10 Priceless

Curt kicked a pebble out of his way and watched as it bounced off one of the pretty, little huts the village was full of. At least he had his revolvers again, patting them faithfully by his side. He was back in his old Duster clothes and had spent the morning wandering aimless around the Sahnju village. He spent a few minutes listening to some of shepherds speculate on who the next dojo master might be before deciding he had better things to do.

Each of the huts were neatly built out of bamboo and modestly decorated with simple painted roofs. The streets were not paved with stone, but were kept clean and free of trash and litter that Curt was used to seeing in Endyre and Ore Town. The villagers themselves looked content as they worked on their menial tasks of spinning fabrics, working the land, and tending their small herds of livestock.

Curt found it utterly boring. The place was as clean and orderly as the dojo. He spent the night in one of the farmer's huts who let him sleep on a blanket on a floor, but there was absolutely nothing interesting to do in the village. There was no market or traders peddling wares because the whole place was entirely self-sufficient, but the worst thing was the place lacked a bar — thought it wasn't like he could've afforded a drink. He desperately could use one though.

An entire day had passed since he failed the entrance test spectacularly. He remembered the dojo master's strange expression, almost looking puzzled, as he said, "You failed." He remembered the trainees still waiting in line making comments like, "What kind of attack was that?" He didn't bother to find Bauph or Xujen when he got his belongings and left the dojo. He actually hoped he wouldn't run into them.

The sun was high in the sky. They were probably in the middle of whatever training the dojo did. They probably also would've realized by now that Curt didn't pass. He didn't relish the seeing the reactions. Ever since he saw how the people fought down here, he kind of wanted to go back to the Dusts. At least there he wasn't a bottom-of-the-barrel weakling up there.

He was considering making another lap around the village and maybe hang around the shepherds longer to listen in to their gossip longer — the only thing the villagers did for fun apparently — when he overheard a familiar voice.

"I'll raise it to five million."

Curt's ears perked up. That isn't a sum you expect to hear in a humble looking village like this full of farmers who didn't even profit. The voice was low and furtive-sounding, but also seemed to come from around behind one of the farmer huts. At this time of day, most of the farmers were out in the fields tending crops or animals. As far as he could see, Curt was alone on this particular street.

Flat against the side of the wall, Curt crept closer to the source of the voice. He carefully leaned forward at the edge to see if he could get a glimpse of the speaker. It seems that even a spotless place like this had its cockroaches.

There were only two of them, and each luckily not facing the corner Curt was peeking out from. He recognized only one of them — the Last Legion member, Gideon. He still had a head full of hair and was wearing his trainee robes. He faced a young woman that Curt hadn't seen before. She too was wearing dojo attire, but her robes weren't the plain white ones. She wore expensive looking black robes that Curt hadn't seen anyone in the dojo wearing.

She was shaking her head, causing her waist-length curls to shimmer in the light. For someone who was a part of a reputable, fighting dojo, she sure had a lot of hair. But what caught Curt's interest more was the fact that it was pure white, just like his own. And she was clearly still in her twenties. With her lush hair and smooth complexion, she looked more like one of Endyre's hare-brained socialites than a dojo disciple — not what Curt was expecting.

"No matter how much you offer me, I won't join Last Legion," she said, causing Gideon to glare at her.

"We're offering you five million and a guaranteed spot in our guild's upper echelon, and you still have the nerve to refuse?" Gideon took a step forward,.

"I have the nerve to do more if that's a threat," she replied. Despite not being taller than Gideon, she somehow looked like she was staring down at him. "In any case, you're the one who should be worried. Bribery is a crime, you know. You wouldn't want to be kicked out of the dojo so early, right?"

Gideon paled and took a hurried step back. "Y-you wouldn't—," he stammered.

"I would. But if you don't want me to, I wouldn't mind taking that five million you offered me. I'm sure the Last Legion can afford the small expense."

"Don't you make light of the Legion! When I return to the guild, don't think we'll let your dojo off easily."

"Go ahead. I don't particularly care for the dojo. If your Last Legion wants to wage war with Sahnju, that might not be so bad to watch."

Curt watched as Gideon failed to think of any comebacks; his face flushed deep red and his jaw twitched, but handed her the hefty bag that jingled with coins.

As he handed the bag over to her, he muttered darkly, "You'll regret making a fool of me and the Legion."

"The only regrettable thing is how much of a fool you are," she said, peeking into the bag, and with a satisfied smile, swinging it over her shoulder.

Lightened of his material possessions, Gideon stalked off, likely back towards the dojo. Once he was well out of sight, the young woman called out, "Eavesdropping isn't a nice hobby, you know."

Curt walked out into the open, his hands slightly raised and shrugging. "Don't worry — I'm not interested in tattling. I may be dirt poor, but I'm no narc. I'm used to living off of nothing anyways, so I wouldn't know what to do with all that cash anyways."

Otto would be horrified to hear him say that. Well, good thing Otto wasn't here. Curt could easily imagine Otto attempting to get a cut, and he had no doubts he'd get floored by the person in front of him. He learned how deceptive looks can be when accessing strength.

She looked at Curt curiously, eyeing his peculiar white hair that mirrored her own's hue.

"I've never seen you before," she said. "Are you planning on training at the dojo? If so, you better hurry along — I heard that the beds are filling up fast."

"Nope, I don't think a bunch of holier-than-thou monks could even teach me how to be stronger," Curt replied. After all, who needed to learn mundane fighting techniques when he had guns? Guns didn't require a whole lot of muscle to pull the trigger, and from Otto had shown him, he just needed to learn how to dip into his "magic reservoir" to start firing big shots.

"Really? Then why are you in Sahnju?"

"My guild mates are in training, so I've been pretty bored waiting for them. Anyways, that was pretty impressive what you just did, but I'm curious: why didn't you take on their offer? I haven't been in Sanora for long, but I've been around long enough to know that five million gold and a cushy spot in an A-rank guild is a hard-to-pass-up deal. Especially since you said it yourself — you don't care about the dojo."

"Simple. I hate his type the most, and the Last Legion is full of them. The guilds and the dojo are all the same anyways. They think they can buy their way anywhere — and they're right. Money is what makes this world go round, so if you're as poor as you look, I sympathize."

With that she turned to leave, but Curt wasn't letting their target go that easily. Bauph and Xujen may be laughing behind his back since he wasn't able to pass the entrance test, but he couldn't wait to see their faces when he showed up at the dojo to let them know the mission was done. That would be priceless.

"Hold up," he called out. "You know, there's some things in this world that can't be bought by money. I learned that years ago. Everything money buys is always temporary, be it bullets or a drink."

She didn't bother to stop, but her pace slowed. "Life is temporary. But money can make living life a lot easier. Your point?"

"Because money is so temporary, people that are hungry for it are always desperate for more. But you aren't."

She stopped. Now he had her attention.

He continued, "I said it earlier, some things can't be bought. No matter how much money you pour into the dojo, you'll never be made a dojo master."

She swung around, her face contorted with anger. Bullseye, Curt thought. It was just a hunch of his, but it looked like it was right on the money. Hanging around the village and picking up on the local gossip seemed to have paid off.

"What do you want," she demanded.

"Let's make a bet, but not with money. I bet I can win a fight against you right here, right now, and if I win, you're joining my D-rank, penniless guild."

She laughed for a good moment before catching her breath and replying, "You're from a D-rank guild? And you think you can beat me? What if I win then? What could you and your guild possibly give me that I don't already have?"

"I think I could give you a lesson in fighting that you don't already have," Curt said. "But if I lose, I'll give you some ammunition against one of the dojo masters. If you had that, you might be able to knock him out of his seat and take his place."

Her smile disappeared as she stared at him. "How would you have anything like that?"

Curt shrugged, hoping his bluff wouldn't be seen through. "I managed to eavesdrop on this dealing, didn't I? Maybe I just happen to find myself in the right places at the right times. If it matters, it concerns Jinpuhn, but that's all I'm saying for now. So, what do you say? Deal?"

"Deal." She marched up to Curt, stopping a few paces in front of him. Sometimes taking a page out of Otto's book paid off. The farmer's hut on one side and the bamboo forest on the other formed an informal ring around them.

"Great. I'm not interested in a fight to the death, so let's do this: first one to get knocked off their feet or surrenders, loses."

"Suit yourself," she said, still hanging the gold bag over her shoulder. "Start whenever you'd like."

Curt smiled. He knew her type. He was once just like her, back up in the Dusts. He thought he was invincible. But down here, faced against people who could perform miracles and cut down dragons, he knew he was weak. But if it was a back alley brawl, he felt pretty confident about himself.

Curt went for the first move. He did a straightforward kick, but she twisted her body slightly to dodge it. In the same movement, she launched her own kick back at him. Curt barely managed to evade it, and he noticed her eyes widen a bit in surprise. She probably thought that would've been enough to make a D-rank guy fall. Honestly, it probably would've caught most people. Curt was just lucky he had lowered himself already for his own, unorthodox attack.

Sliding on the ground, Curt reenacted the move that failed him during the entrance test. She still seemed surprised, but reached to catch his kick just like Jinpuhn had tried. The moment her attention was diverted to catching his leg, Curt quickly drew and fired his gun at the bag, causing a blinding cascade of gold to pour out.

As coins flowed out of the bag, the sudden lack of weight caused her to stumble forward. Curt twisted his body, changing the wide arc of his kick into a lower one. As she fell, Curt saw her face and knew she had no idea what had happened. She thought she knew exactly how the fight would play out, and when it didn't go her way, she didn't know how to deal with it. Curt knew the feeling — it caused himself to fall into Sanora.

Even stunned and tripped, she managed to catch herself with her free arm and rolled back into a crouch. She glared at him, looking like a bull ready to charge, but Curt backed off quickly pointing out, "Hey, hey, fight's over. You got tripped fair and square."

"There was nothing fair about that!" She stood up, brushing some of the dirt off of her robes. "You used a weapon!"

"Rules didn't say no weapons," he said truthfully. "You should've thought about that before you agreed."

"But I didn't know those were—," She stopped, and took a deep breath, composing herself. "And what makes you think this fight counts for anything?" She stared defiantly at him.

Curt just shrugged. "Your word? If you really don't want to join the guild, I can't really force you to. Honestly, I'm just happy to be able to brag that I beat the so called 'strongest disciple'."

"You didn't beat me," she said, angry again. "That was a cowardly move."

"Welcome to the real world. You'd know about it if you left this dojo, you know. I told you I could teach you a thing or two."

She flushed, but shook her head as if to clear it. "Fine, I'll join your guild. But don't think I'm staying any longer than I need to."

"Glad we could come to an agreement," Curt said. Already in his mind he pictured Bauph and Xujen's faces. "My name's Curt, what's your's?"

"You don't know?" She looked at him incredulously.

He shrugged again. "Our guild leader apparently never bothered to tell us."

She sighed, probably wondering what kind of D-rank guild she got herself into. "Tera. It's Tera."

"Well Tera, welcome to Point Blank."