(Random bar patron POV)
Alria town.
It's an unremarkable place on the map of this world.
There's absolutely nothing that stands out in this place at all, not the people, not the buildings, not the goods, nothing.
Anyone who passes through this town probably would forget about it a few days later, that's just how unremarkable this place was.
But this unremarkable place actually hides a secret that few knows.
The ruler of this town, Baroness Tian, had always been dissatisfied with the current monarchy. She believed that she should be a Duchess at least but she was snubbed because of her relatively normal background.
Any attempts at climbing the ranks had been met with failure, it was as though someone in the court did not want her to succeed.
She then decided that if she could not achieve the authority she wanted within the Nobles' circle, she would find the respect she yearned amongst the underground circle instead.
Thus, this town was secretly a bandit's den where most, if not all, of its inhabitants are bandits hiding in plain sight.
On the surface, we look like the unremarkable town we are known to be. But everyone here from the servants, labourers and shopkeepers were ruthless killers that would not hesitate to drive a knife in between someone's ribs.
If anyone new comes into town, we'll let them stay in the only inn here. If they look to be difficult people, we'll let them pass through town untouched. But if they look like easy pickings…
One such person came to our town today, travelling alone and even bringing two bags full of loot.
Easy pickings, definitely.
Everyone else in the room thought so too, eyeing him as he walked through the room.
Sam stood up and blocked his way, giving him the usual shakedown threat that we would normally do.
Since he was one of our strongest fighters here, we wouldn't even need to raise our hands to help him. He even has an artifact that strengthens his physical abilities to that of at least ten men at all times. Even if all of us jumped on him, we wouldn't have stood a chance.
Yep, just look at that guy now shaking in fear, if he's smart he would just leave his stuff here and--
*Crash*
Before I could understand what was happening, Sam was already sprawled out on the floor with an obviously broken jaw with several of his teeth knocked out on the ground. His neck was also visibly twisted and the whites of his eyes were showing.
I didn't need to be a doctor to know that he was dead.
That man simply stepped over Sam who he just killed nonchalantly, as though killing people was something normal to him.
"One room for the night please."
His voice shook a few of us out of our stupor, turning our gaze from the dead man on the ground to look at him.
Tokeir who was manning the counter was understandably nervous when he handed over the keys. He didn't even dare to try and overcharge him, giving him the discounted rates we would give to our own people.
I was wondering why until that man turned back to look at us.
Those eyes of his.
I don't know why, but it looked like I was staring straight into the eyes of death itself.
Easy mark my ass. What the hell made me think he was an easy target?!
I thought I was going to die right there and then but the man picked up his bags and headed upstairs to his room without a second glance back.
The sounds of everyone releasing the breath they were holding echoed through the room when he disappeared.
All of us had the same thought: Who the hell is this guy?!
*
(MC POV)
"Was it necessary for the physical enhancement, Master? Even with that defensive charm, I think Master's normal strength would have been enough..."
I chuckled, storing my bag away in the wardrobe of the room, "You forget, Xun Guan. This is the Spiritual Plane, everyone here is stronger than me, even non-Practitioners. You may still have an advantage over non-Practitioners but I'm basically a mortal now, you know? That blow should only knock him out for a bit."
"... He's dead though…" Xun Guan mumbled.
"Sorry, what did you say?" I asked, not hearing what she said since I was busy sorting through the items I wanted to sell.
"Ah! Nothing, Master! I was just wondering if it would be alright for us to stand out like that?"
I grinned, "Here's what I learnt, Xun Guan. Make yourself seem stronger than you are and even those stronger than you will hesitate to bother you. It won't work for long but since we're only here for a while, it doesn't really matter. That guy probably will stay out of my way while I'm here and the others would also hesitate to bother me."
Xun Guan shuffled a little, "But… He's dead… Are the people of this Plane undying as well? No… Or else those bandits..."
"Did you say something?"
"Nothing, Master!"
"If you're tired, we can just rest today. Maybe stay an extra day here, how about that?"
"Master, I'm truly fine! I'm sorry to have worried you!"
I smiled wryly at her, "You sure? It really is no trouble. I want to go back but there's no need to rush. Shiori and Akari would have told everyone about my situation and I did tell them I would be able to handle it."
Xun Guan took a deep breath before exhaling, "Master, I truly am fine."
I shrugged, "If you say so."
Previously I had split the things into two bags to carry them easier, but since I'll be selling most of them away, I stuffed them all into one bag that I could bring to the general store to sell.
After making sure that everything was secure, I locked up my room and went back downstairs.
From the top of the staircase, I could hear that the bar was noisy with conversation. But with every step that I took descending the stairs, the room became more and more quiet until it was completely silent when I reached the bar.
Everyone seemed to be hunched over their food and drinks, keeping quiet and not looking at my direction.
Curiously, the man who had tried to stop me from before was still sleeping on the ground.
I hefted my bag and made my way to the entrance, stepping over the unconscious man on my way out.
"Might want to put that guy somewhere. He might get cold you know?" I commented.
I'm probably imagining it but everyone in the room tensed up at my words. I almost thought they were going to jump on me and start another fight but it seems like that wasn't the case.
I safely stepped out of the inn without any issues, thankfully.
"Master… Could I say something?" Xun Guan asked.
"Hmm? Go ahead?"
"Master was… Ermm… Seriously cool just now…"
"What? Where did that come from?"
"Ehehe… I just felt like saying it. Saying his body will get cold, hehehe~"
Weird. I was just worried about that guy getting a cold you know? Not sure what's so cool about that?
Oh well, not that I'm in any position to tell her what to feel anyway.
Now where is that general store...