Primordial Expanse: I have the Strongest Talent!

108  Back so soon?

Monty town lay quiet under the moonlit sky as Alex made his way through its familiar streets. His mind still reeled from the harrowing encounter with the attack from the black cloaked man, especially from that attack on his soul, but outwardly, he appeared unscathed. Nôv(el)B\\jnn

This would be his last time visiting this place, and he only decided to make this visit because it just happened to be along the route he was taking further into the Cavernous empire's lands, where he was hoping there would be stronger beasts he could hunt, resulting in more soul orbs he could harvest.

He was especially excited to get back to hunting, as he couldn't wait to see what new opportunities had been opened up to him by the second layer of his Soulforge talent unlocking.

***

Bertram sat in his study, his brow furrowed in deep concentration as he pored over maps and documents spread out before him. Kilian, his loyal butler, stood nearby, awaiting the Mayor's instructions with quiet deference.

"Kilian," Bertram began, his voice low and urgent. "The plan is nearing its culmination. We must ensure that every detail is in place before we move."

Kilian nodded solemnly, his eyes betraying none of his turmoil brewing within. "Of course, sir. Everything is proceeding according to schedule. We should be ready to move within a week."

Bertram nodded, glad to hear that their plan was still on track.

But his expression was soon replaced with a much darker and sinister one.

Bertram's voice carried across his office, low and urgent as he spoke to Kilian about the town's recent operations, but especially more so about recent events.

"Has the count sent word to us yet?" Bertram said, his tone tinged with urgency. "I never trusted that brat from the very beginning, nor did I ever buy his story. We need to be rid of him before he makes any attempts to interfere with our plans — the other lords are becoming more and more restless recently, and we can't afford anymore hiccups like last time."

He sounded nervous, like the answer to this question was the most important thing to him at this moment.

Kilian nodded, his expression severe. "The count has sent word to us. He's dispatched a Mutant class assassin — his mission should have been completed already, that brat shouldn't trouble us anymore."

But just as things seemed like they were settled, a commotion outside drew their attention. Bertram rose from his seat, curious to see what had the town residents so riled up so early in the morning.

Shock and disbelief washed over him as he peered out of the window to see what was happening.

And there, amidst the bustling streets of the town, walked Alex — alive and well, despite Bertram's best efforts of involving the count in having him eliminated. Shock and disbelief washed over Bertram as he struggled to comprehend how Alex had survived the assassination attempt of a Mutant class assassin.

But behind Alex, dragged a headless body, covered in a completely blacked out cloak, with wounds and cuts revealing the white, pale skin beneath in some areas.

People stood on each side of the street, their hands covering their mouths in shock and horror as they witnessed a new side to Alex, who was dragging the body.

They could tell instantly that these injuries hadn't come from a beast, but a human. And the fact that the cut on the neck where the head of this nameless body had been lopped off was so clean and evenly cut, only further proved this fact.

Never had they thought Alex would resort to killing another human, but they were reminded of the fact that he had only shown up in their town a few weeks prior, with absolutely no background to him at all.

He was a complete mystery at the time.

Martha walked out of her butchery, also curious to see what the commotion was all about, and just like most of the others, she too was shocked and surprised at what she saw.

But her experience as an adventurer before she became a butcher told her that things weren't as sinister as they seemed.

'Those black clothes are an easy tell of an assassin, and the fact that Alex is dragging the body through the town with such a disgruntled expression on his face tells me the assassin was after him…'

Martha carefully considered the facts of this and decided to stay out of it, as bigger things were clearly at play here.

She noticed the injuries on Alex, which told her that the assassin was quite strong, especially after she had seen the Shadow wolf he sold to her before he left.

That thing was a damn Mutant beast for god's sake!

Whoever could afford to hire an assassin capable of hurting Alex, wasn't someone she wanted to mess with.

'I suspect something big is about to happen in Monty town, I better inform the guild before things get out of hand.'

With that, she left in a hurry back to her butcher's shop, and disappeared into a basement hidden underneath the flooring.

***

"Kilian," Bertram muttered, his voice barely above a whisper. "How is this possible? I thought you said a Mutant class assassin was sent after him? Was there some sort of mistake, or miscommunication?"

Kilian's expression remained impassive, but a flicker of unease danced in his eyes as he gulped loudly. "That is the Mutant class assassin." He said, pointing towards the headless corpse Alex was dragging.

A deathly silence drowned out the study when Kilian said this — a cold sweat forming on both of their heads as they realised the severity of the situation.

Clearly Alex had surpassed both their expectations, neither of them had even entertained the thought that he might be a Mutant class himself.

But now that they saw him dragging the body of one through the streets, they were forced to accept the reality of their situation.

"We're fucked, aren't we…" Bertram muttered, visibly shaking as he heard a series of loud thuds reverberating from the gates to his manor.

Alex had arrived.