Nestra used momentum to ram herself against the wall by the gate just as it opened. She instinctively drew in everything she was— though she didn’t reapply her mask, Praying to every god she could think of that they didn’t see her. A trio of gleams walked in. There was an archer, a close quarter fighter with a tower shield, and a mage with long staff. The mage’s eyes were a dim orange which spoke of a nascent fire affinity. She directed the pair with a single flick of her hand. Fortunately, their eyes were on the portal, not her. “What’s the meaning of this? Was somebody there?” Nestra ducked and used momentum to propel herself into the other room, an antechamber of sorts. Two guards sat behind a reinforced glass panel, checking screens. There were no hiding spots there, only a concrete square devoid of anything save for the two gates leading to the portal and to the outside, and a door leading to the guard room. Both of the latter were tragically closed. Nestra landed squarely below the glass in full view of a camera but hidden from direct line of sight. “There’s a letter here, it— ah! Fire! Why is it on fire?” a male voice said behind her. “Idiot! Don’t touch anything. Guards, you’d better have a good explanation.” “We’re having glitches on our equipment ma’am. Running diagnostics.” “Who did you let in?” But Nestra’s body was different. She clearly had a resilience that went beyond what could be expected at D-rank. Beginner users got stronger by infusing their bodies with mana, directing it to where it mattered. Nestra didn’t have to do that. She just was strong and resilient without trying. At the same time, she barely had any mana to work with. Clearly not even remotely human. But then why mostly human-shaped? Nestra’s mood improved after she parked in her secret Nestra lair and got the bag of food out. Oh, and the spear. She sent a quick message to Gorge then it was time to go home. Nothing could stop her from humming when she poured the grains into her cooking robot as well as a generous amount of butter and sugar. When the first pops rang in the quiet house, she could no longer contain her enthusiasm. This was smuggled good, untaxed, against all of Threshold’s regulations. This was food that the corpos wouldn’t get. She was finally taking her life back, one meal at a time. “I’m going to eat this criminal magical popcorn with butter and nobody can fucking stop me.” In the headquarter of the Gray Shield guild, a gleam tapped on his visor with barely contained annoyance. “Yes. The chair flickered in at around four AM. The glitches were continuous afterward. Yes. No, nothing that we could see.” He kept silent when his interlocutor spoke in a sterner tone. “Yes, I understand. We will transfer everything. Understood. The compensation is more than enough for us. Yes, you can count on our discretion. I will make sure my team understands the importance of their silence. We will comply, sir. Yes, I consider the matter closed. Thank you for your time.”