Prelude Before the Evening Banquet (Part 1)

The afternoon sun had begun to sink as Tiadam led Denolan through the streets of the Upper District. Though Canfor had decayed for many years, it had once been a prosperous city, and the people of the Upper District still lived fairly well. Marble-paved streets, towering trees made lush by magic, and shop clerks haggling with customers amid dazzling displays of goods.

"No matter when I come, this shop's entrance is always packed..." As a bandit, Tiadam hated queuing. "Hey, you people in front, how much longer are you going to take? We've been waiting for ages."

"Kid, just wait—you've got a long line ahead of you!" a voice called from the front of the queue.

Tiadam: "XXX"

"Um... um... Tiadam..." Denolan whispered from behind him. "Sorry, but why does everyone lining up with us look so fierce...?"

"It's normal for them to look fierce." Tiadam leaned against Denolan's shoulder. "That blacksmith up ahead can enchant weapons to resist certain magic. If the thieves and bandits around here want to rob goods from mage or witch shops, they have to get their weapons enchanted here. Otherwise, going after them is just suicide."

"Resist magic..." Denolan asked, "Could it resist Rosa Kevin's Curse?"

"No. Rosa Kevin's Curse can only be purified through miracles performed by clergy." Tiadam answered. "Even if a weapon can resist it, humans are still flesh and blood. They can't withstand Rosa Kevin's Curse."

"But we're going to an evening banquet tonight... Why do we need to enchant weapons? And, uh... you didn't even bring a weapon..."

"If you go to a banquet hosted by mages without magic-resistant gear, you might not even know how you died. As for weapons, this shop doesn't just enchant them—they sell them too. As long as you have money, there's nothing you can't buy in Canfor's Upper District." Tiadam moved another step forward in line.

Another half hour passed, and something seemed off about the line outside the weapon shop. As a bandit who lived on the edge of a blade, Tiadam had naturally grown irritated by the long wait.

"Hey, kid... want to... get out of here sooner?" Tiadam placed a hand on Denolan's shoulder and gave a strange smile.

"Um... um... I think we should just wait in line..." Denolan replied.

"Hold this~" Tiadam tossed the cloth bag on him to Denolan, then stepped out of the line.

"What are you... going to do?" Denolan asked.

"Shh—" Tiadam said mysteriously. "Keep it down. Just stay in line properly..."

Denolan: "Okay..."

Tiadam walked about ten meters away from the line, looked at the group standing at the very front, then picked up a stone and hurled it at them with all his strength.

"Ow—who hit me?!" A man near the front of the line clutched the smooth back of his head and cursed. "XXXX, I'm bleeding! Which XXXXX threw that at me?!"

"It was the man in the third row behind you..." Tiadam quietly said as he stood beside the man. "I saw him throw the stone with my own eyes..."

"So it's you, Tiadam—" The man grabbed Tiadam by the collar. "Long time no see. Why are you back again?"

"Red... Red Dagger's... Tute..." Tiadam said in surprise. "Why did you shave your head bald? Wasn't your old mohawk pretty distinctive...?"

"And it's all thanks to you! Last time, you robbed my shipment on the outskirts of town. The group leader punished me and made me keep this bald head for half a year as a warning!"

"Uh... well... isn't your group leader a little too heartless? Making someone shave their head in winter... You'll catch a cold easily..." Tiadam seized the moment and punched the bald man in the face.

Overwhelmed by the pain, the bald man covered his nose and released Tiadam. "You little punk, you dare cause trouble on my turf?!"

"Your turf?" Tiadam said with a roguish look. "There are plenty of big shots in Canfor. Who the hell are you...?"

Before Tiadam could finish, he felt dozens of pairs of eyes staring at his back.

"Um... what's going on here..." Tiadam realized that, apart from Denolan, everyone in the queue had stepped out of line.

"Red Dagger Guild, First Enchantment Hall..." Tiadam quietly read the notice posted in front of the blacksmith shop. "Elemental resistance, ten silver coins. Elemental enchantment, five silver coins. Arcane resistance, ten silver coins. Arcane immunity, five silver coins. Mental resistance, fifteen silver coins. Venom/curse resistance, fifteen silver coins. Venom/curse coating, fifteen silver coins..."

"Um... Mr. Goblin, how many coins would two weapons with elemental resistance cost?" Denolan asked.

"How much money do you have?" The goblin enchanting a weapon stopped working.

"I only have this much..." Denolan handed Tiadam's cloth bag to the goblin.

"One Kralimaya Gold Coin and twenty-five Kralimaya Silver Coins..." The goblin took a dagger and a war hammer from beneath his bellows. "Your money can only buy this hammer. I'll throw in this dagger for free..."

"Uh... is that okay?"

It was Denolan's first time buying weapons, so he lacked experience and struggled to decide. Still, he was doing a hundred times better than Tiadam, who was surrounded by dozens of burly men.

"You little bastard—brothers! He's the one who robbed our group's shipment last time! Brothers, kill him!"

"Yeah—" the burly men shouted in response.

Tiadam: "Um... misunderstanding... misunderstanding..."

Denolan: "Should I... buy them...?"

Just as Denolan finally made up his mind, Tiadam had also prepared to flee. He punched one of the burly men in the groin.

"Ooh~~ you damned little brat~~ you fought~~ dirty~~" The man collapsed, clutching his crotch. Tiadam used the falling man's body as a springboard, landed on another man's face, then leaped again to escape the Red Dagger encirclement.

"Damn little brat, everyone, get him—" the bald man roared, and dozens of people retrieved their still-unenchanted weapons from the blacksmith.

"Excuse me... excuse me... thank you... thank you..." Denolan clutched his newly purchased weapons and squeezed out of the crowd.

"Tiadam—I'm going to kill you—"

An exceptionally thrilling chase unfolded on the streets of Canfor's Upper District, with dozens of burly men wielding swords and blades chasing a young man of about twenty.

"I wonder... whether that guy who smells like bread bought a weapon with elemental immunity... Damn it! Damn it!" Tiadam cried out in alarm. "I should've let him draw their aggro instead—"