The last particles of frost dissolved into the air, leaving a trail of icy vapor that faded above Sora's open palm.
Behind the mask, his breathing grew heavier. Having those three pairs of eyes locked on him was uncomfortable. It was a good thing he had the mask.
His identity was safe. They wouldn't bother him over that.
In the distance, Darian extended his arm to Clara and helped her up.
"Sorry, I got distracted and left my post. I should've blocked that wolf," Darian said, frustrated, driving the edge of his shield against the ground.
Clara shook her head, taking his hand and brushing the dust off her white robe. Her fingers trembled slightly as she pushed a strand of hair away from her forehead.
"It wasn't your fault. I tripped like an idiot," she admitted, her voice unsteady, avoiding looking at the trail of death the wolf had left behind. "My own clumsiness almost got me killed."
She finished with a frustrated breath, then crouched down to pick up her staff.
Ethan, for his part, wasn't paying attention to either of them. His orange eyes were narrowed and lit with a mix of sharp curiosity and burning irritation, fixed on the figure in the black coat.
To him, Sora wasn't a savior. He was someone who had stuck his nose where it didn't belong and stolen his moment in front of the viewers.
[T0m-54: Hey! It's the masked guy again! The one who gutted that boar.]
[C3lestL1ght: That ice stake was way too precise. Did you see the trajectory? He threw it from a long distance, there's no way that lands unless he has an archer's aim or serious casting experience.]
[Yul1_087: He's a hero! Saved the girl without hesitating. What a relief.]
Sora turned on his heel, desperately wishing the tall grass would swallow him whole. He'd acted on pure reflex, something he was already mildly regretting. He didn't want a conversation, didn't want any recognition, especially not from those three.
The same people who had laughed at him for being classless.
But the sound of boots striking dry earth warned him it wouldn't be that simple. Ethan was jogging toward him, closing the gap with that infuriating self-assurance.
"Hey, hold on!" Ethan called out, catching up. He stopped a couple of meters away, puffing out his chest. "You look strong enough. How about joining our party?"
It wasn't a question so much as an offer Ethan assumed no one in their right mind would turn down. Sora didn't even slow his pace. He kept walking, his coat brushing the tops of the weeds.
"I'm good, thanks. I'd rather fight alone," he replied, his voice muffled slightly by the wood of the mask.
Ethan stopped dead, face flushing at the brush-off. He clenched his fists but swallowed his pride long enough to try once more.
"You sure? I'm pretty strong. Rank A class. And my unique skill cuts the cost of fire spells by five times and triples their power. Pretty insane, right?" he announced, as if the words alone should have people kneeling in front of him.
Sora allowed himself a bitter smile that no one could see. Objectively, Ethan wasn't lying. That skill gave a devastating edge to any combat mage.
But stacked against the infinite library of the EX rank Akashic Records now sitting inside him, Ethan's power looked like a spark next to a wildfire.
"Yeah, I'm sure," Sora said flatly, not breaking stride.
He wasn't going to feel bad about being blunt. Not with Ethan, of all people.
Ethan let out a grunt, shoulders dropping as his frustration got the better of his composure. He stopped, spat in the dirt, and watched Sora's back with open contempt.
"Don't come crying later," he called after him, loud enough for Clara and Darian to hear.
Almost like a challenge.
"I'm sure I won't," Sora murmured to himself, disappearing into the endless green of the meadow.
[T4mal_07: What is this guy's deal? Full protagonist complex. lol whatever, can't wait to watch him die! hahaha]
[0n_Kn15T: Idiot move. Turning down a party led by a Rank A at the start is basically suicide. Parties are everything when you're a rookie, it's when you're most vulnerable and need backup the most.]
[K1ra_X8: Solo act with a mask... typical. Thinks he's in a manhwa. Let's see how long that lasts when night falls, he's gonna freak out. Aura farming isn't everything.]
[C3lestL1ght: Such a shame, they had real potential, but arrogance kills more people than the monsters do.]
Sora ignored the notifications blinking at the edge of his vision. The judgment of those faceless viewers was meaningless to him. None of them knew the real reason he'd turned down a party with that particular person.
Still, he had to admit they had a point. Finding a group sooner rather than later was the smarter move.
He turned his gaze toward the horizon. The last rays of sunlight were slipping behind the ridges of the blue mountains, throwing long, warped shadows across the meadow that swallowed the grass as they stretched.
Sora had studied the behavior of the [Rookie Territory] well.
When night fell, the territory shifted. The atmosphere turned hostile, and the monsters that appeared doubled in level compared to their daytime counterparts. In some cases, certain creatures could even triple their standard strength.
On top of that, the chance of elite beasts spawning multiplied significantly.
But what unsettled him most was the threat tied to the full moon. There was one event in the [Rookie Territory], a single anomaly that summoned a themed boss alongside waves of bloodthirsty monsters, all of them empowered by the moon's influence.
Events were statistically rare, but Sora had no interest in testing that at night with no backup.
He picked up his pace. The brush of grass against his boots grew louder in the spreading quiet of dusk. He needed to find a village, or at the very least a group of Awakened willing to watch his back.
His lungs caught a shift in the air. The cool, clean sweetness of evening had turned cold and dense.
The spiritual pressure was building, slowly announcing the arrival of night.
Sora tightened the straps of his coat and let his hand drift toward the hilt of his dagger. The safety of daylight was fading just as fast as the sun itself, and the first star blinking into view overhead felt like a cold eye watching him from above.
The warm light of the sun gave way to the silver glow of the moon. Night had settled in.