Charles stared at Ezra for several seconds. Ezra felt a droplet of sweat drip down his back. On the outside, his face was stoic and frozen into an expression of mild contempt. Internally, Ezra was screaming at the top of his lungs.
Charles pointed at him.
“Hold on a second, I recognize you from somewhere!” he said.
“I have no idea who you are,” Ezra said.
Charles snapped his fingers. “No, wait, you were on the cover of the newspaper. The guy who saved Toria. One-guy, right?”
Ezra almost slumped over from relief. Charles didn’t recognize him… although he recognized his One-Eye disguise.
Charles walked over to Ezra’s table and sat on the opposite end. Ezra raised an eyebrow, stood up, then walked over to another table. Charles followed a second later. Ezra moved back to the old table and Charles followed
Charles stared at him with an innocent face. Ezra wanted to reach forward and break his nose.
“So, I’ve heard a lot about you,” Charles said. “They say that you saved the city of Toria, right?”
Idia stepped over with a plate of food and sat next to Charles.
Ezra stared at Idia’s neck. How difficult would it be to kill him?
“Mister One-Eye?” Charles said. “Hello?”
Ezra’s hands twitched. “Yeah, I was involved in that whole mess.”
Charles hummed. “Can I ask what you’re doing up this far north?”
“I could ask the same thing.”
Charles leaned in.
“We’re actually on the hunt for the third boss monster,” he said. “Supposedly, it’s been spotted somewhere around here.”
Ezra stabbed his eggs and took a slow, deliberate bite.
“What a coincidence, I’m here for the same reason,” he said.
Charles narrowed his eyes. Idia stopped chewing and stared at Ezra.
“You aren’t after the Dark Seal, are you?” Idia said.
Ezra raised an eyebrow. The boss monster was carrying a dark seal? That was useful information. He might need that to avoid a System disconnect.
“No, I had no idea that it was carrying a Dark Seal, whatever the hell that is. I just came here for the EXP.” Ezra leaned back in his chair. “You two still haven’t introduced yourselves to me.”
Charles winced.
“Oh, yeah, probably should’ve done that first before the whole questioning business, huh?” He held out his hand. “I’m Charles, an Otherworlder. You might’ve seen me in a newsletter or two? I had an interview with the Lady of the Woods?”
“Never heard of you.”
Charles reared back as if struck. His eyes widened and his lips trembled as he stared into the distance.
Ezra resisted the urge to laugh.
Idia held out his hand. “I’m Idia. Knight Commander of the training division. I’m responsible for Charles and his… group.”
Ezra stared at his hand. He reached out, then squeezed Idia’s hand as hard as he could.
Idia’s hand crunched and something snapped. Tears welled up in his eyes and he let out a half-cry, half-laugh.
“Okay, that was a handshake.” Idia tugged at his hand. “You can let go now.”
Ezra squeezed further. Idia’s hand folded in half and he banged the table with his other hand. Ezra shook his hand up and down, then unwrapped his fingers.
Idia cradled his wrist and glared at Ezra. Ezra stared right back and smiled.
This was going to be fun.
“Right, um,” Charles said. “It’s really good that we ran into you.”
Ezra raised an eyebrow. “Why’s that?”
Charles grinned. “As it turns out, sir One-Eye, your amazing deeds have earned the envy of the crown itself. The Queen has requested that you accompany us and act as a mentor for our group.”
“Absolutely not.”
This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.
Idia’s jaw dropped. Charles tilted his head and blinked. “Sir One-Eye, you do realize how great of an honor this is, right? The amount of fame you’ll receive for being involved in the death of the third boss monster will be enormous. The crown will reward you handsomely, as well.”
Ezra stared at Charles. “Don’t care. I’d rather not work with a prissy brat—“ He turned his vision to Idia. “—or a sadistic egomaniac.”
Idia slammed the table and stood up. The people inside the tavern averted their eyes and scooted away.
“That’s it, I’ve had enough of this disrespect!” Idia said. “You dare to embarrass a servant of the crown itself? I won’t stand for it! I challenge you to a duel!”
Ezra’s lips upturned and his heart pounded in his chest. His smile was all teeth as he stared at Idia.
He could get away with killing Idia. Accidents happened when working with lethal weapons, after all.
Idia shrank back and sat back in the chair. “On second thought, I see no need for further conflict.
Ezra pouted. And here he was, looking forward to a good fight.
Charles gave Idia a confused look, and stood up, scooting his chair backward. “Well, Idia, if you’re not willing to fight for our honor, then I will. I can’t let the guy get away with calling me a prissy brat, after all.”
He stepped toward the entrance, opened the door, and turned around. “You coming?”
Ezra stood up and followed behind Charles.
----------------------------------------
Ezra adjusted his gloves and cloak. Charles stood on the other side of the impromptu dueling ring and pulled out his straight razor. It flipped open with a click.
A small group of spectators watched nearby. Old Joe sat beside his daughter, observing from the porch of Miss Marnie’s diner. A dozen individuals in white cloaks, reminiscent of Charles’s and Idia’s, encircled the dueling ring.
Idia stepped forward. “Right then, I’ll be the referee, as usual. First to half-health loses.”
Ezra tapped his foot against the ground. He was excited to test his abilities agaisnt Charles. He glanced at Charles’s level.
Charles - Razor Dancer - Demon Warrior I - Lv. 53
Lower level, but that class and title were concerning.
“You can’t use me,” Filamenta’s voice echoed. “I would give you away instantly.”
Finally awake? Took her long enough.
“I was just grabbing a quick catnap,” she said.
Uh-huh. Well, if Ezra couldn’t use Filamenta, then he’d have to rely on something else, like his physical skills.
“I have no doubt you’ll destroy him. Best of luck,” Filamenta said.
Charles picked at his nails, and then glanced up at Ezra.
“You’re free to give up, by the way,” Charles said. “No one would blame you for it.”
Ezra was going to enjoy this.
Idia held his hand up. “On three.”
Ezra tensed his legs.
“One, two…”
Charles shifted his feet.
“Three.”
Charles burst forward, his razor gleaming in the sun. Ezra ducked underneath the shot and grabbed Charles’s arm. Charles’s eyes widened and he tried to pull back. Ezra locked Charles’s shoulder, applied pressure—
2460/3000
A loud crack echoed out and Charles screamed, his razor dropping to the ground. One of the people in the crowd winced, while one of the people in the white cloaks snorted. Charles stumbled away, then pushed himself to his feet. After a few rapid breaths, he forced himself up to his feet. He laughed nervously and cradled his other hand.
“Damn, you’re the real deal, huh?” Charles said. “When I saw you without any weapon, I kind of dismissed you, to be honest… looks like that was a stupid move on my part.”
Charles held out his unbroken arm. His razor disappeared from the ground and reappeared in his open hand. He stepped forward, advancing with his razor pointed out toward Ezra.
Ezra squatted down, his eyes locked on Charles’s face. Charles stepped forward, and then slashed with his razor. Ezra dodged the strike. Charles slashed out again in a smooth movement. Ezra brought out his hands for another break, only for Charles to draw back instantly, flip his razor around, and slash.
The slash made a shallow cut across an exposed part of Ezra’s wrist.
1437/1500
A drop of blood dripped from Ezra’s wound and onto the snow, but it was a shallow cut. It would stop in a bit.
Ezra stepped forward—another drop of blood.
1401/1500
Ezra took another step.
1378/1500
Ezra looked over at his wrist. It hadn’t cut an artery, so why was he still bleeding? He glared at Charles, who grinned. A second later, the razor lit up and the blood floated from Ezra’s wound and into his razor.
“Pretty neat, right?” Charles said. “As long as I can keep up the mana flow, your wound stays open permanently.”
He just… told Ezra that? Idiot. Had he ever fought against an actual human? “Thank you for informing me of that. Now I know that I need to end this quickly.”
Ezra rocketed forward. His hand darted up and reached for Charles’s other arm. Charles, honed in on the threat of having his arm broken, stepped backward.
Ezra’s foot launched out, tripping Charles into the ground. Ezra raised his other foot down and stomped into Charles’s chest.
2232/3000
Spittle flew out of Charles’s mouth. He reared his razor back. Ezra moved forward, [Basic Grappling] kicked in and automatically grabbed his hand. Ezra’s legs wrapped around Charles’s throat. After fifteen seconds, Charles started to gurgle from the mouth.
2120/3000
1920/3000
1782/3000
The number continued to tick down…
1489/3000
Ezra unlocked Charles’s neck. Charles gasped for air. After a few seconds, he forced himself to his feet and faced awkwardly toward Ezra.
Idia crossed his arms. “One-Eye is the victor.”
He walked over to Charles and held his hand out. A red glow came out and covered Charles. His arm snapped back into place with a crack and Charles screamed.
That was fun.
Idia sighed. “Well, that more or less confirms it, huh? I guess we have to take you on, now.”
“What are you talking about? I already said no.”
Charles staggered to his feet.
“Welcome to the team, One-Eye,” he said.
Idia pulled out a sheet of paper and handed it to Ezra.
Dear One-Eye,
Per your duty as a member of the mercenary’s guild, you have been ordered to guide and mentor Charles Bering and his Otherworlders for the duration of their hunt. You will be paid handsomely, of course.
Note that acceptance of this mission is not optional. If you reject this order, you will be stripped of your membership permanently.
As you are a B-rank (though your awarding of this rank was opposed quite vigorously by certain board members), we at headquarters are certain that you will have no problems achieving this mission.
Happy Hunting,
High Guildmaster Haghlin
The paper fell to the ground.
Charles grinned. “I look forward to working with you, sir!”