Chapter 136 – Future Aspirations.

“…You shouldn’t ask too many questions…”

Rusty said while looking at the oldest of the children, Rolo. Both of them were alone in one of the rooms, cleaning up some of the damage sustained during the kidnapping. The children had stayed the night and eventually woken up. They had slept soundly and later decided to help him clean. The boy started asking questions about the previous night, mostly about the man who had saved them, but Rusty refused to answer directly.

‘Don’t say anything, Rusty. There are spells in this world that can pry the truth out of anyone. Best if these brats don’t know anything.’

Aburdon commented, and for once, Alexander agreed with him.

‘That is probably for the best.’

“You don’t need to know what happened back there. All that matters is that you’re alive now but don’t expect it to happen again…”

“I… I understand.”

Rolo nodded as Rusty firmly implied that he would not be rescuing anyone a second time. He was lucky that the mercenaries had been surprised by his skills and didn’t have any proper trackers to investigate the incident, but that could always change. Next time, he might not be so lucky. He had spent the entire night preparing to escape and had even planted several of his body parts around the area.

He had learned that he could explode his body parts within a certain radius. By placing twilight steel around his lair, he could use them as traps, but there were limits. He could only control a certain number of extra body parts with his skill, and at the moment, he was restricted to two extra limbs. There was also a time limit, so he could detonate at most two at once.

‘Rusty, my dear, this brat is a thief. We should have him check on those mercenaries. If he is to stay here, we should use him as a scout.’

‘We should?’

‘Indeed. If we are to do this right, we need to take care of all the loose ends…’

‘Oh, I think I get it.’

Aburdon made a lot of sense. There was still a problem here. This settlement wasn’t too large, so the chances of those mercenaries running into the four children were high. It was best to check if they had made it out alive and, if they had, deal with them before they could cause any trouble in the future.

‘Wait, you want to kill those men?’

‘Of course. Don’t you want to save those brats, hero? This was your idea, so don’t try to back out now.’

Aburdon replied to Alexander in a mocking tone. Rusty considered his words carefully. The idea of eliminating loose ends was logical, but it was not without risk. The Black Hounds were dangerous, and their leader had already proven to be a serious threat. Attempting anything now while their group was on high alert might not have been wise.

Still, the boy might be useful. From what they had explained, it seemed he had not been the one captured initially. The twins had been. Only when he attempted to sneak in and rescue them was he caught. He had acted too hastily, letting his emotions get the better of him. If he had been more careful, he might have avoided capture altogether.

He showed some promise in reconnaissance, but it was probably best to wait before making any moves. For now, the most important thing was for Rusty to avoid drawing attention in an unfamiliar area. It would have been easier if these four were not here, but having them around also had its advantages. At the very least, they could watch over his lair while he was out hunting and improving himself.

Not many people came around this area. Most were busy with work and too tired to wander the streets at night. There was not much to steal here either, so this home was not on anyone’s radar. Thieves had no reason to target it, and unless the mercenaries showed up again, there probably would not be much trouble.

“For now just stay here, lay low, if someone comes, just hide in the basement.”

Rusty commented as he saw a strained expression on the young man’s face,

“We can’t just take your help and do nothing. I don’t know why you helped us, but I know we can’t stay here for free…”

Rusty tilted his helmet slightly and considered his words. He had already thought of ways to use them, but the fact that Rolo recognized this himself was promising.

“So, what exactly do you think you can do for me?”

“I… I can steal, sneak and I know my way around the city! I’ve been surviving on these streets for years now, there is nothing I don’t know about Ferndale.”

“Is that so…”

After using his identification skill on Rolo, he confirmed that the young man had a class. His low level suggested that he had probably never killed a monster before, yet he had still received a class. In this world, people obtained classes at temples and had to pay fees to the church. Perhaps the boy had been given the money by the mercenaries, which would explain why they were trying to get him back. He could have been an investment.

“… Can you use a weapon?”

“Somewhat…”

Rusty could tell that the boy had probably received no training. For humanoids, It was possible to develop skills by practicing against something like a training dummy, but the fastest way to improve was by fighting real opponents and killing monsters. He started to wonder if he should take the child into the dungeon with him or perhaps have him fight some low level goblins in the outer forests.

With his current level and lack of skills, he would not be of much use since even the weakest mercenaries would be able to kill him. However, he was not completely without promise. Not many people were given battle classes in their lifetime, and the fact that he was already a thief was a good sign. The young man just needed some initial guidance. When Rusty had been nothing more than a corroded bronze armor, he could not do much, but within just a few months he had already grown almost as strong as a D-rank adventurer.

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