Chapter 07: Rule Master

Glancing at Drozz, Edgar stopped hugging Rose and walked towards him, while being watched by his teammates who continued to sit in their chairs.

(Edgar): "Do you want me to stop abusing her? Are you wanting to be a hero by any chance? "

(Drozz): "No, I'm just bothered by you doing whatever you want with her in front of me"

Stopping in front of Drozz, standing three paces away from him, Edgar looked Drozz up and down. Before focusing his gaze on Drozz's handsome face.

(Edgar): "You're not from here..."

Plaaaw!

Without waiting for Edgar to finish speaking, Drozz slapped Edgar hard on the left side of the face. Making him leave the ground, spinning in the air towards the nearest table on his right.

Bang!

Slamming everything onto the table, Edgar smashed it to pieces. Before hitting the ground.

Silent!

Seeing what happened, the people present became quiet. Making the whole place fall into a silence that only lasted a few minutes, before Edgar got back on his feet, while groaning in pain holding the left side of his face.

(Edgar): "Ouch! Ah...! I will kill you! "

(Drozz): "So come"

In response to Drozz's provocation, Edgar drew his sword with his right hand.

And when Drozz looked at the sword's blade, he noticed the presence of an invisible force building up in it.

(Edgar): "Die! "

Advancing towards Drozz, Edgar, at high speed, swung his sword from top to bottom with the intention of splitting Drozz in two.

Looking at Edgar's movements, Drozz saw him swing his sword in slow motion. As he was intrigued, trying to understand the mysterious force Edgar was using.

(As I thought, this really isn't magic. And there doesn't seem to be any information about the existence of this kind of power in Drozz's memories. So, should I consider this power a threat? No, to come to that conclusion, I first need to experience this power with my body): Drozz thought, before a black mist wrapped itself around his right hand and formed a dark gauntlet covering his hand.

With his right hand covered in the dark gauntlet, Drozz interrupted Edgar's attack by holding the sword blade with his right hand.

Clang!

(Edgar): "What?!"

(Drozz): "Just as I predicted, you are very weak"

Thwack!

Hitting Edgar with a kick, Drozz sent Edgar flying like a bullet towards a nearby wall.

(Edgar): "Ah...!"

Voop!

Bang!

Punching a hole in the wall with his collision, Edgar fell rolling into the middle of the street outside.

And when he stopped rolling, Edgar curled up like a fetus, groaning in pain.

Looking at the hole made by Edgar, Drozz smiled and dropped his sword on the ground. Before turning his gaze to the remaining seven members of Edgar's group who were still sitting around the table.

(Drozz): "So who's next? "

In response to Drozz's question, the members of Edgar's group rose from the table. And they started walking towards the exit.

Frowning his eyebrows, Drozz found the group's attitude strange. So, he tried to get their attention once again.

(Drozz): "Hey! Why are they leaving? "

Upon hearing Drozz's question, one of the group members stopped walking. And then he turned and looked at Drozz.

"We are not going to pick a fight with an honorary member. So, we're leaving": Said the group member, before turning around and walking back towards the exit.

Seeing the group leaving the establishment, Drozz, a little frustrated, muttered to himself.

(Drozz): "They are very cold"

Ping! Ping!

(Drozz): "Huh?! "

Feeling something drip from his fingertips, Drozz looked at his right hand and saw a deep cut on his palm, which was bleeding constantly.

(Drozz): "He managed to hurt me, even with me wearing the shadow armor? How is this possible? "

Shocked at having been injured, Drozz continued to look at the wound on his hand, while remembering the power that the shadow armor must have had.

(The armor of shadows is a divine protection technique, which the god of infinity Drozz used in his battles against powerful entities. But because I am not a god, I can only use the gauntlets of this technique with the reduced power at this moment. But Even with reduced power, none of these gauntlets should have been damaged by the power of mortals. No, mortals should even be able to hurt my skin)

Still in disbelief at the wound he suffered, Drozz stopped examining his hand and undid the shadow gauntlet, before returning to the counter where Sorin and the gray-haired man, who was the owner of the place, were.

(Sorin): "Drozz, what you did was incredible"

(Drozz): "incredible? "

(Sorin): "Yes, I have never heard of anyone being able to withstand a direct attack from a master of the cutting rule with their bare hands"

(Grey-Haired Man): "Mister Drozz, thank you very much for saving my daughter. In my entire life, this is the first time I've seen someone do something like this. It was really surprising"

(Grey-Haired Man): "But it's a shame that great damage was done to the tavern during the fight"

Seeing the gray-haired man direct his gaze to the broken tables and the hole made in the wall. Drozz understood the suggestive implications in the gray-haired man's words and actions. But Drozz chose to feign ignorance and tried to change the subject, as he had no intention of paying for any of the damage done to the establishment.

(Drozz): "Sorin, just now you mentioned that that guy was a master of the cutting rule. But what is a master of the cutting rule, anyway? "

(Sorin): ".... A master of the cutting rule is someone who has mastered part of the cutting laws, reading and understanding part of the writings embedded in one of the rule stones. And because of this, he can use a part of almost all the characteristics of the cuts present in the world in real time. But these characteristics will vary according to the understanding that each individual will have when understanding the law of cutting, or at least that is what the magicians' theory says on the subject."

(Drozz): "I understand. But can you explain to me in more detail about the cutting features that cutting rule masters use? "

(Sorin): "The characteristics of a cut are strength, speed, resistance and sharpness. These four characteristics may be reflected in the body and objects in the possession of the master of the cutting rule. Giving him and the objects in his possession above-normal strength, speed, endurance, and sharpness."

(Sorin): "But there are two small details in the power of these individuals that make them one of the most feared beings on this continent"

"One is their ability to cut almost anything with their cutting techniques and the other is the ability to embed curses that deny healing and regeneration into the cuts they make on other individuals": ​​While saying this Sorin looked at his hand. Drozz who was injured.

(Sorin): "A cut like that on your hand, if it is under the effect of a curse, it will not heal. Even if you use healing magic. And because of that you could continue to bleed until you die from hemorrhaging."

Hearing Sorin's words, Drozz looked at the wound on his hand.

(The wound on my hand is no longer bleeding. But my regeneration speed is slower than normal to close that wound. Is this the curse Sorin is talking about? If so, then these guys could be really dangerous) : Thought Drozz.

(Sorin): "Hey, I said that cut rule masters impose curses on their attacks, but not all of them are capable of doing that. And looking at the wound on his hand that stopped bleeding. Edgar must not be a cutting rule master with that kind of skill. So, he doesn't need to stare at your hand like that since it's too late to do that."

(Drozz): "Yes, I am aware of that"

(Rose): "Here it is guys, the best wine in our tavern. And it's on the house"

Interrupting Drozz's conversation with Sorin, Rose caught their attention and placed a bottle of wine on the counter.

(Drozz): "Wine? I'm not interested"

(Sorin): "Yeah, I don't drink either"

(Rose): "I understand, but still, I would like Mr. Drozz to have this wine, because it is a personal gift from me to you"

(Drozz): "A personal gift from you? Did your father allow such a thing? "

(Rose): "Yes, I have no problem with that"

Examining the counter area and the rest of the establishment around him with a single glance, Drozz noticed that Rose's father was no longer there.

(Drozz): ".... Alright, I'll take this bottle with me"

Taking the bottle from the counter, Drozz placed it inside his robe.

(Rose): "Mister Drozz, would you like to register as a mercenary? It's free, so you don't have to worry about money."

Hearing Rose's proposal, Drozz placed his hand on his chin and thought deeply about her proposal.

(If I register as a mercenary of that organization, I can access information on strong monsters that can help me recover my life essence, which was damaged in my battle against the dragon in that forest.)

In the battle against the dragon he encountered in the black forest, Drozz was forced to use his life essence to create a temporary shield, which protected his life from the dragon's last attack. But such action reduced not only his strength, but also his life expectancy.

(My life expectancy, before my fight against that dragon, was a thousand years old. But due to the loss of part of my life essence, now I will only be able to live until I am four hundred years old... Haa, When I think about it, the more I regret it. And come to think of it, I better not be hasty with my registration, as there is a risk of parts of my skill information falling into the hands of unwanted people.)

(Drozz): "I'm not going to register today, because I want to think about the matter more carefully"

(Rose): "I understand"

"Sorin, I want to buy some clothes. So, guide me around the city until I find a store that suits my taste": Drozz said as he looked at Sorin.

(Sorin): "Of course, no problem"

(Drozz): "So, let's go..."

(Rose): "Mister Drozz"

(Drozz): "Yes"

"I wanted to thank you for saving me, as no one had ever done anything like this for me before. Thank you then. That made me very happy": Rose said as she blushed her chubby cheeks full of freckles.

(Drozz): "No problem"

(Rose): "And, Mr. Drozz…"

"Whenever you want company at night, I'll be available at dusk": Rose said as she winked at Drozz, while showing a toothless smile with a few dark, yellow teeth.

".... Aah, okay. Let's go Sorin": Said Drozz before quickly walking towards the exit with Sorin, while being watched by Rose's warm gaze.