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“Care to explain more about this supposed breakfast?” Staxius asked, the voice neutral and face emotionless; the usual.

“Pardon me,” Jannette coughed and approached, “-it was but a fa?ade to get you here,” she spoke without malicious intent.

“And of course,” Reinhardt added, “-you knew about this,” he smiled.

“You know me far too well,” followed by a bow of the head, Staxius waited for the real reason to be told. In all honesty, there was also something that he needed to say. Two months working and training the others to become more competent whilst defending the border took its toll.

“The reason for this meeting isn’t anything much. We’re grateful for everything Kniq has accomplished for us. To that end, all the rewards and gold associated with that cause will be sent over to the main guild,” the lieutenant ended.

“If I presume right,” Staxius wondered, “-am I finally cleared to leave the operation?”

.....

“More or less, yes,” Jannette voiced, Reinhardt chose to stay silent, “-you’ve fulfilled the promise of showing how people who fight with the intent of winning and killing as opposed to going to die. The changes you’ve brought to Reforge is incredible. The people assigned to our defensive platoon have been promoted from Tier-9 Obsidian to Tier-8 Steel, and some even Tier 7 Sapphire,” her face lit with glee.

“It’s hard to imagine how our defenders have changed since you took control of the whole operation. The casualty reports for the past few weeks has been zero. Not even light injuries,” Reinhardt was as baffled as Jannette.

“With all due respect, the fighters were being held back by you. I care not for flattery, the men and women who fight under me have grown to hate but embrace death. Nothing beats the will to survive; when in peril, whether one flee or fights, the outcome is the same, the body moves twice as fast and becomes twice as strong. My goal was to harness that power, change the instinct into fight rather than flee. Obviously, there also required some guidance. A balanced team with personalities that complimented one another must be factored in. For example, the vanguard with Ferry and Jon are a force to be reckoned with. I won’t say their unbeatable – despite this, their will to fight and survive outclasses even me. To which I say this sentence with full confidence, under their supervision, the new recruits will grow to be powerful warriors. An injury means defeat, tis the mindset I engraved into all of the warriors. Despite how light it may be, using one’s body to defend must never be done,” he paused for the rest stopped their work and glued onto his face.

“We apologize, sir,” the operators bowed their heads, “but you see, the way you speak about the ones who protect us have drawn our attention.”

With a reassuring smile, Staxius continued, “-all that being said. I dare not take credit for that growth. I only taught how to fight the fear of death – and how to perform best under pressure. It’s Kniq’s handy work that rendered Reforge’s platoon a formidable force. Deadeyes oversaw the training of the long-range fighters. Achilles took charge of the vanguard; her swordplay is most fitting for normal people as opposed to my style. Viola trained the mid-ranged mages into both offensive and defensive magic. Last but not least, supportive magic, that spot was filled by Avon – a balance of offense and defense,” he ended.

“I guess the rumors were true,” Reinhardt added woefully.

“Care to elaborate?” Staxius asked without much intent.

“He speaks about rumors of Xenos leaving Reforge,” Jannette replied.

“Xenos...” he paused, “-guess that’s the adventuring nickname the warriors have given me?” a rhetorical question. The story about the origin of that name was known to him – Xenosious – the curse of eternal darkness. Rather fitting to which Staxius was proud to have such a name. “And yes,” after a few seconds, “-I’m planning to leave Reforge earlier tomorrow.”

“Oh...” the whole room sighed, “-we wish you well on future travels, Xenos,” the chief operator spoke and went back to work.

“We’re grateful for everything you’ve done, Lord Staxius,” the officers stood, “-as the lieutenant of Reforge,” they saluted, “I thank you from the bottom of our heart. May thy sword slash through stone and may thy arrow hit its mark.” A sentence that had been used over the generations as a way of wishing good luck.

“The pleasure was all mine,” he turned and reached for the door.

“Before you go,” Jannette interrupted, “-is it too much to ask where Kniq is headed next?”

“Isn’t it obvious,” he turned around, “-my quest of investigating the border isn’t done just yet,” a wink followed by the signature wave, the so-called breakfast ended.

“Any idea to what he meant?” Reinhardt asked utterly confused by the word obvious.

“Updust Outpost,” Jannette sighed and went back to work.

“Guess we’re on the road again,” Adete spoke.

“Not for long, after this – we need to head to the capital. Kniq needs a break. Fighting here is like war, they all go to sleep thinking if tomorrow they’ll wake up,” they stepped out.

Kniq’s exploit became known to the outposts. A guild that trained and fought without back-up nor weakness. Led by a single man, without mortal casualties, the nickname of the adventurer known as Xenos slowly spread throughout the land. They were mainly spread by travelers and merchants. A man with hair as white as ash from his prey and red from the blood spilled, tis was what spread. Ever since that rumor, more people were willing to make the journey to the border. The crew sent by Pegasus was stationed in Stonegrove whilst the one sent by Blades end was at Ground-zero.

Attacks were regular and predictable. Since the protection of the construction was handed over to Reforge, the operation advanced quickly. At that rate, it was predicted that in six months, from the second checkpoint to Reforge would be built. Then from Reforge, another year or so till the third checkpoint. The checkpoints were located in the middle of the wall from one outpost to another. It did help that more workers and companies decided to get involved. With how low the casualty reports were – many thought it best to invest to place the kingdom in their debt. Still, for the whole structure to be built, another five years was needed.

“Master,” Avon called, the party was seated inside a tavern.

“Hello,” he greeted and sat. A quick scan of their faces revealed smiles and glee, though there also displayed an underlying feeling of tiredness. Fighting for all this time took its toll. A feeling that related closely to homesickness.

“Sir,” Deadeyes called, “-how long are we going to continue fighting?” the tone curious with his hands gently stroking his rifle that leaned on the edge of the table.

“Not long,” he smiled and ordered food.

“Master,” Achilles called, “-will the monsters ever stop attacking?” she pouted, not very hero-like but adorable.

“No idea,” drinks arrived first, rumors went around the edges of the room. Xenos, many whispered, for those who weren’t chosen for the defending force at night saw him as an object of fantasy. A man who hailed straight from a story. Kniq’s exploit became known to the guilds, thus their repute grew.

“Brother,” Undrar called in turn. Irritated, “-can you all drop it,” a sudden outburst, “-I know many want to return home. I do too, however, the quest is yet to be complete,” the tone subtle for the outburst didn’t garner the attention of others apart from those who sat.

“You get me wrong,” she continued with a cold gaze.

“My mistake then,” the head shook and the attention turned to the food that arrived promptly.

“What are we to do with those two?” she pointed at the table closest to them.

“Sister, sister,” called Emma.

“Yes sister,” Emmy replied, “-We must hide our intent,” she advised caution.

“But sister,” Emma urged.

“Lymsey sisters,” Staxius called, “-come over here why don’t you,” he offered a seat.

“Sister, sister,” Emma voiced again.

“A trap, sister, I feel it,” Emmy’s eyes narrowed, to which they held hands and walked slowly.”

“That’s very unlike you,” Avon added with a hint of coyness.

“Shh,” Staxius winked rather than answer.

“W-we’re here,” they stood beside the leader.

“Here,” Staxius offered the two juice, “-grab and seat and let’s discuss.” The others watched carefully, it might not have looked, but those two were the most prominent fighters out of the personal squad led by Staxius. At first, he led everyone, then as time went on, as different roles emerged and to give a sense of autonomy, the members of Kniq were assigned separate squads. The vanguard remained under his direct supervision, to which the role of leader was relegated to Jon and Ferry after a few weeks.

Seeing how the others were performing with new training, Staxius decided to take in four members. Two close-range fighters, one healer and one ranger – this small squad was separate and worked independently from the main force. The job was to use the shadows and attack on specific nights or when it was necessary. It compromised of the twins, a healer who came from Ground-zero and a ranger from Scarlet Watch outpost, the sixth and last one. After a few days, the other two quit – leaving Xenos alone with the twins.

The sight of those two staying despite being scared – reminded a little of when he was a kid. Not necessarily weak, but lacking guidance. Naturally, the want to guide those teenagers as if they were his children took over. None needed to go through what he did – if it helped a little to overcome that feeling of being without a purpose; it was well worth the effort.

“I never asked what guild you girls belonged too, care to share that information?” he asked with a deep voice.

“W-we d-don’t h-have a guild,” Emma replied.

“W-well we do b-but,” Emmy interjected, confusion and fear were overabundant on their faces.

“Come on,” Staxius sighed, “-Which is it?”

“...” the sudden rise in pitch forced the girls to embrace one another.

“Stray cats,” he sighed, they sat next to him.

“Aren’t you supposed to be a father?” Achilles voiced, “-do something fatherly, master,” she pulled out her tongue.

“Yeah, what she said,” Avon backed the hero.

“We’re waiting,” Undrar stared with a smug look.

“You can do it, master, making a lady cry isn’t gentlemanly, show them what you can do,” Deadeyes cheered.

‘I swear,’ the head shook with a smile, ‘-this is my party, Kniq. The adventuring guild that helped save Reforge. We’re supposed to be hard built fighters with a thirst for victory and bloodshed. Well, the bloodshed part is kind of my fault. The rest hate the thought of killing another human, well Achilles in particular – her ideals as a hero don’t allow such things. Undrar and Avon are the closest to how I feel on the matter. It’s to be expected, a demi-goddess dragon and a strong spirit, it’s normal that they wouldn’t feel anything. Deadeyes, on the other hand, surprises me, he fights for the sole purpose of surviving. If it came down to saving himself or a partner, he’d choose himself. A thought that I appreciate; nothing to be ashamed of. People aren’t saints, one must think for oneself. For me, I don’t know. My emotions have grown over the past year – just a little bit. Nevertheless, this thing called humanity has long been left behind. To fight a demon, or a monster, one must become a demon in turn. I’d rather take on that role, the role of the one that is evil to save the conscience of my companions. No one has to walk down the path of bloodshed as I did.’

“Master?” a few seconds went by, the rest leaned closer and asked for he daydreamed.

“Oh sorry,” he stood and quickly moved behind the twins who held their eyes shut in a perpetual hug. “You needn’t worry,” the tone suddenly affectionate and friendly, “-I was only asking because I may have a job for the two of you,” he patted their head and smiled.