Chapter 38: Money

[You opened the money pouch! You got 14 Gold Coins!]

[You opened the money pouch! You got 9 Gold Coins!]

[You opened the money pouch! You got 7 Gold Coins!]

"Hmm... Only 30 Gold Coins... Now I understand why they were willing to attack the soldiers, they immediately got four times what they had. It's too profitable for them to refuse." Zayne muttered, slowly pacing forward.

He had been moving toward Dry Tree for an hour, but there was still nothing on the horizon. Unlike the soldiers, Zayne was new to the area, so he found it rather difficult to navigate.

Crackle.

Zayne jumped down from the tree with a frown, "Damn, I thought I could spot something from above, but it wasn't as good an idea as I thought. Agh, I should have asked the soldiers for a map, I was totally lost! Also, I just now realized I hadn't eaten anything! I'm hungry, very hungry!"

"Roooooaaaaaaarrrrrr!!!"

Suddenly a strange sound came from the north side of the forest as if from a beast. Zayne shuddered and a bloody sword appeared in his hand as he was ready for battle.

Whooooooooosh.

At the same moment, a massive creature with two long fangs ran out of the trees. It was a big boar coming straight at Zayne.

'I don't know what's going on here, but I'm not about to lose to a mere boar!' Zayne inwardly exclaimed as he gripped his sword hilt tightly, preparing to attack but the boar just ran past him, so fast that the beast seemed not even to notice that Zayne was there.

Zayne turned around, looking at the escaping boar with eyes wide and a completely confused expression.

"What the hell was that...?" Zayne muttered in disbelief, then his pupils narrowed, "Wait... If that boar wasn't running at me, then it was running from someone, right?"

Zayne was a little puzzled since he thought the roar was some kind of beast, but it ended up being a frightened wild boar.

He sighed, shook his head, and said, "Well, I can't help but find out, right?"

...

"Shit! This one ran away!" A man with a short beard in dark clothes stomped on the ground with a disgruntled frown.

"Forget it. That was obvious right away that we wouldn't be able to catch such a big boar. Well, we've had enough of that." His buddy said looking at the roasted boar slowly swirling over the fire, "We have to hurry, those three should have finished their task by now."

"Ahahahahahah, yeah, I agree, we should get a move on. When those damn Travelers showed up, a lot of people started worrying that they were going to cause us a lot of trouble, but they're just as idiotic as the rest of them!" The man exclaimed with an evil laugh, "Those three morons don't even realize they were just being used!"

"Well, they're young and inexperienced, so it was to be expected. Travelers are people like us, considering they're not at all familiar with this world, it's even easier to fool them than a simple peasant." The bandit smirked, cutting off a piece of roast meat with a sharp dagger.

"Hey, maybe you shouldn't be in such a hurry. You haven't even finished the meat!" The man said as he stared at his mate.

"What...?" The bandit frowned, "What the hell are you talking about? I may not be the best cook in the world, but I sure can cook meat! Cut the crap!"

"Then... Why do I smell such a strong scent of blood?" The man muttered with a confused expression.

Crackle.

At the same moment, a red blade emerged from the man's chest, making blood trickle from the corners of his mouth. A piece of meat fell out of the bandit's hands as a chill ran down his back at the sight of his dying mate.

"I had no idea you could have such a disgusting plan." Zayne said in an ice-cold voice pulling the sword from the man's chest, "I don't regret dealing with those three, but you... you're worse than they are."

"Bastard!" The bandit exclaimed furiously as he grabbed his dagger, planning to attack, but as soon as Zayne pointed his sword at him, the bandit froze in place.

"Don't move." Zayne spoke with a piercing stare as a gleam ran down his sword, "Throw the dagger aside and don't fight back."

The bandit gulped but did as he was told. Zayne quickly tied him up, took the dagger, and sat across from the bandit, next to the fire.

Zayne cut off a piece of roast boar and began to eat, seemingly not at all bothered by the fact that the bandit was sitting across from him.

"Who are you...?" The man frowned.

Zayne didn't answer, he just enjoyed the meat, fatty and delicious, it was enough to gradually satisfy his hunger.

"Damn, you were right." Zayne said tearing off a piece of meat, "You actually cooked it perfectly! Did you really have to become a bandit? You probably could have been a good cook."

"Shut up! Not only did you kill my friend, but you sit there and take my food from me!" The bandit shouted with clenched teeth, "If you want to live, you'd better get as far away from here as you can, or the others will be here soon!"

Zayne tossed aside the bone, looked at the bandit, and said, "I'm not going to run away like that boar you couldn't catch, that was a big mistake by the way. In fact, I want you to take me to Dry Tree."

'Hmm? What the hell is this guy talking about...? Bandit inwardly muttered, 'Is he a Traveler too? Seems like it, I don't know anyone in this region who looks like him, but he's different... I need to be careful if I don't want to die.'

...

"Well, looks like it's time to go." Zayne stood up, looking at the blue moon that was slowly showing from the mountain peaks. He stared at the bandit and said, 'Go ahead, lead me to your leader. Don't you dare try to trick me, or you'll regret it."

The bandit nodded silently before he headed forward. Even though it was night, and they were surrounded only by the darkness, the bandit navigated well in such conditions, even though his hands were tied.

"Hey... What are you going to do? If you have any business with my leader, it was a big mistake to kill one of his men." The bandit said as a sly smirk appeared on his face.

"You mean to tell me that your leader cares about you? There's no way I'm going to believe that. He hired three Travelers to kill soldiers, then sent you to kill them, all to avoid paying 120 Gold Coins. He may be clever, but he certainly has no compassion for you." Zayne calmly said that silencing the bandit with a frown.

After a while, the bandit stopped at a cliff with a view of a massive tree several tens of meters high next to which burned brightly the lights from the fires.

"We arrive. Our base is here." Bandit's gaze grew serious as he turned to Zayne.

"Fine, now I understand why I couldn't see this tree from afar. It's high, but it's low because of the cliff..." Zayne muttered with a slight nod.

"What now?" Bandit asked with hope of release.

Zayne was silent for a while, then pointed his sword at the bandit and said coldly, "Jump."

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