I was grabbing the collar of their ‘boss’, who was now passed out from the beating I gave him. I slapped the boss’ bloodied and bruised face back and forth, his hairy cheeks turning red. His head snapped forward and wildly looked around the place.

“Bwah... Huh?!”

I snapped my fingers in front of his face and said, “Hey, I’m right here. Remember me?”

The groggy man looked up at me looming over him. “...The hell happened… Ow!”

“You don’t remember?” I said skeptically. “I asked you a question about how you felt about being replaced. You laughed at my joke and brushed it aside. I had to make myself clear and told you I’m the boss from now on. You didn’t like that and resorted to violence. I simply responded in kind...”

The confused look on his face was now gone and replaced with terror

“Yea, you remember now. Let’s continue with our conversation, shall we?”

Lifting the terrified man up, I dragged him back to his chair. He didn’t struggle and just let it be.

“About replacing you. You have no qualms, right?” I mumbled into his ear. His body jolted, and he quickly replied.

“No problems here!”

“Wonderful. Honestly, why didn’t you say this before you went crazy? I wanted to do this peacefully, ya know?”

I glanced at the others in the room. When our eyes locked, they averted their eyes, standing up straight.

“Alright. The information. Do you know Airon?”

The man paused for a moment as he rubbed his face. “...Airon? I have heard little snippets of that guy. He’s an Apithien, right?”

Sitting my butt down, I motioned for him to continue.

“I heard he owned a powerful crystal and was heading to an important place.”

“...And?”

“That is all I know.”

…No way. You’re telling me I did all of that for nothing? Bullshit!

The man peered down at my hand, which was enclosed in a fist. He quickly added in another piece of info.

“I-If you want to know more about the guy, you’ll have to ask the other branches.”

“Other branches?”

The shaking fist stopped, and I was now paying close attention to him. He breathed a sigh of relief when he noticed my mood has slightly gotten better.

“We have other branches in different cities of Aglona. We’re the lowest of the low in terms of ranking. If you want to know more, you’ll have to go to the next city. That’s all I know; I swear on my name.”

He doesn’t appear to be lying. Well, Myra said not to get our hopes up when gathering information. This should be good enough for now.

“Hm. Thanks for the information,” I grumbled.

I steadily got up and gave the man a small wink. I was now in front of the door and was about to leave when I remembered something important.

Slowly turning my head, I glared at the man who wasn’t the boss anymore. “Don’t tell anyone you saw me here. I knew all along you recognized who I was. Your facial expressions gave it away when you saw my face.”

I let my threat linger in the air and promptly shut the door, leaving the sad sacks behind.

****

“You’re late,” said Isaac. All three of them were waiting for me at the edge of the city. We were huddled behind a run-down house that had little to no traffic.

“Sorry. I got into a minor scuffle,” I replied. Isaac glanced down at my robes and furrowed his brow.

“Woah. Whose blood is that?”

I shrugged his question off and said, “Not mine. Anyway, what did you guys learn?”

The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

Myra spoke first. “I got nothing. No one knew who Airon was when I asked around.”

“Me neither,” said Zelke. “As I hid on the rooftops, I heard nothing of importance.”

“I got spicy news!” Isaac boomed. “The residents were talking about how Aglona might be preparing for something big!”

“Interesting. Anything else?” I asked Isaac. He shook his head.

“That’s all I heard. When I tried to probe any further, they swore they knew nothing else.”

Well. It’s a start, at least.

“Alright. As for me...”

I gave them a short recap of how my day went and how each event unfolded one after another. Zelke and Myra raised their eyebrows at me as if they didn’t believe me and Isaac would nod his head.

“Yep. That sounds like my sister alright. Once she’s at her limit, all hell breaks loose. I remember this one time back in fifth grade when this one girl wouldn’t leave her alone. She would-“

I clasped my fingers over Isaacs’s lips before he could spill anymore. I want no one else to hear about my past...

“Okay... getting back to the topic at hand...” said Myra, holding back laughter while watching Isaac and I brawl. “This guy you beat up… He said if we want to know more about Airon and his whereabouts, we’ll have to go to these other branches?”

“Yep,” I answered, shoving Isaac away from me. “We’ll have to be quick. Every second we waste, Airon is one step closer to his destination. Also, those hoodlums should’ve started contacting their superiors right about now, if I’m not mistaken.”

****

That damn lass... I was already being nice by letting her in, and this is how I get treated? Beaten to an inch of my life? I didn’t think she would have the guts to do so. My face is all messed up now!

“H-Hey boss, what now?” That weakling Tepo bumbled. He’s the one who led her in... I’ll deal with you later.

“Isn’t it obvious? Ouch...”

Getting up so fast caused me great pain. Walking over to the back of the room like an old man on a wheeler, I flung open the wooden doors, revealing a set of stairs leading upward. At the end was a small dusty room with nothing but a crystal ball on a table. Tapping the fragile exterior, I heard a ringing noise. A couple of seconds later, a blurred holographic face appeared.

“What is it, Luxin Branch? And why is your face bruised?” The garbled voice spoke.

“We had some trouble at the Luxin Branch. A young woman was seeking information about Airon. When I, uh... refused to give any information relating to him, they beat me like a drum. She said she’ll search for him in the other cities.”

As if I’ll tell them the whole story! I might get replaced, or even worse, be killed.

“Hm...is it the same person?” it whispered. The person behind the line was quiet as they thought of what to do next.

“Great job on informing us of this matter. The reward will be sent to you later. Await any further orders.”

The holographic face disappeared as it slinked back into the crystal ball.

Heh, just you wait, lass. Soon, you will regret what you have done here. No one messes with Ruin and makes it out alive to tell the tale...

****

Right now, it’s our daily swordsmanship training from Zelke. We do this before we head to bed, as we spend most of the day traveling. He was hovering over Isaac, who had his sword in hand.

“Widen your stance. Don’t put your weight on your heels or else you’ll be off balance. Stability is key in your stance. Take a small step forward and drop your body a little.”

“Like this?”

“Good. Swing your sword and get used to the feeling. “

Zelke then walked over to me. “Since you use the rapier, what you will learn is entirely different from your brother. Are you ready?”

I gave Zelke the thumbs up and prepared for his instruction.

“In Bellagros, warriors are taught to employ different arms, such as swords, shields, bows, and crossbows. First, your footwork.”

Even though Zelke was a stern instructor, he was extremely patient with us. The stance was simple. Make sure your right foot is forward and in front of your left, keeping them near.

“Remember, when using the rapier, you will mostly thrust against your opponents, but do not be against using it to cut. When attacking, always make sure your arm is fully extended with the weapon. Hell, bend your body a little if needed. Master this, and no one will react.”

Is he emphasizing that my speed and agility will benefit this way of fighting?

And with that, he had me lunge, rapier in hand, for two hours straight. My muscles burned from the repeated motions, but it was nothing compared to what I went through with Solgen. After we finish the lessons, it would turn dark. I would travel to a nearby water source and wash myself of the sweat and grime. I had soap and fresh clothes stashed inside my Inventory, which I gained from Igni Town. As always, I had one of the five spots free.

Sleeping on the hard earth was not pleasant. We had no tents or blankets to sleep with. It’s basically camping outdoors with only the clothes on your back. At least one person would be on the lookout while the others rest or do their own thing, so we didn’t get ambushed.

When I was asleep, dreaming about being back on Earth, someone forcefully awoke me. It was Isaac, rocking me. Eyelids still half closed, I looked around and it was still pitch-dark outside.

“Get up! We got company!”

“...Wha?” I murmured. I was still half-asleep until an arrow whizzed past us. That got me to snap myself back to reality, like I was doused in cold water.

“Okay, I’m up now!”

Following Isaac, we both ran back to where Zelke and Myra were fending off a group of cloaked figures. Zelke was mowing through the mysterious figures one attack at a time. Myra was hopping from tree to tree, shooting her lovely bow like a seasoned sniper. Our assailants weren’t strong, per se, average at best. Even then, they had numbers on their side.

At the sound of brushing leaves, I looked up to see one of the cloaked figures hiding on top of a tree branch. He noticed I was staring at him and threw a series of darts. I evaded them effortlessly and materialized a mana blade, piercing him in the chest. I couldn’t accurately tell who or what was under the cloak, but I hoped it wasn’t a human or anything similar to one, and I dared not try to find out. It’d be best to not think about it.

I heard hurried footsteps of crunching twigs and leaves all around me. The others were nowhere in sight, and I was left circled by the assailants. Their silver blades gleamed under the moonlight as they glared at me with their bloodlust.

“Well, I don’t know who ordered you to do this, but you chose the wrong opponent if you picked me, of all people...”

I created three mana katanas and had them hover over my head. They sat there, waiting for my command.

In this world, it’s kill or be killed, and I don’t plan on dying.