Meeting Fredrick
"So, what did you say your name was?" a petite blonde girl asked the man in front of her.
"Asmund, Romellu Asmund" the man replied.
This man was naturally Cabrera in disguise.
"What type of weapons do you use?"
"My fists are the best weapons" Cabrera answered with conviction.
"Ok…So, do you mind telling me where you're from?"
"Ah, oh that-"
Cabrera started rubbing his head with an awkward expression as he continued…
"-you see, I am from the mountains on the other side, that is where I have been for a long time, my master taught me-"
"Ok, I got you, that's enough" the girl quickly put an end to his heart touching story.
She then took out a neat placard made of wood that read "F-rank" and hastily handed it to him.
She could sense mana from him, so she gave him an F-rank card instead of a G-rank one.
"Ah miss, you have my greatest thanks" Cabrera suddenly had stars in his eyes as he inspected the placard, before adding…
"I will go now, wish me luck"
He then turned towards the mission board placed at the side.
Seeing him finally go, the girl sighed in relief as she clicked her tongue, muttering…
"Another weirdo has come to test how long he can live"
Cabrera, who heard that, was secretly elated, for it meant that he wasn't at all suspected.
He was here to take a prize and then leave others to fight for the scraps.
Naturally, he couldn't have others learning of his true identity. A single suspicion could ruin the entire plan, or return much later in the future to bite him in the back.
After looking at the available missions for F-ranks, he found nothing worthwhile and left.
In the first place, he wasn't intending to pick one. The path to his goal was something he already knew, which was why he headed out of the outpost towards an unknown place by making several moves in confusing ways to make sure he wasn't being followed.
After more than thirty minutes of maneuvering, he entered the forest at the side, making sure to keep the road in his sights by staying at the edges. He then took out an item that would make the eyes of every adventurer in the outpost shine with greed.
A spatial ring. And this spatial ring began glowing, before leaning in a certain direction, seemingly being pulled by some magnetic force, guiding Cabrera to his destination.
After killing numerous low-rank beasts along the way, he arrived at a place no different from any other part of the forest, that is, if you ignore the ring pointing straight down.
Cabrera bent down, but before Cabrera could affirm his suspicions, a layer of dirt rose up and Cabrera found a knife to his neck in the next moment, after which a voice rang out…
"Expect the unexpected-"
A code was spoken.
"-and the unexpected becomes expected" Cabrera answered without hesitation.
Only then did the grip holding the knife lessen and a man completely covered in black clothing came out, directly removing the cloth covering his face to reveal a man with black hair and brown eyes.
Cabrera knew the person in front him was Fredrick, who had left two weeks before them.
The second spatial ring Cabrera had bought was given to Fredrick, after which they stored an item that would call to each other once they were at a short distance from one another, acting as a compass for the two of them.
Fredrick had a surprised expression on his face as he said…
"You're here earlier than expected"
It was a genuine surprise because Fredrick had only arrived a few days ago and he expected Cabrera to arrive three to four days later.
"The earlier the better, as I doubt our enemies will take a break"
"True" Fredrick replied, before looking around only to find nobody.
But before he could ask, Cabrera gave him an answer.
"The boys will come here tomorrow, while some should already be in the outpost"
"Hmm, waiting one more day won't affect the plan and wait-"
Fredrick suddenly had a realization
"-This is you screening them for rats?"
"Exactly" Cabrera affirmed.
It was somewhat glaring to Cabrera ever since the start of the sword training that spies exist among his members. While he already separated the wheat from the chaff, there was no evidence that no traitors remained. And because they already knew that they were being watched more closely, the traitors amongst them had their guards raised up a notch.
Then, what about after losing too much sleep due to traveling and finally being allowed to rest without supervision?
The answer was clear. The traitors won't miss such a chance to deliver information to their organization, and they would have their guards down because they couldn't imagine that they were still being watched.
Slaves that had been bought with Cabrera's loan money had travelled along with Fredrick and had been assigned to different places, and Whittown was one of those when he passed by it on his way to the Windless Peaks.
This was how the bar owner Cabrera had gone to meet had found his way there, and there were many more.
Cabrera had tasked some of them with monitoring the boys before he came here.
Those with ulterior motives should be fairly easy to fish out.
"Speaking of slaves, don't tell me you dispatched all of them, did you?" Cabrera asked.
"No, I didn't, I'll have them out when needed" Fredrick said, cutting off any further questions.
"Ok, have you found the place?" Cabrera asked.
"Yes, one of the slaves mapped out directions, so tomorrow we move out with or without all your boys"
"Isn't that a little risky?" Cabrera asked with a meaningful glance.
"No, it's better this way. There would surely be more than one person that noticed you guys"
"So, you're suggesting we move as quickly as possible to secure as much as we can before the hyenas can smell the blood?"
"It's not a suggestion. We move out tomorrow at noon. All your boys should've arrived by then"
At this moment, an order was given.
"Ok then, but what do we do until then?"
"Starting now, we'll gather as many herbs as we can, but we have to do so secretly" Fredrick said as he turned and headed into the forest, only to find Cabrera unmoving while holding his chin with a thoughtful expression.
"What is it?"
"Hmm, I dealt with a nuisance who called himself Baldur. Is there anything I should be watchful about?" Cabrera asked.
"You did what?!"
Fredrick thereafter muttered some things under his breath before turning to Cabrera with a serious expression and saying…
"Tell me everything that happened without leaving out a single detail while we walk"
The duo walked further into the forest with Fredrick taking the lead while Cabrera followed behind him, narrating what happened.
At the same time, word of Baldur being beaten hands down by a newbie was already spreading at an alarming rate.
—------------------------------
In a building at the rear of the outpost.
"Baldur" a cold voice called out as we see the formerly unconscious man now kneeling down.
"I've heard about what happened, but I want to confirm it directly from you. Tell me everything that happened without leaving a single thing out"
"There was this guy who I sure was a newbie around here…"
And so, he explained how he tried to teach the man a lesson before being taught a lesson instead.
"Is that all?" the voice asked, and then another burly man came into view with a wide chest and a large build, a small scar running through his lips.
"Yes" Baldur, who's fighting spirit seemed unquenchable, was unbelievably docile at this moment.
A scene that would render a lot of people speechless, but those who knew the person in front of him would find it natural.
"Hmm, since he's a newbie, he must not know who we are, but I can't let something like this slide else the others would think we're weak!"
"Baldur, take four boys with you and find that guy. We will make an example out of him for all those who wish cross us in the future"
"Yes, sir" Baldur nodded as a smile formed on his face, before hastily moving away as he thought…
'You're really dead now'
—---------------------------
While Baldur moved to avenge himself and restore his wounded pride, others moved to do something similar but different.
At another building in the outpost, a lanky but not skinny man wearing thin blue armor was standing next to a man sitting with a buff build and a neat look.
"Vassad, are you sure?" the sitting man asked.
"Yes, I am. I saw it with my own eyes"
"A newbie that easily trashed Baldur in one move…do you know where he is at the moment?"
"No sir, should I?"
"Of course you should. If we're lucky and he doesn't have an affiliation, we might gain a powerful member to join our ranks!"
"But is that actually possible?"
"We won't know until we ask, now would we?"
"So…we're recruiting him?"
"Do I have to spell everything out for you?! Yes, we're recruiting him! Now get to work and find everything you can about this guy"
"Yes Sir!"
"Well, what are you waiting for, get out!"
Like so, others moved to find out more about this strong newbie.
Cabrera and Fredrick only came back to the outpost at sunset, having gathered a large amount of herbs. They then met up with the boys at a designated spot, a restaurant from Fredrick's memories.
Only half of boys had arrived at this point, each one unrecognizable after drinking disguise potions, but they affirmed their identity with the code word.
Thereafter, Cabrera had them give accounts of their stay in Whittown so as to identify any variables that might get in their way.
With no more to talk about, everyone went to bed in different hotels, while Fredrick double checked on the plan arrangements.
It was finally here, the D-day.
The day that would decide it all.