Black String of Fate

"Lafia, are you sure?"

"Yes, trust me on this."

Lafia then looked at Xavier's wary posture and decided to throw her saber down.

*CLANG*

She then looked back at her teammates, indicating to them to do the same. Reluctantly, they also all threw down their weapons.

Xavier was surprised to see this. He thought he would have to negotiate for a long time before he could proceed, but this girl called Lafia hurried things up.

"Now, it's a better atmosphere to talk, isn't it."

Xavier, following suit, sheathed his sword and stepped inside the cave. He then reached for one of his pockets on his clothes and brought out an ear.

It was big, grotesque, and green, with red-colored rings marked on it.

"This is the ear of the hobgoblin chief. This should be proof enough that he's dead, right?"

The whole party was shocked after seeing that. When they first heard him, they thought he was bluffing, but it was not possible to simply cut off the ear of a hoblin race without killing them.

"B-But how? Now that I look at you carefully, you do not exude any energy. You're Uninitiated, right?"

The mage, Alina said so, and this surprised the whole party, except Lafia.

"Hm? Yes, I haven't initiated yet. I am a great swordsman, so it wasn't a hard task." Xavier casually said that, but the rest of them were having a hard time digesting his words.

"But how can simple swordsmanship kill elite monsters? They're much stronger and faster than even rank 2 Veterans, but you killed them all?"

Rolan was flabbergasted after hearing this. Among the party members, he was the oldest and the one with the most experience, so this information felt like his worldview was turning upside down.

"Well, hobgoblins aren't beasts. They don't have strong hides, claws, or fangs. What they use are their numbers and their rudimentary weapon skill. Strike their hearts, cut their necks, and they're dead. Their skin is not stronger than steel.

It doesn't matter how big the hobgoblin gets. A hobgoblin is a hobgoblin. They can never match my sword."

Xavier answered and turned around, motioning with his hands to follow him. Lafia was the first to get up and walk behind him, and one by one, the rest of them followed suit. Rolan asked Xavier before stepping out,

"It's nighttime, why are we moving out now? Won't the strong monsters be out on the prowl today?"

"Yes, that's exactly why we're moving out right now. This territory belongs to a Silvermane wolf, a rank 4 beast. Today is a full moon, so that guy will venture outside to expand his territory rather than hunting inside. The other animals don't know this, so they'll stay hidden, making it the safest time of the month today for us."

Xavier then continued,

"Seeing as you guys are injured, leave your protection to me. I haven't looted the outpost properly, do any of you have a storage ring?"

"I have one. I carry one to store my traps." Adam replied, showing the finger on which the ring was worn. Xavier looked back at him and said with a satisfied smile,

"Looks like I won't have to make multiple rounds."

Xavier now led the way in a more cheerful mood, heading towards the outpost. Everyone was a tad bit tense, but Adam had another question in mind.

"If you don't mind answering, how did you find us? It was a well-hidden cave, and I even made sure we didn't leave any trails behind."

Xavier once again looked at Adam, he noticed from his weapons and attire that he was a rogue.

"Hmm… It was pretty simple actually. I looked for the marks of your fights in the outpost, and using that, I established a general direction. After that, I looked for the bugs in the surroundings. You know, if any foreign creature wanders around their territory, they tend to abandon their homes or change their behavior patterns?

You did well hiding your tracks, but you can never be perfect against nature itself."

Adam was baffled after hearing this. He never imagined that even such a method could be used in the first place. Also, Xavier did not give off the vibes of being knowledgeable in this area.

"Are you a ranger, perchance?"

"Nope, just a swordsman who had to survive a deadly forest. Who knew picking up things was easier when your life was on the line?" Explore the unknown at m.v.l.e.mpyr

Adam went silent after hearing that, and so did all the party members who were eavesdropping. The one who led them looked like a child, and also claimed to be a child, but talked like he had experienced the vicissitudes of life.

"Mr. Xavier, are you not a human?"

Alina suddenly said this, and Xavier, without looking back, asked,

"What makes you think that?"

"It's just… You talk like someone who has gone through a lot in life, but you still claim to be a child. It can only mean that you're either lying, or you're one of the long-lived races."

"Haha, both of your deductions are wrong. I'm a human, and I'm 9 years old. As to how that is possible…"

He turned around and put his finger on his lips.

"It's a secret."

Alina did not ask further, even though her curiosity was killing her. It seemed like Xavier did not want to go into too much detail.

Soon, the whole party arrived at the outpost, or at least, what remained of it. The whole ground around the area was dyed deep red, with random limbs, heads, and organs littered everywhere. Lafia felt so disgusted that she was about to hurl up her lunch.

Xavier nonchalantly walked on that bloodstained ground like it was an everyday sight. He had Adam's ring on himself, so he used that to scoop up any swords, weapons, or materials he could. Finally, he looted the chief's bastard sword, which he was sure was of good quality.

But, as he was looting, he heard a sound.

*kieek*

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