"Yes. According to my skills, the current Rafe could be classified as a Hero Rank adventurer. The highest rank that humans can currently achieve," Nia said.
"Impossible, although the mana is also very low," Hayato said in disbelief.
"Hehehe... it seems that even though my physical and human strength has decreased drastically, the True Force can still judge my true strength. No wonder," Rafe said proudly as he propped up one leg.
"Unbelievable," Nia muttered.
"I'm sorry, Rafe, but I'm curious. Exactly how much has your physical and human strength diminished now?" asked Nia.
"Hmm... how much, I'm not good at counting. But maybe my mana is very much reduced, while my physical strength is not too much," Rafe replied with a confused look on his face.
"That's still not clear," Hayato grumbled quietly.
"Let's say this cake is your full mana power, then this cake is your full physical power. You can cut the cake according to the size of your current mana and physique, according to your feelings," Nia said as she placed two whole cakes in a circle in front of Rafe.
"It's easier this way," Rafe said as he picked up a knife to cut the cakes.
Rafe slowly cut into the two cakes and ate the pieces immediately. Meanwhile, Nia and Hayato's faces looked surprised at the size of the piece of cake that Rafe had taken.
"Is what you ate the rest of the mana and physical strength you can use right now?" Nia asked to make sure.
"Yes. You're smart too, you deserve to be a teacher," Rafe praised with a smile.
"Impossible. That means he can only use ten percent of his mana and forty percent of his physical strength," Hayato said with an unbelieving look on his face.
"How strong were the members of Neutron in the past? Even his disciple is so strong, with only ten percent of his mana he can defeat me, even with the help of his abilities it's still unbelievable," Nia thought while looking sharply at Rafe who was still enjoying the cake he had cut.
"The cake is delicious, can I finish it?" asked Rafe as he looked at Nia and Hayato.
"Yes," Nia and Hayato replied briefly because they were still in shock.
Nia could only sigh deeply. She then excused herself to go home while Rafe and Hayato finished the food that had been served. They only left when all the food on the table was gone.
"The food in this era is all delicious," Rafe said, stroking his stomach.
"Was there no good food like this in the Acedia era?" asked Hayato while descending the stairs.
"There was, but only nobles could enjoy it," Rafe replied.
"Is life so bitter in the Acedia Era?" thought Hayato.
The two started to leave the restaurant, the atmosphere outside still seemed to be busy with people passing by. Rafe and Hayato started to walk towards the inn, but a knife shot out as they passed through a relatively quiet street.
Rafe quickly flicked his finger to deflect the knife that was aimed at him, and the knife immediately stuck into the wall of the building near them. Hayato immediately turned to look behind him as well, where three men with grim faces and well-built bodies stood with knives in their hands.
"Oi, looks like you're rich kids," one of the men said while licking the knife in his hand.
"Is the food at that fancy restaurant very good?" another man said, glaring at Rafe.
"Hahaha... events like this are common for a main character, I've been waiting for a moment to be ambushed by bandits like this while walking on a deserted street," said Hayato with a happy look on his face.
"What do you mean, boy? Have you gone crazy from eating too much good food?" the man asked, licking his knife.
"No need to talk much, three NPC bandits, attack me with your full strength," Hayato challenged while posing, stretching his right hand forward while his left palm covered one eye.
"You arrogant brat!" grumbled the man who had been silent.
"Let's chop them up!" said the man, licking his knife as he lunged at Hayato.
"Ice spear!" Hayato said, intending to use his ice magic, but nothing happened.
"Tch. Can't you stop your passive skill first? That plot armor of yours is so annoying," Hayato grumbled while turning to Rafe.
"I can't stop it," Rafe said with a deep sigh.
"Die!" the man shouted as he rushed over, swinging his knife at Hayato's neck.
"Argh!" screamed the man attacking Hayato as he spat blood from his mouth.
Blood seemed to splatter in different directions, it turned out that Rafe's hand had penetrated the stomach of the man who had attacked Hayato, Rafe's hand, already covered with lightning elements, seemed to have penetrated the bandit's back. Rafe's body and clothes were covered in blood, as was his right hand.
"Rafe," Hayato muttered as if he couldn't believe what he was seeing.
"How many people have you killed so far with your hands?" asked Rafe as he removed his hand, the bandit's dying body seeming to collapse to the ground and stagger.
The other two bandits suddenly turned pale, their bodies shaking with fear as they watched their partner die in Rafe's hands. They didn't even answer Rafe's question out of fear, but in a short time Rafe's body was right behind them.
Rafe's right and left hands had grabbed the necks of the two remaining bandits from behind, suddenly their bodies trembled even more until they finally knelt on the ground because they couldn't stand anymore.
"How many people have you killed so far?" asked Rafe, repeating his question again, but the two did not answer out of fear.
At that moment, Rafe's two hands began to send out lightning bolts, and in no time, the two bandits' heads were severed from their necks. The blood from their necks began to spill in all directions, they didn't even have time to scream due to the speed of Rafe's attack.
"What are you doing, Rafe? You didn't have to kill them, did you?" asked Hayato as he approached Rafe with an angry look on his face.
"What do you mean, let them go? What if they attack ordinary citizens who can't fight back?" replied Rafe.
"Can't we beat them to a pulp? They'll get scared and won't do it again!" said Hayato.
"Listen Hayato. Crime isn't that easy!" said Rafe as he grabbed Hayato by the neck and pushed him against the wall of the building. Hayato seemed to try to shake off Rafe's hands, but he couldn't.
"They could have repented for their crimes if you had given them a chance," Hayato said stammering.
"They were given many chances before they met me! If they had changed before they met me, they wouldn't have died here!" snapped Rafe. Hayato fell silent when he heard Rafe's words.
"We can't risk endangering ordinary citizens, the chances of a bad person turning good are slim. I know that very well, especially if they have already enjoyed the darkness of evil, there is no chance for them to change. If we let them go, more victims will fall," Rafe continued.
"It doesn't matter if they are children, men, women, young or old. Noble or commoner, if they commit a crime, they must be prepared for the risk, they must know that," Rafe added.
"But how do you know they deserve to be killed? Could it be that this is the first time they've done it and they're forced to do it because of the poverty they feel?" asked Hayato.
"Don't be naive, look at other people out there! How many poor people do you think still want to do a better job despite their physical limitations? Their bodies are still fit and strong, so why should I condone their crimes just because of their poverty?" replied Rafe.
"In the Acedia era, even many poor people would rather starve to death than commit a crime. If they were just stealing or cheating with no intent to harm, I wouldn't do it, but you saw what they did. They don't hesitate to hurt their targets, do you think they don't deserve to be killed?" asked Rafe while he removed his hand from Hayato's neck.
"Uhuk!" Hayato coughed several times while holding his neck.
"The greater the effect and damage of their crimes, the harsher the punishment will be. Those who do not hesitate to attack others for the sake of their crimes are bad people who deserve to be destroyed," Rafe said while staring at the corpses of the three bandits.
Rafe then raised his right hand, and flames began to appear around his hand. Rafe stomped his right hand until the flames burned the bodies of the three bandits who had ambushed them.
"Your naive feelings could one day kill you or the people you care about, don't let yourself feel the regret," Rafe said after the bodies of the three bandits were reduced to ashes. Rafe immediately continued his steps towards the inn, ignoring Hayato who was still pondering.
Continued...