--I didn’t expect to kill him so easily...oh well! Whatever ‘works’ still works I guess.

Agis dragged the farmer’s body out into the woods. Over limbs, sticks, and logs. He had already taken the farmer's clothes. They were much nicer than what he had before. Well, they weren't tattered and bloody. All in all, he was happy that he was given an easy solution to his clothes problem.

--This should be far enough out of the village by now.

He let the body drop where it was and walked back to the cornfield. The farmer also had a straw hat, perfect for keeping out the sun. To Agis however, it was a perfect way to hide a part of his face. He made up for the rest of his exposed face by activating his stealth skill. He figured that once he was in a crowd of people, or even just here in the cornfields, he would blend right in.

Sure enough, as he made his way to the village, there were multiple people tending to the fields that just waved at him, some even said hello. He would always respond back, trying to act normal. Though, he preferred it when people just ignored him. He hadn’t forgiven these people for chasing him out. Or maybe he just didn’t like people in general. He wasn’t sure which.

Not too long later he reached the village streets. The village was moderately sized, maybe a few hundred people at its maximum. It was large enough that it was a stretch to call it a village but too small to be called anything else. This meant that, even though it was a village, there were still enough people walking the streets that Agis didn’t stand out one bit. After some walking, he stopped by a food stand and bought some jerky to eat. He was able to afford it with some coin he got from the dead farmer.

--That’s so much better! I was so freaking hungry. I should be more careful about that next time. I’m not sure I can eat biomass yet, but even if I could, I still wouldn’t, not uncooked. I need to find a way to get my hands on food in the dungeon. For now, I guess I will buy some extra jerky and keep it with me for a while. I should be able to make it last. It seems as if I can go longer without food now. It's been 2 days since I’ve eaten, and a stick of jerky was all I needed to satisfy my stomach. I should have time to figure out my food problem.

Agis pocketed the extra jerky and made his way to the only blacksmith in the village. The blacksmith often made weapons for Averon, the largest city near the village. He was hoping that there would be something there he could take into the dungeon to hunt with. He needed something to channel his new strength into that wasn’t a fist, but something with a sharp edge.

Along the way, Agis spotted a few guards. If his past held true, then he knew that they would probably send about ten guards for a village this size, one of which should be a leader of the rest. He knew that the leader of the guards would be strong. Probably as strong as a monster in the dungeon. He should avoid the leader if possible. The rest of the guards would be less than half of that strength. Taking on 2 would be ok, but four would be wishing for death.

[Stealth has increased to level 3]

--Awesome! I guess activating stealth in the middle of crowds really pays off. Not to mention actively avoiding the guards. Wait...what's that??

Over to the side, in the village square, there were two large posts stuck in the ground. Two people hung off the posts by rope. Young boys and girls walked by to throw rotten fruit at the hanging bodies. Intrigued, Agis went to investigate it. However, as he moved closer, walking became harder. He realized that he recognized one of the bodies.

--Mrs. P…

One of the bodies that hung there was Mrs. P. The other next to her was a young girl, most likely nearing her twenties. They must not have been there long, as the bodies hadn’t even begun to rot. The younger girl could still even be considered beautiful, even in death. Her facial features were that of a princess, and even after being hung, her hair was a sparkling blonde. He easily connected the dots, it was Mrs. P’s granddaughter.

Agis’s eyes locked on to a note nailed to a sign in front of the posts. It read…

“Behold the future of those who conspire with the devil’s spawn! These two were caught trying to investigate what had happened to the systemless fiend! Even going as far as trying to defend his honor! MAY THEY ROT!”

Agis stood there, staring at the sign, looking up at Mrs. P and her granddaughter a few times. They most likely tried to get in touch with him because he was supposed to have dinner with them last night. When people started telling them that Agis was a systemless fiend, Mrs. P most likely tried to defend him.

--These people...they did nothing wrong but try and talk to me. This fate is always the same for those I talk to.

He let out a long, defeated sigh.

--There’s nothing I can do. Best make my way to the blacksmith! I'm really looking forward to trying out a new weapon.

……….

After walking through crowds, Agis finally arrived at the blacksmith. He did not hear the ringing of metal outside, and there was no smoke from the forge.

--I hope he is inside, I want him to show me the best weapons he has. I don’t want to just take one of the ones he keeps out in the open.

Pushing the door open, Agis walked on in. There was a tall man with large, muscular arms sitting inside polishing a sword. The room itself was almost the style of a shop. It was mostly made of wood. A counter was in the center of the room, and all around it were racks of weapons. Swords, short swords, daggers, spears, and even bows. The blacksmith looked up as the door opened and gave a large smile, his mustache and beard covering most of it.

“You don’t seem familiar, new around here? How can I help you?” The man asked Agis.

“Name’s Theo. I’m looking for a weapon actually. One that’s good quality and could help in fighting dungeon monsters.”

“Theo, huh? Bruce. Pleasure to meet you. But you want to fight dungeon monsters?” The man put the sword he was polishing onto a rack to his left. “While I do have a few items, I'm a bit curious. Why would you be looking in a village for items that would be used to fight monsters? Most weapons I make here go to town guards, not exactly made durable enough for the monsters you’re looking to fight. Averon would be a better place to go to for what you’re looking for.”

Agis didn’t move and his face did not change. His brain, however, shuffled a bit. He was not prepared to answer that question, nor did he think such a question would be asked. He rushed to find an answer, it would be better to say something immediately with a crap answer, than to pause for a second and end up giving away the fact that he was lying.

“My dad fights in the dungeons. I wanted to get him a gift. We live in a town north of here, Swalle, know the place?

“I do, it’s not far from here. But why come here instead of going straight to Averon?”

“I am traveling to Averon to find him a good weapon. Though I figured I would stop at a few places on the way, never know when you may find a diamond in the rough.”

Bruce was still skeptical because of Agis clothes. He looked like a farmer from a village as small as their own, but he didn't say anything. He thought that if Agis tried anything he could always kick him out or get one of those guards that have come to the town. He was a small boy compared to his large stature, he doubted within every corner of his mind that Agis would ever be able to overpower him. Practically, it was best to just play along. Maybe he could even earn a good amount of coin.

“Well, if you want to hunt monsters, I do have a few good swords in the back. If you like any of those I can make a sheath. That would only take me about a day.”

“You don’t have any already made?”

“No, I don’t make the sheaths for my better swords until I find a customer to buy it. I always custom fit the sheath to the person. If you tell me your Dad’s body size I could finish it earliest of tomorrow.”

Bruce thought it was a good deal, being able to get a sword and then a custom fit sheath just the next day. He wouldn’t charge him much for the sheath either. He would make plenty of coin off any one of the swords he had in mind.

“While one day isn’t much to wait, I'd like to try and avoid it. I have someone to meet in Averon. If needed we can work something out. Do you have anything else?” Agis replied. He was disappointed about not being able to get a sword, but if there was really nothing else, he would wait the extra day for a sheath. He would just need to be careful and lay low.

“Well, yes actually. I have a spear. It’s not a full-size spear, but it’s not technically a short spear either. I made this with hunting monsters in mind. Too long and you lose a bit of handling with the spear, too short and it doesn't bode well against monsters you want to keep some distance from. Let me go grab it.”

“That would be perfect!” Agis had immediately forgotten about the sword.

--A spear! Why didn’t I think of that?