Rei stood before the Adventurer’s Guild, facing the four men who had accosted him. To be more precise, he was confronting them.
“Heh, it’s too late to start crying now. I’m not letting you off with just a broken arm or two,” Vargas sneered.
“You’re going to pay for insulting the Falcon’s Claws,” Zolito added.
Vargas gripped his battle axe while Zolito drew a longsword, both trying to look intimidating. Behind them, their two companions—an archer and a dagger user—watched with mocking smirks. All four were dressed in ordinary clothes rather than armor, likely because they had been out drinking, though they still carried their weapons.
A crowd of townspeople had gathered at a distance to watch the spectacle. Had the members of Falcon’s Claws been sober and attentive, they might have overheard the onlookers whispering about how Rei had arrived in the city earlier that day accompanied by a massive Gryphon.
As for Set, it had sensed Rei’s presence and magic power the moment he stepped out of the guild. The Gryphon had briefly raised its head, but after catching a signal from Rei’s eyes, it simply closed its eyes and lay back down. Set usually doted on Rei, but it had instinctively gauged the skill level of the men standing before its master and judged that there was no cause for concern.
Furthermore, between the alcohol and their sheer disbelief that a Gryphon could possibly be in the middle of a city, Vargas and his group hadn't even noticed Set’s presence. In truth, it was only natural; a Gryphon in the city was an absurdity.
“Now then, you incompetent fools of Goblin Drool. Since we’re here, why don’t we make a bet?”
“…A bet?” Vargas growled, a vein popping on his forehead at the sound of the insulting party name.
The surrounding spectators stifled their laughter at the ridiculous moniker, but the archer glared sharply at the crowd, silencing them.
“Yeah, a bet,” Rei continued. “I overheard your story earlier. You miraculously burned through a lifetime’s worth of luck to finally succeed on a request, right? And then, while you were celebrating, you picked a fight with a rookie who just came to register. When I told you the truth, your needlessly high pride—”
“Shut up! I’ve been listening to you spout whatever crap you want! ‘Lifetime’s worth of luck’? ‘Finally’? Who the hell do you think you are, looking down on us when you just registered today!”
Vargas roared, swinging his battle axe with full force to intimidate Rei. The sound of the blade slicing through the air proved that Vargas was more than just a loudmouth.
“Fine, let’s skip the talk. Here are the stakes: I’ll fight the four of you from Goblin Drool one by one. If you win… let’s see.”
Rei reached into his pocket and pulled out a pouch of gold coins and a Mithril Knife. Then, he slid the Misty Ring off his right arm.
“Seven gold coins, a knife forged from the highest grade mithril, and a magic item with an item box function. All of this will be yours.”
A massive stir broke out among the four men. They weren't the only ones; spectators with any knowledge of magic items stared at the Misty Ring in disbelief, frantically explaining its astronomical value to those around them.
“Don’t screw with us! Why would a brat like you have something like that? You’re trying to trick us with fakes!” Vargas’s voice was a roar of pure rage. It was understandable. Setting the gold and the knife aside, an item box was a legendary rarity. If one were to actually buy one, it would cost dozens, perhaps even hundreds, of light gold coins.
Rei simply looked down at the four men with contemptuous eyes.
“Whether they’re real or not is something you can find out if you win. You can have them appraised or try them yourselves. But more importantly, since I’m putting up stakes of this level, you need to offer something equal in return.”
The four men remained silent. It was only natural; they were merely D-Rank adventurers. They had never even seen an item box before, let alone owned anything of comparable value. They could only glare at Rei with murderous intent, breaking out in greasy sweats as they were made to look like fools in front of the crowd.
“What’s the matter? Put up your stakes. …Though, I suppose I shouldn’t expect much from the likes of Goblin Drool. Fine, I’ll settle for every last bit of property you have on you right now. You were celebrating a successful job, so I assume you’re carrying at least a little coin?”
Vargas and his men looked ready to kill.
In truth, Rei was under a slight misunderstanding. He assumed that even if he took everything they carried, they would still have savings tucked away at an inn. However, fearing thieves in the frontier city, Vargas and his group were actually carrying their entire life savings. It was a reasonable precaution in Gilm, but it made the stakes far higher than Rei realized.
“……Fine,” Vargas muttered.
“Vargas!?” Zolito and the others looked at him in shock.
“Get a grip! If we run away after being mocked this much, we’ll be the laughingstock of the city forever! We just have to win. If we win, that item box and the Mithril Knife are ours!”
Greed and desperation flickered in the men's eyes. They couldn't back down now. The remaining three men set their gazes and glared at Rei.
“It’s settled then. Put your property there.”
Following Rei’s command, the four men pulled pouches of coins from their pockets and tossed them onto the ground near the Misty Ring.
Rei smirked. At that exact moment, a man stepped out of the guild doors. Because the newcomer was suppressing his presence, only Rei and the distant Set noticed him.
“Now then, it wouldn’t be very funny if someone stole the prizes while we were busy. ……Set!”
Vargas and the others looked confused at the name, but they understood immediately after. They were forced to understand.
“Gururururuuu!”
With a thunderous cry, a Gryphon over two meters long launched itself from its resting place. It landed protectively over the Misty Ring and the Mithril Knife. Half the spectators fled screaming, though the other half stayed, having heard the rumors of Rei’s companion or noticing the necklace around Set’s neck that identified it as a tamed monster.
Still, most people never saw a Gryphon in their lives. The sight was terrifying.
“Hi—hiii!”
Zolito, the longsword user, let out a pathetic shriek and collapsed. His legs had completely given out. Vargas and the others simply stared up at Set, paralyzed with shock.
Rei let out a mocking laugh.
“Relax. I don’t need Set’s help for the likes of Goblin Drool. I’ll handle you myself. Set, I’m going to fight these four one by one. The winner gets the prizes at your feet. Even in the impossible event that these guys win.”
“Gruu,” Set chirped in acknowledgment.
Rei gripped his Death Scythe and turned to the adventurers.
“So, you can rest easy and focus on being defeated. Let’s get started. Who’s first?”
The group remained silent, their previous bravado completely evaporated. Their faces were pale, the last traces of their drunken stupor long gone.
“Sigh, nothing? Fine. I’ll start with the one who already fell over. Zolito, was it? Here I come.”
Rei leveled his Death Scythe and walked toward the cowering man.
“Hi—hiii! Don’t come any closer… Stay awaaaay!”
Driven by pure panic, Zolito grabbed his longsword and swung it wildly. It was a strike devoid of skill or experience, born from nothing but a desperate desire to keep Rei away.
“Trash.”
Rei easily tracked the frantic blade. He moved his body in small, controlled increments to evade every swing, then raised the handle of the Death Scythe.
It pierced a Water Bear’s hide like paper, so I should avoid using the point, Rei thought.
Even if they had provoked him, he didn't want to deal with the guild’s penalties for killing them. His goal was simple: knock them all out. Rei ducked under a horizontal swing, stepped into Zolito’s guard, and slammed the handle into the man’s side with about thirty percent of his strength.
Rei felt the ribs shatter through the handle. Without a hint of remorse, he watched as the man, who was a full head taller than him, was sent flying. Zolito slammed into the guild wall with a sickening thud and slumped to the ground, unconscious.
“That’s one. Next, the dagger user. Step up.”
Rei ignored the fallen man and beckoned to the one holding the dagger. The adventurer didn't move, seemingly unable to process the speed of what had just happened.
“Sigh. Are you really D-Rank?”
Rei didn't wait. He closed the distance just as he had with Zolito and sent the man flying with a single swing of the handle. He did the same to the archer, leaving both with broken arms and ribs.
He glanced at the three unconscious men before turning to Vargas, the last one left.
“Tch!”
Vargas moved faster than the others. Rei saw the man’s face closing in and a battle axe descending. He whipped the handle of the Death Scythe upward to meet it.
A sharp clang echoed as the weapons clashed.
Despite holding back to avoid a lethal blow, Rei was surprised to see the battle axe wasn't even chipped after hitting the handle of his scythe. He looked at the weapon with newfound interest. The Death Scythe was a magic item manifested from his own immense magic power; it was far rarer than even the Misty Ring.
“That axe is a magic item, isn’t it?”
“Shut up! Damn it, damn it, daaaaamn you!”
With eyes full of hatred, Vargas unleashed a flurry of strikes—downward chops, upward swings, and heavy slams. His speed and technique were impressive, certainly higher than the average D-Rank adventurer. At the very least, he was far more capable than Zolito.
It seemed the shock had finally worn off, allowing Vargas to fight with some degree of his actual ability.
However, even a desperate assault was easy for Rei to read with his heightened senses. He dodged a downward strike with a half-turn and parried a sweep with his scythe’s handle. When an upward strike came from the ground, he let it slide off the shaft of his weapon, redirecting the force.
The exchange lasted several minutes. Vargas, having swung his heavy axe at full power repeatedly, finally hit his limit. He unleashed a desperate horizontal swing to force Rei back and create distance.
“Hah… hah… hah…”
Vargas gasped for air, his arms trembling. He had lost all sensation in his hands.
The Death Scythe possessed an enchantment called Weight Reduction. To Rei, it felt light as a feather, but for the one receiving the blows, it was like being hit by over a hundred kilograms of solid metal. Vargas was doing well just to still be standing.
“Are you done? Then it’s my turn.”
“Shut uuuuuuup!”
Despite his exhaustion, Vargas charged again at the slight provocation. This lack of emotional control was likely why he had never risen above D-Rank.
As the battle axe came down, Rei leaped diagonally forward, moving into Vargas’s blind spot. He activated his Sleipnir's Shoes, kicking the air to perform a triangle jump that brought him deep into his opponent's guard.
Before the axe could complete its arc, Rei struck. In a single, fluid motion that looked like a blur, the handle of the Death Scythe hammered into Vargas’s arm, his flank, and his knee.
The arm joint snapped, sending the battle axe clattering to the stones. The ribs shattered, and the knee joint gave way. Vargas collapsed instantly, his consciousness fading into the darkness of pain before he even hit the ground.