9 (IX)

Not even a few seconds after Mark disappeared the archer and the mage began firing away some arrows and magic spells as if hoping to hit him somehow, but their efforts were in vain because as soon as he blended with the shadows, he made a break towards the side and kept going that way rather than continuing on to a straight line, remaining close to the edge of the forest at the same time staying within the shadows!

The hooded man ran to his knocked out companion while the other two readied themselves in case the monster came back while they couldn't kill it, it was still possible to hurt it to buy them some time.

As there was still a chance that it was pretending to leave and attack again with their guard down!

Mark moved to the part of the forest that was behind the adventurers then made his escape while it was possibly a gone chance to attack them from behind he didn't want to risk it since the mage may be breathing heavily from the amount of mana she used, the person did something to the arrows of the archer as it was glowing rather than take his chances he opted to run since magic can break through his defenses like nothing he'd rather not try and see if these arrows can puncture through as well...

a few days later of slaughtering goblins on his way, Mark reached the outskirts of the pier city as numerous camps filled with refugees, rogues, and riots were running amok as monsters raided the area every now and then while was a good source of income for the adventurers, for the regular people, however, it was an ongoing nightmare!

imagine day or night, you could be attacked at any time and when you are their numbers surpass you from ten to one and the adventurers care very little for the monsters as they were more trouble than they were worth, slapping on the excuse that they were meant for newbies...

Funny no?

the monsters could eliminate the outskirts completely yet they hold themselves back as the strong adventurers still resided in the city like nobles... well more like corrupted nobles as the pier city was large and there were seven areas that they controlled which were the middle-class areas and slums, while the nobles through wealth and 'bloodline' controlled the noble areas surrounding the city lord with an even taller and reinforced wall at the very center of the city to defend them from any attacks including the strong adventurers!

Due to them fighting behind the scenes to wrest the control of the areas for themselves in the dark, their control over their responsible areas was being whittled away by common rogues and gang members and lately a brothel master/loan shark that was quickly growing in power!

Mark found a 'nice merchant' that was willing to lend him a large cloak for an indefinite amount of time, another interesting fact was the people he came across afterward began murmuring amongst themselves as one of them was loud enough for him to hear that utterly confused him.

"What a handsome guy~"

He recalled that his looks were only slightly above average but the reaction they had was kind off-putting so mark looked at the other men scraggly, dirty, malnourished...

since he kept himself clean thanks to old habits and well-fed from devouring a bunch of goblins along the way he was sticking out like a sore thumb in the group!

Even the guard's reaction was stiff when his turn came up to enter the city!

"What business brings you to our pier city?"

Mark was happy that he could understand the man so he used the excuse that was prepared beforehand making his voice sound as soothing as possible with a smile.

"oh, you know the usual for supplies and some trading~"

the guard that was questioning him froze for a bit but was woken up by his fellow guard with an elbow in the side!

*cough cough*

the guard cleared his throat before handing mark a temporary pass before giving directions for the marketplace and the adventurers guild.

"follow along this road until you reach the point where it splits in two directions head westward to reach the marketplace, then when you want to make some extra coins head southward after the marketplace, it is the second-largest building just across the herald's bank."

Mark thanked the man for his kind gesture then went on his way.

The guard however leered at Mark as he left licking his lips before whispering something to his fellow guard bringing a knowing smile as the person headed somewhere not too far from the gate.

Mark, however, decided to ask around to make sure the guard wasn't lying it turned out to be true but something told him that some problems will be coming up soon as the constant hunting made him sensitive to anyone that has ill intentions towards him.

That guard gave that exact feeling as the monsters, so Mark decided to sell some of the stuff to buy some new clothes, he headed to a blacksmith's shop, the wooden clubs and dirty rags were ignored but the leather equipment and the few short swords he was willing to buy.

while the man tried ripping off Mark attempting to buy the item for less than half the market price, that same feeling like from the guard exposed his deceit thus Mark decided to threaten him but he quickly changed his mind upon finding out a few more things and simply killed him.

as for why? the man wasn't the real owner of the store, the owner was dead including his wife and child this city is so corrupted that you won't know if the person you are talking to is a falsely titled criminal or a bloodthirsty rogue!

While his actions were hasty it was better than leaving a loose end that would spread more trouble for him, thus Mark emptied out the coin locker to fill his pockets earning him 3 gold coins, 97 silvers, and a large number of copper coins, he got himself some new clothes, armor and a better cloak that hid his features better.

ruining a good number of pants and shirts thanks to his spiky back and tail before trying to wrap his tail around his torso making it look like more armor over the leather armor he was wearing and got himself a bluish sword, with a bow and a set of arrows trying to keep the adventurous kind of look~

since after he ate the corpses then left the blacksmith's shop the same guard that gave him directions was looking for something or someone but Mark stayed out of sight then headed to the guild while making full use of his stealth ability.

as for the other weapons and gear Mark left it alone as it would be too much to carry and told a few local beggars of the 'free' loot as to which the building was quickly emptied within an hour arming a good number of people making things get rather bloody as people that were constantly oppressed by the rogues, corrupted guards would become brave once they are armed and gathered together against the common enemy~

But the culprit that started it all didn't care as it was an excellent distraction despite so many people dying thanks to this even mark failed to notice the changes in his way of thinking even when he blatantly ate the corpses of the people in the blacksmith shop as the man made his way to the adventurers guild not to register but to learn more about the area!