I exchanged few words with the Iron Shield on our trip back to Ingcaster. I would've preferred to stay behind and rummage through the bandit's belongings for additional silver. In a perfect world, it would've been ideal to loot their bodies along with their camp, but apparently disturbing the dead was a faux pas.

  Instead, for the sake of my reputation, I left everything behind. The end of the skirmish was a blur in my mind. All I remembered was taking an arrow in the back and losing control, running purely on instinct until nearly everyone was dead.

  Despite the awkward silence, Roxham tended to the arrow wound with a first-aid kit. He considered me lucky, saying if the arrow had hit a few inches to the left, I would’ve been paralyzed. Aside from that, nobody had said a word.

  By the time we reached Ingcaster, night had fallen, and all I wanted was to review my stats and get some sleep. I paid a two-silver toll to pass through Ingcaster’s front gate and followed The Iron Shield back to The Gilded Boar. The interior of which bustled, jam-packed with the faces of unfamiliar adventurers that occupied nearly every table on the first floor.

  I approached the front desk with Roxham, who slid the contract across the counter.

  "We completed the job," he said.

  "Excellent, your payment will be ready after confirmation in the morning."

  Roxham turned to me and grabbed my hand, forcefully shaking it with a fake smile. "Good job. We'll meet again in the morning to split the payment."

  "Great," I said, hoping that The Iron Shield wouldn't spread any rumors of my heartless actions.

  Rumors? What rumors? It was the truth. I couldn't even recall exactly how many bandits I had killed. And for fertilizing the forest floor with their corpses, I gained a massive boost of karma and experience. Although The Iron Shield didn’t approve, the system clearly did.

  "What will happen to that bandit?" I asked as Roxham headed with his party for the exit.

  "He'll be taken to the dungeon."

  "I see. Uh," my words caught in my throat. "Thanks for the help."

  Roxham waved me off with the back of his hand. Sairees turned around for a moment, staring through me like I was worse than the bandits we slaughtered. As far as I was concerned, her hands dripped with as much blood as mine.

  Hypocrite.

  I wasn't a mass murderer; I was a beacon of justice. At least that's what I told myself.

  As I rode on my horse back to Wheat Brew Tavern and Inn. I rewarded my only companion with a night in the stables for the small cost of one silver. I ran my hand through his mane, still undecided on a name. At least the horse didn't seem to hate me.

  I entered the tavern with my right eye shut, paid one silver for a sausage roll and carried it with me to my room. The well-seasoned meat and fresh pastry warmed my belly as I strolled into my room and sat down on the edge of the mattress. For being stuck in a foreign world whose technology level paled in comparison to Earth, the food was quite good.

  After I devoured the last bite of sausage, white text dropped through the ceiling and disappeared beneath the floorboards.

  +HP Recovery

  The pain radiating from the arrow wound on my back eased. I considered going back downstairs for another roll, hoping it would completely numb the bandaged puncture wound.

  I laid myself out on the bed, staring up at the patterns of grain that swirled through the wooden planks across the ceiling. Despite hitting level three, today sucked.

  I could've died.

  I should've died.

  Why did the look Sairees gave me bother me so much? The more I stewed on it, the more frustrated I became.

  "No," I said and raised myself off the bed and walked over to the mirror, dashing my concerns into my mind’s broom closet.

  Target: David Cyprus

  Level 3: 510/1000

  Karma Rating: +475

  Stamina: 3

  Agility: 3

  Strength: 3

  +1 Unspent Ability Point

  Though this was the second time I was looking into the mirror, it was the first time I truly appreciated my new appearance. Usually, a strong sense of self-hatred surged through my veins, but not now. I had blue eyes with short black hair, a five o'clock shadow, and a strong jawline. I hardly recognized the stranger staring back at me. Maybe this was the fresh start I always wanted.

  I was certainly better looking than before and slightly taller. My old body was quite fit, in a lean type of way, before it got mangled by a train. But my new body was musclebound, and well, better in every aspect.

  I flexed my biceps in the mirror and cracked a smile, wondering if the bonus strength from my level up played any part in attributing to my physique.

  "I'll do better next time," I said.

  Tomorrow, I planned to redeem my reputation. Whether that required tracking down lost cats from a tree or saving a kid or two that fell into a well, I'd attempt to keep the whirling darkness inside at bay.

  I likened killing bandits to wandering into an opium den as a former addict. It would be hard to bloody my hands with no blood to spill.

  Satisfied with my newfound resolution, I turned my attention to the unspent ability point glowing in the mirror.

  My ability tree expanded across the mirror, revealing a set of tier two abilities that connected to Dagger Step. Four options lay before me.

  I concentrated on the blurred third tier abilities underneath the second tier, but a line of red text read: Requires three ability points spent.

  "Interesting," I whispered, still trying to grasp this world's mechanics.

  However, without being able to explore the abilities available at higher levels, it was impossible to plan a build.

  I wonder if this world has respecs.

  Regardless, I refocused on choosing a new ability. There were four options: Invisibility, Agility Burst, Refresh, and Dagger Proficiency.

  After a heated internal debate, I spent my ability point in Invisibility. Having such an ability available during my assault on the bandit camp would've been helpful.

  Ability Learned

  + Invisibility Mastery 0/5

  Curious as to what mastery was or how to acquire it, I sat down facing the mirror and instinctively activated my new ability. My reflection vanished in the blink of an eye.

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  I walked around the room, counting the seconds in my head as I noticed Invisibility didn't mute the sound of my footsteps. I pulled the dagger from the sheath on my belt and held it out in front of me, noticing it too remained invisible.

  "Good," I said.

  I dropped the weapon, and the moment it left contact with my skin, the blade became visible. With a decent understanding of the ability’s mechanics, I took a seat in front of the mirror, continuing my count until the effect wore off.

  Invisibility lasted for exactly 90 seconds. I hoped increasing the mastery would extend its duration, yet I remained at a loss on how to get mastery points in the first place.

  I recalled gaining a random point of stamina while I was making my trek to Ingcaster. Perhaps there was a possibility to increase my ability mastery by simply using them.

  As invisibility wore off, I focused on re-activating it, only for it to fail.

  Warning Ability on Cooldown

  Despite the lack of a cooldown timer, if I remained completely still, I swore I could feel an internal timer ticking in my bones.

  Five minutes later, I activated the ability again, noting its cooldown duration. Back home, I fantasized about having this power. The ability to disengage from any situation at a moment's notice would’ve saved me so many lonely nights tending to my cuts and bruises in empty veterinary clinics.

  Despite the onset of thirty hours' worth of sleep deprivation, I continued activating invisibility, waiting out the five-minute cooldown and reactivating it.

  Moonlight leaked in through the window, casting shadows across the walls. I let out an exhausted sigh, not feeling like I made an inch of progress toward gaining a mastery point. Before I knew it, my head hit the pillow, and I passed out.

  ***

  Obnoxious crowing roosters roused me from my slumber. Fragments of a dream fleeted from my waking mind. I recalled being back on Earth, in a warped version of New York, running along the tracks of a subway, feet slogging through mud as the headlights of an impending train chased after me.

  I wiped the sweat from my face, shot out of bed, and exited my room. With a drawn-out yawn, I walked down to the end of the hall, where steam rolled out from underneath a door.

  Entering the room, I dragged my feet across a stone-tiled floor, walking past open stalls occupied with older men showering, displaying their goods like I was in a YMCA locker room.

  Finally, I found a stall to myself, stripped out of my bloodied clothes, and threw myself underneath a hot stream of running water.

  Thank God this world has plumbing.

  I scrubbed myself down with a complimentary bar of soap. Crimson bubbles and dirt circled the drain at my feet. No matter how hard I scrapped the rough rag across my body, I left feeling unclean. Changing back into my single pair of dirty clothes didn't help in that matter.

  I examined the frayed threads that hung around the tattered hole atop my hood. But before I sought fresh garments, I swung by the dining room and paid two silver for an egg sandwich.

  Dawn broke and rays of early morning sunlight warmed my shoulders as I greeted my horse with a head pat.

  “How about the name Death's Vengeance?”

  The horse neighed, shaking its mane.

  “Yeah, that one was pretty bad,” I said and guided him out of the stable.

  Air rustled my cloak as I rode atop my steed. Though it was albeit slow, I was improving at horse riding. At least I no longer feared being bucked off.

  When we arrived at The Gilded Boar, I hitched my steed next to a trough of water and proceeded up the stone steps. Though I was still tired, it felt like my HP had made a full recovery. The puncture wound from the arrow in my back felt no worse than a minor scrape.

  Upon entering the guild hall, I noted the sparse morning crowd. Perhaps adventurers liked to sleep in. Roxham, Sairees and Danphar sat in a corner on the first floor, but only Roxham glanced in my direction.

  I waved him over, and we walked to the front desk together. The same curly blonde from the other day was working again today, with an even more careless demeanor present than before.

  She yawned, eyes rolling as we approached.

  "You don't have to come in here at the crack of dawn, you know?" she commented.

  Roxham laughed. "Work early, go home early."

  The blonde scowled. "Maybe for you, but I'm here all damn day."

  I cleared my throat, ready to get paid and use the proceeds to pay for an outfit that didn't look like it had lost a fight with a blender.

  "Excuse me," I said. "We're here to collect from yesterday's quest."

  "Right, Maurice mentioned that you would stop by," she said and pulled out a piece of parchment with a single gold coin and slid it across the desk along with the initial deposit fee.

  "Sign here and here."

  I stared blankly at the quill, then glanced up at Kora, who sighed then signed for me and passed the paper to Roxham.

  "Sorry to be difficult, but can you split this into two payments of 50 silver reach?" Roxham asked.

  "Don't apologize if you're going to be difficult anyway."

  The employee snatched the gold from the counter and disappeared into the back.

  "About yesterday," I said.

  "Forget it, I should be the one apologizing," Roxham admitted. "You saved my life. I have no right to judge you for your... methods."

  "It's my fault for getting caught up in the heat of battle," I said. Though if I was telling the truth, I would've admitted to blacking out, losing out again to the demon inside of me that craved fear and death.

  The guild employee returned with two cloth sacks of coin and dropped them on the counter. She also handed me another contract.

  "What's this?" I asked.

  "According to Maurice, the four of you wiped out close to two dozen bandits. He was quite impressed."

  "I see."

  "Not only that, but the vice-captain recommended you for this contract. It pays two gold if you're able to complete it," she said.

  I eyed the contract, embarrassed by the fact I still couldn’t read their language.

  "What does this say?"

  The blonde rolled her eyes. "I don't see how adventurers survive these days without basic literacy skills."

  "I've done just fine," Roxham said.

  "I see," the woman conceded and grabbed up the paper.

  "It's a contract to eliminate Drayvoss and bring back his head as proof."

  "Two gold for Drayvoss' head? Has the guild truly fallen on such hard times that they can only offer such a pittance?" Roxham asked.

  "Don't complain to me. Assigning reward values is outside of my job description," she said, raising an eyebrow. "Are you interested or not?"

  Acquiring two hundred additional silver enticed me to consider the offer. Besides a healthy payday, I would have another accomplishment to show Justice next time the goddess dropped by.

  "His caravan was last seen between here and Vaulter," she said.

  "Vaulter?" I asked.

  Roxham grabbed my shoulder, pulling me outside of earshot. "Vaulter is a smaller city to the north. It's a day's ride. If you follow that trail we were on yesterday through the mountains, you’ll reach a wide road that's a straight shot to the city. However..." Roxham squeezed his hand tight. "Drayvoss won't be traveling alone, nor is he the type of man to go down without a fight."

  "He's strong?" I asked.

  "I've never met the man, but that's what the rumors allude to."

  "What rumors?"

  "Rumors that he’s as skilled with magic as he is with his two-handed sword," Roxham warned.

  But those warnings only stoked the awful embers that burned in the pit of my belly.

  "I accept the contract," I said, ready to lay down whatever deposit was required, throwing my plan of rescuing kittens from trees in the bin.

  "This job requires no deposit. You have 72 hours to complete the contract before it becomes available to other parties."

  "Guess there's no chance to talk you out of this one," Roxham said.

  "You're starting to understand me. Thanks again for everything."

  Roxham nodded and shook my hand with a firm grasp. I looked over his shoulder, making eye contact with Sairees who quickly shifted her gaze to the wall.

  Roxham patted me on the back. "Don't worry about her. She'll get over it. She lost her parents a few years ago. Her village was raided during the war to the north. They executed her father in front of her and took her mother as a slave."

  "Ah," I said. "Apologize to her on my behalf."

  My ruthless display of farming experience must have brought back too many sour memories. Oh well, at least she was no longer my problem. I waved goodbye to Roxham and his party before I went to retrieve my horse.

  With the clock ticking, I rode north into a district that brimmed with merchants and their shops. The 138 silver coins weighed heavy in my pocket.

  I stopped by Orus' shop, still unable to read his store's proper name from his massive signage outside.

  "Good day, sir," Orus said with a smile. "You look, uh, well, I guess. Perhaps I can interest you in a new outfit."

  "Yes, I'd like to buy a fresh pair of clothes, a new cloak, and can you show me to your weapons and armor?" I asked, feeling a phantom burning sensation tingle across the wound on my back.

  "Certainly," Orus said, guiding me over to a wall of mounted racks outfitted with weapons and armor.

  Orus dragged a stool across the ground, hopped up on it and pulled an expensive-looking plate chest piece from the rack.

  "This here is a high-quality plate chest piece, crafted by Gother, one of Ingcaster's most skilled blacksmiths," Orus said.

  "I'm looking for something lighter and a bit more budget friendly," I said.

  “Then I recommend this set.”

  Orus retrieved a leather armor chest piece equipped with shoulder pads and wrist guards. "I'll throw in a pair of leather armor leg-guards and boots at a discount, too." Orus smiled.

  "How much?"

  "Fifty silver," he said.

  "You're joking… That's how much you paid me for the horse."

  "Sir, it is not my fault you took my first offer."

  Fair point.

  I pointed to a slotted belt that sheathed six throwing knives.

  "Good choice," Orus said. "Can I interest you in a longsword or a new pair of daggers?"

  Although both of my daggers had acquired a few nicks, I hated the idea of splurging the rest of my coin on a new set.

  "These are fine for now," I said, resting my hands on their hilts.

  "Even from here, I can tell those are of poor quality. If they break in combat... Well, they say you can't take your money with you to the heavens."

  Come on, this old bastard is trying to bleed me dry.

  "Don't push it," I said.

  "Yes, yes, of course," Orus said as he pulled down the belt of throwing knives.

  The new clothes, weapons, and armor setback my reserves to 24 silver pieces. And Orus was crafty enough to convince me to spend another 4 silver for three survival rations.

  From the way he smiled as I left his shop, I couldn't help but feel like I had been fleeced… Again.

  Regardless, I mounted my horse and rode out of Ingcaster, headed north through the mountains, itching at the idea of skewering Drayvoss with my array of new knives. In the grand scheme of things a 114 silver wasn't an amount worth losing sleep over.

  "How about Greymane? You've got a few silver streaks in your hair."

  My steed bucked as we hit a slope in the direction of yesterday's carnage.

  "I’ll take that as a confirmation.”