Chương 67: 1.4.01 - Field Test

Jonas POV Jonas was pacing back and forth in front of the only window in the wooden shack — kept closed to prevent the cold autumn air from coming in. He could not help but look out the window at the clearing a few dozen yards away. He knew realistically that his brother's killer would not show up so soon, as Paxus had yet to return from the very errand that would bring the killer here. Jonas stilled when he heard footsteps approaching the shack they were holed up in.

It was likely Paxus returning from Hollow's Reach, but years on the road had taught him never to take these things for granted. He held a spell in his right hand, preparing to unleash it in case it was someone else. Jonas only relaxed and let the Fire Arrow fizzle out when he heard the sequenced knock that they had agreed on.

"Jeez boss, you need to learn to relax" Nadek said from the table while twirling a card in his hand. Jonas did not remember a single time where he had not seen Nadek with his cards. The only time he was not holding them was either when he was at the whore house or when he was slitting someone's throat after he robbed the victims of their coin.

"Did you leave the note?" Jonas ignored Nadek and looked to Paxus instead.

"Yes, exactly as you instructed." Paxus replied. A muffle came from the old man tied up on the floor by the side of the shack. Truth be told, the old man had not been Jonas's first target. When he failed to find any clues during his last trip to Hollow's Reach, he went back to his camp to try and squeeze out more information. The initial descriptions given to him about the merchant were not sufficient to pinpoint who it was exactly that visited the camp from Hollow's Reach.

He had narrowed it down to three targets but they were all Orange cored, there was no way any of them took out his brother that easily.

"And the map in the old man's house?" Jonas wanted to confirm. He had wanted to leave the notes himself, but did not trust the two of them not to accidentally kill the old man by torturing him when they got bored.

"Yes yes, I'm not an idiot. I pinned it to the window frame so that it was obvious." Paxus said in an annoyed tone. The old man squirmed again, screaming something that was inaudible as he had a gag stuffed into his mouth. Paxus walked over and kicked him in the stomach, causing the old man to keel over but shutting him up at the same time. Jonas had to go back to the camp and threaten more people before he got more details about who his brother had followed that day.

The blacksmith did not appreciate the threats levied at him and had almost started a fight, but backed down when Paxus talked him out of it. The hint of fire Jonas held in his hand then did little to frighten a man who spent his life working close to a forge. The blacksmith eventually relented — after Paxus slipped him a small silver — and mentioned that there was another person accompanying the merchant that day. Someone who only stood out because they were wearing a weird wooden mask.

"Was the masked adventurer present when you left the note at the guild?" Jonas asked, wanting to confirm that the masked man had returned from the expedition. It would be a pity if the masked man had died to whatever monster they were hunting, as Jonas wanted the pleasure of searing his skin off piece by piece for what the masked man did to his brother. At the thought of his brother, Jonas's hand went to his pocket, feeling for the melted insignia that he had retrieved from the ash pile.

The metal had long deformed, and only Jonas could tell what it meant by the rough outline of the insignia. The touch of metal reignited the fury he felt inside — the familiar heat that came with a prickle, slowly creeping through his coils as his mana core churned. He took a deep breath to calm himself. Anger would keep him focused, but he needed to keep his wits about him for when the killer showed. Revenge would come, he reassured himself.

It was not as though Jonas had not tried to ambush or hunt down the masked adventurer himself. The adventurer always seemed to disappear in town whenever one of them tried to follow him. In the few weeks since learning of him, Jonas had never once seen him leave the town by himself. The few times Jonas had seen him leave, it was always with a few other adventurers. He recalled the first time he had run into the masked man by the south gate of Hollow's Reach.

The man had passed within arm's reach then and even bumped shoulders with Jonas. He had left the town by himself then, but it was a pity that Jonas had not known that the person was his brother's killer. Otherwise he might have risked the town guard's pursuit to strike the killer down there and then. Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

"For the last time, yes he was there. I waited outside the adventurer guild like you said. I made sure to see the masked guy enter the guild like you said. I waited until there was no one else entering like you said. I gave the note to the receptionist and told her to give it to the masked man like you said. I then went to the old man's house and left the note on the table, pinned with a knife so that it is obvious like you said. I then came straight back here like you said." Paxus said in an annoyed tone.

"Now can you let me rest? I've been up since dawn to watch the guild hall in case they started early like you said" Paxus walked over to the sole bed in the shack and lay down. Hoping to get some shut eye before their target showed up. Jonas narrowed his eyes at Paxus for giving him lip. The man had a way of stepping on his nerves, but Paxus was one of the more capable ones of the lot in the camp, and that was hard to come by.

Jonas could count on him to complete simple tasks, and that was why he tolerated Paxus's mouth. Jonas recognized that it was uncharacteristic of himself to verify every single thing, but the thought of not being able to torture his brother's killer was too much to bear.

"Fine, go take a break. You have one hour" Jonas said. Jonas continued to look out the window, letting the thoughts of torturing the masked man keep him company.

"You sure we got the right guy boss?" Nadek asked from the table. It had already been a few hours past the estimated time. Even if they accounted for the receptionist not passing the note to the masked adventurer immediately, it was already way past the expected meeting time. The late afternoon sun was starting to cast an orange glow across the horizon. He had expected the masked man to take some time due to the location he had picked, but he never expected it would take this long.

Jonas had specifically chosen this as it was far enough from the camp that it would not attract any attention. It also had a shack that they sometimes used to meet up with messengers from other camps to exchange instructions. The best part was that it overlooked a clearing that was easily identifiable when someone trekked from the main road. It was also difficult to spot the shack from the clearing, which made it ideal for Jonas to ensure that the masked man had indeed come alone.

It would also give Jonas the opportunity to land a first strike on him. Perhaps he's more callous than I expected, I might need to get rid of this old guy and find another way to lure my brother's killer out Jonas wondered while thinking how much longer he should wait. Underneath that sat a colder possibility, that maybe he had guessed wrong from the start. That the old man bleeding on the floor was nothing to his brother's killer after all.

Someone who could kill two men in cold blood might cut their ties easily if it inconvenienced them. It was no great loss if he had to kill the old man. He would find another way to get his due. The only complication being that Jonas was running out of time. The lie he told Drevan would not hold up much longer if he did not have something to show for it. He would need to carry out some missions for the empire before he could resume his quest for revenge.

"Hey Paxus, you want to play some cards?" Nadek asked while rocking back and forth on his chair.

"Yeah sure, why the heck not. What are the stakes?" Paxus got up from the bed on the side of the room and took a seat at the table across from Nadek.

"1 silver per round. Deal?" Nadek said as he started dealing the cards.

"Heh, ballsy. Just prepare your coins." Paxus started looking at his hand.

"Hah! This is a winning hand. Prepare to hand over your coins instead!" Nadek said after looking at his own hand. He always says that right before losing all his coin. Even Jonas could not help but chuckle to himself. He looked away from the window towards the table, prepared to see Nadek lose and beg Paxus to have mercy instead.

"Today will be my lucky—" Nadek did not get to complete his sentence. One moment, he was pulling two cards from his hand, preparing to throw them on the table. CRASH The next moment, the wall behind Nadek exploded, sending wooden splinters flying everywhere. That would have been manageable if that was the end of it but the disaster did not stop there. SPLAT Nadek lost his upper torso, a gaping hole appeared where his chest previously was.

His head was sent flying while his hands and the cards he held in front of his chest were obliterated. Bits of blood and flesh were sent flying together with the wood splinters from the wall. SPLAT Paxus lost his neck and half his face. The same hole appearing around his neck, his eyes still rolled backwards from Nadek's usual antics. The head not having time to register the pain from having its neck completely destroyed yet.

CRASH The wall behind Paxus exploded outwards, letting in the cold autumn air from outside. Jonas could not believe what he was seeing. Even during his time in the empire's military, he had not seen such carnage unleashed on his fellow soldiers. All this happened in less than a second. For a sliver of that second, everything simply hung in the air as if suspended by a telekinetic spell. Splinters and fine red mists where the body and head of his two men had been.

Jonas was jolted from his trance when the wood splinters left cuts on his cheeks and blood splattered on his face. The smell of iron and wood filling his nostrils awakened his primal survival instincts. The training he experienced during his time in the empire's military did the math for him even before he really processed what happened. A second blast from whatever had decimated Nadek and Paxus would do the same to him. They were dead before their bodies had time to hit the ground. Blasted depths!

I need to get out of here! was his only thought as he shielded his face and jumped out the already half shattered window. Bracing his body as he rolled down the ledge to the exact clearing where he had been waiting for his target. He needed to find the assailant and close the distance. The moment he landed in the clearing and secured his footing, he dashed in the direction the blast had come from.