1.48 R

“Hey.”

“Um, hi, Ryoka. What’s up?”

“Nothing much. See that person? The one in the silver armor? She challenged me to a fight.”

“Ryoka? Did you do something to make her—um, mad?”

“I don’t think so. Not yet, anyways. She challenged me to a ‘friendly’ match. I accepted. Why?”

“Oh. Nothing. It’s just—that’s Yvlon Byres, Captain of the Silver Spears. She’s famous around here.”

“So I’m told.”

“And she challenged you. To a fight?”

“Well, a sparring match. I was the one who wanted to turn it into a fight.”

“Why?”

“I—just want to push her face in a bit, don’t you? She’s a bit too beautiful and perfect.”

“That’s it?”

“Yup.”

“Ryoka, that’s—I know Yvlon. Her group, the Silver Spears, helped chase off a group of bandits that was attacking me once. And I’ve heard of her. She’s a really good person! She’s nice, she gives to the poor, her team takes on requests to help people even if the reward isn’t high—”

“I get it. She’s a great person. A popular girl. Someone everyone likes.”

“You don’t think she’s like that?”

“Maybe. Maybe not. She just—reminds me of people I don’t like. And she looks too nice for an adventurer. I don’t like nice people. They’re always hiding something. It’s always a mask, right? Like Fals.”

“That doesn’t make any sense. Fals is—he has his faults, but he’s not a bad person. There’re good folk out there. Like—like the Horns.”

“I guess. Maybe. Shame we won’t ever find out the truth. Alright, I’m ready.”

“She looks way too attractive, that’s all.”

“You both look like—like princesses!”

“You do. You both look—way better than I do. Or Persua. Or anyone, really. I don’t see why you want to fight her.”

“She wants to test me, too. She’s working for Magnolia.”

“She’s related to Lady Magnolia, Ryoka.”

“Hrm.”

“You know she once took on five men and won, right? She did it barehanded.”

“With armor though, right? Not exactly barehanded. You try punching out someone in plate armor. I bet those [Bandits] could have taken her on without the armor. I can—even if she’s got it on.”

“It was still five people, Ryoka! Most adventurers couldn’t do that with a weapon!”

“Warming up.”

“Interesting. You’re quite limber. Was that supposed to help you fight?”

“You don’t stretch before a fight?”

“Not like that. I don’t think any warriors I know would do that—especially not in front of an audience.”

“Shame. One more advantage for me, then.”

“Pardon me. I was just reassuring your friends that this friendly exhibition would not be harmful to you. If you’ll allow me a minute, I’ll remove my armor.”

“You can leave your armor on. The gauntlets too.”

“I wouldn’t want to hurt you.”

“It won’t be me that gets hurt.”

“Ryoka, don’t be an idiot!”

“Are you insane? You can’t fight someone in armor! Yvlon is a Silver-rank captain. Even if she pulls her punches, she’ll hurt you. This is just a sparring match—neither of you are supposed to get hurt.”

“Really? Then let’s make it a serious fight.”

“Yvlon is not someone to take lightly, Ryoka. She’s honorable, proud—even if she is being patient. Stop being so rude.”

“I’m taking her seriously, believe me. But I want to see what fighting someone in armor is like. And besides…you’ve never seen me fight, have you?”

“No—but—”

“Trust me.”

“If Miss Ryoka Griffin says she’s confident, I will trust her word, Ceria.”

“I am afraid Ceria is right though, Ryoka. I would hate for you to break your hands on my armor or for me to cut your face with my gauntlets. I am sure I would be able to give you a fair fight even without my armor.”

“It’s fine. You’re not wearing a helmet anyways.”

“Very well. I am told you practice some sort of unarmed fighting? You said it was…MMA? I confess that I have only a bit of formal training myself. Much of what I know is self-taught.”

“Yeah. I practice Mixed Martial Arts. Muay Thai.”

“And you are a skilled practitioner of this…Muay Thai?”

“Where I come from, yeah.”

“Then shall we begin? I believe it would be only courteous to allow you the first strike.”

“I understand your pride, Ryoka Griffin, but we adventurers have our own dignity. You underestimate us at your peril. Are you sure you wouldn’t like me to remove my armor?”

“I’m going to get serious now.”

“Well.”

“What was that?”

“Those were throws. Special moves to take down an opponent. Haven’t you ever seen someone tossing an opponent to the ground before?”

“Well, yeah, of course, but…”

“You made it look so easy. Yvlon was in armor, and you just threw her to the ground—twice!”

“It would have been better if I’d kept her down.”

“You knocked down a Silver-rank Captain. Anyone would be proud of that.”

“Yeah. And I got to hit her.”

“Those last two punches were unnecessary.”

“You didn’t need to hit her that many times. This was supposed to be a gentle spar, not you trying to break her jaw.”

“Oops.”

“You see, it’s not as if we’re hurting for money or jobs at the moment. There’s always work, and we can brave the Ruins of Albez for quite a profit most of the time. But it’s not sustainable in the long run.”

“Adventuring isn’t easy at our level. We’re just good enough that it’s not worth our time to take requests clearing out Goblin tribes unless they’re really big—but we don’t have the strength to take on the stronger types of monsters. Sooner or later, our luck runs out and we take an injury we can’t heal up from—or die. That’s why these new ruins might be our break. If we can get in there and find some serious magical artifacts or equipment, we could easily reach Gold-rank.”

“The only question is whether the risks in this case are worth the reward. So far, Cervial’s team—the Flawless Flights—mine, and Calruz’s are the only ones who are willing to go in first.”

“It took some doing, but Ceria convinced me that the ruins could be loaded with ancient artifacts. They’re quite similar to ancient crypts apparently.”

“Still, we’re going in carefully. Both Yvlon and I are only doing this for the treasure.”

“What about Calruz, then?”

“He just wants the challenge. That stupid Minotaur doesn’t care what enemies he’s fighting so long as he can gain experience from it. He’s an old-fashioned type. Death or glory with no in between. Not like the rest of us.”

“What’s the level difference between a Silver-ranked adventurer and a Gold-rank?”

“The difference? Well—it could be just a few levels depending on their equipment. Remember, in most cases it’s the entire party who gets the Gold-rank. I guess Silver-rank is mostly in the low twenties at best while Gold-rank is anywhere from Level 24 onwards.”

“Of course, individual skill still plays a pretty big role.”

“Calruz isn’t 30, but he’s damn close. He’s also a Minotaur. He could have found his way onto a Gold-rank team, but he wanted to be in command.”

“You. Runner. Move.”

“O-oh. Sure.”

“Hold it, Calruz. You can’t just order someone to leave. Pull up a chair or sit at the other end of the table.”

“She is no warrior. This place is reserved for adventurers, not mere Runners.”

“I—I can go. It’s no problem. I didn’t want to get in the way—”

“You stubborn idiot. Let Garia sit. For a Minotaur who talks about honor, you certainly don’t have much when it comes to non-warriors.”

“I’m defending the integrity of—”

“Oh shut up, Calruz. Is it honorable to bully someone who runs deliveries for people like us? Is that what a proud member of the House of Minos’ Beriad does? Sit down.”

“Honor is for those who earn it. I don’t know this Runner’s character.”

“Your skill at unarmed fighting is quite incredible. I can see how it would be useful keeping away bandits and Goblins.”

“Mm?”

“It helps.”

“You wouldn’t happen to be able to use any other weapons besides your fists, would you? A bow, for example?”

“Wait a second, Cervial, if you’re going to recruit Ryoka, the Horns of Hammerad have the right to make the first offer.”

“I don’t use weapons. And I’m not interested.”

“A shame. But I hope if you see a request from us you’ll consider taking it. In fact, if you’d like, we could arrange to request deliveries from you alone if you’re ever in the same area as we are.”

“Why? Any Runner can deliver healing potions.”

“But no one has the guts to do it when there’s a Lich raining spells down on our heads.”

“Being an adventurer is all about finding trustworthy contacts. Good Runners like you for instance—having someone to rely on when we’re out exploring dungeons is far better than requesting an emergency delivery and hoping the Runner we get is competent.”

“Not that we ever plan to get in trouble of course, but when we’re in a pinch…at our level, we need to forge friendships and build up our group. It’s not something people think about, but there’s really no other way to survive. We trust each other with our backs or we’ll fall together.”

“You sound like a bunch of Runners when you say it like that.”

“Really? That’s not a good thing, usually. The Runner’s Guild and the Adventurer’s Guild don’t get along. They think we’re all muscle-bound idiots, and we think they’re—”

“Cowards.”

“I wouldn’t say cowards.”

“Not all of you. It’s just that it’s an unfortunate comparison to make, Ryoka.”

“Seems accurate to me.”

“Really? And which Runners do we sound like?”

“You don’t challenge a Minotaur to a fight. What are you thinking? Are you even thinking?”

“Guy named Fals. He says the same things as you do. Runners have to band together in order to survive. Sacrifice the good of the individual for the group. ‘Work together or die.’”

“I can agree with that. And I know Fals. He’s no coward, although he does represent most of the things I dislike about the Runner’s Guild. But he’s not wrong. It’s a tough world. Yet you seem to disagree?”

“I’m not a team player.”

“Well, in any case, if you’d like to work for any of our teams, we’d be happy to set up an arrangement. With your skills, we wouldn’t have to worry about you being chased off by monsters. In fact, if you’d like to join our expedition to the ruins around Liscor to deliver supplies, we could work out a deal.”

“Ceria, what did you want to say?”

“Nothing much, Cervial. I just wanted to apologize for Ryoka’s conduct. You too, Yvlon.”

“She’s better at fighting than I thought. I did agree to challenge her.”

“I know she’s making a bad impression. I think she’s—rattled from the High Passes.”

“Rattled?”

“She ran in this morning, after running from just outside of Celum all the way here. Nonstop. She nearly got killed by the monsters, and I think—she’s a great Runner. Saved our lives.”

“I can see why, with her moves.”

“I think…it would be best to have given her some room. That idiot Calruz is crowding her up. And you know Magnolia Reinhart was doing something with her.”

“My aunt is insistent. When you put it like that—”

“Does that mean she hasn’t slept for at least a day? And then she ran over here and picked a fight with a Silver-rank Captain? She’s got the attitude of a Gold-ranker.”

“Ego, too. But give her a bit. She’s rough—but who isn’t? Besides, she had her legs smashed with a wagon two weeks ago.”

“She what?”

“When you put it like that, I imagine I’d be biting mad at everyone. Thanks for letting us know, Ceria. No wonder Calruz and Gerial speak so highly of you.”

“Just interjecting some common sense.”

“Maybe we let Ryoka cool off? Gerial, why are you here? I told you to grab Calruz. If he makes a joke about her breasts—”

“He shoved me off. He and Ryoka were just talking punches and kicks. He’s good at it, you know.”

“What? They were getting into it.”

“You sack of tree sap, Gerial. I told you to grab him before—”

“I’m not saying you’re inferior in technique. But size matters, and so do Skills. Do you have any in hand-to-hand combat? I thought not. You see, Runner Garia, it’s all commendable. But a warrior is a warrior, a Runner, a Runner. Even Ryoka Griffin would do well to run from any monsters she encounters. Her fists would not be enough to allow her survival in Liscor’s ruins.”

“You don’t think I can defend myself? You saw me fight.”

“I am merely stating the truth. Your fists would do little against most monsters my team faces. Less, since you are female and thus weaker.”

“Is it not the truth? Humans are weaker than Minotaurs by birth. So too are you women weaker than men.”

“Really. That’s what you think?”

“Calruz. Why don’t you shut up? Ryoka, let us get this idiot out of your face. We’ll give you a—”

“Right. Your turn. Bring it on.”

“You. You, Ryoka Griffin, wish to fight me?”

“Ryoka. This isn’t a good idea.”

“I’m dead serious. Fight me. Unless you’re afraid you’ll lose?”

“You idiot.”

“You heard what he said about females.”

“I did. And he’s got a point even if he did make it in the most bull-headed way possible. But that’s Calruz. And even if he’s being an idiot, there’s a big difference between calling him on it and challenging him to a fight. You know you’re going to lose, right?”

“Not necessarily.”

“Help me talk sense to her?”

“Ceria is right, Ryoka. There’s bravado, and then there’s—this. Fighting me in armor is one thing, but Calruz is a Minotaur. He could rip my head off in unarmed combat without trying.”

“And he will if he makes a mistake.”

“I guess I’ve just got to dodge, then.”

“Besides, I wanted to challenge him from the start. See how far I can go.”

“How about into the ground when he puts you there? Ryoka! He’s got to weigh at least two hundred pounds more than you do!”

“Size isn’t everything.”

“It’s pretty cursed important in a fight!”

“Potions don’t fix shattered bones! You know that. And you get him mad—”

“Look, I’m going to do it. You want to let me focus or go away and shut up?”

“If you’re going to do this—give it all you’ve got on the first shot.”

“He’s going to take every hit just to show he can. It’s a Minotaur thing—a sign of disrespect. And…courtship.”

“Great.”

“What is it?”

“You—you’re smiling.”

“What you are attempting is folly, Ryoka Griffin. There are some things that cannot be surpassed.”

“Oh really? Let’s see what you say in a few minutes.”

“As you wish.”

“Hold it!”

“Calm down, Calruz! Hold still, dead gods damn it!”

“You’ve made your point, Ryoka. No one’s underestimating you. Let’s stop before someone gets seriously hurt.”

“No. Let’s keep going.”

“Are you crazy?”

“I’m not done. Let Calruz go. I’ll take him on.”

“Enough!”

“Gerial, get your captain under control. And you, girl, back down!”

“This was a ridiculous display. What are you both doing? The Adventurer’s Guild is not a place for anything but training spars, much less unarmed foolishness.”

“You’re a hothead Runner, and challenging a Minotaur just proves how idiotic you are. No matter how good you are with your fists, it won’t help you against monsters. You’ve seen the ones in the High Passes. Swords and even battleaxes don’t work on their hides.”

“I survived.”

“Must’ve been a miracle, then. The way you act, I’m surprised you haven’t offed yourself already. You’re either suicidal or an idiot. Even adventurers don’t pull stunts like this.”

“I don’t need an axe to do my job. And I don’t need you to tell me what to do. Back off. I’ll take on Calruz without you lot getting in the way.”

“You blind, arrogant—if Ceria hadn’t jumped in the way, he would have crushed your head like a fruit. You can’t take him. Back down.”

“I can still fight.”

“Even if you were Level 20, he’d still be able to crush you like a bug! And you’re no warrior. You don’t have any fighting Skills that I saw—”

“I don’t need Skills to fight.”

“But you don’t even have any levels.”

“I don’t understand. And truthfully, I didn’t believe my aunt when she told me that. But it is true, isn’t it? I couldn’t believe it until just now, but it must be true. You don’t have any levels or any classes at all, do you?”

“Not one.”

“[Appraisal]. It’s a Skill that [Marksmen] get sometimes. I can’t see your level or your class.”

“No levels?”

“Why?”

“Is she some kind of demi-human—no, a monster?”

“Who wouldn’t level? Is she a fool?”

“Cursed?”

“I don’t need levels to fight.”

“What are you, an idiot? How would you survive a second against a monster without levels?”

“It’s not about levels. Your stupid little system doesn’t interest me. I don’t believe in needing levels or classes. It’s all stupid, and it makes you cowards. Silver-rank? Gold-rank? You just use those words because you don’t have the guts to fight.”

“I survived the High Passes without a single level. I did it because I wasn’t afraid and needed half a dozen people in armor to hold my hand. And if you lot had any guts, you wouldn’t sit around whining about how a bunch of unexplored ruins are too dangerous.”

“You truly believe you can surpass the rest of us without needing to level don’t you?”

“What arrogance.”

“Really? Arrogance? All I see are people too afraid to do anything until they level up. People who have to hide in a group to cover how pitiful they are.”

“I’ll take you on one by one or all at once. Come on. Fight me.”

“Enough!”

“You’re talking nonsense. But I won’t let you stand here and get yourself hurt. Stop this or I’ll have to use magic—”

“You tread on Ceria’s honor. For that, I should challenge you to a duel with real weapons.”

“I’ll take you on.”

“You are not worth the time it would take.”

“I didn’t think you were a coward, Calruz.”

“I was mistaken about you. You are no warrior. You are just a bully who wants something to hit.”

“Calruz! Fight me! Come back here, you coward! Are you afraid?”

“Enough! I won’t stand here and listen to this. If you want a fight, try your fists against my axe, girl.”

“Bring it.”

“Enough. Restrain yourself, Ryoka Griffin.”

“[Silence].”

“I don’t know what it must have been like, going through the High Passes. You didn’t have more than scrapes on you, but Eater Goats, Gargoyles?”

“It has to rattle you. Tree rot, getting my leg broken would be enough to put me out of shape for a month. I get it. But—there’s no excuse for just lashing out. You know Hunt, our teammate? He gets raving drunk. Calruz has nearly kicked him out several times. Not because he’s incompetent or a fool—because he gets into fights when he’s drunk. Even if he’s drunk, it’s not an excuse. You get me?”

“Yvlon Byres is a good adventurer. In the shadow of her brother, who’s some famous [Knight] with a Gold-rank team. I’ve never met him, but I know she comes across as snooty. Well, she’s allowed to be. You’re allowed to not like that and even give her a punch, maybe. But at what point is it not her fault?”

“I’ve seen a lot of arrogance in my time. Mostly from Humans, but from every people, including my own. But someone who rejects the way the world works just because she doesn’t like it—that’s new. It’s been a while since I was hit by someone I call a friend as well.”

“If you want to keep fighting everyone who reaches out to help you, I’ll put a flower on your grave. But until then, get your stupid Human head back in order. You’re lucky—very lucky that Calruz is honorable and that the other adventurers listened to Yvlon and Cervial, or you might have suffered quite a bit.”

“I get it, Ryoka. I do. But you’re even more hotheaded than Calruz. And yes, some of that was his fault, but that was fairly disgraceful.”

“No. Be silent. I am angry at you, Ryoka. And I am leaving until that anger is gone. The Horns of Hammerad and the other adventurers are heading to the ruins in Liscor. All of us. At least you stirred the crowd up—Gregor and Menes are back with us. But that doesn’t change what just happened.”

“May we meet in new forests, Ryoka Griffin. If you want to talk…find us in Liscor. But do any of that again and I’ll take you to task, not Calruz or Yvlon. And I don’t punch.”