It was around a quarter to eight when they picked up their “last bet,” so by half past the hour Alex was bored enough to place another one. While initially cautious, greed replaced doubt as the coins continued stacking. The pair kept switching outfits, or faces in Grave’s case, along with where they placed bets. But with the golem not caring either way, content to just spend time with their new friend, the group lacked a voice of reason. It only took them until an hour and a half to rack up seven hundred more gold.
Alex, while not from a poor family, had never been rich. His parents had good jobs, but still forced him to work and take out student loans; even if they planned on helping him pay the debt back. He’d always known the value of money because he often worked to make and use it. Now, as he walked toward the nearest hidden passageway, Alex learned something new. Even making absurd amounts of money could be boring.
Sure, that was somewhat obvious in a general sense. Anything could grow tiring, but as he wandered from bet to bet, the outcome of each “gamble” predetermined, winning lost most of its wonder. Still, Alex couldn’t help but smile. The actions had become repetitive, but looking at the numbers in his inventory rise, knowing they likely linked directly to his survival, had not.
***
Currency
Platinum: 68
Gold: 2,050
Silver: 76
Bronze: 138
Total Currency Displayed in Gold: 5,451
***
Closing the screen Alex looked up to make sure Grave was still ahead of him. He’d almost lost the construct in the throng of people a few times before, but this part of the stadium wasn’t overly crowded making it easier to follow. They had one last pickup for the night. If everything went smoothly, Alex would be set to make a true foothold in this city, whether Anise helped further or not. Still, he’d prefer to have their family’s help. Alex considered what tomorrow would look like, he would have to do all the shopping he’d failed to. Yawning at the thought, he sighed. The day had dragged on much longer than he’d assumed, and he’d likely have sixty more that were just as busy, ahead of him. Suddenly a familiar voice cut through the din of arena chatter and dragged Alex out of his planning.
“Hiya sleepyhead, didn’t expect to see you in such a reputable establishment on your second day in the city.”
Turning he locked eyes with the same little girl that had scared him half to death the night before, her high-pitched voice an odd combination of sickly sweet and childhood innocence.
“Hi Dora,” Alex said hedging. He had wanted to see her again, but the sudden meeting had him off balance. “Didn’t expect to see you here. My friend and I were just doing a little-”
“Winning, yes, I see. And I told you to call me Doreen,” the gray skinned girl interrupted.
She gave him a once over before looking at Grave, her eyes shining a bright gold as she did so. “I see you’ve bulked up a little, took my comments to heard did ya.” She paused for a moment, surprise cutting though childlike indifference. “Oh, I see. Meredith, lovely to see you again. Even if it’s under such… unfortunate circumstances.”
Alex looked from Doreen to the construct’s human form, a rather unremarkable caucasian woman. Either she knew the person Grave had mimicked their body after, or that was the golem’s previous name. Ralph’s daughter’s name? Grave gave the small woman a nod and stopped himself from falling into that rabbit hole of thought. The golem would likely answer if he asked, so he just needed to wait.
Looking back to Alex she continued, a mischievous grin masking all other emotions. “Now I don’t know what Janet’s been teachin’ ya these past 24 hours but make sure not to get yourself hurt doing that. It’d be a shame if you died before I could see everything.” She smiled, as if it was nothing more than a passing comment, but Alex felt a shiver down his spine. Doreen made to leave and Alex revised his plan from that morning, maybe he and Doreen didn’t need to speak more after all.
Still, he couldn’t let her go that easily. “Bye Dora.”
She whirled back, and in what Alex could only describe as an indignant squealed, “It’s a fucking family name.”
Alex smiled and nodded sagely, not wanting to ruin his minor victory.
“Don’t miss the fight later,” the small woman said, visibly collecting herself and turning toward another hallway. “I think Explorer’s gonna beat Oni, though I’m not much of a betting girl myself.”
Then she was gone leaving Alex with a grin on his face. That statement had all but confirmed that the tutorial was some type of simulation for Alex, but he asked Grave a question just to be sure. “She’s Explorer, right?” The golem nodded and Alex chuckled to himself as he motioned for them to continue leading. Considering who Oni was Alex wasn’t so sure about Dora’s prediction. Still, he was sure he wouldn’t be betting either way, he’d done his gambling for the day.
Arriving at what Alex decided would truly be their last pickup for the night, the pair stopped in front of the first bookkeeper they’d gone too. They went as themselves in what Alex considered a poetic closing of the loop of sorts. Even after their earlier agreement Alex had only put three bets in here. The second of which they’d purposely lost.
Initially, due to Grave’s earlier antics, Alex hadn’t wanted to go back, but eventually figured he was better off giving the bookie his own version of the story, rather than letting the man’s mind supply him with one. Still, he doubted the gruff man fully believed the tale, but after their loss the bookkeeper didn’t seem to care either way, which was fine by Alex.
Packing away the last hundred gold, a fifty/fifty bet on the previous fight, Alex bid the man a good night. The only fight left was Janet and Dora, and he was more than content to just watch. He wondered how each fought. Besides her powerful aura, which could just be a product of level, Janet was a complete mystery to him. Dora, Alex surmised, had a focus on her eyes, though that didn’t give him much to work with. At the very least she didn’t look like a melee fighter. He considered asking Grave but decided seeing it in battle for the first time might be more fun.
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
Spotting a person on a collision course with his shoulder Alex moved to dodge. The crowds were getting thicker as the hype for the final fight built up, though Sixth sense’s passive along with his rise in dexterity had made dodging all the others a game of sorts. So Alex was left surprised when the person bumped into him even after he moved to avoid them. He turned back to look at the person, confused whether they’d done it on purpose or not, but the man continued on as if nothing happened, so Alex did the same.
Arriving back at Ralph’s booth, Alex was grateful it was still empty. Sitting on one of the sofas he pulled some popcorn out of his inventory. He had offered some to Grave unsure if the golem could eat, though they had refused. Now back in their armored form Alex was certain he’d be the only one eating. Leaning back to get comfortable, he watched the monitor as the announcer rattled off information about each competitor.
Apparently the fight would be a direct combat, though it wouldn’t be under the bloody rules of some earlier fights. The arena had the ability to create avatars of people, though its use seemed to be reserved for special occasions. That left a bitter taste in his mouth when Alex thought back to some of the people who’d died, but he allowed the feeling to fade. He had enough to worry about without focusing on the problems of others.
Looking at the time Alex put his legs up. The fight wouldn’t be on for another thirty minutes so he should be able to rest for a moment, was his last thought before falling asleep.
Waking to a set of tapping was becoming a familiar occurrence for Alex and with a stretch he looked around to see why Grave had done it. The fight was likely starting soon though spotting Janet over his shoulder made him pause. That couldn’t be right, she should be preparing to fight. Blinking the sleep out of his eyes Alex looked again to be sure, it could be Grave playing a joke; though her speaking was all the confirmation he needed.
“Why are you so tired. As far as I was told you and Anise didn’t keep each other up all night.”
Brain still foggy from sleep Alex could only let out a tired, “Huh?” which didn’t seem to be what she was looking for. Janet sighed, before walking closer and patting Alex’s shoulder. “Look I know you had a long day. We’ll be going soon. Just need you to learn something real quick then you can sleep back at the house.
Nodding Alex rose, sleep would be good. Walking to the bathroom he put some cold water on his face to wake him up, which was only mildly successful. He had a few questions, mainly about how her fight had gone, but he was more exhausted than curious at the moment and hoped whatever she wanted wouldn’t take too long.
“Ok. Sit,” Janet said, pointing at the floor as Alex walked back into the main room. “I need you to close your eyes, but don’t fall as sleep, I want to teach you a skill.” That was a bit more exciting; enough to provide him a second wind, for the moment at least.
“What does the skill do?” he asked, following her instructions.
“It’s not that complicated, but explaining it can be annoying. Can you fell this?”
Alex sensed Janet’s aura leak out both more powerful and less hostile than before. After a second he realized it wasn’t necessarily more powerful rather just clearer. Eyes still closed Alex answered her question and asked one of his own.
“Yea. Why does it fell different from earlier? Less…” Alex trailed off, trying to figure out the best way to phrase his question.
“Murdery?” Janet supplied semi-helpfully, making Alex open his eyes. She grinned at him and Alex decided to go with a different word.
“Dangerous.”
“Here.” She added, something and Alex felt the fear from earlier return. After a moment it muted slightly before fading entirely. “That is called Killing Intent. Personally, I hate that name, but it’s pretty standardized so,” she shrugged. “Killing Intent, is not inherently a part of a person’s aura, but it is for beast’s, well the more violent ones at least. Anyway, you add it for the fear factor and intimidation, depending on the difference in power it can be enough to end a fight entirely.”
“Yea, I saw,” Alex said thinking about the woman from earlier.
Janet, misunderstanding, apologized. “Look I’m sorry about earlier. I just needed to get truthful answers, a show of strength is often the quickest way for everyone.”
Alex just nodded in acceptance, not sure what that said about any lie detection skill, or other method she could have used. Maybe she was just trying to create fake weaknesses.
“Anyway, close ’em,” Janet continued, brushing the topic aside. “I need you to do this.” Over the course of a second, in a motion he was sure he wouldn’t have noticed without Sixth Sense, Alex felt her presence get sucked out of the room. Opening his eyes again Alex looked to where Janet should be and… she was still there. Though Sixth Sense said there was nothing ahead.
“Oh, you can feel that too. Good, what does it feel like.”
“Emptiness,” Alex answered, half distracted as he infused mana into Sixth Sense in an attempt to pick something up. One mana per second still didn’t manage to detect her, and Alex brought up his character sheet, to check how much he could reasonably infuse. He had become somewhat dependent on the skill in the hours since acquiring it and the new hole in his defenses left him worried. Then he noticed something odd and Janet’s next words fell on deaf ears as he read his mana value. It was full despite the current use of sixth sense’s active ability. That didn’t-
“Alex.” Jerking up, he looked at Janet. “Look it won’t take that long just focus unless you want me to come pick you up in the morning.” She had his attention, Alex would not be spending the night in this place, no matter what.
“Sorry. What do you need me to do?”
She looked at him levelly for a moment. Deciding he was serious she explained the exercise. Janet wanted Alex to do what she did, though not to the same extreme. She had made it seem as if her presence was gone, Alex only had to mute his back to where it had been this morning.
“This seems useful, so I’m happy to learn it, but why right now.” Alex said in between attempts. To put it frankly, the task was hard, Alex was tired, and Janet wasn’t the best teacher. Without Sixth Sense he doubted he’d even know he was meant to pull the energy toward him rather than, cut it off entirely.
“Because Anise will know if you go home feeling like a level eight when you left no better than a two.” She sighed with frustration. They’d only been at it for twenty minutes, but the time had grated on both of them. “Think of it like this. Your body is like a cup. The water inside slowly evaporating into the air around you. It’s still there, still yours, but outside its normal vessel. When you want the water back you need to suck it out of the surroundings. Your mouth is the funnel, each inhale the vacuum, and each exhale the lock.”
She had said this in one way or another three times prior, and Alex understood intellectually what she meant, it just didn’t translate to progress. Sixth sense had been his greatest advantage however, and he’d learned something important. The skill-
“Hey,” Janet said snapping and inch away from his face.
“What now?” Alex growled; his patience worn thin. He couldn’t even think without being disturbed.
“I can tell you’re not even trying.” Her voice was equally terse, and Alex decided to grumble to himself rather than start a fight. That would only prolong their time.
It took another hour, five more threats, and four more lacking analogies, but Alex finally unlocked his new skill.
It wasn’t exactly what Janet wanted. His first attempt was instead a mimicry of her showing, removing his presence from the air entirely, but with it came knowledge that allowed him to complete her task. Without hesitation, not even sparing a moment to read the skill name or description Alex adjusted it and rose, his aura that of the level one he’d been this morning. Janet followed her slight glare turning into a more even expression and the pair left through the stairs to Ralph’s shop, Alex giving Grave a wave goodbye. Sleep called, and soon he would answer.