I wanted to step back but my entire body was frozen with fear, I wasn’t able to move, I wasn’t able to breathe, I could barely think. Her eyes pierced through me like the eyes of a snake eyeing its next snack.
After a moment she took a step back and I was able to breathe again. I collapsed to my knees hacking as I tried to suck up air to fill my lungs. I felt the collar on the back of my neck click off and fall to the ground. I looked up where Lurks was spinning a key ring around her index finger and walking over to each individual prisoner, as she stepped behind them she deftly placed a key into a small hole in the back of the collars and twisted it letting the collar fall down to the ground.
As she finished the last one she turned to us addressing the group once again, “Alright, we’ve dallied long enough. You have a general idea of what to expect. I guess I should at least reiterate the basics. No combative actives allowed, no making weapons either. Do either of those and ending up dead is the best outcome for you. Listen to your cell leader if you know what’s good for you. Follow those few rules and you should fit in fine.”
With that she turned and opened the door, “Go on then, I have some other business I need to take care of so go and make yourself at home.”
The prisoner closest to Lurks, a girl who didn’t look to be older than 16, stepped forward first, walking through the door. Everyone else soon followed after her.
I managed to push myself to my feet and walked past Lurks, who just gave me a friendly smile and then closed the door behind me, the door flashed on the inside with a magic rune. Some security system perhaps?
The door led into a tunnel that was pretty small. It was roughly seven feet high and just wide enough for two people to walk shoulder to shoulder if they needed to. It carried on for several dozen feet before opening into another cavern, this one much smaller in size although still quite large. It looked like it had been carved out of the stone manually rather than being naturally occurring. The Pit itself seemed naturally occurring with them having carved out the floor to create a much larger hole in the side of the gorge. I wasn’t entirely sure why they felt the need to do that, but it’s not something I particularly cared about.
Quite a few people were milling about in the main area, there were tables and chairs for people to sit at, some were eating food, some were playing cards, and some were just talking. All of them stopped to observe us as we came in.
Now that I wasn’t in view of Lurks I felt a bit more comfortable, something about her made me extremely uncomfortable. It was practically instinctual, which seemed strange cause I hadn’t really been afraid of anything except when my life was being threatened.
…
As if that wasn’t an alarming thought…
I shook my head, focusing on the situation at hand. I quickly started scanning the levels of people around us.
Most seemed to be high tier two, with a few in early tier three, level two or three. None of them looked to be particularly threatening beyond that. I wasn’t sure that I could be a tier three in a fistfight though. I could beat one while using skills and my sword.
My sword… The one thing Illesea had given me, that weapon had helped me out a lot. It could cut through anything like it was made out of butter, it was pretty insane how strong it was. Now I had to make use of other items. I could probably make something in the same vein, but nothing even remotely comparable currently. Not that I could get away with making weapons currently. No weapons.
That didn’t put me out of creating armor though, I had to wonder if using my barrier skill counted as a combative active. Maybe something I could figure out.
Someone stood up from the back of the room, he was about as tall as I was, which made him quite a bit taller than almost everyone else in the room. He was a lot more solidly built though, not quite as much as the Captain from Verdanst, but that man had quite literally been built differently. This person was more in line with what I expected from a solidly built human.
He was bald with a full goatee, and numerous tattoos and scars covered his upper body, several tattoos being cliche things like a spider or a skull. One that stuck out to me was a cross, the Christian kind. Was it a religious indication, or something else? Curious.
[Level 69³]
I took in his level and it took every ounce of discipline I had not to react to that.
Don’tacknowledgeitdon’tacknowledgeitdon’tacknowledgeitdon’tacknowledgeitdon’tacknowledgeitdon’tacknowledgeitdon’tacknowledgeitdon’tacknowledgeitdon’tacknowledgeitdon’tacknowledgeitdon’tacknowledgeitdon’tacknowledgeitdon’tacknowledgeitdon’tacknowledgeitdon’tacknowledgeitdon’tacknowledgeit.
I took a deep breath to stave off my thoughts before focusing on the man in front of me, I gave a quick glance at the group that had come in with me, the tier three from before had gone with Larks, and everyone else in this group was a tier two like myself, which was unfortunate because I knew there was about to be a power play at hand. Which meant that I was going to have to be the one to handle it since I was the strongest out of all of us. Did I really want to draw attention to myself right now? I could potentially get in favor by advertising myself as a healer, but at the same time that could just end up locking me down further as a slave to a slave.
Not something I was terribly interested in either. At the same time, I didn’t like my chances of being able to fight this guy. Sure I had beaten a tier three’s before, but those had been the exceptions, not the rule. In a fair fight, I don’t know that I really stood a chance. In the other fights I had every advantage, whether that was low stats from having just unlocked their third class, or the fact that they weren’t fighters or warriors to begin with.
My time to think was cut short as the man approached, only when he got closer did I actually notice he wasn’t alone. There was another man beside him, and he contrasted the large man pretty well… Which is just a polite way of saying he was exceptionally short. Standing at maybe 5’4”.
[Level 3⁴]
Huh…
I guess the big man was the hired muscle in this instance, I would assume literally, but I’m not sure exactly what they would use for currency here. There was probably some booming slave currency economy going on. I’m sure I was about to be introduced to it as well.
As they stepped up to us the little man was the one to start speaking, confirming my suspicions that he was the one in charge here. Though that was kind of a no-brainer.
“Well, looks like we’ve got ourselves a fresh group. I’m the one in charge here, name’s David. The oaf next to me is my right fist. He doesn’t talk much so we just call him Fist. I’ll give you all the run-down just to make things simple so there’s no misunderstandings going forward. Outside of Lurks, I’m the one that makes the rules and there are no rules here besides the ones I impose. If you have any questions about that I’m willing to clean them up now.” David finished flashing a friendly smile while Fist flexed his wrists and arms as if he were preparing for a fight.
“Looks like you all are smarter than the last group, some buffoon thought he was the next hot thing, he got his own fist fed to his teeth, and died during his first shift due to a combination of injury and exhaustion. The people in charge don’t care how efficient it is to make you work while injured, if you die that’s your problem.”
He let out a sad sigh as if he was truly torn up about it.
“It’s quite a shame honestly, but what can we do? Regardless I am a firm believer in hands-on learning, I think demonstrations are the best ways for the situation to sink in, as such a lucky winner here will get to go one one-on-one with Fist to demonstrate why we’re over here and you’re over there. Any volunteers?”
Obviously, none of us stepped forward. Not surprising. My next decision was probably stupid, and potentially arrogant. But quite frankly I was the most likely to come out of this without too much in the way of issues.
I stepped forward, flexing my one arm and my neck before I began forming a prosthetic. It was quick dirty work that I handled in the span of a couple of minutes, surprisingly they waited for me. I looked at the arm and scoffed.
It was the equivalent of the first arm I had ever made.
So absolute shit. However, I could form it much faster than a couple of hours for a real arm. So I’d just have to take it.
“Oh, I almost didn’t notice. You’re an elf? Interesting, I’ve never seen one before. I thought you all had died off or something. Gods, you are an unsightly abomination aren’t you?” He looked me up and down with a mixture of disgust and curiosity.
I frowned, “That’s the first time I’ve heard that, so you definitely get points for being unique.” I replied.
David laughed heartily, “So what are you capable of then, elf?” He enunciated the last word with disdain causing me to frown again. Overly hostile for some reason. Why? I just didn’t understand. So many people seemed to have problems despite never having seen an elf before.
“That’s a great question isn’t it, Mr. David? Thankfully your good friend Mr. Fist is about to help you find out.” I said with a light smile.
David’s eyes narrowed slightly before he sneered, “I guess he is. Fist, if you would.”
Such a cliche scenario, I couldn’t help but sigh. I reactivated my lightning passive, sparks jumped off my body as it was turned on. I took a few steps toward the lumbering Fist, little pools of electricity left in my steps that quickly faded.
There was, unfortunately, no nature here so [One With Nature] was completely useless and wouldn’t give me the perception advantage. But I was fairly certain I held the advantage in speed. I just doubted I’d be able to actually hurt him by punching him. His strength and vitality were probably through the roof. Or would it be the ground in this instance? A question for another time when Fists… Fist… Isn’t flying towards my face.
One thing that was kind of upsetting is that I couldn’t decide when my [Dodge] enhancement activated. It just activated whenever an attack came sufficiently close and I had the intention to dodge it.
I stepped past his fist, stanced myself accordingly just to the side of his arm, and then I punched with all of my strength.
My fist slammed into his stomach and then pushed me back several feet from the force.
Pain shot up through my wrist as I connected with his stomach, I danced back a couple steps shaking my arm.
“Ow ow ow, damn dude, the hell are you made out of? Tungsten?” I asked incredulously.
It was like punching a metal wall, why was he so solid? Meanwhile, David just laughed.
“You’re a speedy one, aren’t you? I don’t know that I’ve ever seen a tier two move as fast as you can, let alone actually be able to hit as hard as you. I guess elves are as dangerous as the stories say. Maybe if you were in the third tier, you’d stand a chance against Fist here. But as it is you’re unfortunately outclassed.”
He was unfortunately right about that. I genuinely just didn’t stand a chance of hurting him normally. There were still several places I could probably aim for that would hurt him. The eyes were usually a great place to start.
I activated [Nature's Protection] wood flowing up my legs and my chest until it got to my neck before spreading out over my entire body creating something akin to full plate. I hadn’t exactly seen how it looked since ascending. But it covered a lot more than it had previously. It still looked kind of rugged and wasn’t super well interconnected, but it was better than nothing currently. Especially since my previous leather armor had been confiscated. Was it possible that this skill took into account whether or not I was wearing armor and styled itself based on that? Something I’d have to test later.
This mental to-do list was getting pretty long at this point.
Neither David nor Fist batted an eye at my armor, well David just scoffed. Obviously not impressed with the armor. Not that I could really blame him, I doubt it would really stop me from feeling Fist’s punches. Better than nothing though.
Most of the people had gotten up from their seats and were gathered around us in a circle creating a mock arena. Fist trudged around me, seeming to be looking for a weakness. I just waited. The longer I could delay the closer I got to [Dodge] coming off cooldown. I would try to dodge Fist until I could activate it again and then try to go for a weak spot hit. I kept an eye on David as well as Fist. I couldn’t be sure he wouldn’t just jump in if Fist started losing. And I had no doubts in my mind he contrasted Fist in more than just size. The question was if he was a finesse fighter or a caster. If he was a caster I had a definitive advantage, but if he was a speedster. I was screwed. I didn’t really have a way to deal with him at my current level.
Fist charged in with a yell swinging at me with a haymaker. He moved pretty quickly for his size, and there was a lot of force behind his punches.
But they weren’t anywhere near fast enough to actually hit me. I took a single step back gauging the distance carefully so that it would miss me and give me plenty of room to try and hit him again, and then his fist slammed into the side of my skull and I was sent tumbling across the ground.
My vision blacked out slightly as I impacted the ground, I came too several feet away from where I had been standing. Fist walking over to me.
For the second time today, my vision was spinning and I was spitting blood out of my mouth. I felt like puking.
How had he hit me? I know for certain I stepped out of range, there’s no way he should’ve been able to reach me. I coughed as I tried to push myself to my feet only for a foot to get slammed into my stomach sending me rolling again and causing me to dry-heave. I felt several ribs crack in my chest as I rolled across the ground coming to a stop at the edge of the circle everyone formed.
Almost subconsciously I started to heal myself before I stopped. I should keep that hidden for now, I thought to myself. If I can keep that hidden I potentially won’t become a hot commodity that they’ll want to monopolize. I’m not sure how many healers are prisoners, but I doubt that it’s a lot. More than likely even fewer than what existed in the free world.
I managed to stumble to my feet, my ears still ringing from his punch earlier so I wasn’t able to hear anything that David was saying although I could see his mouth moving through my swimming vision.
Pain addled my perceptions, I was pretty sure I had a concussion and I doubted I could move that fast with fractured ribs. And yet… And yet…
I laughed. It was so simple, wasn’t it? It was so very simple, I don’t know how I hadn’t noticed it before. Lurks had given us several rules. No combative actives. No weapons. She said, listen to your cell–block leader, but hadn’t specified who that was. I laughed harder, my ribs hurting as I doubled over with laughter blood spewing out of my lips. I just ignored the pain as I straightened up, everyone had shocked looks on their faces as they looked at me.
David was the first to speak, “Did you fucking lose it when you got hit in the head? Fist, put him out of his misery.”
Fist grunted as he walked over to me.
I spread my arms in a welcoming gesture.
It was all just. So. Simple.
I created a wall of wood directly in front of David blocking his vision, it wouldn’t stop him for long since he could just step around it, but it would give me just a second. Which is all I needed. Fist swung at me, I turned on both [Mana Sense] and [Electricity Sense] getting a good view of his body and how it was moving. [Dodge] had reset, so as his attack approached my head I stepped out of the way, my perceptions enhancing for a single second, his movements slowed down considerably and mine sped up by a pretty large amount as well.
And I used every ounce of speed to my advantage here. I stepped forward pushing my wooden arm forward while molding the fingers to be as sharp as knives before reaching to his eye. I stuck my fingers in, grabbed, crushed, and then pulled the remains out of his skull.
Blood spurted all over my face, but I didn’t stop there. The thing about the wood I created, it was comparable to enhanced metals. Maybe not something a dedicated enchanter or blacksmith could make, but good enough considering that it wasn’t my primary focus. As such I was capable of creating a weapon cutting through mundane materials and capable of staving off enchanted variants without losing in the durability department.
I punched my fist into Fist’s throat and ripped it out causing another spray of blood. The world sped up around me as Fist fell to his knees clutching at his throat, no longer able to scream.
I started laughing again, before healing myself, the telltale glow of healing magic emanated from my body as I fixed my injuries. David had stepped out from behind my barricade as I had finished tearing out Fist’s throat and was in absolute shock. As was everyone else.
It was all so simple, you see. Lurks had said we had to listen to the cell-block leader. But hadn’t specified who that was, I was told that we answered directly to Lurks and that she was in charge here.
It all fits together, David hadn’t introduced himself as the cell-block leader. He had introduced himself as the one in charge. Lurks was the cell-block leader, which made these people a bunch of bullies. Lurks also hadn’t said we couldn’t kill people. Which meant we had free reign unless Lurks said otherwise.
My second revelation had been that David had done something like I suspected to let Fist be able to land a blow on me, illusions? A strange skill that messed with my perception? Doesn’t matter.
He was a bully.
And unfortunately for him.
I hate bullies.
I wanted to step back but my entire body was frozen with fear, I wasn’t able to move, I wasn’t able to breathe, I could barely think. Her eyes pierced through me like the eyes of a snake eyeing its next snack.
After a moment she took a step back and I was able to breathe again. I collapsed to my knees hacking as I tried to suck up air to fill my lungs. I felt the collar on the back of my neck click off and fall to the ground. I looked up where Lurks was spinning a key ring around her index finger and walking over to each individual prisoner, as she stepped behind them she deftly placed a key into a small hole in the back of the collars and twisted it letting the collar fall down to the ground.
As she finished the last one she turned to us addressing the group once again, “Alright, we’ve dallied long enough. You have a general idea of what to expect. I guess I should at least reiterate the basics. No combative actives allowed, no making weapons either. Do either of those and ending up dead is the best outcome for you. Listen to your cell leader if you know what’s good for you. Follow those few rules and you should fit in fine.”
With that she turned and opened the door, “Go on then, I have some other business I need to take care of so go and make yourself at home.”
The prisoner closest to Lurks, a girl who didn’t look to be older than 16, stepped forward first, walking through the door. Everyone else soon followed after her.
I managed to push myself to my feet and walked past Lurks, who just gave me a friendly smile and then closed the door behind me, the door flashed on the inside with a magic rune. Some security system perhaps?
The door led into a tunnel that was pretty small. It was roughly seven feet high and just wide enough for two people to walk shoulder to shoulder if they needed to. It carried on for several dozen feet before opening into another cavern, this one much smaller in size although still quite large. It looked like it had been carved out of the stone manually rather than being naturally occurring. The Pit itself seemed naturally occurring with them having carved out the floor to create a much larger hole in the side of the gorge. I wasn’t entirely sure why they felt the need to do that, but it’s not something I particularly cared about.
Quite a few people were milling about in the main area, there were tables and chairs for people to sit at, some were eating food, some were playing cards, and some were just talking. All of them stopped to observe us as we came in.
Now that I wasn’t in view of Lurks I felt a bit more comfortable, something about her made me extremely uncomfortable. It was practically instinctual, which seemed strange cause I hadn’t really been afraid of anything except when my life was being threatened.
…
As if that wasn’t an alarming thought…
I shook my head, focusing on the situation at hand. I quickly started scanning the levels of people around us.
Most seemed to be high tier two, with a few in early tier three, level two or three. None of them looked to be particularly threatening beyond that. I wasn’t sure that I could be a tier three in a fistfight though. I could beat one while using skills and my sword.
My sword… The one thing Illesea had given me, that weapon had helped me out a lot. It could cut through anything like it was made out of butter, it was pretty insane how strong it was. Now I had to make use of other items. I could probably make something in the same vein, but nothing even remotely comparable currently. Not that I could get away with making weapons currently. No weapons.
That didn’t put me out of creating armor though, I had to wonder if using my barrier skill counted as a combative active. Maybe something I could figure out.
Someone stood up from the back of the room, he was about as tall as I was, which made him quite a bit taller than almost everyone else in the room. He was a lot more solidly built though, not quite as much as the Captain from Verdanst, but that man had quite literally been built differently. This person was more in line with what I expected from a solidly built human.
He was bald with a full goatee, and numerous tattoos and scars covered his upper body, several tattoos being cliche things like a spider or a skull. One that stuck out to me was a cross, the Christian kind. Was it a religious indication, or something else? Curious.
[Level 69³]
I took in his level and it took every ounce of discipline I had not to react to that.
Don’tacknowledgeitdon’tacknowledgeitdon’tacknowledgeitdon’tacknowledgeitdon’tacknowledgeitdon’tacknowledgeitdon’tacknowledgeitdon’tacknowledgeitdon’tacknowledgeitdon’tacknowledgeitdon’tacknowledgeitdon’tacknowledgeitdon’tacknowledgeitdon’tacknowledgeitdon’tacknowledgeitdon’tacknowledgeit.
I took a deep breath to stave off my thoughts before focusing on the man in front of me, I gave a quick glance at the group that had come in with me, the tier three from before had gone with Larks, and everyone else in this group was a tier two like myself, which was unfortunate because I knew there was about to be a power play at hand. Which meant that I was going to have to be the one to handle it since I was the strongest out of all of us. Did I really want to draw attention to myself right now? I could potentially get in favor by advertising myself as a healer, but at the same time that could just end up locking me down further as a slave to a slave.
Not something I was terribly interested in either. At the same time, I didn’t like my chances of being able to fight this guy. Sure I had beaten a tier three’s before, but those had been the exceptions, not the rule. In a fair fight, I don’t know that I really stood a chance. In the other fights I had every advantage, whether that was low stats from having just unlocked their third class, or the fact that they weren’t fighters or warriors to begin with.
My time to think was cut short as the man approached, only when he got closer did I actually notice he wasn’t alone. There was another man beside him, and he contrasted the large man pretty well… Which is just a polite way of saying he was exceptionally short. Standing at maybe 5’4”.
[Level 3⁴]
Huh…
I guess the big man was the hired muscle in this instance, I would assume literally, but I’m not sure exactly what they would use for currency here. There was probably some booming slave currency economy going on. I’m sure I was about to be introduced to it as well.
As they stepped up to us the little man was the one to start speaking, confirming my suspicions that he was the one in charge here. Though that was kind of a no-brainer.
“Well, looks like we’ve got ourselves a fresh group. I’m the one in charge here, name’s David. The oaf next to me is my right fist. He doesn’t talk much so we just call him Fist. I’ll give you all the run-down just to make things simple so there’s no misunderstandings going forward. Outside of Lurks, I’m the one that makes the rules and there are no rules here besides the ones I impose. If you have any questions about that I’m willing to clean them up now.” David finished flashing a friendly smile while Fist flexed his wrists and arms as if he were preparing for a fight.
“Looks like you all are smarter than the last group, some buffoon thought he was the next hot thing, he got his own fist fed to his teeth, and died during his first shift due to a combination of injury and exhaustion. The people in charge don’t care how efficient it is to make you work while injured, if you die that’s your problem.”
He let out a sad sigh as if he was truly torn up about it.
“It’s quite a shame honestly, but what can we do? Regardless I am a firm believer in hands-on learning, I think demonstrations are the best ways for the situation to sink in, as such a lucky winner here will get to go one one-on-one with Fist to demonstrate why we’re over here and you’re over there. Any volunteers?”
Obviously, none of us stepped forward. Not surprising. My next decision was probably stupid, and potentially arrogant. But quite frankly I was the most likely to come out of this without too much in the way of issues.
I stepped forward, flexing my one arm and my neck before I began forming a prosthetic. It was quick dirty work that I handled in the span of a couple of minutes, surprisingly they waited for me. I looked at the arm and scoffed.
It was the equivalent of the first arm I had ever made.
So absolute shit. However, I could form it much faster than a couple of hours for a real arm. So I’d just have to take it.
“Oh, I almost didn’t notice. You’re an elf? Interesting, I’ve never seen one before. I thought you all had died off or something. Gods, you are an unsightly abomination aren’t you?” He looked me up and down with a mixture of disgust and curiosity.
I frowned, “That’s the first time I’ve heard that, so you definitely get points for being unique.” I replied.
David laughed heartily, “So what are you capable of then, elf?” He enunciated the last word with disdain causing me to frown again. Overly hostile for some reason. Why? I just didn’t understand. So many people seemed to have problems despite never having seen an elf before.
“That’s a great question isn’t it, Mr. David? Thankfully your good friend Mr. Fist is about to help you find out.” I said with a light smile.
David’s eyes narrowed slightly before he sneered, “I guess he is. Fist, if you would.”
Such a cliche scenario, I couldn’t help but sigh. I reactivated my lightning passive, sparks jumped off my body as it was turned on. I took a few steps toward the lumbering Fist, little pools of electricity left in my steps that quickly faded.
There was, unfortunately, no nature here so [One With Nature] was completely useless and wouldn’t give me the perception advantage. But I was fairly certain I held the advantage in speed. I just doubted I’d be able to actually hurt him by punching him. His strength and vitality were probably through the roof. Or would it be the ground in this instance? A question for another time when Fists… Fist… Isn’t flying towards my face.
One thing that was kind of upsetting is that I couldn’t decide when my [Dodge] enhancement activated. It just activated whenever an attack came sufficiently close and I had the intention to dodge it.
I stepped past his fist, stanced myself accordingly just to the side of his arm, and then I punched with all of my strength.
My fist slammed into his stomach and then pushed me back several feet from the force.
Pain shot up through my wrist as I connected with his stomach, I danced back a couple steps shaking my arm.
“Ow ow ow, damn dude, the hell are you made out of? Tungsten?” I asked incredulously.
It was like punching a metal wall, why was he so solid? Meanwhile, David just laughed.
“You’re a speedy one, aren’t you? I don’t know that I’ve ever seen a tier two move as fast as you can, let alone actually be able to hit as hard as you. I guess elves are as dangerous as the stories say. Maybe if you were in the third tier, you’d stand a chance against Fist here. But as it is you’re unfortunately outclassed.”
He was unfortunately right about that. I genuinely just didn’t stand a chance of hurting him normally. There were still several places I could probably aim for that would hurt him. The eyes were usually a great place to start.
I activated [Nature's Protection] wood flowing up my legs and my chest until it got to my neck before spreading out over my entire body creating something akin to full plate. I hadn’t exactly seen how it looked since ascending. But it covered a lot more than it had previously. It still looked kind of rugged and wasn’t super well interconnected, but it was better than nothing currently. Especially since my previous leather armor had been confiscated. Was it possible that this skill took into account whether or not I was wearing armor and styled itself based on that? Something I’d have to test later.
This mental to-do list was getting pretty long at this point.
Neither David nor Fist batted an eye at my armor, well David just scoffed. Obviously not impressed with the armor. Not that I could really blame him, I doubt it would really stop me from feeling Fist’s punches. Better than nothing though.
Most of the people had gotten up from their seats and were gathered around us in a circle creating a mock arena. Fist trudged around me, seeming to be looking for a weakness. I just waited. The longer I could delay the closer I got to [Dodge] coming off cooldown. I would try to dodge Fist until I could activate it again and then try to go for a weak spot hit. I kept an eye on David as well as Fist. I couldn’t be sure he wouldn’t just jump in if Fist started losing. And I had no doubts in my mind he contrasted Fist in more than just size. The question was if he was a finesse fighter or a caster. If he was a caster I had a definitive advantage, but if he was a speedster. I was screwed. I didn’t really have a way to deal with him at my current level.
Fist charged in with a yell swinging at me with a haymaker. He moved pretty quickly for his size, and there was a lot of force behind his punches.
But they weren’t anywhere near fast enough to actually hit me. I took a single step back gauging the distance carefully so that it would miss me and give me plenty of room to try and hit him again, and then his fist slammed into the side of my skull and I was sent tumbling across the ground.
My vision blacked out slightly as I impacted the ground, I came too several feet away from where I had been standing. Fist walking over to me.
For the second time today, my vision was spinning and I was spitting blood out of my mouth. I felt like puking.
How had he hit me? I know for certain I stepped out of range, there’s no way he should’ve been able to reach me. I coughed as I tried to push myself to my feet only for a foot to get slammed into my stomach sending me rolling again and causing me to dry-heave. I felt several ribs crack in my chest as I rolled across the ground coming to a stop at the edge of the circle everyone formed.
Almost subconsciously I started to heal myself before I stopped. I should keep that hidden for now, I thought to myself. If I can keep that hidden I potentially won’t become a hot commodity that they’ll want to monopolize. I’m not sure how many healers are prisoners, but I doubt that it’s a lot. More than likely even fewer than what existed in the free world.
I managed to stumble to my feet, my ears still ringing from his punch earlier so I wasn’t able to hear anything that David was saying although I could see his mouth moving through my swimming vision.
Pain addled my perceptions, I was pretty sure I had a concussion and I doubted I could move that fast with fractured ribs. And yet… And yet…
I laughed. It was so simple, wasn’t it? It was so very simple, I don’t know how I hadn’t noticed it before. Lurks had given us several rules. No combative actives. No weapons. She said, listen to your cell–block leader, but hadn’t specified who that was. I laughed harder, my ribs hurting as I doubled over with laughter blood spewing out of my lips. I just ignored the pain as I straightened up, everyone had shocked looks on their faces as they looked at me.
David was the first to speak, “Did you fucking lose it when you got hit in the head? Fist, put him out of his misery.”
Fist grunted as he walked over to me.
I spread my arms in a welcoming gesture.
It was all just. So. Simple.
I created a wall of wood directly in front of David blocking his vision, it wouldn’t stop him for long since he could just step around it, but it would give me just a second. Which is all I needed. Fist swung at me, I turned on both [Mana Sense] and [Electricity Sense] getting a good view of his body and how it was moving. [Dodge] had reset, so as his attack approached my head I stepped out of the way, my perceptions enhancing for a single second, his movements slowed down considerably and mine sped up by a pretty large amount as well.
And I used every ounce of speed to my advantage here. I stepped forward pushing my wooden arm forward while molding the fingers to be as sharp as knives before reaching to his eye. I stuck my fingers in, grabbed, crushed, and then pulled the remains out of his skull.
Blood spurted all over my face, but I didn’t stop there. The thing about the wood I created, it was comparable to enhanced metals. Maybe not something a dedicated enchanter or blacksmith could make, but good enough considering that it wasn’t my primary focus. As such I was capable of creating a weapon cutting through mundane materials and capable of staving off enchanted variants without losing in the durability department.
I punched my fist into Fist’s throat and ripped it out causing another spray of blood. The world sped up around me as Fist fell to his knees clutching at his throat, no longer able to scream.
I started laughing again, before healing myself, the telltale glow of healing magic emanated from my body as I fixed my injuries. David had stepped out from behind my barricade as I had finished tearing out Fist’s throat and was in absolute shock. As was everyone else.
It was all so simple, you see. Lurks had said we had to listen to the cell-block leader. But hadn’t specified who that was, I was told that we answered directly to Lurks and that she was in charge here.
It all fits together, David hadn’t introduced himself as the cell-block leader. He had introduced himself as the one in charge. Lurks was the cell-block leader, which made these people a bunch of bullies. Lurks also hadn’t said we couldn’t kill people. Which meant we had free reign unless Lurks said otherwise.
My second revelation had been that David had done something like I suspected to let Fist be able to land a blow on me, illusions? A strange skill that messed with my perception? Doesn’t matter.
He was a bully.
And unfortunately for him.
I hate bullies.
