The crossing of blade against shields filled the air, grunts of effort emanating from both ends of the attack. For his last commission of the day, Aether was tasked with clearing out a hilichurl camp located in the wild. As repetitive as this repeated encounter was, the rewards were well worth it.

On the other end of the area, Aether was unaware of the curious spectator he managed to attract to the combat with the scraping of metal on wood that ensued in the shabby arena that had been made out of the camp. A nearby tree conveniently being enough to conceal your figure, you watched the clearing of the camp.

The Traveler's every move was swift as the wind, each swing of his sword carefully calculated against the enemy. You watched with bated breath as the blonde combatted the hilichurls diligently. It was as though he could predict the attack patterns before they even happened — which made sense, considering he had completed similar commissions many times.

Nonetheless, you decided it would be best if you departed before the battle concluded, to avoid any misunderstandings. Stepping back tentatively, you immediately froze up as the snap of the twig under your foot echoed through the air, collecting the attention of both sides of the battle.

There was a brief moment of silence, the air still with tension as the Hilichurls turned in your direction at the same time as Aether. Then, a roar punctuated it. Brandishing an already fired up axe, the last mitachurl lingering in the camp charged toward you with violent intentions clear behind that carefully crafted mask.

You had but a moment to react, yet this situation was shared by the mitachurl. One moment it was racing toward you without a second thought, the next it had the blade of a sword through its chest. It froze on the spot.

The blade was pulled out after a few seconds, and the large beast fell forward, unmoving. Aether stood over the mitachurl, staring it down sharply. Then, sheathing his sword, he spoke.

"You can come out. That's the last of them."