## Chapter 51 – The Black Magician’s Request
It was probably a battle of pride.
Like those thugs, pride was one of the most important values in their otherwise worthless lives. The moment they backed down, they’d have to close up shop. Especially after getting their asses kicked by some barbarian they’d never seen before, they needed to set things right.
“Come at me, you fucking cripples.”
My strong stance visibly made them flinch.
“Friend. Can’t we resolve this with a conversation? Let’s change the terms. If you return the knife you stole, friend, I think we can resolve this amicably.”
“What happened to the compensation money?”
“On second thought, we might have started the trouble. I apologize, so can you forgive us and return the knife?”
We stood facing each other, weapons drawn.
“Oh, so you can just cut someone’s heart out and apologize?”
“Of course. Mature city dwellers should have the generosity to forgive minor mistakes of others, don’t you think?”
“Fucking hell, this robber’s got a silver tongue. Almost got persuaded.”
Looking at this guy’s smooth talk, wasn’t he a voice phishing scammer instead of a robber?
The standoff continued.
But then, a thought occurred to me.
“Huh.”
This guy’s tongue is surprisingly long…?
Thinking that, I felt movement behind me.
“Hehehe… is that the guy?”
“Hey! Is that him?!”
“Messing with our brother, you’ve got a death wish.”
Turning my head halfway, I saw one, two, three.
A total of three new faces emerged from the alleys, each carrying a work hammer, brass knuckles, and a knife.
“Oh my, heavens.”
I was screwed. An encirclement and annihilation formation.
I was done for.
“Looks like your friends are crawling out from behind?”
No wonder they started a fight even after seeing my equipment; they had something to rely on. They weren’t just dumb thugs. A smart robbery… this might need a special crime investigation team.
“Hehehe… you stupid bastard. Now the conversation will be easier. Drop your sword and get on the ground. Then we’ll let you live. Though living won’t be much of a life, hahaha!”
“Hey, you look like some barbarian, you’d be perfect as a male prostitute. I know a lot of guys with that taste. Thanks for selling your ass for us. Our sick mother will be very happy.”
The guys were in high spirits, saying things about male prostitution, probably because the situation was going their way. Judging by the level of the threats, it seemed to be their specialty, born from experience.
—Words were unnecessary.
I tensed the hand holding the sword and my lower body.
“So, that’s how it is…”
The situation had taken a turn for the worse.
I admit I underestimated these guys. I didn’t really like killing. I didn’t want to see blood, so I tried to resolve it reasonably. I admit my mistake.
But now, if there was no other way but to kill, I could abandon any hesitation or mercy. As Risha said earlier, I was a notorious serial killer who had killed five people.
—Thud, thud.
—Thud, thud.
—Thud, thud.
The footsteps behind me grew closer.
My senses, amplified to the limit in this extreme situation, measured the distance between them and me.
In front, two armed enemies and one unarmed. And behind, three armed men approaching. I had to make a decision.
Life or death.
That decision.
In this life-or-death situation, my mind raced. Countless examples from my practical experience flashed through my mind. Soon, my racing mind derived the best answer.
—Theoretically, if I surprise and kill one, and then kill another with skill, I win this fight. No one would run away after seeing two people die except for born warriors. There’s no way these back alley thugs have that kind of courage.
—Tsssk!
Having thought that far, I ignored what would happen next and darted out like a short-distance runner.
“…!”
I felt my body shoot out like a cannonball, cutting through the air resistance. The extreme physical training I endured at the Swordsman Guild for a month had dramatically increased my lower body strength.
—Thwack!
With the power of my explosive lower body muscles, I literally shot out in an instant and stabbed the thug with the club in the abdomen.
“First strike wins.”
“…Kuh-ack!”
At the moment of death, he tried to raise his club to defend, but that couldn’t stop the sword. He couldn’t even make a valid move against me, who had already charged, and the end of the sword that had gained momentum. His eyes rolled back.
“…Th-this.”
The thug with the hand axe next to him muttered in disbelief. The momentum he had from earlier, saying he would sell me to a male prostitute, was already gone. He probably didn’t expect this to happen. Me neither.
—It’s the same for me, running my mouth unnecessarily, but you guys should have rushed me and ganged up on me as soon as you saw me. The fact that you didn’t is why you’re lying dead.
I pulled out the blade that had pierced through the club thug’s back. Red blood poured out like tar, clinging to the sword. He collapsed immediately.
In a life-or-death match, if you decide to kill your opponent, you must not have any hesitation or mercy. Selling me as a male prostitute? The reason you lost was because you didn’t try to kill your opponent in a life-or-death situation.
“D-die!”
The guy who regained his senses swung his hand axe down at me. No, he still hadn’t come to his senses, seeing as he wasn’t running away. Fucking hell, I really can’t see things resolving nicely.
I couldn’t help but sigh at what he was trying to do with that short thing.
—Slice.
“Steel-cutting sword, you bastard.”
I swung my sword horizontally. I could see all his movements, they were easy to predict, and above all, the hand axe he was holding was too short. There was no way he could break through the superior reach of the sword with that hand axe.
His wrist was half-cut, and blood poured out.
“Ugh, ugh!”
The thug holding his hand rolled on the ground. The first strike is the best tactic. Whoever jumps out first and stabs the other wins.
Using that method, I killed two in that moment, which was less than 10 seconds. Guys like you can never beat me. The quality of practical experience is different.
I brought the tip of my sword down on the side of the screaming guy who was collapsed and curled up. He convulsed most dynamically since birth, spewed blood foam, and became quiet.
“You, come here. Show me your ass.”
The unarmed man who had been babbling about my ass just now, the one who had his knife stolen and caused this situation, looked at my face with an incredulous expression.
“U-um, mister.”
He said that and tried to turn around and run away.
But there was no way he, who hadn’t done any professional physical training, could beat me in a race. I caught up to him immediately and stabbed him in the back.
“Gheck!”
Daring to mess with me when you’re such a low level, you’re a hundred years too early. I also have experience living as a bum. I swung the sword I pulled out in the air to shake off the blood.
“Right. You guys were here too, weren’t you?”
I turned around.
The trio in the back alley were just spaced out. If I were them, I would have been spaced out too if some dark guy had popped out and butchered three of my friends in an instant.
I took a breath.
“KIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK!!!”
“Uheo-uck!”
I screamed strangely to chase them away, and they scattered in panic. They were guys who didn’t have even a strand of friendship.
“…Fucking bastards. Why start a fight, really.”
My karma stat increased from 5 to 8 in just one minute. Damn it, I should visit a church sometime this week on my day off. I should find one that only says good things, not violent ones.
“What the fuck, killing three kids in one day. Really.”
I searched the corpses with a slightly depressed heart. I had no choice but to kill them, and killing them was almost a good deed, but I couldn’t feel good after killing three people. Still, I had to do what I had to do.
Before long, I succeeded in taking the club and hand axe, and a total of 21 coppers from their pockets. And I dragged the corpses by their feet and shoved them into the alley. Bloodstains were left behind, but a random murder in the slums was as natural as getting an erection in the morning.
They wouldn’t even investigate just because a few thugs died. I never saw the city guards come to the back alleys when I first came to this world and lived as a penniless bum.
I trudged back to the inn. It was an hour and a half walk. My clothes were splattered with blood, but most adventurers wore blood-soaked clothes, so it didn’t look strange at all. The blood of humans and the blood of monsters were both red.
I lay down on the bed and took out the paper from my pocket and read the list.
“Hmm.”
ㅡ 5 Magic Herb
ㅡ 2 Corpse Mushroom
ㅡ 2 Limonia Grass
Overall, these were herbs that I had gathered a few times in my life. Magic Herb is a herb that often blooms in humid caves, Corpse Mushroom is a mushroom that only grows on human corpses. And Limonia Grass is a bit rare…
“I think I can get it somehow.”
I continued to read the list.
ㅡ 3 Gremlin Eyes
ㅡ 1 Scale Wolf Hide
ㅡ 3 Male Gnoll Penises
“Huh?”
ㅡ 3 Goblin Testicles
ㅡ 3 Kobold Brains
[P.S.: The ingredients can be a little rotten, so take your time bringing them.]
“What, what the fuck is this!”
I was so surprised that I almost fell over and threw the paper away.
“Is this woman completely crazy!”
Why do you need that kind of thing, you fucking bitch!
What? Gnoll dicks, Goblin balls, and Kobold brains? Is this crazy woman making interspecies adult toys!
I was horrified by the parade of absurd ingredients, even if everything else was fine.
“Seriously, damn it. This doesn’t make sense.”
I felt a vague sense of fear. I seemed to have stepped on a landmine, bewitched by that 5 silver (a lot of money) and that beauty (very pretty). Come to think of it, there’s no way black magicians are normal. They’re heretical bastards who do strange things with weird and sinister things, which is why they’re called black magicians.
There’s no way those guys are sane.
[P.S.: The reward is 3 silver.]
I regained my composure after seeing that phrase written again.
Roughly calculating the value of the list, it was about 2 silver and 60 coppers. If she’s going to buy them for 3 silver, well, I’ll have to do it with both hands raised and clapping. Because it’s a profit of 40 coppers.
Still, I felt better because I thought about the money.
I wasn’t feeling very good, so I was just going to take a nap, but I couldn’t. I have to go to the blacksmith right now.
My pocket is a little thick now, so I should get some new equipment for the first time in a while.
