Seven individuals entered the restricted room in the top floor of the Pink Willows. But only one came out. Nobody except the members of Blue Rose Syndicate witnessed this. Hence, everything remained calm- in the red light district at least.

The rebel forces insisted the city was getting stronger and stronger despite the lockdown. The mindset of resistance spread everywhere like a virus. The assaults against the nobility became fiercer and fiercer.

No matter what the aristocratic forces did, they could not make a single dent to the Rebellion armed with unconventional tactics.

But Adrian cared little about the whole situation. The more chaos there was in the city, the better it was for him and his plans.

Two weeks passed since the incident at the brothel. And none of the factions- be it the nobility, the Church, the Black Skulls, or the Flying Bulls- nobody came made a move.

“Looks like they are waiting for us to make a move.” Adrian said. He was lying on the tavern roof, on Irene’s thighs. It was chillingly cold, but no snows were falling.

But the duo were in relaxed positions, as if was just another day during a bright year. The moon was bright, hanging high in the sky.

“What will you do next?” Irene asked in her casual cold tone, looking down into his eyes.

“We have two options now- to keep waiting for them to make a move, or make a move ourself.”

“We are going with the latter.” She said.

His lips stretched to a grin. “Isn’t that obvious?”

******

The northern district- also known as the Hunter’s district.

To the North of Edenshield lied a lengthy mountain range- one that spanned all the way from the northern walls of the city to the centre of the Northern Wilderness. It was a natural defence, shared by both the empire and the Confederation alike- especially the Confederation.

Since the inception of kingdoms and empires, since the time when this continent was known as Ervilia, no armies ever passed through this wall of mountains and snow. The only way was to go around, through either the dense woodlands to the south- the Wyvian forest, or through the even more dangerous seas.

Hence, the Confederation, despite being the weaker party was able to hold on for decades. Regardless, the Empire always had the advantage in all the wars- for one significant reason. Edenshield, the city that was at the junction between the unassailable mountains and the treacherous forest- the only way of passing between the two powers.

And to Edenshield, the mountain range was important for a reason other than its natural defence- the fact that the mountains housed thousands of beasts- both ordinary and magical alike. And beasts meant more food, materials and pets.

That’s many- especially commoners- took hunting as their profession. Though hundreds of hunters died every year, the income obtained from the endeavours could let them live good life for years to come- or so they thought.

The northern district was there the hunters gathered. First of all, this place was really close to the mountains- just divided by walls and a small gate- small to the point that calling it a regular door would not be an exaggeration. Almost all the strong hunters, armed with dangerous weapons gathered here. And second, the place was furthest away from the centre of the city. So, the influence of the nobility or the Church here was minimal.

And that called for one thing- crime. And crime meant one thing- the Underworld.

Just like how the Black Skulls dominated over the red light district and the surround ones, the flying bulls reigned on this one. Almost every hunters in the city had to answer the syndicate before they could venture out to earn money. But contrary to the other syndicates, they were rather lax.

They did not enforce strict rules to the participants, and the high echelons treated the members well. Hence, the Flying Bulls, despite being a part of the Underworld, a syndicate, a ragtag group of criminals- the other factions treated it with respect; even the nobility, the Church, and its rivals- the Black Skulls were not exceptions.

The base of the Flying Bulls was not hidden anywhere. It was in the open.

In front of the building, stood two individuals- both of them garbed in black robes, their face covered with hoods. One of them was a male, and the other was a woman- at least from their outer figures.

It was evening.

Adrian had travelled all the way from the Southern parts of the city to the North. It took half a day of journey. It would have taken a lot less, if they did not take their sweet time sightseeing or eating all the local delicacies they could find.

Before him there was a wooden building, but a grand one at that. Tens of people, armed with swords, spears, bows and all sorts of weapons were walking in and out. The two guards standing at the entrance were just for show.

On top of the entrance, on a wooden plaque- the name ‘Hunter’s Guild’ was carved. The unrefined calibration gave off wild vibes.

Both Adrian and Irene walked into the building. The interior was bustling with activities. The noises of constant chattering and angered shouts permeated through the air. People were walking from one place to another. There was barely any free space.

They walked to the small desk at the side. ‘Reception’ was written on a small piece of meat her hanging from the edge of the table. This was the only desk in the entire hall that was free. Clearly, everyone here were veterans.

There was an old man dozing on the table. Drool dangled from the corner of his lips. Adrian slammed the table, abruptly waking the old man up. The man humped awake, subconsciously wiping off the drool and looking around. Finally, his sleepy eyes locked onto Adrian.

“We are new. What do we do?” Adrian asked.

“New blood?” The man frowned. Suddenly, his straight lips extended to a grin. “Welcome! It has been a while since we have had new hunters.” He rose up from his seat. “Follow me.”

The trio slithered past the burgeoning crowd, finally reaching a door at the end of the hall.

The old man opened the door and gestured the duo to step inside. Adrian did not waste any time and entered. Irene followed.

The room was relative large, but small compared to the hall outside. The tidy room was lit up with magic circles. At one side of the room, there was a desk. A middle aged man was sitting behind it, busy with paperworks.

The arrival of the newcomers did not seem to bother the man at all. Adrian and Irene walked to the man. Both of them sat opposite him, not caring about asking for permissions. The man’s eyes were still on the papers. He occasionally underlined terms on the papers, while fidgeting most of the time.

Adrian began to tap his finger on the wooden desk. However, it failed to grab the attention of the man.

Adrian slammed the table. The middle aged man finally looked up with a nonchalant look on his face.

“How may I help you?” He asked, teetering his eyes between Adrian and Irene.

“We want to get a hunter’s licence.” Adrian said.

“Oh. Is that so?” The man stopped fidgeting the pen and raised one of his eyebrows. “You should be aware that it’s a frigid year and the most dangerous beasts in the mountains had already woken up from hibernation.”

“We are aware.”

“You are still young. There are tens, if not hundreds of other ways out there to earn money. You don’t have to foolishly risk your lives out there.” The man said with a bit of concern in his voice. He had witnessed the death of many youths who aspired to be a hunter on their very first venture.

“We want the hunter’s licence.”

The man sighed. The answer was the same every fucking time. “Okay. But first, you need to go through a test- a written one. But before that, answer me this- are you two circlers?”

“Yes.”

“Good. There’s one less thing to worry about.” He sighed. “At least your deaths won’t come in that easily.” He keyed the drawer and took out a bundle of papers. He picked two random ones and passed them to the newcomers.

Adrian and Irene got one each.

“Do you have pens?” The man asked.

Adrian brought out two pens from his pockets and passed one to Irene.

“Answer the questions. All are related to general knowledge of the wilderness and survival.”

Adrian looked at the questions. Everyone of the answers were too easy. He turned to Irene. She had the same poker face she always had on. But Adrian, accustomed to her by now, knew that she did know a single one of the answers.

A black dot suddenly appeared on Irene’s paper. Irene frowned and pulled the paper to such an angle that the front was out of the man’s sight.

The man nodded in approval. She was indeed a woman- competitive in exams.

Adrian began to write the answers. The shadow followed the same track as that of his pen. Irene’s quick eyes caught it all and her pen followed.

In a matter of five minutes both of them finished answering all questions.

The man checked all the answers and widened his eyes in surprise. Not only did they answer all the questions quickly, but also every single one of them was correct.

He looked at the duo again.

“Congratulations. You pass.”