Ding!

Level up! Current lvl 26.

New title received!

Clumsy Rescuer of Damsel in Distress.

+5 Fame

+1 Honor

Akira took a few seconds to put his newly acquired points into the usual stats.

“Mileena, nice name. The sooner you come out of the cage the faster you can leave this unsavory place,” said Akira trying to get her moving.

Mileena sniffed a few more times before standing up and exiting the cage.

“You're safe now that the slavers have been taken care of. I can't chat with you right now since I have to help clean up this mess. If you want we can talk later,” said Akira.

Mileena only gave a shy nod acknowledging Akira words.

Akira walked over to Varbu who had already made two fire pits for the bodies to burn and was now placing large amounts of flammable items along with pieces of the wagons inside each hole.

Seeing the hard work was mostly already done Akira began to search each body looting everything including their weapons and armor only leaving them with tattered bloody clothes.

With the help of Varbu, they dragged the bodies into the pit. The slavers and guards were placed in one pit while the slaves were placed in the other.

Akira was fully aware that Mileena had been following him like a lost puppy the whole time but said nothing afraid he might frighten her and cause more problems.

When the bodies had all been placed inside the pits they did not light it on fire just yet. Instead, they carried the armor and weapons that had been looted over to the wagons that were full of supplies and other items belonging to the dead guards and slavers.

They quickly sorted everything into different piles on the ground near the wagons.

“Everyone gather around!” shouted Varbu.

The freed slaves didn't dare to disobey the menacing red Orc who towered over them.

They each gave Akira and Varbu their meek thanks for freeing them numerous times.

When everyone had gathered near the supply wagons Akira spoke up.

“We have freed you from slavery but that does not mean your troubles are over. You will still have to endure the hardships of the desert to return to wherever it is you come from if that is even possible. To make it easier we have gathered some food and water to last you at least until you can make it to a different city other than Jabooty. I wouldn't go there as the guards might recognize some of you. You should also come and pick a piece of armor and weapon to better protect yourself.”

The small crowd of freed slaves became a mob as they rushed forward to gather items from the piles of supplies not wanting to be left out causing a few loud arguments. Mileena stood next to Akira not making any move to head towards the supplies.

Varbu stepped forward with his domineering gaze fixed on the mob cowing the unruly crowd before an all-out brawl could start. With Varbu keeping them in check everyone received what they needed to survive in the harsh desert.

Akira had gathered plenty of gold and silver from the bodies of the dead slavers and their guards enough that he was able to give each slave 1 gold and a few silver coins.

Akira gave Mileena the coins and watched as she tried to find pockets to put the money in but after finding nothing was forced to just hold it.

Seeing this Akira rummaged through the supplies and found a sturdy leather pouch attached to a leather belt. He tossed it over to Mileena who was surprised and was unable to catch it.

She bent down and picked it up and after a few seconds of inspecting it was able to understand why Akira had given it to her. She put her money into the pouch and fastened the belt around her thin waist.

Everything that was not taken by the freed slaves was put in Akira's bag before turning back to the freed slaves who were still equipping and sorting out their new belongings.

“You can stay with us until we reach the next city or you can leave now and take a camel to wherever you need to go. We won't stop you just make sure to watch out for bandits,” said Akira.

Akira and Varbu went back to moving the rest of the burnable items and wagons to the fire pits. By the time they had finished and lit the fire, there was only one person left standing where the crowd had been, everyone else along with the ten or so camels were gone.

“Well looks like you're sticking with us for now,” said Akira as he walked over to Mileena.

She quietly nodded her head but didn't say anything else.

“We need to leave now or we might get into trouble when other people come snooping around to see what's causing such a big fire,” said Varbu.

“Well then, let's go find a better place to spend the night,” said Akira gesturing for Mileena to walk next to him.

***

Akira, Varbu, and Mileena all sat around a small fire that was cooking some desert rabbits Akira had caught before they set up camp.

If a stranger happened to walk by they would think that the three together made for an odd group of traveling companions.

“So, Mileena, what caused you to come me and ask for help out of everyone else in the city?” asked Akira as he turned one of the rabbits cooking over the fire in order to evenly cook the other side.

Mileena who had been quietly nibbling on an already cooked rabbit finished chewing the small mouthful of meat before getting up the courage to answer.

“Your smell. I could tell you were not human. It's only now that I know that you're a werewolf which is even better,” she said with a quiet voice.

“Why's that?” asked Akira.

“Because I remember hearing my father talking to the other village elders about the werewolf clans agreeing to an alliance a few years ago.”

“Ah, that's good to hear. It means they are open to having allies. I might have more of a better chance in getting an alliance than I previously thought,” said Varbu between bites of the greasy meat.

“Do you know where the werewolf clans live?” asked Akira hopefully.

Mileena shook her head no. “I only heard about the alliance not where they lived.”

Akira sighed his hopes of easily finding them were destroyed.

“Why? Don't you know where they are? Aren't you werewolf's huge on families sticking together and pack mentality? You're not one of those outcast are you?” asked Mileena becoming wary of Akira and Varbu.

“No, nothing of the sort!” said Akira defensively he had already heard many rude things from strangers at Jabooty on this subject and didn't want Mileena to misunderstand and think those things also, “I was separated from my family at a young age. Over half a year ago I found out who I was and was going to return to them but certain things happened and now I'm traveling to find them.”

With the explanation, Mileena lessened her guard and continued to eat the cooked rabbit in her hands while still sending suspicious glances at Akira. She had heard stories from her sister and the other older kids in her tribe of the type of people that were banished from the werewolf clans. They were all exotic perverts of different types and were so extreme that even their clansmen shunned them.

“I'm sorry if I scared you earlier at the cages,” apologized Akira.

“Forget it ever happened! And I wasn't scared! I was just under a lot of stress and it slipped out,” said Mileena in a loud clear voice for the first time since they had met. Her face turned a tinge of pink in embarrassment.

“Okay... okay...” said Akira trying to calm her down he had already escaped a psychotic childhood friend and did not want to deal with another crazy female right now. So he tried to make sure she didn't explode.

The three continued to eat silently while the small fire cooked the last of the desert rabbits caught.

Mileena finished eating and threw the bones into the fire. She sat quietly sneaking looks at both Akira and Varbu.

A few more minutes past before she spoke up, “Um...I need help.”

“Help? Help for what?” asked Akira puzzled at what she meant.

“My sister was also captured I need to help save her,” said Mileena.

“I'm sorry but we don't have the time to go looking for someone when we don't even know where they are. We also have our own missions to complete.”

“I know where she is! She's at the capital city Otria.”

“Oh, well that's convenient. We're headed that way as well. You're welcome to join us for the journey to Otria.”

“There's another problem she was sold to the game master of the main arena. That arena is set to host the annual strongest fighter tournament. And the gladiators including my sister will be forced to participate.”

“I see what you mean that does pose a challenge,” said Akira.

“Do you know what this year's theme is?” asked Varbu.

“I heard the slavers talk about it. This year it's supposed to be a team battle. Each team has two people, and the last two teams will be forced to fight to the death,” said Mileena.

“Varbu what do you think?” asked Akira.

“While I'm not against helping since we're going that way, but I don't think putting yourself in any more danger is productive to our goals,” said Varbu.

“Please! I need your help to save my sister she is the only family I have left. The slavers killed everyone in my village before capturing us!” Mileena begged them while tears started to well up in her eyes ready to burst at any moment.

“Okay...But under 1 condition. You have to help in rescuing her. That means you have to join me in entering the tournament as a team member. Even if Varbu and I were able to free her. If you can't find the courage and strength to help her now then you both will have a hard time making a living when things get rough again,” said Akira after thinking for several minutes.

“What?” said both Varbu and Mileena at the same time.

Mileena had though Akira would politely refuse since they did not know each other but she had to ask just in case there was a chance. She didn't expect him to accept nor that he would require her to fight.

“That... well...um...I'm not that good at fighting...My sister Is far better than me,” said Mileena quietly.

“Don't worry we can help you hone your skills while we travel to the capital. We're sorta experts at fighting since we do a lot of it. We've even fought in a few dungeons and killed many monsters,” said Akira puffing his chest out.

“We're constantly fighting because you keep choosing the hardest path, and then decide to stop and poke the sleeping bear in the eye,” said Varbu grumbling just loud enough to be heard.

Akira coughed trying to ignore the comment but the cool aura he had been giving off had already been shattered.

“Well, I think we should get some sleep. We can talk about everything else in the morning,” said Akira quickly standing up and entering one of the three tents surrounding the small fire.

***

Vussia capital.

Jezebel walked alone through a dark cold underground hallway deep beneath the castle. She was in a foul mood right now due to having found zero clues to where Akira had escaped to.

Without knocking she pushed open the door that had appeared before her and entered a large underground research room.

“Master, we are honored that you decided to surprise us with your visit,” said a balding male researcher.

“Keep your flattery to yourself if you want to keep both your tongue and your life,” said Jezebel angrily.

A strained smile appeared on the researchers face.

“Have you completed it yet?”

“We just completed it and were doing the last checks before we were going to inform you,” said the researcher.

“Took you guys long enough. With this I will be able to receive instant messages from any of the major cities in Vussia,” said Jezebel her mood improving.

“It's amazing that the magic guild had something like this in secret not letting anyone else use it. What's more impressive is the upgrade we were able to make using the fire gems as a key component to making it work with multiple instances instead of only one.”

“Yes, the local Magic guild master was kind enough to tell me all of its secrets and quite a few other things I had never heard of or even things I never thought could be possible before. I have other things to do. Keep me informed on how well it works. If you still need to make changes to make it work better do it,” said Jezebel before leaving the room in a slightly better mood than she had arrived with.