“I’ll come to visit you soon, okay? Don’t get into too much trouble until then, will you?”
“I’ll be fine, mom.” I smiled at my mother, who was one step outside my doorway.
“You say that, but knowing everything you’ve gotten up to in the last few years makes me worry for you.”
“You really don’t have to,” I said, trying to appease my mother.
“Well, a mother has to worry.”
I sighed, exasperated, only for my mother to suddenly step forward and embrace me one final time.
“I’m serious, okay?” My mother exhaled; something clearly bothered her. “Just because you’ve gotten strong doesn’t mean your invincible. Don’t rush into things.”
“I always think things through.” I laughed, hoping it would put my mother’s mind at ease.
“Sure you do.” She pulled away from me, holding me by my shoulders as she looked up at my face. “You really have grown so big.”
“Not a kid anymore.”
“No, you aren’t. I just wish I could have been there for more of it.”
“It’s alright, mom.” I pointed past her. “Now, don’t you need to be on your way?”
“Yes, I suppose so.” She sighed, shaking her head. “Your grandfather will not be pleased if I don’t return within the expected time frame, and you would not want to see where that leads to.”
For the umpteenth time since I had reconnected with my mother, I couldn’t help but grow curious about our mysterious family, of their legacy.
Revolutionaries to some, patrons of extremist organizations to others.
And most importantly, an enigma to me.
So what would they do if mom didn’t return in time?
It was a thought for another day, so rather than voice it, I gave my mom a tight hug before she leaned in and gave me a kiss on the cheek. Then, she took one, two, and three steps away before disappearing.
And I don’t mean that metaphorically. I mean, she literally vanished.
Why use an illusion on just me? Or does that-
I whistled a moment later in appreciation for the magic she had just shown. It wasn’t that she was using an illusion specifically on me, making it so that I couldn’t see her.
Her illusion was so potent that whoever looked in her direction saw nothing but open air.
Guess spending time with a bunch of illusion mages has helped.
Unable to watch my mother as she left, I made my way inside, no point lingering around in the chilly morning air.
It was time to start packing.
After all, my time spent within Songhold was finally nearing its conclusion.
-------------------------------
“Wolf.”
“Maeya.” I nodded to the woman, doing my best to not grind my teeth as I approached her.
“You’ve been absent.” She said matter-of-factly. “I sent someone to check in on your home, but you were apparently out.”
“I was… preoccupied.” I lied.
“Well, you’re going to owe me… extra.” She looked me up and down. “Especially after skipping out on last time.”
I felt my stomach tighten in discomfort, but I ignored it.
“As I said, I was preoccupied.”
“Well, perhaps you should consider that further next time.” Maeya shook her head. “Anyway, I met with my father to discuss the issue you created after that last showing. Normally we would have you take a loss here, your stock is worth quite a bit right now, and the earnings would be massive, but for someone of your caliber to lose this fight would tell the obvious tale of being rigged. Go win, and do whatever the hell you want along the way. You’ll forgo your split for this fight, and after this season, we will fabricate an injury that will lower your valuation for future seasons.”
“Nice plan,” I muttered.
It was a good plan, the only reasonable method of keeping a prized fighter such as myself around without ruining salting the betting landscape propped up around me.
Of course, I had zero intention of staying here for another day, much less another season.
“As for your opponent, it is-”
“Save it.” I cut her off, shaking my head. “It doesn’t matter who they are.”
“I suppose.” Maeya nodded slowly. “Now, after the fight, I expect to see you.”
“Whatever you say.” I looked away, making sure she couldn’t read the expression on my face as I looked toward the tunnel leading into the pits. “By the way.”
“Yes?” Maeya arched an eyebrow at me as she waited for my question.
“Have.. have you heard anything regarding my mother’s whereabouts?”
“What brought this on?” She questioned. Something about her expression changed as she spoke, though, subtle enough that had I not already been on the lookout for such a reaction, I would have missed it.
“Just curious. You know, it’s been some time since I last asked.”
“No.” She shook her head, perhaps a little too quickly, now that I was aware she was lying to me. “There’s been no updates. You shouldn’t even bother asking. If I had something to report, I would tell you.”
Fine. If that’s how you want to play it, I’ve got nothing to feel bad for.
“Oh.” I did my best to sound disheartened, as if I were out of the loop of the fact that she’d always known the whereabouts of my family. “Well, I suppose there’s no helping it.” I fake sighed.
“If you understand, then go out there already. And try not to mock the circuit more than you have. It was rather difficult convincing my father to forgive you for that last stunt.”
Now that sounds like a threat if I’ve ever heard one.
Again, perhaps it was simply that I hadn’t been on the lookout for such implications before, but it was becoming more and more readily apparent how I was nothing more than a tool for her. With each incident, the more I felt a wave of anger rising from deep within me.
Relax.
I forced the flow of fiery emotions to subside, turning away from the woman with one last wave as I made my way into the depths of the arena.
Soon you’ll leave it all behind.
---------------------------------------
“And coming hot off his last victory, the overwhelming favorite for this year’s circuit champion, Wolf Egas!”
I heard the cheers blaring out from the seats surrounding the arena, a crowd thirsty for violence and seeing me as the champion of their bloodthirsty desires.
I’ll give you what you want if that’s the case.
“And looking to unseat the favorite, Ingorius Axt!”
Ingorius, really? That’s the best you can set up?
Perhaps I had been expecting too much, but it only made sense. They couldn’t keep ramping up my opponents, or it would only take the wind out of the sails of the championship match later this year. They would set me up against minor opponents for the rest of the gauntlet while doing their best to build a narrative of their being an opponent who could face me head-on.
Of course, there wasn’t, at least not in the circuit challenge. The fighters here were vanilla humans, not a lick of magic to them. Most of the fighters here were nothing more than glorified thugs, down on their luck, who had found their way into the arena to duke it out for the scraps the dons would hand out to successful fighters. There were a few genuinely competent fighters, but they were far and few between; most would stick around for a single season, there only to bankroll whatever endeavors or goals they pursued.
Really not notably different from me.
I watched as, from across the arena, a man exited a tunnel. He was a wiry-looking man with a matted mane of auburn brown hair. He waved his arms around in the air before miming slicing a finger across his throat toward me.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
Oh please.
The crowd was in an uproar at the reaction, but I was sure Ingorious was too much of an idiot to understand why it wasn’t in excitement to see him wage a hard-fought battle.
It was the excitement of bloodlust, watching a lamb being brought to slaughter.
“Fighters, if you will!”
I quickly entered the cage central to the arena, the gate closing automatically behind me as I continued watching Ingorious stare at me with the eyes of a man who didn’t know better.
Can’t say I don’t appreciate the enthusiasm.
After all, if it were a more intelligent fighter, my plan would be less likely to succeed than I hoped.
“Begin!”
Ingorious charged me straight on, throwing a flurry of punches and strikes at me that I effortlessly wove around.
That was until, seemingly out of nowhere, a left hook caught me in the side of my head, a blow I failed to react to.
Ow.
It hurt, but only minorly.
I threw a return punch, but I whiffed entirely as the man sidestepped it. I was rewarded with a quick jab to the gut for my efforts.
It’s like being hit by an angry child.
I sagged at the punch’s impact, acting as if the jab had hurt more than it really had.
Perfect.
The crowd was shifting in their seats, their excited cheers tinted with confusion, the undisputed favorite taking more hits than expected.
I dodged out of the way of another combo of strikes, only to be caught unaware once more as a knee connected with my gut. I bent over in sudden pain, only to be met with a hammer blow of force brought down atop my bowed head. The impact was too much, and I crashed to the floor, the crowd gasping in surprise.
“And Wolf is the first to go down! Perhaps the fighter has been putting too much emphasis on increasing his raw strength, as his outstanding agility seems to have fallen to the wayside. He continues to be taken to the ringer by the surprisingly more agile Ingorious!”
Still lying face down on the ground, I smiled faintly before staggering to my feet.
Easier than expected.
Even the announcer sounded uncertain, grasping at straws to come up with any possible reason for why I was performing so poorly. Still, I could pick out the sound of some within the crowd muttering in dissatisfaction.
Those I assumed who had put money in my ‘assured’ victory.
What were the odds again? Fifty to one?
Part of me considered for a moment whether it would be wise to put up more of a fight, to give a more convincing performance until my smile deepened.
No. In fact, the more obvious I make it that this fight is rigged, the better.
Of course, the one rigging this fight wasn’t the dons. For a fighter to take the initiative upon themselves to rig a fight like this was asking for the dons to come down savagely upon them, their lives and their families’ lives effectively forfeit.
Not for me, though.
Pretending to be off balance, I attempted to go for one last ‘desperate’ strike, only to be struck across the face by one final haymaker, dropping me once more to the ground.
And that’s the curtain call.
Ingorious threw a few kicks into my side, but I ignored it, the pain barely registering.
Not because I was in too much pain already, it was just that the strikes, compared to the injuries I’d suffered in the past, were like child’s play for me to ignore, barely an inconvenience.
“And that’s the count! In a surprise upset, Ingorious takes the victory, and Wolf is eliminated from the championship gauntlet. Will he come back stronger next season, or is that the start of his ultimate decline?”
I lay on the ground for just long enough before finally pulling myself off from the ground, wiping off a glob of mucus that Ingorius spat on me as I lay there, pretending to be in far worse condition than I really was.
That was easy.
I made my way back to the tunnel from which I had entered the arena, serenaded by the calls of vitriol and hatred from the scorned crowd.
“..cheater!”
“..rigged!”
“…who do they think we are?”
I kept my head hung low, faking a limp as I finally entered the tunnel.
Perfect.
No longer visible to the crowd, I began happily whistling as I returned to the locker room where my stuff was.
I should have done this sooner.
-----------------------------------------------
“Who the fuck do you think you are!?”
I sighed. I’d been hoping she wouldn’t be here when I returned.
“What the fuck was that? I told you to lose!”
“No, Maeya.” I crossed my arms, frowning at her. “You told me I could do whatever I want.”
“As in, whatever you wanted to win.” She hissed between clenched teeth before approaching me, staring at me with burning resentment in her eyes. “Not fucking up and losing! Do you have any idea what this will cause? We’ve always kept a measured appearance of a fair circuit, and now you up and throw that away in a single fight! You think this is a damn joke?”
“I do, in fact.” I smiled at her, my hands on my hips. “Your family is fucked, are they not?”
Her hand whipped out, smacking me across the face. I could have caught the blow had I wanted, but I chose not to.
“You stupid fucker. Where the fuck do you get off doing this?” She was hollering in my face, the resentment now looking like outright rage. “My family has taken care of you, and this is how you repay us?”
“No.” I shook my head. “You used me. Kept me in line with promises of helping me find my mother. Well, guess what! She found me.”
Maeya’s expression changed, surprise coloring it.
“How?”
“Wouldn’t you like to know,” I said smugly, enjoying the shock on her face.
Maeya finally shook off her surprise, scowling at me. “So what? Yes, I knew that your family lived in Varana. Do you think I wanted to get involved with that? You should consider yourself lucky, if anything. You got to live a comfortable life here.”
“You think I wanted any of that?” My words grew louder, spurred on by my growing hate toward her. “I didn’t want to be here. I didn’t want any of this. I could have moved on long ago if it weren’t for you.”
“What’s not to want.” She stepped back, folding her arms one over another. “You got money, connections, and me.”
I felt my revulsion rising, how she seemed so confident in herself, in that I should be thankful that she had effectively forced herself onto me.
“Fuck you.” I spat. “You took advantage of me. Used me. Why would I appreciate you? I don’t give a damn about you!”
“I tried to be polite.” Maeya shook her head as if she were chiding a child for misbehaving. “But if you want to be this way, then I have no choice. You’ve already fucked things up enough as is.”
“What, you think you can threaten me now?” I stared at her in disbelief. “Who do you take me for?”
“You forget yourself, Rook. I know your history. What happened as an adventurer is already enough to make you a pariah. Now, if we add that the mysterious Zero who went into hiding shortly after was a Baster, you tell me what you think will happen.”
I narrowed my eyes at the woman as I considered what she said.
“You wouldn’t.” I finally whispered.
“Oh, I would. You screwed things up with that show. We’ve just lost some major legitimacy, a major revenue source. So, you need to make up for it.”
“Now you think you can just put a leash on me?”
“What else do you think you can do?” She smiled at me wickedly, no pretense of kindness in her gaze. “I offered you the easy way. But if you want to phrase it that way, then yes, I’ll put a leash on you. You’re too useful when you aren’t trying to use your own head to fuck things up.”
“No.” It was my turn to cross my arms. “I will not be your tool. I will not be something with which you can use and abuse, use for your own pleasure and gain.”
“Hah.” She stepped forward, hand reaching down before I grabbed her wrist, halting her movement.
“Don’t. Touch. Me.” I said coldly, the bile in my throat freezing with frozen rage. “Last warning.”
Perhaps, looking back, I would have forced myself to calm down, to placate myself with thoughts of taking the head road. But then, there was part of me that wanted to feel that rage and be spurred to choices that I would have been wiser to avoid. But that is also the foolishness of youth and anger.
So, when she reached out one more time, I let her try her luck.
And in doing so, I let my rage win out.
Maeya, the daughter of a don, had likely never faced a threat, never considered there were forces out there in the world who cared little for her believed untouchability. Her smug expression of superiority never left her face as my fist struck out, the blow empowered by an instant, explosive strength as I found motion within stillness, and stillness within motion.
A fancy way of saying my fist struck out with all the force granted by mana rotation. I’d nearly killed Galarus less than two weeks ago when I’d struck him with the strength of a mana rotation enhanced strike, and he had been protected by layers of bulk and mass.
When Maeya’s body crashed against the lockers behind her, she was already dead, the energy contained within the strike reducing her innards to a pulp. Her face still contorted in smugness.
The sudden rush of rage subsided, and I stared at what I’d just done.
I killed her.
This wasn’t a duel. This wasn’t a battle between equals, nor was it between people who had considered the threat of death.
I had murdered a defenseless woman.
Guilt, regret, relief, elation, something. Something. I wanted to feel something.
Instead, I felt nothing but emptiness.
Maybe I shouldn’t have done that.
I continued staring at the corpse. It felt strange to see the woman dead. I’d shared nights with her and laughed with her. Even if I hated her, seeing her dead felt oddly surreal.
But that’s not important for now.
Although I’d gone and killed a defenseless woman, the more critical issue was that I had killed someone.
So, what does one do when they’ve killed someone in cold blood?
Figure out how to hide the corpse, of course.
The issue was I couldn’t just stuff her body in a closet. She would eventually be found, and the smell would give it away within days.
That’s if I put her as is.
Closing my eyes, I stretched my hand toward the woman, her corpse. I could feel the energy within the bounds of her flesh, the vitality of life that had been transformed into something more mundane, energy lacking that vital spark of life. If she had been alive, drawing out the mana within her would have been nearly impossible, the spark of life protecting a person from such efforts.
But Maeya wasn’t alive. Not anymore. There was no such protection over what remained of the energy, of the mana within her body. Nothing to stop me, I drew what little mana was within her body, her complexation losing the freshness of a recently made corpse within seconds, looking as if she had been dried out for weeks.
Easy enough.
It was a reminder of just how… fragile most people were. So little mana within that even my foundation ring dwarfed what was within.
Watching my fingertips, I imagined myself turning the specks of mana drawn from her body over in my hand, the feel of the mana somehow hollow. The mana would dissipate shortly, between the paltry amount of mana I had managed to draw out from the corpse and my body’s usual inability to retain external mana.
Had I an affinity for fire, I could have simply incinerated the corpse. Even considering how far I’d come since my youth since I’d first touched upon magic, I could still only manage to conjure a single ember, enough to light a single candle, fire simply outside my realm of control.
With no affinity for fire, I opted for my next best choice. Pressing my hand to her body, I whispered once under my breath.
“Aulous.”
The ability to manipulate water didn’t just mean creating or conjuring it forward. I could also draw it from elsewhere.
Such as the moisture of a corpse.
Pulled out from the body, the remaining moisture of her body drew together into a floating orb of water hovering above my hand, gently swirling as it began to shade over, first a light hue, before fully turning a crimson scarlet. Focusing on the orb, I peeled back the view of the physical world, viewing the bonds between mana as I manipulated them, severing and condensing them as I folded them one over another, fusing them together until the floating orb of blood-red liquid was reduced into a crystalline marble of the same shade.
I smiled briefly as I inspected the marble, holding it directly above Maeya’s desiccated corpse. I wasn’t fond of taking her life, an action born of anger, but at the very least, I’d created something beautiful from such an ugly action.
Still, it wouldn’t feel right to bring it with me.
Frowning, I took the blood-red gem before placing it into her pocket. Looking over toward where a nearby timepiece hung, my frown only deepened; more time had passed than I intended.
Better get going, then.
No other way to be rid of the evidence of my actions; I gently placed the body in the back of the small closet. Now that it would no longer rot, I would have hopefully bought myself time to entirely leave Songhold behind me, starting a new life elsewhere.
I promise this will be the last life I take.
The vow was only as good as my conviction, but I wanted to be done with such ugly things. Death, death had followed me around for so long now.
I no longer cared to fight, adventure, or seek violence. I would forge a new path, one where I could uplift others.
But I couldn’t do that here.
With one final glance backward, I shouldered the pack I had brought along, containing what little I cared about enough to bring with me. All that was left to do was to collect my earnings from the fight, a bet I had placed anonymously, and then I would be set.
My time as a fighter would be over.
“From today onward,” I whispered under my breath. “I will be nothing more than a humble teacher.”