---
Kael didn't sleep.
Not from discomfort — the outpost's bedrolls were stiff but tolerable — but from the hum.
The Crownless Sigil pulsed faintly beneath his skin, not painful, but present. Like a second heartbeat. It responded not just to Kael's will, but to proximity — people, mana, danger. Everything triggered a low, soft flicker inside him.
Silna's mercs didn't talk to him, but they watched him like a drawn blade on a tavern table.
The air was dry. Tense. The kind of quiet that always came before blood.
---
Before dawn, Silna roused him with a curt nod.
"No breakfast," she said, already lacing up her gauntlets. "You're coming on a scout run. I want to see how your 'system power' handles real terrain."
Kael buckled on his armor and sheathed the blade she'd issued him the night before. It wasn't his — but it would do. For now.
The mercenary scout team had gathered outside the outpost's southern gate: three seasoned operatives and one teenager too twitchy to last a week.
They all stared when Silna pointed to Kael.
"He runs point."
"Point?" one of them barked. "That's suicide."
"For him," Silna replied.
Kael didn't argue. He moved forward, boots crunching on the gravel path that led through the forest below the ridge.
---
> [System Notice]
Sub-Quest Assigned: "Trial by Pack"
Objective: Return from the mission without Silna's intervention
Reward: Tier I Skill Unlock
Failure: Penalty – Combat Instincts Reduced
---
As they moved, Kael scanned everything. The air was thick with mana traces. Recent. A camp had passed through here, and something about it made his sigil shiver.
He stopped suddenly, raising a hand.
"Movement," he said.
One of the mercs scoffed — and then a shadow darted between the trees. Too fast for a beast. Too quiet for a scout.
Kael crouched low, sliding forward through the brush. He no longer had to think about his steps — his body flowed like it had been trained for this.
---
Then he saw it: a masked figure, cloaked in mage-silk, hunched over a rune-scanner.
Kael motioned. Silna and the others fanned out silently.
The masked agent turned — but not in surprise.
They smiled.
---
> [System Alert: Signature Match Detected]
Identity: Unknown Faction Scout
Affiliation: Not Registered
Intent: Observation – High Probability of Tracking Crownless User
Suggested Action: Immediate Neutralization
---
Kael didn't wait.
He surged forward. The sword in his hand wasn't special, but his movements were. The sigil in his chest flared once — and suddenly Kael was behind the scout, his blade drawn across the figure's side.
The scout dodged mid-slash, reacting inhumanly fast.
Steel clashed with bone-reinforced gloves. A sigil glowed faintly beneath the figure's skin — not Crownless… but something else.
The fight lasted seven seconds.
Kael only needed six.
The agent fell with a choked gasp, but not before stabbing a glowing needle into their own shoulder.
The body dissolved. A recall trigger.
Gone.
---
Silna approached, jaw tense.
"They were watching for your pulse," she said. "Not even hired scouts. That was a contractor from one of the Arcanist Guilds."
Kael stared at the scorch mark left behind. "They knew I was coming?"
"No. But they knew someone came out of the Crownless Trial alive."
Silna looked at him like a variable she hadn't factored in.
"You just painted a target on all of us."
Kael didn't reply.
But inside his chest, the sigil thrummed. Not with fear. Not even with warning.
It was excited.
---
📘 End of Chapter 10
---
🧠 *[System Humor Patch – Loaded]*
📎 Meme Log #010
> **"When you're finally OP... but your enemies start self-destructing before you can loot them."**
🖼️ *Kael frowning at smoking boots on the ground*
🗨️ System Message:
**"+0 EXP. +0 Drops. +1 Existential Dread."**