Ego could be a terrible thing. A weight that dragged you into making bad decisions. Before long, you'd be drowning in the filth of your own making, only relying on successive last-ditch attempts to pull yourself free, lest you just sink yourself further. Humility was a blessing that often paid out not with gold or glory, but with more days you were able to draw breath. Finding the right balance is what kept you growing and improving. Some risks you had to accept otherwise you were stagnant, and as good as dead anyway.

I looked down at the dwarf with a small, wry grin. "It's been challenging," I nodded and waited for them to part from us, but they did not. My right eye twitched as the patter of building adrenaline put me on edge.

"I can imagine that. Me and the group were about to go off to hunt some undead. Heard there's some gold in it." He leveled an exaggerated grimace at me. "But it looks like both the dead and those with the purse are no longer with us."

Any attempt to be amiable sank as my expression dropped. I looked up from him, and my eyes glanced between each of the four of them to gauge their intent. They didn't look poised to strike, but there was an open hostility. An attempt to bully.

I shrugged. "Yes, these things tend to happen, I'm afraid."

The man in the suit of armor flexed his neck side to side, clearly the one with the least patience out of their group. "I don't think you know who we are."

His grunts of disdain fell flat. He was correct. Now that we were closer to them, it did seem like they were adventurers rather than Rankers. There was an assurance built into them—the way they held their weapons and the various pouches along their belts signified that they were somewhat more well-prepared and used to diving through the muck of life than we were.

"Who are you, then?" the Guardian said, somehow managing not to load the question with expletives. Angelos might have a short and sharp tongue, but he had seen enough to know when to stow it.

"We are the Red Daggers, and this is our turf around here. We are the ones who deal with any of the problems that arise near FogVale."

Florence worked her jaw. "Well, what would you have us do, then? Ignore problems if we see them?"

I held up my hands, a show for us to stay away from any hostilities. "We apologize for apparently ruining your fun, but there were Ranke Villains there which we saw fit to exterminate, as is our duty." Although it wasn't advised for us to take them on unrequested, that didn't seem like the Heroic thing to do.

The dwarf spat on the floor. "You walk around here thinking you're better than us just because you have some fancy magic inside you?"

"No, I didn't say that," I interrupted him before he went any further. My eyes wandered to the woman in purple robes. Something twinged inside me—a feeling from my past briefly distracted me before I shook it away. "We only have a small business to do here in Fogvale, and then we'll be moving on our way. I apologize for our intrusion."

It was grating on my nerves to have to play nice with them. Although I had been doing well on my path to being a changed man, being threatened by weaklings brought up a bad taste in my mouth that the old Victor would have solved in seconds with a bit of old-fashioned bloodshed. Still, making a scene in the middle of the town would not do well for our chances here.

The dwarf sighed and shot a glance at the half-elf with the black cloak. With a nod of his head, he got them to move out of our way. "See fit that you don't darken our doorstep for too much longer, then." Out of all of them, the robed woman seemed less interested in admonishing us, but with her arms crossed she didn't seem like a great fan of ours either.

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

With a struggle, I made the best attempt at a polite smile, and I led our party back into the town past the group.

Florence was practically seething; her fists were balled and shook beside her robes. "Who do they think they are, threatening us?"

"It will be fine," I said and exhaled through my nose. They didn't seem eager enough to attempt to attack us, but for as long as we were going to be in the town, they were going to have their eyes on us. So we'd have to be a bit more pragmatic in how we approach things. "If it is their turf, then they'll not want to bloody the soil with our blood - they are just bullying us away."

"Apparently, it's not a big fuckin' deal that you haven't bitten yet," Angelus walked up beside me and nudged me in the arm. "Arsehole, you didn't think to mention that you haven't had your first blood?"

I furrowed my brow as I looked at him, and I was taken aback that there was some kind of mania or fury in his eyes. He glared at me as if I had committed some cardinal sin. "It's something I have chosen. It seemed to make the process of becoming what I am now easier." He had known me long after I had my original first bite, but he had seen enough in his time from others to know what it truly entailed.

"Yeah, an' how long do you expect to keep that up for?" He shook his head, seeming to be wrestling with some thought in his mind.

"As long as I can," I told him honestly. My earnest words seemed to calm him somewhat, and he deflated and exhaled.

"Alright, well, fuck you, Victor. You know what?" He stopped and shook his head, before looking me up and down. "I'm going to go off to the shops, get some really important shite. Meet you back at the house, okay?"

I nodded.

"Oh, can I come too?" Jakob lifted his hood up, and the Guardian gestured for the Ranger to follow along.

Florence watched them leave and then turned to me, slight worry in her face. "Is it really that big of a deal that you haven't bitten yet?"

"Not... exactly," I turned my eyes back to the Guild, where the four adventurers were now filtering into the building. "It will become a problem when I do take my first bite, but that is a day I hope doesn't darken our doorsteps anytime soon."

She shrugged and seemed content enough with that answer. "So, what now?"

"I don't believe we should head off to fight the giant rat anytime soon. I would say that we at least need another day's rest and some stomachs full of warm food." While our bodies might be mostly recovered, we needed to give our souls a chance at respite too.

She nodded and seemed to perk up a little bit at this idea. "Sounds good."

As we traveled through the slight drizzle of the overcast sky, I kept my eyes out for any shadowed figures in the alleyways or unscrupulous-looking entities that may be lurking within the otherwise unassuming town. But I found nothing, which was both relieving, yet an annoyance. Returning to the shack that we now called home, I let out a deep sigh as the door closed. I found that lately, I had been sighing a lot—something borne of exasperation and acceptance of how terrible life could be at this present stage. Slightly better than the boredom that I had lived through before.

Angelos had most of the coin to spend, so I had assumed between him and Jakob, the pair would have the wherewithal to get us food and supplies. Anything else important we could pick up the next day when we had rested more. I limbered up my shoulders and turned to the Mage. "Right, I haven't seen you use that sword yet. It's time for us to get some training in."

She wrinkled up her face. "If we have the time. I'm not too keen on the idea of it, I'm honest with you".

"It's best that you work with what you're more comfortable with." I nodded to her. "But in time, it will be a handy thing to know. It's always good to have aces up your sleeves and ways to get out of situations." The gods above knew that anyone of power would be tested, and if you were inflexible, then you would soon break.

She drew the sword from its scabbard and held it up, pulling a face at the clean blade. "Alright, then."

I put my hands behind my back, clasping them together with a grin. "Hit me with the sword."

"You're not going to arm or defend yourself too?"

"It's fine," I said. "You won't be able to hit me."

She shrugged but didn't seem convinced of the idea. Her brow furrowed as she got into the right mindset. She arranged herself in an offensive stance, and with a sharp intake of breath, she leaped towards me and slashed down with the blade.

Blood seeped through my shirt as the gash she rendered cut through my skin, causing crimson streams to run down the blade.

She looked at me with shock and dropped the blade.