Surviving as a Broken Hero

Chapter 8 – Investigating a Killer (2)

“We could have found another way to do this, you know…”

I spoke to Rhil as we headed down the main street towards the gates that led to the north end of town.

I knew that she had stopped adventuring for a reason, and likely had wanted nothing to do with their ilk again. However, I had never asked her the reason.

Tap, Tap.

She wore a simple green dress, unblemished and seeming to flow around her as she walked. She didn’t bother with earrings, bracelets, or any other such unnecessary adornments, instead only conceding to wearing a pair of low heels that tapped along the stone pathway.

The sun was setting, leaving an orange glow on the horizon, and I still found the suit’s collar unbearably tight. I reached up to loosen it.

“Leave it, you’re going to have to look the part if you want anyone to take you seriously.”

It appeared that she had noticed my actions out of the corner of her eye. I stopped mid-reach and forced myself to lower my hand again.

“Have you ever met them before?”

I asked her, trying to take my mind off of the stifling suit and the looks from passersby.

“Yes. The ‘Lord’ of the city is so only in title. He’s frequently gone on adventures and can’t put his blade down. You’ll be able to recognize him because he carries the thing everywhere and loves to tell others about his adventures.”

He didn’t seem too bad to me. I wondered how he had become a lord in the first place. Back in those days, I had only been concentrating on my next source of food.

We approached the gates at the end of the main square that would take us farther into the north section. It was guarded at all times, and Rhil presented our invitations to the guards before they let us enter.

The guard bowed when he read the invitation.

“Lady Rhil, you know where the manor is, correct?”

She nodded.

“It shouldn’t be much trouble finding it again.”

After we were through, she continued speaking to me.

“The one who really runs the city is his attendant, a shrewd man recognizable from his hawk-like gaze and off-putting manner. He may seem a bit direct, but he gets things done.”

We started to see other people walking towards the manor on the road as well. It wasn’t hard to spot our destination—it almost towered over the other buildings in the north district and was located just outside the keep gates themselves.

“Finally, there’s the head of the guard. He’s an elf who mostly keeps to himself. From what I hear, he’s a master of most any weapon people have seen him use.”

It surprised me somewhat to hear that an elf was serving as a guardsman for a human outskirt city. Elves were known for their martial prowess and their disdain towards humans in particular for their reliance on magical technology, which they viewed as a crutch.

“How’d he manage that one?”

I asked, raising an eyebrow and glancing towards her again.

“No clue, some say that he owes the lord a life debt, some say he’s just bored. Any one of them could be the potential owner of that clasp you saw.”

She turned to me again just before we approached the brightly lit doorway with light that seemed to almost flood out of it.

“I’m sure I don’t need to say this, but… be careful, Aizen.”

We stepped up to the doorman and were allowed in after the doorman went over our invitations and announced us properly.

“Lady Rhil and her companion, Sir Aizen.”

Heads turned towards us as we entered and I heard whispered murmurs at Rhil’s name. She probably hadn’t attended a single one of these parties, if I were to guess, yet they had still invited her every month when they were held.

It was called a party, but it was more a gathering for the elite of the city, mostly those adventurers who were approaching or had reached level 5. It wouldn’t have been too much of an exaggeration to say that it was just an excuse for them to get together and drink.

The main room itself was lined with tables containing food and drinks in front of pillars that created shadowed hallways and alcoves around the room where people talked and gossiped.

Rhil departed from me with her aura device—we had figured that spreading out was the most inconspicuous way to take reading from the device, which would turn to a bluish color after being near the aura of the person that the cloak section had spent the most time with.

I wasn’t quite sure of the magic myself, but Rhil had assured me that it was nearly foolproof. I could only take her at her word for it.

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The others at the party were quick to greet Rhil, including her in their conversations almost immediately. She put on a smile and played the part, but I could tell that she was uncomfortable.

I was of the same opinion. The sooner we were out of there, the better.

I looked around, trying to find a good subject to approach. It would have been a bit awkward to approach one of the three I was looking for directly, without working my way towards them first.

Luckily for me, the lord approached me first.

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“They said your name was Aizen, right?”

I turned as I heard someone speak my name. Approaching me from a group of adventurers was who I could only assume to be the city lord, as he was the only one in the room I noticed with a weapon on him, save for the guards I saw standing inconspicuously in corners throughout the room.

He was a tall, roughly shaven man, the stereotypical image of what I would imagine a fighter to look like.

“How did you get the Skybreaker to come here… with you?”

The “with you” sounded somewhat derogatory, though his facial expressions and tone displayed nothing of the sort. He sloshed around wine that he held in a glass.

“What are you, some sort of mage? Your build is too small to be a combat class…”

It seems he had misunderstood me. Seeing as everyone else in the room was close to or around level 5, he likely assumed I was near that point as well and was trying to guess my class based on what he could see.

I glanced down at the ring on my finger, the gem remained inert, a cold black. It needed more time to read his mana.

“I’m just a friend of Rhil’s…”

I thought briefly about how I could turn the conversation to my advantage.

“Actually, I had a question I wanted to ask you.”

I remembered how Rhil had told me that he loved recounting his adventures. Maybe I could use that to get on his good side.

“I was wondering about your guardmaster, the elf.”

He raised an eyebrow.

“Ah, Ervinol? What about him?”

He glanced over towards the elf, who was watching the party from one of the side alcoves.

I thought that catching two birds with one stone, so to speak, would be ideal.

“I’ve kind of always wanted to hear how you two met. Do you think he’s free?”

I gestured towards Ervinol, who continued to watch the party.

“Ervinol? Well, he doesn’t look too busy.”

The leader raised his hand at Ervinol and waved, beckoning him over.

He didn’t look like he had a weapon on him, but the elf still seemed to exude a calm confidence. I wondered if elves had the same types of classes that humans did.

“Ervinol, this is Aizen, the Skybreaker’s guest.”

Ervinol nodded at me in greeting, holding out his hand.

‘Do elves traditionally shake hands as well?’

I shook aside the thought and clasped his hand.

Glancing back down at the ring, I saw it was still inactive. That should have been enough time with the lord. I just needed to stall the elf.

“I was wondering how you ended up becoming the head guardsman.”

The elf tilted his head at my question, as if it was something that should have been obvious.

“…because I’m the most qualified?

“No, I get that, but how did you end up staying in this city.”

“I like it here.”

“…”

The leader laughed at my awkward interaction and clapped me on the shoulder.

“You should just ask him for a duel, I think you’d get more out of it that way…”

His eyes seemed to brighten at that thought.

‘No… don’t suggest it…’

“Say… Why don’t you two have a friendly duel?”

‘Shit…’

I glanced back down at the ring—still no reaction. It should have been long enough that it would have picked up anything from either of them, which meant that the culprit was likely the assistant.

“I don’t know—”

The leader rested his hand on my shoulder again, almost gripping it.

“Come on, it’s not every day that we get to see a duel between the Skybreaker’s guest and the captain of the guard. I insist.”

I glanced back over towards the elf, who was watching me intently.

There wouldn’t be much for me to lose. Rhil would gain more time and be able to more easily move about with such a spectacle either way, and it wasn’t every day that one got to duel with the captain of the guard…

“Alright.”

The leader smiled, patting me on the shoulder again.

“Excellent!”

He raised his voice to a level that seemed to boom throughout the hall.

“Everyone, clear the center! I have a spectacle for you tonight! The Skybreaker’s very own guest against my captain of the guard!”

The leader winked at me.

“I would usually take the opportunity myself, but I’ve had a bit much.”

He raised the glass towards me again.

“Tell me, what’s your usual weapon of choice?”

As we were walking to the center of the room, the lord continued to speak to me in an excited tone.

I hadn’t actually had any experience with other weapons, though completely unarmed fighters were almost unheard of. After all, even a fist weapon would almost always be better than just a plain fist.

“We can just have an unarmed duel if Ervinol is ok with it.”

The leader glanced towards the elf, who nodded in reply.

“Even better! First to fall or give up loses?”

I nodded my affirmative. The rules seemed simple enough, though there was still the problem of our difference in levels.

“I have a request.”

“What would that be?”

“We both limit our levels to 1.”

It was a simple enough request, fairly common in duels or in leveling parties where XP would be shared. The system usually granted the higher level player the most XP, but also granted players a way to “lower” their level by restricting some of their system-granted stats and abilities.

It would also serve as a good excuse to hide that my level was actually 1.

The leader nodded again, thinking it over.

“Good catch, we wouldn’t want you two to destroy the whole hall, after all.”

I saw the elf fiddle with something in the system window that only he could see. I mimicked his actions as the leader stepped back near the crowd that had gathered around to watch us.

The elf stood squarely across from me and just watched me with his eyes, body relaxed.

I took a deep breath.

‘This is going to hurt.’

{{System

Archetype: Body

Level: 1

XP: 300/1000

Elements: Earth

Innate Skills:

《Body》

Encompasses mastery of the Body and all things related to it.

When this archetype is selected, the user gains their choice of focus as well as continued rewards.

When this archetype is selected, the user is locked out of utilizing mana for external purposes and spells.

When this archetype is selected, the user gains an extraordinary physique, superior bodily control, and can instinctually move their body how they wish.}}

[[System

Name: Aizen

Class: Fighter

Level: 1

XP: 750/1000

Mana: 100/100

STR: 12

END: 12

AGI: 10

PER: 10

MAG: 10

MANA: 10

Innate Skills:

《Fighter》

Gives the user additional STR and END as they gain levels.

Current Bonus: +2 STR, +2 END

Active Skills:

«Strike»

Allows the user to perform a strike with double the speed and power.

Cost: 25 Mana]]

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