Bounty Hunting

(Starrk's POV)

"Shut the fuck up and get in that cell!" I growled at the bandit as I kicked him into the cell, "You worthless fuck."

He hit the ground hard with a grunt as I slammed the cell door.

"Agh!" He yelled out

"And you best believe your buddies will come and join you." I told him, "Fucking jackasses got away this time. I'll go and get them later tonight."

I saw as he stood up and glared at me, "You bastard! You'll die! You'll never take us all in!"

"Watch me." I said

I walked over to a table and sat down in a chair, grabbing a mug of ale and chugging some down. Took me a bit to get used to the taste of it, but it grew on me.

"Hehehe.." the old bounty collector chuckled, "You've been busy these past few weeks."

I looked at him, "I ambushed his gang but the other fuckers got away. They were raiding a small farm in the country." I said, "I'm going to go get the rest as soon as nightfall hits."

The old man walked up to the cell, "Raiding farms in broad daylight, eh?" He said, "Bunch of idiots, ye fucking bandits."

The bandit in the cell spat at the old man.

"Go to hell, geezer!" He exclaimed, "My bounty is nowhere big as the boss's! He'll fucking kill your bounty hunter!"

"My bounty hunter is inexperienced, that is all." He said, "But he's strong, I tell ya. Yer boss won't last a minute."

He's not wrong. These past few weeks, I've been trying to train myself by going at bandit gangs. They got the numbers but I got the strength. Slowly but surely, I might be able to improve.

Thing is, I need proper sword training. I have no fucking idea what proper ways to use my greatsword. Sure i got the strength, speed, and durability. But where is my skill? It ain't there.

The old man walked up to me as he smoked his pipe.

"If you can take the boss at least, it'll be enough money to last you through the week." He said

"It ain't just the money I'm worried about." I said

"Aye, I know." He told me, "You wanna get stronger, eh? I don't know why you need to, but taking on lowly mountain bandits all the time won't get you anywhere. You might be better going off to sea and go after them pirates."

I scoffed, "A Pirate Hunter?" I said, "What do I look like? A samurai with three swords?"

"Huh? Samurai?" He said, "Da fuck is that?"

I shook my head, "Nothing, forget it." I told him, "But I can at least improve ever so slightly if I focus on the mountains here."

"Aye, but the mountains are frigging hive.." he said, "They're like ants, crawling all over the frigging place. It'll take months for you to clear them all out. Them bandits are clever little fucks."

I nodded, "Time is all I got, old man."

He exhaled a large cloud of smoke, "Ya know." He said, "if ye ask me, the bandits here aren't the only things that worry city folks. Its them bears and other beasts that lie deep within them mountains. Sure, they're not a threat to the city or the country but once in a blue moon, they occasionally wander off and terrorize them people. They're way more stronger than them bandits."

I sighed, "I killed a bear with a single punch once." I said, "Those won't prove a challenge. But maybe if I hunt a couple and sell the meat and pelts, I can make some cash outta that."

"Perhaps." He said, "But go and talk to the hunters though, don't wanna get in trouble for poaching."

I nodded and leaned back into my chair.

Its been weeks since I decided to go and do some bounty hunting. Its the only thing I could think of to try and train a bit. So far its been a breeze but there has been the occasional mishaps such as this one. As I sit here, the bandits that got away are probably rallying up and getting ready for me to attack them. Not like I'm worried about them or anything.

A couple of minutes later, the old man came and handed me a stack of cash.

"Here." He told me, "Payment for this scrub here."

I grabbed the cash and put it in my bag, "Thanks."

"If you intend to get the rest of 'em tonight, let me inform the Coast Guard or something." He told me as he walked away, "We're running outta space here."

I sighed and looked out the window.

"You might as well clear all the cells now, because I'm thinking of getting real busy." I said, "I suppose this gig should be fine for now."

"Temporary Bounty Hunter. Doesn't sound too bad."