CHAPTER 29: WILL BE FIXED SOON!

f there were a table in front of me, I’d flip it without hesitation.

"Was she drunk when she came up with this quest? I haven’t met the Five Rings in person, but just hearing the rumors is enough to know they’re not the kind of people someone like me can mess with. If they existed on Earth, they would probably be on the same level as Yakuza or Triad, and what, the goddess told me to destroy them? Hell nah. I would probably be dead the second I think about doing it."

In a way, they operated like private investigators or information brokers. You could practically hire them to dig up anything. But unlike professionals, they had no sense of ethics. They had no bottom line and weren’t scared to cross the boundary without hesitation.

If they needed to, they’d break into someone’s home, kill the occupants, and wait inside just to eavesdrop on a target living next door. As long as it helped them get what they wanted, they didn’t care who got caught in the crossfire.

Their infamous motto was:

"There’s no such thing as a forever secret—only cowards who don’t dare to uncover it."

Naturally, as the gang’s reputation grew, so did the notoriety of its top members.

Within the Sadis Gang, no name was more well-known than "Rat" Peter. It was rumored he served as the left hand of Alduin Sadis himself, the gang’s leader.

And now that very dangerous man had shown up at my house?

What could possibly be the meaning of this?

His involvement suggested the original Aiden’s death wasn’t simple at all!

At first, I thought the original Aiden had simply gotten on the wrong side of some small gang. That alone would’ve been bad enough.

But if one of the Five Rings was behind everything, this whole matter might run deeper and complicated than I ever imagined.

’What would they gain from killing the original Aiden? And what were they searching for in his house?’

"It was nighttime, so I couldn’t see clearly. But I saw "Rat" Peter standing outside your house with a few of his men. I could hear stuff breaking inside. Then someone came out and whispered something to Peter, and he went in himself. After that, I didn’t stick around. I was afraid they’d spot me." Richie said.

He suddenly grabbed my arms and continued. "Aiden, tell me what’s going on. Did you do something to piss them off? If so, you can’t stay here. You need to run. Leave the city. Get as far away as you can."

"Wait here, alright? I’m going back to my place. I’ve got some savings back at my house. With the way things are, you’ll need it more than I do."

I was caught off guard by Richie’s actions, but quickly touched by his good intentions.

I instinctively softened my tone and patted his shoulder. "Relax. The situation hasn’t reached the point where I need to flee the city."

Honestly, I was very impressed. For someone who grew up in the West Borough, a place where poverty and crime went hand in hand, Richie still managed to hold on to a kind heart.

That kind of attitude takes either a heart of gold... or just plain stupidi- I mean naivety.

Richie scratched the back of his head and gave an awkward laugh. "Ah, well... my boss signed me up for a tutoring class. Said I should learn how to read and write."

"This quest definitely isn’t any easier than collecting five hundred gold in a month."

I sighed, already pessimistic about the next quest.

[Sleep with Priestess]

[Reward: Permanent Stat Upgrader x1]

I went completely speechless.

Sure, this wasn’t as outright dangerous as destroying gangs, but I couldn’t exactly call it easy either.

In this kingdom, priestesses were about as common as rare, exotic animals. You only ever saw them at official ceremonies, city festivals, or other formal occasions. The rest of the time, they were hidden away in monasteries.

How exactly was I supposed to sleep with a priestess if I couldn’t even meet one outside an event?

And even if I did manage to find one, how was I supposed to convince her to sleep with me? I couldn’t even hold a girl’s hand back on Earth, let alone seduce a priestess.

It was like asking a fish to fly.

Maybe it wasn’t quite hell difficulty, but it was definitely nightmare level.

...

[Cure ten people]

[Reward: A rare potion recipe]

[Completion: 0/10]

’Finally, a quest that actually makes sense!’

Though, that didn’t mean I’d be able to complete it anytime soon. I wasn’t a pharmacist. How was I supposed to treat people? My so-called "modern medical knowledge" was limited to using a first aid kit.

With nothing else left to read, I finally closed the system window.

"Phew. Alright, let’s just put all these ridiculous quests aside for now."

I took a deep breath. "Time to focus on what I should actually do first. Should I go back to the city and resume the life the original Aiden Edwards had...or just start over somewhere far, far away?"

Just as I was about to start thinking it through, I noticed something important.

I was still standing in the middle of the dump site.

"This is definitely not the place to make life-changing decisions," I chuckled to myself.

Before I walked away, I grabbed a piece of dirty cloth from the site and carefully wrapped up all the gifts I received from Althea. I tied it tight to make sure nothing would fall out.

Then I set off, following the sound of running water I’d been hearing in the distance.

A few minutes later, I spotted a small stream winding through the forest.

"If that’s true, I must say...I pity you. My condolences."

The two froze again, but this time they snapped out of it faster. Their faces turned bright red, like they were about to explode from rage.

Grinding his teeth, one of them drew his dagger and charged straight at me.

"You’re courting death!"

"Damn, this guy can’t take a joke," I grumbled quietly.

In just a few seconds, he had closed the distance. His arm lashed out like a snake, aiming the blade straight at my chest.

At first, I had no idea what to do. Back on Earth, I had almost zero street-fighting experience; hell, I had never even thrown a proper punch at someone.

Yet, just as the dagger was about to reach me, my body moved on its own, almost purely on instinct. I twisted sharply to the left, and the blade missed me by a hair.

Still processing my own reflex, I looked up to find the hatchet man glaring at me like I had just insulted his mother.

"You dare to dodge?!" the thug roared.

"What do you expect me to do? Stand still and let you stab me? Are you fucking serious?" I shot back.

"Even so, you shouldn’t dodge! I might’ve spared you after one slice. But now? Now you’ve pissed me off. A single cut won’t be enough!"

"Bullshit! Do you take me for some innocent kid? " I spat.

Fuming, he lunged at me again. But, just like before, all of his attacks ended up missing.

This dragged on for nearly half a minute.

"Looks like someone needs lessons on how to swing a dagger," I said lightly. By now, I had a clear grasp of my body’s rhythm, dodging him was as easy as dodging a kid’s punch.

"You bastard! Once I get you, I’ll torture you so bad you’ll beg me to stop!"

"Yawn. Try hitting me first, then talk," I said, letting out an exaggerated yawn, which drove the hatched man even madder.

Strangely, even with a man actively trying to carve me up, I wasn’t panicking and even still in the mood to fool around.

’Is this because I possessed Aiden’s body? Not only did I inherit his memories, but also his reflexes, traits, skills, and much more? Things that used to terrify me, like having a lunatic trying to stab me, now barely even faze me.’

"Brad, what the hell are you doing?!" the second thug finally barked, unable to bear it any longer watching his buddy keep repeating swing and miss.

"Huff... huff... this guy’s fast," Brad wheezed, sweat dripping down his temple. "I can’t hit him no matter what."

Snarling, he lunged forward once more.

This time, I didn’t just dodge.

As his dagger came slicing toward my ribs, I pivoted on my back foot, letting the blade pass within an inch of my shirt. Before he could retract his arm, I dropped my weight, crouched low, and slammed my fist into the meat of his forearm.

"Ah!" he screamed as the dagger clattered to the ground.

I didn’t give him time to breathe. As he hunched over, clutching his arm, I circled behind him, hands straightened like blades, and brought both palms together in a sharp clap against his temples.

Thud!

His eyes rolled back, showing only the whites, before he crumpled to the ground in a limp heap.

I exhaled, patted off my hands as if I had just thrown out the trash, and looked at the second thug in silence.

He pointed at me with a trembling finger.

"Y-you! You dare to knock out Brad?! Don’t you know who we are?!"

For someone who was slowly dying of thirst, the clear water looked more tempting than anything I’d ever seen.

I picked up my pace, starting from jogging, then sprinting, like I had just spotted a naked woman beckoning me over.