The late afternoon sun cast golden rays through the forest canopy as the trio walked along the dirt path, their boots crunching over dry leaves and scattered twigs. Arriel wiped sweat from his brow, letting out a satisfied sigh.
"That went better than I thought," he said.
"The Earthback Lizards weren't as aggressive as usual," Kael added, adjusting the strap of his magic spear.
Lira, walking a few steps ahead, glanced over her shoulder with a playful smirk. "That's because I froze the alpha's hindlegs at the start. Break the formation, and the rest crumble."
Arriel chuckled. "I'm starting to think you're too good for C-rank quests."
"You're not wrong," Kael muttered.
They stopped for a short break by a fallen log. Lira sat with her legs crossed, sipping water while Arriel stretched and Kael kept watch.
Suddenly, the air shifted.
It was subtle—an odd stillness, a wrongness. The birds had gone silent.
Kael's grip on his spear tightened. "Someone's coming."
From the shadows ahead, a figure stepped out.
He looked like a man in his mid-twenties—messy hair, worn armor, and a faintly glowing status bracelet on his wrist. His eyes gleamed with a strange hunger.
"Well, well," the man drawled, voice rough. "Looks like I found something good today."
The three stood up quickly. Arriel instinctively moved in front of Lira, but she stepped forward beside him.
"Who are you?" Kael asked.
The man smiled in a way that made Arriel's skin crawl. "Name doesn't matter. What matters is... you three have levels worth taking."
Lira's eyes narrowed. "You're a Hero."
"Level 8," the man confirmed proudly. "But I want more. I've already taken two others before you. That's how this works, doesn't it?"
"You're insane," Arriel said, stepping forward.
"No," the man said calmly. "I'm just better at surviving."
Then he lunged.
The fight erupted in an instant. The rogue Hero charged at Lira first, but she sidestepped with incredible speed, blasting a wave of wind that knocked him back.
"Kael!" she called.
Kael flanked the man from behind, jabbing his magic spear to block the enemy's retreat. Arriel ran in with a fiery burst from his palm, flames curling around his fist before slamming into the man's shoulder.
The rogue Hero snarled and retaliated with a burst of mana that cracked the ground, sending Arriel tumbling. He was fast—wild—but there was no control, only brute force.
Lira fought back with tier 2 spells: sharp icicles and lances of flame that collided with the man's mana bursts. Kael dodged and deflected, waiting for an opening. Arriel, wounded but not down, blasted another fireball that exploded against the man's chest.
Breathing heavily, the rogue Hero stumbled, eyes bloodshot. He screamed, gathering a final, massive surge of mana—but it was too much. His body shook violently, blood pouring from his mouth. He collapsed, dead.
A shimmering cloud of life energy rose from the corpse—and like threads of gold, it was drawn into Lira and Arriel.
Their status bracelets pulsed.
+4 levels.
Arriel gasped, feeling the surge of strength.
Lira's expression turned pale. "That... really happened."
"I didn't mean to absorb it," Arriel said quietly.
She looked at him, then nodded slowly. "You're a Hero too. I knew it."
Kael stepped forward. "Now you both understand. Not all Heroes are good. Some kill for power."
They fell silent. Then Kael crouched and pulled something from the dead man's coat—a small, glowing crystal embedded in a metal ring.
"A level analyzer," he said grimly. "Can scan from twenty meters."
Arriel stared at the device. The man had been hunting them from the start.
Lira clenched her fists. "We need to be more careful."
Kael nodded. "From now on, we don't let our guard down. Not for anyone."
The forest felt colder than before.