Assimilate All Talents

A carriage pulled by two horses made its way down a paved road. In the distance, a towering stone wall loomed, gradually shrinking from view as the carriage moved away. Sitting atop the carriage was Amber, her hair flowing in the gentle breeze. She wasn't alone; a bearded man with large hands held the reins, and four C-Rank adventurers jogged alongside, keeping pace with the carriage.

One of the adventurers, Daren, a young man armed with a sword and shield, glanced at Amber, who occasionally swung her dagger in seemingly random directions. "Hey, Alder, what do you think she's doing?"

"I don't know." Alder replied, shrugging. "Maybe some kind of special training? She and the guy she's with are B-Rankers, so who knows? Don't get distracted by what she's doing and keep your eyes on the surroundings. Bandits probably know what happened in the city by now. The bold ones will definitely try to take advantage of the surge of people leaving, or those will soon arrive."

"Yeah, yeah, I know." Daren waved dismissively, though he still sounded unconcerned. "But we're still close to the city walls. They wouldn't dare attack here, would they?" He then changed the subject. "Still, I don't get it. Why is everyone rushing to the capital? It's basically in shambles, why would anyone want to go there now?"

From the other side of the carriage, Pollock, another C-Rank adventurer, poked his head around with a sly grin. "Why does anyone do anything? For money and opportunity!"

Daren frowned, still puzzled. "How does that work? Are they planning to scavenge through the ruins?"

The bearded driver, Gilbert, the employer for this escort quest, shook his head and chimed in. "Not exactly. Sure, some might have that in mind, but most are going for different reasons. It's be hard to to make a name for yourself with so many pre established forces and people in the capital, but now that some of them are gone or lost everything, it's a perfect opportunity for new players to enter the scene. Merchants, builders, adventurers and even some nobles are jumping at this opportunity to climb the social ladder or make a lot of money. Some pre-established powers were wiped out or weakened, and now there's room for new players to rise. Me? I already bought the land where two buildings used to stand along the main road. Once I get materials and a contractor, I'll build a store and expand my business."

Gilbert glanced back at the group. "The capital's low on materials, given that a lot of it is already being used for reconstruction, which is why we're heading to Redwood to buy some before the price spikes. Opportunities like this don't come often."

Though yesterday's events had been catastrophic, they had opened doors for the ambitious. Opportunists were already jumping in to capitalize on low prices and high demand. Of course, there was also the risk that the tragedy could mark the kingdom's fall, but those willing to gamble knew that to get ahead they had to take some risk.

As their conversation continued, Alder raised a fist, signaling everyone to halt.

"Be on guard." He warned. "I heard movement over there."

The group's attention shifted toward a cluster of trees and bushes. Gilbert pulled on the reins, stopping the horses, while Alder and Daren approached the area cautiously. The remaining adventurers stayed close to the carriage, protecting it.

Sword and shield at the ready, Daren circled the largest tree. His eyes widened when he spotted a body hidden in the bushes. "What the hell…" he muttered, using his sword to push aside some foliage. To his shock, seven more corpses lay beneath the brush.

Alder stepped closer, his expression grim. "Bandits, right? But who killed them? It looks recent."

The blood pooling beneath the bodies was fresh, staining the ground and seeping into the earth. Judging by their rugged appearance and hidden location, they were almost certainly bandits.

"What do we do?" Pollock asked, his voice tinged with worry. "Whoever did this might still be nearby... and we could be next."

Alder scanned the area, his instincts on high alert. After a moment, he said, "We should leave. Whoever killed them is still close since they died recently, and we don't want to provoke them. Let's not touch their kills."

Though looting another's kills wasn't strictly against any rules, Alder didn't want to risk angering the individual or group capable of dispatching eight bandits so cleanly and without a mess.

Gilbert nodded in agreement. "Let's pick up the pace." With a flick of the reins, the horses broke into a faster gallop, putting distance between them and the grisly scene.

...

Inside the carriage, Sol sat on a crate, feeling the jostling as the carriage accelerated. Once they were far enough from the bodies, Sol extended his will, manipulating the earth around the bandits' corpses to bury them.

As he finished, he sighed and shook his head. 'Damn. I forgot to bury that group.'

Sol and Amber had taken this escort quest not out of necessity but convenience. After yesterday's events, most carriages had been destroyed or quickly claimed, leaving them with two choices: walk on foot or take an escort quest from the guild. Naturally, they chose the latter, which also gave Sol time to sort through his recent gains.

Since leaving the city, Amber had handled three separate groups of bandits. Sol had tasked her with dealing with any attackers so he could focus on inspecting the items and skills he'd acquired. He hadn't done so earlier, feeling guilty about spending time on personal gains while the city was still recovering. Now, with nothing else to do during the journey, he finally had time.

The reason the adventurers had discovered the last group of bandits was simple, Sol had forgotten to bury the bodies after Amber finished them off. His distraction stemmed from a particularly strange object he'd found among the Harbinger's possessions:

[Blessed Story Compass

Common

Durability: 10/10

Skills:

[???] Lv MAX]

[[???] Lv MAX: Detects and points in the direction of the narrative focus.]

[New entry detected.]

[Permission level 1 confirmed.]

[Name the new skill.]