Rumors & East Gate

The sunlight peeked through the window, bathing Arden with its warm glow. He opened his eyes groggily and stared at the ceiling.

"There's no time to waste," he muttered as he instantly stood up and walked towards the toilet.

In a matter of seconds, he had finished cleaning himself up and exited the toilet.

But then...

He suddenly stood still as he remembered something.

"Shit... I forgot about clothes," he muttered as he glanced at his worn-out tunic that looked like it was begging not to be worn again.

"What do I do now?" he muttered.

He couldn't possibly go out like this, with only his towel, so he had to find another way.

But at that same moment...

*Knock* *Knock*

Someone knocked on the door, before speaking.

"Good morning! I'm here with the clothes you requested," a girl said.

Arden certainly remembered that voice. It was the inn owner's daughter, but he didn't remember requesting any clothes.

"Oh wait... tch, I must've slept so well that I forgot," he muttered.

It was now that he remembered that she came last night, asking if he needed anything, and he told her to get clothes for him.

'Maybe she came in the night, but I was already fast asleep.'

"Just leave them there, I'll get them," Arden said.

"Oh, okay."

After a few seconds, he didn't hear any sound again, meaning she had left.

Instantly, he opened the door and picked the clothes from the floor before closing the door.

He hadn't really told her the specific size he wanted, but looking at the clothes now, he was sure they would fit him.

It was a brown tunic, paired with black pants and a pair of black boots.

They were pretty average, and they were basically what most people wore, but it was far better than his former worn-out clothes.

"I don't know how much this'll cost, but it won't be too expensive," Arden muttered.

At least, he would be more comfortable wearing this.

In a matter of seconds, Arden put on the clothes and boots.

After that, he exited the room and walked towards the stairs, heading to the ground floor where the tavern was located.

"Oh, good morning," Arden heard a lady's voice.

Instantly, he turned to the right and noticed that the inn owner was waving at him.

"Good morning, can I have something to eat?"

"Of course, you can take a seat, I'll be right back," she said with a cheerful smile on her face.

Arden wanted to eat something before leaving to hunt beasts, so he sat down.

Not long after, she came with a tray of food and placed it on the table in front of Arden.

"Here you go," she said.

"Okay, thanks."

Instantly, Arden dug in, and not long after, he finished the food.

After meeting the inn owner, he found out that the clothes were actually 7 bronze coins, and when added to the food he just ate, everything was 12 bronze coins.

Thankfully, he had already brought out his pouch of coins from his inventory before meeting the lady, so he just dipped his hand inside and brought out 12 bronze coins, before giving them to her.

"And now, I'm left with 9 gold coins, 99 silver coins, and 80 bronze coins," he muttered as he began walking out of the inn.

He could see the inn owner and her daughter waving at him from the corner of his eye.

Instantly, he kept the pouch inside his inventory and continued walking, with one destination in mind.

As usual, people were walking about, carrying out their daily activities.

Stores were already opening, and adventurers were already flooding the street, ready to hunt beasts for the day.

Though, Arden's ears managed to pick up what some of them were saying.

"Have you heard? Someone told me that Baron Xaren's son was found dead in an alley."

"Yes, I heard something like that. I don't know how true it is, but I'm sure it's not just a rumor."

"Ahh, it caused a commotion yesterday, but who could have killed him?"

"How am I supposed to know that? Maybe it was his father's enemy."

"Eh? You're talking loud, reduce your voice, someone might hear you."

"I see... I can imagine the kind of commotion it would have caused," Arden muttered.

Though, he also had another thought.

'If I run into any of those guards, there's a possibility that they'll recognize me. Though, I doubt that any of them will be outside.'

'They'll either be facing punishment for allowing Ryker to die, or maybe they're being questioned.'

There was even a huge possibility that they had already been sentenced to death.

Well, that aside, Arden hastened his steps and took a right turn, heading towards his destination.

On his way, he passed a lot of houses and stores, and he couldn't help but notice the palace in the distance.

"He's currently inside there... tch."

Just the mere thought that the man who killed him and his mother was inside that building made his blood boil with anger.

But well, he was yet to reach the King's level, so he had to work towards it.

Though, he remembered the king saying that he deprived him of something, and only his death could make him get it, and he couldn't help but wonder what it was.

'I deprived him of something, huh? What could it possibly be? Hmm, that doesn't change anything, I'll do what I want to do.'

Finally, Arden reached the East gate of the city, and he noticed the guard who was standing there.

The guard had short brown hair, and he wore a brown chest plate, with a sword strapped to his waist.

Though, Arden wasn't currently looking at him. Instead, he was looking at the forest in the distance.

Finally...

It was time to hunt some beasts.

He couldn't wait to see the beasts he would meet in the forest, and because of that, he didn't even notice the wide grin that appeared on his face.