As Ikori arrived at the town, he was stopped by two burly men that reeked of an awful stench almost twice as tall as himself; standing by the entrance to the town, boasting a set of armour made out of an unknown metallic plate; wielding what seemed to be a poleaxe of an otherworldly design.

They stood there as they stared down at the one-armed, yellow-haired teenager in front of them. They had a wide smirk on their face. They were malicious individuals, their minds clouded with the unwholesome thoughts of toying around with the teen. Which was made apparent as one of the two guards went and roughly pulled on his hair. Ikori however could care less. He didn’t mind the pain as he had felt pain far worse than this.

“Oi, we don’t allow cripples like you into our town without some form of tribute. Otherwise, we’ll hack off your other arm off as payment!” The man threatened Ikori.

Ikori growled in response. He was very much angry, so much so that a vein popped on his forehead. But however, he knew he couldn’t fight these 2 due to their sheer size and the polearms they wielded. At least, that’s what he thought as far as he knew himself. He is unarmed, he wouldn’t have enough time to equip himself with the blade he stored in the Recursion Bag with just one arm, a simple stick would also not suffice as a weapon against the iron-like polearms that they wielded. He let out a sigh as he stared at the man that stood in front of him with resentment.

“Tsk, fine! Just, hold my stick would you?” He spoke in an irritable tone as he held the stick out for the man to grab.

“Very well!” The man said with a tone of satisfaction as he held the middle section of the stick with his left hand. Confident that he was going to receive a hefty sum of money.

At that very moment. As Ikori let go. The man suddenly fell forward and screamed in agony. His hand burrowed into the ground; the sound of snapping bones and the intermingling of torn flesh and shattered bones filled the air as the stick sank further. The poleaxe he held fell on the side with an audible clang. Tears ran down his face. Hopelessly trying to lift the stick up with his right arm in vain.

“Brother!” The other man shouted, shocked by the scene that was on display in front of him. His grip over his polearm tightened as he gritted his teeth.

“You bastard! I’ll kill you!” He roared in anger as he leapt in, followed up with a heavy downward swing of the polearm. Determined to hack the boy to death.

Ikori’s eyes widened as he instinctively covered himself with his right arm as he closed his eyes. Accepting his demise at the hands of the man but in that brief moment, a sound of the shattering of metal was heard. As Ikori opened his eyes to look once again. He saw the man, absolutely speechless. The head of the poleaxe that was swung at him, has fragmented upon impact with Ikori’s arm.

Ikori was just as speechless if not, more so than the man himself. His body has become far more durable than normal. He was not aware of this. This strength that he wielded.

Without a second moment’s thought. He leaned down and picked up the very stick that held the brother’s hand to the ground. Curious as to when he obtained such strong physical strength.

He stood back up, sobbing as held his broken left hand that had been disfigured beyond recognition. His brother tossed aside his broken poleaxe as he went towards him, trying to comfort him.

He stared at Ikori dead in the eyes with animosity before he spoke. “Look. At. What. You. Have. Done. Happy now! I bet you’re having the greatest time of your damn, life! To hurt someone this much.”

Ikori shook his head, pitying the brothers in front of him before he responded with a single question. “How much does it cost to restore a broken arm?”

He looked back at him angrily. “If you really want to know. It’s 10 Pyea coins! Only the damn rich can afford that!” He spoke.

Ikori simply lifted the stick up and held it in his mouth as he went and grabbed the phone in his left pocket with his right hand. He then turned it on and tapped on the currency app. After a moment of tapping, 10 Pyea coins dropped onto the ground in front of the brothers.

The brother looked up at him, surprised that he would give away such an enormous amount of wealth away. He proceeded to speak with a hint of confusion behind his breath. “With this much money. You could’ve bought a plot of land, hire a band of truly skilled mercenaries or even purchase a fabled weapon custom made by the finest smiths. Why give it to us? We were the ones who threatened you. You shouldn’t be helping us!”

Ikori sighed before turning his back towards them. “It’s called Morality. You should try it sometimes.” He replied before leaving them for the town. The brothers were obviously baffled as they wondered what is. Morality?

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As he entered the town however, he was met with an unsightly scene. The inhabitants wore ragged clothing that was on the verge falling apart due to the wear and tear with the exceptions of a few individuals that wore highly decorated suits, escorted by heavily armored guards that boasted what seemed to be enchanted armors and armaments.

As he scanned at his surroundings however, he came to realize that the people in the covers of a peasant were not actually human, noticing the top of the ears were pointing upwards like elves. Only the pretentious looking individuals are humans as far as he can see.

“Why do I get a feeling that this seems closely linked with colonialism…” Ikori thought to himself, thinking what would be the most suitable approach to such a cliché situation. Lead a rebellion? He think not.

Ikori dismissed his rogue thoughts and decided to move in deeper inside the town but eventually heard the faint sounds of a person groaning in pain along with the various grunts and the breaking of crates. A scene of violence played out far ahead along the road. The sight of a man brutally assaulted as he laid, seemingly dead on the ground by what seemed to be a band of mercenaries ordered by a man who wore a suit that would be worn by an upperclassmen.

‘Normally, I wouldn’t help anyone who’s getting absolutely pummeled like that. But, that was when I was a very long time ago!” Ikori muttered to himself as he ran at the incoming crowd of mercenaries.

“C’mon! Get back on your feet! We know you have much more to offer than this you so-called champion.” A man mocked as he stared down at his battered victim that laid lifelessly on the ground surrounded by his entire squad.

“Don’t fake your death. We know you’re still alive ab breathing down there!” He continued until suddenly, he was launched tens of meters across the road. Ikori had struck true with his palm. The man felt a tormenting pain on his stomach as he rolled on the dirt floor in agony, coughing up blood.

The other mercenaries were dumbfounded by the sudden change of events, seeing a teen being able to injure one of their own in enchanted armor was unheard of.

They made the conscious decision to take a step back as one of them went to tend to their fallen comrades but their not very bright-minded hirer however, was less than cautious as he walked over to Ikori with arrogance visible from a mile away.

“How dare you interrupt my visual entertainment! Do you know who I am, peasant!?” He rudely proclaimed as he unsheathed a longsword decorated in jewels, pushing the edge up against Ikori’s neck.

Ikori couldn’t be bothered about it. He find the noble to be quite an annoyance as he casually pushed him away in an instant, his arm was a blur as a sonic boom was produced from the sheer velocity behind his movements. The noble was stunned by the loud sound as he groaned while gripping his head because of the immense pressure pressed against his ear drums. His mercenaries wasn’t affected much by the sound since they were at a safe distance away from the event.

The noble soon ran away, gripping his head in pain as he commanded his band of mercenaries to retreat as they all ran from the teen. Ikori’s arm visibly releasing steam from the act but it didn’t affect him in the slightest as he took a look at the victim of the noble’s entertainment closely, shaking his unconscious body to wake him up while his face was burrowed in the dirt.

“Oi, you alive?” Ikori asked as he shook him much more.

A sound of gurgling mutters followed from the shaking until finally a voice broke through the silence.

“YES. I. AM!” Screamed the man on the ground, causing Ikori to step back in surprise.

He got up shaking his head and dusted his ragged clothes. An expression of an unsettling blank calmness filled his face. The man stood a head taller than Ikori’s height.

“So, uh…why were you being abused for?” ikori asked in a soft tone.

The man’s facial expression changed to that of anger, as if the question had pressed a nerve as he walked off in the opposite direction. Ikori was confused as he decided to follow the man.

Several minutes had passed, the man still walked but it was made apparent that he wasn’t going anywhere, he wanted to get Ikori off his trail.

Frustrated, the man turned around and stared at him with a disgruntled look. He clenched his fist tightly.

“Please just tell me the reason. I genuinely want to know.” Ikori sighed

“For what? So you could laugh and look down at me with your fellow townsfolk? I’m tired of it! I used to be this town’s guardian and overnight I lost everything all at once! I wanted nothing in return. I gave everything I have, to protect this place. Yet during the time I needed help most. No one came. Absolutely. No one came. It's just not fair! ” He complained, his emotions spilled over as he did.

Ikori felt sorry for the man. In fact, he knows the pain that the man went through. Too lose everything without ever wanting to gain anything. To feel helpless and lost like a man in an endless, empty landscape as an eternal blizzard blew over with the knowledge of knowing the harsh truth that most acts of kindness never ever gets repaid in their lifetime. It had reminded him of someone he knows. Someone he knew very well. He shook his head out of pity as he began to respond.

“Calm down, does it look like I’m here to do just that? Take a closer look, do I look like I’m from around here?” Ikori spoke, trying his best to calm the man down.

The man took many, many deep breaths. As he glanced at the teen in front of him.

“Well, you’re not wrong. But how do I know your not from the kingdom of noble men?” He questioned with caution.

“…Well. Do they wear clothing this plain and humble?” Ikori cleverly questioned

“I see. Well, I guess not”

“Alright then gentleman, may I perhaps know your name then?” Ikori responded.

“I go by the name of Samsam.” Samsam responded with a more bearable demeanor.

“Nice to meetcha Samsam. The name of mine is Ikori. Pleasant to meet your acquaintance. Perhaps you’d like to go for an evening meal? You look as if you haven’t ate for a very long while. You’re bones are practically visible.” Ikori spoke

“Ah, you’ve noticed. Well I guess it wouldn’t hurt if you treat me to a meal I guess.”

“Good, now let’s get going.” Ikori spoke as he and his newly found friend walked on the road to the nearby tavern for a hefty meal.