The prayers ended with a round of applause for Marcus, his walk turning into a stride as he returned to the pews of the arena. This reassessment was just what he needed to boost his confidence after the last few days of travelling. Noticing the blessed Devout sit with the previously assessed moderate Wizard, the gossip continued to circle around.

“One of them is going far.”

“Isn’t that Wizard benefitting off the other’s power?”

“Normal lumped with greatness, think we could prize him away?”

Logan couldn’t help but feel spoken down to and diminished when they all compared him to his friend. While Logan was the reason that Marcus had improved so much, it didn’t feel good to be seen as a moocher. Keeping it internal, he watched the final reassessment before leaving with the crowds. Dismissing his elemental, Celsius gave a wave goodbye.

“I hadn’t thought I grew so much, it’s great isn’t it, Logan? Just think, together we can keep progressing with ease”, Marcus began to speak.

Nodding with his friend, Logan kept mostly silent as Marcus continued, “Though I would not have gotten anywhere close to here without you. It is strange they counted you as mediocre, though I guess they see all sorts at this hall.”

Marcus was the most chatty he had been in quite some time, so Logan let his ally continue on and on, even if it did get a bit irritating towards the end. Handing in their scrolls at the counter, after waiting in line, they both were given updated signets. Logan placed around his neck the small magenta-coloured wooden tablet that reminded him of a shogi piece… Wait, a shogi piece? Had he seen such back on Earth? This was the first he thought of it, had his Intelligence score allowed him a better long-term memory or recollection?

Trying to not lose too much focus, Logan looked over the signet. Like the last, it was a strong treated wood, with the markings of A5 and V11 etched into them noting his completed quests. “A” for adventurers, and “V” for villagers. Another etching of an “H” was also at the end, though no number accompanied it, surmising it was most likely for hunter quests that involved taking down other humans and the like.

With their new signets, Logan asked a quick question to Marcus, “Hey, Marcus. Give me a random calculation to make, a multiplication or something.”

“Uh, ok? What is… eight times twenty-seven?”

“216”, Logan replied at an almost instant pace.

Using his fingers a bit, Marcus calculated the answer. “Yeah, that’s right. Damn quick, as is expected for a mage”, he replied matter-of-factly.

“So my Intelligence has made me smarter, I guess the same would be for Wisdom making me wiser? At a 13 I doubt I hold much in the way of wise decisions though”, Logan thought to himself, almost forgetting that his attributes would represent themselves in such a way. Recollecting more events from his past he could visualise them almost perfectly in his imagination, looking around he could also calculate distances more precisely as he reconfirmed them with Identification.

Exiting the G-Hall, the pair had a few other tasks for the day so they didn’t want to worry too much about the quests they could now take. Logan’s use of his spells also meant he was a bit short for any combat for the rest of the day. Turning to Marcus, Logan began to explain their next destination before he was interrupted by a voice getting louder and louder.

“Hey. Hey! Wizard in the dark-blue coat!”

Turning around, Logan was met with the angry and scarred face of a woman. With a quick Identification, he found a new sight indeed.

“Kreya Ioi: Knight 10, 184/184 HP, 0/0 MP. Renowned ----. Signed up with the G-Hall ----.

Skills: Wall of Iron***, Hard Skin**, ----. Wields: ----. Wears: ----.”

This was the first time that Logan got only sparse information about a humanoid target, most of it was seemingly hidden away. Was this due to some magic at work, or maybe even a trinket?

“I’ve been calling to you two for a while, damn those crowds!” the woman spoke harshly, breathing a bit heavy as if she were jogging and shouting at the same time.

Looking over the woman, she stood at 5’11” and would have been bulky under the scale mail she wore as it seemed too big if she were thin underneath. Her reddish armour was a bit garish, combined with a red and black cape that flew over her shoulders and back. Her face was rounded, with pretty yellow eyes staring at Logan with strands of her medium length brunette hair dangling down her forehead but mostly tied into a ponytail on top of her cape.

The most noticeable features were that of her scars, a large “V” was cut into her right ear, a large slit in her right cheek as if someone had stabbed into her mouth, three claw marks going from her left chin to her throat, and finally a large scar across her neck as if it were slit. Her golden skin would have been flawless if not for the scarring.

“Sorry, we were talking over things. What did you need us for?” Logan inquired, curious as to her intentions.

“I saw your reassessments, and then you took no quests from the board. I need a mage in my team and a Wizard would be best due to the firepower you can deal out. Time is short, but we have till tomorrow so you can sort out your slots ahead of time, it’s-” she instructed as if Logan had already accepted her request.

Cutting her off, Logan put up a hand a replied, “Sorry, we already have plans for today and tomorrow. We can’t help you so soon. You’ll have to find another mage.”

“What?” the woman replied, confused. “You’re turning down a party invitation? As a mage? What are you doing that’s more important?”

“We were going to investigate the capital, make sure all our items were updated, learn new skills and spells, among other things.”

“So no other quest? No problem then, you can do those things outside of ours. Now, we’re going to be hunting-”

“It is important to us, we’re new here and we need to be certain we’re prepared for what’s ahead.”

The woman’s face turned a shade redder. “You’re damn new, you don’t just turn a quest down as a mage. You think you’ll get more handed to you on a platter because you travel around with a blessed?”

“Please, can you just take my decline?” Logan tried to save the situation, angering an adventurer on his first day was not his aim but the more he heard this woman speak the more he did not want to join them.

“What’ll it take? You want a better rate than a third of ours? Fine, just under half of our percentage, you’ll get 14% of the reward, that good enough for you?”

“It isn’t a matter of pay”, he began, “Even if that pay is shit”, he thought. “It’s about us just barely having arrived here and-”

“I don’t have time for this, I challenge you to a duel, sir!” the woman spoke aloud.

Heads turned in the direction of the announcement, whispers amongst the populace about a duel. “Fuck, I read something about duels in my books but it didn’t say much about them!” Logan cursed in his head.

Looking around, the woman noticed a passing guard who she hailed with an arm wave. “Hello there, sir guard. I have challenged this man to a duel, can you be our judge? Here is the 5 silver”, she asked as she handed a few coins to the guardsman whose plate armour shined in the sun.

“Well, and here I thought today would be devoid of entertainment. I can be your judge. What names and wagers are we abiding by?”

“Wait, can you explain-” Logan began.

“This one is new, do you have a manual?” the woman interjected.

“Ah, but of course”, the guard replied.

Pulling out a small booklet, the guard recited the laws of duels. The general gist of the duel was that the instigator of the duel would announce the wager at hand to the person they were challenging, the person challenged would then add their side of the wager to which the challenger can adjust their own side to fit. After the wager was made the two combatants would engage in a fight, once one side was unconscious that was it. A guard must always be witness to the duel and act as a judge to tell when someone has won.

Other rules included no prior use of enhancing or summoning magic, with summons being made within a duel though time constraints did not really make that viable. Wearing trinkets was fine as with the effects of such.

Logan’s book mentioned that people didn’t turn duels down, as it would be a major loss of honour alongside rumours spreading that you were a coward if so. Not wanting to lose face so early he had no real choice but to accept.

“I can’t see all her skills or gear, this is a shit turn of events. I recognise the two skills I can see, Marsh used those. Are they on cooldown? I never asked how long those took! Fuck!” Logan’s mind was abuzz with trying to plan ahead for the situation that forced itself onto him.

“My side is that this mage will join my party on a single quest, he will get no pay from such. My name is Kreya Ioi.”

“Grr. Fine, if I win Kreya will hand over a trinket of my choice to me”, Logan returned, hoping to take the item that was hiding her status from him.

“You can see trinkets? Or do you want to inspect them after we’ve fought?”

“After.”

“Fine, let’s make this more interesting. How about I take both you and your friend for free for this quest? In return you can take two trinkets, how’s that sound?”

“What? I can’t-” Logan began.

“I am fine with it”, Marcus interjected.

Looking to his ally with a look like “are you sure?” Logan received an affirmative nod.

“Fine, two trinkets or two adventurers for a single quest. My name is Logan Hall.”

Making notes in his booklet, the guardsman nodded as he looked around the immediate vicinity. “Alright, listen up everyone. Make a good perimeter, we’ve got ourselves a duel. Kreya versus Logan, free service of two adventurers for two trinkets of the other’s choice. One is a caster so keep your wits about you in the crossfire!”

As instructed, the nearby villagers rushed around to give a wide-open area for the duel to commence within. Many people went inside nearby buildings to view from windows or climbed onto roofs and crate stacks. Aside from normal villagers, a few adventurers were also keen to look over the duel. Logan could easily tell a few bets were being made by those who had the coin to do so.

Walking apart to make a good 20 feet of distance between the two, Logan gave a final inner curse at the situation before drawing Spellthief’s edge in his right hand, moving his left into a claw, and bending low. Kreya bashed her bracers together as a glint of yellow sparks materialised a large flanged mace similar to a shishpar. In her other hand, a large metal shield formed, easily covering half of her body, even more if she ducked down.

Seeing the items form, Logan used his periapt to grant himself 2 MP for the fight, thinking he’d need it against someone who was “renowned” for something. He wasn’t going to use the MP for anything else in the day anyways.

“Combatants ready? Begin!” the guard called, looking to both Kreya and Logan as he swiped his hand down.

Starting off the fight with the offensive, Logan threw his clawed left hand out quickly as he chanted aloud, “Force!” sending an impactful ball of grey energies towards Kreya. Spinning her shield to her front, Kreya easily blocked the blast as it left scratches across its surface. Logan could tell with Identification that she took no damage due to fully blocking it. “Damnit!”

“Force, force, force”, Logan called out again and again as he charged towards Kreya, each time a blast of energy surged in his shoulder and jetted through his limb towards the shielded foe. As he finally closed the gap, Logan drew a line in the air towards Kreya as he chanted once more, “Flame Wall”, after which a large swathe of flames danced from his palm to the floor, jumping upwards as it created several blazing columns away from him.

Almost as if anticipating his moves, Kreya jumped to the right and dodged the wall of fire. Kicking forwards she assaulted Logan with her shield into his face, using it as a battering ram. Suffering 8 damage it wasn’t terrible, but he backstepped in case of a follow-up. He was smart to do so as Kreya brought her mace upwards to crash into his chin that was no longer there.

Seeing an opening, Logan dug his heels deep into the floor as he leapt forwards with an outstretched arm. Grabbing a hold of Kreya’s scale mail they spoke in unison.

“Gaia Grasp!”

“Hard Skin!”

Kreya was coated in an aura of red, a shimmering veil made of pure spellforce. Logan’s arms exploded with mud and rock as the magic seeped into the barrier and crashed across it. Dealing a disappointing 26 damage, Logan was sure it was heavily reduced by that skill.

Retaliating, Kreya swung her mace sideways as it smashed into Logan’s side, hitting him for 33 damage. “Fuck! That was a normal hit?!”

Flipping backwards, Logan spied the floor 20 feet back as he chanted, “Dimensional Jaunt”, causing his body to compress out of existence and explode with a shockwave away from his duelling foe. Looking upwards, he saw a smile across Kreya’s face.

“Running away? Don’t like my mace?”

“Force, force, force, force”, he retaliated, shooting one wave of energy after another. Three of the blasts hit Kreya’s blocking shield, but he shot them randomly, the last hitting her shin but dealing 0 damage. “Damnit, that skill must reduce a fuck ton of damage.”

As if his thoughts were reaching someone, the red aura surrounding Kreya faded away as if being washed away with the wind. She didn’t seem to be upset by the occurrence, however. “Melee won’t work here, she is a juggernaut”, Logan tried to plan in his head.

“Force”, Logan called out, a good eight times, each time he assaulted his foe with a blast of magic that had done him justice up to this point. Having it fail so harshly hit him like a dark omen, not everyone will fall to such a “free” attack. Six of the blasts were easily blocked by the large shield, two hitting Kreya in the head and foot for 10 damage each. “She has a passive reduction of 4?”

Logan began to prepare yet another spell to throw at Kreya, his hand igniting in flames as he did so. However, Kreya began her returning attack. Bashing her shield with her mace she called out, “Chatter”, after which her shield sent out a wide blast of vibrating sound. The wave picked up dust and gravel as it blasted into Logan, his body barely standing tall after being assaulted.

“F-f-f-flame s-s-s-s-s-s”, he tried to chant, but his body was vibrating so greatly he felt his teeth chattering as he tried to speak. The fires died from his hand as he miscasted, a true counter to his ranged strategy. “Fuck, shit”, Logan cursed over in his head.

As if spurred on by her successful skill use, Kreya darted towards Logan. With his body vibrating so harshly, Logan found it difficult to move properly to dodge. Closing the gap, Kreya smashed her shield into the dagger-hand of Logan as it almost dislocated with 9 damage.

Bringing her ferocious mace to her foe, Kreya swung it fast and heavy from the right into the face of Logan. Hearing a very audible crack, the mace crashed into the midpoint of the Spellthief’s face, easily breaking his nose and tearing the skin from his face. Saliva and blood flew from his opened maw, dislocated from the blow. Spinning around from the blow, Logan could not see through his now-blurry vision that the attack dealt a sickening 37 damage, bringing him straight down to 1/88 HP.

Not one to give up, Logan threw up his hand to the double-Kreya that was shifting in his eyes from the dizzying effect of having his head slammed like a truck. “F-f-f”, he began, but Kreya just gave a solid kick into Logan’s chest as he was pushed to the floor in an unconscious state.

Logan lay defeated on the floor, his dagger dropped behind him, and his face smashed to the left. The guard raised his hand, “Kreya is the victor!”

Running to his ally, Marcus slid to his knees as he began healing his ally. “Orb of all I call to thee, Pondress heal your children. Heal Grasp”, he chanted, placing a hand on his friend’s messed-up face. Recovering a hearty 27 caused Logan to reawaken with a slowly reforming face.

A severe ringing radiated in the Spellthief’s head, his vision was still blurry from the force dealt to his source of knowledge. Another Heal brought him to 53/88 HP, regaining his faculties. As his face reformed, he had no idea either way, it was as if he hadn’t had a ton of bricks mash it to a new form. The only lasting reminder he had been hit was a thick new scar across the midpoint of his nose and ending under both of his eyes.

“Logan, are you ok? That was quite the blow you took”, Marcus asked with worry.

“Ugh, who decided a duel was a good idea?” he replied, holding his head as it still felt a bit loose from the last barrage.

“Good enough to crack jokes, I’ll take it”, Marcus continued as he breathed a sigh of relief.

Money exchanged hands in the background but Logan was way too groggy to understand any of the conversations. He could see Kreya putting her gear away, however, using her bracers to store them took some time apparently. Even if she was rude earlier she seemed to understand that Logan needed time to centre himself after the combat, giving him ample time.

Spending a few minutes to recover all of his senses, Logan stood up. The crowds had dispersed, though the guard stood around to see the end of the wagers.

“I was announced the victor, I take it I shall see you at the G-Hall tomorrow morning at 8am?” Kreya spoke, the energy and anger somewhat absent in her voice, a somewhat solemnness replacing it.

“Yeah, that was what we agreed. Myself and Marcus… Marcus and I? We’ll be there”, Logan responded, still a bit dazed.

“Good, get some rest, and I hope you heal up quick”, Kreya ended. Walking past the pair as she made her way down the road.

With his duty done, the guardsman also gave a meagre bow of his head as he continued his rounds on the streets.

“Nice to meet a cunt on my first day”, Logan spat.

“What?”

“Nothing, let’s take a short break while you heal me up.”

“Wait, she didn’t tell us what the quest was or what we were hunting.”

“We’ll find out tomorrow, guess I will wait to prepare my spells until we meet up.”

“At least we know she is a competent adventurer”, Marcus continued as he patted down on Logan’s wounds with his Healer’s Caress.

“She is renowned for something at least, hopefully, it isn’t being a bloody asshole.”

“I guess we’ll find out later.”

“I can’t wait”, Logan finished sarcastically.

--- *** ---