A full day had passed since Luke wrapped up his preparations to seize the Second Fortress. Now he was roaming the Safe Zone, looking for Jack. He had left early, using the excuse to burn through the last of his Bastion notes at the marketplace.

[Reinforced Iron Arrow (Uncommon)]: A shaft of sturdy wood tipped with reinforced iron, capable of piercing armor and withstanding heavier impacts, making it more durable and effective against enemies with stronger defenses.

He was staring at one on the stall when the merchant spoke up.

"How many?"

"Five arrows. Unless, of course, you've decided to be generous and sell me about a thousand."

"Funny guy." The man pulled five arrows from his storage item and passed them over. Luke slid them into his bag.

The vendor licked his fingers, counted the notes one by one, then nodded. "Seventy-five. Good luck with your hunt, and come back soon."

"Oh, I'll be back," Luke said as he turned away.

Back? Not a chance. Goodbye, Safe Zone.

Since it was his last day here, he figured he might as well stock up. He now had a total of ten [Uncommon] arrows, essential for one of his options to deal with the Warden Captain's armor.

With 318 bastions left, he picked up another shovel for 25 and four wooden barrels at 70 each. He already had plenty stored away, but when it came to preparation, too much was never enough. Those barrels would be filled with water soon enough. He stashed them in his storage without hesitation. No point pretending he didn't have one anymore.

Less than an hour later, he had bled most of his wallet dry. Only 13 Bastions remained.

"And we're back to poverty," he muttered, tucking away two fives, a two, and a lonely one.

Before leaving for the Second Fortress, he decided to swing by Eddie's inn to see if Jack was there. His one real reason for staying in the Safe Zone this long was to have the healer verify the map he'd put together.

The door creaked as he pushed it open.

"Good morning, we have rooms avail—" The receptionist stopped short when she saw him, her fake smile fading instantly.

"Pretty sure I'm not exactly welcome here," Luke remarked.

"As I've told you before, my smile isn't cheap," Layla replied flatly.

Luke leaned against the counter, eyeing the potted plant beside her. "Wasn't talking to you, Layla. I meant her. She doesn't seem to like me much. Been watering her?"

"Yes. And why do you keep trying to befriend a plant?"

"I have my reasons. Plants are just as complicated as people, especially female plants."

"Speaking of which, some girl named Zoey came looking for you yesterday," she said.

Luke coughed lightly. "You gave her the usual message I told you to, right?"

"No. I'm not enabling your scumbag tricks. If you'd been here, I would've told her the truth," she said.

"Being a scumbag would be if I kept it going. I'm actually avoiding her," Luke said.

"Which just makes you an even bigger scumbag…" she replied.

Luke coughed again, this time more theatrically. "By the way, madam, I found this necklace. Would look gorgeous on your neck, don't you think?"

"I'm not falling for that one."

"Wasn't talking to you. I meant the plant."

"You're insane."

"No. I'm a man desperate for experience points. Big difference."

***

Luke went looking for Jack at the logging camp. Waiting around all day just to confirm one piece of information wasn't an option. It was too risky to linger in the Safe Zone until nightfall. The faster he tied up this loose end, the better. He also didn't want to risk bumping into anyone from Haven.

At least the logging camp sat on the outskirts of the Safe Zone. From there, he could vanish straight away. If his plan worked, everything about this tutorial could shift drastically, today. The thought had him both nervous and restless. Months away from his family had led up to this moment, and the next step was a big one. When he reached the camp, someone new was managing things in Conrad's place: a soldier who usually pulled guard duty there.

"Name?" the soldier asked.

"I'm not here to work. Just looking for a friend. He usually eats around this time. You know me, I've been working here for two weeks."

"Oh, you're James."

Naturally, Luke had dyed his hair blond again before setting foot in the Safe Zone.

"You know where Jack is?" Luke pressed.

"Half the lumberjacks got moved to another site this morning," the soldier replied.

"Why?"

"You weren't here yesterday, were you?" the soldier asked.

That's when Luke heard hurried footsteps closing in.

"You!"

The soldier straightened. "Captain Landon."

"You're James, from Eddie's crew?" Landon demanded.

"That's… right," Luke answered cautiously, trying to catch the thread.

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Landon. The name clicked. He'd heard it tied to that gang.

Realization hit. The leader of that gang wasn't some random criminal, it was this man. Another cog in Bastion's machine, hiding under the uniform. Not every one of Bartholomew's soldiers was some poor fool tricked into serving him. Some of them used Bastion's authority for their own dirty work.

"You missed yesterday. Broke your perfect streak of attendance. Just so happens it's the same day Conrad disappeared. Eddie also reported you skipped two nights at his inn." Landon's gaze sharpened.

Oh. I see. He suspects I killed his friends. Maybe he's got Jack.

Luke noticed other soldiers gathering.

"I was… at someone else's place last night. You know how it is," he said casually, curious how this thug planned to spin things. Landon couldn't just blurt out that Luke had killed criminals. Not in front of the others.

Conrad's death, does it really cause me problems? They can't tie me to it. Not without Jack's testimony.

That guy was someone sent indirectly by Samael. Best to play along, for now. At least until Luke confirmed Jack's situation.

"You'll come with us. The others are waiting. We're running an interrogation," Landon said.

"Interrogation?"

"Routine procedure in these cases," Landon replied smoothly.

Too many eyes were on him. Denying wasn't an option.

"Sure, I'll come along. I wasn't planning on working today anyway. But just so we're clear, I expect to be drinking at Doug's tavern before sundown." Luke let the words roll out with the ease of a nobody trying to act normal.

He followed the soldiers.

'Luke, you broke your own golden rule about cop movies!' Artemis's voice rang in his head. 'You skipped work the same day the guy went missing!'

How was I supposed to know they'd start investigating this fast? Don't they usually have a forty-eight-hour rule? And what are the odds the gang leader's also a Bastion soldier?

His steps fell heavy, every one of them watched.

Please. Just drag me into some forest and try to kill me already.

Luke wasn't dragged off to some abandoned house or a desolate patch of land like he half-expected. No, to his disappointment, they brought him back into the Safe Zone, into a garrison building the soldiers used for questioning. A routine interrogation, supposedly. At least he hoped Jack would be there. He needed that confirmation about the map.

Along the way, Luke picked up something else: Bartholomew ran a tight curfew system for his soldiers. Attendance was non-negotiable. Miss it, and you were flagged immediately. It was how he kept control, and how he tracked disappearances. The system had been built during his wars with Marshall, back when soldiers were being killed or kidnapped and replacements couldn't be allocated fast enough.

Now, if someone missed two shifts in a row, alarms went off. That was why Conrad's absence had drawn so much suspicion. The man hadn't missed a single roll call in three years. Criminal or not, he respected the clock.

"Sit with the others. All you need to do is answer questions about your work routine over the past week," one of the guards told him, then left.

Luke stayed calm. Maybe too calm. Was it arrogance born of his power, or just the obvious truth? Surrounded by potential enemies, he still didn't feel pressure.

"Hey, James," someone greeted, sliding onto the bench across from him. Another lumberjack.

"Complicated in there?" Luke asked lightly.

"Not really. Just questions about last week's work. I told those bastards they could just ask any of the soldiers who were there," the man muttered. Then he leaned in, lowering his voice. "But they don't trust the soldiers either. They're cross-checking every testimony, looking for cracks."

"Paranoid bunch," Luke said, keeping up the act.

"They've ruled this place for seven years. More organized than you'd think," came a new voice.

Jack appeared in the corridor and sat down, exactly the person Luke needed to see.

"Everything all right?" Luke asked, his calm tone masking the weight behind the words.

"Smooth. Nothing to worry about," Jack answered, the subtext clear: he hadn't said a word about Conrad's little kidnapping attempt.

"James, thought you were off exploring the Wild Zone for a few days," Jack added.

"I was going to, but first I wanted to confirm something with you."

"With me? What would that be?"

Luke hesitated. No way he could pull out a map here. "It's… about your religion. Let's talk later at Doug's tavern."

Jack seemed to understand.

"Next! James!" a soldier called out.

Luke stood and moved toward the door.

"Not here," the soldier said. "You're being taken somewhere else. The lower cells."

"The lower cells?"

"Orders are orders," the guard replied, pointing the way.

They marched him down the hall. Strange, yes, but it didn't rattle him.

Am I getting too arrogant?

Unless they pulled a giant snake out of their asses, he wasn't going to be scared. He hadn't flinched against Kruger when his level was a joke. He sure as hell wasn't about to now. If it was a trap, he had outs. He could turn to mist. Failing that, he had a super acid potion strong enough to eat through walls, flesh, even bone. Whether the fight was quick or drawn out, he had tools to win.

Not arrogance. Just fact. Right now, all of them were cats, and he was a tiger. And a hundred housecats don't take down a tiger.

Luke descended the stairs into the dungeon. Passing the row of cells, he was led by a soldier to a heavy wooden door.

"Wait inside," the soldier ordered, gesturing toward the room.

"I'm not exactly comfortable walking in there," Luke replied, feigning unease.

"One of our men has gone missing. Trust me, we're more uncomfortable than you. The faster we do this, the faster it's over," the soldier said flatly.

"Fair enough." Luke stepped inside.

"Sit in the chair," the man instructed, then shut the door behind him.

Luke didn't sit right away. First, he activated on Soil Analysis. He couldn't sprout roots here, but he could still check for buried traps, mines, or hidden mechanisms. The ground was clean. Next, he activated Assassin's Tracking, letting mana ripple through the room, reading traces of movement, intent, and presence. The room carried no real threat. If things went bad, he'd slip into mist and escape through the small opening he had already spotted. Only then did he finally sit, deciding someone was probably watching, testing whether he'd act suspicious. Better to play the calm, compliant worker.

"Caw!" The sharp cry of a crow echoed from the opening above. Luke glanced up just in time to see dark wings beat against the light before the bird vanished into the air.

He exhaled, slow and steady. Come on then, Bartholomew. Come on, Kruger. Bring both of you, hell, bring an army of assassins. I'm ready.

He adjusted his seat. Whoever walked through that door, he would face head-on. And if it happened to be someone from his vengeance list, those who had caused Angelica's death, they wouldn't just die. They would suffer.

The door began to creak open. Come in, bastard. I've been waiting months to rip your heart out.

The door swung wide. Luke tensed, muscles ready to explode. He was already half-rising, prepared to tear the intruder apart.

And then he froze.

A woman stepped in. "Hello, James."

"…Hello, Eleanor," he greeted, utterly thrown.

"Wasn't this supposed to be an interrogation?" he asked, baffled.

So it wasn't a trap from Bartholomew after all. Eleanor closed the door softly, leaning against it with arms crossed. She said nothing, only stared at him, her eyes narrowing, sharp and unforgiving. The silence stretched. The air felt heavy.

I should probably say something…

"I see you're not wearing the necklace anymore," Luke ventured.

Her expression hardened. Anger flickered there now, cold and cutting.

"The same necklace you gave to half the women working in Bastion?" she snapped.

"…Oops."

Yeah. Maybe he wasn't quite prepared for this enemy.

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