Chapter 11: Leaving

Paul got up, still feeling mentally tired from everything that had happened recently. Deciding to take a break and relax for a while, he headed out to check the marketplace, looking for items that might be useful. He found some things but they were too expensive for him. He spent the day at the inn, eating, drinking, and walking around. By nightfall, he went to sleep. For the next week and a half, he followed this routine, rarely speaking to Nori, who was busy with her own tasks.

Finally, the day arrived when the second sun didn’t appear. Having grown accustomed to seeing two suns, Paul found the single sun a bit strange. He could finally leave the village since the soldiers had opened the gates. He decided to spend another day in the village to gather a few more things and to talk to Nori.

Paul headed to the brothel to find Nori, but she wasn’t there. It seemed that her friend had returned and resumed her job. After leaving the brothel, Paul heard someone shout, “Stop!”

Looking around, Paul found himself surrounded by soldiers.

“Are you the one they call Paul Silver?” one of them asked.

“Who’s asking?”

“I am! Now, are you him or not?”

“Yes, yes, I am,” Paul replied, deciding to be honest, knowing that lying could get him into more trouble.

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“Come with us quietly, or we will use force to restrain you.”

“I understand… but could you tell me why I’m being detained first?”

“We were just told to find you and bring you to the captain.”

Paul realized who was behind this: the captain. *Since no adventurer appeared, he probably wants to ensure he can find me easily when the time comes and get his revenge.*

The soldiers escorted him to the captain. Paul went willingly. When they reached the small camp, the captain was sitting on a chair, smirking. Paul felt uneasy. Suddenly, the captain yelled, “Search him!” The soldiers held Paul down while another soldier searched him. A pouch Paul had never seen before was handed to Rocka.

“I knew it! You stole this gold from me!” Rocka accused.

“What?! I didn’t steal anything.”

“Shut it! You’re just a thieving worm! Arrest him and lock him in the prison!”

“Wait!!!”

“What?!”

“How can you prove that I stole the pouch from you?”

“It was found in your possession! That means you stole it!”

Paul started to panic. Then he had an idea. “If that pouch is yours, I assume you can prove it?”

“Of course I can. Look, on the pouch is a sigil. That sigil proves it’s mine.”

“But that sigil isn’t on anything else you own?”

“This sigil is made by the crafter as a mark of his work.”

“If a crafter made it, doesn’t that mean there might be more pouches with the same sigil?”

“Only someone who has been to the capital can have a pouch like this. The crafter only makes five every year, and they are very expensive.”

“How do you know I didn’t buy one?”

“You’re too weak and poor to go to the capital and buy one yourself.”

Paul was at a loss for how to get out of this situation until he remembered. He had seen that sigil before. It was on the pouch of the body he found before arriving in the village. He had an idea.

“I can prove that the pouch you’re holding is mine.”

“Really? Then prove it.”

“I’d like some witnesses from the village first.”

“Why? Doesn’t matter. I’ll bring you to the village center and explain everything.”

They took Paul to the village center, where Rocka started explaining that Paul had stolen his pouch of gold. The proof, according to Rocka, was the sigil and where it was from. Paul then claimed that the pouch was his and he could prove it. As the crowd went silent, Rocka looked at Paul and said, “Well then, I’m waiting. Prove that this pouch is yours.”

“Well, first of all, the sigil is mine, not some crafter’s from the capital.”

“Are you calling me a liar?! If so, you need to prove it or I will kill you for slander!”

“Of course I can prove it.”

Paul reached into his clothes as if searching for something, then used the ring to bring a pouch into his hand. To everyone watching, it looked like Paul had reached into his clothes and pulled out a pouch.

“Look… this pouch has the same sigil. I made this in case I lost the other one. See? This is exactly the same as the pouch the captain is holding.”

“Wha, what? That’s not possible! Where did you get that pouch!? When the soldiers searched you, they didn’t find another pouch!”

“They didn’t search thoroughly enough. Now… would you please return the pouch to me?”

Paul smirked at Rocka, and the villagers began to side with him. They started calling Rocka a liar and demanding that he return the pouch.

Rocka, now furious, realized he couldn’t kill Paul without a good reason in front of the villagers. Reluctantly, he handed Paul the pouch and whispered, “This isn’t over.”

The soldiers and Rocka left, and Paul was relieved to have earned some gold. Once he was alone, he absorbed the pouch and found over 300 gold coins inside—a small fortune. With this money, he could finally buy better equipment.

Paul headed to the marketplace and sold all his old tools, replacing them with better ones. He also bought bandages, medicine, and 50 arrows, as he had a bow but no arrows. He didn’t need a quiver, as he could store the arrows in the ring and retrieve them more quickly. He also bought ingredients for cooking and some ready-made food. With everything he needed, all that was left was to talk to Nori.

After searching for about three hours, Paul finally found her. She was surrounded by five girls. As Paul approached, Nori smiled.

“I heard about what happened with the captain.”

“Well, he still holds a grudge.”

“I heard. Be careful, as the captain is still around the village. He might be planning an ambush or something.”

“I’ll be careful.”

“So, have you decided if you will join me to the capital? I could use your company.”

“I’m sorry, but I’ve decided not to go to the capital for now. I want to travel and see the world.”

“Well, if you ever need me, just contact me. We’re friends.”

“I will. By the way, do you have any suggestions on where I should head next?”

“It depends on what you’re looking for. To the north, there are mountains; to the south, a desert; to the west and east, forests. But to the east, there are many rivers. I’m headed east to the capital.”

“I see… Before you go, I have a present for you.”

“Really? A present?”

Nori’s excitement was palpable. Paul reached into his bag and pulled out a silver bracelet. He handed it to her. Nori blushed and happily put on the bracelet. She then gave Paul a hug and kissed him on the cheek. Paul blushed as well, and after she released him, he cleared his throat.

“That bracelet is a bit special. It has a secret compartment with a pair of lock-picking tools. I hope it will be useful.”

“Really? Oh! Wow! Where did you get it?”

“I bought the bracelet and tools from the market, but I made the secret compartment myself.”

“You’re quite skilled. Thank you for the gift; I’ll use it well.”

“Well then, see you soon.”

“Yes… soon.”

She was called by her companions, ready to leave. She took a few steps towards them, then turned around and gave Paul another hug. This one lasted three minutes longer before she ran to her party and they left the village.

Paul was happy to have made such a good friend in this world and decided to leave as well. He headed west. After five minutes of walking, he noticed some soldiers running toward him from the village.

Realizing they were hostile, Paul ran west toward the forest, where he could lose them more easily. After running as fast as he could, the soldiers fell behind, and he reached the forest edge. Once deeper into the forest, he climbed a tree and hid. The soldiers, about 20 of them, searched for him for a few hours before giving up and heading back to the village. As they left, Paul overheard them saying, “The captain will not be happy that we lost him.”

Paul knew Rocka was still after him but decided to avoid conflict, as he would certainly lose against Rocka, an A-rank, while he was only a G-rank. He took out his armor and daggers from the ring. The armor, a combination of black and gray, looked quite nice. It had two sheaths for his daggers on the chest, and a bit of black fur at the neck made his white hair stand out.

Uncertain of what might attack him, Paul held his daggers and jumped down from the tree, heading further into the forest. The deeper he went, the darker it became. He felt more comfortable than he had expected in the wild. Suddenly, he spotted some wolves. Deciding to train in actual combat, he refrained from using his bow.

As soon as he took a step, the wolves noticed him and emitted a killing intent. Paul also released his killing intent. Seeing the wolves hesitate, he decided to attack first. He killed one wolf with a single strike to the neck. Two other

wolves then jumped to attack. Using his flexibility and speed, he managed to kill another without getting hit. Just as the second wolf fell, the last one let out a loud howl, surprising Paul. Realizing it was a bad idea to let it howl, Paul cut its vocal cords with his dagger, but it was too late. He heard multiple howls all around him.

He prepared for an attack, but nothing came. After five tense minutes, he realized something was wrong. Using his perception to the limit, he discovered he was surrounded by wolves. Then, from the back, came a huge wolf—the Alpha of the pack. It was almost triple the size of the regular wolves. It let out a howl so powerful that Paul was momentarily frozen. The wolves began to attack.

Paul fought desperately, using everything he had to avoid being killed and to kill the wolves. He was constantly moving, touching the ground only briefly before changing direction and attacking another wolf. Some wolves were stronger and didn’t die from a single hit. The Alpha remained indifferent as the other wolves perished before it. After what felt like an eternity of fighting with his nerves on edge, the wolves hesitated, afraid of dying.

The Alpha then killed the remaining wolves in a flash. Paul was amazed at its speed despite its size. The Alpha looked at Paul, who tensed up and stared back. They clashed in a fierce battle. Paul lost one of his daggers but managed to stab the Alpha in the back. Their fight was evenly matched, resulting in only minor scratches on each other. Paul retrieved his remaining dagger, preparing for an all-out attack. Despite moving faster than he thought possible, it wasn’t enough. He lost both daggers and was now unarmed. The Alpha, noticing Paul was unarmed, leaped to bite him. At the last second, Paul used the ring to produce two arrows. He used one to stab the Alpha in the eye and the other in its mouth. Although Paul’s hand was stuck in the Alpha’s mouth, the arrow penetrated its brain, killing it instantly.

Paul, lying on his back, laughed in relief. He had survived, though he nearly lost his arm. He used some bandages to tend to his wounds and looked around. The area resembled a battleground, with the ground stained red from blood and a metallic smell lingering in the air. He collected his daggers and absorbed the guild points from each wolf before absorbing their bodies into the ring. Realizing this was their den but finding no baby wolves, he quickly left to avoid attracting other creatures. After a few minutes of running through the forest, he climbed the biggest tree he could find to rest.

Paul tried using mana to heal himself. Focusing on his wounds, he poured mana into them, and they began to heal. He was pleasantly surprised. While eating a bit to recover, he checked his updates:

**Stats Update:**

- +50 Agility

- +40 Strength

- +60 Endurance

- +30 Stamina

- +10 Luck

- +100 Fighting Spirit

- +200 Fame

**Skills:**

- Humble Mask

- Aura Shift: Intermediary LVL.3 (99%)

- Memos

- Identification: Intermediary LVL.5 (12%)

- Mana Sight: Beginner LVL.7 (20%)

- Creature Tamer: Beginner LVL.7 (0%)

- Perception: Intermediary LVL.3 (99%)

- Parkour: Intermediary LVL.2 (99%)

- Naturas: Beginner LVL.3 (21%)

- Detective: Beginner LVL.6 (73%)

- Deception: Beginner LVL.6 (23%)

- Stealth: Intermediary LVL.1 (41%)

- Listening: Intermediary LVL.3 (99%)

- Iron Will: Intermediary LVL.9 (99%)

- Insight: Beginner LVL.9 (86%)

- Dual Wielding Daggers: Intermediary LVL.1 (29%)

- Survivalist

- Crafting: Beginner LVL.8 (20%)

- Archery: Beginner LVL.5 (90%)

- Bookworm: Intermediary LVL.1 (25%)

Paul realized his bow was useless in close combat and needed a solution. After healing, he ventured deeper into the forest, remaining cautious. After a few hours of fighting horned pigs, wolves, and what looked like a goblin, he came upon some ruins covered in moss. They were nearly invisible. Before approaching, he scanned for any potential threats. Finding none, which seemed suspicious, he entered the ruins and felt a wave of sickness that vanished as soon as he stepped inside.

Assuming it was some sort of magic keeping creatures away, Paul decided to make camp, prepare, and explore the ruins and their surroundings.