Knock. Knock. Knock.


    "Come in." Hearing the deep voice on the other side of the room, Valyr inwardly let out a sigh of relief as he entered,ing face to face with the leader of the vige guards once more.


    Although Damian had a slight frown on his face, considering that no one would knock on his office door at this hour, this frown quickly disappeared as he looked up to see who had knocked. In fact, a calm expression had reced this frown, soon nodding in approval. "I see you''ve changed into the uniform. It fits you quite well."


    "Thanks," replied Valyr with a light smile.


    "I suppose you came here to ask me a few questions regarding the night patrol, right?" Damian asked after a moment of silence. Seeing Valyr nod in response to the question, he nodded back as he continued, "Well, for one, you''ll only have to patrol until it turns midnight, or once the moon reaches the zenith. After that, you could return to the barracks and head to sleep. Or if you still feel restless once you get back, do whatever the hell you want."


    "I''ve already mentioned to you earlier that those who decide to participate in the night patrol gain more contribution points and merit pointspared to those in the day patrol," he continued. However, just as he was going to continue exining more things about the mechanics of the night patrol, he could not help but sense that Valyr had gotten a bit stronger.


    With that in mind, he could not help but stand up from his seat before walking around Valyr, thetter slightly confused as to what he was doing. After a bit of circling, he stopped in front of Valyr, his eyes slightly widened in surprise. "Well then. Color me surprised. It seems you''ve been busy since thest time we''ve seen each other. And that''s only been a few hours ago."


    "Yes." Even though the man in front of him said he was surprised, Valyr could not bring himself to believe that, considering the former''s somewhat indifferent tone. "I''ve been practicing my skill with the spear after we parted ways. After that, I went outside the vige to gain a bit of experience. I only came back to the vige just recently, actually."


    As he said this, he decided to keep the fact that he had obtained [Basic Spear Mastery] to himself for now. After all, such a thing was already unbelievable to hear, even more so if it came from someone like him, who was only Level 1 not long ago.


    Nodding in satisfaction, Damian ced his hand on Valyr''s shoulder before giving him a thumbs up. "That''s how a vige guard should act, always finding time to improve themselves to protect the vige far better."


    "Though, since you mentioned that you''ve only just recently returned to the vige, I''d suggest you opt out from participating in the night patrol today and take a rest," he continued, his eyes showing a hint of concern as he looked at him. "After all, the human body can only withstand so much."


    "Don''t worry, sir Damian. I know my limits," said Valyr in response as he thumped his chest. However, not long after, a faint sound resounded throughout the room, telling Damian otherwise.


    Rumble…


    Out of nowhere, Valyr''s stomach started to grumble, prompting an awkward smile to appear on his face. In response to that, Damian raised his eyebrow for a bit before letting out a light sigh. "Well, everyone''s responsible for their own choices, so I can''t really dissuade you if you still want to participate. Just make sure to grab something to eat before heading to the entrance."


    As Valyr nodded in response to his advice, Damian returned to his seat before a screen appeared in front of him. Tapping a couple of things on the screen, he then looked at Valyr, who received a notification from the system not long after as he opened up his screen.


    Ding!


    [You have received a new quest.]


    ————


    [Night Patrol]


    Difficulty: E


    As a guard of Astarto Vige, you have been tasked by the guard leader, Damian Waters, to patrol around the vige at its most precarious period, the night. Although not much happens during this time, it''s still highly advisable to remain vignt.


    Quest Rewards: 20 contribution points (Astarto Vige Guards), 10 merit points (Astarto Vige Guards), 25 XP


    ————


    [Would you like to ept the quest?]


    Seeing the prompt at the very bottom of his screen, Valyr quickly epted it as he soon bade his farewell to the man before him, leaving thetter on his own not long after.


    As for Damian, after watching Valyr''s silhouette gradually get farther from the door to his office for a while, he returned to his seat, focusing his attention back on the documentsid out on his table. As to what was going on in his mind at the moment, only he knew.


    …


    Following the advice given to him, Valyr made a quick detour to the barracks'' cafeteria, grabbing a light meal that made him feel full for the meantime. After that, he made his way to the entrance, noticing that three other people were already there, seemingly waiting for something.


    Hearing a bunch of footsteps gradually get louder from behind them, one of the three guards at the entrance turned to look back, quickly noticing Valyr get closer. Seeing that, the man waved at Valyr as a greeting, prompting thetter to wave back, albeit sheepishly.


    "I haven''t seen your face around these parts before. You a neer?" the man asked, to which Valyr nodded in response. "Yeah, I just enlisted as a vige guard a few hours ago."


    Just as Valyr said those words, one of the other guards could not help but look at him with a smile. Then, cing his hands on Valyr''s shoulder, he let out a cackle. "I had a feeling Damian would ept you in a heartbeat. In any case, d to see you again!"


    "Hmm?" Hearing a somewhat familiar voice, Valyr redirected his gaze towards the person who just talked, eliciting a light smile to appear on his face as he thanked the man before him. "Ah, d to see you as well, Leon. Thanks for giving me the directions to Damian''s office."


    "No problem, no problem! After all, it''s always great to have more people protecting the vige," replied Leon with a grin.


    "Anyways, I''ll save the banter forter," he said not long after, his joyous expression instantly bing stern. "For now, I''ll just do basic introductions since we have to start our night patrol pretty soon."


    "This man right here is Jonas. His specialty is fighting with the longsword. Specifically, the one around his waist," he said, cing his hand on the shoulder of a tall,nky man with short reddish-brown hair. "As to why he''s only good with that specific longsword, no one knows."


    "As for the one who waved at you, his name''s Louie," Leon said not long after, cing his other hand on the shoulder of a slightly hefty man with his ck hair tied up into a ponytail. "He''s actually pretty good at tracking people."


    "Andst but not least, there''s me, Leon." Pointing at himself, he concluded with a light smile, "My specialty is taking hits. So, if you ever get yourself into a bet where one side needs to endure the most hits, I''m your man."


    "You can introduce yourself to uster after we finish patrolling," he said soon after, noticing that Valyr was about to open for mouth. "For now, since it''s just the four of us patrolling this time around, we''ll naturally have to split the vige into four sections."


    "Well, since you''re the neer, how about you patrol over the southeast section?"