"So that's what we'll do" Cabrera said as he finished briefing the boys.
"Sir, I'll go first" one said, volunteering himself.
It was Carl, who had become a captain figure among his comrades.
"Go" Cabrera said, agreeing to let him enter the town first.
And so Carl rode towards Whittown, which was still a fairly long distance away.
Even though it was called a town, its size was nearing that of a city in smaller Kingdoms.
It had wooden walls all around it, with light pouring out on top of it to push away the darkness.
About one hour had already passed since sunset and the town was bustling. Well, at least Carl thought so from the little he could make out.
Only two guards could be seen at the entrance, with their chuckles occasionally echoing out.
One was relatively short and chubby, while the other was taller but mostly lanky.
From such a close distance, he could see a magical device hanging a bit away from the guards, most likely to avoid any accidents. It lit up the surroundings within a few meters.
The guards were still amusing themselves with jokes-
*Bugguum*Bugguum*
-but all that changed the minute they heard the sound of movement.
"Who's there?" the short one hollered as his left hand went to a gray hatchet strapped to his back.
"Halt!" the tall one said as his hands went towards a formerly unnoticed belt strapped to his waist.
"I come in peace" Carl hastily uttered, seeing that the situation was about to devolve into something nasty.
Contrary to his expectations, the minute the two heard his words they simultaneously looked at each other, and then-
"Hahaha!"
-burst into hysterical laughter.
"I come in peace. I don't think I've heard such a cheesy line in years. Hahahaha!" the short one said with a hoarse voice as his laughter only grew.
While the other-
"Hahahaha! I'm telling you, kids these days are too good and too easy"
-was exactly the same. The only difference was that his laughter was a bit ear wrenching and his expression was very annoying.
Carl felt the urge to punch him in the face, but held back as he remembered what the boss had told them.
—-------------------------------
"The town might look cheerful and graceful, but it houses multiple monsters that could chew you up in a heartbeat"
The boys became frightened, before one asked…
"B-Boss, what do you mean by monsters?! You're not actually saying that this place is full of mana beasts…right?!"
Thankfully-
"Huuh???What the heck are you talking about?"
-it seemed like their worries were unabated, that is-
"What do you mean by beasts? It's far worse"
-until he finished his sentence.
The boys were becoming extremely frustrated at all the cryptic messages, not to mention that they were already fatigued beyond words.
Asking them to think of something like this…was really not worth the effort, considering the headache that would ensue after.
Thankfully…again, Cabrera seemed to have understood and proceeded to explain it.
—----------------------------------
As he reminisced about it, his anger was quickly doused as he moved to explain himself.
"Apologies, this is my first time coming here, and I wish to stay the night" Carl said as he cupped his hands while still on his horse.
The response he got surprised him once more.
"Sheesh! This one's no fun. What kind of rock did you crawl out of?" the tall one spoke as he shook his head from side to side, not hiding the distaste in his expression.
"Yeah, whatever, hand over fifty copper coins and you can head in" the short one quickly said as he outstretched his hand.
Carl knew that the actual entrance fee was at most fifteen coins, but if he said so, he might blow his cover of being a country bumpkin.
So, he took out a silver coin from his pouch and handed it over.
"Oh? Guess you're not a complete pushover, heh?" the short one said with a dangerous glint appeared in his eyes for an instant before receding.
Nevertheless, he hastily took the coin and handed Carl his change. He then used a small stamp to imprint a runic circle on the back of Carl's palm.
Carl only felt something for an instant before it faded.
Like the irritating touch of a housefly, but for only a moment.
With that, the guards moved out of the way, giving him passage.
"Ah, yes!" Carl was already moving, before stopping with a tone of realization.
"What is it?" The tall one asked.
"Hehehe-
Carl chuckled as he scratched his head as if embarrassed.
-I was just wondering where I could find a stable around here?"
That was all, and as soon as he got his answer, he unmounted and pulled his horse along as he entered into the town.
Sounds of laughter and cheer hit him from all sides, as well as light of different colors, as he saw to his shock that the ground was decently tiled with stone.
One must know that only cities were known to have tiled streets, and even then, it wasn't always so.
And yet, he saw a town, a TOWN!, with stoned grounds.
It wasn't even uncommon. To him, it was just absurd!
While it was true that it couldn't compare to that of the capital, it was, like he said before…decent enough for a pass or a slightly higher mark.
Nevertheless, Carl tried to conceal his emotions like Cabrera had ordered, and so, he gazed at the ground while pulling his horse along to the stable.
Carl could see different people taking glances at him before losing interest, while some kept their gazes boring through his back as he moved along.
His mind reminisced about Cabrera's warning once again.
—--------------------------------
Once Cabrera understood that his cryptic messages weren't going to get him anywhere, he sighed and explained it again more objectively.
"When I say monsters, do you think only wild beasts are monsters?" he asked, rhetorically.
"Of course not, this place is packed with D-ranks and C-ranks in droves. I highly doubt you would find an E-rank here, and if you do, then he'll be almost as strong as a D-rank" he paused, letting his boys digest the meaning, before going on…
"What I'm saying is simple. The whole place is filled with people far more powerful than you or me. So this is what you'll do…"
—---------------------------------
At this moment…
*Dom*
Someone hit Carl in the shoulder, pulling him out of his reverie.
Carl looked to see a man about the same height as the tall guard, with the blue tattoo of a snake in his neck.
His body was neither lanky nor buff, but slender. And his equipment, if Carl was correct, was Bronze-rank.
"Hey, can't you watch where you're going?!" the man hollered.
He and Carl were about the same height and so they stared at each other, before…
*Sigh*
Carl let out a big sigh as he shook his head at his bad luck.
'For me to encounter such a situation this early…my luck is really the worst'
Just before he left the group for the city, Cabrera had taken all his armor and only left him with his sword.
He thought, before speaking up to the man after quickly gauging his level.
"Can't you use your eyes properly?"
No words were needed anymore, and the other guy seemed to think so too, because-
*Swish*
-he already lashed out with a fist in the next instant.
*Wish*
Only to hit nothing but air. Shocking him when Carl's calm voice rang out.
"You done?"
He had moved a few meters away from his horse to give him space to fight.
"This…bastard, Imma wipe that smirk off your face"
Veins popped up on his forehead as he lunged forward and lashed out for the second time.
"But I'm not even smirking-
Carl said as he dodged with minimal movement and taunted.
-stupid"
The man got visibly angrier and his punches came faster but-
*Wiish*Woosh*Wiish*Wiish*
-they were hitting nothing but air.
The man kept visibly going faster and faster, but Carl just dodged even faster, when-
"Hmm"
-Carl's eyes glinted, and in one move-
*Bam*Shiing*
-he hit the man in front of him away with a kick, pulled out his sword, and then-
*Shaaang*
-slashed in the direction of his horse as he said…
"So that's what you were after"
The bystanders were flabbergasted at the turn of events because of two things.
One, few of the spectatating D-ranks couldn't follow Carl's movements.
And secondly, those who could were amazed at his reaction speed.
Now, back into the moment.
With the unsheathing of his sword, the next we saw-
*Slash*
-was someone's arm in the air.
Followed by-
"Ahhhh!"
-a very loud scream.
The perpetrator, Carl, looked at the scene impassively, while inwardly-
'Damn, these guys are good! I almost didn't notice them!'
-he was in turmoil.
He swiped the blood off his sword before moving towards the man whose hand he just cut off.
The man was very thin, but Carl couldn't be sure of how thin as he was completely clad in black, with only his eyes visible.
Carl put his sword on the man's neck, before saying…
"Tell me, why shouldn't I kill you right now?"
He could see the man's shock in his eyes as his mouth shook, before asking…
"H-How?"
Yes! How had Carl seen through his stealth skill that came from a Silver-rank mana technique?
But all he got as an answer-
*SLAP*
-was a very hot slap.
"Did I tell you to ask questions? I'm very impatient, so don't give me a reason to cut your head off"
Carl said as the man removed the mask from the lower end of his face and spat out a fair amount of blood, as well as two yellow teeth.
"Ugh, you're disgusting. You know what? Just give me everything in your pockets and I'll let you go" Carl said.
What? He was a gang member before, so what did you expect?
"Y-Yes" the man hastily said as Carl handed him a pouch to put all his money into.
"What a pity. Even your partner has abandoned you" Carl suddenly said.
He was talking about the man from earlier. He had kicked him with quite a bit of strength, and now he couldn't sense him anymore.
As soon as the man emptied his money into the pouch, Carl waved his hand as the man took his queue to run away. When-
"Wait"
-Carl suddenly called him back.
Multiple thoughts went into the man's mind as he started sweating buckets.
'What else does he want? He's already robbed me of all my money'
He was seriously regretting having chosen Carl as a target.
Thankfully-
"Take your arm with you"
-this one was far more merciful than others.
"T-Thank y-you" the man stuttered, before taking his hand and running away.
As Carl took the pouch and hung it to his waist, he could feel the gazes of others raining down on him.
*Sigh*
He sighed deeply and said-
"This is going to be a long night"
-before getting back to his feet and moving towards the stable.
Yet, unknowingly, a grin crept on his face, which really highlighted that he needed sleep.