“I see… So that’s why the number of adventurers in this place is lacking.”

Viers was chatting with his fellow adventurer after returning from a quest.

“That is so. In Regidana, other than the usual quests, there’s a bunch of merchants needing security detail to guard them and their goods. One of such trips might take them very far away, potentially weeks until these adventurers come back. If they come back to Regidana. And then there’s the sudden mishap in Marakkus not long ago. More than a hundred adventurers died there, last I heard. The city wanted to attract new muscle so the quest rewards there spiked. Well, it's working. Some of my friends went over to Marakkus.”

Forss, a fellow adventurer, helpfully clarified.

In the lively guild tavern, a certain new arrival drew many eyes. It was a tiger beastfolk with a heroic demeanor.

“Who’s he?”

“This is the first time you saw him, Avel? He’s-”

Before Forss spoke further, the heroic tiger beastfolk was walking towards Viers. The beastfolk looked not much different from regular humans except for his ears and tail. He was young, in the same age bracket as Viers.

“You must be Avel of Javia, the Slayer,” the tiger youth said.

“I am,” Viers rose up from his chair, readying himself for a physical or magical confrontation. “Do you need something?”

Viers expected the usual thug development that wanted to make trouble with him but the tiger youth only extended his hand.

“My name is Khalmar. As you can see, a beastfolk of the tiger tribe,” he said with a refreshing smile.

“...Avel. Well met,” he shook the offered hand. “...You’re strong.”

Viers didn't mean it in a physical sense. Just like Viers had perceived the other side’s power, the opposite was the same.

“...So are you… I do not see the signs of bias humans usually have for my kind from you,” Khalmar curiously asked.

“You mean racism? I don't really care about that.”

“Heh, that’s good to hear. I’m here for a greeting and to tell you one thing.”

“Oh? I’m all ears.”

“I’ll be the best rookie this year. Not Ivory Flame, not you, me!”

The tiger youth left after having the last word. There was arrogance in his words but more than that, there was conviction. He did not want that best rookie of the year, he needed it.

“...Ooo, kay…” Viers was confused. “What was that about?” he asked Fross.

“The Noble Tiger is talking about the rookie adventurer award, Avel. The governor of Regidana will award a few of the most accomplished adventurers that just joined this last year. Since you can ask a Level 5 for a reward, many adventurers are aiming for this. You don't know?”

“No… but this award is quite interesting.”

The reason he was questing lately was only for a little bit of fame. He wanted to raise his reputation as an adventurer. Now that he got his adventurer title, he already achieved his goal.

Slayer is not a bad title. Not bad at all, hehehe.

“How long until the award is given?” Viers asked.

“Should be in two months.”

I started too late then. I don't think I can bridge the gap with the other adventurers in just two months. Well, I might if I go all out but I have other things to do.

Viers curbed his desire to compete after it was just born.

“So, Noble Tiger, huh? I assume this Ivory Flame is another adventurer?”

“Yeah. Noble Tiger and Ivory Flame’s rivalry is quite famous. Both are young Level 2s that have a good chance to become Level 3. Many schools and houses are trying to rope them in.”

“Hm...” Viers hummed absentmindedly.

“Well, including you there it might become a three-way rivalry but there’s also someone quite good that just showed up. This Jaime guy is younger by a year than you three but already got scouted by one of the best Schools in Regidana, the Second Amends School.“

“Hmmm...” Viers still hummed absentmindedly. It didn't catch his interest.

***

Viers continued taking quests on wanted criminals. However, Boram was the one who mainly did the fighting. Should he act, it was mainly using items that he got from the vault. For familiarizing himself with them and saving his Victa. He took quests where the target was weaker than him with occasional Level 2 opponents so Viers plus Boram were mostly fighting people weaker than them.

He allowed the ones that surrendered at the very start to live but not after they came to blows. Viers took their souls and turned in their carcass to the guild for money. His main objective were souls, human souls. Since Viers was killing people under the aegis of the law, he got through with minimal repercussions.

Speaking of wanted criminals, Viers finally saw his own face and real name among the wanted posters. The Estellian Church updated Cain’s wanted poster with the name Viers Isuel. That meant they already knew that Cain was an alias.

What they didn't know was that Viers was living under a new alias. His identity as Avel was safe. A helmet and a disfigured face did the job. Hideous disfigurement which Viers accepted as an appropriate price.

My bounty went up from 150 gold coins to 500. Now I know what Luffy felt when he saw his bounty go up. The increase was very large. There are also additional rewards that the church coughed up such as Arte, PC, or magical item… It might be related to their Fate manipulating thing. They really, really wanted to capture me. My wanted poster is among the few with ALIVE ONLY written on it. Too bad! You’re not gonna catch me, fellas.

The current lifestyle allowed Viers to stockpile Victa. If Viers generated 10 Victa a day, he only used 3 for cultivation and other necessities.

The Harry, Marc, and Milly trio sometimes visited Viers’ house. Harry got a chaperone every time he went out now, a Level 3. Surprisingly, they hit it off well with Boram. Viers expected they would look down on him because of his status as a commoner and a slave. Glad that was not the case.

Once every few days, ‘Chacha’ the black cat came to visit, which made Boram happy. The boy still thought the cat was a normal cat and Viers didn't bother correcting him. She didn't live in Viers’ house, her main residence was at the Yasterah Cult’s branch in Regidana. Sometimes she and Viers traded information and news but mostly they just left each other be. Viers got info, Boram got a playmate, Izabella got rest from her assignments, all three sides benefited. Because of her packed schedule, she did not resurface to resume her adventurer job for the time being.

Viers didn't forget to send a letter to Mokash town for Irene. Viers had been observing the movement of the three-eyed wolf that he took a photo of and he was certain there was an organization in Regidana behind the monster. Irene was searching for clues about the monster that killed her family and Viers had found it. Viers sent a letter not because he must but simply because he felt things might develop in an interesting manner. He might be able to fish for benefits in turbid water. He also wanted to test the church with this. He needed to know the church’s investigative power so he could make informed decisions in the future.

Viers took many precautions so the letter couldn't be traced back to him. What Irene knew was Cain, not Avel. and Cain(Viers) was a criminal with a bounty on his head.

***

“It should be here...” Viers was looking around while riding Brownie.

Viers, Boram, and Brownie were in a rocky canyon a day’s ride away from Regidana; they were led into the middle of nowhere by none other than Viers himself.

Viers always soul-searched the souls in his possession. Viers pooled what these souls knew while they were still having living bodies and amassed a great deal of precious knowledge.

Their Artes Viers re-used as is or after he modified it. Their bank accounts got emptied. Their secrets got plundered to their marrow. Sometimes, there was also valuable information that Viers could harvest.

One of the wanted men that Viers ‘arrested’ had found a hidden cave in this canyon in the past. Inside the cave, there were the bone remains of a powerful monster, at least a Rank 4. The bones would make a valuable alchemy or crafting material.

Alas, there was a monster that had taken residence in the cave. The bones also benefited this monster. The now-departed wanted man couldn't take the bones because of the guardian and he planned to return here once he became strong enough to defeat the monster.

But that future would not come to pass for Viers had come in his place.

Wrrrlll. Wrrrlll.

“Hello there,” Viers greeted the wriggling monster in Obi-Wan Kenobi’s style.

It was a big yellow-colored Rank 2 slime. Just as his soul search showed, the cave was littered with precious bones. If Viers had to guess, the skeleton belonged to a worm or snake-shaped Rank 4 monster that had died decades ago. The slime had been absorbing the energy remaining on the bones to further its own evolution and didn't like uninvited guests so it attacked Viers almost immediately.

It took twenty minutes until the battle was over, a long time for Viers’ standard. The slime’s jelly body was really resilient against physical attacks while possessing high resistance to Veirs’ water and Boram’s earth Artes.

The battle was also an informative one because Viers’ soul Arte did not really work on it. Not because its soul was strong but because it had no soul in the first place. This confirmed Viers’ suspicion. His soul Arte would not be very effective against soulless beings.

Still, Viers predicted he would encounter a situation like this in the future so he’d made preparations a long time ago.

Using Ixi Arte - Freezing Breath, an Arte from his fallen enemy, Viers froze the slime’s semi-liquid body bit by bit before Boram reduced it to pieces.

“Arte - Rocky Smash!”

The sight of a small child pulverizing an ice statue the size of an elephant was quite awe-inspiring.

“Phew… Nice one, Boram. Alright, just as you can see there's a lot of ore veins here. Go eat your heart out. Meanwhile, I’ll gather these bones… oh? The slime dropped a core, lucky.”

Viers often made the time to exploit small benefits like this while he was traveling. Viers was piling up small benefits so it would turn into a mountain of benefit in the future.

And in the blink of an eye, one month had passed since Viers' arrival at Regidana.