“I’m so fucking glad I tagged along instead of that fat bastard.” The same raspy voice adds. But he wasn’t alone; another two distinct pairs of footsteps entered alongside him. Han really left her in a predicament; she has no weapon, is in her undergarments, and was exhausted. If they’re here for her life or to cause her harm. He had to be of use.

  “Piss off. I’m already paying that scumbag. Why should I work more so you could fill your pocket? Wait till your boss hears about this.” Kanade exclaimed in a rather calm tone. She turns sideways; her legs touch the floor in case she has to jump into a fight.

  “Did…? did this bitch forget? You’re just the cherry on top, and we’ll eat around… there are kids living here, right? We’ll just nab them, throw ‘em into the auction, and voilà… profit. Now you understand? Besides, we’re just paying a visit to the boss’s pet. Makin’ sure she’s not lonely.” He came closer to the bed, explaining his sick scheme.

  “Fuck…! enough talk! Me wants to have fun… hur hurr hurrrgh—huh?” The biggest of them, and seemingly the fattest of them paused as something hit his shoulder; whatever it was fell to the ground with a light thump.

  “Hehehe… isss that a tomatoooo? Hehehehe.” The skinny one with pronounced top teeth and a rather annoying stutter, laughed at the other one until.

  “Arghh!” The fat one stumbled to the ground; blood instantly covered the wooden ground with thick, dark blood. Before any one of them could realize, Han focused on the secondary target strength-wise, the closest one to Kanade. With a rapid jump he closed the distance and.

  “F-Fuck! You mutt!” He screamed; sadly, he could only slice one of his Achilles heels as everything became blurry.

  “I got ‘im! I got ‘immmm” The unattended one kicked him directly in his side; he couldn’t tell what happened after that, but since Kanade was above him, he was flung pretty hard. The panic in her eyes and the shouting he couldn’t hear. It didn’t help that she was shaking him. Until.

  The knife? The knife…

  He relaxed his jaw, allowing her to grab it; she quickly disappeared after that. The impact really rattled him; the pain was rather minute it was just that he couldn’t tell up from down. Nonetheless, the encounter ended decently, as even with everything still being blurry, the red text was somehow crystal clear.

  [458 EXP GRANTED]

  He could only stare at the text, inwardly cursing at himself for not being the one with the last blow. Kanade’s, soon-to-be-clear face hovered over him. He barked as if to say he’s not injured, then she went away. By the time everything came back, the shack was empty; the aftermath was bloody though, the entrance was covered in blood; however, it now had a trail.

  Evidently, it led to the trio, now the duo, who were carrying a corpse unknowingly. Before he could examine his stats and gander if he leveled up, he checked up on Kanade. She was calm. Somehow she wasn’t panicking and was gearing up. The story around her kept him intrigued and made him less worried of her capacity. After all, things will get even more chaotic once it starts snowballing, that, he knew for certain.

  “You injured?” She asked, totally not the first time she was asking, and with most of the gear on her, she went near the bed. Using leverage, she slid it to the side and promptly knelt down to the floorboards. Han finally stood up and watched what she was doing. He already knew it was a stash of some sort; she can’t help herself from hitting shit.

  What he was interested in was; was it money? A secret weapon? Something useful? He hit it on the board with his first guess; sadly, he gave himself half points, as the small, jingling pouch was nowhere near to being full. Assuming the pouch was filled with money from the chest plate she sold, it seemed to him that she got scammed.

  “We have to make it count… are you sure you’re decent?” She whispered to herself first before noticing the calm Han. He simply barked again, “…I really need to get a bow… then a dagger… arrows too… this—this will be a headache.” She listed things whilst her voice kept getting lower and lower.

  “Just how poor are w—you…?” He said, which somehow came out as a confused whimper, and it fit his question perfectly.

  “Very.” Her response sent shivers through him. He could only snicker at the absurdity of his situation. She pushed the bed back in place and turned to the door. “Let’s go shopping.”

  Upon leaving, she waved to granny, then he quickly caught onto the fact that she was the one that threw the tomato. Kanade locked the door, and they set off. The streets kept gaining more architectural prestige the further they went, the stone street emerged, and the buildings that enriched the area around them. One thing he didn’t miss was the crowds; he had already guessed that they were taking a gander at the cheap stores in the lower district. Time to use his “phone” while driving.

  Han opened up the menu only to see Pochirin had leveled up once more and he had finally gained another level. So Pochirin blitzed through multiple levels and is now level 9 whilst he is 11. Since Pochirin is a familiar, it was weird that he didn’t have an actual ability yet. That did mean that he’s more likely to get one on the next breakthrough; level 10.

  Hm… if I’m level 11, she has to be level—

  “You’re… kidding…” Kanade sighed upon seeing Han walk into the side of a jutted out building. Her hands quickly wrap around his belly, then placed him on her right shoulder. Han didn’t oblige completely, but wasn’t necessarily fighting back. After all, he has the high ground now; he could browse the menu without needing to look at the road.

  She’s probably level 12.

  Normally, beast-masters are lower level than their familiars due to them being their main offensive power. However, since apparently she isn’t one, she must have had some fighting in her life to be able to be somewhat proficient in killing, even to a point where she didn’t blink. Archery, and everything that comes with it, plus hunting. If anything, she was the anomaly, not Han.

  Needless to say, Kanade moved around Higelsdale’s lower district alleys, avoiding the morning crowds and markets that followed routine. And eventually coming to a shop Han recognized; Larrson’s Metalworks, the engraved metal sheet showed, with the letters themselves being barely readable. He already imagined the old bastard’s cold mug. The raggedy weapons shop that had good deals had a big turnoff, which was the cashier.

  Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  She pushed the door open; the various distinct smells of differing metals hit them both. The warmth was a tad unusual, though Han already knew the reason; the smithy’s underground. And the reason for that; he had no clue, but it kept pushing warm air from under them.

  The whole place was filled with, evidently, weapons. Not a single wall was spared by them; they were being a showcase for them. Anything that a regular smithy could make was there; daggers of all sizes, hammers with different weights, and swords of common and radical shapes. The man behind the shop was already mean-mugging Kanade, with his smith-worthy build and a shining bald head with a soot-covered apron.

  “You’re…” His raspy voice started like a cold diesel engine. Han had anticipated him yelling at her, but he paused the moment he noticed Han; “One of Lynn’s…? That dog… he mentioned it… a lot.”

  “Y-Yes?” She also didn’t expect him to act this way from his outward appearance. She gave him a couple seconds to continue talking, when he didn’t, “…We’re looking for a lot, but preferably cheap; uh, arrows, bows and a dagger or two.” She added.

  “Daggers? Those I can provide. C’mere.” He waved her in before turning around. They slip between the counters and followed him into the room behind it. He touched the wall, and the room somehow lit up. “These are my early works. Feel free to lessen up the trash in my storage.” He remarked whilst walking away.

  The room was decently sized, it was split into three aisles via wooden racks. There were plenty of weapons, upon a closer look, probably more were here than in the front. However, most of them were crippled by rust, and some were even handless or scratched up to hell, though the latter wasn’t much of a worry for them. Kanade was thankful for the generosity shown. Yet Han, Han was furious. Clearly remembering the day where he was trying to bargain since he couldn’t use the client’s money and then, the next moment, being thrown out.

  Bald bastard…

  He jumped down to avoid restricting her movement; besides, he might find something himself. His nose was useless since they all either smelled the same or the rust was overpowering others. One thing that was apparent was that there were no bows, he would have originally suggested her to use a sword, but now it is illogical. At least they were getting a couple of daggers for free.

  Since the racks were split into three shelves, Kanade couldn’t see the top one, and he couldn’t see the middle one as well as the topmost one. Glancing through the pile didn’t give any pull, so he grabbed a dagger. Checking whether the handle was comfortable to bite into. Before he could really test it, she snatched it and went back to the front.

  “Anything else?” He said. Kanade paused. She heard him before but didn’t really understand whether he’s planning to give these away or not. Han also wasn’t absolutely sure, thinking he would give a discount for them being trash in his eyes.

  “Are these fine to take?” Kanade extended her hands and showed them both. They were lightweight and with differing lengths of the word “short”. Her previous dagger was more like an all-encompassing knife; these two were combat ready. He could tell because of the hilts.

  “You dens—yes.” He nodded whilst a vein was quite obviously protruding from his bald head. As she was walking out, for some reason, she wanted to test his patience once more again and turned around.

  “Sorry to pester you, but would you know where I could buy a bow, or at least arrows?” Since this was a weapons shop, he might know of the other side of lethal; more long ranged-kind of arms were.

  “So, a fletcher? That plant lover’s around the corner. I make that elvish prick’s arrowheads.” He jolted his head to the left, signifying which corner.

  “Mm. Thank you.” Kanade quickly nodded and noted. They both left without a moment wasted. Whilst Han personally hasn’t used a bow in a while, so the shop for the likes was new. Alas, he would rather not have seen it.

  She followed the clerk’s vague directions, and those did lead to a fletcher, Henris’s Bows & Arrows. The glass storefront was literally a miniature garden with tulips, lavender, and other flowers he had no chance of recognizing. Combined with a wooden, moss-ridden, store sign; the vibe it gave off was more of a gardening shop than of hunters and archery-goers.

  Han wasn’t the only one that thought so, as Kanade’s steps stuttered, giving time for her to look around the surrounding building signs. She wasn’t going to survive without them, so she steeled herself onwards with Han beside her. What was the worst that could happen? She pushed open the glass-inlaid door, and they were instantly attacked.

  “Welcommee! Welcome! New customers, I see.” A rather tall man with a monocle appeared. His long blond hair was tied down with a low ponytail at his nape’s height. He quickly slid aside; his long-tailed, greenish cloak gently hit the door, letting them inside the store. Kanade didn’t seem to be put off and walked to the store’s middle.

  Fucking… Hell…

  Han, on the other hand, was fighting against a sneeze; that the absurd amount of scents fought over which one would reach his brain first. As his eyes watered, Kanade continued.

  “Uh, bows and a couple arrows to fill my quiver.” She asked her head, following the clerk akin to a swivel.

  “Any preferences, redwood, blackwood… any bu—dget?” He started explaining; the words paused once he saw a black puppy by Kanade’s side.

  What the fuck is with them?

  “Um… why do does—“ Kanade tried to ask the same thing as Han wanted.

  “You’re basically Lynn’s daughter. Most of us don’t leave their respective shops until the quarterly meeting… and because he doesn’t shut up about you. Besides, if we help you, we’d get a good word in, right?” He smiled while talking slowly, though his green eyes kept darting around Kanade’s body in a weird, perceptive manner.

  “Y-Yes, of cours—” He suddenly grabbed her shoulders and placed his right hand in between her cat ears as if measuring the distance. He promptly stepped back with a loud thud; with his left eye closed, the other examined Kanade’s arm.

  “Knew it; elvish. Springy, light, and affordable.” He rushed behind the counter, fluttering any plants along the path. His shop was rather posh with the glass covers on each expensive bow and large plants beside each one. The grittiness that Larsson had wasn’t here.

  “Compact, swift, and fierce… like a certain young lady I know.” He smiled, handing her a very bright bow. It was almost pure white; the polish on it glistened, reflecting any light that touched it. It looked like a child’s plastic toy in Henris’s hands, but in Kanade’s, it fit perfectly. She fidgeted with it as if it were porcelain; her fingers barely drew the bowstring.

  “Abo—“ She wanted to ask for the price, yet once again was interrupted. Adding to Han’s annoyance.

  “May I ask how much do you have first?” His gloveless hands clasp together akin to a devil ready to propose a deal for one’s soul. What didn’t help was that his grin was accompanied by a squint that nearly hid his calm brown eyes. Han instantly guessed that he’s planning to be a prick and ask for everything; there’s no way that the bow isn’t turbo expensive.

  For an elf with multiple lives ahead of him, he sure isn’t patient.

  “Around—“

  “I’ll take 10. I’ll cover the quiver’s. Should be 25 arrows.” He listed off numbers that she had yet to even say. It instantly ticked a switch in Han’s mind. The interjecting was him just being an asshole, but his ego, however, hinted at something elves can do.

  That guy… he can probably understand me.

  Han couldn’t understand why he was showing off his late-game ability, ? Nature’s Sight ? a skill that can see the future. Whilst the seeing part is short, about 2 seconds, it still didn’t explain why he’s doing this. However, it did mean that he also has ? Nature’s Voice ? that enables him to talk with animals innately and with plants later on. The thing was, it slowly dawned on him.

  T-This guy’s over level 70!?!