Chương 13: Expanding the Board

The heavy wooden doors of the Adventurers' Guild opened with a slight thud. Ren entered first, carrying the weight of the Razorback's stone tusks on his back, followed by Selene. She tried to maintain her usual proud stance, though she still glanced at Ren's hands sideways every five minutes. Ren walked up to the main counter and, with a dull thud, dumped the monster's materials straight onto the wood. Silence washed over the Oakhaven tavern.

The veteran warrior who had humiliated Selene the day before swallowed hard, staring at the mid-tier tusks with wide eyes. The clerk adjusted his glasses, visibly shocked.

"A Razorback... you two actually brought one down?" the clerk stammered, hurriedly pulling out a leather pouch.

"Here. Thirty silver coins, as per the contract." Ren took the pouch, opened it with a charismatic smile, and turned to the tavern, ensuring his voice echoed throughout the entire hall.

"All thanks to the overwhelming firepower of Miss Selene. I was just the lucky distraction. Without her fire cannon, I wouldn't be standing here." Selene blinked, caught completely off guard. Her cheeks flushed a light shade of red from embarrassment, but she quickly puffed out her chest with pride, casting a sharp look at the warriors who had rejected her. Ren knew exactly how to move the pieces on the board.

By inflating the mage's ego in front of everyone, he secured her loyalty and respect while keeping himself in the shadows, safely hidden beneath the facade of a mere ordinary assistant. After splitting the prize honestly—fifteen silvers each—they returned to the cheap inn. Sitting at the rustic table in their room, sharing a simple meal of bread and dried meat, the lingering tension of the hunt finally gave way to a strange calm.

Selene stared at Ren over her mug of cheap ale, analyzing his calm, deliberate movements.

"You're a strange guy, Ren. You're my age, sixteen, but you talk and act as if you've lived two entire lifetimes. Where did you come from? Where is your family?" Ren let out a light laugh, poking at his food with his fork. His expression grew slightly distant for a brief second.

"I don't have any family, Selene. I am completely alone in this world." Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. The mage froze with her mug halfway to her mouth, feeling a sudden pang of guilt for the aggressive tone she usually took with him. She lowered her gaze for a moment, and to change the subject quickly, she leaned her elbows on the table, sporting a curious, teasing smile. What about back in your old home?

A strategist who knows how to praise women like that in the middle of the guild... you must have broken a few hearts. Is there any girl you like?" Ren looked up at the ceiling, letting his sixteen-year-old exterior mix with the coldness of his real thoughts and fragmented memories.

"To tell you the truth, I like two."

"Two?!" Selene nearly choked on her drink, locking her crimson eyes onto him.

"You really are shameless, newbie! Who are they?"

"One is named Aurelia," the name left Ren's mouth with a hidden weight, a cold melancholy that Selene couldn't decipher.

"And the other was a girl from my classroom. I used to spend my days just looking at her, but I never had the courage to confess out of pure insecurity. I thought I wasn't good enough for her." Selene softened her shoulders, genuinely surprised to see a genuine crack of vulnerability in this boy who seemed to anticipate every single inch of the air around him.

"And where are they now?" she asked, her voice turning gentler. Ren shifted his dark eyes directly back to hers. The corner of his mouth tugged up into a slight, seductive, focused smile. He leaned a bit closer across the rustic table, activating his shameless flirtation without a single hint of hesitation.

"They aren't here, Selene. They are very far away, in a place where I can't touch them," Ren sustained her gaze, his voice dropping to a calm, hyper-confident tone.

"Which means that in this world, my chessboard is completely empty... and I am entirely available for a red-haired mage with an explosive temperament. What do you think?" Selene felt her face burn instantly. She slammed her mug onto the table with force, leaping from her chair in a single bound to hide the fact that her heart had completely skipped a beat at his direct advance.

"You are a shameless idiot, Ren!" she spluttered, her ears burning red as she marched toward the bedroom door to head back down to the tavern.

"Forget it! I'm going... I'm going to buy more drinks!" The moment the door slammed shut with a resounding bang, Ren's smile vanished within the exact same millisecond. His eyes turned utterly hollow, cold and distant once more. He wiped his mouth with a napkin, staring down at his clean, smooth palms. Pride and interest successfully nurtured, Ren mused, his thoughts chillingly calculated. Affection is the strongest chain to bind an ally to your board and ensure they play for you.

Now, for the second phase of the night. He pulled a small cloth bag onto the table, which he had purchased at the rustic market before heading upstairs: simple botany manuals, a few empty glass vials, and basic herbs. He closed his eyes, activating the molecular perception and the flow pathways that had unlocked within his soul on the road back. His silent training in alchemy was about to begin in the dead of night.