22 Leveling Up

The old man's eyes abruptly opened, almost making Hunter fall in shock. The pain sent a jolt of electricity to the old man's brain. As a result, he momentarily woke up. Hunter twisted the dagger to end the old man's life quicker. Since the mage lost his defensive rune in the fight against another man, there was nothing to stop Hunter from killing him. Even if he had a defensive rune or a talisman, the devil's cry would have ignored it and killed the mage.

"Why?" The old man's question surprised Hunter. He thought he would ask who he was or threaten him. On the contrary, the mage asked why.

"Nothing personal old man. Killing you will make me stronger," said Hunter. He drew the dagger out of his chest as blood spurted out from the wound. Hunter stabbed him repeatedly until the light of life faded from the mage's eyes. As soon as the mage's heart stopped beating, Hunter felt a strange sensation. He suddenly felt a chill running down his spine. He had never felt such a heavenly feeling before. Soon, his vision was blocked by several notifications.

[Ding! Congratulations to the host for killing a level 49 High-Sage Mage. The reward is 245,000 Experience points and 1000 Badass points]

[Ding! Congratulations to the host for successfully being a badass. The reward is 2000 Badass points]

[Congratulations to the host for leveling up. The current is Level 13, Disciple]

[Congratulations to the host for leveling up. The current is Level 14, Disciple]

[Congratulations to the host for leveling up. The current is Level 15, Disciple]

…

[Congratulations to Host for reaching level 20, Assistant]

[The System recommends the host choose a battle specialization]

[The host can buy either book of magic or book of combat to start your specialization]

It took Hunter a few moments to collect his thoughts. The warm feeling slowly faded away. Then, Hunter felt strong and powerful. Yet he felt something was missing. According to the system, he had to be a mage or a warrior at this point. If someone knew about Hunter's cultivation speed, they would snatch him away without a second thought. He went from level 1 to level 20 in a few days. Even the brightest of the prodigies didn't achieve such a feat. with this speed, it was only a matter of time before Hunter became the strongest mage or warrior in the world.

Hunter had a couple of questions for the system. However, before he does anything, he wanted to bury the old mage's body. He quickly accessed the system store and bought a shovel and a fuel can.

Hunter began to dig a hole to put the old man's body in and burn it to ashes. With newfound strength, Hunter dug with speed beyond mortal limits. It took him only a few minutes to dig a seven feet hole. He jumped out of the hole with a simple leap.

"Rest in peace, old man," Hunter kicked the old man's body to roll into the hole. He then poured down the green slimy liquid into the hole. Hunter dared not to leave any evidence behind. As far as the bandits were concerned, Hunter gave the mage a healing potion and sent him on his way. Of course, Hunter knew this was a risk, but it was worth it. He knew without taking risks, he wouldn't be able to get stronger fast.

Hunter snapped his fingers as sparks flew out of his hand and lit the body with flames. Hunter stood above the hall, watching the mage burn to ashes. The hole was deep enough to shade the flames from outside eyes. The old man's body became bones and ashes in a few minutes. Hunter quickly closed the hole, dug another hole far away from the old man's grave, and buried the shovel and the fuel can.

"That settles it," Hunter dusted off the mud on his hand. He looked around for a bit before heading back to the camp. On his way to the camp, Hunter glanced at the silver pendant he snatched from the mage.

"This is my protection," Hunter mumbled. Soon, he would leave for Bellburn city and start his own criminal empire. At that time, he would need the protection of someone stronger. This silver pendant would help Hunter create someone to ward off troubles.

After everything was said and done, Hunter returned to the tent. Luckily Kolvar was long asleep. He was snoring and rolling on the floor. Hunter had nothing else to do. Thus, he just hit the bed and tried to get some sleep. Hunter fell asleep within a few minutes. He was exhausted both mentally and physically.

The next day, the sun rose on the horizon, diffusing the fog enveloping the forest. The woods and bushes were all wet; the green branches, the green grass leaves, the petals of the flowers, the drops of crystal water, glittering and looked magnificently colorful. Hunter slowly opened his eyes to the morning breeze. The crystal clear dewdrops slid down the leaves and jumped cheerfully. Hunter slowly rose from the bed, stretching his muscles. He cracked his neck and drank a glass full of water. Hunter quickly accessed the system store to buy toothpaste and a brush. He quickly brushed his teeth before going out of the tent. When he stepped out, he was welcomed by fresh morning air. The green grass woke up under the gentle morning light, looking greener under the shower of dew.

"Okay gather up," Hunter called out to the bandits. Thrud looked a bit flustered after burying his fellow bandits all night long.

The bandits soon gathered before Hunter. Kolvar came to his side with a half bitten apple in his hand. Finally, Kolvat started to adapt to his new life without a slave bond.

"Me, Thrud, and the elf here will go to the Bellburn city, establish ourselves and send you a carriage to get you all inside the city. Now, don't worry about the law enforcement within the city walls. I will take care of everything. From now on, we are going legit," said Hunter. The bandits were surprised by his words. They never thought about stepping into the city and going legit, even in their dreams. However, they decided to let their new leader worry about their future plans. All they cared about was wealth. They would be okay with anything if they had enough coins to drink, eat, and sleep.

"Remember. Don't do any funny stuff while we are away. I will send food and booze within three days. I know you have enough for a week. When I return here, I expect everything to be the same as when I left,"

Thrud understood the meaning of his words more than his fellow bandits. He knew what he was capable of. Even though Maxwell was pretty cruel, he had never killed one of his own. Contrary to Maxwell, their new leader killed six of them.

Thrud's train of thought was cut short when the bandit beside him raised his hand.

"Hey, boss. What happened to that old man?"

"I healed him and sent him on his way. He said he owes us. I can now proudly say we have an ally within the mage guild,"

Hunter's lie put smiles on their faces except for Thrud. Somehow Thrud doubted he released the mage out of his cage and sent him off on his way. Kevlar had doubts, just like Thrud.

"No more banditing while we are away,"

"Banditing?" Kolvar tilted his face. He had never heard such a word before.

"Thrud, bring us the horses. We should be on our way to Bellburn city,"

Third nodded and went to bring the horses. Since Hunter and Kolvar had their own horses, Thrud had to use Maxwell's. A few minutes later, Thrud brought a brown-maned horse along with Hunter's black horse and Kolvar's white one. Hunter checked the sacks filled with devil's buttons for a moment before mounting his horse.

"See you guys soon,"

"Have a safe journey boss,"

"Bring us lots of coins!"

"We will be waiting for you,"

The bandits waved their hands happily. The handful of wealth Hunter gave them earned their loyalty as he expected. Maxwell ruled them with fear, but Hunter ruled them with fear plus gifts. As a former dictator himself, Hunter knew how to deal with bad guys like the bandits.

Soon, the camp disappeared from their sight. Instead, all they saw were giant ancient trees, foliage, and vines. The trio rode for Bellburn city, On their way, Hunter inquired Thrud about the alternative way to get inside the city without going through the guards and city gates. Hunter didn't want to risk getting caught with sacks full of devil's buttons. Just like weed on some parts of the earth, it was illegal to have devil's buttons in this world. Moreover, anyone would suspect Hunter if he got caught with a sack full of them after someone killed Xander and burnt his field.

Almost after a three hour ride without a break, they reached the forest's border. Hunter saw the city walls in the distance. He took a deep breath. The last time he was there, Kolvar and he was slaves. It felt different to step into the city as a freeman.

"Where does this Octagon person live?" asked Hunter. Thrud pointed at the bunch of crude houses scattered outside the city walls. These houses and how they were built reminded Hunter of slums back on earth.

"Let me guess, he's a thief," said Hunter, surprising Thrud..

His silence was evident to Kolvar that Hunter was right about Octagon being a thief.

"If we want to get into the city without the guards knowing, we need Octagon," said Thrud.

"Boss," Thrud called Hunter,

"Please try not to kill him," said Thrud.

"I will definitely try,"