"That's good news! We have many contracts involving bandits, but the minimum requirement for them is a silver rank. I can work around the rules a bit and acquire the contract for you if you can hit level forty before you clear the contract and get back. Also, it would look good in your personal file if you had silver tier contracts done as a silver ranker. I'll make necessary adjustments to your ID and write down that the date of your rank up was about a month ago. What do you say?"

"Hah, bandits!" Bones exclaimed. Horace raised an eyebrow and Bones explained he already dealt with quite a few of them. Horace excused himself for a minute and came back holding a stack of contracts in his hands, all involving the bandits. He flipped through the first few and took a single one out before handing it to Bones. It was a wanted contract for Iam Broke and Reggie Somworth. Bones said he already killed Reggie and that he might know Iam’s location.

"Can I take the wanted contract right now and have it cleared right away? The Reggie one, I mean."

"Sure, as long as you can provide the proof you killed him. Did you have your adventurer’s badge pinned on you when you engaged Reggie? His head will suffice too."

Bones remembered he hadn't taken the badge since… ever? He couldn't remember when was the last time he had it pinned on. Reluctantly, he said he didn't have any proof.

"Well, then that's that. Wear your badge at least while you're doing the bandit contracts. Once you're done and get a new badge, you can stash it somewhere away for all I care. Now, I have two contracts that are somewhat nearby, way closer than Iam's hideout and their difficulty is ranked among the lowest. The bandits are, on average, level forty-six, their leaders fifty-one and fifty-three respectively. The other contracts are too high for your current level so I'm not going into details with them. Even the ones I just mentioned require a full party. Do you want to give the contracts a try?" Horace finished.

Bones didn't really give it much thought and accepted both contracts. He needed levels and killing was the fastest way to level up. Afterall, due to the nature of his undead race, he would be gaining increased experience when killing humans. The henchmen shouldn't pose any problems - the leaders might, but he planned to cross that bridge when he came to it. With two contracts clutched in his hands, Bones said he would come back as soon as possible and left the lounge. Horace replied he would wait for him and watched Bones leave. He then shrugged and uttered: "Odd client" before returning to his post at the reception desk.

Bones had a reason for agreeing to delay acquiring the new ID. One reason, already mentioned, was that he would get a silver badge, new rank, and would straight up skip the usual trial necessary to upgrade from bronze rank to silver rank. Horace further explained there at the end that he would arrange for a few minor completed fake contracts at bronze rank to Bones' new ID portfolio so as not to arouse suspicion.

The other reason was that Bones was itching for a fight. A few peaceful days had passed since the bandit hideout and he was already irritated, easily agitated, and in a somewhat foul mood. He needed to hunt, to kill… and he was very well aware that feeling intensified after becoming a Revenant. It was fine as long as he occupied his mind with something, like engraving, shaping practices, anything really as long as he did something, but the peaceful days no longer suited him.

The first contract was about thirty, and the second fifty six kilometers from Arbington. Like Horace said, both were far closer than Iam's hideout, over two hundred kilometers away.

These bandit camps… they're all connected to the Stronghold and the Bandit King. The expanse of influence the bandits cover is enormous! Makes me wonder how they are still operating around here? There are plenty of branch offices of Adventurer's Guild around to gather a force strong enough to take each and every bandit hideout and finally raid the Stronghold.

No… maybe that's the point! If they had dealt with the bandits, there would be less need for adventurers in the area and less funds for the Guild. It is in their interest to keep things balanced…

The greedy nature of humans hasn't changed…

Before heading out, Bones bought the horse - he was forced to, as the stable master wasn't willing to part with the horse and rent it after hearing where he was going. Bones didn't argue with the man, it was understable and it was his own fault for telling the stable master he was heading to the bandit's hideout. A mistake he was sure to remember not to repeat.

Don't talk to people, got it!

Two watchful eyes peering under the hood watched Bones leave the town before the figure turned around and disappeared in the alley behind. The figure appeared in an inn on the top floor two districts away and knocked on the door to the room.

"Come in." A hoarse voice said.

The man entered and took a bow in front of another figure, standing by the window and watching people middling on the street. The figure didn't turn around.

"Report."

The bowing man said "yes boss", and reported that the target had been sighted leaving town shortly after leaving the Adventurer's Guild.

*hmph*

"Go find out what he was doing in the Guild. I want the report in my hands by noon. Understood?" The figure by the window said, turning sideways and showing a white beard, wrinkled face and disheveled hair.

If Bones was here, he would recognize the old man and immediately tried to run away in shock. The most striking feature visible was the missing left arm. Silva looked tired, as if he had passed a great ordeal to come here since the attack in Hagos. And thanks to Bones, he did.

Bones! I've finally caught up to you! There's nowhere else to run anymore!

Oblivious that Silva was picking up crumbs and following his trail, Bones rode full speed ahead, eager to let loose on the bandits. After an hour, he reached the Mooshaw Grasslands, the location of his first target. Once spring returns, the vast grasslands will be covered by the green lush grass whenever the eyes can see. Now? The area was fully covered by a layer of snow. Far in the distance, beyond what Bones could perceive, the barely visible wooden fortifications of the camp could be seen. The hideout was situated at the edge of the grasslands and a stretch of forest could be seen behind it.

Right in the open? There's no way to easily approach without being seen. I guess it's going to be a night raid this time too.

Bones pulled the reins and nudged the horse to the side and away from the direction of the bandits. It will take some time to go around the snowy grasslands and approach from the forest, but Bones had time to waste until nightfall. During his ride around, Bones spotted strange creatures that started trailing him. He noticed one at first, but soon noticed the whole group of strange goat-like creatures.

Bones didn't like goats. They looked weird, had freaky eyes, but the ones following him stood on their hind legs and moved with purpose. Soon, he realized their purpose wasn't just mere curiosity - they were on the hunt!

*swish swish*

Two wooden spears flew through the air and pierced the ground just behind the galloping horse. Bones reigned the horse to a stop, then looked behind at the goat-like creatures chasing after him and closing in fast. He was confused and surprised, as he never heard of monsters like this one.

Humanoid goats? It just had to be goats…

As the creatures got closer, Bones identified them as Goatman and quickly jumped off the horse and started running left and away from his horse. While he could run at constant pace indefinitely, the horse was the faster of the two. He just bought it and the Goatman seemed intent on throwing spears his way. Unfortunately, his attempt at drawing attention to himself wasn't as successful as he hoped it would be. Two out of the seven Goatman continued chasing after the horse, who after getting spooked, sprinted off in the direction of the forest.

Bones glanced the horse's way and cussed, thinking he was going to be out of a horse if he didn't do anything fast! He summoned Skully, who was also quite faster than him, and sent him after the horse and the Goatman. Skully immediately sprung into motion, throwing snow to the sides as his clawy feet dug into the ground with every big step. With one of his worries lessened, Bones turned to the Goatman that circled and pointed the tip of their spear at him.

"Gobrick's beard you're an ugly one… Come, let's see what you're made of!" Bones taunted.

[maah maaah]

The goatman bleated and Bones winced, then casted Boneyard beneath his feet. Just like goats would, his opponents jumped out of the way and out of the range of the spell. Bones didn't let up and continued casting until he was almost out of mana and had three out of five pinned down. His persistence would cost anyone else his life as he had a spear piercing his right leg and another deeply embedded into his torso. Bones however, didn't react to his injuries and the Goatman bleating continued erratically.

Bones knew what they were thinking. He could see it in their eyes. More than that - he peered into their souls. The goatman was an intelligent creature and the shock and fear Bones sensed felt satisfying. One by one, they suffered from Soul Gaze, then death by Bone Lance. Wooden spears wouldn't be enough to hinder Bones anymore. Also, his opponents were a few levels lower than him. The amount of experience was miniscule but he was close to leveling up. And he was sure after the two camps, he would be a silver ranker. He hoped for…

Horse!!!

Bones snapped out of his thoughts and quickly headed after Skully. The two were somewhat apart so he couldn't sense what was going on, but not even five minutes later, he came upon a scene of two dead Goatmen. The bodies were swiftly and efficiently taken care of - if not a bit over the top. One of the bodies had a missing leg, a wound in the back and a gash against its throat. The other had multiple stab wounds in the chest and a pierced head.

But where in blazes is he? And my horse?

Bones looked around but didn't sense them. The only clue were the tracks in the snow, leading ahead and towards the forest. Bones didn't know what happened, but he guessed the horse couldn't exactly figure out it was safe now to stop running.

The horse must've continued running for who knows how long and far.

He continued to chase after the two and after twenty minutes of searching in the forest, Bones spotted both Skully, his horse and a small group of four bandits. Three of them were giving his golem a hard time, while the fourth held a reign on his horse. Bones didn't intervene, but watched from afar for a couple of seconds, processing everything.

The horse has value to them, they won't kill it. Skully on the other hand…

From what Bones saw, they noticed Skully was an undead, how could they not? The bony tail sticking and flailing left and right was a dead giveaway. Or it might have been because they stabbed him multiple times to no effect. One bandit held a battleaxe and swung it wildly while the other two held swords. On the ground next to the fourth one and Bones' horse lay a carcass of a giant deer.

A hunting party then? What a coincidence they ran into my horse and Skully! Should I wait a bit more and see the outcome? Skully, while having a hard time, is hanging surprisingly well. His movements are hard to read, he is agile and is twisting his body in unnatural ways to avoid most of the hits.

As for the bandits, the ones with the swords don't pose much of a threat. Afterall, Skully has a spear and longer reach. The burly one with a battleaxe though, he is going to cut the spear in half, if not Skully himself with one good placed hit!