It took me fifteen minutes just to get Adam to stop threatening me with a shotgun.

After another ten minutes of arguing, I manage to explain to him that I am a [Bounty Hunter] trying to help him with his Bandit problem.

I would have given up after five minutes if it was any easier to accept new Bounties when you already have one accepted. Alas, I do not have [Bounty Hunter] as a Subclass and I never even got it offered.

Once his wife, Jaqueline, came to the front, I was quickly welcomed inside and given a cup of tea.

"You do realise you look even shadier than the bandits harassing us, right?" Jaqueline asks me.

"Yes," I reply with a smile, "It is hard to not look shady when armed to the teeth with a cowl and face mask."

If there wasn't a storm brewing, I wouldn't have worn either but I had to keep the Dust out of my face somehow.

Adam scoffs but takes another sip of his tea. "Go ahead, tell us your plan then, [Bounty hunter]."

I can't tell them that my plan boils down to finding out where they have their camp and killing them all. It's a well-tried method and worked for me this far, how to kill them most efficiently is something I have to decide once I get to their camp.

"I will have to gather information first," I evade, "You said that they were destroying fields and stealing animals in the middle of the night?"

Adam rolls his eyes as Jaqueline answers "Yes, last night they didn't even steal ol' Bessie, just killed her and left the corpse in the barn."

"Do they come every night?"

"Yes," she nods, "They don't steal every night but they keep us awake or destroy crops."

"Lastly, do you know where their camp is?"

Adam answers before Jaqueline this time, gesturing with his shotgun, "Do you think we would still have this problem if we knew?"

"Okay, I'll try to scout out their position but I'll be back by the evening if I can't find anything and follow them to their camp." I try to explain it gently but Adam seems unimpressed.

"Why do you think you can take on an entire camp of Bandits, you look like you are barely 19?" Adam challenges.

I look out the window to check if they have a weather vane and they do on their silo so I turn back to him, asking "What is your Weather vane made out of?"

He blinks surprised but answers after figuring out my intent "Steel but you won't hit it either-"

I activate [Steady Aim] and glance over before using [Quickdraw], the Skill I got when [Marksman] reached level 7, and shoot it in the blink of an eye through the open window with my Magitech Revolver.

"-way." He finishes before grabbing his shotgun reflexively at the Sound of gunfire. He quickly pulls his hand back and with a glimmer of respect in his eyes, he nods.

I try not to gloat as I finish my tea. It's frankly ridiculous how high my Vitality and Dexterity have gotten in a year and how much of an impact it has had on my skills. I did stagger away at the brink of death more times than I can count though.

"Alright, I'll leave you for now and see if I can find any tracks, do not engage them in any way if they appear."

Jaqueline chides Adam as I am walking out "I told you we shouldn't get a Bounty Hunter involved, she'll be furious!"

Stolen novel; please report.

I wait for a second to see if they stop me before opening the front door and starting my investigation.

----------------------------------------

The gang did not even try to hide their tracks, leaving a trail of trash, bullet casings and destruction in their wake.

They must have a steady supply if they wantonly shoot around.

It's got to be one of the major three or a gang that has had a stroke of luck.

None of the bullets have Magic residue on them so it probably isn't the Stokes who primarily deal with magical items and ammunition.

The Red Masks have nothing to gain from it as they primarily function as information brokers or bank robbers. They could reasonably camp out here and plan a heist on the bank in Strendorrs Mine.

Tharon isn't this destructive, they would give Adam a deal he can't refuse and drain him of every penny before attacking him like this or enslaving him.

This only leaves either a group of rogues of Tharon, The Red Masks or a local gang.

I climb up onto a hill and lay down, flipping the cover off my scope.

The camp spreads out in front of me, 200 metres away, and three carts spread around a huge campfire.

The members are walking around with flasks or bottles, revelling in their success with no watch or guards.

This will be easy if they don't assign a guard.

I put the cover back on my scope and shuffle back so I barely peek over the edge. Grabbing one of the seedling gems from my pocket, I start infusing it with all my Mana, keeping two-thirds of my maximum for emergencies.

I manage to go through all of the seedling gems, turning them into bicoloured gems before night falls. The sun is cresting the horizon behind me, casting long, sinister shadows towards the camp.

Their jovial mood isn't affected at all as everyone renews their efforts to pass out drunk, some retreating into their tents and getting a headstart on the rest.

Somewhat sensible folk.

The sun completely sets and leaves a cold, dark and moonless night behind.

Perfect for an ambush.

I grab my gear and safely stow the gems inside a doubly secured pouch. With nine of the bicoloured gems on my person, I don't want to risk anything damaging them.

My high Vitality would probably allow me to survive but I do not want to know what the aftermath of something like that would be.

I load both of my revolvers, which I've upgraded into Magitech Mk. 2 -a model of my design- with Firespark bullets. I fixed the overheating issue for now, installing cooling fins that disperse the heat more easily.

Sneaking down into the village, I trail along the outside, using [Identify] on everyone I can see to figure out their levels and possible threats. I modify my System Notifications to just give me a ping when I kill someone, I can check the levels and classes later but the confirmation of the kill is important.

Their levels range from 15 to 20 with four people in their thirties, all tagged variants of [Marksman] or [Bandit].

Seeing as a majority of them are asleep, I sneak into the tent of one of the weaker bandits, careful to not throw any shadows.

I crawl up to him and take out my dagger, slicing his throat before he can make much noise. His eyes snap open and his hands go for his throat but it's in vain, his life having left him before he had a chance to do anything.

I manage to slice the throats of four other bandits before I run into complications.

I sneak up to the next tent which has someone inside but instead of only a bandit, it's a girl around my age, bound by shackles. Her pinkish hair is cut short, barely reaching her jaw, and caked with dust and sweat.

She is dressed in rags, barely protecting her from the harsh cold of the night. The slave mark is exposed, right beneath her collarbone.

She groggily looks up at me before her eyes widen in fear. She staggers up and turns around, trying to run away from me.

She doesn't get far as she stumbles over a shirtless Bandit laying next to her, causing him to snap awake. "Hey! Where do you think you're going?" He asks her but instead of a response, she tries to wrench her arm free as I approach, tears in her eyes.

“Stop!” the Bandit yells, causing the tattoo on her chest to light up as she freezes up, unable to move.

The Bandit is a higher level than me and has some Variant of [Bandit] as his primary class, which should give him more skills to fight at close range.

Too bad for him that I don't fight fair. It's a shame that I only managed to get rid of five bandits but I've got to make sure I don't get hurt this early.

I pull out one of my revolvers and aim for his head just as he turns around. "Wha-"

He doesn't get to wonder for long as a bullet tears through his face, killing him instantly.

[*ding*]

Six down.