The Villain's Sword Is Sharp

"It seems likely. If somebody was comfortable enough to start campfires in its den, then they must feel pretty safe around it. Either they're the second coming of Mikhail Sarcevic, or the wolf's under their control."

Isaac's expression was nowhere near as grim as Johan's. If they returned to the sect now and submitted their mission, they would probably get a B+ or A- mission grade. However, this mysterious 3rd party introduced a whole new variable to the case. In fact, they presented a great opportunity.

Typically, the highest mission grade you could get was 'A+'. Even that was only achievable if you completed the mission absolutely perfectly, without a single flaw in sight. However, in special circumstances, 'S' mission grades did exist. But if completing a mission perfectly was only an 'A+', how would you ever get an 'S'?

Sometimes missions weren't exactly as they were described. In a mission to protect a VIP from Rank 1 wild beasts, a Rank 2 beast might show up out of nowhere and the difficulty would suddenly rise. In that case, the mission's previous difficulty, rewards and grading all went of the window. For example, there would be no punishment for failing or aborting the mission.

However, if you could still complete the mission despite the increase in difficulty, you could get an S mission grade. You would also receive rewards well above the supposed 'maximum' rewards set for that mission. Essentially, you had to go above and beyond the mission's requirements to earn an S grade. Now, with the appearance of this mysterious person, Isaac's team had the opportunity to do that.

S grade on his team's first mission? That would draw the factions' attention.

However, Isaac wasn't blinded by greed or visions of success. For all he knew, those visions could turn out to be mirages. What if this mysterious person was a Rank 2 cultivator? What if there were 10 people instead of just 1? There were a lot of new questions which needed investigating before he took action.

Instead, he spoke to Johan,

"Skin the Sarcevic Wolf and harvest its most valuable parts. I'll look for more clues outside the den."

Johan nodded, so Isaac turned around and left. He entered the short passageway, walked up it, and emerged outside of the den.

It had begun to snow lightly and thick clouds blocked the light of the moon; it was even darker than before. He wouldn't be able to find clues or footprints in this darkness, so Isaac started by investigating the skeletons strewn everywhere.

At first Isaac had brushed over them. He'd assumed they were prey hunted by the Sarcevic Wolf, but now that seemed unlikely. The wolf would've brought its food into the den before eating it, but there were no skeletons inside the den.

Also, there would've been some flesh left on the skeletons' bones. However, all the bones were completely clean – there were no traces of flesh, skin, muscle or blood anywhere.

There were a number of uses for human and animal bodies, ranging all the way from food to demonic rituals – flesh was quite a useful resource. Isaac guessed the mysterious person had used the flesh on these creatures' bodies. What for? That much was impossible to know.

Isaac took a couple of small bones and put them in his pocket. Then he searched the surrounding area.

As expected, he couldn't find anything in the darkness.

He shook his head dismissively, then headed back into the Sarcevic Wolf's den. Johan had nearly finished skinning the wolf, so Isaac sat down to watch and learn. He saw how skilfully Johan handled the knife and remarked in admiration,

"Well done. How much do think this'll sell for?"

"I can't say for sure, but the hide's pretty valuable since it has strong dark-attribute properties. The claws are worth a pretty penny too, so we should be able to net 15 reward points for everything. Did you have any luck finding clues?"

"Too dark to spot anything." He took out one of the bones, "But the bones around the entrance bother me. I have no idea what the bodies were used for."

"A demonic ritual?"

"Perhaps. But demon-style has been unpopular for centuries."

Demon-style Anima allowed the user to make sacrifices to the demons of the Nether Realm. Then the demons would lend the user a certain amount of their power based on the size and quality of the sacrifice. Orthodox sects understandably hated demon-style Anima – not just because of the need for a sacrifice, but also due to the history between the Orthodox and the demons. Demonic cultivators had been kill-on-sight for aeons now, so most people had stopped using demon-style Anima. However...

"If it was going to happen anywhere, it'd be here. Northern Tundra is nearly ruled by our Blood Path after all."

"What 'nearly ruled'? We only own half the continent. The Orthodox and Neutral Paths share a quarter and the rest is owned by other species."

"Well, yes... but their defeat in the war is inevitable." Johan laughed, "And to think they were audacious enough to call it 'The Great Demon Eradication' when they attacked us. Just look at them now!" He chuckled again, then continued speaking, "Anyway, that's beside the point. What I mean is: Blood Path is the most prominent force on the continent, so there's probably more demonic cultivators here than anywhere else."

As somebody who was very well-read on the subject, Isaac knew Johan was wrong: Southern Jungle was the birthplace of demon-style and had the most demonic cultivators. However, Johan was right; that was beside the point. The point was that there was still the possibility of this being a demonic ritual.

Nevertheless, Isaac wasn't somebody who quickly jumped to conclusions. Just because it could be a demonic ritual didn't mean it was one. In fact, the perpetrator might not even be a cultivator.

Isaac's thought process was interrupted by Johan,

"Alright, I'm done."

"Let's go back then. We should see how Abbie's doing."

Johan nodded. He passed Isaac the wolf's fur while he picked up the claws, eyes and other bits. The two left the den and started jogging back towards the village.

*************************

It didn't take long to get back and the guards let them in without asking any questions. After the guards let them through, one of them walked up to Isaac,

"Hello sirs, your friends came through earlier. One of them came back and left a message for you: 'I'll be waiting at granny Bîna's pharmacy', that's what she said."

"Thank you. Where is this pharmacy?"

"Go left for about 100 metres, then turn right, then take the first street on your right; that'll put you in the business district. It's the third building on your right. There should be a sign outside with the name."

Isaac didn't say anything and simply nodded. He and Johan immediately set off towards the pharmacy.

Their feet thudded against the earthen streets as they ran. Left, right, right; it didn't take long to arrive at the pharmacy. The normally busy business district was empty at night. Not a single sound could be heard, until Isaac's 3 hard knocks on the door rang through the silent night.

Only a moment passed before Eva opened the door,

"Come inside."

Her expression was rather relaxed, which calmed Johan's nerves; it meant Abbie's condition was alright. The two followed Eva into the pharmacy. The entrance was a medium-sized room with shelves around the edges and 2 racks in the middle. Various medicinal products were stacked up and displayed for sale.

Eva took them past the counter at the back of the room and led them into the back of the shop. There was a hallway leading to 2 more rooms; 1 on either side. Eva opened the door to their left and brought them into a room with a treatment table. A girl dressed in a fluffy white gown was laying on the table and a hunchbacked old woman was inspecting her back.

The girl on the table was obviously Abbie. Her face was pale, but her sleeping expression didn't show any pain. Meanwhile, Isaac assumed the old woman was granny Bîna. She turned to gaze at the trio who had entered the room.

Isaac looked at her wrinkled face. She had half-shut eyes, wore glasses with wooden frames, and had 2 small moles above her left eye. Her hair was long, grey and tied back into a ponytail which disappeared behind her. She gave the group a soft, warm smile, then spoke in a small voice,

"Please, do take a seat. I wish to finish checking your friend, then I shall tell you her condition, the medicines she should take, and how long it will take to recover. Please, bear with me."

Johan responded with a nod and a thank you, while the other 2 just sat down.

"Did you kill the wolf?"

Eva immediately asked about the mission, so Isaac reliably informed her,

"Yes. But something was strange. I'll talk about it later, after we've returned to our residence..."

He cast a glance across to Bîna, who looked like she was minding her own business but was undoubtedly listening. Then he asked Eva a couple of questions about how Abbie was doing, before whispering to her,

"Go back to the residence. Pack up all our stuff and bring it here."

Then he whispered the same thing to Johan. The 2 of them stood up and left the room without saying a word. Meanwhile, Isaac sat and waited while Bîna finished checking Abbie. After 10 minutes, she slowly walked over and sat next to Isaac.

"Your friend is doing well. I have treated her with ointment made from the leaves of the Heikko Plant, so her wounds should close within two days. She will be able to move by tomorrow and she will be mostly recovered in two days, but it may take four to eight weeks to make a complete recovery. It takes time for the body to replenish lost blood, you see."

The woman spoke in a slow and steady tone. The Heikko Plant wasn't a Qi herb, but it was still a somewhat valuable plant with strong medicinal properties. It must've been difficult for a commoner to acquire such a plant, so Isaac promised to pay 1 iron piece as compensation. Granny Bîna gratefully accepted.

"Did you truly kill that evil wolf?"

The old woman asked, but Isaac didn't reply. It wasn't his job to make small talk, and disclosing mission details to strangers was always bad practice. The granny sensed his reluctance, so she turned her attention elsewhere.

"What happened to your shoulder, young man? Allow me to give you some medicine for that which ails you."

She pointed towards Isaac's right shoulder. When Isaac had fought the large group that tried to rob him, he'd been struck by the long-ranged attacker's beam of light. The wound didn't hurt much, but it wasn't healing properly and Isaac had wrapped a multitude of bandages around his shoulder. Granny Bîna had caught a glimpse of them when Isaac removed his coat to shake the snow out of it.

Isaac remained silent, but he slowly untied the bandages. He stood there like a mannequin as Bîna inspected the hole. He didn't even show a hint of pain on his face when she poked around inside it.

After a cursory examination, granny Bîna mumbled something and went to get some medicine. She was about to start applying it for Isaac, but he stopped her.

"Thank you for your help, but I can do that myself."

After that, silence reigned. Isaac quietly applied the medicine while granny Bîna busied herself at her cabinet of medicines. They did their respective things until Johan and Eva returned.

*Knock* *Knock* *Knock*

Isaac immediately got up to answer the door. He opened it to reveal Johan and Eva, each carrying 2 sacks full of belongings. Isaac beckoned them in and told them to leave the sacks in the hallway.

They put the bags down and were about to go into the treatment room, but Isaac stopped them. He brought them back into the pharmacy's lobby where granny Bîna wouldn't be able to hear their conversation,

"We're leaving Kirk Village as soon as Abbie wakes up."