*Thud* * Thud*


    The holfers dragged the carriage along the brown hard road, leaving behind hoofmarks as well as tyre tracks on the road.


    Since the journey would take an hour for him to get there, Sato closed his eyes pretending to sleep, when in reality, he was browsing through the forums. Apart from the news on the major headlines, there were a few other important information that wasn''t disyed there. This was especially so for information regarding the events surrounding ck Rock province.


    "Stop the carriage!" A loud voice yelled from the outside.


    Apanying the voice was the sound of running hoofs as well as the neighs of horses that seemed to surround the carriage.


    The driver pretended to not hear the voice as he continued steering the carriage.


    "I said stop the carriage!"


    *Bang*.


    An object was mmed into the side of the carriage, scaring the passengers as well as the driver and forcing him to bring the holfers to a stop.


    sThe passengers by the side of the carriage nced outside through the windows to see that the carriage had already been surrounded by a bunch of men on horses.


    "Bandits!" One of the NPCs yelled.


    Like a lit match tossed into a mmable liquid, the cry of the NPC put the other passengers into hysteria. They became worried and anxious. The adults tried to keep their calm while praying to the gods to preserve their lives. The children began crying as they felt the change in the atmosphere.


    "Howe? I thought the city''s guards have already cleared the bandits in this area. How could they have returned so soon?" One NPC couldn''t handle it and broke down in denial and disbelief.


    ''What an interesting development. The emotional disy of the NPCs are even top tier.'' Sato nced around as he studied the faces of the passengers.


    He couldn''t help but admit that Dreand studios had done a good job in such detailing in the emotions as well as facial expressions of the NPCs. He almost believed that they were actually distressed humans and not programed elements in a game.


    ''Hmm?''


    While everyone was distressed and hoping that the bandits would only take their goods and leave their lives, Sato noticed that the young boy in front of him was more jumpy than the rest. While he couldn''t put his finger on it, Sato felt that the young boy was worried about something


    else.


    "I told you to stop and you refused to listen to me. You''re growing balls now huh?" The same voice that had shouted earlier sounded once more. This time however, it was closer than before.


    ''I''ve heard that voice before…'' Sato tried to recall where and who exactly it belonged to.


    "I''m, I''m sorry. You know how holfers can be. Bringing them to a halt isn''t so easy." The carriage driver apologized with a pleading tone.


    "Leave the old man be, Tae. Don''t forget the mission." Another voice spoke up.


    *Click*


    Following that, the knob of the carriage''s door was unlocked as the door was opened. By reflex, all the passengers nced at the door that was located at top right of the carriage.


    A burly figure walked into the carriage with an eagle-like re as he scanned the passengers one by one.


    ''That''s…''


    With a nce in the direction of the new arrival, Sato not only remembered the face but also recalled the origin of the voice from before.


    ''It''s those guys.''


    The man who stepped in just recently was the burly NPC who walked alongside the merchant Sato had spotted back at the station. As for the voice from earlier, it was the NPC mercenary that had shed briefly with Sato.


    "You guys don''t need to worry. We''re mercenaries; not bandits. We''re just here under the request of the merchant Kolin. As long as you guys cooperate, you will not be harmed." The burly mercenary said right after he noticed the somber atmosphere in the carriage.


    Since he was in a mission, he had to pull it off without affecting anyone outside of the mission otherwise, his rating would reduce and he might lose his job in the city.


    After they heard the mercenary''s words, though some were still suspicious about it, a majority of them had visibly rxed, but not entirely. They still kept up their guards but they were still a bit more calm than before.


    "Okay. Then what or who are you looking for?" One of the passengers in front braved himself up and asked.


    The burly mercenary smiled as he saw that the passengers weren''t so scared anymore.


    "We''re just looking for a young boy and a sicklydy. If you''ve seen them, please point out their position for me."


    Silence pervaded the carriage as the passengers kept dodgy yet anxious eyes. A few of them who had seen the child and his mother take their seats nced behind but others tried to maintain their calm. They all knew in their minds that the mercenaries weren''t here to talk about having lunch with the young boy and his mother so they didn''t want to risk the lives of the duo since their own lives wasn''t really at risk.


    The young boy was sweating like crazy at the back. He held his mother''s palms with his sweat-filked hands as he lowered his head and tried to think of an escape path.


    "They''re over here." A loud voice suddenly spoke up just as the other mercenaries began to enter the carriage.


    Sato turned to his side with wide opened eyes as he stared at the rude man beside him.


    "Don''t harm me or anyone else. The kid and his mother are both here. Take them and leave us be." The man said in a tone that sounded as if he was doing some good to the world. Even his speech seemed to have nothing wrong about it as it made him look like a savior.


    "Oh?" The burly man walked towards the back alongside his teammate, Tae.


    The young boy on the other hand, had tears leaking out of his eyes. He couldn''t escape without his mother, neither could he escape with her. She was sick and couldn''t be rushed around lest her disease gets worse. However, the boy still couldn''t remain sitting there or else he would be caught.


    He didn''t me the rude man for revealing his position, but simply med his luck. Even if the man didn''t speak, someone else would so it didn''t matter who did it, his luck was just shit.


    ''Why? Why can''t anything go right for us both? Why?'' The young boy began to break down.


    He suddenly felt a slight squeeze on his hand and nced at his mother who smiled at him with a loving look. Even though she didn''t speak, the young boy could understand that she meant for him to leave her be and escape.


    "No, no. I''m sorry, mother but I can''t." The young boy muttered as he cried.


    The young boy suddenly remembered the nice young man who had taken care of him, but stopped himself from requesting his help. He didn''t want to drag anyone into the mess that his family was stuck in so he decided just to deal with it on his own. Instead, he ced his right hand behind him as he held tightly into a hidden dagger.


    "There you are." Tae, the mercenary who was shouting before as well as the NPC who had shed with Sato back in the city, grinned as he faced the young boy.


    "You thought you could run away? Well, too bad."


    The young boy suddenly lunged at Tae with the dagger in his hand. He stabbed directly at the middle aged fellow, aiming for his chest with a hint of killing intent.


    Tae had never expected the young buy to counter at that moment but as an experienced mercenary, he was able to react just in time and dodged to the side. Part of the reason for this was because the boy''s ability and physique was below his, so while it felt like the boy''s actions were quick and rapid, in Tae''s eyes, they were as slow as a sloth''s.


    "Ah!"


    *ng*


    The knife fell off the boy''s hands as his wrist was grabbed tightly and twisted by Tae.


    "You actually dared to counter? You''re a funny kid." Taeughed.


    "You never expected us to find you right?" The burly mercenary nced at the sickly woman.


    "Truthfully, we wouldn''t have been able to do so. It was actually the driver who let us in on your location."


    "Old man Su?" The young boy widened his eyes as he screamed in shock.


    The carriage driver, Old man Su, was someone the young boy knew personally. He could be described to be an old friend of their family so they trusted him. When the young boy came up with the n to escape the city with his mother, he had decided to do so with Old man Su''s help since the old man drove a carriage. The n was to pick them up at a secluded location outside the city and the young boy would pay for the seats. By doing so, both sides would be satisfied and it wouldn''t seem like the old man was doing them a favorable. Never did he expect however, for the old man to betray them and reveal their location to the enemy.


    "I''m sorry kid, but they threatened me." The old man looked away as he felt the boy''s nce on him as well as his mother''s.


    "Threatened you? Haha. Why don''t you say that after you have the 10 silver coins you asked for in your hands." Tae mocked.


    "Enough chit-chat. You''reing with us."


    Tae dragged the boy by his wrist, not caring whether he injured him or not.


    The burly mercenary stood by the side and ordered another mercenary to go after the little boy''s mother while he departed from the carriage.


    Seeing his mother about to be captured by them, the boy ignored the pain he felt in his hands as he tried to resist. At the same time, he sent a pleading nce towards Sato. Even though he initially never nned in requesting for help, the boy had no other option than to do so now.


    [[ System notification :


    A mission has been generated due to a series of events.


    _______________


    Mission Title: Rescue the young boy and his mother from the hands of the mercenaries.


    Mission Rating: D


    Mission Detail: Due to an unknown reason, little Finn and his mother are being pursued by a bunch of mercenaries hired by the merchant, Kolin. Now they have been caught with nowhere to escape to, little Finn requests your help.


    Basic Rewards :


    -Little Finn''s gratitude (Increase in Rtionship points with Little Finn).


    -


    -Miss Rachel''s gratitude (Increase in Rtionship points with Miss Rachel).


    -**** Experience Points.


    Penalty :


    -Little Finn and his mother, Miss Rachel, would be taken away by the mercenaries.


    System Description: A seemingly low risk mission but with a low reward too. epting it might surprise you, both in good ways and bad ways.


    System: ept/Decline ]]