"Did you hear that rumor?"
"What rumor?"
"You know the one. About the adventurer who's been roaming the nearby villages, hunting down every bandit and monster in sight."
Of the two men drinking ale in the inn, the one with the scruffy beard spoke up.
"Sounds like an adventurer who's obsessed with money."
"That's not what the rumors say. I heard he didn't even accept a reward in a few of the villages."
"An adventurer who doesn't take money? Pah, you really believe that? Pigs will fly first."
"It's true! Mister Jode, you travel so much you might not have heard, but he's the talk of the town around here. Oh, here are the two ales you ordered."
The inn's waitress, Emily, placed two mugs of ale between the men. Jode let out a snort.
"Is that so? Alright, then let's hear the name of this esteemed volunteer adventurer."
"Uh… I think his name was Cloud. Cloud the adventurer!"
"Cloud? That name sounds familiar…"
Jode tapped his head with a finger, lost in thought.
"What, you'd already heard the rumor, old man?"
"No. Ah! That's it. I think the name Cloud was among the names of the Heroes the Empire announced a while back."
"A Hero? Pfft! Come on. The Hero is busy with important matters. Do you really think he'd be in a place like this hunting mere bandits?"
"Hey, who said he was the Hero? I just said the name was the same."
"Still, it would be cool if he were the Hero. Hiding his identity and working for the people… it's just like a real hero, isn't it?"
"Emily, have you still not grown out of fairy tales at your age?"
Emily scowled at the cackling Jode.
Just as she was about to say something in response…
"Order here!"
A man opened the inn door and strode inside.
"Yes, welco—"
The smile on Emily's face, meant for the new customer, froze solid.
Her trembling pupils were filled with fear.
"Emily! Long time no see!"
The man who had just entered the inn grinned broadly.
But the smile on his menacing, scar-covered face only served to freeze the atmosphere.
"Ah… haha, yes. It's been a while, Mister Calix…"
"What's this? You don't seem happy to see me, Emily."
"N-No, of course not. Mister Calix, there's an empty table over there, please have a seat."
The spot Emily pointed to was the table next to a man in a hood who was eating soup.
Calix sat where Emily had indicated and slung his arm over the back of the chair.
"Is there… anything you'd like to order?"
Emily, who had been so cheerful with the two men, now shrank back, acting like a frightened girl in front of Calix.
Finding this amusing, Calix grinned and tapped his table.
"I can't hear you from over there. Come closer and say it."
"N-No, I'll speak louder. Is there anything you'd like to…"
"I said, get over here."
As Calix's brow furrowed, Emily flinched and did as he commanded, approaching his table.
"See? Isn't this much better? Now I don't have to get angry."
A thick hand stroked Emily's shoulder. The feeling was repulsive, but Emily gritted her teeth and endured it.
Seeing this, Jode looked as if he couldn't take it anymore and started to rise from his chair. His companion grabbed him, stopping him.
"I know what you're thinking, but just bear with it."
"You want me to just sit here and watch this?"
"That bastard is the younger brother of the One-Eyed Bandit Gang's leader, right next to this village. If you mess with him, the whole village will be torn to shreds!"
"That's him?"
Jode clenched his jaw.
If his friend was right and that man was the bandit leader's brother, he couldn't act rashly.
Winning was impossible, and even if he did, the bandits would use it as an excuse to take revenge for the brother and plunder the village.
And so, Jode could only watch as Emily, a girl he'd known since she was a child, was harassed by Calix.
"I'm telling you, just come with me. You'll be treated much better than you are here."
"I've told you many times, I'm fine. So please, stop…"
A struggle broke out between Calix, who was trying to pull Emily down to sit beside him, and Emily, who was resisting.
Emily's resistance grew more frantic until she accidentally bumped the adjacent table.
The soup the customer next to them had been eating spilled onto the floor.
"Eek! I'm so sorry, sir. I'll bring you a new one right away."
"Where do you think you're going? I told you to sit here!"
"What are you doing…! I have to get the customer a new bowl of soup."
"Enough with the pathetic tricks… Hey, buddy. Why don't you get your own damn soup?"
"…"
"What? Not gonna answer?"
Taking the silence as a sign of disrespect, Calix's face twisted into a scowl as he slammed his hand on the hooded man's table.
"Hey, I'm talking to…"
Thwack.
A sharp dagger pierced the back of Calix's hand, pinning it to the table.
"Gaaah! You son of a bitch, what are you—!"
As if that wasn't enough, the hooded man twisted the dagger.
"Gyaaaaaaaah!!!"
Flesh tore and bone broke. Unable to bear the pain, Calix fell to his knees.
The man grabbed Calix by the hair and lifted his head. Looking at Calix, who was trembling from the immense pain, the man spoke.
"My friend. I was just eating a meal to start my day off right. It tasted like absolute shit, but a man's gotta eat, so I was forcing down this slop. I was just getting to the bottom of the bowl, about to feel that sense of accomplishment from finishing my food, when you knocked it over. And instead of apologizing, you get angry? Now, how do you think that makes me feel?"
"Kkhh… D-Do you know who I am?"
SMASH!
The man slammed Calix's head onto the table.
"How do you think I feel?"
"You… You clearly don't know… I'm…"
SMASH!
"How do you think I feel?"
"My brother… of the One-Eyed Bandit Gang…"
SMASH!
"How do you think I feel?"
"I-I think you'd be very angry."
Calix answered, blood streaming down his forehead.
"That's right. So, what should you say to me now that I'm angry?"
"Th-That is…"
SMASH!
"What should you say?"
"I'm sorry… It was my fault… I won't do it again…"
"Correct. When you do something wrong and make someone angry, you should apologize. You got the right answer, so I'll give you a 'Good Job' stamp."
SMASH!!!
Calix's head was slammed into the table with more force than before, and he passed out.
.
.
.
"Hah…!"
Calix's eyes shot open.
He wasn't slumped over a table but lying in a bed. His hand, which had been pierced by the dagger, was neatly wrapped in a clean cloth.
"What is this…"
Calix recalled his last memory before blacking out.
The hooded man, mercilessly smashing his head against the table.
"That bastard…!"
Calix kicked the door open and stormed out.
The first-floor hall of the inn was empty. Emily and the innkeeper were sitting there.
"Ah, you're awake…? Is your hand a little bett—"
"Shut up!"
Calix kicked the innkeeper, who was cautiously approaching him. Pointing a finger at the man who had fallen on his ass, he snarled.
"You think you'll get away with this? Just you wait. The moment I get back and tell my brother, this village is going to be razed to the ground."
"N-No, you can't…! Please, forgive us just this once. That man was just a passing traveler; he has no connection to this village. None of us here have any intention of defying the One-Eyed Bandit Gang."
"Not my problem. And Emily!"
At the sound of her name, Emily froze like a statue. A greasy smile spread across his lips.
"You're going to regret not accepting my offer."
Calix kicked the inn door open and left.
He stomped off in the direction of the One-Eyed Bandit Gang's hideout.
That son of a bitch… he couldn't have gotten far.
He would get a horse, chase him down, and kill him.
Calix quickened his pace. He soon arrived at the hideout, but the men who were supposed to be on guard duty in the watchtower were nowhere to be seen.
"…Looks like those bastards got drunk and passed out again."
It wasn't the first time, so he thought nothing of it and opened the gate to the hideout.
"Garlic! You've gotta hear this. Some bastard in the village…"
Calix's complaint was cut short.
The sight before him made the strength drain from his legs, and he collapsed to the floor.
He had no other choice.
"We meet again, my friend."
The hooded man from the inn was sitting in the center of the hideout. Strewn around him were the bodies of what used to be bandits.
"You… you… why are you here…"
Instead of answering, the man threw something toward Calix.
Rolling across the floor was a human head.
It was the head of his brother, Garlic.
"A house call."
The man pulled back his hood and smiled faintly.
The red-haired man's smile was refreshingly handsome, but all Calix felt was terror.
*
I wiped out twelve bandit groups and killed every monster I saw.
===========
Lv.20
Strength: E (130)
Agility: E (120)
Endurance: F (100)
Magic Power: F (95)
============
This was the result.
My status, as told to me by the inn waitress, Emily.
As you can see, I gained three levels. My other stats all went up by 15.
Three levels for 15 stat points means I'm getting 5 points per level.
What a piece of shit body.
The other Heroes probably get 8 or 9 points per level up, but I only get 5.
It means that even if I level up, there will always be a difference in our base hardware.
Well, that's something I can fix by training hard or consuming Cores.
In the game, when you hunt monsters, there's a chance they'll drop an item called someone's Core.
Consuming a Core raises your stats, and which stats are raised depends on whose Core it is.
Still, leveling up is taking longer than I thought.
In the game, killing a few bandits was enough to level up. Maybe because this is reality, the number of bandits required to level up has been inflated.
This messes with my plans a bit.
I decided to scrap the plan of finishing my level grinding quickly and then going to find equipment.
From now on, I'll be level grinding and gear farming at the same time.
"Um, Mister Cloud…?"
A voice from behind me broke my train of thought.
I turned to see Emily, her face red and her head bowed low.
What, she hasn't left yet?
"What is it?"
"Um… thank you for helping the village. Everyone is so happy that the bandits are gone."
"Is that so?"
"Yes. Everyone was suffering under their tyranny. So, to show our gratitude to you, Mister Cloud, the village has decided to hold a festival."
"I see."
"Yes… so, um… if it's okay with you, Mister Cloud, would you like to go with me…"
"I'm sorry, but I'm busy right now. Could you please leave?"
"Huh…? Ah, yes… S-Sorry to bother you when you're busy…!!!"
Emily's face flushed as she scurried out of the room.
I felt a little bad for rejecting her so coldly, but I had no choice.
What's the point of setting the mood when I can't even have sex?
A sweet atmosphere without any sex?
It's just a hassle.
Ah, I want to get that Giant Root Herb already.
I let out a deep sigh and lay down on the bed.
The first things I should get are the rings, I guess.
In 'The Hero's Party,' rings were accessories that each had a special ability.
Some raised magic resistance, others raised attack power.
On top of that, you could wear multiple rings at once, so they had a huge impact on a character's stats. That's why it was best to get as many as possible.
Starting tomorrow, I'll head to the capital of the Prona Kingdom, the game's starting point, and follow the main questline to sweep up all the remaining rings.
Ah, on the way to the Prona Kingdom, maybe I should pay him a visit?
The protagonist of 'The Adulterous Knight's Tale,' the sequel to 'The Hero's Party' that shares the same world.