When I opened my eyes, the cold stone ceiling of the cave slowly came into focus above me.

  For a few seconds my mind felt heavy and distant, still trapped somewhere between sleep and reality. My body ached from the previous night, every muscle sore from running through the forest while being chased by those creatures. The wound on my back throbbed faintly beneath the bandage.

  Then I noticed something.

  Someone else was inside the cave.

  A figure stood a short distance away from me, facing the large map pinned to the cave wall. I could only see his back at first. He stood with his hands behind him, silently studying the map as if he had been there for quite some time.

  My body tensed.

  Slowly, the man turned around.

  My eyes widened the moment I saw his face.

  It was the old man.

  The same old man from the house the night before.

  The one who had pointed a spear at my chest and locked his door while Nightbound Beasts chased me through the forest.

  For a moment he simply stared at me.

  Then his brows lifted slightly.

  “You’re still alive,” he said.

  There was clear surprise in his voice.

  I slowly pushed myself up from the ground, wincing as the movement pulled at the bite wound on my back.

  “What do you want?” I asked coldly.

  The old man crossed his arms calmly.

  “I told you last night,” he replied. “If you survived, I would let you stay in my house.”

  My jaw tightened.

  “Huh?”

  Anger rose inside me before I could stop it.

  “After what you did last night, you suddenly want to act nice?”

  I gestured around the cave.

  “I’d rather live in this cave than stay in your house.”

  The old man looked at me quietly for a moment before taking a few slow steps closer. His expression remained calm, almost unreadable.

  “Tell me something, boy,” he said.

  “Do you remember what was chasing you last night?”

  Of course I did.

  The red eyes.

  The growls.

  The twisted bodies of those monsters emerging from the darkness.

  The old man continued speaking before I could answer.

  “Those Nightbound Beasts you saw,” he said quietly, “were only a small part of what exists in this world.”

  His gaze sharpened slightly.

  “Did you really think you could survive here alone?”

  I didn’t answer.

  He continued anyway.

  “You have no supplies worth mentioning. No knowledge of this land. No place to stay.” He paused briefly before adding, “And yet you’re refusing someone who is offering you shelter.”

  My fists clenched.

  “If you really wanted to help me,” I shot back, “you could have done that last night.”

  The old man let out a long sigh.

  “You’re a fool.”

  My head snapped up.

  “You were being chased by a pack of Nightbound Beasts,” he said calmly. “Not one. A whole group.”

  He gestured vaguely in the direction of the forest.

  “If I had let you inside my house, those monsters would have followed you straight to my door.”

  His voice remained steady.

  “And then my home would have become their battlefield.”

  His words struck deeper than I expected.

  Even I could imagine what would have happened if those creatures had reached his house.

  Still…

  The anger in my chest refused to disappear.

  I turned my head away.

  “…I can survive on my own.”

  The old man studied me for a moment longer, as if weighing something in his mind. Then he gave a small nod, accepting my answer without argument.

  “If that’s your decision,” he said quietly.

  There was no anger in his voice, only calm certainty.

  “But remember what I told you.”

  He turned toward the cave entrance and began walking away. The morning light from outside poured into the cave as he stepped closer to the opening, the brightness briefly outlining his figure against the forest beyond.

  Before leaving, he stopped at the entrance and glanced back at me one last time.

  “When you finally see how cruel this world can be,” he said, “my door will still be open.”

  Then he stepped outside.

  His footsteps faded slowly as he disappeared into the forest.

  Soon the cave grew quiet again.

  I remained where I was, standing alone beneath the dim lantern light, listening to the silence he had left behind.

  —

  For a while after the old man left, the cave remained silent.

  I stood there without moving, listening to the fading echo of his footsteps until even that sound disappeared into the forest.

  Only then did the quiet truly settle in.

  I exhaled slowly.

  “…Maybe I shouldn’t have said that.”

  The words slipped out before I could stop them.

  Part of me knew the old man had been right. If those Nightbound Beasts had reached his house, things could have turned much worse. But the anger I had felt earlier had been too strong to swallow.

  Now that he was gone, that anger felt strangely hollow.

  I rubbed the back of my neck and let out another breath.

  Then my eyes drifted toward the large map on the cave wall.

  The Kingdom of Aurelion.

  And near the southern edge—

  Velmora.

  My gaze lingered on the name for a moment.

  “…I should probably head there,” I murmured to myself. “Better to reach a town before night falls.”

  The thought of those red eyes returning in the darkness was enough to convince me.

  I began gathering the supplies scattered around the cave.

  The sword came first. It was simple but well balanced, and after the previous night I had no intention of traveling unarmed again. I strapped the sheath to my belt and tested its weight.

  Next came the potions.

  Several wooden boxes contained rows of small glass vials filled with different colored liquids—green, blue, amber, and a few strange cloudy mixtures I couldn’t identify.

  “I have no idea what any of these do,” I muttered.

  Still, leaving them behind felt like a waste.

  Carefully, I packed as many as I could into a worn leather bag I found among the expedition supplies.

  The map followed.

  I folded the smaller map that marked the surrounding region and slipped it into my pack so I could check the route to Velmora whenever I needed.

  By the time I finished preparing, I stood fully equipped with everything I could carry.

  A sword hung at my side.

  A leather pack filled with potions rested on my back.

  And in my hands, I held the map that would guide me through the forest.

  I unfolded it carefully and studied the route once more.

  Velmora wasn’t far.

  If the map was accurate, I should reach the town before nightfall.

  Hopefully.

  I took one last look around the cave.

  Then I stepped outside.

  The forest stretched ahead of me, quiet beneath the pale morning light.

  Adjusting the weight of my pack, I set off down the path marked on the map.

  Toward the city of Velmora.

  —

  By the time I reached the place marked on the map, the forest behind me had already begun to thin. What appeared ahead, however, was nothing like what I had imagined.

  I had expected a city. Tall stone walls rising toward the sky, guarded gates, and soldiers watching every traveler who approached.

  Instead, there were no walls at all.

  The road simply opened into a vast stretch of land overflowing with people.

  At first I thought I had stumbled upon some kind of festival. The place was loud, crowded, and full of movement. But the longer I stood there, the more I realized this wasn’t a celebration.

  This was everyday life.

  Velmora.

  Calling it a city felt strange. What spread before me looked less like a city and more like a massive marketplace that had grown large enough for people to live inside it. Stalls filled the open space as far as my eyes could see. Wooden stands, cloth tents, and traveling wagons stood side by side, forming narrow paths that twisted like streets between them.

  Merchants shouted to passing customers while travelers pushed through the crowd carrying goods from distant lands.

  By the time I stepped fully into the entrance, I found myself frozen in the middle of the crowd. People flowed around me endlessly, brushing past my shoulders as if I were nothing more than a rock standing in the middle of a stream.

  A towering figure passed in front of me, and my eyes widened immediately.

  His head resembled that of a bull. Massive horns curved upward toward the sky, and thick muscles bulged beneath his sleeveless tunic as he carried a sack of grain that looked heavy enough to crush a normal person.

  Yet he walked as if it weighed nothing.

  Not far from him, a small child ran past laughing. Cat-like ears twitched atop her head every time she jumped over a puddle, and a fluffy tail swayed behind her with each step.

  I stopped walking again.

  It felt like I had stepped into a dream that refused to end.

  This world was too vivid to be an illusion… but far too unfamiliar for me to accept easily.

  In front of a jewelry stall, an elf stood quietly. Long pointed ears peeked out from beneath dark green hair tied loosely behind her back. Crystal pendants hanging from the stall reflected soft light into her clear eyes as she examined them one by one.

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  On the other side of the street, a thick-bearded dwarf argued loudly with a fish vendor.

  “Lower the price a little!”

  “If I lower it any more, I’ll be the one starving!”

  Laughter burst between them as nearby merchants listened in.

  The world didn’t stop just because I hadn’t caught up with it yet.

  The scent of the marketplace drifted through the air.

  Fresh bread.

  Saltwater fish.

  Sharp spices.

  Damp earth.

  Stalls stood shoulder to shoulder beneath colorful fabrics that fluttered in the breeze. Fruits and vegetables were piled high inside wooden crates, and rows of small bottles filled with shimmering liquids lined the shelves of several stalls.

  Footsteps echoed across the dirt road.

  Merchants shouted their prices.

  Coins clinked together.

  Laughter rose and fell between conversations.

  Everything blended into a chaotic rhythm that filled the entire marketplace.

  Noisy.

  Alive.

  Real.

  I swallowed slowly.

  This wasn’t a dream.

  This wasn’t some strange hallucination.

  This—

  was the world I lived in now.

  And Velmora was the first place where I truly began to understand it.

  —

  I was still trying to take everything in when the thought suddenly crossed my mind.

  I had arrived in Velmora…

  But I had nowhere to stay.

  The realization made me sigh quietly.

  “…I should probably find an inn first.”

  Staying out in the open after sunset didn’t sound like a good idea. Especially after what had happened last night in the forest.

  So I began looking around the busy market.

  There were people everywhere.

  Merchants.

  Travelers.

  Workers carrying crates.

  Surely someone here knew where an inn was.

  The first person I approached was a massive beastman standing behind a butcher stall. His body resembled that of a red bull, thick crimson fur covering his powerful frame while two heavy horns curved upward from his head. Behind the wooden table he swung a heavy cleaver down again and again, chopping through slabs of meat with brutal strength, his attention completely fixed on the work in front of him.

  Each swing of the blade echoed with a heavy thud.

  I hesitated for a moment before speaking.

  “Excuse me… do you know if there’s an inn somewhere around here?”

  The man didn’t even look up.

  “Huh?” he grunted.

  “Inn?”

  He slammed the cleaver down again, splitting the meat cleanly in two.

  “You’re asking the wrong guy,” he said bluntly.

  “I’m busy.”

  Another loud chop followed his words.

  The tone of his voice made it clear he didn’t want to be bothered.

  “…Right.”

  I quickly stepped away.

  Clearly that had been a mistake.

  My eyes scanned the market again until they landed on a jewelry stall nearby.

  Behind it stood an elf.

  Her long green hair fell loosely behind her shoulders, and her pointed ears were partially hidden beneath the strands. Several shining necklaces and crystal pendants hung from the stall, reflecting light across her calm face.

  She looked far more approachable.

  So I walked over.

  “Hello,” I said politely. “Excuse me, sister. Could you tell me where I might find an inn around here?”

  The elf looked up.

  Then her lips curved into a playful smile.

  “Well now…”

  She leaned forward slightly across the counter.

  “You’re quite polite for a traveler.”

  Before I could react, her fingers gently brushed against my arm.

  “How about we talk about it over a drink?” she said softly, tilting her head. “There’s a nice tavern just over there.”

  Something about her tone made the back of my neck prickle.

  My instincts screamed at me.

  Danger.

  I quickly stepped back.

  “Ah—sorry. I’ll pass.”

  Without waiting for her reply, I turned and hurried away.

  “…That felt like a trap,” I muttered under my breath.

  Alright.

  Third time’s the charm.

  A little further down the street I spotted someone else.

  A girl who looked about my age.

  She had orange cat ears on top of her head, and a long fluffy tail swayed lazily behind her as she crouched beside a wooden crate.

  Her hands and feet were covered in soft orange fur.

  A beastkin.

  I approached cautiously.

  “Excuse me,” I said. “Do you know where I can find an inn around here?”

  The cat-eared girl looked up.

  Her golden eyes narrowed slightly.

  “You wanna know?”

  She shrugged casually.

  “Sure.”

  Then she pointed toward a basket beside her.

  “Bring me three fish first.”

  I blinked.

  “…Fish?”

  “Yep,” she replied casually. “Three fish and I’ll tell you.”

  I scratched my head.

  “I don’t have fish.”

  Instead, I reached toward my waist and pulled out the sword I had taken from the cave.

  “I only have this.”

  The blade slid halfway from its sheath.

  The moment the metal glinted in the sunlight—

  the girl froze.

  Her ears flattened instantly.

  “I-I didn’t mean anything!” she shouted.

  Before I could even explain, she jumped to her feet and ran away down the street with her tail puffed up in panic.

  I stood there, completely confused.

  “…Wait, I wasn’t threatening you.”

  But she was already gone.

  I slowly pushed the sword back into its sheath.

  Then I let out a long sigh.

  “…It seems I’m not very good at interacting with people.”

  —

  I was about to continue searching when a fragment of conversation from nearby caught my attention.

  Two men were standing beside a stall stacked with baskets of vegetables. Their voices were low, but the words drifted clearly through the noise of the market.

  “Did you hear?” one of them whispered.

  “Hear what?”

  “That man… Velmorth. They say he got out of prison.”

  The other man stiffened slightly.

  “What? Already?”

  “Yeah. Someone saw him in the city this morning.”

  The second man glanced around nervously before leaning closer.

  “That guy is terrifying,” he muttered. “A lot of people have already died because of him.”

  I frowned slightly.

  “…Died?”

  “What did he even do?” the first man asked.

  “I don’t know,” the other replied, shaking his head. “But whatever it was, the authorities treat him like he’s some kind of monster.”

  Their voices faded as the crowd moved between us.

  My eyes drifted toward a wooden board nearby where several notices had been pinned.

  One poster immediately caught my attention.

  The paper was slightly worn, but the large letters at the top were impossible to miss.

  WARNING

  If you encounter this individual, report immediately to the authorities.

  Below the warning was a portrait.

  I stepped a little closer.

  The man in the picture wore thin glasses resting neatly on the bridge of his nose. His hair was short and blond, brushed back slightly from his forehead. His expression was calm—almost gentle.

  Despite clearly being a man, his face looked strangely delicate.

  Beautiful, even.

  Not the kind of face someone would normally associate with a dangerous criminal.

  And beneath the portrait, a name was written in dark ink.

  Name: Velmorth

  I stared at the poster for a moment longer.

  “…He doesn’t look dangerous at all.”

  —

  Eventually, after wandering through the market for what felt like far too long, I finally spotted a wooden sign hanging above a two-story building.

  The faded letters carved into the board read:

  Inn

  Relief washed over me instantly.

  “…Finally.”

  My legs were already tired from walking, and the thought of having a bed—even a terrible one—felt like heaven compared to sleeping in a cave.

  Without hesitation, I pushed the door open and stepped inside.

  The interior of the inn was quiet compared to the chaos outside. A few wooden tables were scattered across the room, and the faint smell of cooked food and old wood lingered in the air.

  Behind a small counter stood the receptionist.

  I took two steps forward.

  Then I froze.

  My heart skipped.

  Because the face standing behind the counter looked exactly like the one on the poster.

  A man.

  Tall and composed, as if the chaos of the outside world meant nothing to him.

  Short blond hair rested neatly around his face, and a pair of thin glasses sat calmly on the bridge of his nose. His eyes were sharp and observant—like someone who was constantly calculating everything around him.

  He wore a long white coat that reached nearly to his boots, trimmed with faint lines of gold and orange. Beneath it was a pale shirt and fitted trousers, while small vials of colorful liquid hung from straps around his waist like tools belonging to a careful alchemist.

  In one hand he held a staff.

  It was no ordinary staff. At the top rested a crystal sphere encased in delicate golden branches, faint light swirling within it like a trapped star.

  In his other hand he carried an ornate book bound in deep red leather.

  For a moment I simply stared.

  He didn’t look like a soldier.

  Nor a mercenary.

  If anything, he looked more like a scholar who had somehow wandered into the wrong place.

  “Welcome,” he said calmly.

  My heart began to pound violently in my chest.

  I turned around immediately.

  I needed to leave.

  Now.

  I ignored the sound of his voice calling after me and took a step toward the door—

  Then suddenly—

  Pain exploded through my body.

  My breath caught in my throat.

  I slowly looked down.

  A blade had pierced through my stomach.

  For a moment my mind refused to understand what I was seeing.

  Then the pain arrived all at once.

  “AAAGH—!”

  The scream tore from my throat as my knees buckled beneath me.

  The bag on my back slipped loose and fell to the floor.

  Glass shattered.

  Dozens of potions spilled across the wooden floor, colorful liquids spreading in every direction.

  “Help—!” I gasped desperately.

  But the word barely escaped my lips before a heavy impact struck the side of my head.

  The world spun violently.

  Darkness rushed toward me.

  The last thing I saw before losing consciousness was the faint reflection of my own blood spreading across the floor.

  Then everything went black.

  —

  A few minutes later, the front door of the inn opened.

  Two members of the city guard stepped inside.

  They glanced around cautiously.

  “We received a report about some noise,” one of them said. “Was there some kind of disturbance here?”

  Behind the counter, the man with blond hair looked up from his book.

  His expression was calm.

  Unbothered.

  “There’s nothing happening here,” he replied politely.

  The guards looked around the room.

  The wooden floor was perfectly clean.

  No broken glass.

  No spilled potions.

  No blood.

  Nothing.

  Everything looked completely normal.

  The guards exchanged a quick glance.

  “…Sorry for the trouble.”

  “No trouble at all,” the man replied with a faint smile.

  One of the guards nodded.

  “Alright then. Have a good evening.”

  Silence returned to the room.

  The man slowly closed the book in his hand.

  Then he adjusted the glasses resting on the bridge of his nose.

  A thin smile slowly spread across his lips.

  Not a warm one.

  A cruel one.

  He let out a quiet chuckle.

  “Ah…”

  His voice dropped to a whisper.

  “I am Velmorth.”

  “The greatest mage this world has ever known.”

  A low, crooked laugh escaped his throat.

  For a moment the room felt colder.

  Then, just as suddenly, his expression changed.

  The smile faded.

  His face returned to that calm, polite mask.

  The door of the inn opened.

  A woman stepped inside, looking around uncertainly.

  “Um… excuse me,” she said. “Is this really an inn?”

  Velmorth turned toward her.

  His posture straightened.

  His voice became gentle.

  “Of course,” he replied politely.

  “Yes, madam. This is an inn.”

  He gestured calmly toward the counter.

  “You’re welcome to stay.”

  The woman sighed with relief and stepped further inside.

  And behind the counter—

  Velmorth smiled again.

  A quiet smile.

  A polite one.

  But beneath the surface—

  it was unmistakably cruel.