Chapter 6: The Trap

After Lucian bought all the necessary items, he headed straight to the forest.

He also bought random items along with each weapon to avoid suspicion, including a mask and new clothes.

Once in the forest, he studied the environment carefully to gain an advantage in battle.

He even set up a few traps.

His opponent, Rayne, hadn't started cultivating yet. Lucian guessed he was in the final stage of body tempering—tempering the organs. After all, Rayne was still young.

But in the future, he would likely become the next head of the Stoneheart family.

It was better to eliminate him now—otherwise, the Stonehearts would only grow stronger.

And now, Lucian had the perfect chance.

Of course, it was risky. But if he succeeded and left no evidence, it would be a great achievement that would save him a lot of effort.

Maybe Rayne hadn't done anything worthy of death yet—but Lucian didn't care about reasons like that.

His goal was to bring down the noble families. Nothing would stand in his way. He wouldn't let a single chance slip.

Night came, and Lucian went to sleep. As soon as the first light of dawn appeared, he got ready and continued his scouting.

Suddenly, he smelled something rotten—a decaying corpse. After a bit of searching, he found a den of Rot Wolves.

They were fierce, smelly, and venomous. They attacked in packs and rarely gave up.

Lucian returned to the city quickly and bought more items from the market, then went back to the forest.

And so, Lucian waited for his prey with excitement.

Rayne would never expect that a tall, muscular "fairy" wanted to play with him… to death.

…

"Young master, are you leaving?"

"Yeah, I'm taking Ellie to see the fairies."

"Shall I come with you?"

"No, no need. I want some special time with my sister. I rarely get that chance."

"Alright. But take this, just in case."

"Hm? What's this?"

Rayne looked at the paper in his hand, confused.

"Tear it if you're in danger. Mine will tear at the same time," the old servant said, showing a similar paper.

"Why so cautious all of a sudden? It's not like anyone in their right mind would attack a noble in this city."

"Better safe than sorry, young master. Especially with the rumors about a secret group planning to overthrow the noble families."

"Raaayyyyne!!"

A little girl rushed down the stairs, almost tripping on the way.

"Where are you going?! You promised to take me to see the fairies!"

"Tsk. Keep your voice down. And I'm not going anywhere without you. Since you're ready, let's go. I brought food too, don't worry."

"Finally! Let's go!"

"Safe travels, young master, young lady," the servant said, bowing as Rayne and Ellie left.

…

An hour later, Rayne was setting down the picnic basket and preparing the area, while Ellie ran around joyfully.

"Ellie, be careful! You might fall."

"Look! There's a fairy in the tree above!"

"Really? That was fast. You're so lucky."

"She looks stuck in the branches. Can we help her?"

"Wait a second."

Rayne stood and walked to the tree. There was a small fairy with glowing skin and transparent wings, trapped between the branches.

"Oh? How did you end up here?"

Rayne began climbing the tree.

But suddenly, a hidden trap was triggered.

He dodged swiftly, staring at the metal trap. His hand would've been injured if he had been slower.

Rinnng~

Rinnng~

Bells attached to the trap started ringing loudly.

Rayne grabbed the fairy and jumped down quickly.

"Brother! Are you okay?" Ellie asked in shock.

"Looks like a hunter's trap. The bells were to alert him. That bastard nearly hurt my hand."

"How awful! Using a cute fairy just to catch animals!"

"Forget about him. Here, take this."

Rayne opened his hand slightly, revealing the fairy.

Ellie jumped in joy and gently held the fairy.

Then suddenly—

BOOM!

The fairy exploded in her hands.

Ellie screamed in pain. Her hand was bleeding badly. Luckily, she hadn't lost any fingers—her bones were already strong, or her fingers would've been blown to pieces.

But the bleeding was still heavy.

Rayne was horrified.

"Ellie!"

He pulled her to the picnic basket and quickly took out a healing potion and some bandages.

"Waaah!"

"Don't cry, Ellie. You'll be fine. It's nothing serious, don't worry."

A few minutes later, Ellie stopped crying and wiped her nose, though her breathing was still shaky.

The potion had numbed the pain and helped heal the wound. It was one of the best potions in the market—thankfully, the old servant had packed it.

Rayne sighed in relief and looked at his sister. He felt anger boiling inside him.

That damned hunter. I swear I'll make him pay.

It was clear the hunter expected someone to escape the first trap and grab the fairy—so he set a second trap.

Just as Rayne was about to leave, he heard a quiet sound.

He turned and saw a man wearing a mask.

The man spoke in surprise.

"Excuse me, did you see an animal get caught in a trap nearby? I'm sure I heard my trap go off."