1.pt4 ᴘᴀᴛʀᴇᴏɴ.ᴄᴏᴍ/sᴛʀᴀᴛᴏᴛʜʀᴀx

Rain suddenly ran at Brax with hands raised, recklessly trying to throttle him. Brax simply laughed and lightly brushed him aside. To Rain it felt like being hit by a sledgehammer and he was knocked tumbling across the ground. Breath came painfully and he realised he had likely broken a rib, likely more than one.

"Oops, I forgot how weak you were."

"Hey don't break my toy before I get a turn!" scowled Myra.

Rain felt a hand grab his wrist and drag him up.

"Oh, so weak, so pathetic. You're like a doll." said Myra.

She grabbed at his old and tattered clothing and ripped his shirt off followed by his trousers and undergarments.

"Ah I thought you would just have a nub down there like a doll, guess not, but it's as stunted as you are, just look at that little thing!"

She pulled a knife free from her belt and poked it at his genitals, Rain's eyes went round and he screamed as he felt the tip of the blade go in slightly.

"P-please! I didn't do anything to you, why are you doing this! Lira, Eliza! Stop them Please!"

Brax scoffed. "They aren't going to help you."

"Sorry Rain, it's better this way," shrugged Lira.

"You never could accept it Rain. If you are stunted for so long you can't ever escape that, you never had a hope."

"What?"

Myra dropped him and he fell bonelessly to the cold damp stone. Myra drove a boot into his stomach and he went rolling across the ground.

He clawed at his stomach in pain.

"T-tell me! What do you mean!"

Eliza looked between Myra and Brax. "Rain, it wouldn't have mattered, it's not well known but past a certain point an unleveled and stunted Human is simply unable to gain levels. That's why humans power level their young so early compared to other races. It's a racial trait."

"No! Y-You're lying!"

Adlen casually poked at him with the tip of his spear drawing blood. "She's not lying, the only worth you have left is our amusement."

"Haha yes! Dance my little doll dance!"

Myra flicked fire at Rain's feet causing him to scuttle back in fear, a fireball landed awkwardly and violet fire splattered up his leg. Rain screamed as it ate into his flesh. He desperately smacked it out burning his hands in the process.

"Oh he has a voice on him doesn't he. Care, he might attract monsters."

"That's fine, we can use them to power level once we're done with this."

Rain crawled toward Lira, the Halfling, the only one he hoped would have some sliver of sympathy left.

"P-please Lira! I'm a leveler! I'm a person! You can't let them do this to me!" he clutched at her boots. "I just wanted to level up like you!"

Lira's face went from what Rain interpreted as potential sympathy to a sneer of disgust.

"Don't touch me with your filthy hands! I've seen you scrabbling around in bins. Eliza's right, you're just stunted trash and a burden on the town."

She kicked his hands away.

Rain paused. He realised it was over. He was surrounded by monsters as bad as the monsters that inhabited this dungeon, no, worse, these monsters killed not for food but out of contempt. Anger built in his chest and all the frustrations of a lifetime kept down for something he didn't do welled up in him.

"You- Damn you!"

He stumbled to his feet one hand still clutching at his stomach.

"You're all psychotic amoral scum, I don't deserve any of this! I'll fucking haunt you, I'll curse you! I'll-"

Brax's sword whipped through the air and lopped off his arm.

Rain stared down at the stump poking from his shoulder and at his arm limp on the ground. He could feel himself going into shock.

"Hey! Don't finish him off too quick!" said Myra bouncing up behind him. Her knife went into his side with a sickening squelch.

"I-..." words fled Rain as his thoughts started to shut down.

"'Don't finish him off quick' she says as she stabs him in the kidney. Fuck sake Myra," growled Adlen. He flicked his spear and casually dismembered Rain's other arm at the elbow.

"Do we get levels for killing him? I should get in on this!" said Eliza as she lazily gutted him. His intestines spilled out of the slit in his stomach.

"Oh gods the mess! Eliza you don't cut there! Stomachs smell! And no you don't get levels, that's monsters only."

"Oh. My mistake. Well, he's not much better than a goblin so who knows. "

Rain could taste blood in his mouth and his vision was going hazy around the edges. He would scream but shock had fully taken hold. He could only watch as Lira timidly came toward him.

"E-everyones uhm, doing it, so I should too, right?" She pushed the knife she held between his ribs. Blood welled up in his throat.

"Rain, you lived as a stain on our town, be glad you're being cleaned... S-still, I'm sorry it turned out this way, I still feel bad, you should know." Lira murmured.

"F-fee..-l b...ad?" whispered Rain, red streaming from his mouth.

"Aww does the runt have a crush?" said Myra, she giggled and withdrew her knife from his side.

"I don't think getting laid is on his mind right now Myra. I don't think much is on his mind at all to be frank. Adlen finish the little fucker off, he's gotten boring. I get the feeling we've attracted the attention of a few monsters anyway." said Brax.

"Tchh, he was never going to be much fun, I mean have you looked at the guy? He makes kids look strong."

Adlen strode forward and with a swing of his spear he swept Rain's legs from under him. Rain crashed to the ground insensate and on the verge of blacking out.

"Here watch this. Watch me toss his ass."

Adlen stabbed his spear into Rain's stomach and hefted him up into the air so that Rain was hanging like some grisly war banner. With a heave of his level empowered muscles and a flick of his spear Adlen sent Rain flying over the lake to splash down near its center.

By the time Rain hit the water he was already dead.