Episode 2

"I never thought biology would be this easy…thanks to the 8.9 intellect point, I might even be a genius now…".

The number of books I've finished in the past 2 days already passed 100 books, and I remember everything in all those books. As for my physical strength, let's just say I already surpassed a normal human capacity, I can fall a 20-meter tall tree with my bare fist, and ran 100 meters in under 5 seconds, that fact alone explains how a freak I've become. My world travel abilities were also leveled up to level 3 which enable me to enlarge the radius of the affected area by 24 Meters wide, thanks to that I was able to bring my 2018 F Transit van filled with wares with me. Thankfully the forest I'm in wasn't that dense, so I managed to drive through the forest slowly, also the beast and monsters always try to stay clear from my path, probably because of the loud exhaust sound I presume.

[Sir, The closes town from here are the Town of Merrina and the Town of Mekk. ].

"Hmm…I can see that..2 towns different nations, Merrina Town belongs to the Kingdom of Hallerus, and Mekk Town own by Alemia Nation…I'll guesses we head for Merrina Town first…then probably Mekk..".

Ever since I kinda 'Leveled Up' my mini Map range has become bigger, right now I can view up to 20 kilometers radius with me as the center. On the map I can see that Merrina Town was at least 2 times bigger than Mekk town, there's probably a bigger market there, heading there is the best way for me now.

It was a sunny day here in Fantasma, there's no problem driving my Van, for now, the soil here was pretty hard, also I already changed the tire to off-road tires, so everything goes smoothly. It's probably gonna take about 6 hours of driving before I get to Merrina Town, I wasn't in a hurry besides I quite enjoy the scenery. I never get tired of seeing the Beast/Monsters/animals in Fantasma, they were very unique, it's like they come out of video games. I also have killed my very own Slime, just like what I've expected, they look like a Jell-O always squirming around with their transparent body, kinda cute though.

{[Quest Received!... Saviour of Kind Duke]}

[Duke Merrica Murr is a kind noble who's currently in captive of the vicious Bandit group One Snake, he is in Trouble, save him and Escort him to Merrina Town safely.]

Reward:

Free Passage to Merrina Town, Relationship with Duke Merrica Changed to Friendly, and All services within Duke Merrica Domains will be half price.

Penalty:

Become the main suspect to Duke Merrica's death, possibly becoming the Kingdom of Hallerus's enemy.

[{Hidden Quest!…. Kill The Vicious Bandits One Snake}]

[Kill every single member of One Snakes bandit in the Keep, leave none alive]

Reward: All One Snakes Treasures, Fame increase in the Hallerus Kingdom and the Alemia Kingdom, obtained skill [One Man Team].

Penalty: None.

"...….Quest??…why?...".

[Sometimes, certain big real-time events will give out a quest, these features were given to you due to your disability to learn magic. This way you'll be able to earn Skills. In Fantasma Skills is very rare, to obtain them one must born with them, or master them to the full extent which normally took years...].

".….well, make sense I suppose..…but is magic really is a big deal??..".

I want to ask how, why, and by whom those quests were issued, but my guts tell me that T.A.S was either prohibited, or don't know the answers to my questions. Either way, I don't see any harm in accepting the quest, especially when they give out something valuable for free.

"..One Snakes hideout is...3 kilometers Southeast...old small Keep on a small hill, one small road directly to the entrance….wow! these guys were either confident or stupid…although it's pretty far from any town…still selecting a base that stands out in the open….just how vicious are they?…".

As I driving, I study the location of One Snake's base, the place they use for their base was just outrageous to me. It was on top of a small hill furthermore a Keep, why not just make a 20 story building and hang a neon board saying "We're Here".

[One Snakes bandit is a very well-known group in the 3 neighboring nations, they are known for their ruthlessness and violent act. Constantly raiding villages and Small towns all over the three nations, also they have 100 members with a total bounty of 200 Gold coins, quite a feat I must say. I advise you to be extra careful sir…].

Hearing T.A.S's explanation, these guys deserve to be cleaned out though. This will make things easier then, I won't have any guilt about killing those guys. Fantasma isn't Earth, the way of doing things here is totally different from Earth, the survival of the fittest, the strong rule the weak, Also there is no point in bringing my earthly mentality here. I've killed before, when I was serving in the army and when I become a Mafia, so it wasn't a distant thing for me. Besides the recent increase in my intellect made me mentally strong and it subconsciously changed my way of thinking and acting, I've become more subjective towards fulfilling my goals, still, I'm not a robot, because I still can feel emotions.

[Sir, we closing in, 1 kilometer to go… ].

"Understood…right now,…..it's 4:30 pm…let's wait till dark, then we'll start…".

I'm alone, so doing this kind of big operation is suitable at night, for now, it's better to make my preparation, I park my van near the edge of the forest and start preparing.

[Sir, I recommend that we attack them head-on...with your capability, wiping 50 bandits, who are slightly above a normal fighter is an easy feat...].

"….well that's….true?....I guess?....but, that will give out our location and that also will allow them to retaliate, or a chance to run away….so, going in gun blazing wasn't effective...what I want is a total wipeout and the highest percentage of hostage survival..".

I don't know if I can get out unscathed if I go head-on, taking my status attributes into the account, maybe I can, but I can't say the same to the hostages. If I want to do this, I want it to go perfectly; I want to complete both quests.

[This will surely take time..].

"...of course it will! good things don't come easy you know...Also, why do I feel that your personality kinda getting weird and sarcastic nowadays?..".

[...….It's just your imagination sir; I'm always like this…..I only state the facts and provide the fastest and most effective ways to resolve your problems and request.].

That slight pause is kinda worrying though.

"This sure made me feel nostalgic….We're going to scout the base, ready to take note of everything I said..".

[Yes Sir. ].

Wearing full combat gear definitely gave me flashbacks to the time when I serve in the army. Back then I serve in a counter-terrorism division, I serve for 2 years in the front and behind enemy lines, which probably that makes me have a hard time going back into society and ended up becoming a Mafia. I'm wearing a fully fitted Combat military outfit black color, the camo color wasn't fit my taste though. I got FN-SCAR H and SIG SAUER P226 both fitted with a suppressor, Combat Machete for close quarter combat, flashbang, and grenades. This gets up alone was more than enough for me to level a building full of terrorists let alone 50 bandits equip with only swords and arrows.

[Sir, we're 100 meters from the base..].

"Hn.....Take note of the numbers of guards and their locations.. I'm going to circle the base now…".

[Understood].

After taking about 5 minutes of stealthy sneaking, I finally arrived near the small Keep, from a glance it looks like a normal old European small keep, the place was barely standing, and I can see that the wall and keep were severely damaged and being repaired by wooden makeshift. The guards were placed only in 2 places, 2 guards in front of the gates and 2 on top of the wall, on top of the keep there are 4.

"Wow, I wondered how these guys were still alive….".

The amount of complacency and aloofness in this band of bandits made me speechless, without much effort I got close to the walls and was able to peek inside, there's even a hole on the walls that I can even easily fit inside, that's how carefree these guys were. The scenery inside the walls was even more baffling, a bunch of bandits happily drank, loudly going around with no care in the world.

On the keep wall, I saw 4 men were hanged by their necks, their body was severely mutilated and some of the bandits were using them for their amusement, throwing weapons and firing arrows at them while laughing their heads off, all 4 of them were wearing knight armor with griffin insignia on their left chest. On the keep left side, inside a small stable there's a row of a naked female of different ages stuck on the wooden pillories, females cries and shouts filled the area as the bandits ruthlessly swing their hips, like animals, those females were treated like a soulless meat hole for their lust.

[What an outrageous sight…they sure live up to their Savage reputation..].

"Take note on how many of them…..scene like this is to be expected...after all, this is the reality…just because it's a fantasy world, not everything is sweet and bubbly.…".

I leave the Keep wall and retreat back to the forest, about 100 meters near the forest edge with the whole Keep In my sight; patiently I waited for the dark to come.

[. Sir....now that you've seen the real side of this world does it bother you?..].

For some reason, T.A.S sounds worried.

"Not really…..this kind of shits wasn't a new thing to me…back in the front lines, although it wasn't normal, this thing does happen... I've seen worst if this degree was able to shake me...then I definitely don't deserve all those distinguished medals and becoming one of the deadliest hitmen in my Mafia time...".

My mental fortitude was quite high, sometimes I even wondered if I was mentally ill or maybe a psychopath. But still, even though it's messed up, but I know I'm good at this kind of thing, even though I don't really enjoy doing them.

"How many bandits on the ground again?..".

[18..in my calculations, it can be increased depending on the situation, the additional numbers should be 1 to 5 man...so it safe to assume that there will be at least 20++ men on the ground..].

"…manageable. As long as the keep door stays closed… I can clear the ground in 2 minutes..".

If the doors were opened it surely will affect my whole plan. Actually, it wasn't arrogance when I said I can handle 20++ men by myself, I was confident it can be done, with a flashbang and my muffled rifle against their swords and careless attitude; it's definitely can be done.

[Sir, it's already passed 0100 am...activity on the keep is slowly going down…I suggest we go in now…].

"Good…stay on alert...notify me ONLY on vital and urgent matters....".

[Understood Sir... Activating surveillance mode, entering Battle assist mode…].

"[KACHAK ]…It's time to cleanse the world of these sinful men, and I shall be the purger…".

[....you know that I can hear that right sir…we both know that all you want is the reward right..].

"...Can you PLEASE not ruin this for me?.…I'm just doing the right thing to do as a humane being…the reward just happened to be there…it's not like I was blinded by it…".

[......…..I see....].

"..ugh.....you know what…hah~…....nevermind…".

What an annoying A.I, that I have. feeling pissed, silently I approached the sinful keep once again, this time I meant business.