Fantasy Family Simulator (FFS)

Whether a low-level knight or mage, facing "Black Crow's Bane" is deadly—it's one of the most potent poisons among low-grade concoctions.

McCoffe narrowed his eyes slightly, his mind racing as he carefully cast a third-level wind spell—Wind Wall!

A fierce wind howled through the night!

A wall of wind appeared in front of him, its edges blurred but the center glowing with a greenish light. Though narrow, the powerful gusts quickly reversed the trajectory of the liquid the blue-haired woman had thrown, sending it flying back even faster than it had come!

The blue-haired woman felt a sudden gust of wind, her expression changing drastically, but it was too late.

A splash of black liquid hit her back, instantly turning her body black and shriveling her flesh as if it were dried meat.

This bottle of poison could have killed over a dozen third-level knights, and now, the entire contents had drenched her!

"Ahhh!" The blue-haired woman let out a horrifying scream, her body convulsing briefly before collapsing on the spot.

McCoffe breathed a sigh of relief. He approached her to confirm that she was indeed dead, shaking his head with a wry smile. "Trying that trick on a wind mage? What can I say… truly brainless despite her figure..."

Seeing that McCoffe was safe and had handled the crisis well, Rhett focused his attention on the skinny old man.

After casting Sand Wolf's Roar, Rhett gathered his mental energy and unleashed another spell—Falling Rock!

The area, which had just been illuminated, darkened again as a massive ten-meter-wide boulder descended, casting a shadow over Skam's surroundings.

With a deafening crash, the earth trembled as the glowing boulder hit the ground. The boulder blocked Skam's path, along with two other bandits trying to escape.

The three sand wolves followed closely, attacking relentlessly, showing no fear of injury as they tore and slashed at their enemies.

Soon, two agonizing screams echoed—Skam's two comrades had their legs bitten off!

Blood sprayed everywhere, even splattering onto the skinny old man, painting him red.

Skam managed to dodge a wolf's bite, but as the wolf leaped at him again, he raised his shield in defense. In his desperation, he failed to notice the subtle shifting of the earth beneath his right leg.

Suddenly, a spike of earth shot up from the ground, piercing Skam's right leg at the knee!

"Ah… ah…" The old man groaned, cold sweat beading on his forehead. He let out a couple of restrained cries, his face twisted in agony.

Dropping to one knee, he panted heavily, barely able to control his pain.

At that moment, all hope drained from him. He realized that escape was impossible, that he was at the mercy of this fourth-level mage.

He swallowed a pill to stabilize his condition and found a slightly more comfortable position to support himself on one leg.

As he looked ahead, trying to identify his assailant, he caught sight of Rhett in a black coat, holding a wand. Though they had never met, the emblem of the Eagle on Rhett's chest told him all he needed to know.

"E-Eagle Town's lord?" Skam's pupils contracted, his eyes widening in disbelief. His heart pounded loudly in his chest. "Wasn't he supposed to have just broken through to the third level last year or this year? How is he a fourth-level mage?"

Swallowing hard, Skam's mind raced, overwhelmed by the realization.

Rhett's cold gaze fell on him, making Skam tense up. He feared that at any moment, another earth spike would emerge and finish him off.

But soon, Rhett turned away, directing the sand wolves to pursue the other fleeing bandits.

Relieved for the moment, Skam's face darkened once more as he resigned himself to his inevitable fate.

...

Ten minutes later, the pursuit ended. Although two bandits had been killed outright, Rhett wasn't concerned.

Finally, under Rhett's orders, the remaining bandits were rounded up, forced into a huddled group, kneeling with their hands behind their heads. Those without legs could only comply by sitting.

These bandits had no idea why Rhett had gathered them there. Instead, they looked at him with hopeful eyes, feigning ignorance. "Mighty lord of Eagle Town, we were just passing through tonight. Why did you attack us?"

"Just passing through?" Rhett cast a disdainful glance at them. "You know better than I do why you're here…"

With that, he turned away from them, instructing McCoffe, "Quickly return and fetch Tyles. Hurry."

"Consider it done!" McCoffe trusted Rhett's ability to handle the situation and sped back to the town, casting Swift Wind to enhance his speed.

In a few minutes, McCoffe returned with Tyles.

"Father, what's going on here?" Tyles asked, his mouth agape at the sight.

But as he took in the sight of over twenty badly beaten knights, he started to piece things together.

Rhett shook his head. "They're just ruthless bandits. Don't worry about it. I called you here to deal with them."

"Me?" Tyles glanced at his father, then at the bandits, whose faces had once again filled with despair. He understood what was expected of him. "Alright, I guess this is a good time to try out my new magic."

Concentrating, Tyles summoned a small ball of dark energy and sent it flying toward a one-legged knight.

However, when it struck the knight's chest, it did no damage!

The one-legged knight blinked in surprise. The impact had felt weaker than the slap he'd received from a female knight a few days ago!

Humiliated by what he perceived as a deliberate insult, he forced a smile and said, "Go ahead, hit me as much as you want, sir. Use me as target practice if you like, just spare my life…"

"Yes, hit me too! I can take more punishment than he can!"

"No, hit me instead! Please, just let me live!"

"..."

Desperate to survive, the bandits began pleading, offering themselves up as practice dummies.

These ruthless bandits, who had trampled on the lives of others without hesitation, now found themselves begging for mercy, terrified of death.

The scene quickly descended into chaos.

But Rhett had already sentenced them in his mind. Ignoring their pleas, he turned to Tyles and said, "It seems you need to work on your aim. Don't just be satisfied with hitting the target—you need to aim for lethal strikes. Let me help you this time. When we get back, you'll need more practice."

With that, Rhett cast Earth Spike spells, impaling the bandits and leaving them writhing on the ground. Their knightly resilience kept them alive just long enough for Tyles to finish them off.

"Ah, no!"

"Help, please!"

"Spare me…"

...

Twenty minutes later, the last of the bandits had fallen.

As each bandit died, Rhett received system notifications of their deaths.

In truth, Rhett hadn't interrogated them because, during a previous simulation, he had already learned everything he needed to know about their background and intentions.

Once the bandits were dealt with, McCoffe headed back alone, while Rhett stayed behind to tidy up, using his magic to cremate and bury the bodies.

Half an hour later, Rhett sensed an unusual disturbance in the shadow element nearby. Raising an eyebrow, he called out, "You can come out now. There's no need to hide."

"Oh? You noticed me? So you really have advanced to a mage," came a voice from the darkness.

Tyles looked around in surprise, spotting a figure emerging from the shadows near the boulder.

"It's you?" Rhett feigned surprise, then smiled. "As you can see, I've taken care of these bandits. If I were still a third-level mage, that would've been impossible."

He examined the small, masked figure of Black Star, who was dressed exactly as before, his face covered by a black mask, his entire body concealed.

"Still hunting down villains?" Rhett asked, his tone casual.

"Yes," Black Star replied coolly, then sighed. "I didn't expect you to be so talented, breaking through to the mage level in just a year…"

"But you've taken my targets this time. Next time, if you find any other villains, be sure to let me know." Black Star's voice was tinged with regret.

"Of course," Rhett chuckled, then added, "But with your elusive movements, how would I find you?"

"Take this." Black Star stepped forward, handing Rhett a small black metal token. "If you hear of any other villains, go to the Spark Tavern in Carrow Village and show them this token. When I see it, I'll contact you. But remember, don't call me for any small-time crooks."

Rhett smiled to himself at Black Star's selectiveness. He glanced at the token, a black coin with a dull star in the center, more like a shallowly carved groove than a drawing—easy to miss if not inspected closely.

After pocketing the token, Rhett replied, "No problem. If I hear of any major villains, I'll be sure to contact you."

"Good," Black Star nodded, his gaze lingering on Rhett for a moment, still somewhat in awe. After a brief pause, he turned and said, "I have other matters to attend to. Until we meet again."

With that, Black Star began to blend into the shadows, preparing to leave.

But after only a few steps, he frowned and turned back. "Rhett, why are you following me?"

Rhett, who had been trailing a few steps behind, shrugged. "You have your business, and I have mine."

"Oh." Black Star was puzzled but assumed their paths were simply aligned. He continued on his way, not giving it much thought.

Ten minutes later, when Rhett was still behind him, Black Star finally realized something was amiss. Stopping in his tracks, he asked, "Are you also hunting down villains?"

"Yes," Rhett replied matter-of-factly. "I just extracted some information from Skam. He was planning to trade with a bandit named Seiplin. I'm just going to deal with them."

Black Star fell silent for a moment before hesitantly saying, "You've already dealt with one group of villains. Besides, Seiplin and his men aren't particularly strong—none of them are earth knights or mages. Would you mind letting me handle this one?"

"Not at all!" Rhett agreed without hesitation.

Taken aback by how easily Rhett conceded, Black Star smiled beneath his mask. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," Rhett replied. "But I have one condition. You can beat them up as much as you like, but leave the killing to me."

Tyles looked up at the night sky, letting out a soft sigh.

"Uh… okay!" Though puzzled, Black Star saw no harm in the request and agreed. Unlike some in his organization, Black Star was more interested in defeating his targets than killing them.

...

Half a day later, the trio arrived at an abandoned farm about a kilometer outside a village.

The fields were overgrown with weeds, long neglected.

Even the scarecrow had crows perched on its outstretched arms.

Caw caw

Caw caw

Amid the cacophony of crows, the three of them approached the edge of the farm, standing beneath a withered old tree by a dilapidated fence.

Rhett squinted into the distance, spotting a row of buildings about 200 meters away, where many people were hiding.

Besides more than twenty knights, there was even a third-level mage among them.

With eight third-level knights and a third-level mage, this group packed quite a punch.

Concerned, Rhett turned to Black Star. "Are you sure… you can handle this alone?"

"No."

"Hmm?" Rhett blinked, caught off guard by Black Star's straightforward response.

"I'm not alone." After a brief pause, Black Star's cool voice continued, "Someone else is helping me this time. They're already inside. You can wait here."