The Beginning of Knife King's

As I was riding the carriage heading to the capital, I felt the killing intent of familiar monsters approaching us.

"Sir, there are monsters coming our way," I warned.

"Kid, don't joke around and scare me like that. There's nothing here, hahaha," the coachman replied.

But as soon as he finished speaking, a massive bear monster with blood-red eyes, seemingly in a frenzy, charged straight at the carriage.

"What do we do!? It's coming this way!" the coachman exclaimed in panic.

Thud! Boom!

"No wonder the killing intent felt so intense."

I had just punched the bear from above its head with just a little force. As I turned back, I saw the coachman staring in shock. I climbed back onto the carriage calmly.

"Let's keep moving. The corpse will disintegrate on its own," I said.

"Alright, young man," the merchant replied, though his face still showed signs of shock.

Clatter...

After that, no more monsters bothered us, and we safely reached the capital. Upon arrival, a soldier guarding the city gate approached the coachman.

"May I see your identification card?"

"Here you go," the coachman handed over his card.

The soldier then turned to me.

"Do you have an identification card?"

"Can I use my adventurer's card instead?"

"That works."

I handed him my adventurer's card, and after a quick inspection, the soldier allowed me entry.

The atmosphere inside the capital was lively. The streets were packed with people, leaving almost no space to walk freely.

Clatter... screech.

"We've arrived, sir," the coachman said.

I got off the carriage and started exploring the city. What I needed most at the moment was accommodation. After searching for a while, I found a hotel and went straight in. I approached the receptionist to book a room.

"I'd like a room, please," I said.

"For how many nights?"

"Five nights."

"That'll be five silver coins."

I handed over the money, which I had earned from a dungeon. After paying, I looked for my room.

"Where's room 213?" I wondered aloud, searching until I finally found it.

Click... creak... creak.

I opened the door to find a fairly spacious room, but it was quite dirty. I had to clean it up before I could settle in.

After some time, I finally finished cleaning. I left the room to find something to eat. While wandering, I stumbled upon a narrow alley where a young girl with white hair and black eyes in a maid outfit was being cornered by some adults.

Step, step, step.

"What's going on here?" I asked.

"Can't you see? We're dealing with this kid!" one of them shouted angrily.

"From what I can tell, it seems like she needs help. Isn't that right?" I asked the girl.

"Yes! Please help me! They're bullying me!" she cried.

"You could have avoided dying today if you'd minded your own business," the man sneered as he pulled out a knife.

"I'll give you one more chance. Run away or fight," he said with a deranged, menacing glare that was even more disgusting than the monsters I had encountered before.

"And what if I choose not to back down?" I replied.

Hearing my response, he lunged at me, aiming to stab my chest with his knife.

Step! Step! Step! Swish!

"Attacking recklessly like that only makes it easier for the enemy to predict and counter your moves," I said before chopping the back of his neck.

Thud!

"One down. Four more to go, if I counted right," I said.

"Wh-who are you!?" one of the remaining four stammered in fear.

"Just a talentless guy passing through," I replied.

In an instant—within 0.000001 seconds—I incapacitated the remaining four by striking the backs of their necks.

Thud!

With all of them unconscious, I turned to the girl.

"You're safe now. Be more careful next time," I told her.

After that, I started walking away, but she grabbed my sleeve.

"Thank you so much! I don't know what would've happened without your help. Please let me repay you!"

"It's alright. Your gratitude is enough," I assured her.

"No, I insist on repaying you!"

"Fine. In that case, could you recommend a good place to eat around here?"

"Eh? That's all?"

"Yeah, it's not a big deal. I just happened to be passing by," I said.

The girl led me to a restaurant in the heart of the city.

"We're here," she said.

"Wow, this place is really crowded," I remarked.

We found an empty table near the back of the restaurant.

"Here's the menu," she said, handing it to me.

"Thanks."

We both picked our meals and called for the waiter.

Step, step, step.

"What can I get you, sir?"

"I'll have a medium-rare steak."

"I'll have the beef stew," the girl said.

"Got it."

While waiting for the food, the girl introduced herself.

"My name is Seri. I'm a maid for the Livia family. I'm 13 years old."

"My name is Ren, a Rank-D adventurer. I'm 13 too."

"Really? We're the same age? I thought you were older than me! By the way, are you taking the entrance exam for Velena Academy in two days?" she asked excitedly, grabbing my hand.

"Yes, I am."

"Then let's be friends!" Seri said enthusiastically.

Step, step, step.

"Here's your order," the waiter said, placing our meals on the table.

My steak looked delicious, with an aroma fitting for such a popular restaurant. After admiring it, I glanced at Seri's beef stew.

"Seri, do you eat like this every day?" I asked.

"You don't have to be so formal! As for your question, not every day, but most of the time. It's only 20 copper coins, after all."

The stew looked so bad I couldn't even describe it, and it had a terrible smell.

"Seri, would you like my steak?" I offered.

"Really? But what about you?"

"I'm fine. I ate at the hotel earlier," I lied to ease her worries.

She smiled slightly as she ate the steak, enjoying it until it was gone. After paying for the meal, we parted ways.

"See you at the exam, Ren!" Seri waved goodbye.

"See you," I waved back.

"Two more days until I finally see Alice and Lena again. I wonder how they're doing now," I thought to myself.

End of Chapter 11