poise.
"Iceberg."
Reyn watched from hundreds of meters, coldly snorting to himself.
Who'd guess, without experiencing it, that Iceberg—known at school for kind nature—was actually a cold-blooded executioner with blood up to elbows.
Two young men in their twenties followed Iceberg. One was Reyn's classmate, Ramzi. The other youth Reyn didn't know—likely a new assistant hired for Iceberg by the school.
Iceberg gallantly helped the lady into the carriage, then turned to his assistants, gave them some instructions, dismissing them for the day, and took his seat in the carriage himself.
The carriage headed straight for the coffee shop.
Reyn had planned to stand up and leave early to avoid the encounter, but he noticed that Ramsey had already left the school grounds in another direction. Pursuing him now would be difficult. Reyn decided to stay put and wait for the carriage to approach.
Of the two, the main target was undoubtedly Iceberg. He also posed the greatest threat. To find their secret hideout outside the city, he had to start with him.
As for Ramsey... he was an ordinary human. Dealing with him would be no trouble.
Several hundred meters—a short distance. Reyn had long turned his chair with its back to the direction of the carriage's approach and raised the newspaper, covering most of his face.
Clop-clop-clop...
As the carriage sped past the coffee shop on the street, Reyn's gaze darted over the newspaper. He looked straight into the carriage window and caught a glimpse of Iceberg's profile and half his figure.
One glance was enough to scan his soul through and through.
It all took less than two seconds. Iceberg sat in the carriage with his eyes closed, lost in thought, completely unaware that he was being watched from the roadside.
Reyn slowly lowered the newspaper, watching the receding carriage with his eyes.
"So, a Level Two Shadow Warrior."
Until this moment, Reyn hadn't been able to confidently determine Iceberg's class. Though he had seen him kill, the only impression from then was speed!
Iceberg moved fast, but his blade was even faster—pure superiority in speed, leaving no time for an ordinary human to react.
Such speed was possessed by representatives of several Superhuman classes, the most common being "Ranger" and "Shadow Warrior." Both were renowned for their swiftness.
However, the fighting styles of the Ranger and the Shadow Warrior differed fundamentally. A mistake in identification could cost dearly.
The first key element of the Ranger—"Nimble Hands." His palms possess supernatural sensitivity and flexibility, allowing filigree control of his own strength. Rangers move quickly over short distances, leap nimbly, and instantly master any type of weapon. Every Ranger is a universal weapon master, proficient in sword, marksmanship, paired weapons, climbing, throwing hidden blades, rope arts, and much more. Their attacks are often unpredictable.
By comparison, the Shadow Warrior seemed rather monotonous.
But monotony didn't mean weakness. The key element of the Shadow Warrior—"Shadow Evasion." He masterfully hides in shadows, conceals his figure, moves lightly and quickly, delivering a lethal strike at the most unexpected moment for the enemy.
Reyn detected the Shadow Evasion element in Iceberg's soul, confirming his affiliation with the Shadow Warrior class.
Moreover, the structure of Iceberg's soul had two levels.
Observing Superhumans in the tavern over the past few days, Reyn had realized: each fusion with a Demonic Soul adds a new level to the soul's internal structure and raises the class rank.
A two-level soul structure meant that Iceberg was a Level Two Shadow Warrior, fused with one primary and one auxiliary Demonic Soul.
The primary Demonic Soul was the same for all Shadow Warriors—it came from the "Shadow demonic spider" and granted the Shadow Evasion element.
Iceberg had no second element. Perhaps upon advancing to the second level, he had fused with another Shadow demonic spider soul to strengthen his existing element. Or he had fused with a different Demonic Soul, but it conflicted with the primary one, resulting in the loss of the new element.
This happened often; it was more the norm. Conflict between Demonic Souls was the main headache for Superhumans, without exception. Most souls were incompatible with each other, greatly complicating fusions. In the best case, the new element was lost, no abilities were added, and only the overall soul power increased slightly. In the worst, the soul not only failed to strengthen but damaged the existing element, leading to a regression in power. Therefore, many Superhumans, seeking to avoid or minimize conflict, chose the most conservative path—fusing with an identical Demonic Soul to enhance existing elements.
Due to the brevity of the observation, Reyn couldn't determine if Iceberg had strengthened his Shadow Evasion element. But it was enough to know he was a Shadow Warrior.
Waiting until the carriage had moved a respectable distance away, Reyn stood up and followed it with quick steps.
It was rush hour; the streets were filled with pedestrians and carriages. The carriage, already not fast, moved even slower, allowing Reyn to easily keep his distance.
He trailed the carriage by several hundred meters, with no fear at all of being spotted by Iceberg.
The carriage headed west, moving with frequent stops for over half an hour.
As it began to darken and street gas lamps were lit, the carriage finally reached its destination. It entered the grounds of a large house in the western part of the Honiton district and soon exited again, now empty.
Obviously, Iceberg was home. This was his residence.
Reyn didn't approach closely; instead, he surveyed the surroundings.
Iceberg's house was located next to the Ferreglen river, which flowed from south to north, dividing Longsand into two parts.
The eastern bank of the river housed the main city, including the Honiton, Los, and Rienflale districts. More than ninety percent of the population lived on two-thirds of the city's territory.
The remaining ten percent lived on the western bank of the Ferreglen—in the Silverstar district.
The Superhuman Academy and the duke's Tower of Mages were precisely in Silverstar, which naturally became the residence of Longsand's upper classes—the so-called noble district.
Iceberg's house was in an excellent location, just across the river from the aristocratic quarter—this was the most expensive plot in the Honiton district.
From here, raising his head, one could see a tall building on the western horizon, piercing the clouds. From its top emanated a powerful beam of light, like an eye scanning the surroundings.
This was the Duchess Silverstar's Tower of Mages.
Everything that fell into the beam's zone, any slightest activity, was immediately detected by the Tower.
In other words, Iceberg's house was also under the protection of the Tower of Mages. Attacking him here would be the height of folly.
Reyn cast a distant glance at the Tower, shook his head, and walked away.
The next day after classes, Reyn tailed Ramsey and found out his address.
Ramsey lived in a prestigious apartment building near the fencing school. The place was crowded, making it hard to find an opportunity to attack. Besides, killing Ramsey would be pointless—it would only alert Iceberg.
Reyn wasn't in a hurry. For several days in a row, he stood watch near the school, patiently awaiting his chance. He knew—these two wouldn't hold back for long and would definitely go out on a job again.
The wait lasted eight days. Nearly half a month had passed since Reyn's transmigration to Ellunes. Soon the tavern owner might notice the guest's disappearance. Finally, Reyn got his chance.
Iceberg finished work as usual, but today a different carriage came for him.
Reyn recognized it immediately—the very one that had picked him up at the back door of the bar on Perfume Street that night. He tensed up instantly. Were they heading out on a job again today?
However, to his slight surprise, Ramsey also got into the carriage.
The carriage headed south, apparently planning to leave the city.
Reyn followed. And indeed, soon the carriage exited Longsand and, picking up speed, raced along the main road.
"They must be heading to their secret lair," Reyn thought, excited and pleased. This was exactly the chance he'd been waiting for.
But the carriage moved too fast; he could barely keep up.
Fortunately, absorbing that fallen one's soul last time had given him eight charge segments. After full recovery, two more were added. Now his charge was at 18%. Both stamina and strength far exceeded those of an ordinary human, allowing him to just barely stay in sight without losing the carriage completely.
Activating night vision, Reyn ran under the cover of darkness. Energy charge depleted faster.
Soon the carriage turned off the main road onto a country lane, drove a few more minutes, and finally stopped on the grounds of a secluded estate.
Reyn hid behind a tree, breathing heavily. Catching his breath, he began stealthily observing the estate.
The manor was located next to vast pastures and occupied a not-too-large area. It was surrounded by a brick wall and a grove. The nearest estate was more than a kilometer away—the place was very quiet.
Moreover, it was not far from the river. If one followed the country road to the main highway, the Ferreglen river could be seen.
Reyn had noticed this while running here. He had passed this spot on the day he returned to Longsand. A bit further south was the very place where he had crawled out of the river.
He was absolutely certain: this estate was Iceberg and Ramsey's secret hideout.
But what were they doing here?