Chương 85: (B2) Chapter 12 - Death in Conevil

The sound of hurried footsteps pulled Ethan out of his light sleep. His eyes opened instantly as [Keen Sense] expanded outward on instinct, his hearing sharpening until distant sounds became painfully clear. Boots pounded against the path nearby while multiple voices overlapped one another ahead. Ethan sat up slowly, rubbing the last traces of sleep from his eyes before quickly regaining focus.

The cool air brushed against his skin as he reached for the scimitar stored within his necklace, pulling the weapon free and fastening it back onto his waist while rising to his feet. Something was happening. And judging by the tone of the voices, something bad. Ethan moved quietly through the trees toward the path, eventually stepping out from the forest just as a group of guards rushed past him.

Their armor bore the Broken Dawns insignia and unlike the calm professionalism Ethan had mostly seen from the guild so far, these men looked stressed. Panicked even.

"Who the hell could've done it?"

"I'm telling you, nobody heard anything."

"What about the adventurers staying nearby?"

"I don't know!" The conversation drifted rapidly between them as they hurried down the lantern-lit road toward town. Ethan frowned slightly beneath the dim morning sun before falling in behind them at a casual pace. It didn't take long before he saw the growing crowd ahead. People had gathered in the center of the path, voices hushed as Broken Dawns guards pushed everyone backward and attempted to create space around something lying on the ground. A body, Ethan realized. He slowed slightly as he approached.

Then recognition hit him immediately. It was the woman from the train. The quiet girl who had ignored him while reading her book. She lay motionless against the dirt road, blood pooled beneath her while several stab wounds riddled the front of her robes. Ethan let out a quiet breath. She had been murdered. While it wasn't exactly uncommon within the trials, it also wasn't particularly common either. Sure, people robbed and killed one another for equipment, resources, or any other manner of things often enough.

Humanity hadn't magically become peaceful simply because the world ended, in fact it became far more cutthroat. Still, this didn't make much sense. Conevil was tiny. More importantly, it existed almost entirely beneath Broken Dawns influence. Killing someone openly here felt stupid unless the murderer either had a damn good reason or simply didn't care. Ethan's eyes drifted briefly across the gathered crowd before returning to the corpse. No obvious answers came to him.

And honestly, he didn't particularly want them to. The moment guards began investigating a murder, things would tighten up around town immediately. More questions. More scrutiny around everyone entering or exiting the dungeon. Which, pragmatically speaking, was extremely annoying timing for Ethan. Still, there wasn't much he could do about it. Nor did he particularly want to involve himself further. He had enough problems already without trying to solve murders for the Broken Dawns.

One of the guards crouched near the body suddenly looked up toward the crowd.

"Everyone back," he barked sharply.

"Nobody leaves town until we figure out what happened." A wave of frustrated muttering spread through the gathered adventurers. Ethan resisted the urge to sigh. Yeah. This was going to become troublesome fast. Ethan left the small crowd behind and continued back toward town. Despite something like this happening, he still had things he needed to do.

The sun had only just begun rising above the towering pines, light filtering softly through the canopy overhead while the cool morning air carried the scent of damp earth and forestry. As Ethan walked along the trail, he found himself absently scanning the ground despite having no real intention of involving himself with whatever had happened. His eyes drifted across the dirt path, checking for signs of a struggle, scuffed footprints, broken branches, or blood dragged away from the scene. But he wasn't a detective.

And he definitely wasn't a tracker. Compared to someone actually skilled in that sort of thing, his observations were useless. So by the time Ethan arrived back in the small town, he had learned absolutely nothing. Well, apart from the obvious. There was a killer somewhere nearby. Honestly though, that didn't concern Ethan nearly as much as it probably should have. He had spent years surrounded by killers. Everyone from humanity's final army had taken lives at some point. Ethan included.

The trials didn't really allow for clean hands. Besides, Ethan didn't think many people would be capable of sneaking up on him anymore anyway. And even fewer could actually threaten him in a direct fight. At least not here. Unless someone on Tomas' level suddenly appeared out of nowhere, Ethan was fairly confident in his ability to survive. So he continued walking. Small groups had already begun gathering outside buildings, quietly sharing information while tension slowly spread throughout the town.

Ethan watched in real time as the news passed from person to person along the single main street. Within another half hour, probably everyone here would know about the murder. Ethan ignored it and headed toward the armorer. Thankfully the shop seemed to open early. Noise drifted from inside and both front doors already stood open. Ethan stepped inside, idly looking around while his eyes passed over the weapons and armor lining the walls. Nothing here was particularly impressive.

Honestly, it didn't hold a candle compared to the place where he bought the scimitar in Nexus. Still, there were decent enough weapons scattered throughout the shop along with smaller utility items like bags, boots, gloves, and travel gear. Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. Ethan had only just started browsing when someone loudly cleared their throat. He turned calmly, already aware the man had been watching him from the back of the shop.

The armorer looked older, probably late forties, though unlike most smiths Ethan had met, the man was surprisingly thin. His arms were wiry rather than muscular and his shoulders narrow beneath a soot-stained apron. He looked more like someone who survived off coffee and spite than a blacksmith. But Ethan was also aware that appearances meant extremely little with the system and levels involved.

"What can I do for you?" the man asked.

"The fellow down at the bar mentioned you rented rooms when the town got busy," Ethan replied.

"And I've got a piece of armor needing fixed up." The man let out a grunt.

"Picked a bad time to come here." Ethan tilted his head slightly.

"Because of the murder?"

"Aye." The armorer crossed his arms.

"Town's already turning upside down over it." Ethan shrugged lightly.

"Too late now. I'm already here and have plenty I need to do before I can leave."

"Fair enough. Name's Ryan." The man said with a snort.

"Ethan." The two continued talking briefly before Ethan finally removed the damaged shoulder piece from his armor and handed it over. Ryan turned it over in his hands with a low whistle, examining the dent where the Orc's mace had partially caved the material inward.

"What the hell hit you?"

"Big Orc with a bigger mace." Ryan barked out a laugh at that.

"Let me guess, the fifth round? At least you didn't cheap out on the metal." He rotated the armor again before nodding.

"I can fix it, but it'll take a day or two. I've got other things I need to finish first."

"You got it," Ethan answered, before continuing, "That's fine. I'd still like it prepared and you'd be much faster than heading back to Nexus. About the room?"

"Fair enough. Room's five copper a night," Ryan answered. Ethan nodded immediately.

"Done."

"And I take payment up front. For the room and the armor. Which will be another five copper." Coins materialized in Ethan's hands, he counted them quickly before holding them out.

"This should do it." Ryan jerked his head toward the back.

"Come on then," he said, taking the offered coins. Ethan followed him through the rear of the shop and into a small fenced area behind the forge where it looked like the man actually lived. Another presence immediately registered through [Keen Sense], and as Ethan rounded the corner he spotted a young woman sitting near a table outside with a book resting in her lap. She was probably around Leah's age. She had fiery red hair like the armorer's and a lean build.

She looked up curiously as they approached, brushing her fringe back behind one ear.

"My daughter, Ally," Ryan said.

"Ally, this is Ethan. He'll be renting the spare room for a couple nights." The girl closed the book and stood, giving Ethan a small smile.

"Nice to meet you."

"You too," Ethan replied. Ryan pointed toward the smaller building attached to the rear of the property.

"Mind showing him the room?"

"Sure." Ethan followed Ally across the yard toward the attached building. The room itself was simple. A bed, dresser, small window, and not much else. But honestly, Ethan had slept in far worse places before and would continue to do so in the future. But while he could afford it he may as well sleep in an actual bed. Ally handed him the key to the room, turned and left with a short wave. Ethan walked inside and sat down for a moment. His armor was being taken care of.

He had finally got accommodation but he had nothing else to do. Which left Ethan with very little reason to sit around and wait. So Ethan simply decided to head back toward the dungeon. There wasn't much point wasting the day. If anything, practicing without the armor might actually help him improve further instead of constantly relying on the protection it offered. Honestly, Ethan wasn't overly worried. If anything, it would provide a good opportunity to level [Aura Overload] further.

Besides, endurance remained one of his highest stats if worst came to worst. Ethan headed back outside, taking the small iron key Ally had given him and dismissing it into his necklace. Not that he had actually left anything valuable in the room. Most of his belongings remained safely stored within the necklace hanging beneath his shirt. So he probably could have just left the place open, but oh well. When he walked back onto the streets it was as expected, they were still buzzing with noise.

People clustered together in small groups along the roadside, quietly sharing rumors while others openly speculated about the murder. The entire town felt different now. Tense. Uneasy. Conevil had seemed almost peaceful when Ethan first arrived, but now there was an edge to everyone's movements, like they were waiting for something else to happen. Ethan ignored it all and continued toward the dungeon.

As he passed the section of road where the woman had died, he noticed the body was already gone along with most of the crowd. Likely taken back toward town for further examination. Still, several guards remained behind, cordoning off the area while others carefully inspected the bloodstained dirt and nearby trees. Ethan walked past without stopping, his gaze briefly flicking toward the dried blood staining the road before continuing onward.

Eventually the trees opened back up and the dungeon came into view once more. The tear in space floated silently between the pines exactly as before, though unlike last night only a single guard stood nearby now. Ethan walked up casually.

"Can I still enter?" The guard looked over at him before shaking his head.

"Dungeon's closed for the day. Orders from the guild. Come back tomorrow." Ethan resisted the urge to sigh. That was the last thing he wanted to hear. But was completely expected. He didn't particularly feel like sitting around town doing nothing while the Broken Dawns investigated a murder. Especially when he was this close to another skill selection.

"Any chance you could make an exception?" Ethan asked. The guard immediately shook his head again.

"Not happening." Ethan hesitated briefly before eventually reaching into his pocket and pulling out the dungeon pass Tomas had given him. Honestly, he felt a little cheap resorting to it, but he really didn't want to waste an entire day doing nothing. The guard frowned as he took the pass, his eyes immediately catching the personal endorsement stamped across it. Tomas Valen. Vice Guild Leader of the entire Broken Dawns. Not a branch leader or a smaller title like Mia.

But actually the second man in charge, only behind the creator of the guild. The man looked back up at Ethan more carefully this time. Ethan gave a small shrug.

"Come on man. It's only me. Let me slip in and no one'll be any wiser." The guard stared at him for another moment before looking back down at the pass. Eventually he let out a long breath and handed it back.

"Ah, fuck it," he muttered.

"Go on then." He stepped aside. Ethan nodded.

"Appreciate it." The guard grunted something under his breath while Ethan turned back toward the dungeon entrance. The tear in reality shifted slowly before him, the distorted space beyond impossible to properly make out. This time though, it was still early. He had the entire day ahead of him. Which meant he could finally push the dungeon properly and see exactly where his limits currently sat. One thing was certain though. Ethan wasn't leaving this island until the dungeon was cleared.

And until he had claimed his level thirty skill. Deep down, he held a small regret about passing on the offered skill. So he was eager to make sure he had made the right decision.