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Her eyes fluttered open. She darted glances between Leo and the surrounding destruction, taking in the scene. He felt a smile break the tears, happy that she had survived. He looked at her hoping for some type of reaction, uncertain what to do as he kneeled beside her.

Nervously, Leo asked, “What happened here?”

Traveling through the Koraha desert was one of the safest jobs for high tier adventurers. Most of the monsters here don’t attack without some provocation, making travel fairly safe. This was excluding the weaker enemies and generic risks of the desert, but they were considered non-issues.

Merchants would pay hefty fees to adventurers to help guard their shipments, in case of emergency. The danger here was apparent, as adventurers grew complacent with taking a free ride and earning a healthy salary at no cost. Though with the corporations and adventurers happy, no one who cared was listened to.

Marem had found herself joining along on a journey straight to Edheim, alongside a shipment of precious silks. She had convinced the chief of the caravan to allow her passage, offering up her aid as a half decent healer. The journey wouldn’t be exciting by any means, but she was more than happy to kick her feet up and relax for a few weeks.

Though as the caravan made its way through the trails, heading ever closer to the desert, she heard word from the guard. While the caravan had a small guard of soldiers, they’d be picking up an adventurer for the upcoming portion. While none of these guards were anything of note in her eyes, this mystery person could be of interest.

Flors city marked their last stop before the desert, where they’d be refueling on supplies and picking up their newest guest. Marem decided to head out for a walk through town, hoping to fit in some fun before the next leg of their journey. Her first stop was a healing supply shop, as she browsed over the wares.

While looking at potions was fun, she figured that their first aid kit had more than they would need. Potions and healing items certainly had their use, especially in an emergency, but nothing could beat having a true healer. There was just something about healing magic that made it finicky to fit into item form, as if it refused to be commoditized.

Though wondering about the feeling of magic or whatever wasn’t something Marem quite cared about, as she picked up a small blue vial in the shop. While she didn’t need one, mana potions were rare to find. Though seeing the 50% sale on them convinced her to buy one, not wanting to miss out on a killer deal.

Though once she walked out, buyer's remorse had already started to kick in, but she figured wasting all day trying to get a return would be a waste. Marem resolved to just store it in the supplies tent and remember to take it with her later, not wanting to risk cracking it. She returned to the caravan and was placing the vial in first aid when she heard the voice of the chief outside.

“The journey should only take 3 weeks in total, and you’ll receive your payment upon completion as agreed.”

A new voice responded, “Alright, just don’t forget the supplies I listed. Last group I traveled with forgot to properly pack and it limited my true power.”

“Of course, we made sure to fulfill your listed requests to the letter,” assured the chief.

“Good.”

She heard the two continue to chatter and walk off. The dismissive and demanding voice led her to an in depth opinion on the newest companion. What a douche. While he definitely didn’t seem like a pleasant person from the one conversation she partially overheard, she still had some hope.

Marem went off to grab some dinner in town, having a hearty meal of steak and roasted artogs. The meal went down easily as she wondered about the adventurer. Marem didn’t travel much with caravans, but knew they usually carried heavy hitters to keep them safe. While unlikely she would recognize him, she hoped he would be somebody of note.

Though with dinner finished, she headed back to her cart. Well, her shared cart, but her cart nonetheless. Her stomach full of food and head full of thoughts made rest easy.

Marem awoke to find the cart already in movement, as the caravan had already started the trek through the desert. She got herself ready and headed out from her cart. While walking alongside the caravan, her eyes darted around in search of the new adventurer.

Thankfully, when everyone is dressed like a normal human being and one asshole is on top of a cart in full black camo, it’s clear who the unique one is. He wore skin tight camouflage and a scowl, with a large billowing white scarf around his neck. Why a bright white scarf and black camo? Because why not, she thought, it’s probably stupidly enchanted.

“Hey!” Marem called out.

“What?” responded the mysterious mystery man who was extremely mysterious.

“Who are you?”

He scoffed at her, unbelievable because who scoffs nowadays, “I'm the master of the wind, stalker of shadows.”

He ran his hand through his hair, as he clearly tried his best to look hot. This wasn't working by any means, but Marem held back her disgusted look.

“So is that your legal name?” She asked.

He stopped mid hair tussle, clearly not expecting to get questioned any further. He froze, and the two simply stared back at each other while he tried to think of a response.

He muttered out, “Oh uh, it's Johnaldo.”

Her already dying interest in getting to know him immediately dropped to 0 because who the fuck is named Johnaldo.