Chapter 29 - Running a test [1/2]

Somewhere in the deep underbelly of Eryndor, where the lowest of the lowest class eeked out their lives, a group of five teenagers wandered through one of several alleyways that snaked between the buildings. It was late in the evening, and their surroundings were only illuminated by a small number of flickering lights.

They were laughing and joking, smacking each other on the back as they waved bottles of cheap booze in the air. Occasionally, they took a swig of the murky brown liquids, but it was intended only to keep the light buzz going, not for the taste.

"You ready for your awakening tomorrow, Luca?!" one brawny woman, seemingly the oldest of them, exclaimed brashly as she grasped the shoulder of a slightly younger man.

Luca laughed a little sheepishly, taking another gulp of his bottle for courage, but then nodded quickly, "Yeah! I'm grateful to the boss for doing the deed!"

"Hahaha, of course!" the woman laughed loudly, clearly inebriated. "You earned your way into the Feral Chargers, Luca! The boss is simply rewarding your loyalty and effort!"

'Yeah, and getting an obedient new scion at the same time,' Luca thought wryly to himself.

Yet, he would never dare utter those words out loud. Not only would he be in for a beating, but they might also call the awakening off. And then where would he go?

The Feral Chargers were one of the strongest gangs in the area because their leader possessed a relatively powerful bloodline. Since Luca no longer had the opportunity to ask his parents for an awakening, he could only beg someone else for one.

And, in such a situation, he would be lucky if his soon-to-be progenitor simply ordered him to kill some people over the duration of his imprinting years. Horror stories about terrible abuses by progenitors were commonplace, and Luca refused to become one of them.

By comparison, becoming an enforcer under the thumb of the Feral Chargers leader was a cakewalk that he'd gladly walk in exchange for power.

"I can't wait for my own awakening," another man meanwhile cried out as he waved his bottle around. "I hope I'll prove myself worthy to the boss!"

The older woman turned to look at him with hungry eyes. "If he doesn't, you can always come to me, handsome…" she purred suggestively. "I promise you'll enjoy your imprinting years immensely…"

The teenager gulped and laughed with a hint of strain. He'd heard stories about this woman's harem of abused slaves, and he'd preferred not to become one of them. "T— Thank you, Sasha… I'll remember!"

Suddenly, another member of their group cried out, "H—Hey, hey! Guys! We got, like, company!" she drawled in a drunken tone, stumbling through her words.

Turning to look in front of them, the group of three men and two women noticed a tall, elegantly dressed man step out from the darkness and enter their patch of light.

In his right hand, he held an ornate cane, ticking against the cracked pavement, while his left was casually resting in his pocket. A hood covered the top of his head, but the most surprising feature of his appearance was a white mask covering his face, adorned with a creepy, painted smile.

"What the hell…?" Sasha muttered in utter surprise. "What's a fancy git like this doing here?"

"D— Doesh it matter…?" the fifth member of their little band of merry gangers drawled, waving his bottle in the direction of this fancy git. "Let'sh just rob him for all he'sh worth!"

"I like that suggestion!" Sasha grinned as a generic, low-quality catalyst appeared in her right hand, taking the form of a simple axe.

"Hey, you!" she exclaimed, pointing her weapon at the fancy git. "I don't know why you're wearing that getup, but I'd like to see if I can shake some more valuables out of you!"

"Oh…?" the git murmured, clearly amused by her suggestion. Slotting his walking stick under his armpit, he pulled out the hand from his pocket and beckoned Sasha closer. "Come on, then."

Snorting at his confidence, Sasha charged at him with a confident grin. She could feel this man was young and recently awakened. She, on the other hand, was midway through her twenties and a high-ranking enforcer in the Feral Chargers. Why wouldn't she be able to take him down?

Behind her, the remaining four gangers cheered her on with drunken, enthusiastic yelling, only emboldening Sasha, her eyes shining with greed and a desire for bloodshed.

***

Damian watched the unknown woman sprint at him and chuckled under his breath. "So many mistakes… Trash skill, trash bloodline, trash catalyst… this will be easy."

As soon as the woman was in range, she swung her axe wildly and with speed, clearly not expecting Damian to be capable of matching her.

The reality proved very different.

Damian sidestepped her swing with ease, and Sasha stumbled slightly. But, even if her skill was lacking, she was at least experienced. Surprise flashed through her eyes, but she quickly recovered and swung around to attack again. This time, her axe was trailed by the milky white moonlight of a Moonkin.

But, once again, Damian easily avoided her attack and even counterattacked. With an elegant turn, he let her axe fly past him while lifting his leg and using the turn's momentum to kick the woman against her lower back.

"Ah!" she yelped and stumbled forward. Her lower back felt like someone had smashed a brick against it.

With a groan, she turned around, a hand pressed on the affected area. With eyes full of spitting fury, she snarled at her companions. "What are you dumbasses waiting for?! An invitation?!"

The four dumbasses looked at each other sheepishly. None of them was actually stronger than this woman, and two of them weren't even awakened yet! Yet, what choice did they have? Either they attacked now, or they'd be hunted down as traitors later.

So, all four of them took out their catalysts and charged under the influence of moralising roars. Smirking, Damian pulled the walking stick out of his armpit and readied it like a sword. This was the temporary catalyst Ylva had provided him, and he kind of liked the elegance of it.

As soon as the extra combatants reached him, Sasha attacked again as well, and Damian actually started to become a little pressured. Swinging his catalyst, he started engaging them with no more than his skill and physical abilities.

He didn't want to use his bloodline or kintype powers because that would reveal too much. Right now, to these people, he could still be any number of kintypes, and that was important in order to leave as little evidence of his presence here as possible.