*Roar* Katsuo was standing in front of a towering black panther. She had lightning-shaped stripes running through her skin. He didn't know if he could come out alive from this fight but Aranel Sensei was right. If he wanted to truly belong in this world he needed to kill Relsai with his own hands. As a person from a peaceful world, the concept of killing was foreign to Katsuo. Sure, he had hunted in order to survive before but that was where the difference lay. He had killed to survive but this was different. Katsuo didn't need to kill Relsai, even if he didn't kill her he could still make a pact with one of her children. There were virtually zero reasons that he needed to kill her. He was only killing her in order to learn how it felt like to take a life. A cruel lesson from Aranel Sensei. "Stop wasting time and come now, boy!" Relsai roared once again inviting Katsuo to attack her. The fact that she didn't attack him already was her showing Katsuo some consideration. She obv
"Have you packed everything you need?"Katsuo pointed towards his magic pouch."Don't worry Sensei. I have packed rations, bedrolls, extra clothes, water and everything I might need.""Good. So do you have any plans for what you want to do?"Aranel nodded as she asked him this question for the umpteenth time."Yes, first leave the forest, then make my way to the Free City of Dawn and become an adventurer.""Makes sense, but when you are applying don't forget to use the fake identity I created for you.""Of course! I don't know whether the people I meet will be trustworthy or not so I will be keeping it a secret until I make sure it is okay to share it with them.""That's my son. Though I can still remember how willing you were to instantly tell me your whole story and how you were from a different world.""This and that are different things!""Fine, fine. Whatever you say little one. Oh, when you find time don't forget to visit Szithmor!"Szithmor was the capital city of Freusengenia,
Katsuo was happy that he had finally met another human being after leaving the forest but he was kind of peeved right now.He felt like he had gotten involved with something he shouldn't have.At first, he had thought he was taking care of some random thieves but it seemed like they were assassins sent to kill this guy.Well, that was okay.He didn't know if the guy he saved was a bad guy that deserved to die or not, but at least he had stopped the murder of a human being.As a bonus, he could also ask for directions to the Free City of Dawn.However, the weird incident started with the guy introducing himself.The first words that came out of his mouth were a lie.How did he know?Because while he was trying to make his tongue regain sensation with the herbs he picked up along his journey, he was also reading his status panel.---[Name]: Kalrune Einhar Greywulf (Disguised)[Age]: 26[Job]: Civilian[Rank]: 0[Title]: The Fangless Wolf, Heartsmasher[Background]: Minister of Foreign
After cleaning up the remains of the assassins, Kalrune and Maria went up to the tree Katsuo was perched on."Sir, now that the urgent matters have been dealt with, allow me to introduce myself once again. My name is Gaston Hedley, an ambassador of Oedl Kingdom, and this one here is my personal guard Maria Hedley, a rank 6 expert swordsman. Would you be kind enough to introduce yourself? Please forgive this one's ignorance but I don't think I have heard of a Voice of Nature with your description before."Katsuo jumped down the tree and inspected the two. She had glass blue eyes and ash-grey hair tied into a braid that was running down her left shoulder. With the scar running through her right cheek, she looked like a seasoned warrior. However, there was something Katsuo had found with the fight before and Maria in front of him now.He had ignored it before due to more pressing matters but 'Gaston' had called one of the assailants master class. Katsuo had regularly sparred with Aranel
Borders of Harham WastelandsCapital of Greywulf DuchyBiledzir Castle***It was just before dawn. When the nightguards were in their most vulnerable state. After a night of standing guard on full alert, they were all tired.Einrich yawned, trying to keep himself awake.He was one of the many soldiers stationed in this castle, tasked with protecting Oedl from the invasion of nasty monsters. Most people from Oedl would call his job a thankless one but as a native of Biledzir, he was proud of his career. He had grown up hearing the stories of the famous winter wolf brigade protecting the walls so they could live safely. It was thanks to their sacrifice that he and his family could live happily. Now that he was one of them he couldn't be any happier.If it was any other part of Oedl they would call him an idiot. He was a rank 4 expert warrior, meaning he could easily become a sergeant in any other army but here he was just one of the many nameless soldiers. That was because the minimum
The discussion Katsuo had with Kalrune was insightful but at the end of the day, it was just that. He had no intention of getting involved with this so-called 'secret war', so for him, it might as well have been white background noise.Though at least he had learnt about the world's current state, which was a plus.For the rest of their journey, the party didn't encounter any more assassination attempts. There were a couple of times Katsuo felt like they were being watched but before he could locate the assailant the feeling would disappear. It was annoying. Katsuo didn't know who was secretly watching them but he didn't feel any danger so he was sure that whoever it was, they posed no threat to him.And this was the reason why it felt so annoying. If he were to give an analogy, Katsuo felt like there was a mosquito in his room while he was trying to sleep. When he turned on the lights it would disappear. If he turned off the lights, he would start hearing the buzz again.Thankfully,
In the blink of an eye, a week had passed and Katsuo finally managed to get into the city.He couldn't complain that it took him this long when it was his own decision to wait. If he had used the letter that was given to him by Aranel, he would have waited a day at most. Though the waiting itself was enjoyable."Even the air inside here feels different. You can smell the freedom." said Sven while taking a deep breath.Sven was the name of the man standing in front of Katsuo. During the week they spent in line together they had gotten much closer. He was from Horvaard, a nation that was known for its love of the sea. It was said that men of Horvaard were born with a yearning for the sea in their hearts so they were drawn to it. Of course, this meant that they had a strong navy. Though it was an open secret that the members of the 'navy' would spend their free time escorting sea merchants. However, the truth was that they were a bunch of pirates. The only sea merchants they escorted we
As she looked at the oncoming crowd, Gail frowned in annoyance. Just from their get-up, it was obvious that all of them were dirt poor.It was to be expected considering they didn't use the express entrance.However, Gail couldn't stop hoping that she might be able to find a-'Jackpot!'She would have shouted in joy if she hadn't stopped herself at the last minute.In front of her there were two idiots, one of them was almost twice her size and his body was covered in scars. From his ginger hair tied into a braid, Gail guessed that he must be a Horvaardian. She didn't want to mess with him as Horvaardians were known to be barbaric people but the real mark was the naive-looking boy standing next to him. He was barefooted and wearing a black fur shirt that was crudely made from wolf skin. He had jet-black hair which was slightly uncommon, probably a Buhrakian. His unkempt hair and dirty body screamed that he was a beggar. He was probably a poor sod that had offended his khan and had t