Throwing his arms back and looking up at the sky, he thought. “This is the first time in two years that I will be without the monster, or rather, the master and his support.”

Finishing his thoughts, he jumped up abruptly, dusted himself off, and went to Commander Hilshes, who was supposed to tell him more about his tasks and goals, so without wasting any time, he went there immediately.

When he reached the office, he stopped, straightened his back, and knocked lightly on the dark door leading to Hilshes office.

– Come in!

– Greetings, Commander!

– It's you, Vinter, and judging by your appearance, Zertera has already told you about your new task.

– Yes, but all I know is that we need to find and destroy the elves.

“Oh, Zertera, as always, you leave me with a lot of work. Vinter, your task is more difficult than your master described, because you need to find and destroy a group of eight elves, five of whom are armed.”

– Sir, are the armed elves warriors or ordinary elves?

– My men say that the warriors are also partially armoured.

Hearing this, he thought for a moment and stopped paying attention to Hilshes words.

“Hmm, it's certainly difficult, but quite possible, but only if I catch them one by one.”

– Vinter! Hey!... So that's what Zertera was talking about.

Giles exhaled and threw him a small bag with a few copper coins.

– Ouch! Master... I mean, Commander, throwing things at people is not very nice.

– Well, I'm sorry you're stuck in your thoughts again, which Zertera told me about, and these are coins for your journey, so be more careful.

– Thank you, sir! I will complete the task as quickly as possible, and I will not get stuck in my thoughts.

– Vinter, I'm not so old that I can't hear your words.

He began to get a little nervous and looked away from Hilshes, while at the same time backing away slightly.

– I'm not Zertera to beat you for that, but be more careful. Oh, and before I forget, there's a new sword waiting for you in the warehouse.

– Thank you! But please don't tell the master.

– Don't worry about that, but if you fail the task, you know what will happen.
Finishing, Hilshes ran his hand over his gray beard and smiled slightly ominously at Vinter.

– I won't let you down! And I'll do the job even better than you expect.

Saying these words, he straightened up, half-heartedly punched his chest, bowed, left the office, and immediately went to get a new sword.

– Is that why others take advantage of my fear of the master? Even if it's some kind of task, I'm happy about the new sword. I hope this time it will be better than the current one.

Thinking aloud, he made his way to the warehouse where his sword was, along with several other people who were also waiting in line for new weapons.

– Oh, look, Vinter himself has honoured us with his presence!

– Haha, well, Master Zertera isn't here, so he came out!

Although he knew these people, they were several times younger than him, and besides, they did not respect him because they had never seen him fight anyone, let alone win.

– What people! If I were you, I wouldn't be happy about my master's absence, because now no one can stop me from teaching a lesson to those who still have milk on their lips.

“I beg you, just give in to such stupid provocations, and maybe then you will start to respect me.”

– Ha! Don't be so cocky just because you study at Zertera.

– Am I overconfident? Pff, not at all, but you two are.

– Well, you've brought this on yourself, so don't beg for mercy later!

Shouting this, the boy grabbed the sword that the armourer had deftly pulled out from under the table, while the armourer himself smiled at Vinter.

Without hesitation, Vinter didn't even allow the boy to use the sword, as he lunged sharply in his direction and struck him with all his might in the stomach with his elbow, then just as sharply kicked him under the knee, causing the boy to fall to his knees.

As soon as he fell, he kicked the sword into the air with a light movement of his foot, grabbed it by the hilt with his hand, and pointed the blade at the other boy.

– And who will beg for mercy now?

– You! You didn't even let me get my weapon!

– I didn't even have one, so what now?

He smiled and looked at the armourer, who was enjoying the scene. A moment later, Vinter threw the sword into the air again, caught it by the middle, and pointed the hilt at the armourer.

– Haha, thank you, Vinter, for such a show, and wait a moment, because your sword still needs to be found.”

– Don't rush it, there's still work to be done here, isn't there, guys?

As soon as he said that, the two looked at him, and the one who had not participated in the fight began to help his friend get up, and then run away from their abuser, while Vinter just sighed sadly and leaned against the wall of the warehouse to wait for his weapon more comfortably.

– It's a shame that master didn't see this, he might even have been proud.

– Here's your sword, and if Zertera were here, you'd be writhing in pain and begging for mercy.

He placed a sword on the rack that was longer than a one-handed sword and was better known as a bastard sword, and because of this, Vinter first looked at the sword, and then at the armourer, who was still smiling.

– Ahem, what the hell kind of sword is this? I understand that I'm not a handsome prince or the most worthy person, but ‘bastard’? Seriously?

– Haha, Zertera warned me about this reaction, so he added a note to the sword. Be sure to read it.

– And this is also a setup from the master!

Shouting these words, he grabbed the sword, which was heavier and longer than the one he had been training with, and angrily opened the note from Zertera.

“I knew the master couldn't just leave! But giving me a bastard is too much, and this note too.”

“Vinter, if you received this, then congratulations, you will be on your own for a while, and so this sword is now yours, no matter how much you dislike it, but you must use it. Over time, you will understand its usefulness, especially against the Elves with their agility. P.S. Don't even think about throwing the sword away.”

-Seriously? A long, heavy sword against Elves? Is this some kind of stupid joke from Zertera himself? If so, it's not funny!

Even after leaving the Order's outpost, which was hidden at the foot of Mount Hilshes, a remote part of the kingdom that bordered the Bartian Mountains,

He continued to grumble discontentedly to himself. "Why not give me the one-handed sword I've been training with for over ten years! And he gives me a bastard sword, not only is it a bastard sword, but I don't even know how to use it!

****

When he finally reached the place he was told to check first, he found only discarded items and several places where fires had been lit, along with several bandages that were covered in blood.

– Well, at least one of them is wounded, and that's the first good news today! All that's left is to find these bastards and kill them to lift my spirits.

For some time, Vinter searched for their tracks and anything that could lead him to them, but apart from a few broken branches and wolf tracks, he found nothing. Until he heard the ringing sound of metal, followed by the drawn-out howl of a wolf.

– Ha! It seems I was right to follow their tracks.

He quickly ran toward the sounds, and in a few seconds he found himself in a small clearing where a group of elves was surrounded by a pack of wolves that had come to the smell of blood. When Vinter assessed the situation, he began to watch with pleasure.

The wolves attacked the almost defenseless elves with increasing ferocity. I say “almost” because of the six elves he found, two had swords that looked more like pieces of metal than swords, and there were also two female elves and three young elves.

– I wonder if the wolves will do all the work for me, or will I have to finish them off? I hope it's the latter, otherwise it's not interesting at all.

– ᛒᛁᛋᛟᚠᛁ ᚹᛟᚠᚲᛁ! ᛃᚨ ᛋ ᚲᚨᛉᚨᚹ, ᛏᚱᛖᛒᚨ ᚲᛁᛞᚨᛏᛁ ᚲᛁᛉᚲᛟ ᛈᚱᛁᛞᚢᚱᚲᚨ, ᛋᚺᛟ ᛈᛟᚱᚨᚾᛁᚹ ᛋᚹᛟᚢ ᛒᛁᛋᛟᚠᛁ ᚾᛟᚷᚢ!

– ᛗᛁ ᚹᛁᚱᛟᛞᚲᚢ ᛋᚹᛟᛁᚲᚺ ᚾᛖ ᚲᛁᛞᚨᛁᛗᛖ! ᛟᛋᛟᛒᛚᛁᛚᛟ ᚹ ᛚᚢᛞᛋᚲᛁᚲᚺ ᛟᚲᚱᚢᚷᚨᚺ!

“They're even fighting among themselves! This is definitely the best moment of this hellish day.”

While Vinter enjoyed their quarrel and the sight of them being pressed by wolves, one of the wolves successfully grabbed the elf with a metal stump and knocked him to the ground, while the other elf tried to help his partner but was also knocked to the ground.

Vinter couldn't take it any more and shouted with joy, drawing the attention of the wolves and elves. A moment later, several wolves ran at him, so he had to draw his new sword and get into a fighting stance.

– Come on, you woolly bags, come at me one at a time!

Shouting these words, he swung, but due to the unusual weight and length of the sword, the blow fell on the wolf's paw, causing it to fall to the side. At the same time, another wolf almost grabbed Vinter's hand, but he managed to pull his hand back.

Finding himself in an awkward position, he somewhat clumsily grabbed the sword with his left hand and struck the one that jumped out from the left with the back of the sword. He struck another one with his foot, causing it to howl in pain.

After kicking the fourth wolf away, Vinter jumped over the wounded one and ran to the elves so that the wolves would be distracted by them. He would deal with those who remained, but the elves who were not fighting noticed him and began to throw everything they had in their hands at him.

Luckily for him, there were no heavy or sharp objects, but the wolves were faster than Vinter, so one of the four knocked him face down on the ground. But he reacted quickly and rolled onto his back, knocking the wolf aside with a sharp blow of his fist, and in the end he found himself in the same situation as the elves he wanted dead.

– Shit! Get the hell out of here, you damn wolves!

– ᛒᛁᛋᛟᚠᛁ ᚹᛟᚠᚲᛁ! ᛃᚨ ᛋ ᚲᚨᛉᚨᚹ, ᛏᚱᛖᛒᚨ ᚲᛁᛞᚨᛏᛁ ᚲᛁᛉᚲᛟ ᛈᚱᛁᛞᚢᚱᚲᚨ, ᛋᚺᛟ ᛈᛟᚱᚨᚾᛁᚹ ᛋᚹᛟᚢ ᛒᛁᛋᛟᚠᛁ ᚾᛟᚷᚢ!

– ᛗᛁ ᚹᛁᚱᛟᛞᚲᚢ ᛋᚹᛟᛁᚲᚺ ᚾᛖ ᚲᛁᛞᚨᛁᛗᛖ! ᛟᛋᛟᛒᛚᛁᛚᛟ ᚹ ᛚᚢᛞᛋᚲᛁᚲᚺ ᛟᚲᚱᚢᚷᚨᚺ!

“They're even fighting among themselves! This is definitely the best moment of this damn day.”

While Vinter enjoyed their quarrel and the sight of them being attacked by wolves, one of the wolves successfully grabbed the elf with the metal stump and knocked him to the ground, while the other elf tried to help his partner but was also knocked to the ground.

Vinter couldn't take it any more and shouted with joy, drawing the attention of the wolves and elves. A moment later, several wolves ran at him, so he had to draw his new sword and get into a fighting stance.

– Come on, you woolly sacks, come at me one at a time!

Shouting these words, he swung, but due to the unusual weight and length of the sword, the blow fell on the wolf's paw, causing it to fall to the side, while another wolf almost grabbed Vinter's hand, but he managed to pull his hand back.

Finding himself in an awkward position, he somewhat clumsily grabbed the sword with his left hand and struck the one that jumped out from the left with the back of the sword. He struck another one with his foot, causing it to howl in pain.

After kicking the fourth wolf away, Vinter jumped over the wounded one and ran to the elves so that the wolves would be distracted by them, and he would deal with those who remained. However, the elves who were not fighting noticed him and began throwing everything they had in their hands at him.

Luckily for him, there were no heavy or sharp objects, but the wolves were faster than Vinter, so one of the four knocked him face down on the ground. But he reacted quickly and rolled onto his back, knocking the wolf aside with a sharp blow of his fist, and in the end he found himself in the same situation as the elves he wanted dead.

– Damn it! Get the hell out of here, you wolves!

He shouted and tried to get up, but another wolf had already jumped on him and grabbed the sword Vinter was blocking with in its jaws. But suddenly, an elf appeared above Vinter and killed the wolf with a sharp blow, then looked at him in surprise.

A moment later, she jumped over him and the wolf and began to kill the wolves that were trying to attack him with sharp and elegant movements of her sword. Vinter was furious that some “elf” had saved him, the one who had sworn to exterminate them.

He threw off the wolf's corpse and jumped up, shouting with all his might. “Damn elf! Who asked you for help!”

She looked at Vinter and just smiled, because she didn't understand human language at all, and this made Vinter even angrier, so much so that he grabbed his sword with his right hand and headed towards the elf girl who was finishing off the last of the wolves. When he reached her, he shouted again.

– I asked who the fuck asked you for help!?

She looked at him again and smiled sweetly, but Vinter couldn't take it any more and grabbed his sword with both hands and made a sharp downward thrust, cutting her body from the waist to the chest. From such a wound, she fell to the ground and screamed in incredible pain.

– ᚲᚺᚢᛗᚢ!? ᚲᚺᚢᛗᚢ!? ᛉᚨ ᛋᚺᛟ!?

Vinter did not respond to her cries, ending her suffering with a simple swing of his sword and turning to face the elves who had been rejoicing over this elf a moment ago, and slowly began to walk towards them with his sword dripping with warm elven blood.

– ᚹᛁᚱᛟᛞᛟᚲ! ᛃᚨᛚᚢᚷᛁᛞᚾᚨ ᛚᚢᛞᛁᚾᚨ!” ᛏᛁ ᛈᛟᚢᚢᛖᚾᛞᚾ ᛈᛟᛗᛖᚱᛏᛁ!

– Scream all you want, but now no one will save you!

Shouting, he gripped the hilt of his sword and made several lunges, reaching the frightened elves, and without hesitation began to deliver deadly blows, first to the elves with swords, and then to the female elves.

-Haaa... only your little freaks are left, but don't worry, you'll die quickly.

Saying this in a calmer voice, he looked back and smiled contentedly, then made three quick movements with his sword across the bodies of the elves frozen in fear.

-Finally, this fucking thing is over! But Vinter saved me, an elf! This is definitely the worst day of my life.

Finishing his monologue, he crouched down next to the elf's corpse and exhaled loudly, then finally looked at her, because in his rage at that moment, he had paid no attention to anything but his thirst for murder.

“Damn elves, maybe now you'll understand your place in this world, although wait, how will they understand if they're dead, haha.”

Finishing his thoughts, he got up and grabbed the dead elf's sword, wrapping it in her clothes, which he had successfully cut off, and then hooked it onto his belt on the right so that it wouldn't get in the way of his sword.

Looking around once more and finding nothing of value, he headed in the direction of his eccentric friend's home the only one he could trust with everything except his own body. And that was only because of certain peculiarities of that body.