“I’d rather not,” Allen said clearly. He ignored the further laughter from the others and the arrogant smirks from three of the four recruits. Instead, he looked down at the faint reflection of his face in the shiny stone floor.

“Come on, they’re only twice your level; I know you can do it,” Shoam whispered through a stupid shit-eating grin showing through in his eyes. He clapped Allen on the back and chuckled to himself.

Allen rolled his tongue across his teeth and sneered up at his tall elf friend. “Playing to my ego isn’t going to make this any less of a chore,” he said flatly.

“Do it and I’ll help you level to three hundred,” the Assassin said in a sudden, barely audible murmur.

Allen narrowed his eyes at the elf. He also noticed the row of his colleagues leaning forward with expressions ranging from coy smiles to pinched eyebrows. “…Damn you,” he relented. He shook his head as he walked past the row of infamous Mercenaries and Assassins; he pulled his lips into a thin line.

“Oi, who’s this kid?” said the bigger of the two Warriors through a derisive snort. He was a young man no older than twenty, outfitted with a two handed longsword and a set of gaudy full plate armor. “We’re supposed to fight him?” he asked incredulously.

“No, that can’t be,” began the only mage in the group, waving his generic orb-tipped staff around. “The boy is not even half of our level. Honestly now, surely he’s only here by mistake.”

“This is painful.” Allen sighed and cast Shoam a withering glare. The Assassin’s barely contained laughter really got on his nerves. “Is this a prank?” he thought, glancing back at the Rogue girl who just seemed confused, but hadn’t spoken up.

“No, you are mistaken,” Amon began, fixing the recruits with a glare that almost perfectly hid his smirk of amusement. “You four will each have a chance to duel him. The duels will be timed, and we will interrupt in the event of any lethal attacks,” he continued, shifting his glance to Allen as he finished his sentence.

“We’ll grade you on how long you can last against him,” Glaedyr added with a toothy smile.

Among the others, even Allen let out a short chuckle at that. Besides the girl, the recruits went red-faced. They looked between Allen and the more-than-imposing Spades before biting back their tongues.

“Surely you jest, Master L-Leviathan,” the Mage recruit began, pointing an accusatory finger at Allen.

“I agree, I don’t see the point of this,” said the other Warrior. He wasn’t comically blue-blooded as the other armored Warrior, but what he lacked in arrogance, he made up for in dimwittedness.

The little knight chuckled along with his peers. “This is hardly a fair fight,” he said, sauntering up to the empty space opposite where Allen slouched in his casual shirt and trousers.

“I agree,” Allen thought.

Shoam cupped his chin. “I suppose you’re right. How about a handicap then?” The elf casually teleported behind Allen and slipped a strip of black cloth around his eyes before he could even react. “You three should know better than to question your seniors,” Shoam added, the unhinged look in his eyes more than enough to silence the recruits’ protests.

Allen sighed. “Nevermind then…” he said to himself, tugging at the blindfold. “This must be punishment for vanishing three years ago. I didn’t think Shoam would hold a grudge.”

“Everyone step back. You’re first Clarence,” Amon said, pointing at the scowling armored Warrior standing across from Allen.

Name: Clarence

Human – Warrior – Level 115

Shoam vanished again while everyone else took a few steps away from Allen and Clarence, the first recruit. Allen equipped his steel vambraces and greaves along with his combat boots and leather chest plate. Lastly, he pulled his new spear-point knife out of his inventory and covered it in deep blue, Dusk shifted miasma using Mana Shroud.

“Begin.”

A humming sound proceeded Amon’s voice, signaling the enchantments in Clarence’s sword starting up. Allen smirked. “Daddy’s sword is kind of loud… you had one advantage but now it’s gone.”

Allen circled to his left to dissuade Clarence from opening with the heavy righthanded swing he had favored during his duels with the other recruits. From what Allen had seen, the young knight would probably opt for a simple crossing thrust instead.

Allen flared Expanded Awareness, allowing him to more accurately pinpoint the sound of Clarence’s sword and footsteps. Sure enough, the blade buzzed straight for his throat.

With his senses and speed of thought boosted, Allen waited for the last moment before activating Heavy Accelerate and dodging under the blade, only to pop up between Clarence’s arms a moment later.

The knight gasped and stumbled back. Allen lifted his armored elbow and slammed it into the little knight’s chin, knocking his head around in his helmet. Then he deftly slipped around behind the recruit, just as a wild swing chased after him.

Killer Instinct told Allen that Heavy Jab had only done minimal damage, but Suppression had succeeded in throwing off Clarence’s concentration. The Warrior’s wild swing left him bent over and off balance. Allen only needed to provide the slightest bit of assistance to get the young man tumbling over his shoulder with a defiant shout. Then he swiftly buried his knife in Clarence’s throat between the gap in his armor as the knight’s back slammed against the floor.

Clarence choked out a cry of pain as the rest of his body crashed against the floor. He clutched the knife in his neck, eyes bulging and rolling back in their sockets.

“That knife was poisoned,” Allen said flatly, standing up and lifting his blindfold.

Amon hummed in muted affirmation. “Kläus!” he shouted.

Allen silently assessed the potency of his poison as the blood Healer jogged over lazily. Clarence had started foaming at the mouth and seizing after a neurotoxin had taken effect. The knife in his throat certainly wasn’t helping either.

The effect of the poison was more pronounced than it had been against the driver from the Lanthinus company. He had been at a similar level, but his sword had been much more dangerous than Clarence’s.

“He’s probably a noble brat going through his rebellious phase,” Allen thought, chuckling at the sight of Kläus dragging the recruit away. The knife was still stuck in his neck as he struggled and croaked in vain.

You have defeated Warrior – Level 115

For fighting an enemy above your means, you receive a 50% XP bonus!

For a non-lethal defeat, you receive an 80% XP deduction!

Awarded 1604 XP

“Huh, he must have low vitality if it’s this bad…” He turned back to Amon, ignoring the gaping looks he was getting from the other recruits. He had long since learned that casual indifference could be far more frightening than violent gloating. “Who’s next, the Mage?” he asked.

“Why not,” Glaedyr said, rocking back on his heels. “Sylvester, you’re next.”

Allen hummed in response, taking his cleaned knife back from Kläus and covering his eyes again as Shoam urged the shell shook Mage forward. The last thing he saw was the recruit’s nametag.

Name: Sylvester

Human – Mage – Level 104

“Begin.”

Not an instant after Amon had started the match, Allen dashed straight at the Mage, closing the distance of ten meters in half a second. Sylvester, whom Allen had seen to be a heavy hitting Dawn aspect wind elementalist, wasn’t able to retaliate in time, but he was able to throw himself to the side with a gust of wind.

A few blades of wind magic cut into Allen’s side, his hip, and his vambrace before Sylvester came to a stop with a shaky grunt of effort. The Mage had barely an instant to rest before three needles flew towards him. Two missed, as they were thrown blindly, but one still embedded itself deep in the Mage’s shoulder due to his lack of resistance.

“Oh, that’s poisoned too,” Allen pointed out. Though he couldn’t see, Sylvester already had sweat beading on his pale face.

“I’m not done yet!” he shouted.

With that proclamation of his, Allen easily pinpointed Sylvester’s location at four meters off to his right. He sprinted low to the ground in a wide arc around the Mage, not giving him a chance to cast any of his more dangerous spells. Then, with another use of Heavy Accelerate, he switched back, diving straight at where he thought the Mage was. He took the edge of another powerful wind blade to the gut before he pounced, knocking Sylvester over and immediately pummeling his face with three uses of Heavy Jab.

“Stop,” Amon said. “Kläus, fix him please.”

Allen lowered his fist and stood up, hiding the pain from the unavoidable attacks he had taken. “That was pathetic; they were both way too slow for level one hundred.” Allen lifted his blindfold again and watched as Kläus drug the Mage off to the side by his cloak. “Why are they even here? That’s the real question.”

“Do I heal him too?” Kläus asked, offhandedly pointing at Allen.

“Hmm, no he is fine,” Shoam replied curtly, handing Allen back his three throwing needles.

You have defeated Mage – Level 104

For fighting an enemy above your means, you receive a 50% XP bonus!

For a non-lethal defeat, you receive an 80% XP deduction!

Awarded 732 XP

Allen rolled his eyes at his friend and the win message. He nodded his chin at the other Warrior. “You’re next…” Allen said, trailing off expectantly.

“Joel,” the Warrior said, taking a short sword and a small shield out from his inventory. His expression had gone from a confused disinterest, to a shaken look, and finally to a stone cold mask as he took a stance opposite Allen.

Name: Joel

Human – Warrior – Level 122

“His armor is much lighter, but the shield is a problem since I’m blindfolded.” Allen slipped the cloth back over his eyes. The pain from his injuries was there, and while the cuts were quite deep, the wind blades were also very sharp. That meant the bleeding wasn’t too bad if he kept the cuts covered with Mana Shroud. The skill sapped at his total available mana to keep in most of the blood, but that was preferable to dying. “Well, losing that is. I’m not going to die with Kläus and Meredith here.”

“Begin,” Amon said for the third time.

Allen dashed forward again, but he angled himself toward Joel’s shield side. He activated Expanded Awareness, listening closely for Joel’s footsteps over the sound of his own. The Warrior had the presence of mind to back away quietly and keep his mouth shut. He wasn’t quiet enough though.

Joel’s armor rattled and Allen threw a needle before dashing after it. He heard the sound of metal clanging on metal right in front of him, followed by a shout of effort. Allen faked a dodge to his right before blindly ducking to his left. He felt air flutter past his head as he, presumably, avoided the Warrior’s sword.

Joel shouted in alarm and stumbled back as Allen grabbed his sword arm by the wrist. Rather than pulling at his opponent, the Assassin let Joel pull him instead as he jumped and wrapped his legs around the Warrior’s waist. Allen stayed attached to his enemy, as his only means of keeping track of him. Expanded Awareness was starting to give him a headache and he didn’t want to overuse it.

Joel pulled vainly with his sword hand but resorted to beating Allen using the edge of his shield when he couldn’t shake the Assassin off.

Allen stabbed at where he figured Joel’s throat was. He found nothing but air, so he stabbed again at a different angle. He winced as the shield slammed into his head, filling the black of his vision with stars. His mouth filled with blood as the shield continued to strike him again and again.

Joel started trying to push Allen off instead, getting wilder with his movements while the Assassin stayed on him like a tick.

“I can’t let him escape because I can’t see… So I guess we’re going to the ground then.” Allen pushed back against Joel, stabbing at his neck in vain again. Then he twisted in place and wrapped a leg behind the Warrior’s foot just as he took a frantic step back. The Warrior quickly lost his balance with a yelp, pulling the Assassin with him.

Allen fell forward with Joel below him. His knife sunk into the Warrior’s throat with a garbled cry, but a splitting pain went through Allen’s gut at the same time. Sensing the end of the fight Allen unloaded with Heavy Jab, turning the Warrior’s face into a pulp. He received a few bone breaking blows in return, but they stopped on the fifth punch and then Joel’s body went limp on the eighth.

“Stop,” Amon said. His voice almost sounded disappointed. “Kläus, heal the boy.”

Allen stood up shakily and lifted his blindfold. The first thing he saw was Joel’s short sword impaled all the way to the hilt just below his stomach. He scratched his head. “Huh, I guess he switched hands.”

You have defeated Warrior – Level 122

For fighting an enemy above your means, you receive a 50% XP bonus!

For a non-lethal defeat, you receive an 80% XP deduction!

Awarded 2102 XP

Then Allen pulled his gaze up, meeting the eyes of the other three recruits with a hungry look. The fully healed Sylvester flinched away and looked down. Clarence, on the other hand, seemed more focused on Joel as the Fellman pulled the knife free of his neck. Blood spurted out before it was suddenly forced back in.

The Rogue glared back at him with a steady expression, though Allen could still sense the fear in her eyes and in how her knees wobbled. “What’s the matter girl?” he began, patting the sword in his gut and wiping blood from his face. “You don’t look so good.”

The girl looked like she was about to say something, but the doors to the training hall flew open before she could open her mouth. Allen raised his eyebrows when he saw who walked through, easily recognizing him as the whole room went quiet.

Name: Doc

[hidden] – Healer – Level [hidden]

The figure was dressed in a ragged cloak of black leathers and thick cloth. His boots were similar to Allen’s in their low profile and light build, though the leather was also black as a raven. The man stopped in the doorway and cupped a gloved hand to his chin quizzically. His expression was impossible to read through the circular lenses of his black leather mask. However, Allen had spent enough time around his master to know when he was smiling.

Doc laughed heartily, his voice a smooth tenor. “What is this? A family reunion?”