Within the darkness of his Soul Space, Vergil calmly recalled the entire route from the mine entrance to the sleeping quarters.
Every tunnel.
Every intersection.
Every guard position.
Every lantern placement.
His thoughts moved rapidly as he constructed a rough plan.
Fear.
That was the key.
If enough panic spread through the mine, the Hill Family might lose control of the situation entirely.
Dead guards.
Rumours of ghosts.
Chaos among the gathered hunters.
A riot large enough to force the Hill Family to release everyone before the expert from Misty Lake Town arrived.
Of course, the plan could only begin after nightfall.
And right now, it was barely noon.
Vergil refused to waste the remaining hours.
His thoughts shifted immediately toward the memory of Captain Mark teaching the Rock Wolf Boxing Technique earlier that morning.
Inside the endless void of the Soul Space, he reconstructed the entire scene perfectly.
Captain Mark’s stance.
His breathing.
The movement of his shoulders and hips.
Even the smaller flaws displayed by the trainees around him.
Everything appeared with absolute clarity.
Soon, a phantom figure formed within the darkness.
A perfect projection of Vergil himself.
The phantom slowly assumed the opening stance of the Rock Wolf Boxing Technique.
Then it began practising.
Again.
And again.
And again.
Hours passed silently in the void.
Eventually, Vergil felt someone firmly shaking his shoulder.
His consciousness immediately snapped back into reality.
Opening his eyes, he looked down from the upper bunk and saw Sam standing below him.
Around them, the other hunters were already climbing out of bed and leaving the room.
Sam looked upward, meeting his gaze.
“They called us for lunch,” he said.
“Let’s go.”
Vergil nodded quietly before climbing down from the bunk.
The group exited the chamber together and followed the dim tunnels back toward the mine entrance.
Near the upward path leading out of the pit, a wooden fence had been erected to block free movement.
Several armed guards stood nearby, watching them closely.
In front of them sat long wooden tables carrying massive pots filled with simple food.
The hunters quickly formed lines.
Vergil silently accepted his portion before moving aside to eat.
The meal was crude but filling.
Mostly thick vegetable stew and rough bread.
After finishing, the villagers gradually returned toward the sleeping quarters.
Just outside the chamber entrance, Vergil suddenly spoke to the group.
“I’m going to explore the mine a little.”
Nobody paid much attention to him.
Most assumed he was simply restless from the forced confinement.
Vergil calmly walked deeper into the tunnels alone.
The farther he travelled, the quieter the mine became.
The air carried the heavy, suffocating smell of coal dust and damp earth.
Eventually, he found a secluded corner hidden far from the main pathways.
Without hesitation, he lowered his stance and began physically practising the Rock Wolf Boxing Technique.
Unlike inside the simulation of his Soul Space, real physical training immediately exposed the flaws in his body control.
His footing shifted incorrectly on the uneven dirt.
His breathing occasionally broke rhythm under the exertion.
His punches lacked the proper transfer of force.
But Vergil continued steadily, systematically correcting each mistake.
Meanwhile, Seamus rode his horse toward the gates of Rock Hill Town.
Lily sat silently in front of him on the saddle, her body stiff and withdrawn.
After several hours of travel, Seamus finally broke the silence.
“Young lady,” he asked calmly.
“Where is your home?”
By then, they had already reached the town gates.
Two guards standing watch immediately straightened upon recognising Seamus.
He casually took out a token and showed it to them.
The guards nodded respectfully and allowed him through without question.
The horse slowly entered the crowded, bustling streets of the town.
Lily lowered her head slightly, avoiding the stares of the townsfolk.
“You can drop me at a corner somewhere,” she whispered softly.
Seamus frowned faintly.
“Young lady,” he said carefully.
“Are you unwilling to return home?”
Lily remained silent.
Seamus quietly understood.
Most likely, her family had forced her to cooperate with the Hill Family’s fabricated story.
And within Rock Hill Town, offending the Hill Family openly was nearly impossible.
The Hills controlled this town.
Even if her family knew the truth, they could do nothing but submit.
Seamus gently pulled the reins aside to avoid a passing carriage before speaking again.
“You understand the power of the Hill Family.”
“Your family cannot resist them.”
After a brief pause, he continued calmly, his voice dropping slightly.
“And don’t worry.”
“The Hill Family will not find your saviour.”
Lily immediately turned slightly toward him, a flicker of hope in her eyes.
“But…” she stuttered nervously.
“But they called an expert from Misty Lake Town.”
Seamus gave a faint, mocking snort.
“That expert won’t find your saviour.”
The so-called expert was merely a hypnotist named Ramuel.
The Hill Family intended to interrogate suspects through hypnosis, forcing the truth from their minds.
But Seamus already understood exactly how the situation would unfold.
With so many suspects gathered, Ramuel would first focus his efforts on the mercenaries and experienced hunters.
By the time they eventually reached the younger villagers, several days would already have passed.
At that point, Ramuel would likely be mentally exhausted and deeply frustrated from repeated failures.
And more importantly, word about the hypnosis would inevitably spread among the detainees beforehand.
Once the remaining suspects became mentally prepared, hypnosis became far more difficult to execute successfully.
Before leaving town, Seamus also intended to quietly spread another engineered possibility.
That Shawn Hill may have been targeted by professional assassins instead.
Lily looked up slightly, her tears drying.
“Really?”
Seamus nodded calmly.
“You have my word.”
Then he glanced down toward her again, trying to wrap up his task.
“Now tell me where your home is.”
Lily lowered her gaze once more, her expression turning profoundly hollow.
“I don’t want to go home.”
Seamus’s brows slowly furrowed.
“Why?”
Lily’s fingers tightened together, digging into her palms.
“Yesterday…”
Her voice trembled slightly, thick with a new kind of dread.
“My stepmother sent me to that specific place to collect herbs.”
A bad feeling suddenly rose inside Seamus’s chest.
Then Lily continued, her voice dropping to a harsh whisper.
“But when I arrived…”
“I found Shawn and his friends already waiting there for me.”
Seamus’s eyes instantly widened in sheer realisation.
The horse abruptly jerked to a stop in the middle of the street as Seamus sharply pulled the reins.
Several nearby pedestrians immediately turned their heads in annoyance at the sudden disruption.
But Seamus ignored them completely.
After several long seconds of heavy silence, he finally let out a slow, deliberate sigh.
“Lily,” he said calmly.
“Do you want to become an adventurer?”
Lily immediately raised her head.
She twisted slightly in the saddle to look up toward him, disbelief and a sudden spark of hope appearing in her eyes.
“Can I?” she asked quietly, almost afraid of the answer.
Seamus gave a faint nod.
“From today onward, you are a part of the Grimlock Adventure Team.”
Then, he steered the horse away from the busy main road and headed toward the modest inn where his adventure group was currently staying.
Meanwhile, deep within the dark mine tunnels, Vergil finally stopped practising after several continuous hours of gruelling training.
Sweat covered his body completely.
His muscles burned painfully from the unfamiliar, explosive movements of the Rock Wolf Boxing Technique.
As he traced his way back through the dim tunnels, he eventually discovered a small washing area carved directly into the stone walls.
After checking the surroundings with extreme care, he removed his clothes with great caution to avoid damaging the delicate paper puppets hidden securely inside his vest.
Then, he washed himself quickly using the freezing water stored in large wooden barrels nearby.
The icy water washed away the heavy layers of sweat and black coal dust clinging to his skin.
Afterwards, Vergil glanced toward his dirty, stained clothes and sighed quietly to himself.
He carefully tucked the paper puppets back inside his dry vest before dressing again and returning toward the sleeping quarters.
Once back inside the room, he climbed onto his designated upper bunk and lay down quietly.
Inside the privacy of his mind, he once again began visualising the intricate forms of the Rock Wolf Boxing Technique.
Hours later, the heavy thud of boots announced the guards calling everyone for dinner.
Vergil ate his portion silently before returning once more to his bed.
Lying atop the upper bunk, he quietly reflected on his current life.
Honestly…
This was almost his ideal lifestyle.
Practise.
Sleep.
Eat.
Someone else even went through the trouble of preparing the food and delivering it straight to him.
Below his bunk, several villagers chatted, discussing the surprisingly decent taste of the meals being provided by the Hill Family.
Vergil simply closed his eyes again, ignoring the chatter, and continued visualising the boxing stances while waiting patiently for everyone to fall asleep.
Eventually, the room grew quiet as deep breathing and loud, rhythmic snoring gradually filled the chamber.
Only then did Vergil slowly open his eyes.
Absolute darkness covered the sleeping quarters.
His gaze immediately shifted toward the heavy wooden door.
Locked firmly from the outside.
As expected.
Without making a single sound, Vergil carefully reached inside his vest and removed a meticulously folded paper crane.
Then, he slowly and smoothly channelled his inner energy into the construct.
The paper crane trembled faintly in his palm.
Moments later, its wings unfolded, and it came alive.
At the exact same time, an entirely new perspective suddenly forced its way into Vergil’s mind.
He immediately closed his real eyes to process the dual feedback.
The vision transmitted by the enchanted paper crane was completely different from normal human sight.
The physical world appeared vague, shadowy, and distorted.
Only living creatures emitted visible, heat-like outlines pulsing within the deep darkness of the tunnels.
Through the crane’s alien senses, Vergil carefully guided the construct upward into the air.
The tiny paper creation silently flew toward the narrow ventilation opening positioned just above the locked wooden door.
Next chapter three hours later.