As they started searching for a target in the desolated city, Lucas' mind was still occupied with their earlier conversation. The news about the achievement had been promising; he fully believed this was the key to advancing in the tower, and his overall success might well hinge on his performance on the fourth floor, considering the quality of the achievement was directly tied to it. He had only one shot at the tower, and he needed to make every second count.

In that regard, he knew what he had to do: kill as many as he could. However, the news about the eye was troubling. It had been made clear to him that it wasn’t a normal bloodline. Bloodlines themselves were already rare, but that purple eye seemed to be on a level above all others, at least among those known to Flavya.

This information only increased his doubt about whether he could take the eye with him after leaving the floor, or if he could even claim the bloodline as his own at all. If I’m able to take it with me, how many points will it cost? The staff gifted to him by Faruk had already cost 3,000 points; how much would something like that legendary eye take from his total?

I’ll find out when the time comes. Right now, I just need to ensure I get as many points as possible, Lucas concluded.

Walking through the empty city, hiding among the debris every few feet, they wondered how many were left. At the start, there were thirty, and together they had already killed eight. Lucas was sure more should have been killed by now, especially with a monster like Axis running around. His assumption, however, was countered in whispers by Flavya.

"Being the most powerful person around has its disadvantages. As soon as anyone sees him, they are likely to run away rather than stay to fight."

"So, you think he hasn’t killed anyone?"

"I didn’t say that. They can run away, but there’s no guarantee they will manage to escape. Besides, he might see them before they see him," she shrugged. "All I’m saying is that he won't be able to kill a bunch of people in a short time, even if he could theoretically win against them all."

Her argument raised a question in Lucas’ mind.

"How long do these Showdowns usually take?"

"Three to five days. It really depends on the environment that’s been chosen," Flavya replied, then added, "But this year, it seems to be moving faster."

"Do you know why?" Lucas asked, curious.

"I’m guessing it has something to do with the two favorites, Halyk and Axis. Many people know they won’t be able to win anyway, and are being more reckless than in previous years, maybe trying to get some fame and honor before they die."

Hearing her say that made Lucas think about the red-clothed girl with whom he fought. It really seemed like she was more interested in being noticed than anything else.

"What’s the benefit of being noticed here if it means certain death? Why would they want that?"

Flavya took a few moments to reply. "Many don’t want to be here but were forced by their family or faction. Others live a mediocre life and want to be remembered," she shrugged. "There’s a lot to gain from fame, really. Maybe not for them, but their factions may profit from the exposure. Their equipment, for instance, might be specially made by the faction they represent. If it performs well enough to draw some eyes to the product, then…"

She didn’t finish the sentence, but Lucas understood her meaning. Some people were happy to sacrifice a member of their family or faction for money and glory. That shouldn’t surprise Lucas, after everything he had seen since entering the tower, but the information still left him frowning at the thought.

"I take it you don’t fit any of those options?" Lucas tried.

She shook her head. "I already told you. All I care about is killing Axis, and I volunteered to be here. That’s something I want to do for my people. If I manage to eliminate him, there will be one less threat to the Witches of Gholdryc in the future."

Lucas was about to say something else when they spotted movement up ahead and hid behind a broken wall. Peeking from the edge, Lucas saw two figures, one carrying a spear and the other a sword. They weren’t fighting, but talking.

"I didn’t think more people would have formed partnerships," Lucas whispered to Flavya by his side.

"It’s only natural. When the weak realize they don’t have much time left, and start to realize what exactly it feels like to have their days counted, they try to grasp at whatever they believe will make their lives last a little longer, and soon these types of partnerships are formed… until they inevitably betray one another."

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Lucas looked sideways at her. "I hope you aren’t talking about us."

She smiled towards him. "We are not weak, and we didn’t form this partnership to survive, but to kill." After saying those words, she looked at the buildings on the sides of the street and turned to him again. "Try to get close to them without being noticed. I’ll be up in that building," she pointed to the tallest building in the vicinity.

Lucas agreed with a nod. He wasn’t expecting Flavya to also engage in melee; that would be a waste of an archer… or a mage. The fact that she could easily shoot him from up there unsettled him a little, but there was nothing he could do about it. He would have to trust that the witch knew better, and at least her desire to kill Axis seemed genuine enough.

Lucas watched as the girl moved carefully towards the building she had pointed at, and after confirming she had reached the place, it was his turn to move. Using his stealth skill, Lucas quickly closed the distance between him and his targets, only stopping about fifty feet away, which was basically a stride distance for him once he started to run.

Both of his targets were still discussing something, half hidden at the entrance of an alley. Lucas couldn’t hear them clearly from that distance, but the fear on their faces was clear as day. Lucas sighed a little at the sight. He still didn’t like the fact that he had to kill random people to move up in the tower; he had only accepted it as something he needed to do. However, killing frightened and cornered people seemed even worse than regular killing.

Not wanting to dwell on the feeling too much, Lucas looked back in the direction he imagined the witch was. He couldn’t see her, but he was certain she was there, and seeing as she didn’t make a move, he decided to go first. Lucas leaped from his spot and started to run, like a leopard hunting its prey. It didn’t take long for them to notice him, of course, but it didn’t matter at this point. Lucas was quite agile, and there was no way both could escape. Not that they tried.

He could see the look of relief on their faces once they saw it wasn’t Axis, but their relief didn’t last long, as an arrow soon darted towards the man carrying the spear. The man moved just in time to avoid a deadly blow, but the arrow still struck him in the shoulder. What happened next surprised even Lucas, as the man’s arm seemed to freeze in place. As he ran, he noticed the weird appearance it assumed a second later.

Did it turn to stone? Lucas squinted his eyes, but it didn’t take long for him to see what had happened. Apparently, all the muscles in his arm had tensed up at the same time, making him unable to move it. Did she know he was going to dodge? Lucas wondered as he reached his targets.

They had agreed that Lucas would handle the deadly blows, but the girl had apparently aimed straight for the heart. Lucas had no time to consider this, however, as even though his opponents were essentially deemed weaklings by Flavya, they still knew their way around a battlefield. Covering his injured friend, the guy carrying the sword immediately stepped up to face Lucas.

Instead of parrying his sword, Lucas simply dodged to the side; there was no point in breaking his blades for something like this. Seeing that his attack had missed, the swordsman panicked and backed off, which turned out to be unwise, because in the next instant, an arrow struck his right leg, nearly causing him to fall to the ground.

It was the man carrying the spear's turn to take the front, but with only one functional arm, his balance was off. In a few seconds, Lucas had almost killed him when, contrary to Flavya’s claim of betrayal among partners, the man with an arrow in his leg made a valiant effort to prevent his friend from being killed, using his sword to block Lucas' path.

In the next instant, it seemed like he was about to say something, perhaps plead for his life, but Lucas pierced him with his blade. Killing people in this manner was already hard enough without them pleading for mercy; he didn’t need that on his conscience, so he swiftly finished both off.

As he waited for Flavya to arrive, he searched through their rings to see if they had anything useful but found nothing except a few potions. He took one for himself and gave the other to Flavya when she arrived.

"Good shots!" Lucas complimented and then asked, "How did you know he would dodge?"

"I’ve been doing this for a long time." She smiled as if it were no big deal. "But you were better than I expected. That’s good; we will need it."

When she says she has been doing this for a long time, does she mean killing people? Lucas chose not to ask and instead inquired about something else. "What was that freezing effect? Was it magic?"

Flavya shook her head. "No, I wouldn’t waste mana on these two. It was just poison."

Hearing her mention poison, Lucas remembered the flasks he saw in Halyk’s ring and presented them to her. "Maybe you can use these against Axis. They’re Halyk’s."

After receiving the flask, she inspected it for a minute before her eyes widened. "If this is what I think it is, then you’re lucky he didn’t use it on you."

Should he say that not only had Halyk used it on him, but had nearly killed him too? Nah.

"Do you think you can kill Axis with it?"

"The reports say he has a high resistance to poison, but something like this might slow him down if timed right. We’ll have to try and see."

After a brief discussion about which direction to follow, they started moving again, only stopping when they found a large cluster of people who weren’t trying to kill each other but merely watching something, with their backs turned towards them.

The bizarre scene forced them to a halt.

"What are they doing?" Lucas asked, perplexed.

"I’m not sure,” replied Flavya, equally perplexed. Then she threw a glance at a nearby building before adding “Let’s find out!"

Lucas followed Flavya as she entered the building and stopped on the second floor to peer at the scene. There, a few feet away from the crowd, were two people: one man, standing at six feet seven inches tall, battering a smaller man wearing full metal plate armor that Lucas vaguely recognized.

"Is that Tornik?"