35 – I’ll call for backup… just wait here ok?
He doesn't even do anything, just lets the goblins get away.
"M-mister? Isn't that bad? What if a bunch of them come after us later."
"Why are you still stuttering, Dorothy? You spoke normally with that Grandma… don't tell me you find a goblin scarier than her... As for letting them go, well, letting them go was intentional, it's more XP—cough... I mean, it's easier to let them all come straight at us and eliminate them, rather than having one that got lost always popping up out of nowhere…"
Dorothy, holding hands with Sharon behind him, looked a bit thoughtful and replied, "Well, let's just stay here and wait then, this path doesn't seem viable but, you must have your reasons..."
Anyway, I need XP, after what happened I realized I was way too weak, what's the point of being able to bend metal bars, but not being able to handle a mini-boss like Stoneface, and now that I think about it, he is worse than the old lady, even though she is the Boss. Well, every game has that one mob that gives you a harder time than the boss itself anyway. Now that the goblins saw me, they will inform the others and come get us, since they think we're easy prey, at least I hope so.
They passed through the entrance and waited inside as Crow shut the metal gate.
"Crow, I think this is going to be a huge problem, what if a goblin comes, how am I going to defend them? They wouldn't be able to run away—"
"The girl can burn them easily, right Dorothy?"
"I don't like burning others."
"Goblins aren't people, they are an abomination that infests this world, much like cockroaches, if you see one, you eliminate it, unless you want to get kidnapped by them of course—"
“I-I will burn, I will burn them…”
He didn't even answer; just kept walking straight and left them right there, as he passed through the alley, it was kind of dark, because it was roughly late afternoon, but he could make out the basics; he saw a sewer hatch that was sealed.
I get it. Since I saw them up here, and they went down that hallway, I imagine this sewer hatch must lead to the nest; the authorities probably opted to block it in order to prevent them from spreading until the "cleanup" crew arrives. Either way, I'll just leave it as it is, since they must be coming from a single entrance they broke open, assuming almost all of them are sealed off, of course.
Crow followed the blood trail left by the goblin eating an arm.
Man, I hate these things, seriously. Normally you’d let the hero deal with them, but it's free XP for me. Not to mention this is the best route to get where I want, and I definitely won't run into anyone there. At most, on the other side after crossing another potential metal gate, I'll probably find more bandits. This whole place is looking like a quarantine zone. I'd better hurry before the inquisitors show up and decide to purify us before the goblins... What was that noise? On the roof of the building? Doesn't seem like anyone's there, man that's sketchy. Anyway, that was actually a quick walk, I thought this area was bigger. No doubt they came through this hole in the wall. Maybe they dug from over there and came through the sewers? I don't know, I'm thinking too much and doing too little, better get moving.
He stepped through the hole in the wall—
BAM!
“keekekekek” The goblins cackled as they slammed a frying pan into his face, his only response was kicking the table they used for elevation.
Thud.
“It’s leveling time...” Crow stomped on the goblin’s neck on the floor.
Crack.
Honestly, I'm tired of all this killing, I don't know when I got used to doing this, man, I'm going to form my party and vanish off the map, seriously. I want to see Alice try to find me and put me back to work again while I’ll be chilling in some far away place.
“Kekekekekek” Cackled a goblin with a human arm in its mouth.
Tired or not, these things need to be exterminated from this world.
Crack.
He went around killing every single one he found on the ground floor of that building, until he found a hole in the floor from which a goblin emerged, he kicked the goblin in the head, snapping its neck.
[CONGRATULATIONS!]
[Level Up 13 > 14]
[Hand to Hand Combat Level Up 7 > 8]
I don't usually kick, is that why my hand to hand combat leveled up? But leveling hand to hand by kicking is kind of weird... well, whatever.
He caught the scent of something burning.
Seriously? Dorothy!? But no goblins got past me, what is going on? I should head back, but first, I'm going to knock this giant cabinet into the hole. The Hero can sort it out later if anything happens; right now, I need to make sure the girl survives, since she's totally OP and only died in the story for plot reasons.
Crow tipped the cabinet over and rushed back to where he started. He didn't find anyone except Dorothy, who was wreathed in flames, and he saw a lot of blood on the ground.
"What happened? I haven't even been gone a minute."
"M-mister..." The flames died down, and she collapsed to the floor. “2 men dropped down here from the roof, and attacked us..." She planted both hands on the ground and tried to push herself up, but she was too weak. "Sharon fought them, but she couldn't even see a thing. So she told everyone to run and hide, and said she was going to do the same thing that was done to us at the mine entrance."
Man, you've gotta be kidding me. No, this can't be real, haha... less than 1 minute.
"S-so, she started swinging, her attacks passing just above us in all directions. That caused these nearby buildings to collapse around us, and, well, the fire... I didn't have any other choice, cough, cough..."
The inquisitors aren't going to come alone. The city must have noticed this by now; it looks like a terrorist attack. SWAT will be here soon, we'd better get out of here.
“M-mister!?”
"We don't have time for you to walk. The kids are gone, you're the only 1 left. It doesn't even make sense, was this some kind of kidnapping?"
He said this while carrying her in his arms across the area. As the buildings were slowly consumed by the flames, tilting and falling diagonally because of the lateral cuts at their bases, he quickly crossed to the other side, jumping over the parts that weren't on fire. When he reached the metal gate isolating the area, he saw the other 3 kids.
"You guys are here... that's a relief. Where's Sharon? She was forced to fight—can you describe what happened?" He finished speaking as he set Dorothy down and went to open the gate.
The taller boy spoke up. "The taller, skinnier man said it was a surprise to find her here, so weak and completely blind, and that it would make his plan easier. He was wearing a mask, and he had his hand on his throat with a faint purple light glowing from it."
WHAT? Plan? Someone wanted to kidnap her? If it's someone from the Stoneface gang… I just want to leave, but somehow problems keep popping up everywhere. I'll go to the Mercenary Guild, pay those guys to escort the kids back to the Snow Raven Realm, and then I'll go rescue the "damsel in distress."
After opening the gate and stepping through, he closed it behind the kids as they passed. Just as he turned around, he heard a voice.
"Well, well, well, what do we have here... someone decided to breach the quarantine zone... and on top of that, the whole place is burning to the ground... Man, what do you think, James? This guy looks pretty guilty to me. How about you?"
"He is guilty, Truman. What else would he be?"
"You heard my partner. Hands where I can see 'em; the cavalry's almost here."
It's all or nothing. I'll have to force my way through, but I'll avoid killing them since they're just innocent guards.
Crow slowly turned around and kept walking straight toward them as he spoke. "Look, this is all a big misunderstanding. I'm just leaving, alright? Don't try to stop me."
"Well, well! It's all a misunderstanding, is it? So he's innocent... Yeah, James, looks like today's a 'nightstick to the back' kind of day," he said, drawing his baton.
"I don't like beating people, Truman, but this town forces my hand every single day. I've had it..." He drew his nightstick as well.
Officer James swung a blow at Crow, who dodged the first hit and blocked the second.
This guy is strong...
The other guard didn't wait around and jumped in too. Crow dodged, sticking close to Truman, forcing James to hold back his strike so he wouldn't hit his partner.
"Surrender, please. If you give up now, your prison sentence will be lighter..." said James, looking like he didn't really want to be doing this.
Crow barely dodged another blow as he replied, "I'm innocent, man... I'm gonna have to put you guys to sleep. Sorry..."
"Put us to sleep? HAHA! Look at this guy, James! He's insane! We're the ones who put thugs to sleep every day!" Meanwhile, Truman threw another strike that caught Crow right on the side of his left arm, landing with a loud, heavy smack against his flesh.
Dude, if these guys are this strong, how is the city still such a mess?
Crow feigned a broken left arm. When James stepped in to deliver a final blow to knock him out, Crow pulled Truman right into the path of the hit at the last second.
Whack!
"TRUMAN!? I-I'm sorry, ah man..."
Truman went to sleep.
Crow looked at James and said, "James, you seem like a nice guy, so here's the deal; take your partner and get out of here. I won a 2 on 1, so imagine a 1 on 1. You really wanna keep going with this? If I were guilty, I would've pulled my sword and ended all of this already."
James hesitated, deep in thought, then said, "I can't just turn a blind eye... so I'm calling for backup... just wait here, ok?" He picked up his partner and backed out of the alley.
"Yeah, James... go call for backup..."
"M-mister... it's not that I don't trust you, it's just that you seem unlucky... j-just trouble after trouble ever since I met you..."
He looked back. "Yeah, story of my life. That's how it is out here, it's a concrete jungle."
Crow turned around and kept walking with the kids following behind him. As he stepped out of the alley, he spotted the shop the merchant from earlier had mentioned, located right near the mercenary guild. He turned around, slipped his hand into his pocket, and said, "Alright, here's the plan. Take this watch, Dorothy, I'm putting you in charge. Go inside, find the short guy, tell him it's time to pay back what he owes for the help on the road, and show him this. Tell him to get a wagon to escort you all out of here. Mention that I'm hiring some mercenaries for protection so the wagon can make it back, and that he can claim a reward upon return. Once you reach the kingdom, mention my name and say you have orders to present yourself to the queen. That should clear everything up, since she can view memories. Sure, it'll take some time, and if things don't line up, she might not even be there, but it's enough to keep you safe until things settle down."
"M-mister, I-I think... it's better if you do this yourself. I'm scared to go in there and be food in that kingdom."
"Sorry, but I have to rescue Sharon. Whatever happened back there is my responsibility too. Don't worry, everything's gonna be fine." He handed her the watch and watched the kids head toward the shop on the right. Once they were clear, he crossed the street and walked toward the mercenary guild.
Think positive... whoever kidnapped her was only interested in her, otherwise they would have taken the kids too. That makes me think it isn't Stoneface. None of his allies could pull off kidnapping her, even with her in a vulnerable state. Besides, he would have just killed her... or at least that's what he said. Unless he's trying to make me suffer? But the guy is way too heavy, there's no way it could have been him on the roof at that moment—”
“Are you going to keep staring at the door or are you going in? You walking wardrobe.”
Crow gave a slight shake of his head and glanced sideways at her; she was probably a martial artist. He didn't even bother replying and just walked inside.
A walking wardrobe? Well, given her size, I guess it makes sense she’d see me as one.
The interior of the building was surprisingly upscale. It had the layout of a classic adventurer's guild, but with a distinctly professional, almost corporate atmosphere. There were no rowdy tables scattered around with people loudly chatting or drinking. Instead, well-dressed individuals walked briskly with documents in hand, while others sat quietly on sofas waiting their turn.
Different. Very different. It reminds me more of a private military company... I'll check with the receptionist over there and see how their mercenary contracts work.
Approaching the main counter, he saw 3 receptionists. He walked up to the 1 on the far left, as her line was empty.
"Hello, welcome to the Guild. I don't believe I've seen you around before. I assume you're looking to sign up for work, correct?" she asked after giving him a quick once-over.
"Actually, no. I have some business to attend to, and I need an escort for a few acquaintances traveling to another city. What are your rates for a relatively strong party? Also, do you offer confidentiality clauses? There is, well... a noble involved."
Which isn't a lie...
"I understand, that's quite common. Not a problem," she replied smoothly. "Would this be a multi-day escort, or just a simple border crossing? A warzone? Please fill out this form so we can assign the most suitable team from our available roster."
"Er... sorry, but I can't read this language."
"I see, no problem. What country are you from, sir? I notice you speak the Universal Language fluently, but you aren't familiar with its script... Are you... um, able to read any of the other major languages? Oh, how rude of me, my apologies! Let me bring out the alternative forms in the other primary languages. If you happen to be illiterate, please don't worry, it's quite common. I could summon a Paladin officer to witness the contract and ensure you aren't taken advantage of due to your illitera—"
"It's fine, just hand me the alternative documents," he interrupted.
Man, I get the feeling she just tried to insult me...
Taking the paperwork, he glanced at one of the sheets and—
Whoooaaaa, the mercenaries here... Rank A, Rank S... this roster is stacked!? No, wait, hold on, how am I reading this? Japanese? WHAT? This reminds me of that watch brand named after a Japanese guy I received from the merchant... I really want to ask what they call this language here, but if I do, I'll have to admit I can read it... which would be way too weird. Let's just bluff a little and see what kind of information I can fish out of her.
He picked up the Japanese document. Even though he wasn't completely fluent, he understood enough to get by. "I see," he said calmly. "If you had a document in this language, I'm not sure why you didn't just give it to me in the first place..."
"My deepest apologies. I didn't realize you could read Imperial. It isn't widely used in this country nowadays..."
Imperial, huh... Did one of the other transmigrators found an empire? Well, better for me, I guess. At least there's one written language I can kind of understand. It's weird, though, they speak English here and call it the “Universal Language,” but there's no English alphabet. Instead, they use that other script which, while cool, is completely incomprehensible to me. Looks almost like Arabic.
He didn't even need to think twice. "This group here works. How much for a standard escort? Just until near the Snow Raven Realm—"
SHING!
SHING!
A few mercenaries passing by him instantly drew their swords. The toughest among them chimed in, his hand moving suspiciously, as if he desperately wanted to punch someone,"Just to clear something up... did you mention the realm of that tyrannical little mage who killed—cough... who's currently at war with our country?"
Why do I feel like I've been through this exact same thing before?
The guy yearning for a fight approached Crow with his dubious moving hand. “Speak, don’t tell me you are mute… or are you frozen because of fear?” He put his normal hand on Crow’s shoulder.