Chapter 5: Nyx

To get ready, Henry washed up and put on a fresh set of clothes. A shirt, trousers, and jacket combo that were undoubtedly the best set of clothes the Old Henry had stashed away in his trunk.

Then, Henry went to the fenced field behind the stables and for the first time since he came to this world, he wasn't going there to shovel their crap or feed them but instead, to pick one to ride.

The gang never made their journey by foot and while every one of them had a horse they were fond of —horses that would not allow themselves to be ridden by anyone other than their masters—, there were still a few fairly wild unbroken horses kept in the field, waiting to be claimed. Or to eventually be sold off for cash.

Henry didn't waste his time looking at all the unclaimed horses one by one unsure which to pick. After one week of taking care of them, he had made his choice already. For him, it was the only good choice;

The horse was a mare with a jet-black coat. Her mane flowed down and fluttered almost elegantly. Of all the unclaimed horses, she looked the most agile, and speedy, and for as long as Henry had rode horses, those were his favorite type. A racehorse to get him where he wanted to go as fast as it possibly could.

"Hey there, you," Henry said to the horse with a smile while holding up the reins.

The mare stared hard into Henry's face for a good few seconds before it snorted out a non-committal greeting and kept its head in place to be bridled.

Henry placed a saddle on its back, buckled it, and with the reins in his hands, he led the horse out of the fenced field and further into the open where he gave it a few pats before putting his leg in the stirrup to lift himself into the saddle.

Immediately he was seated, the horse became unsettled. She raised her head and shook it all over as though to free herself from the bridle. When Henry used the stirrup to signal her to move, she bounded forward and began to buck angrily to shake Henry off all the while making loud noises that called the attention of many members of the gang.

Among this many was Good ol' Joe whose eyes widened at the sight,

"Henry! What in God's name are you doing?!" He asked.

Henry ignored him.

For all of the horse's bucking and aggression, Henry was not worried. This was not the first horse he had ever tamed. The most important thing to note was confidence and then he simply shifted his weight accordingly to make sure he wasn't bucked off.

"Easy there girl… Whoa, whoa, easy, easy…" he said calmly while using the stirrup to gently nudge the horse's side and convince it to relax.

Henry took one hand off the reins and patted the mare's neck,

"You're alright, girl… Easy…"

The bucking reduced. The horse harrumphed a few times but then mellowed while setting off in a small trot.

It obeyed every indication Henry gave it. Moved when it was directed to, and pulled to a stop the moment Henry pulled on its reins.

"Good girl," Henry told the horse with a smile while patting her neck. She let out a few proud snorts but Henry wasn't paying attention because at that moment, an alert sounded in his head and a screen projected out in front of him.

*Ding*

[You have acquired the Skill: Taming Lv. 1]

[You have acquired the Taming Active Sub-skill; Bonding.]

[Would you like to bond with your tamed horse?]

"Yeah, sure. Why not?" Henry said offhandedly.

[Name your horse…]

Henry gave it a bit of thought.

"Nyx," he eventually said. Something about the horse's jet-black coat made the name seem perfect.

The horse, now named Nyx, shook with delight and her trot gained a prance of sorts. A graceful prance that seemed like she was making a show of how much she liked her new name.

At that moment, Henry felt something. As he patted Nyx's neck with a smile, a warmth spread through him as he felt their minds link ever so slightly. He couldn't only tell that she was happy from her expression or prancing but he could also feel it.

[Bonding Complete!]

As the alert sounded in his head, a new status screen appeared and Henry knew it was new because it was nothing like his;

[Name: Nyx]

[Creature: Horse]

[Breed: Valaeren Racehorse]

[Level 1 (0/25 Exp)]*

[Hit Points: 20/20]

[Strength: 25]

[Speed: 50]

[Stamina: 20]

Henry's attention was mostly on the asterisk on the corner of the level and EXP count so he clicked on it and was not all too surprised that it expanded into a window of information;

*[Beasts bonded to the User receive 50% of the EXP gained by the User for completing Quests. Daily Quests and certain unique events are an exception.

Note: The 50% received by your bonded Beast does not reduce or otherwise affect the EXP you receive for Quest completion.]

With his ride settled, there was very little else Henry could do to prepare for the train job.

In his past life, he had committed many robberies so he knew how he would have prepared. The problem was, his status in the gang locked him out of all the good equipment. He was left packing ropes and some rations when he should have been packing bullets and stowing all manner of guns away on his horse besides the ones he should have had in the holsters that should have been at his waist.

'*Sigh* The powerlessness of it all,' Henry thought while shaking his head.

He was adjusting the straps of his saddle bag against Nyx's body when the others walked out of the mansion finally.

Angus in particular had a delighted smile on his face as he clutched a rolled-up map and used it to gesture and direct everyone to get their horses and get ready to ride out.

Triss was on her chestnut brown horse as it trotted over to where Henry stood beside Nyx,

"You claimed her?" She asked.

Henry looked up at her. She had a hat on and it gave her pretty face some shade but when the sun hit her hair, it appeared more red than brown.

"Yes," Henry answered her.

"We all agreed she was a stubborn one," Triss said with her head cocked to the side.

Henry smiled while rubbing Nyx's coat,

"Part of her charm," he said.

Triss returned his smile as she asked,

"Did you give her name?"

"Yes," Henry answered, "Nyx."

Triss nodded in acknowledgment,

"Fitting."

"Thank you," Henry told her as he hoisted himself onto Nyx's back and got ready to ride according to Angus' orders.

A minute passed and he 'felt' eyes on him. He looked to the side and saw Triss looking at him,

"Is there— Is there something on my face?" He asked, confused.

"Huh? No, No. It's just— Well, you seem… confident is all. Never noticed that before," Triss said.

Triss and her brother, Stefan were a criminal duo wanted all over the State and any attempt to leave the State would surely lead to their capture or worse so they joined an organized gang to help their chances of survival.

They had only been a part of the Dionisio gang for two months or so and if Henry (Old and new) already had little contact with the gang, he had even less with Triss and her brother. Besides knowing their names, they were essentially strangers to him. It was the same for them as well.

So when Triss gave him what was essentially a compliment, Henry didn't smile because he was flattered. Rather, he smiled because she was probably the first person he didn't have to walk on eggshells around.

Even if Devon the Half-orc picked on him and Dana seemed to despise the very sight of him, Henry doubted he was important enough to them to be gossiped about.

So as far as Triss knew, this was who he had always been.

Just then, Angus' voice sounded loud from the head of their riding group,

"Alright everyone, listen up. Our intel says the Train gets in by Noon so we need to ride fast. We miss getting on at the station and we'll have to hijack it in motion causing a racket that we can't afford.

So now, get ready…"

Henry tightened his grip on Nyx's reins. For the first time since he had been in this world, he was actually about to do something actually exciting.

"Let's Ride!"

A collective *Hya!* sounded out and Horses leaped forward into gallops at full sprints. Moving into a somewhat disorderly formation as they tore through the Hardon Mansion's compound, hit the road, and were off.

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