2025-04-26 09:45:57The sun had barely kissed the rooftops of Avelline when Ethan Lockwood and Celestia Draconyx strode through the guild’s towering bronze doors. Inside, the main chamber buzzed with the low murmur of steel, ink, and ambition. Tessa was already waiting, scrolls and commissions stacked high at her side.
"Early as always," she greeted with a yawn, offering Ethan a wink. "You’ve got fans waiting outside, you know. Again."
Ethan ran a hand through his hair, exhaling. “Maybe they’ll follow someone else for once.”
Tessa chuckled and slid a bundle of missions across the desk. Each one bore a red sigil—the symbol of S-Class danger.
“Take your pick, Dragon Knight.”
Celestia leaned over the table, her tail flicking with mild annoyance. “Read them aloud.”
Ethan listed them with a calm, measured breath.
"One: The Cursed Catacombs beneath Castle Avelline. Two: A vampire enclave hidden in the Eastern Marshes. Three: Wyvern hunting on Stormforge Peak. Four: The fallen ruins of the Seraphim Citadel."
He glanced at Celestia, tone wry. “Any of these explain why I ended up in this world?”
She crossed her arms, ruby eyes scanning the parchment. “Or get us killed. We choose with our minds, not just our blades.”
Ethan tapped the vampire mission. “This one’s political and magical. Blood rites, summoning rituals—if it’s tied to my arrival, we need to see it through.”
Tessa’s smile faded. “They’ve been... quiet too long. Caravans vanish out there. Whole squads.”
As Ethan and Celestia stepped into the waking city, the streets parted like a tide. No applause. Just murmurs.
A figure in midnight-blue robes leaned against a colonnade, silver scorpion insignia glinting at her shoulder.
Outside the city walls, Celestia’s tail stiffened.
“We’re being followed.”
Ethan’s hand drifted to his sword. “Let’s see who’s in the mood to die first.”
A cloaked figure emerged from behind a tree, twin daggers glowing with cursed sigils.
“Miss me?” she purred, eyes gleaming. “The Syndicate sends their regards.”
She lunged.
Steel clashed. Sparks flew. Ethan’s blade carved a trench into the road, spatial recoil warping stone and air alike.
Celestia surged forward, fire blooming from her palms. Her claws cleaved through the assassin’s poison mist, scattering it in a gust of enchanted wind—but the woman vanished into smoke, cackling.
Two more shadows leapt from the trees, blades slick with venom, eyes feral with zeal.
Ethan exhaled sharply. “Let’s show them why I wear this badge.”
His blade shimmered with runes.
“Void Rift!”
A horizontal tear split the air. One attacker vanished mid-leap, swallowed by the void.
Celestia spun, lifting her hand. “Moonlight Prison!”
Silver chains erupted from her palm, lashing around the final assassin in radiant arcs. The moment froze.
Ethan dashed forward.
A single upward slash, clean and final.
The assassin slumped—alive, barely. Gasping.
“That wasn’t an ambush,” Ethan said, wiping his blade clean. “It was a message.”
Celestia’s wings furled close to her body. “They’re testing your resolve. Or trying to corrupt you.”
The wounded assassin coughed blood, a cruel smile twisting her lips. “Tell your guild... a new darkness rises. And it will burn all who defy it.”
Then, silence.
—
Back at the guild, Ethan’s report thundered through the council like a war drum.
Garret slammed his gauntleted fist onto the table. “They struck this close? We’ve got traitors inside these walls.”
Lysa leaned forward, frowning. “The Syndicate’s more than hired killers now. They’re feeding off something... older.”
Tessa said nothing. She only placed a crimson-sealed scroll before Ethan.
“Emergency classification,” she said, voice tight.
Ethan broke the seal. The parchment bore only one line:
Target: Vampire Enclave – Eastern Marsh.
He met Celestia’s gaze.
She nodded once.
He exhaled, steady.
“Time to dig deep.”
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CHAPTER 17: Bone Dragon
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CHAPTER 14: Banquet
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CHAPTER 13: Brand-New
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CHAPTER 12: Hellhounds
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CHAPTER 11: Guild Assessment
Morning in Avelline broke with a golden cascade of sunlight that poured over slate rooftops and chimed against the cobbled streets like music. The city stirred from its slumber, and with it, so did Ethan Lockwood and Celestia Draconyx.They stood at the threshold of the grand Adventurers' Guild hall—a towering stone structure with steel-framed windows and the emblem of a phoenix engraved on its twin wooden doors. As Ethan pushed the doors open, a wave of noise, warmth, and clashing personalities washed over him.Sword tips glinted under chandeliers. Quest boards stretched from wall to wall, covered in yellowed parchments. Burly mercenaries laughed over mugs of ale, while cloaked rogues studied maps with whispered urgency. Hawkers offered magically-infused trinkets, trying to tempt every newcomer with "limited-time enchantments."
CHAPTER 10: Avelline City
Ethan Lockwood frowned slightly, the dull throb in his ribs a haunting reminder of their last battle. The encounter with the chimera had left more than physical wounds—it had etched into his mind the reality of this world: raw, dangerous, and alive.Beside him, Celestia Draconyx eyed him sidelong, her crimson gaze sharp and laced with concern. "You're more stubborn than a mountain wyrm," she murmured, reaching out with a clawed hand. "At least let me carry the gear."Ethan chuckled, masking his discomfort with false bravado. "Save your energy. Knowing our luck, something nasty is probably waiting around the next bend."As if on cue, the sound of careful footsteps echoed ahead.Ethan instinctively tightened his grip on the hilt of his greatsword. Around the corner a
CHAPTER 9: Savage Crown
The mountain wind howled through the cave’s entrance as the first echoes rolled in—a low, guttural growl that made the very rock beneath Ethan’s boots tremble.Celestia had already unsheathed her claws.“They’re not just hunting,” she said, her voice cold. “They’re communicating.”Ethan tightened his grip on the Void-Cleaving Blade. “Multiple signatures. Five, maybe six. That’s not a rogue. That’s a pride.”They moved to higher ground, scaling the cliffs above the ravine. From there, they saw it—beneath the haze of a mist-covered moon, a pride of chimeras roamed the valley floor. Not just one, but at least four fully-grown beasts and two juveniles, each with lion heads, scaled tails, and deformed wings twitching with anticipation.Ethan let out a low whistle. “This isn’t a fight. It’s a siege.”“Then let’s win it with strategy,” Celestia replied.They began the ambush from the cliffs. Ethan launched a barrage of enchanted arrows from his pouch’s hidden quiver system, each one charged
