"Alright, you ready?" I inquired, as I got onto my feet and stretched my arms up.

"Yeah, I’m ready. Let’s go," She nodded affirmatively.

It was the next day, the 2nd of September, 2013, and we were about to head across the final stretch to the nearby town. It should be about an hour away from here...I’ve been following a map to lead the way.

That day in my old village, when we had planned to sneak away before the Knights threw a wrench in that plan by putting up that barrier, Rhyle told me to put everything of value in my Pocket Dimension.

Which was mainly the Magic instructional books I’d been studying. I’ve never actually taken them back out since then...admittedly, the books I was given by Duralles were more up to date and easier to understand, plus had more Spells in it.

Anyway, the books weren’t the only thing I had put into my Pocket Dimension that day...he had also given me a map, for us to use as navigation while on the run. In the end...we never got a chance to use it.

But after escaping the capital, I remembered that I had it, and have been using it to help keep us on track while heading for the town closest to the capital. It would suck to get lost after exerting so much effort into escaping the capital.

And since I’m walking, that’s a very real possibility without the use of a map. After all, taking a train would be far too expensive, and hitching a ride with someone...may also cost money. In case you forget, I’ve got absolutely no money on me whatsoever.

I suppose I could just hijack a vehicle instead, a few have driven past us in the last couple of days, but it’s too risky. No need to stir anything up before arriving at the town, it could cause problems for me later on.

I won’t stay in this town for long, I just plan to register as an Adventurer and then head out to another town that’s farther away from the capital...specifically, the town near my old village. Maybe I’ll find Argent there.

"Hey, tell me, did you ever tell anyone what my name is?" I asked Prysm, as we began heading out.

"Huh? Uh, no, I didn’t. I thought it would be a bad idea to let anyone know that I’d been visiting you in the basement, so I never spoke about you or anything related that might make them realize it," She replied with a shake of her head.

"Good. Then it’s likely that no one in the capital knows what my name is...well, other than the two guys who helped me escape, but I doubt I need to worry about them screwing me over. And my last name is my mother’s, so that shouldn’t be a concern either," I surmised with a nod.

Hm, I suppose it’s possible that they might have gotten my name by interrogating Rhyle...but I’ll put my faith in him.

Duralles never asked me what my name was, and neither did his older children who tortured me. I’m guessing they felt that it was beneath them, they always addressed me using insults.

"Huh? Isn’t it normal for a family to have the father’s last name?" She inquired curiously.

"Well, yeah, but my father was trying to keep a low profile, on account of the fact that he’s a prince. So, technically, my full name should be Larrk Dianus, but-..."

"Wait, what?"

"Hm? What?"

"Your father is a prince? As in, a member of the Royal family?" She responded in wide-eyed surprise.

"Oh, did I not mention that? Yeah, he is," I replied with a shrug.

"Uh, wait...doesn’t that mean you’re a Noble too?" She pointed out.

"Well, technically speaking, my blood is half Noble. But I consider myself a Commoner," I remarked with a grimace.

"I see. That’s-...mpfh!" She began, before I suddenly covered he mouth and pulled her behind a bush, as I heard the sound of a vehicle heading this way.

"Keep quiet. Someone’s coming," I whispered, as I activated Super Hearing.

Hm, it sounds like it’s coming from below. We’re currently atop a short cliff, and there was a path at the foot of the cliff, sounds like the vehicle is approaching along that path.

No, wait, it’s two vehicles...and based on the sound, they’re moving really fast. Thanks to my recent experience driving a car, I can tell...that they’re driving similarly to how I did.

Is it a race or something, maybe? No...there are some other sounds echoing out as well. The car engines had been drowning out those noises, but now that they’re getting closer, I’m noticing them. Actually, it’s really loud now that it’s closer, how did I not notice it right away?

Those sound like gunshots...so, then, it’s a chase, someone’s being chased and attacked with guns. I then peered between the foliage of the bush as the vehicles got closer, almost right below us.

And suddenly, a screeching sound echoed out, followed by a loud crash...the vehicle in front, sounds like one of its tyres just burst, and it must have crashed onto a tree.

The other vehicle is coming to a stop as well. I parted the bush slightly to get a clearer view...the vehicle that was being chased is a van, and just as I’d guessed, had crashed onto a tree, both its back tyres blown out.

And the vehicle that had been in pursuit is a car, and the people driving it were getting out, five of them in total. They were armed with guns, and I could see that they were carrying knives too.

"Is he still alive?"

"Who cares, we just need to get the goods he was carrying."

"I’m still not sure about this...he came from the capital, so he might be a Noble."

"So? I’ve always wanted to kill me a Noble! But no, that’s unlikely. There’s no way a Noble would ever travel alone, without any Knights as guards."

Ah, so they’re bandits.

"Are we gonna help?" Prysm asked me.

"Hell, no. Is what I’d normally say, but this is a good opportunity...they’re bound to be carrying money," I smirked, as I brought out my whip.

"That’s, uh, not what I was getting at."

"Yeah, I know. But I’m not gonna help some random person out of the goodness of my heart. Anyway, you might want to lay down...just to make sure that I don’t accidentally slice you in half," I informed her, before swiftly flicking my wrist and swinging my whip out as she quickly got low in alarm. 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

My whip sliced through the bush as I rapidly extended it out towards the bandits, aiming to kill them all in one shot.

"What the-...!? Watch out!" One of them yelled in alarm, as he happened to glance back as my whip began to close in on them.

My whip struck one of them on the side and sliced through his torso in the blink of an, before continuing to zip across with almost no loss in momentum and cutting through another of them from around his shoulders.

The one who called out the warning had spun around and was pushing the other two that were left out of the way, before letting out a agonized yell as my whip sliced deeply into his back, blood gushing out as he collapsed onto his hands and knees.

I only managed to kill two of them, huh? Not good enough, I could stand to do a lot better. I then cracked my whip straight down at the head of the guy whose back I’d slashed, right before one of the two he saved quickly stepped out in front of his.

"Damn it, Manifest Soul Weapon: Pitchfork!" He exclaimed, his weapon appearing in his hands before he quickly raised it, my whip getting caught between the prongs.

Wow...that’s a pretty lame weapon. Guess I should come out into the open, no point in hiding now that they know I’m here. He did manage to stop my attack, at least.

"You guys are pretty weak, aren’t you?" I remarked dryly, as I stepped out from behind the bush.

"What the...? A kid?" Frowned the guy who blocked my attack.

Oh, wow, he dropped his guard. Big mistake. I swiftly made my whip stiffen up like a long needle, the tip that was between the prongs of his pitchfork springing forward and piercing through his forehead and out the back of his head in an instant.

"You little bastard!" Snapped the remaining guy who was still unscathed, as he began to charge up a lightning Spell, "I’ll turn you to ash, Elemental Lightning: L-...!"

Ooh, he can use Magic. But his casting speed is, uh...

"Way too slow, you should really learn to cast your Spells faster. Well not that you’ll get a chance to work on it," I remarked, as I flicked my wrist across while simultaneously extending my whip and returning it to its flexible form, slicing off the top of his head before he could finish chanting.

And that just leaves the guy whose back I sliced open. But he should die from blood loss soon enough, and he won’t be able to stand or move much since I cut right across his spine.

I then slid down off the side of the cliff and onto the path below. Time to get to looting...I’ll search both vehicles. I mean, the bandits aren’t gonna need their belongings anymore, and as for the guy in the van...well, let’s call it a service charge for saving his life.

"Oh, you’ve still got the strength to glare, huh? I’m shaking with fear," I remarked dryly, as the last surviving bandit glanced back with a fierce death glare, while I stared down at him from behind.

"D-don’t...don’t get cocky, kid. Or you just might end up dead!" He snapped, as something suddenly burst through his back and flew towards me.

I quickly contracted my whip in alarm and raised it in front of me while stiffening my whip, narrowly deflecting away the incoming projectile, grimacing as it gashed my right shoulder deeply.

"Damn it, you bastard...this was my favorite outfit, how am I supposed to fix this?" I grumbled as I healed my wound, before letting out a sigh as I realized that he was already dead.

And he’d extended a spear towards me, the blade was wedged into the side of the cliff. I see, looks like that handle can extend, he used his own body to conceal the weapon so that I wouldn’t see it coming right away. Not gonna lie, that was pretty metal.

Well, whatever, I’m still alive, and he’s dead. Too bad for him. All that energy he mustered for a final, dying gasp of an attack was for nothing. And, now, it’s time to claim my prize...

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