The morning after Qasim’s awakening, the atmosphere inside Team Four’s base felt strangely peaceful.

Levia had finally opened her eyes.

After nearly facing a worst fate then dying from that strange poison, simply seeing her sitting upright again was enough to make everyone relax.

Valen smiled.

"Good morning."

Levia blinked a few times before smiling back.

"...Morning."

"Feeling better?"

"I think so..."

"Perfect."

Valen clapped his hands together.

"As your wonderful leader, I’m officially giving you five days off."

Levia froze.

"... Five days?"

"Really?"

Her eyes sparkled.

"Thank you so mu—"

Valen gently placed a hand on her shoulder.

"We’ll simply deduct those days from your salary."

Qasim couldn’t help laughing.

...

"We’ve received a new mission."

"A noble family’s child has been kidnapped."

"The kidnappers are believed to possess supernatural powers."

Then he pointed at himself.

"I have... something to take care of, and Levia is out of service."

"So that leaves you three."

"You can all go together or split into a pair."

"But nobody goes alone."

Doran looked toward Yasmin.

"Coming?"

She slowly shook her head.

"Pass... I’ll be training today."

Doran nodded once before looking around the room.

"Then the only person I can take is..."

Before he could even finish—

Qasim was already bouncing on his feet, his eyes shining with excitement.

Doran let out a long, helpless sigh.

---

Not long afterward...

The two of them were riding through the city inside a carriage.

Doran quietly read through the mission file.

"There are three suspects."

"All of them are Beastkin."

"They used to work for a noble family before killing them several years ago."

"According to the reports..."

"They were constantly mistreated because of their race."

"They’ve been kidnapping children from noble families for gold in exchange ever since."

Qasim listened carefully.

"Their activities usually happen in poor standard cities."

"The nobles there can afford the ransom but hiring mercenaries from another city costs even more."

"So paying the kidnappers becomes the cheaper option."

He closed the file.

"They made the mistake of operating in a city protected by Black Seed."

"So it’s our job to bring the child back."

"Understood?"

Qasim nodded.

"...Understood."

Even then...

He could barely sit still.

The excitement simply refused to leave him.

Yesterday he had been disappointed after hearing what the First Step granted.

Now...

Actually experiencing it...

Was completely different.

The rhythmic sound of the horses pulling the carriage.

Merchants arguing somewhere farther down the street.

Birds flying overhead.

The gentle breeze brushing against his skin.

Everything around him felt clearer.

Sharper.

More alive.

And that was only the Physical Layer.

The thought of discovering what the other layers felt like made his heart race even faster.

...

After nearly half an hour...

The carriage stopped.

The abandoned house stood alone near the edge of the city.

Its broken windows and worn wooden walls made it look abandoned.

Doran pushed the door open as quietly as possible.

The two slowly entered.

The ground floor was empty.

Only old furniture and scattered journals remained.

They carefully climbed the stairs.

Just before reaching the second floor...

Footsteps.

Someone was walking nearby.

The two immediately stopped moving.

A door opened.

Doran quickly hid behind the corner.

Qasim followed.

Well...

Mostly.

Doran was simply too big.

Half of his body was still visible.

Fortunately...

The Beastkin who stepped outside was completely drunk.

He scratched his stomach before lazily walking toward the bathroom.

A moment later...

The sound of running water echoed through the hallway.

Qasim carefully peeked at him.

A wolf-like man.

Messy white clothes covered in dirt and ash.

His movements were sluggish from the alcohol.

Doran quietly shook his head.

Not yet.

A surprise attack was worth far more than defeating one drunk guard.

The two continued down the hallway.

As they approached the final room...

Voices.

A man and a woman.

They were talking.

"I don’t know sister, this deal seems risky for me..."

"Oh c’mon don’t be like our drunk little brother, this might change our lives for better."

"How can you trust that person sister?"

"I know that the Zookeepers looks dangerous group but of they are offering such a great deal we must take that risk brother."

...

"So they’re siblings."

Qasim thought.

Doran silently gestured toward him.

Get ready.

He brought both hands together and quietly began whispering.

Moments later...

A familiar blue light slowly spread across his body.

He nodded.

Qasim kicked the door open.

Bang!

Both Beastkin turned around in shock.

A beam of blue energy shot across the room.

The male Beastkin reacted instantly.

He threw himself in front of the woman.

The blast struck him directly.

He slid backward...

But remained standing.

Doran frowned.

"He reinforced his body with Irada probably."

Without wasting another second, he began whispering once again.

The blue light returned.

This time the wolf wasn’t planning to wait.

He rushed straight toward Doran with a punch.

Qasim stepped in first.

Their fists collided.

The impact pushed Qasim back a single step.

"...Huh?"

His eyes widened.

The punch...

Was weak.

Qasim immediately remembered what Doran had just said.

"He reinforced his body..."

"If his defense is that strong..."

"Then he couldn’t have strengthened his attacks too."

The wolf swung again.

Qasim answered with his own punch.

Then another.

And another.

Meanwhile...

Doran noticed something.

The female hadn’t moved.

She was keeping her distance.

"...A ranged attacker."

The realization came just a second before she inhaled deeply.

Then...

She screamed.

A deafening shockwave burst through the room.

The entire building trembled.

Blood trickled from Doran’s ears.

Qasim’s head rang painfully.

Even so...

Doran never stopped whispering.

The blue light reached its peak.

He fired.

The woman immediately tried to dodge.

Too late.

The beam struck her shoulder and threw her across the room.

Doran immediately looked toward Qasim.

The boy’s ears were bleeding.

Yet he remained standing.

His punches continued crashing against the wolf’s reinforced body.

Until the Beastkin finally collapsed.

"...Done."

At that exact moment—

"G-Guys...?"

A sleepy voice came from outside.

The third Beastkin stumbled into the room while holding a wine bottle.

He looked at the unconscious bodies.

Looked at Doran.

Looked back at his siblings.

"...Huh?"

Panic instantly appeared on his face.

He raised the bottle.

"Just pin him."

Doran sighed.

Qasim rushed forward.

Within seconds...

The drunk Beastkin was face-first on the floor.

"I surrender!"

"I surrender!"

Doran walked over.

"Where’s the child?"

The wolf hesitated.

Then lowered his head.

"...Next room."

After tying them up...

The two opened the nearby door.

Inside...

A little blonde girl sat tied to a chair.

A strip of cloth covered her mouth.

Her frightened eyes immediately landed on them.

Qasim slowly approached.

He wanted to do this kind of dialogue

"...It’s okay."

"We’re here to help."

The girl’s fear slowly faded.

Then her eyes widened when she looked at the big bold man.

Doran’s expression suddenly stiffened.

"Oh...Shit."

Qasim blinked.

"What?"

Doran let out a tired sigh.

"...She’s the daughter of the woman whose shop I usually work at."

"...Wait."

Qasim stared at him.

"You work at a shop?"

Doran ignored the question and removed the cloth from the little girl’s mouth.

The moment she could speak—

"Oh my God!"

"Uncle Doran You have superpowers?!"

"I will tell all my friends!"

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