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As Lyra and Opal worked the crowd one particularly enthusiastic male Elf tried to push papers into Opal’s bag. Opal snatched the bag away, scowling at him.

“What is that? Stop trying to put your nasty leveler trash in my bag!”

Lyra plucked one of the papers from the Elf and looked it over. It was a PLH contract, Power Leveling Hours, the alternative currency to coinage.

Annoyed, she thrust the paper back into his hands.

“How are you going to bet PLH? That doesn't make any sense!”

The Elf gave her a charming smile, his red hair perfectly coiffed. “Well if it goes my way you would be helping me level, in the dungeon, just us together. Or hey, if I lose I would, of course, help you, if only for half the time since you are claiming two to one odds. Alas, it would be less time, but anytime with you would have... great value to me.”

Lyra’s hand edged toward her face in an instinctive facepalm, with difficulty she restrained herself. Godsdamned amorous Elves, she was embarrassed to count herself as half of one at times.

“According to that contract I’m lower level than you, and I’m not even a real combat Class, sorry but no, you can’t power level someone stronger than you, and I’m not taking these anyway! Bet real gold if you want to bet. Opal, next!”

“W-wait, hold on now, we don’t have to level, we could-”

“She said no Elfy!” said Opal. She kicked him in the shin and turned away.

The Elf looked down at his shin more in surprise that a Goblin slave had the audacity to touch him than pain. By the time he looked up again Lyra and Opal had moved on and were surrounded by people trying to throw money at them.

Meanwhile, in the center of the square surrounded by the crowd, Adlen was cracking his knuckles and rolling his neck. He put a hand on a knee and leaned to the side, then the other, stretching out and easing his muscles, loosening up, shaking out his limbs and then going through various martial motions with his spear.

Rain watched the tip of the spear as it swung. Not so long ago it had been used to cut him apart, painted red with the last of his life. Adlen continued to move, performing stretches, practising smooth languid strikes. The more this continued, and the more Adlen ignored him, the angrier Rain got, it was like he was being mocked. The box in his mind splintered and came apart. He could no longer hold himself back.

“Get on with it,” snarled Rain causing the crowd nearest him to step back in alarm. He tensed and untensed his paws, rolling his claws, eager to lay into this HUMAN, he could practically feel the wounds of his death, missing arms, spilled guts, ghostly apparitions that marred his body, prickling at his nerves, like little clawed demon hands picking and pulling at his mind. This one had done this to him, ended him, disfigured him, mutilated him. Adlen had-. He could feel his memories crawling up his back, trying to drag him down, down into the suffocating darkness.

“Warrior’s value preparation, maybe you could learn something,” said Adlen with a sneer, spinning his spear as he warmed up.

“I’m not a warrior,” said Rain, his voice dark. “I am a killer. A predator.”

Adlen paused at that and really gave Rain his attention. He didn't seem to like what he saw. A little doubt seeped into his expression. He shook his head, this was just another fight with yet another monster, if a particularly threatening looking one with eyes that- well, it didn’t matter. He settled himself and then turned to his side where the woman he had brought with him sat. He raised an eyebrow and tapped the butt of his spear against her until she was forced to move, scuttling on all fours to the edge of the crowd. He caught her attention and wagged a finger at her.

“Wish me luck.”

“G-good luck!” whimpered the woman.

“Really Adlen?” said Lira, folding her arms and giving him a disappointed glare.

“Oh fuck off Lira, it’s not like you haven’t been dropped like a sack of shit before. Where’s Brax hmm? Yeah, I thought so. I’m just ensuring long term loyalty, you should do the same with some low leveler guy.”

“I have some self respect. If you care so much then why don't you spend more time trying to level up?”

Adlen glared at her but didn't reply, instead he dropped into position, spear held at the ready by his side and faced Rain. “Maybe that's how this will end,” he muttered.

Lyra appeared to one side, arms raised in the air again, drawing attention.

“We’ll have a nice clean fight!”

Rain gave her a look.

“Er, well a moderately dirty fight! Ready! Set! Go!” she finished the last bit in a rush and leapt back into the crowd.

Rain dropped his center of balance forward, angling his legs, the claws on his feet tearing up the cobble. He powered forward hard, leaping into the air, his entire huge mass going airborne, claws outstretched reaching for Adlen, maw ready to snap down.

The problem was that Adlen was already in motion, activating a Skill that released a store of momentum built up from his warm up he accelerated at an incredible speed. The butt of his all-metal spear struck the cobble in a flash of sparks and he violently shoved himself to the side, out of Rain’s path, then pivoting on his heel as smoothly as a dancer he twisted and sent the deadly blade of his spear whipping toward Rain.

Rain had only a moment to understand by just how much he had underestimated Adlen before the razor sharp metal tore into his shoulder. It was only the instinctive jerk of his arm that stopped it from going further, knocking aside the shaft with his forearm.

He spun and crashed down, cobble shattering under his feet from the impact. Turning in the same motion he twisted and lunged for Adlen aiming to catch him unawares with his lack of reaction to being wounded, but Adlen was ready and danced backwards skipping just out of range of Rain’s claws, blood flicking off his spear.

Fast. Adlen was unbelievably fast and slippery.

Rain snarled and tried grabbing for the spear, lunging forward with each stride, if he could just wrap his paws around the shaft he could rip it from Adlen’s grasp leaving the leveler unable to harm him and completely defenceless.

Swipe, swipe, grab. Miss, miss, miss. With growing frustration Rain found his attacks thwarted again and again and again, his paws avoided or batted aside by the twirling twisting spear.

The crowd moved with them as Adlen retreated under Rain’s ferocity, backing up through the market. Lyra watched with concern, suddenly a lot more worried about how this was going to go. It didn't matter how strong Rain was if he couldn't touch the damned leveler. She caught the blacksmith out of the corner of her eye, he was looking at her with a raised eyebrow, ‘I told you so’ practically radiating off of him in physical waves.

He was right of course, to Lyra’s irritation. Most levelers who took on larger monsters had specially prepared tactics, it made sense, no point being caught under a large monster's weight advantage, far better to avoid and poke and use Skills. She just hadn't expected it to work quite this well against Rain, Adlen’s Class was clearly built for speed and it was paying off.

“Fitz! Don’t let him wear you down!” she cried out.

Adlen smirked as he dodged Rain’s lunging claws once more, his feet deftly moving across the ground keeping him just out of reach.

“Your moron master just lost herself a slave it seems. I am curious how she controls you, she looks like a low leveler, maybe tens at a stretch. Let me guess, she has some spawn of yours locked up somewhere, or wait, perhaps it’s an enchanted implant designed to pierce your heart? I’ve heard they save that for the most feral ones.”

Rain snarled and lunged for his throat, paw grabbing. Adlen turned to the side, evading, and brought the spear up to slice open Rain’s stomach, Rain threw his weight at an angle, diving out the away, just dodging the blade. He rolled on the cobble, his back to Adlen and Adlen took the chance, charging in with his spear lancing forward, ready to skewer Rain.

Exactly as Rain had planned. Rain spun as he came up, holding himself up with his paws and kicking out his leg. His foot hooked around a burning brazier and he flung it around and straight toward the charging leveler. Hot coals and a spitted chicken fell from it as it tumbled through the air and Adlen had to abort his charge and back up, holding up his spear to fend off the flying hunk of metal. The crowd behind cried out as they were showered with sparks and fire and burning coals and an entire roasted chicken.

Not even pausing Rain slammed his paws down onto the cobble, spreading his digits and digging his claws in, then using his outsized strength he powered his arms forward, ripping his paws through the chunks of stone and earth and shovelling them up in an under arm swing. Adlen had barely fended off the brazier before dozens of fist sized cobble stones were hurtling toward him. In an instant he set his feet and spun his weapon. Flashes of light left after images in Rain’s eyes as light sparked at both ends of the spear and the spear vanished, no, not vanished, just spinning in Adlen’s hand so fast it was a soft blur audibly fanning the air.

Stone cracked and ricocheted again and again against the spinning metal as Adlen fended off the projectiles, less fortunate were the crowd behind who howled as heavy cobblestones thudded against exposed flesh. Rain recognised a Skill when he saw one and wasn't about to let Adlen press him with it. He was already lunging forward and scooping up the fallen brazier, the squat cast iron rods still hot to the touch as he drove the thing into the spinning blur of the spear.

CLANG! The brazier did its job, the spear was stopped with an ear splitting noise, the metal crashing together violently causing the spear to visibly wobble along its length and for Rain’s paws to sting from the vibration that shook the brazier. Adlen flinched and nearly dropped his weapon, leaping backwards out of surprise. He continued to retreat until he found himself by a large round fountain over a dozen feet wide, ringed by a thick knee high wall. In the middle of the pool was a statue of the original founding Ranker of Lynthia, worn and mossy with age, water burbling down its surface.

The fountain was near the top of the market, the fight having moved them there. The crowd had been following along, although having just been caught by Rain's impromptu projectiles they were a lot more cautious of coming close and the space around the two had increased greatly.

Adlen jumped up on the pool wall of the fountain and gave Rain a wary look before examining his spear for damage, seeing it was fine he checked over his hand, rolling his knuckles and squeezing his fist tight. He was clearly discomfited, though he tried to hide it.

“You know something about Skills monster?”

Rain remained silent, his eyes carefully watching the leveler. This seemed to bother Adlen more than a reply.

Adlen stepped backwards around the rim of the fountain, his feet perfectly placed to keep his balance. Rain stalked around it in turn, following the wall and Adlen. The leveler kept him at a distance until Rain suddenly rushed forward, reaching out to grab at him. This time Adlen was not content to let Rain have it all his way and he stabbed at his paws, slicing at him, cutting at his paw pads, using the fountain to his advantage, sending flicking lines of blood into the air to patter down on the water with each strike. Rain’s increasingly desperate attempts to grab the spear thwarted and countered in blood.

Rain slowed, clearly getting frustrated. He watched as Adlen danced backwards around the fountain twirling his spear.

He sneered, “Stupid monster, know your betters. You are nothing, just fuel for my leveling or a trophy for me to parade around, a dog I will put to heel.”

Fuck this. Rain turned, stepped up on the pool wall, and booted the statue in the middle of the fountain as hard he could. He expected the statue to break halfway up, instead the entire fountain ripped from the water and exploded through the side of the pool's outer wall straight where Adlen was standing. Adlen was blown off his feet as half a ton of stone crashed into him, sending him rolling across the cobble as broken chunks of statue showered and clattered down around him.

Rain blinked. That... had worked a little better than expected.