My steps were slow but steady as I left the city gates. The sun had risen high, casting long shadows of the new guards standing on either side of the entrance. I glanced at them briefly strangers, new faces that replaced the guards I had killed yesterday.
They said nothing to me. Not even a wary glance or sign of tension. As if the deaths of the previous guards were nothing unusual. Just another part of life's rhythm in this world, where sudden attacks, wild monsters, or intruders from other dimensions were no longer shocking enough to cause alarm.
I took a deep breath, then walked out of the city without looking back. The air was slightly warmer than yesterday. The wind carried the scent of wild grass and damp leaves from the forest not far to the west. That forest was my main destination today the place where the medicinal herbs for the Rank F quest could be found.
