The Paladin in the Abyss

The next evening, Twin Bridges Town.

The blood-red sun of the Plains of the Abyss had just sunk below the horizon, but the arrival of night seemed to have no effect on the town.

At least, it didn't affect the Southeast District where Hagrid Manor was located.

Lancelot's neighbors were all reclusive members of the Blood Race. In most realms of mortals, this race was associated with words like evil, crime, fallen, and concealment, but not in Twin Bridges Town. They never hunted within the town, paid their taxes to Tijana on time, and were keen to invest in business activities, essentially model citizens in terms of law-abiding behavior.

But that was just on the surface, because little Issa was one of the victims of the Blood Race. Fortunately, Earl Barlow of Hagrid Manor, the previous owner, had died; otherwise, this poor girl would have been enslaved forever by her killer as a vampire derivative.

The young vampire was now hiding in a room on the third floor of Hagrid Manor, with two wooden short swords tucked into her waistband. Her eyes were intently fixed on Lancelot in the courtyard below, who was fiercely sparring with Bruto with a practice wooden Great Sword. Observing them were Kalalin, Alamir, Koula, Bruto's father Barrend, and even the Lord of Twin Bridges Town, Tijana himself.

The Succubus Lord was not here to watch a Human Knight and a Dwarf train. The main event of the evening was to test Issa, to see if she was ready to become an Adventurer. For the first part of the test, she had to slip one of the short swords into the pocket of any one of the spectators.

Otherwise, she would have to stay put in Twin Bridges Town and participate in Lancelot's adventures by listening to stories at the table.

Although sitting at the dining table listening to the Human Knight tell tales of adventure was nice, it only made the girl yearn more to be part of those stories herself.

However, she was also aware that Lancelot's suspicions of her were out of concern for her safety, and this concern was reasonable. Just a trip to the market district for bread was enough to reveal the horrors of this plane.

Therefore, she who had only played archery games in childhood took her training seriously, despite many instances of fatigue and frustration that brought her to the verge of giving up.

Apart from the Succubus Lord, no one else knew the content of Issa's first test. Everyone thought Lancelot and Bruto's sparring was just a warm-up for the 'test' to come soon, and their match was always entertaining.

Bruto was already an excellent warrior. In real combat, a Dwarf like him was an unstoppable iron ball festooned with blades, but it was not so in the practice with Lancelot. Every time the Dwarf was about to strike a pose for attack, the Human would straightforwardly strike at his vulnerability, completely breaking the Dwarf's built-up emotion.

The expected intense battle did not occur; instead, it resembled more of an adult teasing a child in jest.

Bruto wasn't embarrassed by this at all. Killing toad demons was easy, but being dominated by a master was the fastest way to improve. Moreover, Lancelot's increasing harshness with the same mistakes meant that if Bruto's mind couldn't remember a certain technique, his body would learn it through the pain response.

And finally, Issa made up her mind, straightened her coat, and gently flipped out of the window.

The vampire girl wore ordinary soft leather armor, which offered only limited protection; its primary function was to allow the wearer to move more quietly and stealthily.

With her hands tightly clutching the third floor's windowsill and her feet braced against the wall below, she elegantly swung her body up and after a few swings, she landed quietly on the ground, prompting Tijana, who had been secretly watching her, to smile in satisfaction.

No one knew how vampires came into being. For a considerably long time, vampires had hidden among the noble class of mortal society. But as time passed, some of their descendants inevitably drifted into the lower classes.

The appalling reputation of their race subjected them to discrimination, and their ageless appearances often aroused suspicions among those around them, forcing them to frequently leave the places they had lived for some time.

Thus, every vampire, even those who refused to consume the blood of intelligent creatures, had to grasp some skills in concealment and stealth to some extent. Their agility, superior to that of normal humans, their innate night vision, and their marginal social status complemented the profession of the wanderer, with many becoming masters in this field.
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Little Isha was trained by a true master. If not for the Succubus Lord personally asking for his help, the master would not have condescended to coach Isha, who was not even a hundred years old yet (in the master's exact words, "not even a hundred years old, her human scent hasn't even dissipated").

But the satisfaction that came from guiding a young and studious fellow vampire was immense, especially when the girl demonstrated remarkable talent and also maintained her humility. With her seriousness and diligence far surpassing her peers, the vampire girl progressed quickly. Even if one ignored the various abilities her bloodline endowed her with, she was already qualified to be an adventurer.

But this was the Abyss; merely being 'qualified' was not enough. Now, the girl had to prove that she would at least not be a burden.

She moved swiftly under the dim lighting, quickly hiding within the shadow of some withered bushes. Alamir had been trying to make the garden greener since his arrival, but so far, his efforts had been futile.

The undead aura released by vampires caused plants to wither and twist, but she couldn't be blamed for this. It was the consequence of having a bunch of who-knows-how-old vampires as neighbors. The mushrooms growing on Isha's own coffin, however, were thriving well.

Scanning the few spectators at the edge of the field once more, she carefully chose her next target.

"Observe," the word the master repeated the most. As a wanderer, it was crucial to learn to choose the right target, using the right methods, at the right time, for the right purposes. Killing was merely one method, and it was a low-priority one at that; this was the major difference between wanderers and other professions.

Koula was immediately ruled out. Due to his height disadvantage, halflings were a race naturally high in vigilance, and since Koula was also a qualified wanderer, Isha didn't believe she could sneak a wooden sword into the head chef's small pocket.

Kalalin seemed like a good target. The scholar definitely wasn't as agile as her, and his robe had plenty of pockets suitable for tossing things into. Still, Isha ruled out this option. The reason was simple: Kalalin wasn't interested in the fighting occurring in the arena—the scholar couldn't make heads or tails of it, so his attention wasn't focused there.

Barrend seemed like a viable target, but the little vampire didn't really understand this old gentleman and found it difficult to predict his reactions, so in the end, she fixed her gaze on Alamir.