Outside the dilapidated structure, many of the townspeople who were close by heard the commotion and screams and arrived at the scene.
"What happened here?"
A man spoke with visible shock and surprise on his face.
The building he was looking at was like a twister came through while they were blind.
"Not sure. But looking at the state of the building, a fight definitely occurred here. There are some people inside checking to see if they'll find anyone."
"Guys! Over here!"
Someone bellowed from within the building.
"Oh. Looks like they found something. Come on."
The people ventured into the building with careful steps, making sure not to make any exaggerated moves that could bring the structure down.
"What is it? What did you find?"
Someone asked as soon they got inside.
"There"
Looking in the direction that was pointed, the people saw seven old and frail-looking men strung against the wooden walls with muffled groans of pain, some even shedding tears.
"What are a bunch of old men doing in a place like this? And why are they crying?"
"How should I know?"
The person shrugged in response.
Normally, it's the adventurers you'd see hanging around places like this, especially the shady ones. So to find old dudes instead of young and middle-aged men was unexpected.
"Wait…"
One person muttered with narrowed eyes and moved in for a closer look.
"This man looks familiar…" the person stared at the leader for several seconds when his eyes widened in shock and surprise.
"No way!"
He bellowed, causing the others to recoil a bit.
"What? What is it?"
Another asked, dying to find out what the exclamation was for.
Still with a speechless and shocked expression, the man slowly got up and turned to face the others.
"I-that's Brute..."
He pointed at the boss who named Brute with shaky hands and trembling eyes.
"You sure?"
The people were sceptical, there was no way that old man was who they thought.
Of course, they had heard of the man named Brute, who was in charge of the group known as The Brute Force.
However, when they counted the men, saw their numbers and even got in for closer looks, some eventually spotted the resemblance and couldn't believe their eyes.
"How did they end up like this?"
Another muttered and began to feel his fear rising. The situation was too mysterious to understand.
What kind of spell could turn a strong and powerful man into an old one?
"I don't like this one but. This has sorcery written all over it."
"What, you think a sorcerer is in town?"
The person gulped in fear, the place looking scarier than before and the ominous air that settled among them didn't help matters.
"I refuse to believe that… there's no way a sorcerer would come to a place like this."
The person moved towards the old men, staring directly at Brute who was twitching from time to time.
"Hey, Brute. Wake up? Who did this to you?"
He shook Brute carefully as the man slowly stirred awake.
Brute's vision was blurry as he could only make out silhouettes around him, not entirely sure where he was.
Only after the memories of what happened did his eyes widen in horror as he recoiled from the presence of the man before him, thinking it was that monster.
"Hey, hey, hey…"
The man backed away a little to give him room to calm down, watching as Brute looked around vigilantly as if expecting someone.
His eyes fell on his colleagues and then on his hands.
"Ah….."
A wave of despair and terror washed over him as he wailed bitterly.
Everyone around looked on with sombre expressions, empathizing with his situation. However, they still needed to know what or who caused this.
"Hey, we're sorry for your situation, but can you tell us who did this?"
The man asked again, gesturing towards the other six old dudes.
Brute looked up at the man with shaky eyes and managed to utter the words everyone was waiting for.
"C-Caleb…"
"What?" The people didn't quite catch the name and tilted their heads in confusion.
"Caleb did this!"
Brute forced himself to scream out the name of the person a second time, but that act caused him to lose the little bit of energy he had left.
His body leaned back against the wall in exhaustion as his breath came out in heavy pants.
"Caleb, Caleb, …"
They had heard that name before but they couldn't place the person or they didn't want to.
"He's not talking about Caleb, the rising star, is he?"
Someone connected the dots the others refused to join, however, from the dark expressions they had on, it was clear they understood but didn't believe.
"That can't be right, I just saw this earlier today…"
"Me too, but you and I can agree that there was something different about him."
"…"
Those who came across Caleb could attest to that fact but they couldn't see the connection. How was someone like him involved in the dark arts?
"Do you think that is the reason for his lack of presence?"
"Whatever the case, something has changed about him. We have to report this to the town Lord.
"If what Brute says is true, then we have a problem on our hands."
The man spoke with evident trepidation, feeling goosebumps all over his body.
The others nodded and then moved to carry the members of the Brute Force to a healer.
And as one would expect, word of what transpired spread quickly, and some even began panicking that Caleb would come for them next.
To have the power to turn a healthy young person into a frail old one was the stuff of nightmares, things they imagined only sorcerers could do.
Meanwhile, Caleb, the cause of the now brewing mayhem returned to the guild, applied for a new adventurer's ID and then booked an inn close by.
"Now then, let's check out the other features of the system."
He muttered lying on a single bed with a holographic display before his eyes.