The cloaked figures blocked both exits of the alley. [Awareness] had returned to its dormant state, the sensation of being stabbed with an ice pick persisted. I ignored the pain and examined the dark alley. Nowhere to run, nowhere to hide, just plain stone walls on both sides.
Fending off two opponents was completely different from dueling. No matter how skillful a swordsman was, it was near impossible to fight two opponents simultaneously and come out unscathed. Even without [Awareness] feeding my brain with useful information, I knew I could only bluff my way out.
Back at college, I read an article about the advantages of having limited options in the classroom. The advantage of having limited options resides in the ability to streamline decision-making processes and maximize the focus on essential competences. It sounded great on paper, but in practice I would rather have all my skills intact.
I drew my rapier and pointed it towards the thief’s chest, hoping it would be enough to dissuade them. A non-combatant wouldn’t waste their time learning a combat skill, I just hoped my opponent would draw the same conclusion. Without [Identify], I couldn’t know their class and level, but in return, they couldn’t either.
“He’s supposed to be a Scholar.” The figure behind me nonchalantly said.
“Quiet. He is a Scholar.” The man in front of me replied.
My ears caught the words, but my brain didn't make anything of them, I was already two steps forward. I used [Minor Illusion].
The shadows danced at my feet and a circle of blue light surrounded me. My artistic rendition of a summoning circle might have alerted my assailants, because the man in front of me stepped back. I needed to catch them by surprise before they figured it was just an illusion.
My mana pool strained, and an Elder Black Wolf emerged from the circle. The rain hid the fact the monster moved without a sound. I had only one shot to get away. Once the thieves realized the monster was an illusion, it would be over for me. My mana pool was running low, so I decided to go all-in.
The illusory magic circle widened, then, slowly, a Wendigo emerged through the fake portal. Its arms gripped the ground before the creature pulled itself out. The illusion was so credible that it even gave me a shiver.
The Wendigo blocked the alley behind me, I just needed to focus on the thug in front of me. Seizing the moment of confusion, I charged forward with the Elden Wolf. The cloaked figure jumped to the side to avoid the Wolf and I swiftly pushed my rapier through the illusion. There was no need to kill to win a duel, it just needed to incapacitate my opponent.
The hooded figure dodged the wolf’s jaws, but missed the rapier’s tip coming after. I stabbed the thug in the shoulder but didn’t stick around to see if I could handle two assailants at once. Instead, I ran as fast as I could before they could realize the monsters were a sham.
The rain fell over my head as I left the alley behind. I heard a man yelling but didn’t look back. Going back to the orphanage wasn’t an option; I had to head to the market where the patrols were more frequent. Guardsmen wouldn’t overlook a man being chased by two hooded assailants.
Unless the assailants were also Marquis’ men.
I turned the corner and plunged into the maze of alleys that was the Northern District. Left, right, then left again, and all straight for what seemed like an hour before I dared looking over my shoulder. There was no one behind me so I took a moment to catch my breath. Despite my improved stamina, sprinting in a soaking cloak loaded with gold coins could only take me so far before crashing down.
I had to make a decision; return to the market and seek the help of the guardsmen, or return to the manor. The guardsmen were unreliable at best and returning to the manor would put Elincia and the kids in danger. I needed more information. If I only knew who my assailants were, I could make a more informed decision.
My mind raced through the possible suspects.
The Marquis was the first face that came to mind; however, it was unclear why he would have decided to act now. The tax season was still months away, and if he wanted to maximize profits, leaving the kids in the orphanage until then was the most reasonable choice.
I scanned my surroundings. There were no signs of pursuers, but I kept going nonetheless. I moved cautiously, peeking over the corners at each intersection. The Northern District was empty as usual. Regardless of my destination, I had to keep moving.
The face of Kellaren Odrac-Aias, the crooked debt collector, popped into my mind. My gut told me he was absolutely capable of eviscerating someone for a quick buck. [Awareness] probably would agree. However, unless the man had x-ray vision, he couldn’t know I was packed with money. Ginz’s debt payment was only a couple silver coins after all.
There was a third option. Common thieves targeting vulnerable victims for a couple silver coins. Sometimes the simplest answer was the correct one.
I bit my thumb. In any case, the thieves probably knew where I lived.
Captain Kiln.
The solution suddenly hit me. I needed to meet Captain Kiln. One way or another, she was my safest bet for help. I quickly felt my cloak. The card deck was still safe inside my inner pockets.
Thanks to the System Ginz was a hard worker.
I made my way towards the Great Hall through the maze of alleys until I reached a broader main street, still in the Northern District. There were no patrols on sight, or anyone really. There was another alley, less than twenty meters down the street. I looked both ways and went out of my hideout.
I was halfway when suddenly, a clay roof tile fell in front of me.
I looked up. Silhouetted against the sky on a two-story building, there was one of the cloaked men. The moment our eyes met, he hurled another roof tile. I moved away, barely in time to dodge. Considering the accuracy of the projectile, they had to possess a throwing skill.
My heart raced as I noticed my mana pool was almost empty.
As I turned around to head back to the labyrinth of alleys, I noticed the second man –the one I had wounded with my rapier. He had a bloodied bandage precariously wrapped around the shoulder. My soul nearly left my body when I noticed he wielded the knife in the opposite hand.
It seemed all my luck points had been spent on finding a cute half-elf girlfriend.
The man on the roof jumped down and I hoped he splattered against the cobblestone street, however, he fell with the grace of a two-meter-tall feather. With two of my three paths blocked, I steered away from my pursuers and ran down the street, away from the Great Hall.
The fact there wasn’t a guard in sight could be either a curse or a blessing. Whichever one, I didn’t know. What was truly a curse was the Scholar class having a risible [Speed] growth compared to whatever my pursuers were.
I looked over my shoulder. They were closing in.
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The hooded figures were concerning, however, what was behind them was even more alarming. Firana. I scolded myself for not teaching common sense lessons. Chasing knife wielding thugs wasn’t something she should be doing.
I stopped and drew my rapier again. Running was just a pointless energy waste. My breath quickened, not only because of the physical exertion but because of the fear and adrenaline flowing through my veins. It wasn’t just my life that was on the line but also Firana’s.
I lunged towards the nearest cloaked figure with a quick barrage of stabs. Despite the rapier having a reach advantage over the knife, my opponent blocked my attacks with inhuman speed. I sidestepped to stay away from the second man and attacked with a violent reverse cut. My blade cut the air where moments earlier the face of my opponent had been.
They were fast. I couldn't rely on flashy spells or intricate illusions this time. It was just me, my blade, and the cold determination to protect Firana.
The thug charged at me but I sidestepped and countered with a swift trust of my rapier. The clash of iron was muffled by the falling rain and the impact made my arm numb. It felt like I had struck the head of an axe rather than a simple dagger. I tried to back away, but the thug pressed the attack. We were in such close quarters that I could see his face beneath the hood, his cruel eyes were focused on my neck.
Without the thugs noticing, Firana reached us and jumped into the fray. Her grip was firm around her longsword’s handle and her eyes were focused on the back of the thief. For a moment, I wanted to tell her to stop. She was a kid, not someone who took lives without a second thought.
The thief's eyes suddenly shot open, and he rolled out of Firana’s reach even though she was in his blindspot. I cursed whatever skill had warned the thief, but part of me was relieved. I took advantage of the moment of confusion and positioned myself next to Firana.
“You fight against the one with the wounded shoulder. Fight defensively. You just need to wound him once or twice to end the fight. Don’t take risks.” I quickly commanded.
“Yes, teach.” Firana replied, eyeing the thugs with predatory eyes.
The thugs examined Firana, trying to gauge her class and her level. If I had to guess, they were unsure how to proceed. Firana wasn’t a factor that was in their plans. That meant we had the momentary advantage.
“Let’s stay in the same line. Don’t let them get on our backs.”
The street was wide enough for four or five carriages to transit at the same time.
Firana nodded.
We took a couple steps away from each other. Not enough for one of the thugs to pass between us, but enough to not get in each other's way. My fighting style relied heavily on lateral movement, and I wanted to avoid bumping into Firana. Extending my arm and pointed towards the tall, hooded thief, he locked his eyes onto mine and took a step forward.
I parried his stab and attacked downwards but as expected, the thief was faster than my sword. Landing a stab was going to be problematic. With the corner of my eye I looked at Firana who had engaged in a fiery fight against the wounded thug. She kept her footwork agile yet sure, even with the wet cobblestone, and used the reach advantage of her longsword to keep the thug at bay. Barely. Despite her natural strength and agility, the thug had the clear advantage. He must’ve been a low level twenty if I had to guess.
Suddenly, my opponent disappeared. I panicked for a moment but then I realized he was in front of me, turned into a gray blur that blended in against the cobblestone and the rainy sky. An illusory [Skill].
In a breath, I created a copy of myself. My chest burned, I was running out of blue juice and the wound in the walls of my mana pool threatened to tear apart. I ignored the pain and jumped to the right. By my command, the illusion moved to the left, mirroring my movement.
My opponent hesitated, standing in a precarious balance.
I thrusted. The thief’s head was in reach but at the last moment, when I almost reached it, my arm moved by itself. The thief jumped back, the tip of my sword only grazing his shoulder. Then, the realization hit me, I had almost killed a man. What was I expecting to happen? The thugs weren’t going to flee just because I kicked their asses in a fight, if I even could ‘kick their asses’ in the first place.
Firana had understood the winning condition even before me.
My throat was suddenly dry.
The thief smirked. He jumped back to disengage and pulled a throwing knife from his belt. I pushed forward but before I closed the distance between us, the knife wasn’t in his hand anymore. Pain exploded in my leg. The knife had buried several centimeters into my flesh. Reflexively, I pulled out the knife and threw it to the ground.
I needed to focus but not even adrenaline was capable of overcoming the combined pain of [Awareness], my damaged mana pool, and my stabbed leg altogether.
“Mister Clarke! Firana!” Zaon’s voice echoed behind my back.
I cursed yet again. Why were the kids outside the orphanage with the danger of a Monster Surge still looming over the city? Firana was known for getting away from her chores, but that disposition had disappeared since the guardsmen tried to assault the manor.
It didn’t matter, to survive we had to fight.
“Zaon! Sword, now!” I yelled over the clash of rain against the cobbled street.
Zaon’s hands fluttered over the grip of his sword, however, the urgency in my tone and the sight of Firana struggling against the wounded thief, snapped him back to reality.
“With me, Zaon!” I yelled.
The elven boy darted like an arrow as I pushed forward to prevent my opponent from drawing a second throwing knife. The fight had turned into a stalemate. Firana and Zaon focused each one on a thug while I jumped from side to side every time one of the kids was in trouble. Firana and I could easily overpower the wounded thug, but I couldn’t leave Zaon unattended. No matter how focused the elven kid was, his opponent had the advantage of a class and combat skills.
The fight had gone on for too long. Zaon and Firana were breathing heavily while our opponents remained composed. They had to have some stamina related skill, otherwise I couldn’t explain why they had the resistance to fight on disadvantage for so long.
I had to finish the fight soon, but I had enough mana for only one last spell. An illusion or a flare. I strained my brain. I should go full offensive or hope somebody interpreted my distress signal correctly?
“I can hear armor! Somebody is coming! A lot of them!” Zaon huffed.
As much as I strained my ears, the rain blocked every sound other than the clash of iron against iron. Was the boy bluffing? His voice sounded sincere enough and I knew for a fact that Zaon couldn’t lie in a believable way.
The thugs exchanged a glance and pressed forward. They ignored the kids and went directly for me. I focused my mana and created one last decoy. It wasn’t enough. The image was distorted, and the colors quickly faded away to leave a blue phantasm of myself.
I clenched my teeth.
A dagger pierced my shoulder while the wounded thug dodged my rapier and grabbed my wrist. For an instant, I was immobilized. The next moment blood splattered against my face, and I was free again.
I jumped back and raised my rapier, but the fight was already over.
A vaguely human-shaped swirl of darkness dashed in front of me welding a broad shortsword. The thieves were static pictures against the speed of the newcomer. A moment later, both their heads rolled over the cobblestone and their blood merged with the rain and flowed down the street.
Zaon threw up.
“Loki?” I asked in disbelief.
A man dressed in black clothing and built like a barrel stood in front of me. Blood and rain dripped from his beard and his hair stuck to his face. His sword was stained with blood. I recognized him.
Sir Janus.
“Are you okay kids?” The man asked with a worried voice as the street was filled with armed guardsmen.
Firana and Zaon rushed towards me, and I opened my arms to hug them. They were still kids after all. A sense of relief washed over my body. It was finally over.
“You two did good.” I said.
Suddenly, my leg gave out and I fell to the ground.
“What was that skill?” Firana asked.
“I’m a Shadow Fencer, what you saw was my [Shadow Step]. Surely you wouldn’t think that two low-level thugs would stand a chance against me?” Sir Janus said as he signaled a guardsman who approached and tied a bandage around my leg.
Still, nothing made sense, and my head was stabbing again.
“Why are you here?” I asked.
As needed as Janus’ assistance had been, the timing was too perfect.
“My first class was Sentinel.” Sir Janus replied, shrugging his shoulders.
“I’m not following.” I said.
Both my body and mind were too tired to start drafting up theories.
“Aren’t you a Scholar? Each class has some sort of detection skill, mine can detect nearby combat. Very useful when you are on guard duty. Not very useful when you want to sleep straight through the night. Your kids might have saved you. I don’t think I could’ve detected a three-man fight, even at my level.” Janus explained as he smiled under his unkempt beard. “Let’s go back to the orphanage. I’m sure the Governess has a nice magic potion for your wounds.” He added, offering me his hand.