The collective roar of the crowd inside the Arena was completely deafening. Thousands of spectators pointed at the massive holographic screens floating above the stadium floor, laughing hysterically at the three Silver Vanguard trainees swinging helplessly by their ankles.
Up in the luxury VIP box, Director Vance was currently experiencing a massive spike in his blood pressure. He gripped the edge of the reinforced glass window, his knuckles turning entirely white.
"Medical drones!" Vance barked into his headset, his face practically purple with rage. "Extract them immediately. And get me the camera footage from the surrounding trees. Who did this? Was it a stealth-type monster?"
Across the aisle, Vespera Nocturne sat in her plush leather chair, looking the absolute picture of aristocratic grace. She held a glass of sparkling water, taking a very slow, deliberate sip to hide the corner of her mouth twitching upward.
She knew exactly who had tied those boys to a tree.
Liora sat next to her, her hands covering her mouth as she tried very hard not to giggle out loud. She leaned closer to Vespera, keeping her voice low so the furious Guild Director could not hear her.
"He did not even leave them their shoes," Liora whispered, her eyes dancing with amusement.
Vespera glanced at the screen and noted that the trainees were, in fact, dangling in their tactical socks. "Liam is smart. Boots carry tracking runes. He completely stripped their communication and location data in under five seconds. He is treating them exactly like overgrown children."
Liora looked at the Ice Queen. She noticed the subtle way Vespera’s eyes remained glued to the screen, tracking the faint, blurry distortions in the jungle canopy that indicated Liam was still moving.
The custom spidersilk suit hugged his frame perfectly, and Vespera was definitely noticing.
"The suit was a very good idea," Liora said casually, testing the waters.
Vespera cleared her throat softly, adjusting her posture. "It provides maximum tactical advantage. Nothing more."
Down in the simulated mangrove swamp, Liam was entirely unaware of the commentary happening above him. He was currently focused on his next target.
Team two consisted of four Vanguard trainees.
They were trudging through a knee-deep section of murky swamp water, looking completely miserable. They had managed to hunt down two D-Rank mud slimes, earning them two silver tokens, but the effort had left them covered in foul-smelling sludge.
"This is ridiculous," one of the trainees complained, swatting a massive artificial mosquito away from his neck. "Julian gets to sit on a dry rock while we wade through actual sewage. My armor is rusting."
"Just shut up and keep your eyes open," the squad leader snapped. "We need five more tokens before we head back, or the boss is going to throw a fit."
Liam watched them from a thick branch directly overhead.
His shadows completely masked his presence, absorbing the faint light filtering through the canopy. He looked down at the four boys, analyzing their sloppy formation. Their heavy armor was slowing them down, and they were making enough noise to attract every monster in a two-mile radius.
He didn’t even need to use his combat skills for this group.
A golden window popped up right next to his face.
[System Suggestion: Psychological Warfare.]
[Brute force is boring. You are a Shadow Sovereign, not a barbarian. Make them question their own sanity.]
[Task: Relieve them of their tokens without engaging in direct combat. Gaslight them a little bit.]
Liam actually smiled. It was a very small, highly dangerous smile.
He dropped silently from the branch, landing on a large lily pad directly behind the trailing member of the group. His ’Shadow Step’ passive ability allowed him to manipulate his physical weight, making him entirely weightless as he balanced on the floating plant.
The last trainee in the line was busy trying to scrape mud off his shin guards.
Liam casually reached forward and untied the heavy token pouch fastened to the boy’s belt. He slipped it away with the practiced ease of a master thief, stepping backward into the shadows just as the boy looked up.
A few seconds later, Liam materialized beside the second trainee.
This one had his token pouch slung over his shoulder. Liam produced a tiny sliver of freezing dark mana, acting like a razor blade, and seamlessly sliced the strap. The pouch dropped directly into Liam’s waiting hand.
He repeated the process for the third boy.
By the time the squad leader finally stopped and turned around, Liam was sitting comfortably on a tree branch ten feet away, tossing three silver tokens gently in his palm. His ’Shadow Veil’ was fully active, making him entirely invisible to the naked eye.
"Alright, let’s take a break," the squad leader sighed, wiping his brow. "Check your pouches. Make sure the slime acid didn’t eat through the leather."
The trailing boy reached for his belt. He blinked. He patted his waist frantically. "Uh. Boss? My pouch is gone."
"What do you mean it is gone?" the leader demanded, walking over. "Did you drop it in the mud?"
The second boy reached for his shoulder strap, only to find empty air. His face went completely pale. "Mine is gone too. The strap was cut."
"Mine is missing!" the third boy yelled, panic instantly setting in.
The squad leader stared at them, completely dumbfounded. They were standing in the middle of an empty swamp. There were no monsters and no enemy team. Yet they had all just been completely robbed in broad daylight.
"Are you guys completely stupid?" the leader groaned, entirely failing to comprehend the situation. He reached down to his own belt to pull out his token pouch to prove a point.
His hand grasped empty air.
He looked down. His heavy leather pouch, which he had checked literally two minutes ago, was completely gone. In its place, tied neatly to his belt loop, was a single, brightly colored swamp frog.
The frog croaked loudly.
Up in the VIP box, Liora completely lost her composure and burst into a fit of bright, ringing laughter. Even Vespera let out a very unladylike snort, quickly covering her mouth with her hand to hide her amusement.
"Medical extraction for team two!" Director Vance screamed at his console, looking like he was about to have a genuine stroke.
Down in the swamp, Liam leaned back against the trunk of the tree, pocketing the stolen tokens. The System chimed happily, showering him with invisible confetti.
[Flawless Execution! The Vanguard Guild looks like a circus act.]
[Current Token Count: 7. Liora thinks you are hilarious. Vespera is revising her entire opinion of your personality. Keep moving, Sovereign.]
Liam pushed off the branch, melting back into the shadows.