Ryan planted his hands on the wood of the bench and stood up from where he was sitting.

He did so slowly, with measured movements, in such a way that even William’s smiling face suddenly changed.

The blonde hero furrowed his brow, as if he did not understand how he could be so calm in the face of a direct ambush right in the middle of the plaza.

When the reading window unfolded right before his eyes.

The blue light of the screen slightly illuminated the darkness of the cobblestone street.

Ryan quickly inspected the people standing in front of him.

His face, his level, there was absolutely no doubt in the floating numbers.

It was the exact same William who had once tried to attack him in the nation of Lunar Veil during the audience with the king.

The very same arrogant idiot he had clashed with back in the human throne room.

’But that makes absolutely no sense, there is no way I believe he is still at that exact same level.’ Ryan thought, evaluating the subject in detail from head to toe.

He ran his green eyes over his fine clothes made of expensive fabric, his polished boots, and the metal accessories hanging from his neck and hands.

Then he deduced it with complete coldness in a matter of seconds.

’He is using relics to hide his true level.’

And Ryan planted his gaze on him, refusing to let himself be intimidated by the numerical superiority or the sheer surprise of the encounter.

"What are you doing here? Do you perhaps plan to capture me all by yourself?" Ryan calmly pointed directly at him with a finger of his gloved hand.

"And how did you manage to arrive here in such a manner?"

The girl accompanying him remained completely hidden behind William’s back.

The enormous dark cloak she was wearing covered her entire body and her face beneath the cold light of the moon.

Ryan tilted his head to the side to try and see her better, searching for a clear angle through the hot fog that was evaporating.

Then William took a step forward, completely blocking the boy’s view with his own wide stance.

"You are still as insolent as you were on that occasion." William added with a voice loaded with fake superiority.

"I am the one who should be saying that." Ryan intervened without shifting his firm posture on the stone.

"I see that you like to present yourself before me in a highly flashy manner."

In the face of Ryan’s dry response.

William let out a controlled laugh, closing his eyes for a second as if listening to a joke in poor taste.

"That time I placed a mark on you, do you not remember it? That is why I arrived here, even though I didn’t imagine it would actually be you." He said, looking at him with a much more serious tone.

Then he looked around the plaza, turning his neck to both sides.

His clear eyes scanned the empty area as if trying to search for someone hidden among the trees of the plaza and the nearby alleys.

"Are your violent female companions not with you?"

Ryan ignored his question completely, denying him any kind of information regarding the actual location of his party.

Then he spoke in a direct manner, going straight to the point.

"What do you mean by saying that you placed a mark on me?" He asked. "I don’t remember you doing anything special, outside of your useless attempt to force me to show respect before the king."

"I see, you are absolutely right." William responded, shrugging his shoulders.

Then he added without taking his gaze off of him, rubbing his own hands together in front of his chest.

"That time I didn’t just use gravity magic against you, I also placed a mark on you, and that mark allows me to teleport right near you; that is how I arrived here."

’What is wrong with this guy?’ Ryan thought, never losing sight of the movements of his arms and legs for a single second.

Ryan furrowed his brow beneath the dark scarf at his statement. He did not know exactly how to interpret that in the middle of the empty street.

He did not remember anything strange on his body after their encounter at the king’s castle, much less a magical mark on his skin.

But he had just seen him appear in front of him in a cloud of steam without any major problem, so he clearly wasn’t lying.

But then, how exactly did that tracking skill imposed on his body truly work?

And even more specifically... what sort of range could that teleportation magic reach to find him at this precise moment?

In the face of Ryan’s long silence.

The atmosphere in the stone plaza became incredibly heavy and cold with the background breeze.

William decided to speak further, pulling Ryan right out of his thoughts and doubts.

"Do not worry so much, unfortunately, I can only use it if you are nearby." The blonde hero affirmed with a tense smile.

Ryan did not respond immediately.

Whether what William had just affirmed about his skill’s limit was true or not, he could not let his guard down.

It was something he needed to take with extreme coldness, considering the distinct possibility that he could actually use it from very long distances.

Thinking about that as the worst possible scenario for him and for the village’s shelter inside the current dungeon in the sky.

One very clear thing crossed his mind quite suddenly.

’I should kill him right here and now...’ He thought while his fingers brushed against the wooden hilt of the cheap dagger Janina had given him.

It was a quick option, slitting his throat to eliminate the tracking risk once and for all.

But initiating a battle in that open place was highly dangerous; he knew perfectly well that William was a strong hero and that he wouldn’t die so easily from a single surprise slash.

The clash of magic would blow up the entire plaza, waking up every single villager in the sector.

But, the rumors he had heard back at the inn that there were more S-rank heroes in the city weighed heavily on his decision.

If it turned out to be completely true, and they decided to show up to the fight after hearing the thunderous noises of destruction.

He would find himself at a notable disadvantage against several of them at the exact same time.

Then, without finishing processing his decision to attack.

The girl behind William finally showed her face, pushing the heavy dark fabric of her hood to the back of her head.

Her red hair fell over her shoulders under the illumination of the streetlamps.

It was not necessary to use inspection to confirm her true identity.

Ryan recognized those feminine features immediately the moment the light touched her cheeks.

"Udriela?" He murmured with his eyes wide open.