There was never any real sleep in the City of Aurelis.

Even before dawn...

There were people bustling down the streets.

Caravan groups of merchants entered through the eastern gates.

Baker men took hot bread out of glowing ovens.

Blacksmiths lit their forges.

Airships carefully descended from the skies while other ones ascended into the clouds towards distant lands.

In short...

Everybody talked.

Recently...

Almost all those conversations were ending the same way.

One of the merchant laughed while unloading crates of spices near the western market.

"If Hunter Raven hadn’t arrived just in time..."

"My whole caravan would have become the dinner for monsters."

The second merchant nodded.

"I heard she managed to kill off an entire pack of Iron Shell Basilisks single-handedly."

The first merchant shook his head.

"Not really."

"She didn’t only manage that."

"She guided our wagons out of danger first."

"And then she only fought when everybody was already safe."

Elsewhere...

An old lady smiled while arranging flowers.

"True protector."

At the Continental Hunter Guild...

Morning rush had already started.

Receptionists ran from counter to counter.

Glowing quest crystals.

The huge hall was full of hunters.

One young receptionist smiled while organizing paperwork.

Her colleague looked at the ever-growing pile of completed missions.

"So many of them belong to Raven."

The older receptionist nodded.

"Yes."

"Very polite woman."

"Never argued with anybody."

"Never complained."

"Even when we made mistakes."

The younger receptionist blinked.

"For real?"

The older woman smiled warmly.

"The very first thing she said every time was..."

"Thank you for your hard work."

She laughed.

"Most hunters ignore us completely."

"But Raven always remembers that we’re people too."

Not far from there...

In a blacksmith’s workshop...

Sounds of hammers rang through the building.

A burly dwarf wiped sweat from his face.

A customer was admiring a few newly forged swords.

"I’ve heard that Raven buys equipment here."

The blacksmith laughed.

"Yes."

"Never asked for any discounts."

"Pays the exact price of anything."

He folded his strong arms.

"And every time she leaves..."

"My workshop seems brighter."

The customer smiled.

"Some woman."

The dwarf nodded proudly.

"A rare one."

Children were playing among the trees in one of the Aurelis parks.

They were holding sticks that were pretending to be swords.

"I’m Raven!"

"No, I’m Raven!"

"You be the monster!"

Little girl shook her head.

"I don’t want to be the monster."

"I want to save people."

An elderly grandmother sitting nearby chuckled.

"Why do you all want to be like Raven?"

Smiling brightest child answered.

"Because..."

"She smiled at me."

The old woman blinked.

"She did?"

The little boy nodded excitedly.

"I’ve fallen down."

"I started crying."

"She helped me to stand up."

"And then she smiled."

He smiled just as brightly.

"It stopped hurting."

The old woman patted his head gently.

"Then I hope you become somebody like her."

Meanwhile...

The woman who was the subject of all these talks was absolutely unaware about that.

Jennie calmly accepted yet another quest from the guild.

The receptionist gave her a quest crystal.

"Thank you."

Jennie bowed politely.

"I’ll be back before sunset."

She disappeared just as quietly as she had come.

Outdoors...

Soft snow spread under the warm rays of morning sun.

"You accepted another escort mission."

Jennie nodded.

"The merchant looked worried."

Snow smiled knowingly.

"That is reason enough for you."

Roxy rushed over bringing several thick books of magic spells.

"I’m done with reading!"

Jennie looked surprised.

"Already?"

Roxy proudly nodded.

"Well..."

"I understood about half of it."

Jennie laughed.

"That is still progress."

Later that afternoon...

The three of them went to an open field near the Aurelis city.

Flowers were dancing in the breeze.

Snow was lying underneath the big oak tree.

Jennie stood some distance away from Roxy.

"Again."

Roxy took a deep breath.

Mana was gathering around her staff.

Magic circle was glowing brightly.

"Ice Lance!"

Five magnificent ice spears were heading towards the target.

Three of them hit the wooden dummy.

One missed the target entirely.

The fifth one...

Swooped through the air.

It was flying directly at Roxy.

"...Eh?"

She was staring at her own spell.

Jennie vanished.

White flash of light flew across the field.

The ice lance was split in two before it could hit Roxy.

Little snowflakes were harmless floating around them.

Roxy slowly blinked.

"...I almost froze myself."

Jennie brought her sword down.

"Yeah."

"I’m improving."

"You are."

"...But not in the way you intended."

Snow couldn’t resist anymore.

Laughter was bursting out of him.

Roxy crossed her arms.

"You two are laughing at me."

Jennie smiled warmly.

"Just a little bit."

Roxy puffed out her cheeks.

"I’ll become a great mage one day."

Jennie nodded firmly.

"I’m sure you will."

Those words erased all her frustration.

She smiled once again.

"Let’s try one more time then!"

Jennie nodded.

"One more time."

From the shadow of the big oak tree, Snow was watching them silently.

Thousand years ago...

He was watching Leonis patiently teaching scared soldiers.

Now...

He was watching Jennie patiently encouraging clumsy mage.

Different face.

Different name.

Same gentle soul.

Snow smiled to himself.

There were things...

That never change.

Golden sunlight washed the streets of Aurelis in hues of warmth and light.

Jennie, Snow, and Roxy returned to the Continental Hunter Guild for yet another busy day.

As usual, the atmosphere was vibrant and energetic.

Hunters chatted over drinks.

Receptionists ran from counter to counter.

Quest boards shined brightly in the light of new quests.

Jennie approached the reception desk silently.

A well-known receptionist greeted her with a bright smile right when she saw her.

"Welcome back, Miss Raven."

Jennie returned a smile.

"I came to file a report of my completed quests."

She put several glowing quest crystals on the counter.

Then one more.

And one more.

Pretty soon, there was a pile of them.

The receptionist blinked.

"...All of these?"

Jennie nodded.

"Yes."

"I managed to finish them while coming back."

The receptionist checked the first crystal.

Green light appeared.

Quest Complete.

She checked the second.

Quest Complete.

Third.

Quest Complete.

Crystal after crystal, every one of them glowed green.

Hunters around them gradually stopped talking.

A young hunter asked in whisper:

"How many quests is it?"

His friend counted quietly.

"...Twenty-three."

The first hunter almost dropped his mug.

"Twenty-three?"

"In one month?"

An older hunter nodded.

"And not a single failure."

Another hunter added:

"Not a single complaint from the clients."

The receptionist finished checking the last report and smiled admiringly at Jennie.

"Perfect, as always."

Jennie took the pouch with her reward with two hands.

"Thank you very much for your hard work."

The receptionist smiled kindly.

"And thank you."

Jennie didn’t say anything else, she walked away from the counter.

She never waited for the applause.

She never turned back to see who was watching her.

She just kept walking.

Snow was following her.

"You don’t like being in the spotlight."

Jennie smiled slightly.

"I don’t think that it’s something that should be."

Snow’s eyes softened.

"You sound just like him."

Jennie looked at him.

"...Leonis?"

Snow nodded.

"One time he told me that the greatest heroes are those who don’t remember their names."

Jennie looked at the evening sky.

"...Maybe he was right."

Outside, the streets were already quietening down.

The smell of freshly baked bread was coming from bakeries nearby.

Musicians were playing cheerful songs in the town square.

Children were laughing running around the streets.

A little boy waved the wooden sword.

"I’m Raven!"

Another child shook his head.

"No, I’m Raven!"

"You can be the monster!"

The "monster" refused instantly.

"I don’t want to lose!"

Children burst into laughter.

Jennie was watching them.

She couldn’t help but smile.

Roxy noticed it.

"They admire you a lot."

Jennie shook her head gently.

"They admire a story."

"I’m just a hunter."

Snow smiled knowingly but didn’t say anything.

As they kept walking, they noticed an old merchant trying to fix the wagon wheel.

Several heavy crates fell on the road.

People walked by and did not stop to help.

Jennie approached him quietly.

"Can I help you?"

The old merchant blushed.

"I couldn’t possibly trouble you with this."

"It’s not troubling."

Jennie bent down next to the wagon.

Having examined the damage, she lifted the wagon high enough for them to fix the wheel.

Roxy handed the merchant his lost cargo fast.

Snow pushed the wagon onto the road.

In a few minutes everything was done.

Merchant’s eyes sparkled with gratefulness.

"Thank you..."

"I don’t know how to repay you."

Jennie smiled softly.

"You already have."

Old man blinked.

"I have?"

"You smiled."

Before he managed to say anything else...

Jennie and her companions had disappeared in the crowd of the evening city.

The merchant watched them leaving.

"...The White Hunter."

"No wonder everyone talks about her so positively."

Later that night...

On the high floor of the city...

In the Guild Master’s office...

There was a stack of reports on a polished wooden desk.

Guild Master adjusted his glasses.

He started reading them.

Escort Mission.

Completed.

Monster Subjugation.

Completed.

Village Defense.

Completed.

Lost Child Rescue.

Completed.

Ancient Ruin Investigation.

Completed.

Every report was ending in the same way.

Hunter name: Raven

Mission Status: Perfect

He finally got to the monthly report.

His eyes scanned the lines carefully.

Monthly Report

Number of Completed Quests: 23

Number of Failed Quests: 0

Success Rate: 100%

Civilian casualties: 0

Collateral Damage: 0

Satisfaction rate of the clients: Excellent

The old Guild Master leaned back in his chair.

For several moments...

He was staring at the report.

Then a smile appeared.

"...The White Hunter."

He carefully closed the file.

"Keep an eye on her."

An assistant standing nearby bowed.

"Is she a candidate for S-Rank now, Guild Master?"

The old man looked out of the window at the lights of Aurelis.

"Strength is not everything that makes an S-Rank Hunter."

He smiled.

"Character is."

"I want to see more."

Meanwhile...

Jennie was sitting near the campfire outside the city.

Snow was lying nearby calmly.

Roxy was sleeping having read a spellbook.

The book was covering almost her half of the face.

Jennie smiled quietly.

"She’ll spoil her eyesight."

Snow opened one eye.

"She reminds me of someone."

Jennie smiled.

"Of me?"

"No."

"You’ve never tripped over your books."

Jennie giggled quietly.

"That’s true."

She looked at the starry sky.

For the first time since she left Seraiya...

Her heart was calm.

She was still missing everyone.

Arthur.

Elena.

Lucas.

Lilia.

No matter how hard it was, she hoped they were smiling.

This thought was enough to make her go forward.

Far beyond the west coast of the continent...

In the place where any map wasn’t reaching...

Endless sea stretched under the moonlight.

The sea suddenly calmed down unnaturally.

Under the waters...

Beneath the ruins older than the records...

There was a vast underwater temple in the silence.

Corals grew on its massive pillars.

Schools of luminous fish swam through the broken halls.

At the bottom of the temple...

There was a giant crystal on the stone altar.

Inside it...

Lay a magnificent blue sword.

Its blade was shining as flowing water.

Its guard was looking like the wings of an ancient sea dragon.

For a thousand years...

It was keeping quiet.

And then...

There was a flickering of faint blue light in the crystal.

Once.

Twice.

Runes carved on the altar were starting to shine.

Deep voice echoed in the flooded sanctuary.

"...I can feel you..."

"...My rightful bearer."

The crystal trembled.

Tiny crack was spreading on its surface.

The sleeping Divine Sword woke up.

Leviathan – Blade of Oceans.

Far away, unaware of the ancient power calling to her...

Jennie continued her path as the White Hunter.

But destiny...

Was already preparing their next meeting.