The spy did not return immediately.
He moved carefully through the city, avoiding the main roads and crowded streets. His steps were trained, quiet, practiced over years of following targets who were not meant to notice him. In his mind, Nev Nolen was still a sheltered noble boy playing at strength. Someone curious. Someone careless.
That assumption made the job easy.
The spy reached a modest building hidden between warehouses, its outer walls unmarked and dull. He knocked twice, paused, then once more. The door opened just enough to let him slip inside.
Ryan waited within.
The room was dim, lit by a single lantern. Maps lay spread across the table, marked with symbols only those inside the organization understood. Ryan leaned back in his chair, one leg crossed over the other, fingers resting lightly on the hilt of his sword.
"Report," he said.
The spy bowed. "The boy left the mansion this morning. He went shopping with his maid. Purchased light armor, gloves, and a sword belt. He now carries a blade openly."
Ryan's eyes narrowed slightly.
"Anything else?"
"He inspected the items carefully. He moved with confidence. He did not behave like someone inexperienced."
Ryan tapped the table once. "And the sword?"
"The one from the black market. He wears it now."
Silence stretched.
Ryan smiled faintly. "Interesting. Continue watching. I want to know where his confidence comes from."
"Yes, sir."
The spy turned and left, unaware that his report had arrived late.
Back at the mansion, Nev stood at the window of his room, watching the street below. He had felt the presence earlier. A faint pull in the threads. A pressure that did not belong to passersby or guards.
They are watching.
The thought did not unsettle him.
It pleased him.
Nev turned away from the window and let out a quiet laugh. It was short and soft, filled not with arrogance but certainty. Everything was unfolding as he had expected.
He had wanted them to see him change.
He wanted them curious.
Nev checked the time and began preparing. He changed into darker clothing, light and flexible. He secured the sword belt properly, tested the balance, and adjusted the armor beneath his coat. Everything fit smoothly.
He waited.
When the mansion grew silent again, when the guards relaxed into routine, Nev slipped from his room and moved through the halls without sound. He exited through a side passage used rarely at night and disappeared into the city.
The border lay beyond the outer districts, where stone walls gave way to open land and distant forests. This was where monsters roamed. This was where guild camps stood like islands of firelight in the dark.
Nev reached the outskirts just as the sky deepened into full night.
He slowed, lowering his presence.
Threads stretched ahead of him, moving in patterns he had begun to recognize. Campfires burned in the distance. Steel clinked. Voices carried faintly through the night air.
A guild camp.
Soulbound.
Nev crouched behind a low ridge and listened.
"…Tier Two confirmed," a voice said. "Spotted near the ravine."
Another laughed. "Good. We will hunt plenty tonight."
"Stay sharp. Those beasts don't die clean."
Nev's heart beat steadily.
Tier Two.
This was not chance.
This was opportunity.
He adjusted his grip on the sword and moved closer, slipping into the shadows cast by the camp's perimeter. No one noticed him enter. No alarm sounded.
Nev crossed the invisible line between safety and danger with a calm step.
And the night accepted him.