Entering the Adventurer’s Guild, everything was as I expected—warriors and mages donning full sets of combative equipment just sitting around and socializing while a few of them took on quests or discussed plans for hunting.
“The perfect place to farm for corpses.” I remember thinking, slightly salivating. But no, I had turned a new leaf and could not do that…no matter how enticing.
I casually scouted the building for some time in case anyone recognized me and I had to flee, before registering myself as a new Adventurer. When I did, I noticed a few people here and there pay attention to the registration, listening in on my information. It was then no surprise to me when I was approached as soon as I let out that I could use decent healing magic.
Several individuals and even a couple parties invited me to hunt with them, offering to teach me the ways of the Adventurer and give me a good share of the earnings from quests. Just as I remembered, people were always in need of healing magic.
So, I settled for joining a normal D-rank party despite having much better offers. After all, I wasn’t after money—I had quite enough of that—I wanted information and experience. I figured that hanging around the average Adventurers was the most efficient way to learn the subtleties of life for quest takers in that town.
Once it was time for the entire party of five, including me, to group up for a quest, I got to get to know everyone. The party leader and magical tank who employed magic to create barriers, Rouso: a fine gentleman who even took on an injury by blocking an arrow with his arm once he was out of mana. Respectable.
The main damage dealer and member of the goliath race, Anju: a sword-wielding badass whose blade was longer than I am tall. Her bloodlust could get so heavy that her beautiful face would contort in a vicious smile, scaring ally and foe alike.
The long-range attacker of the group whose arrows seemed to follow their targets, Jelly: another beautiful lady of who enjoyed battle, and even the party member best known for taking everyone home after drinking. Not because she abstained, but because she could take the most.
And lastly, the most peculiar of the four, Yulleho: a young boy of around fifteen years who wielded explosive fire magic. His appearance represented exactly how he acted: cute and sweet, yet he battled monsters alongside adults, often with a neutral expression, as reported by Rouso.
After we five gathered and the introductions passed, we unanimously chose a hunting quest for some monsters that required their numbers be thinned. As it turned out, the party had invested in their own wagon and tamed monster for use in traveling, so the ride wasn’t uncomfortable. It was even pretty fast, as the specific monster was some kind of giant bird raptor native to the region that could reliably run quickly for long periods of time.
However, when we arrived at the part of the forest supposedly containing the very many monsters, we were met with an ambush of bandits. I learned after that they had made up the situation in order to lure parties of Adventurers over. Smart.
“Drop all you have and leave! There are too many of us for you five to stand a chance against.” Their leader called out from behind a tree.
“Don’t worry, guys. That means they’re not confident in easily taking us all, so we still have a chance of winning.” Rouso whispered. “On the count of three, I’m going to set up barriers around us according to Plan Delta. Understood?”
Rouso had explained a few plans the team had for coordination before we set off, so I knew what was up. He’d summoned small boxes for us to sit within and allow Jelly and Yulleho to shoot out from, hopefully taking a few lives while minimizing mana lost on his part when they began their assault. If in ten seconds the ranged fighters hadn’t killed any enemies, we’d regroup in a single barrier which he’d move in tandem with our running as we dove into the forest for cover, because staying out on the open road was too dangerous.
Yet…
“WAIT! MEN, STOP WHAT YOU’RE DOING AND RETREAT! THE MAN IN THE DARK CLOAK IS MODALI!” The bandit leader yelled in panic before appearing out from behind the tree, dropping his bow, and prostrating. “Please, Modali, forgive us! We had no idea such a legendary figure would-“
I blasted him to bits in my rage.
“DAMN IT!” I screamed in frustration, unleashing the full power of my aura to incapacitate the nearby bandits. “NOT EVEN TWO F****** DAYS!”
I took my anger out on the criminals, controlling death spirit to form attacks that withered them to oblivion or caused them to explode. I couldn’t allow any of them to escape and reveal my position to anyone.
Having obliterated the bandits in seconds, I turned to my party, huffing with wrath. As expected, they shook in their boots, their eyes wide and lips quivering, unable to comprehend how the nice healer they’d just recently met turned out to be the most famous evil necromancer of their country.
“How, wha, pl, please…” Rouso fell to his knees, sweat forming on his forehead. “Please spa-spare us, L-Lord Modali…” Expectantly, the others fell suit, getting on their knees to beg.
“You’re really THE Modali?” Except one.
“Yes.”
“Oh…” Yulleho, the teen with fire magic, frowned sadly before also falling to his knees. But no begging came out of him. Only a pleading look as he met my eyes directly, which even the adults of his party didn’t dare do.
After watching them struggle with their impending doom for a minute, I laughed, letting go of some of that irritation from being discovered.
“Spare you from what? I was just going to silence you with cash.” I pulled a sack of coins from my spatial ring and tossed it on the ground in front of Rouso. “Now, don’t speak of my presence. Just say that I died and present bits from one of the surrounding corpses as proof, or something.”
I yawned, as it was still morning, and turned around to leave, hearing “Thank you” from Yulleho.
