Brawl

I stared at the sunset from the western main street of Orario. The sky in this world was beautiful—free of any pollution, and so I found myself coming back to watch the stars each night. It was a good thing Hestia's Church, the place where she lived, had a great number of suitable spots for stargazing. It was in the open and quiet. I watched the loud crowd in front of me, my ear ringing with the noise. One muscular man who looked like he hadn't cut his hair for years bumped into me, and didn't bother to say 'sorry'.

As much as I liked the loud atmosphere of big cities, there were just some things they drowned out. I sighed, taking my eyes off of the figure of the rude man, and focused on the bopping black hair in the crowd.

Her presence was something unmistakable, the aura of a deity. She was like a bonfire in the frigid air of a winter night, or a supernova in an empty night sky, illuminating everything. I didn't think anyone else felt heavy when Hestia approached. No one else could feel qi, apparently. Even when sealed, her qi was so powerful and her soul sea so massive the small fraction infusing her body, just the bare minimum—the part everyone needed to live—was enough to make me understand who I had to deal with.

"Hestia, you've arrived earlier than I expected," I called out to the small goddess appearing from the sea of people in front of me. She huffed, her face was flushed from exhaustion, beads of sweat running down the side of her head. She bobbed her head up and down, trying to communicate with me, but her throat was too busy inhaling air. I forced down a giggle when her gaze met mine. The way her flush intensified didn't go unnoticed, and by the way she glared at me, I didn't do a great job at hiding my reaction, either.

"What's so funny?" She growled in mock-annoyance. Her chirpy voice made the situation all the funnier. "You make me run all the way up here to s-sleep with you in your bed in an inn, and now you're making fun of me for following you." She pouted. "That's not fair!"

"Nothing's fair in life," I said as if I was trying to teach a piece of wisdom to someone younger than me, before realizing the woman in front of me outlived my entire family's combined age easily. "And I didn't force you to do anything… and there are two beds in the room."

A smile soon replaced her pout. "That's true!" Did she find the idea of following me that appealing? Someone who knew nothing about this city? "But it doesn't mean you don't have to take responsibility for what you're asking me to do." She fiddled with her thumbs, refusing to meet my gaze. Of course, it was exaggerated, or at least partially, and my first reaction would have been to pause at an old lady acting like this, but I've spent nearly all of my free time in her company to finalize everything, and I knew she was genuine.

I thought she just liked to overplay her reactions.

"Alright, come on, I'll introduce you to the boss here." We entered the Hostess of Fertility, with Mia waiting for us. I didn't ask how Hestia had already recovered after looking like she ran a marathon. Probably one of the benefits of being a goddess. There were a couple of customers in there for their early alcohol, but compared to the suffocating crowd present in peak hours, it was nothing.

"Where's your snake- Where's Tiamat?" Hestia asked.

"She's upstairs right now." I didn't elaborate more. I couldn't tell Hestia Tiamat had thrown herself into a cultivation frenzy ever since she broke into the Qi Condensation Realm, and would only come with me on rare occasions.

A nearly empty Hostess of Fertility had been weird to imagine, but after sleeping here and waking up to an empty building except for those who work here, I got used to it. Not having Tiamat around my neck, however, was harder to do the same.

"So that's her?" Mia asked once we reached the counter. She stared at my goddess, making Hestia look back and forth between the two of us in confusion. She hummed, taking Hestia's appearance, her eyes going up and down, before nodding. Her friendly smile came back. "Welcome to the Hostess of Fertility, Lady Hestia."

"T-Thank you for the offer," said Hestia, the goddess bowing to the mortal. "Tian told me you didn't charge him for asking to add another bed to the room."

"Don't worry about it," Mia amicably waved her hand in the air, brushing Hestia's words aside. "We just had an extra unused bed, and the room Tian rented has the place to fit it in. It doesn't cost us anything, so it shouldn't cost you anything either."

I raised my eyebrow at these words. Mia noticed it, and spoke, "What? Got something to say?" She wasn't really asking me my opinion on the matter, though.

"I think it's a good way to get recurring customers, I'll leave it at that." I took another gulp from the glass of water in front of me. Turning around, I could see the sun slowly disappear on the horizon from the inside of the building.

"If that's the case, then I hope you'll continue your patronage of the Hostess of Fertility in the future," Mia said, laughing in a way which had everyone in the pub turn to look at her. She didn't care and simply glared at anyone staring for too long. Classic Mia.

"Don't worry." I raised my glass of water to her. "Once I get more money—which shouldn't take too long—I'll definitely come down here to eat every other night. The food is really great here."

"Of course it's great; I'm the cooking it!" She boasted and held her head a little higher as we heard someone—who I guessed was Syr, judging by the voice—call for her in the back, leaving me and Hestia alone at the counter. "Oh, by the way," she added, "We already moved the other bed to your room." And with that, Mia was gone… for now.

I'd like to say it was a show of trust in our characters, to leave the counter unprotected, but there was nothing to steal on the counter anyway; everything was kept away from the grabby hands of drunk adventurers.

I turned to Hestia. "I told you the owner was a great person."

She nodded. "But… you've only known her for a couple of days."

"...I guess that's true. I have a good nose for people, though."

"Really?" She asked me so seriously it nearly hurt to do this to her.

"Nope," I said, popping the 'p', chuckling a bit at Hestia's deadpan expression. "I'm pretty terrible at it." I swirled the content of my glass as if it was alcohol, but the only thing I could see inside of it was the reflection of myself in the water. With it, old memories came back.

"You… want to talk about it?" Hestia scuttered closer to me, her gaze full of concern. One of her hands softly touched my arm. She looked like she wanted to get closer, but was scared to smother me, so she compromised. Her face blushed at the action. The way she acted during her emotional outburst was not entirely reflective of her demeanor afterward, I noticed.

"Nah, don't worry about it," I said, straining to keep the smile on my face. "Just… you know, mistakes of youth."

"But aren't you still pretty young?" Her hand left my arm and gripped the edge of her dress. She was still worried, but she put up her usual bright smile for me.

"Compared to you, pretty much-" I stopped suddenly, my eyes widening a bit. Something was wrong. I tried not to make a scene and look around discreetly. My eyes wandered to the adventurers already in and entering the pub.

"W-What is happening?"

I ignored Hestia's words for a second, my instinct telling me something more important, more dangerous, was around.

A man with bright blond hair and long beard playing cards. A man with blue hair, cut short to his scalp, with red horn-rimmed glasses discussing with his friends. A woman with brown hair, piercing yellow eyes, elven ears, drinking the popular ale of this establishment. A man with black hair, black cat ears, blue eyes, a penetrating gaze…

Wait.

A man with black hair, black cat ears, blue eyes, wrinkled into slits towards me, his pupils following the example, two thin lines which made me experience a chill I had never felt before. My Soul Sight reached him… and I snorted. I inspected his equipment—he had nothing other than clothes, not even a dagger or anything on his body. His body was lithe, like someone who ran for a living, but certainly not a warrior.

Where did this bad feeling come from then?

I didn't answer Hestia's continued questions and ignored my instincts. She tried to follow my gaze, but she couldn't spot him as I did. As the sun's natural light relinquished its blessing to the night's artificial lights, I continued my discussion with my goddess, the feeling only intensifying as the seconds went on. My hand gripped the wooden counter under it harder. Finishing my glass of water, I dragged my eyes towards the man.

The next moment, I felt a piece of metal thrown through the air towards me. I dodged the projectile easily with a tilt of my head, the offending projectile—a fork—stabbing into the wooden counter right next to me.

I glanced at it, before looking at the smug face of the adventurer who just threw this to me. Was that supposed to be his way to throwing his glove to the floor in front me? He even wore a smug face which would need some pummeling.

""Eh?"" The bar got noticeably quieter as the projectile was sent. Most only spent a quick glance towards both of us, before continuing their discussion, though not without some interest in how the whole thing would devolve. Others looked uncertain, glancing at each other.

"Now, come on, brother, the sun is still up and you're looking wasted already," a burly man with a beard reaching his neck said, his brown eyes looking at the man who just sent me the fork. He patted his shoulder, laughing joyfully. "I'm a fan of bar fights, and I wouldn't mind seeing a bit of blood, but let's not get this evening started with a brawl already."

The man easily got rid of the digits on his person, and scoffed. "Stay out of this; it's that retard I have a problem with."

The adventurer blinked, his laughter interrupted, and he sighed. "Well, I can't say I haven't tried," he sent me a look. One which told me he really didn't mind a fight happening, but he just disliked the conditions.

I could hear murmurs flash through the crowd, at least from those who were invested in the incoming conflict.

I didn't know what this dude was playing at, but I guessed some things that never change. Mia wouldn't approve of a fight happening within her establishment—I already saw her sending merry adventurers out of this building the fast way when they started some troubles multiple times now.

But Mia wasn't there right now, so I stood up and smirked.

"W-What?" Hestia said, frozen by the 'thunk' produced by the metal penetrating the softer material. My goddess was on guard as she turned around, trying—and failing—to look around for the source of the projectile.

"Hestia, we'll continue this discussion later," I said, popping the bones in my hands and cracking my head left to right, a satisfying crush coming out of the air bubbles around my joints. "It'll only take a minute. Go to the room, okay?" I sent her a smile and threw her the keys at the same time.

She used both of her hands to catch them, and only blinked once before understanding the situation. She still tried to glance around, unsure but nodded at the end, a resigned expression on her face. "D-Don't overdo it…"

This show of trust was not something I'd expect of someone whom I just met a couple of days ago, but I learned Hestia didn't pull any brakes with me… or anyone fortunate enough to be her 'first child'. I didn't suspect adventurers refusing to join her Familia to be so soul-crushing for her.

I walked towards the cat-man, surrounded by the confused or amused glances of other adventurers. I was far from being the only one to witness what happened.

"W-Wait-" The loud music of life and alcohol soon drowned her words out, played by every person in this building. He stood up as well, a snort decorating his face. A glint adorned his eyes. An amused glint. This motherfucker.

I watched Hestia take the stairs, each of her steps slower than the previous, and sighed in relief when she disappeared into the building.

"... 2000 on the cat here." I heard someone bet, with a voice as deep as a bass.

The crowd shifted both in expectation and awkwardness. I could see a lot trying to watch out for Mia, who would put an end to this the moment she learned of it. The only waitress present was… Syr Flova.

She watched with an interested gaze, a calculated gleam in her eyes. Our eyes met and she sent me a smirk, giving me a fist of encouragement. I took another look at the qi inside of his Soul Sea. This wouldn't take more than a few minutes.

"Just watch. I bet 2000 on the cat here."

"Oi, are you drunk, you bastard? He looks like a twig and is dancing like he can't handle his alcohol! 3000 on tall boy here."

They were right: The cat man walked up to me limping, his face was red from intoxication and he held a giant pint of beer in his hand. I guessed pub fights were inevitable. I didn't expect it to happen to me so soon, however. I also didn't expect it would be so easy.

"Hey, you," I called out. His qi was fluctuating in the lower ranges I have seen among the adventurers here, forcing a scoff out of me. I'd try to not hurt him too much, then. "Why the fuck would you throw your fork at me?"

This wasn't really a question, and the bastard didn't plan on answering me either. He simply smiled harder and stopped right in front of me. I could feel his alcohol-filled breath on my neck, because of the height difference, but I paid it no mind. We stared at each other for a couple of seconds, the jeering of the adventurers who stepped aside to leave us space becoming louder and louder.

"You look even weaker from close-up. And ugly too." He snapped back, laughing at the same time. I deadpanned. This man wanted to fight, no matter what.

"Take this outside, you idiots," someone said in the crowd, his voice urgent.

Syr Flova cut in, "Stop, stop! No fight inside of this building!" It was evident what she meant by these words.

"Yeah, don't want Mia here to 'take care' of both of you," another laughed. The sea of adventurers parted, letting us a passage to the exit of the pub. Both of us grinned before walking outside. I was sure of my victory, and judging by his demeanor, he was the same. Too bad for him I was a cultivator, and he was not.

Some among the jolly crowd, hungry for some entertainment to go with their booze, followed us. Once we changed streets, they formed a circle around us, and I could hear the bet increasing with each declaration. I sighed, preparing myself, the years of combat experience coming back to mind. My muscles tensed, and I threw the first blow. My fist shot out, my back following the movement. A light and unpowered hook to his temple. The point wasn't to knock him out, even though it would be enough to do the job for most civilians. Despite his lack of qi, he was still an adventurer, leagues above what normal people could do.

I was fishing for a response, not trying to hit a decisive blow.

So when my hardened knuckles impacted his head and did nothing, I didn't know how to react. His head didn't move even a single inch, and my fist felt like it hit a wall of steel.

The bones in my hand creaked, and the pain registered after the shock passed. Even the crowd went silent; the jokes and the cheers dying down.

"Wha—" I stepped back, bringing my bruised hand with me. I took a defensive stance by reflex, as sweat built up on my body. My eyes narrowed towards him, as I used Soul Sight once more...

I was going to get destroyed, and there was no one in the vicinity strong enough to even come close to stop him, either. Mia was the only one even close to his strength, but I knew. Based on qi alone, she would suffer the same fate. She had retired, her qi felt sluggish, slow, and old. His?

It was like an electrical circuit with how fast it traveled inside of his body. I made a mistake. He knew how to hide his qi. The small pond transformed into a lake. There were high-leveled adventurers in this city who knew how to use qi, if only instinctively. And they also knew how to hide it.

This motherfucker wouldn't let me go either, judging by his gaze. He was waiting. He was observing me. Shit.

"H-Hold on a second." One adventurer in the crowd said, stepping out of the circle.

"What just happened is your money going into my pocket," whispered another.

"Was he hiding his strength? Wait a damn minute." It was the same burly man from earlier. "Come on, brother, trying to fight lower-leveled adventurers? What's the point in this?"

"Oi, what did you do to anger him?" Another adventurer, a female this time, asked me with an amused undertone in her voice.

I was anything but amused. I couldn't remember a single thing I did that would put me in the view of such powerful people, but I was clearly wrong about my assumptions of being discreet. I was loud, some way or another. It was a mistake that could very well spell the end of my life. Fuck.

I gulped, a chill entering my mind. The knowledge everything could be over, the knowledge I could die—Calm down! I told myself. If he wasn't willing to kill me in front of everyone else even if he could, then he wouldn't kill me here either, I reasoned. It barely made me feel better. My hands curled into fists. The frustration was as painful as the realization.

"Well, the weak finally realized who was truly strong, then?" He mocked me. His eyes glinted with the moonlight, a nasty rictus spreading on his face. I clenched my fists even harder. He was playing with me.

I noticed despite their words, none of the adventurers stepped in to stop the fight. A couple even already fled the vicinity. I spotted some shaking hands and their gulping rather easily, because they echoed my own. I didn't understand what was happening. Why?!

A fear I thought was discarded forever filled me. I thought I would never be the little man again. I thought I would never be the weakest again. I should have thrown all of that talk away when I entered a fantasy world. The people I thought were strong adventurers I met on the street were nothing compared to this guy.

I circled- no, I dragged my feet on the ground. His piercing eyes followed me. I felt vulnerable, his gaze heavy like a mountain bearing down on me. I felt like prey. But I couldn't back down. It was too late.

Shit. I guess I didn't understand what it would be like to live in a world filled with people who could squash you. Not literally, at least.

I could hear the mutters of the surrounding people. The quiet laughter as well. What was about to happen was painfully obvious. I expected nothing, but… I was still disappointed. It wouldn't have mattered, anyway. My heart sped up, my body started to feel damp, the beads of sweat appearing on my body chilling the anger in my mind because of the icy breeze of the night.

But I still put one fist in front of me and looked at him defiantly. If he thought I would back down because he revealed himself to be stronger than me, then he was in for a bad awakening.

"Well, well, well… At least you've got balls," the man with cat ears said. He was small, far smaller than me. But he still looked down on me, his squinted eyes displaying a disturbing amount of sadistic enjoyment. I gritted my teeth, keeping my glare on him as much as I could without backing down. I knew too much about the feeling of being looked at as if you're worthless, and knowing it was true.

It was infuriating. My head went lower in my stance. I was ready to strike.

"But you know…" he said, his voice low, very low, the smirk on his face spreading and reaching his eyes.

He disappeared.

"Huh?" The next moment, I was on the ground, screaming in pain.

A burning sensation entered my leg. It was piercing, a pain that overwhelmed me and took over my mind. I could feel blood dripping out of my leg. I could… I looked down and saw my leg sported a dark bruise. No, it wasn't a bruise. What?!

The spot darkened, and pulsed, growing from a bruise to a pitch-black sludge across my whole calf. I-I didn't… I couldn't recognize the energy growing on my leg. With each pulse, the burning agony which assailed my mind grew as well.

"Aaargh!" I screamed and screamed, to no avail. I tried to grab my kneecaps with my hands, but they were shaking. The pain robbed me of everything I knew, every move I repeated… I always fought according to rules. There were no rules for this, and the gap was too big.

"Magic?" I could hear adventurer whisper around me, despite the pain.

They watched, some ran away, scared they would be next.

The humiliation in my mind fought the pain, as I gasped and tried to stand up on one leg. My other one wouldn't work anymore. The darkness stopped spreading, but the rampant suffering never diminished. I tripped and ended up my ass on the ground again.

The adventurer watched.

I didn't bother trying to make sense of what just happened. My leg wouldn't work anymore; I-I couldn't feel anything from it…!

I just needed to get one hit in. Just one, to see how that bastard would feel.

The man with cat ears gripped my head by my hair and dragged my whole body up with just one arm. When I met his eyes, slits so thin I thought his pupils disappeared, I mustered all the rage I could and tried to spit in his face. Out of spite. He dodged easily, with a tilt of his head, and sighed. He was still amused.

"You know, I'm feeling nice tonight. If you apologize to me, I'll let that go, and even pay to get that healed," he said. I gritted my teeth, hard enough to hear some of them crack, and tried to get a hit on his head again. Of course, his head moved just enough so my fist missed him, and he shook his head, chuckling at the same time.

My qi bubbled inside of me, roared… and nothing. I didn't know what to do with it. No offensive or defensive techniques. Nothing.

Apologizing would be the safe bet, my useless leg and the deep-seated throb coming in waves from it told me so. I tried to attack him a second time, for good measure.

"This pride of yours will really be your downfall one day." He blocked my fist with the forearm of the arm he wasn't using to grasp my hair.

"F-Fuck you," I said through the pain. He scoffed and punched my stomach, the impact creating a sickening crunch after the initial thump. I saw black for a second and bit back another scream. Blood pooled in my throat, and the red liquid forcing itself out of me interrupted my next words, the heavy and familiar taste making itself known. I struggled, tensing so hard I trembled.

"That hurt you? It was just a baby tap!" He scorned, finding the situation funnier than anything else.

I could feel, no, I knew the thoughts of the crowd gathering around us. They were expecting more. The pain was unbearable, searing, cacophonic, but my anger was stronger. I glared at him with everything I had, blinking repeatedly to try to clear my hazy vision.

"You're lucky I can't do anything serious to you. I was supposed to only look, but guess what, orders changed." I groaned in pain, gritting my teeth, black spots appearing on my vision. I heard his words crystal clear. Despite my vision being blurry, my ears worked perfectly fine.

I vomited blood once more, the pulsing agony of having my leg rendered useless, swallowed by color as dark as the sky above us, already forgotten. Spite was a powerful motivator. My hands shook, but I managed to grasp the arm holding my hair. I tried to pry open his fingers, but my strength was slowly leaving me.

"Oh, and just between me and you…" He grinned. "That pride will also not be helping you in the dungeon."

My… my qi pulsed. It didn't matter anymore. Fuck secrecy, fuck techniques. I would throw everything at him. I was far too angry for reason. Another failed struggle against his iron grasp, another groan, and another rush of blood in my mouth. It gathered in my hand everything I had in one place. His narrowed eyes widened for a second before returning to the all-too-pleased expression I recognized. I didn't care about the familiar hiss I could hear through the background noises of the crowd. The buzz in my ear grew as my thoughts became less and less coherent.

I heard my goddess and Mia. I heard…

"F-F-Fuck you," I repeated. It was the only thing I could do. I saw neither his next strike nor the way his eyes widened when my hand quivered towards him, glowing with qi—just like everything else.

The world spun around and lost its light.

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Beta: AsuraJZero and Ekaterina.

A/N: Edited this chapter and the past few chapters as well to fix a lot of mistakes made.

Also, I repeat, not every chapter has an immediate payoff, some questions raised in this chapter might not be answered for a while.