Chapter Thirty One

Jason sat at on the couch facing the fireplace. His mind racing at what he had just done. It may have been the best way for them to stop running, but it was a huge gamble. He knew he didn't have much time to regret his decision. After Steve told him about the option to invite friends to his home, a plan had begun to form.

Before he could talk himself out of it, he sent Rukil a party request. He knew this would get the man's attention. With the invite, Jason knew that his name would follow his level. If he was a betting man.

"Are you for real, kid?" A familiar voice rang out from the yard outside.

"Come in, Rukil." Jason relaxed his features, he didn't want to show the man just how nervous he was. He knew that there were a hundred ways this could fall apart on him. It was enough that Steve almost left them entirely. Selena had confined herself to her room for the moment. She didn't want to show herself if there were a chance things could turn out for the worst. She didn't know what a level eight could do against Jason, but if there were a chance the man had increased his level, she needed there to be a surprise.

The door opened and a very disheveled Rukil appeared. Jason was taken off guard for a moment. The last time he had seen the man, he had been the very picture of groomed. His hair brushed and pulled into a ponytail, clean shaven and in a crisp new black suit.

The man in front of him had a mess of hair that hadn't seen a brush in weeks. His suit was in rags, and it looked like he hadn't shaved in just as long as his hair had been messy.

"What the hell happened to you?" Jason asked as he plugged his nose. It wasn't just the man's appearance that left him without words. His smell kept him from saying more than a few words before having to turn away.

"What do you think happened, you idiot!" Rukil growled as he sat on a recliner at the other side of the room.

"You didn't bring me in?" Jason guessed. He already knew the answer, but he didn't want to play all his cards at once.

"That's the start of it." Rukil sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "There's more to it though."

"You couldn't go through with killing the man, even though he would just come back to life, right?" Jason smiled. He just couldn't help but get the answer. Yet, that still wasn't all that'd keep Rukil from leaving.

The man's face went pale. "How could you know that?"

"I have my sources." Jason folded his hands in his lap. "Just like I know you aren't the kind of person who would kill a defenseless man."

"Well aren't you just well informed." Rukil grumbled. "Congratulations, you found out that I'm a complete failure."

"That's where you're wrong, Rukil. I think you're a huge success actually. I wouldn't be talking to someone who would murder a man in cold blood. I pegged you as a good guy the moment you let me go."

"Good guy," Rukil's expression became more pained. "You really are a newbie, aren't you?"

"Why don't you tell me? You can see my level, can't you?"

Rukil glared at Jason as if he just said he slept with his mother. "Yeah, congratulations I guess." He looked as if someone had just said he was a pile of shit.

"Would you like me to help you power level?" Jason's breath caught in his throat. This was the moment he was waiting for. He needed to hear the man's response. This was a turning point, it could go either way.

"You would do that out of the kindness of your own heart?" Rukil looked at the floor, nothing at all like the man Jason had fought before.

"Well, honestly I need people I can trust, but yes. It would be out of the kindness of my own heart."

"Ah, trust." Rukil tapped a finger to his temple. "Let me guess, you want names, levels and locations?"

"I want to know where the old man you refused to kill is located." Jason cut Rukil off. The man's mouth hung open, choking back the 'shove it up your ass' that was about to come out.

"I could give you all the information you want about that organization, and the only thing you want to know about is where the old man is?" He stared at Jason as if he were out of his mind. "What's he to you? Do you know who he is?" If Jason didn't know any better, he heard genuine concern from him.

"I have my theories." Jason said simply. He kept his cool composure outside, but on the inside, he mentally sighed in relief. He had been right about Rukil from the beginning. "I just need to know, do you want to save him?"

"Yes." Rukil didn't hesitate for a moment. His fists clenched until his knuckles went white. "I've wanted to get him out since I first saw him." He told Jason of his time as a recruit in the Blood Pact. He kept nothing out, how he joined, the quests with Kylie, his eyes looked fierce as he mentioned the old man and how he spent an hour each day with him. His eyes glistened with unshed tears as he told Jason of the water he gave the man, and the food. His rage had shone through as he spoke of the last time he saw the old man, and the last time he had seen a friend within Kylie.

After all was said, everything went quiet. It stayed that way for what could have been minutes, or hours. Neither one moved. Rukil watched Jason for any reaction, while Jason only stared behind him. He had thought that the kid was just staring off into space.

"Are you satisfied?" Jason spoke to break the silence.

Rukil was confused, why would he be satisfied? He was sitting in filth, he was hungry, but mostly he was angry at himself for having spent the last year in the clutches of pure evil. His face turned red, he was going to find a way to hurt this kid, he didn't know how, but it would happen.

"Yes," A gentle voice spoke from behind him, which caught him by surprise. "You were right to bring him here." Rukil turned to see a girl with red hair and fierce green eyes staring back at him. Tears ran freely down her cheeks as she took him in. It was in that moment that he realized that he'd seen those eyes before. Not hers in particular, but in that moment of clarity..

"You have his eyes." Rukil choked out. In an instant, he knew exactly what was happening. He looked at Jason, really looked at him. "I'll take your offer." He didn't care what he had to do, now that he knew what was really happening here. "I'll help in any way I can."

"Good. That's what I was hoping." Jason seemed to crumple in his seat. "We'll start in an hour."

"Start what, exactly?"

"Well, you need to catch up, don't you?" Jason gave a weak smile. "You won't be much use to us like this, would you?"

"How are we going to gain me thirty eight levels?" He almost laughed at the thought.

"Dungeons, obviously." Jason laughed. "I'm only going to heal you though, I need to level my light magic anyway. You'll need to do the fighting."

"Wha-?" Rukil couldn't even get the word out. His brain just couldn't handle the massive information overload that this kid had just hit him with. His guild had dungeons, but only through the guild leader. Nobody went through the dungeons without first going to the head of the guild. This kid couldn't have the same power as a guild leader thousands of years old, could he?

"Come on, Rukil," Jason cocked an eyebrow. "I hope your blade isn't as slow as your brain. How else do you think I've gained so much power in so little time?" When he didn't get a response, he snapped his fingers a couple times. "Hey, buddy, blink. Let me know you're still in there."

"I think you may have broken him." Selena chuckled, wiping her tear stained cheeks and gave a genuine smile. She went to sit next to Jason, but stopped in her tracks wrinkling her nose. She glared at Rukil for the first time. "Your smell offends me. Go wash, now."

"Uhm.."

"Go!" Both Jason and Selena yelled and pointed towards the stairs.

"Use the shower that looks like it doesn't belong in a girl's room!" Jason yelled as a frantic read head sprinted upstairs.

Jason and Selena shared a laugh at his expense. Though he stunk like hell, Jason had made a new partner in this lonely life of a leveler.