Just as Zenis had expected, he heard the sound of the window being slowly opened after a while. He figured out that in such a place, he would find a bunch of criminals hiding and waiting for easy ways to make money. Kidnapping and selling kids should be a profitable business for low lives.

  “I guess I can go around killing them and suffer no consequences,” Zenis thought while pretending to be sleeping soundly.

  With nimble fingers, the bandit silently unlatched the window, easing it open just enough to gain entry. Moonlight spilled into the room, revealing the figure of Zenis, completely aware of the impending intrusion.

  The bandit’s heart raced with anticipation as he carefully maneuvered through the narrow opening, his movements fluid and noiseless. He stepped onto the room’s wooden floor, his footsteps muffled by the soft carpet underfoot.

  Approaching Zenis’s bed, the bandit glanced around, ensuring his presence remained undetected. He held his breath, his fingers itching with the desire to snatch any valuables within reach.

  Zenis wondered what he should do, wait until the last moment to see what the bandit wanted? If he was just a thief instead of a kidnapper, perhaps he deserved death for trying to steal from the mortal Zenis. Things would be different if they tried to steal from the Star-King of Time, Aien.

  In the end, Zenis felt the approach of the enemy’s hands toward his head, and then he swung the spear that was under his blanket, making it pierce the bandit’s throat a little while he grabbed his hands as well.

  “Move, and say anything and you will die,” Zenis warned him.

  As Zenis seized the bandit’s arm, a chill ran down the bandit’s spine. Cold sweat dripped down his forehead, betraying his fear. The room seemed to shrink around him as he felt the piercing gaze of Zenis, unwavering and determined.

  The bandit’s eyes widened, his mouth agape, speechless in the face of imminent danger. His entire body trembled, the weight of his actions now coming crashing down upon him. In that tense moment, time seemed to stand still. The room held its breath, anticipating the outcome of this standoff between predator and prey.

  “If you understood what I said, nod once,” Zenis said again.

  The bandit nervously nodded. He could tell that he had picked the wrong target. While Zenis crossed the city while carrying a bunch of spears, he assumed that Zenis only had them to scare others, or to make a delivery… wrong choice.

  Zenis’s eyes burned with intensity, his grip unyielding as he held the bandit captive. The bandit could feel the sharp point of the spear, a stark reminder of the peril he found himself in. Still, he felt confused, since the hand was too small and soft.

  In the silence of the room, Zenis’s voice broke through, commanding and resolute. His words hung heavy in the air, a warning to the bandit and a reminder of the consequences he faced if he dared to continue his thieving ways.

  “Where is your base?” Zenis asked.

  The bandit blinked a few times, and then calmed, trying to understand the meaning behind the question, but before he could fully understand it, the tip of the spear pierced his neck a bit more and then made him feel a burning pain.

  “Don’t play with me… this will be your final warning,” Zenis declared.

  “On the East side of the slums… there are some guys there guarding the entrance,” the bandit continued once he realized that a single sentence wasn’t enough.

  Zenis could tell that the bandit was telling the truth, but he still pierced the throat of the enemy with his spear. No point in letting low-lives live for long.

  (You obtained 100 experience points.)

  “Weaklings trying to act all high and mighty targeting kids… disgusting,” Zenis said before he pulled the spear from the neck and made the body fall from the window. “Maybe I can gain favor of the people of this world by killing all the morons in the world. This should help with world conquest.

  Zenis knew that the enemy didn’t have anything with him aside from clothes. Most bandits wouldn’t need help to kidnap a five-year-old boy. The body didn’t make much noise when it fell, even though it was in the middle of the night. In any case, some blood fell on the floor of the room, so Zenis worked to clean it before he could leave any marks, just to be safe.

  Once he finished the job, he jumped from the window and landed on the dark alley behind the inn, and then dragged the body to a pile of trash at the end of it. Before that, he made sure to drag the body around the whole alley to make it hard for anyone to pinpoint where the body exactly fell.

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  Zenis headed toward the slums and soon arrived on it. He made his way through the slums, narrow alleys stretching before him. The scent of decay filled the air, and crumbling buildings lined the path. Shadows flickered in the dim light, casting an eerie atmosphere.

  He walked cautiously, aware of the destitution that surrounded him. Eyes watched from hidden corners, assessing his presence. Zenis stayed alert, searching for any clue that could lead him to possible enemies.

  As he ventured deeper into the slums, the noise of the bustling city faded. Whispers and murmurs replaced it, painting a picture of a community struggling to survive.

  Zenis listened intently, gathering snippets of information about the bandits’ activities. Step by step, he pieced together a mental map of the slums, seeking patterns amidst the chaos.

  A flickering lantern caught his eye, drawing him towards a narrow passage. The atmosphere grew thick, as if concealing the secrets of the underworld. Soon, he found a group of guards in front of a small building.

  “Underground, huh.” Zenis squinched his eyes. “I should have known…”

  Zenis knew that the bandit came from there and so his friends should have known what the bandit was going to do once he left. He couldn’t just walk near and suddenly attack them… his spear was too big to be hidden under his cloak as well.

  In the end, Zenis just shrugged and then headed toward the bandits’ lair. What would they do? Run and shout for help and reveal the position of their hideout? Of course not. Besides, something too elaborate wasn’t necessary to deal with the likes of bandits.

  Zenis walked toward the enemy base and soon they looked at him. A midget carrying a spear almost two times longer than him… that wasn’t something that they see every day.

  It didn’t take long for the four guards to understand that Zenis meant business, and soon they grabbed their knives, but then they opened their eyes widely when they recognized him. In that brief moment of silence, Zenis dashed toward them and swung his weapon, immediately cutting the throats of two of them, but the others moved their heads backward and avoided the hit.

  (You obtained 100 experience points.)

  (You obtained 100 experience points.)

  “Ah, short arms… how bothersome,” Zenis thought and then furrowed his eyebrows.

  As Zenis swiftly defeated two bandits with his spear, the remaining outlaws froze in shock. Their faces filled with disbelief and fear at the sight of their fallen comrades.

  A tense silence hung in the air as the surviving bandits processed the sudden turn of events. One of them took a step back, his hand trembling as he reached for a hidden tool. The other bandit gritted his teeth, gripping his weapon tightly.

  Zenis wasn’t planning to let them do anything, but one of them still managed to use some sort of magic tool that quickly enveloped the area in a curtain of smoke. That didn’t prevent Zenis from swinging his weapon again and piercing the stomach of one of the bandits, but the other quickly unlocked the door behind and began to run.

  Even without seeing him, Zenis still used Heavy Throw and made his weapon cross the air while making a high-pitched sound, followed by a grunt of pain.

  (You obtained 100 experience points.)

  (You obtained 100 experience points.)

  Zenis quickly checked the bodies of the bandits for some silver coins, and then he found a round sphere that the final enemy used. It was the device that he used for the smoke. Zenis stored it in his backpack and then entered the building.

  Within the bandits’ lair, darkness engulfed the air, broken only by the flickering light of a few scattered torches. The walls were rough and uneven, bearing the marks of crude construction. The stale smell of dampness hung in the air, mingled with a tinge of something sinister.

  Zenis cautiously ventured further into the lair, his footsteps echoing in the desolate silence. The narrow passageway that leads downward was a long ladder, revealing the true extent of the bandits’ stronghold.

  “It seems that I didn’t make any noise,” Zenis said while looking around and seeing some broken chairs and furniture. “This place has seen better days.”

  The descent felt like an eternity, the air growing colder with every step. Shadows danced along the walls, adding to the sense of danger lurking in the depths. But Zenis pressed on, determined to finish what he started and to use whatever he could find there to conquer the world faster.

  Zenis was lucky enough to climb down the staircase and not find a single grunt guarding its bottom. Instead of that, he found a large corridor… that didn’t seem like something that bandits would be able to build without taking out a lot of dirt from their base. The walls were also made of bricks.

  While furrowing his eyebrows, Zenis pressed forward for a while, eventually began to hear some grunts and whimpering. Now and then, he heard the sound of metal colliding and then the sound of the grunts and whimpering vanished.

  Before long, Zenis saw a large curtain blocking the path ahead. He was lucky that no one inside could see him, but he couldn’t see anyone on the other side either. His senses also weren’t good enough for it…

  Zenis slowly approached and then moved the curtain, only to see a massive chamber that seemed like a warehouse. There were some guards moving around and some others playing cards on a table. The air was heavy with a mix of fear and desperation. The sound of muffled cries and restless movements filled the chamber.

  The cages lined the walls, each holding a different captive. In some, rare and exotic creatures were confined, their vibrant features dulled by captivity. In others, weary and broken individuals, locked in their own personal prisons, sought escape.

  The cages varied in size and condition, with rusted bars and worn-out locks. The atmosphere was suffocating, a palpable sense of suffering and injustice.

  “Mortals sure like to claim ownership over each other, huh,” Zenis thought. “Is this how people here feel superior to others? I think that I only found satisfaction in defeating my opponents with my sword. That seems like a better way to prove my worth.”