It took me a moment to process what Katherine had just said. “That means…”
“Yup, she ded! No need rescue!” Katherine flashed me one of her dazzling smiles, then glanced around as if searching for something else to brighten her mood.
I nodded slowly, stepping closer to her and pulling her into a hug. “Poor Lisa… That changes everything. We can’t go to the ruins without her. And I let our enemy go.”
Katherine accepted the hug but immediately threw her hands up, shaking her head in disbelief. “She gone?”
We locked eyes, and I felt the need to defend myself. “Hey… She was my prisoner!”
“She lied. Story isn’t possible,” Katherine shot back, crossing her arms and fixing me with an unimpressed glare. “Better slay her.”
“Really now?” I sighed, disappointment radiating from her, even though she turned away.
Not so fast, Kat. “I know!” I exclaimed, waving a hand in front of her face to get her attention. When she turned back to me, I pointed toward the dark woodland. “She ran there. What’s better—chasing down one lone bandit, or hitting their lair in the middle of the night when their defenses are weakest?”
Her eyes widened as she followed my gesture toward the shadows. “We can follow?”
I started walking toward where our enemy had disappeared. “It won’t be easy, but this isn’t my first drinkin’.” The moment we reached the tree line, it became clear she’d left an obvious trail. Broken twigs and deep mud tracks cut a path even a novice couldn’t miss.
Katherine trailed after me, her steps heavy, but when we stopped at the start of the trail, she frowned and asked, “Why here?”
I glanced back at her, grateful I hadn’t voiced my earlier confidence too loudly. Alright, slight correction—it’s possible to miss a trail, even when it’s staring you in the face.
Her trail led us deeper into the woods until the faint clacking of something echoed in the distance. The bright moonlight couldn’t pierce the dense canopy, leaving our vision limited to just a few hundred feet. Still, the vague outline of an enormous structure loomed ahead.
That’s nonsense. As far as I knew, there wasn’t anything like that in this area. Who had ever heard of bandits building massive structures?
The trail led us directly toward it, leaving us no choice but to follow. With every step, the moonlight danced across the surface of a crumbling wall, its immense size becoming clearer. Rugged stones jutted out, giving it an imposing, almost ancient feel. I gestured toward it, glancing at Katherine. “This might be their base. I don’t like it. Wanna fight, or should we report it? The guild would pay for info like this.”
Katherine stopped, leaning against a young tree that bent precariously under her weight. Her presence felt surreal, a reminder that I was playing alongside her—my dream, right? I watched her carefully, noting the furrow in her brow as she considered.
“How many we kill?” she asked, her voice low.
A good question. Charging in blindly could get us both killed. But we weren’t amateurs. “Between my dance and your pulling? Three level ten, maybe four at most.” I tried to sound confident, but my estimate was generous. That assumed I wouldn’t botch a spell even once. Yeah, right! Right? Easy.
She stared into my eyes, biting her lip. Oh god, save my soul. After what felt like an eternity of unintentional seduction, she asked, “You sure? One we had problem.”
“Katherine, that was a bandit leader. Of course she was tough!” I shot back, but she didn’t respond, her gaze fixed on the crumbling wall. Now that we focused on it, we could make out flickering flames beyond the wall, their glow faint but undeniable. If we strained hard enough, muffled voices joined the rhythmic clacking.
“Let’s go back,” she finally said, pushing off the tree and turning to leave. It was the smart decision—fighting humanoids was always messy. Can I do it? Still, the thought of leaving stung. There could be stolen treasure inside, hoarded riches waiting to be… reclaimed.
“Wait,” I called, raising a hand. “I want to try something. If it works, we’ll need to run like drunk Italians.”
Reporting an outpost to the village was one thing. Returning with proof? That was worth much more. And I wanted to make it happen. Sure, clerks were annoying, but even without a quest, they’d have to accept tangible evidence, right?
Normally, I’d need a focus crystal for what I was planning. But Duke had given me a ring—a symbol of nobility. Not just a fancy trinket, but a magical tool. It might work.
Pointing the ring toward the wall, I closed my eyes and focused. As a warrior, I’d used surveying techniques a thousand times. But this was a first without proper tools. Shutting out the world, I concentrated on my inner senses.
It was hard to describe the feeling. Even if Katherine tried her best pleading puppy eyes, I wouldn’t be able to explain it to her. In a book I’d skimmed about the future, the guild taught surveying through a comprehensive, thousand-page “light” version.
Step one: shut down all your senses.
Vision? Easy—I closed my eyes. Taste? Not a problem, unless I decided now was the time for a snack. Hearing? The night was mostly quiet, except for that annoying clacking sound. Smell?
Oh no.
Normally, I ignored what my nose picked up, but now it screamed pine needles. And the touch? The cold seeped into my skin, sending shivers across my not-so-covered body. I frowned.
Come on, John. Focus!
The spell should’ve been simple.
I spent the mana, and, as if on cue, that suffocating sensation washed over me. Familiar, but no less unsettling. Let’s go with red this time, like fire. Maybe they won’t know what it is.
“Scout!” I shouted, probably giving away our position, but at this point, it didn’t matter. The moment I spoke, a red light burst from my ring and shot out in a wide cone, penetrating everything in its path. I hoped it captured the structure and position of their base. Maybe.
Angry shouting echoed off the walls almost immediately. My stomach dropped as Katherine sprinted ahead, her face paling when she glanced back at me. “Six archers,” she said, leaping over a protruding root.
The next second, arrows whizzed past us.
John, you’re an idiot. An utter, stupid idiot. Did you forget strategy because you’re trying to impress a pretty streamer? Pathetic.
A long, bone-chilling howl cut through the now chaotic night, spurring me to push harder despite my burning lungs and dwindling stamina. How could I forget about the Bandit Leader’s wulves?Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
We ran in silence, weaving through the forest, dread clinging to every step. I didn’t dare look back. What would happen if the wulves caught up?
Thankfully, they didn’t. After a few terrifying minutes, we burst out of the forest with no sign of bandits behind us. My lungs burned like I’d downed absinthe instead of whiskey, and I was panting like a mud wolf. Katherine, meanwhile, was grinning at my miserable stamina, prancing around me like she hadn’t just run for her life.
“What was ‘tat?” she teased, her tone light, but her eyes still glancing toward the forest.
“That,” I managed between gasps for air, “was a handy chant. Doesn’t… take much mana. You could… do it too.”
I refrained from launching into a full explanation; I could barely string two words together as it was. No wonder people always took their time walking in dungeons—they were waiting for their squishies to catch up.
“Let’s head back to the guild,” I said once I caught my breath. “We need to report this before the bandits move somewhere else.”
Katherine frowned, clearly not thrilled about walking back without a fight. But after a moment, she nodded. “Fine,” she muttered, though her gaze lingered on the dark forest behind us.
The journey back to the village took twice as long as getting there. Without a carriage on the road, we had to walk the whole way. A few groups of players rushed past us, heading off to who-knows-where, but nothing interesting happened. Honestly, it reminded me of my usual solo runs—except this time, Katherine was beside me.
I glanced at her and couldn’t help grinning like an idiot. Starstruck. Completely hopeless.
The moment we stepped into the guild building, the overwhelming aroma hit me—a bitter mix of sweat and cheap perfume that clung to the air. Why does my nose have to be so sharp? The noise was just as bad: rows upon rows of players shouting, chatting, and even scuffling. A sensory overload.
Katherine stopped abruptly, her eyes narrowing at the crowded room. “Too long! I need ta stream,” she said, throwing her hands up dramatically. “Ya wait, I’ll stream an’ level, ‘k?”
As she spun around to leave, my eyes wandered toward the side door. The same guard who’d shooed me away last time was stationed there, arms crossed, her piercing gaze locking onto me. Damn. No shortcuts.
“Okay,” I muttered, waving her off. “Let’s play later.”
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“See ya!” Katherine flashed me another one of her stunning smiles before disappearing into the crowd behind me. Naturally, she left the waiting to me. Figures.
With a sigh, I shuffled to the end of the queue, already brainstorming ways to skip ahead. While standing there, I passed the time by casually observing the other players.
Katherine had been right—this was taking far too long. Part of the problem was my doing; I’d picked the wrong line—the one moving at a snail’s pace. Case in point: a girl in a green robe, likely a novice mage, arrived after me and got called up before I’d even inched forward. I still had three people ahead of me.
The clerk at my counter was painfully slow. Every player took at least ten minutes to finish their request, and judging by the raised voices and frequent outbursts, it didn’t seem to go well for most of them.
“Maybe another queue?” I muttered under my breath, glancing at the neighboring lines. No luck—those were even longer than mine.
“Damn,” I sighed, resigning myself to the wait.
When my turn finally came, I stepped up to the counter and sized up the lady behind it, dressed sharply in a gray suit. “Hello,” I said, leaning slightly forward. “Took you long enough. I’d like to report bandit outpost.”
At my remark about her slowness, she glared at me, her piercing yellow eyes narrowing. Why had I run my mouth?! Wrong person to vent at!
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Type: 1-common | HP: 99/99</td>
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A rookie, I thought, watching her prepare to take my report with a long, unnecessarily fancy pen. But before she began, she asked curtly, “Quest number?”
“No, you don’t understand. I don’t have—”
“No number, no quest. Next!” she barked, her last word practically a shout. I froze, feeling like I’d just discovered the bar was out of alcohol.
The hunter behind me tried to shove me aside and nearly succeeded, despite hunters being notoriously low on strength.
No way. I waited over two hours for this?
Slamming my fist on the counter, I leaned forward. “I want to report a bandit outpost, and I have scout—”
“No number, no quest,” she repeated, eyes closed and lips curling into a smug smile. “Now go away, or I’ll call the guards.” She gestured to the wall, where a group of armed warriors stood, casually watching the chaos.
Her satisfied expression, like she’d just handed me a perfectly crafted cocktail, made my blood boil. Is she pretending she doesn’t know what’s going on?
“Please, lady, I’m trying to report—”
She rubbed her hands together, almost unconsciously, her grin widening. “Denied!”
Oh, you wanna fight? You think you can win this? My boss made me test guild regulations for over a week after he found out our coffee breaks with Lucy. She had no idea who she was dealing with.
“Filing complaint under section seventy-three.”
“Denied.”
“Filing complaint under section sixty-three. You’re being rude.”
“Denied. I’m not.”
“You need to confirm your last answer to my complaint. Requesting manager approval.”
“Denied,” she said smugly. “I’m a manager assistant with sufficient rights.”
Is she enjoying this? The way she buried me in bureaucracy made it clear she was having the time of her life. I didn’t want to escalate, but she left me no choice.
“Requesting assistance in an emergency under section two hundred-one.”
“Denied. There is no emergency.”
I took a deep breath, glaring at her triumphant expression. Fine. If she wanted a game, I’d play.
“Requesting confirmation of a discovered threat—bandits. Severity: tier one.” I pulled off my ring and pressed it against the crystal embedded in the counter’s corner. The device glowed faintly in response.
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“See? Now process my request.”
The stupid clerk didn’t even glance at the results of my scan. Instead, she yelled, “Denied. Guards!” She waved at one of the nearby warriors—a brute with two long swords strapped to his back. His amused smile grew as he sauntered toward us, clearly eager to deal with... me.
The hunter behind me, who’d been so eager to shove me aside earlier, suddenly backed off a few steps. Huh. Look at you.
“You left me no choice. According to guild tradition, I hold a novice title,” I announced, planting my feet firmly. “And you just insulted my honor. I’m requesting an honor duel.”
“Den—” she started, but her words were cut off as a golden light, at least ten inches in diameter, flared between us. It wound around her like a glowing chain. Her eyes went wide, panic replacing smugness as the system confirmed what I’d hoped.
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“Never mess with The Exploiter, bitch.”