Capítulo 34: Scoundrel Boy

"Sorry, but I can't help you. I'm busy," he said.

"It's okay. Thank you for giving me your time," I said in disappointment.

After I returned from the Labyrinth Dungeon, I began to look for a magician to understand the basics of mana, but I couldn't find one willing to help me.

Magicians were rare in [Doomed Fantasy], and most of them were nobles or high-level individuals. I asked more than ten mages that I knew of, but I got the same result. I was frustrated.

Since I didn't know what to do, I decided to complete some quests to gain items and money, to free my mind and somehow find a way to understand magic.

I entered a small shop located in Aloraz's slum that I had visited previously.

The shop was old and on the verge of collapsing. The dust on each shelf represented their age. Unlike the room's appearance, it smelled like a fresh breeze that you could feel on top of a mountain, and I knew the reason why.

On the shelves, small products were arranged randomly. I could see broken mirrors and torn clothes, but most of all, candles. Candles of rainbow colors were on every shelf, giving the room an unlikely attribute.

"Hello, h-how can I help you?" said an old woman who was barely walking with a stick in her hand. She was wearing old and torn clothes, full of stitches, and her white hair showed her old age.

"Hello, I'm here to purchase some candles for… my work," I said.

The old man, who had been looking down the whole time, looked up to see my face and said, "For your work?! Well, if you want a candle, you can have one for one bronze coin each."

I looked at a shelf and saw the blue candles on it. I grabbed one and looked at it with interest.

"Sorry, but I can't pay. I do not have any money with me, but I can do anything you want me to. I might not seem like it, but I am an adventurer," I said while looking desperate. Of course, I had more than enough money to afford some candles, but I wanted something else.

The old woman's dormant eyes filled with a small amount of hope after I said that.

"M-my grandson. His name is Lauel. He is about the same age as you with brown hair and brown eyes, and he lost his left hand's small finger when he was young. He left the shop and hasn't returned for five days, and I can't go after him due to my old age. If you bring him back, I will give you ten candles as compensation," she said right after I requested an offer.

"Very well, I will bring him back, no matter what, so don't worry about anything," I said with a smile on my face.

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[ Quest: Mary's Request

Difficulty: E

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Bring back Lauel to the Candle Shop. 0/1

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Time Limit: 1 Day

Upon Failure: -1 Mana Stat

Reward: Odorless Candle x 10 ]

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I looked at the quest information window and saw the failing option. In [Doomed Fantasy], the first 20 quests didn't have any punishment for failure unless it was a high-level one. That meant that mindlessly accepting quests wasn't always a good option and could lead to punishments.

I left the shop after I took the quest. I knew what I should do to complete this mission, and I had enough power to do it, so I was confident.

After some walking, I was able to reach the middle of the slum safely. Why am I saying safely? Because I was tossing gold coins in the sky and forcing a grin on my face. It was strange that I wasn't attacked the whole time I was doing it.

I put the coin that I was tossing into a bag instead of putting it in my [Inventory], and proceeded with my walking session. I walked for a bit longer when I felt something in my pocket. I put my hand in my pocket and could feel the bag in it.

With a genuine smile, I began to look at my surroundings. I saw a hooded guy running in my direction.

"Hah, took you long enough." I began to follow him with all my might.

I was fast, thanks to the Stat Points I had allocated in Agility, so reaching him was easy, but the hooded boy was very agile. He knew the location of every avenue and the places he could hide easily. He was jumping around the walls and people, and following him, despite being faster, was a bit difficult.

Of course, I knew Aloraz as well, so after a bit of jumping around, I could corner him in a blocked alley.

"W-what do you want?" said the boy in the hood.

I looked at his face and hand, and he matched the description that Mary gave me.

"Don't you already know?" I said.

The boy seemed a bit stressed out since he wasn't expecting to see a guy who could actually catch him. He took out a knife from his hood and posed as if he was ready to fight.

I took out my sword from my [Inventory] and pointed it at him. He was a bit scared, but he hid it to avoid showing any weakness.

"I don't know who you are. Are you from Gray Wolves? What are you doing in Liam's territory?" He thought of me as a gang member since I was holding a sword and seemed strong. In the slum, not a lot of swordsmen normally passed, so it was a reasonable thought.

"I was just passing by. I didn't want anything to happen, but you stole my coins, so what are you going to do?" I said villainously.

"Take it. I was just doing some work. I'm not looking for any problems," he said in stress.

I looked at the bag of money and said with made-up anger, "You think you can fool me? That is not my money."

The kid panicked as soon as I said that and began to dash towards me with his knife in front of him. He was going to attack me, or create a way to escape from me, but I wasn't going to let him do that.

I swung my sword and blocked his attack as easily as drinking water, and then pushed him away from me.

"You think you can attack me? Just give me my money," I said.

"I can't. If I give you the money, my family will be in danger."

"Tell me why?"

"The guy that I'm working for isn't a nice guy. He asked me to do this or he will do something bad."

"Is that so." I knew this, but I wanted him to say it personally in order to make him trust me.

"Yeah. So please, let me go," he said in desperation.

"No can do, but you can do something in return."

"What do you want?"

"Introduce me to your employer," I said with a mischievous smile.

"F-fine."