"Why is that senior?" Zareth asked, respectfully addressing the man in hopes of gaining some sort of merit with him.
After all, he sort of wanted to stay with this merchant group. It would be far more beneficial to him than simply walking around by himself.
Still, he had the suspicion that he was going to be spied on by someone from this merchant group.
Zareth thought this was the only logical option for them, if he was in their shoes, he wouldn't do anything differently.
Now, all he had to worry about was how he was going to explain his crazy absence to his parents.
"Just to keep an eye on you. I'm sure you understand." The old man spoke politely, however, Zareth could sense the demanding tone underneath.
He knew that this was not just a kind proposal, but an outright order.
"I see. Then, I am under your protection, Senior." Zareth bowed his head lightly before turning around and leaving the marquee.
As he stepped outside, Silio suddenly jump scared him out of nowhere.
"An autograph!" He yelled at Zareth with a wooden pen in his hands as he exposed his forehead.
He looked at Zareth with glowing eyes, like a puppy looking at its owner.
Zareth took the wooden pen before stabbing him in the forehead with it.
"Argh!" Silio immediately exclaimed in pain as he began rolling around on the floor once again.
"Why! Oh, great Zareth!" He yelled.
Zareth had an unimpressed look on his face.
'What a pathetic guy...'
Yan didn't pay any attention to Silio, instead, he immediately asked Zareth,
"What did he say in there?" With a concerned tone of voice.
"Well, I have to stay with your group for the day. That's pretty much it."
Hearing this, Yan heaved a sigh of relief.
"Good! Again, I am very sorry for this. I have no choice in the matter."
As Yan said this, only half of Zareth's mind was focused on his words. They were coming through one ear before passing through the next.
What he was most concentrated on right now was his new sword and the fact that it had been too long since he hadn't used it.
Zareth's passion and respect for the blade were beyond words, and his excitement for fighting with it was even greater.
However, it felt as though each fighting opportunity he was granted just barely managed to spite him from using it. All he wanted to do right now was fight with his sword.
Finally, a thought arose in his head.
"Yan." He said, his mind still slightly in thought.
Yan quickly replied as he felt like he owed the kid, and was still quite upset at what had happened. "Yes?"
"Your merchant group... do you have a group of adventurers acting as your bodyguards to aid you in your travel?"
Yan was slightly confused by the sudden question. "Hmm? Yes, we do. They are a party of four adventurers from the main branch of the Vanir Adventurers Guild from Yuun city. They were a big help in our journey here, I still thank god that we hired them."
On hearing this, Zareth's mood turned a little brighter.
"Why is that?" He asked.
"Well, the path to Bolnuir is one quite famous for its pitiful bandits with no cultivation, however, on our travel, we came across a bandit troop which had a name, Skull Reapers. They weren't just some nobodies, and had cultivated individuals among them."
Yan paused, seemingly reliving the horrible memories of meeting these bandits.
"Thankfully, the adventurers we hired easily fended them off, and saved all of our lives."
"Is that so!" Zareth pretended to act surprised and glad. "Then, would you mind introducing me to these great adventurers? I would sure like to see them for myself."
"Why of course!" Yan happily agreed. It was an honor for him to show off his saviors. "They currently stay in a separate marquee, let me lead you to it." He said, walking towards a similar-looking tent not too far away.
A smile relaxed on Zareth's face as he followed Yan, also putting on his hood and mask.
'I will finally be able to test out my sword against some skilled opponents.'
Silio also joined them, walking wobbly because he was cross-eyed, looking at the autograph in the middle of his forehead with pride.
Zareth made sure to explain to Yan that he still wanted his identity hidden from these adventurers, and Yan quickly understood.
As Zareth entered the other marquee with Yan and Silio, he immediately saw three adventurers inside and quickly used Scan on all of them at once.
He only wanted to fight the strongest of the bunch.
One of them was sitting atop a tree log, a woman in her early twenties with orangish-red hair that flowed down past her shoulders and crimson eyes.
She wore leather armor, along with a bow and quiver strapped to her back.
Another sat opposite of her on another log, a large man with a rugged face, most likely in his late twenties to early thirties.
He was around 7 feet in stature, and looked like an absolute juggernaut, wearing heavy metal armor with a large 8-foot broad sword which was even bigger than he leaned against the log beside him.
Finally, the last one stood in between the two leaning against the wall, he was the most average-looking of the trio, sizing around 5'7 in stature with a simple build.
He was in his early twenties and wore glasses atop the ridge of his nose, while his eyes almost looked to be closed.
A light grin rested on his face, as a wooden staff lay on top of a long storage box in front of him.
As Zareth surveyed all of them, they also looked at him with slight confusion.
"Who is he? What's up with the mask?" The woman, Jasmine, immediately said.
Before Yan could answer, the mage of the group spoke, "Why, isn't that a little rude to say to a new person you see?"
"Shut up, Arthur." Jasmine quickly replied, clearly fed up with him.
Arthur continued to smile, unfazed by what Jasmine said.
"This is a companion of mine, he wishes to remain anonymous, I urge you treat him with hospitality. He wanted to see the adventurers who saved my life." Yan said.
Hearing this, the three looked at Zareth once again.
"Hmm..." Zareth suddenly said out loud. He was not impressed by the stats of any individual in the room.
All of their power was about the same, still, it was better than anything else. "Would any of you wish to join me in a duel?" He blatantly said without wasting any time.
On hearing this, Jasmine's expression turned almost offended. The juggernaut, Liam, only looked to be slightly confused, while Arthur's expression remained unchanging.
Before any of them could answer, the storage box in front of Arthur began shaking slightly, before a man suddenly sprung out like a jack-in-the-box.
"Did anyon~ shay~ duel?" He spoke almost as if he was drunk, barely managing to open his eyes, seeming to have just awoken form a nap.
Zareth immediately scanned him, his eyes widening with excitement as he saw the results.
[Statu-