The next morning, Joel woke up in his bed.
Suddenly, Stephane opened the door.
"Wake up. It's morning."
Joel slowly turned toward the door.
"Good morning."
Stephane curved a small smile.
"Good morning, Joel."
The two left the room and saw the owner of the rented house.
She was walking upstairs when they slipped past her. She looked furious and was about to shout.
"Good morning, madam," they said at the same time, like robots.
Outside the house, the town was full of life.
A fresh breeze brushed through their hair.
Joel took a deep breath of the fresh air.
They first went to the tavern. In front of the door, Stephane opened it wide.
Everyone looked at them for a few seconds, then returned to their discussions. Stephane's face changed in surprise because there were many people inside.
They sat on chairs, and he raised his hand.
"Please, food for two!"
The servant nodded, while some people sitting in the corners observed them attentively. Soon, the servant returned with the food he had ordered, wearing a warm smile.
Outside the tavern, some people were discussing a dark forest.
"The rumors say the cursed forest has been normal lately."
The lady beside her nodded and whispered with a smile.
"They say a powerful monster is living there. It is extremely strong."
"Oh, is that true? But we have adventurers," the other lady said.
Then the two looked at each other and smiled a little.
Back in the tavern, Stephane and Joel quickly drank their beers and ordered more.
Suddenly, Joel felt full and tired, so he stopped drinking. Stephane did the same.
Then Stephane's face shone as if the gods had spoken to him.
In his mind, he thought,
Now I have shown him who the master is.
Stephane stood up and almost fell.
Maybe I overdrank? It's not that bad.
His first steps were unsteady, but after a while he walked normally. Then he left the tavern with Joel.
The observer followed them.
Joel felt that someone was behind them. He grabbed Stephane's hand tightly.
The more they walked, the tighter he held it.
Stephane lowered his head and asked,
"Joel, what is happening?"
They immediately stopped walking. Joel looked left and right, then lifted his head.
"There is a person following us."
Those words echoed in Stephane's mind.
Following us? Who? Why?
Stephane turned his head, but the observer quickly hid behind a wall.
Did they see me?
The lady observed the street, but the two had already disappeared.
She quickly said,
"Look for them, my shadow."
Her shadow emerged from the ground. It resembled a monster, and some people ran away in fear.
"YES, MASTER," the shadow said.
"Find them," she replied with a small smile.
This will be fun.
The shadow immediately moved to search for them and found them within a few seconds.
At the same moment, Joel and Stephane were running through the streets, turning corner after corner.
Did we succeed?
Joel breathed out.
"I think no one is following us now."
But above them, the shadow was observing them carefully.
The two men stopped near a building. As usual, Joel stood behind Stephane.
A person dressed in black approached Stephane and gave him a piece of paper. It was a new quest.
The person in black left, and Joel moved closer.
Today will be the jackpot.
The task was to defeat some terrorists.
Meanwhile, Joel still heard the same voice in his mind.
Remove it.
Open your eyes.
Let me see what you saw.
His eyes were in pain.