Chapter: 179

Matheson exited the stink-rat marsh dungeon. He was quite exhausted, and going from the dank humid environment of the marsh to the cold dry environment of the bare winter forest was an unwelcome change. He spent all night in the dungeon, and the sun was just beginning to come up – that’s when he saw a glint on the ground. Crouching down, he found that it was one of the town guard’s scouts’ various badges.

“Huh, one of the scouts must’ve dropped it. I’ll give it to a guard on the way back, maybe I’ll get a reward.”

Matheson no longer looked like a noble, being covered in filth and stinking like a sewer – though through sheer bitterness and tenacity, he kept fighting through the dungeon, no longer caring about how he looked or smelt. In his own mind, a noble who couldn’t support themselves was simply a finely dressed beggar, and this change in his thoughts was what drove him. His pride wouldn’t allow him to stay the same.

“Finally, level 5, and I deserve it after fighting through that cesspool. Damn rats, easy to kill but they hardly drop any loot, pathetic. How are adventurers supposed to get rich anyway?”

All Matheson got from the stink-rat dungeon was fur scraps, though he had a rapier with a socketed fire gem which made it much easier for him than other adventurers with their low damage junk they bought from Bertram.

He was a little bitter. “Doesn’t matter, I won’t let father control me, that prick.”

Matheson didn’t have a good relationship with his father, in fact, he hardly ever saw him. He would attend the events the young nobles would go to and his father went about his business, making deals and for the most of his life, didn’t even live in the same mansion as Matheson. This of course led to Matheson doing what he wanted without giving any of his actions a second thought, as there was no one he would answer to.

A little dissatisfied, he began to run back to his mansion, still training hard even after the dungeon as he began to drain the last of his energy.

The south part of Losla came into view, he saw a guard standing there as if he was looking for a monster, but upon seeing Matheson covered in the same filth that Jay was, he promptly ran to another part of the city.

“Not a monster, my job here is done. The night shift is over. If I run fast enough I won’t be able to smell him.” thought the guard as he ran away.

The guards usually received tips about monsters, though this was another false alarm.

Whenever he remembered Jay coming back to town, he felt like he could almost taste the vomit from his memory. That day, they had a report of a monster approaching too. Even Michael the guard captain came to see, but it was just an adventurer going to the level one dungeon. That day was different though – with his captain around, he had to stand his ground and suffer from the stench.

“We really should find a way to block off that dungeon somehow,” he thought.

As he was heading home to grab some breakfast – or dinner for him, he felt like something was off, and the guard looked behind him.

“Oh shit, he’s coming this way. Fuck.”

The guard turned and ran a different direction, but Matheson followed behind, not slowing down in the slightest as he looked at the guard with murderous intent. Matheson wasn’t actually angry or anything of the sort, this was just the face he made when he was training.

“…Is he following me?” the guard wondered before shaking his head.


“Surely not.” he made another turn, but to the guards demise, Matheson still followed.

“Dammit, I guess I gotta lose him.” the guard made a sharp right turn, running down an alleyway and onto another street before turning left and then left again down another alley. He started walking as he looked back, thinking he lost him, but quickly began sprinting after he saw Matheson come around the corner, who was just as fast as before.

“Shit. What’s wrong with this guy? I don’t care what he wants, I won’t talk to him”

The guard ran to the east of the village, making random turns through the streets and houses. He even hopped over a fence and crossed a field, running straight through a fog of mist-sheep.

“What the fuck… he’s still chasing me? Even across some farmers’ fields? Dammit. I just want to get a meal and go to bed… But I won’t be mentally scarred from that smell again. Anything but that.”

The guard suddenly had an idea, and he smiled to himself smugly while hopping over another fence. They were in the west part of Losla now, so he ran around the outskirts of the village to the north side of town and crossed the bridge before heading directly to a place inaccessible to civilians – the barracks. This was a small building where guards had meetings, equipped themselves as well as rested from their duties. Sleeping here was free, but it was not ideal, and many of the guards had their own homes in Losla; many of them were civilians of Losla before their employment, though they had to leave Losla eventually to train in higher level dungeons before returning again. This was to become capable of handling anything that would happen at Losla, and many of the guards were at least level twenty.

“He won’t be able to chase me into the barracks.. Heheh.”.