The figures couldn’t help but grin as they looked at Bea sprawled on the floor, feeling assured of their victory.

“Now come along nicely; we would be so very upset if you fine children came to any harm… can’t have the goods be damaged,” the man at the front of the group said as he licked his lips in anticipation.

“Oh, I see… you done think I accepted your offah,” Spoony said as he swiftly moved out of the way of Gunter’s already thrown punch.

“I ‘av good eyes an can see you lot are not so nice,” Spoony said as he approached the four men.

“Listen, old man, bugger off; otherwise, we will kill you,” the lead man said as he gave a jagged knife a few flicks.

The leader's words gave the class a moment's pause. Specifically, him referring to Spoony as an old man. While they knew judging people's ages by appearance was a tad complex given the medley of longlived races. They could somehow tell Spoony was young. He didn’t look a day over thirty.

“Kill me? What with if’n you’d be so kind tah edumacate someone as lowly as me self,” Spoony asked, stopping right in front of the lead man.

“You blind as well as senile?” the man asked with a sinister grin as he plunged the knife to the hilt into Spoony’s chest.

“FEEL THAT, YOU IDIOT?!!! HAHAHAHAHA!!!!” The Leader broke into a fit of hysterical laughter, throwing his head back in the stereotypical way villains do.

“Wow, dis iz a fancy knife; it cost you a lot?” Spoony asked as he looked down at the handle that was sticking out of his chest.

“How are you?” the leader began before retreating back a step in line with his backup.

“Boys, we’ve got an undead… coat the blades in holy silver; we can kill this bastard and get the kids easy as anything,” the leader ordered.

All at once the four men drew their various weapons and took out vials containing a silvery liquid. The second one of them opened the stopper to be able to coat his shortsword Spoony appeared in front of him and slapped him across the face.

“Wow, boys, I’m impressed,” Spoony muttered as he spun around and backhanded the leader in the face.

“WHY DID YOU ATTACK?!!!” one of the men who had a mace shouted as he retreated out of Spoony’s reach and covered his mace in the silvery liquid.

“You mean, why did ole Spoony interrupt yah makin your weapons more powerful? Because it is common sense, I suppose. What am I suppose tah stand there an watch yah as you power up? Only an idiot would do that.”

“Enough ignore him and kill him!!!” the leader shouted, breaking his confused followers out of their stupor. Now with weapons coated in a material designed to enable non-magical armaments to damage undead and werebeasts, the four men regained their confidence.

“We will be sure to make this fast old man,” the leader snarled. “Hugo bash his skull in. I’ll take the kids,” the leader ordered as he turned to face the class.

The man with the mace brought it down directly onto Spoony’s head, causing a loud crunch noise to echo around the streets. Seeing little hope in relying on Spoony, the class prepared to fight the oncoming assault.

“COME ALONG, LITTLE MISSY AND LET US HAVE SOME FUN WITH YOU BEFORE WE HAND YOU OVER,” the leader shouted as he punched towards Tasha.

Before he could reach her, a hand with razor-sharp claws appeared and slashed down the side of his face. Maxwell could feel how tough the man’s skin was. Despite its toughness which bordered on armoured skin status, he was able to cut the skin.

“Gahhh!!!” the leader cried out in pain as he retreated a step backwards.

“I WILL SKIN AND MOUNT YOUR PELT ON MY WALL!!!”

“No thanks, we are rather fond of Maxy’s fur; it is nice and fluffy,” Tasha replied as she delivered a kick between the leader's legs. A slight popping noise could be heard that caused men within a half-mile radius to unknowingly flinch.

“GRAHHHHH!!!!” The leader screeched at an abnormally high octave as he collapsed to his knees.

“You…hah… you are… hah… all dead… YOU HEAR-” The leader was unable to finish his threat as Gunter delivered a titanic punch to the side of his face. The leader fell to the floor and loudly coughed, sputtering several teeth onto the road.

“H-how the hell a-are you so strong you were supposed to be pampered kids?!!!” the leader asked as he began shuffling backwards away from the class in terror.

In his fear, the man had failed to maintain the aura folding technique that had amplified the threat he displayed to the world. Looking at him now bereft of such a technique, the class could see he was definitely weaker than they were.

“Wow, lad… You set the bar so low it was already a tripping hazard in hell, but look at yah dancing the limbo with devils,” Spoony said as he roughly threw three bodies at the leader's feet.

“Now I have two options for yah. You leave this neighbourhood and don’t ever come back. If I see any of yah, I will be sure to make a nice ‘at out of yah skin… we understand each other?” the four battered and bruised men hastily nodded.

“Now, when you leave, you go north, not through the gate you entered through. Do you understand me? North and out the Northwest gate. Nah, fack off!!!” Spoony snarled as he kicked the leader and his three cronies between the legs himself. The class watched as the four men who were supporting each other scrambled to the first intersection, turned north and ran out of sight.

Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

“You sure that was wise?” Daisy asked, looking to where their assailants ran off to.

“Wise? I think it was bloody brilliant!!! Do you kids know what is north of here?” the class all shook their heads.

“The commoner district has many gangs, and we all have territory that goes lengthways,” Spoony explained as he waved his hand left and right.

“Those dipshits ran north into a territory that ‘as a strict no weapons policy. Dey will likely be dead before they can cross a few streets.”

“Why not kill them yourself, then?” Maxwell asked as he cleaned the blood off his hand.

“Yah have any idea ‘ow exhausting it is to dispose of a body? I’d rather let the mime gang ‘andle that; thank you very much.”

“So you are palming off the killing and disposal off to the… did you say, mime gang?”

“I did, a scary bunch of folks. Don’t ever say a word even when dey is killing yah. Safest neighbourhood in the city, though. Yah don’ know fear till you ‘ad a gang of mimes rhythmically snapping their fingers while not making a noise.”

“Regardless, you kids alright? I can send a runner tah to tell your folks if yah need it?” Spoony asked.

“We’re fine, I guess,” Maxwell muttered, looking to his classmates, who all nodded.

“Ah, good… I try to keep a well run ship ‘ere, but ders’ always a dipshit every so often dat underestimates us,” Spoony replied.

“What about you, Spoony? You got stabbed and hit on the head?” Bea asked.

“Ah, I’m fine. A simple stabbing and a bonk ain’t gonna do much tah me.”

“Because you’re undead?”

“Nah, I ain’t undead. I am as living as the next person… except the undead quarter… den I am more lively than them.”

“So, was it a defence spell that kept you ok from the stabbing?” Daisy asked.

“Nah, It’s because of me race,” Spoony answered as he puffed his chest with pride.

“What is your race then? You look human, but…” Kline asked before trailing off.

“I am what is called a Baffle Perceptous,” Spoony answered as he put on a very smooth grin.

“A Baffle Perceptous? Wait… Baffle…. SIR, IS THAT YOU?!!!” Bea shouted as she jumped onto Spoony and began shaking him.

“I ain’t no sir, now git off me,” Spoony cried out as he tried to shake off the gnome. Gunter helped him peel Bea off, and he spent a moment smoothing out his clothes.

“You!” Spoony began as he pointed at Tasha. “What do I look like to yah?”

“Err….” Tasha began, confused. “Tall, a bit lanky, little moustache, but otherwise nice looking,” Tasha replied.

“Now you!” Spoony said, pointing to Daisy.

“Well, you have more of a goatee than a moustache, and I’d say you are well built, not lanky?”

“And you?” Spoony asked, gesturing to Kline.

“You got a bit of a mess on your face, but you otherwise are bald and clean-shaven?” The class were now thoroughly confused as they now realised they all could see Spoony, but he looked entirely different to each of them.

“So we all see a different person?” Bea asked.

“Yep, everyone does. You ever ‘ear a voice and you make a mental image of dem? But when you meet dem ‘der real self don match the image you made?” the class all nodded.

“Well, I never ‘av dat issue. What you expect to see iz exactly what you see.”

“So when they called you old man?”

“They likely were seeing an old man.”

“What do you really look like then?”

“Dunno?” Spoony replied with a shrug.

“You don’t know what you look like?” Daisy asked in disbelief.

“Yeah, not like I’m immune tah my own power. What I expect tah see is what I do see. Only unique bit my race ‘az iz we can tell when we meet another of our race,” Spoony replied with another shrug as if it was inconsequential.

“You might know me race better as Nightmares,” Spoony offered. The class instantly began to pale as they looked Spoony over.

There wasn’t a child on the Dark Continent who hadn’t heard of a Nightmare. They were a race said to be so terrifying they drove the enemy insane just looking at them. They were only ever deployed in defence of the nation as they were so terrifying and otherwise lived in an isolated village in the Dargon Nest Mountain Range.

“A N-n-n-n-nightmare?” Kline repeated.

“Yep, imagine, if you will, a military force consisting of the most terrifying beings. Your worst nightmares. Then staff it with troops that look like you expect tah see ‘em? Genius, ain’t it? We show up in heavy armour, and the enemy pisses itself into surrender. Perception can win a fight without a single bolt being fired.”

“So, the bead trick?” Bea asked wondering if this was how he did it.

“Ah, dat…” Spoony muttered as he nodded. “I can reverse the power over a little area. You expected dah cup tah be empty. I reverse it, and boom ders a bead,” Spoony explained with a smug grin.

“So you conned us? But you swore you weren’t a conman?” Tasha said, looking rather upset.

“Nah, I said I ain’t no conman. As in a double negative. Not my fault you weren’t payin attention.”

“We really should’ve gotten better at this now. This feels like Meso all over again,” Maxwell grumbled as he rubbed his temples in frustration.

“You know ole man Meso?” Spoony asked, his eyes alight with excitement.

“You know him?” Daisy asked right back, already feeling the annoyance of the time, short though it was, in jail.

“Yeah, the best guy I ever met.”

“Best?!” Kline repeated in disbelief.

“He got us arrested!!!” Bea grumbled.

“Den, you were dumb enough to let him play with you. I ‘av the distinct ‘onour to be the only mortal ever to con him.”

“You conned Meso?!” Maxwell asked as the class shared a look of utter disbelief.

“Yeah, it took a lot of work and I ‘ad to play like seven different roles but it worked. He got me back, dough,” Spoony said as he reminisced.

“How did he get you back?”

“He framed me for treason and I was almost executed.”

“You almost died, and you call that getting you back?!!!”

“It was all in good humour. He knew I would get out.”

Daisy was about to point out it is insane to still be on good terms with someone that nearly got you executed when Spoony held up a finger to stop them. Tilting his head a little, the class copied him, and then four pained screeches echoed out from a few streets over.

“Der we go dah dumbasses are now dead. I will escort you tah where you are stayin, and we can sort payment,” Spoony said with a look that told the class he expected to be paid very well.