Peaceful slumber? Forget what I said,I shouldn’t have slept. I feel more tired now. Those bloody nightmares, all I dream about is killing. I can’t stand it anymore.

I rose up from the bed and opened the window to get some fresh air. The sky was pretty low by then. Birds could be seen returning to their nests in the reddish sky.

I brought a new set of clothes from the dimension bag that the old man, Aurum, once gave me. These things were more than helpful to me.

As I dressed myself, I left the inn quickly. I made my way to the town gate. It was about time I left this town. Though I made some acquaintances, we are not that close to say goodbyes.

It would take 5 silver coins to get on a carriage to the next town. But that’s only applicable from morning to noon. Sun was about to set by now. There would be no coachman that would take the risk of going through the road at nighttime.

I couldn’t wait till morning. For some reason I couldn’t be patient. I went to the local bank first. It was less congested than I thought. Thankfully, the bank was in the middle of the town market so it was easy to find it.

There was a short man with two large front teeth and circular spectacles behind the counter I was standing at. He looks just like a rat.

“I am here to withdraw some money”

“How much, sir?”

“About twenty gold coins, try to give them in silver though”

“May I have your identification?”

I handed him a bank card that had all the necessary information about the account. Money can neither be withdrawn nor deposited without this.

I earned enough money when I was in the army. As I started to progress through the ranks, I started to gain more hate. I knew I needed something as a backup. So I created a bank account with a fake identity.

I am pretty sure my real bank account is under strict observation. Using that account is the same as revealing my location to those nobles.

As the rat-like person took my bank card, he placed it on a magic box. Soon some letters started to appear on a screen that was connected to that box.

I was seeing that kind of box for the first time as normally, bank employees would check that information manually. As that person was looking at my fake information, his eyes widened.

Did I get caught?

“Please wait a minute” Then the man rushed to the room behind the counter with an awkward face.

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I definitely got caught. Since technology is getting advanced day by day, my forged identity won’t last long. Suddenly another man came rushing from that room.

This man, unlike the previous one, was fat and a bit tall. He had a chubby face with a monocle. He rushed from his room to infront of me. It was interesting to see how his belly jumped from left to right as he ran towards me.

He came in front of me and gave a deep bow. I could even hear his ragged breathing. How can someone get tired from this?

“Sir, how can I be of service to you?”

He was the perfect example of a corrupt person who deals with money. Fat body, a long mustache, face that anyone would one to punch at and those greedy eyes.

His actions have also confirmed that I didn’t get caught, which was a good thing. But why is he acting like this?

“I would like to withdraw 20 golds with mostly of them being in silver exchange” Since gold coins couldn’t be used everywhere, taking silver coins would be better.

“Ah-ah sir please wait a minute. Please come to my office, let me serve you some refreshments”

“Just get my money ready”

“Heek! SIr, I will be back in a minute”

Good behavior with them won’t do me any good. The best way to get things done by people like this is to show them who is in control. I released a bit of killing intent to make him understand exactly that.

After about a minute, the fat man, who also happens to be the manager of this bank, came out with a medium sized chest. I took my precious money from his dirty hands and came out of the bank.

I learnt how precious money is after I left the army. No matter where I go, it’s all money. To survive in the wilds, you need lots of experience and tolerance but to survive in society, all you need is money. And this money somehow happens to be harder to gain than experience.

I went back into the streets with my treasure chest in my hands. Before going anywhere I made sure to put that chest into my subspace pocket in an alley in order to be not seen. Taking a chest like that will inevitably draw attention.

I then made my way to a stable. Instead of going for a carriage, I should take a horse instead. It will be faster and more versatile. I went to the stable which happens to be near the border of the town.

The stable wasn’t that big. Expecting something good here would be pointless. After all, I am buying a horse for temporary use.

As the stable owner took me inside to look at the horses, I must say, I was utterly disappointed. The horses were in an open field. These horses looked either weak or malnutritioned. I doubt they will be able to run properly. Perhaps my standards had become unreasonably high, making it challenging to find a horse that met my criteria.

Suddenly one peculiar horse picked my attention. It was a pitch black horse with red eyes. I can’t be mistaken about it.

“Umm sir? I would suggest that you do not pick this horse” Noticing my eyes towards that horse, the stable owner suggested to me.

“Why?”

“As you can see, it is weak and frail compared to others, it doesn’t even eat properly and is very fierce”

Of course it won’t eat properly. The horse in front of me was none other than the near extinct breed of Shadowchasers. These horses are one of the fastest and they barely make any sound when running making it an excellent choice for night raids.

The only disadvantage is that they possess lower vitality. They are also picky about their food. They mostly absorb their owners' mana. Unlike other breeds, they consider themselves royal and only people that are acknowledged by them can ride them.

“I will take him”

“A-are you sure, si–”

He didn’t continue his words as I dropped a pouch full of silver coins on his hands.

As I came near the horse, it instantly stood up and glared at me to show its hostility. Those red eyes could easily scare off some monsters. Now that I think about it, this horse was sitting here all alone. No other horses came to it.

As I took a step towards it, it stepped backwards. In normal cases it should be standing there proudly, not taking a step back.

“Where did you find him?” I looked back at the owner and asked him

“I bought him from a monster trader because it looked unique, never thought it would be so weak”

That confirms my suspicions. No monsters or animals have good experience with monster traders.

I grabbed the horse's head and started to caress it gently as I released my mana slowly. It seemed to have understood my intentions and started to absorb it at a tremendous speed. It barely survived by living off grass and other things.

I pulled it in closer, its resistance seemed to have lowered noticeably.

“You will be called Ash”

Seeing as it didn’t try to resist anymore, it seemed to have acknowledged me. Just like that, I gained more than I thought I would from here.