Silent Descent

I continue strolling down the street while enjoying the new sights.

A big breath fills my lungs with the delicious scent of roasting meat from a cozy stall nearby.

'The scent is making me kinda hungry...' My stomach growls a little.

'I need some money; otherwise, I won't be able to establish a proper foundation for myself...'

'I shouldn't be walking around aimlessly. Let's collect some info.'

I notice a woman selling peculiar-looking fruit at the intersection.

'I guess I'll start from there.' I decide.

"Um, Miss? Mind if I ask you a couple of questions? I'm in a bit of a bind here," I speak up to the brown-haired older lady.

"Hm? If you're not a customer, then get lost. I don't have ti-" She freezes in place as she finally turns around and meets my gaze.

"…" She just stares at me with a blank expression.

'D-did I do something wrong?' I break out in a cold sweat.

"Help you s-say? What can I h-help you with?" A red blush rises on her face as she finally replies.

'Eh? I thought she was about to chase me away. Why is this middle-aged woman acting like a young maiden in love? Oh wait…hoh hoh? I can use this…' I finally remember my face that was sculpted by the Gods (literally).

I put on a cute boy act, interlocking my fingers and looking shyly at the ground.

"Um…B-big sister. I need some help. I'm new here to these lands and I wanted to ask some questions. I-I'll stop bothering you if big sister is busy!" I blurt out, fake-stuttering a bit to sell the act.

The woman's eyes start shaking, and her breathing becomes a little heavy.

'Praise the Dragon-God above! What is this adorable creature?! He called me Big Sister! I feel like I'm gonna melt! I wanna take him home!' Little did the clueless boy know, triggering the maternal instincts of a woman in her 40s, was going to be a very bad time…

The woman steps forward and pulls the boy into her arms, pushing his face between her ample cleavage as she rubs the boy's silver-white hair.

"M-mph! B-big sister? I can't breathe!" I start to struggle in her embrace.

'What the hell is this woman doing?! W-was my act that convincing?' I start to panic.

"Ssh, my poor boy. You must have been scared, right? There, there. You, with those peculiar clothes, seem to be from a faraway land. Is this your first time in Lugunica? Being in an unfamiliar place is scary, isn't it? Let this big sister take care of you…" She says with a satisfied and doting look on her face.

'Okay, we were off to a rocky start, but this is going well…'

"B-big sister. I wanted to ask if there was any place to earn money around here." I mumble in an overly shy manner. The red blush on my face is genuine but it helps too!

"Ah, you poor soul! There are many jobs in Luginica. The most popular ones are at the Adventurers Guild and Merchant Guild. Those places can be dangerous, so boys shouldn't go there, okay?" She gently says while breathing heavily.

'Adventurers Guild?! That's it!' I exclaim in my mind, but before I ask her any more questions, she continues.

"Why don't you work for big sister? I'll even let you live in my house! Just let big sister spoil you, okay? We can even do this and that…" She whispers in my ear.

'T-this woman is dangerous!' I break out in a cold sweat.

"I can't intrude on you like that, big sister…wait…Did you say adventurers?!" I exclaim with a bright and excited smile on my face.

"I love adventures! They are so cool! I've always wanted to experience them someday in my life! Can big sister please tell me the directions to the guild? It's my dream! Big sister, please?" I say with a hint of childlike enthusiasm.

'Please work! Please work!' I chant in my mind.

"Oh my! Well, I guess it's fine if you're just going to look. You have to go down the street and turn left at the intersection. If you go straight, you'll see a huge building. That's the Adventurers Guild!" Unable to resist my pleading eyes, she finally gives in.

'Perfect! I got the location!' I fist bump in my head.

"Thank you, big sister! You're the best!" I say as I gently extricate myself from her embrace.

"See you around, big sister!" I call back as I quickly walk away.

"Ah…what a shame. Wait, come to think of it. He was kind of tall for a child right?" The delusions of a middle-aged woman who craves motherhood are quite terrifying indeed.

"Whew, that was close! Note to self: avoid acting cute in the future…" I wipe the sweat off my forehead.

"The Adventurers Guild… that will be my first stop," I declare as I follow the directions the woman gave me.

After a few minutes of wandering, I find myself at the entrance of an alley.

"Through here? It's the only left turn at the intersection… Alright, why not!" I quickly decide and enter the alleyway.

I stroll for a bit, taking in the narrow path, and then turn left at the next corner.

'Damn it, I should have asked for directions again. Stupid mistake. I guess I should turn back.'

I decide to retrace my steps, turning around and heading back to the corner. However, as I turn the corner again, I collide with someone else doing the same.

'Why the hell am I bumping into people all day?'

"Tch! What the hell?! Watch where you're going!" A tall, lanky man with purple hair shouts at me. He looks drunk.

"Sorry, man. I wasn't paying attention." I put on a small, friendly smile.

"Tch! I hate that smile on your face. You pretty boys are all the same! It's because of people like you that Melissa…" He mumbles to himself.

"Heh. This is perfect. I spent too much at the pub today! Empty yer pockets! No sudden moves or I might cut ya! Hehehehe…" The man pulls out a small knife from his cloak and points it at me.

'Fuck, why the fuck did I enter a dark alley! Stupid me! Did I get overwhelmed by the surroundings and get careless? Nonetheless, this is bad…' I try to stay calm.

In these situations, losing your cool is the worst mistake…

Let's try to defuse the situation…

"Hey man, do I look like I have something to give you? Let's put the knife down and calm down, okay?" I try to calm him down by slowly raising my hands.

"SHUT THE FUCK UP AND EMPTY YOUR POCKETS! I'LL STAB YA! I'LL FUCKING DO IT!" He shouts, stepping forward with spit flying everywhere.

'He's drunk; this isn't gonna work. Fuck, this is what I deserve for entering a clearly shady alley…'

Just as I was about to reply, we heard a loud sound to our left.

"Huh?" The man looks to the left and sees a cat jumping down from a ledge above.

'This is my chance!'

I grab the guy's arm, twist it away from me, and then brace myself, delivering a swift knee to his crotch.

"DON'T MESS WITH A GUY WHO READS MARTIAL ARTS MANUALS FOR FUN!!"

"GWAHFF?!" The man drops the knife and collapses to the ground.

I swiftly grab the knife and turn around.

"You fucking brat…YOU'LL PAY FOR THAT?!" He yells maniacally as he reaches into his cloak and pulls out a short sword.

'WHA-? Fuck, this just got worse!' My heart beats hard in my chest.

The man charges forward and slashes at me diagonally.

"Woah!" I step back, narrowly avoiding the swing.

The man misses, and his sword slices into a wooden beam, sending wooden shrapnel flying everywhere.

'Calm down! Calm down!' I take deep breaths to compose myself and assess the situation.

'There's a wall behind me, so escape is not possible. The man seems to be drunk. His movements are clumsy, but he's still strong! I need to take advantage of his unbalanced stance!'

The knowledge from the martial arts manuals that Emily bought me when I was bored floods into my mind.

'Strike when he's unbalanced. Strike when he's unbalanced.'

"GET OVER HERE, YOU LITTLE BRAT?!" The man turns around, charging at me with his sword.

He swings the blade once more, but his drunken unsteadiness works to my advantage as I skillfully duck beneath the attack.

'Perfect! His balance is off; I've got an opening!'

I direct my knife towards his stomach, attempting a swift thrust.

Although the man barely fends off my strike with his sword, he counteracts by shoving me down with his weight.

"I'M GONNA FUCKING KILL YOU!" He exclaims, sitting atop my stomach and thrusting the sword downward.

Instinctively, I seize his wrist, narrowly preventing the blade from piercing my chest.

"F-fuck..." I swear under my breath as the man increases the pressure, attempting to overpower me with his weight on the sword.

'Shit. I'm gonna die. I'm gonna die? Again? After I finally got another chance?'

I strain against his strength, realizing that I'm losing the struggle.

'No. No. NO?! I'm not going to die like this!' I shout in my head.

My mind goes blank as one thought emerges.

'Î̷̡̥̗̿̉̈́́͂̋̒̄͠L̷̢̺̼̗̬̹̹̺̅͛̉͆̿̚L̴̛̝̈̽̓̃̎́̿ ̵̯̒͌̾͗F̸̡͕̙̙̾̊̓͒̆̄͠Ű̷̪̘͇̘͊̒Ć̶̱͈̺̰̜͑̄̀̋K̸̡̟̰̤̘̾̈́̚͜I̴̡̨̞͕͓̳̜̼̯̫͗̆͌̅͊̃̃̋͒̆͠ͅN̷̞̬̗͕̿̐̏͋̓̀͛͂Ğ̸̨̢̼̘͔͖̫͌̑̇̏ ̶̧̨̛̙̙̦̭̞̪̠͎͆̆̀̄͂̅̓̈ͅK̶̮̬̠͈̀̔͑Í̴͔̮̠̩͖̜̓̾̒͌̕L̵̡̖͈̙̮̬̪̝̙̪͆̒̽̋̚ͅL̴̨̼̳̠̼̞̘̠̤̑͋̅̎́ ̴̛͙̞̜͈͇̥̪̖̟͔̔́͛̉̃H̷̨͙̝̙̜͖̗̱͑͊͂̈̾̚I̴̯̹̣̫͆̈́ͅM̵̢̜̣̮͈͓̼̬͒̀́͆̃̿͒́̃̀͝'

[ New Skill Acquired : Limit Breaker ]

My eyes, once golden, turn crimson as veins of the same color start to appear on my arms.

I feel power surging through my body as I grip the man's arm tightly and throw him to the side, reversing our positions.

With all my strength, I squeeze his arm, feeling the bones shatter beneath my grip.

"AGHHHHH?!" The man's screams pierce the air, resembling a pig being slaughtered.

I swiftly grab the knife from his grip and cast it aside.

Raising my fist, I repeatedly slam it down on his throat.

Again.

Again.

Again.

And again.

I continue the onslaught until my fist meets the hard ground below instead of his throat.

Exhaustion courses through me, and a notification appears in front of my hazy vision.

[ Low Mana ]

I collapse sideways onto the ground as consciousness slips away.

[ Level Up! ]

[ Level Up! ]

[ Level Up! ]

[ Title Acquired : First Blood ]

The notifications are the last things I register before succumbing to the embrace of darkness.