Chapter 17: Conheart City

It's night.

Whistling can be heard from the woods near the abandoned building. The whistling is coming from a guy taking a piss. He's one of the bandits that attacked Klay and Neerial.

A glint of two pairs of eyes suddenly appeared behind him. Covering his mouth and putting his hands behind his back.

Inside the abandoned building are Cedric Hernandez and his group. They made a campfire inside and played cards with each other. Hernandez was leaning on the window, not joining his group in their fun. He noticed that one of his men was missing.

Hernandez turned his head to his men and asked, "Where's Kilton?"

The bandits looked at Hernandez and turned their heads at each other. Raising their hands and shoulders, they tell Hernandez that they have no idea.

Suddenly, a white ball entered the building. Rolling around until it reaches the bandits and stops on its track.

Hernandez realized that something was in that ball and tried to warn his men. However, he was too late.

The ball explodes and releases a white smoke, stealing their vision.

Smacking sounds can be heard behind the smoke. The groans of his men can be heard as if they're screaming from pain. Hernandez couldn't do anything but cover his nose with his arm.

The white smoke slowly disappeared, revealing Klay Panthor and Neerial Ocsanod taking his men hostage. The bandits are tied up by a rope.

"We meet again," said Klay. "I believe that you stole something that belongs to us."

Hernandez was gritting his teeth out of nervousness. He didn't make a sound and just stood firmly.

However, an attack suddenly appeared on his back. He realized this quickly and countered the attack with his dagger.

It's the shadow assassin that Klay summoned that's attacking Hernandez. While Hernandez was busy defending himself, Klay made his move and cast a spell in his direction.

"Blaze Dynamite."

Hernandez used the spell to his advantage. He pretended that the shadow assassin had pushed him and evaded the spell. The shadow assassin took the spell that Klay cast head-on. Turning the Shadow Assassin to dust.

'That's one down.' thought Hernandez.

Until a blade was pointed to his throat. The one that holds the blade is Klay's partner, Neerial. Cornering Hernandez to surrender.

Hernandez raised his arm slowly and let go of his dagger. Surrendering himself to Klay and Neerial.

.

.

.

Klay Panthor's POV.

We accomplished the ambush against the bandits. In our sight are the eight bandits that attacked us earlier this morning.

All of them are tied up in ropes, and Neerial is guarding every movement they make.

"Move once, and you're dead," warned Neerial.

One of the bandits ignored Neerial's warning and attempted to move his hands. A blade has been pointed to his throat, stopping him from moving.

"This is your final warning," said Neerial.

The bandit immediately realized his mistake and lowered his head. Hernandez laughed lightly at this interaction and turned his eyes in my direction.

"The thing you're looking for is not here," said Hernandez.

"Where is it?" I asked.

"Who knows? I just gave the thing, and the guy magically disappeared," Hernandez replied.

"Who's who?" I asked.

"Huh?" replied Hernandez.

"What?" I asked.

Hernandez blinked his eyes a couple of times and let out a sigh.

"You're stupid," Hernandez insulted me.

"I'm joking. Anyway, can you describe his face?" I continued.

"I can't. He's wearing a black coat and was covering his face with it," said Hernandez.

I put my palm into my head and thought to myself that this was a waste of time. I called out to Neerial and started going back.

"Let's go, Neerial. These guys are a waste of time," I said.

Neerial followed me, and as we reached the door, Hernandez spoke up.

"But I can help you find him," said Hernandez.

Him? So it's a guy. I turned around and looked in Hernandez's direction. Grinning and looking at me with fired-up eyes

"What do you need?" I asked.

I know there's something behind these people. They're henchmen that do the dirty work of others in exchange for money.

"Money, of course; 50 golds will be enough," said Hernandez.

"Got it," I replied.

Neerial was surprised at my calm decision. She touched my shoulder, stopping me from moving.

"Hey, he might be tricking you. We don't even know what he stole," Neerial whispered.

"Don't worry. I know what to do when he lies," I replied.

Neerial seemed hesitant about letting me go, but she moved her hand. Watching me carefully as I make my next move.

I walked towards Hernandez and his men. I pulled out 15 golds from my pocket and gave them to him.

"Here's 15 golds. The remaining 35 golds will be paid after you bring me the item," I said, kneeling and looking at him equally. "I'll know when you lie."

"Wow, so scary." Hernandez imitated my line earlier this morning.

I stood up and made my way back to Neerial. Behind me, Hernandez yelled out his final words before I went.

"What about this rope?" he asked.

"I know you can handle a simple rope," I said without turning my head.

Neerial and I made our way back to Mr. Locke.

.

.

.

It's morning, and we returned on our way to Conheart City. Neerial talked to me and was holding a set of cards.

"Where did you get those?" I asked.

"I stole it from the bandits last night," she said while shuffling the cards.

This girl...

We played cards for a while to kill time. Hours later, Mr. Locke called out to us, saying that we were close to Conheart City.

Neerial and I immediately stopped playing and went to the front of the carriage. In our sight is a glimpse of the city.

But... How should I put it? Compared to Wyourld City, this place is a letdown.

The gate wall is nothing compared to the walls of Wyourld City. The city is lifeless and has a dark atmosphere all over the place.

The houses and shops are also covered with cracks and dust. Many spots are also abandoned, and the people have messy and ripped clothes.

"Christ, this isn't what I expected when I heard the city's name," said Neerial.

"So was I," I replied.

We look all around the city, turning our heads left and right. Our eyes couldn't help but be filled with pity for the poor state of this city.

"Conheart City is a destitute urban region marked by extreme poverty and hard economic times. Many locals find it difficult to pay for needs like food, housing, and medical care. The infrastructure of the city is frequently deficient, with little access to public services, sanitary facilities, and clean water," Mr. Locke explained.

"Is the king going to do something about this?" I asked.

"King?" Mr. Locke laughed. "The King of this city is corrupt, taking everything he could from his people to increase his power."

That's ridiculous. A king should be the one to give and protect his people. A king who takes from his people and lets them suffer is nothing but a thief.

"I wonder if I could take out the king of this country," I whispered.

"Want to do it tonight?" Neerial, hearing my words, replied.

I let out a laugh. It's funny how she and I thought the same thing.

.

.

.

We arrived at the guild hall of Conheart City. What awaited us was Reni, or so I thought.

"Reni? What are you doing here?" Neerial asked.

"Me? Oh, I'm not Reni; I'm his sister Rena." The look-alike Reni replied.

Wow, what a coincidence. They have the exact same face.

"Are you her twin?" Neerial asked.

That's what also came to my mind. But somehow, I managed to stop the urge of asking her out of curiosity.

"Not exactly. We're quintuplets," said Rena.

She took a picture frame from the back of her counter and showed it to us. The image in the frame shows five girls with the same faces but different hairstyles.

"This is ridiculous," I whispered.

Neerial bumped my stomach with her elbow.

I glared at her as if asking, 'What was that for? '

Neerial probably has a strong hearing. Every time I whisper something, she always hears it. I'll be careful from now on.

Going back to our purpose, I talked to Rena. I placed a piece of paper above the counter and showed it to her.

"Please give us the details about this quest," I said.

Rena gave the quest a look and turned her eyes at us.

"You finally arrived. Please follow me; this is better to be talked about privately," said Rena, leading us to another room.

She gave us the complete details of the quest. How it began and how it led to a problem for the guild.