‘This is the kind of place you get mugged, or worse, murdered in.’

That was the thought running through my head as I walked through the downtown area of Loathrun, the town neighbouring Aldon, the beginner village. Now that this system had been in place for a month or so, people, especially the adventurers new to the profession were finding it difficult to find boarding and residence in Aldon.

The result of such a dilemma was the large scale migration of the not-quite-beginners from Aldon to the neighbouring cities. Aldon didn’t hold anything of significance for the somewhat experienced players, especially now that the beginner dungeon had been defeated around a dozen or more times after the initial raid by the top ten adventurers.

Truly experienced players still hung around Aldon though, in search of promising and talented recruits for their guilds that seemed to be sprouting up every day. Every adventurer worth their salt had tried to establish their own guild, either venturing out on their own or doing it under someone else’s umbrella.

I was looking for such a guild myself. A new guild that had just been formed in this very town, Loathrun. I heard that they were tentatively named ‘Dragon’s Demise’, although they were open to better suggestions. Or at least that’s what it said on the recruitment notice.

It took some searching for me to find the restaurant I was looking for. The ‘poshest’ restaurant in the surrounding area, an article on the forums had suggested, going so far as to say that this was the closest thing they could find to a five-star hotel of the previous world. Players with a bit of coin to spend had graced this restaurant with their presence as soon as they could.

What these people hadn’t figured out yet was that the restaurant was a front for all the illegal activities that had started happening now that the system had firmly taken hold in everybody’s lives. The crime rate was bound to go up with people becoming acclimatized to the system. The system didn't replace anyone’s moral compass, after all.

This locality had become popular, serving to attract people from all facets of society. Thus, this hotel had begun to attract the less favorable elements of the society, resulting in a neighborhood that had become the hub of criminal activity in the area. People fashioning themselves as crime bosses or even guild leaders usually invited recruits and employers to this hotel, hoping to gain a good impression.

I reached the restaurant within the specified time. I had to ask a few people for directions along the way but all in all, I had arrived with little to no difficulty. The flashy lights at the entrance of the restaurant proudly announced that I had arrived at my destination, ‘The Plaza’!

The line in front of the restaurant covered the expanse of the street lengthwise. I went to the entrance directly, where I informed the guard at the door that I was here for the meeting in the private lounge. A quick confirmation of that fact through my watch made me the recipient of quite a few envious gazes as I made my way inside the restaurant.

The man in charge of the reception had already received the news of my arrival here, as he led me to the private lounge without my asking. To say the lounge was impressive would be an understatement. I felt out of place, after having lived in a one-bedroom apartment and eating noodles for most of my meals since the dawn of the system.

I was greeted by a chorus of ‘Hi’s from the three people currently occupying the lounge. I returned their greeting without much fervour and took a seat near them, waiting for them to speak up.

“We are waiting for just one more potential. We are usually only trying to talk to two people at once, so as to make sure that no one feels ignored. I hope you don’t mind waiting.”  I just nodded at the words which had been spoken by the blonde guy, mentally assessing him but did not bother using ‘Observe’ on him.

All three of the guys were wearing blue jackets with black pants. I wondered if that was some sort of uniform or dress code. All of them had some sort of short sword strapped to their backs. They were too engrossed in their own conversation to be paying too much attention to me.

I had been sitting there for twenty minutes or so when the other guest for the night turned up. It turned out well for him that he did turn up when he did because the others were getting quite irritated by all the waiting and form what I could catch from the bits and pieces of their conversation, they would have rejected the latecomer outright if they had shown up any later.

The latecomer removed the hood covering their face to reveal a female. She greeted everyone with a smile before plopping down on a cushion near her. She was dressed in a standard adventurer jacket and shorts and her bubbly personality served to lighten the mood around the room.

The guy who had addressed me before stood up to take charge of the meeting.

“Now that we are all here, let me introduce ourselves. We are the co-founders of the guild, ‘Dragon’s Demise’. We can do names later, if and when you sign up to be a part of this guild.”

“This guild was created with a sole purpose. To bring about the downfall of one of the ‘Ten Swords’, JadedDragon. The man responsible for bringing the ‘Ten Swords’ together.”

The wall behind him suddenly turned into a screen, displaying the picture of the ‘Ten Swords’ after they had exited the dungeon. The image soon shifted to concentrate on the face of JadedDragon, the supposed target of this guild.

The girl who had been cheerful up to that point looked unnerved after that revelation of the purpose of this guild. She voiced her concerns, her tone displaying her discomfort with the whole thing, “But why? Didn’t he do us a service, assembling that team to clear the dungeon?”

That question led to a dry chuckle out of our host as he replied, “You would think so, wouldn’t you? But don’t be fooled by the fake saintly image he portrays. He’s no hero.”

The image on the screen shifted again. This time displaying a picture of a man who seemed to be of a similar age as that of the three co-founders of the guild.

“This man here was supposed to be our leader. One of the strongest adventurers in the game. So strong, in fact, that he was invited to be a part of the ‘Ten swords’.”

“That’s right!”, he said, noticing the look of surprise on the girl’s face, “The ‘Ten Swords’ as you know it was supposed to be the ‘Eleven Swords’. Doesn’t have the same ring to it, I think.”

“What happened?” I asked meekly.

The speaker turned to me immediately before saying, “What happened was he made a mistake. The mistake of declining JadedDragon’s invitation. A mistake he paid for. With his life.”

A short gasp emanated from the mouth of the girl as he continued, “That’s right, miss. The saint, JadedDragon, killed our friend and leader just because he didn’t agree with his purpose. Is that action of a hero? You tell me!”

No reply was forthcoming from the girl as the speaker released a deep breath before continuing, “That’s why we have only one aim. To avenge our friend and pay back JadedDragon for his crimes. The only thing we want to know is, are you with us?” He looked at both of us with expectant expressions and I recognised that as my cue to speak.

“I was quite touched by your sob story, all things considered, but I have to refuse your proposal of joining your guild. You see, your aims align exactly opposite with my current aim.” I said, my voice cold and emotionless.

The three hosts looked unamused by my declaration as the speaker asked, “And what would your aim be, pipsqueak?”

I rose from my seat while replying, “Quite simple, really. I was tasked by JadedDragon to kill anyone who wanted to end his existence, you see. And you, unfortunately, fall into that category.”

While I was speaking, I had changed my form back to my original body. Everyone else gained a fearful look on their face as the girl exclaimed, “You are another one of the ‘Ten Swords’.”

“Correct, miss!” Before anyone could say anything else, I had drawn my broadsword and cut down the speaker f the evening. The others were startled by my actions and rose from their own seats to try and combat me. Sadly for them, they were no match for me and were struck down quite easily by me.

Turning around to face the last living occupant of the room, I said, “I am sorry. I hope you weren’t too excited by the prospect of joining this guild.” The girl just shrieked in response, her pretty face marred by anguish as I just shrugged before saying,” You should leave. Trust me, you don’t want to be found alone with these corpses.”

That was all the impetus she needed to flee the room. I strolled out of the lounge at a leisurely pace after taking their watches and walked to the exit of the restaurant, assuming the form I had come in. I was about to exit the restaurant before the receptionist came up to me and said, “I hope you enjoyed your experience, sir.”

 I nodded at him and said, “You should send someone to clean the room, you know. All the red doesn’t really go with the pristine white walls.”

The receptionist looked puzzled while muttering , “Red? I remember the drapes and carpets being gold.”

I just shrugged in response before exiting the restaurant. I was satisfied. It had been a good day’s work.

Sometime later

“You can keep those. I have no real need for them.” I stopped midway through my action, startled by those words.

“Really?”, I asked. “There might be costly pieces of equipment and a decent amount of gold in here.”

JadedDragon just laughed at that and said, “As I said, I don’t need them. you can have it.”

I just put the watches of my three victims in my pocket while saying, “So that’s the favour done, right?”

JadedDragon nodded in reply and said, “That it is.”

I was about to turn around and go on my merry way when he interrupted, “Did you enjoy the task?”

I stopped in my tracks and thought about it for a moment before nodding and saying, “I must confess that it did have a certain charm to it.”

JadedDragon smiled and said, “You should think of that as a prospective career, you know. As I said before, you and me? We are alike. This comes naturally to us. Use it to your advantage.”

I turned around without replying and made my way out of the room. I had no interest in continuing this conversation. Not when I had already completed the favor. I had a feeling this would be the last time I was seeing JadedDragon, at least for six months.

 Away from JadedDragon though, I gave his suggestion a good thought. I mulled over his words for a long time before arriving at a decision.

 

The next day, anyone surfing the forums, the underground sections specifically, would be greeted with the following notice:

“Want to rid this world of annoying pests that exist only to hinder your plans and ruin your life? Look no further. Contact the Bounty Hunter and he will get rid of anyone for you. For the right price, of course.

* Watches retrieved by the Bounty Hunter on his bounties become the sole property of the Bounty Hunter

**Prices depend on the task involved, the number of people to be killed and other factors. Discussions in personal messages only.”

 

“Ping! New message received!”

That was quick. It had only been an hour since I posted the notice on the forums. Opening up the inbox I saw the message, “Do you really get rid of people? I would like to employ your services if that is truly the case.”

I chuckled mirthlessly before replying, “Of course. But first, let us be frank in our discussions. Let’s call this what it really is. This isn’t ‘getting rid of’ people. Call it what it is. You are employing me to kill someone.”

I didn’t receive a reply for quite a while, leading me to believe that I had lost my first prospective client when my inbox flashed again.

“You are correct, of course. I want you to kill someone for me. Can you do that?”

I replied gleefully, happy to secure my first customer, “Of course, sir. For the right price.”

I had a feeling that this was the start of a long and prosperous business.