A shadow cast itself over Rageful Mountains, but the people of the vige got used to it after a day or two. The world was full of bizarre things, so a giant cloud was the safest abnormality they could encounter.


    On an eventful morning, a visitor made his way into the vige. His cloaked attire and refusal to reveal his face passed as normalcy among the bestial folk, but it was his request that grabbed the bartender''s attention.


    "Are you here for our specialty milk?" the lizardman hissed with its yellow eyes scanning the ounder.


    "No," the man beneath the cloak shook his head and spoke the tongue of beasts. "I want to visit the recruitment camp for the King''s Army."


    "Ah," the lizardman nodded with pride. "Another brave protector of our kingdom! Cheers!" the bartender raised a ss, and the rest of the bar cheered in unison as they did the same.


    Furry people stood on different tables, and most of them were simply wolves standing on both legs: werewolves. They had a human form, but they were beasts.


    The outsider simply bowed in response, and the people let their guard down. As for the bartender, he heartily guided the man toward the camp, where all brave followers of the king trained.


    As he left the bar under the proud eyes of the beastmen, Niki wondered what would happen if they saw his skin. After all, the beastmen referred to humans as furless or ''those of skin'' for a reason.


    A big part of the beastmen had less obvious bestial traits, but they were all considered one kingdom in the eyes of many. The strength of the Bestial King squashed all resistance, and there was a stronger unity than that of Rosia Kingdom.


    Niki followed the directions of the bartender toward the camp. If he wanted to reach the border, the fastest way would be to join the army. But, of course, he couldn''t join the army of the enemy, as he would be used as a toothpick once found.


    The shadow that made the people uneasy was a side effect of hiding the ind between the mountains and disguising it as a foggy mountain peak. From there, Niki had to descend the mountain range and return to Rohan city, but he didn''t exactly have a ship to do so.


    Alias was gone after he obtained the legendary skill, and Niki felt relieved that Sergio wasn''t foolish enough to wait for him. Niki himself had no idea how much time he spent on the ind because his perception was distorted.


    "I have no idea what''s going to happen on our next meeting, but I hope Sergio moves on from our friendship," Niki muttered to himself after entering stealth.


    Despite the matter being a bit hurtful, Niki knew that he wasn''t the best person Sergio could have as a friend. After all, in his past life, Niki''s existence led the alchemist to a curler fate and worse situations.


    The chains of existence weighed heavily on his shoulder, a reminder that he couldn''t escape them. Even after awakening and obtaining the legendary skill, Niki still felt iparably weak.


    If he met Lilith now, she would devour him again. He wasn''t blinded by his rage toward the elven princess, as it took a calmer form after thest trial of the skill.


    The bestial vige wasn''t different from a human one, the same as most things except their race. It was of great irony that people loved to be different yet hated those who were different.


    As Niki reached the camp where the army recruits were, he could feel the heat of their training. Shouts filled his ears as Niki snuck into the base without being seen.


    There were officers of great power that rivaled D-rank at the very least, but they couldn''t sense Niki''s stealth. Maybe that was why Dark Beings were feared because they could be the invisible and whispering devils of the world.


    After looking around the camp, Niki finally found the Messengers. A unit specialized in deliveringmands and receiving them via various methods. Some used skills, others used letters and a few used pigeons.


    Niki waited in the dark as he looked at the back of a young beastwoman responsible for receiving requests. The girl had sharp features of cats, but she looked nothing more than a human with cat ears and nose.


    "Request for aid at the border, Unit #34!" the girl shouted as she took out a slip of papers and jotted down the request before hurrying off to give it to another werewolf. Niki followed after the soldier until he was in front of his officer, who approved the dispatch.


    Then, Niki went to look for the dispatched unit of recruits, and he found them preparing to set out. Finally, after half a day, they were done and decided to set off toward the border.


    Niki hid among the crates of supplies, and the carriage transported him toward the border. It would take a week or two until he reached his destination, but it was better than moving on foot.


    "Somehow, I feel nostalgic," Niki muttered as he listened to the shouts of soldiers, the nking armor, and the galloping mounts. The odor of sweat and soil merged to remind him of the harsh days in the army.


    However, the feeling disappeared as memories of how miserable he was resurfaced. Luke, the one he killed as soon as he returned, was one of those people who tormented him. As soon as Niki made anyrades in the army, Luke and Julian would step forward to ruin any connections.


    Julian was his captain in the army, and that just gave him the authority to turn Niki''s life into a living hell. Then, of course, it didn''t help that he made connections with Drunken-Stars Party after he obtained a Grand Skill, who were all great people in the kingdom.


    ''That''s how people are. They judge you for what you are worth and act ordingly,'' Niki leaned back on the carriage''s walls. He couldn''t sleep here because of how dangerous that would be, and he couldn''t sleep in his pocket dimension because the carriage would leave him behind.


    As hours went by, Niki''s awareness was jolted alert by the carriage stop. It seems the army was camping here for the night, and Niki re-entered his stealth again.


    The carriages curtains were pulled as soldiers began to unload the crates. The smell of roasted food filled the camp after a while, and songs were sung to praise the Bestial Kingdom. Some of them talked about glory. Others were of conquering.


    After the carriages were emptied, Niki could finally rest and take out a meal of his own to eat. Despite not being fresh, it was filling.


    The darkness grew stronger as the night descended. Soldiers slept in their tents as Niki was fully alert. At such times, it was a moment of false reprieve that would cost him his life. However, he also knew that the night was the ally of evil, and he was right.


    Niki left his carriage to wander around the camp in his stealth, and he found a group of werewolves sneaking out of their tents. They left their armor and headed toward another tent, which Niki could tell had a few female soldiers.


    The war was cruel, and it spared no one. As long as one could absorb crystals and use skills, they were taken from their homes to serve in the army. That was in the case they didn''t have any other upation.


    Luke was aware that Niki made an intimate friendship with a woman in the army, and he made sure that she suffered for it. That begone bastard had the same n as these three werewolves, which was to assault weaker soldiers.


    Niki didn''t have any sort of affection toward strangers, nor any sense of duty to protect them. Yet, his rage was enough to burn down everything that displeased them.


    His Dark Echo skill activated, and the shadows swirled like tongues to rush toward one of the three werewolves. Niki controlled him to use his skill, and it was that of mes.


    "What are you doing?!" one of the other werewolves red at hisrade, who had an absent and evil expression on his face. Then, before the three could enter the tent, the fire exploded from the puppet''s hands to light up the night and burned down a carriage.


    Chaos ensued, and Niki sat on top of a tree to avoid the soldiers bumping into him. He smiled as the camp was thrown into turmoil by the actions of these three, and everyone rushed to extinguish the fire.


    Then, the officer inmand of the unit came forward to investigate. The three werewolves were caught, and the location of the fire gave away their ns.


    As he heard their cries of pain from being disciplined, Niki felt quite refreshed. Maybe he doesn''t need sleep, after all.