Pete, now alone, standing outside the guild, As Pete explored the market, he immersed himself in the novelty of different foods and unique items. After an hour of wandering, his hands were laden with various intriguing trinkets he had collected along the way.
His curiosity then led him to a shop displaying magical items. He left all of his stuff outside at the door and eagerly entered the shop. The middle-aged shopkeeper warmly greeted him.
"How can I help you? "
"Do you have a storage bag?" Pete inquired enthusiastically.
The shopkeeper nodded. "Yes, indeed. Our storage bags start at 10 gold coins."
Pete hesitated, counting out two gold coins and some silver he had left. "That's expensive, but what can I get for this?" He placed all of his money on the table.
Shopkeeper looked at Pete with a mixture of curiosity and amusement. but still took out a necklace, "With this, perhaps you could charm your lover. It's not magical, but it holds sentimental value."
Blushing slightly, Pete purchased the necklace and left the shop. To his surprise, all the items he had gathered earlier were gone from where he had left them. Shrugging it off, he continued his stroll through the bustling market, unaware that he had attracted the attention of two masked individuals who began discreetly following him.
Meanwhile, Chris knelt before a portly man in the courtroom of the city lord, proclaiming, "My lord, the hero has arrived and joined our team."
Simultaneously, in a church, Sofia knelt before a pastor, reporting, "The hero has arrived and is now under my guidance."
Both the nobleman and the pastor exchanged sly smiles.
Pete, now with nothing to buy and simply exploring the city, watched the sun set as he continued wandering aimlessly through its streets.
The busy streets were now empty as people began to prepare for dinner.
Inside Morsh's soul space.
Morsh, walked up to the wall of his soul space, touched it, and to his surprise, he took over the body.
Pete soul was pulled back to his soul space.
Looking around, Morsh pondered aloud, "So I can only take over at night?"
He sighed, then noticed the two men covertly observing him from a distance. With a mischievous grin, Morsh strolled into an alleyway, the two men cautiously trailing behind.
One of them finally spoke up, their voice sharp and demanding, "Stop right there! Hand over your belongings, and you might live!"
Morsh turned to face the two men, who had covered their faces and were dressed in rough clothing, each wielding a sword.
"You don't loot the looter," Morsh retorted with a smirk.
Before the two men could react, he moved with lightning speed. In an instant, he appeared directly in front of one of them and delivered a powerful kick that sent the man flying through the air. The force of the impact slammed him against the wall, causing him to cough up blood and lose consciousness immediately.
The remaining man stared in shock and fear at Morsh's sudden display of strength and brutality. He hesitated for a moment, then turned to flee.
But Morsh appeared in front of him, clutched his neck and slapped him hard, causing the bandit's nose bleed through the mask and a deep mark on his cheek.
Morsh then raised his fist to punch the terrified thug, the thug saw his death on the fist, wetting his pants.
Just as Morsh's punch was about to connect with the thug, his soul was abruptly pulled back into his soul space by shimmering golden chains.
Inside the soul space, a golden whip materialized and lashed relentlessly at Morsh, causing him intense pain with each strike. "Argh!" Morsh groaned in agony as the whip continued its punishing assault, disappearing only after delivering several brutal blows.
Outside the soul space, Pete regained control of his body. Confusion momentarily clouded his expression as he looked down at the thug he had held by the neck. Realizing the situation, Pete quickly released his grip.
"I'm sorry... I'm extremely sorry," Pete apologized earnestly, his voice filled with regret. "It wasn't me who hurt you... It was someone trapped inside me."
The thug, still trembling and clutching his bruised neck, stared at Pete with wide eyes, clearly shaken by the sudden change in demeanor.
Pete took a step back, his hands raised in a gesture of peace. "Please, forgive me. I didn't mean to harm you."
The thug, still terrified, hurriedly ran away without looking back or even taking his teammate.
Pete, "Why did you hurt them Morsh? "
Morsh, still in the pain, didn't say anything but just glared at Pete.
Pete, overwhelmed with frustration and anger, stormed out of the alleyway into the now nearly deserted market.
Pete finds himself a bench, sat down and just sobbed, thinking about the past,
"How can a hero's hands be this bloodied..." Pete muttered to himself, his voice choked with emotion. "These hands killed Emily, those bandits, and would have killed those people if not for the restraint from the goddess."
After sobbing for some time, Pete fell sleep on the bench.
In the morning,
Pete awoke with the gentle warmth of the morning sun on his face. Stirring from his slumber, he blinked sleepily and looked around, a sense of urgency dawning on him.
"I need to go to the city gate," Pete muttered to himself,
He hurriedly ran towards the city gate.
Pete arrived at the city gate first and settled down to wait. The morning passed, and soon Jake and the others joined him.
Sofia, in a playful manner, reached for Pete's hand as if to embrace him, but hesitated when she caught a whiff of the lingering odor surrounding him
Pete hadn't bathed since their previous fights, and the scent of orc blood and sweat hung in the air around him.
Sofia reluctantly released Pete's hand but remained close to him, trying to maintain her composure.
Pete, unaware of the reason behind Sofia's hesitation, cheerfully asked, "What took you so long?"
Jake, still visibly frustrated by their delay, replied curtly, "We had some work to attend to at the guild."
Pete nodded enthusiastically, his smile unwavering. "Oh, okay! Let's go now."
With a nod, all of them left the city gate.
Jake was still at front, Iris and Chris were at the back while Pete and Sofia at the center.
Pete was now wearing a gloomy look,
Sofia asked worriedly, "What happened Pete? "
Pete sighed deeply, his expression filled with sadness, "Last night, Morsh was going to kill some people. Luckily, the goddess's restraint stopped him."
Sofia felt a pang of empathy, wanting to comfort Pete, but the lingering smell from Pete's unwashed state held her back from embracing him.
As they continued their trek, Jake took the opportunity to brief them about the mission. "Several girls, including a merchant's daughter, have been kidnapped by a group of bandits. Our objective is to infiltrate their fortified hideout and rescue them."
He continued, "The hideout is protected by wooden walls and houses approximately 100 bandits. According to the guild's informant, there are six second-rate warriors among them. We need to approach cautiously and plan our attack carefully."
The group listened intently, their determination bolstered by Jake's words.
Pete, feeling a mix of nervousness and resolve, clenched his fists as he spoke up. "We'll save them," with a heroic look, "We have to."
As the group approached the bandit hideout, the atmosphere grew tense and silent. They moved stealthily through the dense underbrush, keenly aware of the need to avoid detection. The forest canopy filtered sunlight, casting dappled shadows on the forest floor, while rustling leaves and distant animal calls filled the air.
Peering through the foliage, they observed the crude yet formidable structure of the hideout. Tall wooden walls surrounded the camp, with watchtowers positioned at each corner. Inside the compound, bandits could be seen patrolling, lounging around, and attending to their weapons.
Iris, using her keen eyesight, assessed the situation. "I count about forty bandits outside. The rest must be inside, assuming there are hundreds of them."
Jake nodded, his gaze fixed on the watchtowers. "We need to deal with those first," he affirmed.
Chris proposed a plan. "How about I create a distraction? While I keep their attention, Jake and Pete can sneak into the camp and locate the girls."
Jake thought for a moment and said, "Let do that "
Chris conjures a small fireball and hurls it into the forest, causing a loud explosion. But unexpectedly, almost all of the bandits rushed out to investigate.
This surprised but also made Jake and others skeptical.
But Pete said, "Let's go, this is our chance "
Morsh, "Something's wrong, don't go, it might be a trap "
But Pete ignored Morsh's warning, he sprinted towards the camp,
Jake gritting his teeth, "I will go with him, you guys stay here, if things go south, go back and inform the guild "
Jake then ran behind Pete.
They entered the camp without a problem, and even saw the girls imprisoned in a cage at the center of the camp.
There were several disheveled girls sitting with their heads bowed in a cage. Among them, there was a plump girl dressed in expensive clothing.
Pete strolled casually through the camp, showing no signs of worry about being seen. Behind him, Jake was visibly tense, his eyes darting around, checking for any lurking threats or curious onlookers. So far, the coast seemed clear.
As they approached the cage where the girls were held captive, Pete spoke up in a clear, reassuring voice, "Don't worry, I'm here to save you."
The fat girl gazed at Pete with eyes that sparkled and a shy smile, causing a slight shiver to run down Pete's spine. Before he could respond, an unfamiliar voice spoke up from behind them.
"You're not that smart," the voice said bluntly.
Pete and Jake whirled around to see who had spoken.