Blacksmith Jack

The man, Aviante, held his chin as he considered if going there is fruitful or not.

At that moment.

Bang—

The wooden door of the inn slammed outward after being pushed with great force. Customers around the inn enjoying their glasses of beer turned their heads and peered outside.

Aviante, who was in the middle of contemplation frowned. He raised his head and stared at the muscular man arrogantly entering the inn together with his ugly lackeys.

In their arms, they held swords and other types of weapons while also wearing some type of armor around their body. Based on their arrogant demeanor and style, they must be adventurers or some sort of hunters.

'Weak.'

Immediately losing interest, Aviante lowered his head. The bottle of beer was already getting closer to empty. He'd had to refill soon.

Although Aviante already lost his interest in them, the other customers did not. He could sense their eyes staring at the muscular man as if he was someone so popular.

"Welcome to our inn, Sir Kristof."

The owner of the inn sprung out of the counter and greeted the man cheerfully. His tone of voice was polite as if afraid of the man, Kristof.

Kristof narrowed his eyes and swept them around the vicinity. Everyone flinched and lowered their gazes, while others suddenly became busy.

At that moment.

"There's no spot?" Kristof's face crumbled.

Aside from the empty chair at the counter, almost all tables inside the inn were occupied. The inn owner felt the atmosphere suddenly tensed and hurriedly eyed the other customers, hoping for them to leave.

However, none of them even noticed him.

He turned towards Kristof but before he could say something, Kristof grabbed his collar and pulled him closer to his head. Fear crept into his bones as cold sweats oozed out of his back.

Gulp—

The inn owner gulped his saliva as he stared at the menacing face of Kristof.

"Get these shits out of my face, understood!?" Kristof warned while also flaring his mana around the customers.

Shu—!

The cold air sent shivers down everyone's spine. As if a predator lurking in the dark, Kristof glared at every customer.

"Y-yes, sir!" The inn owner cowardly muttered. His legs trembled. His throat had gone numb.

Kristof's reputation in this small kingdom exceeds even that of the king. Due to his ferociousness and lawless methods, almost everyone around the kingdom fears this man. Anyone who blocked his way was either killed or tortured by his lackeys.

Thus, he earned the moniker, Hungry Beast.

"Better do your job or else…"

"Yes sir. I-I'll do it immediately!!" The inn owner stuttered.

As Kristof let go of his collar, he fell to the wooden floor with a thud. Though his legs felt jelly, he forced himself up and hastily yelled to the other customers.

"Cough, Our inn will be closed today. Unfortunately, we have t—"

However, before he could even finish his speech, Kristof interrupted.

"All of you! Get the fuck out of here!!"

Scramble—

As if ants were being disturbed in the nests, the customers jovially scrambled around and rushed towards the exit door. Some even fell into panic. Few fell to the floor and were trampled by the customers who were seemingly running for their lives.

This scene was commonly found in local supermarkets with a sale of almost 90% on their products.

The moment the last customer exited the room, the inn owner placed his hand on his chest and heaved a heavy sigh. His heart that was racing in fear gradually calmed down.

However, his breaths remained ragged.

Kristof on the other hand nodded in satisfaction. He turned towards his lackeys and spoke.

"Bring out the girls."

The lackeys eyed each other before a lustful gaze turned towards the cage on the outside.

"Yes, boss."

The inn owner immediately assisted Kristof on the best spot around the inn.

Only…

Kristof's eyes caught something around the far-end corner of the inn. The inn owner noticed his gaze and immediately shifted towards where Kristof was looking at.

His heart charged like a rocket.

'Why did he not leave!!!?'

Does he have no idea who Kristof is?!

Kristof sprung out of his seat and shuffled towards a man wearing a brown robe. Mana swirled around his fist as his nerves burst out of his forehead.

He is pissed.

Aviante's face turned to Kristof.

"Why did you not leave?" Kristof asked.

"My beer is not finished yet. I'll leave after that." After a brief answer, Aviante quickly shifted his gaze away.

"..."

Kristof turned aghast at Aviante's action. Infuriated, he raised his hand and…

Smack—!

Kristof smacked his palm at Aviante's head. It was so loud that even the lackeys outside the inn heard the loud noise.

However, it did not stop with just that.

Snatch—!

Kristof snatched the glass of beer from the table and smashed it above Aviante's head.

Smash—

The smell of liquor lingered in the air as it slowly drenched Aviante's robe. The inn owner stood there unmoved. He almost gawked out of his eyeballs in shock.

"So, still not leaving? Mr. 'My beer is not finished'?" Kristof sneered.

In his head, he already thought of many ways to torture this man that he would regret bumping his face towards them.

Only…

Kacha—

Aviante stood up from his chair and glared at Kristof eye to eye. Seeing Aviante's unpleasant gaze, Kristof mocked.

"What, you wanna go?"

Kristof's lackeys already entered the room after hearing the sound of glass shattering. But instead of helping, they took a seat at each table and watched the show unfold.

At that moment, something unexpected happened.

Aviante took off his hood, revealing his ungodly features. His eyes scrunched together as he opened his mouth.

"That beer…" Aviante looked at the shards of glass on the floor before shifting back at Kristof and continued, "...I haven't paid for it yet."

"So what?"

"Will you pay for it?" Aviante asked again before shaking his head. He crossed his arms and held his chin, "but I'm afraid you won't be able to pay the cost."

"Wha—!"

Slam—, slam—, slam—!

The door and the windows slammed shut. The fluorescent light blinked intensely before finally closing off.

Aviante's cold voice echoed around the inn.

"Don't panic, I'm just making sure none of you will escape without paying the price."

At that moment.

Shu—

A mana pressure stronger than anything they have felt in their lives flared up.

Everyone's faces turned white.

Suddenly…

Toss—

Roll—, roll—, roll—

The moment the lights opened, something rolled on the ground in front of Kristof's feet. It was crumpled up that it can't be even called a human's head.

"!!!"

Gulp—

Kristof gulped nervously looking at the mashed head of his lackeys. The light only went out for a mere second but the next moment, their heads already rolled across the wooden floor.

He didn't even hear a scream!

'This guy…'

He knew… he knew that he bumped into an iron plate.

Numbness filled his body as he fidgeted his fingers in fear. For a long time in his life, never would he thought that he would bump into someone way out of his league.

Never in his life did he think that someday karma would bite him back.

Instinctively, Kristof didn't even bother to avenge his lackey.

Thud—

Without hesitation, he hurriedly kneeled on the floor; his eyes gawking in terror.

"P-please don't kill me!! I'm wrong!!" Kristof begged. His head lowered to the ground as tears streamed on his face.

Aviante, who was now sitting atop a table, smirked.

"You smacked me and you expect nothing in exchange?" He shook his head and muttered, "Delusional jerk."

Stab—!

With a hint of remorse, Aviante pierced the head of the man. Blood splashed on the ground like a constant stream of a river. On the other side, the inn owner already passed out in shock.

.......

The next day.

As the sunlight streamed at his face, Hans's eyebrows fluttered. Dawn has come while the moon already disappeared around the skies.

"You woke up." A soft voice resembling a teenager's rang on his side.

Hans spring up from the hard ground and rubbed his eyes. His blurred vision started turning back to normal as the morning glory fell left his face.

Hans turned towards the man.

"Where are we, Gab?"

"We're in a small village called Saraka. It's not far from the Baru Empire." Gab answered. Currently, he was eating breakfast after a long shitty night.

Hans nodded and immediately peek in the small window. Although the village is small, it looks like it's bustling with people.

However, the moment Hans probed some of them, his forehead wrinkled. Confused, he looked at Gab.

"The news of Baru Empire being… burned into ashes already spread so." Gab shrugged his shoulders.

"I see."

Hans nodded. It seemed like these people were here to inquire for more information and probably confirm if the rumors are indeed true.

Unfortunately, they won't be able to obtain information other than someone invading the empire.

Of course, if somehow they found the citizens they evacuated, they'd only identify some guy with a half mask and that wasn't even a piece of valuable information.

"Oh, by the way, I will be leaving for the Beast Empire soon."

"Really? When?" Hans asked as he put on the clothes hanging on the chair.

"Probably, this afternoon. I still need to buy supplies as it might take me 3 days to reach there or even more." Gab replied as he continued chomping the roasted meat.

"Did you see my swords?"

"Oh, those two? I sent it to the blacksmith on the market. Just ask for Blacksmith Jack."

"Did it break?" Hans couldn't help but ask as he put on the cold-resistant jacket.

"I don't… I don't know. I just picked it up and sent it for repair."

"Sigh—"

After putting in some clothes, Hans went out of the inn and went to a local market. Galloping the wide road, he stumbled upon many shops offering various products.

"Sir, Madam, we sell high-quality weapons here! 50% off for the first 20 buyers!"

"If you buy our newly created, Beauty Potion, you'll receive another one for free!!"

"New arrivals! New arrivals! Clothes for men with bonus stats options!!"

"Anyone interested in a treasure hunt, just sign here!"

Adventures and hunters alike strolled around the stalls while finding anything that looks interesting to their eyes.

Hans immediately shuttled towards a stall having no customers and asked where could he find the Blacksmith named Jack.

"You see that smoking chimney out there. That's where his shop is." The stall owner pointed.

"Thanks." Hans slipped a D-rank weapon he obtained by chance as a payment.

"Wha—" The stall owner trembled as he held the weapon in his hand. He stared at Hans but was already too far to offer his gratitude.

"What a strange man." He thought before hiding the weapon inside his bag.

.......

Clang—, clang—, clang—!

The sound of steel being hit could be heard even on the outside.

Hans stared at the smithy, amazed at the cleanliness of the outside. Usually, a smithy could be seen as full of smoke so the surroundings looked dirty.

As Hans entered the smithy, the temperature rose. Then, he greeted.

"Hello?"

Clang—!

The sound stopped.

Soon after, a small dwarf wearing a dirty white apron over a leather shirt and pants trudged out to meet him. His beard was dripping wet from the sweats.

"Who are you?" the dwarf, Jack, asked as he wiped his sweat with a towel.

"I'm here to check on my swords. It's the one a teenage man brought here."

"Oh, that one?" The dwarf said, holding his chin.

"Uhmm…actually, it's two."

"..."

"..."

Jack shook his head and went toward his work area.

"Follow me."

"Alright."

Hans shrugged his shoulders. According to legends, dwarves are a hot-tempered race. They won't let anyone disturb them in the middle of their work.

Although confused, Hans eventually followed.

They sauntered towards a cement woven floor until the back of the smithy where the anvil and hammer work.

As soon as they reached there, various weapons hanging on the wall were laid on his eyes.

'The heat is sinking into my skin.'

Although it didn't hurt him, this fact alone was already alarming.

Imagine if an ordinary civilian went inside?

Their flesh might already burn before they could even realize it!

As if sensing Hans' concerns, Jack cocked his head behind and calmly said.

"Don't worry, my front door is special. It can't be opened with normal means."

Only…

"Are these weapons for sale?" Hans asked. In all actuality, he wanted to buy even one of them. If any of these were brought back to Earth, it might shake the world quite a bit.

'S-rank items were just displayed here like it was nothing?'

What a godly man.

Shortly afterwards, they stopped in front of a door and Jack picked up his sword that was sheathed inside a purple scabbard.

"Your other sword is trash so I threw it to where it belongs." As Jack said this, his head shifted towards the garbage can.

Hans' head also moved there too.

'How mean.' Hans thought. His temporary B-rank weapon was called trash by this guy.

Now, imagine how a masterpiece looks to Jack's eyes.

Hans immediately went for his weapon, the one Urs lent him.

However, as soon as he grabbed it, Jack pulled it away.

"Huh?" Hans raised his head and stared at the dwarf. He asked, "Why?"

"Before I give this to you, answer my question first."

Hans tilted his head and shrugged his shoulders.

"Go on. It's not like you'll run away right?" Hans nonchalantly said.

The dwarf sighed in relief and cleared his voice.

At that moment.

"Have you ever… appraised this weapon?"