《No Easy Mode》 Prologue Prologue: The sky was blue with only a faint hint of clouds, it was noon or as close to it as Samuel could tell. He was training once again, running, exercising, swinging a long straight stick like it was a formidable spear from legends. It wasn''t though. It was just a sturdy stick he''d peeled and sharpened, heck it wasn''t even formidable as a sharpened stick, but it was heavy even if a little brittle. It had been twelve years since he reincarnated 10 years since he''d regained his memories. It wouldn''t be so bad if the memory of his death wasn''t so embarrassing. Unlike most stories of reincarnation he''d died when a stray bullet came through his window while he was taking a shit. That wasn''t a memory he wanted hanging around, why couldn''t it have been something heroic or badass or at least not him on the toilet with the bathroom door open so he could watch TV and shit at the same time. After a few more swings of his "mighty spear" or sharpened useless stick Samuel paused, breathing heavily as he sat down, he no longer went by Samuel, the body he was born into was the son of a young couple who were minor nobility. Extremely minor. His new family name was Breedlove, apparently hippies exist in all worlds. They named him Erasi which wasn''t so bad as it was his middle name in his previous life but seriously he''d have preferred something like Bob or Steve.This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Erasi Breedlove, the prodigal son of nobles so minor there were mercenaries and Street magicians with more capital. This was his life now, training day in and day out since he was five, barely seeing his parents as family business often kept them traveling. No friends. Not because he was anti social or anything just being a reincarnated twenty something in a kids body was awkward for him. That and at 5 years old he found out about the status menu... It was bullshit! Yeah it had attributes and everything you''d expect, but he saw he''d already learned a skill, Stoic Gaze, ''what the hell is that?'' What made it even worse is when the question popped into his head the skill description was displayed, " A stoic gaze that can cause others to feel uncomfortable" It was a completely useless skill and the only thing that kept him from going ballistic was there was a delete skill option. So it has been seven years and 16 deleted "Stoic Gazes" since his first encounter with the status menu. He''d even manage to learn spear wielding skill, a skill called Attribute Ex which made raising attributes easier. Which was great till he noticed there was no level displayed for his skills, in fact at first there was nothing other than the skill name. That would have been fine except three months after his eleventh birthday a percentage display appeared next to both skills. It infuriated him to the point he lost consciousness... Spear Wielding 00.09% Attribute EX 00.13% Chapter 1.1 3 years after prologue: "That''s what I like to see keep it up! Lad only few more minutes and then you''ll be done for the day." Kaldris said as he leaned against the wall of the training grounds. Erasi couldn''t help but smile as he heard him as today marked his final day of spearmanship training. Almost three years under the wirery blonde headed spear master had transformed him. The reason for today being his last day wasn''t because he''d mastered the spear but because tomorrow was his fifteenth birthday and that meant he was old enough to join the Hunters guild or a mercenary group. Which was exactly his plan, he''d dreamed of being a mercenary blood and guts of enemy soldiers decorating the ground like leaves in autumn as he single handedly brought victory... Then of course he''d wake up in a cold sweat cursing himself for being an idiot. Why the hell would he put his life on the line in a war for some fat unreasonable noble who probably deserves to be ass raped by elephants for 100 years. No need for being dumb, Erasi knew that although both paths lead to danger that at the least being a Hunter would mean being his own boss and not having a slimy degenerate pay a few coppers a day to basically own his life. *Whew* Erasi let a turbulent breath out as he finished his training, looking to Kaldris he couldn''t help but grin, tomorrow is the start of the legend of Erasi the greatest spear wielding bad mother fucker to ever walk the face of Velora, this world he''d been reborn into and would make his bitch eventually. " Boy you knock yourself stupid or something? Stop smiling like you had your first taste of a woman while looking at me or you''ll be needing to find some new teeth!" Kaldris said as extricated himself from his spot and made his way towards Erasi. Wiping the smile off his face he replied "Yes sir, and sir thanks for everything." He bowed to Kaldris quickly before he reached him. "God lad none of that horse shit, I ain''t no bleeding noble. I also don''t need you trying to get your nose dirty. You settled on the Hunters Guild boy? Just remember I ain''t got no recommendation for joining them. Got no pull there so it''ll have to rely on your skill." Kaldris said as he pat Erasi on the back herding him towards the street. " Just remember lad don''t trust a hunter in the wild, they''ll skin you just as quick as they''d sleep with their own mothers." " Uhh.. Yeah I''ll remember." Erasi knew already of course that his spearmanship teacher hated the Hunters Guild to the bones, something about him catching his wife and daughter together with a hunter, at the same time. Ever since that he''s hated all hunters and his ex wife and ex daughter.Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. "Good, I won''t keep ya any longer, farewell lad and don''t become a degenerate just cause you joined a guild filled to the brim with them. Hate to have to stick ya with the pointy end of a spear." "Farewell sir, and don''t worry I won''t!" As Erasi left carrying his spear leaning against his shoulder he hurried along towards his family''s Villa. He lived in a rather small town called Firinta Wells, only about eight thousand people. All of them fairer skinned with blond or brown hair for the most part though the ones who worked in heat the were a little darker complected like himself. Erasi himself was an oddity though as he was rather tall for his age and had gray eyes and bluish black hair. Noble blood. Not all nobles could say such. Only the ancient noble families which founded the Trinity Accord and gave birth to the original super power in the fight against magic beasts, Saraki, and demons. Saraki are supposedly the offspring of demons mixing with the other species so in other words just half breeds of demons. Though as far as Erasi could find the was no proof behind it other than they possess black blood like demons and look almost identical to humans or elves. Though unlike most half breeds they could actually reproduce amongst themselves. The Trinity Accord joined three powerful noble families together forming the kingdom of Vanguard, a silly name truly but since the founding it managed to oppress all the enemies of humanity, unfortunately it didn''t oppress humans enough so more kingdoms sprouted like weeds and now there are nearly 60 kingdoms with 4 so called super powers. He found it absurd that the founders of Vanguard kingdom were so naive but the proof is indisputable, all three families involved are now minor nobility in their own kingdom sure the fall took some 300 years but going from all powerful to being lucky you can still dress nice shows how naive they were. As Erasi reached the family villa he noticed no one was home again. His mood filled with sadness, he loved his parents in this world but rarely was able to see them anymore. Since he turned thirteen the head of the Breedlove family increased his parents workload. Sure it meant more income for the family but it also left Erasi mostly alone. Other than his teachers in spearmanship and unarmed combat he really had only his parents. Now though he was done with his lessons which meant until he made a friend or enemy he''d be completely on his own. Sure he could of not pursued skills and had a butler or servant of some sort but he was unable to drop his pursuit. Besides all his hard years of training paid off. Even though his status still said Erasi Breedlove Level: 1 that''s just fine as until he hunts magic beasts or kills other beings it will be level one. What truly made him smile was his progress in his skills, as apparently having trainers and a real spear made a world of difference. Checking the status as he entered the villa a smile broke out looking at his skills: Spear wielding : 56.87% Attributes Ex : 41.53% Unarmed combat: 35.06% A marvelous improvement! Chapter 1.2 After checking his status Erasi entered his family''s home, it wasn''t a large villa even by the most lax standard but it served for his parents and himself. He made his way through the living area to the kitchen. Seeing his spear down in the corner he grabbed out a loaf semi-blackened bread and a half used wheel of cheddar. Slicing off enough bread and cheese he then opened the cellar door leading to a small cold meats pantry. It was like a refrigerator from his original world only powered by a small magic beast core which has to be replaced once a month. Thankfully for his family the cost was only about 2 silvers to replace the core otherwise they''d probably do without. He sliced off some meat from a roasted ham made from the local pig like animal called a Druko, the meat was extremely similar to pork but always took on a smokey bacon flavor when unseasoned. Truly Erasi felt that must certainly be one of the perks of this world. Sure it''s hard as hell to train skills but you just have appreciate unseasoned Druko meat tasting like bacon. Exiting and closing the pantry Erasi proceeded to fix himself three ham and cheese sandwiches. Which he ate unceremoniously quick barely even tasting them as he began thinking about the next day and joining the Hunters Guild. As night fell Erasi made his way to bed, his room was rather nice size though his bed was just a little wider and longer than himself. Sitting on the edge of the bed he focused on feeling mana, it was the same every night. In order to gain access to mana one must focus outside themselves and detect its existence and once that is achieved they can then try to influence it to enter their bodies. It''d been 5 years of attempts and failures. It wasn''t that he had no latent talent, it was just 20 plus years of Earth memories made it hard to focus on such a manner. *sigh* " Another wasted attempt, seriously with my intelligence and spirit attributes I should have already detected mana from what my mother explained." Erasi said to himself with a hint of dejection in his voice. His mother is a mage of some skill, specializing in water and ice magic. Which is actually why they were able to afford a cold pantry. If not for being obligated to the family his mother would be living a much better and more financially prosperous life but sadly as part of the marriage to his father she was relegated to a menial salary and crap loads of traveling alongside his father. Basically his father is barely capable in combat or business so he was shit on by the family, and in order to punish Erasi''s mother who is talented and a main branch member of the Breedlove family for choosing to marry such a useless man from a side branch, they put horrible stipulations if they were allowed to marry which pretty much turned his mother and father into paupers compared to the rest of the family. Though the family itself wasn''t exactly rich it was certainly comparable to a merchant family of decent abilities.If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Thinking to himself ''Oh well, maybe tomorrow I''ll succeed'' Erasi laid down and shortly fell asleep. Getting up at the crack of dawn Erasi did his exercises and once fished grabbed a quick bite to eat before he quickly grab his spear and put on some dingy leather armor. Calling it armor may be a little stretch as it was too old and poorly made but it only cost 23 coppers so one couldn''t really complain. As Erasi made his way through the busy streets he couldn''t help but be jealous of the leather armor the patrolling guards were wearing. Clearing his mind he focused back on the task at hand, joining the Hunters Guild. Roughly 10 minutes later he stood before a three storey building with a slightly nervous smile completely contradicting the confidence his body oozed naturally. Even his eyes showed nothing but anticipation. Slowly shaking himself back to action he strode in through the doorway. Once inside he looked around noticing the registration receptionist a few feet in front and off to the left a bar like area where a few hunters were currently having a bite to eat. To the right was both a guarded door leading deeper into the first floor and a guarded stairwell leading to the second. Without a hunters badge the stairwell was off limits and only with a temp badge for the Hunters good registration test would he be allowed to enter the door. Stepping forward he approached the receptions desk. The lady behind the desk smiled only to reveal an orangish tint to her teeth. She was obviously an abuser of stimulants, though bad for the teeth stimulants forged through magic and herbs could increase a hunters abilities for a short time. " How may I help you sir?" The lady''s voice was a little raspy. " I''m here to register for the test to join the Guild." Erasi replied trying to sound as confident as possible only to be betrayed by puberty near the end as his voice changed to a slightly higher pitch. " Alright sir, here''s the temp badge, once you enter through the door on the right you''ll be directed to a tester. If you pass the tester will exchange it for your personal hunters badge, if you fail then you''ll return the temp badge to me. Any questions?" The receptionist said as she handed the badge over. " No, no questions. Thank you." Erasi nodded to the woman as he turned and made his way to the door. Standing in front of the door for a while drew queer looks from the two guards. Erasi didn''t care as his excitement was boiling inside him. Today would definitely be an amazing memory marking the start of his legend. Flashing the badge he entered the door. With smile he looked at the man standing in front of him. The man looked like he''d eaten something bad akin to manure. Surely no one could make a face like that without doing so. As he was observing the man the man finally spoke. His voice weak. " So you''re the unluckiest recruit today, since you got here first you''ll go to the testing room 1... Your tester will be Hunter Wervul, be careful..." ''Wervul? Why does that name sound familiar?'' Chapter 1.3 Erasi quickly made it to the room pointed out and knocked. Shortly after a grating voice was heard. " Stop pussy footing around and enter already!" Startled for a moment Erasi could only complain that his tester sounded like nails on a chalkboard before opening the door and stepping in and shutting it. Looking around the room was quite plain but contrary to the wood on the outside everything inside seemed to be coated in a dark gray metal. He could only guess from all the minor dents and scratches covering the walls that this room was more of a sparring chamber than a place to test potential recruits. The second thing he noticed was a wirery man with a bit of a guy in seemingly undersized dark green leather armor of obviously better quality than his own. The man was disgusting looking with shoulder length blonde hair that was was stringy and so greasy looking he probably had to avoid open flames. His face had pock marks riddling it and extremely blemished skin. To top it all off his face lacked even the semblance of symmetry and was narrow at the top but wide at the bottom. Looking at the thing in front of him he couldn''t help but grimace internally, was this a man or some sort of weird mutant. "So you''re the unlucky idiot who came early haha! Well seems you use a spear, taught or no?" Wervul''s eardrum torturing voice brought Erasi out of his observations. " Sir I was taught the spear for a few years now." "Ahh well that means this might be a little entertaining, so who''s the poor ass that sink so low as to have to train children to make a living hehe?" Erasi while normally was cool headed was visibly perturbed by Wervul''s words. He couldn''t help wondering if this was some sort of test. " My teacher is a retired mercenary named Kaldris." When Erasi stated his teacher''s name Wervul instantly became elated, it was written all over his face. " Hehehe... Excellent truly, guess this could be serendi... Or however you say it. Haha did he tell you about his family? Well his ex family now I guess hehe! God what great fun!" Paling in anger as he realised the meaning behind Wervul''s words, Erasi just stood there rigidly incapable of responding. Though it seemed either the man in front of him didn''t notice or didn''t care as he continued. " Truly his wife and daughter were delights, hehe I mean how many men get to taste both generations at the same time! At least me hehe! That''s not even the best part boy, do you know what the best part was?"The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. "No!" That was all Erasi could bring out from between clenched teeth, his anger boiling inside as Wervul pulled on leather gloves with metal spikes jutting out from the knuckles. " The best part is when Kaldris stumbled in and saw me with his family, he lost his shit hehehehe...*gasp* Sorry sorry it''s just that he flew into a rage and attacked me but lost miserably. So when he came to after I''d bound him up and used a paralysis powder on him I forced his eyes open and made him watch as I drew out naughty moans of pleasure from his dear daughter and wife. Unfortunately he passed back out after a few minutes hehe I thought he''d died at the time! Anyways he never sought me out again after I took his family hehe never crossed his mind I had used Scarlet desire powder that was laced with mind magic hehe! Neither one even truly had control of themselves! They were great but as with all toys they lose their appeal so after a couple months I sold em to a shit hole brothel in another town hehehe." As Wervul finished his explanation patting of his own back Erasi had become a little numb. He had never encountered such a truly despicable person and never thought that one such as Wervul would be so open and brag about his vile deeds. Letting out a calming breath Erasi grabbed his spear off his back and readied himself as Wervul drew closer Erasi only had one thought on his mind ''I''m going to kill this worthless bastard!'' Pausing a little out of spear range Wervul looked over Erasi who no longer looked enraged before speaking again. "Boy you''re too young I think to have a daughter but you wouldn''t happen to have a mother or a girlfriend would you? I''m currently in need of some new toys hehehe! Pretending to be enraged Erasi took two steps forward and thrust at the head of Wervul using half his abilities. The problem wasn''t wether he could kill a level 28 hunter, as that wasn''t hard with his freakishly high attributes. Normal people only gained maybe an increase in two of their attributes per level while hunters and mercenaries generally would gain attributes through training as well. The problem with Erasi was simply he gained attributes like crazy. Since he was five he''d been training his body in this crazy world and although he hadn''t gained a single level he had gained attributes and thanks to his skill Attribute Ex the rate of which he''d gained agility, strength and all other attributes was astonishing. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª With a sneer Wervul easily slapped the head of spear back and to the side, and closed the distance quickly. The Hunter''s test was merely a testing of ones skills in combat. So Wervul knowing who taught Erasi his spear skill wanted to beat him badly, even crippling him wouldn''t result in any real backlash. His arrogant ugly face clearly expressing but suddenly warped into surprise and then paled. He barely even noticed anything was wrong until it was too late to even block or dodge. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª Erasi smiled viciously as Wervul parried his spear with too much force, he channeled the force instead of dispersing or resisting causing the spear to rotate behind him and down head first. Catching it with his other hand right below the head and allowing the butt of the spear to hit the ground. This motion made it almost like he''d been disarmed. What came next happened at twice the speed and strength of his original thrust resulting in nearly 6 inches of iron cleanly penetrating into Wervul''s lower abdomen. Without giving the man time to process what has happened Erasi ripped his spear upwards to the chest of his opponent. A hot slimy feeling covered his hand as blood and bile escaped from the wound. Unable to speak anymore Wervul looked like a fish out of water with its mouth moving uselessly as Erasi yanked his spear out Wervul crumpled in a heap still living but only for a couple of breaths before the last vestige of life fled. Chapter 2.1 Standing over the body of the now dead Wervul a strange light could be seen in Erasi''s eyes. It was akin reminiscent which reflected his inner mind as he relived a shadowy memory from his past life he''d forgotten. A hell hole in a country that at one time stood at the peak of power in the world. As a member of the newly formed American military Erasi had found himself pinned down by enemy forces in the forests of Oregon. Him and 19 fellow infantrymen fighting for their lives as bullets whined through the air. Suddenly a shadow formed over him as he crouched behind a fallen tree while reloading. The enemy. Without thought Erasi drew his combat knife and sprang into action, it wasn''t his first bad situation but there hadn''t been a worse one he could recall. As he flipped the enemy soldier to the ground he buried his knife right below the sternum. As the shock registered on the man''s face he tried bringing his gun up as Erasi scrambled to secure the arm and disarm him. The memory suddenly cut out to blackness as Erasi shakes his head coming back to himself. There is no remorse or regret in his eyes as he starts cleaning the blood off his hand on the pants of the dead man. Followed up by cleaning off his spear. His face twists incongruent to his calmness as a simple fact dawns on him. He could no longer be a hunter. " Dammit you shitty bastard, you fucking degenerate..." As Erasi cursed Wervul verbally his mind raced for a solution, as it unlikely the Hunters Guild would believe Wervul accidentally ran into his spear and eviscerated himself. With his head down looking like a discouraged child he knew his only chance of survival lied with his teacher. " FUCK ME! I didn''t want to work for some slimy fat bastard of a noble... Hmm maybe I''ll get lucky and it''ll be a pretty baroness..." Trailing off as he thought about how stuck up and annoying a noble woman would most likely be. Finishing cleaning up Erasi decided he''d use Wervul''s character against him to buy him some time. Exiting the room looking as dejected as possible he made his way back toward the entrance, the hunter from before was still there eating what looked like a meat pie. Seeing Erasi walk up looking defeated the hunter could only sigh. Wervul was not known for giving a passing grade and the young man was lucky not to be injured. "I take it Wervul failed you? Don''t worry lad you can come back in 6 months and try again." The hunter showed genuine empathy towards Erasi as he figured the lad would have passed had he had a little more luck and not been assigned to be assessed by Wervul.This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. " Yeah he failed me... Said I wasn''t worth seed my dad planted in my mom! Downright bastard he was!" Erasi wasn''t the best actor by any stretch but luckily the hunter seemed accepting as Wervul was known for being despicable. " Also he wanted me to tell you that since all that''s going to come is shit stains with no skill that he''s gonna take a nap so he doesn''t want to be disturbed until after noon." Seeing the hunter give him a weird look Erasi cringed a little before continuing. " I wouldn''t have said anything but I don''t want anyone to get hurt if you send them over and disturb him." Laughing the hunter nodded knowing well that Wervul was a sick man and would surely take his displeasure out on anyone who disturbed him. " Alright young man go turn in your temporary badge. Don''t be discouraged, just train hard and come back in six months time. Surely you won''t let Wervul keep you from becoming a hunter." "Yes, that''s right, thank you sir I''ll go train and in six months try again! Certainly next time I''ll pass!" Showing an air of recovery of his "youthful vigor" Erasi responded affirmatively and left the hallway and passing the guards outside the door made his way to the receptionist. Seeing Erasi approach and taking out the temporary badge the receptionist knew he''d failed. As he placed the badge on the desk he thanked the raspy voiced woman and left quickly. He''d only bought himself a couple of hours at most. Once they found the dead body of Wervul there''d be hell to pay and the hunters guild would definitely want him to pay it with his precious second life. Threading his way quickly through town towards his only chance of escaping Erasi couldn''t help but smile. Wervul was dead. Surely his teacher would rejoice, as for the information about Kaldris''s daughter and wife the was absolutely no need to divulge it. It could only serve to reopen old wounds and besides the side effects of the mind powder was well known to be irreversible. His wife and daughter would forever be incapable of love or loyalty their minds constantly seeking to fulfill their lust and greed. ''I should definitely keep it to myself!'' About 30 minutes later Erasi found himself in a small house sitting across the table from a bewildered and yet excited Kaldris. After explaining what transpired in his hunter test Kaldris cussed Wervul vehemently even with Erasi holding back about his wife and daughter. Suddenly a serious look drew down his teachers face. "Son this is pretty bad, surely you bought yourself some time but we need hurry. Come with me lad I''ll call in a favor from a buddy of mine!" Suddenly a grin cracked Kaldris''s face. "Get ready Erasi lad you''ll be joining a mercenary group, haha looks like I''ll get my way whether you like it or not!!!" Looking at his teachers maniacal grin and laughter Erasi could feel a headache setting in. He knew there was only one mercenary group nearby that Kaldris would have any pull with. The Bloody Jesters , reputed to be the craziest bastards alive and the one time home of his teacher. Who had obvious loose screws from what Erasi could see now... The delay Got busy with life and all will write more frequently starting Monday (it is Friday currently). Chapter 2.2 Chapter 2.2 Kaldris lead Erasi out of town towards the mercenary camps, granted to become a full fledged mercenary he''d have to be registered at the Merc guild but that didn''t mean he had to do so in his home town. " Alright lad, the Jesters weren''t planning to move out to their next job till tomorrow but I''ll talk to the captain, pretty sure they''ll gladly leave tonight. Though... The captain might make ya sign an extra contact for the inconveniences of helping ya get away." Kaldris have Erasi a sympathetic look before her saw Erasi shrug with an " I Know" type look on his face. An extra contact generally entailed bound service of three years or more. Entering normally would be just a yearly contract and it allowed you to leave the group anytime they were between jobs and accounts on both sides were settled. Not so with an extra contract. Bound service meant you couldn''t leave the Merc group until the contract expired and that was only if you didn''t owe the group money. It was enforced by blood magic and if broken would result in every Merc group becoming your enemy, which 99 out of 100 times resulted in death. Erasi could only be indifferent to it, as it stood 3 years of service would be cheap to save his life. Plus the Bloody Jesters had matching armor and spears that were issued to all members. Granted he''d have to pay them back for his equipment but it''d be nearly 80 silvers worth of damn good looking equipment. As Erasi and Kaldris neared the camp grounds Erasi took note of the armor the Bloody Jesters wore, black leather under clothes with hard leather armor over it, black as well , with some sort of red metal used as studs for added defense. Definitely evil looking but the most intimidating part was the the helmets. The helmets were full helms but made of the same red metal as the studs but although the color was a little vivid like blood the real bonus was the face. It was almost like an evil clown face a trusted smile and upturned crescent looking eyes. The metal for it was black like the armor but was detailed with red paint and no two were exactly the same. Erasi couldn''t help but wonder if they were painted by the mercs themselves as Kaldris never mentioned such things.Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. "Kaldris what is your lazy ass doing this far from a comfortable seat?" A bald mercenary coming out from camp suddenly questioned with a smile, he was obviously a member of the Bloody Jesters with the clothing he was wearing. "Fuck you Borthe, I''m retired not lazy besides everyone knows I didn''t make enough to buy a comfortable pillow much less a chair haha!" "True enough! So what brings you out with a youngster in tow? Can''t imagine leisure brought you here which means you''re here to probably give Captain Vion a headache, am I right?" Kaldris paused for a moment and scrunched his face as he thought about the fact he was indeed most likely gonna give the captain a headache. " Haha looks like I''m right, but please by all means do so, piss the captain off. We both know cap fights better mad anyways, our next job is a bastard and a half and we''ll need cap in top form!" "Damn! Well you''re right Borthe, but it''s for a good cause. I trained this lad and he took the hunters test today but failed." " Really?" Borthe looks Erasi over with a questioning face before continuing " Kaldris the lad looks more than capable heck even I can see that much and you expect me to believe he failed?" " You tell me if he failed, he killed the hunter administering the test you know." Borthe looked at Kaldris then looked to Erasi with stunned face. He knew hunters were a tough lot, especially those allowed to administer the test as they needed to be able to judge potential recruits while not accidentally crippling them or killing them. "Boy tell the truth, you sneak attack em or was it an accident?" " Sir, I gutted that man like a fish and would do so again if he came back from the dead." Erasi replied coldly while gazing towards Borthe who shifted uncomfortably. Seeing Borthe looking oddly uncomfortable Erasi cursed internally as he brought up his menu and sure enough the passive skill Stoic Gaze was back! Chapter 2.3 Chapter 2.3 As Erasi looked at his skill menu Borthe continued to fidget as the effects of Stoic Gaze lingered. Finally with a sigh Erasi closed the menu. He decided not to delete the skill thinking maybe it would be useful in battle or something. Returning his full attention to Borthe who after the effects of the skill wore off was giving Erasi an odd look before Kaldris spoke up. " The hunter was a man named Wervul... I''m sure there is no need to explain further." The smugness evident in Kaldris''s tone was unmistakeable. Borthe''s eyes widened at the mention of Wervul. He knew exactly how despicable the man was due to Kaldris and would have killed the man himself if given the opportunity. "I see, well, you two better hurry up and talk to the captain. I''ll start getting everyone prepared to leave... Gonna be a long march tonight if I''m not mistaken." With that Borthe turned back to the guards of the camp and issued orders to get everyone prepared to leave immediately. Erasi stood the slightly puzzled and couldn''t help but question why Borthe would act like it was settled and that Erasi was going to join them. It was like he didn''t doubt the captain would let Erasi join and then leave quickly to keep him safe. It was peculiar. Suddenly jolted as Kaldris grabbed his arm and pulled causing him to stumble and nearly face plant. " No time for spacing out idiot, noon is fast approaching and I''m sure the captain will want to be gone before then if you''ll be in tow." Kaldris explained as he pretty much dragged Erasi through the camp. Looking around Erasi noticed the camp had come life, buzzing with anticipation and sour remarks about how they weren''t supposed to leave today. These remarks were normally followed by senior members barking orders and sometimes the one making the remark would find themselves kicked sprawling by an energetic bald man. Apparently Borthe enjoyed it very much as with every man sent sprawling his smile continued to widen. Erasi suspected it''d eventually look just like the smile the face of their helmets. It was a brief minute of being treated like a prisoner before Kaldris let go of his arm before stopping in front of a medium sized command tent. "Alright now Erasi let me do the talking, the captain well... The captain is an odd one. You''ll see." After what seemed a long pause as Kaldris seemed to gather himself Kaldris finally spoke again rather loudly. "Captain Vion it''s Kaldris may I enter?" Erasi found it strange, normally there''d be a guard or assistant to announce visitors. As he was thinking about the lack of a less awkward way to visit a voice replied that startled Erasi. "Get your ass in here Kaldris! Bring that beauty next to you as well as I''m assuming he''s the reason you''re here." The voice contrary to the harsh words that were spoken was beautiful, a little crisp, but almost like every word was sung and not spoken. To top it off it sounded most definitely female.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. "Well get in there." Kaldris said as he stepped forward to hold the tent flap open. Looking quizzically towards the opening Erasi stepped into the tent followed by Kaldris. As the flap closed Erasi just stood there staring. The woman in front of him looked middle-aged and was dressed in a loose white blouse and tight form fitting soft leather pants with knee high black boots. She was no supreme beauty though she was certainly not average. She was sitting on a small foldable stool twirling a dagger with one hand while holding an open book in the other. Slowly she sat the book down as she smiled. The smile was beautiful but In the way a predator stalking prey could be beautiful. Luckily it was not directed at him or Erasi was pretty certain he''d have fled. Captain Vion was a woman no doubt, athletic leaning more towards strength than most women. As she stood up Erasi realized she was taller than him and the movements gave off a slight air of danger. It was obviously not intentional but from years of combat her movements had a natural air of violence only weakly restrained. Vion had blue eyes and short blond hair only coming down to her jaw line, she was darker complected than most. The most startling thing was the resemblance to his teacher. Which was solved as soon as she spoke. "Little brother what brings you here?" Erasi was intrigued to say the least as Kaldris never told him of any family members and certainly didn''t mention this sister of his. "Ahhh... I, well this here is my student, you know the one that was going to become a hunter..." As Kaldris explained everything Erasi studied captain Vion, even her slightest movement seemed incredibly smooth and trained, this woman was an expert. Probably not below level 50 and with excellent attributes. It was a wonder Kaldris never spoke of her even in passing but at the same time he could understand, Kaldris''s sister out classed Kaldris in every way, be it looks or presence and even skill. As Kaldris finished up explaining Vion looked at Erasi with appreciation in her eyes. "Erasi, well done. That snake managed to avoid me for much to long. Though I''d like to help, you must understand as a mercenary I will not do it for free." As she said this her smile curdled Erasi''s blood. He started praying internally that she wouldn''t want him as a sex slave. Although she wasn''t ugly Erasi was still terrified of such an obviously violent woman taking that kind of interest in him. "Uh... Yes ma''am I completely understand..." "Good then!" As she responded she went to a leather pouch by her armor and pulled out a piece of parchment. The parchment have off a solemn aura. Erasi knew exactly what it was of course, a binding contract. She then used a small writing utensil to fill out somethings on the contract and held it out to him. "These are the terms, if you agree and sign we can depart before noon, I''ll have you register with the guild once we arrive at our next job. If you don''t agree then you''ll have to leave and risk the fury of the hunters guild on your own." Erasi took the contract and looked it over at first glance it was much as he expected. That is until he reached the term of service. He looked up at captain Vion and after a few seconds her brow twitched a little. He finally found a use for his most hated skill. Finally he could only sigh and resign himself to his fate, seriously he couldn''t take on the entire hunters guild in this town, and there was little chance he could out run or out fight the upper tier members. Erasi slowly signed the contract before handing it back. Obviously angry. With Kaldris standing to the side looking perplexed. '' Fucking Wervul that bastard is probably laughing at me right now!'' Twenty years of service, Kaldris really had one bitch of a sister, and killing Wervul definitely wasn''t worth 20 years of his life. Chapter 3.1 Chapter 3.1 A force of over 500 armored spearmen marched through the countryside. Other than the sound of their feet impacting on the dirt road there was only the sounds normally found in nature. Birds chirping, insects buzzing around and from time to time angry squirrels could be heard chattering over some unknown slight. Near the back of this troop was a young man in newly fitted studded leather armor with a spear slung across his back. Erasi couldn''t help but be miserable, 20 fucking years all for the sake of killing a scumbag. It''d been nearly a month since him and his new found comrades had left his home town behind and only a week since he''d registered with the Mercenary Guild and been outfitted with his armor and spear. The only real silver lining was the armor. He looked like a badass, like he could face down an army by himself. Not that he''d ever try such a ridiculous thing. Things had went much smoother than he''d expected. Although there was a bounty on his head in his hometown and no Hunters Guild would accept him as a member, luckily the guild master in Firinta Wells only did a local bounty and only added his name to a black list for the Hunters Guild without listing a reason. All this information of course was delivered in a letter in Hard Bol, the city they''d stayed in for a week while his armor was being finished. Erasi figured he should be happy but this awesome looking armor had a deplorable feature which trapped all his sweat and made him feel like he was being stewed for some magical beast to eat. The worst news the letter contained was that his family had returned to find out their son was being hunted by the local guild. Kaldris didn''t go into detail but from what was inferred Erasi''s mother had went ballistic. She''d even attacked the guild master and left him half frozen right outside the Hunters Guild. This resulted in her being ordered back to the main branch of the Breedlove family under house arrest for a year. Apparently they made a spectacle of it for the sake of the Hunters Guild. While not trying to protect Erasi at all. So here he was marching while his balls marinated in his juices towards a place called Ryne Fortress to work for what Captain Vion called a " self righteous loathsome prize winning druko that just happened to pay well". As it turned out the Bloody Jesters were contracted to squash border skirmishes with a tribe that lived outside of kingdom control. It was an easy job from what everyone was saying since apparently the tribe was was a relatively minor tribe that was taking advantage of Ryne Fortress being hard pressed to send any soldiers as they were currently being plagued with beast attacks on their northern border. Ryne Fortress was situated along the north western border of human controlled territory and was part of the Dul''Ryne kingdom. The name was a combination of two family''s names. Dul and Ryne respectively were the two so called noble families that carved out a kingdom after the fall of the Vanguard Kingdom. After asking around after learning about this Erasi found out that there was also a Dul Fortress and a Dul''Ryne Citadel with the latter being the capital. Truly no imagination was used where naming was concerned.The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Soon the order to halt for lunch was passed down. Erasi grimaced as he pulled out some jerky that unfortunately wasn''t druko meat and some hard bread. He''d come to the conclusion marching food was terrible. No one talked as they ate, it seemed weird the first day but Erasi found out the hard way why, he''d tried to strike up a conversation that first lunch on the second day of marching and after several failed attempts finally decided to eat only to have the march order given before he could take a bite. The assholes he''d tried conversing with actually fucking laughed as he tried to eat and march. No one bothered to tell him that lunch break was only 10 minutes or so, not that he had anything to tell time with. After another week the Bloody Jesters mercenary group reached Ryne Fortress. Erasi was elated at first until the most evil bitch in the world came calling. Captain Vion had decided he''d go with her and Borthe to meet their illustrious employer Baron Fisel Ryne. "Well come on Erasi looks like Captain has taken a liking to you haha!" Borthe said cheerfully as he covered his bald head with his jester helmet. Erasi followed suit putting on his own helmet which the captain had specially designed the jester face on. It had elongated and curled red lips in almost a sneer, half the face was black and the other half was actually silver. The eyes were triangular with a wide base, on the black side the eye was surrounded red with a silver looking spear crossing it vertically with the shaft broken by the eye, the other side was the same except the eye was surrounded black with a red spear. Erasi was a little happy with the look though he''d never admit it to the greatest evil he''d ever met. Soon Erasi and Borthe were following about two steps behind a helmless Vion as they made their way towards the fortress. Erasi wasn''t very impressed by the so called fortress, it did have walls but they were barely 9 feet tall and were created of what looked like dirt and wood. The entrance they were heading towards was guarded by two soldiers who were obviously not intending to stop anyone as they carried on playing dice even as three armored spear carrying people approached. The city inside was worse than his hometown. Erasi could only imagine what kind of so called Baron would let the fortress and town be so shabby. The roads were uneven and winding and more loose dirt than road. The houses and businesses were slipshod masterpieces of dried mud and wood. As Erasi was looking around Captain Vion spoke with a tone of ridicule. "No wonder they can pay so well, fuckers obviously don''t give two shits about their people. Oh well not our problem as long as this shit stain pays we''ll finish as quickly as possible and move on." "Yeah my family''s druko farm is less of a shit hole than this place." Borthe responded which Erasi was sure if he could see his face he''d be glaring at his surroundings. One thing he did learn about his new comrades along the way was they were all commoners and all of them hated seeing the common folk mistreated. Which was why he couldn''t understand why that evil devil bitch decided to make him sign a twenty year contract. A few turns later Erasi found himself looking at a rather nice walled villa with guards patrolling with alertness. At the open gates stood 6 guards, three to each side and in the middle a fat man who was trying to wipe his profusely sweating brow but his handkerchief was already incapable of holding anymore so he was just smearing his sweat around. Erasi frowned and thought to himself ''Fuck me I knew it''