“Right, so it seems we’ll be stuck in town for a few days,” Brian said as they walked out of the magic shop, leaving Brent to get to work on Grisha’s new robe, “That means we can either relax or do some more jobs for the Adventurer’s Guild.”
“I say the latter,” Karen hummed, “Doing so will only strengthen you, Mage.”
“You say that like you want to steal my power,” Brian chuckled, the Dragon simply nodding.
“That is because I do,” she said, “So hurry and become strong enough for it to be worth the effort.”
“Right,” Brian said slowly, shaking his head as they headed back to the Adventurer’s Guild building, walking inside to the sounds of murmuring that stopped the moment people saw them, “Dammit, what’s going on now?”
“You’re being promoted, Sir Mage,” the familiar voice said as the Guild Master leaned on the balustrade of the balcony above them, “To Steel Rank. We did some calculations, and the only way you could have levelled up so quickly is if you were the one to defeat all of the Titan Apes. Also, there was no evidence of your party members interfering on their corpses.”
“Right,” Brian groaned, “Well, yes, I did. So, I’m going to be a Steel Rank now? That’s actually quite convenient, thanks.”
“Of course, you will need to take a test to ensure that you are powerful enough to actually hold the Rank,” the Guild Master continued, a slight smirk on his face, “A fight against another Steel Rank. And we already have a volunteer.”
“Let me guess,” Brian sighed, looking around the room, spotting the sleazy looking guy from the day before glaring at him, “That guy? Probably because he’s jealous of me or something?”
The other adventurers paused at that, before the room burst out into laughter, several of the others pointing or slapping the sleazy guy on the shoulder as he glowered.
“Shut your mouth, Sword Mage!” the man shouted, “Let’s just see if you’re any good at actually fighting!”
“Sure,” Brian shrugged, giving a warning glance back at Grisha and Karen as they both growled quietly at the sleazy guy, “How about right now?”
“Of course,” the Guild Master nodded, “We have prepared the Training Grounds out back for you to take your test already.”
“Of course you have,” Brian sighed as he stared at the man, the small smirk on the Guild Master’s face growing ever so slightly.
------
Brian stood calmly at one end of the Training Ground, which was little more than a large circle of sand surrounded by a simple wooden rail. He glanced over at Grisha and Karen, the girl cheering for him as the Dragon watched disinterestedly, flicking her hair as she looked around. Turning back to the makeshift arena, Brian looked at his opponent, the man in a mixture of leather and chainmail armour, a shield on his left arm and a longsword in his right hand. Nodding, he looked over at the Guild Master, who was standing amongst the rest of the Adventurers outside the arena.
“Are both parties ready?” the man called in his strong voice, Brian and the sleazy guy both nodding, “Then…begin!”
The sleazy guy charged forwards immediately, raising his shield as he held his sword out beside him, letting out a battle cry. Brian blinked as the man glowed red, his speed suddenly increasing, cutting the distance between them down even faster. He dodged to the side as the sleazy guy slashed at him, continuing to avoid the man’s precise strikes, even as they started to cut into his robe.
“What’s wrong, Sword Mage?” the sleazy guy laughed, “Why don’t you draw that twig you call a blade and fight me?!”
“Because, I’m not supposed to kill you,” Brian shrugged as he ducked under another wide swing, “Also, I’m trying to learn how to read your movements. They’re surprisingly good.”
“Read my…?” the sleazy guy scowled, “Shut up and fight, you coward!”
“Hey, you’re the one who spoke to me first,” Brian sighed, suddenly stepping inside the man’s range, and slamming a fist into his nose, both hissing in pain as they stumbled back, Brian holding his hand as the sleazy guy clutched his now bleeding nose, “Dammit, still a bad idea to punch stuff as a Mage.”
“You making fun of me?” the sleazy guy snorted, blowing blood out his nose as he readied his sword and shield again, “Then try this on for size! Shield Charge!”
“Oh shit!” Brian shouted as he dove to the side, barely avoiding getting run over by the other man as he shot forwards with unnatural speed.
Brian rolled as he hit the sandy ground, popping back to his feet as he turned to look at his opponent again, the man already on top of him as he swung his sword viciously at Brian’s chest. The Mage jumped back, hissing as the tip of the sword blade scored across his chest, cutting a wide hole in his robe, and revealing the silvery cloth-like material underneath.
“Huh? Why aren’t you bleeding?” the sleazy guy blinked as he stared at Brian in confusion, “That definitely should have cut you!”
“Fancy gear,” Brian shrugged, “Now, I think it’s about time I started fighting back.”
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
“Bring it, Mage!” the other man shouted, “I’ve prepared for this! Shield Wall!”
Brian watched as an image of the man’s shield expanded to cover his whole body, his smug grin from behind the partially see-through projection annoying him slightly.
“Paralyze,” Brian said, the man blinking, before he was frozen in place, the stupid smile still on his face, “And now we wait.”
The crowd, which had been laughing and cheering up until this point just watched as Brian waited out the timer on the Ability the sleazy guy had used, starting to boo after a minute as the projection still hadn’t faded.
“Do something, Mage!” Someone shouted, “At least throw a fireball! Make this interesting!”
“Not the kind of Mage I am,” Brian replied, looking back at the sleazy guy as his Ability finally ended, sweat dripping off his forehead, “Oh, you were holding that as long as you could, weren't you. I guess that makes sense, paralyzing you wouldn’t necessarily stop you from being able to use your Abilities.”
The sleazy guy just stared at Brian, a look of fear in his eyes as the Mage drew his sword, walking over to him and gently placing it against his neck.
“And the newcomer has won,” the Guild Master chuckled, the rest of the Adventurers looking at him in confusion, “If he wanted Hern dead, he would be, so he wins.”
“An impressive fight!” Grisha said as Brian walked up to them, inspecting the numerous holes in his robe.
“Not really,” Brian shrugged, “I was mostly just messing with him and practicing dodging without my sword to help.”
“You showed your overwhelming strength at the end, at least,” Karen huffed, “Though I would have killed the vermin, just to make sure the rest know their place.”
“Hey, he may be a creep, but even the sleazy guy doesn’t deserve that,” Brian chuckled, blinking as he heard the throat clearing sound behind him, turning to see the sleazy guy looking kind of sheepish, “Yes?”
“Name’s Hern,” the man said, holding out a hand, “And…just wanted to say sorry about all the shit I said. You’re pretty strong for a low-level Mage. If you and your ladies ever want to team up with the rest of us on a Quest, just say the word.”
“Oh, uhm…okay?” Brian blinked at the man as he grinned awkwardly back, before walking off, “Well, that was unexpected.”
“Not particularly,” the Guild Master said, making Brian jump as he hadn’t even heard the man approach, “The Adventurer’s Guild is something of a family. We all help each other as best we can.”
“I see,” Brian sighed, “Well, now that that’s done, can we go? We’d like to take another Quest in the meantime.”
“Of course,” the Guild Master hummed, his smirk returning, “Mind if I make some suggestions?”
------
“Okay, definitely harder than I thought,” Miles groaned as Mary healed the bite wound on his arm, “I think I saw my life flash before my eyes when that Dire Wolf was on top of me. Thanks for the save, Greg.”
“Andrew,” Greg said tiredly, rubbing his head as he leaned against a tree, “And I used the last of my mana on that fireball, so be quiet while I wait for it to regenerate and make this headache go away.”
“How long will that take?” Dylan asked as he inspected one of the wolf corpses, scowling slightly.
“About half an hour, sorry,” the Black Mage groaned, “I should probably level my Arcane Regeneration Ability up a few more times to speed that up.”
“Speaking of which, did anyone gain a level?” Samantha asked, everyone shaking their heads, “Neither did I, but I guess that’s to be expected, they were quite low-level monsters, despite the number and size of them.”
“I’m about halfway to twenty,” Miles called out, the rest all nodding as he looked at him, “Only got like two hundred EXP from that lot. Damn, this is gonna be a grind.”
“It is for all of us,” Dylan sighed, “Anyway, we won, so let’s collect the proof and get heading back as soon as possible.”
“Proof?” Miles sighed, “What do you mean?”
“The Quest paper said we needed to bring back the wolves’ ears as proof,” Greg sighed, looking over at Miles, “So hurry up and get cutting.”
“Why do I have to do it?” the Rogue moaned.
“Because you have knives and daggers,” Samantha sighed, “Or do you want to see me try to rip them off with my bare hands?”
“Bear hands?” Miles grinned as he sat up.
“I will punch you in the dick,” the Martial Artist growled, the rest of the group chuckling at their antics.
------
“And that’s that,” Brian sighed as they watched the flock of pterodactyl-like flying monsters drop out of the air, crashing to the ground with a series of thuds, “Most of them are already dead, but if you two want to mop up the rest for some Experience Points, I won’t stop you.”
“May I eat them?” Karen suddenly asked, the other two looking at her in surprise, “Terror Wings are quite delectable, though they are hard to catch due to their quick movements in the air. I would like to feast on some.”
“Sure, just leave their beaks, we’ll need them as proof,” Brian sighed as he watched the woman trot over to the nearest corpse, easily ripping the beak off the creature before her jaw suddenly extended into a draconic maw, biting down on the monster’s throat with a loud crunch.
“Oh,” Grisha said as she turned away, looking decidedly pale despite her dark skin, “That is…disturbing.”
“Yeah,” Brian muttered as he also turned away, trying to ignore the sounds of ripping flesh and breaking bones, “Anyway, how are you holding up? Enjoying your new items?”
“I am fine, and yes! Very much so!” the girl replied immediately, blushing slightly, “While these hunts have been easier than I expected, it still feels good to know that we are helping people.”
“Sure,” Brian chuckled, crossing his brow slightly as he thought of something, “Actually, I don’t think I’ve seen you use an Ability since we escaped from the capital. Why is that?”
“I cannot use them unless you order me to, or in my own defence, Master,” the girl replied, blushing harder as she realized what she had said, “I apologize, I didn’t mean to call you that again.”
“It’s okay,” Brian sighed as he patted her on the head, making the girl squeak, “Just try not to do it in the future. I don’t mind if you mess up a few times.”
“T-thank you!” Grisha nodded as he lifted his hand from her head, shivering slightly.
“Anyway, once Karen is done, we’ll head back to town and get some food,” he said, pausing at a particularly loud crunch, before some sucking noises came from behind them, “Maybe wait a while before food then.”
“That may be for the best,” Grisha nodded, looking a little sick, “How can she eat so noisily? Does she not have any manners?”
“I wouldn’t know,” Brian laughed, “I’m not exactly an expert on Umbral Dragons, or Dragons from this world at all, really.”
------
“Sir Slain, former royal combat instructor,” the announcer shouted as the crowd watched the man being brought up onto the wooden stage, “You are charged with treason for assisting and abetting in the false Heroes’ escape. Do you have any final words?”
“I can, and will, not abide by the execution of children,” the man said strongly, standing up proudly despite his ragged appearance, the evidence of torture obvious on his body, “That is all.”
“Very well,” the announcer said, “By the decree of king Lloyd Aftburn Astera, you are to be executed by beheading. Kneel at the block.”
The crowd shouted and jeered as the man laid his head down on the wooden square, the hooded executioner taking up his position beside him, lifting his large axe. The announcer simply nodded, before letting out a shout.
“Off with his head!”