Hours passed, and Nemina still didn’t return. Eliam wanted to go out and look for her, but he wasn’t sure where he could even begin his search. It seemed like a very hopeless endeavor.

  I’m not sure what I even did to get her to blow up at me. I guess all of this has taken a much greater toll on her than I’d originally imagined.

  Eliam felt horrible about what he had put Nemina through. He especially felt horrible about the damned Ancient Woods. Nemina was right, he knew that he sometimes couldn’t help but glance at her with a saddened look. Sometimes, he would get flashbacks to the faces she would make, and how her body was torn about. About how she was begging to die.

  He shook his head to snap himself out of it. He couldn’t allow himself to fall into that mindset. That life was over, and he was already on the next. He needed to find Nemina and apologize to her.

  He grabbed Frostlight and pushed open the door to leave his room. He hadn’t the first idea of where to look, so he started by going back to the innkeeper. Perhaps, he would have seen where Nemina had gone.

  He walked back to the same place from which he had entered the inn. As he neared, a sickly iron smell began to waft into the air. It was a smell he knew all too well.

  He rushed to the entrance of the inn and found the innkeeper face down on the floor. He quickly turned him over and nearly gagged when he came face to face with the lifeless innkeeper. There was a thin hole in the man’s head indicating how he had died, or at least where the wound was.

  Eliam suddenly felt very unsafe as even his own shadow seemed to be threatening him. He hurriedly glanced around the room, trying to become more aware of his surroundings. Whoever did this was incredibly silent. Eliam had never heard a thing, and he had been awake this entire time.

  The back of his neck suddenly prickled. He quickly tried to discern why. Everything looked exactly the exact same as when he first came into the room. That was until he noticed that the dead innkeeper’s shadow was slightly larger than it should have been.

  Eliam stood there, frozen. He knew he would need to make a move before the shadow thing did. Failing to do so would mean his death.

  Finally, Eliam made his move. He casually moved his hand to his side, brushing Frostlight. In that moment, he activated Blink and teleported right next to the shadow.

  It jumped back in surprise, but it wasn’t quick enough. He slashed down on it, successfully hitting something.

  A cloaked woman shrieked as she stumbled backward, falling onto the floor. Eliam had gotten a direct hit, but it was to the woman’s arm. She would still be in the fight.

  She growled as she jumped back to her feet and pulled a wand from her cloak with her good hand. She waved it, and a black needle rocketed toward him. His aura sliced it in half right before it pierced his skull.

  The woman tsked as she waved the wand again, summoning some sort of shadow dagger in her hands. She rushed forward at a rapid pace.

  Eliam dodged her first strike and countered with Frostlight. She tried to block, but she had a dagger, and he had a katana.

  He easily forced her backward with Frostlight until her energy gave out. He slashed forward, ripping into her body.

  She cried out in pain as she stumbled backward, dropping onto the floor. This fight was over. Blood spilled out of the wound as the woman desperately tried to do something to patch it up. She was largely unsuccessful.

  Finally, she stopped what she was doing and looked up at Eliam with a glare.

  “Why are you here?” Eliam asked calmly.

  She scoffed. “For you. I don’t know how, but you have Frostlight, the katana. The hero Sagmin’s weapon.”

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  She’s here for me? Is she just saying that? Why else would she be here for me?

  “Do you work for someone?” he asked.

  She shook her head. “I’m not telling you anything else.”

  Eliam scrunched his face. “Why tell me anything at all?”

  The cloak fell off the woman’s face. The person revealed left Eliam in shock. It was Apredia, from the hero’s guild. “I like you, Eliam, and quite honestly, I’m kind of feeling rebellious. I’m going to forget all of this anyway. Oh, but let me warn you. There are a lot of people who know you managed to find Frostlight. It’s incredibly well hidden, ya know. Not even the best trackers can even find the damn place where it’s located. Yet, here you are strolling it without a care in the world.”

  Eliam paled as Apredia spoke. Coming to Denovere was a mistake. He had assumed all of the heroes to be on his side. He was wrong.

  “I may forget, Eliam. Yet, there will be people who won’t. I would suggest not coming to Denovere again, and even then, that might not save you.” Apredia smirked.

  “What do you mean?” Eliam asked.

  “They know who you are now and what you look like. It won’t be safe for you anywhere. This world or yours,” Apredia said while coughing up blood. “Oh, and it’s interesting that the blue-haired woman isn’t a hero. A native, huh.”

  Eliam froze, not expecting that answer at all.

  I won’t be safe in my world? What does that mean?

  Apredia slumped over, a smile still etched onto her face. Eliam immediately tried to shake her to prevent her from dying, but it was useless. She was gone. The ping a moment later from the essence confirmed it.

  A cold feeling of nervousness washed over Eliam. If what she had said was true, then he was in extreme danger. Defending himself here was one thing, but real life was completely different. He didn’t know what he would do if someone went after him there.

  Wait, how did she know Nemina wasn’t from Earth?

  The cold feeling vanished as a feeling of anger panged up in its place. Those bastards did something to her. Frostlight sent a slight chill down his hand, conveying its own feelings on the situation. The katana was also pissed.

  Frostlight remembered what had happened to Nemina back in the harpy den. The thought of something similar happening again pissed Eliam off to no end. He promised her it wouldn’t happen again.

  He gripped Frostlight tightly in his hand as he sheathed the blade. He didn’t have enough MP to use another skill since they used so much. He desperately needed armor better than the cloak he constantly used. It was a major setback for him.

  I think it's time I tried my hand at getting that NovaFrost armor. I should be able to manage with at least a few pieces.

  Eliam shook his head. Thinking about that was pointless at the moment. He stepped out of the inn, about to figure out what his next move was, when he saw movement from the corner of his eye.

  Another needle shot toward him, and his aura blocked it. He scanned his surroundings, but nothing immediately popped out to him.

  Another plethora of needles came toward him, but none of them connected. He must have been a higher level than these assassins. Apredia didn’t have an obvious aura either, so they were likely under 50.

  Finally, he saw where one of the needles was sourced from and dashed toward it. Another cloaked person came out of the shadows and slashed a dagger at Eliam.

  He dodged and slashed Frostlight at their leg as they tried to jump away. He sliced it clean off.

  The cloaked figure fell to the floor, screaming in pain. Eliam went up to the figure and tore off his hood. It was a man he had never seen before.

  “Where the fuck is Nemina?” he growled.

  Instead of responding, the man moved. Eliam jumped back to dodge, but he didn’t need to. The man stuck the dagger in his neck. He gurgled up blood and then died.

  Eliam stomped the ground in rage, having failed to get info off the man. He glanced up at the night sky of the city. He was going to find Nemina. He didn’t have any good leads, but he did know that Apredia was working at the hero’s guild.

  He stormed in that direction, wary of any other projectiles that might come his way. By the time he got there, he kicked open the door and went inside.

  There were still people in there, talking and enjoying the atmosphere. There were fewer since it was so late, but enough to give him some security that he wouldn’t just be attacked in the open.

  The person at the desk was another woman. She was much less energetic than Apredia had been, or at least pretended to be. There was a chance she wasn’t affiliated with this whole thing, but Eliam had a feeling that wouldn’t be the case.