[Small] Chapter 9 - A storm is coming

”Yeah..?” I tilted my head and asked, ”Why are you so surprised?”

The guard made a nervous smile and replied, ”Oh nothing…It’s you have been gone for a long time that’s all…”

I felt a bit weird about it. There was something shady about him. It wasn’t something he said, nor anything he had done; it was just a hunch that something wasn’t quite right.

Of course, I was finally back in the city. Fuck that guard; it was probably nothing. I decided first to make my way to a tavern to get a beverage and maybe some food, something a lot yummier than wild berries.

Damo knitted his brows, he signed another document and put it on the piling stack on his desk. He was about to grab the next one, but his actions paused as there was a knock on the door.

”Enter..” He said and paid no need as he resumed his work. A young soldier entered the room and replied, ”S- Sir, James Norx wants an audience regarding some Hero…”

Damo looked up through the stacks of papers. His cold eyes glanced at the soldier, ”Send him in.”

The soldier felt a trickle of sweat from his forehead, ”Yes sir!”. It didn’t take more than a minute before a familiar figure John would have recognized as the guard at the east gate entered.

James looked at the man before him. The man had short dark hair and skin pale as the moon. His eyes were dark and cold. He gulped. The man before him was the right hand of the King, Damo Retchet. He was known to be brutal and very efficient in his affairs. There were even rumors about him being part of massacres, but no one had any solid proof.

”Th- The hero that was described to us came back to the east gate this morning, ” James said, stuttering with his words.

Damo looked up and showed surprise, ”Really?” He looked down at his papers again in thought, ” Hm…well, it doesn’t matter in the long run, as long as he stays away from the other heroes..”

A shaky voice disturbed Damo in his thinking, ”D- Do I still recieve m-my reward?”

An evil grin sat on Damo’s face as he looked up at the guard, ”Of course...” He opened his drawer and picked up a purse of coins. He rose from his chair and gave it to James. He looked him in the eyes and said, ”Keep quiet about this, okay?”

”Y-yeah..T-thanks” James bowed with gratitude, mixed in with a bit of fear as he began to make his way out of the room. Just as he turned around, he felt pain. He was struck with panic and regret as he slumped to the floor. Damo smiled, holding a bloodied dagger in his hand. His face sprayed with blood, and in his cold eyes, there was something dark. Some twisted happiness.

Lucy clenched her hands and gripped her dark-brown staff tightly. She channeled her mana and said a series of words in the ancient language.

”HEAL!” She cast a heal on Douglas as she saw his health run low. The Hero named Douglas parried the strike from the; sparks were scattering from the exchange of blows. The young man stunned the giant Lizardman as a well-timed combo attack, Jerry, and David, ending the monsters life.

Douglas bent down to check the loot: A pair of leather gauntlets and a knife. They didn’t seem to be a higher grade than uncommon. Trash. Shouldn’t bosses drop good stuff?

Grease saw the heroes exit the dungeon. They had hardly broken a sweat; they were after all heroes blessed by the system itself.

The young paladin named Douglas led the team and said to Grease, somewhat arrogantly, ”That was too easy.” He was a short-haired man with black hair. His eyes radiated arrogance [TN: cliche I know].

”Of course” Grease put a fake smile on, ”There are no difficulties for you, almighty heroes!”. Try and take off the godly equipment you have and see how hard it is. Just wait, little naive heroes for what is about to come...

”Well, let’s go to the next dungeon” Grease said to the heroes, ”Only when you get strong can you defeat the evil!”

I patted my stomach. It was…yummy. I knocked on the blacksmith’s door. A familiar face entered my view.

”What took you so long,” Armon said as he let me in.

”If you only knew” I replied and began to tell what had happened from the beginning to the end.

Armon stroked his beard as we sat outside, ”Tha-that’s quite the event”

”Yeah,” I said, before sipping on the bitter tea, ”It was quite a scary experience..”

”And you said you ate a fruit that made you..mana touched?” Armon asked me a bit skeptical.

”Yeah, it was a mythical fruit that gives 30% affinity mana.,” I replied while watching his expression become resolute.

”I guess I’ll have to let you learn the other professions sooner or later..” Armon let out a sigh, ”I have a close friend who lives outside the castle..a master in enchanting and alchemy..”

Armon shook his head slightly and said, ”That re-crafting skill I rather interesting as well, however, remember to keep it to yourself..”

”How come?” I was quite puzzled as I couldn’t find a reason to be secretive about it.

”Well, body-modifications skills has always been seen as something evil, something that only necromancers and evil magicians dvelve in..” Armon answered, continuing after a minor pause, ”That skill of yours isn’t the same per say, but it can be misunderstood..”

”Alright, I promise, I’ll keep it a secret.,” I said and nodded to Armon with a smile.