《Crimson Marble》 Prologue The dusty smell lingers on the dry air. The hot wind that blows offers no relief in a sandy land far off from the city gates. The seemingly ball of fire that stares down on everyone, gives off a burning sensation to those who receive its gaze. Yet on the lonely place with almost no plant and animals, a small encampment can be found. Men who thought they own the place feasts on ill gotten goods, laughing merrily as if mad. Their clothes are ragged and their smells are foul. The laughter stopped when the sound of sand gritting with someone¡¯s boots can be heard. The laughter did stop but it does not mean the fun also did. On the contrary, the wild men even became more excited thinking a living coin purse is intentionally walking towards them. A figure can be seen from afar, growing larger and larger as it comes closer and closer. A boyish looking woman appeared wearing a steel breastplate, all alone. Her hair is cut short which might make her look like a guy at first glance but her body is proof of not being one. She is carrying a simple spear, one that can be found anywhere. She continued to walk straight towards the encampment of bandits. The men all stopped what they were doing, stood up and grabbed their weapons. A grin can be found on the faces of these scoundrels while silently cackling. When the woman is close enough, the wild men then formed a circle to surround her. There were eight of them to be exact yet it did not look like it was enough to faze the female wanderer. ¡°Hey there missy! Mind if you give us your belongings? We will be reaaaaally grateful you know!¡± Said the guy behind the girl in a creepy tone. ¡°And you knooooooow what¡¯s gonna happen to you if don¡¯t, riiiiiiiight?¡± The twin brother of the other one asked.This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. ¡°You talk big but you guys are just a bunch of weaklings relying on the presence of other weaklings.¡± The woman taunted. The bandits broke out into laughter. What a confident bitch she was, they think. As the others are still laughing, one of the men lunged towards the woman with the intent to stab her with his rusty knife. But before the knife touched the girls¡¯ body, the throat of the attacker was slit by the spear of the girl. Blood gushed out of his throat, his eyes reddened and widened at the same time. He tried to scream while seemingly stopping the blood from leaking out of his throat, but he could not. He struggles and struggles until he fell down and can no longer move. ¡°Okay, next!¡± The girl called out ¡°Damn you bitch!¡± The men cursed. The twins, with their knives drawn dashed towards the girl at the same time. They slashed left and right in a harmonious manner but the woman was able to dodge them effortlessly. When the woman got bored, she used the pole of the spear to hit both of their hands to unarm them. She then slashed the chest of one of the twins then stabbed the heart of the other one. The twins died and fell down without being able to react due to shock. ¡°Three down! Is that all you got?¡± She yelled. Fear can be seen on the eyes of the bandits. Their hands are shaking yet their anger for their fallen companions got to their head. The five men who were left circled around the woman, moving clockwise to prepare for their next attack. Suddenly, they all jumped towards the woman at the same time. The woman did a circular sweep using her weapon. Blood spurted out like fountains out of the four decapitated bodies. Only one was able to block the attack but was blown away just to land with his butt due to the shear strength of the attack he received. Not even knowing that he is the only one left alive, the merciless woman threw her spear towards the last man. The spear landed between the man¡¯s eyes. His eyes circled rapidly tens of times before it stopped. His mouth widely opened, drinking the blood that drips from his forehead. The beast in a body of a woman then retrieved her spear and gave it a swing to remove the blood from its blade. ¡°What a bore.¡± The woman uttered as she walked away from the blood bath she created. Chapter 1: The Fool Toliman is a large castle town found near the borderline of dessert and lush greens. The marketplace is quite noisy due to the large crowd. Men can be found on the pub, drinking their time away as if nothing else matters. The inn is as busy as always due to the arrival of many adventurers of different characters. The castle can be found at the center of the town, heavily guarded by knights with thick armor and long capes. The town enjoys its advantage on trade due to the fact that adventurers come and go day by day. Despite there being constant men who cause trouble, it is still relatively safe inside the town¡¯s walls. Outside of the wall reside beasts that can torment an average man if caught. Different kinds of horrors are lurking behind the stones and hills, getting ready for an ambush. The beasts comes in variety, there are those that have huge fangs, those that have wings, those that chose the evil way of life and many more. Due to the dangers outside of the walls, even caravans for marketing goods hire bodyguards for protection and even skilled warriors do not set off alone. Yet a lone girl opened the gates, walked straight on as if no one was looking. The girl has bloodstains on her armor and carrying a regular spear. Since the city was quite busy, nobody really cares if someone goes in or out alone, as long as you don¡¯t bring trouble. The girl headed directly to the pub and sat near the counter. The pub reeks of the smell of alcohol and stinky men. It is quite noisy thanks to the loud drunkards. She placed her spear beside her in a standing position with its body leaning on the counter. She produced a bronze coin from her pocket and placed it on the counter top. Without saying a word, the bar keeper smiled and retrieved the coin. He then served the girl with one of his cheapest ales. The girl chugged the cup until there is nothing left. It might be cheap but as long as it is liquor, everything is the same for her. She slammed the cup on the countertop with a satisfied face painted with a bit of pink. A young man went inside the pub all alone. He has a messy brown hair and a red coat. He also has a large scar on his left chin. Based on his looks, he is not someone who looks smart. He walked directly to the girl and placed his right hand into the girl¡¯s left shoulder. Then suddenly the girl swung her left elbow backwards hitting the young man¡¯s stomach. The young man was surprised then flinched. The pain he suffered can be clearly seen on his face. Young man: *cough* Still very aggressive huh, Raka. Raka: Jin? So it¡¯s just you, how boring Jin: Hey! That¡¯s rude! Raka: So are you done with your task? If so, let¡¯s go to the captain now. Jin: Oh done with yours too huh. Okay let¡¯s go! I can¡¯t wait to see my bed already!The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. The two went out of the pub with Jin acting all excited. But as they step out of the establishment, there were five men waiting with their weapons drawn. There are two with long swords, two with a spear and one is using an axe. They are well armed if compared to mere bandits so they are probably mercenaries. As Raka saw the rowdy bunch, he glared at Jin. Jin avoided Raka¡¯s gaze and scratched his head. Raka: Hey Jin, did you do your job right? Jin: Of course I did! Raka: Then how can you explain this? Jin: My current task is a merchant who does not pay his taxes! He paid me so I have no reason to finish him. Raka: That¡¯s why I hate those kinds of jobs. Jin: Don¡¯t worry! Leave it to me! I am hungry for a fight after all since they did not retaliate earlier! Jin sounded quite excited while stretching his arms. He walked forward as Raka silently stepped aside. The axe wielding guy rushed towards Jin and swung his axe downwards. Jin quickly did a side step, jumped and landed on the axe guy¡¯s shoulders. He was in a crouching position with his feet on the guy¡¯s shoulder, his right hand on the guy¡¯s jaw and the other hand on the guy¡¯s forehead. Jin then did a circular motion with his hands which then snapped the guy¡¯s neck. The axe wielding guy¡¯s eyes whiten as saliva drips down from his mouth. Before the axe guy falls down, one of the mercenaries threw his spear towards Jin. Jin quickly did a back flip from the dead guy to evade the attack while catching the thrown spear at the same time. While still on mid air, Jin threw back the spear and pierced the heart of the one who threw it first. Blood gushes out from the guy¡¯s chest as he silently falls to the ground. As Jin landed, a sword wielding guy tried to stab him on the back. Jin quickly turned then kicked the side of the sword to change its direction then he grabbed the throat of the guy. The sword guy struggled to break free but Jin slammed him to the ground and crushed his throat. The sword guy¡¯s neck was twisted and his mouth was widely open as saliva flows out. The two that are left were so frightened that they threw their weapons to the ground and ran for their lives. Jin: Walking away from your opponent is your biggest mistake. Jin smiled while he grabbed something behind his coat. A gunshot echoes as the two who decided to run fall to the ground with holes between their eyes. Jin was holding two revolvers, one for each hand. He then quietly returned the guns to where he took them. Jin: What a workout huh! Jin stretched his left arm with a rotating motion while his right hand is holding his shoulder. He smiled while walking towards Roka. Roka: Shouldn¡¯t you hunt down the goon who paid these weaklings? Jin: Nope! I think it will be more fun if he sends me some more! Roka: If that¡¯s what you want. Let¡¯s go, the Captain must be waiting Jin: No words of praise huh. You are cold as ever. The two walks away from the corpses one of them created. As they walk away, several men who are fully covered in black took the equipments of those who died and placed the corpses in large wooden boxes as quickly as they could and quietly walked away. Only the blood stains on the ground were left. Jin: By the way, why do they collect the corpses? What do they do to those useless things? Raka: Like hell do I know Chapter 2: The Sleeping Beast Jin and Raka waded through the crowd. It was hot so they became quite sweaty. They walked for a while before they reached the barracks gates. There were two men at the front who seem to be the guards on duty. The man on the left is wearing a steel armor with a white cape and has a sword and shield attached to his back. He has blonde hair which is cut short and his face looks serious. The other one was leaning to the wall and seems to be carefree. He has long brown hair and a quiver of arrows can be found in the left side of his waist. From afar, the guard on the right can be seen to be waving his hand in a huge but slow motion while cheerfully smiling. Guard on the right: Oh finished already? That was fast! Jin: Oh Robin! It was easy! They were no match for me and Raka! Guard on the left: Good job you two Raka: Good job to you as well, Kyle. Robin: Hey! Why is he only the one who gets praised? Raka: It just does not seem like you are doing your job properly Robin: What? I¡¯m doing it quite seriously, right Kyle? Kyle just looked the other way without saying a word. Robin: Oh come on! Don¡¯t treat me like that! Jin: Oh good job to you too, Robin! Robin: That does not make me feel good when it came from a man! Jin: Oh don¡¯t be too choosy! The smiling Jin pat Robin¡¯s head while his Jin¡¯s arm is all around Robin. Robin then struggled to break free. Robin: Hey! Stop that! Raka: We got to go now, the Captain may be waiting. Kyle: See you later then. The two went past the gate and into the barracks. It was a large facility with stone walls. There are candles attached to the walls and pillars and a red carpet spread on the hall way. It looks more of a mini castle. They meet some soldiers on the hallway. Some of those they meet looks quite scared and are keeping their distance while some have eyes which seem to gleam with admiration. They finally reached the room at the end of the hallway. They went inside the room just to be greeted by a very bored looking man. The room is a bit small and looks like a meeting room with a long table and several chairs beside it. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. The man looks to be older than the two but not by too much. He has a rare dark green hair and has weird lines below his eyes. He has a twig on his mouth while he rests his chin in his left hand. He has brown clothes which makes him look like a plant from far away due to his green hair. He is sitting beside a table where a tower of paper, a bottle of ink and a feather can be found. Jin: Job finished, Captain! Captain: Sure sure, here¡¯s your wages for the day. The Captain had a very disinterested look while he handed envelopes to each of them. The two grabbed the envelopes and they quickly counted how much was in there. Jin: By the way, where are the others? Captain. Tweek is on his room working on something he is calling a ¡°breakthrough¡±, he said he does not want to be disturbed for the moment. The other two are on a job out of town so they won¡¯t be back for a while. Even while babbling on and on, the Captain still has this very dull tone while talking matched with his very bored look. Raka: So what¡¯s our next job? Captain: None for today but there is a bit of a big one tomorrow so I¡¯ll be brief you before you depart. Jin: Oh sweet! Maybe I¡¯ll eat a lot tonight! Wanna join me Raka? Raka: Okay, I want some booze too. Jin: How about you Captain? Wanna tag along? Captain: I can¡¯t for the time being, I have to finish the paper works for budget reports first. Jin: Come on! You can do that later! Captain: Do I seem like I¡¯m enjoying myself while working my ass off for me to decline your offer to have fun? It is because you guys make a lot of problems during your jobs which is why I have to spend the entire week writing apology letters instead of working on this report. So here I am, stuck in this boring room with this boring work. Although the Captain is complaining, his face is still the same which is a bit confusing. Raka diverted his eyes from the Captain which make her seem like she is guilty. On the other hand, Jin is sweating all over while he scratches his scar with his right index finger. Jin: Sorry about that Captain. Want us to lend you a hand instead? Captain: So do you think you muscle heads can use your minds for a bit? I appreciate the concern but I think that you will just make more work for me if I let you so no. Just go have fun now. Raka: Come on, let¡¯s go. The two left the room and while on the hallway, they paused at the same time and let out a huge sigh of relief. Jin: Shit! I thought he¡¯s gonna kill us for a second. Raka: I could certainly feel that murderous intent. Jin: What¡¯s worse is that his face did not change even by a bit! Anyways, let go have fun! The pair then went out of the barracks and headed to the streets so they could find a good place to eat and drink. The other establishments are full so they are trying to find a place where there is a free table. Jin: Hey! It seems like that one¡¯s not too crowded Jin tells Raka while pointing on an establishment across the street when he suddenly bumped into a woman. Jin: Oh sorry bout that. Woman: It¡¯s alright! I¡¯m ¨C When the woman saw Jin¡¯s face, she suddenly jumped back and went into a fighting stance. The woman has pink hair and golden eyes. She is wearing light armor and have two swords attached on her belt. Jin: Hey! What¡¯s the matter? Woman: You! That scar! That coat! You are the Red Hawk! Jin: Oh? It¡¯s been a long time since I heard that name! It brings back memories! Woman: Memories of your sins? Jin: Sins? Woman: No more talking! I challenge you to a duel! The woman yelled as she points one of her swords to Jin. The crowd suddenly formed a circle, enclosing the two. Jin: A what? Hey Raka! A little help out here! Jin called for Raka but she is nowhere to be seen. Woman: Are you that cowardly now to seek others for help? How pathetic! Jin: What¡¯s your problem anyway? Woman: You are my problem! So fight me! Jin: Alright, alright! Fine! Just don¡¯t cry later, okay!