Chapter 51: Confrontation

Luke once again found himself in the presence of the disgusting individuals he saw yesterday. However, this time, there was a slight change.

He was in a much nicer house, one that smelled a lot better, not the one he visited yesterday.

The tall muscular woman with dark red hair, now stood tall, she wore a maid's uniform that showed a great deal of cleavage and her face was stoic but Luke could see the blush on her face, her hands gently placed below her abdomen with once on top of the other, imitating the grace and poise of an actual maid.

He saw none of her imposing nature and threatening aura that he was used to; in fact, if he had never known who she was before this meeting, he would have thought she looked cute in that outfit.

The contrast between her previous impression and current look was palpable, and he found himself slack-jawed.

"Good afternoon Mr Luke Johnson, I do hope you are in fine health"

Luke, who had been a bit shocked, turned to look at the person who spoke, and he once again found himself at a loss for words.

The voice was very feminine, like a sophisticated noble lady. However, the voice belonged to a man, the same effeminate man he had seen yesterday, only now he wore a black blazer with golden linings on the cuffs and shoulders, a white button-up shirt beneath the blazer and an ascot.

His long and beautiful hair was tied into a neat ponytail that suited the man greatly and Luke couldn't help but find him a bit cute, something that disturbed him.

The man, too, was a complete contrast from what he saw yesterday.

"Y-yes, thank you, I hope you're in fine health too"

He responded, his mind still taken aback by what he was seeing.

"Excellent, as my darling Irma has told you yesterday, you owe me some money, so I have a request I want you to complete for me"

Count Paul stated as he pulled out a piece of paper from the drawer of his desk and slid it towards Luke, whose eyes had bulged wide open to the size of tea saucers.

Luke had always had a certain image of nobles, he didn't think all of them were scum, but he thought a majority of them were. However, he never thought there'd be one who was a degenerate of such a degree.

"Wha-what kind of request?"

He asked, trying to collect himself as he took the paper and recognised the picture that was drawn on it and frowned, realising what this probably was about.

"I'm sure you can guess"

The Count stated, and Luke looked over the poster; there were rules about killing another adventurer; it was something you were not supposed to do, and it was something he wasn't keen on doing. However, he saw the price of the bounty; it wasn't exactly a lot of money, but…

"What's in it for me?"

He asked, his gaze shifting from the poster to the Count's face and focused on the expression trying to discern any falsehood in his response.

"Zero interest on your debt for three months and you get to pay only half of it during those three months"

Luke nearly jumped at the offer but quickly held himself back; there was definitely a catch they probably weren't telling him, but at the same time, did it matter?

To a different person, the answer would have been "yes", but Luke was in no position to look a gift horse in the mouth.

"Why me?"

"Why not you? You're a disposable Pawn that can't be traced back to me and if you fail I get two debt slaves"

"A debt isn't transferable, that's illegal"

The beating of his heart quickened as he uttered those words; once again, his stomach churned with guilt and anxiety; this was his fault; his family was threatened simply because he was an idiot.

"Haha! Do you even hear yourself?"

The Count said after a slight chuckle, his voice was melodious and smooth to hear, and Luke was able to realise what the man was getting at; just because it's illegal doesn't mean it can't happen.

With a gulp of his saliva and a clenching of his fists, Luke agreed to the terms.

"OK, I agree to your terms"

He had little choice in the matter, and unfortunately, this was a result of his foolish action, so he had no one but himself to blame; he clenched the poster in anger, anger at himself, but also determination.

"Excellent, now get out!"

The count said, and Luke couldn't help but feel the rudeness was entirely unnecessary, but nonetheless, he complied.

"Are you sure that was wise, M'lord"

Irma asked, turning her head towards the Count. Her face flushed red as a tomato, and he smiled looking at her; the contrast was certainly cute to witness.

"It should be fine. The target was stronger than expected, but he should be able to get it done…"

The Count said, his voice sweet as he spoke. He paused his sentence as he stood up from his chair and gestured for her to sit on his chair, and she complied.

"But if he doesn't get it done, you'll be up for it so it's fine"

He finished as she sat, he took a seat on her lap and she gave him a nod acknowledging his words.

...

The time of day was noon, and the sun was high in the sky, blasting its blazing heat down below.

Luke Johnson stealthily followed his prey, paying careful attention not to alert him of his presence, while also formulating a plan of attack.

'This idiot is a C-rank but had the audacity to insult me about my rank'

He thought to himself as he watched his target move deeper and deeper into the forest, something Luke was grateful for; the farther and farther he goes, the less likely he'll run into other adventurers, and he can easily kill the man without any issue.

Of course, an investigation will be held, but he has a solid alibi for that, so things should be smooth. It also helped that Eon took a CCC rank quest meaning there is an increased risk of him not coming back from the quest.

After an hour or so, the two were now deep in the forest, and the only noise they could hear was the sounds of birds chirping and river streams; they were properly separated from society, meaning this was the time to attack.

Luke watched his prey as it stopped and looked around, scratching his head giving Luke the opportunity to attack.

'Since he's C-rank this should be quick and easy'

He thought; he hesitated just slightly, and his heartbeat quickened, but he quickly resolved himself; an octagonal-shaped magic circle appeared around his wrist and spun like a wheel.

Commanding the very earth, he quickly moulded the ground, shaping it into a hand that suddenly grabbed Eon's entire body and squeezed, hard!

"The fuck!"

Luke's target exclaimed in confusion, something that Luke took as a sign that he had been successful in his ambush.

"Alright he's trapped"

Luke whispered, his heart pounding in his chest; nervousness and anxiety sought to get a hold of him, but he controlled his breaths, maintaining a sense of calm; as a mage, remaining calm was important as it helped properly circulate your mana, making it so you don't waste any mana when you cast.

After having trapped his foe, another magic circle appeared this time above his hand, and an arrow made from the earth formed. With a bit of [Positive Inverse casting] or [PIC], Luke made the arrow as hard as steel for maximum penetration power.

He then had the arrow spin at high speeds, creating a high-pitched vibration before launching it forward faster than any C rank could perceive.

'That should do it, quick and simple'

He thought to himself, however, he immediately realised something, an oversight on his part, the earth he used to trap his prey was not buffed with [PIC] and thus meaning that his prey with adequate strength could break free and dodge.

That is exactly what happened, in the fraction of second it took the arrow to reach its target, Eon broke free from the hold of the earth demonstrating a small fraction of his strength and quickly dodged the attack letting the arrow zip past him like a mosquito.

Luke immediately jumped back, keeping his stealth active while also casting a spell to make sure his feet touching the ground made as little sound as possible.

Unlike a wind mage he can't erase the sound completely but he can come close by making the ground softer to muffle any sound his feet make, this was an application of the [inverse casting] method or [IC] the opposite of what he did when he buffed the arrow.

"Alright, show yourself!!"

....

A/N: Hope you enjoyed

Yes positive inverse casting, is just strengthening however the reason it's called PIC instead of just strengthening is because I wanted a unique name for it and because my brain first thought of Inverse casting and couldn't think of its opposite but then realised that it's opposite would be just strengthening.

Anyone watching sakamoto Days?