Chapter 9

Thump, thump.

The sound of my own heartbeat drowned out everything else.

The whispers from the adventurers watching around the room.

The sound of rustling cloth and footsteps as people repositioned themselves to get a better view of the scene.

The room itself seemed to dim, shadows elongating and the brilliant light given off by the enchanted chandelier over the hall all drowned out by my focus.

{{New Quest!

Utilize your skills to the best of your ability against a superior opponent.}}

A strange quest floated at the edge of my vision and vanished just as quickly as I acknowledged it.

The city lord stepped away.

“You may begin when ready.”n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Tak!

I took a cautious step towards the elf. He remained still, watching me. We were only about two arms apart.

Tak!!

I stepped off again, recalling the fights I had seen on television back home. Though it had been years, the images seemed to flow into my head as if I were seeing them for the first time. Was that another effect of the ability? Perfect recollection of movements I wanted to copy?

I didn’t have time to think about it. My fist launched forward in a picture-perfect snap punch…

Whoosh

I only touched air as I felt a hard pressure on the back of my leg, then I felt the sensation of being airborne as the chandelier came into view.

Light filled my vision, almost blinding me, and I instinctively moved, intending to land on my feet.

Despite my confused vision, my body knew where it was and moved accordingly, pulling my falling motion into a tight backward flip that landed me in a crouched position.

I looked up at the elf who had counterattacked me with such a precise movement, trying to end the fight in a single move.

He had retreated out of reach and raised an eyebrow at me, probably surprised at my recovery.

I was just as surprised as he was, but he didn’t need to know that.

—clap, clap, clap!

Applause rang around the room at the brief exchange and I approached the elf again, more cautious that time.

Thump.

I feinted another snap punch before transitioning to a right elbow.

He read the feint and ducked under my elbow, already striking towards my solar plexus.

Abandoning my attack as he reacted, I managed to twist my own body to the side just enough for his arm to rub past me, following up with a palm strike towards the back of his head.

He shifted before my attack could land and a blurry afterimage of the elf slid around to my side.

I had forgotten that abilities were part of duels.

His leg swung through the air in an arc towards my head that was too quick for me to avoid.

I only had one option.

[[«Strike»]]

[[Mana: 75/100]]

Empowered by the ability, my arm moved with enhanced speed and redirected his foot, the force of the blow still knocking me off balance.

Capitalizing on the moment, the elf didn’t give me time to regain my footing. He shifted again as I stumbled away and swept my legs out from under me.

Before I could maneuver my body to land properly, he shifted a final time, leg already raised in a downward axe kick that caught me and propelled me toward the floor.

I reacted again faster than my mind could catch up and felt that energy within me be pulled from my hand in a motion that sent an earthen spike outwards and sent me spinning diagonally upwards again as I instinctively reached towards the floor.

I looked back towards the elf again just as I caught my footing and saw a fire seem to ignite within his eyes.

The city lord saw it as well.

“Stop!”

Just as I saw the elf’s muscles tensing up—likely to perform some skill I could only guess at—the city lord stepped in and ended the fight.

“Excellent show! We’ll end it there before things get out of hand! Hahaha!”

His nervous laughter set me on edge. I wondered just what it was that the elf could have been preparing to do that would make him react like that.

I hadn’t managed to land a blow on him, but it wasn’t every day that one got to say that they were able to stand on equal footing with one of his kind and walk away intact.

{{Calculating rewards…}}

The system seemed to think so as well, as it recognized that the duel had ended and was busy figuring out how well I had done.

“I would expect no less of the Skybreaker’s guest, and a unique class at that!”

‘So much for passing myself off as a fighter.’

He didn’t ask me what my class was, though I could tell he was dying to know.

The elf and I shook hands before departing, his eyes holding a different glint in them.

“I look forward to our next duel.”

‘Right… I hope I never see this place again.’

I put a forced smile on my face.

“Likewise. If you’ll excuse me, it’s about time I found Rh… The Skybreaker.”

I wasn’t sure how to best address her in such company, so I used what they had called her. I would have to ask her about that later.

{{Reward Calculated: 300 XP}}

{{Current XP: 600/1000}}

The system finally finished calculating. It appeared like it had found my performance satisfactory.

“If you ever plan on joining the guard, we would be more than happy to have you. I haven’t seen Ervinol work up a sweat like that in ages.”

I left them at that and went to find Rhil again. I could see her watching us near one of the balconies that overlooked the lord’s garden.

Before I could move to meet up with her, someone stepped in my path.

* * *

Reaper Scans

[Author – Farlight]

[Proofreader – Harley]

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* * *

It was a face I knew by reputation, if nothing else.

The signature tattoo of a snake running above his right brow down to his collar and around his neck was telling enough.

The leader of the Snake gang.

“Aizen, right?”

I tensed up at the sight of his face. I had been wondering about the lack of retaliation after I killed that gang member after first coming back to the city. Was he going to make a move?

“Relax, boy. I told them to leave you alone. I can’t have a potential asset going to waste, now can I?”

By “them”, he probably meant the rest of his underlings.

“Quite an impressive talent you’ve got there. Have you ever thought about making an easy living with your skills?”

The offer wasn’t even tempting. No matter how much he paid me, I couldn’t see myself stooping to his level. Beating up drunks and exploiting the helpless? I might as well just dig my own grave.

I let out a strained smile. He was the lord’s guest, for whatever reason.

“Thanks, but no thanks.”

He placed a hand on my chest to stop me as I tried to brush past him.

Looking into my eyes with a serious expression, he spoke.

“You might think I’m just a common thug, but I do more for this city than you realize. Don’t make a decision you’ll regret.”

‘I’m sure you do…’

Swatting his hand away from me, I spoke.

“Again, thanks for the offer, but I won’t be reconsidering.”

It sickened me that the lord would have someone like that as an invited guest.

I left him behind and stepped out into the cool night air. Rhil was still waiting for me on the balcony.

She raised an eyebrow at me in a questioning manner as I approached.

“I see you met the snake in the grass…”

That was one way of putting it.

“…”

“You tore your shirt.”

She leaned back against the marble railing in the dim moonlight after pointing that out.

I stood next to her and rested my elbows on the railing. The crisp night breeze, the light scent of flowers wafting throughout the lord’s garden, the steady murmur of conversation just inside the hall, and the dim moonlight glowing over the darkness-drenched garden came together to give me a sort of surreal numbness.

I couldn’t help but feel a bit out of my league.

“Hey, Aizen, are you ok?”

I shook my head in an attempt to clear it. I had missed something that Rhil had been saying.

“What was that?”

“I said that was quite a show you put on there. How did you manage to move like that?”

“Well… I used to watch a lot of cheesy kung fu flicks back home.”

She laughed, her green eyes sparkling.

“…”

“…You’re serious? That’s it?”

I nodded.

“Yeah, my body kind of just instinctively reacts as I imagine myself being in one of those movies.”

She let out a puff of air, “Huh… most people would kill for an ability like that. And you have the earth thing going on too.”

“What’s the deal with the whole Skybreaker thing anyway?”

“Ah, it’s just a stupid nickname they had for me.”

“Why did you stop?”

It was a question I had left untouched before, as it had always seemed like some sort of unsaid rule to leave a person’s past in the past in that crumbling section of the city where most just tried to get by. I couldn’t imagine someone just willingly giving up on the sorts of lives that the higher-level Awakeners seemed to live.

Haaaa.

She let out a sigh.

“How did your investigation of the lord and the elf go?”

…Right. The rush of the duel and my still fading adrenaline had made my mind wander.

“Neither of them showed a reaction. You?”

Her eyes were staring at something on my hand.

I looked down at the ring and a pang of excitement ran down my spine.

It had changed color to red, which meant that it had gotten a positive signature from someone.

Other than Rhil, the elf, and the lord, there was really only one other person I had come into contact with…

The snake gang leader himself…

‘But why would he bother with carrying a clasp like that around when he’s just committing murder? Why would he need it? Unless…’

Unless there had been a fourth clasp all along.

Which raised the question…

“Why would the city lord give such authority away to the city’s criminal underbelly?”

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