Metal cuts through the morning air as Zatu swings at the testing dummy.
A thin coat of sword intent covers over the already sharp edge.
The sound of clashing metal echoes through the backyard.
And his sword bounces from the dummy's recovered gray surface.
There, a new mark appears where the sword's edge striked.
Just like the mark left last night, it's white.
"I shouldn't have expected more." Zatu sighs, shaking his head.
In the end even infusing the attack with sword intent still couldn't show the next color of the dummy.
From the side Arbo smiles in his chair, basking in the morning sun in the exact same position he laid on yesterday.
'I could try to input more Sword Intent.' Zatu thinks as he looks at his panel.
[Mana] -- (11/11) / [Sword Intent] -- (7/9)
Then he shakes his head.
The day after tomorrow Zatu would go hunt beasts and any extra strength could make a difference.
Thinking of these thoughts he remembered that tomorrow will also be an exciting day.
Meeting the guide in the morning and visiting the outer south district in the afternoon.
A thought that filled him with excitement, as if a swarm of butterflies took flight inside his stomach.
Getting to know the place where he would spend the next few months, maybe even see a few beasts up close… maybe, maybe even fight one of them.
It all made his blood boil in excitement.
So much so that a little question popped into his mind.
'Should I leave my sword home?'
He chuckles to himself, knowing his rule of no training during rest days might be broken if he went to the outer south with his sword.
But then again, what kind of swordsman walks around without their own sword.
"Tomorrow is a visit, we are just going to look out, tomorrow is a rest day, I should not fight things out."
He mumbled to himself trying to calm that colorful swarm that flew widdly inside his tummy.
Hearing Zatu's murmuring a knowing smile sneaks up on Arbo's old lips as the scene brought back an old memory.
A memory from many centuries ago, when he was still young and barely awakened.
From the night before his first day as a city guard, on what would one day become the capital of the kingdom.
Many things were much harder at the time, with the lack of advanced magics and a kingdom to build up in their hands.
But people had hope in those years after the last millennium Beast wave, hope for a prosperous and peaceful period.
A hope that had been true… for a while.
At least there were a few decades before the City Wars started, but that was a story that mattered very little at this point in time.
A sigh escapes Arbo as the knowledge of how harsh the millennium beast wave is, resurfaces in his mind.
He had, after all, been raised by survivors of the last one and their tales were nothing to scoff at.
"Though times are coming, but I hope at least for this last year or two I can give him the space to grow strong enough to see the other side of the disaster."
The old man mumbles quietly to himself watching his adopted grandson strive to become stronger.
With deep breaths Zatu shakes his head and clears his mind from his own distractions.
Sitting on the ground, the young magic swordsman holds his sword and channels his skill.
A soft purple glow illuminates the backyard's ground.
***
In the streets of outer city an unawakened girl trudges around with a defeated aura.
Maira had just spent the whole morning asking around about Night Fang only to not gain much.
From old friends, to beggars and kids, to even official guards she knew, nobody seemed to know much.
No, in fact there were a few that seemed to recognise the name.
Before suddenly acting dumb and advising her to not ask about it anymore.
Troubled she stares at the ground, as her feet drag her across to areas further away from the walls that divided Inner and Outer city.
The further away, the worse quality the buildings got, the more people you could see lying down on the street.
Begging, selling trinkets and offering… services.
In a new place, Maira starts to think where to begin her search when suddenly she feels a tug at the hem of her blouse.
"Miss lady, I hear you ask about bad thing, I hear you offer pay."
A childish voice calls from below.
Looking at it Maira sees a thin and scrawny boy, not even 10 years of age.
His forehead sleek with sweat and small pants escaping his lips.
'He must have followed me here from that street with beggars.' She concludes.
The kid's suspicious eyes shift everywhere, as if afraid a monster is about to jump him.
"Is the bad thing you mentioned Night Fang?" She asks, lowering herself to the boy's height.
The boy's eyes go wide and his efforts to watch the surroundings redouble, like a watch hound startled by a loud noise.
"Shhh, don't say it miss lady, saying it makes bad things happen."
"Okay, I won't say it, but you have to tell me what you know about this bad thing, alright?" She says with a smile while she pats the kids back gently.
"Five, no, three gold coins." The kid states instantly, raising three fingers on his little hand.
Maira pauses in thought for a second, three gold coins for rumors coming from a kid that was just an absurd ask.
And yet she had gotten nothing after hours of search.
Plus, when compared with how much Zatu paid her for this mission, 3 gold coins was only a small amount.
"Too much, how about 20 silver." She shoots back an offer only to see tears form in the kids eyes.
"But but… I need the gold Miss lady." The kid says with a cracking voice before dropping a sob story on her lap.
A classic for many residents of Unbreon, if such sad stories could even be called classics.
A parent that falls to a beast, leaving his partner to survive alone with a child.
Even after much struggle the parent still gets sick and the kid is desperate.
At the side Maira hears it all silently, not taking a single word of the kid at face value but consoling the boy anyway.
Once the kid is done she offers a compromise.
"Look, if what you know about the bad thing is useful, I'll personally take your mother to the healer and pay for her treatment, deal?"
The boy lights up like a christmas tree. "Deal!"
With the kid agreeing to her offer she takes the tired kid in her arms and starts to make their way to the kid's house.
All the while he quietly whispers tales in her ears.
"Mom told me Bad thing's name should not be said. That when night comes, anyone that breaks the rule disappears."
Maira raises an eyebrow in skepticism but lets the kid keep going.
"Mom said some come back, but they are changed, like broken dolls."
A frown forms between Maira's brows.
"Did your mom tell you what happens with those that don't come back?"
The kid nods again. "They appear in papers, as criminals to be put down."
Hearing that her frown deepens.
'Why would uttering the name of a guide bring such a horrible outcome?'
She thought to herself, wanting to dismiss what the kid said completely and yet something in her gut told her otherwise.
There was just no way a guide with years of experience was as unknown as Night Fang for no reason.
"Did your mom tell anything else about the bad thing?"
The kid shakes his head, before something clicks in his little head.
"Mom said Bad thing's lair is in the outer south and it takes kids who misbehave away at night."
The kid states full of confidence, smiling as he felt he had been very useful and saved his mom's life.
Maira's mood on the other hand only gets sombrer.
She knew some people lived in a settlement just beyond the walls in the outer district.
But if the distant parts of outer cities were run down that place was a warzone.
Especially since it was officially outside Unbreon, so no officers ever stepped a single foot in that place.
And now her only clue to push forward was lurking in those lawless waters.
'I'll talk to Mister Zatu tonight, see if he can help me dive in there safely.'
She decides in her mind, deciding to push further without hesitation.
For one she had Zatu's mission, but now after hearing the kid.
If what he said had any merit, she had to do something about it.
'I'll find what this NIght Fang is hiding!'
"I'm Ron… what is your name miss lady?" The kid mumbles hesitantly in her ear.
"I'm Maira, Maira Pink nose."
She answers before taking the kid to help out his sickly mother.