They are not there at all, no.

There was no third person omniscient narrator speaking at the time of Albez, as far as I remember. So all that transpired there was the opinion of the specific people, none of which had the actual knowledge and experience to decide that. Even later, when Ryoka sends all of the full gear, the idea is only posited that they could be changed in rank after logging on all of their new gear, without any of the people there with actual Gold Rank experience having yet seen the Horns in action. The more informed opinion they have later is after they do actually know, from the multiple battles together while monsters raided to the taste of working together with 2 gold-ranked teams that could provide their perspective.

You also have to actually see the 2 events in context. The fight at the Guild had at most 2 Silver-Rank teams and bronze nobodies, and except for maybe Pisces’d construct and Pisces himself, no one there was throwing lethal attacks. Plus the level difference between the Horns and the other teams, plus their much better gear. An extended slug fest against a warrior in enchanted armor and a mage specialized on defense does not favor the other side if everyone keeps their gloves on, not if they can’t quickly overwhelm with their numbers. With so much chaos, and more people likely focusing on the bone bear, Pisces would be left to just dash at people and take them out in one-on-one clashes, which he excels at as a duelist. Kmsvr meanwhile was both loaded on PRETTY good magical artifacts, and took the group by surprise. The bandit leader likely had skills to boost the entire group. Despite all this and 3 defensive items (buckler, cloak and barkskin ring), he did get almost overwhelmed once and required Pisces help. If the bandits were more wary, less prideful, and shoot first, asked questions second, they would have won.

now the fight, ffs, it is despicted as a fast and gory thing, yes, so then how fuks it becomes nighttime, looks like magicks to me, plot magicks, kek.

otherwise nice chapter, if only to prove that the horns are above the common rabble, and to say the snitchers ever present, i forgor if the Mage Montressa du Valeross, is someone i should remember, feels like someone with that name would be after lyonnete as well.

It’s more a matter of Ksmvr not caring what other people think of him or his actions, but overly caring about how his team views him and how his actions reflect on his team. Thus, he double- or triple-checks all of his knowledge (especially social knowledge) with his team, when they are around. He wants to make sure he doesn’t make any mistakes so that they don’t start to hate him, as his team is basically the only thing he is living for. That does, often, make him seem inept and less intelligent than he really is, but most of that is just due to his very low self esteem when comparing himself to the other team members.

When he’s alone, he doesn’t have to compare himself to them directly, and he doesn’t care as much about how other people view him, or if he is going to get his team in trouble (because he naively thinks that actions taken when he is alone will only reflect on him alone). He doesn’t feel the need to consult others on social knowledge while alone, because they might not give the answers that his team would, and so their answers are irrelevant. Without his comparisons to his team members all the time while they are around, he can act much more confidently.

I would imagine most adventurers would have brought back heads if they really did need the proof. But even so, they’d only bring back a few: the bandit leader, and any specific, well-known bandits like the mages, or perhaps that silver-rank-turned-bandit. You likely wouldn’t need all 30 of their heads, as you could easily check if the rest were all killed via a truth spell.

The red classes seem like they carry some sort of major negative mental aspect with them. Insanity. Cannibalism of extremely rotten flesh. Murdering your husband after he cheats on you.

Becoming a bandit doesn’t necessarily mean accompanying severe mental trauma.

Montressa isn’t an archmage, she’s barely graduated from Wistram.

And from what little we saw during the BlackMage interlude, she’s almost certainly not trying to reconnect with them, she wants them hurt and punished, at the very least (at least, she wants that for Pisces).

“He knew it. The only reason his team had not cast him away was because they were not rational. They were kind. How weak. How…wonderful. He could not let them down again.”

Ksmvr cares about the horns even to the point of irrationality, but what else does he have to care about? I hope his devotion doesn’t lead to more self-destructive activity.

He stared at the horse as it tried to bite at a leaf on the tree he’d tied it to.

“You are a simple creature. I envy you your guiltless life. Until you break a bone or grow too old and are no doubt slaughtered for food or parts. We are much alike, you and I.”

Perhaps after this chapter he will stop seeing himself as lacking worth, I hope so.

“Thirteen hours after defeating the [Bandits]. That is how long it took to collect the bodies, create a pyre for disposal, remove the heads, burn them, collect their gear, reclaim my horse which had wandered off, set the others free, and ride back here. Thirteen hours. I have imbibed two stamina potions. My wounds have yet to fully heal. I have had inadequate sustenance. I am hungry. I am tired. I am in a bad mood. Is this sufficient?”

He sure is efficient, even making sure they don’t rise again! How proactive of a cold-blooded killer he is.