I stayed low, inching a bit closer along the bushes to get a better angle while keeping myself hidden. The men by the fire were talking, their voices low but clear enough for me to catch bits and pieces.

"...telling you, we’re pushing it," one of them said, poking at the fire with a stick. "Too close to the city."

"And I’m telling you the game here is worth it," another replied, leaning back on his hands. "You saw those pelts. Clean. No damage. We don’t get that kind of quality deeper in."

"Yeah, until a patrol stumbles onto us."

"They won’t," a third one cut in. "We keep it quiet, we move fast. Trader’s coming tomorrow anyway. We sell, we’re gone. Plus, they got elves to worry about."

"Better be," the first one grumbled. "I’m not getting caught over a few extra coins."

I narrowed my eyes slightly, taking it all in.

So they weren’t random thugs. Organized enough to run this kind of setup, careful enough to stay just outside the city’s reach. Dangerous, but not reckless.

I glanced at the cat again, still sleeping peacefully by the fire like it hadn’t caused a problem in its life.

"So they’re not bandits..." I muttered under my breath. "Maybe I can reason with them..."

The cat was right there, probably lured by the scent of roasting meat. It didn’t look hungry at all, quite the opposite. Plump and content. These men were "kind" enough to feed a stray, yet that didn’t mean they’d spare me. The moment they realized I’d witnessed their poaching, fear of exposure would be more than enough reason to slit my throat.

Time was running out. I needed to return the cat to the city before midnight, or I could kiss that system quest goodbye.

At least I still had Ken’s dagger. If things went south, it might buy me a fighting chance.

"Let’s try the easy way..." I whispered.

The moment I stepped out of cover, I heard movement behind me. I ducked back instinctively as footsteps approached.

A man walked past, a dead rabbit dangling from his hand by the ears. He tossed the carcass toward the campfire. The sudden motion startled the cat awake. It slunk away and curled up again in a quieter corner, farther from the flames.

"You won’t believe it!" the newcomer laughed. "Remember that bitch we found by the river?"

"Yeah?" one of the others replied. "The elf girl. In that river, fearing for her life."

"I found her. Turns out she didn’t die."

"How?" another asked. "We left her for dead."

"No idea." The man sat down and stretched. "She spotted me in the woods and bolted."

"You idiot!" a deeper voice snapped. "That’s not a rabbit you hunted, it’s a hare!"

"Same difference," he scoffed. "They wouldn’t know the difference anyway."

"Because of your stupidity we had to kill that trader, his wife, and their daughter!" the first man growled. "Stop fucking everything up!"

"Whatever. They were annoying. This new one seems better."

Better? Nah, I changed my mind. These bastards were rotten to the core.

I drew my dagger and slipped out of the bushes, moving toward the slope. Two paths led up—one on my side, the other on the far left. Climbing straight up the middle would expose me immediately.

"I’m gonna jerk off," the newcomer muttered, standing up. "Wish I could use that cat, heh."

Man...

The four guards didn’t stay by the flames. They moved together toward the center edge of the short plateau. It was only a few steps away from the fire, but the shadows there were deeper, better for seeing into the treeline below. One of them grunted and sat at the very lip of the ledge, his boots dangling over the five-foot drop. The other three fanned out behind him, standing tall with their hands resting heavily on their sword hilts.

I crept up the slope and circled behind them toward the tents. Two men were passed out near a smaller campfire, sharing a single tent but sleeping on blankets just outside it. The heavy stench of cheap alcohol clung to them. Perfect.

I crouched between them. I clamped a hand over the first man’s mouth and drove the dagger straight into his heart. The second stirred at the sound, but I was already on him, palm over his lips, blade through his throat before he could scream.

╔══════════════════╗

> ENEMY SLAIN (x2)

╠══════════════════╣

> +36 EXP

╚══════════════════╝

Next was the tent of the sick bastard who’d joked about the cat. His shadow danced grotesquely against the canvas, his hand pumping in a rhythmic, sickening motion. He really was doing it, right there, in the middle of a camp.

I crept toward the rear of the tent, my boots making no sound on the soft dirt. I watched his silhouette for a heartbeat, timing my strike.

Inside, the man’s movement suddenly faltered. He stiffened, staring at the canvas where my shadow overlapped with his. "Wait... what’s that shado..."

I didn’t let him finish. I lunged, driving the blade through the fabric with the full weight of my body behind it. The steel buried itself deep into his spine. He let out a wet, choked groan, his body thrashing wildly like a fish out of water. I didn’t flinch; I simply gripped the hilt and twisted the dagger deeper, grinding the metal until the struggling stopped.

He slumped forward against the tent wall, his shadow sliding down the canvas until it was nothing but a heap. 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

╔══════════════════╗

> ENEMY SLAIN (BOSS)

╠══════════════════╣

> +40 EXP

╚══════════════════╝

Boss? I nearly laughed. If that was a boss, I was royalty.

"Ambly’s tits," one of the men chuckled from afar. "He’s really going at it, huh?"

I peeked through the slit I’d made. Inside lay a longbow, a bedroll, and a simple rug. I didn’t know how to use the bow yet, but that didn’t mean I’d leave it behind.

I slipped inside, stored the bow in my inventory, then rolled the corpse over. He’d taken off his leg plates before pleasuring himself. I took those too with ’pleasure’ as well.

╔═════════════════╗

> INVENTORY

╠═════════════════╣

> Longbow

> Crude Leg Plates

> (EMPTY)

> (EMPTY)

> (EMPTY)

───────────────────

> Coin: 45S

╚═════════════════╝

"I should get some sleep," one of the men outside said. "Gods, I’m tired."

"Same. Let’s switch the watch."

Shit. They were heading this way.