“That hurt.” Merlin let out a strange groan as he laid there on the ground in pain. The two guards looked at him with obvious looks of concern. He sat up and began inspecting the condition of his leg, it was still a fresh scratch, so the bleeding hadn’t stopped yet.

“Does this town have a priest or medical facility?” Merlin asked the two guards who at this point still had their guard up.

“Yes, we have a priestess, unfortunately she isn’t currently within town.” The first to respond was the man who spoke out earlier. “As for a medical facility, there isn’t really anywhere specific, there are those around town who have some form of medical training. But otherwise, everyone just tends to their own injuries.”

“I see. Thank you, I guess I’ll deal with this myself then.” It was a shame, but he’d have to put up with the pain until his natural regeneration kicked in.

“So, anyway. What on earth was that?” The other guard spoke up this time, It seemed he wanted a proper explanation as to what the creature was. After all, it was his duty to protect the town, that included learning about any potential threats and figuring out a way to counter them.

“All I know is that it is some kind of undead creature. It didn’t seem quite like a ghoul but it also wasn’t a spirit.” Merlin began to explain the situation he was just in, prior to being hunted. “I was on my way here from Lycoa, when I noticed something within the forest. I was curious so I went to see what it was.”

“When I ran over, I found a lonely grave in the middle of the forest. And when I approached it, all I could smell was blood. So I ran away and the creature started chasing me out of nowhere. This all happened only a few minutes ago.”

“It seems like the creature doesn’t like light, so I was fortunate to make it here in time.” Merlin spoke once more, “Although I’m not sure what would happen if I went back out into the darkness. I’m not willing to try either.”

The guards seemed to be satisfied with his explanation, they helped him to his feet and watched as he hobbled along with his wounded leg into town. Merlin felt pretty safe now that he was within the town walls, the cobblestone streets were well lit with an abundance of oil lamps, and there were plenty of people around enjoying the town’s nightlife.

He sat down on one of the nearby benches to rest his wounded leg, and a few minutes later his natural regeneration kicked in, healing his leg completely.

He felt a strange itchy sensation on his palm, and realised that it had healed too. But where the strange puncture marks previously appeared, in their place were several light purple spots. Merlin tried scratching them, but the spots seemed to be well under his skin.

Feeling exhausted already, he decided he’d deal with this later. This was a probably something he needed the priestess to look at.

He stood up and began walking around town, trying to get his bearings. He didn’t know if the creature was still hunting him, or how it functioned. Could it suddenly appear if he stepped into a dark room? Could it slip out of a dark alleyway and attack him? He wasn’t sure, so he made sure to stay away from the shadows for now, staying within the well lit main street.

Merlin came across an old tailor store, and from the window view, one of the cloaks caught his attention, a cloak that buffed stealth. Unfortunately he didn’t currently have the funds to purchase such an item, but he made sure to keep a mental note of its existence, just in-case he didn’t find anything more valuable before then.

Merlin entered the store, the clerk appeared to be busy mending what looked to be a pair of fine trousers, so he didn’t bother disturbing him just yet. Merlin looked at the cheaper options for cloaks, picking out a nice dark black cloak that lacked any detail.

It was a little rough around the edges, but it was sturdy enough that it would serve its purpose. The best part however was that the price tag was only fourteen copper. While still expensive for Merlin’s current financial situation, it was barely enough to make back the material cost. on the item itself.

The old man sitting at the front counter didn’t so much as peer over as Merlin approached, and only after having his light source partially obscured did the old man at the counter turn to face the new customer.

“Hello, may I assist you?” The old man spoke up, his voice seemed uninterested and rather pompous,

“I’d just like to buy this, please.” Merlin held up the cloak for the old man to see. “Also do you know anywhere within town I could get a job?”

“Fourteen copper pieces.” The man replied, “And as for your second inquiry, there is always the mercenary guild if you’re good with your hands and a blade. It’s located in a bar not far from here, it’s called ‘The Wandering Spider’ it’s hard to miss.”

Merlin placed a silver coin and four copper coins on the counter before pushing them towards the tailor. “Thank you, you’ve been a great help.”

Merlin donned his new cloak before walking out of the building, when he got back onto the street he inspected his cloak, a window appeared before him.

┌───────────────────

[Apprentice’s Black Cloak. (Common)]

• Protection from the elements: +37%

└───────────────────

it was pretty good for the price point, the overall design of the cloak didn’t look too bad either. Due to it being entirely black, any of the strange or unprofessional work was essentially hidden, leaving only a fairly decent early game cloak.

Merlin opened his inventory, and instead of taking out his gladius and shield, he took out the goblin dagger, hiding it underneath his new cloak.

He travelled through town once more, ending up at a well-lit alleyway with a large sign marked as “The Wandering Spider”, there was also a smaller sign below it stating that this was also the headquarters for the mercenary guild. There were several posters stuck around the place signalling to their fellow townsfolk that they were accepting quests.

He walked down the alleyway and pushed the door open. Several eyes locked on him immediately, making him feel like this wasn’t an area he was welcome in. Regardless, he made his way forward through the room while on his way to the service desk. His shoes were constantly sticking to the wooden floor due to how much alcohol had been spilt on them.

Merlin made sure not to breathe too heavily, as there was a thick layer of smoke floating around the bar due to the various smokers.. The room smelt like a mix of tobacco and stale alcohol, as well as the musty stench of body odour, it was a horrible smell but Merlin had experienced worse recently.

He took a seat at the counter, the barkeeper turned to face him as Merlin pulled back his hood, revealing his face. The bartender was taken by surprise somewhat, Merlin was currently seventeen, but even so he retained several innocent looking features that made him look younger than he was. Even if Merlin had already gone through and changed a few aspects of his character’s appearance, the general look and feel of his face stayed the same.

“I’m looking for a job, I was told this was the best place for an outsider to start at.” Merlin spoke up, “Is there a registration form or something?”

The bartender was about to speak up, until someone sitting nearby stood up. A large man who looked to be roughly forty years old walked over to Merlin, placing his large bulging arm around his neck.

“This ain’t a place for kids to be messing around in.” The large man belittled Merlin, refusing to remove his arm. The last line he delivered felt more like a threat than a warning. “Those who don’t understand their place usually end up dead.”

“Please remove your arm, or you will lose it.” Merlin threatened back, confidence was the key with these bumbling oafs. They weren’t even high members of the mercenary guild, they were more decoration than anything else, merely used to scare away any would-be mercenaries who lacked spirit.

“Oho, you hear that boys, this one has some spunk.” The large man let out an obnoxious laugh, he raised his fist as if he was going to throw a punch at the back of Merlin’s head.

Tired of this man, he decided he’d show off a little to make an example of him. Merlin began chanting for a moment before swinging his fist behind him.

「Skill ⟪Sucker-punch⟫ Activated, your next unarmed attack has a 40% chance to trigger the stun effect for 3 seconds.」

As Merlin’s fist connected with the man’s face, he received a notification jingle that informed him the skill had been successful, this one attack had left the man in a daze for a few seconds.

Taking advantage of the stun, Merlin grabbed the man’s wrist, utilising his high strength to twist the man’s arm behind his back, this move also served to position Merlin behind him. It was at this point when more people began standing up, it seemed as though they were doing to intervene.

Merlin kicked out the man’s legs from behind, forcing him onto his knees, and with his spare hand he drew the goblin dagger he had hidden under his cloak before holding it to the man’s throat.

Merlin looked towards the bartender, only to find that the bartender had a surprised smile plastered on his face. The crowd had also stopped approaching, they received Merlin’s message before he made a demand.

“I take it this is my interview, did I get the job?” Merlin asked, staring at the bartender, who briefly nodded in response.

The only person who didn’t seem to get the memo was the man currently with a knife to his throat. After a brief attempt at a struggle, which had failed miserably due to the leverage Merlin currently had by locking the man’s arm behind him, Merlin attempted to reconcile with the man, to which he only received death threats and insults in return.

Feeling helpless in the situation, he turned to the bartender who merely shrugged at his current plight. Feeling as if he had no other option, Merlin sheathed his dagger before grabbing the man by the hair. He began a short chant and seconds later he received a notification.

「Skill ⟪Heavy Strike⟫ Activated, your next attack does an extra 5% damage, and has a 10% chance to trigger the stagger effect.」

Merlin smashed the man’s face down on a nearby table. Surprisingly enough, Merlin had actually received the mechanical jingle indicating the skill had successfully activated.

As the man’s face made contact with the table, the ale-soaked rotting wood was instantly reduced to splinters. Merlin inspected the man’s condition, once he found that the man was still breathing he threw his unconscious body to the side like he was garbage.

“Too much?”