Varkas wore a faint smile as he stepped into the light. His frame was leaner than that of the other guards, yet he carried himself with unmistakable authority. In this world, size was not indicative of strength or power. Even a massive orc could fall to a small ant if she possessed a higher level.

  “Adventurer Edmund, you never showed up at our headquarters. It is very disappointing when my direct invitation is ignored so btantly. And now you go so far as to attack my men. I am not sure I can let this slide as easily as before.”

  The man said, his tone somewhat menacing.

  “Edmund did nothing wrong. You are the bad guys here!”

  Natia jumped out from behind Rusty, pointing at Captain Varkas and the two men regrouping behind him. The moment she did, the mercenary leader’s eyebrows twitched, and he reached for his weapon.

  “Children who do not behave need to be punished.”

  “Rusty!”

  Alexander shouted from within his chestpte as he felt the killing intent radiating from the man.

  “I know.”

  Rusty raised the shield he had been carrying on his back just in time as Varkas drew his bde. He had faced the man many times in the illusory training chamber within the Soul Forge, but he had never seen him unleash an attack like this.

  The weapon was simir to the reproduction Rusty had crafted, a single-edged saber. However, it was different. This one was enchanted and attuned to wind. The moment Varkas pulled it from its scabbard, a green bde of compressed air shot forward toward Natia. She fell backward onto the ground as Rusty leapt in front of her, shield raised. It glowed blue, empowered by its own enchantment, a simple mana barrier.

  His shield began to glow blue, and when the green bde of wind energy struck it, the force of the air sent vibrations through his metallic arm. The mana barrier rippled violently, and for a split second, the green gale threatened to break through. Sparks of magical friction showered the pavement before the wind finally dissipated, leaving shallow marks on the ground as if a beast had cwed at the stone.

  “Not bad, Mr. Edmund.”

  Varkas chuckled, though his amber eyes remained cold.

  “If you hadn’t blocked that attack, that child would be dead. This man is truly deplorable.”

  Alexander commented on the strike, recognizing that it had been powerful enough to kill. Rusty could not tell whether the mercenary leader had been testing him or truly intended to harm Natia. Either way, it was unforgivable. This child was under his protection now, and at his current level, he could fight back.

  “You tried to kill her…”

  Rusty straightened after taking the blow and pointed his sword at Varkas. He had spent time living among these humanoids, and bonds had slowly begun to form. For this transgression, he was willing to fight. Yet one of his guides felt otherwise.

  “Rusty, calm down. They outnumber us, and you are not in your best form. If you attack this man in broad daylight, there will be consequences. Even if you win, they will use it as an excuse to kill you or imprison you. Just calm down, or all of us will be done for!”

  “But…”

  Aburdon’s words cut through the rage clouding his metallic mind. He was right. Rusty was wearing armor that was not fully suited for combat, and it was not his true form. The head within his helmet was secured, but if he fought someone close to his own power, he could not account for accidents. Aburdon was right. Fighting Varkas here, with additional D-rank mercenaries assisting him, was not wise, at least not without access to his loadouts.

  “( ????? )”

  “I know, Gleam, but Aburdon is probably right.”

  The mercenaries could not hear the discussion between them, but once Rusty made his decision, he finally lowered his sword.

  “What do you want?”

  “I see that you are wise as well, Mr. Edmund.”

  Varkas smiled, as if gloating that Rusty could not oppose him in this situation. If they fought, Rusty could not guarantee the safety of the two children standing behind him. There was little he could do here that would not endanger the girls or risk his identity being revealed.

  “Just a routine inspection. Ever since you appeared, strange things have been happening, Mr. Edmund. People going missing in the dungeon, strange explosions in the city, gold going missing.”

  “People go missing in the dungeon all the time, and if gold is going missing, it is probably the thieves guild.”

  Rusty replied instantly. It seemed Varkas was trying to tie his appearance to the recent incidents. While Rusty was responsible, there was nothing in his ir that could connect him to them, aside from Rolo and the children. They had been involved in the mercenary building going up in fmes, but Varkas did not seem to be bringing that up.

  “Sir, we did not find anything suspicious.”

  “Is that so…”

  As Rusty and Varkas continued to stare at each other, a third and fourth man emerged from the shop. One of them was holding a tool that resembled something called a compass. Rusty could feel mana fluctuations coming from it and assumed it was some kind of treasure-finding device. With everything hidden within his system storage, there was nothing for it to detect inside his home.

  “It seems my men were mistaken. My apologies, Mr. Edmund, and do take care.”

  Once the guards were outside, Varkas changed his tone. Rusty had expected them to eventually come to his home to check for the missing gold, but he had not expected them to do it like this.

  “Just leave.”

  At his words, the mercenaries began to move. Rusty stepped aside, making sure both girls remained behind his metallic frame. The two guards he had thrown earlier did not look pleased, but with Varkas present, they did not seem eager to speak.

  “Oh, Mr. Edmund, if you hear anything about stolen goods, please let us know. Any information about thieves will be rewarded.”

  “…”

  Rusty did not reply. He remained focused, still treating the group as enemies. His Identification skill had leveled up recently, giving him more information about the man before him. As he suspected, Varkas would rank around D-plus if he were a monster.

  Cssification:

  Varkas [ Swordsman L 42 ]

  Type:

  Human

  Css Path:

  Fighter - > Sword Fighter - > Light Swordsman

  Description:

  A Light Swordsman is a D-rank css focused on sword combat. Unlike the brutish strength of a Heavy Swordsman, a Light Swordsman relies on refined footwork, high agility, and the mastery of specialized sword skills.

  The text hovered before him in a system window. Varkas’ level was forty-two, and the limit of a third humanoid css was supposed to be fifty. While monsters had clear divisions between ranks, humans were measured by css levels and the special skills unlocked at each stage.

  At level one, Varkas would have power comparable to a D-minus monster. Around level twenty, he would reach standard D-rank, and past forty, he would be close to the apex of this rank. Measuring humanoid css levels against monsters was never simple. Some csses were inherently stronger than others, and humans also relied on enchanted equipment, while monsters usually depended solely on their bodies in combat.

  Rusty watched them go until their footsteps faded down the street. Only then did he realize that there was another problem.

  “...Rolo.”

  He could still feel two life signals coming from his ir. One belonged to Isan, the other twin, and the other to Rolo, the oldest of the group.

  ‘That life signal seems weaker than usual.’

  In the past, he had used his life detection skill many times within his ir. He had trained himself to sense even the smallest fluctuations, to the point that he could tell whether someone was injured.

  “Rolo, can you hear me?”

  His head snapped toward the shop, but no one answered.

  “You two, stay outside.”

  “Is something wrong, Mr. Edmund?”

  Ria and Natia did not seem to know what had happened inside the shop, and they immediately started asking questions. He ignored them for now and rushed inside. The moment he stepped through the door, he froze.

  The shop was supposed to be nothing more than a cover for his Soul Forge, a way to help him fit into humanoid society. It was never meant to matter this much to him, yet when he saw the interior trashed, he could not tell what he was feeling.

  Weapons and armor y scattered across the floor. Some pieces were broken, others bent, as if the guards had destroyed them on purpose. They were not worth much, but now nearly half of them were unusable.

  “Mr. Edmund… Rolo… he tried to stop them…”

  While examining the damage to his store, he heard a weak voice from the side. It belonged to Isan. Rusty moved through the wreckage of his shop, his metal joints clicking more than usual. Even though he did not think he cared that much about these humanoids, once he saw what had happened to Rolo, even his core tingled.

  Rolo was slumped against the wall, his breathing shallow and ragged. His face was a map of bruises, one eye swollen shut. Beside him, Isan knelt with trembling hands, trying to wipe blood from Rolo’s temple with a torn sleeve. Rusty’s visor locked onto Isan’s face, where a welt from a sp had formed.

  It paled in comparison to what had happened to Rolo. His entire body was battered and bruised. It was not only his face. There were multiple injuries, cerations, and even potential broken bones. In his right hand, the boy clutched something. It was the hilt of the dagger he kept hidden behind the store counter for protection.

  “I… I’m sorry. I c-couldn’t protect…”

  Rolo’s one good eye opened when he noticed Rusty’s rge frame standing over him. He could barely speak as blood flowed from his mouth.

  “It’s fine. You did your best. Try not to talk.”

  Luckily, in this world, healing wounds like these was not impossible. With haste, Rusty fished several healing potions from his satchel. He handed one to Isan to drink and poured another over Rolo’s body. After the first potion was absorbed through the skin and the healing began, he poured another into Rolo’s mouth. The result was quick and wondrous, as always.

  “Only demons would do something like this. This child is not even twelve.”

  Alexander’s tone was filled with anger.

  “Demons? Even I would not do such a thing. It is beneath me. Do not lump me in with those lesser humans and their hobbies.”

  Aburdon replied as if genuinely hurt by the comparison to people who enjoyed hurting children.

  “( ?? ? ?? )”

  “It’s okay, Gleam. He is going to be fine. These potions are of good quality.”

  Rusty lifted Rolo from the ground and carried him upstairs to where the children had made their beds. Ria and Natia could not help themselves from peeking inside and rushed in the moment they saw Rolo’s bloodied body.

  “Rolo!”

  shouted Ria.

  “Big brother!”

  Natia cried, tears welling in her eyes. Soon, all of them were gathered in the upper room, where Rusty id the child down on the bed they had made. It was rudimentary, with a mattress made of cloth stuffed with straw.

  “His wounds are starting to heal. It is best if he rests for now. Gleam will also help, she is quite good at healing.”

  “( ?? ? ?? )?”

  Rusty said, trying to reassure the children. They took it better than he had expected. Ria returned with a bucket of water and cloth to wipe away the blood, while Isan stood nearby, anger burning in his eyes. The group of urchins had endured much in their lives, and being beaten bloody was likely something they had experienced before. Still, even though everyone would recover, the whole predicament sat poorly with Rusty.

  “It’s okay, Mr. Edmund. I’ll take care of Rolo. Isan, could you instead help clean up outside?”

  Isan nodded in understanding and slowly stepped out of the room. He gnced back at Rolo one st time. Natia was holding his hand, tears in her eyes, while he y unconscious on the bed. Gleam stayed behind as well to help the two girls. She could use healing magic, and once she began chanting, the room filled with a soft, soothing glow.

  Rusty did not linger. When it came to humanoids, he still felt as though he did not quite fit in. The older girl seemed unusually mature for her age, someone who had clearly been through situations like this before. Once they reached the main chamber, the cleaning could begin, and he could finally ask Isan what had truly happened.

  “Why did they attack you?”

  “They said that they were looking for some stolen goods…”

  Isan spat, his voice cracking with a mixture of fear and fury.

  "They came in like they owned the pce. That strange man, their leader... he didn't even look at the shelves. He walked straight to the back, toward the forge. Rolo tried to block them. He told them it was private, that the master was out… Then…"

  The story started to make more sense. Isan described in detail how Rolo had tried to stop them from going down into the basement, a pce he had forbidden anyone to enter. The boy had even attacked them, which led to the dagger breaking in his hands until only the hilt remained. Then, while one of the guards beat Rolo senseless, the other went down to his smithy to search for the goods he had supposedly stolen.

  “I see…”

  “Those bastards didn’t find anything and accused us of lying!”

  Isan shouted in anger, while Rusty felt responsible for their predicament. Their attackers were not entirely wrong, as he had stolen their money. Even though that money had originally been taken from other people, it did not matter in this case.

  ‘Would they do this to other people too?’

  Rusty was not very old, and this was something he had never considered before. The loot he had taken and hidden could not be found easily, but that did not mean the mercenaries would stop searching for it. They might even use the search as an excuse to hurt others, just as they had done now. Perhaps if someone else had money stashed away, it would be taken anyway to make up for the losses Rusty had caused them.

  ‘So this is all my fault…’

  His metal chest tightened, and for the first time, he felt the weight of consequences pressing down on him. Life in this world was never easy. Every action carried a cost, and now it was up to him to decide whether he would make things right or let them be.