4 Taking On a Mission (2/2)

He had always wondered why it was like that. He had first thought that maybe one's demonic energy levels had something to do with it since he could sense demons very clearly. But it wasn't the case. He had seen people stronger than him who were faint and indistinct in his senses.

Claira was only slightly weaker than he was, yet she was so dazzling compared to someone who was stronger than the both of them. His theory about demonic energy wasn't right.

They entered the mission hall. The hall had a high ceiling and was very vast. Sunlight only entered through the central doorway and it did not illuminate the rest of the building. The inner portion of the hall was thus supposed to be dark. But the hall was illuminated by torches so he could still see just fine.

Seeing as how they were burning tens of torches during the daytime, it finally dawned on Shura that the shadow of the Great Destruction was receding. Survival was always important. But the role of scarcity in life was lessening. There were no worries of a shortage of supplies now, at least in the larger and heavily-defended settlements and cities.

Claira went to the mission board and took one of the papers down. She came back and handed it to Shura.

Shura took a look at it.

Shura raised his brows. ”An escort mission…?”

”An escort mission.”

He continued to look at the details. It was an escort mission. The mission would be deemed successful if the person reached the designated destination.

As long as he completed this mission, the two of them would not have to worry about being able to continue living in the city for a while. That was all that he cared about.

”Where are we going and how far is it from here?” Shura asked. Claira was the strategist while he was the executioner. It didn't mean that he couldn't think for himself or that she was bad at combat. They had their specialized area and they stuck to it.

”Not far, it's a small settlement 30km to the west of the city. We should be able to reach it within a few days. The path is well traveled. There shouldn't be any problem during the journey.”

”And when we get there?” Shura asked.

”When we get there we would have completed the mission.”

The two of them met up with the escort target at the city gate. He was a swarthy and bald middle-aged man. But that wasn't what surprised Shura. This man wasn't a pale presence like everyone else. He was shining brightly in his vision. This man wasn't normal.

The mission detail had stated that he was a merchant. But he was alone. Where were his wares? And what did he sell?

After pleasantries and small talk, the three set off for the settlement. Although it was an escort mission, the escort target was not a helpless person who needed to be cared for and defended at all. The bald man was strong. Shura couldn't tell how strong he was but he was sure that the bald man was at least as strong as he was.

But why did someone as strong as he needed an escort, and why had he agreed with just the two of them? The path to Entel Settlement was a well-traveled route. There were always people coming and going. It was relatively safe compared to the wilderness routes. He shook his head. The detail didn't matter.

They just had to get this man to the destination, and then their job would be done.

Shura trusted that Claira had everything under control. She was conscientious and good at keeping track of things. No matter what happened, he could trust her to get them out of it.

When it became dark they rested for the night. Shura felt very tired. His state of being in between levels was erratic. He could break through at any time, or he could stay where he was. It caused him to become very tired. He felt very sleepy.

Just as he was about to fall asleep, he sensed the vague presence of 'normal' people. At least a dozen of them was closing in on their position.