Chapter 62

Heavy pads pushed back the leveler’s head and a splash of water hit him across the face.

“Is that enough? You’d think he’d have woken up by now.”

“I did throw him around pretty hard. I’m surprised he isn’t more injured. Must be his Skills.”

“Tch, levelers ... Oh look, I think he’s coming around.”

Opal lowered the cup of water she was preparing to throw at the leveler and stepped back.

A bleary Adlen slowly opened his eyes, he didn’t seem to understand where he was or what was happening. A low groan escaped his lips and he squeezed his lids back shut as the light of the Ranker’s quarters hit his eyes.

“It huuurts. Gods, why do I feel like someone dropped a galloping centaur on me? What- what’s happening? I’m tied? What the f-”

“You’re our captive!” said Opal cheerily, “You belong to us monsters now!”

Adlen cracked one eye and peered at the Goblin. “I ... remember you, you were with that horrible thing that- that...” his eye slowly wandered over to a black furred leg and then up and then up some more, until both eyes were open and he was leaning back in his chair as Rain loomed at him, menacingly.

“Tell me about Lira, what is she? A monster? Is she like me?” he growled.

“I- I don’t know what you’re talking about! Let me out of this at once! I- I’m not your slave! Levelers can’t be slaves, only monsters!”

Opal scoffed. “You really think that? All that is needed is a collar...” Her eyes drifted to the leveler’s neck where Red’s collar had been placed, a tight snug fit.

Adlen’s throat bobbed and he tried to look down as he realised what was wrapped around his throat, his face paling.

“You can’t do this to me! You can’t!” Adlen began struggling against his binds, already hyperventilating, but he didn’t make any headway in escaping, unsurprising considering how layered in chain he was. Rain hadn’t wanted to take any chances and the leveler was practically swaddled in metal, his forearms from elbow to wrist just a bundle of chains wound around and around inches thick pinning his arms to the chair’s armrests.

“I have done this to you, you agreed to the terms and now your life is mine. Now tell me about Lira! What is she?” snarled Rain, his already worn thin patience wearing further.

“She- She’s just Lira! I don’t know! I’ve known her years, she likes to sleep around with higher levelers, not that I’m not guilty of the same, she finagled a place with some high leveler recently. She’s nobody! Now I’ve told you let me go!”

Rain squinted at the leveler, unsure if he was telling the truth.

“She ... You never noticed anything strange from her? Anything ... un-leveler like?”

“No! I don’t even know what you mean!”

“Well, He’s not very useful. Time to kill him?” said Opal, unsheathing her cutlass.

Rain worried the problem, Lira must be way past anything that someone in town could detect as being a monster, maybe even past what truth lenses could see if she was regularly coming and going. He supposed that she might have remained undetected forever had not Vaush come along.

“Get that Goblin away from me!” cried Adlen as Opal stepped toward him, flourishing her blade.

Rain held up a paw in front of her.

“Wait. Adlen, tell me about Brax and Myra and Eliza. Where are they?”

Adlen stared at him. “Is- is this all a setup? Wait, wait, did Brax have you do this? Oh gods that evil fuck, I knew he had it out for me!”

Rain made a cutting motion, getting frustrated, “No. I want to kill Brax, tell me what you know and maybe Opal here won’t stick that sword in you.”

Adlen eyed the cutlass which waved excitedly in front of him.

“Brax and Myra left town, they dropped everything and went back to their family in the city, in Florens.”

A gasp came from behind Adlen and Rain looked up to see Lyra with her hand over her mouth. He raised a brow questioningly.

“F-Florens is my home city ... they went ... and that means you’re going to ... oh, oh no, I feel faint...”

“Calm down sheepy, it’s just us.”

“Just you and-! I have family there, and he, he could...”

“Do you really think I’m going to harm your family?” said Rain.

“No, yes, maybe, I don’t know!”

Rain stared at her for a moment more before turning back to Adlen.

“Why did they leave?”

“They never told me, they just left suddenly, something Eliza said, I think. Brax’s family is well off, strong, Lynthia is really just a summer get away for him, the wealthy families of Florens send their young out to smaller dungeons because Florens’ dungeon is so dangerous.”

“Name of his family.”

“The Fenhorns.”

Rain turned back to Lyra, it took her a moment to compose herself.

“Y-yes, I’ve heard of them, they’re known for their charity, part of a collective that try to help low levelers become stronger. They’re good people, my- well it’s not important, they are some of the kinder levelers I’ve known.”

“That ... does not sound like Brax. Brax and ‘kind’ do not belong together in the same sentence.”

Lyra shrugged helplessly, “All families have their wild child.”

He turned back to Adlen. “Not enough. Tell me more.”

“I- I don’t know more, I don’t even know what you want with them!”

“I want to kill them. Tell me more.”

“Myra, that vindictive bitch, there’s something wrong with her she’s wrong in the head- I-”

“I already know that, it was you who jumped into her arms. Tell me something else.”

“Eliza lucked into a water mage type Class, a good one she’s-”

“Something else.”

“I don’t know! Brax! He’s got more than one Class!”

Rain paused at that, unsure if he had heard right.

“ ... What did you just say?”

“Why do you think he’s the special one they pour so much into? He’s the big hope of his family, the one to break them into the higher ranks of the city, he’s never been serious while he was here in Lynthia, it was all just a silly game to him!”

Rain glanced from the tied down leveler to Lyra. “Is ... Is that possible?”

Lyra hesitated. “Sometimes, but it’s rare, really rare, you’d only come across it in the cities where there are so many people. It’s kind of a big deal as it generally a guarantee someone will become a high leveler. The Fenhorns probably have some secret way to increase their chances of managing it if I had to guess, the family dynasties know things we never get to hear about.”

“Wait...” said Adlen slowly, “how did you know I was with Myra?”

“It’s not important. Tell me more of Brax.”

“No, I don’t think I will, you’re clearly working for someone who knows me.”

“Tell me more or I will kill you.”

Adlen suddenly eased his struggling against his binds and glared up at Rain. “No. You won’t.”

Rain’s eyes widened and his head snapped to the side as gale-force wind came from the end of the room. Adlen’s spear which had been tossed aside was roaring to life and lifting up into the air, then it began spinning, faster and faster, becoming a blurry cutting disc. Somehow the leveler didn’t need to touch the thing to make it work.

Fortunately, they had a backup plan.