Death Closing In

An hour has passed since Asther left the cave. With the inherent knowledge of the previous body owner, he is able to come back to the village without getting lost. The village itself is surrounded by tall walls made of rocks. On top of these are the soldiers who guard the city.

The reason why there is a set up like this is because of the monsters. Although the hero has defeated the demon lord long ago, monsters still linger in the land. In fact, killing the demon lord actually had a great effect on these remaining monsters.

They are literally able to get stronger because of this. The essence and the dark mana of the demon lord didn’t disappear. It simply scattered across the land. There are monsters who gained more of this and monsters which gained less. And for those who are able to absorb the most, they are immediately elevated to the status of catastrophe beasts. Monsters who are regarded to be close to the Demon Lord’s powers.

The walls cannot prevent catastrophe beasts from entering of course. But the defensive system isn’t built for them. It’s built for the weaker class monsters. Since these are the only type of monsters that exist near villages, having walls made of stones is enough to deter them and keep the villagers safe.

However, not all these villagers are actually safe. Asther, for one, is treated differently by the same guards who protect the people of his village. And at that moment, one of these came down from the watchtower.

Asther watched as the wooden gates of the village began to be pulled up. Directly behind this is the guard who just came down. A person who immediately greeted Asther with a grin as he walked towards the teen and asked:

“What happened to your clothes?”’

Asther knows who this person is from the memories he received. This is Thomas, a guard who is just as cruel to him as the others are. He only seems to be a jolly and good-hearted person at first. Whenever the previous Asther talked to him, this guard would beat him up and the teen never understood why. That is, until Thomas told him that he simply enjoyed it.

That’s what makes the current situation dangerous. The reaper doesn’t want to get hit by someone weaker than him. But at the same time, he knows that he can’t afford to make any mistakes. That’s how delicate his mission is and, that’s how cautious he needs to be until he actually finds some useful information.

Hence, with a deep breath, Asther looked at Thomas. He raised his hand - showing five dead and bloodied rabbits.

“It got stained by these.” Asther said.

He could’ve done this cleaner. After all, he used to be an assassin. Not just any ordinary one, he’s the cream of the crop. But for the alibi to work, he needed to make the blood on the rabbits go a bit crazy like something you’d expect from a complete amateur.

The effort immediately paid off. Asther’s technique worked like a charm. Thomas approached him with a gleeful smile on the guard’s face. And since Asther can’t feel any hostility, there was no need for him to raise his guard.

He simply extended his hand towards the direction of the guard and, Thomas took this invitation quickly. Snatching four of the rabbits out of Asther’s hand. He then whistled as he looked at the haul.

“Well, at least you’re not entirely useless today.” Thomas touched the hilt of his sword strapped to his belt. “I’m sure you already know where these rabbits are supposed to go.”

Asther knows exactly what Thomas meant. This guard, just like every other guard sent to the village, are provided directly by Count Leonhart. These are trained men who can easily take down weak monsters and, could also take a middle difficulty one down with a bit of effort.

That’s the reason why the real Asther always gave in to what Thomas wanted. Mainly, this meant giving a large portion of whatever he could hunt to this guard. And, at that moment, this meant four of the rabbits that Asther has caught.

“Here you go sir.” Asther bowed his head and offered the rabbits.

“That’s more like it. You’re really warming up to me Asther you know that.” Thomas took the rabbits. “Keep on being useful to me and, who knows, maybe I can arrange something and turn you into an imperial soldier.”

“Thank you sir. I will not disappoint.” Asther added.

Thomas didn’t give any reply to this anymore. The guard walked back to his post and Asther simply walked behind this guard. Not letting his presence be detected by the guard anymore as he safely passed through.

Aside from providing provisions, Thomas couldn’t care less about the “cursed” child. In fact, Asther also knows that what the guard said about getting him into the Imperial Soldiers is nothing but a bluff. There is no reason for this guard to stick himself out for the teen’s sake.

He is just there to exploit Asther and, although this can be painful at times because of the beatings, Thomas has nevertheless taken a neutral stance when it came to the teen. But the same cannot be said for the people of the village themselves.

As soon as he passed through the gates, all eyes stared at Asther in displeasure. It’s as if he is a plague that needs to be avoided. The eyes stared at him like he is an entity that isn’t supposed to exist. Like Asther is better off just vanishing.

The previous body owner is already used to these stares. As for the sniper himself, stares such as these don’t concern him. He is used to feeling cold and, even deadly stares being directed at him. Such is the life of earth’s finest Sniper, the man who is called the Reaper.

However, what does concern him is the event that came next. He heard footsteps approaching him. From the corner of his eye, he could somehow confirm who this is and who is with him. There are three of them and, the one leading them cannot be mistaken for somebody else because of how broad and tall he is. It’s the teen who pushed the original Asther in the cave. It’s Baron and his lackeys.

“Y-You!” Baron shouted this as soon as Asther passed through.

Asther pretended not to hear this. There is a solid ten feet distance between them. Because of this, he knows that it would be easy for him to be mistaken for somebody else. But this won’t be of any use once Baron gets close to confirm his identity.

Hence, Asther moved through an alleyway and, as he did, he heard the shouting of Baron that only continued. The loud footsteps of this bully and his lackeys followed Asther. But it’s no use. As soon as the bullies entered the same spot, Asther is nowhere to be seen anymore.

“Dammit! Where did he go!” Baron exclaimed.

“That was Asther right?” James added.

“How is he still alive?” Chad asked.

Asther watched the three from the roof of a house. With his skills, it came easily for him to evade them. Especially because his physical abilities have greatly heightened after transferring to a new body.

“Come on. Let’s go.” Baron added, making the lackeys follow him as Asther is finally left alone once again.

As soon as this happened, another System window appeared in front of Asther. He’s still not used to how it suddenly pops up but, he’s not as irritated as he was when it showed up continuously in the cave. And, part of the reason for this is because of the message that is displayed on it.

[Optional Quest: Blood for Blood]

[Information: Those that killed Asther will never be put to justice. That’s why you need to put Justice into your own hands.]

[Details: Kill the three who murdered Asther.]

[Reward: Affinity to death]

“Affinity to death? What’s that all about?”

[It makes it easier for you to gain skills connected to death master.]

“That really sounds fitting for the Reaper.” Asther chuckled.

He looked at the quest one more time and, placed his hand on his chest. As if he’s trying to communicate with the real Asther once again. He then gave a soft grin and said:

“It’s your lucky day kid. I’m going to avenge your death. I’m going to assassinate those three for you.”