It was supposed to be a simple quest where Ferguson hunted down some monsters that were terrorizing the populace of the Aldeno Empire. Trolls, hobgoblins, wyverns... dangerous monsters like these had met their end at the hands of his deadly sword.
This time was no different. A Basilisk had made its presence known in the eastern part of the Ostheno region. The savage creature was preying on livestock and killing passing peddlers and merchants, so Ferguson decided to take on the beast.
Everything was going smoothly. With the help of his electric magic, Ferguson outpaced the Basilisk, but he made a small mistake. As he tried to dodge the monster's claws, his leg and chest suddenly throbbed with pain, and that brief pause allowed the Basilisk to land a gruesome attack with its sharp claws.
The Basilisk's claws were so sharp they pierced through his metal armor, and it didn't stop there—Ferguson's face was also struck by the monster's hard tail, sending him flying. Realizing the old man was at a disadvantage, Ferguson chose to retreat, throwing several smoke bombs as he fled.
As his consciousness grew increasingly hazy, he chose to return home rather than seek healing from the Radiant Church. He collapsed at the village gate and was carried to the village hall.
Vaguely, he could see a young man gripping his shoulder, and suddenly he was struck by excruciating pain. The pain was utterly vile and deeply wrong, as if his entire fundamental being were being rebuilt by an evil force. A few minutes later, the pain subsided and he slowly drifted off to sleep.
Ferguson slowly opened his eyes. A wooden ceiling greeted him, and the distinctive aroma of the warm porridge his daughter had made reached his nose. He turned to his right and saw his daughter setting the table as usual.
"M-Millie…?"
The young woman with green hair froze and immediately turned her head. "D-Dad…?" Tears welled up in Millie's eyes, she then stepped forward to hug her father lying on the bed, releasing the crutches she was holding.
"Ugh... Thank-thank Goddess...! You're alive...!" Millie said, sobbing uncontrollably in her father's embrace. Ferguson held his daughter tightly, his expression a mix of relief and pain.
"I-I'm sorry..." was all the old man could say. Millie let go of the embrace and asked about her father's condition. "A-are you okay, Dad? Does anything still hurt?"
"No... Dad's fine. In fact... for some reason, Dad feels healthier and more energetic..." Ferguson touched his bare chest, which had been scratched. Basilisk claws can cause wounds that bleed over time and are difficult to heal, but in reality, the opposite was happening. He was surprised because the scratch marks that should have been on his chest were nowhere to be found.
"A miracle... Eric really kept his word..." Millie murmured. The old man asked, "Who... who is Eric, Millie?"
Millie wiped her eyes and cheeks, then explained the story of who Eric was and how he had helped Ferguson. The old man was shocked and angry upon learning Eric's true identity.
Ferguson then argued with Millie about the real Eric for several minutes, but they were interrupted by the sound of a knock at their front door.
***
Eric walked alongside Grandma Seeva. "You don't need to come, old bones." The old woman clicked her tongue in annoyance. "And miss out on all the fun? Mister Savior?"
Eric grumbled at the nickname. Yesterday after witnessing what he'd done to Ferguson, the villagers flocked to him asking to be healed, even though they were actually afraid of him.
Overwhelmed, he initially refused, but after being constantly teased by old Grandma Seeva, he finally agreed. However, he set limits and charged a fee of 1 silver coin for his services. That amount was quite a lot for the commoners, yet it didn't deter their enthusiasm.
At first, he treated serious ailments like blindness, broken bones, and physical disabilities, but over time, the villagers grew bolder and more demanding, beginning to ask for cures for minor ailments like mild headaches, fevers, and the like.
Eric grew annoyed and dispersed the crowd, shouting that the villagers were becoming spoiled and overly dependent on him. Then he threatened to tell his father to raise taxes in the village. Upon hearing this, the villagers immediately scattered and fled.
Back to the present, the two of them arrived at their destination, a small house in a corner of the village. Eric faintly heard an argument between two people, but he still knocked on the front door of the house.
The sound of the argument died down and the door opened. An old man with a bare chest opened the door, Eric smirked at Ferguson. "Well, well. Sleeping Beauty has awakened."
Ferguson was startled to see Eric and furrowed his brow, then looked toward Grandma Seeva. Millie emerged from inside and greeted them. "Eric! And Grandma Seeva, please make yourselves at home!"
The young woman bowed to Eric then hugged Grandma Seeva. The old woman, with her bright smile, hugged the young woman tightly. The four of them sat in the simple living room with small chairs, and Eric immediately stated his purpose.
"You must have heard from Millie, old man. I've come to collect on that promise."
Ferguson glared at Eric, while Millie swallowed hard. "I know who you are. Lord Ostheno's eldest son, that despicable bastard who treats his own people so horribly. No matter what you say, I won't hand over my daughter!"
"Dad! That's not how it works! I've already promised Eric!" protested Millie. Ferguson still wouldn't give in, "I do owe him for saving my life, but Millie, this isn't the way to do it! And besides, magic that can heal someone on the brink of death? He must be using forbidden magic!"
Ferguson's heavy voice accused Eric, who simply sat there calmly with a composed expression. Grandma Seeva finally spoke after remaining silent for so long, "You, stubborn and outdated bastard, you should listen to your daughter more! Are you so foolish that you'd make the only remaining member of your family worry until she cries!?"
Ferguson was startled to be suddenly scolded so harshly by the old woman. "And you, fallen heir. Don't be half-hearted in using your power. Why didn't you heal Millie too?"
Ferguson and Millie were taken aback by that. Eric just gave a small smile, responding to the old woman's words. "Busted, you spoiled the fun, old bones." Grandma Seeva scoffed at Eric's answer.
"I have another proposal for you two." Eric pointed at Millie. "I'll heal her completely—even restore her missing limb..." He paused, then continued. "In exchange, you two pledge your loyalty to me."
A suffocating Mana exploded from Ferguson, enveloping the room. Millie stiffened, but somehow Grandma Seeva remained unaffected and simply glared. "Don't make sweet promises, you bastard! Nobles always trap commoners with sweet words, only to betray them in the end!"
Eric's smile deepened, and he leaned back fully in his chair. "Please, stop your rambling. I'm serious, though. Don't you want to see your daughter able to live a normal life? Don't you want to see Millie healthy again? Last chance—will you take my offer or not?"
Eric's words were as sweet as honey to Ferguson's ears. The old man looked toward his daughter, and their eyes met. He knew that look—it meant that no matter what decision he made, Millie would still trust him.
"Better take it, Ferguson. I hate that spoiled brat, but his healing power is the real deal." Grandma Seeva addressed the old adventurer by name. Ferguson closed his eyes—what kind of father wouldn't want to see his daughter healthy again?
The Mana pressure subsided, and Ferguson bowed deeply, pleading with Eric. "If you can… please heal my daughter…" Millie covered her mouth with her hand, shocked that her stubborn father had finally given in.
Eric nodded calmly. "We have a deal, then. In that case, let's start the healing process right away. It's better if she's lying down."
They all then moved to Millie's room, and after detached both of her prosthetic legs, Eric stood beside the young woman's bed. "As usual, this is going to be very painful. Let me know when you're ready."
Millie, lying on her back on the bed, took a deep breath. "I'm ready."
Eric placed his right hand on Millie's head and muttered his technique, "Idle Transfiguration." Suddenly, Millie's entire body began to ripple and contort. The first thing Eric transformed were her legs. He reshaped the missing parts of her body so they would grow back as they were before.
"Aghhh! Ahhhh!" Millie screamed in pain. Ferguson was about to stop the process but was suddenly blocked by Grandma Seeva with her cane. "Look at your daughter's determination to live, Ferguson."
Millie was in excruciating pain and for a moment wanted to ask Eric to stop, but remembering her father who came home every day covered in wounds for her sake, she gritted her teeth to endure the pain.
The young woman stopped screaming, only groaning in pain. Eric had now reached the stage of healing the burns covering Millie's body. It didn't take long to complete the entire process.
"Done." Eric said casually. Ferguson couldn't believe what he was seeing, Millie slowly got up from the bed and walked slowly toward him.
"Millie…!" Ferguson hugged Millie as she collapsed into his arms. Millie was faintly sobbing against her father's chest. "Dad…! I—I'm healed…!"
The old adventurer stroked his daughter's hair. Millie was truly healed, just as she had been long ago. There were no burns on her face or body, her right eye had returned to normal, and she could walk again.
Grandma Seeva smiled contentedly, watching the child and her parents happy. Eric silently lifted his foot to leave the room, but stopped when Ferguson called out to him.
"Wait. H-how can I repay this...?" Ferguson stumbled. Eric turned around and explained briefly. "Like I said. Pledge your loyalty to me. Meaning you'll obey my orders when I call you or ask you to do something."
"But that doesn't mean I have absolute control over you two. Both of you can still go on with your usual routines—eating, going to the bathroom, looking for a marriage partner, whatever. The moment you receive my message, you'll immediately come over to my side."
As the father and daughter duo were still processing his terms, Eric didn't give them a chance to respond. "Three days from now, come to the Adventurer's Guild in the city. We're going to have a field day."
***
Three days passed, Eric was waiting in an alley behind the Adventurer's Guild. Tapping his foot, he waited for Ferguson and Millie to pick up a quest from the Adventurer's Guild's quest board. The sound of footsteps could be heard as the father-daughter duo approached him.
"So? Any decent bandit extermination quest?" Eric asked. Ferguson nodded, answering in his deep voice. "Southwest. A group of men has gathered and formed a bandit gang. Led by a Silver-rank Shield-bearer with Wind affinity, they're spreading terror through the surrounding villages. The reward is 9 gold coins."
"Dead or alive?"
"Not specified. But if we choose to kill the bandits, the guild requests proof. Specifically, a pair of aquamarine earrings worn by the bandit leader, stolen from a certain wealthy merchant."
"Hmmm… let's get going, then." Eric headed toward the nearest city gate. "You guys like my gift?"
Ferguson and Millie exchanged glances, then looked down at their clothes and gear. Ferguson was wearing new light armor in a grayish-brown hue, a pair of protective boots, and gauntlets on both hands. His sword was also new—a well-polished enchanted steel sword strapped to his right side.
Millie was dressed just like her father, except she wore a light brown robe and carried a magical staff. She also wore a belt with several small bottles containing various multifunctional liquids for combat.
"This… is too much, to be honest, Sir E-Eric…" Millie replied hesitantly. "But thank you. We won't let you down!"
"We're grateful for your help, Master Eric," Ferguson added, "but I don't fully trust you."
Eric smirked at them addressing him with a polite title but didn't dwell on it. "Consider it my little investment. Let's see how you guys perform on the battlefield."
The three of them boarded a carriage bound for the village closest to the recent bandit attack. It took about two hours to get there. Once they arrived, they had to walk toward the hills and a small forest where, according to information from the villagers, the bandits were believed to have set up a base in the vicinity.
The thick layer of snow made it difficult to track the bandits' footprints, but Ferguson was still able to identify them. "The bark… there are knife cuts, from a few days ago," said the old adventurer as he touched the gash on a tree trunk.
"Small animals are also starting to be scarce… which means there's human activity nearby," Ferguson concluded his observation. "We're not far from their camp, stay low."
The three of them walked more slowly, and after venturing deep enough into the forest, they found it.
"Brrrr…! Hey, bring me more of that rum!"
"When are we going to launch another attack, buddy?"
"Dunno, the goddamn Ostheno are starting to figure out our patterns! Last time we were all almost captured!"
"Eh, but luckily thanks to the big boss we managed to escape!"
"Hahaaha! You're right! Can't wait to pillage more villages and taste their women!"
"You always think with your crotch! Bahaha!"
Tents of various sizes and colors filled a clearing in the forest. Men in dirty, thick clothing and armed with weapons were gathered around a campfire. Outside the tents, specifically up in the trees, were four archers serving as lookouts.
Eric counted all the bandits. "20 assholes, excluding the leader. Where is he?" Ferguson whispered, "Must be inside the biggest tent over there. What's next, Master Eric?"
"I'll take out those archers first, then let's roll in with a bang. Old man, come with me. Millie, stay here. Wait until I give a loud signal, then you can join us." Without waiting for their approval, Eric leaped up into the tree.
The first unsuspecting archer suddenly felt a hand cover his mouth. "Idle Transfiguration." The archer's head suddenly wobbled and swelled slightly, yet somehow he was unable to move or scream… because Eric had 'altered' the bandit's entire face and throat, and partially his brain.
He moved and swung from one tree to another undetected, treating the remaining bandit archers exactly the same way. Eric dropped to the ground, his eyes fixed on the father-daughter duo.
They were both confused because the lookouts were still standing, but in reality, the archers were already dead and just waiting for their time. Without hesitation, Eric silenced one of the bandits standing a short distance away from his group.
"Hu-huh! What—" The poor bandit couldn't finish his sentence because a long blade had impaled his chest. Eric hissed in pain, then kicked the dead bandit and quickly returned his hand to its original form.
"Fuck, is it because this body isn't a cursed spirit? Every time I morphed my body, it hurt like hell!"
The gathered bandits heard a loud thud. They watched as their comrade was just killed by Eric.
"At-attack!"
"Damn it! Is it—huh? Only one!?"
"Hey, you guys up there! Do your fucking job properly—"
One of the bandits froze as he addressed the archers. Because the bodies of the four bandit archers swelled like balloons, and a second later, they exploded. Blood and body parts rained down onto the white snow.
The bandits began to panic at the sight of their four comrades suddenly exploding to death. Amid the chaos, Ferguson darted in and launched his attack. His sword crackling with electricity, he instantly beheaded two bandits in a single motion.
"There-there are two of them!"
"Just kill them!"
"Wro-wrong! There must be another one left!"
"Let me decorate you, pal." Eric moved so fast and closed his distance. He punched a bandit on the chest, sending the poor man crashing to one of the tents, collapsing it. A bandit brandished his longsword, and Eric instinctively ducked and grabbed the bandit's wrist. "That's it?-" the bandit's entire left side began to contracted and pulsing, then exploding in the same manner like the archers.
He moved on to the next bandit, slapped the bandit with a patcheye. "You fight like that?" The patcheye bandit was unable to mock Eric further because his head deformed, and at the last second, Eric slammed the bandit's head into the bandit next to him.
The patcheye bandit's head transformed into a sharp, pointed spire that pierced the other bandit's mouth, passing right through to the back of his head. There were no screams, only a groan of pain.
Ferguson deftly blocked the sword swing and unleashed a deadly electric shock into his opponent's eyes, exploding them and frying the brain. Another bandit sneaked up behind him, Ferguson noticed it and threw the knife he'd pulled from his pocket. The knife embedded itself precisely in the sneaking bandit's left chest, and moments later, the bandit convulsed as the knife was charged with electricity.
The old adventurer became a golden blur. Every time he swung his sword, bandits fell one by one, reducing their numbers.
Eric ran back and forth, wreaking havoc and transforming the bandits as he pleased.
This is fun. Killing is fun. I should kill everyone—
The impulse came in the middle of the battle. Eric lost his focus for a moment, and one of the attacks grazed his ear. "Damn it!"
"Hehehe, gotcha, boy—huh?" The fat bandit was stunned when Eric's missing right ear instantly formed and healed. Eric glared at the fat bandit and pulled the man close. "Make yourself useful, brat!" He immediately reshaped the fat bandit into an oval shield of flesh and used it to block the attacks of the other bandits.
"It-it hurts... sto-stop—" The bandits fell silent for a moment, staring at the meat shield revealing their comrade's grotesquely deformed face. Eric took advantage of the pause in their attacks and made the shield meat explode, spraying countless sharp shrapnel fragments.
The massive explosion incapacitated many bandits. Some were still alive, while others died instantly as the shrapnel struck their vital organs.
A burly man emerged from a large tent carrying a shield. He wore aquamarine earrings in both ears. Eric glared at the figure and immediately attacked the bandit, who was the leader of the group.
He morphed and hardened his right fist until it became white bone, the bandit leader reacted and raised his shield. The hardened fist and the sturdy shield met head on, resulting in a thunderous crash echoed across the campground, and Eric remarked in a flat tone, "A man should fight with his bare hands, you know?"
"Fuck you!" the bandit leader roared, and sharp winds began to swirl around him. Eric clicked his tongue, he stepped back slightly and transformed the two bandits lying there, dying, into four-legged beasts.
The bandit leader watched in horror as his two men transformed into hideous four-legged beasts he didn't recognize at all. He opened and closed his mouth, then the two 'beasts' charged toward him.
The bandit leader shouted and slammed his shield, shrouded in a sharp wind, into one of the strange beasts. A churning sound echoed, and the beast died with its head severed from its body.
The other beast lunged toward the leader, and as usual, the bandit swatted his hand, knocking the oncoming beast to the ground. Eric lifted his left hand toward the air and snapped his fingers.
A streak of light struck the back of the bandit's head, and the man fell to the ground. Ferguson appeared and immediately severed both of the leader's hands, preventing him from using the shield.
"Arrhhhkk!!!"
Eric approached Ferguson, who was stomping on the bandit leader's chest, while Millie emerged from her hiding place in the bushes and looked around. All the bandits had fallen, though a few were still alive but on the verge of death. They had been slaughtered by her father and her employer.
Millie covered her mouth at the carnage. She could understand wounds caused by sword or sharp weapon but splattered flesh, dismembered limbs and disfigured corpse stained the campground in full crimson…it defied all her understanding, but she forced herself to focus and approached the two men who were still standing.
"Your call, Master Eric." said Ferguson, pointing his sword at the bandit leader's face. Eric ripped off the aquamarine earrings from the bandit and inspected it closely.
"We only bring this back." Eric decided, rolling the earrings in his palm. Ferguson nodded, knowing what Eric meant and fired a lethal electric discharge into the bandit's heart, stopping it completely.