My backpack hasn't even hit the ground, but the unexpected battle had already begun.

  The alley was wide enough for me to swing my sword, but that also meant it was wide enough for two of them to fight me from each side.

  I understood that if I let them surround me, I was definitely done for. Beyond that, I also didn't know what tools or techniques they possessed.

  Even five-on-one, even against a newbie Bronze adventurer, my weapon by itself was still enough to create a big risk of injury, not to mention dismemberment. They must have been pretty confident in their ability to avoid harm, or maybe, they judged the risk was worth the reward.

  Moreover, as someone with exceptional perception, I could see those guys weren't the lowest on the food chain – they had quite a bit of confidence and discipline in their movements, and the big guy gave off a certain aura. Over the last few weeks, I've learned to recognize this aura as someone who is either a low-level Path-bearer, or close to becoming one.

  ‘I have to break through, first.’

  Both groups were still roughly 8 meters away from me. Since I couldn't let them reach me simultaneously, my course of action was already set.

  [Charge] !

  The two men to my left couldn't have seen more than a fleeting blur, before my figure appeared right in front of them.

  [Arc Slash] !!

  I was hoping to hit the two of them instantly, both to begin leveling the playing field, and to create a potential escape avenue.

  Unfortunately, their fighting instincts were sharp, and their agility wasn't far behind.

  The first man ducked downwards, simultaneously bringing his sword to deflect mine.

  CLANG!!

  As our swords met, his blade instantly shattered near the middle, but the momentary delay - and, perhaps, the change in my sword’s trajectory following the block - was enough for him to barely make it.

  The second man was already already swinging both of his shortswords towards my incoming swing, air shifting around them.

  CLANG!

  As our skills met, his swords burst into a small explosion of metallic shards, flying to the sides, perhaps, in part, due to the pressure applied by his own skill.

  However, my sword was deflected backwards.

  The steel shards hit neither of us, but due to their angle…

  “Argh!..”

  A few of them pierced the ducking thug, penetrating his right arm and shoulder.

  Leaping forward, I swung the sword once more, this time diagonally.

  The first thug rolled to the side to dodge, while the second jumped to the opposite wall.

  I could potentially try to finish one of them off, but rather than taking the risk of being delayed long enough for the other three to catch up, I continued forward.

  “You think you can hide?!”

  After I passed the two bandits, the leader's wrathful shout came from behind. However, before he could even finish his words, I had already turned around.

  “You think I'll run from a few lowlifes?”

  As I brought my sword up to a familiar position, pointing forward from slightly below my chest, the three healthy men slowed their steps, as the other two - one injured, the other rattled - slowly stepped back behind them.

  “...boss, he's strong.”

  The faint whisper from the former duel-wielding gang member didn't escape my ears. The leader only threw him a scolding glance, as the man hid behind him with his eyes lowered in shame.

  “Since you weren't foolish enough to kill one of my boys, let me give you another chance.”

  The man spun his massive hammer in his hands, before slamming its head into the ground, causing a faint tremble to reach my feet.

  “We are the Mad Dogs! Our backers are the Scarlet Shadows. You might not know who they are, but anyone in this city will tell you how precious that ignorance was.”

  The big man's bald head reflected the light-blue moonlight, as his brown eyes looked into mine.

  “If you throw me your purse - and leave behind that backpack of yours, too - we’ll let you walk out of here alive. If you have over 50 gold, we won’t bother mentioning your name to that man, either.”

  “Hmm…”

  Given the context, I guessed that man was one of those Scarlet guys.

  Either way, my contemplation was only for show – as if I'd part with all my gold, not to mention the sealed box, the ore in which could be worth twice as much.

  Instead, I had to think of a plan.

  “How about I pay your fee, and you let me pass? Would a few dozen gold really be worth throwing your lives away for?”

  The huge man chuckled.

  “Didn’t I just tell you? We are the Mad Dogs! A mad dog doesn't beg for scraps – it takes the whole steak, together with the hand that withholds it!”

  His gaze continued resting on me, eyes turning colder.

  “If we let something like this fly, we will no longer be mad dogs – we'll become the dog food. So, choose. And do it quickly!”

  By now, I had finished formulating my plan. The only reason I let the man keep talking was because somehow, somewhere deep in my heart, I held a faint hope that this could be resolved peacefully. But that hope seemed unrealistic.

  “Let me ask you one last question.”

  I looked at the man, who didn't interrupt.

  “If I were to escape, you'd report it to those Scarlet Shadows of yours, correct?”

  In reply to my question, which was asked in a cold, flat tone, the man simply nodded.

  I took a look at the big man, his hammer held properly once more, the two sword-wielding thugs beside them, and the other two men behind them – one leaning against the wall, trying to tie up a torn piece of cloth around his wound, and another holding two daggers, ready to support his friends if the opportunity presents itself.

  I sighed… and lowered my sword.

  I then slowly reached into my potion case. The big man brought his left hand under his jacket, clearly grabbing something as well, but as I retrieved my coin pouch - which I usually kept inside the locked case for safety - his face relaxed, even if not fully, and his hand came into the open again.

  I shook the pouch a few times, filling the night air with the pleasant sound of ringing coins.

  The other gang members were visibly relieved – they clearly didn't want to engage in a deadly battle instead of a simple robbery.

  Without a word, I tossed the pouch towards the leader. It flew slightly above his head. He reached upward with his left hand, grabbing the pouch-

  A moment before his fingers closed, my sword shot back into its previous position.

  The leader's eyes erupted with rage, but his hand still grabbed the coin purse, out of pure reflex. The next moment, he had already released his grip, raising the great hammer with his right hand and hastily gripping the shaft with the other-

  [Charge Thrust] !!!

  By now, I've learned to perform the skill quite quickly. It was not instant yet - I presumed that level of mastery was represented as ‘level 5’ - but it didn't take longer than 0.3 seconds, from the moment my sword reached the starting position, to the moment the skill was cast.

  The big man, who was likely planning to block or push away my sword with the hammer shaft the moment I thrust forward, did not have enough time to properly grip it, nor did he see my thrust before, perhaps believing [Charge] and [Arc Slash] were two parts of the same skill.

  His reflexes were even better than his subordinates’, moving his massive left arm, which was slowly descending towards the hammer, to protect his chest and neck at the cost of his own limb.

  This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

  However, he was just a tad too slow, and my skill was just a tad too strong.

  Cutting through the flesh and grazing the bone, my sword bypassed his arm, finding its way straight to his neck – and right through it, on to the other side.

  A spray of blood erupted, staining my head and chest armor. Unfortunately for the big man, big and slow targets couldn't afford even a momentary distraction against my skill - and such a distraction cost him his life.

  “Son of a-”

  “Jord!”

  As the two gang members in the back began shouting, the other two’s swords were already swinging at me, both displaying the familiar air of a technique being used. However, right before they reached me..

  [Charge]..?

  I used my movement skill, but where could I charge to, with the big man's body still in mid-fall, blocking the center of the alley?

  The answer was left, straight into the man who was swinging his sword a few steps beside me.

  His sword did reach my left arm, and between his own skill, and the added momentum of the movement skill, the stabbing motion managed to penetrate both layers of armor, leaving a ragged cut in my flesh, a few centimeters deep.

  On the other hand, I used my momentum to headbutt the thug.

  One had to remember that while traveling on foot, I was fully equipped for combat – which included my helmet, acquired from that hobgoblin all the way back.

  Since it was an open helmet, I did not need to remove it during the inspection at the gate, and while I could have removed it after entering the city, I’ve heard enough warnings about the danger of this city to make me keep it on.

  CRACK!

  The hard steel met the thug's skull, its force not strong enough to bash his brains in, but definitely enough to crack the bone and cause a concussion, leading to his immediate collapse.

  As for me, not only were my muscles tensed in anticipation of the blow, but the helmet’s inner padding reduced the impact as well.

  thump

  The huge man fell onto the ground with a loud sound, followed by his subordinate.

  “Run!”

  Unlike goblins, the thugs’ survival instinct was far stronger than their bloodlust.

  The first thug, the one whose swing just missed me two seconds ago, bolted towards the nearby door, while the other two tried to escape towards one farther back, hoping at least one of them could survive.

  Unfortunately for them, my current skill usage was nowhere near enough to push me to my limit, even without using any of my trump cards.

  [Charge Thrust] !

  The first would-be robber was pinned to the wooden door with my sword, his feeble attempt at deflection not making much of a difference.

  The other two were already quite a distance away, closing in on the door.

  [Charge] !

  The distance was reduced from 12 meters to 5.

  [Charge] !!

  In the middle of the 2nd charge, I extended my sword, piercing the healthy gangster. The momentum carried me forward, but I used the sword embedded in the first man as support to turn myself 180 degrees mid-movement, ending up face to face with the wounded, unarmed gangster.

  “Y-you bastard! The Scarlet Shadows will get you! Don't think you'll ever-”

  Seeing as he wasn't going to say anything new, I swung the sword, which I already withdrew from between the previous man's ribs, and cut the man's throat. Hearing the thug gurgle his own blood, I quickly drove the sword through his heart – he didn't do enough to deserve such a dirty death.

  I threw one quick glance at the scene before me – an alleyway washed in blood, just like myself, and five dead bodies. Well, one of them was not dead, yet, but having seen my face, he would be, soon.

  The sight made my heart stir for a moment.

  ‘Is this really that different from all the goblins?’

  The moment they drew their weapons rather than retreat, self defense became justified in my eyes.

  ‘No. They are worse. Goblins are cursed in their very nature, but those men chose violence.’

  And the moment they confirmed they would not only steal over half my net worth in this world (excluding the sword), but also report me to their patron gang, their fates were sealed.

  I knew that despite my justifications, the sight in front of me would weigh on my heart for some time. However, when I compared that feeling to the one following Timmy's death, I knew this weight would be far easier to bear in comparison.

  Of course, I realized the Scarlet Shadows would certainly investigate this, but by the time they got anywhere, I'd hopefully have left the city.

  Listening in, I could not hear anyone coming from either side of the alley. Thankfully, while the inn's sign was visible, the entrance was located elsewhere, perhaps intentionally designed to avoid showing the guests this filthy passage.

  I quickly decided on the course of action – grabbing the two nearby bodies by their legs, I dragged them towards the nearby door, opening it and throwing each body inside.

  I quickly ran to the other side of the alley, doing the same thing with the remaining three, after finishing off the remaining bandit.

  Finally, I grabbed my backpack, and walked into the Mad Dog's hideout.

  It was a long room with a few sofas, shelves, a kitchen sink, and a big table at the center.

  On the table lay a few piles of coins, mainly copper with some silver mixed in, as well as scattered playing cards – given the five sets of two cards lying face down, it was probably a match of poker or something similar.

  In the back was a heavy double door, made of dark wood, its handles sporting a big metal lock. The dust on that lock, as well as the uniform filth on the nearby floor, suggested this door hasn't been opened in a while.

  ‘Perhaps it belongs to the neighbors. Anyway, that door isn't my problem. You wanted to rob me – now, it's only fair I loot this place clean.’

  ***

  The first thing I did was treat my wound, using the first-aid kit I always carried around. When I applied the alcoholic liquid, the pain made me clutch my fist and grind my teeth, but in a world like this, quickly disinfecting the wound seemed important.

  After tying a clean bandage, and putting my damaged chainmail and leather armor back on, I immediately got to work.

  Even though I decided to loot the small hideout, I couldn't do so at my leisure – I was certain the guards didn't come here often, as evident by the gang's brazen behavior, but someone would call them over eventually, with the alley looking like a scene from a slasher horror movie.

  The contents of the hideout itself were rather disappointing.

  Beyond the money on the table, which amounted to slightly more than 7 gold, there wasn't much else of note - the shelves were mostly filled with cheap household items that weren't worth carrying, or things like gloves, sacks, linen head masks, and a few other disposable wearables and tools that looked like they might be useful in wonderful activities such as burglary or theft.

  The only thing that stood out to me was actually the stone kitchen sink – with a rusty pipe underneath, and an actual valve above it.

  Beside the bath-pool thing in the Blue Mushroom inn, and that bathhouse in Pine Peak, I haven't seen anything resembling a modern sewage system in this world. To have one at a decrepit pseudo-apartment like this spoke volumes about the city's infrastructure.

  Of course, what I cared most about right now was the fact that it could be used to wash off all the blood. I would do so right away, if it wasn't for the other thing I had to do.

  I quickly approached the bodies, which I dragged over to the center of the room, beside the wall farther from the entrances. There was already a puddle of blood underneath them, slowly growing larger.

  I quickly walked over.

  I had already worn a pair of gloves from one of the selves, and tied two thick pieces of fabric to my soles to try and avoid leaving distinct blood footprints on the floor. I also shoved the rest of the gloves and head masks - a dozen or so each - into my bag, just in case.

  Searching through the bodies, I found another 17 gold's worth of coins. I also found a large pouch that was unstained by blood, quickly pooling everything there, including the mountains of copper still laying on the table.

  The rest of their belongings were largely of little note.

  Three of them had cheap paper fliers (although, colored ink was not that cheap in this world) titled “Gold Rake Casino”.

  ‘Perhaps it’s popular among gangsters? If I went to those types of places, I’d avoid this one in particular.’

  One of them had a palm-sized framed painting, in which a smiling woman and a small girl could be seen sitting side by side.

  I'd be lying if I said I felt nothing, with the image of Timmy flickering through my mind once more, but I quickly pushed those feelings aside.

  ‘If you cared about them, you should have gotten a job as a caravan guard, or anything else other than robbing and murdering people.’

  Finally, under his jacket, the leader had a small spherical trinket, made of thick glass with a polygonal metallic framework around it, and a small pitch-black crystal resting in the middle. Its surface was completely smooth, and its shape symmetric, except for a small thumb-sized cavity on one of its sides, which went nearly a quarter of the whole trinket’s height deep, nearly reaching the black crystal.

  ‘Could this be some magic device?’

  I was extremely curious, but decided to find an expert to take it to later. For now, it went into my potion case (which was quickly becoming an everything-case), occupying the last of its volume beside my original coin purse – which I obviously picked back up while moving the bodies.

  I left the leader's weapon as is – there was no way I could move discretely with a huge greathammer hanging on my back.

  Just for good measure, I decided to look under the sofa, turning it over and scattering the pillows all over the floor in front of it.

  I didn’t see anything, but..

  rustle

  My sharp senses picked up something shifting inside.

  I searched around the area where I heard the sound, and realized I could probably open this sofa, which had a wooden base covered with cheap fabric, to reveal a storage compartment.

  Rather than wasting any more time, I cautiously carved a hole in the fabric, and indeed, what was revealed beneath was a large empty area.

  Well, not empty. Tied to one of the beams was…

  ‘Oh… wow.’

  It was a medium-sized bar of gold. Carefully checking it, I discovered a serial number (containing both digits and letters) on the back, as well as the number ‘100’.

  I had no doubt this was a bar worth exactly 100 coins, considering its weight roughly matched my heavy pouch.

  ‘Alright, better get this over with quickly.’

  I shoved the bar deep into my backpack. Afterwards, I took off my helmet and armor, quickly washing everything in the kitchen sink, with the help of a nearby soap bar. I also wiped off the blood from the top of my leather boots, as well as my sword.

  Some blood had already permeated my clothes, but I planned on buying some new clothes in the city anyways, so I'd simply dispose of this one set.

  Giving the hideout one quick look, I took a nearby mop, and thoroughly smudged anything on the floor which looked like footprints.

  Then, I took a few bandages, rubbing a bit of fresh blood onto them, and wrapped them around most of my face and head.

  I wouldn't consider striding into a decent inn with one of the face masks, but I could claim to have a serious head injury, coupled with a few fresh wounds on my face. Together with my shoulder wound, its bloody bandage visible through the ripped armor, I hoped this story would hold.

  At last, still wearing gloves and the fabric under my soles, I exited the building. Ensuring nobody was nearby, I went towards the alley exit, where a big wooden bin stood, emitting a truly repulsive stench.

  I used my gloves to throw in the blood-stained fabric, then disposed of the gloves themselves.

  Finally, I exited this god forsaken alley, and went towards the inn entrance.