[North: Guess who’s with me guys???]

[Sapphire: Not the right time to make guesses, North. The new guy hasn’t been active for about five days now, and it’s not funny.]

[Lyra: True.]

[Nightmare: He got tired of y’all ranting and decided to stay away. He might be an F ranker, but he knows his worth.]

[Melisandra: Shut up, Nightmare. This is not a time to ragebait.]

[Melissa: Hey, @North. Just tell us what it is. We are in no good mood for guesses.]

[North: I’m with the guy you all have been worried about... Roman.]

[Lyra: Phew... Oh my...]

[Melisandra: Dead or Alive? I’m sorry for that question.]

[Melissa: WTF Melisandra? You really should be.]

[Sapphire: He should log in right away!]

[North: Sure.]

Roman and North were in the same room when the group chat conversation was going on, and she had signalled him to say something right after.

Since the Citadel, Roman hadn’t wanted to enter the group chat, despite getting repeated tags from almost all the members. He hadn’t done that because he felt ashamed or down, he had done that because he never wanted them to know where he was.

All that had been happening when the messengers still held him captive was because he wanted it to, and now, that was a different case.

[Roman: Hi guys...]

[Nightmare: Damn it, man. Did you hit your head on something and forget you are a member of this group?]

That was the first reply to come up, and Roman couldn’t help but chuckle after reading it.

[Sapphire: What was that? Why didn’t you call us for help? What is this union for?]

[Lyra: You made us worried, Roman. At least you should have updated us on how everything was going. I almost ordered my best Guild members to go looking for you.]

[Melissa: Same. Melisandra was considering that.]

[Melisandra: I was beginning to get too impatient.]

They had all shown their concern about what happened, and Roman wasn’t only pleased, he was amazed at how much they cared.

Lyra ready to send her best Adventurers? Melisandra almost doing the same after being too impatient to wait any longer for him to show up?

And Nightmare...

He was already ready to ambush the so-called caravan that was rumoured to have been travelling from the Frontier to the Heartlands.

As an S ranker, three A rankers wouldn’t have been a problem for him. In fact, the members of the Dominion Legion group chat interfering in this case would have resulted in something more explosive, and Roman just realised and confirmed that he had done the right thing. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

[Roman: Apologies, guys. Seriously.]

Roman hadn’t gotten much to say, and North was the one who stepped up and spoke, even though Roman hadn’t gotten anything planned out.

[North: It’s no biggie, guys. He just didn’t want things to go that way, based on the fact that he could handle it himself. He could be an F ranker, but he’s a man.]

Roman stared at North, and they both smiled at each other for no specific reason they could imagine.

[Lyra: Since when did you become Roman’s advocate, North?]

[North: Uhm... Maybe today. Because he is in my house and in my chamber. We are currently preparing to go to Terror Lake. So yeah, he’s my guest.]

[Lyra: You slut! Don’t go around seducing him with that corrupted body.]

[Melissa: Haha, I was about to say that!]

[North: Whatever happens here is none of your businesses. Now get your asses out and prepare for the mission. I’m outta here.]

[Nightmare: @Roman good luck, man.]

[Roman: Uhh... Thanks.]

[Lyra: @Roman, you should have come to my community instead. Too bad you are with that slut.]

[North: Cry more, b*tch.]

It was a very fun moment that was already looking too heated for Roman, but this wasn’t the first time he was discovering that they could be crazy sometimes.

He just happened to discover that when people begin to rise and gain power, their brains seem to have some screws loose.

They saw it as fun, but Roman saw it as something going too far. But he would just settle for him being soft-minded since he was just an F ranker, and they were all S rankers.

’Maybe when I get to their height, I would understand.’ He thought.

It was already almost dark at that time, and they were already prepared to enter Terror Lake. North figured that Roman hadn’t changed in days, and she made sure that he washed and had the best hunting attire possible.

It was the first time he was wearing a proper leather-armoured suit with gold materials printed on several sides. It was thick, free, and quite comfortable, one that was perfect enough to guarantee comfort in every battle.

"You are welcome," North said, noticing that he was only captivated by the wear and wouldn’t think of thanking her.

She didn’t want it anyway.

It hadn’t taken long before she led him to her modern runner, and they were set to go.

"Open the gates...!"

"Huh??? The Mayor is using a runner today?"

"I’m surprised too. She hasn’t used a runner in over a year now."

"I said open the bloody gates!" Master Herlan shouted for the second time, and the guards quickly opened the gates of the Mayor’s villa.

The runner rode out, and for the very first time, she was the one in the driver’s seat.

Although it had been a long time since she used the runner, there was never a time she was the one driving. Either a guard drove her, or Master Herlan would anytime they were on a secret mission or heading to a meeting.

When there was a general Community Rulers meeting, leaders were expected to show up in their best state, and that was when North would bring her best runners. It wasn’t even time for the GCR meeting yet, and that was why the guards were amazed.

After driving past the gate, they were about to enter the lane that led straight to the city’s road, and everything was just going fine, until a loud bang was heard from the top of the runner, and then another bang...

And then another...

Until a shadow appeared, followed by a figure that quickly appeared before the driver’s seat, with a dagger right on North’s neck before she knew it.

"Where is he?"