The sight around me felt vaguely familiar - I was certain the reason I could see this scene was [The Self].

  However, instead of an orderly panel, this was more of a glitchy screen, with random strings of text flying everywhere.

  ‘No, actually…’

  As I stretched my senses to their limit, I noticed some of those words were legible.

  Feeling my head start to spin, I nonetheless managed to make a few of them out.

  ‘Mist Knight.. Blade Dancer…’

  I started from the smallest ones, at least among those I could read, moving to the bigger, easier words, which were also moving slightly slower.

  ‘Destroyer.. Warrior?’

  As I moved up the sizes, a few of the bigger words began to move even slower, while everything else spun even faster, merging into a blur, and then dissipating in the void that now surrounded me.

  In the end, I was left with four strings of words. From their names…

  ‘Are those Paths?’

  …it felt like they were Paths I was eligible to choose. Moreover, as I cautiously reached my mind to one of them, I felt it starting to ‘solidify’, as the other paths began fading away.

  I instantly withdrew my focus from it, and everything reverted back to its initial state.

  ‘I wonder if that's how it always is.’

  Nobody ever mentioned being able to choose one of multiple Paths. Although, in retrospect, choosing your own Path did make sense. Although, given how it felt connected to my trait, I wouldn't be surprised if this was only possible because of it.

  ‘Anyway, let's look at the options.’

  The smallest one was titled Destroyer.

  ‘Did I hear about it before?’

  I might have heard about it from Harold, or perhaps one of my talks with Amelia. I wasn't certain, but to the best of my memory, it had something to do with high damage, and something other than mobility - I think.. defensive capabilities?

  The next one was Warrior.

  ‘Ha, so it wasn't the default choice. Does it mean the other two are more fitting, based on my current kit?’

  Even bigger than Warrior was the next translucent string of characters, spelling out Slayer.

  ‘Damage and mobility. That's the one Harold said I was on my way to reach. Turns out, he had a good eye for that kind of thing, at least. Or maybe it was just that obvious…’

  Near Slayer, appearing identical in size, was another Path I've never seen before.

  ‘Spellblade?’

  I had no idea about this Path, but…

  ‘Sebastian’s father told him to learn [Arcane Meditation] dead-last. He also taught him the techniques…’

  While [Inspired Creativity] was my own achievement, and I had no idea regarding the origin of [Stamina Burst], at least the [Sword Mastery] Trait and the two sword techniques were the result of Seb's training - which, in turn, was dictated by his father.

  ‘Perhaps the reason he insisted on learning [Arcane Meditation] last was to somehow increase the chances of getting this Path?’

  It was evident he knew a lot about how obtaining Paths worked - perhaps the order had meaning, or perhaps the level of mastery did, and he was afraid his young son might get too engrossed in studying magic if he learned it too soon.

  ‘It’s a bit overbearing, but…’

  Throwing a glance at where the sword should have been - and likely still was, in the real world - I couldn't help but agree with his reasoning. If this Path functioned as I thought it did, it was basically perfect for unlocking the sword’s potential. And with how immense that potential was, the justification to stir his child toward this choice was more than sufficient.

  ‘Anyway, no need to overthink it.’

  Without a moment’s hesitation, I reached out for the Spellblade Path.

  The moment I did, I felt every other Path become fainter, until they finally dissolved into the blackness.

  On the other hand, the translucent characters spelling out ‘Spellblade’ became more and more tangible, and finally, they… shattered into a million tiny pieces.

  As my heart skipped a beat, the light-teal cloud of shiny particles suddenly flew onto me, engulfing my essence and permeating my very being.

  “Huff… Huff…”

  I was sitting on my bed, drenched in sweat. However, despite my uncertain condition, excitement eclipsed caution, and the first thing I did was open up my panel.

  【Skills】:

  [Charge Thrust] - Lv3 (30/100)

  |__ [Charge] Lv2 (75/100)

  |__ [Thrust] Lv2 (69/100)

  [Arc Slash] - Lv1 (94/100)

  [Arcane Meditation] - Lv1 (1/100)

  Ignoring the slight improvements in my other skills after the fight, I focused on the newly acquired [Arcane Meditation].

  ‘So that’s what it does…’

  [The Self] kindly helped me comprehend its exact purpose - replenishing my ‘arcane reserves’.

  ‘So basically, if I can restore my stamina at a greater rate naturally by sleeping - or otherwise resting - then the equivalent with arcane energy would be this skill.’

  Of course, maybe it also restored itself faster when sleeping - I truly didn't know. This was something I'd have to check, or ask a real mage about.

  The next category I opened was…

  【Abilities】:

  [Stamina Burst] - Lv2

  [Arcane Conversion] - Lv1

  Another addition!

  Just as with my skill, [The Self] allowed me to see its effects.

  ‘Hmm… let's try it.’

  Activating the ability, I could suddenly feel a certain emptiness within me - an emptiness which was rapidly expanding.

  ‘So this is what losing arcane energy feels like.’

  At the same time, I felt my stamina, greatly depleted after the recent fight, gradually recover.

  ‘Alright, now the other side..’

  I felt my newly-regained stamina drain once more. At the same time, the feeling of emptiness diminished.

  However, as I lost roughly half of my regained stamina, I could only feel the arcane energy replenish to something closer to a quarter or one fifth of its former strength.

  ‘Guess the efficiency is terrible to both sides. Well, it's only a level 1 ability. I wonder if it scales with the Path level, since I got it from the Path itself.’

  Now, it was time to inspect my new Traits, of which there was one.

  [Spellblade Hybrid Proficiency]:

  Agility +2.

  Strength +2.

  Endurance +2.

  Intelligence +2.

  Damage with bladed weapons increased by 10%.

  Damage with arcane skills and abilities, which use a bladed weapon as their arcane conduit, increased by 15%.

  Arcane skills and abilities used to enchant weapons have 25% increased effectiveness.

  For a few seconds, all I could do was stare blankly at the wall of text.

  ‘I guess a Path's core trait simply displays all of its bonuses in one place. Compared to regular traits, this is truly something else.’

  The only thing that could compare in terms of attributes was [He Who Gazed Into The Abyss], and even then, that was a highly specialized Trait, both in terms of the Attribute bonus and its passive effect. If anything, it was that alien trait that was weird, being comparable to the Path proficiency Trait.

  ‘Still, even the effects are incredible. It's like this Path was created for Arcane Harmony arms. Or, rather, the other way around…’

  As I took a look at my attributes, I had one final surprise waiting for me.

  【Attributes】:

  Strength: 16

  Agility: 15

  Endurance: 15

  Intelligence: 16

  Awareness: 19

  Charisma: 9

  ‘Ha! I knew it! The physical attributes were interconnected!’

  In addition to the Spellblade proficiency bonuses, my Strength increased by 1, perhaps throughout that very fight earlier today.

  ‘This is great!’

  If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

  I leaped off the bed, failing to resist the urge to grab my sword, and made a few swings.

  The sword felt noticeably lighter than before, even in my tired arms, and the swings had more noticeably power behind them, but were also much easier and faster to halt due to my increased strength.

  For a few seconds I felt truly euphoric - like I could do anything I wanted, defeat any foe…

  ‘Doesn’t it feel familiar? You've felt this way before.’

  Like a bucket of cold water, my thoughts went back to that cave, where I dispatched the goblins with such ease.. only to let my newfound confidence turn into arrogance. For which my first party member paid the price…

  Of course, I knew it wasn't my fault - for the most part, at least. But that didn't make the lesson less important.

  ‘Every single one of them had already achieved this…’

  If I’d let this advancement go to my head, making me underestimate the mortal danger that were the Scarlet Shadows, there was no telling how badly it would turn out for me.

  One thing was for certain - while I now had a higher combat ability, and a secondary goal of finding enchantment-related books (or a knowing Wizard in general), my plans for the near future did not change - finish everything I needed to do here, find a caravan to Valor's End, and get the hell out of this city - as soon as possible.

  With those thoughts, I collapsed into the bed again.

  It took a long time for my pounding heart to calm down, but after a while, I finally fell asleep.

  ***

  Tap, Tap. Tap-Tap-Tap.

  In the dead of night, Xin, wearing the same hooded robe he did yesterday, was tapping on the metal door at the back of a warehouse.

  It was one of the many warehouses in Southern, with nothing particular to set it apart from the rest.

  skrrreeeeek

  The door swung inwards, the rusty hinges producing a shrill screech.

  With his sensitive ears twitching at the sound, the half-elf stepped forward, centering a narrow corridor.

  One would expect the person who opened the door to be right in front of him, however, the corridor was empty, as if the door was opened by a ghost.

  Xin, however, did not show any reaction - his face remained frozen, like a mask, and his cold eyes only looked forward.

  The corridor had multiple exits, all leading into different large sections of the warehouse. All such exits had a similar type of sliding door, thick wood with a metallic frame.

  However, one exit, near the end of the corridor, had a regular wooden door.

  Xin made his way there, opening the door to reveal a small service room, with a few wooden shelves filled with cleaning tools and solutions, and a few mops in the corner.

  On the far end stood a large wooden barrel, filled to the brim with water.

  clunk

  With a gentle motion, Xin closed the door again.

  After three seconds, he opened it halfway, immediately closed it, then opened it fully.

  Click!

  The barrel in the back spiraled downwards, stopping when its lid was below floor level, then slid backwards, revealing a hatch. A set of steep wooden stairs was leading downstairs in a spiral, with a central metal pillar.

  The half elf began his descent, counting roughly ten meters (five full circles) before he finally exited into another short corridor with a much heavier wooden door at its end, with a metal panel near its top.

  This time, he simply approached and knocked on it, without any special tricks.

  “Who goes there?”

  A raspy voice came in reply, and the metal panel slid open, revealing a set of bars - and a fleshy face, adorned with a big ugly scar running across it.

  The man behind the door scanned the new arrival, and then, his eyes opened wide.

  “F-fox?”

  “It’s been a while, Hog.”

  Xin's voice was flat, betraying no emotion.

  “B-but.. how? Why?”

  “Does it matter? I have the code, so I have the right to pass. Isn't that how it works in your.. ‘family’?”

  The man behind the door took a deep breath.

  “Xin.. I will let you pass if you want. But if you want my advice - turn around and leave. Whoever you came here for - they won't be happy to see you.”

  The half-elf just scoffed.

  “Thank’s for the advice, Hog. Now open the door.”

  The eyes behind the bar closed for a moment. When they opened again, they radiated frost.

  “I haven't gone by that name for many years, Xin.”

  In spite of his words, the door opened, revealing a huge, slightly chubby figure, but with clear muscle under the fat.

  “Call yourself whatever you want. I'm here to speak to the Seraph.”

  The man opened his eyes in shock.

  “And you think he'll just speak to you? An outsi- no, worse, a deserter?”

  “I didn't desert anyone, Kirk. Besides, I'm not here to speak for myself - and I'm certain what I have to say will be worth his time.”

  The big man scowled, before shrugging.

  “It’s your funeral. Go to the left, turn right on the third corner, right again on the second, and look for the big door with the big guard outside. If the door is closed, do yourself a favor and leave - anything else would come at the cost of your life.”

  Giving Kirk a cold nod, the half-elf did as instructed. Over the next few minutes, he slowly navigated the maze, passing by a couple of sketchy-looking figures on the way, until he reached his destination - a massive double door, stretching from the floor all the way to the 3-meter high ceiling.

  In front of the closed door stood a massive man, only three heads shorter than the door.

  The man had a light green skin hue, his face structure was very rough and square for a human, and his big, sharp lower fangs protruded past his lower lip.

  He wore no armor - in fact, he wore nothing above his waist, displaying his chiseled muscles for all to see - as well as his many scars.

  He was leaning on the thick shaft of a huge greataxe, the top of said shaft reaching just above Xin's chest.

  “I’d like to speak to the Seraph.”

  Not intimidated in the slightest, Xin simply tilted his head backwards, looking straight into the enormous guard's eyes.

  “Speak to the Seraph? You?”

  The half-orc repeated in a booming voice, giving the (relatively) small man in front him an intimidating glance.

  “Yes. This is about the Scarlet Shadows.”

  Xin didn't miss the subtle twitch in the guard's eye when he said that name.

  “Let me ask the bo-”

  “Let him in.”

  A calm, soft, almost warm voice came from behind the door.

  The moment the voice reached the half-orc’s ears, there was not a moment of hesitation - the heavy doors were promptly pushed open, as effortlessly as one would open their bedroom door.

  Without saying another word, the half-elf strode past the doorway, entering a large room.

  While the room was certainly comfortable, to call it luxurious would be stretching the definition very thin. In fact, beyond comfort and ease of reach, neither the furniture nor the contents of the shelves offered any exceptional visual appeal, and showed no extravagance.

  Behind a large wooden desk sat an older man, many white streaks mixed into his long brown hair, his beard neatly trimmed at a fist's length, and his piercing blue eyes looking straight into Xin's soul.

  On the surface, the man radiated the feeling of fatherly warmth mixed with an aura of authority. However, if one knew what he was truly capable of, the feelings evoked would usually include dread.

  “Xin… I see you have finally reached the start of your Path. You have grown well since the last time I saw you.”

  “You flatter me, Seraph.”

  Xin's tone was that of dry, formal politeness, albeit of the most respectful kind.

  “Have you perhaps overcome your reluctance to join our family?”

  “...I'm sorry, Seraph. I am already in the service of another.”

  The man silently looked at Xin for a few moments, showing no emotion, as droplets of cold sweat began forming on the back of the latter's neck.

  “That’s good. Betraying your master's trust is not a quality an ‘angel’ should possess. Perhaps you shall reconsider after your employment ends.”

  “I shall keep this in mind when that time comes, Seraph.”

  “Good… now, child, you came to speak on your master's behalf, have you not?”

  “That is true, Seraph. My.. master has a plan to land a critical blow on the Scarlet Shadows. If you would lend us your aid, that could become an opportunity to dispose of them for good.”

  “Hmm…”

  The man looked at Xin with contemplation, while the half-elf stood in silence, his head lightly bowed towards the Seraph of the Tainted Angels.

  “I have had many people come to me with this very same offer before. Years ago, a few of them even received the aid they requested.”

  He paused, still looking at the half-elf with his piercing sky-blue eyes.

  “Every single one of them is long gone - and the Scarlet Shadows still plague this city. Do you know why that is?”

  “Yes, Seraph.”

  Unexpectedly, Xin answered the seemingly rhetorical question - evoking no reaction whatsoever.

  “Beyond their individual strength, cunning tactics, and boundless brutality, they also possess powerful backing. In fact, their backing is exceptionally powerful.”

  “Indeed.”

  The Seraph was neither surprised nor offended at the answer.

  “I presume you know who those backers are.”

  Xin nodded.

  “Two of the brothers.”

  “And now, with the succession wars looming on the horizon, you believe they would be unable to support the Shadows so brazenly - is that correct?”

  Xin simply nodded, not showing a trace of surprise on his face - however, he couldn't help but feel a tinge of it inside, despite being fully aware just how competent the man in front of him was.

  “And, with your backer being who he is, you believe you can use the opportunity to either deprive them of one of their most useful tools, or, if luck would have it, even strike them down?”

  Xin’s attempt to preserve his stone-cold expression faltered, as he couldn't help but involuntarily raise his eyebrows.

  “I cannot speak for my master, Seraph.”

  The man in front of Xin sighed.

  “Xin… tell me - did your master not consider the fact that perhaps the enemy also realized it? That, at a time like this, when they are at their weakest, they know that the venomous snakes laying in the grass are most likely to pounce?”

  “...of course he considered it, Seraph. However, just because they know it, doesn't mean they aren't at their weakest.”

  The man looked at the half-elf in silence.

  “I suppose he has a plan?”

  “He does.”

  “Is the plan concrete yet?”

  “...it has but a few open variables, Seraph. The biggest one is your support - before we finalize our plan, one way or another, we would need an answer.”

  After a few seconds of silence, the man suddenly burst into laughter. There was no hint of malice in it - only sincere amusement.

  Xin just stood there, silently, waiting for the man to calm down.

  “Ah… one way or another. How aptly put.”

  The Seraph wiped a tear from the edge of his eye.

  “You say that with such confidence - as if without my support, the Trash of the Silverton family would find a different, high stakes path to valiantly overcome the challenges and achieve his quest’s goal.”

  Xin’s face stiffened - the conversation wasn't going well. However, that didn't mean he'd give up.

  “He has changed. I've been with him for three years - I can attest to that. As you can see, I’m even willing to bet my life on it.”

  “Your life…”

  The man’s eyes scanned Xin, head to toe.

  “Certainly - you are betting your life on his success. But is your life worth more than the future of my family? And have your betting skills improved in the last three years, or have they remained… wanting?”

  The half-elf's face darkened, but a moment later, his eyes shone with resolve.

  “At least hear our plan before you decide.”

  “I thought you didn't have a concrete plan yet?”

  “Let me reconvene with my companions. We shall promptly present one. If it will not be up to your standards, you could just refuse then.”

  “...up to my standards, you say?..”

  The man's face returned to deep thought - until suddenly, his eyes shifted back to Xin. This time, the fatherly warmth was gone, replaced by a cold, calculating gaze.

  “Two weeks.”

  He slid a small piece of thick, high quality paper, with the colored picture of three wooden crates on it, and exquisite letters spelling out “Three Crates Transportation & Storage Company”.

  Xin looked at the expensive business card, pocketing it into his robes.

  “Meet me at the central office at midnight, exactly fourteen days, two hours and thirty.. two minutes from now. Bring all of your ‘companions’. And present me with a proper plan - one that, as you aptly put it, measures up to my standards.”

  “Thank you, Seraph.”

  Following Xin's respectful bow, the man waved his hand dismissively.

  The half-elf slowly walked backwards, without turning his back to the Seraph until he was out of the room.

  In part to follow an ancient custom, meant to show respect, and still in occasional use to this day.

  In part to hide his back, which was already drenched in cold sweat.