Shortly after their official registration at the Kardinal guild, Albert, Kaelya, and Leon exited through the side of the building, avoiding the busy main street. Although they had full mission access, they didn't stop to look at the board—they had other priorities.
— The guy who slipped out behind the building wasn't local, Leon said as they walked through a narrow alley.
— I felt it, Albert replied. His magic didn't match the region. His cloak had a military-grade camouflage. Not guild, not academy. Something else.
Kaelya adjusted her cloak and lowered her voice:
— How much time until they move?
— Twenty minutes, tops, said Albert. If they already sent a signal, their team is either in town or just outside it.
Leon pulled out a small black stone from his pocket. He tapped it with a finger; it gave off a soft pulse.
— No active signals nearby, but the static is distorted. That means someone's definitely hiding nearby.
Albert stopped at a low stone wall and drew two lines in the air. A local tactical map appeared—simple, no visuals, just movement markers.
— Six targets nearby. Three are moving in a circular path. That's not patrol—it's a surround maneuver.
Kaelya:
— So they're here to test us… or stop us.
— They won't ask questions, Leon added. The one who made the call had the look of an outsider unit. Probably hired mercenaries. Trained.
Albert closed the map.
— We're heading to that old observation site outside town. It's open terrain. If they want to fight, that's where we'll deal with them.
Kaelya:
— You want to bait them?
— No. Just giving them a chance to make the first mistake.
Leon pulled up his hood.
— Let's move.
Less than a kilometer away, inside an abandoned house at the edge of town, a man with a metal mask watched magic feeds.
— Position confirmed. The main target is moving out. Activate the team.
Another, taller man warmed his fingers over a trigger ring.
— Orders?
— No kill. Capture. Minimum three minutes of contact.
Albert, Kaelya, and Leon were already leaving the last rows of houses, crossing dry ground with broken walls and cut trees.
Albert spoke calmly:
— If they attack in the next few minutes, we hit back without hesitation. Nothing lethal, but clear.
Leon nodded.
Kaelya pulled a short blade from her sleeve and kept it along her arm.
The mood was shifting. This wasn't surveillance anymore. It was getting close to a real fight.
They had left the edge of the city and entered open ground—uneven terrain, broken walls, and what remained of an old fort. The wind blew lightly from the east. It was quiet. Too quiet.
Albert stopped.
— Now, he said.
At that exact moment, a fireball came from the left, cast by someone hiding behind a collapsed wall. Albert raised his hand and spoke:
— Null Sphere.
A translucent barrier formed instantly around them. The fireball vanished mid-air, fully absorbed.
Kaelya and Leon moved without hesitation. From the right, two cloaked figures rushed forward, weapons charged with magic.
Leon raised his hand:
— Shockwave Pulse!
A straight blue wave surged out and hit both attackers head-on, slamming them into a stone slab. They weren't seriously injured, but they were off balance.
Behind them, a shout came:
— Black Bind!
Shadow tentacles burst from the ground, aiming to trap the trio. Kaelya reacted fast:
— Blade Waltz.
With a sharp motion, she drew a circle with her dagger. Invisible blades shot out, slicing the shadow restraints, which dissolved into smoke.
Albert assessed the situation:
— Five enemies. Mid to high-level. They're not using lethal spells. They're going for capture.
Another attack came from above—this time, a mix of ice and compressed wind.
— Cryo Burst!
Albert raised his arm and spoke clearly:
— Vector Reversal.
The ice blast spun around and flew in the opposite direction, exploding above a tree and freezing part of the trunk.
One of the attackers, realizing he couldn't win head-on, cast a defensive spell:
— Shadow Cloak!
He vanished from sight.
Albert closed his eyes for a second.
— Got him.
He pointed a finger and said calmly:
— Void Mark.
A glowing purple sigil appeared on a nearby wall, pulling the invisible enemy out and slamming him to the ground—unconscious.
Leon and Kaelya repositioned, flanking the last active enemy—a mage trying to retreat.
— He's trying to escape, Leon said.
— Not yet, Albert replied.
He stepped forward and cast:
— Silent Root.
The ground beneath the mage darkened, and a web of solid roots locked him in place. It didn't hurt him, but he couldn't move.
Kaelya approached.
— Should we finish it?
Albert shook his head.
— They're broadcasting everything. Let them know what happens if they send more.
He walked up to the trapped mage and spoke directly:
— Tell them what you saw. The next team won't leave alive.
He released the spell. The mage collapsed to the ground, breathing hard.
— Go.
Within minutes, all attackers were neutralized—alive, but defeated. No blood. No deaths. But the message was clear:
They could not be touched without consequences.
After confirming that all attackers had left or been retrieved by their teams, Albert, Kaelya, and Leon walked back toward the city without rushing. No one spoke for the first few minutes.
— They'll keep a closer eye on us now, Leon said.
Albert nodded:
— But they won't send underprepared teams again. Next contact will come from someone with real authority.
— What about this? Kaelya asked, showing the broken insignia she had taken from one of the attackers.
— We keep it. Someone at the guild might recognize it. Or it might help if anyone comes looking officially.
Back in the city, they didn't return to the old center but instead headed to the southern district of Kardinal—a quieter commercial area.
Inside the guild building, the atmosphere had shifted since the morning. Several boards had been replaced, and a new mission list was displayed.
A clerk spotted them:
— You've been called. Room 3, special review.
Kaelya raised an eyebrow.
— That was fast.
— It's not optional, Albert said. Let's see what they want.
In the assigned room, a man in light armor with the insignia of a higher-ranking guild officer was waiting.
— Alen, Karis, Vell. Registered yesterday. You triggered three high-threat alerts outside the protected zone. We have two unofficial reports and one witness.
Albert said nothing.
— We know you didn't start the fight. But we're more interested in something else. You destroyed the scan platform without using any declared spell. What's your actual level?
Albert replied simply:
— Undetectable. But controlled.
— Acceptable, the officer said. Under current conditions, we're offering you a first official mission: escort duty to a frontier instability zone, with possible unknown contact. It's a region where standard magic behaves unpredictably. We're testing alternative effects.
Kaelya and Leon looked at Albert.
He answered:
— We accept.
After they exited the building, Leon said:
— That's it. First step into the official network. If we do well, they'll start to trust us. If not...
Kaelya added:
— They'll track us, not just observe us.
Albert was already looking in the direction marked on the map. A zone with no name, but carrying the warning: Southern Instability Rift.
— That's where we start, he said. And that's where they'll learn what it means to face something they can't control.
With the mission officially approved and registered, Albert, Kaelya, and Leon stayed inside the guild building to finalize the details. A young clerk in a gray guild uniform brought them a metal box with red markings on the lid.
— Standard frontier kit: one magical ID tag, two stabilization potions, and a communication stone. Each of you will get a safety crystal. It shatters automatically if you're fully immobilized or disappear from signal range.
Kaelya took the first crystal, examined it quickly, and slid it under her sleeve.
— Not advanced magic, she said. But enough to send a distress alert.
Leon opened the box and took one of the potions.
— Concentrated. This isn't for wounds—it's for magical instability.
— Exactly, the clerk replied. In that region, some fields reverse polarity. Those who went in with active magic had issues. You're advised to stay fully passive until the stabilization zone.
In the guild's waiting area, two adventurers spoke in low voices as Albert's group walked by. One, wearing light armor with a sword strapped to his back, eyed Albert with suspicion.
— That's the guy from yesterday, he muttered. The one who broke the platform.
— Word is, they got a mission without even taking the test. Must be "special."
— Or someone's backing them.
Albert heard it, but didn't respond. Kaelya turned slightly, but Albert said calmly:
— Ignore it. Dogs bark. They don't bite.
Leon chuckled under his breath.
Outside the building, at a makeshift stall, two old men were selling local maps. Albert stopped and pointed at an unnamed region.
— This the area?
— Yeah, the old man said. Nobody goes there by choice. The ground shifts, plants freeze under sunlight. Not many come back.
Albert took the map and dropped a few silver coins.
— We'll be back.
Later, at the inn where they had rented rooms, Kaelya shut the door and said:
— People are starting to talk.
— Good, Albert replied. Controlled noise. Just enough for them to wonder—but not enough to think they understand.
Leon sat at the table, studying the map.
— When do we leave?
Albert answered:
— At first light.
Kaelya sat on the bed, removed her cloak, and closed her eyes.
— Then we rest. What's coming won't be easy.
The sun hadn't yet risen over Kardinal when the three left the inn. The streets were quiet. Only a few early merchants were setting up their stalls, and the guards rotated silently at their posts.
Kaelya fastened her cloak at the neck and said:
— The air feels off. Heavier than yesterday.
Leon nodded:
— Slight magical pressure. Could be coming from the frontier zone.
Albert stopped at the final intersection before the southern gate. With a brief motion, he touched the ground with two fingers.
— Trace Echo.
A faint glowing circle appeared beneath him, visible only to the three of them.
— We've got scanning traces. Not in the city. Just outside the walls. Someone's watching us.
Kaelya:
— Surveillance or pursuit?
— Just watching for now. But if we get too close to the Instability Rift, they'll send people again. Probably stronger than yesterday's group.
Leon:
— Then we'd better be faster than their questions.
Exiting through the southern gate, Albert, Kaelya, and Leon left the safety zone. Before them stretched gray hills, sparse marshes, and patches of dried forest. It didn't look dangerous, but something about it felt... wrong.
— The terrain here shifts, Albert said. What you see today won't be there tomorrow.
For the first few kilometers, nothing blocked their path. But as they neared the first marked location on the map, the air began to change.
— Heads up, Kaelya said. Light's distorting at the edge of the field.
Albert raised a hand:
— Don't attack. That's not a creature. It's environmental instability.
They moved carefully through the affected area. The ground changed color slightly, and the vegetation seemed to move in slow motion, like time itself was off.
Leon picked up a leaf:
— Cold. Like metal. Not natural.
Albert closed his eyes for a moment, then said:
— Move with caution. If you feel sudden shifts in gravity or light, stop immediately.
Kaelya:
— So... we've crossed the line.
Albert nodded:
— We're in the test zone now. From this point on, anything alive that follows us... better know where it's stepping.