Eren and Mia looked like a couple on a camping date under the stars. There were unseen sparks of jealousy in the eyes of one of the shadows that looked at the scene.

A shadow filled with feelings of jealousy and other negative emotions looked at the pair hatefully before speaking up.

“Fuck! That whore Mia said no to me and is now romancing with this brat.”

The shadow spat on the ground in disgust before answering the question directed at it.

“We will attack when these lovebirds let their guard down. These bloody Stardust guild members. We’ll teach them a lesson, damn it.”

***

Eren had a taste of the stew he made himself and felt impressed with himself.

“Hot damn! I could have won MasterChef Australia with this kind of culinary performance.”

Eren was suddenly reminded of a random program from his digested memories of Bruce. It took him a while to realize that he had applied some of the culinary techniques he had digested on a subconscious level while making the stew.

The digested memories were not limited to martial arts and battle experiences. They covered a wide range of subjects. They had become an integral part of Eren’s day-to-day life without him realizing his subtle impact. Eren was glad that the integration of memories was so seamless.

Mia couldn’t understand what Eren was talking about. But she chuckled a bit and looked at him with intrigued expressions as she ate and talked with Eren.

“Um… there’s this bit of…”

Eren saw that Mia had a bit of stew dripping down the corner of her lips without realizing it. With his thumb, he wiped the residue from her pretty face.

Mia was a bit shocked when she felt Eren’s touch on her lips. Her actions froze for a bit and she was about to say something to ease the sexual tension. But she stopped herself from saying anything as she sensed Eren’s suddenly changed countenance.

“Mia… are you sure…”

Just then, Mia felt the perimeter barrier she had created around the area getting breached. Someone had entered the region. In a hostile manner, at that.

“Let’s get the hell…”

Eren was about to suggest fleeing from the scene when he felt a dangerous sensation approaching him. In an instant, the projectiles aimed at them approached the scene before they could get away.

Swoosh. Swoosh. Swoosh.

A bunch of darts targeted them at once. Eren and Mia managed to dodge some of them but some of them ended up hitting them.

“This…”

His mana circuits suddenly dried up after the darts hit him. He immediately looked at Mia to see that she too had been hit by a couple of darts.

Eren felt sudden fatigue overwhelm him. His muscles felt like they had been put under a lot of stress. As if he had done the most brutal workout of the week for hours on end and came out only when he was about to crash onto the ground.

Eren quickly understood that these were the effects of the darts. He quickly stimulated his mana core and executed his movement spell with difficulty. He approached Mia who was about to fall due to the effects of the dart.

“Hahaha. It’s useless. You both are going to die here.”

Eren had just held Mia by her arm when he heard the mocking voice. The shadows were approaching them from a distance.

Both the members of the Stardust guild were in trouble. Mia looked at him with a tired expression as she blurted out some words with difficulty.

“This… Eren, I don’t know… how…”

Eren calmed Mia’s panicked and guilty feeling with his firm voice.

“I know. It’s not your fault. There’s a way around everything, Mia. Forget about that. Focus on our current predicament.”

Eren said while trying to stay vigilant despite the dart-induced exhaustion he was feeling. He really meant it when he consoled Mia with his words. The first rule of Gilhaan was to expect the unexpected after all.

He was aware that the precautions most rankers used to take in the wild could be compromised. It would just take a bit of effort from the opponent’s side. It all depended on how motivated the opponents were.

Eren saw the approaching figures and narrowed down his eyes. They were approaching them slowly to let the drug take its effect.

Eren took out an all-stats recovery vial from his storage and yanked off the lead by pulling it away with his teeth. He poured the contents of the vial into Mia’s mouth.

Eren knew the effects of the drug wouldn’t be easy to rid of with just an all-stats recovery potion. But it could work as a temporary fix.

The groggy expressions on Mia’s face softened as the potion’s effects kicked in. She stood up straight on her own and drew out her runic bow.

Eren was about to drink the same potion for himself when the vial was shot down by the dart. Instead of trying for another vial, he took out his two Axes and braced himself for his new enemies.

The uninvited guests eventually showed themselves when they knew their prey wouldn’t be moving anywhere. Eren and Mia observed them with vigilance in their eyes as they prepared for launching their attacks.

Seven rankers had approached them from various directions. They were all ranked Meta and included two Meta rankers in the ninth stage.

Eren wasn’t intimidated by his new opponent’s ranking statuses. But he was intimidated by their numbers. This was his first time seeing himself so thoroughly outnumbered.

There were two humans and five Wesen, also known as beastkin, surrounding them. They had worn typical adventurer outfits with various gears. It looked like Eren and Mia were about to face off with a complete party.

The human male in the party seemed to be the leader of the group. Beside him was a goat-type beastkin in his Woge form. He was carrying the long blowpipe in his right hand, indicating that it was he who had shot the darts.

The human male had short brown hair, a trimmed beard, and a square-shaped face. He was wearing leather armor that highlighted his medium-sized but muscular build. He seemed to be a gauntlet user with the artifacts he was wearing on him.

“We were told to be extra careful in taking down Stardust guild members. But you love birds don’t seem much of a challenge to me.”

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