The short man crumpled under Sarah’s fist like a pane of glass. She heard something in his shoulder break, and then he was on the icy ground mewling like a wounded animal.
She blinked at him and flexed her hand. “Seriously? Why the fuck were you talking so much shit if you couldn’t back it up!?”
The dumbass looked up at her with tears in his eyes. “I didn’t think you’d follow through!”
Sarah’s eye twitched. “You saw the territory claim. You saw I used the Warlord Trait. Do you think the System gives that out for no reason!”
He whimpered and shifted on the ice.
She rubbed her forehead. “Look. We don’t have that much time to be wasting here. If you’re this weak, you should’ve just surrendered. I wouldn’t have broken your shoulder!” Sarah took a deep breath. “Just surrender. I won’t hurt you anymore. Fuck I won’t even send you to a System camp or make you move. I just want control of the territory.”
She turned away from the man with a huff. She’d amped herself up for a fight and found herself flat-footed.
She felt a little bit like a bully. She was trying to take over territory, yeah, but this felt like taking candy from a baby.
Not only did it make her feel bad, it didn’t give the same kind of benefits as a real fight. She’d taken four different territories, and each time, the harder the fight was, the more levels she gained from it.
The System wasn’t impressed with picking on the week, it seemed.
Sarah rubbed her jaw. A frustrating seed of guilt wiggled its way through her stomach. She’d been fighting people who could take her hits and swing back.
What if I’d aimed for his ribs?
She turned back to the man. “I mean it, by the way. You can stay here. I won’t force you to do anything or work for me.”
“Thanks?“ The man said from the ground.
“Sarah Tyler. 26, 1 Threshold passed, likes apples. Dislikes squash. I’d read the little background snippet, but I feel like that would be oversharing.“
Sarah spun on her heel; her guard raised to intercept an attack. Instead of a fist or Skill, she was met with the sight of an old man standing about 10 feet away.
He looked to be in his early to mid-60s, with gray hair cut just above his ears, a wrinkled face that had seen its fair share of sun, and bright, robin egg blue eyes. He smiled at her.
If she didn’t know better, she would have said the expression was genuine.
“Four territories, but you’ve only killed one group, far as I can tell, and they didn’t exactly have a clean record themselves.”
A stranger approaching her and talking instead of attacking was nerve-racking enough.
But this? Sarah’s unease spiked.
Knowing that she passed a Threshold wasn’t strange. If he’d researched enough to know she’d taken over four territories, it was an easy guess she was over level five.
It was the confidence that he said 1 that made her nervous. He knew she hadn’t hit level 10 yet.
She swallowed. “You placed in the Contest, didn’t you?“
The old man’s grin widened. He stretched, and while Sarah couldn’t make out much of his build through his snow coat and thick jeans, he moved with the grace of a much younger man.
Sarah shifted uneasily. At level seven, she had two Skills to call on, both passive.
No One Can Take A Hit Like A Brute
Rare
Effect: toughens your body against all forms of damage. This effect is increased when attacking or knowingly engaging against an opponent stronger than you.
Energy cost: none
Range: none
Cooldown: none
No One Can Hit Like A Brute
Rare
Effect: Increase your strength greatly. This effect is increased while attacking or knowingly engaging someone stronger than you.
Energy cost: none
Range: none
Cooldown: none
Her Skills were incredibly simple, but they synergized perfectly with her purpose.
Character sheet: Sarah Tyler: level seven.
Stubborn Brute.
Uncommon.
Purpose: to fight and spit in their eye.
Scope: broad, conditionally narrow.
Sarah had no fancy effects or flashy light shows that looked like they came out of an anime. She could hit things, and she could get hit.
But she was damn good at it.
This man, though. The System had awarded the scan Trait to the top contenders in the Contest. So, either he was almost certainly level 10 and extremely dangerous. Or… She shook her head.
Nobody could be level 15 yet.
Could they?
Sarah considered the man.
She could try and scare him off, and if he proved too much, she could always book it. This shitty little neighborhood wasn’t worth killing for, and it certainly wasn’t worth her dying over. If he hadn’t attacked yet, he likely wouldn’t go straight for the kill.
She decided to probe a bit. “What do you want, this territory?“
The old man shook his head. “No, nothing like that. My friends and I have decided to help the smaller independents out. Groups making big land grabs is… Concerning. I’m sure you understand. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be trying to scoop up this neighborhood.“
Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.
Sarah blinked at him. He was a vigilante? Or, if she was being less charitable, just another group making a power grab and putting a wholesome spin on it.
Maybe he saves this place from her, and then it conveniently falls under the protection of his group. For the greater good, of course.
Her eyes narrowed, and she shifted her stance.
The old man eyed her. “I wouldn’t do that.“
His tone didn’t change, and neither did he.
Sarah carefully approached.
She would run if she had too, but she was so damn tired of running, of always having to pack up and find some new hole to hide in.
Again and again, she’d turned tail and ran. Pretty soon she was going to run out of patience and stand her ground.
It was probably going to get her killed.
“The guy on the ground talked a lot of shit. I don’t want to accidentally cripple you. I can hit pretty hard, are you gonna fold like a lawn chair?“
Bright blue eyes studied her. His grin faded, contemplation taking its place. “Yes, I can take a hit. Or no, I suppose I should say, I won’t fold like a lawn chair.”
Then he moved.
Sarah had fought close to a dozen people at this point and survived two Scenarios. She’d seen fast. But the old man moved like a goddamn viper.
His fist cracked into her cheek.
It didn’t hurt, just stung, but she hadn’t been able to read him at all.
She threw out her own jab, but he was already moving. Her punch missed as he bobbed to the right and slammed a hit into her side.
Once again, there was a sharp sting but nothing more.
She jabbed twice before feinting and trying to catch him in the hip with a knee.
The old man danced around her like he could see the future before coming around with another backhand.
His Class must focus on speed, maybe a perception enhancement, too, with how he was moving.
That was a problem, except he didn’t seem to have the oomph to hurt her.
The old man backed off a step and continued to examine her.
“You’re not swinging full force. Why?“
She stared at him. The hell kind of a question was that?
She braced herself for him to dart back in, but he didn’t. He was waiting for her to answer.
She licked her lips. She was still nervous, more so than she had a right to be. “I don’t want to kill you.“
A gray eyebrow rose. “Oh? What do you want?“
Sarah stepped back in and swung.
The man danced back, but she didn’t give him space. She pushed off the pavement, ice, and road cracking from the force.
She put more speed into her swings but made sure not to aim for his center mass.
She caught nothing but air.
Without slowing, the old man started to talk. “You’ve taken several territories, but you’ve shown a gentle hand. So much so that your name came up in searches. But you haven’t always. That made me curious, did you kill the last group because you finally decided to stop holding back, or did you realize the kind of people they were?”
Her jaw clenched. The body on the floor, Edwards, relaxed and smiling. The sound of ice cracking inside of flesh.
Sarah snarled and threw herself at him. She kept enough of her head not to aim for anything vital, but she swung for all she was worth.
The old man stopped dodging.
Sarah had already been trying to catch him in a dodge, she wasn’t going to pull the hit in time.
She still tried, muscles straining, to hold back the blow that would cave the man’s ribs in.
Amber light burst from him like a suit of armor. He caught her fist in his open hand and stopped it cold.
Before she could react, his foot lashed out and caught her in the chest.
She got the briefest instant of pressure like a boulder was shoving against her, and then she blasted from her feet, hitting the ground a dozen feet away and bouncing.
Pain throbbed through her ribs, and she coughed before sucking in a breath of winter air.
That one kick hit her as hard as anything ever had, and he didn’t even seem to be trying!
She scrambled to her feet, but the man was already there.
But the crushing blow didn’t come. His foot didn’t cave her head in. Instead, he stretched out his hand as the amber light faded.
He gave her a gentle smile, his eyes kind. “Please, let’s talk.”
Feeling like she just stepped out of her car only to drop into a lake, Sarah slowly reached out and took the man’s hand.
He pulled her to her feet before taking a step back. “You said you don’t want to kill anyone, so what is it that you do want?“
She stared at him and considered running. But something about how he looked at her, the softness in his gaze, that comforting smile.
It took her back to a place she hadn’t been for years. Seeing her grandfather's warm smile, smelling cookies wafting in from the kitchen, mixing with the daisies on the porch, and believing everything would be ok.
Believing that she could trust someone else.
“I… I want to be safe. I was trying to keep my head down at first, but people found me. Forced the issue. And then it happened again and again.“
He nodded. “So, you figured you’d take some territory, make some safety.“
She nodded.
The old man chewed over her words. “Well, if all you want is the strength to protect yourself, I won’t stand in your way. But attacking people for their territory? I am going to stop you from doing that.“
She glowered at the man. “The scenarios –“
He held up a hand. “I am aware of the benefits. But you don’t need to attack these people to be safer. What you need is allies. My friends and I will gladly help you if you’re in a pinch.“
Her caution rose sharply, along with her suspicion. “And the catch? I suppose you want me to join your group and help you ‘liberate’ territories? From me and other oppressors.“
He chuckled, not at all offended by her tone.
“No. You don’t need to join us. We’re not recruiting, as it were. What I am offering you is what I’m offering you. Stop attacking people for their territory. In exchange, you can call on us to help protect you. Or your friends. We won’t be your hit squad. But we will defend you.”
This seemed…too good.
This guy could be full of shit. He could be trying to make her back off so he could get the territory. He could be trying to get her to like him so that she’d help him and his group later.
Sarah cut to the quick of it. “How do I know you’re not just trying to trick me and snatch this territory for yourself?“
The old man met her eyes, his gaze just as kind, just as gentle. “Because if I wanted that, I wouldn’t need to use a trick.“
Sarah swallowed. She believed him. Not only because of the stinging in her ribs, but because he seemed so…honest, as absurd as that sounded.
He stuck out his hand. “Assistance, protection from attack, in exchange for not trying to strong-arm anyone out of the territory.“
Sarah considered her options.
It didn’t take her long. She hadn’t been lying to him. She wanted territory because of what it offered her, not just to collect them.
Having a group of powerful people who were likely past their Second Thresholds on her side would be amazing.
Assuming she could trust them.
Well, she might as well go along with it for now.
If she tried to take more territories as she was, this man would stop her. She didn’t doubt that. Her ribs were still aching from that one kick.
And if it turned out they were full of shit, she’d… She’d figured something else out. She doubted they’d track her all across the city.
With one last look at that smile, Sarah reached out and took his hand.