87 Power Adjustment
I entered maximum Acceleration state to run away. Everything around me has completely stopped moving.
Cause I've set it to [5]. Even the elves that had nimbly moved are frozen in their positions.
I picked up a random pebble on the road and tapped the man's rapier with it. The sword must be broken now. I think.
(He's just gonna keep going after me if I simply vanished here.)
The man's sure to pursue me once I'm out of town. Gotta buy some time.
(Sorry, but think of it as your just dessert for trying to harm me.)
Even if the cutting my limbs part is nothing than a bluff, it's just too much.
Or perhaps that mercenary guild master really wants me dead or alive.
Either way, he should consider himself lucky losing only one sword after doing that.
Dunno how much that rapier cost, but it must be quite an expense to this lone mercenary. The guild likely won't reimburse him either. He's failed his quest after all.
Next, I just need to head straight ahead to reach the gate according to the map. I ran in accelerated state there.
Once I undo the state, that mercenary must be flummoxed. On top of his target vanishing right under his nose, his sword is broken.
I arrived at the gate and hid behind a cover before undoing [Acceleration].
I've no more willpower to deal with trouble. Now that I think about it, since I've quit as Aryl's bodyguard and all, I'm jobless right now.
(That doesn't sound nice... And I've gotta amass enough money to support my future recluse life too...)
This city must have lots of jobs available. Which is a shame but after all the mess I caused here, there's just no way I could live here. The fact that mercenary guild master has his eyes set on me alone is enough reason to run away.
As I was wondering if I deserved all that, six elves came down the roof all at once without hesitation.
"Oa!? Ah, you're all here... well time to go."
"Yes milord. Forgive us for keeping you waiting."
"Nah, it's fine. Nevermind that stuff. Let's just get outta this city."
<TLN: Catch the latest updates and edits at Sousetsuka .com >
I kinda wanted to ask them why were they came down from the roof and how did they know where I was, but opted to postpone that until after we leave the gate.
I put on my mantle hood to avoid getting into trouble because of my blackness like earlier and walked to the gate.
There, a group of men obviously belong to 'That' side are hanging out in front of the gate.
(Are you guys delinquents taking up parking space in front of a convenience store or something!?)
I retorted inwardly. The scene was all too familiar to me.
They must be corrupt guards. They are guarding a gate in an unpopulated alleyway near the slums after all.
I'm sure anybody would have a bad feeling about this. How does someone get into a mess everywhere they go anyway.
These guards look so nasty the mercenary man earlier even seems decent in comparison.
Nevertheless, I speak to them calmly. I focus myself to keep calm as I'm afraid of my personality changing into that of someone who tries to solve everything by force after the past two days.
"We'd like to leave this city, please check our pass."
As Serena took the pass out of the bag, then the usual classic line echoed, sure enough.
"Oy oy, we got a group of hotties here. Hey girls, keep us company will ya~ We're gonna make you feel reaal good, forget 'bout this brat~"
A man with a mess of front row teeth spoke.
"Oy, for real. Yer' dang good at this stuff. Oy, you girls get over here now!"
The gorilla looking macho holding a liquor bottle gleefully said that.
"Ya don't see these kinda beats often. It's a jackpot."
A humpback baldie peered into the elves' hoods.
It should have been difficult to see their faces under those thick hoods, and they managed to see through them. Also, I was the only one speaking to them, the elves never said a word.
(Why do trouble always rush at me headlong? Am I destined to constantly get in this 'Template' mess forever...?)
I've only been out of my village for three whole days, and yet the density of mess is so much so that possibility seems very likely.
The 15 years long I spent in my village seems like a better life in comparison. It's that bad.
I bore through it and asked them again.
"Please check our pass. We'll be going on ahead once you're done. Nothing more, nothing less."
"Oy oy oy~. Whaddya acting high and mighty for you brat?"
"Get 'ere quick! Who gives a crap about you. I'mma drink good booze. Get here!"
"It's gonna be good time, promise. Gonna sell you once we're tired tho'... Hihihi..."
I got dizzy hearing them. Not good.
"All right guys, attention please!"
I slowly walked to the gate, and slowly grabbed a fastened bolt there.
And once their gazes gathered, I crushed it with my grip. Down into powder before I smiled.
The feat should be impossible for 'Ordinary' humans. But what about me under Acceleration?
I didn't feel any resistance when I crushed the second in command's guard's arm. Therefore, it should also work on stuff harder than human flesh, and it did.
It was a demonstration, a threat to them, I plan to break one of their limbs if they still insist on messing with us after this.
But my worry came unfounded, they obediently bowed.
"No check needed! Please go on ahead!"
"We're opening the gate right away! Please wait a moment!"
It's either a worldly wisdom or an art to get by in life. They quickly turn their attitude around when bad news show up. Yes, that's exactly how small time villains, underlings should act.
However, the booze drinking gorimaccho snorted.
"Hmph, what're ya guys pissing your pants from that crap for! I'll deal with ya myself if ya wanna pain. Come at me!"
He struck a side chest pose confidently and invited me to hit him first.
I was amazed at that. Guess I gotta deal with this guy.
Wonder if we'd have been out without any problem had we picked another gate.
I walked up straight to him and put my forefinger on his chin.
A moment later, the gorimaccho fell down with a loud thud. Still in his side chest pose.
I simply touched him in acceleration state. That alone can knock people off.
I was relieved to see him still breathing.
I've been getting scared of myself for easily reaping lives lately.
I gotta take care from here on, it'd only weigh on my mind further if running into any trouble no matter how trivial ends up with accidental deaths.
Heck, not minding how I adjust my power at all will assuredly result in heaps of corpses. Because I know how cheap lives are worth in this world.
At first I thought I'd be fine so long as I have this 'Power', but I shouldn't have even needed it if I were to live normally.
Bearing this power brings me constant worries, it's not something to be happy about.
I recalled a word of wisdom from a karate dojo I attended in the past.
(There is no good or evil in 'Power' itself. No matter what form it takes. A word to live by to me now.)
The two guards' faces went pale when they saw their fallen coworker and hastened opening the gate.
A gap for one person should be good enough. We can take turn exiting.
Yet they kept opening it fully, reverberating a loud sound over a wide area.
(Will this become another seed of trouble?)
No point in mulling over it, I thought as I walked out.
Once the elves were all out, the gate quickly started closing.
I took a deep breath as I watched over it and slowly walked ahead.
"Now then, let's go. The road should be over there, huh."
And thus I parted ways with the commercial city for now. We started walking toward our next destination, the empire.
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