Believe it or not, this kid shows some skills. As he said, he is fast.

But I fought against even faster opponents.

"What do you think! Are you forcing yourself to your limits only to keep up with me?"

Young bandit dashed towards me once more, but I deflected the incoming attack.

"You are nothing more than a mere bandit, don't overestimate yourself. I fought against people, let alone let you land a hit that could kill you before you understand what is happening."

The young bandit stopped and began glowing brighter. "You fucker, like I let you underestimate me."

Brat charged towards me. He is coming in a straight line, but I know that he will jump to the side when I attack forward.

"But if I do something simple as this." I shot an ice fragment towards the young bandit, which he dodged by jumping to the side.

"You will lose at that moment." Before letting him land on the ground, I dashed forward and grabbed the bandit from his neck, then lifted him to the air and slammed him to the ground.

"You see, little bandit. That's the difference between us."

I expected some aggressive replies from him, but.

"Please spare my life. I can give you anything! Gold, woman, drugs? I have everything on my base, just let me go, then I will give you them."

He is almost crying. How pathetic.

"I don't care about money, women, or drugs. Then give me a reason why I should let you live."

And here comes the moment of silence. I wonder young bandits answer. Will he accept his fate?

I wonder what.

"Because you need glory!" He screamed. "You must be a hunter. If you take me to the guild alive, they will honor you with a new, higher rank for sure."

Hunter guild, someplace I didn't invest much time on, but members of this guild are seen as heroes from this world by the public.

Some respect from them wouldn't be half bad.

"Good. I will let those people take care of you, but first."

I grabbed the young bandit's left leg and broke it by giving all my strength and weight. Then I did the same for his other limbs.

"That will be my insurance."

His screams meant nothing to me. I only care about a single thing right now.

I grabbed the bandit with one, and my ax with my other hand began carrying him to the town.

This annoying brat is still screaming in pain and annoying me. I want to give him to the authorities soon as I can.

"Please have some mercy. Please, sir, I will do anything, please."

Like he wasn't planning on raping and raiding minutes ago.

"Shut up, or I will cut your tongue."

It worked as the bandit stopped talking.

And here it is, the town's lights. Even at night time, it is still alive.

Lots of sounds are coming from houses and taverns.

The sound of a sword getting pulled out from its sheet echoed right behind me.

"Halt! Who you are stranger, and why are you carrying that man with you!"

A couple of soldiers, probably the town guards, are directing their weapons to me.

What a good coincidence. "Here." I throw the bandit towards them. "I was just passing by and saw this guy and couple of bandits planing something outside, so I did a little intervention."

A guard grabbed the young bandit and lifted him to see his face.

"Well, look at that, isn't this the brat who tried to tax us for protection? Did you mess with someone you shouldn't?"

Let them do their job, and I will go directly to the town. Talk with the townsfolk and save Arthur's ass.

"Then, if you are handling that guy, I am off to the hunters guild."

"Wait." One of the soldiers stopped me. "Let's go there together, or the whole reward thing will be a pain in the ass."

Reward thing? Oh, yeah! How could I forget that hunters get paid based on the quests they complete.

And hunting bandits is probably one of them.

"Then please be fast. I am in a hurry."

-------------

This town here is much smaller than the first one I went to but still has a charm.

First of all, the town here has many more stands with different foods from sweet corn to a steamed salty and savory plant.

I don't have much time to try everything, but I will do it if I can later on.

But, the hunter guild here is quite large, and inside is filled with once again many different faces.

And the tavern built inside has many talkative customers who don't shut up about their victories.

When I entered, everyone turned their looks to me. I suppose I look interesting enough.

Could that be because of the masterwork armor I am wearing or maybe because of the giant ax I carry around? I don't know.

Well, they can look at me much as they want. I will claim my prize from the counter and talk with the folks for knowledge.

"I am here to claim the prize of this." I pointed to the bandit soldiers were carrying.

The girl working as the receptionist was looking a bit terrified.

"Well, sir, may I ask for your guild card. Of course, if it won't bother you, but I need to see that, but sorry."

Maybe that could be because I am wearing even my helmet inside. I don't want anyone to panic.

So I removed my helmet and placed it on the counter. "Sorry about that. I lost mine some time ago, but if there is a fee for it, I can pay it."

The girl got a little relaxed, thanks to my friendly behavior.

"Well, may I learn your name then? I will go and check your recordings for a replacement?"

My name. That would be Edward, of course. God, why did I even choose a fake identity anyways?

"Edward, Edward Blade."

She pulled out a big book from under the counter, and a piece of paper magically came out of it.

"Interesting, I didn't know Hunter guilds had something like that."

The receptionist waved her hand. "It is nothing exciting. It is a simple magical item that helps us keep many papers in one place, and here is your record, sir."

She placed it on the counter.

"Well, it looks interesting. You saved an important person from a bandit ambush, defeated two trolls with a hero, and joined a raid party with the same hero afterward. Now we are also adding that you captured a bandit leader to that list as well."

But suddenly she got shocked. "Weird, why is your ranking this low? Just a bit higher than a newbie."

Perfect! Her words took everyone's interest, and now every person inside is staring at me.

I can even hear them whispering.

"A newbie, with that weapon? Bullshit."

"Maybe he is a son of a lord."

"No, he looks too old for that, but why someone with this kind of equipment is just a newbie."

"Could he be a spy?"

"Spy of what? A spy won't be that stupid."

They seem to be interested in me.

"Oh, you have a preference, sorry for missing that. Let's hear what it says. Friend of an old experienced hunter, he is a native Northerner who doesn't have much connection with the society."

Suddenly everyone inside relaxed.

"Just a native."

"Well, that's still a big thing. Natives rarely leave fortresses."

"Maybe he is an exile?"

"If you wonder so much, then go ask him!"

"Hell no!"

They are talking like I am not inside here.

"Everyone! I will answer your questions, stop talking from my behind while I can hear every single one of you."

-----------------

I'm feeling warm inside here. People are friendly, and hunters here are not half bad.

Drinking, eating, comparing strength with each other opens so many memories from the past.

Inside here has the same aura as the bar where my squad goes after a successful mission back in the war.

I wish I had the simple life these hunters have. I envy them, but I have ab important mission I cannot abandon.

I made a promise for revenge.

But with all the hunters around me. Well, it is fun.

"So, out of my knowledge, how could those bandit assholes be so confident about raiding a town."

A drunk hunter punched the table. "That's because of that stupid civil war. They are forcing us to pay insane taxes and don't even protect us."

"Really? Isn't there a fortress nearby?" Heh, let's hear them complain.

"That fucking bastard leading that fucking fortress! He is the guy leaving all these bandits roam free." Another hunter jumped to the dialogue.

"What an asshole," I added. "I feel sad for you guys."

"People! Please don't talk like that." The receptionist suddenly joined the talk. "You know what happened last time."

Wait, I wonder what happened. "So, that person won't even allow you to talk."

No answer. It appears that this town has its very own master.

Killing that guy and capturing that fortress might give me control over this village, but do I want to risk all of these people's lives? I don't know.

"Well, that was enough talk for me, but if I stay here long enough, I will miss my date."

So, without any more words, I exit the hunters guild and move to the hill where I left Fionnlagh.

He is looking pretty comfortable there. There are even some leftovers of his hunt.

"Well, it is good to see you well-fed and happy, my scaly friend, but now, open your wings as we are going for a little adventure."

--------------- Outside the Eidenburg Fortress.

We landed on high ground nearby, and I ordered Fionnlagh to hide and wait for my command.

This fortress is smaller than I expected. Still, without my spider gloves, entering inside will be difficult.

But now, I must find an opening because I don't have the luxury to wait for more.

Using Fionnlagh is not even an option. He is too big and will be too loud if we go nearby.

Then I can't just knock on their door for them to open it, but there could be away.

There is a small river going inside the fort. I suppose it is a sewer, and there is an entrance from outside.

That will be my best bet.

So, slowly I approached the fortress's walls and avoided any light that might detect me.

And managed to reach the sewer's entrance, but something blocked me.

"Iron bars blocking the entrance." But thanks to simple physics and magic.

I placed The Butcher between iron bars as leverage.

"I might bend those."

Blue light covered my body, and my muscles got tighter as more strength got pumped into them.

"One, two, three."

And with all my strength, I pushed my weapon forward and managed to bend the bars enough for me to pass between them.

I immediately entered inside and began moving. I hope there wouldn't be any guards controlling this part.

Because if they see that bent bars, they will give an alarm.

Similar to the smell here giving alarms inside my nose.

At least inside is not too dark, and I can navigate my way through thanks to some light leaking from holes above.

I also have these little rats keep following me around.

I only want to find the exit.

"Someone is walking here uninvited, right, my dears. Yes, of course, then we feast then, heh."

"Where?"

Suddenly from the dark, a man jumped to me with a twisted dagger in his hand to stab.

He is wearing a helmet that looks like a rat head, and these pesky creatures seem to be following his orders.

But If it wasn't for my armor blocking the sudden strike, I was done for it from the start.

"Invaders and their stupid armors, I hate them, I hate all! Attack my dears, drown him."

Ratman talked, and hundreds of rats began gathering around him.

I smiled. "This one will be interesting."