Suddenly, a tall man emerged from behind a rock. He looked to be in his thirties, but his scruffy beard made it difficult to determine his exact age. He had a dagger pointed at me and was clad in a rough patchwork leather armor made of dried animal fur.
"Give me all the coin ya got, and no one has to get hurt," he said, with a smile that showed off his yellow teeth. "I want yar goat too."
Time started moving slower as adrenaline rushed through my veins, I recalled the lessons taught by Myrina. Spears and thrown weapons were not ideal against an opponent wielding a dagger, as people with daggers were trained to get in very close combat. Considering the man's agility, I contemplated the possibility of him using the dagger as a projectile, and that would be hard to block with a spear.
I activated the transmutation circle on my spear, transforming it into a stout sword. However, I remained prepared to reshape it into a shield or revert it to a spear if necessary, anticipating the man's actions.
My mind raced with countless scenarios of how the battle might unfold, causing my heart to start beating faster. Nonetheless, I focused on maintaining a calm demeanor, relying on Myrina’s lessons.
The man dropped his dagger and raised his hands in surrender. "I give up."
"What?" I asked, confused.
"You just magically transformed a spear into a sword. I'm not stupid.”
That actually made a lot of sense. "Well, have you ever robbed or harmed anyone before?"
"No way man, this road leads to some shitty no-name village. No one even comes this way, I just thought I would try my luck," he admitted.
Did he just call my village shitty? Okay, we were some small no-name place, but that had its own charm too.
"You know I can see through your lies, right?" I stared into his eyes, causing his gaze to falter. Admittedly, I couldn't determine if he was telling the truth, but I saw no reason for him to be honest either. If our positions were reversed, I would likely lie as well.
"Okay, okay, I have," he hastily confessed. "But it was just some poor villagers. They didn't possess much. There was this one guy with a small quantity of wheat, but when he pleaded and wept, explaining it was his children's only sustenance, I felt remorseful and let him go."
His explanation seemed plausible. However, I withheld my response and continued to scrutinize him with my gaze. Just as I was about to accept his account, he yielded and disclosed further. "Alright, fine. The farmer might have brandished a pitchfork and forced me to retreat... He even managed to stab my hand."
Okay, that was pathetic. However, his admission aligned with my understanding of the significance of reach in combat. In a confrontation between amateurs, an individual wielding a weapon with greater reach would typically emerge victorious. In that context, a pitchfork would indeed prove more advantageous than a dagger.
"So, why are you out here stealing?" I asked.
He sighed and shook his head. "I'm the third son of a farmer from nearby Lark Village. With no land to inherit, I didn't have many opportunities. Plus, I wasted my youth and never learned a trade."
Life was tough in ancient times, and now I had to figure out what to do with this guy. While I had contemplated killing people given the circumstances, I wasn't going to kill some poor guy who didn't really do anything to me. However, I couldn't leave him alone either, as he might end up hurting someone or being killed himself.
In the grand scheme of things, he was insignificant, a nobody. As far as the world was concerned, he never even existed. Yet, I remembered being in a similar position in my previous life.
Sometimes, people just needed a chance, and it wouldn't cost me anything to give him that. "Okay, you're coming with me. Do anything stupid, and I will kill you."
"Huh?" He looked confused now.
I started walking, turning my sword back into a shield that I put on my back. Using my Kar drained less energy for transmutations, and the transmutation process was faster. Leveling up Transmutation to Level 2 seemed to have several benefits.
"By the way, can you be more specific about ‘stupid’?" he asked nervously. "I mean, I'm not that bright."
"Just avoid killing, stealing, or engaging in morally wrong activities," I replied. "Also, I can't keep calling you 'bandit guy.' So, what's your name?"
"My name is Budas," he introduced himself, and I offered him some dried jerky I had prepared.
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He took a bite and his face lit up. "Damn! This tastes amazing! Much better than tree bark!"
Tree bark? These were indeed difficult times...
…
Two days passed and I realized why our village rarely saw any outsiders. The journey from there to civilization was hell, the village was away from everything. I was in the middle of said journey, the surrounding environment was a peculiar blend of jungle and forest.
My geographical knowledge wasn't the best, but I couldn't help but wonder if Greece was ever known for having jungles. Ancient times were indeed filled with extraordinary shit.
Navigating through the area, I had to carry Billy in my arms due to wet patches on the ground, indicating the beginnings of a swamp. I hoped this "road" would lead us to the nearest significant settlement; otherwise, our efforts would be in vain.
Finally, we found a dry spot where we could rest. Budas leaned against a tree, but another annoyance came and bothered us, the damn mosquitos!
"This is terrible!" Budas complained as I carefully set Billy down. The little guy seemed agitated, on the verge of banging his head against the tree, but I stopped him considering the bandages already wrapped around his head.
Suddenly, something slithered down the tree toward Budas—a snake thicker than a man's thigh and longer than a bus. Its head surpassed the size of my torso, and its cold, reptilian eyes instilled fear within me.
My heart raced, and I took a deep breath to regain composure. It seemed the snake hadn't noticed me, so I swiftly drew my bow, aiming at its head.
Without hesitation, I released the arrow, but the snake swiftly evaded the projectile with a deft movement, causing it to embed itself in the tree. Budas stared at me with wide eyes, "Hey! What are you trying to-" He looked up at the arrow and spotted the massive snake. "Oh, shit! Fuck!"
Budas stepped back, but the snake had surprising agility despite its size, and it struck and sank its fangs into Budas. Its head was larger than Budas' torso, and the venomous fangs pierced his lungs.
Blood oozed from Budas' mouth, attempting to vocalize his agony, but only gurgling sounds came out of his gaping mouth.
However the snake had made an error in judgment, as with Budas in its jaws, there was too much weight for the creature to be able to move its head. Rendering it vulnerable to my next arrow, which penetrated its skull between its eyes.
Without hesitation, I rushed forward, prying the snake's jaws open and freeing Budas. His eyes widened, blood staining his clothes, but fortunately, his leather armor provided some protection, and the snake's fangs hadn’t sunk as deep as I had initially assumed.
I gently placed Budas on his side to prevent him from choking on his own blood and retrieved one of the five remaining healing potions. Typically, potions were consumed by drinking them, but pouring the liquid directly onto the wound could also yield some results.
Though I had to use three potions to stop the bleeding and heal the wound, it left two large ball-shaped scars, each the size of a fist. He still had a weak pulse, suggesting that the shock had caused him to pass out. Hopefully, the snake wasn't poisonous, but being a mythological creature, it was hard to say for sure.
Oh shit, I hope he didn't die. I was the one who took him on this journey, and if he died then that was on me.
Sighing, I opened my status page, which had now become a habit that I did after every time I killed something. Though most of the time it was disappointing as even after months of hunting, I hadn’t leveled up.
Wasn’t the Exp barrier a bit too high already?
But this time, my complaints died in my throat when I saw that I had actually leveled up!
Class: Alchemist
Traits: [Transmigrator] [Talented Alchemist]
Level: 5 → 6
Strength: 1.2 [+]
Agility: 1.1 [+]
Constitution: 1.1 [+]
Spirit: 5 [+]
Luck: 5 [+]
Skills Page ≫
Of course, the point went into Luck. I needed that when attempting to create rarer potions. While the Alchemist Class was considered almost miraculous, failure in concoction was quite disastrous and a waste of ingredients—ingredients that would become harder to obtain as I aimed to create high-tier potions.
I stood guard with my bow drawn, prepared for any other monsters that might appear. However, no more threats emerged, and after about an hour, Budas groaned and regained consciousness. Confused, he glanced around, spotted the lifeless snake on the ground, panicked, checked his own body, and then stared at me in disbelief. "I'm alive?"
"Of course. Did you really think I would let you die?" I replied jokingly, but he seemed too dazed to grasp the humor. A familiar glint appeared in his eyes. "Are you a God?"
"No," I shook my head. “If I was a God, do you think I would have spent hours walking through a swamp, getting bitten by mosquitos?”
"But you healed me. I was dead..." His eyes widened even further, looking like saucers. "Don't tell me... are you the son of the nameless one?"
The nameless one referred to Hades, but people believed uttering his name brought bad luck, so they used that nickname instead. “No, I’m not impressive enough to bring the dead back to life. I just healed you.”
I decided not to disclose the method I used to heal him since I didn't fully trust him. After all, he was just a bandit I had met a few days ago.
"This must be fate!" Budas exclaimed, startling me.
Did he completely ignore what I just said?