All’s well that ends well. If Jack would have known the expression, that might have been what he would have thought of, as he woke up the morning after his adventure. Not that he would have called it an adventure. Stimulating, educational, traumatizing. Those are all words he could have used to label his trip to the Nymph lands and the return journey. But not an adventure.

“Morning Mrk.” Jack said, emerging from his shelter.

“What’s for breakfast?” was what he said, not two seconds later.

It had become tradition for Mrk to be the one cooking, lately. As food obsessed the both of them were, it was Mrk who occupied the top spot in the ‘Who is forever hungry?’ rankings. Not that such a ranking existed. Well, perhaps only in Lola’s mind.

Jack did feel that Mrk’s help may be impacting his |Forest Cook| Class, especially his ability to level in the Class, but given that he was happy to eat without doing any of the actual work, he didn’t fuss too much about it.

“Soup! Mrk made soup, Jack.” His friend grinned in return.

Indeed, while Jack was getting up and blinking the last dredges of sleep out of his eyes, his friend was busily tending to a clay pot, boiling over a fire.

“Mrk experimented with soup. Added green mushrooms. Want to see what soup tastes like now.”

“You did? Wait, does that mean that more grew, out of the dried up one?”

“Yes, green mushroom grew. As fast as fire mushrooms. Mrk thinks we can sell this too.”

Looking at his garden, well, their garden, Jack noticed that a bunch of green looking mushrooms had sprouted out of the ground while he slept. Not as many as the fire mushrooms, but then again, this entire ‘harvest’ was based on a single dried mushroom he managed to smuggle back to his camp, in his pouch.

I wonder if they grow so well because of my |Resilient Seeds| Skill. Not that mushrooms have seeds, but maybe it helps it anyway? Or it’s because of the mushrooms themselves. Or… maybe one of Melena’s Skills? Still-

“What Jack thinks off?” a voice cut him out of his reverie.

“Oh, nothing Mrk. Just the mushrooms. Sorry, I’m still not fully awake.”

“No be sorry. Mrk brewed tea. Strong tea.” The ratling said, gesturing towards a filled cup.

It should be said that, for all that Jack appreciated and liked Mrk’s cooking, he wasn’t a great fan of his tea brewing. There wasn’t anything wrong with Mrk’s choice in tea, per se. But it did taste like someone boiled an entire pot of tea, reducing it until was just enough to fill a cup.

Come to think of it, that might be how he does it.

“All good, Mrk. So, you tasted the new mushrooms?” Jack asked, changing the subject.

“I dids. Sour!” he said, making a face. “And green sludge that came out stung Mrk’s hands.”

“Yeah, that happened to me too. Though my Skill helped a little. Wait…” Jack said, coming to an awful realization. “You didn’t make the soup out of only the acid mushrooms, right?”

“Acid mushrooms?”

“Figure that’s what we can name them. Fire for the red ones, acid for the green ones.” He said, shrugging.

“Acid. Acid mushrooms. Fits. And no, Jack. Mrk only added a few. Now come, soup is ready.”

They sat down with a bowl of thick soup in their hands.

“Ah, Mrk?” Jack asked, after the first spoonful.

“Yes, Jack.”

“I feel like my teeth are about to fall off.”

“Mrk thinks the same.”

“Maybe only add half an acid mushroom, from now on?”

“I thinks that wise.”

Breakfast ended quickly after that, with both bowls left half unfinished and used for a much better purpose as fertilizer for the garden. It mattered to be efficient. Lola came by, soon after, seeming to be as worried as Mrk had been a day before. Jack caught her up to speed on what he saw and what he did, which seemed to give her some relief. And because Jack and Mrk felt they shouldn’t be the only ones to suffer culinary challenges, they offered Lola a dried acid mushroom, for a taste test.

“Ugh… Jack, I don’t think you two should be eating this. I don’t think anyone should be eating this. Haven’t you planted the potatoes and other plants I gave you?”

“Mrk thinks it’s still worth using in food. Only little, though.” The ratling piped up.

Truly, the cook in him was starting to shine.

“Right you are Mrk. And I did, Lola, we just wanted to see what it tasted like.”

“I don’t think I’ll be able to taste anything else, after I’ve eaten that.”

“Yeah… I guess that’s true.” He laughed. “Hey, you think Elia would buy it?”

“I’m not sure. She seems to be loving the Embercaps. This look something like them, so… maybe?”

“Good, I’ll give you a basket before you leave. How’s Elia, by the way?”

“Oh, she’s good.” Lola smiled. “More than good, actually. She levelled up in her |Potioner| Class again and her products are selling well, even outside the village. Well, almost only outside the village.”

“Right. Mrs. Winnow is still giving her a hard time?”

“She is. Her son, as well.”

“Louis? What’s he doing to bother Elia?”

“Mostly standing along with his little gang outside Elia’s shop, ‘reminding’ the customers who his mother is and what she said about buying from Elia. Not much more than that, but it is costing her some clients.”

“Asswipe.”

“Mrk thinks the same.”

“Jack!” she said, in mock annoyance. “A young man should not speak such words.”

“Alright, alright, I get it. I guess I’ll have to let the young lady to do all the swearing.” He grinned.

That got her to laugh.

“Still, Jack. Louis is mostly all mouth, but he has been giving some odd hints about you.”

“Such as?” Jack asked, before Lola had a chance to continue.

“Like how he will come in the forest. Come to you, he said. And give you a lesson, of sorts. Only he phrased it with less polite words.”

“Yeah, I bet he did. Don’t worry though, Lola. If he picks up a fight, we’ll finish it.” He said, with Mrk nodding furiously in the background. “Besides, I don’t think the nymph would allow anyone of ill-intent to walk in her forest.”

“I… guess not. Though the nymph only ever gave us refuge, not settled arguments between our own. Not that anyone was mad enough to try fighting in the forest. Still, be safe, Jack.”

“What do you mean? Aren’t I always?” He said, eliciting a sigh out of her and a laugh out of Mrk.

Lola left, soon after that, with a basket full of Elia’s wanted ingredients and a smaller basket full of acid mushrooms. Jack had a feeling he would get something good out of that trade.

Following her departure, their life returned to the odd level of normal the two always experienced. Mrk tended to the garden, while Jack went searching in the forest for Elia’s ingredients. They met again for lunch, thankfully acid mushroom free this time, before they went on to try and improve their shelters, build more pots, craft more utensils and discuss what future ideas they may have had for their clearing. That was normal and somehow, it was even relaxing. A routine, true, but one from which you did not expect danger or mishap.

And yet, after his little adventure in ‘nymph land’, Jack felt like something was missing. He witnessed an entirely different culture, filled with beings that appeared to have true purpose, even though that purpose seemed to be mired in grief. A new culture, a new species, new knowledge. Compared to that, Jack’s life right now seemed to be mundane. Plain. Boring.

“Hey, Mrk, you ever get bored here?”

“Hmm, sometimes. But Mrk like bored better than hungry.”

“Can’t argue with that. But, I don’t know, don’t you want something more?”

“More, Jack?”

“Yeah, like… get an awesome Class. Become a |Warrior|. Build a warren. Anything.”

A strange emotion passed over the ratling’s face, as he prepped for an answer.

“Mrk-“

Smack

Mrk flinched, before standing up and looking around. He had an angry look in his eyes, which given the small rock that had just bounced off his head, he had every right to.

“What was that?”

“Mrk not know.”

Jack stood up as well, looking around. It wasn’t like Melena to play this kind of tricks and it was too mean for Lola. He had a suspicion as to who may have done that. And just in time to affirm that suspicion, he saw someone walking out of the bushes and into his clearing.

“I knew it! Louis, you piece of… Wait, who are you?”

Coming towards them, though slowly and hesitantly, was a boy, around Jack’s age.

“My name is Moran, you filthy Jack! And I’m here to deliver a message on behalf of Louis Winnow. He wishes-”

“Wait, did you just hit Mrk with a stone?”

“It was barely a pebble. As I said, I’m here-“

“You hit him in the head! Apologize to him!”

“I will not apologize to… that.”

“Oh, yes you will.” Jack said, getting closer to the boy.

“Or what? You can’t harm me in this forest. I’m a member of the village!”

“No, but Mrk can find out where you live and get to you at night.”

“Mrk has good nose.” He said, displaying all his teeth in an unsettling grin.

That seemed to knock some wind out of the boy.

“Fine… I- But I wasn’t even trying to hit him! …Fine. I apologize.”

“Good. Now give me your vest.”

It wasn’t a good vest. Kind of dirty. But Jack didn’t have one of its own, so he wanted it.

“Wh- No! My mother gave it to me. It’s my only one!”

Moran sounded more like a child than a young man, in that moment.

Not all of Louis’s gang are as arrogant as he is, huh?

And he was part of Louis little posse. Jack remembered him, thought it took him a long minute, from the day when they harassed Lola. He wondered if the reason the boy looked so afraid was because he thought Jack might light him up, before the nymph could step in. It felt shamefully good to be on the other side of the bullying, but a look at how panicked Moran was at the thought of losing one of his, probably, few possessions, made Jack rethink his amusement.

Fine. I guess I’ll just have to settle for Louis.

“Fine! I’ll be lenient.” Jack said. “But remember I spared you, next time we meet.”

Spared might be a big word for this situation, but Jack was developing a flare for the dramatical.

“Why here? Why you here?” Mrk said, all of a sudden.

Looking at his friend, Jack saw that while he had been treating the situation with good humor, his friend had grown more and more upset. He guessed it wasn’t about the stone, though it must have hurt. More likely, this was because of Moran stepping inside a place that Mrk considered his own. Sacred.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

Never get between a Ratling and his would-be warren.

“I- I am here to deliver a message on behalf of Louis Winnow.” Moran said, tone uneasy. “He wishes me to tell you that he is challenging you to a duel. He will wait for you, outside the forest-“

“A duel? What’s… oh, no, wait. I just remembered what that means. But-“

“Could you stop interrupting me, you vagrant? I practiced this!” the boy suddenly yelled.

The change of pace and the thought of anyone practicing this little speech was amusing enough for Jack to let him say his piece. He motioned for the other to continue.

“As I was saying. He will wait for you, outside the forest, near Shepard’s Pond. You may… wait, do you know where Shepard’s Pond is? Shepard’s Rest” he asked, noticing Jack’s confused expression.

“Uh… no. I don’t get out much. Mrk?”

The ratling shook his head, jaw clenched.

“It’s a tall standing stone, next to a pond. Walk towards the village, then head to the left when you reach it. It’s outside the forest… we’ll just light a fire for you to see.”

“Oh, good.”

“Right. Well, you may bring a second. You will fight with whatever arms you bring and use whatever Skills you have. The duel ends at first blood. That’s… uh, that’s all.”

Moran turned to leave, even before Jack had finished processing.

“Wait! And if I refuse? What’s this duel even about?”

“Louis said to tell you that if you refuse, he would make Lola’s life miserable. And this is about you stepping on his honor.”

What honor?

“Right. Well, tell Louis I’ll see his pig face there! And... are you going to be his second?”

Moran took one look at Mrk, before answering.

“Nope.”

He almost sprinted back into the forest after that.

“Mrk says we hit them in back with big stones. When they not looking.”

“C’mon Mrk, if we do that, they’re just going to tell the village we attacked them without cause.”

“They say that anyway.”

“Well, yeah… but I can’t just let them harass Lola.”

“We not. So, big stones?”

“…no. If we do that, they might take revenge on her.”

“They do that anyway.”

“Not if we put some real fear in Louis and his goons. Besides, I want to best him the official way. That way, he knows he can’t match up to us.”

Mrk sighted.

“Mrk says better do this ratling way. Sneak up, take big stone, plonk on head. But, fine. We do this human way.”

“Oh, no, no, no, my little friend. See, the way I remember it, the human way is to duel with honor and elegance. We do this the Jack way!”

Mrk grinned.

***

Sheperd’s Pond wasn’t a hard find. Not with Jack’s Skills, anyway. Apparently, even a description was enough to activate his |Sense Destination| Skill, though actually knowing the place beforehand would have been better. The place itself looked like… a pond. Next to a tall standing stone. Not much more was needed in the way of a description. Jack guessed it was called that way, because shepherds could let their animals graze peacefully, while resting next to the tall stone. And maybe fish. Nothing grand.

There was even a small cabin built there, perhaps by said shepherds. Standing next to it were five figures. They all looked up, at the sound of footsteps, to look at the two figures approaching. Whatever jeers and insults they may have thrown their way died on their lips, when first laying eyes on them.

That’s right, you piece of cow dung. No more insults out of you now, huh?

There wasn’t a lot of time between Moran’s announcement and nightfall, when Jack and Mrk had finally arrived. Barely a few hours. Not enough for someone to magically conjure arms and armor out of nothing. Not good, solid, arms and armor. But there was enough time for someone with, let’s say the |Basic Crafting| and |Fast Hands| Skills, to build a form of ‘armor’ out of bark. It honestly wasn’t very impressive, just pieces of bark, tied together and layered atop Jack and Mrk chests, backs and arms. But when coupled with wooden clubs, complete with insertions of sharp fragments of rock, it did make the two look like a couple of low-level bandits. Or high-level vagabonds.

It even got Jack’s |Tinker| Class up to Level 10, which came with a reward of its own.

“Finally here, are you, you vagrant? We were expecting you to never show up.” Louis leered.

“And we were expecting you to get rear-ended by a horse, but we don’t always get what we wish for.” Jack said.

If a choking sound came from Moran’s direction, no one gave any sign of hearing it.

“Petty insults, from a petty boy. But I suppose that’s all you can ever hope to be.”

“Ironic.” Mrk said.

“Aw, your little pet monster speaks. I don’t talk to my rug, but that’s just another sign of me being better.”

“Enough talking, Louis. You challenged me to a duel. I’m here.”

“Yes. You are.” Louis said, grinning. “Allow me to introduce you to my second, Berlow.” He said, gesturing at a taller, broud-shouldered young man, sitting behind him. “He is to step in, should I ever lose. That is to say, he will not step in.”

Jack nodded at the other boy and, surprisingly, got a nod back.

“Mrk is my second. Say hi, Mrk.”

“Mrk will feast on your flesh!” the ratling called out, to their general horror.

Working as planned.

That was another thing the two did, while constructing their equipment. Mind-games. Sap away their opponents’ motivation and they’d stand a better chance in the fight. Jack didn’t know how Mrk would react and he didn’t want to offend his friend, but Mrk thought it all to be highly amusing. And apparently, the short ratling was pretty good at intimidation, though intimidation was something his species wasn’t at all known for.

“We should kill it, now!” another boy shouted. “The village will pay us for killing a monster!”

“Mrk will crunch your bones. …In mouth.”

“The monster speaks.” Another boy said. “We have to-“

“Mrk will drink blood.”

“It’s mad, look at-“

“Mrk will slurp marrow.”

“Louis, we have-“

“Mrk will tear-“

“Enough!” Louis yelled. “Dirt eater, contain your pet! Or are you forfeiting this duel?”

“Why would you ever think that?” Jack grinned. “We haven’t even raised our weapons.”

“Ah, yes. Your… weapons. Allow me to show you what a true weapon is.” Louis said, standing up and unsheathing something from his waist.

Jack didn’t have complete knowledge of everything and anything. Oh, he ‘remembered’ quite a lot, after witnessing an event or object, but looking at what Louis was holding now, he would have just called it a sword. Hilt, blade, guard. It was a sword. However, it differed from a normal sword in certain characteristics. The hilt was shorter, with no apparent pommel. The blade was thinner. The guard was rounder and more elaborate. If Jack had known the word, he would have called it a rapier.

“Fancy. You mother got that for you? Fancy yourself a |Warrior|?”

“My father actually. And I will become a |Duelist|. Thus, our little match right now.”

So that’s the true reason he challenged me for. At least I know he doesn’t have the actual Class.

“I’d thank you for this. When my father heard how you insulted me and what troubles you and your little whore friend gave to my mother and me, he bought me this. Told me to solve this problem myself. But I don’t thank animals.”

Jack’s eyes narrowed at the word ‘whore’, but they never left Louis’s weapon. He knew that thing could cut through his ‘armor’. It wouldn’t take more than two or three solid hits.

“Impressed, are you? Perhaps you are thinking about using the same parlor trick you used before? Well, please do. My father bought me a sword, but my mother bought me this.” He said, gesturing at a leather bracelet around his wrist. It had an orange opal set in it.

“It’s a fire-proofing charm. Only good for one use, but then again, you can only do that trick once a day. At least, that’s what your whore of a friend let slip.”

Well. Fuck.

“Now, come. It’s time for you to learn your place.”

“My place is on top of you, pummeling at your face.” Jack said, with more bravado than he felt.

Slowly, they neared each other. Since Louis’s goons didn’t approach, neither did Mrk. After a few seconds, it was only Jack and Louis facing each other, the tall rock behind Louis and the pond to Jack’s right.

“Scared, you worthless-”

Jack’s club nearly hit Louis’s head, but he saw it and leaned back.

“Fine then. Come!” Louis spat.

What followed next couldn’t be called a duel. It could have barely been called a fight. As fierce as the two competitors were, for all their drive and determination, they were still two young men, barely above child age, without any skills or Skills that would have aided warriors.

Louis wielded his rapier like a novice, trying to slash with it, rather than pierce. And given that a rapier isn’t very heavy, there was no power behind the slashes. Even Jack’s wooden armor managed to stop the blows. On the other hand, Jack’s club was certainly capable of damage. If Jack would have had any skill in using it. His swings were wide and his footing clumsy. From afar, he looked more like a farmer trying to scare crows away, than a warrior in a fight.

They danced like this, with both the boys and Mrk cheering them on, until the inevitable happened. Louis wizened up to the fact that his was a thrusting weapon and not slashing one. He tried to spear Jack through the chest, but his meager strength still didn’t allow him to pierce the bark fully. Yet, as Jack once again tried swinging his club, Louis found on opening and cut Jack on the side.

“Fuck!” Jack swore. “You cut me. Fuuuuuck!”

“Yes, peasant, I did. Now, come.” He said, breathing hard. “Let’s see how many more cuts does it take for you to learn your lesson.”

“Wait, what?” Jack said, lowering his club.

“I hit you on the side, not on the head. What is it that you do not understand?”

“Your man said it was supposed to end at first blood.”

“…yes. He did.” Louis said, looking at Moran, before turning back to Jack. “Still, this has not been a proper duel. A duel cannot take place between one such as me and a mud-caked yokel such as you. No… no, this isn’t a duel. This is a beating.” He grinned nastily.

“Going back on your word, you ponce?”

“I do not give my word to filth.” He said and advanced.

Damn, now he’s got a taste for blood.

The fighting resumed. Sensing his that he had the upper hand, Louis came at Jack more violently. He no longer slashed, but pierced and tried to target Jack’s exposed regions. Clumsy as he was, Jack knew Louis could do significant damage if he managed to pierce him fully.

Have to do something. Any weakness… no. Come on…

Louis was actually laughing now. He had gotten the hang of using his weapon and was dancing around Jack, thrusting at him, while Jack tried to smack him with his much heavier weapon.

I can probably fight longer than him, with my |Minor Stamina| Skill. Tire him out.

Another hit left a small bloody hole in Jack’s thigh.

Except I won’t last long. Dammit, I wished I used my knife instead of this.

A wild slash left behind only a tiny nick on Jack’s abdomen. But it too was bleeding.

Stupid club. Can’t even fight him with it. Wish I had a sword too. Or that we didn’t fight with weapons. Then I could pummel him and… huh.

That moment of deliberation cost Jack. Louis, perhaps being more confident of his assured success, managed to get close enough to Jack to actually slap him. Back of the hand, straight to the face. If Jack’s cheek didn’t hurt, his pride sure did.

“Alright, you know what?! Fuck it!” he yelled and ran for Louis.

Jack ran forward, raising his club above his head for a mighty downward swing, like the hammer of an angry smith, poised to strike at impure metal. Once near Louis and reaching the top of his lung capacity for roaring, Jack swung down.

And missed.

While Jack’s roaring and cursing caused Louis to freeze for a second, a second wasn’t enough time for Louis not to sober up and dodge out of the way of Jack’s mighty, yet slow, strike. What was left, after this heroic scene, was Jack and Louis, standing not three feet away from each other. Jack trying to pull his club out of the moist earth, into which it had grounded itself into and Louis trying in vain to hold in his laughter.

“You peasant! You stupid mongrel, did you really think you could have hit me with that?” Louis laughed.

Jack refused to say anything and was still struggling to unearth his club.

“Or perhaps was this your strategy? To have me laugh to death, on account of how idiotic you are.”

Still struggling. The club still refusing to budge.

“Would you let that stick go, you worthless fool? Or… here.” He grinned. “Let me help you.”

“Jack, run!” Mrk shouted.

Louis stepped closer to Jack and, perhaps wishing to add shame to defeat, slashed at Jack’s hands, while Jack held on to the club’s shaft. His blade touched Jack’s hand. Well, it is more accurate to say that Jack’s hand touched Louis’s blade.

Both Louis’s gang and Mrk stopped cheering and shouting, when they witnessed the scene in front of them. Louis stood dumbstruck, his rapier extending towards Jack. And Jack stood tall, no longer pulling at his club. Instead, one of his hands held Loui’s rapier firmly. His bare hand.

“Did you know I had no idea if this would actually work?” he grinned.

“You… caught the blade? You are mad. Or just wishing to be cut further.” Louis said, though his voice was tinged with doubt.

“Nah.” Jack said and lunged at him.

Jack’s other hand extended forward in a flash. Perhaps it could have knocked Louis cold, but he didn’t have enough reach for that and Louis did dodge backwards. In the end, Louis fell back, but was still on his feet, while Jack wobbled, but stopped himself from falling. His hand was bleeding though. Rapier or not, it still cut deeply enough.

“How… you should have lost your fingers. My father told me this rapier is of the best quality.”

“Rapier. So that’s what the fancy sword is called. And, sorry, but I got a Skill for that.” He responded waggling his bloody fingers.

“You… got a Skill… that protects your hand…”

“My hands.” Jack corrected him.

“What a useless Skill. You truly are a Jack.” Louis said, raising his rapier once more.

“Well, I think it’s pretty useful. I also have a Skill to move my hands quickly. Did you notice that too?”

“Yes, you buffoon. But you still missed me. A Skill for tougher hands, yet you still bleed. A Skill for faster hands, yet you still miss me. …useless.” Louis spat.

“Again, I think they served their purpose. But maybe you’d like to resume our fight?”

That question was met with derisory laughter from the four boys, standing on the periphery.

“Jack, Mrk says we run. Come back, use big stones.” His friend urged him, frantically.

“I think you should listen to you little monster friend. Run away like a coward. We both know you are one.”

“No, I think I like it here. Plus, I want to see you come at me.” Jack continued to smile.

“Fine. I wonder how much your whore of a friend would like you with a missing eye.” Louis said and lunged at Jack.

And tripped. On his own pants. Which were now down to under his knees.

“Hahaha!”

“Wh-“

“HAHAHA!”

“What is this?” Louis demanded.

“I said. HA. HA. HA.” Jack said, now one foot away from the other young man.

“Get away from me you manure eating-“

Louis didn’t get to finish that sentence, since Jack’s foot collided with his face. When he dropped his rapier, Jack’s kneeled on his chest and used both his bloody and unbloodied fist to pummel at his face.

“Enough! He’s down, it’s my turn!” the one named Berlow spoke, in a deep voice.

“Nope.” Jack said, while continuing to land punches, through Louis’s meager attempt at a defense. “He broke the rule about first blood. I’m breaking the rule about the second on a duel. This way, we’re fair.”

“Listen you-“

Berlow broke off, when Mrk moved forwards. Sure, there was four of them and they were noticeably taller than the ratling. But Mrk was armed and armored. Not to mention that he had yelled out gory battle chants, before the fight. They might have fought him, if Louis would have been about to get killed, but not when Jack was only beating the other boy up. And not when Mrk told them he would, literally, feast on their flesh.

“Whew. Right, that’s that. And I’ll be taking this” Jack said, taking off Louis’s bracelet “and this” and his fallen rapier. “And I guess I could use the sheathe too.”

Looking around, he noticed Mrk growling at the four boys, all of them locked in a stand-off.

“Mrk, come on. We’ll get you some other poor fools to feast on their bones or drink their skin or whatever.”

“Is Jack alright?”

“Jack is alright, Mrk. Just got a few cuts. Come on.”

More tired than he expected to be, but in one piece, Jack waited for his friend to join him, before taking off.

“Wait? You cheater! How did you do it? Tell me, filth!” Louis screamed.

He had gotten to his feet, but was still having to hold on to his pants so that they didn’t fall down again.

“Oh? I broke your belt buckle.”

“I know that, you inbred- How did you break my belt buckle?”

“Ah, about that. Well, to return your words, I should be thanking you. Your pathetic attempt at a duel forced me to craft arms and armor.” He said, gesturing at himself. “Which got me to level up my Tinker Class. Which got me a nice Skill. |Eye for Flaw|. Let’s me see flaws, I guess.”

“So?” Louis spluttered.

“So, I looked for one on your sword. Didn’t find one. Must have been expensive.” Jack said, flourishing his looted rapier. “I looked for one on you and found it on your belt. Just needed a firm tug.”

“Then… the club being stuck in the ground… you catching my sword and-“

“Lunging at you, yes. All part of the plan.”

Louis didn’t say anything more after hearing that, though it was clear that it wasn’t over. At least, as far as he was concerned.

“I’m sure, mommy and daddy will be pissed for you losing their gifts. Not to mention getting your face all purple and bloody. So, from now on, you’ll think twice about coming after me or my friends, won’t you, you prick?!” Jack spat out, and left.

They didn’t make it five paces, before Mrk started talking, in a low voice.

“Jack thought of whole plan?”

“Yup.”

“…Jack lying.”

“Jack isn’t lying, Mrk. …okay, not much.”

“How much?”

“I sort of winged it the whole fight and only figured out the belt thing at the end.” Jack admitted.

“…”

“Hey, it worked!”

“So… no plan?”

“No plan, no. But I used my instinct. I didn’t know if Louis would get closer to me, but he did, didn’t he?”

“Mrk’s instinct we get better weapons.”

“Yeah, can’t fault you on that. The club sucked. But we got a-“

A scream from behind them made them turn.

That idiot better not be making a ‘last stand’.

Jack saw Louis and the others running straight at them, screaming something at the top of their lungs. Fearing the worst, Jack unsheathed his newly gained rapier and held out a hand. His Skill might not have worked on Louis before, but it would work now.

It was odd. Judging from their direction, the five were not running at Jack and Mrk, but it seemed more like they were aiming to run around them.

“Get your miserable face out of my way!” Louis screamed, while running past them.

The others simply ran on, conserving their breath.

“…it wasn’t us that scared them… right?”

“Mrk not think so.”

Before they raced out of sight, one boy turned around to wave at Jack and Mrk. He pointed in the distance, before shouting one word. The same word that the others had shouted before, but Jack and Mrk had been too far away to understand it clearly. Now they did.

‘Monsters’.