by Ink Bamboo
Instinctively, Zaros’s pores opened up to their touch. The strings of mana gladly entered Zaros’s skin under Amro’s guidance, joining forces with his cells in order to fight off the poison. At the same time, a refreshing sensation emerged from within the boy’s body. An inner energy coalesced to fight the poison he’d drank – Aura.
This was Amro’s plan. With his homemade concoction, he would both awaken both Zaros’s aura and affinity to mana. This painful method ensured the child awakened the best potential his body could offer.
The poison and the two forces inside Zaros’s body fought each other. Amro had intended for the poison to leave behind a solid foundation. Thus, the poison would flare until Zaros’s body could finally assimilate the mana and aura to their fullest potential.
I’ll return this pain to you someday.
Curses and insults went through Zaros’s mind as he dealt with Amro’s plan. His anger against his partner was what held him awake through the pain until it eventually subsided. Zaros’s body had finally adapted to the new sources of strength, giving him the ability to fight off the invading poison.
The changes were now set. However, unlike the youth’s expectations, he didn’t feel much different. The only thing he noticed was a refreshing feeling caressing his skin. It reminded him of being submerged in a cold river after a day of hunting. His body felt soothed by it as if it now had something else to rely on.
Amro had waited for Zaros’s anger to subside. Only until he’d finally run out of complaints did he decide to speak. “These sensations you currently feel are the power systems governing this world: mana and aura. The latter strengthens you from within, allowing your body to accomplish feats impossible to other humans. The former allows you to influence the natural phenomena surrounding you, orchestrating the world and its creatures to follow your will.”
Zaros was taken by surprise. He had heard of mana once before from the traveling merchants. It was rumored that those mages from the mainland used it to acquire great power. Through it, they were strong enough to shake mountains and displace rivers, it was a power that could alter the course of nature itself. The thought of controlling such a thing had never crossed his mind before.
However, unlike mana, the concept of aura was new to him. Zaros was trying to understand the concept when Amro continued his explanation.
“You have an advantage now, boy. Most people who reach rank one only open the possibility to enrich themselves with these powers. But in your case, your body has already assimilated them. This will let you accommodate more time for training in other things.”
Zaros nodded in a half-hearted manner. He understood only part of what Amro had told him, but the overall message was that the pain he suffered had been worth something. He was just about to dress and continue his conversation with Amro when a knock on the door called for his attention.
“Boss Zaros, I’ve brought some food. May I come in?” asked a familiar feminine voice from outside the door. It was Maria, the young brown-haired girl who’d brought Amro’s parcel earlier that day.
Zaros sighed. He would have to put off his conversation with Amro until later. For the time being, his growling stomach was far more important than his partner.
Zaros pulled the door open just in time to see the girl straighten her back and bow. The slight display of obedience was not something he could easily get accustomed to.
“Please, don’t be so polite,” he told her.
Once the girl raised her head, Zaros could see a small blush on her face. In his rush to open the door, he hadn’t put on anything aside from his underwear.
“Sorry,” she mumbled, passing the tray of food into her boss’s hands. “Is there any other way I can be of service?”
“Not really,” said Zaros, ignorant of the implications behind her earlier question. “Thanks for the food.”
Maria smiled slightly, turning her back and leaving her boss to his own devices. As she made her way back to the lower floors, she tried recalling the faint smell from inside the room. It reminded her of the apothecary shop in the central part of town.
Remembering how her boss had requested a series of herbs the day before, she couldn’t help but conclude that he was also well-versed in the art of alchemy. Her eyes brightened as that belief gained strength in her heart. There were few things as useful to her right now as learning about her boss.
Chapter 13
A treacherous plan.
A resentful Slyfox sat down in a small church on the eastern side of Sol. Even if his businesses ventures belonged to the darker side of town, he’d accrued enough wealth to receive medical attention from the church. Institutions like this would only care about someone’s background on the surface; the truth was that wealth reigned supreme for mortals. With enough wealth in your pockets, background could often be overlooked.
Despite his incoming treatment, rage consumed Slyfox’s. After last night’s defeat, he chose to leave the gang’s base in a fit of anger. His defeat may not have stung as bad if he hadn’t been replaced. His once loyal underlings had bowed down to a child.
What made it worse was that the actions of his subordinates couldn’t even be considered a betrayal. Their loyalty was only to one thing: strength. Knowing that made him burn with far more anger, for he could not accept his own weakness.
Over the years, he had grown accustomed to the authority that came from powerful. His only wish right now was to get revenge on that demonic child in order to recover the organization he had built from the ground up. He could have submitted and become another subordinate to the boy. His pride, however, would never allow for such a thing.
Several plans went through Slyfox’s mind. Of course, holding a one-on-one battle was out of the question. Even if Slyfox was prideful, he was not stupid. The child had already proven to be above him in terms of combat ability. Thus, only one option remained: using a hired blade to deal with his opponent.
However, that was easier said than done. Hiring a mercenary was not an option. Rank two mercenaries were both rare and costly, and no rank one mercenary would be willing to take the task. This was also not something he could afford after the church’s costly treatment. For some reason unknown to him, many small churches had started raising their fees recently, making the treatment of wounds with holy magic a luxury not many could afford.
So, where could he find someone to deal with the newcomer? Someone who would not involve him, someone who would not require too much of a payment. His mind pondered over it until only one option was left — the nobles.
He would have to convince them that it was in their best interests to stop the child’s growth. The best way to do this was to entice them with a mix of potential benefits and dangers.
He could tell them about the child’s potential, but he feared that would instead make them greedy to recruit the boy under their own banner. He needed them to believe the child was more of an immediate threat to them. How should I approach this situation? he wondered.
Suddenly, an idea then popped into his head. Would it be possible to make the nobles believe the child was an envoy from the rebel forces, sent to start a new campaign in the south? It wasn’t unheard of to use a child as a long-term infiltration plan inside enemy forces. It was a long shot, but the paranoia currently held by the ruling classes was on his side.
With time, the appeal of the idea started growing on Slyfox. He could let the information flow naturally if he used some of his old contacts. Even if he had his place as the leader of the gang taken away, he still had the power to maintain a healthy network of people that could be of use to him.
The nobles would grow afraid once his rumor spread. Just what had happened to the nobles in the north shortly after the rebellion started? Most of them were hanged, their possessions taken away and redistributed amongst the common folk. The fear of losing their power would scare them into action. They wouldn’t hesitate to act. Provided that they did, Slyfox could use the chance to swoop in and recover
what was rightfully his.
He wasn’t afraid of the gang disbanding or losing members. Slyfox was sure that once he took back control, he could calm the nobles into backing off. In the end, the nobility still required the underworld to accomplish certain tasks for them.
As he sat down, adding more elements to his plan, a priest entered the room. Seeing Slyfox sitting down in such a lethargic state made the priest curious. Just who could have made the leader of the biggest gang in the slums end up requesting help from the church?
“So, what brought you here?” asked the priest.
Slyfox stared at the cleric without answering before he took off his shirt, displaying his back. The shape of a palm the size of a child’s was violently marked on it. It looked like he had been slapped really hard by a brute with really small hands.
However, the priest was not foolish enough to think someone would spend so much money treating a simple slap, much less the man before him.
With two parts curiosity and one part carefulness, the priest approached Slyfox. He placed his hand on the hoodlum’s back, carefully touching around the wound. His face soon crumpled up as he sensed a mana different to Slyfox’s imprinted on the palm-shaped mark. It felt ancient and deadly, yet restrained and lacking. Much like the dregs of a deadly poison that had failed to meet a lethal-dose.
Unfortunately, it didn’t end there. Slyfox’s body seemed to have been invaded by the foreign mana. The priest frowned as he pondered whether he should risk offending the owner of this skill just to earn some money. Even more so when he recalled a rumor stating that Slyfox might have been replaced by his gang the night before.
Coming to a compromise with himself, the priest decided to offer a treatment that wouldn’t require too much of his intervention. He took a vial filled with water and splashed it over Slyfox’s wound, before handing another vial to him. A sizzling sound filled the air as Slyfox felt something akin to boiling water burning his back. His face contorted at the painful sensation, but his anger helped him suppress any displays of weakness.
His calm demeanor changed, however, once he saw the vial and recognized what it was filled with. “Holy water, is that it? Do you seriously think a couple vials of holy water are worth this much?”
“It’s more than enough to deal with a wound like yours,” the priest answered. “You know the church doesn’t like to meddle in the conflicts of exemplary humans.”
But you sure like taking my money, don’t you? thought Slyfox as he looked at the vial. He was aware the church had recently changed the way they handled their business, but he hadn’t thought they would have become so stingy.
Alas, he had no option but to take the humiliation in silence. He couldn’t afford to make an enemy of the church by raising a complaint. Not at this time, anyway.
The priest frowned as he understood the disappointment behind Slyfox’s expression. His church, related to the Goddess of the Harvest, had been experiencing hardships as of late. For some reason, their goddess had stopped answering their prayers, which would have made the entire church collapse if not for the intervention of major churches like the Church of Life.
To offer their usual healing services they had started to rely on the use of consumables, just like the holy water he had presented Slyfox moments ago. Of course, the cost at which they offered these services had increased as well. A much needed move to compensate for the change in their logistics.
Unfortunately for Slyfox, the priest now had two reasons to stay away from this issue. One of them was the mysterious character who had injured Slyfox. The other was the lack of resources his church had as of late. All in all, he decided to leave it at that.
After feeling the holy water relieve some of his pain, Slyfox took his shirt and got up. Then, he left the room without saying goodbye to the priest.
The priest sighed in return. It was clear to see that the authority of his church had decreased. Even a hoodlum like Slyfox dared to assume that kind of attitude towards them. Without any other choice, he forced himself to take the payment left behind by Slyfox, putting this issue behind.
Ignorant to the priest’s struggles, Slyfox made his way to a tavern in the center of the city. The central area of Sol housed the markets, a place where the rich and the poor were able to mingle. It represented the biggest interest of them all: money.
As Slyfox took a seat, the bartender approached him and passed him a glass of ale.
“I heard the king lost his throne,” said the bartender with a smug smirk. The news had already reached him. No place was better to gather information than one where people willingly spilled it while drunk.
Slyfox struggled to keep his composure. He needed this man’s help if he wanted control to recover his authority. Frowning, he took a huge gulp of the ale placed before him. It was part of his plans to make it seem like he was spilling information. Drinking emotionally was a must.
“You must mean usurped,” said Slyfox. “That guy has no claim to leading my gang. He’s not from around here, and I even suspect he’s an envoy from the north.”
The bartender’s eyes widened with interest. Half of his income came from selling alcohol, but the other half came from selling information. He readied another drink, passing it to Slyfox as he eagerly waited for the man to continue.
“From what I’ve gathered, he entered yesterday by the western gate,” added Slyfox. “Don’t you find it strange that the first thing he did was challenge the biggest gang in town?”
Slyfox finished his first drink and took the new one the bartender had prepared. He didn’t mind getting a few free drinks while accomplishing his goal. “You know how much work I put into building the gang from the ground up? It was me who unified the entire slums!”
A few gazes turned Slyfox’s way as whispers and murmurs started to dance around the tavern. Many recognized his face and were surprised to see his bandaged leg. Who could have done that to the mighty ruler of the slums?
Slyfox suppressed his anger. Taking back his title required taking a few hits to his reputation. The time for revenge would come once this entire ordeal was over.
His eyes move around the tavern, taking a mental note of each men and women whispering his name over their drinks. Very few of those who kept gossiping were even rank one, much less at the boundary between rank one and rank two like him.
The bartender noticed how Slyfox was becoming a bit rowdy, calling too much attention to their conversation. Obviously, he wanted to keep the information Slyfox could share to himself. If the one who defeated the man really turned out to be an envoy from the rebels, he could easily collect a significant bounty by reporting it to the nobles.
He signaled for one of his maids to service Slyfox and calm him down. A girl with an ample bosom approached the flaxen-haired thug and rested her chest on his back. Her intent was to distract him with her charms.
Slyfox momentarily frowned as the pain in his back resurfaced upon contact with the woman’s bust. Unable to perceive her intentions, he leaned forward to remove the weight pressing down on him. His annoyed face was enough to tell the woman that she was dismissed.
“Brother Slyfox, how about you follow me to the VIP area? Even if you lose your gang, you’re always welcome here,” said the bartender in an attempt to recover the situation.
Slyfox nodded, accepting the bartender’s offer. He slowly stood up and made his way upstairs to a more private space in the tavern. The bartender followed him, taking along a couple of drinks with the highest alcohol concentration he had available.
Only the maid was left behind, bitter about her services being rejected. Just like the bartender, she had misunderstood Slyfox’s action and thought it had a deeper meaning. This bothered her as it would reflect badly on herself. She might even get fired if her boss deemed her responsible for any fallout with Slyfox.
“Tch, stupid eunuch.”
Unaware to Slyfox, another rumor aside from the one he was starting would spread from that day onward. One that
would make his efforts of chasing women considerably harder in the future.
Chapter 14
Refusing the status quo.
Zaros sat at a table with several members of Slyfox’s old gang. The past few days had been hectic for him. Not only because Amro insisted on having him spend most of his time training, but also because meetings like this had become a common occurrence.
Even if Amro had displayed convincing fighting prowess while in Zaros’s body, many residents of the slums refused to believe Slyfox’s defeat. They thought some kind of conspiracy was afoot. This misinterpretation of the events brought Zaros no shortage of troubles.
Smaller gangs had gathered in rebellion to Zaros’s new leadership, believing him to be an asset used by the nobles to control them. Because of that, they refused to pay their usual fees to the gang, causing the residents of the slums to worry about an incoming civil war. Reasonably so, given how increasingly challenging their interactions with the nobles were becoming.
Slyfox’s old gang had a strong role in the hierarchy of the slums. They had coordinated crime in the city, managed tasks the guilds were unwilling to accept, and even offered protection to those who required it. The absence of their dominion had plunged everything into chaos.
The authority Slyfox once commanded had been built over the years. He had established alliances with the smaller powers in town and even with some circles of nobility; all of this had ensured a semblance of peace and stability to those who were residing in the slums. Alas, Slyfox’s reign was no more.
Zaros had come to understand that his predecessor's methods, cruel as they were, had been the reason for the slums prolonged survival. Through them, the slums had a semblance of order. Had it not been for Slyfox and his gang, this side of the city might have already been demolished, with its past residents sold into slavery by a few of the noble houses.
The way of life in this town was very different from what Zaros had grown accustomed to in his small forest settlement. Alas, the problem was now on his hands. It was up to him to figure out a way to address it.