In an ancient-looking room—
Ring ring ring!
A burly man with a magnificent beard picked up the landline and pressed it to his ear.
"Speak."
The rushed voice on the other end made him frown.
Anger spread across his face, making him look like an Oni from Japanese folklore.
"FOR FUCK'S SAKE!!" He slammed his fist on the desk, breaking it clean in half.
"Chill," a man lounging on the sofa muttered, casually flipping through a furry hentai magazine.
"Shut the hell up. This ain't something to chill about."
The bearded man rubbed his forehead. His rage shifted into exhaustion.
"Ummm, you okay?"
"Okay? Do I look okay?"
"Yes."
"Get out."
"I'm sorry."
He ignored the idiot and picked up the reports scattered on the floor.
The sixth victim had been found in a filthy alley—brutally slaughtered in the worst way imaginable.
Eaten.
And what's worse than being eaten?
The bite marks.
They weren't from an animal.
They were human.
In short—cannibalism.
According to their investigation, the killer only acted at night and only in dark alleys.
It wouldn't be difficult if they stuck to one hunting ground.
But this thing… It appeared everywhere. Every dark alley held traces of it.
Even a cop with a radar ability had freaked out. On the radar, the killer didn't just escape after an attack. It teleported to another alley.
This thing had to be dealt with. Immediately.
Interrogation? Nah.
The moment it started eating people, questioning became pointless.
"We need to gather information from the locals..."
"Captain, we've done that a hundred times."
"I know… but we still have to do it."
The bearded man stood up, gazing out the window.
"Besides, I think I've figured out how this bastard chooses its targets."
The guy on the sofa tossed his hentai aside, suddenly interested.
"This thing doesn't kill in the same place twice. It always appears in alleys it hasn't been to yet."
"So, the most likely place it'll strike next..."
He spread out a map of the kingdom on the glass table beside the sofa.
"This alley."
His finger tapped a location in one of the cities.
A city that housed Blue Sky Academy.
"Call Rocker in. I have a job for him."
"Okay, okay."
Minutes later, an even bigger man entered the room.
"C-CAPTAIN!! ROCKER HAS ARRIVED!"
"No need to shout. I have an extremely dangerous and critical mission. You in?"
"ANYTHING FOR THE PEOPLE! FOR THE KINGDOM!"
"Good. Listen up..."
After a brief discussion, Rocker accepted the mission and left immediately.
"Hey, instead of sending him, why not do it yourself?" the guy on the sofa asked.
"You think I have time for that?"
"Old man, you're the second-strongest after Jun."
"Listen, if I go, you have to handle all the paperwork."
"Alright, I take it back."
"Then GET LOST!"
With a single kick, the man was sent flying out of the room.
The captain sighed and looked at his broken desk.
"..."
He collapsed onto the remains of his chair.
That desk cost two platinum coins… and platinum coins were only second in value to royal coins.
One platinum coin could feed a family for a year and eight months.
"I fucking hate this job..."
***
"At least the academy lets students go outside. That's probably the only thing I like about this place."
I stepped out, taking a deep breath of fresh air.
Looking around, my eye twitched. The buildings were a complete mess—none of them matched each other at all. But whatever.
Stay calm… Don't get pissed…
"Alright, I need a weapon… Not that I really care what kind."
I wandered past various weapon shops, scanning for anything that caught my eye.
Then, I noticed the Adventurers' Guild—a place filled with people wielding all sorts of weapons.
If I remembered correctly, this guild accepted anyone, regardless of age or background. As long as you completed your missions, you got paid.
You could say the Adventurers' Guild was a paradise for the broke… but in return, death was a common occurrence.
"Kinda wanna try joining just to see what it's like..."
Nearby, a group of adventurers was discussing something.
Something about a dungeon?
Dungeons were both gold mines and graves for adventurers. Insanely dangerous.
Not explaining further. You've probably seen this trope a million times already.
"Huh?"
I spotted a huge guy talking to an old lady nearby.
"Uhhhh... Ahhh... Ummmmm..."
"Spit it out, kid. I don't have all day."
"Wait! I have a question, and it's... Ughhh..."
"Bye."
"Hey hey!! I wasn't done yet!!"
He collapsed to his knees, sobbing as the old lady walked away.
…Yeah. I should stay away from him. Just a gut feeling.
Just as I turned to leave, he noticed me.
"Young man! I have a question!!! Please don't leave me!"
…Huhhhh.
I sighed and walked over.
"Oh, thank god!! At least someone will listen to me!"
"So… what do you need?"
"I wanted to ask… Uhhh…"
I glanced at him, noticing a paper stuck to his shirt.
Without thinking, I pulled it off and read it.
"You want to ask me about… the cannibal? Wait, the CANNIBAL??"
"HEY!! HOW DO YOU KNOW?! AND KEEP YOUR VOICE DOWN!!" He clamped a hand over my mouth, sweating bullets.
I pointed at the paper, and he finally realized.
"Damn it, I hate how dumb I am..."
At least you realized, so that's good?
"Huh… Anyway, back to my question—do you know anything?"
"..."
Dude. If you're telling me to keep my voice down, that means this is a secret, right?
"Uh… Is this supposed to be a secret?"
"Yeah."
"Then why the hell are you asking me? You should've just asked if there were any murder cases here. That'd be safer."
"Ah! You're right! Damn, you're smart!"
No, that's just common sense.
I thought for a moment.
I had heard people talking about murders in other cities…
But not here.
"Nobody's died around here lately."
"Really? That's great!"
"Huh? Why is that great?"
"Because I was sent here to track down and eliminate the cannibal terrorizing the kingdom."
"You… don't have to say it all out loud."
"Oh, really? Then how about this—want to team up with me to catch the guy?"
Taking a minor to hunt a serial killer doesn't sound like a great idea, dude.
"Can I say no?"
"Sure, but you already know a lot. Can I trust you to keep quiet?"
"Do I look untrustworthy or something?"
"No, you look like the type of kid who gets bullied by thugs because you're too honest."
"That's even worse…"
He went silent for a moment, then glanced at a weapon shop, eyes lighting up.
"How about this? I'll buy you the best weapon in that store!"
I followed his gaze and spotted a sword with a purple-dominant color scheme.
"..."
It looked sick as hell. I needed it.
"So? Deal?" He grinned.
"...Fine."
"Great! Let me introduce myself! I'm Rocker, from the Kingdom Protection Corps! My duty is to protect the people!"
"I'm Kai, a first-year student from Class F. Nice to meet you."
And just like that—I got bribed with a cool-ass sword.