Jessica liked to think she was well traveled. Visiting many places. From deserted haunts located randomly hidden in woods or one hidden in a cave.

Never having the time, she had always wanted to see the Union's capital. However, she had seen a number of bustling cities. As well as many in between.

Reality was cruel. Seeing and experiencing much. Didn't always translate equally. For at this moment she was a bit nervous.

It was unknown where Everblood had disappeared to. When trouble came knocking, he had a knack for avoiding these annoying situations.

Only they were getting closer to Mercury City. The closest city or town for that matter was days away.

So it could be imagined, bandits and rogue vagabonds here were not simple. The ground surrounding the two was a mix between the two.

Some had rusted swords or daggers. One held a shield. While another part of the group had axes. In terms of clothes, that was the only differing she could see.

Those with the nicest equipment wore cheap traveling cloaks. They gave her the biggest sense of danger.

Bandits, on the other hand. Well... They were wearing clothes. Appearance wise, they seemed like beggars. In all honesty.

Jessica had heard many things about Mercury City. Most in fact were not good things. Those who were strong, like Victorina, would smile wickedly and say it was fun.

When she asked Saleh, he had a strange expression. Conflict could be seen on his face. After a period of time, he always replied in the same way.

In a quiet voice, "It's a place you have to experience yourself. Being both the best and worst place imaginable. Regardless if you had a good or bad day. It somehow always feels like home."

Beggars had their own pride. She had experienced many slums. Beggars would beg without caring if they were spit on or kicked away. However, time and time again, she had seen and heard things that made her chest tighten.

Very few could accept the reality. Regardless of how unwilling, the same people that caused her to experience deep depressions from just watching. The next day returned as if nothing happened.

It was one of the many things that steeled her heart. Dying in battle wasn’t that scary. Though, she could only give Saleh a look.

These men looked worse off than beggars. At least in attire. In terms of attitude, there were a few with chins held high, as if they weren't basically wearing loin cloths.

They wore looks of healthiness. Looks like she had experienced too many times to mistake it. In this short deadlock, she had to question, was she the beggar here?

How was it in this situation... These men were so shameless that she started to feel like she was standing in front of aristocrats, not bandits, making the life of a beggar an aspiration in life.

Hierarchy was clear. Vagabonds stood above bandits. With this is mind, you might imagine the first to move would then be the bandits.

Strangely enough, it was the opposite. With a quick glance around, the reason became clear.

Few and far between, bandits were weak. They had numbers, however, not all of them were graded.

In terms of graded, one rank on average allowed someone to face ten of those below. This was a standard that wasn’t absolute. 

Not everyone was created equally. Some could only face one or two. Others could only fight at most three, at the same time could fight a single individual above them.

From personal skills to specialties. The world was a very complicated place. When non-graded beings came into question.

For a Grade F, almost everyone could face at least five to seven, that was to say instead of average that was the lowest end. The difference between having and not having mana was that large.

Bandits had looks of greed that was being shoved down by fear. It wasn’t like they weren't willing to go first. 

Being told beforehand. She finally started to understand what Saleh meant when he said, "There is honor amongst thieves."

Victorina told her stories, one of the common themes was being lawless while having many laws. Things that shouldn’t have been okay anywhere else. Were perfectly legal. Even still, she wasn’t able to pinpoint where common points stood.

At this moment it appeared, if she had to guess, that the first to move was given credit, thereby getting all the spoils. Similarly to how hunts normally went. Only, the things being hunted here were people.

Even Jessica was a bit confused by her own calmness. Saleh had experienced this before, his calm made sense. She worked with dirty circumstance, was that why this didn’t really seem to bother her?

Vagabonds had more pride than bandits. There was a number of them, reaching somewhere about six or seven. She was unable to determine if one was a vagabond or the leader of the bandits. Two stepped up. One for each of them.

“Don’t blame me boys, we agreed and this time it just happens to be my turn.” Laughing sarcastically, he spoke to those behind him.

All but the leader of the bandits laughed. Even the bandits themselves. Jessica hadn’t taken her eyes off him, even when the one standing to her side was walking towards her. He was not the most dangerous. However, he was the one that hadn’t dropped is guard once. She wasn’t afraid of him, this didn’t change, she was wary of him.

“What you looking at, girly. Don’t worry about him. One to kill you would be me. Should thank me in the afterlife. If it was someone with a more cruel personality, they might just let you live.” To which he received some jarring. One or two even offered him some money to keep her alive.

He had been smiling until that point. She hadn’t had a single change in expression. That sent a chill down his spine. There was this negative presence about her that caused him to feel uneasy. He wasn’t some saint, the reason he wouldn’t keep her alive was because he felt she was too dangerous.