The carriage had settled into a steady rhythm. Inside the long transport cabin, the passengers swayed with the motion, keeping balance out of habit more than thought

Ryn sat near the window, gaze half-drifted to the passing plains. The early sunlight stretched long across the road, turning everything gold.

Across from him, the four adventurers chattered quietly to each other.

At last, the man with the shield looked over. He had short brown hair and well-defined features, with a small scar on his cheek.

"We didn't catch your name," he said. His tone wasn't demanding, but carried weight without trying.Ryn blinked once, then offered the name he'd prepared.

"Eden. Just Eden."

"I'm Hale," the man said, tapping the reinforced shield leaning against his boot. "Leader of our party, Stonewake."

Next to him, the archer grinned. He had blonde hair and was slightly smaller than the leader. "Braden. If anything tries to kill us, I'll hit it first."

The woman beside him snorted, the same one who stowed her halberd away. She carried herself like someone who was dangerous without announcing it.

"Tessa," she said simply. Her eyes flicked over him with faint curiosity. "You traveling alone?"

Before Ryn could answer, the last of the group—Ellis—closed her notebook and offered a small nod. She was dressed in a full robe, having that quiet bookish feel to her.

"Nice to meet you, Eden," she said. Soft voice, careful diction

Ryn inclined his head in return. "Likewise."

Braden leaned forward slightly, elbows on his knees. "Not to pry, but you don't look like a merchant. Or a pilgrim. Or… well, anything common on this road."

Tessa muttered, "Braden."

"What? It's just a question."

Ryn kept his expression even. "I'm heading toward Lumen."

That made the adventurers exchange a small glance.

"Long way for a single traveler," Hale said. Not accusatory, just an observation.

"I have business there," Ryn replied.

"So, Eden," Braden said, leaning back with a grin, "what kind of 'business' takes someone all the way to Lumen? It's not exactly a tourist city."

Tessa shifted her halberd slightly, eyeing him. "Braden. If he wanted to tell us, he would've."

Braden threw up his hands. "I'm making conversation."

Ryn offered a small, polite answer. "I'm looking for someone."

That got their attention—not suspicious, just curious.

Hale glanced over. "Family?"

"No," Ryn said. "An acquaintance."

"A woman?" Braden asked with a smirk.

Tessa gave him a flat stare. "Do you want me to throw you out of this carriage?"

"I was just asking."

Ryn allowed himself the faintest breath of amusement. "It's not like that."

Ellis, still holding her notebook, chimed in softly. "Lumen's an artisan city. Lots of blacksmiths, mages, craftsmen. If you're searching for someone with a skill… it's a good place to start."

Ryn nodded. "That's one reason."

"And the other reason?" Tessa prompted, folding her arms.

A beat of silence. Ryn kept his gaze on the shifting horizon.

"It's a place I haven't been," he answered simply.

The party exchanged glances, recognizing the boundary he wasn't going to cross.

Hale didn't push. The others followed his lead.

Braden swung a boot lightly. "Fair enough. People travel for worse reasons."

Tessa snorted. "People also travel for stupid ones."

Ryn couldn't disagree with that.

Ellis tilted her head thoughtfully. "Still… it's uncommon for someone alone to travel this far south. Even rarer to use these routes now."

Ryn looked at her. "Because of the ceremony?"

"Yeah," Ellis replied. "They've begun tightening border patrols and inspections."

Ryn gave her a nod. It was the exact same pattern as before. He exhaled a sigh of relief. At least the information of his past life was still usable. But when it stopped…

He could finish his thoughts as the archer gestured toward Ryn's hands. "So, Eden… you fight?"

Ryn shrugged lightly. "I can defend myself. That's all."

As if the world wanted to prove his statement right, the carriage came to a stop. Braden whistled low when he spotted the figures in the middle of the road.

"Well… that's new."

Standing in the dead center of the road were a group of bandits, totalling about 20 of them. They all wore mismatched armor, clearly stolen from some run-of-the-mill knight or adventurer.

Hale stepped to the door and cracked it open, shield already in hand.

"Driver," he said. "Hold."

The lead bandit puffed out his chest. "Halt! This road is under our control!"

Braden leaned to the window. "You're blocking it. We already halted."

"Exactly!" The bandit grinned proudly, as if he'd planned that.

Tessa sighed. "They're grunts. They don't even know how stupid they look."

"Oi!" the lead grunt shouted. "Hand over your valuables! All of them!"

Ryn raised an eyebrow.

Twenty?

That was… excessive. And stupid. But mostly stupid.

Hale took one slow step out of the carriage, shield lifted in a loose motion.

"Step aside," he ordered. "Last warning."

The bandits didn't even hesitate.

"Get them!"

They surged forward as a mob—uncoordinated, shouting over each other, tripping, pushing, and swinging wildly. A chaotic wall of bodies rushed toward the carriage.

Ryn exhaled through his nose.

Perfect timing.

His eyes flicked to the back of the mob, the actual threat.

A slightly larger man with a dented breastplate and a thick iron rod was barking orders, pushing the others forward.

Ryn lifted two fingers.

Just a tiny motion.

He had been curious about Orion as a skill, and now was the best time to test it out.

One shot. One MP. Shouldn't kill right?

The air shimmered, barely. In daylight, the arrow was almost invisible, a faint distortion that vanished as soon as it appeared.

Ryn released it.

Even if he was the one that shot it, Ryn could barely feel the arrow whipping through the air. The invisible shot slammed into the leader's collarbone with pinpoint precision, with just enough force to drop him.

He toppled backwards into his own men like a bowling ball knocking down pins.

The entire front line collapsed in confusion.

"Boss?! What happened?!"

Inside the carriage, Braden blinked.

"Did… someone shoot him?"

Tessa was already stepping down, halberd in hand. "Doesn't matter. They're open."

Hale snapped, "Advance!"

Stonewake surged into motion.

While everyone else rushed forward, Ellis stayed still for half a heartbeat longer. She looked at Ryn, a tiny crease forming on her forehead, like she was solving a hard problem.

But Ryn's expression was unreadable.

And Ellis said nothing, joining her party.

Ryn stepped aside, avoiding the chaos, as the party went to town on the bandits.

Hale slammed his shield on the biggest one, sending him flying. Tessa had taken her halberd and used the butt-end to sweep another two off their feet. Braden loosed a few arrows, all landing on the bandit's joints.

Ellis was the last to move, she conjured a spell that captured the runners, encasing them in jagged rocks.

Ryn immediately knew that her Blessing was [Earth Magician]. A solid B-Rank one, she could be a noble's retainer if she wanted to with it.

A stray bandit lunged toward him, catching Ryn a bit off guard. Nonetheless, he sidestepped, tapped the man's wrist, and let his own momentum do the rest.

The bandit hit the dirt headfirst.

Behind them, Ellis adjusted her glasses and continued observing him out of the corner of her eye.

Dust drifted slowly back to the ground as the last echoes of the scuffle faded.

Tessa planted her halberd blade-first into the dirt.

"Well, that was pathetic."

Hale finished binding the final grunt with a rope, pulling the knot taut.

"That's all of them."

Braden wiped his brow with exaggerated relief. "Thank the gods. I was starting to get secondhand embarrassment."

Tessa gave a grunt, hefting a limp bandit by the collar. "These idiots don't belong on a trade road. They belong in a jail cell."

Ellis nodded in agreement. "There's a garrison outpost not far from here. They'll know what to do."

Ryn quietly dusted off his sleeves, keeping his expression neutral while observing the tied-up pile of trouble.

It was almost impressive how incompetent they were.

Almost.

Hale gestured to the driver. "Let's load them up and drop them at the next garrison post."

"Load them… in the carriage?" Braden asked.

Tessa pointed her halberd at the bandits. "They can walk behind us."

Braden smirked. "Kind."

"They tried to rob us," she reminded him. "Kindness is optional."

With some groaning and dragging, the bandits were lined up, roped together, and forced to stumble behind the moving carriage like a sad parade of poor choices.

And then, as the carriage crested a small rise—

Dunwick came into view.

A town that's large enough to be considered a frontier, but was mostly composed of travelers and their relatives. Many use this town as a base camp before reaching Raias.

Everything about the town was modest, from the house sizes to their stone town walls and entrance.

Ryn noted the subtle tension in the town. Even if the party came with a whole group of twenty bandits in tow, most villagers didn't even bat an eye.

The most reaction it caused was mild surprise at best.

It all suggested a town used to more trouble than it should be.

Two guards at the gate blinked at the parade of prisoners.

"What in the—?" one started.

Hale stepped forward. "Highway ambush. We're turning them over to the garrison."

The guards recovered quickly, gesturing to follow.

"Good work. Captain'll want to question them."

Braden gave a mock salute. "All yours. They talk a lot if you ask nicely. Or at all."

Tessa rolled her eyes.

The bandits were dragged off toward the holding cells, muttering complaints under their breath.

And just like that—

Dunwick swallowed the chaos whole, returning to its quiet, functional hum like nothing unusual had happened at all.

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