While Fregit was getting acquainted with Hiro, the San-Baka walked towards the gigantic man in front of them. As the Wolfen butcher suddenly left, Tino felt a fear resonate in his being.
'That man was far too powerful. Is he really just 51? I have over 3000 in STR and he can match me with just one arm. If he used Aura I would have died in one blow. Didn't the other level 70 with a mace die in one hit?'
The man then noticed the three slim men walking towards him, they all wore similar apparel with the Wolfen Butcher, a skull mask, bandages from the neck down, and fake metallic prosthetics over their arms. They also had battle suits of good quality covered in blood. Tino remembered what one of them told his master.
(Master, would you please permit me and the others to finish off Tino and Don Carlo, they were the ones who forced us to leave our homeland. I beg of you master please consider it.)
'I have no idea who that would be the Don forcefully sent slaves, mercenaries, and merchants abroad. There were also those that chose to flee the city. Who in the world are you people?'
"Is it just me or does he seem smaller than I remember?" asked one of them, he had red hair behind the mask.
The other with yellow hair replied with a smug comment. "If you kill nothing but 15-meter scorpions, ants, or whatever that tentacled bastard was, a man, even a 230 cm one is small."
"Luckily the trinity buffs are still on, think we can win this?", replied the redhead.
The last one who had black hair then spoke a reminder. "The master told me that we are not allowed to die. And that even if we fail, he will finish the job."
"I knew it! The master is a tsundere, but still, it is really comforting to know he got our back."
"Indeed, I cannot imagine serving another. So long as his sudden bouts of crazy are taken care of, he is an okay boss."
"His stats have not changed in over 3 months."
"Well, what do you expect, people that high need to gain what? A trillion exp? Only the Master can rush the thing with his insane kill window."
"Cut the chatter, we are here."
Tino listened to their conversation while the three were walking towards him. The man wanted to keep a low profile as the notion of fighting again in the Wolfen Butcher terrified him. The trembling in his hand had yet to fade, even though more than five minutes passed since their confrontation.
'Defiantly a bad idea, I'd rather charge through a beast tide than fight him again. If the butcher values his men, I will use them as hostages for negotiation. Judging from their Calibers they are around the same level. Maybe 32-33? I can easily dominate such a battle.'
The men then all took off their masks as the one in the middle spoke. "Greetings Tino Malosi, I am not sure if you still remember me but I have a debt I need to repay."
Tino who saw their faces tried to remember. Even though he had over 500 INT, he couldn't match the faces of the handsome three to any name he knew. The combination of a redhead, a blond, and a brunet however made him remember something.
'Ah, the bastard son of Standar! The one that got thrown out of the Don's house! He had a redhead friend from the house of Renacida, and someone from the Kirch monastery! Were they this at level thirty before? I remember the other two were barely level twenty. How can they gain more than ten levels in just three months?'
Grinding levels were extremely difficult for people, and unless one paid for a party to help them. The normal growth for a person was three maybe four levels per month. But that was with the assumption that you had a full party and moved hunting areas which would have cost permits.
Because of such nuances, only rich people could power level at that speed. Even Tino who was already in his seventies needed decades to reach his current level, these children reached level 33 before even hitting twenty-five. They were either geniuses or someone burned a lot of Vals to get them there.
'But the Standar lost all their money and power as a viscount after his bastard son exposed the corruption of his father's businesses. The Renacida are just poor barons and the Krich monastery are comprised of orphans. Why would the butcher waste money on these three?'
Unable to get answers on his own, now that Tino knew who they were, his fear of them dissipated. Man only feared what he didn't know. He almost killed these three the last time they met, and instead of dying like they said they would, all three ran away like dogs with their tails between their legs.
"I know who you are, bastard of Standar. Was the disgraceful way we parted not enough for you that you have come to humiliate yourself even more? Your family's title and wealth all dissipated due to your foolish integrity. Have your mom and sister whored themselves out yet so they have bread crumbs to eat?"
Aura started to revolve around Aurum as he heard the darkest chapter of his life. His father Viscount Standar had a gambling problem. And due to losing it all to the casino, the man used his peerage and estate as collateral. When Aurum's father failed to win back the borrowed amount, he was forced to scrounge up whatever cash he had to pay the interest.
Eventually, the once noble man sold all his possessions and started to fleece the other nobility just to make a quick buck. Aurum in his naivety and disposition towards chivalry exposed his own father to the authorities.
Once even the law came for the viscount, they lost both their peerage and their land. The King used the money received from the sale to return the amounts stolen from the other nobility. Due to his service to the crown as a military adviser, Viscount Standar only spent a month in jail before getting released.
Because of the king's actions, the collateral note the former viscount gave became useless. When Don Carlo's gangs and Tino came to their house to sell off his mother and sister. The Renacida the Standar's long-time allies fought them off. Unfortunately, as they were powerful warriors they soon got deployed on an official mission to suppress an uprising elsewhere, leaving the Standar defenseless.
Aurum was a promising warrior and gained the favor of a lot of noble ladies. In a last-ditch attempt, he sold all but his body while selling off all his possessions. Due to his skill [Divine Arbiter], he managed to gather close to 300 thousand Vals. When his father got released he gave all the money to his family and arranged for them to flee the kingdom.
The next day he came to Don Carlo's place demanding a trashing match with the stakes being his death or enslavement against the absolution of his father's debts. The Don had the teenage boy fight against Tino a 75 STR focused [Adept].
The match went as one would expect. Both Lars and Geo even broke the rules and joined in to assist their friend. However, due to the massive difference in levels and stats, they all lost pitifully. And Instead of remaining after his defeat, Aurum broke his word and ran away in tears and cowardice.
