(A/N: Hey, I can really use some reviews, so I have a deal. Plenty of people read this book, so if I can get enough reviews to get a rating, which is only like 5 more reviews, I'll do a chapter dump, and drop 5 chapters. Happy reading!)
After feeling like he got robbed by having to pay 10 Copper just for the entrance fee, Rey was already in a sour mood as he fought to push his way through the extremely crowded streets of Shore's Landing. Rey was immensely grateful that he had his secured Space Ring, as he could only imagine how many pickpockets must be having a field day with these crowds.
Nearly an hour later of fruitless searching and asking directions from many rude people, Rey was finally able to find his way to the Market District, where it was strangely far less crowded. With a bit more breathing room, Rey quickly went to different shops and completed his shopping trip. The sooner he finished shopping, the better.
Though Rey hated spending a big chunk of his wealth to buy different supplies like food, drink, ink for Inscription, paper, and other important necessities Jinbe told Rey he would need, Rey was content knowing that now that he had activated, Sky Keep, the same Runes that keeps things fresh in his Space Ring, will keep them fresh as long as he places them in the Keep's storage.
Now that he was done with his immediate objective, Rey was contemplating just heading back to Sky Keep or exploring the city. Though he wanted to explore and see what the city had to offer, it was unbelievably busy for some reason. As he was walking, he saw a crowd standing around a fancily dress Gnome Crier on a platform.
Like most of the Gnomes that Rey had seen in this world, he had large colorful blue eyes without any pupils, pointed ears, and child-like height. His well-groomed black beard and hair, his cocky demeanor, and his expensive clothes were a clear sign of his station.
"Here ye, here ye! I am, Lord Allen Marrot, and I have a message from, City Lord Soris! In honor of his son, Young Lord Tristen, making it back safely from the war of which is now known as the Bloody Shore War, the City Lord has decided to have a celebration! There will be a grand tournament, followed by one of the City's Lord's famous auctions, and lastly a feast! If you wish to participate in the tournament in 4 days, you may register for it at City Hall!" Yelled the Crier, Lord Marrot.
After that, the clamor picked up on the streets and Rey quickly lost interest in what Lord Marrot had to say after that. The tournament and the auction interested Rey greatly, but he wasn't sure whether he wanted to enter yet. Though he was improving, he still wasn't totally satisfied with where his fighting skills were, at the moment.
'You doubt yourself too much, Young One. You already had amazing natural instincts when it came to combat, and with just a small bit of practice, you've already managed to defeat the training dummy that was at Peak-Novice, a whole level higher than you.' Jinbe said, trying to offer encouragement.
'Yeah, but I had been fighting that dummy for days, and on top of me memorizing it's attack patterns, it's range of attack patterns weren't that large since it apparently lost much of it's capability over time. I'm not confident that I can face a new random opponent and come out the winner. At least, not yet. Anyways, this tournament does sound interesting. Since I don't have anything else to do at the moment, I can spare a few days to check it out.' Rey said as he made the decision to stay.
Deciding to just rent a room at an inn rather than traveling back and forth between Sky Keep and Shore's Landing, Rey began his hunt for a room. The city was still packed thanks to the City Lord's festival, so finding a room was proving to be quite the challenge. Right when he was about to give up, he saw some commotion happening close to the Slums of Shore's Landing. Letting his curiosity get the better of him, Rey walked over and immediately frowned at what he saw.
The crowd was surrounding a fat, brown-haired young man in expensive clothes, holding a bloodied whip tightly in his hands. He was standing over and glaring at what looked to be a young Centaur girl. The caramel tanned-skin of her human torso and the grey fur of her horse half were bloodied with welts. Even her long, jet-black tail and hair were in a tangled mess, covered in blood and filth. She wore nothing but a few scraps of cloth to cover her modesty.
"You stupid bitch! How dare you make me fall! You could've killed me! Look, now my new clothes are spoiled!" Bellowed the fat young man as he continued to beat the poor girl.
Rey grimaced even more as he watched this scene unfold. The Centaur girl was clearly young, probably a year or so younger than him, and she didn't have the build to hold up the young man's massive weight. The thing that disgusted Rey was not only did no one stop this from happening, some of the crowd were even berating the girl and calling for the young man to beat her more.
'Jinbe, I just have one question. If I wanted, could the spell, Lacribbo transport others along with me?' Rey asked, his eyes starting to glow brightly under his featureless mask.
Sensing Rey's intentions, Jinbe let out a sigh of relief that his successor was of a like mind as him. Though he himself has never went out of his way to help anyone, having only focused on his cultivation and strengthening the sect, this scene would leave a sour taste in any decent person's mouth.
'Yes, Young One. You are now the Master of that dimension, so if it is your will, all you would have to do is when you cast the spell again, manipulate your mana to cover her as well.' Jinbe informed, in full support of rescuing this poor girl.
Knowing that he had Jinbe's support, Rey broke through the crowd towards the young man at the same time as another figure. It was a tall, young human man with messy, ash-grey hair and a half-open orange and black kimono. Though he had a calm, somewhat lazy look about him, Rey could sense the same rage as his bubbling inside the young man as he clutched his katana. When they looked at each other, even with Rey wearing a mask, the two nodded in understanding.
Several armed soldiers came out and surrounded the young Lord, protecting him from the two shady figures that suddenly approached him. Angered that someone had the gall to actually stand against him, the fat young Lord turned around with a sneer as he looked at the lazy looking swordsman and the huge cloaked man that suddenly summoned a staff to his hands.
"Who the hell do you two think you are?! I am Lord Tracy Baelish! My father is closely connected to City Lord Soris, so if you know what's good for you, you two will kneel down and beg forgiveness for your insolence!" Yelled the fat young Lord, Tracy. His chubby cheeks shaking violently as he yelled.
The crowd expected the two men to kneel down immediately and beg for forgiveness, but the swordsman merely lit a cigarette casually, while the huge cloaked man held his staff to the air while the iron ball on top of the staff started glowing a deep green.
"H-he's a Mage! Watch out!"
"I can't believe a rogue Mage is here!"
"Protect Young Lord Tracy!"
The group of soldiers and the crowd panicked as they realized that Rey was a Mage, as even though mana was heavily abundant in this world, not everyone knew magic as they either lack the comprehension or the prestige needed to learn the expensive art of magic. So whenever a Mage appeared, they were treated as one of the elites of society, especially Healers.
As the soldiers and the crowd expected Rey to unleash a deadly spell at the soldiers, they were all surprised when a swirling green light covered the Centaur girl instead, healing her before their very eyes.
"He's a Healer!"
"A Master Healer at that! I've never seen someone being healed so fast and from such a distance!"
The crowd erupted in a great clamor as news of a Healer appearing spread fast, as even in a big, bustling city like Shore's Landing, a Healer was still rare.
The Centaur girl was seriously shocked, as she could tell that she was just moments from death, yet now she not only felt no pain, she felt better than she had for quite a long time. Tears raced down her face as she looked at the cloaked man who saved her with gratitude.
"Grrr, how dare you ruin my punishment! I don't give a damn if he is some Healer, I want that bastard dead!" Tracy bellowed as he stomped the ground like a child.
With no choice but to follow orders, the soldiers dashed forward, a majority of them heading for the young swordsman, as Healers were known for having no combat ability. This is why everyone was surprised when two of the soldiers were sent flying into the group running towards the swordsman. When they looked over, Rey had just shook blood off the end of his staff, as a Rock Bullet formed before it.
Not giving them a chance to register what just happened, Rey shot the Rock Bullet at the neck of the soldier closest to him as he swung his staff at his head, bashing it open with little effort. The strongest soldier was only at Mid-Novice level, so for Rey who could kill a Peak-Novice and possibly higher, these soldiers were nothing to him.
As the crowd was shocked by Rey's deadly display, as they had never heard of a Healer killing before, the swordsman took a casual drag out of his cigarette before blowing out a huge plume of smoke. Very quickly the area where him and the soldiers were was cover in a thick smokescreen, blocking their vision and making it hard to breathe.
"Ahhh, my leg!" Yelled one of the soldiers from within the smokescreen.
Screams began yelling out left and right from within the cloud of smoke before the smoke cleared a minute later to reveal many dead soldiers and the young swordsman casually smoking his cigarette as blood dripped from his sword.
'Okay, this guy is definitely badass! He's like one of the Ronin from the anime I used to watch!' Rey thought excitedly.
'This young man is definitely skilled. In fact, his sword skill and Kin reminds me of an old apprentice of mine from some years ago. Keep watch on him, Young One. If my suspicions are correct, this young swordsman just might become a very important person for you.' Jinbe said, shocking Rey as he looked at the swordsman who was looking back at him.
The two stared at each other for several long seconds as the screams of carnage and the chaos that erupted thanks to the battle unfolded around them. Suddenly, the swordsman lazily tossed down the cigarette before grinding it out with his heel.
"So, are you the one I've been searching for all this time? The successor to the Shinigami?" The swordsman asked as he lazily rested one hand within his half-open kimono.
If Jinbe didn't already tell him that this swordsman was a potential ally, Rey would be shocked and immediately on guard, but since he had a head's up, he remained calm.
"I am, the name's, Rey. Are you related to my mentor's old apprentice?" Rey asked in return.
"I am, and you can call me Kazumi. So, judging by that symbol on your cloak, I take it you already decided to rebuild the sect. As long as you give me plenty of food, beer, and a place to rest my head, I don't mind helping you out like my grandfather asked." The swordsman, Kazumi, declared.
Kazumi wasn't planning on taking his grandfather's request seriously, as he felt it was far-fetched that some random old dead man could come back to life and choose a successor. Also, he didn't plan on following some random stranger blindly just because his grandfather told him to.
If he felt that Rey was evil, he planned to kill him immediately before he became too dangerous. But, seeing as how fate brought them together and that Rey was a decent person who would help a poor slave girl, Kazumi thought it couldn't hurt to stick around and see where things go.
"Deal. I just bought tons of food and alcohol before this bullshit started. We can share a drink after we get out of this mess. But first, help me rescue that girl. I'll give you a whole barrel of wine as a reward." Rey said as he gestured to the Centaur girl in rags and a slave collar.
"Damn, so you already know how to get to me, huh? Fine, I don't mind trying this Hero thing out for a bit." Said Kazumi as he did a lazy stretch and flicked the remaining blood from his sword.
Seeing that most of his soldiers were defeated and in disarray, Tracy was furious. Especially as he saw that they intended to take his new slave from him.
"You bastards! Fine, if my personal guards aren't a match for you, let's see how you handle the City Guards!" Tracy said with a nasty smirk on his face before he pulled out a glowing silver whistle and blew into it.
Having a bad feeling, Rey decided not to waste any time waiting around. Whatever force was coming for them, was definitely going to be more trouble than they could handle. Using a technique he picked up as he ran from the Sea Dragon and practiced with the dummy, Rey pumped his body with what Jinbe called, Ki, and dashed towards Tracy with an impossible speed.
Stunned by Rey's sudden speed, the soldiers were too slow to react as Rey swung his staff with his enhanced strength, sending the bunched up soldiers flying to the side. Looking at his downed personal soldiers in shock, Tracy turned his face back to Rey, about to beg for forgiveness, only to come face to face with a Rock Bullet. Before he could even utter a word, the Bullet pierced his skull and exploded, sending blood and brains spraying on the crowd behind Tracy.
Terrified screams erupted as the crowd, now scared for their safety, ran for their lives. Chaos quickly broke out due to the crowded streets, and Rey planned to use that to his advantage. Scooping up the frightened Centaur in his arms, Rey looked to Kazumi and gestured with his head to follow him. Quickly running behind one of the many buildings, Rey wasted no time casting his next spell.
"Lacribbo!" Rey said, concentrating hard as he spread his mana out to cover both the girl in his arms and Kazumi by his side.
With a flash of green light, the trio were gone. The next second, a whole battalion of the City Guard seem to suddenly appear in the area where the battle happened. One of the guards, a tough-looking Dark-Elf woman with blonde hair stepped forward and examined Tracy's corpse. A deep frown came on her face as she saw rock fragments in Tracy's gory skull.
"Contact the City Lord! The man he just betrothed to his Eldest daughter, Ellie, has been murdered!"