Chapter 59

As Lyra and Opal worked the crowd one particularly enthusiastic male Elf tried to push papers into Opal’s bag. Opal snatched the bag away, scowling at him.

“What is that? Stop trying to put your trash in my bag!”

Lyra plucked up one of the papers. It was a PLH contract, Power Leveling Hours, the alternative currency to coinage.

Annoyed, she thrust the paper back into his hands.

“How are you going to bet PLH? That doesn’t make any sense!”

The Elf gave her a charming smile, his red hair perfectly coiffed. “Well if it goes my way you would be helping me level, in the dungeon, just us together. Or hey, if I lose I would of course help you, if only for half the time since you are claiming two to one odds. Alas, it would be less time, but anytime with you would have ... great value to me.”

Lyra’s hand edged toward her face in an instinctive facepalm, with difficulty she restrained herself. Godsdamned horny Elves, she was embarrassed to count herself as half of one at times.

“According to that contract I’m lower level than you, and I’m not even a real combat Class, sorry but no, you can’t power level someone stronger than you, and I’m not taking these anyway! Bet real gold if you want to bet. Opal, next!”

“W-wait, hold on now, we don’t have to level, we could-”

“She said no Elfy!” Opal kicked him in the shin and turned away.

The Elf looked down at his shin more in surprise that a Goblin slave had the audacity to touch him than pain. By the time he looked up again Lyra and Opal had moved on and were surrounded by people trying to throw money at them.

Meanwhile, in the center of the square surrounded by the crowd, Adlen was cracking his knuckles and rolling his neck. He put a hand on a knee and leaned to the side, then the other, stretching out and easing his muscles, loosening up, shaking out his limbs and then going through various martial motions with his spear.

Rain watched the tip of the spear as it swung. Not so long ago it had been used to cut him apart, painted red with the last of his life. Adlen continued to move, performing stretches, practising smooth languid strikes. The more this continued, and the more Adlen ignored him, the angrier Rain got, it was like he was being mocked. The box in his mind splintered and came apart. He could no longer hold it back.

“Get on with it,” snarled Rain causing the crowd nearest him to step back in alarm. He tensed and untensed his paws, rolling his claws, eager to lay into this HUMAN, he could practically feel the wounds of his death, missing arms, spilled guts, ghostly apparitions that marred his body, prickling at his nerves, like little clawed demon hands picking and pulling at his mind. This one had done this to him, ended him, disfigured him, mutilated him. Adlen had-. He could feel his memories crawling up his back, trying to drag him down, down into the suffocating darkness.

“Warrior’s value preparation, maybe you could learn something,” said Adlen with a sneer, spinning his spear as he warmed up.

“I’m not a warrior,” said Rain, his voice dark. “I am a killer. A predator.”

Adlen paused at that and really gave Rain his attention. He didn’t seem to like what he saw. A little doubt seeped into his expression. He shook his head, this was just another fight with yet another monster, if a particularly threatening looking one with eyes that- well, it didn’t matter. He settled himself and then turned to his side where the woman he had brought with him sat. He raised an eyebrow and tapped the butt of his spear against her until she was forced to move, scuttling on all fours to the edge of the crowd. He caught her attention and wagged a finger at her.

“Wish me luck.”

“G-good luck!” whimpered the woman.

“Really Adlen?” said Lira, folding her arms and giving him a disappointed look.

“Oh fuck off Lira, it’s not like you haven’t been dropped like a sack of shit before. Where’s Brax hmm? Yeah, I thought so. I’m just ensuring long term loyalty, you should do the same with some low leveler guy.”

“I have some self respect. If you care so much then why don’t you spend more time trying to level up?”

Adlen glared at her but didn’t reply, instead he dropped into position, spear held at the ready by his side and faced Rain. “Maybe that’s how this will end,” he muttered.

Lyra appeared to one side, arms raised in the air again, drawing attention.

“We’ll have a nice clean fight!”

Rain gave her a look.

“Er, well a moderately dirty fight! Ready! Set! Go!” she finished the last bit in a rush and leapt back into the crowd.

Rain dropped his center of balance forward, angling his legs, the claws on his feet tearing up the cobble. He powered forward hard, leaping into the air, his entire huge mass going airborne, claws outstretched reaching for Adlen, maw ready to snap down.

The problem was that Adlen was already in motion, activating a Skill that released a store of momentum built up from his warm up he accelerated at an incredible speed. The butt of his all metal spear struck the cobble in a flash of sparks and he violently shoved himself to the side, out of Rain’s path, then pivoting on his heel as smoothly as a dancer he twisted and sent the deadly blade of his spear whipping toward Rain.

Rain had only a moment to understand by just how much he had underestimated Adlen before the razor sharp metal tore into his shoulder. It was only the instinctive jerk of his arm that stopped it from going further, knocking aside the shaft with his forearm.

He spun and crashed down, cobble shattering under his feet from the impact. Turning in the same motion he twisted and lunged for Adlen aiming to catch him unawares with his lack of reaction to being wounded, but Adlen was ready and danced backwards skipping just out of range of Rain’s claws, blood flicking off his spear.

Fast. Adlen was unbelievably fast and slippery.

Rain snarled and tried grabbing for the spear, lunging forward with each stride, if he could just wrap his paws around the shaft he could rip it from Adlen’s grasp leaving the leveler unable to harm him and completely defenseless.

Swipe, swipe, grab. Miss, miss, miss. With growing frustration Rain found his attacks thwarted again and again and again, his paws avoided or batted aside by the twirling twisting spear.