As Dylan pushed open the oak door, a salty, fishy smell mixed with the scent of watered-down ale hit him in the face.

This was a tavern for dockworkers and sailors, dirty and noisy, and Dylan liked this kind of environment.

"Stew and a mug of ale, to my room." He flicked a few copper coins to the owner and then walked straight through the crowd, heading upstairs.

This was Dylan's third day in Clark. Tomorrow, a ship at the dock would depart for the Archipelago and was still willing to take passengers. Dylan had been waiting for its departure for three days.

In recent days, the patrols and inspections by the guards had been strict, perhaps due to the incident with Keroro killing that pampered rich kid.

Nevertheless, Dylan stayed mostly secluded.

He barely interacted with anyone except the tavern owner and the ship's first mate.

Back in his room, Dylan took a bottle of Magic Potion from his luggage and drank half of it in one gulp.

Unable to undergo Photosynthesis in the city, he had to rely on the potion.

The remaining half was poured onto the Scout.

The Magic Potion flowed over the Scale Armor, making the backpack transformed from the Scout more filled out.

Then Dylan drew his Longsword and began to carefully wipe it with a cloth.

"Sir, your stew and ale."

His dinner finally arrived!

Dylan stood up, took two steps, then halted.

Sir?

Your?

This wasn't some high-end establishment. If the tavern's waitstaff spoke without using foul language, it was considered polite, so why such wording?

Upon thinking this, Dylan quickly realized there were more issues.

Downstairs… at some point, it had grown quiet…

"Sir, are you asleep?" When Dylan didn't respond for a while, the person at the door asked again.

Dylan was now more certain that there was definitely something wrong with the person outside. How could they be so polite!

He quietly slung the Scout on his back, gripping the Longsword in his hand.

Dylan tiptoed to the window, peeking through the gap in the coarse curtain to look down.

Damn, guards!

Visible were three guards downstairs, and who knew how many more there might be!

Dylan couldn't figure out how he ended up being watched!

Did Keroro get caught and rat him out?

Crack—

While Dylan was lost in thought, the person outside seemed to lose patience and planned to break in.

Faced with the predicament, Dylan decisively chose—

"Boss! Boss! Need support!"

"What?"

Lin Jun, who was originally experimenting with the effects of [Plant Affinity Level 1], received Dylan's distress signal and shifted focus.

[Magic Perception Level 6]

[Air Flow Perception Level 7]

[Sound Wave Detection Level 6]

After going through several detection Skills, Lin Jun quickly understood the situation.

"You're surrounded by thirteen people, what did you do?"

"I don't know…" Dylan was still bewildered.

"Should I kill them all?"

The backpack straps were on standby.

With one Gold and twelve Bronze, using the tavern's second-floor terrain, killing them all was not really difficult.

"Don't do that, boss, we're in the city!"

A city surely had Diamond Level experts, not to mention a major port city like Clark connecting to the Archipelago.

Raising chaos here, Dylan highly doubted if he could escape.

"Mustn't kill… then…" Lin Jun contemplated for a moment, the backpack strap pointed in a direction "across the street, the house with the red roof, rush in."

At those words, Dylan looked out the window, indeed seeing a warehouse with a red roof at an angle.

Crack—Bang—

As soon as Dylan confirmed the location, the door was violently opened.

"It's you!?"

Standing at the door were several guards and a Knight in silver-gray armor. Although she wore a helmet this time, Dylan immediately recognized her.

So that was when he was exposed?

But why?

No time to dwell on it, Dylan decisively broke the window and jumped out.

"Don't think about escaping!"

The Knight charged straight in, not stopping Dylan, but directly knocking down the wall!

From the second floor to the ground, Dylan faced two guards thrusting their spears, not daring to linger in battle.

Relying on [Evasion Level 4] and [Acceleration Level 6], he skillfully dodged out of harm's way.

The Knight, having jumped down behind him, stomped her foot on the ground.

[Swift Movement Level 5]

Even in heavy armor, Lady Knight Liadlin showed no signs of sluggishness, quickly pursuing Dylan with the skill's boost.

Trailing behind were the hastily following guards.

Red roof warehouse! Red roof warehouse!

Using the advantage of a head start, Dylan dashed towards the warehouse with the red roof.

No time to leisurely knock on doors, though he wasn't sure why the boss pointed him there, rushing inside should be the right move.

[Vortex Slash Level 5]

Dylan used his triple axe technique again!

The gate was just an ordinary wooden door, and the latch behind it broke with the slash.

Not daring to delay, Dylan rushed in headfirst.

Once inside, Dylan realized something was wrong.

Why were there so many people in the empty warehouse?

Why were all these people wearing black robes?

Why not turn on the lights, but light candles on the floor instead?

What were these circles on the ground?

One of the black-robed figures even had dark magic energy gathering in his hands...

All the black-robed figures looked at Dylan in astonishment, as if they hadn't expected someone to suddenly burst in.

Behind Dylan, the female knight had already caught up, blocking the doorway.

"Ah! So that's it, this is a gathering of Abyss Magic users. No wonder there are so many high magic power targets here," the leader said as if he had just figured it out.

Dylan's face turned pale.

What could be worse than being hunted by one group of people?

Being hunted by two groups of people at the same time, of course!

"Interloper!" The black-robed figures lit up one by one with the dark light symbolizing Abyss Magic.

"So, you're a user of Black Magic. No wonder..." The knight crushed some item, forming a translucent protective film around her body.

"Boss, am I doomed to die today?" Dylan, stuck in the middle, looked as miserable as he possibly could.

"Death, my foot!"

Purple fog spilled out from the backpack, the sweet and metallic scent instantly spreading all around.

[Hallucinogenic Spores Level 6]

The familiar smell almost made Dylan, who was at the center, feel dazed.

"What are you spacing out for? Quickly, slip away now!"

The leader's voice jolted Dylan awake. With the resistance he'd built up from daily training, Dylan ran to the corner in the direction indicated by the backpack.

Behind Dylan, the knight and the black-robed figures soon got into a chaotic fight.

"Quick! Activate the Magic Array!" came a distorted shriek from somewhere.

Immediately, Dylan felt a chill as if seeping from deep within his bones. It felt very wrong, but he couldn't pinpoint exactly what was the problem.

Though his skin was perfectly intact, a sense of exhaustion from life's ebb spread through his body—as if an invisible hand was slowly squeezing his heart.

Lin Jun could clearly "see" that Dylan was cursed again.

[Wither Curse: Maximum life gradually decreases]

It wasn't just Dylan who was cursed; the scout was as well, and there was no time limit on it.

No time limit meant there had to be a range limit!

Lin Jun commanded directly, "Use stealth to get out now, and run as far as you can!"

Upon hearing this, Dylan's body color changed, blending with the wall.

The warehouse was dimly lit, and with the Hallucinogenic Spores not yet fully dissipated, Dylan's movements were well concealed.

Inside the warehouse, the two groups were nearly beating each other's brains out.

The black-robed figures aimed to use the array and Abyss Magic to kill the knight, leaving many guards dead or unconscious on the ground.

The knight tried to destroy the array, making several charges, although forced back, cutting down multiple black-robed figures in succession.

At this point, no one had the time to notice the thing matching the wall's color quietly slipping away.

Once a little farther away, Dylan started running fast.

The farther he ran, the lighter the feeling of palpitations seemed to become.

Just as Dylan felt slightly relaxed, the leader suddenly warned again, "Be careful."

Careful?

Careful of what?

Dylan looked around and ultimately spotted a figure approaching from the darkness ahead.

In loose silk garments, with a long and a short sword at the waist that obviously weren't ordinary.

"Boss, who is that?"

No response...

Dylan dared not act rashly. The leader said to be careful, not to run!

As the figure came closer, Dylan made out the appearance—a nondescript middle-aged man.

A person who could be found in droves inside a tavern, except for those two swords; Dylan couldn't see anything special about him.

But the leader probably wasn't wrong!

"What happened over there?" the middle-aged man asked casually.

"I... I don't know. A knight suddenly got into a fight with someone with guards..."

Naturally, Dylan wouldn't mention his involvement. The middle-aged man nodded and continued to walk unhurriedly forward.

But as he brushed past Dylan, he suddenly stopped, stared at Dylan's backpack for a good long while, and touched the hilt of his short sword, seemingly hesitating a bit.

However, having entered the range of the black-robed figures' array, the middle-aged man clearly realized what it was after feeling a wave of dread.

Retracting his gaze without further delay, he disappeared instantly from the original spot.

Dylan felt as if he finally broke free from the lion's sight, and shivered.

In fact, both Dylan and Lin Jun felt the powerful sense of oppression at the end, thinking that guy was going to strike.

"Bo... boss, who was that?"

This time, Lin Jun stopped pretending to be dead.

"Well... is there anyone among you humans known as a Sword Saint?"

[Name: Elvyn Slyne]

[Level: 70]

[Title: Sword Saint]

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