He saved me.
The knights later identified the silver crest on the man's cloak. He was an Adventurer from the distant Imperial Capital of Vireldria. A Level 5—the highest adventurer's rank in their tiny nation.
It wasn't until a few weeks later that the true weight of his visit fully unspooled. A massive wild boar had wandered into the newly fertile fields, threatening the harvesters.
Aria, desperate to protect the crops the young man had restored, had grabbed a dull iron sword from the village armory and swung it at the beast in a panic.
She hadn't just cut the boar. A blinding crescent of energy had erupted from the rusted blade, effortlessly slicing the beast in half.
The wave of force carried onward, cleanly severing three huge oak trees at the edge of the forest before finally dissipating.
The villagers, thankfully standing safely behind her, had fallen to their knees in shock. Aria had stared at her glowing hands, realizing for the first time that dense mana flowed through her veins. She could manifest aura.
Later that evening, Aria stood in the center of the blooming field, clutching the pendant. She remembered his calm, unflinching face. She remembered his trembling hands as they reacted to her hidden potential.
Strong... aura.
The realization hit her hard. She finally connected the dots. He hadn't been muttering nonsense; he had used some unfathomable, high-level appraisal skill and seen the dormant, explosive mana sleeping inside her.
A Level 5 from the Imperial Capital had looked at a dirty, crying twelve-year-old village girl and instantly recognized her talent. If a high-level adventurer like him believed she possessed a world-class talent, then it had to be true. Her resolve solidified into iron.
"I won't let your grace be in vain," Aria whispered to the empty field, her voice trembling but fierce.
"Our apocalypse was probably nothing but a passing chore to you. You took the rot of this entire village into your own flesh without a second thought, just so we wouldn't be chained to a graveyard. You looked at a pathetic, crying child in the dirt, and you called her strong."
Aria picked up a discarded wooden branch from the ground. She gripped it until her knuckles turned white, staring at the huge oak trees she had just severed.
He hadn't merely saved a blighted village. He had looked at a frail, weeping child and seen straight through to the terrifying talent sleeping in her blood.
The divine artifact he left behind was a calculated gift—a permanent guardian for her home, severing her ties to the dirt so she could finally step forward and hone the raw potential he had awakened.
"I will not disappoint you," Aria had whispered to the wind. "I will become the strongest blade in this kingdom. And when I am worthy, I will find you."
Aria had dedicated her life to the blade that very day. She trained until her hands bled. She gathered the four most talented girls in the village, pushing them to their absolute limits.
Their goal was singular: achieve the highest ranks in their country, travel to the Imperial Capital of Vireldria, and pledge their eternal loyalty to the savior, Kian Astor.
They registered as a party at their small kingdom's sole Adventurer's Association branch. They took every available quest, hunting beasts and clearing dungeons without rest. Their levels climbed rapidly.
When Aria finally breached Level 5, the king himself summoned her to the royal palace to bestow a national reward. From that day on, she was officially recognized as the Sword Prodigy.
Her peerless swordsmanship was matched only by her striking beauty; every young nobleman and seasoned knight in the kingdom vied for her attention. But she ignored them all, her eyes fixed entirely on the distant Imperial Capital.
Aria opened her eyes, snapping back to the present at the gates of Vireldria.
"Let's go," Aria said, her voice filled with quiet determination. "Stand tall. We are the elite of our nation. We will not embarrass Lord Kian."
The five girls approached the massive inspection checkpoint at the gate. A heavily armored Imperial Guard held up a gauntleted hand, looking incredibly bored.
"Identification," the guard asked.
"We are Adventurers," Elen answered.
"Adventurer levels," the guard grunted, not even making eye contact.
Aria stepped forward, her chest puffed out with pride. "We are Adventurers from the East. I am Aria, Level 5 Swordsman. My companions are Levels 3 and 4."
She waited for the gasp. She waited for the guard to widen his eyes, perhaps salute, or immediately call for a captain to escort the prodigies into the city.
The guard finally looked down at them.
For a second, he just stopped moving. His eyes locked onto Aria.
Her long, golden-blonde hair caught the afternoon sun, shining brightly against her perfectly fair skin. She had the delicate, flawless face of a royal princess, complete with large, striking green eyes that practically demanded attention.
She was easily the most beautiful girl in her home country, and the guard was completely caught off guard by her sudden appearance at a dirty checkpoint. He just stared at her, his mouth slightly open, his clipboard resting loosely in his grip.
Then, he blinked rapidly, his face flushing a dark, embarrassed red. He cleared his throat loudly and looked down at her badge to break the awkward eye contact.
"Right. Mid-levels," the guard sighed, waving his hand toward a massive, crowded line of hundreds of sweaty, rugged-looking people. "Levels 3 through 5 use the blue lane. Welcome to the Capital. Don't block the entrance."
Aria froze. The confident smiles on the faces of the four girls behind her shattered.
"I... I am a Level 5," Aria repeated, her voice faltering. She tapped the silver badge. "Is there not an elite registry?"
The guard let out a harsh laugh, fully recovering his composure. "Kid, throw a rock in this city and you'll hit Level 5. You're barely qualified to clean the sewers in the second district. Level 3s and 4s are literal luggage carriers here. Move along."
Aria felt the world tilt on its axis.
The highest rank of her entire country... was the equivalent of a janitor in the Imperial Capital? Her hands began to shake. How high did the ranks go? If Level 5 was the middle, what kind of monsters lived at the top?
"What?" Brielle, the party's Level 3 thief, stepped forward, her face flushed with sudden anger.
"Cleaning the sewers? Luggage carriers? Are you being serious? We, Adventurers, risk our lives to protect the people while you sit here comfortably with your boring job! Take it back!"
Elen, the mage, quickly grabbed Brielle's arm, trying to pull her back. "Brielle, calm down, please..."
The guard let out a long, exhausted sigh and pinched the bridge of his nose.
"Alright, alright, I take it back," he grumbled. "Level 3s and above aren't literally cleaning sewers or carrying luggage. But it doesn't change the fact that you are just mid-levels here. There are dozens of Level 5s in this city who would give you a run for your money. Small nations have low standards. The Imperial Capital's standards are a completely different reality."
"What?!" Brielle flared up again, her hand dropping toward the hilt of her dagger.
Before she could unsheathe her dagger or hurl another insult, Elen clamped a hand over her mouth and dragged her backward.
Brielle continued her muffled yelling, kicking at the dirt, but the guard completely ignored her, turning his attention back to his clipboard.
"Wait," Aria blurted out, her voice desperate. "We are here looking for someone. A specific Adventurer. He was Level 5 four years ago. I... I need to know where he is."
The guard groaned, picking up a clipboard. "Do you have any idea how many mid-levels die or retire in four years? Fine. What's the name?"
"Kian Astor."
The guard's pen snapped in half.
The boredom vanished from the man's face, replaced by a sudden, terrifying pallor.
He took three big steps backward, his hand instinctively dropping to the hilt of his sword.
Even the ambient noise of the crowd seemed to suddenly quiet down.
"You..." the guard whispered, his voice trembling. "You are looking for *Thousand Strings*?"
Aria blinked, confused by the title. "I... I don't know that name. I only know Kian Astor."
"Are you completely insane?" the guard hissed, his eyes darting to the shadows of the gate as if expecting invisible assassins. "Do you have any idea who that monster is? He is Level 8. The highest active rank in the Capital. The Clan Master of the Hidden Origin."
The guard swallowed hard, leaning over the counter.
"Listen to me, little girl," the guard warned, his voice dead serious. "Three weeks ago, the Obsidian Vipers—a large criminal syndicate—put a hit on him. They sent their twelve elite assassins into his mansion while he was sleeping. Do you know what the patrol found the next morning?"
Aria and Elen stared at him, completely silent.
"Nothing," the guard said, his breath hitching. "Not a single drop of blood. The twelve assassins were pinned to the floor of his hallway by an invisible, crushing weight. They couldn't move a single muscle for eight hours. When the morning patrol found them, the Vipers were literally crying. They begged the knights to arrest them. They confessed to dozens of unsolved crimes right on the spot just so the knights would lock them in the deepest prison cell available. They said if they stayed on the streets, Thousand Strings would finish playing his game with them. They were terrified for their lives."
The guard swallowed hard. "The terrifying part? Thousand Strings never even woke up. He didn't fight them. He just left an invisible trap running in his own hallway before he went to bed, predicting exactly where and how they would strike."
Aria felt a shiver run down her spine. A Level 8? The highest in the capital? A man who wins wars without ever having to fight them?
"If you value your futures, and your careers as Adventurers," the guard whispered, leaning closer. "Turn around and walk back to whatever village you came from. Do not approach his mansion. Do not enter their clan house. The 'Thousand Strings' is a monster who manipulates the fate of this city without ever leaving his chair. People who go looking for him don't keep their freedom. They just become permanent pieces in his game."
Behind her, Elen gripped Aria's shoulder. "Aria... what do we do?"
Aria looked down at the silver badge on her chest. It felt completely weightless now. Then, she reached under her tunic, her fingers brushing the warm silver of the necklace he had given her.
Her savior wasn't just a strong Adventurer. He was a legend ruling over a city of strong Adventurers.
Aria's eyes hardened with unbreakable resolve.
"We find him," Aria said, stepping through the gates into the Imperial Capital. "And we prove we are worthy of his strings."