night aux

That night, the city of Aux felt slightly different.

The streets were still soggy from yesterday's rain, devoid of any vehicles save for military ones. A few uniformed personnel patrolled the area, and when the sirens blared, all that remained was an ominous echo.

Glenn and Froslova were perched atop one of those military vehicles. Glenn's gaze seemed weary, obscured by the thick fog that enveloped the roads.

"Is it always like this?" Glenn asked with a hint of boredom.

"Of course not," Froslova replied casually. "This is just a patrol night."

Glenn observed his surroundings. "I also noticed there isn't a single civilian out in this district tonight."

Froslova nodded. "Honestly, I thought the same thing."

Suddenly, the siren wailed. A few people were seen attempting to enter a dark door in one corner of the street but were immediately stopped. In the city of Aux, such actions were prohibited, as they were often used by certain groups for extortion or concealing illegal activities.

Froslova explained the situation in detail but then shifted her attention to Glenn. "By the way, why do you always wear bandages and a mask?" she asked.

Glenn's expression changed, slightly panicked. He hunched forward and mumbled, "This is bad. I knew this would happen."

"Huh? It's… my face is a bit messed up, so…" Glenn reluctantly admitted.

But Froslova quickly grabbed his bandages, suspecting something. "Hmm… strange. This face looks familiar."

Glenn sighed. "I just don't feel confident about my own face."

Froslova chuckled softly and patted his shoulder. "Alright, relax, Glenn. I won't pry into your privacy any further."

Glenn didn't dwell on it much. To him, it wasn't a big deal. He gazed at the streets again before asking, "By the way, is this city really free from surveillance?"

Froslova appeared slightly startled. "Why do you ask that all of a sudden?"

Glenn smirked. "Oh, nothing. I'm just a bit surprised. I don't see any wanted posters or the like."

Froslova gave a faint smile. "Oh, I see. Since you're an outsider, I can't give you information about that. Sorry."

Before the conversation could continue, the vehicle suddenly came to an abrupt halt. From above, Glenn saw a group of civilians blocking the road. Some were immediately shot dead, while others retreated in fear.

**"Execute: Spatial Index."**

In an instant, Glenn scanned the area around him.

- **2,394 living beings detected.**

- **168 humans within a radius of 13 meters ahead, 10 meters behind, and 15 meters to the left and right.**

- **Effective range: 10 feet.**

"Damn. If they attack in numbers like this, we're dead," Glenn thought.

He quickly informed Froslova.

"All units, fall back!" Froslova shouted.

Dozens of military vehicles began to reverse. Froslova jumped down from the roof of the vehicle, ready to face the situation.

"This is going to be a mess," Glenn muttered.

He looked inside the vehicle and yelled, "Please stay inside! Don't retreat just yet!"

But when Froslova remained outside, Glenn knew he had to act quickly.

"Sorry, Froslova."

In one swift motion, Glenn struck the back of her neck, knocking her unconscious.

He tried to lift her body but found it too heavy.

"Weld! Help me carry this woman!"

Weld immediately moved to assist, lifting Froslova into the vehicle. A Mobile Brigadier witnessing the scene looked puzzled.

"What was that just now?" he asked, confused.

"It doesn't matter," Glenn replied briefly. "You'd better leave quickly if you want Froslova to stay safe."

However, before the vehicle could retreat further, they were once again entangled by an attack from outside.

"Damn it. This just adds more work."

Glenn jumped back onto the roof of the vehicle.

"Open the door!" he shouted.

As soon as the door opened, Glenn took the momentum to leap out, then yelled, "Close it again!"

He quickly performed a job conversion.

**"Job Conversion: Jobless → Ring of Magic"**

**"Job Conversion: Jobless → Curer"**

A green light enveloped his body.

"Apologies for the glow."

**"New Job Acquired: Wizard."**

Glenn swiftly pulled out several books from his system, using them as weapons.

"Damn, I've already thrown 32 books. Weld will be mad at me."

However, books alone weren't enough. Glenn remembered he still had plenty of daggers and swords from his looting spree. Without hesitation, he began hurling weapons toward the crowd.

"How many of them…?"

A system notification chimed.

**"Mission Satisfied."**

**"Reward: Ring of Magic."**

"Damn you, Weld!" Glenn grumbled. "But… thanks—or should I apologize? After all, I accidentally killed people. Fine, I'll do both."

**"Job Conversion Successful."**

Glenn unleashed an even larger attack.

**"Fireball! Fireball! Fireball!"**

Explosions of fire created thick smoke that enveloped the area.

From inside the vehicle, the Brigadier complained, "First light, now smoke. Who is this guy, really?"

Glenn chuckled softly. "Sorry about the smoke."

Realizing the situation was worsening, Glenn leapt onto a tunnel roof.

"Now that I think about it, this is quite high… But structures like this are easy to read."

With one diagonal slash, he severed the tunnel roof door to block the way. He nearly fell due to his own actions, but Weld quickly came to his rescue.

"Weld, a little help here."

Books swirled around Glenn before finally carrying him back to the vehicle.

**"Crash!"**

The Brigadier inside the vehicle smacked his forehead. "What's going on up there? Are you still on the roof, Glenn?"

"Of course," Glenn replied nonchalantly.

The Brigadier could only sigh as the vehicle began moving toward the battalion headquarters.

After an hour-long journey, they finally arrived. Froslova had regained consciousness, and as Glenn predicted, she immediately lashed out.

Meanwhile, Dale, Linya, and Arrosa had just arrived in Aux. The three of them were shocked to see the city in disarray.

"It looks like someone fought here," Dale said.

"Could it be the hooded figure?" Linya asked.

Arrosa shook her head. "If it were, they would have left something behind."

Dale picked up a wanted poster.

"Could this be…?" Linya opened her palm.

Dale looked at her and chuckled. "Oh, it's Glenn."

"Unbelievable! How could you not recognize your own friend?"

Linya fell silent. "Are you serious? This is Glenn?"

Dale shoved the poster in her face. "Look closely. It's obviously Glenn."

"So that's how it is," Arrosa said. "But I think you also need to be careful, Dale."

"What do you mean?"