Witch Hunter Rhapsody

"Sir! That's it for now!"

"Yes, thank you for your hard work."

At the gates of Ortham, mercenaries waiting in line to enter the city are unloading their weapons, checking their supplies, and paying the entry fee.

Vitas spent extra money to have a coachman take him out of the city. After being stared at by the crowd on his first day in the city wearing armor, he tried to avoid wearing armor in public as much as possible.

"Gugu ga, I thought you could ride a horse, Sir Knight."

That annoying crow has appeared; it's Maximus.

"My horse died in battle, and I currently lack the resources to afford a new one. What are you doing here?"

A warhorse represents a stable and provisions. If Vitas doesn't want to spend too much time and hire people to take care of it, he doesn't have the extra energy to deal with these things right now.

"Thinking about it that way, Sir Knight, your past seems quite mysterious. I only know your name; I don't even know which country you're from. Shouldn't we be more open with each other?"

"Maximus, I'm just a mercenary hoping to reclaim my honor. I've lost my comrades, my honor... So what are you doing here?"

"Hahaha, then you've come to the right person! Follow me, follow my teacher, and you will become quite famous in the Duchy of Vilan!"

A crow circled above his head.

"However, this is not difficult. Those who serve us all have secrets, big or small. As long as you don't betray us, betrayal is not uncommon among wizards."

"What exactly are you here for?"

"Hehe, it's just for fun. Alright, the great wizard is going to carry out his research now. Don't die in the wild."

The crow finally left.

Most of the territory of the Duchy of Vilan is hilly, and various wild beasts occupy the wild forests outside the cities and villages. Even though the mercenary activities of the Duchy of Vilan are the most prosperous, they are unable to completely eradicate the harm caused by wild beasts.

Vitas saw a spider with a human face ahead.

The human-faced spider gets its name from the patterns on its back that resemble a human face and the fact that its body is indeed as large as a human head.

For passersby wearing light armor, the spiders' sharp teeth, pointed feet, and corrosive blood posed a deadly threat.

But it's a different story for Vitas, who is clad in heavy armor.

Vitas's armor was made by forging composite steel, and the process of making these steels began when he was born and continued for eighteen years before finally taking shape.

Even dwarves skilled in forging could only admire such armor.

Vitas entered the territory of the human-faced spiders, and these disturbed arthropods poured out from the trees, bushes, and underground, trying to kill the intruder before them with the body parts they had relied on for survival for tens of thousands of years.

Vitas simply walked past. The blood spurting out as these human-faced spiders were crushed might pose a threat to human skin, but it was still too much of a strain on the hardened steel.

Vitas didn't even need to draw his sword; he simply carried it on his shoulder as usual, walked straight over, crushed the man-faced spider he had trampled to death once more, and threw it into his pocket.

The pharmacist needs the shell powder, but Vitas only needs to take it back; the rest—drying and grinding—is none of his concern.

Vitas looked at the sky. If he couldn't fill his pockets before dark, he would inevitably have to spend the night outside. Wearing this armor was not a comfortable sleeping position.

Then, just like in the fairy tales Vitas had read as a child, he saw a small cabin in the distance in the woods.

This cabin wasn't one of those rough log cabins that hunters used to live in, which were far from comfortable. The house in front of him was built with wooden planks, and he could recognize that they were made of wood with excellent insulation properties. It had a porch decorated with flowers and plants, and it looked like a detached villa in the city's wealthy district.

This is clearly a magical creation.

Vitas didn't know much about magic. He was trained as a knight from birth, and his understanding of magic was limited to gestures, incantations, materials, and the rather long casting time.

He actually learned about all sorts of spells through his observations during his years of warfare. Those wizards were very guarded about their knowledge and unwilling to reveal it.

For example, Vitas had no idea whether this little house was a magical creation, a real object, or both.

He searched his memories.

This is the La'er Hut spell, which many mages learn as a temporary shelter when traveling.

Wizards would create a spell specifically to replace the camping process, wasting precious magic power and spell slots.

That's the strangeness of wizards.

Of course, wizards would say that sleep is important to them, and that sufficient sleep is beneficial for the recovery of spell slots.

Vitas only knew a little about spell slots and magic power. The total number of spells each wizard could cast each day was fixed, which was one of their core secrets, while magic power determined the level of spells they could cast.

He did not proceed further, as it was highly likely he would enter the range of a detection spell, just as Maximus had discovered him.

Vitas rarely engages in direct combat with wizards. His previous successful assassinations were all due to the wizards being off guard. Once a wizard becomes wary, things get very troublesome.

He was thinking that he might have already been discovered.

Why not pretend to be a lost knight and try to get some information out of him? Maybe you'll meet a new wizard.

Adventure is not uncommon, especially for Vitas, who obtained all the world's treasures through adventure.

Approaching a wizard is dangerous, but danger also comes with rewards.

Vitas walked toward the hut, and the raven did not follow, because the scouting spell would detect the little creature's presence.

Vitas approached the house step by step.

Wizards are always quite eccentric. They are angels in the eyes of some and demons in the eyes of others. They may kill the innocent or save others. Wizards, like all other identities, are complex and full of uncertainty.

Vitas Vitalius sheathed his weapon and knocked on the door.

Boom!

Crunch!

The door opened the moment he knocked, and the person behind it had been waiting for a long time.

It was a woman, dressed simply, with lifeless eyes.

"May I ask who you are...?"

"I'm a mercenary. I'm lost in the forest and I stumbled upon this little house. Could you please give me a drink of water?"

The woman looked Vitas up and down with suspicion. "Where are your servants?" she asked.

"We encountered wild beasts and were scattered."

"Are there any particularly noteworthy wild animals around here?"

"Human-faced spiders, blood giant apes—believe me, nobody wants to encounter these beasts in the wild. Please, I just want a sip of water."

Vitas peered through the woman and saw that there were many books in the room, as well as three people gathered around a table, discussing something. The person in the center was wearing a wizard's robe, the style of which was basically the same as the ones he had seen before, but the patterns were slightly different.

The woman was undecided when the wizard inside the house spoke.

"You're from Ortham?"

Vitas answered loudly.

"Yes, Your Excellency!"

"Come in, I am Raymond Gallagher, Your Excellency. We are willing to help, but in return, you must tell us some interesting things we want to know."

Vitas never expected to run into the guy Maximus had mentioned. Was this fate?

"Of course, Your Excellency, I am Vitas Vitalius."

The wizard tilted his head and said with a rather surprised expression.

"Oh? That name sounds familiar. Have we met before, Mr. Vitalius?"