Ashe and Harvey were still working overtime when dozens of enemy sorcerers erupted from a sudden rupture in the distant ground. They bolted into a nearby forest and ran for their lives.

Ashe hissed. "I didn't realize overtime came with combat rounds." 

He immediately activated his Mask of Distortion to block detection, while Harvey's skin rapidly cracked and hardened, taking on the rigid texture of corpse flesh. With those defenses up, most standard reconnaissance spells failed to lock onto them.

"So if we get caught, the contract is dead for good, just like Annan said?" Harvey asked.

"Yeah. The contract requires the Belldet family to protect us. If we get captured, they can no longer fulfill that obligation, which means they lose the right to demand the ransom."

Harvey clicked his tongue in dissatisfaction. "Tch. I should've spent all 950 of those Bel Points e...