Proofread by Thomas F. 2nd June, 2025.
"To the safe journey!" we said and clinked our glasses as we drank before turning to a sumptuous meal.
We have been invited to the dinner by Captain Perry.
It is a tradition and a chance for the captain to befriend the wealthy merchants from the powerful mercantile houses.
The dinner was good; it included some dishes I had not tasted before. The captain showed great flair.
I mingled with them, laughed when I needed to, spoke when I had to, and even told a few accolades and jokes from Earth, which made them laugh hard.
It was essential for me to establish strong connections with these influential people.
Just now, I made a deal with Locke Hercule about the books I need for my collection and the small library I want to create for the girls.
I even got a good discount, but it's not as important as the connection I made, which led him to invite me to his birthday party, which he's throwing at the end of next week.
There are numerous ways it will benefit me, but the most obvious is that if he needs anything that I sell, he will come to me, as I will go to him first, if needed, to make any large order of books again.
I need to have more friends for the business I am in. It is not the most respectful business, and the pressure comes from all sides; these people help a lot in bearing it.
Back on earth, mingling was part of the job. I had to mingle to get clients, and I was good at it. Had even learned to enjoy it.
"We will reach Deerpond soon," said the captain as he looked at the watch. As I got up to leave, the rest stayed to enjoy more drinks and smoke cigars.
While I drink, I can't bear the smoke.
I bade goodnight to the captain and others and walked toward my cabin, wanting to finish studying the few more contracts before turning off the lights for today.
Hun!
I was about to reach my cabin when suddenly the warning bells rang out through the ship. Dan, behind me, immediately became alert as he quickly drew his sword, and I did the same.
I got looks when I took the sword to dinner, but I am glad I did, as I might need to use it now.
"Rogue!"
Dan shouted in warning and leaped forward with a speed that I could barely catch.
He clashed against a figure that came out of the shadows, revealing a man completely covered in black cloth, holding a long dagger in his hand.
Who disappeared after the first clash and appeared behind Dan, who reacted immediately and swung back with his sword.
I was watching the battle when I noticed a shadow moving through the wall toward me; I stepped forward and swung my sword without wasting the moment.
Clang!
My rapier clashed against a short sword that came out of the shadow of a short woman.
As I clashed, I nearly threw my sword as I got the shock through my body, but I did not. All the hellish training with instructor David had gotten me used to these kinds of attacks.
Though I needed to take a step back, the power behind the blow was nothing to scoff at, and now, she was coming at me.
I used the quick steps to dodge the attack, but my opponent seemed quite skilled as she changed the direction of the attack as I dodged it. This time, I was ready.
Clang!
My rapier clashed against her sword, again taking a step back while dodging the coming strike, before ducking again to dodge another attack, before moving my rapier to defend.
The rogue is not allowing me to relax, attacking me without wasting time, using different skills.
I am quite used to such strikes; the instructor used many fighting styles, and his quick ones landed hundreds of strikes on my body within minutes, but it had also forced me to do better.
Hun!
Suddenly, her figure became blurry, and the daggers multiplied as she approached me.
'Fuck!'
I curse. I hate this kind of attack. It makes dodging hard, but dealing with it is not impossible.
This is one of the trickiest skills the rogues have, and I have the practice to deal with it.
So, instead of stepping back, I moved forward with Quick Steps and attacked with Consecutive Strikes.
Clang Clang Clang
My rapier begins to clash against her short sword fast; each strike of hers would have a numbing shock attached to it.
It made it very hard to counter her, not to mention that her strikes were also powerful. I needed to move continuously to divert the power of the strike through my body, or I wouldn't be able to move my hand.
Even now, it has started to get numb.
Rip Rip
Suddenly, she increased the speed of her attacks, and I defended, but two still touched me.
One had ripped suit from the stomach and the other my shoulder; the second strike touched my flesh, drawing a long cut, but not deep enough.
"You are very good, but your level is too low to do anything to me," she said in a hoarse voice, which was obviously not her real voice.
As she finished, she came at me again, and I pushed the consecutive strikes to go even faster and stronger than they were.
I am disadvantaged in this fight; not only is her level greater than mine, but she also has more skills, and most importantly, this space is perfect for her.
Rogues thrive in these kinds of small places.
I am just glad that Dan is keeping that powerful Rogue at bay, not letting it forward, no matter how much he has tried.
He had experience fighting on ships, which is why I chose him instead of Jonah.
Rip!
Another of her strikes hit me, which I was barely able to avoid, though her sword had torn my jacket and shirt vertically, sending buttons flying everywhere.
"You have ruined my suit," I said as I pushed forward, "I am sure you have money to buy another," she replied in a hoarse voice, which had a hint of smugness that was not there before.
Reeeee!
She again moved to strike me, and suddenly jumped back when a sharp whistle rang out.
"See you again, rich boy," she said and began retreating toward the exit with the powerful rogue, who also stopped and began retreating with the girl.
We did not follow them; still being in one piece is already a great fortune.
"You have improved tremendously since last time, Mister Silver," he praised, looking at me intently.
"If you had fought that rogue at the level you're fighting the orc, she would have carved you into pieces," he added, and he is right.
"It is all thanks to instructor David; he is training me hard," I said before my expression turned serious.
"She was holding back; I did not feel her intent to kill, which the orc had when I had fought him," I added, to which he nodded.
"This is likely a loot raid; they just wanted to loot and escape," he said. To that, I couldn't help but nod.
These rogues were thieves, killing would have made things complicated for them.
We are no simple merchants; half of us belong to powerful mercantile houses; a single death would have a massive witch hunt for them.
Suddenly, his expression changed. " Mister Silver, check your money pouch," he said, and I looked into my pocket and found the pouch gone.
"That bitch!" I cursed; I did not even know when she took it.
No wonder that bitch had sounded smug.
"Let's go," I said and walked toward the direction of the deck. "It would be much safer to stay in your room, Mister Silver," advised Dan, but I did not listen.
The pouch contained a couple of imperials and a few crowns, a total value of five thousand crowns. I am not angry because she stole the money, but because she could do it without me noticing.
When I reached the deck, I saw spells flying and rogues jumping in the river, with one fighting against Captain Julian.
It was a battle to watch.
They are fighting so fast that I can only see a blur; even mages and archers are having trouble targeting the last rogue.
At first glance, Captain Julian seemed to have the edge, but the Rogue was too agile as he resisted. It dodged most of Captain Julian's attacks.
The battle had only lasted a couple of seconds after I arrived before the last Rogue jumped into the river, dodging the spells and arrows thrown at him.
There are no injuries on Captain Julian like some of his men, but he is in a bad mood, and I would be, too, if I had been in his place.
And I am angry.
"Mister Silver, my apologies that you had to suffer the attack," he said, looking at my state and Dan.
"It would have been great if the passageways had some guards, Captain," I said with evident anger, walking back toward my cabin with Dan following me.
I have made the best decision by not backing down when it comes to guards.
If I had listened to Damon Hardt's assurances about security, then I would have been completely defenseless against the rogues.
Who knows, they might have even kidnapped me; it is common knowledge that the house of Silver pays ransom for their kidnapped members.
It is also common knowledge that after the ransom is paid, the house pays mercenaries and hunters many times more to hunt down and kill the people who did the deed.
The house had put a colossal bounty just to find leads on people who killed my father, and once they do, Grandfather is going to increase that many times to kill those bastards.
[Warrior Level 4]
[Skill Gained: Weighted Strike]
I had closed the door behind me when the text appeared in front of me.
Unsurprisingly, I had leveled up; I would have been surprised if I had not leveled up after the incident.
What is surprising is that I have the skill Weighted Strike, which increases the power of the attack.
It is a great skill; if I had it when I was fighting against the rogue, I wouldn't have been at such a disadvantage.
I looked at the class and skill for a few seconds before removing my clothes and applying a healing potion to the cut across my shoulder.
Then, I lay on the bed to rest.
Such attacks are not good for my health, but they are a hazard in this world; I am just happy that at least I have gained some level and skill from them.