Inner thoughts

This chapter has little to no conversation and it's mostly narration, it just ended up like this.

Peace.

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Dale slowly approached Yumi and the others, wanting to know their opinions on this matter.

/Cut.../

"Do you think I went too far?" He asked as he rested his sword on the ground

"..."

/Pondering…/

Yumi did not say anything, however, she smiled at Dale, it wasn't much, but it showed her support for him.

She at first, did not hate Fray, she only found him extremely annoying for going at her like that, it had been her first time to see a boy approach her so... Straightforwardly.

Perhaps in part due to her living most of her teen and adult years in seclusion due to her own reasons, this caused her appearance to take a hit due to her not properly taking care of herself.

It wasn't until Dale helped her together with the elder that she returned to the beautiful girl she should've been.

His motives made her frown, the way he looked at her creeped her, and the way he objectified her pissed her off.

All of this made her impression of him drop down to the lowest she had ever seen someone… And honestly even she was confused about how to see him after that.

Never in her life had she felt so disgusted by someone before, never had she seen such a lack of manners as well even from the others teens during the phases…

Growing up in an isolated village, everything she knew was contained within what she saw and heard from her elders and the few things she read from the books left behind from a time almost forgotten.

However, did this mean that Fray was a man deserving of death?... At least for her, that was a no.

Fray was a disgusting man, but was he a man whose head should be cut?

Perhaps if you were to act the dads of all of the girls whose purity he had taken... They would definitely be cheering in the crowd... Next in line to end Fray's suffering for good.

Unfortunately, she hadn't lived enough to be able to say that, but she could at least tell that, for him to still be around his teacher, he should be at least…

Somewhat redeemable.

Although her anger for him breaking her stuff had not decreased in the least… She would have him pay for that...

/Nod…/

She gave Dale a tiny nod following her smile, making her way to the fallen Fray so she could diagnose his injuries.

Yumi wasn't very fond of violence... But this didn't make her a pacifist.

She was thankful for Dale being so angry at Fray's actions, and despite feeling a bit stranged of his methods, she still had the eyes to see past everything and understand what he had done at the end.

Right now, she wasn't Yumi, she was the sole pharmacist in the Village, and she wouldn't let someone die on her watch.

"..."

Misgurd remained silent at first, gazing at the fallen Fray as he thought deeply about what to say next…

"I believe that a man is responsible for his actions… His way of living has led to this, and honestly, what you did isn't enough to rid him of his bad deeds…"

Turning his face to Dale, he continued:

"But neither is death the answer."

"The dead cannot work for the living, only the living can change their own lives."

(Unless you are a Necromancer 0_0)

"I would say that for what he did today… This was enough, let's hope he doesn't give us more reasons to act like this in the future."

/Sigh…/

"I'll make sure that remains the case." Zar replied as he exhaled, looking at his fallen student

Zaw knew he deserved it, and albeit he often disciplined his student for misconduct and lack of basic ethics, he would never go as far as… This.

He hated the lack of responsibility from his student, it wasn't him being conservative or anything, it wasn't about that.

But a city man going to the countryside, waving sweet words to the innocent Village girls, deflowering them, and very possibly destroying their future lives isn't exactly something he sees as ethical.

He knew Fray deserved it, he understood his friends' words more than anyone else, but for an old man like him, seeing the Child he raised for the past decade bleed on the ground like that is… Heart Aching.

But in the end, he is the one most responsible for this, he was the one that failed to guide him, he was the one that decided to bring him here, he was the one that sought Dale out to teach him a lesson…

He was the one that went to drink and relax instead of keeping an eye on him…

The current Fray is undeserving of any trust, he wasn't the same hardworking Fray he saw in the orphanage, but he did it anyway, and this is the result…

He should be happy that Dale went easy on him, despite all of the moves he showed, it was clear he didn't really do much at all, he was barely sweating at all.

A slightly heavier hand would've been everything he needed to do, sharpening his own energy would've also done so, and his overwhelming attributes would've done the rest.

It was likely that the sun made him sweat more than Fray did.

Zaw had undervalued how strong this young man was, and the overwhelming difference in their abilities might have a completely different effect from what he wished.

'What rank would he be at?' He thought to himself in wonder

'Fray is barely a Polished Rank, but that last move he showed brought him to the standard of a Gemstone Rank Mercenary if even for a short moment.'

'But Dale is well beyond that... Spinel at a minimum... Diamond at best... But he seems too... Lacking to be in that rank yet.'

It was but a few moves they exchanged, but that already said a lot.

Dale was more brutal than elegant, more physical than technical…

In pure bodily strength, wouldn't he be stronger than even himself?

He may be old and far from his peak, but overall, Zaw's physical strength had actually increased over time, outpacing his decline due to age.

Even so, if his age were to regress back to his 20s, would he still be as strong and resilient as this boy? Even if retained all of his training accomplishments over the years?

Perhaps if he were to equip some extra magical items... Then he would surpass him.

Just by that, Dale would be more than enough to be placed among the high-ranking Diamond Mercenaries, perhaps he would even receive a 'seat' reserved for the strongest and more influential in the whole Guild.

But uncontrolled power is just that, to become Diamond, they need much more than just that, and he is far from that, his lack of understanding plummets his own strength.

Dale did not wield a weapon, but, by the way he acted, the way he used his foot to approach Fray's combat style, Zaw came to the conclusion he was worse than Fray in terms of technique.

And this would make sense as according to Misgurd's words prior to them meeting Dale in the bar of the Guild, he understood that Dale had at most half a decade worth of training in the spear, with most of that being self-taught.

Even so, that is extremely impressive, the rate of growth Misgurd described to him over these past 2 weeks is nothing short of maniacal ramblings…

Yet seeing it with his own eyes, he had to reconsider his own standing in all of this.

'This young man has a goal and the will to accomplish it under any means necessary.'

'He is determined to humble himself and seek self-improvement.'

'His morals are at the right place… The people around him are among the best you could find even outside, and he is working his best to improve his living environment…'

'Still, even with all of this, the infrastructure of this place lacks greatly in comparison to the Capital, even with the abundant resources here, it doesn't matter if they're never collected and used properly.'

'If such a young man were to appear in the Capital under an influential family… If he lived through the political game until a decent age… He would be nearly unstoppable.'

'Yet... Here, so far in the south, there is no one to stop him.'

'On the contrary, everyone is pushing him forward, and he in reply, is pulling them higher, aiming at a crazy future as if it was the natural thing to do.'

'A rare form of cooperation that isn't seen even in other more peaceful villages in the North.'

'He respects everyone and everyone respects him… Sigh…'

'Why didn't I bring my Great-Grandaughter with me this time around? She might've had a chance…'

Midway through his thoughts, Zaw started to think of meaningless things, perhaps trying not to take a look at his students' pitiful display.

At the same time, Yumi came back, her next words would determine Fray's fate.

Was Dale too heavy in his punishment?

Would he still be able to move forward?

Or would he never be able to wield a sword properly again?

They were about to find out.

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Notes

This is it for today, tomorrow we'll be back with more development, and after that... Continue with the matters of the Village, perhaps see how the Karkavan interacts with others, and then see how this will affect the expedition to the forest.

Dale has yet to meet the saint, find the secret market, and talk with the other merchants.

That is pretty much all he could do in the Village, but there is much to do outside...

A new field has opened in the desert, and what secrets lay within it?

And the forest won't wait forever...

What has happened to the people that live inside it? What has happened to the people that left to save their own for destruction, and those they left behind to fend for themselves?

What about the creatures that live beyond the wall? And the players in the North?

There is also the event, what do the developers want to accomplish?

What does Azimuth have to do with the outside world? Who wanted to capture the mc? Who was the old man that saved him?

As you can see, there is a lot to cover.

And hopefully, we'll do it over time.

If you have your own questions or suggestions about what should be covered, including completely new ideas, I'll hear them out as always.