Vadim and Leon surveyed their surroundings carefully as Leon cast the "Aero Detection" spell that was badly interrupted by the unsettling wind. From what he has learned, this spell is still subject to the sways of the wind currents. Still, he managed to see what was approaching them from the direction the wind blew at.

"Dogs… hunting dogs… people as well… four of them… armed." He said.

"Aye!" Vadim growled, "Doesn't seem like bandits."

Leon looked at the girl carefully before noticing a very strange detail about her.

She felt older than what her height conveyed, amidst the branch wounds on her arms were spots of rough skin, and her ears… were pointy.

"She's not a human." Leon said.

"She's a Wood Elf." Vadim said.

"Excuse me!" Leon frowned for some reason before looking at the girl again and muttering, "Read."

——————————

[ Teresa ]

- Talent: E

- Perks: (Mask of the Wild)

- Skills: (Farming)

——————————

This seemed even weirder to Leon than the first time he met an Elf. (referring to Erielle)

But that wasn't the time to be distracted, Leon immediately took out a bow and an arrow from his Storage before aiming towards the closest he felt an enemy was coming.

"Ye should teach me that trick which makes things appear." Vadim joked as was done putting down the campfire.

"It's Magic." Leon spat out with his focus on something else.

"Illusion?" Vadim asked.

"Space-Time." Leon replied as he released the arrow.

*Swoosh*

The sound of an arrow tearing through the air was only followed by the sound of that arrow hitting a target behind the bushes then the sound of a dying whimper.

"Ambush!" Someone shouted behind the trees as all the barking and the footsteps stopped.

"Get out, girl." A sinister voice spoke, "That was my favorite hound you just killed." The voice laughed for a second before giving a low-toned order, "Spread out, take cover in the trees, and find that bitch."

"Nine of them… five dogs." Vadim whispered to Leon.

"Wait here." Leon said as he leaked out a smile.

< Classes Switched: Rogue & Hunter >

"Lad, don't go." Vadim wanted to stop Leon as his words fell on deaf ears.

Leon jumped on top of the Assassin Bison and urged it to silently move from the side where there are no chasers. Vadim didn't seem to like the fact that Leon went off on his own but he had to look after that victim girl they got.

Meanwhile, Leon and Diesel circled around the chasers. The hollowed hooves of the Assassin Bisons made them one the most fearsome sta lkers in the forest even if they walked on a mound of dry branches, they also possessed keen senses and a terrifying intelligence that allows them to mask their presence completely even if surrounded by predators and enemies.

The abilities of the mount also benefit the rider in some way. Leon, who is already a relentless bastard when it comes to stalking and hiding, had found his most compatible partner in this Bison as they fully exposed the chasers without being seen or even sniffed out by the hunting dogs.

*Swoosh*

*Swoosh*

*Swoosh*

And the arrows started to fall endlessly on the chasers from their blind spots merely letting out any noise. Until half of the chasers and their dogs were down, only then did they notice the silent killer walking among them.

"SHE'S BEHIND US!"

As one of the chasers discovered the bodies of his comrades lying down in his way shot with arrows to their backs, only then did they realize the grim reality they were in.

"Cover yourselves!"

"She killed Paul!"

"No! Not Paul, you bitch!"

The remaining five chasers and their single remaining dog gathered back to back. The dog started barking before suddenly starting to whimper and trying to hide. The change alarmed the chasers and their hearts almost jumped off their chests when they saw what caused that.

A Wolf… a Dire Wolf.

That's enough to be their doom.

On top of the Dire Wolf was a Dwarf carrying a mighty hammer and the girl they were chasing was unconscious in his arms.

There was no point in resisting or showing hostility here. They all slowly and carefully dropped their weapons, submitting to the situation.

"Master Dwarf. We mean you no disrespect." One of them spoke.

"…" Vadim was completely not interested in what they were going to say but kept waiting as if anticipating something.

"Master Dwarf. Please, forgive us but that girl… she's an escaped criminal." Another man spoke.

"The Lord and his men have criminalized her. We were just hunting the bounty." Another added.

It seems that they misinterpreted the situation. Some would think that the non-human races band together against the racial abuse that some humans carry out, but that was the farthest from the truth. Vadim didn't want to look at these so-called bounty hunters and just looked behind them.

"Whaddaya think?" Vadim casually asked.

Even though a bit late, the response came from the other side which the chasers didn't foresee or expect. Just like the Dwarf, a human appeared riding a beast but his hand carried a bow and all the arrows of his quiver matched those darting off the backs of their fallen comrades.

Their killer was behind them the whole time.

"My Lord! We haven't caused you any grievance. Why kill our people?" One of the men cried.

Pleading to the Dwarf was surely disadvantageous thus pleading with the Human was their best option. One of their race would surely be open to speaking.

"Hunting a bounty?" Leon asked.

"Yes, yes, my lord. That girl…" The man hastily nodded and pointed to the girl carried by Vadim, "She's a criminal."

"We don't want to disturb you, my Lord." Another spoke, "Surely, sneaking on you was our mistake and thus we won't pursue any grievance for those dead ones."

"You won't?" Leon asked.

"No, sir. Our fault." The man replied.

"So I kill your people and I just walk free?"

In a way, his question was not making any sense. Those men who are pleading for their lives just said that they are at fault even after he killed some of them but he just wonders why so…

Of course, because they can't match him. They are just five men around their 40s and 30s with one hunting dog and he is a young man with a strange appearance that rides a beast along with a Dwarf that rides another.

Why do they have to justify their intentions of declaring their defeat?

Unless…

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

By that point, only Vadim figured out the meaning of the faint smile Leon had. He let out a sigh and his face barely kept its expression.

"Master." One of the men spoke, "We ain't Levelers… we're just common people who do odd jobs for money."

"Anything for the money, right?" Leon asked.

"Ye… Yes." The man replied with his eyes traveling between his comrades trying to figure out that man's intentions.

"I do things for money as well." Leon finally jumped off his beast and walked to the men as he put the bow away. He was about to declare his intentions but suddenly, one of the men said something strange.

"Aren't you… Leo?"

Leo?

Who's Leo?

Vadim frowned and Leon halted his steps.

"They know you, lad?" Vadim asked with a grim tone.

"Hmmm… only the people of the Twilight Syndicate call me Leo." Leon said as he looked up and down at those men.

The man nodded with a relieved face as he took a second to breathe, smile, and swallow some saliva to tone his dry voice.

"You're Leo the Rabbit, you worked with Master Hector." He said.

"Hector Norman?" Leon was momentarily shocked by that fact.

"Yes." The man replied, "We're camping nearby in a village."

This suddenly changed things for Leon. The so-called chasers turned out to be syndicate dogs but what are they doing out here in the wild? The Syndicate only operates in big cities. Also, Hector "The Bull" Norman, was one of the Bosses of Karanberg City. He was the warden of the Northern District and had a great deal of influence before leaving the city for some sort of adventure after Leon delivered him the map at the back of the Pride of Del Mar painting.

The questions answered themselves. Hector Norman was chasing his wild dreams about a fantasy treasure. Leon hates Hector to the bone since he was the one that destroyed the painting Leon stole for him.

"Where's the boss?" Leon asked.

"He's not too far out of the village. We're just securing supplies…"

"And what's your business with that girl?" Leon asked.

"She…" The man looked backward towards Vadim who is a non-human before getting closer to Leon and whispering to him, "It's just a she-elf. We've been using their village as a base to secure resources for the Boss."

"Is that so?" Leon smiled slyly.

"Yes." The man nodded with a rotten smile as well.

"And the Land's Lord. He's not moving a finger to stop you, guys?" Leon asked.

"The Lord? Ah! You mean Lord Brownlow?"

Leon nodded knowing that this barony is protected by a family with such a name.

"He just visited the Boss this morning to ensure that the digging was going well. The Elves are not doing a bad job digging." The man replied.

"Hmmm… remind me again, you hired those Elves, right?" Leon asked.

"Huh? Why would we?"

"Ah! I see. My bad." Leon smiled, "Then that girl must have escaped for…"

"She'd have told on us if we let her escape. The Lord and Boss Hector want this done in secret so…"

"I get it now." Leon smiled, "So long story short, you guys made a deal with a Lord to look for something in his land and share it with him once you find and so he made you a deal that he'd give you an Elven village as a base and its population to run amok with as you wish."

"Eh… well, if you put it that way, you make us look like the bad guys." The man laughed, "No one cares about them tree-hugging Elves. They don't worship the Light. What's wrong with using some heathens?"

< Classes Switched: Hunter & Mage >

"Indeed." Leon replied as he put his finger against the man's forehead then his finger started glowing with grimacing white light.

"Huh?"

The man thought about trying to back out and look at the source of that strange glow before completely losing that thought from his head… along with an amount of brain matter that equals the diameter of Leon's finger going all the way to the back of the man's skull.

The man crumbled down like a stringless doll.

"At least you guys told me something useful before I kill you." Leon sighed and rubbed his hands together.

He pointed his finger at the remaining four and it started to glow again.

There was no point in realizing what was going on.

"Steve!"

"RUN!"

Every man is for himself now.

Leon's Magic Bolt struck once again but this time it was completely off-target as his aim was terribly bad.

"Not good for moving targets, eh?" Leon looked at his finger before instantly rushing toward one of the escaping men with his index pointing at the man's stomach.

With a pulsing zap, the Mana of the spell made a strange sound as it tore through the flesh and guts of the human that was on the receiving end.

"Tsk." Vadim couldn't help but click his tongue as he watched Leon repeat the same scene over and over again.

The first was shot in his stomach which didn't instantly kill him and like so, the second was shot in the spine, the third in the heart from the front, and the last one at the heart from the back.

Unlike how he treated the humans, Leon aimed his finger at the Dog and directly cut its leash which was still tied to the hand of one of the men which let the dog run for its life.

< "Arcane Arts" F → E >

What was he thinking?

From the start, even without knowing that these men were Syndicate Dogs, Leon was planning to kill them in such cruel ways. He even killed two of them slowly.

"That wasn't too clean, Lad." Vadim spoke with a frown.

"Hm? Oh! You mean that… I was just thinking of testing out the firepower of the spell." Leon replied with a refreshed face.

"It is a good replacement for ranged attacks… it feels like a gun bullet." Leon said as he made a finger gun gesture with an amused face.

"A gun can do more damage, of course." On the other hand, Vadim refuted.

It was as if Leon's reality collapsed for a moment there. He looked at Vadim with complete bewilderment and walked to him before reaching for the side of the Dwarf and holding his leg like a child.

"How do you know about guns?" He asked with pitiful eyes and in a humble voice.

Vadim groaned in annoyance.

"Of course I know about guns. I am a Dwarf, Lad, I know everything there is to know about firearms."

The whole thing was just music to Leon's ears.

"Great Uncle Vadim Igorson, do you happen to know where I can get some?"

"Guns?"

"Yes, Great Uncle."

"Hell no."

"I beg of you."

"Go suck on a dragon's titties."

It was the most tragic moment in Leon's second life, the moment where he learned that firearms do exist in this world but they are only exclusive to the Dwarven Race and are considered a secret weapon. Of course, he will learn later that they differ greatly from the firearms he knows but that's a story for another time.

While Leon was feeling heartbroken, Vadim ordered him to move the bodies and get rid of them in a ditch somewhere. Thanks to Earth Magic, the whole process was a piece of cake but Leon couldn't help but feel more dispirited when he walked back to the camp where Vadim nursed the girl.

Upon his arrival, he saw Vadim offering the girl some of the food they carried as she was pitifully hiding from the two big creatures which sat at opposite sides of the camp.

"You… You're finally awake!" Leon walked to the camp and sat down looking at Vadim and the unresponsive girl, "She talks?"

"Aye!" Vadim replied, "Her name is Teresa."

"Nice name." Leon smiled at the little girl trying to act friendly.

"And she's 25."

But he couldn't help but spit the water he was drinking right away.

That makes him younger than her?

"Excuse me!" Leon spoke to Vadim with narrowed eyes, "What's wrong with them Elves?"

"What's wrong?" Vadim asked naturally.

"You tell me… first that woman Erielle is twice as tall as I am and that midget… little lady over there is… 25?" He asked, trying not to make her hear what he said.

"And?" Vadim didn't understand why Leon was asking before getting to the point a little bit late, "Aha! I see."

"…" Leon kept waiting for an explanation as he watched the girl shy away from his gaze.

"This girl is a normal Wood Elf. On the other hand, Erielle is not a normal Elf, she is a High Elf." Vadim explained.

With narrowed eyes, the image of an Elf in Leon's head started to crumble slowly as he examined the Elvish young woman who was sitting behind Vadim.

As a fully grown person, she is shorter than Vadim who is a Dwarf. She had the stereotypical Elf pointy ears with full rounded cheeks and a lot of curly brown hair. Her nose was rounded at the tip and her eyes were wide and blue, an appearance that looked non-human but at the same time, cute and nice to look at.

Unlike those things from the movies and the fiction, that simple Elf in front of Leon was closer to a Christmas Elf rather than a Fantasy Elf. The thing which completely negates the appearance of Erielle who is a textbook fantasy Elf.

To simplify all that; normal Elves are short and silly while High Elves are tall, beautiful, and fiendishly elegant.

"So, what's the situation in the village you're from?" Leon asked the girl directly.

"Give her a break." Vadim spoke, "We can't get involved so we should just provide her a safe place to stay and point the way… don't get yourself…"

"My Lords… please…" Yet as Vadim was trying to find a leeway out of trouble, the girl faintly spoke.

She looked down at the bowl Vadim gave her and hugged her own legs before relapsing into the state of panic she was in when she was escaping.

"Hah!" Vadim was fed up with the situation but he only patted the girl's shoulder and put the bowl down.

Leon, however, kept staring and waited for her to say something.

"They have… they have a lot of men… and they took everyone." She said and started crying, "The witch doctor was beaten half to death when she attempted to tell the Lord to spare us… the children are locked, and… everything was taken… I just went out looking for food."

"Poor girl." Vadim showed sympathy but there was little he could do.

If the lord of a certain town decided to abandon its people, their only option is to run outside of that territory and find protection under another Lord.

While Vadim consoled the girl, Leon spoke casually.

"So… we're not getting ourselves involved?" Leon asked.

"No. Too risky!" Vadim refused the notion of even derailing from their journey. Leon couldn't blame him since his mission is to return Leon safe and sound.

But he caused this… he caused those people to suffer by allowing Hector Norman to go bully people somewhere else when he gave them the clue to his treasure.

Leon turned down and covered his body with the blanket of his bedroll fully knowing that his business is far from unfinished. He will kill Hector Norman and right his wrong.