Chapter 58

I’m-” Rain glanced at Lyra who was desperately making little cutting motions with her hand. “I have levels enough. In my culture we keep the specifics private, this open sharing of a person’s numbers is strange to me.”

The Halfling tilted her head. “Huh, well I suppose that’s fair. I guess I’ll just have to imagine how strong you are.” She ran her eyes over his body and bit her lip. “That won’t be very hard.”

Rain squinted at Lira. She was just so- she just didn’t seem to care at all ... It was ... strange. He couldn’t help but feel that there was something wrong with this situation, a subtle animal instinct warning him to be wary. But then perhaps he was just so used to people reacting poorly to him that coming across someone who seemed entirely unafraid was setting him off balance.

A gasp drew his attention away from the Halfling. Someone other than himself was causing unrest amongst the market crowd, someone pushing others out of the way.

A man with his rear to Rain appeared, walking backwards, pulling something across the ground. The crowd shifted and it came into a view, a Human woman, a woman wearing a corset and a torn blouse. She was being dragged, struggling to keep herself up on all fours but more often than not falling down as the man hauled on her long black hair roughly held in fist. Judging by the state of her clothing she was most likely a low leveler, in fact Rain thought he vaguely recognised her from his past life, although it was difficult to tell with how swollen and bruised her face was.

The man snorted in disgust as she slipped and twisted her wrist on the cobble, she whimpered in pain. He pulled back on her hair, tilting her head up and grasped her chin with a gloved hand.

“Do you want to go back to the low leveler’s quarter?”

The woman looked up at him with tears in her eyes.

“N-no ... I, want to be with you, you’re so ... high leveled! One of the highest!”

“I am. And I’m growing stronger, you should want to be with me, I’m an up and comer, a prodigy. Don’t be like the others, don’t be like Myra, you’ll stay with me no matter if someone comes along with more levels than me, you will, I know you will.”

He stared at the woman’s wide and terrified eyes for a moment longer and then released her. She fell back with a sob.

“What are you doing Adlen?” said Lira. The blonde haired Halfling had her hands on her hips, a dangerous tone to her voice.

Rain’s eye twitched as the man turned and Rain saw his face for the first time. Tall, curly black hair, a body like a sculpted idealization, a metal spear with a patterned blade on his back. It was Adlen, another one of his murderers.

Rain planned his path of attack. Lira was turned away from him, he would lunge forward, teeth taking her in the back of the neck, bite down hard and fast, end her quickly, then keeping his momentum he would leap, tackle Adlen, taking him to ground before he knew what was happening and then ripping and tearing until there was nothing left.

He stared unblinking, every monstrous and predatory instinct in him screaming at him to do it, kill them, kill them now!

The problem was what came after. He glanced around. There were a lot of people in this market, many of them mid level and likely a few higher leveled. Nothing would unify them into one deadly combative force like seeing an out of control monster killing their own. Rain knew he was strong, but he also knew he wasn’t that strong. Killing Adlen and Lira right here right now would be a death sentence, he glanced at Lyra and Opal, and most likely not just for him. He clamped down on his fury, boxing it away as best he could for the moment. The box was already starting to show signs of breaking apart.

“Lira what the hell is that with you? Did you get a new slave? How did you even swing getting a giant thing like that in?”

“Leveler, Adlen, this one here is a leveler. Why are you being so rude? And more importantly what are you doing with that woman?”

Adlen stared at her then stared at the hulking wolf monster, then back at Lira.

“What are you blathering about you silly Halfling, that is not a leveler, there’s no fucking way. No, just no.”

Rain had been waiting for this. He took a step forward. Both of them looked at him in surprise.

“Are you calling me a monster?” he growled.

Adlen looked at Rain warily, not liking that this stranger was taking the aggressive stance.

“I’m not calling you a monster, you are a monster, obviously, and a pretty stupid one if you can’t even understand that. Piss off back to your master and stop bothering us.”

“In my culture calling someone a monster is a grave insult. If you’re so sure of your word then duel me, if I win then you will swallow your pride, grovel, and apologise for what you said. Of course a leveler like yourself isn’t afraid to fight an apparent monster like me right?” Rain pulled back his lips flashing his canines in a wolfish grin.

“What?” said Adlen, clearly baffled that the monster hadn’t shut up and gone away yet. Slaves just didn’t talk back like this. “I’m not duelling a monster, don’t be ridiculous. Why am I even talking to you? I doubt you even understand what you’re suggesting!”

“Do you lack the will to uphold your own word? Are you walking back what you said?”

Adlen scowled in irritation. “No-

“Master, why is this leveler so afraid of you? Did his spine fall out his butthole like you said can happen sometimes?” said Opal with big innocent eyes.

Adlen’s fists clenched as Opal spoke and his face started to redden. “First you, now some Goblin filth dares-”

“Should we look around and see if we can find it master? Maybe we can put it back up his butt, then maybe he won’t be such a floppy wet dildo!” Opal began looking around, as though hunting for Adlen’s missing spine, this drew a few sniggers from the crowd which flushed Adlen’s cheeks with white hot fury. He looked like he was about to attack the Goblin so Rain interjected.

“Duel me.” he growled, putting it simply.

“You should do it Adlen,” said Lira, “It’s the right thing to do, maybe you’ll learn a lesson about running your mouth!”

Rain glanced down at the Halfling ... Why was she helping him? Did she truly believe he was a leveler? He wasn’t sure that was the case but having her help for the moment was useful.

“Lira, stop sticking your nose in. I’m not being dragged into this nonsense when literally everyone can clearly see that thing is a monster!”

“So how was he let into town? The guards check everyone who comes by with a level orb. How do you explain that?”

Adlen glared at the Halfling, infuriated by her point. “He obviously was allowed in as a slave.”