Chapter 22: Chapter 22- Mercenary Village (Part 1)

Chapter 22- Mercenary Village (Part 1)

The dirt road extended for a few kilometers, leading straight toward the village.

"Hmm, doesn't this village look odd?" Eva asked as she gazed at the entrance of the village. Being this deep into the forest and hidden between the mountains, this village was very open to all kinds of attacks from monsters.

Normally, that would make the villagers build some kind of wall around the place so that they can protect themselves. However, this particular village didn't seem to be protected at all. In fact, it didn't even seem to have a main entrance.

Kai squinted his eyes silently as he continued walking. No one knew what was going through his head.

The two eventually reached the entrance of the village. Looking around, there wasn't a trace of anyone around.

"Very suspicious," Eva murmured as she spread her senses to cover the village. However, she couldn't feel any living creature inside. That didn't necessarily mean that the village was devoid of life.

Trained mercenaries, hitmen, and even New Ascenders that just joined Divinity are capable of hiding their presence. It wasn't foolproof but if Eva's senses were spread over a large area, avoiding them wasn't going to be that hard.

"We should just continue on foot. It will take a while bu-" Before the girl could finish her words, Kai had already walked inside the village.

"We will find a car here. Let's go." He said calmly.

"..." Eva stood silent for a second as if she noticed something before she immediately smiled and ran after Kai. "Hey! Wait for me!" She said.

The two walked through the desolate village casually as if they were taking a stroll in the middle of a park.

"Hmm, I actually don't hate the quietness of this place. It's kind of calming, isn't it?" Eva asked as she stepped forward and took a peek at Kai.

"..." The latter didn't reply and instead looked ahead of him. "Hm, there is an inn over there." He said as he pointed at a building a few hundred meters away from them.

What was unique about the inn itself wasn't that it was open nor the fact that the sign on top of it was still working. It was actually the presence of an individual, a man to be exact. He had a big hat on his face as he rested his back on a chair, clearly taking a nap.

"We should ask him about directions," Eva said cheerfully.

The two then approached the man.

"Excuse me~ We are lost. Can you help us?" She asked.

The man, seemingly noticing their presence, picked up the hat and revealed his face. He was quite old, almost 60 years of age with wrinkles all over his face and a small tattoo on his neck that was hidden behind the collar of his s.h.i.+rt.

His face was grumpy and menacing as if he hated everyone and everything in this world.

"What?" He grumbled in a hoa.r.s.e voice.

"We are lost and we want a car to leave this place. Is there perhaps any place where we can rent or buy one?" Eva asked as she ignored his angry glare.

"No, scram!" He replied.

"Sigh" Kai rolled his eyes with an exhausted expression before he approached the man and grabbed him by the neck and lifted him up in the air.

"Car Where can we find one?" He asked

"U-Ugh What the f.u.c.k?! Release me this instance!!" The man yelled angrily as he gripped Kai's hand.

"H-Hey, Kai. R-Release him and let me talk with him. He is just an innocent old man."

"W-Who is old, you brat!!" The man yelled back even though he was being strangled alive.

*Drop*

Opening his hand, the man fell down to the ground, coughing and heaving loudly.

"You f.u.c.king s.h.i.+t! Do you want to kill me?"

"..."

"Listen here, mister. We are just travelers and we need to reach the nearest city as soon as possible. Could you help us with that?"

"... Tsk! There is a train station nearby. However, the train only comes once a day, and the time for it had already pa.s.sed. You have to wait for the next one which comes tomorrow at 12 PM." He said.

"I see"

"You can stay over at my inn. I have spare beds and food." He said.

"What do you think, Kai?"

"... Fine." The latter replied as he kept looking around.

"Tsk, since you two are now customers, I should be more respectful! Ehem, my name is Rami!"

"My name is Sera."

"Evan."

Both Kai and Eva replied casually without thinking for a second. Changing their names to fake ones didn't take a second of thought at all.

"Anyway, follow me," Rami said as he opened the door.

The inside of the inn was quite simple and old. However, that made it quite aesthetically intriguing.

"Hmm, let's see Hm, oh? This is weird." The man said as he read through a thick book.

"Sorry, lads. We only have one spare room. Do you still want to book it?"

"O-One room?!" Eva blurted out as she slammed her arms on the desk.

"Y-Yes." Rami was taken aback by her sudden reaction but he still answered.

'One room One room Me and Kai One single room.'

"We will take it," Kai replied in Eva's stead as he pulled out a few bills.

"Hold on! Wait, I'm still not mentally ready! Give me a second! I-Is it a single bed or two beds?" Eva said as she put her hand up.

"A single bed."

"Kuh!" That word was akin to a bullet that hit Eva's chest. Crouching down, she held her face that was blus.h.i.+ng profusely.

'This is amazing!!' She screamed in her head.

She never expected the situation to escalate this fast. However, she couldn't be any more delighted over that fact. The thing she always wanted To sleep next to her beloved on the same bed.

"Give me the key," Kai said before he grabbed Eva's hand and moved toward the stairs.

The latter was surprised but didn't resist as Kai led them to the second floor of the building. The wooden floor creaked with each step they took, announcing its poor state again and again with each creak.

When he reached the room, he opened the door. The room was as simple as the inn itself.

"We will stay here till the train tomorrow," Kai said.

"O-Ok." Eva replied with a nervous expression.

The young man ignored her reaction and walked toward the bed. He then opened his s.h.i.+rt and sat down.

Eva, on the other hand, stood awkwardly at the entrance. For some reason, she hesitated to walk inside the room.

"Why are you standing there?" Kai asked his companion confusedly.

"Huh? Ah, why am I standing here?" Laughing awkwardly, Eva walked inside.

Meanwhile, the boy simply sat in a lotus position and closed his eyes. Eva simply took the chair and sat down, facing the bed as she watched Kai silently. She didn't mind sitting there, looking at this silhouette for eternity.

A few minutes pa.s.sed before Kai opened his eyes again and looked at Eva.

"What's your main 'talent'?" He asked.

Although Origin, the power used to make superpowers possible to a certain extent had a volatile use, that use only becomes volatile when fused with another factor 'Talent'. Talent is the term used to describe certain techniques that require the use of Origin to activate.

These techniques vary in uses, powers, advantages and disadvantages, and even efficiency depending on the host. For example, what Kai used to control the minds of people was 'Neuro Talent'. That talent is separated into many levels with the lowest level simply distracting the target for a few moments and the highest level capable of making the brain even self-destruct.

There are talents that can control all elements of nature, talents that can make you smarter, faster, stronger, or a master in any craft, job, or task you want to do. Some are born with these talents naturally engraved into their souls while others, who aren't as fortunate, have to learn from scratch.

The number of talents a human could learn depends on their capabilities and their mental prowess to handle the sheer amount of information that comes along with learning.

"Hm? My main talent is 'Blade Talent'." Eva said as she clicked her finger. Immediately, a sword appeared out of the palm of her hand.

"I can create all kinds of blade-type weapons and I have a mastery over all of them." She said.

"What level did you reach?"

"Uh, Level 4 out of 8. I've been stuck at that level for a while now. Why are you asking me that, Kai?"

"... Do you want to reach the next level?" The boy asked coldly.