Fornak Province, Fian City.
Night had fallen, and the dim magic crystal lamps along the streets cast swaying shadows.
Inside a secluded tavern, voices roared. Rough laughter and the clinking of glasses blended into a single din.
Adventurers drank and traded toasts, gamblers argued loudly over wins and losses, and the air was thick with the murky stench of alcohol and sweat.
Ang sat quietly in a corner with his back to the wall, his gaze sweeping across the room.
His appearance that day was an unfamiliar face created through Shapeshifting—utterly ordinary and unlikely to draw attention.
He waited patiently, his fingers tapping the tabletop without drawing notice.
Before long, Candice and Leon pushed through the door one after the other.
Candice wore a dark cloak, and her every movement carried the confidence of someone in control. Leon, meanwhile, kept his head lowered, afraid to meet anyone's eyes.
The two passed through the noisy crowd and headed straight for the corner, taking seats opposite Ang.
"Master," they said quietly in unison.
Ang did not respond immediately. He gave them a satisfied glance, then lightly waved his hand.
A faint ripple stirred through the air and spread soundlessly outward.
In an instant, the corner where the three sat fell silent, and the clamor outside was cut off.
Candice's breathing caught, and her heart jolted.
She had not sensed the slightest fluctuation of magic power, yet all sound around her had vanished completely, as though she had been placed in a separate space.
More startling still, when she had entered the tavern earlier, those lustful and frivolous gazes had clung stubbornly to her.
But now, every one of those gazes had disappeared. It even seemed that those people had forgotten she existed.
Her heart sank. The man before her had already become