Adventurer

The man's sword came speeding toward me and I raised my sword up at angle, causing his to slide down to the ground.

I went to take advantage of the moment, but he quickly stepped back before readjusting.

We exchanged swings back and forth until I saw wind mana beginning to coat his sword and his speed increased.

I fueled a little more fire mana through me and sped up as well, also adding a coating of fire mana to my blade.

I'll be honest that I was using this fight mostly to learn more sword techniques, but I was beginning to see that Marco was a better swordsman than this guy.

I sigh as our blades meet for the umpteenth time and I twist my blade in my grip so our stand still changes to him losing balance and falling forward due to the sudden disappearance of counter weight.

As I slip past I swing the flat of my blade and connect it with the back of his head.

Had the instructor used more of his mana capabilities he probably would have had a higher chance at winning due to having a more progressed core.

But with me playing defensive and just meeting him in pure swordplay I imagine he let his guard down.

"Malcius, wins. You'll be rewarded B rank."

I mentally shrugged as it's my own fault for not winning as fast as possible to get A rank, but I'll live.

I walk toward the judges desk and receive my marked paper from the woman sitting there.

As I leave I notice Varay and her group begin to exit the stands as well.

Once inside the hall again all eyes on me once again with wary looks as I make my way to the receptionists desk.

Handing over the paper her eyes widen before hurrying to the back and returning with an adventurer card with my name and rank on it.

As I turn to leave I'm met by the 3 girls who just went through their tests as well.

Varay is holding my cloak in her hands and realization dawns on me, I had left it in the stands when I went down to take my exam.

I grab it as she holds it out and throw it on while leaving the hood down.

I nod to her in thanks and begin to walk past only to get stopped by her voice.

"Uh, wait.

We wanted to ask you something." Varay called to me unsurely.

I pause and turn my body side ways towards her and gaze at her and her friends.

"Yes?" I asked and Varay steps forward.

"We would like for you to join our party.

We saw your capabilities in the rank exam and know that you were holding back.

As you saw we're quite strong as well and we could all benefit from working together."

Varay rambled on, but eventually stopped with a hopeful expression in her face as well as her 2 friends.

"No thanks, but good luck out there.

Ranks and core stages aren't everything out in the real world."

Was my response as I turned and walked out of the guild hall.

I could hear the 3 whispering to themselves at how they couldn't believe I would turn them down, and I could only feel thankful that I did.

People like that tend to get into unnecessary trouble.

I was at the exit of the guild hall when I noticed the quest board on the wall and decided to detour towards it.

Many quests littered the board with the majority being E-D and only a couple of each for the remaining.

A few B ranks caught my eye.

"Bandits, Wanted Dead or Alive. 100 gold per bandit on top of the bounty any of bandits have on them. 200 gold for each mage bandit. Outskirts of Valden City."

I rip one of the pages down and notice that several more pages of the same quest was behind it.

I suppose multiple people could take it at the same time.

I head over to the receptionist and place the paper down.

"Is there anything else I need to do, or do I just take the paper and then report my completion?"

I asked the woman who's name tag read Marie, and she just nodded.

"Yes, you take the quest paper with you and once completed you report to the closest guild branch.

They will send someone out with you to verify your claim and stamp the quest completed.

After that you can report back to their guild or ours for quests such as these, but some quests will have a specific benefactor.

Such as the escort quests or material gathering quests."

I take in all the information and nod my head in thanks.

"I see, thank you."

I roll the paper up and deposit it into my storage ring and turn to leave.

"Uh, wait. Are you sure you want to undertake this quest alone?

Rumors say there are more than 60 bandits in that area."

"What are their reported offenses?" Was my response and it caught her off guard at first but she continued.

"The normal raiding of wagons and caravans, but they also take women and children prisoner while killing all the men and elderly.

I'm sure you know what they likely do with the women and children, and they've been known to kill farmers and raid their farm." The woman finished with a sorrow filled face.

I just nodded.

"Then I'm sure I'll be going. I should be back in a week at most." I called and exited the guild finally and seeing the sun beginning to fall from its peak.

I had noticed the 3 girls grab the same wanted poster I had for the bandits outside Valden, but I ignored them.

If they did it the correct way I would finish before they got there, but if they did it wrong I'd like most likely have to save them as well.

I passed through the teleport gate that leads to Valden and as soon I was in the new location I wasted no time on heading to the exit.

Apparently the attacks happen on the stretch between Valden and Marlow Town, so I head North out of the village.

Once again noticing the 3 girls attempting to tail me from a distance.

What is their obsession with me?

I could only sigh inwardly as I disappeared into the forest and begin scouting the area for signs of the bandits.

The first day was uneventful as I only had a few hours of sunlight by the time I got here, so I didn't make much ground.

I pulled out a rope and ascended a tree, high enough to be out of eyesight unless they looked up and tied myself off to the tree.

The knot I used however would easily untangle with just a pull on the end of the rope I held in my hand, so I could make a quick escape if need be.

A couple more days passed before I caught wind of the bandits, and that was only because I had heard the sounds of a large fight happening up the trail.

I hadn't noticed the 3 girls tailing me anymore either so I most likely lost them and they gave up or they attempted to find the bandits before me.

In that case I suppose I should hurry up and track down where the fight occurred.

Just an hour down the road I found the aftermath of a fight with ice melting in the high afternoon sun and screech marks littering the area.

There were about 10 dead bandits, but no more and I didn't see the bodies of the girls anywhere.

I grit my teeth in annoyance at their stupidity, why did they have to follow me?

What did they think they would prove even if they had killed all 60 bandits before me.

Sighing out my frustration I calm down and observe the surrounding.

60 bandits aren't exactly sneaky so I easily pick up their trail and follow it deeper into the forest.

It takes another hour before I reach their campsite, which I was able to spot due to the fires illuminating the darkening forests.

Their cheers also filled the air, but that wasn't the only thing something else filled the air as well.

A sound that I was painfully familiar with and unconsciously had me reaching for a dagger to go release the poor captives from their fate.

Screams and wails of women could be heard echoing off the trees as they suffered sexual abuse at the hands of their captors.

Once up in a tree I could see around the small clearing and saw Varay tied to a tree with her arms spread out by ropes to branches.

Her uniform and clothes had been torn to shred leaving nothing to the imagination, but I suppose her position was favorable to her friends.

"Let the ice bitch watch as we take her friends again and then kill them in front of her!" A man yelled while holding the bloodied face of Anna by the hair.

She was equally disrobed and dirt and blood covered her body as he tossed her to the ground and unbuckle his pants.

I clued in on the word again, as it seems they had already had their way with the 2.

It was confirmed as Lacy was dragged from a tent by another bandit with shredded close and blood dripping down her face and legs.

Varay's sobs and begs could be heard, but I blocked them out as I scanned the area.

As much as I want to help them I can't just charge in blindly and risk getting subdued like they did.

They killed 10 back at the trail and there was supposed to be around 60, so math dictates there should only be around 50 now.

However I didn't like trusting definite information, and any bandit group that's able to subdue Varay must have several strong members unless they threatened her friends lives.

The sons continued and they became harder block out as their intensity grew, both from Varay and the 2 girls.

Flicking 3 of my paralytic needles into each hand I prepare myself.

Most of the bandits are standing around watching, and awaiting their own turn with the 2 beauties in the ground.

Some however are are drinking and sitting around the campfire, but even counting all of them there are around 5 missing.

And none that I can see give off the sense of a mage strong enough to stop Varay.

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Until next time.