Assassin God: Rise of the Strongest Player

Nash was thinking about how he was going to provide the proof to the carpenter meant to work the bridge.

The man in question was cocky and proud. There was no way he would believe Nash right off the bat.

If he had photo evidence it would have been a lot easier for him but he didn't.

Nash thought over and over again but there was no reasonable solution to his problem that was coming to mind.

After deliberating with himself for a couple of more minutes, Nash paused.

His face was blank as he turned and looked at hole again.

He shook his head as if fighting his intrusive thoughts but right now, that was the better idea he could come up with.

"Perhaps I will just make it even bigger and carry one of the wooden boards back to the village to show him myself."

That was the only evidence he could find a way to provide.

Maybe if the carpenter saw the wood, he would believe that something had indeed happened to the bridge.

Nash yanked off a large chunk of wood from the broken edge of the hole.

Smiling mischievously, he took the piece of wood and returned to the village.

******

Returning to the novice village, Nash immediately sought for and found the carpenter in question.

He was an elderly man with grey beards.

Meeting him, the man sat on a rocking chair with his legs crossed as he dangled front and back rhythmically.

A straw hat covered his face as he was taking a nap in peace.

"Excuse me, sir," Nash said as he gently tapped him on his knees.

The old man startled, sitting up quickly while moving his mouth as if he was munching on something despite it being empty.

For several seconds, the man was dazzled and as time passed, he recollected himself and noticed Nash standing and looking at him.

"What is it, boy?"

Nash raised the piece of wood for him to see.

"There is a wooden bridge in the forest and on getting there to cross over, I saw that there was this big hole right at the centre," Nash explained with a saddened look.

"...Because of that no one can cross now. Can you repair it?"

The man's brows rose as he listened.

He knew exactly the bridge that Nash was referring to and could not believe it.

"That's not possible!" the man argued, refusing to validate Nash's claims. "I built that bridge myself, with the help of some people anyway. There is no way it broke down. The wood was no ordinary wood."

He looked at Nash in a way that called Nash a liar even though he did not utter such words.

"That bridge you claim has a large hole has stood strong against harsh weather conditions for years without yielding or even cracking. I don't believe what you are saying," the old man snorted, his face glaring with disappointment.

The man critically examined the wood in Nash's possession, even without the latter suspecting that he was doing so.

"How am I sure you did not destroy the bridge yourself?" the carpenter asked.

Nash was shocked by the question. "Why would you think that?"

The old carpenter painted the wood he was holding. "The wood in your hand seems to be carefully cut out. Definitely not something that happened coincidental."

'Oh?' Nash thought, staring at the wood and wondering how the man came to such an accurate conclusion just by looking at what he was holding.

"You damaged the bridge, didn't you?" the old man shot an accusing question.

"N-No… I actua—"

"What's no? I see wood in your hand and you are telling me the bridge was damaged."

The man paused and belched, making Nash perceive the alcohol stench he released into the air.

"Fine. I did it," Nash said, deciding to take the blame if that was what would make the old carpenter agree to fix it. "But can you fix it for me?"

"Hmm! Of course I can, but it will cost you."

"What's that?"

"Get me a gallon of some quality wine. The biggest gallon."

The old man made a bold demand, narrowing his eyes that shone with a glint of greed and subtly licking his lips.

Nash blinked a few times.

'Really?' he thought. 'Is this guy real? Sounds like he is a scam to me, but I don't have a choice.'

"Okay, I will get you the biggest gallon of wine."

Nash was getting fed up with the old man's antics but he knew better than to annoy an NPC as it could prove to be a severe mistake on the part of the player when acted upon.

The carpenter was extorting him and he knew it but he was not going to complain as long as he fixed the bridge.

Nash had the in-game currency and that was a small price to pay for what he wanted.

Nash puffed his cheeks and blew out air.

The old carpenter was a glutton and not just any type of glutton, a greedy one.

The largest gallon of wine, when Nash finds it, will easily make him spend a large sum of copper coins just to purchase because of its size.

Nash sighed.

Nash low-key blamed himself as he believed that the way he went about informing the carpenter was not the ideal way the game wanted it to be done.

There was no way Nash could know the exact way.

If he recalled the exact details from the guide written in his past life, he would have handled this better than he was currently doing.

Even now that he did not know what to do, Nash was just winging it, hoping he wouldn't say the wrong thing that would make his gaming experience at this point incredibly difficult.

Left without a choice, Nash left the man and went to the nearest wine store to get what he wanted.

Even if doing so turned his stomach with frustration, Nash did not have much choice or say in the matter.