"Hey Ryuuko, are you really a human?" Lucrezia asked for the eleventh time.
I'd started counting after she asked the exact same question for the third time.
"Yes."
We were making our way through a lonely mountain pass which led to the Fissure, a massive rift in the continent which divided the eastern portion of Celatria from the rest of its landmass.
She had said that this pass was a shortcut.
Lucrezia's home lay across that rift, but as far as I knew, the only way to cross was through portals that could only be activated by those of Demonic blood.
As I traveled with Lucrezia, I had quickly learned that the eastern tribes were collectively referred to as "Demons" or the "Demonic races" by other nations.
While I already knew the individual names and species of the tribes, this told me something rather important. Although [Rulebook] was a nigh-omniscient repository of information about the world, it only provided me information that was essential.
In other words, [Rulebook] was useless when it came to cultural customs, colloquial slang, and other information that required more than just surface knowledge.
However, it also contained a great deal of information that the natives were unaware of. So far, it seemed like I was going to have to be careful about relying on the rulebook outside of the world's mechanics.
My gaze turned to the treeline beside us as a bird flew out of the foliage. It was then followed by several others. My eyes narrowed, inspecting the bushes.
We hadn't been walking very close to the trees, so there wasn't a chance of us having spooked them.
Although my eyes saw nothing, I positioned myself in front of Lucrezia and prepared for combat.
I had witnessed this exact same type of scenario far too many times. It was a trope present in almost every medium of fiction: a small number of travelers take a quiet road as a shortcut, only to be ambushed by bandits or beasts of some sort.
Again, I'd seen it a thousand times, so I wasn't the least bit surprised when four disheveled men stepped out of the woods. They were armed with weapons that looked like they belonged in a crucible and wearing armor that was worn beyond belief.
"Well, well... Why don't you two ladies drop yer valuables an' make yerselves scarce?" One of them gestured to the large sack that was slung over my shoulder.
It was rather sizable, so I didn't blame him for mistaking it for a bag filled with valuables. Really, it was just a big bag of food.
"That's right! Unless you lassies wanna stay an' have some fun with us!" The bandit ended his sentence with a sickening guffaw.
"Stay behind me, Lucrezia." I whispered, letting the sack fall to the ground.
"There's a good girl. Now—"
I dashed forward, closing the gap between me and the nearest bandit in a split second.
He went down in a single strike. My fist protruded from his back, dyed in liquid red.
"W-What the fuck, Carney!?"
"L-Let's get the fuck out of here, Barryl!"
The three remaining bandits attempted to make a break for it and run back into the forest, but I wasn't about to let my precious bags of EXP escape just like that.
Ah, I'm degenerating into my tabletop player mentality of "Only hot girls deserve mercy!" huh?
The bandits were no match for my speed. I reached their positions in mere heartbeats and my fists flashed out like lightning, tearing their bodies asunder.
They didn't even have a chance in the first place.
Before I slew the last bandit, I gripped him tightly by the neck, hoisting him up with only one arm.
"Ghk! M-Mercy!"
Instead of responding to him, I simply used [Complete Analysis] on the bandit. It was vital that I learn what constituted "normal" in this world.
[Creature Statistics]
Name: Barryl Karbret
Race: Human
Class: Bandit (2)
Strength: 14
Dexterity: 11
Constitution: 12
Intelligence: 7
Wisdom: 7
Charisma: 6
Corruption: 25
Skills: Pickpocket (Lv. 1), Killing Intent (Lv. 1), Stealth (Lv. 1), Appraisal (Lv. 1), Sparrow's Eye (Lv. 1)
Status Effects: Mark of Agunta [Detriment]
[END]
My eyes widened as I saw the bandit's status effect.
Mark of Agunta...!? Don't tell me those damned cultists are already sending people to hunt us down!
I loosened my grip slightly. "Answer me honestly and you might get to live. First question. Are you a cultist?"
He shook his head fearfully.
I asked him a few more questions which were answered briefly or not at all due to a lack of knowledge.
"Last question. What do you know about Agunta?"
The man hesitated.
I squeezed, and his eyes bulged in pain.
"G-Gahk! N-No! Please! I-I don't know anything about them!"
"Them?"
That single word had caused the bandit's whole world to come crashing down. His words came out as a jumble, and Lucrezia would later tell me that he had soiled his pants.
"N-No, y-yer ladyship! T-They were a buncha r-robed people! I m-met them weeks ago, near the edge of th' forest! They t-told me if I swore myself to t-the d-dark lord Agunta, t-they'd make me stronger! A-And they did! Jus' not as strong as yer ladyship, a-ahaha...!"
"I see. I'm sure you'll enjoy your stay in the afterlife."
"N-No...! Y-You promi—"
I released the lifeless corpse and shook droplets of blood off my hands.
He should have told the truth the first time.
So they're able to help people level up, huh...? That might be a problem.
The sun had begun to set a few minutes after we left the site of the ambush. Lucrezia had helped me clean myself off using her magic.
The closest town was still a couple hours away, and we wouldn't reach it before nightfall, so we decided to look for a campsite and settle in for the night.
Of course, we could have taken a carriage to stop by the city, but with Lucrezia in tow, I don't think that would've gone down very well. The only option was a backwater town.
Although the bandit attack wasn't something that I enjoyed, it had given me several useful pieces of information:
Firstly, the average person's stats were around 10. That meant for someone like me with 30 STR, I was essentially a superhuman.
Secondly, stats normally couldn't be selectively raised. They increased according to your class levels, creating something of an even distribution. If someone wanted to raise a specific statistic, they would need to train in the old fashioned way.
This meant that I was an irregularity only made possible by the existence of my [Rulebook] skill.
And lastly, Corruption increased rapidly if you killed creatures of your fellow race, especially if they were weaker than you.
What was Corruption?
I decided I would find out tomorrow.
"Hey, Lucrezia?"
She looked at me with a curious gaze, sensing that I had more to say.
"Are you... alright with this? Traveling with someone like me, I mean."
"Huh? Why would I not be?"
"...I mean, I just killed four people with no regard for human life. To put it bluntly, I'm a murderer. A fucked up one, at that. I could've easily let them retreat, but I chose to chase and one-sidedly kill them anyway."
"But to me, you're my savior. And besides, they're just humans. Why would I have any sympathy for them?"
And then, she gave me the most dazzling smile I'd ever seen in my entire life.
Well, that settles it, I guess.
We quickly set up camp at a clearing and put out the campfire after finishing our meals.
As we slipped into our sleeping bags for the night, Lucrezia turned toward me.
"Hey Ryuuko, are you really a human?"