Jake watched as the familiar dome of energy formed around him and the man named Franz. The servant grinned cruelly at Jake, pulling his sleeves back to reveal a pair of bluish white bracelets on his wrists. He quickly slammed them together, the crowd oohing as they began to grow until they covered his forearms and hands in a layer of thin metal plates.

“Sorry, yer lordship,” the man guffawed, flexing his now armoured hands, “But I’m gonna have ta dirty yer suit.”

“Try not to get too much blood on it, then,” Jake hummed back, “Of your own, that is.”

The man just snarled at Jake’s comeback, stomping forwards as Jake used [Identify] on him.

Franz

Human Brawler

Level: 20

Strength: Power

Weakness: Intellect

“Interesting,” Jake hummed again, “So it gives the strongest and weakest Stat for humans?”

“Shut yer trap afore I do it for you,” Franz growled as he brought his hands up in a boxer’s stance, “Actually, I’ll do it anyways!”

The man darted forwards, throwing a quick jab straight at his face, Jake leaning to the side to avoid the strike as it sailed past his head. Franz snapped his arm back almost instantly, launching another punch at Jake which he quickly dodged. The crowd gasped as the massive man continued to attack Jake, who seemed to wave in the wind, avoiding every strike.

“Jus’ hol’ still and take yer beating!” Franz snarled as he threw a haymaker at Jake, the man ducking under it as it sailed over his head, throwing the larger man off balance.

“I would really rather not,” Jake muttered, dancing back as the other man tried to grab him, causing Franz to fall to the floor, “It would be counterproductive to winning this fight.”

“Coun-wha’?” Franz snarled as he jumped back to his feet, “Quit usin’ yer fancy words an’ fight!”

“Very well,” Jake hummed as he drew his short sword, the blade gleaming in the pale light emitted by the white stone of the building, “Think fast.”

“Wha’?” Franz said, before stumbling back with a cry as the blade flashed in front of him, leaving a silver streak in the air as he clutched his face, blood dripping from the slash across his nose and cheeks, “Whoreson!”

“I won’t argue with that,” Jake shrugged as he stepped back, letting the blood drip from his gleaming blade.

“Franz!” Antoine shouted, “Enough games! Hurry up and end this!”

“You gots it, boss,” the large man grunted, rolling his shoulders as he sneered at Jake again, “Time to die, yer lordship.”

Jake watched as the man flexed, his clothing straining even harder to contain his bulk, before it lost the battle. Fabric ripped as Franz began to glow, his shirt shredding as his muscles swelled even larger. His skin turned a bright shade of red as his eyes went blank, Franz just grunting as he looked around, before his eyes locked onto Jake. Letting out a roar, he charged forwards like a wild animal.

Jake dodged the first wild swing, then the second and third, darting past the man and leaving a cut on his side. Franz spun around to follow him, snorting as he looked at the empty air in surprise before a sharp pain erupted along his back. He spun again, swinging madly through the empty air as more painful slashes began to appear of his body, the crowd gasping as he desperately searched for his target.

“He’s hiding behind you, you idiot!” Antoine shouted, Franz looking over his shoulder as Jake jumped back, a slight smile on his face, “Such a cowardly tactic! Only a Traveller would fight so dishonourably!”

“Hey, Jakey does what works for him,” Andy chuckled, shaking his head as he watched the fight, “Us Travellers have to learn to fight from day one, not enjoy the luxury and parties given to us every day of our lives. We have to earn that.”

“Pah!” Antoine spat, “That shows what you know of nobility! Plenty of us have to earn our keep just to survive! You Travellers all think you’re so much better than us simply because you gain strength faster. All it does is make you brutes barely worth the coppers you whore yourselves out for!”

“You can say what you like about us, but it seems your man is losing, Antoine,” Andy countered, the noble paling as he looked back to the fight, Franz staggering as his body was absolutely covered in deep cuts, blood dripping to the floor beneath him.

“Franz, you fool!” Antoine screamed, “I told you to end this fight already! What are you doing?”

“Fast,” the man grunted as he swung at Jake again, the Champion ducking the strike easily before leaving another slash across the man’s arm, “Too fast.”

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“This fight is over, Antoine,” Esmeralda suddenly said, shaking her head, “I know you have been in Franz’s care for many years, and it would be a shame to lose him. Concede and we shall attend to your servant’s injuries.”

“Concede?” Antoine muttered, looking down as he began to shake, before turning to glare at the young woman, “Never! I will not allow that thing to be near you any longer! Franz, do that!”

“What? Antoine, no!” Esmeralda gasped, “If he does that now, it could kill him!”

The man grunted as he tensed his muscles again, letting out a loud roar, his body starting to glow again. Several seconds passed as his body actually started to shrink, the glow getting brighter as he thinned. Suddenly, he choked, the glow bursting off his body as he staggered back, grasping his throat in shock as blood poured from the stab wound in it.

“What?” Antoine balked, “What just happened? You…you cheated!”

“I stabbed him in the throat,” Jake said flatly as he looked at the shocked noble, “Did you really think anyone would just wait for their opponent to power up? That sounds incredibly stupid.”

The crowd watched as Franz swung at Jake a couple more times, his punches far slower and weaker than before. After the third attempt, he stumbled, blood pooling beneath him as he continued to choke.

“Franz is dying, Antoine!” Esmeralda suddenly shouted, the large man falling to his knees as blood continued to pour from his throat, “Concede and we can still save him!”

“I…but…” Antoine blinked, looking at the dying man as he collapsed to the ground, reaching out a bloody hand to his master, before Antoine gritted his teeth and shook his head, “No. As much as I loathe to lose a good tool, a tool is meant to be used, and a broken tool is worthless.”

“What are you saying, Antoine?” Esmeralda gasped, “I…I thought you were better than this!”

The noble flinched at the words, but remained silent. Everyone stared as Franz continued to splutter and gasp from the floor, blood spraying from his lips as he seemed to accept his fate. Silence fell as the man began to die.

“I concede,” the words startled the crowd as they turned to look at Andy, his hand raised in defeat, the dome shattering around the fighters as he looked towards his party, the others already pushing forwards through the crowd, “Holi, can you heal him?”

“Of course,” the Priestess said, immediately pulling her staff out and casting her Heal Spell, her hands glowing white as she did.

“Let me help,” Jake said, his own hands glowing green as Franz began to breath more easily.

“What?” Esmeralda blinked, looking at Andy as she spoke, “Ser Strongarm? What…why did you do that? By conceding you…but that means…”

“Ha!” Antoine shouted, “It would seem that the Traveller has finally realised his place! Beneath our boo-!”

“Shut up, Antoine!” Esmeralda shouted, “How could you do this? How could you…just how?”

“What is going on here?!” the voice roared as an imposing man suddenly shoved through the crowd at the door, “This is meant to be a celebration of my daughter’s engagement, yet you bring violence to it? Who is responsible?!”

The crowd remained silent and Duke Dawnmaker glared around him, his daughter at his side, her hands clasped over her mouth in shock.

“It is the Travellers, Duke Dawnmaker,” Antoine said quickly, sneering at Andy, “They reach above their station and incited this encounter!”

“Lies!” Esmeralda shouted back, “You were the one to Challenge Ser Strongarm, not the other way around! If anyone incited violence, it was you, Antoine!”

“But they are Travellers!” the young man spat, “They are nothing but brutes and whores!”

“Enough, young Whittenger,” Duke Dawnmaker growled, “You speak in opposition to your own better, Lady Dusk being the daughter of a Duke, and close friend to my own daughter. You, Traveller, what say you about this? What happened to incite this violence?”

“Oh, uhm…” Andy said awkwardly as the attention was back on him, “He went to grab Esme, so I stopped him. Then he Challenged me to a Champions Duel. The fight happened, and…well, I didn’t want the other guy to actually die, so I conceded.”

“You sacrificed your victory for the life of a foe?” the duke hummed, rubbing his cleanly shaven chin, “An honourable act, if a little strange. And what say you, Whittenger? Why did you challenge this man? This Traveller?”

“Because he is deceiving Esme!” Antoine shouted, turning to the crowd as he spoke, “He has somehow managed to capture Lady Dusk’s heart, most probably through trickery and lies. But he has conceded the match! Thus, it is my victory and he must abide by-.”

“Shut up!” Esmeralda shouted again, startling the young man as tears poured from her eyes, “You…you incompetent, arrogant, piteous fool! He did that to save your man! An act you are apparently too pathetic to do yourself! I despise you, Antoine Whittenger! I utterly despise you!”

“W-what?” Antoine blinked, muttering quietly, the sound still audible in the shocked silence, “But I…but he lost? That means I win, which means…you have to love me now, Esme…”

“Love you?” Esmeralda snorted, “I have never loved you, Antoine. You were little more than a friend to me, but now you are nothing but a worm and a cretin, only able to sway others with honeyed words and veiled threats! I would rather die than ever be bound to someone as pathetic as you!”

“You…YOU WHORE!” the man screamed, suddenly charging towards the young woman, his hands clawed as he made to swipe at her, “You are to be mine! Mine and no one else’s!”

There was a slight glow as Andy pulled his shield and mace from his inventory, moving between the two of them. He easily blocked the frenzied swipes of the young noble, swinging his mace up to strike the man in the head and knock him out. The sound of clashing metal echoed through the air as the cloaked figure dropped from the darkness about them, blocking the strike as they grabbed a hold of Antoine.

“Woops,” they chuckled as they held Andy’s mace off with a silver longsword, “Can’t be having that, now, can we?”

The hooded figure suddenly ducked as the sword slashed at their neck, spinning around as they lifted Antoine under their arm, looking at Jake.

“Ah, the newly minted lord,” they chuckled, dodging back as Jake continued to slash at them, “You seem rather skilled, but I would rather not cross blades with you this evening.”

“Nyx! What are you doing?” Antoine roared as he was lifted bodily onto the figure’s shoulder, “Let me go immediately!”

“I am just doing my job, young master,” Nyx hummed, backing away to the edge of the balcony, “And that is protecting you. Unfortunately, it would seem we must bid the rest of you adieu.”

The figure jumped backwards, Antoine screaming on their shoulder as they dropped over the edge of the balcony, the young man’s shout being cut short. Andy, Jake, and Duke Dawnmaker all rushed to the edge, looking over the railing into the empty air below. The two Traveller’s swore quietly as the duke grunted in dissatisfaction, turning to them.

“Travellers,” he said, catching the entire party’s attention, “And Lady Dusk, come, we must speak on this matter in private. Now.”