Jake stood there, quietly munching on his grilled meat skewer.
Just now, he could that the woman in the black cloak clearly had trouble written all over her.
The pure fear in her golden eyes was hard to miss, even from a distance.
But then he just shrugged and kept walking.
"…Well, it's none of my business."
Jake knew better than anyone that being a busybody in this strange world would only brought trouble.
As a powerless nobody with no backing, the smartest thing was to keep his head down and survive.
Because in this new world, no one was going to help him if things went south as he only had himself.
But after just a few steps, Jake frowned and stop his step.
...For some reason, that desperate gaze kept bothering him far more than it should.
Not to mention there was this annoying itch in his chest, a strange urge pulling at him to follow her.
And at the same time, it was almost as if he could hear his father's voice:
'A woman silently asking for help? And you're hesitating? Useless! Be a man! Or do you prefer I steal your spotlight again?'
Jake shook his head and smile wry.
"You not even here..."
With a soft sigh, he turned around and quietly followed in the direction the cloaked woman had gone.
_
_
_
Meanwhile, in a narrow, dimly lit alley…
"Haa…! Haa…!"
The woman in the black cloak could be seen running desperately, her breathing ragged and uneven.
Her hood had slipped back slightly, revealing strands of sweat-dampened golden hair and a pair of wide, panicked eyes, along with a youthful, beautiful face.
And behind her,
Heavy footsteps echoed, growing closer with every second.
"Stop right there !"
Three men in suits and black sunglasses were chasing after her.
The woman bit her lip hard, refusing to slow down even as her legs burned with exhaustion.
After all, she had finally gained the freedom she had longed for so long so she refused to go back into that "cage".
'I can't let them catch me!'
But her hope was short lived as one of the men suddenly leaped forward.
His palm glowed with strange energy as he strike toward her.
Bang!
A powerful wave of pressure slammed into her back, knocking her off balance.
"Urgh!"
She stumbled and crashed hard onto the dirty alley floor.
Before she could scramble back up, a heavy boot pressed down on her shoulder, pinning her in place as the men hurriedly tried to tie her up.
But then the man who seemed to be their leader growled at the subordinate who had just attacked.
"Oi! I didn't say you could attack her!"
"S-Sorry, boss… I got carried away."
The leader scoffed and decided he would teach this newbie about the rules later.
Then he walked over slowly and crouched down in front of the terrified woman.
He reached out and roughly grabbed her chin, forcing her to look up at him.
"You've caused us quite a bit of trouble, princess." he said with a cold smile.
"The Young Master is very angry. Do you have any idea what kind of punishment is waiting for you when we bring you back?"
The woman's golden eyes trembled with a mix of fear and defiance.
She tried to struggle, but the heavy boot on her shoulder kept her firmly pinned down.
Just as the leader was about to say something else—
A lazy voice suddenly rang out from the entrance of the alley.
"Wow… three grown men in suits pinning down one scared girl in a dirty alley. Isn't that a bit too pathetic?"
Jake stood there with his hands in his pockets, still chewing the last piece of meat from the skewer.
The three men turned around, glaring at the sudden intruder.
"Who the hell are you?" the leader growled.
Jake took another bite and smiled.
"I'm just a nobody who can't stand injustice."
Looking at his confident demeanor, the three men in suits immediately went on guard.
But they didn't realize that Jake was also panicking inside.
'Fuck! Now what? I just stepped out without thinking after seeing such a pitiful girl…'
The leader's eyes narrowed dangerously behind his sunglasses.
He slowly stood up, cracking his knuckles as a strange oppressive pressure began to ripple around his body.
"Kid, you've got some balls sticking your nose into other people's business. This has nothing to do with you so scram before I break every bone in your body."
Jake noticed that faint pressure from him immediately.
The woman on the ground stared at Jake with wide, shocked golden eyes.
She couldn't understand why a stranger would risk himself for her, but worry quickly filled her heart.
She couldn't let someone who wanted to help her suffer because of it.
"S-Sir, please leave! These guys are trained Common Class holders!"
Jake, who had actually been thinking of backing out, perked up the moment he heard those words.
'A Common Class? Isn't that the same as mine…?'
His confidence suddenly surged.
He shook his head and smiled gently at the woman.
"Impossible. There's no way I can let such injustice happen right under my watch."
After all, in the past, he could afford to bow his head when he was classless... but now that he had a class, and a unique one at that, continuing to run away would be nothing short of cowardice.
The woman's golden eyes blinked in surprise at his words.
One of the subordinates sneered and took a step forward, pulling out a sword.
"Boss, let me handle this noisy brat. He looks weak anyway."
The leader nodded. "Make it quick."
The subordinate grinned and rushed toward Jake, swinging his sword in a wide arc.
Jake's mind raced as he saw the sharp glint of the blade.
'Shit ! They're really serious !'
That guy really intended to cut off his arm.
Slash!
Just as the sword was about to slice into his arm, Jake twisted his body awkwardly at the last second and barely dodged to the side.
The blade created a silver arc in the air as it missed him by a hair's breath.
"Eh?"
The subordinate looked dumbfounded for a split second.
Then, thinking it was just a fluke, he launched into a flurry of quick strikes.
Slash!
Slash!
Slash!
Yet somehow, Jake kept dodging.... stumbling, twisting and stepping aside in the most awkward, uncoordinated way possible.
And yet… every swing missed by the smallest margin.
The leader's face twisted in anger.
"Stop playing around and cut off his arm!!"
The subordinate's expression darkened.
... He wasn't playing but this guy was strangely slippery with those weird movement.
Heck, even Jake himself looked stunned as he glanced down at his own hands in disbelief.
'Eh…? Am I really that amazing without realizing it ?'