Upon arrival in the town of Brogue, nightfall was not far off. Before venturing into an unfamiliar place, it is always necessary to have some level of understanding of that said place.
Surviving the wastelands taught me to always be cautious. Just like how hunters gather information about their prey before hunting them, I must do same for this town also.
Not knowing what to expect is what always leads to dangerous outcomes. I learned this lesson after I failed once to capture my prey.
Using blood manipulation I was able to create tiny figurines to use for scouting. As the medium for this creation is my blood, making too many would drain a lot of my stamina. However the benefits outweighed the loss, for I am able to restore whatever information gathered from the creations after absorbing them back into my body.
The goal behind this investigation was to avoid any unnecessary complications, so we spent an entire day gathering whatever information we could get. However, due to excessive use of blood manipulation my stamina was drastically drained. It took another day to recuperate before setting out.
From the information I gathered, monsters are seen as a threat in that town so I was forced to part ways with the [ four legged creature ] before entering the town.
It was nothing like I had ever seen before, the were lots of people who were just like me, and the ground was easy to walk on compared to the wasteland. It was truly a sight to behold, but it seemed as if all eyes were on me and I could sense hostility amongst the crowd.
I paid no heed to them and continued scoping out the place. Due to the harsh conditions I had lived through, I could sense danger from a mile away. It was not long before I came across some who seemed hostile, and were trying to approach me. They wanted to have a dialogue with me, however I was unfamiliar with their language so there was definitely going to be trouble.
[ Stranger 1..]
Hey you... don't you know this is our turf. Have you paid the permit fee...
[ Stranger 2..]
Hey you listening man.. acting all high and mighty will get you killed around these parts. Pay the fee and we can protect you understand... hey don't ignore me you...
[ Suddenly, a thought came to mind. I had the absorbtion ability, so would I also gain the abilities of these hostile people if I were to kill them. Naturally I had the assumption that it was only possible if I killed monsters. ]
However being silent and not replying to them gave them more reason to act hostile towards me. Before I could process my thoughts, one of them tried to strike me down.
[ Stranger 2..]
[..with a smug look on his face ]
You're going to regret this you little...
At the moment I wanted to kill him to see if I would be able to understand their language after absorbing his abilities, but I needed to avoid any trouble so I didn't avoid his strike. However the unexpected happened, as his arm tore off at the moment his strike landed.
[ Ahhhhh ah ahhhhh... he screamed in agony ]
Stunned from what had just occurred, I was also in a "daze" not being able to grasp the situation.
[ Stranger 1..]
Hey what did you do to him, speak up...
Oh you're Soo gonna get it now...
You're not leaving here alive after what you've just done.
In an attempt to get back at me for unintentionally hurting his friend, he cast a fire spell to burn me alive where I stood. I immediately tried to escape from the scene to avoid any further complications, but his spell had already reached me.
Apparently I was also immune to fire so his spell had no effect on me. I then proceeded to make my escape far away from the commotion. It would seem that the information I gathered from scouting, was lacking and insufficient.
What had transpired between me and those men would no doubt cause trouble later on. [ I thought ]. Why his arm tore off from striking me, and why I was immune to his spell. It was all so confusing.
[ Stranger 2..]
[ Speaking in agony ]
That brat.. he's surely going to pay for what he did.
[ Stranger 1..]
Did you see that.. my magic had no effect on him. Or was it that he is immune to fire, maybe water and wind magic will work on him...
[ Stranger 1..]
Should we call the boss?
[ Stranger 2..]
Are you stupid? Do you think the boss will spare us if he finds out we lost to some brat.
[ Stranger 1..]
Yeah you're probably right. What should we do then, we can't let him escape.
[ Stranger 2..]
He won't! Call the boys, we're going to find him and when we do he's as good as dead.