Well, shit! What should I do now?
I am not stupid, I know that the system I have is going to be the key to me enjoying my second life, and I don't want to lose access to it. At the same time, after everything that happened with fucking Derrick, I really don't want to start trying to be a Hero.
I am going to have to do this, there is just no way around it. The quest says I can drive the mugger off, subdue him, or kill him.
Driving him off might be a hard task, as I look about as intimidating as that merchant does right now, any attempt to intimidate the mugger will probably get me laughed at.
Subduing him is out of the question; he is armed, and I am bare-handed. I doubt I could wrestle him to the ground and snatch his knife away from him before he could swing or stab it into me.
My only choice is to kill him, but, as I have no weapon or skills, I am basically going to have to sucker him with something good enough to kill a person. I squat down on the ground, picking up a fairly large stone that sits comfortably in my grip.
I hop the fence and start making my way over in the direction of the crime in progress. I am trying not to make any noise as I slip between the small collection of trees near where the entrance of the path I was on meets the road.
As I get closer, I can see that the merchant man is holding out a small sack towards the mugger while he shivers with fear. This must be a coin pouch, another medieval reincarnation fantasy cliche. If it has bronze, silver, or gold coins in it instead of some type of national currency similar to the dollar, I wouldn't be surprised.
There is a rather obvious stain on the merchant's trousers, I guess the fear of having a knife shoved in your face will do that to a normal person who is not used to life-or-death situations. I am just glad I didn't soil myself in a similar way when I was getting beaten before coming here.
The mugger cautiously approaches the merchant, snatches the coin purse out of his hands, and gives him a sharp kick to the shins. The merchant winces with pain, and the mugger takes a few steps back.
At this point, I am hiding behind the tree trunk of the tree closest to the mugger, waiting for an opportunity to strike him. He has his back to me, and I have been as quiet as possible approaching, and I don't think he has noticed me.
He opens the coin pouch, changes his grip on the dagger so it is underhanded, and pokes a finger into the little bag as he starts counting. '1,2,3,5,6,4,8,7,9...' I don't think he is too well educated, but his inability to count properly has him totally distracted.
I step out from behind the tree, my make-shift rock weapon in my hand, take a few steps forward, and bring it crashing down on the back of his head as hard as possible.
The merchant yelps in surprise. He was busy rubbing his shin to try and dull the pain from that unnecessary kick he received.
Other than the merchant's yelp, there isn't any real sound other than that of the strike against his head when I make contact, which is quite a bit more disturbing than I thought it would be.
The mugger doesn't moan or groan, scream or cry. He just collapses on the floor, a twitching heap of flesh, with blood pooling around his head.
I pick up the knife off the floor and get a message from the system
[Class unlock: Thief]
[Requirements: Steal the property of a living being]
What the fuck! I disarmed a mugger and got labelled a thief! That makes no sense!
Although it is another cliche. By stealing something, I unlock the thief class, who would have guessed that?
I pick up the coin pouch from his other hand, trying my best not to step into the ever-expanding pool of blood, and turn to the merchant.
The merchant is frozen in fear. I am mystified as to why, at first, after all I have just finished saving him from a mugging. Then, I quickly realize he must think I am another bandit who has just robbed the bandit robbing him.
I throw the knife in my hand onto the grass edge lining the path, out of the reach of the bandit should he come around, and throw the coin pouch back to its rightful owner. He stares at me for a moment, and then it dawns on him that I was just being a good Samaritan.
'Thank you so much! I thought he was going to kill me.'
'Don't worry about it. I really don't like bandits. Are you heading to Ironfield?'
'Yes, I was on my way there when that man jumped out of the treeline, pointing that knife at me. My guard is off sick today, but I still had to make this delivery, so I made the trip.'
'I am on my way there too. Do you want an escort? No charge if you show me the way.'
He nods at me in agreement, and just like that, I have a travelling companion and guide. Granted, he currently smells like piss and is shaking in fear, but that's understandable, so I will give him a moment to compose himself.
[Slain: Thief Lv 1 - 50xp]
[Class unlock: Assassin]
[Requirements: Kill a living being with a sneak attack]
[Mission complete: Rescue the merchant from the mugger]
Oh, he died? I turn to look at the man on the ground and realize he isn't twitching anymore. I guess he must have bled out while I was talking to the merchant.
I know I have killed him, but honestly, I don't feel anything. I am not sure if it is because of the system or if it was because he was threatening someone with death, but no sudden wave of remorse washes over me; if anything, I feel slightly proud of myself.
I also completed the mission the system gave me, so I am rewarded with the 5 attribute points I was promised. I don't see it happen, but something innate informs me that it has.
To the victor go the spoils, time to loot! I start rummaging around the body of the dead mugger, looking for anything I can get my hands on.
I am being very careful not to step in the blood, but even after death, the pool continues to grow. The merchant says nothing, so I assume that it is fine to continue looting the corpse of this pathetic thief.
I find a small coin pouch similar to the merchant's, a leather sheath for the dagger, and not much more. I tie the sheath onto the leather belt I brought with me from my old life, and walk over to the knife.
I pick it up and put it into the sheath, and then pull the coin pouch back out of my pocket. Yep, I knew it. 1 silver coin and 12 coppers. This world follows the otherworld trope of bronze, silver and gold coins. I wonder if there is platinum too?
I walk back over to the merchant, who seems to have calmed down, and together we start making our way to Ironfield.