The first thing I did was pull some rope out of the Explorer's Bag and tie the old man to a thin tree trunk. I stuffed a cloth into his mouth, making sure that even if he woke up, he wouldn't be able to shout.
Honestly, I had considered just killing him and being done with it. But that didn't feel right. From what I knew, at least this old man hadn't been directly responsible for the attack on Setsuna's village. Even the slave merchant, Mardel, seemed more of an accomplice to the bandits than him. Killing the old man over a minor inconvenience… that would be wrong.
At the end of the day, I had to remind myself why I was here. This was for Setsuna's village—for rescue and revenge. Not for killing anyone I came across just because I could.
'Let's go. First thing is to scout the village. And remember, not a sound,' I said over the party link, gesturing forward.
The girls nodded, and we crept through the undergrowth until we reached the last line of trees. Beyond stretched an open clearing—no cover, nothing to hide behind.
'In the front should be Setsuna's village… the aunty who lived in the first house to the right always gave me fruit to eat. She was so kind…' Setsuna said, pointing ahead.
Her shoulders trembled. I could see the strain on her face—it must have been torture for her to come back here. Roxanne laid a gentle hand on her back, steadying her.
'There are many small houses in front,' Remu informed, her catlike eyes cutting through the dark. 'And further in, there are some people around bonfires.'
Miria told something similar in the Burner tongue, confirming what Remu saw.
For me, the night was just pitch black. I could only make out vague silhouettes of houses and faint flickers of firelight. But obviously Appraisal had no such problem.
[Thief – Level 19]
[Thief – Level 6]
[Thief – Level 36]
[Thief – Level 43]
[Bandit – Level 5]
[Thief – Level 24]
[Thief – Level 8]
Appraisal revealed seven people. I couldn't even make out their silhouettes in the dark, but their tags told me they were split into two groups—four around one bonfire, three around another, a short distance apart.
Only two had weapons equipped, though Appraisal told me that there were quite a few swords lying carelessly near them. But none of them had any armour equipped. Heck there was not even a lookout posted.
I almost smirked. So they really weren't expecting anyone to attack them, huh?
Also this was also the first time I had seen the [Bandit] job. Was that man their leader? Even Hugo—the thief I had killed before—was only a Level 41 [Thief]. These men… it seems like they are the real bandit group.
I turned to the girls, asking a few key questions.
First, I was relieved to hear that the bandits all looked human. That likely meant they were indeed humans, which meant they shouldn't have night vision like the Catkin. A useful weakness to exploit.
By the way, the thieves I had killed on my first day in this world had all been humans too. But obviously that didn't mean that crime was something exclusive to the human race. Maybe it was just that the nearby cities were human cities, so most of the criminals in the area ended up human as well.
Next, I questioned Setsuna about the village layout. I had her describe the houses in detail, then had the Catkin girls compare her description to what they could see.
According to Setsuna, her village—Nayuta—was small. Remu agreed, saying that even from here she could make out most of the buildings clearly. The houses also weren't laid out in any particular order, though the largest building in the center had been Setsuna's home—the village chief's house.
Remu confirmed she could see that house from where we were, not far from the two groups of bandits who were laughing and drinking around their fires.
'If that slave merchant was still in need of funds,' I muttered over the link, 'then there should still be a good number of villagers alive. My guess is they're all kept together in one place, not scattered in separate houses. Setsuna, is there such a place in your village?'
'The barn,' she whispered, her voice trembling. 'My father kept two horses he loved dearly, so he built a large barn behind our house… it's the biggest place in the village besides my house.'
Her voice quivered, but she didn't cry or make any sound. I felt a bit of pride at how well she was able to hold herself together.
'Got it. Let's circle the village and get a clearer picture of the situation first,' I said, gesturing for them to follow me.
We moved slowly, keeping to the cover of the trees. My role was to keep spamming Appraisal, while Setsuna pointed out what she remembered and the Catkin girls pointed out what they could see about the village layout.
Roxanne had been tasked with another job—staying alert for anyone wandering near the forest or for hidden traps. With her nose, she could pick up things even sharper than eyes could in the dark.
But in the end, my worries had been for nothing. There were no traps. No lookouts. Nothing. It looked like after being holed up here for days, they had clearly dropped their guard.
By the time we circled back, we had gathered some key information.
First, the barn looked like the most likely place the villagers were being held. Two thieves were seated at its entrance, clearly acting as guards.
Second, Setsuna's house—the largest in the center—had a thief standing watch by its door.
'Master, maybe their leader is inside,' Roxanne suggested, her tone thoughtful.
It was a fair guess. I had assumed the [Bandit] I saw earlier might be the leader, but it was also possible the true leader was inside that house.
'The person who killed Setsuna's father… he's staying so arrogantly in Setsuna's house!' Setsuna's voice shook with fury over the party link.
I turned to her, meeting her trembling eyes, and reminded her to stay calm right now. She clenched her fists but nodded firmly.
Remu was the next to speak. 'The problem is positioning. Both the barn and the chief's house are too close to the two groups outside. If we try to approach either, we'll be spotted immediately.'
She wasn't wrong. The house stood in the dead center of the village, exposed from all sides. The barn was no better—its only entrance faced that same house, with no windows or back doors to work with.
Based on their descriptions, sneaking to either—even with Warp—without alerting the groups outside seemed nearly impossible.
In fact, I had decided to slowly circle around the village, not only to gather more information but also in the hope that, as the night deepened, some of the thieves might return to the houses to sleep. But that didn't seem to be happening.
'Alright, looks like we'll have to change our plans… instead of rescuing the villagers, we'll need to clear out these bandits first,' I said, firming my decision.
'All right, Master,' Roxanne agreed.
'Setsuna has been patiently waiting for a chance to strike them!' Setsuna added, her blue eyes sharp.
'I will follow your orders,' Remu replied obediently.
Miria also nodded once Roxanne translated my words.
The first thing I did was lead the girls a little deeper back into the forest. There, I re-equipped some of my gear I had taken off earlier—my helmet and gloves—then began adjusting my Bonus Points.
'Character Reset'
_
[Character Settings
BP:
Status: Increase Critical Rate 4, Dexterity +15
Bonus Equipment: Weapon 6
Bonus Spells: Incantation Omission.
Bonus Skills: Sixth Job, Warp, Appraisal, Character Reset]
_
Bonus point used: 130
-
Increase Critical Rate: 15
→ 25% Increase in Critical Rate
-
Bonus Equipment: 63
Weapon 6
[Holy Sword Durandal
-Attack Power x5
-HP Absorption
-MP Absorption
-Incantation Interruption
-Ignore Level Gap Modifiers
-Ignore Defense]
-
Dexterity: 15
Incantation Omission: 3
Sixth Job: 31
Warp: 1
Char reset: 1
Appraisal: 1
_
I had a total of 130 points thanks to my highest-level job, Explorer Level 32. Since I wasn't preparing for a labyrinth dive nor worried about Exp gain, I removed most of my usual skills and only kept the necessary ones.
I also decided to use Durandal, since I couldn't afford to take any chances right now—the situation could turn dangerous at any moment. That said, I removed the points from it for now, planning to instantly activate it when necessary.
This was also the first time I invested into Increase Critical Rate. For every 1–63 points spent, it could raise my critical chance from 10% up to 35%. With a 25% increase, it should make it much easier to land killing blows.
The remaining 15 points I placed into Dexterity, though I could always swap them into Strength or Agility if the situation demanded.
[Job Setting
Acquired Job: Villager Level 25, Thief Level 20, Hero Level 20, Farmer Level 1, Explorer Level 32, Swordsman Level 4, Warrior Level 31, Merchant Level 20, Wizard Level 31, Herbalist Level 1, Monk Level 19, Alchemist Level 20, Sex Maniac Level 13, Knight Level 1, Bounty Hunter Level 1, Cook Level 1
Set Job: Explorer Level 32, Hero Level 20, Wizard Level 31, Warrior Level 31, Alchemist Level 20, Monk Level 19]
For my active jobs, I mostly kept the highest-leveled ones while leaving Alchemist for its Enhanced Plating and Monk for healing.
I did consider Thief, but it was low level and it offered no real skills or notable boosts. Bounty Hunter was also tempting because of the skill Dead or Alive, but apparently the chance of it activating was low—and since mine was still stuck at Level 1, I doubted it would be effective against these bandits.
After that, just to be safe, I used Appraisal on all of us for a final confirmation.
[ Kaga Michio
Explorer Level 32
Hero Level 20
Wizard Level 31
Warrior Level 31
Alchemist Level 20
Monk Level 19
Equipment: Steel plate Armour, Boots of Swift Acceleration, Steel Gauntlet, Steel Helmet, Wizard's Bracelet, Sacrificial Misanga]
I had even kept the extra Steel Sword and Steel Rod in my Inventory which I can pull out if needed.
[ Roxanne
Beast Warrior Level 13
Equipment: Dragon Leather Jacket, Dragon Leather Gloves, Dragon Leather Boots, Flame Rapier, Steel Forehead Protector, Sacrificial Misanga]
[ Miria
Warrior Level 7
Equipment: Steel Boots, Steel Forehead Protector, Hard Leather Jacket, Hard Leather Gloves, Estoc of Petrification, Sacrificial Misanga]
I had Roxanne and Miria keep their shields inside the Explorer Bag for now, as they most likely won't be needing them for the next part.
[ Remu
Explorer Level 7
Equipment: Steel Boots, Steel Forehead Protector, Hard Leather Jacket, Hard Leather Gloves, Steel Sword, Sacrificial Misanga]
Remu didn't look the slightest bit fazed—she seemed completely ready for my orders.
[ Setsuna
Villager Level 4
Equipment: Steel Boots, Steel Forehead Protector, Hard Leather Jacket, Hard Leather Gloves, Steel Sword, Sacrificial Misanga]
Setsuna's level was worryingly low, and I couldn't help but feel concerned. Still, the determined fire in her blue eyes—burning with the will for revenge—made it impossible for me to tell her to sit this one out.
After confirming everything, I laid out the plan for them.
It was simple: I would use Warp to check each house along the outer edge of the village, one by one. If there were bandits inside, I would kill them. Ideally, they would be asleep, making it easy. If not—then I would either kill them swiftly if they spotted me, or pull back if they hadn't.
'If there are any villagers, we'll leave them for now. The priority is eliminating the bandits,' I told them firmly through the party link.
I briefly considered Warping the villagers out immediately if we found them, but that would expose my skill—and even if they were Setsuna's people, blind trust wasn't an option. It was better to finish clearing the bandits first.
'Okay, I'll be going ahead,' I said, pointing toward a thick-trunked tree. 'Stay here in front of this tree. If needed, I will call you through the link and you can arrive via Warp—it'll appear here. Understood?'
'Yes, Master. But if there's more than one of them, please don't hesitate to summon us,' Roxanne said, her amber eyes sharp with concern.
'Alright,' I nodded. She was right—there was no sense in trying to do everything alone.
The other girls echoed their support, urging me to be careful. Taking a deep breath, I pictured the walls of the nearest house in my mind and used the spell that would play the biggest role tonight.
Warp!
***
[Razor has redeemed an Extra Chapter this week]