"You guys are weaker than me, huh?"
The tone, a mix of surprise and slight bewilderment, reached the rogue's ears, filling him with rage while also making him uneasy.
"This black-haired kid is trouble!"
He was clearly a magic caster, yet his movements were no less agile than his own.
His attack had been blocked so easily?
Disbelief flashed in the rogue's eyes.
Bang!
Nolan stomped the ground and quickly charged towards the rogue; now was not the time for idle chatter.
"You're asking for death!" the rogue roared in anger and shock upon seeing Nolan actively attack him. He raised his left hand, swiped at his waist, and a small dagger appeared in his hand, which he then threw forcefully at Nolan.
Whoosh!
A sharp whistling sound cut through the air.
Nolan's eyes swept across, easily tracking the dagger's trajectory. He swung his short sword, knocking the flying dagger away.
However, this caused his forward charge to slow down.
"Stealth!"
The rogue whispered, and in the already dark environment, his body quickly blurred, as if he were merging into the night.
Nolan immediately became wary, but the next moment, an expression of surprise appeared on his face.
He saw that the rogue not only didn't attack but instead turned and ran.
"Can't let him escape!"
This thought flashed through Nolan's mind instantly. He raised his hand and pointed forward: "Magic Arrow!"
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Three magic arrows materialized in mid-air and shot rapidly in the rogue's direction.
The urgent sounds from behind forced the fleeing rogue to stop and roll to the side to dodge.
Using this opening, Nolan caught up.
"Four-Light Slash!"
Nolan's short sword transformed into four afterimages in an instant, thrusting towards the rogue.
Puff! Puff! Puff! Puff!
Four spurts of blood bloomed on the opponent's chest, causing the rogue to let out a desperate shriek.
However!
Due to the effect of the "Silence" magic, the man's screams could not be heard.
"You, you…"
The rogue lay on the ground, his eyes bloodshot and his body covered in blood. "How is this possible, Gazef's…"
He didn't finish his sentence!
The rogue completely lost his life.
'Gained 380 experience'
"Hoo."
"Hoo."
Nolan panted, looking at the corpse on the ground, finally letting out a sigh of relief.
Looking at the blood staining his clothes and the droplets of blood sliding down the blade of his short sword, Nolan was silent for a moment.
Killing two people at once.
This was something Nolan had never imagined before. He had indeed anticipated that he might kill people in the future, but he hadn't expected it to come so quickly.
Disgusted?
No.
Guilt?
None either.
Instead, there was a sense of naturalness.
"What a terrible, annoying world," Nolan muttered under his breath.
He looked up.
Nolan quickly scanned the surrounding street, realizing there were no other figures throughout the entire process.
These two guys really picked a good spot!
Nolan reached out and wiped the blood from his cheek, then quickly walked over to the two corpses and put them into his item box.
Even the blood-stained paving stones were collected by Nolan.
This item box, similar to a spatial backpack, had no other restrictions except that it couldn't store living creatures.
After dealing with the scene, Nolan quickly left the area and headed back towards the small inn.
Passing through an alley, Nolan went in, put away his blood-stained clothes, and changed into a clean set.
Fortunately, he had bought a good number of ordinary clothes beforehand, so he wasn't left without a change.
Inside the small inn.
"Oh, the guest is back." The innkeeper, a somewhat plump, middle-aged woman named Marishie with freckles on her face, said.
"Lady Marishie."
Nolan smiled gently, nodded at Marishie, and then walked towards his room on the second floor.
"Ha~" Marishie yawned, watching Nolan's retreating figure as he went upstairs. "Such a polite young man."
Click!
As the door closed, a tired expression appeared on Nolan's face.
With a total of 13 magic points, having used "Magic Arrow" twice in a row, he could no longer cast spells. If that rogue had escaped, he would probably have faced considerable trouble later on.
Fortunately, he ultimately resolved it with "Four-Light Slash."
Nolan hadn't had a chance to use it before, and after using the martial skill this time, he finally understood what the consumed "concentration" was.
To be precise, it was a consumption of "energy," much like how he felt after running a 200m sprint in his previous life—not extremely tiring, but he could definitely feel the fatigue.
Most importantly!
Through this unexpected battle, Nolan gained a clearer understanding of his own strength.
The black-robed magic caster could use the second-tier spell "Shield Wall," so his level was clearly above seven, but not too high.
The rogue who was with him should have been at a similar level.
Under normal circumstances, Nolan was only level 5, and facing an ambush from two people, even with a surprise attack, he should have been completely suppressed.
But the result…
It was one thing for the black-robed mage not to fully utilize his advantage, but in Nolan's eyes, the rogue was slightly weaker than him in both speed and strength.
There was only one reason for this situation!
That was, Nolan's base stats were higher than the rogue's!
"Because 'Genius' doesn't boost base stats, I put all my experience into the intermediate class 'Sword Saint.'"
"People in this other world don't have such convenient player abilities, so most can only improve their basic classes, and it's even unknown if they have intermediate classes."
Nolan's attribute values flashed in his mind, and he realized with his 53 physical attack and 53 agility:
"In this situation, my base stats should be higher than the normal level 7 human standard in this other world."
Next—
Nolan's thoughts stirred.
A dark brown magic staff, a shimmering white necklace, a short staff, and a dagger with a faint purple glow appeared on the bed.
Four magic items!
Aside from these four items, the two individuals didn't carry even a single copper coin, let alone anything to prove their identity.
He wondered if it was a rule of "Eight Fingers" or just their habit when capturing prey?
If it was the former, then "Eight Fingers" was far more terrifying than depicted in the anime!
"It's a pity I haven't mastered the 'Item Appraisal' spell, otherwise I could understand the specific effects of these four magic items."
Nolan glanced at the magic items on the bed, sighing to himself.
The only thing he was sure of was the short staff with the "Silence" effect; he could still feel the magic fluctuations, so it should still have uses left.
There were quite a few magic casters who mastered "Item Appraisal," but if he were to take out these magic items for appraisal right after dealing with people from "Eight Fingers," it would easily attract their attention.
Those people were very vengeful.
Nolan didn't have time to play games with them.
"Tomorrow, I might have to go to the Mage's Guild again," this thought flashed through Nolan's mind.
With a wave of his hand!
He put the four magic items back into his inventory and took out the remaining three magic scrolls.
"Paper Creation," "Warmth," "No Scent"!
He tore each of these three magic scrolls one by one, then spent skill points to learn them.
Fortunately, these three magic scrolls were all auxiliary spells and wouldn't cause a large commotion like "Magic Arrow."
"No Scent" could eliminate his own odor, which would avoid a lot of trouble when heading into the forest later.
"Paper Creation" goes without saying.
"Warmth" was something Nolan decided to buy on a whim to confirm his guess; it didn't matter if it wasn't correct.
After all, this spell was very convenient, allowing adventurers to heat food and water without needing to light a fire and expose their location.
All in all, it was an essential item for the wilderness!