Alex moved first.
In one instant, he and Violet escaped the encirclement and now watched the guards from outside. Violet, just like the guards, scanned her surroundings, confused about what had happened.
Alex's body felt tense, like a spring. This should've happened because of the adrenaline coursing through his veins, but this was just a side effect. The markings on his neck morphed and moved under his skin like little snakes crawling from side to side. Faint as they were, if a guard were to look closer, they would realize they were facing a Recen.
Alex couldn't allow that to happen, however. Ignoring the soreness in his legs, he shifted again, appearing behind an unsuspecting guard.
He grabbed the guard's shoulder and spun him around before sending a fist in his direction. Blood, teeth, and spittle flew everywhere as the guard's head was yanked to the side by the force of the impact, instantly knocking him out.
Although putting the guard to the floor took less than three seconds, Alex was forced to evade, as a halberd's blade narrowly missed his right shoulder and arm, barely skimming his shirt.
Alex gripped his short sword and prepared himself for the following attacks.
The remaining 4 guards, having gathered their wits, realized Alex wasn't a weak bodyguard.
Grabbing their weapons, they shouted and screamed. Alex didn't know what they were saying, but he was sure it was something like shouting for backup.
The Recen turned his attention to the closest guard. He ducked under the too-long halberd and sent a powerful strike with his sword's hilt to the man's solar plexus. Unable to breathe, the guard fell to his knees, dropping the weapon and falling to the ground himself.
Not wanting this guy to recover in the middle of the battle, Alex kicked the man's head, snapping the helmet's straps, sending the piece of metal fly off in the distance. The guard lay on the guard, unconscious, with blood dripping from his broken nose.
Sword in hand, Alex took a half-step to the left, redirecting another blow of a halberd into the ground.
Alex stepped on the blade and struck the attacker's head with the side of the blade before finishing the job with a kick to the gut.
The next assailant hesitated for a moment, giving Alex a chance to close the distance. Using his superior strength, Alex grabbed the guard's arm and flipped him over, crashing him to the ground with a thunderous impact, knocking the air out of the man.
As he turned to face the last man, Alex was pleasantly surprised to find him scratching at his exposed neck, where a long, thin needle stuck out.
A moment later, the guard's eyes rolled back, the strength in his legs leaving him.
With a thud, he fell to the ground, face first.
Although Alex didn't care about these dimwits, he didn't want to create problems for Violet if one of these guards drowned or suffocated in this wet mud. Using his foot, Alex rolled the man on his back before looking at the others, making sure no one was face-first into the mud.
"Didn't expect you to be this silent went taking one out," Alex said as he turned to face Violet. He didn't even hear her moving as she planted a needle into the guard's neck.
Puffing out her chest, she snorted. "I have ways of protecting myself."
Alex nodded, sheathing his sword. "We should go back,"
Nodding, Violet took the lead, as she knew a shortcut.
***
Arriving back at Night's Sky, Alex and Violet entered through the main entrance like normal people. There was another entrance used only by select personnel, but they did not use it themselves.
The main room was empty of customers at this time of day, but there were a few pole dancers doing rehearsals.
"What about the women I brought up the other day?" Alex asked more as small talk than genuine curiosity.
"Almost all of them left for their homes."
"Almost?"
Violet nodded. "Some were slaves, which were then captured by the bandits. These few couldn't go anywhere, so they decided to stay here for a while until they find a place to work."
Alex understood and silently followed Violet to her office/common room/her day-to-day home. He did not expect to get any meaningful thanks for his actions, and he didn't really mind.
Those women were saved only a day or so ago and were still traumatized by the whole situation.
Now, Alex was more interested in something else entirely. His pay.
He agreed to delay his money for a few hours, but even his patience was running low.
Like any other day, Vie entered the office a few minutes later to bring a tray of tea and sweets before standing near the door guard-like.
Violet sighed before placing a small bag on the desk. "I guess it's time to pay for your services."
Alex nodded and checked the contents before raising an eyebrow. "It's more than we agreed upon."
Violet shrugged. "It is. It's for accompanying me to the guard's office."
Alex raised the other eyebrow and laughed. "You pay very well for a mere bodyguard's job."
It was indeed funny. Alex counted the eight pieces of silver over and over, expecting a different result. No matter how you put it, this was a lot of money to just hand out.
Even if his extermination job had been 5 silver, receiving another 3 for a guarding job was too much.
Even Vie, behind Alex, let out a small yelp of bewilderment, sharing the same thoughts as Alex.
The owner shrugged once more. "In that case, think of the bonus as a token of my appreciation."
Sighing, Alex tied the bag to his belt. "Thank you."
"I should be the one thanking you. You've rid me of pesky problems." Violet shook her head and continued. "What are your plans now?"
Alex lay further into his chair and thought for a moment. "I suppose I need to spend another few days in Vizin. Do you know of a place where I can experiment with mana? Quietly?"
Violet placed her right hand under her chin. "Hmm? A place where you can cultivate undisturbed. I don't suppose you mean the Adventurer's Guild?"
Alex shook his head. If he had the money, then he would've considered the option, but with his current budget, there was no way he would spend the money on such a room.
"Tough luck, Alex. The Guild has bought miles of the surrounding forested area and have lookouts for anything beast related. Of course, they would also look into cultivators if they sense one."
Alex's enthusiasm deflated upon hearing these words. Cultivating in the wilderness like some hobo certainly crossed his mind, however the reality was more complex than just sitting on a rock and becoming stronger.
Although mana existed everywhere, it wasn't readily available. In order to be used, mana first needed to be catalyzed or brought into existence.
It was easy to catalyze mana once you know how, or have already came in contact with mana. If not, it was a monumental task.
First of all, catalyzing mana took energy, a lot of it. And second of all, you wouldn't know if what you're doing is right or wrong.
All that's needed is a small mistake on your part and the whole process fails, at best, or blows up in your face, at worst.
Worst of all, as if that wasn't enough, catalyzing mana into existence took more energy that you got out. The process wasn't efficient at all, which forced people to look for places where mana naturally materializes, called mana wells.
Still, for Alex's purposes, he could catalyze mana for himself.
"Do you know of a place outside the Guild's property?"