Duel

Jack walked through the streets of Herdita with a determined face. Perseus trailed him quietly as he headed directly towards the slums. Though the ripper gang had control of the ports, the slums were more like a mixing ground where the gangs fought in. If there was any place besides the ports that a ripper official would be, it would be in the slums.

Jack knew that best, he traveled through the streets normally, but once he hit the slums. He quickly ducked into a shady alleyway. Perseus didn't know where Jack was going, but he trusted Jack enough to just watch for now.

Jack had wanted to go for a higher-ranked gang member like a weapons dealer. Though they were still a bit low on the ranks, it would already be plenty for Perseus. technically Jack was currently around the minion rank of the ripper's gang. The lowest one.

Since young Jack was inducted into the rippers gang. Jack still shivered as he remembered being dragging into a room where they carved the tattoo onto his back with a dirty knife.

The rippers gang did nothing to help him after that, they tossed him back out, into the slums and would return periodically to take the money he made from stealing. They would always say it was a protection fee and take more than half of the money he stole. Jack had gained a few friends in the slums and as he saw the rippers harassing and taking what they wanted from them. Resentment built in his heart. But at that time he couldn't do anything a simple punch from one of the gang members would send him flying.

But now, with the help of his master he could return back to the slums with his head held high. Jack instantly thought about his old friends in the slums. There were 6 of them, 3 of them were girls and 3 of them were boys all around his age.

Jack had wanted to bring them back to the silver wings guild. But he never got a chance. Plus they all thought that he was being deceived by his master. Jack gripped his fists. This was the only way he could prove to them that his master truly had good intentions bringing people out of the slums.

Jack at this point was ready to give his life for Perseus, he had been saved from a terrible life that could have killed him any day and had treated everyone with kindness. Sometimes Jack thought his master was too kind, as somebody who had seen the worst of humans he was a bit worried about what would happen if somebody bad took advantage of his master's kindness.

If Perseus knew what Jack's thought process was, he would have laughed his head off. Perseus treated all of the new guild members well because they were his guild members, not because he was kind. No, he was definitely not kind.

Jack stepped through the familiar dark alley with light steps. He knew the entire slums like the back of his hand. He was currently on the outer parts of the slum where only the more desperate people would gather.

Even the slums had their own hierarchy, the weaker ones were shoved to the outer circle and the stronger ones were able to live in the inner part of the slums. That was where the gang members were usually occasionally a few gang members would be sent out to collect "protection fees" but otherwise the outer slums were decently peaceful.

Of course, that would change if somebody important-looking passed through the slums. An example could be Jason when he unknowingly walked into the slums wearing the emblem of the rose knights. That caused a large stir in the slums and many of the gang members were cautiously watching him as he walked through.

Jack walked quickly through the slums.

Some of the people who were slouched over in the streets looked at the young boy wearing rouge gear as they passed. Some were tempted to jump him, but the hooded figure trailing behind the boy gave them a death glare and made the sit right back down.

Jack emerged from another alleyway and winded through the mazelike paths of the slums. The smell from the slums only got worse, feces and other disgusting smells mixed together. And trash was littered everywhere. A thick layer of dirt seemed to cover almost everything making it seem like a trash dump. Which in a sense it slightly was. It was a place where the failures of society were gathered or more specifically, trash.

But one mans trash can be another's treasure and as Perseus walked through the slums his mind was already sprouting ideas on how he might be able to use these people. It might be slightly unethical but Perseus really didn't care as long as he could help his master he would do almost anything.

Jack suddenly stopped and gazed at a person sitting leisurely on some cracked steps of an abandoned and run-down building. He was surrounded by a group of 5 people, they looked like his guards and they were all holding some sort of weapon.

Perseus knew instantly who that person was without having to ask Boops to identify him. It was a weapons dealer and from the bloody tattoo of skulls and gore on his arm, he was a ripper.

Jack wasted no time and quietly walked up to the weapons dealer. The guards of the weapons dealer saw Jack and hastily went up to him menacingly holding their clubs and poorly made swords.

The guard in the front a big muscular man asked in a gruff voice

"what do you want?"

Jack lifted up his shirt to show his upper body. His body was filled with scars Perseus didn't know how he got them, but his body seemed much healthier than when he first met him.

Even at Jacks's young age, he was muscular and had well-defined muscles from all of the training Perseus had given him.

Jack turned around to show the ripper's tattoo.

The guard looked at the tattoo and then asked Jack

"Alright, we get it your a ripper what do you want?"

Jack unsheathed his dagger and pointed towards the bald weapons dealer who was playing with a knife on the stairs.

"I came to challenge you"

The weapons dealer looked at Jack in surprise and laughed. He stood up and threw down the dagger that he was spinning around.

He was bald and he towered over Jack. He said in a ridiculing manner

"you? you don't look older than 14 years old, you expect to beat me?"

Jack answered determinedly

"yes, i will beat you,"

The bald weapons dealer let out a loud roar of laughter. He pointed towards Jack and looked at the people guarding him.

"you see this, a brat thinks he can beat me?"

The weapons dealer squatted to reach Jack's level. His face was only a few inches away from Jack's as he said in a low growl

"fine, according to the rules "she" put out, I accept, if I lose you get my position if you lose I can kill you"

Perseus reacted to the last part of the weapon dealers' statement. He thought it was a duel, not an actual death battle. If he knew that he would have prepared Jack much more thoroughly.

The weapons dealer grabbed a long sword that was taller than Jack from one of the guards and pointed it towards Jack with a sneer.

"any last words brat?"

Jack didn't respond and instead pulled out both of his daggers and got into a comfortable stance.

The guards of the weapons dealer watched from a distance. They were chatting casually as if they already knew what the result of the battle would be.

The weapons dealer casually held up his sword in a loose stance and beckoned for Jack to approach him in a taunting manner.

Jack did just and used the sneak skill. Jack seemed to melt into the shadows and disappear.

The weapons dealer instantly knew something was off and tried to correct his stance and look around his surroundings carefully.

But it was too late and a pair of daggers stabbed into his back and slashed at his legs making him immobile.

The weapons dealer tried to look up from the ground, and he spotted Jack calmly cleaning his dagger as he watched the weapons dealer on the ground.

Jack said in a cold voice

"I didn't even get to try all of my skills, trash"

Perseus analyzed the weapons dealer as he was on the floor bleeding out

[rippers weapon dealer]

[level 25]

He gave off a small chuckle as he looked at Jack's status

[Jack]

[age: 10]

[level: 35]

Perseus laughed to himself, he really was worried over nothing.