The man in the hood walked with an unsettling calmness, his movements slow but cautious. I followed closely, staying just far enough behind to avoid detection. Each step he took only made him seem more suspicious.

    At times, he would glance over his shoulder, his head turning sharply to scan his surroundings. The moment his eyes began to sweep, I moved swiftly, blending into the shadows of the alleys or slipping behind poles and nearby objects.

    He seemed amateur at this and my experience in staying unseen made it almost effortless, but his paranoia was clear.

    As we weaved through the silent streets, I felt a prickle at the back of my neck, a sensation that something—or someone else—is also watching.

    I stopped, my eyes darting upward. From a tower overlooking the street, a faint silhouette caught my attention. Whoever it was, their focus wasn''t just on the hooded man; they were watching me too.

    My instincts kicked in, and with a flicker of energy, I vanished from my position and appeared silently behind the person.

    "You''re following him too?" I asked, my voice cutting through the quiet like a blade.

    The person jolted, spinning around to face me. It was Alpha. Her wide eyes softened as recognition came to her, but her expression quickly shifted to one of mild surprise.

    "You look... different," she said, her gaze lingering on my face and my body. "More feminine."

    I smirked. "Tournament preparation. Gotta make an impression, right?"

    Alpha shook her head, a hint of amusement in her eyes. "Of course. Always the performer."

    "What about you?" I asked, crossing my arms. "What''s with the stalking?"

    Her expression turned serious. "That man stole a document from a politician''s house. I want to see who he''s delivering it to."

    "Let me guess... bandits?"

    Alpha''s lips pressed into a thin line as she nodded. "Exactly."

    I glanced back down at the street, where the hooded man was still walking, oblivious to our conversation. "Looks like we''ve got a little field trip ahead of us."

    The pursuit continued, this time with both of us working together. The hooded man''s path led us deeper into the city, away from the loud nightlife and into quieter, more isolate areas.

    Eventually, we found ourselves in an underground valley area. The air was damp and carried a faint metallic scent, and the dim lights overhead flickered continuously.

    "What the heck?"

    "Who is she?"

    Then one guy recognized her and said it out loud.

    "That''s...shadow mystics..."

    The hooded man who had delivered the papers seemed to panic.

    "What the fuck...How can they be here? I made sure no one is following me."

    He turned sharply, intent on fleeing the scene.

    But his escape was short-lived. As he spun around, he came face-to-face with me, standing casually in his path.

    My hands were buried in my pockets, a bubble gum bubble popping audibly between my lips. I tilted my head, my eyes locking onto his with an expression of pure innocence.

    "Going somewhere?" I asked, my voice calm and dripping with sarcasm.

    The man froze, his eyes darting between me and Alpha. The corners of my mouth lifted into a slow, knowing smile.

    "Huh, let''s see how good they really are,"

    The bandits muttered under their breath, my eyes narrowing as the bandits began drawing their weapons without hesitation, the sound of steel echoing in the air.

    Alpha stepped forward, her posture confident and her gaze unwavering as she closed the distance between her and the group.

    The hooded guy also removed a knife from behind his back and the masked man clutched the documents to his chest as if it''s his life line.

    "You guys are sure unlucky for directly running into us like that." I said.

    The space between us and the bandits shrank, and the tension thickened with every passing second.

    This was about to get interesting.