Failed Searches

I woke up

My teeth were clenched together to the point of grinding, my hands were clenched into fists so tightly that my nails were bleeding.

"Haaa!!!" I jumped up without processing what had happened yet.

(booomm)

A Sonic boom shot out of my hand destroying the earth igloo I used to sleep next to the trees around.

"Haa?!" Startled, I lifted myself from the ground and looked around. I was no longer with Hitogami. I was now awake, and judging by the sky, it was about to dawn.

"that bastard son of a bitch!!!" I screamed with all my might and started hitting a remaining stone wall.

I didn't care about the pain I just wanted to hit something as hard as I could, I wanted to kill...

"haa...haa...haa..." I only stopped when I heard a "crack!" sound in my right hand.

I had fractured my knuckles but healed them quickly with intermediate level healing magic.

"Fucking hell...that bastard...you're going to pay for this..." I muttered as I sat on the floor and tried to calm down.

"fuuu..." after about twenty minutes I could finally think clearly.

"So my offspring, huh?..." I muttered disdainfully.

"If before you were afraid that my children or grandchildren would kill you...I assure you that now I will be the one to kill you, you damn son of a bitch!! " I screamed towards the sky with all my strength and then I let myself fall to the ground.

(crack!)

The sound of branches breaking pulled me out of my thoughts but when I focused it was only a wild boar that had been attracted by the sounds.

"..." Without even giving him time to attack, a stone bullet destroyed his skull and he fell to the ground immediately.

"Roasted wild boar meat for breakfast then..." I muttered and started skinning the animal.

Who knows how long I scowled after that and was glad the girls weren't around to see me in this state.

After eating all I could of that wild boar and drying some of its meat, I started walking out of the forest and when I was a good distance away, I rose into the air again.

The next city called Amara, was about four days away by carriage but by flying I could arrive shortly after noon.

And that's what I did, but I made sure to land in the woods a couple of kilometers away so as not to alert people.

"I always knew that traveling by plane was effective,"

In just one day flying I covered a distance that by carriage would have taken me almost two whole weeks, obviously I was still planning to fly this way but a doubt was still growing in my mind.

How am I supposed to find Philemon?... I didn't even ask Darius, I was completely frozen in anger...

"uuugh...I always do this!!!" I muttered in frustration as I slapped myself on the forehead.

I didn't even know if Philemon was actually alive or even headed to Millis for real, he could be heading to the northern territories without any problems while I'm here wasting time...

And worse still, I didn't even know who was escorting Philemon!! The boy was already four years old according to my calculations, I can identify him if I concentrate well on his features but how am I supposed to identify who accompanies him?!

"Uugh! Me and my big head!!" I screamed in frustration.

"Shut up, kid! You've been grumbling for a while!" A man shouted from the trees and I immediately threw a stone bullet at him.

"Ugh! Damn brat!" The stone bullet obviously didn't have the same force as the usual ones, but it would leave a bruise for several days.

"Nobody tells me what to do and what the hell are you doing here? Are you a lumberjack or something?!" I shouted angrily, but the guy was just focused on rubbing his injured shoulder.

"Haa!...I don't have time for this!!" I shouted in frustration and continued walking.

Judging by the guy's common axe and his muscles and the red shirt with black squares he was wearing... I bet he was a pretty stereotypical lumberjack, I'd say...

I didn't pay much attention to that guy and continued walking towards the capital, but even I could tell he was way too irritable...

"Fuuuu...relax Paul...you'll find a way to defeat that bastard" I muttered as I leaned against a tree.

I could feel for a while now how my heart was beating like crazy, I was completely upset.

I even still had the feeling of killing something with just my fists...it was something so terrifying to myself that I just decided to rest for the time being.

"Fuu..." I sighed slowly and my heart began to relax, but it took me about ten minutes but I was finally able to calm down.

All the stress I had accumulated this year was starting to manifest itself with the visit of that bastard and also with the insecurity of Philemon's condition I can do nothing but put myself more anxious.

I had no idea how to even begin, and it would probably be a long time before I did, and I can't just go from city to city hoping to find someone suspicious...

"Shit!!" I screamed as I got frustrated again and punched the tree I was leaning against.

"Looks like you've had a bad day, huh kid?" The same man from before muttered as he looked at me with narrowed eyes.

The man was carrying a pile of wood on his injured shoulder and was about three meters away from me.

"...I'm sorry, let me heal you," I murmured as I approached him.

I put my hand on his arm because he was bigger than me and a green light started emitting from my hand rapidly.

"o-oh?!, m-magic without enchantments?!" The man screamed, unable to believe what he had seen, even throwing the pile of wood he was carrying on his shoulder.

"Ah yes, sorry, it's something I developed, it's not a big deal" I mumbled while scratching my neck.

"It's not a big deal?! Do you know how many people can do spells without incantation?!" The man shouted and a slight drop of sweat formed on my forehead.

"Uh...I don't know, how many?" I asked uncertainly.

"Zero!! It's impossible! But you just cured me without doing any spells and you say it's not that big of a deal!! The man said while holding his head tightly.

"Hey! It's not like it's the end of the world, besides... I apologize for attacking you for no reason, it must have been annoying to hear me complaining all the time, right?" I muttered softly.

"Yes, it was, but don't worry, I see you're not having a good time, huh?" The man asked and I just sighed.

"No, I'm looking for my missing brother, "But I don't have a clear clue as to where or how he could be," I muttered, feeling frustration building up in my body again.

"Hmm...have you tried putting a wanted request in his name with a reward?" The man muttered and I shook my head.

"No, I think he was kidnapped and that would only alert those who have him," I stated and the man scratched his chin.

"Ha! That's a bigger problem!...So what are you going to do?" The man muttered and I grabbed my head in frustration.

"I-I don't know, I don't even know where to start, I don't even know if he's still alive!" I screamed and the man took a step back.

"Wow! Relax, kid!...geez, you're really stressed, huh?" The guy said in an almost mocking tone that made me frown.

"You have no idea..." I muttered weakly.

"tch...my name is Vendril by the way, and you?" The man asked and I looked at him out of the corner of my eye

"Paul..." I murmured weakly

"Very well Paul, if that's the case then you have to look deeper, in the black markets if you know what I mean" the man murmured getting closer to my ear.

"The slave markets..." I muttered.

"Exactly! If your brother was kidnapped, that would be the best place to start looking!" The man replied.

"Well...that's an idea, are there slave markets in the nearby town?" I asked and the man nodded.

"Yeah...those bastards are near the red zone if you know what I mean kid" the man muttered and I nodded.

"Well, thanks a lot for the idea," I muttered and started running quickly, ignoring the man's screams of surprise.

The last thing he needed was to make new friends, not after Gesse...

...

Thanks to my speed I was able to reach the city in less than a minute but now that I thought about it...I didn't know where the red light district was here...ahhh!!

I slapped myself again on the head for my stupidity.

"Hah...but it doesn't matter, I just have to search well, in Millis those bastards were in broad daylight and right next to a market, why should they hide now?" I muttered to myself.

I walked through the streets of this medium-sized city, it was a little bigger than the capital of Shirone but not too much.

If he wanted to find Philemon quickly, then he'd have to embarrass himself, starting now...

"Excuse me sir...but do you know where the slave market is?..." I muttered as I looked at a man in front of me.

I could feel my cheeks turning red from embarrassment and the man narrowed his eyes.

"Yeah, it's right next to the flea market and across from the red light district, you'll find it easily," the man muttered while scratching his chin and I nodded without saying anything.

He said it so naturally...as if it were just another business in this world...

The very idea made me nauseous and irritated at the same time, But I didn't have time to think about that because as soon as I entered the market I could see in the distance a building just like Millis's.

Both had two guards guarding the door and inside must have been the slaves...

I suppressed my desire to blow up the building once and for all and walked towards it. The guards stared at me as I walked in but I ignored them.

Just as I entered the place and was independent, the smell of blood, urine and excrement reached my nostrils and I fought with all my might not to vomit on the spot.

The scenery was exactly like in Millis but here humans were more abundant than other races...

"Welcome, young man. What are you looking for?" An overweight man in a suit approached me.

He was a little shorter than me and wore a monocle over his left eye.

It reminded me of that character from that Chinese cartoon my sister used to watch, it was a guy with a magic shield or something like that.

Shit...I can't believe I'm going to say this...

"I'm looking for small children... maximum five years old... do you have any new batches by chance?" I asked while holding back my urge to vomit.

The man blinked in surprise a couple of times and then a grim smile spread across his face.

"Wow! Wow! So young and already developing his tastes, huh? Hehe, follow me this way." The man muttered with amusement and I suppressed my urge to cut his throat.

And just like in Millis, behind a curtain there were people chained, most of whom were humans, but I could see some humans and Dwarves...

"We had a new batch a month and a half ago, most of them are human children but we have a variety, feel free to choose the one you like!" The man said with a big smile as he introduced me to Hundreds of naked children in cages, none older than ten years old and all of them malnourished.

I clenched my fists tightly and gritted my teeth, but I suppressed my urge to kill the bastard in front of me and began to look more closely at the children.

They were small children, all showing signs of physical abuse and malnutrition, But no matter how hard I searched, none of them was Philemon.

I don't know why, but the fact that he wasn't here made me breathe a sigh of relief.

"Hmm? What happened? Is there no one that convinces you?" The man asked while tilting his head.

Instinctively I put my hand on the hilt of my sword but immediately stopped and looked at the children...

And if he killed him and freed them, what happens next?.

I had avoided thinking this about Millis but it was a reality

Locked up or released these people have a doomed fate, only being a millionaire could I help them all and that is something I can't do now...

I can't just throw them out on the street and...someone else will take them as slaves.

I don't even know if they have slave brands, their organization would hunt them down and only degrade them further...

"Young man? Is something wrong?" The man's voice brought me out of my thoughts and I clenched my fists tighter.

"No...none here is to my liking" I declared.

The man's smile disappeared instantly and his posture became more defensive.

"Then please I'll beg you to leave!" The man said in a hostile tone and I quickly turned around.

After walking away from that place I ran into an alley and threw up all my breakfast.

"Haaa...shit, you fucking dog sons of bitches!!" I screamed in frustration.

The idea of slavery being something so morally accepted simply disgusted me openly, if it were up to me I would destroy each and every one of these stalls if I could...

"It will be something for the future..." I said while making a promise to myself.

...

After that failed search I decided it was time to get some money, after all roast wild boar meat didn't taste as good without spices.

The adventurer's guild in this town was average-sized, with its tavern-like atmosphere, busty receptionist, and all that.

I was currently a C-rank adventurer, I had long since stopped giving much importance to my adventurer card but I considered that this was a good time to dust it off.

I focused on the request table, obviously on those of rank C or B and they were all...complicated so to speak.

I immediately discard dungeon exploration and distant hunts, I want easy money dammit!!

And after ten minutes of searching I found a job that caught my attention.

It was directly from the city hall so it had to be something serious.

Black Wolf Hunting Request

Due to recent sightings of Black Wolves near the city perimeter, we are requesting help from adventurers to lend their services to exterminate these dangerous beasts, At least one entire pack of these wolves has been sighted near the city walls.

To claim the reward you must bring at least the pairs of ears of at least ten black wolves along with their magic stones.

Reward: seven gold coins individually, Five Gold Coins if it is a team

"Whew...that's something, huh?" I muttered to myself as I quickly took the request.

Black wolves, as their name suggests, are black wolves with teeth that remind you of saber-toothed tigers. Individually, they are C-rank beasts, but in a pack, they become A-rank beasts.

And the reward was quite large considering the range of this.

Fortunately and for some reason this could be done solo so I didn't hesitate.

And as expected, the busty receptionist hesitated slightly when she saw me alone with the request, but she just sighed and gave me the token to claim the reward again.

Heh, she probably thinks I'll die on the spot but I'm not just any kid!

I'm The Kid!...

I quickly left the adventurer's guild and ran out of the city.

The receptionist specified in more detail that the pack of black wolves has been sighted several times in the north of the city.

Which is right near the entrance...

But wait... if there's a threat of Black Wolves out there, then why was that guy cutting down trees like it was nothing and all by himself...

Bah, I shouldn't think about that...no! I must think about that!

Why would that guy be out there alone? A common lumberjack can't take on a black wolf alone! Let alone with a simple axe...

It doesn't hurt to be a little suspicious of that guy...

I walked along the outskirts of the city until I reached the forest I had come from.

Also...it's strange that I didn't encounter any black wolves along the way...

Oh well, that happened because I came flying here in the first place, so let's rule that out.

I walked through the woods and after about half an hour I found some chopped firewood lying on the ground...

Fortunately there was no blood or anything like that nearby, but it still gave me a bad feeling.

(snarl)

"hmm?..."

Suddenly I heard a growl from the bushes and out of them appeared a black wolf which was slowly approaching me and also...its mouth was bloody!

"don't tell me..."

Before I could finish my sentence the wolf pounced on me, but with a simple stone bullet to the head he fell dead.

(loud grunts)

After that wolf fell dead more wolves came out of the bushes and luckily for me there were the remaining nine!

"Come after me, you sons of bitches!" I shouted loudly and drew my sword.

Without waiting any longer, the nine wolves rushed towards me and I cut down each and every one of them effortlessly, this job was beneath me.

So, in less than 20 seconds the nine wolves lay dead at my feet.

"Well, that was anticlimactic..." I muttered and my gaze went to the first wolf I killed, the one with the bloody mouth.

I frowned instinctively and buried my sword in his stomach.

I quickly opened the wolf's entrails and headed to its stomach and...

"A human hand..." I murmured breathlessly as I pulled out his stomach.

Not even two hours had passed, the guy was carrying an axe, he looked strong... so why?

But besides a human hand there was a foot and already digested flesh.

I held back my urge to vomit again and fortunately I didn't since I had already thrown up my entire breakfast after the slave thing.

I opened the stomachs of the wolves and started to find more human parts and when I found another hand...it had a golden ring.

"How strange...that guy didn't have this ring, could it be someone else?" I muttered to myself and took the ring and...

(boom!!)

One of the wolves' bodies exploded, knocking me to the ground on my ass.

"What the fuck?!" I screamed as I protected myself with my barrier aura.

(krooom!)

The wolves' bodies started to explode and each explosion was stronger than the last, I didn't even have time to process the first explosion and when I realized...

I had a sword at my neck...