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112. Childhood Friend – Offering

“Another auction failed. The last auction didn’t yield much either.”

A man in a hat grumbled. He strode past the stable and headed into the inner office, followed by two burly men who looked flustered.

“Captain, w-well, if we sell what we caught from the southern swamps well…”

“We might sell them, but they’re just mine slaves. They don’t fetch much money.”

The captain entered the office, taking off his hat and leaning back as he glared.

“There’s not a single girl worthy for auction. I don’t even expect it anymore, but there’s never been a pretty one among the barbarian girls. And I know the reason why.”

As his gaze sharpened, the two thugs in front of him instinctively stood at attention.

“It’s because those transporting the slaves mess with all the pretty ones. Right? Hey, you were the one who transported them this time?”

“Y-yes, sir!”

“You little brat. Didn’t I tell you to teach the kids not to touch the goods?”

“I-I taught them… Ack!”

One of them hopped on one foot after getting kicked in the shin.

“I haven’t done much transporting, you know? But I get it. You lot playing with the kids. But hey…”

Outside, the sound of a horse neighing echoed. He kicked the table in frustration.

But the table didn’t budge, while the captain instead bounced back.

Maybe he felt his pride was slightly tarnished from the unnecessary action, as he stood with both hands on the desk, turning his back to speak.

“…Is it so hard to leave just one or two of the prettiest girls? If we had two girls worthy for auction, we could at least break even. Is that really too much to ask?”

“No, it’s not!”

“Ah—this is really giving me a headache. If we had something decent this time, after looking after that guy… what’s this? Is someone pretending to be a victim?”

As the pain in his foot subsided and he turned back, he noticed that the one he had kicked earlier was still clutching his shin. Only then did the captain remember that this fool had returned from the expedition with an injured leg.

“Tch… Go rest and come back.”

“I’m f-fine!”

“Go when I tell you to. I’m not saying sorry just because you’re pretending to be hurt.”

“Ah, understood.”

The thug limped out, and as the captain took a deep breath to calm himself, another thug remaining in the room cautiously asked.

“Um… Captain, I’m curious. You keep saying that guy, but who exactly is he?”

“Oh, he’s nobody special…”

He appraised the thug in front of him from top to bottom and chuckled.

“Well, you’ve grown up now, so you should learn a little about the job. We’ll need someone to take my place one day.”

At that, the thug immediately stood at attention and shouted loudly.

“No! I’m just fine working under you, Captain!”

– “Who, who…? Ugh!”

“Yikes! Almost made my ears drop off.”

“Really! I feel so happy working under you, brother… That’s right!”

The captain smiled contentedly. This kid was competent and skilled at flattery, having followed him for several years as a lackey.

“Listen up, once I move up, you’ll have to take charge here and help me out too.”

“Thank you! I’ll remember that!”

– Thud. Pat.

He removed a painting hanging on one wall. Behind the painting was a small wooden door, and pulling a key from his pocket indicated it was a safe. The captain pulled out several bundles of maps from the safe.

“This is the reason why I could grow steadily in our Family. It’s hard to catch the barbarians, but knowing their locations and when to ambush them is crucial, don’t you think?”

“That’s right!”

Finally, me too! The excited lackey responded.

– Thud. Creak.

“Lower your voice. From now on, listen quietly. I know a guy—oh, but first, look at this map. See those marked spots? They indicate there are barbarian tribes nearby…?!”

“Ugh! Kuaah…”

The thug captain suddenly froze.

The lackey who took the map had his chest puff out. And it didn’t take long for him to realize it was a sword protruding from him.

“W-what?!”

Startled, he tried to back away, but the wall with the safe blocked him.

As the lackey collapsed, an unexpected visitor appeared, bowing his head—not to greet, but to retrieve the fallen map without letting it get soaked in blood.

“This is a map indicating barbarian tribe locations?”

“W-who are you?!”

Shoving the map into the waistband of his pants, Reb lifted his head. He had obtained something useful, but even more delightful was remembering the hat placed on the table.

– “I didn’t even have time for training, but it worked out. If you don’t behave for me until tomorrow, your boyfriend will… you know?”

It was the hat of the guy who had threatened Lena by manipulating her chin back at the second childhood friend scenario when that scoundrel had kidnapped her.

“What does it matter who I am?”

Reb smiled cruelly. Thankful for the {Tracking Skill}, he mocked.

“Do you even ask for names before catching travelers?”

“Wait… Aah!”

Reb’s sword shot upward like lightning.

“Gahhh… W-who’s there?!”

“Shall we sit down and talk?”

Reb seated the thug who had lost his wrist. As he resisted, a sharp stab was placed in his thigh.

He might have been married; a ring adorned his hand. But that hand had just fallen to the floor, and Reb kicked the meaty hand away into the corner as he questioned.

“Are you part of the Dorph Family? The one involved in the slave trade? I have a question; where’s your headquarters?”

“…D-do you think I’ll tell you?”

“Is that why you think I’m asking? To get you to tell me…?”

“Gaaaah! Ughh…”

The quill pen on the desk dove brutally into the cut wrist.

Now without a ring, the enchantment would be easy to apply, but he didn’t want to waste his divine power on such scum.

Reb leaned close, staring into the thug’s eyes as he asked again.

“You should just confess. I have my ways of finding out.”

His eyes flickered with red, filled entirely with hatred and malice. Facing that gaze, the thug captain swallowed hard and felt his throat constrict. He was convinced this man wouldn’t spare his life.

‘Since I’ll die anyway, might as well spill the beans.’

He spat!

However, the spit didn’t make it. Before it could even curve through the air, a palm covered his face.

A young man grinned as if to say it was more appreciated with this offering between his fingers.

“Gaaaah!”

*

After annihilating a branch of the Dorph Family, Reb returned to the House of Marquis Gaidan. He waited a day before stepping out again.

Reb headed towards the bustling area east of Nevis’ outskirts.

In fact, calling it bustling was a stretch; it was a rather dreary place where no one roamed normally, with only large commercial buildings scattered about.

But today, it was crowded. Thugs, marked with dreadful tattoos (a bird skewered by a stake), swarmed in, glaring.

Reb stepped in casually. It felt worth the wait of the day.

“Hey, you! Go the other way… Huh?”

– Swish.

The thug who was about to warn the casually approaching young man stiffened. Realizing it was a two-handed sword, he finally remembered to flip up his mask.

Without hesitation, the thug blew the whistle. The nearby thugs, as well as those waiting inside, brandished their weapons and charged out.

There were easily over fifty of them.

‘…I offer my life.’

[ Achievement: Civilian Murder – You have killed 0 civilians. You will experience mild misfortune. ]

Reb also finished his preparations by sacrificing the lives of civilians.

This achievement only had penalties, so it’d be best to dispose of it quickly, but there was a reason for leaving it so far.

“Haaaa…”

Reb’s body trembled. Unintentionally, humid breath escaped from him.

It felt good.

A sensation filled him from his fingertips to his toes. His body felt light. As he tilted the sword in his hand, he felt his strength grew.

He had been holding back the power of Barbatos, worried it might cause problems, but now it was needed, and he felt it would be burned off quickly anyway, so why not enjoy it?

‘Shall I use a bit more?’

Though greediness arose, he managed to hold back. Didn’t he promise to use it in moderation as needed? He mustn’t forget this was the price of human lives.

Still, it felt so good…

“You seem like a knight, may I ask why you’re here?”

A thug who looked higher in rank among them asked politely, but with his weapon aimed.

A branch had just been decimated yesterday, and today, some guy drew his sword from their base, so a fight was inevitable. However, perhaps he wondered if the knight wanted something.

Knights were terrifying beings.

For thugs, they were monsters to be avoided at all costs.

Naturally, Reb didn’t respond. What he desired couldn’t be achieved through negotiation.

“If there’s something you want, I can offer you… Damn it! Kill him! He’s just a kid; he can’t be that strong!”

Reb charged in. The thugs brandished their daggers and axes but fell one by one to his strikes.

Thugs were generally weaker than mercenaries.

If they could handle weapons well enough to become mercenaries, there would be no reason for them to resort to thug life.

Sure, sometimes people left the mercenary life to become thugs out of a bad attitude or old age…

But as Reb was slicing away, his eyes sparkled. He pulled out gold coins given by Marquis Gaidan and shouted.

“I’ll hire you! As much money as you want!”

The former mercenary thug approaching with his shield turned around swiftly, thrusting his comrade in the side.

“Gah!”

“What the hell! Derin! Have you gone mad?”

“…!”

He hesitated, probably alarmed by his own actions. No matter how blinded by money he was, this was too much…

But soon enough, he was met with a sword to the back of his head, erasing any need for further thought.

“Damn it!”

As he started to falter against dozens of enemies, the thug captain who had spoken to Reb earlier fled.

It seemed that crazy knight had truly come to take them out for real.

He had heard from rumors that a knight was rampaging against the Family.

A wild tale bordering on urban legend, but if that wasn’t the case, there would be no reason for him to brandish his sword out of the blue.

‘With that kind of strength, he could easily enter any noble household. Why is he causing troubles with us?’

Cursing under his breath, he rushed toward the boss.

He needed to safely evacuate his family and reach out to a connected noble for help…

Suddenly, a chilling sound echoed behind him. He turned to see that crazy knight was on his tail.

Already?

A knight covered in blood approached. The thug ran for his life with all his might.

“Stop that guy!”

He yelled at the bewildered thugs who jumped out, then kept running.

Fortunately, the boss also seemed to have heard the news and was leading thugs down the street.

“B-boss! This is bad. We need to evacuate right now—”

“Calm down. You’re saying it’s just one knight? Don’t worry about it. The knights from Count Amus’ house just arrived anyway.”

The arriving thug regained his composure once he spotted the knights standing behind the boss.

“That maniac. It seems we’ll just have to kill him since reasoning doesn’t work… That guy right there!”

He pointed to the person he didn’t necessarily have to identify. Reb was now soaked in blood, having taken down over eighty thugs.

The boss bowed deeply.

“Knights. I leave that man to you. As I mentioned in writing yesterday, he’s the one who decimated our branch. He’s turned people into rags… I figured it was one person’s doing, so I sought help.”

But the knights from the count’s family clearly looked displeased.

Now they had to help these thugs, it seemed absurd.

“Damn it… I should have gone with Brender when he left. I’d rather be a mercenary than do this kind of thing…”

Regretting it, one of the knights raised his palm.

“Hey. Isn’t it about time to stop? I don’t know which family you’re from, but take it easy. If you don’t want to escalate this into a territorial war, these thugs… are under the aegis of Count Amus.”

Meanwhile, Reb found himself in a bit of a bind.

While he could mow down the thugs like swine, knights were no easy opponents. Furthermore, since knights typically received blessings on their swords, casting enchantments on them felt precarious.

He had come out to gather divine power, and he certainly didn’t want to waste it on enchanting them.

‘Perhaps just a bit more?’

He decided to offer just a little more.

Receiving the power of Barbatos made his body feel light and strong.

If he received a little more, he could certainly hold his own against two knights, right?

Ah, of course, this offering was not because it felt good. He hadn’t forgotten that it came at the cost of human lives.

‘…I offer my life.’

Reb licked his lips as he presented his offering. The taste of iron couldn’t have been this sweet.

[ The ‘Clean-up in the Back Alley’ achievement transforms. ]

[ Achievement: Thug ‘3’ – You become stronger when dealing with thugs in dark alleys. min(3) ]

He sacrificed 5 thugs. He offered up the minimum required number for the formerly ‘Clean-up in the Back Alley’ achievement, leaving only 3.

Once again, his body felt buoyant…

‘Is this insufficient? Yes! It’s insufficient!’

[ The ‘Bandit Ten’ achievement transforms. ]

[ Achievement: Bandit ‘10’ – You become stronger when dealing with bandits. min(10) ]

He offered 31 lives of bandits.

Just like before, he left only the minimum required number…

“Aah… A… Aaaah!”

As Reb justified himself inwardly, he couldn’t contain the pleasure anymore and let out a moan of ecstasy.

His pupils dilated, hairs all over his body stood on end. His heart raced, beating hotly.

He was overflowing with divine power.

The sweetness was overwhelming, making him feel like he could float!

He could bear it no longer!

“I offer my life!! All of it!”

“What the hell? What’s wrong with that guy?”

[ The achievements: ‘Ten Mercenaries’, ‘Ten Soldiers’, ‘One Knight’, ‘Noble Kill’ transform. ]

[ Achievement: Thug ‘0’ – You become stronger when dealing with thugs in dark alleys. min(3) ]

[ Achievement: Bandit ‘0’ – You become stronger when facing bandits. min(10) ]

[ Achievement: Thug ‘0’ – You become stronger when dealing with thugs. min(10) ]

[ Achievement: Mercenary ‘0’ – You become stronger when facing mercenaries. min(10). ]

[ Achievement: Soldier ‘0’ – You become stronger when facing soldiers. min(10) ]

[ Achievement: Knight ‘0’ – You become stronger when facing knights. min(1) ]

[ Achievement: Noble ‘0’ – All nobles feel a slight fear toward you. min(1) ]

He sacrificed the lives of 3 thugs, 10 bandits, 116 thugs, 30 mercenaries, 92 soldiers, 2 knights, and 2 nobles… he offered up all the lives he had accumulated.

No, he gave them all up.

“Aaah! Aaaah! Aaaaah!!”

Reb’s eyes turned bloodshot.

His limbs twisted in all directions, but he longed to twist even more. Simultaneously, crimson ripples surged from Reb’s sword, flickering ominously.

Such a good feeling!

He had foolishly held back for so long!

At that moment, he noticed the ‘humans’ who were even less than bugs. Their stiff necks rubbed him the wrong way.