I'm glad everything was back to normal.

“Another round here boy!”

“Coming!”

I put the tray of beers I was holding and sat it down on the table, I then rushed back to the counter, filled up another four pints of Sorel, and made my way to another table across the room.

The people who ordered were the usual customers we had. They came here almost every night, bringing with them pockets full of coins and an iron gut, and leaving with deflated pockets and a head buzzing so much they would be seeing five of me.

I smiled at them, seeing their drunken and flushed faces. I laid down their glasses on their table, and soon like starving wolves on a winter night, they grabbed their glasses and started chugging them down like it was the fountain of youth.

A weary smile was plastered on my face as I just shook it off. It was a common sight to behold here. As I was about to move on to another table, someone grabbed me by my shoulder, their grip tight as if they were trying to rip my arm out. Instinctively, I was about to grab their arm and break it in half, yet when I turned around to do just that, I stopped at the last second.

I just smiled in response and stared at the man who almost had their arm broken.

“Anything else Mr. Barnes?”

“Burp* Ughh Say Cosmo, word around the streets is that you passed that thingy, heard it was a big deal or something.”

Mr Barnes was as I said, one of the regulars, often comes here every night. I stared helplessly at him and saw that his dark, curly hair was all over the place. Despite the beet red face of his, the scars on his face were still clearly visible. His brown eyes were glazed, and I think that he was seeing two of me right now.

“Yes, Mr Barnes. I passed that stup- I mean, that test for some academy. It wasn't a big deal.”

I shrugged it off. Thinking that it wasn't that big of a deal. And honestly, it wasn't worth it if not for the life or death of myself. It has always been life or death with me lately, now that I noticed.

“Oh shut it boyo. Opportunities like that aren't as common as the drunks you see here every night. Yous gots to seize it, take it by the balls, and-”

I'm not even surprised anymore. Mr Barnes was about to continue but it seems that his last swig of Sorel was the final nail in the drunken coffin. I stepped aside, letting him fall forward, slowly as if he was in slow motion. In fact, in my eyes, it was in slow motion. But as I am an employee here, I have to take care of my customers.

Before he fell flat on his face, I caught him with one arm and gently placed him on the floor. I held out my arm in the air, and in a few seconds, a blanket flew straight to my hand as I caught it. I flapped the blanket and covered Mr Barnes.

Laughter was heard from his table, his drinking buddies having a good time as they cheered out loud at their friend. I think I even some some coins passing through their hands.

“Shoulda let him crash Cosmo Hick*, Barnes deserves it. Bastard thinks that downing three consecutive Sorels wouldn't be enough to knock him out. Serves him right!”

His mates agreed with him, clinking their glasses together as they cheered. I didn't agree or disagree with him. It wasn't necessary. I only smiled, as a look of realization dawned on them in their drunken state. Not even pausing, their glasses slipped through their fingers as they fell flat on their faces on the table. They began snoring yet even with their loud snores, it was drowned out by the merriness of the others at the bar.

I picked up their glasses and left them to their drunken slumber. I set the glasses on the counter and watched Amy as she was about to grab them.

“Tut tut tut.”

Cheekily smiling at Amy, I reached my hand forward to her and stared directly at her. She had a reluctant expression on her face, yet she gave in and tossed a pouch towards me. I caught it in mid-air and swiftly hid it in my pockets. Amy grumbled something under her breath grabbed the glasses from the tray and went back to work.

I leaned against the counter, satisfaction filling me as I at least found out something I was better at than Amy. Sure she was better at me at everything else, but let's not think about that.

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

“How ya do it?”

“That's the thing Mr Samuel, I have no idea. Just instincts I guess.”

“I taught you well.”

Mr Samuel raised his glass in front of me and took a big swig at it. I grinned in response, submerging myself in the merry atmosphere. The scent of beer was constantly wafting through the air, as well as the sound of people shouting at the bets going on, or they shouted just for the sake of it.

I gazed at the match that was going on, and today was a special day. Simply because a certain man was acting as a referee for the match. I saw that the two going at it were grappling each other to the ground, each trying to choke the other person out of the air, or trying to get in a good position to break the other limb.

It seemed that the other person, with a slim yet lean physique, grabbed a small opening his opponent made a mistake of having. He positioned himself behind the person and got a good arm lock in his throat. The person he was about to choke out was significantly bigger than him, with muscles seemingly bigger than my head and a completely shaven head. It was so clear of hair that I thought I could use it as a mirror.

I was also joining in the bet. And I was losing. I was betting against the slim guy. This is bad. I glanced beside me and saw that Mr Samuel had a carefree smile on his face. He watched the match unfold with no surprise when everyone else in the room was watching it with intense trepidation. That included me.

Sweat trickled down my face, and I realized that the slim guy was about to win. That was unexpected. The bald man's face was turning from red to blue, veins bulging at his throat. He kept thrashing around, trying to get a good hold of the slim man, yet the more he resisted, the faster the air left his body.

Suddenly, a feeling of bloodlust passed through me.

“Oh boy. That's not a very good idea bald man.”

I watched helplessly as I watched the bald man make a last-ditch effort. He grabbed something from his pocket, the color of silver glinting against the light, and proceeded to direct it at his opponent. Just before it made contact though, his arm suddenly twisted at an awkward angle, his dagger fell to the floor. The crowd cheered even louder at the recent turn of events.

Told you it wasn't a good idea, bald man. Must be a first-timer I guess. Mr Frank stood near the man, only watching him writhe in agony. I don't blame him. if my arm twisted unnaturally, I would do the same.

The slim man was also almost passed out on the floor, probably not even noticing that he almost died if not for Mr Frank. Well, time to go back to work. I stepped forward and proceeded to make my way to the man with a mangled arm.

He was screaming as he held his arm, yet even his scream was drowned out by the noise in the room. I got close, grabbed his leg, and dragged him away from the arena.

“You should be not doing that Bald Man, You're lucky that Mr. Frank is in a good mood today. If not, then your right arm won't be the only thing he twisted.”

The man didn't seem to have heard me, he kept weeping and sniffling. I did not mind since I could somewhat understand him. My body was also mangled which was almost beyond repair once. The only difference is I didn't cry like a newborn child. I was in so much pain that all I felt was numbness you see.

Once I dragged him away, I looked back and saw that Mr Frank picked up the man from the ground, and though he was barely conscious, he held up his arm and announced that he was the victor. Instead of the crowd cheering, they booed the man, some even threw bottles at him. It was blocked by Mr Frank of course.

“That guy was lucky,” I told Mr Samuel.

I grumbled, feeling a little disappointed as I lost a good amount of coin. Without even looking at the bald man, I held his twisted arm and twisted it back to a correct angle. The man yelped, and with that sudden amount of shock, his eyes showed full whites as he lay flat on the ground.

Checking on his arm one last time, I saw that only a little rest was necessary, oh say maybe about a week would be good and his arm would return to normal. Mr Frank was precise when he broke his arm.

I sat down beside Mr Samuel as I reached something from my pockets, and tossed a pouch to him. Without even looking he caught it and started giggling like a child who received a gift on the winter solstice.

“How did you know he would win? I mean the bald man was thrice the size of the thin man.”

“Bigger doesn't always mean better kid.”

I pondered on his statement and concluded that it was simply because the guy was lucky. I shook my head, grabbed a glass behind the counter and the bottle beside it, and proceeded to fill up my glass to the brim.

Taking a big swig from it, a burp escaped my mouth, and felt better now.

“Becoming a drunk I see.” Mr Samuel said.

“No, it's not beer. It's apple juice.”

I took another drink and gulped it down. And with that, my sudden loss of money was no longer felt.

“You ready for school kid?”

“Nope.”

My sudden good mood was instantly lowered. A scowl of an expression was rarely seen on my face, but now I'm showing a scowl that even a barbarian would fear. I don't want to think about ‘that’ for now.

Mr Samuel saw my expression and only smiled in response. He ordered another drink from Amy and took a swig of it. He opened his mouth and said.

“Training day starts tomorrow again.”

“Huh? Don't we always have the training, what's different for tomorrow?”

“What's different is that I gotta prepare you for that school. I have some friends there you see, and I would be embarrassed if they saw that my student can't even keep up with theirs. Ah, the shame.”

There was a pained expression on his face like he couldn't even bear to look at the current state of myself. Thats rude. Sure I'm incredibly weak right now, but there was no need to say it out loud.

Grumbling once again, I poured myself another drink and gulped it down. I was about to pour myself another one when I heard Mr Lucius.

“We need to talk child.”

“Hm okay.”

I don't know why but I suddenly felt that something bad was about to happen again.