The building was small. Eik had specifically asked for that. The property, however, was quite large and pretty centrally located. This small place was all he really needed right now and he could always build extensions if the operation grew beyond capacity.

He circled the building. It was a simple structure of wood consisting of a large main room accessible from the front door as well as a back room that he intended to use both for production and storage. In a way it was quite similar to the old store even though that had been just one part of a larger building.

There was a clink of metal under his boot. It was a rusty, deformed knife that seemed to have been residing in the grass for years. He wondered who it had belonged to, and if it had saved them or doomed them. Something this small would have been hard pressed to do much even against weak monsters.

Inside were bare walls and broken down furniture. It smelled like dust and more dust. Yes, this place would look good outfitted with shelves and a nice, big counter in the back. He’d brought a broom from home and went to work.

According to Travis, the previous owners had all been killed years ago and left no one to take over. Mission Central had kept the place with intentions of putting it to use at some point but now it had gone to Eik.

For twenty minutes he swept but the dust seemed to persistently reappear in every corner as if by magic. With a sigh he put the overflowing dustpan in the windowsill and crouched down, back against the wall, and pulled out a strip of dried meat. He should have tricked Heath, Sonja, and Mikey into helping him.

As he ate he played around with Profound Toxin, twisting it into various complicated shapes like spirals, letter, and geometric designs. Instinct of Toxin had brought with it an incredible ease of fine control that couldn’t be compared to Acolyte of Toxin. Whether he could do it this well in the heat of battle — or if it was even useful in battle — time would tell, but he could also feel just how much the intensity of the poison had been amplified.

A thought struck him as he watched slender strings of blue liquid dance languidly on his palm. At his behest, it expanded into a thin, flat disc, almost a meter in width. He dragged it across the floor where it absorbed everything dirtying the floorboards.

The disc widened further, flowing into every nook and cranny where it sucked up every particle. Going a step further, he dragged it up the walls and across the ceilings. Outside, Eik reabsorbed the now discolored toxin, the dirt falling into the grass.

Next he solidified the toxin with the dilapidated furniture stuck inside and carried it outside. The mist he spread throughout the interior as well for good measure.

As he was putting away some boxes for future storage in the back room foot steps echoed through the empty place and Eik stuck his head out to see who had come.

“Bart… How did you find me?” Eik felt his heart begin to race as anger welled up. Instantly, the Profound Toxin urged him to bound forth like a predator to tear off Bart’s wretched head. “I don’t remember inviting you here.”

“Oh, don’t deceive yourself. I’m not here for you. I want the potions you’ve managed to smuggle home from your escapades to the alliance,” the large man said as he wiped the door frame with a finger. “So this is to be your new store? Fitting, I suppose.”

“You want to—…” Eik almost laughed. How this family continued to act so absurdly was just so… “That is never going to happen. You tried to kill us! I wouldn’t give you a vial if you gave me your damn house for it.”

Bart rolled his eyes. “Why can’t you see the truth for what it is? You’ve been lucky thus far. Been pulled along by people far above your station. But that luck won’t last. Sooner or later you’ll see that you’re in over your head. Those who use you now will abandon you for fresh servants,” he said, gesturing around the bare room. “All you will be left with is… this, and then you will thank yourself for having secured my support.”

“Fuck you! I’m not afraid of your family anymore, Bart! You dad is nothing!”

“I am not my father!” he yelled, voice cracking. “I will become better than him! Stronger! You’d regret refusing me, Eik. I can promise you that.”

Well, that was new. Wasn’t this guy enjoying his father’s shadow after all?

“I’m even less afraid of you.” Eik’s fingers reflexively caressed Viper Fang’s handle.

“What are you doing?” the large man asked, cracking his neck nonchalantly. “Are you aware that I’ve hit C-rank?”

C-rank? Profound Toxin rose up aggressively behind Eik like a cape billowing in the wind. The urge to murder Rock Fist Bart then and there threatened to take over his mind. As he glared at the hated enemy, his blood thirst intensified by the second.

“Come on, Eik!” Bart shouted. “Come and fight me! You only ever talk and never do! You’re pathetic! If only you had simply been respectful back when you had the chance. You just had to take it this far, didn’t you?” He spoke like a disappointed adult to a naughty child.

Eik’s cheeks flushed with anger but he forced himself to hold back. The bastard probably had people ready to say that Eik had attacked unprovoked if anything happened here. And if he was truly C-rank…

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

He couldn’t afford to lose his position now. Forcing the eager Profound Toxin down and letting go of Viper Fang, Eik walked past Bart with the loaded dustpan, brushing against his shoulder, and threw the dust out the door in a massive cloud. The wind carried most of it right back into their faces. “Out,” Eik said as Bart covered his eyes with an arm.

“Very mature,” the bastard said and waved a hand in front of his nose, holding back a cough.

“Out!” Eik bellowed at full lung.

“Alright, alright. What are you so angry about?”

Eik refrained from answering as he locked the door and left Bart standing. To think he would walk away from the man who had nearly killed Heath. Yet here he was, making what might well be a smart but pathetic decision. Who would have thought.

“Just hand them over, Eik,” Bart called after him. “I’ll pay you. This isn’t over, you know. I’ll get my hands on those potions somehow.”

It was painful but Eik kept walking. Next time he wouldn’t be able to. Blood ran down his palm from nails digging into his skin. Next time he would kill him.

For now, the sprinkle of blue he’d left in the dust for Bart would have to do.

***

“You told the fuckin’ Fist family where my new shop is? It’s not even open yet!” Eik shouted as he barged into Travis Lockwood’s office, ignoring Jennifer’s attempt to stop him.

The man was sitting at his desk looking exceptionally bored, and that didn’t appear to change much with Eik’s loud entrance. He gathered up the documents on his desk and set them aside. “I didn’t tell anyone anything, Eik. Why would I?”

“Well, Bart showed up to threaten me into giving him the potions.”

“Doesn’t surprise me. He’s a total idiot. Thinks he can strong-arm his way into getting whatever he wants.”

“Something that had proven itself true as far as I remember. Nobody goes against him.”

“Nobody goes against his father, to be clear. And that’s changing now,” Travis said and sipped a glass of water. “They’re losing support, but I doubt Bart realizes just how much. They were always powerful enough for people to either covet their support or avoid their ire. Now the Nidafjeld Alliance has thrown the balance out of order.”

“What do you think will happen when he sees that influence wane?”

Travis regarded Eik for a while before he answered. “Nothing good. He’s a strong coward with a head full of pride. And he’s wronged a lot of people — not just your team. He’ll see hostility everywhere and it’ll make him desperate.”

“Shit!” Eik snapped. “I knew I should have just killed him!”

“He’s a C-ranker now, Eik.”

“That was true, huh? Damn.”

“If you kill him just for showing up at your property, you’d burn some of the bridges you’ve just begun to build. I know I said many of the old guard are reconsidering their friendships but it’s not like they’re suddenly your best buddies. Boulder Fist Gary is still one of the most powerful men in Forest.”

Eik took a trembling breath. “I’m going to have to expect the worst aren’t I?”

“Probably…”

“Shit.” Note to self. Get Michael’s mother, Olivia, and Olivia’s mother to the house so everybody can be together.

“Can you protect me? Station a couple of guards outside my house or something”

“Eik, I’m not the police.”

Eik pulled a vial of potion from his belt. “I make this. Only I make this.”

Travis stared for a few seconds before pursing his lips. “I’ll see what I can do.”

“Ah, speaking of allies. There was that woman at the debrief with the blonde hair. Asked me questions. Seemed open to the thought of siding with Nidafjeld, at least tentatively.”

“Elaine Haness? The merchant?”

Eik shrugged. “Can I talk to her?”

“That’s up to her. I can tell you where her office is.”

“That’s good enough for me.”

Eik had been to Merchant Lord Greggers office when he was summoned before the debrief had been arranged. It was rather far from the bustle of the marketplace. Elaine’s, on the other hand, was much smaller and located on one of its side streets.

“I’m here to see Elaine Haness,” he told the man who came to the door. The guy narrowed his eyes as he studied Eik closely. Hadn’t the man been with Elaine at the debrief? “I’m Eik Magnasen. I spoke with her at… a thing, weeks ago.”

“Sis! Eik from the interrogation is here to see you.” They did share some features, like the blonde hair. And at least someone else saw that whole thing for the interrogation it really had been.

Elaine had furrowed brows when she came to the door. “Yes?”

“We spoke at the debrief.”

“I know. What did you come here for? I thought you’d left.”

“Just a temporary tactical retreat,” Eik said, mouth a tight line.

“Smart. So what’s up?”

“I’m here with a proposal.”

“Regarding your power potions?”

“I’ll sell you ten potions right now. More later.”

She gave it a thought. “Why me?”

“You’re Merchant Lord Greggers’ rival, right?”

She chuckled and rolled her eyes. “He certainly sees it like that. If you ask me, we’re all better off working together.”

“Well, I would like to see him reduced to a beggar,” Eik said with much more venom than he had intended. “If you can live with that, then we have a deal. Plus, you get the support of a strong Awakened if you work with me.”

“Who?”

“My sister. B-ranker Olivia Valkiri.”

***

A few days later Eik arrived at the clinic with pain killing medicine. Almost as soon as they had returned from headquarters, the head of the clinic had asked Michael, a new healer, to help him out. People were injured all the time and there weren’t enough healers to help everybody.

The head had apparently been a doctor at a hospital before the world went to shit and had Awakened after only a few years. He was only barely E-rank since he had only ventured outside Forest a few times since its establishment.

Michael had spoken before about how fascinated he was with the man’s ability to combine magical healing with traditional medical science and had jumped at the chance to help.

“Are you sure we can’t pay you?” the head said as he received the pain killers. “I feel weird about this…”

“You’re doing a good thing here, doctor,” Eik said. “And my business is already growing healthily thanks to my other products. You can repay me by lending me Michael from time to time. I need someone to roll medicine pills and fill potion bottles.”

“It’s a deal,” the man laughed.

“I’m right here, guys…” Michael complained flatly.

“Young man, don’t you have work to d—” A person manifested out of thin air, right next to Eik. He went for Viper Fang but even with his speed, a hand stopped his hand before he could unsheathe it.

“I’ve found the monster you’re looking for. We’re heading out soon. Heard you’re coming with.” It was a woman. She was powerful. Probably a new B-ranker.

“You’re Travis’—”

“That’s right.”

“I’m going, Mikey,” Eik said and followed the woman.

“Eik, we should come with,” Michael said.

“Stay here and take care of your mom and Olivia with the others, please. I’ll take care of this.”