Two days after Nicholas and his team cleared the risky forest, they are now on their way to leave Curtana as planned.

Countess: "Oh, my son, I'm going to miss you."

Nicholas: "Hmmf Uff ffmmpf fhhhmm"

Countess Iris was currently hugging Nicholas tightly on her bosom, and Nicholas was trying his best to reply to her mother but he was being muffled by her chest.

Countess Iris: "Yes, I know you guys can handle yourselves. But Mother just can't help but worry about his boy." She replied to Nicholas.

Nicholas: "ffffmmm hhfhhfh hhhfhhfh hhhhm"

Countess Iris: "Yes, I know you guys will just be visiting Marchelle, and it is also nearby. But there might be some bandits or stray monsters along the way."

Nicholas was struggling to get out of his mother's embrace.

Nicholas: "hhmmmff hff hhfghhh hfghhh ffghgghf fgh"

Countess Iris: "Yes I know you can handle yourselves, but you guys better come back after a month and a half, or else I'll assemble a team to get you guys."

Count Curtana: "Alright, alright, honey, you should let Nicholas go. Their travel will only take a day and a half. At this rate, they might take 2 days if you keep clinging to him."

Countess Iris: "Hmmph, fine. I was just concerned about my boy leaving town for the first time."

She then glared at the count for interrupting her time with his son, and she let go of Nicholas reluctantly.

Nicholas: "Goodbye, mom. Dad. See you in a bit!"

Nicholas, who just got out of his mother's embrace, was gasping for a bit of air. But he didn't forget to kiss her mother on the cheek and say goodbye to his parents.

Afterwards, he left the mansion and went to the carriage that was waiting for him. Arriving at the entrance where the carriage is located were two girls, Maria and Clarice, who were waiting for his arrival. Maria was already seated inside the carriage while Clarice was brushing the horse that would carry them.

Clarice, their coach or carriage driver, will be responsible for driving and directing the horse, while Maria will help her navigate to the dungeon town of Marchelle.

Nicholas: "Maria, are all of our items packed? Cookware, bedding, food, and our luggage."

Maria: "Yes, master, I have double checked everything, and we are ready to go. We will spend the night in the campsite on the way to Marchelle."

Nicholas: "How about you, Clarice? Let's go if the horses are well and ready to go."

Clarice: "Ahh, yes, my liege, I'm also good to go, and the horse is also good to go."

Clarice: "Hyyaaaa!"

With Nicholas's approval, they made their way to the city gates. The design of their carriage was simple and without any insignia. Normally, when nobles are formally visiting a town or just want to flex their power, they include their insignia on their carriages to make their presence and power known.

Nicholas, however, didn't want to attract unnecessary attention when traveling, so he decided to use a normal carriage without any insignia. Also, he was traveling to a nearby town to clear the dungeon, level up, and maybe make some connections, but he didn't want to throw his weight around.

Two hours have passed since leaving Curtana.

Currently, they have stopped before the entrance of a forested region. Their carriage was parked at a nearby tree at noon, and the three of them are sitting on small rocks while having a light snack. They want to eat now and rest before traveling to the forested region to reduce the risk of encountering hostiles. These hostiles may include bandits or stray monsters from fluctuating dungeons.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

Their next stop would be at night in an encampment guarded by a knight hired by nearby nobles as a safe station during the night since the risk of encountering hostiles increases by a margin during those periods.

After eating, they continued their journey by entering the forested region. The ride was a little bumpy and rough since the road wasn't as well maintained as the other parts. Nicholas can't be bothered to read in this environment, so he climbed up on the carriage and just laid his body there to enjoy the nature around him.

After some time, they were deep into the forest at this point. They began hearing faint noises up ahead, and Nicholas, who was at the top of the carriage, decided to scope out what the cause of that noise was.

Nicholas: "Oh, there are bandits robbing a carriage up ahead," he said in a relaxed tone.

The bandits and, from here, what looked like a merchant group were still arguing, not initiating an attack.

Clarice: "Should we help them, my liege?"

Nicholas: "We should observe first if we have the ability to help them; let them fight first to gauge their strength. They have guards by their sides; even if we wait for a little bit, they would be fine."

Actually, Nicholas already used his scan to check the average level of the people up ahead. From what it looks like, the average level of the dirty vagrants is 1–5, and only 5 of them are level 10. The six guards, however, had an average of level 11, but their numbers are severely lacking; they are being outnumbered 20 to 6. That must be why the guards still haven't started attacking yet.

After a while, the bandits lost patience and started their assault. The strongest bandits fought and distracted guards, while the mobs began to attack the civilians.

Clarice: "My liege, they are starting to fight. Should we help them now?" She asked him in a worried voice since she wanted to help.

Nicholas: "Sure, fine. Clarice, handle the stronger ones. And Maria, can you help clean the leftover pests?"

Maria: "As you wish, Master."

She closed the book she was reading and stood up. She really didn't care about the commotion around him. as long as his master is safe.

As Nicholas's signal, both Maria and Clarice went to help the carriage being attacked by the bandits. He also stood up at the top of the carriage, changed his appearance to that of a little boy, and went to an unsuspicious location.

He was using scan as he traversed the forest looking for something.

---

???? POV

Deep into the forest, I was waiting for the time to shine. I was waiting for my subordinates to weaken the guards before I attacked.

Didos

Level: 21

Elements: [Level 1 Earth] [Level 1 Wind]

Age: 45

STR: 51

DEX: 40

INT: 23

VIT: 70

AGI: 33

Power Level: 6340

Yes, I am a lot stronger than those peasant guards. However, my soul core has been crippled, and I won't be able to use my skills and elements. My only saving grace with my disability was to overpower the opponent or use dirty tricks to steal supplies.

???? "F*CK F*CK F*CK!! Hahaha, come on, tire yourselves out. Afterwards, I'll kill and steal everything you guys got. Go ahead" he smirked as he hid in the shadow of the forest.

---

Nicholas: "Ohhh, there he is."

He commented as he saw an old, burly man standing dozens of meters away from the fight. He noticed him when a panel appeared while he was using his scanning skills around him.

He had suspicions about other bandits hiding in the forest since the bandit force wasn't enough to completely overpower the guards. But what he saw was a single middle-aged guy.

He wasn't sure of the location and position at first, so he used his phantom phoenix amulet to transform into a kid to reduce his threat to men lurking around if he ever spotted Nicholas first.

He checked his stats before engaging the enemy.

Nicholas: "Oh, that's pathetic, honestly. Maybe that's why he became a bandit despite being level 21."

He began to approach Didos, who was waiting in the bush. He went around him and tapped Didos on his back.

Nicholas: "Hi uncle, what are you doing?"

Didos: "Who are you?!?"

Didos was startled that someone tapped his shoulder; he immediately had a severe reaction and took a few steps away.

Nicholas: "Huh, uncle, you can see me? I am a ghost."

He smirked as if mocking Didos's reaction.

Didos: "Wait, how did you get here?!? Huh, Blood?"

Nicholas: "HAHA, bye, idiot."

Didos felt something dripping on his shoulder; it was blood leaking from somewhere.

Didos: "What happeghrgrggh*grugle**gurgle*"

By a gut reaction, he suddenly looked at his neck, and something was inserted into his throat. It was a dagger. His eyes suddenly snapped back to the kid talking to him.

*F*ck my life* That was the last thought in his mind before he crashed to the ground and bled to death. Nicholas then approached his deceased body and started looting his corpse.

This isn't the first time Nicholas saw a dead body, but it was the first time he killed a person, however. He was not disturbed by this; he felt more disgusted at killing trash mobs like goblins.

Checking his pockets and bags, he saw nothing. Well, it was to be expected since they were bandits hiding in the depths of the forest. Making a living must be a drag here. Nicholas was feeling a little bit irritated since his time was a bit wasted and his expectations were ruined.

He first thought that bandits in this world would have a stash of wealth or a map leading to his treasure. But this guy got squat; he was also very weak, indicating that this guy cannot loot bigger carriages, hence they targeted a small group of civilians.

Nicholas: "F*ck. My day is ruined, and my disappointment is immeasurable. I should go back before the girls return."

That was what he did; he returned to the top of the carriage and waited for the girls to return.