The mist hung thick over the Forbidden Forest, the trees bending like silent sentinels in the pale morning fog.
Hide moved quietly through the haze, his footsteps soft against the damp ground. The forest felt alive — breathing, watching — but he wasn't afraid. He had faced far worse than this.
He listened carefully. A deep growl echoed through the trees. The sound grew closer, rumbling low and guttural. Hide turned, and two red eyes glowed from the darkness.
The beast stepped forward — massive, with fur black as ash and claws that tore into the ground. It roared and lunged.
Hide didn't flinch.
With a simple motion, he stepped aside and drove his fist into the creature's side. The blow sent it crashing into a tree. It tried to rise again, but Hide's next punch finished it. The forest fell silent.
He exhaled softly. "That wasn't much of a challenge."
The beast's body slumped lifeless at his feet. Hide compared it to the drawing on the mission poster he carried. Same scars. Same red eyes. Same horns. It was the right one.
"Guess that's done."
He hoisted the beast onto his shoulder and carried it back through the forest.
When Hide arrived at the city gates of Drogen, people stopped and stared.
A boy barely fifteen, walking calmly through town with the carcass of the monster that had terrorized their roads for months. The crowd whispered, amazed.
"That's the beast that's been killing travelers!"
"Did that kid do it alone?"
"Impossible…"
Hide walked into the inn and dropped the corpse onto a long wooden table. The adventurers eating there froze mid-bite. The innkeeper stared, speechless.
"So," Hide said simply, "about the reward."
The room broke into murmurs. The innkeeper quickly handed him a pouch of gold, still looking bewildered. "You actually… did it. In just a few hours."
Hide nodded once, pocketed the reward, and walked out as the adventurers began talking among themselves.
By evening, word spread across Drogen about the mysterious young adventurer who had slain the beast of the Forbidden Forest. His reputation began to grow.
That same day, several guilds sent him invitations. Hide turned them all down.
"I'm already in a guild," he explained to one recruiter. "Just looking for one of my guildmates."
He showed them the pink ribbon tied around his left arm.
"Pink ribbon?" one adventurer asked curiously.
"It's a sign," Hide said. "Someone gave it to me. I'll know who when I find them."
He didn't mention names. Not yet.
Even the top guild in Drogen, The Vigil, sent a request for him to visit their hall. At first, Hide refused, but the messenger insisted that the guildmaster himself wished to meet him. He couldn't exactly decline.
The Vigil's guild hall was massive — carved stone pillars, banners, and rows of trophies from past hunts. Hide walked through the main corridor, feeling the eyes of veteran adventurers on him.
So this is what a real guild looks like, he thought.
He reached a heavy oak door and knocked.
"Come in," a deep voice said.
Inside, a large man sat behind a desk cluttered with maps and papers. Another person — a young woman — was standing there, arguing.
"Father, you can't go on that raid! You'll get yourself killed!" she said.
The man sighed. "We'll talk about this later, Kira."
She glanced at Hide, frowning slightly, then walked past him and closed the door behind her.
The guildmaster chuckled. "Sorry about that. My daughter can be a bit… fiery." He stood and extended a hand. "Name's Droggard. Heard you killed the beast in the Forbidden Forest all by yourself. That true?"
Hide nodded once.
"I see," Droggard said, intrigued. "I wanted you here because I hoped to recruit you into The Vigil. But I hear you're already looking for someone. I respect that." He paused, then grinned. "Still, mind humoring me? Show me how you did it. I'm curious."
Hide agreed.
Outside, a crowd had gathered. Droggard stood with his arms crossed, surrounded by other guild members — some curious, some skeptical.
Hide faced a training dummy in the courtyard.
"Let's see what this kid can do," someone whispered.
Hide raised his hand, and from thin air, a cane appeared. Gasps rippled through the crowd.
The cane shimmered, its surface rippling like liquid metal. Within seconds, it reshaped itself into a long blade.
Hide moved once — swift and clean. The dummy was shredded into countless tiny pieces before the others even saw his swing.
The guild members erupted in applause.
Droggard's eyes widened. "Incredible. A shapeshifting weapon?"
One of the onlookers asked eagerly, "What's it called?"
Hide gave a small smile. "Tricky Tricky. It can change into whatever I need it to be."
He demonstrated — the blade shifted into a bow, then a shield, then a whip, and finally back into the cane.
The guild members were stunned. Murmurs spread through the crowd. Some applauded; others just stared, speechless.
Then one of the top guild members, a man named Bremen, stepped forward.
"You've got skill, kid," he said, resting a hand on his sword. "How about a short duel? Just to see what you can really do."
Hide didn't want to attract more attention, but refusing wasn't an option now. He nodded.
They faced each other in the training field. Bremen drew his weapon — a sleek blade that glowed faintly with runes.
"So the boy's fighting Bremen?" one guild member whispered."Yeah. This'll be quick," another replied.
Bremen charged first, his movements sharp and practiced. Hide parried each blow with precision, deflecting the attacks effortlessly. He didn't counter yet — he was studying Bremen's rhythm.
"You're good," Bremen said, smiling. "But you're holding back."
Hide didn't respond. His expression stayed calm.
He spun his cane, and Tricky Tricky reverted to its staff form.
"What can you possibly do with a cane?" Bremen taunted, lunging again.
Hide smirked. "Watch."
He blocked the strike and whispered, "Lockdown."
Chains of light burst from the ground, wrapping around Bremen's arms and legs, freezing him mid-motion. The duel was over before he could react.
The field went silent, then filled with cheers.
Bremen sighed and nodded respectfully. "Guess I underestimated you."
Hide smiled faintly and walked off the field.
Later, Droggard spoke quietly with his senior members.
"What do you think of that kid, Cyrus?" asked one.
Droggard folded his arms. "He's dangerous. You saw it — that weapon of his, and how he held back. He wasn't even serious."
"You think he's hiding something?"
"Definitely," Droggard said. "But he's not malicious. Still… the next generation's getting interesting."
That evening, Hide returned to the small house he rented in Drogen. He took a shower, trying to wash away the day's tension.
But as steam filled the room, someone quietly pried open his locked window and slipped inside.
A masked figure crept across the floor, searching drawers and shelves in silence. They didn't notice the faint silver thread stretched across the room like a trap.
Hide, half-dressed with a towel around his waist, stepped into his room. He glanced around, pretending not to notice anything wrong. He calmly got dressed, feeling the intruder's presence beneath the bed.
He walked to the door, locked it, and sighed. "Whew, long day," he said aloud, stretching. Then he lay on the bed, motionless.
The figure waited. Minutes passed. Believing him asleep, the intruder slid out from under the bed and crept closer, reaching toward Hide's bag.
"I'm sorry," Hide said quietly, his voice calm but sharp, "but care to tell me why you're here?"
The thief froze. He turned — and saw Hide standing behind him. The body on the bed dissolved into a pillow decoy.
"Ah—wait, I can explain—" the masked man stammered, but his body suddenly went stiff.
Silver strings glimmered faintly in the moonlight, wrapping around his arms and legs.
"You're caught in my trap," Hide said coldly. "If you don't tell me the truth, there'll be consequences."
The man said nothing.
Hide tilted his head. "No answer? Then maybe I'll just cut you open and feed you to the dogs."
"Okay! Okay!" the thief yelped. "I just came to steal some money, alright? I swear!"
Hide sighed and walked closer. He pulled off the man's mask, revealing a terrified young face.
"Money, huh? You picked the wrong house," Hide said. "I barely have enough to pay rent. I only did that job today for one night's stay."
The thief blinked. "Seriously?"
Hide loosened the strings. "If you need money that bad, take a quest. There's easier ways to survive."
The man nodded rapidly. "Y-yeah, you're right. Sorry about that."
Hide waved him toward the door. "Go on. Don't come back."
The thief hurried out through the window, vanishing into the night.
Hide closed the latch and exhaled, finally lying down.
"Guess Drogen's not so peaceful after all," he muttered.
Within minutes, he was asleep.