Now that this mini-event has finished I just walked around the vicinity, listening to the conversations that people around me were having in Brahim. Although everyone was fired up a moment ago, no one seemed to be complaining about the knight's handling of the murder that apparently took place. Is that response considered to be normal here? Does no one really care that much?
「The Bandits who have been driven out of town came back to exact their revenge.」
I suddenly heard someone speaking behind my back.
Revenge? Someone was killed for such a petty reason?
I hurriedly looked over my shoulder. I have no idea who said that just now, but it had to be someone who witnessed the gathering of the crowd and the arrival of the Knight's Order. So if that mysterious voice is to be believed there is a group of Bandits in the city that are out for blood. Without knowing the source of that information it might not serve as enough evidence if I chose to go to the town guard with it, but even so this is a matter that simply cannot be overlooked. If what that beautiful Female Knight said was true, the Bandits who attacked the village were originally from the slums of this town. Maybe the ones who did this were their friends or acquaintances? And most importantly, did only one of them want revenge, or were they all hell-bent upon it?
Suddenly I felt my stomach tying itself into multiple knots and a wave of cold sweat rushing down my back. What… what if I'm one of the targets of their revenge?
No, nononono, that cannot be it. That's absolutely not possible. Think about it calmly, you moron! That they are out for revenge probably has nothing to do with me at all.
First and foremost, the most likely reason for their revenge is the fact that they have been kicked out of the town, and I had nothing to do with it since I literally wasn't even in this world until a few days ago.
Secondly, none of the Bandits who attacked the village survived. I have slain them in consort with the rest of the villagers (although I did the lion's share of the work).
Thirdly, even if some of them managed to survive the attack, finding someone without having a nice long look at his face should be virtually impossible in this low-tech world that hasn't heard of anything as esoteric as photographs.
But that does not mean that I can relax just yet. Even if their goal is to take revenge for being driven out of town, I cannot imagine a group of Bandits willingly going against an entire Knight Order. It would be nothing short of suicide unless they had the advantage of numbers and equipment, which I'm sure they don't have right now. But if the grudge they are holding against Veil is strong, then I don't think a setback or two would be enough to discourage them from pushing through with whatever they might be planning. They might have even obtained information about me through illegal means without my being the wiser.
Whatever the Bandits intentions might be, I still can't rule out the possibility that I might end up being targeted. Until I find and deal with them, I won't be able to have a peaceful night's rest. With all that said, looks like my decision to switch from dungeon crawling to Bandit Hunting was the right one after all.
I spent the next two days exploring the town of Veil while avoiding getting too close to the slums. I wasn't able to find any of the Bandits, but at least I got a general feel of the topography and the layout of the terrain in the slums. That's going to save me some MP I would otherwise have wasted using Warp to get around.
I also understood why the slums were build in the northern part of the town.
Two rivers run through the city of Veil. Both of them enter the city from the south and exit through the north. That water is used by a well located behind the inn I am currently staying at, acting as the source of drinking water, and probably bathwater for the customers as well, and all the inn's sewage is probably drained to the sewers that run all the way beneath the city. The water that enters the town from the south is clear, but the further it travels downstream to the north the dirtier it gets. While I was making my way through the slums, I could faintly smell the odor of near stagnant water in the air.
Nobody would willingly live in such a place. The distinction seems to be clear here: the southern part of the city is where the rich people dwell and the business center is located while the northern part is comprised entirely of slums and the quarters of the poor and those who could not afford to live in the southern part. I wonder if I didn't see any Bandits or other criminals because they were concealing themselves? I don't think that many people can use Identify besides myself, but maybe they just don't want their faces seen or they are nocturnal? Also, the possibility that I won't be able to meet them inside the slums was extremely high. If they were exiled from the town, they might as well have their base of operations outside of it.
With nothing better to do at the current time I made my way to the Labyrinth. Instead of worrying about the things beyond my reach, I might as well try to get myself a treasure chest. That, and I also might try to gain myself some levels, just to be on the safe side if I really end up fighting against the Bandits. I know that technically I don't have to worry about anything as long as I have Durandal, but you know what they say: if the wielder's shit, even the greatest of weapons will be shit as well.
I gained a few levels, so using Warp should be that much easier for me. Maybe I will even be able to use it two times in a row without exhausting my MP pool? The number of available slots in my Item Box has increased accordingly. My current levels are as follows: Explorer Lv.6, Hero Lv.4 and Warrior Lv.4. Since Explorer has been set as my first Job, it should now figure as my main Job on my Intelligence Card.
Labyrinth's often tend to have secret passages and hidden doors in them, and this one was no exception. Way in the back of the first floor there was a small room behind a hidden door. When you passed through it, you ended up in another small room similar to the one at the entrance. Just like that one, it also had a number of branching pathways extending from it, which created a truly magnificent maze. After checking every nook and cranny of the first floor, I made my way over there. When I stopped in front of one of the walls, a part of it made a rattling noise and then slowly slid down, revealing the pathway I was looking for. I went through it to proceed with my search. At first I didn't even realize there was a door since all I did was go back and forth between the places I had already explored. That was the safest method, but admittedly it was not very efficient, so the discovery of that new hidden passage was truly a Godsend to me.
I might not have made any progress when it comes to the Bandit Hunt, but as a consolation prize the exploration of the Labyrinth entered a brand-new stage!
Today's excursion into the Labyrinth occurred late in the day, after I spend the daytime on another fruitless Bandit Hunt in the slums of Veil. I did so mostly to improve my mood as I waited for the situation in the city to change.
I once again made my way to the end of the first floor and waited for the portion of the wall to slide down, allowing me a passage to the hidden section. I wanted to go inside immediately, but…
「...…」
But someone was already there.
Brown bodies with green heads. And not just two or three. There was so many Needlewoods here that they could make an entire bush or a small forest if they were to be placed beside each other, and they were all staring at me as if they wanted to say 「What the fuck are you looking at?!」 , or 「You picked the wrong cave, fool!」.
「*Sigh*... fuck.」
I said brandishing my Durandal as the enemies rushed towards me like an army of green, spiky toddlers.