Blademaster Ascension

13- A Peaceful Discussion

Rowan had no time to consider which son or daughter of a buffoon this person was that popped out with such a critical timing and asked such a stupid question just to make a cool entrance; he just wanted their help and couldn't care less about their identity.

"By all means, do help!" He yelled without taking his eyes off the monster shooting toward him. A swift cloaked shadow passed him from behind and threw out something from their hand with extraordinary speed.

A tiny streak of light whistled through the air, following the hand's gesture and hit the monster directly on its chest.

[ unidentified elements detected... concentrated form... ]

Rowan was immediately on guard.
But no apparent changes took effect. The monster kept running forward. Rowan became extremely nervous, but the figure in front of him showed no sign of concern. Gritting his teeth, Rowan took a couple step back and prepared to run. Before, he had no confidence in shaking the monster off his tail but now there were two of them. Even if they couldn't run, putting up a fight wouldn't be far fetched. In the worst case scenario, they could just run in different directions to make the monster hesitate.

However, all his plans seemed to be unnecessary. As the monster came a bit more closer, its body started slowing down. Cracking sounds started emitting from its insides and in the next few seconds, the monster was frozen into a living statue.

Low rumbles still came from the monster yet it was completely helpless as it stood there as if it had overdosed on paralyzing potion.

Rowan was astonished by the sight. Who was this person that could beat such powerful monsters so easily? His unasked question was answered as the cloaked figure turned around lazily. A young boy's face was revealed under the hood. Although Rowan had some guesses, he was still surprised after seeing that face.

"...You're...master Fallspark's second disciple?! The guy in charge of the rewards for monster corpses!"

The boy smiled.
"Yes, and you're the person who won the special sword the other day. I remember you! My name is Turio."

Rowan became slightly nervous. His nightlife was a secret best not revealed. If someone suspected something it would be quite troublesome. Who knows? Maybe he'll be labelled as a practitioner of dark arts, the sort who stole babies or sacrificed humans to satisfy their pagan gods. Rural townsfolk easily believed these things. Tentatively he decided to steer the conversation in another direction.

"Thank you so much for that. I thought I was dead for sure! How did you know I was in trouble? You're a godsend!"

"Ah, I was going to meet my master at the outskirts of Riverdust hamlet. I needed to deliver some things to him. I heard the explosion and roars so I decided to check out what was going on. Glad that I did now. Otherwise, you'd be dead meat by now."

The boy happily replied. Rowan laughed awkwardly and tried to resolve the situation.

"Yeah, my teammates all were chased away by monsters. But my luck was bad and this one started chasing me. It was too fast."

The boy nodded.
"Yes, I have seen this particular race of monsters back in the wildlands inside the triumvirate's empire. They can grow into quite formidable creatures. If this monster lived on for a few more years then even tens of us would be no match for it."

Rowan knew the monster could grow to become a rank five creature and that wasn't even its limit. Tens of us? He laughed internally. Even hundreds would be crushed within moments.

"By the way, why were you hunting for monsters here at this time? This is neither a safe place nor an ideal time," Turio asked curiously.

"Oh, haha...my friends and I were a bit too excited after getting the reward for the last hunt. We couldn't wait and sneaked out here to kill a few low level monsters. This area is relatively safe if you don't provoke the monsters deeper in the marsh."
Rowan gave a strained smile as his thoughts raced. This guy was obviously not as easygoing as he looked. His expression revealed nothing despite the fact that he probably suspected Rowan's words. This situation couldn't be allowed to continue.