By afternoon, Greymane and I passed by what remained of the eradicated bandit encampment. Greymane slowed his pace to a smooth gallop as I examined the area. It looked like the adventurer's guild had came through with a corpse cleanup detail. All that remained were a few tents painted with dried blood.

  Our pace quickened as we trotted down the mountaintop. From above, I watched the sea of violet treetops sway in the wind, making the forest below resemble a field of blooming flowers.

  We followed the hilly mountain trail until it leveled out on the forest floor. The thicket here seemed denser than the forests outside of Ingcaster and Waystone Village. While I appreciated the shade, as did Greymane, it also brought an army of sinister looking shadows that looked like hands reaching out along the path.

  I recalled Jordain's warning of skitterbears and shuddered. At least with Invisibility, if I encountered such an awful monster I’d probably get away, though I worried about Greymane. We reached a fork in the road with two signs, neither of which I could read.

  We took a left, headed north, covering ground until dusk when I decided to stop and set up camp. A small creek lay next to a clearing alongside the road. I guided my horse over to the stream, listening to him gulp up mouthfuls of water as a light breeze cooled my back.

  It felt good to be alone again, without having The Iron Shield looking over my shoulder. Nor did I have to worry about Sairees and her judgmental stares. I hitched my horse to a tree, and gathered some sticks and stones to build a fire pit before realizing I lacked the means to start a fire.

  With the three-day time limit attached to the Drayvoss contract, I had been too eager to set out from Ingcaster and, in that hurry, forgot to purchase any camping supplies. I wondered if this world offered the equivalent of cigarette lighters or if they started fires with flint, stone, or just straight up magic.

  Night came, and the temperature dropped. I sat in the shadows with my back leaned against the base of a tree, snacking on jerky. As I chewed, I retrieved a dagger from its sheath, examining the crusted blood along the blade's edge.

  I had only been in this strange world for a few days and was already losing count of how many people I’d slain. Considering my previous violent actions on Earth and the guilt I experienced afterwards, I wondered why I felt nothing of the sort regarding yesterday’s actions. The ominous lack of guilt disturbed me.

  Perhaps it was the karma system and the game-like mechanics' positive reinforcement that lessened its impact.

  Night came and went without incident. I dozed off for a few hours before retrieving a hungry Greymane and continued our trek.

  "We'll get you something good to eat when we reach Vaulter," I promised, remorseful that I hadn't considered the ramifications of not buying a sack of feed before we left.

  As we neared Vaulter, we passed by a few men on horses and two caravans being escorted by armed men. At least the entire countryside wasn't overrun by bandits. After my first few encounters outside of Waystone Village and Ingcaster, I considered anyone outside of a village or city as a potential hostile.

  As Roxham suggested, the entire trek to Vaulter took a day. By the time we reached the city gates, Greymane was exhausted and hungry.

  "My fault, friend," I said, paying two silver to get through the front entrance.

  With only two days remaining to complete the contract, I knew better than to go blindly chasing after a man I didn't know through unfamiliar grounds without gathering additional intelligence. I still lacked information regarding his whereabouts and how many men he traveled with.

  I dropped Greymane off at a stable and haggled with the owner to sell me a sack of feed at a discount, dropping my silver reserves by another five coins.

  The city of Vaulter was over twice the size of Waystone, but compared to Ingcaster it was just a blip on the map. Although there were certainly more guards than Waystone, its overall defenses seemed much weaker than Aclana's capital. If any hostile country intended to conquer a city, Vaulter would be a decent start.

  My right eye twitched as it absorbed a plethora of statuses from the people on the street. Vaulter reeked of desperation. Vendors aggressively tried flagging me down to purchase wares out of their rickety carts and countless beggars approached me with their hands out.

  I walked a few blocks, developing a headache from the overload of information, and turned into a shoddy-looking tavern. The one common theme throughout Aclana I had noticed was their population sure enjoyed their alcohol.

  I took a seat and flagged down the bartender.

  "What do you want?"

  "Water and information," I said, sliding five silver across the counter.

  The bartender passed me a dirty mug with lukewarm water.

  "What type of information?" he asked.

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  "I'm looking for Drayvoss The Bandit Lord," I said, too loudly.

  A palpable silence clung through the air as the tavern's patrons turned their sole focus to me. Feeling the eyes burning through the back of my cloak, I dropped another three pieces of silver on the counter.

  "What could you possibly want with that man?" the bartender asked.

  "My name is Cyprus. I’m an adventurer and I've come for his head."

  Laughter erupted throughout the room. The bartender pushed the coins back in my direction.

  "Get out," he said.

  "But," I said, reaching for my coin purse.

  "I don't care if you paid me in gold. Get out, now."

  I sighed. Of course, it wouldn't be that easy. After all, Drayvoss seemed like a rightfully feared man. And every drunk in the tavern had clearly heard my name and my purpose.

  "All right," I said. "I'm leaving."

  As I left the dilapidated tavern, a man followed me outside and grabbed my arm.

  "Ten silver and I'll help you out," he said.

  I glanced at the man with my right eye.

  Target: Eugene

  Level: Level 2

  Karma Rating: -975

  "Five silver now and five silver after if I deem the information useful," I said.

  Eugene wrapped his grimy hands around mine as I dropped the coins into his palm.

  "Now, enlighten me," I said.

  Eugene looked over his shoulder, then whispered, "Not here. Follow me."

  When a stranger leads you into a back alley with a dead end, the chance that it's an ambush are actually quite high. Knowing that, I still followed him, a twisted smile taking over my face.

  "Drayvoss holds substantial influence throughout Aclana. It's not wise to speak of him where his rats will hear."

  "Sure," I said.

  "Did you hear what happened to Loyalty's Blade?"

  I shrugged.

  "That's a surprise. They were an up-and-coming group of adventurers that made a name for themselves when they eliminated a band of orcs that were dumb enough to travel across Aclana's southern borders."

  "Your point?"

  "The point," Eugene said. "Is that the five of them took a contract for Drayvoss's head and, in return, The Bandit Lord gut them like pigs, smuggled their bodies into Vaulter, and dropped their corpses outside the inn."

  If Eugene's intention was to scare me, it failed miserably. Instead, I buzzed with excitement. Drayvoss sounded like a proper bastard, one worthy of decapitation.

  "That look..." Eugene said, the wrinkles in his face hardened. "You look like you stumbled upon a virgin in a whorehouse."

  "Sorry, your story was just getting good."

  Taken aback by my comment, Eugene wiped a bead of sweat from his forehead before he continued. "Only fools that wish to rush to their death in the name of honor would take such a contract."

  "Honor doesn't interest me, but death on the other hand—I got mugged once, back in New York. Some wide-eyed teenager, fumbling with a Glock in his hand, finger dancing along the trigger. Staring death in his face… Well, I liken it to the effect of heroin. There's no better high, and it's an impossible habit to kick."

  "You're speaking gibberish."

  "Ah, of course, my apology. I'm still new here. Now either proceed with this ambush or tell me where Drayvoss is," I said.

  Eugene stumbled into the wooden wall behind him and whistled.

  The shadows of three goons stretched from the alley's entrance, enveloping my body. Activating my abilities became second nature. Using Invisibility, I disappeared in the blink of an eye.

  "Shit, he can use magic," Eugene shouted.

  An internal clock ticked in the back of my mind as I casually walked toward my assailants. I reviewed their statuses, disappointed to learn they were only level twos.

  The first goon waddled forward, blindly swinging his mace through the air.

  I stepped over some broken glass, careful not to make a sound, as I weaved around the weapon’s wide arc. By the time he heard my dagger leave its sheath, his carotid artery painted the alley's walls.

  This caught the goon behind him off guard, making it all too easy to ram the tip of my dagger through his face. Before the last thug reacted, I activated Dagger Step, teleported behind him and stabbed him in the back of his head.

  Three men laid dead in the alley at my feet. I blinked, focused on deactivating Invisibility manually. A moment later, I appeared as a bloodied silhouette to Eugene.

  He tried to scurry up the back wall of the alley, falling short on his ass. I retrieved my daggers and flicked the blood from their blades.

  Eugene bowed to the ground, placing his palms down at my feet.

  "Please don't kill me," he begged.

  "Raise your head."

  He obeyed, but when his eyes met mine, he slammed his head back into the dirt.

  "What's the matter?"

  "Your face," he said.

  I pulled at my cheeks, trying to wipe away the gore and an uncontrollable grin.

  "Is this better?"

  "Please, spare me. I didn't know."

  "You don't feel that? Come on, you must," I said and bent down, prodding him with my finger. "Look at me," I said coldly.

  Once again, Eugene raised his head, tears in his eyes.

  "The elation of staring death in its face."

  "No, sir, please."

  I sighed and rested my hands on my hips. Whether it was Gadika or Earth, humans were the same.

  "Where is Drayvoss and how many men does he have with him?"

  "He headed north to the border of Kalistar," Eugene said between whimpering breaths.

  "Eugene…”

  Lightning struck his soul, his pupils blooming with fear.

  "If you wish to walk out of this alley, I'm going to need more specifics."

  Eugene sniffled, wiping snot on his sleeve. "Drayvoss runs a huge smuggling operation. The last shipments he got from Kalistar were light. He's gone up there to straighten out a dispute and escort the shipment back. Smuggling across the borders is difficult, so I imagine he'll only have a crew of ten to twelve men."

  "Now that's useful, actionable information," I said, and golf clapped.

  "That's all I know. Please spare me," he said.

  "You're free to go, but first stick out your tongue."

  "What?"

  "Stick out your tongue."

  Eugene pursed his lips and stuck out his tongue. I grabbed the tip of the appendage and whisked my dagger through it. He reeled back, cupping his hands around his mouth.

  "Leave," I said. "If you send anyone after me, I'll find you."

  He breezed past me as I turned my attention to my experience gain.

  +30 Experience

  +75 Karma

  With my inner darkness satiated, I started to worry. I hoped to level up before I fought Drayvoss, but the reduced experience gains from lower-level enemies made that infeasible. Another problem was the lack of time.

  Usually, I'd have unlimited time to stalk my target. A ticking clock made that feat impossible. Blindly charging in against a possibly higher-level foe without knowing his abilities was stupid.

  "Idiot," I said and slapped myself across the face.

  I shouldn't have cut out Eugene's tongue until I asked him about the supposed bandit lord's abilities. And I should've got my five silver back from him too, for that matter.

  As I walked out of the alley, I formulated a plan. The first step required me to buy an ax.