Chapter 7

Turned out finding a job at camp was harder than they first thought. Rayner tried working with the whitesmith from the caravan, but the whitesmith had plenty of assistants eager to learn the secrets of the trade by serving them.

Axel himself had little to no marketable skills to offer. Oh, he was vastly better educated than this world’s common citizens, but it wasn’t applicable or of little use.

That left the duo stuck with their cover job as bodyguards for the camp whores. There lack of use was sobering.

Even worse, the clients didn’t put up much trouble as none wanted to be banned from the comfort the whores provided. Also, if anyone was banned by the prostitutes, that individual would be kicked out of the camp.

If the whores don’t want a man’s coin, then there must be something deeply wrong.

And so, Axel sat on a chair outside of Mari’s tent, listening to her pleasure another man’s wife, desperately trying to keep himself under control.

He was a professional after all. Or at least, he was supposed to be.

Soon the cheating wife left the tent, hair and clothes madeup as if she wasn’t just being eaten out only seconds ago.

Mari came out soon after. She handed him some coin. “Your cut for today.”

“For what?”

“My client likes the idea of being peeped on by a man. As you were part of the fantasy, you should get your share.”

“Does this make me a whore now?”

“Yes!” she said cheerfully.

Mari’s face and body were plain. Nothing he’d seen of her since their first meeting a week ago changed that opinion of her.

Axel wondered how someone so plain could be a good whore. Her specialty for pleasuring woman with that extremely long tongue of hers explained some of it.

Squirming in his uncomfortable chair, Axel asked. “You have been pretty busy this past week. Are lesbian pleasures that hard to find?”

“What’s a lesbian?”

Interesting, that term didn’t exist here. “A word for girls who like girls. But that doesn’t matter. Look, this job kinda sucks.”

“You mean it’s boring. That’s the best kind. It’s easy money.”

“Yes, well, I’m still bored. There must be something else I can do. You’re supposed to provide information, but we have gotten little. What’s up?”

“You always speak so strangely. As to your information. I have plenty, just not of the sort you are looking for. The worshipers that have control of the entrance are tight-lipped. None of the prostitutes here can get close to them because they already have their own harems and entourages.”

By entourages, Mari meant men and women outside the harem hoping to catch their eyes. They had enough importance and potential that the worshipers let them follow them around as hangers-on.

Axel brushed his hand through his hair and let out a sigh. “What about training? They must train somewhere in camp.”

“Yes, but none of the worshipers who control the gate are doing so where we can meet them. It’s all the other level one worshipers or unconnected individuals.”

“By unconnected you mean worshipers not here on behalf of the Coalition church.”

Mari nodded. “Correct. The church is funding all of this. Hard to make it as a worshiper with no backing.”

This he knew from experience. Their weapons had broken several times and became their biggest expense. Grace offered them support in exchange for their presence at the brothel. If not for her, they would be as poor as the refugees.

“Oh look, it’s Rayner!” She pointed to the blond teen with a hammer swinging by his side.

Rayner carried a red-bodied corpse slumped over his shoulder. He turned to let Axel see it. It was a kobold. “Found it outside the camp.”

“They have been scouting the caravan since it entered Alta,” Axel said.

“We should take this inside. I have no more clients for today. Come in,” Mari said.

Her working tent was no different from the room she stayed in. Scented candles and oils filled the room with a pleasant aroma. They sat in a triangle, each facing one another.

Rayner threw down the corpse before speaking. “The worshipers are all so focused on the dungeon that they forget the outside is dangerous as well. I’ve been scouting with other less powerful worshipers for anything interesting while also defending the camp. My skills proved useful.”

“I hope you didn’t go on a rampage.” Axel thought of the condition the last use of Rayner’s skill put him in. They couldn’t afford to take turns falling into unconsciousness.

Rayner shook his head. “No, not in front of strangers. I might hurt them.”

Mari raised her hand. “Rampage?”

“It’s a skill that forces me to keep killing until all my enemies are dead. It gives me a stamina boost and increases my strength. I can also use a more powerful version of my Force Hammer called Hammer Fall when it is active.”

She nodded and Axel thought Rayner was giving too much information about his skills but if Mari was to prove useful, then like they had with Grace, they would need to fill her in.

“I understand the other worshipers aren’t as strong as the ones from the Coalition, but were you really that valuable?” Axel said.

“Turns out they can’t use their skills all that frequently. Their mana is low compared to mine. It’s around twenty-five or thirty at most. I took notes. You can see them later. My point is that this is something we can do to make a name for ourselves at camp.”

“But I thought we were in agreement that bringing unwanted attention to ourselves is a bad idea.”

“We are. This is attention we do want. Unless you want to fight our way into the dungeon or wait until the worshipers guarding the entrance lose control over it. Eventually the sheer number of worshipers looking to exploit it will get access.”

“By then so many worshipers will be competing with you that finding the God Rock would be difficult and keeping it until you get back to Ridgehill would be even harder,” Mari said. “I am no fighter but I have an idea how you two can catch the right attention.”

“We’re listening,” Axel said.

“Before you got here, Rayner, me and Axel were speaking of the weaker worshipers and how they support themselves. A big reason for why they aren’t rioting for a chance to get into the dungeon is because camps like this are a nexus for making connections.”

“Networking.” Axel compared it to using social media to build a group of friends that could help a job seeker or a business but Mari evidently understood the reference without understanding the source, for she nodded in agreement.

“I know what I’m going to do. I will explore the surrounding region. We know it well after having gotten lost here,” Rayner said.

“Yes, Grace told me that you two are responsible for the half-formed dungeon. Can’t believe you just left it after that,” Mari said.

“I fell ill from mana exhaustion after the fight and we had a quest to complete,” Axel said.

“Oh, I see. Well, that plan will work for you, Rayner, but Axel, my idea is for you to go to the fighting ring and spar with other worshipers.”

“By spar, you mean challenge them to a fight.”

“I do. Eventually you will catch the attention of hangers-on to the church-sanctioned worshipers. Then those people will gossip about you. Then they will invite you to hang around with them. This will be your path to the inner circle of this camp.”

“These hangers-on you two are talking about. Are you talking about those groupies that only ever talk about the worshipers?” Rayner said.

“Yes, them. Their desperation can be unsightly at times,” Mari said.

“Why is that?”

Mari’s face turned sympathetic. “Look at what happened to my country, Alta. Being close to the powerful provides protection and opportunities. I suppose many of them are failed worshipers who at least tried to provide assistance to those more talented and having failed that, they grew to accept an even lower position than the one they dreamed of.”

“So, rather than obsessive fans or thrill-seekers, they are those who have refused to accept reality. How sad.”

“We won’t be like them,” Axel said, determined.

They would not beg for acceptance. Axel would not look down on those people who did, he understood more than most the feeling of being powerless; so did Rayner. Rayner had lived his entire life trying to please his corporate masters.

“I’m all for this plan. We start tomorrow,” Axel said.

“I will be with Axel at the camp fighting ring. It will look good if he has someone to cheer him on.”

“What about your work?” Rayner said.

“Oh silly, this is a cover right now. Grace insisted this be my top priority. I’m all paid up, so to speak.”

“Good. I want your full attention, but not on me or even who I’m fighting. Watch the crowd,” Axel said.

“Understood.”

With that, they headed back to their rooms and hit the sack early. Tomorrow would be a very busy day.

The fighting ring was much more elaborate than Axel expected. It bore the appearance of a condensed stadium or gladiator ring.

A patch of land had been smoothed out for the ring. Spectators seated on the stands watched the fights from their elevated positions.

Mari was right. This was his chance to get noticed. The idea of all those eyes on him gave Axel the goosebumps after so long trying to hide.

Axel waited in line to register for a sparring match. He paid attention to others signing up. He would use this as an information-gathering operation.

Axel already had fake credentials ready, again thanks to the ever-useful Grace. When it was his turn to sign up, he told them that he worshiped a petty god with no name and was a current resident of Ridgehill.

The lady who sat at a table set up at the entrance seemed to care little for the truth of his words. She had a long line of people to process.

Hurriedly jotting down his credentials, she waved him through after giving him a number. He was number forty-three. Only number ten had finished their fight.

He was in for a wait.

The wait gave him a chance to investigate how the worshipers fought and to his delight, none that he had seen thus far compared to Ava or even Kevia.

Oh, they had skill. Their movements were well-practiced, and all held confidence gained from years of fighting but they tired quickly and many of their skills held similar traits.

A result of living under the Coalition and their few powerful gods. It meant unless a worshiper was the top tier then all others were generic. Even Axel’s meager set of skills would suffice to catch them off guard.

“Number forty-three!” a woman announced.

Not wanting to miss his chance, Axel jumped from his seat and into the fighting ring. His knees barely ached at the landing, showing his change in strength since first coming to this world.

“Take your places,” said the announcer.

A man only an inch or so shorter than himself with a long fencing blade faced him.

He wore an odd combination of armor, knee plates over his leather pants and a chainmail shirt over thick leather armor. A horned helmet gave him the look of a classic adventurer from video games.

Axel had seen enough of the worshipers around camp to figure out the reason for this. They wore special armor with special properties, most likely increased durability.

The places adventurers traveled had dangerous mana in the atmosphere. Their skills further degraded their armor and weapons, providing them with a need to buy expensive and outlandish equipment.

It explained the bikini armor he saw one woman wearing. Mari disagreed and believed some women wore it to get attention or take advantage of a special charisma effect.

Axel reoriented his focus on the upcoming fight. The announcer started a countdown. A hush fell over the crowd.

This was simply a fight between two small-time worshipers, yet it was still a sight many wanted to see.

Every man, woman, and child counted as a worshiper as they all prayed to the gods. But the term worshiper generally applied to those who actively sought out more strength or used their god-given skills for great purposes.

Any fight between combat worshipers was sure to entertain.

“Begin!” said the announcer.

The man, who the announcer introduced as Colin, attacked first. The tip of his blade sparked before he went into a thrusting stance and lunged at Axel from across the field.

It reminded Axel of Ava’s aggressive attacks. Instead of dodging, Axel waited until Colin got range then released his mana.

Colin was close enough that Axel had no need to direct the burst of mana. It radiated from him in a hazy blue burst and froze Colin.

But only for a moment. A moment was all Axel needed.

The sickly haze of Pain Knife covered Axel’s dagger and sliced at a gap of exposed skin on Colin’s shoulder.

The effects of Axel’s burst of mana gone, Colin retreated.

At first, Colin ignored the wound. Pain Knife hadn’t cut deep enough to cause significant irritation. But it would irritate.

A couple more cuts and the man would be driven mad with annoyance.

Undaunted by the early setback, Colin returned to his thrusting position. This time the spark went from the tip of his blade and snaked down to the hilt. His blade crackled and popped as the sparks traveled along the length of his weapon.