After escaping the Association in the morning, Mohin began thinking about what to do now. Should he train to strengthen his body? But two days were not enough to change his weak physique.
As he was deep in thought, his stomach began to growl.
"I'm hungry. I'll look for a nearby restaurant to eat," Mohin said to himself.
"Hey, Outsider! What do you suggest I do now?"
"..."
"I forgot he doesn't answer. His disappearance is starting to worry me. Did something happen to him? Everything changed when I was unconscious. Did something happen during that time? And who was that visitor?"
"To hell with this. I'll focus on food for now, then on the test, and afterward, I'll find out what happened to the Outsider."
Mohin wandered around and said to himself, "Where am I? I'm really lost. This city is so big that I can't even tell directions anymore."
He found a restaurant with a sign that read "Authentic Local Cuisine." The name was simple and very humble compared to other restaurants that boasted legends on their signs, like "King Zeus's Dishes" or "Cuisine of Greek Legends."
Mohin was not the type of person who went to fancy places or places with flashy names. He preferred authentic restaurants because that was what he had always eaten in his village.
He approached the door of the restaurant with the humble sign. The door was made of light wood. He opened it slowly and immediately smelled fresh bread, accompanied by a gentle voice saying, "Welcome, sir, to the Authentic Local Cuisine Restaurant. How may I serve you?"
At the ordering counter, there was a beautiful woman smiling at Mohin with a faint smile.
Mohin thought to himself, "What kind of luck am I having? First Benny, then Lana, then Nurse Talia, and now her. The City of Hunters is full of beautiful women, but no one will notice me since I'm just a village boy with no lineage."
He walked toward her and saw a boy around twelve years old near her. Mohin hadn't noticed him at first because the counter was hiding him.
"I want three pieces of fresh bread, vegetable soup, and fried eggs, please," Mohin ordered.
"Alright, please have a seat, and your breakfast will arrive shortly, dear customer," the waitress replied.
The restaurant was modest, with wooden tables and chairs. Mohin sat at one of them, waiting for his food. The waitress went to the kitchen and told the cook about the order.
---
After a few minutes
The food was prepared, and the waitress placed it on Mohin's table. He went to wash his hands and then returned to the table.
The restaurant door opened. Three people entered, young men in their twenties.
Mohin sat on the chair and picked up his fork to try the fried eggs.
One of the men shouted, "Maroon! Get out of the kitchen, you filthy old man!"
An elderly man in his fifties came out, speaking in a fearful, trembling voice, "What is it, Mr. Tanara?"
"Didn't I tell you to leave this place? Do you want to challenge the Tanara family?" he replied, invoking his family name.
"But Mr. Tanara, this restaurant is my only source of income," old Maroon replied sadly.
"I came today to break this restaurant, and then your daughter will understand the consequences of embarrassing me," the man from the Tanara family replied.
"Please, sir. I am sorry. Please don't destroy my establishment."
"Will you offer me your daughter, then?"
The waitress (who was the cook's daughter) looked at her father sadly.
"I'm sorry, sir. But if my daughter doesn't want you, I have no reason to offer her to you."
The man from the Tanara family became extremely angry and said, "Then say goodbye to this restaurant forever. And I will beat that whore and humiliate her as well."
"Don't insult my sister with such words," spoke the boy who was near Maroon's daughter. The waitress tried to silence him, but he continued, "You're just a spoiled brat who uses his family as a shield for his deeds."
The man from the Tanara family replied, "You little insolent brat, I'll teach you—"
"Actually, this food is really delicious," Mohin interrupted his speech.
Mohin stood up from his chair and approached the cook, saying, "Thank you for this breakfast." Everyone was stunned. Mohin asked the waitress, "How much is the bill?"
Mr. Tanara gestured to one of his friends to move Mohin out of the way. That man said, "Hey, buddy, get out of here so you don't get into troub—"
"Was I talking to you?" Mohin interrupted him angrily.
The man became furious, threw a powerful punch at Mohin's face, and struck him. But Mohin's face remained unaffected. Mohin said, "Your punch doesn't compare to Hert's punch."
"Who is Her—" Mohin punched him in the stomach until blood came from his mouth, and he collapsed to the ground.
Mr. Tanara shouted, "Hey you, why are you just standing the—" He stopped when he turned and saw Mohin behind his other friend. He said to himself, "How did that happen? He was just in front of me! What kind of speed is this?"
Mohin grabbed the man's head and slammed it to the ground, and he also lost consciousness.
Mr. Tanara said, "How is this possible? They were both C-Rank hunters!"
"They were C-Rank? I didn't expect that. I hit the first one lightly just to test his defense. But it was so weak that he lost consciousness. As for the other one, I could have blown his head off if I had used my full strength, but I didn't. Lucky for him. But they're both very weak."
"Are you mocking me? Don't you know who I am? I am Linar of the Tanara family, one of the most powerful noble economic families in this city. Do you know what it means to mess with me? I will make your family suffer, you will lose your job, and no one will ever accept you again!"
Linar raised both hands toward Mohin, preparing to unleash a magical skill. Mohin said, "There are two things you're wrong about. First, I don't have a job."
A strong red light appeared from Linar's hands, and he was about to release the skill. Mohin dashed toward him with great speed, grabbed his right hand, and broke it, saying, "The other thing is that I'm an orphan."
Breaking Linar's hand did not stop the skill from activating. Linar released the spell from his left hand toward Mohin, who was directly in front of him.
Powerful flames erupted with immense force, pushing Mohin back and destroying the front wall of the restaurant as well.
Linar smiled and said, "To hell with you, you orphan."
(Sound of rocks being moved)
Linar heard the sound and saw Mohin emerging from the rubble. He said, "What?"
Mohin's hands were burned because he had used them to protect his face. He lunged toward Linar with tremendous speed, in a state of intense rage.
He struck Linar with a powerful punch that sent him flying into the wall with great force.
Mohin walked toward the waitress and said, "So... how much is the bill?" The waitress had not yet processed the situation, but she answered, "Five copper coins, sir."
Mohin gave her the money and was about to leave, but the waitress said, "Thank you. Linar had been flirting with me and spying on me for a while, and when I confronted him in front of people, he didn't like it."
"I don't care what he did to you. He dares to threaten people without having the right to do so."
---
Mohin left the establishment, and the city guards had already arrived. One of the guards approached Mohin. He was a handsome young knight with white hair, in the prime of his youth, and said, "Are you the one who did this?"
"The one who did that was a man named Linar Tanara. He was threatening the owner, trying to destroy the place and using his family name. I just stopped him," Mohin replied.
The knight asked several people to verify, then returned to Mohin and said, "Thank you for your brave actions. Thanks to you, we've discovered a crime of extortion and other matters committed by this person. May I know your name, sir?"
"My name is Mohin."
"My name is Lam. Nice to meet you."
---
Mohin returned to the Hunters' Association. On his way, he said, "Lam? Where have I heard that name before?"
He arrived at the Association and saw Lana about to enter. He called out to her, "Lana!"
Lana said to herself, "That annoying voice. It's definitely Mohin. Why did he come back when I forgot to bring the papers from the office?" She turned to him and said, "Hello, Mohin, how are you—" Her calm speech turned into a scream. "What the hell happened to you?!"
She saw the injuries on Mohin's hands.
She brought him to the treatment center and placed him in one of the rooms. She said to him, "Remember, healing here is free because you haven't completed all the tests yet. But it will cost you later, so goodbye."
"Where are you going?" Mohin asked.
"I took a leave of absence for today, and I'm not going to waste it on you," Lana replied.
---
A few minutes later, someone entered the room. It was Nurse Talia. She said, smiling while intense anger showed in her eyes, and in an angry voice, "It seems we meet again, oh lover of window-escape."
Mohin said to himself, "Damn. I forgot about her."