Chapter 165 ,

"Y-You there!" a voice angrily shouted. "You didn't plan on announcing yerself, did you?!" Other voices were raised. The hunter group wasn't particularly happy with the two silent guests. Well, it couldn't be helped. I enjoined them to calm down first, then I turned to the cold old man.

This was the cavern. I showed it to him. Again, the old man commented on how marvelous the place was. "Ah…" the Ha ha ha face sighed. "Hadn't it been for the insistent royalty, we certainly could have used this place as our base, son… Ha… ha ha."

"I like it, too."

The old man and I had a discussion, but the hunters weren't happy with it. I imagined they disagreed with us. As a home, this cave really wasn't particularly attractive. If they openly disagreed with my old man, I would tell them not to be so picky about houses. They didn't, however. By now, the angry voice had calmed down, but it still told us we had to properly announce ourselves, next time. It was common sense.

From what they could see, we were just a peaceful (albeit freaky) old man and grandson, but when hunters didn't announce themselves, it meant they were enemies.

"Ah, but we are."

"Peaceful folks? 'Course you are!"

"No, not that."

"Uh? What's that?"

"Never mind," I shook my head. "You must be right: We come in… eventual peace."

"Uh… oh. Some food? It's gonna be a cold night."

Invited to the eating party, we declined, and further continued our discussion. Basically, the cave was where I accomplished some quest, too. If the old man was ready, now, I would show him how the rewards feature of the System worked. More precisely, what the old man wished to observe was the manifestation of the System's "power" over the world.

He asked me a few questions, taking notes and whatnot, and it was decided that I could show him.

A fight occurred.

Before I took care of that, I nonchalantly cut down the group of hunters. I was the kind of person who preferred to tidy up my room first before I had fun. To take care of chores first, before I let myself be free of duties. I jumped. From one hunter to the other. In a moment, they were all either stabbed through the heart or beheaded.

"Ah, ha ha… that's… 'Steel Claw,' I see."

"You already saw that one, didn't you?"

"Ah… I did, son."

After I politely asked him, the cold uncle gave me a quick clean-up with an Everyday Magic spell. The blood washed off my hands.

"Thanks."

"Ah."

We waited one minute. Soon, their last guy was coming. I nodded to the old man, and we waited by the entrance of the rocky sanctuary. One lonely monster-hunter walked out of the cave. When the sight of what happened to his group was presented to him, the hunter trembled, quickly stormed to what remained of his group in a hurry, and eventually stepped away from them. Curiously, my two big eyes peered through the dark at him, observing his emotional reaction with wonder. Then I went off my hiding.

Slowly, I marched to the young man. I was asked a multitude of questions about what exactly happened here, about whether I saw something or not, and about where the hell I even came from when this just happened a brief moment ago.

If I didn't kill the thing instantly, there was a reason. A thief. The man was a thief. Or an assassin. That was one rare job with adventurers. Usually, thieves weren't trusted with their companions. Most people who decided to work as thieves, choosing the thief job-related guild, ended up mercenaries rather than hunters on their own account. Thief guilds weren't welcomed everywhere. Lawless grounds or dark back alleys were always where to find a thief guild.

My priestess friend explained that to me days ago. Back then, I felt a certain kind of kinship toward the class. People whose statuses read "Job: Thief" interested me. I liked them. They were similar to a certain monster-type. Not welcomed. I considered joining them. Everyone specialized in one or two arts of combat, after all. The job suited me. While I already had a freaky swordsman, master of his own guild, to answer to as a disciple, I could always go around and learn whatever battle art I wanted to.

Back then, it was only a fleeting thought. "Man, I wanna join their team. They're prolly monsters like me~" Today, my attraction toward thieves and assassins would become more than just a fleeting thought. Before I knew it, I would get myself involved in some feud with thieves.

The thief I saw today hit different. When I rushed at him for a kill, the man disappeared from my sight. My hand didn't stab through his ribs. It split open a wooden log.

"I see," the assassin's voice spoke from behind me, "so that's how it is…! <Slash>!"

I easily evaded his attack. <Slash>, eh? I thought. The assassin-thief and I even had a skill in common. Of course, the difference in level made my "Slash" much more potent, but I was pleased to see similarities between me and people.

And so, I fought. Right in front of the cave's gaping entrance, I fought. The glowing crystals above our heads shone down on us, and I was ready to obliterate the enemy in front of my sight. Before I could, however, the old man appeared in front of the thief—the thief recoiled in fear—and simply snapped his fingers. The hunter dropped dead.

"Uh?"

The old man turned to me. There was a blank.

"Ah," he nodded.

Another blank.

"Huh…" I grimaced, confused.

Another blank. "Aaah."

Yet another blank. "Huh."

One last blank. "Ha."

I gave the old man a thumbs-up. Good job. The grandmaster of the Academy always said how there was much more to the Art of mana-wielding than just a bunch of skills and spells—that was a nice illustration of how unfathomable a truly powerful person could be. The first time we met, the old man and I, he also just snapped his fingers to produce a warm cup of tea right in front of me.

"You're really strong, aren'tcha?"

"Yes, son."

"Do we get down to it?"

"Yes, son. Ah. While I'm at it, do make better use of 'Mana Perception.'"

How convenient for armored people to be here. That was a comment the old man made when we spotted the adventurers. While I took off the full upper body armor of a tank among the dead victims, I listened to the old man giving me lessons on how not to be a moron.

To make it short, with "Mana Perception," I could have easily seen through the thief's substitution technique when he performed it. The old man had a point. Still, his lecturing me slightly irritated me. I said nothing about it.

While speaking, the old man gathered the unnecessary human bodies around their fire. Within seconds, he was done thanks to his unfathomable magic. The bodies were piled up above the adventurers' fire, and the old man laughed rounds of "Ha ha has" as he set them all on fire. Wood was added to the pile. By now, the night had thoroughly cast its dark shadows across all the sky. The lamp of fire was good.

A thick steel breastplate, gauntlets, and a fancy helmet. I collected those. All the ingredients necessary to make a show of my abilities were gathered around. My only spectator: an old man who assessed.

The crackling fire faintly whispered through the silence of nighttime, and the nightly chant of cicadas and crickets was also dim as it perpetually wailed in the distances.

First, I summoned the System, which was only visible to my eyes. I validated the quest "What shall I…+" and cashed in my rewards. Before I exchanged glances with the old advisor, he told me he was ready.