Biter

Rain poured down from the sky after dawn broke. The sky itself wept a torrent through the lands. Sebas Aren sat across from a dwindling fire pit that threatened to extinguish, staring at the loose dirt that held a fated encounter. A single arm was draped across his knees to serve as a rest for his chin while looking at the shallow grave he had previously threatened to collapse.

Sebas pulled his blade from within the fire, the pure white blade now glowing a bright orange-yellow, and held it in front of himself limply between his fingers, a dreading expression was removed from his face as a sigh left his mouth. Sebas placed his belt in his mouth and reached behind his back with a glowing knife; a sizzling boil sounded as cauterizing metal, followed by a grunt. Eight long slashes were carefully burned, and several seemed too burnt as if the process was done blindly (It was.)

His belt creaked between his teeth grinding; the difficult task, aided only by his and the flexibility, aided the debatable medical procedure. The final long slice that painted his back like a macabre torturer’s exhibit was sealed with the sizzling metal. His belt finally succumbed to the strain of his teeth and snapped, falling limply to the ground in two pieces, much to his disappointment. Sebas screamed at the sky and threw the metal end of the belt, standing up with loose trousers, he began to walk around pacing.

“Stupid fucking bear, stupid fucking dog.”

“WHY DID YOU HAVE TO GET YOURSELF KILLED?” He yelled at the grave.

He punched the mountain wall, a large crack resulting in the outburst of rage. Sebas slumped to the ground, his hand grappled with the red hair that seemed to grow longer at a rapid pace, abnormal to his preferred normality, he curled his legs up to his torso, his left leg seeming to bounce up and down for an unknown reason while he shoved his face into his right knee.

He sat for a moment, before looking up at the water that cried from the sky. It stung when it hit his eye directly, sending him into another batch of rage, bloodied knuckles sent at whatever rocks were within the distance. He vented his wrath towards no one and everyone, damning what he could to whoever he could see.

Tantrum over, Sebas sat with his shirtless back against the untouched wall, compared to the ones that were affected by him, this one was less of a fractured pile of rubble and more of a smooth mountainside, he held shirt scraps within his hand, looking at the ruined cloth.

I need to go buy more clothes from that nice old lady… I forgot what her name was.

Tossing his sheathe and blade into his magic bag, which he earned, rightfully, a small satchel with a single antidote vial inside went into his bag as well. Sebas went through the magical purple pouch’s inventory to assess what would be a good starting point for his trek back through the grasslands.

[Magic Bag {Capacity 28%}: Unidentified Treasure Casket, 20(kg)x , 1x Destroyed Black Shirt, 1x Belt Satchel {1x Lowest Rank Antivenom}, 1x Rare Hunter Dagger & Sheathe, 1x CoinPurse {43S 32C},1x Ihta’s Blessing]

Sebas held the small key-half that sat on a metal braid, next to his adventurer ID and focused on it.

[Half of ??? Key]

{ Unique Necklace }

+???

“A Small, Black Key, it holds some sort of design in the key bow made of three circles that result in three needles pointing towards the center.”

“Ominous,” Sebas mused, letting the small piece of metal flop against his neck, following it was a purple pouch that sat on gold strings.

“I guess I ought to go… um… Ih. Ihta?”

[The Goddess of the Hunt smiles down on you.]

“Can you look after the little one?”

[The Goddess of the Hunt thinks for a moment, then nods.]

“I’m grateful. For whatever it's worth.”

[Fruitful Hunting, Young Monster]

“ a… pleasant Tuesday midnight morning to you too…”

Sebas shook his head, unsure of what the hell to think. A god can respond to your calls? Thank Gods nobody knew Mercy’s name, otherwise, he would surely have been smitten. Well, knowing her(?) Commandments, he might be given all the pity in the world. Disgusting.

The rainfall pelted Sebas as he trudged through the muddy underfoot following an updated map, that unfortunately matched the light outside, making for an almost pitch-black landscape painting.

Making his way due south, he found a small amphibian, making its way, thriving in the moist environment, unlike himself. Sebas held the small map close and attempted to remove the red X that used to be the owlbear’s dwelling. He focused on the item.

[Magic Map {Self Updating, Waypoint}]

“Eruka Valley and surroundings have been set to the full size of the current map, please purchase another to fill out another region.”

[Set Waypoint?]

“Uhh… yes?”

[Where will you go?]

“... The Chipped Anvil?”

[Waypoint has been Set.]

The magic or whatever makes the map function work turns the object into an inactive state, the color dulls and suddenly the map seems to stop working, turning into a small black parchment. The object glows bright red and the X that was previously immovable launches past his current location, sitting far south.

Sebas nodded, as if to pretend he understood what just happened, and followed the location of the small red X, if the rain would allow such a thing.

Daybreak peering in-between the rainclouds assisted him in properly moving, leaping from rockface to rockface, grass patches removed by his speed between bounds and strides. His speed increases when the first farmhouse that takes up the majority of the northern outlying neighborhood of Eruka, he sighed and darted forward, wanting to remove himself from the rain.

Strides were taken, metal gutters were climbed, and Sebas separated from the increasingly cobbled muddy ground, taking his traversal to the rooftops. Leaping between the covers, landing on an awning of a clustered backyard of a building with a grassy garden terrace hidden between buildings allowed him to slow down, as his destination was around the corner.

[Skill Experience has been gained]

[Skill: [Parkour] LV 0 -> LV 1]

You can learn non-profession skills outside of combat. I thought you needed… experience or whatever.

Nothing to say for yourself?

Radical, Metal even, uhh what else, ah “Coolio”.

“WELL! WELL! WELL! If it ain’t ol’ Red!” sounded from around the corner of the alleyway.

“What do you want?”

“You owe me money! That's what Red.”

Sebas looked around, something missing from the scenario.

“Where’s Davis?”

The third-rate villain was visibly distraught at the mention of his large kid-not-kid brother. His scowl shifted from pained to angry.

“Just give me your money, I need it.” All jovial tone and teasing noise were absent from his mannerisms. Sebas frowned at the revelation and decided to dig further.

“Is he sick?”

“No. Just give me your money, Red.”

“Dead?” Sebas asked and stared at his expression to study it.

Fear or something similar appeared on his face and the bandit pulled a dagger out from the back of his boot and charged at Sebas.

Sebas slung his body downward as the knife scraped against his chest, something seemed different in his ability to react, not only was the parkour skill useful for atypical movement like moving with a single arm and using his legs to restrain a knife-wielding man’s business implement, but something outside his skills made him able to perceive the world in a speed… abnormal to the normal flow, as if time slowed when he was in a heightened state.

Sebas sat on the ground next to the man, holding him with his legs choking the man, and locking his arm at an uncomfortable angle, prepared to break it in half.

“Wanna talk about it? Or do you want to run away with your tail tucked and a broken arm?” Sebas asked, no malice apparent on his face, almost genuine concern mixed with feigned care.

“Shut up Red, you wouldn’t-”

Sebas sighed and twisted his arm until an uncomfortable creaking threatened to succumb to pressure, and the bandit screamed in pain.

“I don’t usually care about you, I could kill you, I’m even offering to hear your woes, sir. Aren’t I benevolent?”

“You’re a psycho- OW OW OW!” The man yelled as Sebas continued to twist his arm, he appeared unbothered, almost serene while shoving his boot into the bandit’s face.

“I am benevolent aren’t I, do you think the church of mercy would get rid of my debt if I told them I was worthy of mercy?” Sebas trailed on with nonsense that seemed to be ignored by the man.

“JUST LET GO, ILL TELL YOU!” He screamed, and Sebas sat still for a minute, letting the pain sink into his arm before letting go.

“Fucking… psycho… and I’m a thug, you're messy red.

“Davis, Talk, Now,” Sebas said, pointing the dagger he stole from the man’s hand at him.

The thug sighed and sat up while rubbing his arm, once content with his level of damage assessment, he looked at Sebas.

“How much do you know?”

“About what?” Sebas asked, genuinely confused.

“My profession.”

“Ah, being a thief? Not much, I dabbled in it myself, but… eh you know, ex-nobility pride kind of makes you shun a lot of things.”

“Right, I mean, me, my profession, my association.”

“Not a Gods damned thing.”

The man who could be named Dougal sighed, Sebas wasn't sure who he was, and he couldn’t call him Bandit brother of Davis, that would be stupid… kind of.

“You never made any inquiries? Anything about the dark side of Eruka?”

“What do you mean the “Dark” Side? There hardly any light side in this grain bin.”

The man placed both hands in his face, and leaned forward, looking at Sebas with tired eyes.

“There’s a duality of power, the Criminal Lord, and Eruka’s Lord.”

“Sounds like a bunch of Political Nonsense; Is Dick from the adventure guild the Criminal ring leader?” Sebas asked, “I already lost an arm, I don’t need to lose an ear and I already pushed against him.”

“How do you know about ears?”

Sebas shook his magic bag with the knife, “Killed some pricks named Dumas and Cirris, they tried to kill me with something called “Rosary” Poison.”

Dougal? Dougal paled at the mention of rosary poison.

“Hey, stay with me, Dougal.”

“My name is not Dougal…?” He stared at Sebas with confusion that mixed into his fear.

“I… I’m not surprised you killed Dumas, but you actually killed Cirris?”

In response, Sebas rapidly shook the magic bag on his neck again.

“Huh… yeah that… okay.”

“Okay?”

“Okay… Red… Sir?”

“Sir? You’re not trying to suck up to me, are you? I might punch you if you are.”

“I just don’t know how to talk to you.”

“You should stay that way,” Sebas said while emphasizing his words with the knife, “Anyway, uhh who's your boss, whats rosary poison, and why ears?”

“We-”

“Summary version,” Sebas said, pointing the knife a little closer to Not Dougal.

“My boss works under Sho, he’s the big crime head through the town, and maybe some others, I’m not sure. My boss took Davis from me and put him with some bad guys who shake down others, and if I want him back, I need to make more money more money than this entire shitty town has, at least without robbing the adventurer’s guild,” Not Dougal grimaced, “Anyway, Rosary poison is something that Sho had developed, I’m not sure the details, but it is Dangerous,” Not Dougal… Nougal shuddered.

“And the ears?”

“Proof of… purchase… no… it's a business receipt.”

“Talk to me like I’m five.”

“Uhh… customers who don’t pay… may get an owie.”

“Ohhhh,” Sebas realized, placing his thumb against his upper lip, startling himself when the dagger nearly poked his eye, “God I miss having multiple hands.”

“What the hell happened to you anyway, you look like you got back from war.”

“I am the first line of defense between you, civilian, and the horrible onslaught of monsters that will kill us all… if there wasn’t anyone remotely stronger than me.”

Nougal chuckled, “You and that little Hero kid are good people, I’m sorry about how I’ve treated you Red, you’re not some little brat who doesn’t know shit.”

“Thanks? Fuck you? What the fuck do you mean “Little Hero?”

“The black-haired bloke, he's been all over Eruka helping everyone, cats in trees, elderly, odd jobs, the whole field.”

Sebas’ expression lightened, poking the knife into the rubble while his sharp mini claws picked at his teeth, “how much do you know about Eruka?”

“As much as there is.”

“How much money do you need?”

“It's starting at 75 Silver, it’s going to go up I’m sure.”

“Do you need help?”

“No, I’ll figure something out…”

“Just become an adventurer, It can’t be that hard to make a silver off of a whole rabbit a day.”

“Red. I have a bit of a criminal record.”

“Oh.”

Sebas left the bandit to his devices but promised to help at a later date, he didn’t care for Nougal, but his brother Davis was adorable, for a slow giant manchild.

Entering the Chipped Anvil, the door rang a small chime, and Jenva smiled before turning her vision towards him, a small look of disappointment looked over him before disappointment changed to a confused raised eyebrow.

Sebas simply placed his hand over his chest, faking a sheepish grin, “I got hungry?”

Jenva tilted her head ever so slightly, curiosity went back to disappointment, and she rolled her eyes, “Next time, think of a better one, or just keep your spare shirts in your magic storage for god's sake Sebas.”

“I don’t know, I think I look kind of good, minus the scars, high makes me feel like a big boy,” He did a small flex and smiled.

“You know how you call everyone the worst?”

Sebas nodded softly, not breaking his flexing.

“You should consider an idiom from my hometown: “Look who’s talking,” She smiled back, at Sebas' shocked and falsely hurt expression, “Now go put clothes on, we practice modesty in this household young man.”

Sebas sighed and vaulted the counter, rushing upstairs.

“NO SKILLS IN THE HOUSE,” She yelled.

“But it’s SO COOL,” Sebas yelled back before the door closed.

Jenva’s smile devolved into a sad expression, fixated on the large talon marks across his back in a large X, but refused to comment.

Gis held a piece of the massive deposit of ore Sebas brought back and was given back the map. Looking over the bundle of rock that was left on a tarp in his workshop, Sebas sat on a stool, struggling to slump without falling over.

“This is Star Iron,” Gis said without looking up.

“What is Star Iron?” Sebas asked, occupying himself with a pile of tools that he managed to stack up in a small tower.

“A meteorite, you found a treasure trove,” Gis smiled beneath his large bushy beard and mustache, frowning when he saw Sebas placing a pair of tongs on one leg atop the handle of one of his spare hammers.

Sebas locked eyes with him, before looking at his small smithing tower, and back towards Gis, “Adam told me to.”

“Adams a good influence on ye, but I can an will throw you through the wall and door in one swing, even easier now that yer less an arm.”

“Damn pop pop I thought we were chill…”

“Chill?”

“Adam says a lot of weird things, might be a colloquialism…”

“Yer strange, but I kept you, despite your efforts to push me away.”

“What efforts!”

“Kid you were insufferable while you were dying, always complaining or doing something stupid, I have never in my time seen someone eat an entire lettuce bulb out of my fridge while on bedrest.”

“I wasn’t there for most of that, that sounds like electricity poisoning.”

“It was particularly funny when you tried to fist fight your healer, I had money on you, despite the burn wounds.”

“Thanks,” Sebas smiled genuinely, “I’m glad I can count on you when it comes to that priest woman.”

“Ah, be nice to her! Kessia is a good girl, you aught to thank her one of these days.”

“The day Noirr falls over dead.”

“Sebas!” Gis yelled, startling the boy.

“You be nice to that girl, do I make myself clear? We do not disrespect others in this house.”

“What about the guy I’m seeing about my magic prosthetic?”

“He’s… an exception.”

“So only weird man, got it.”

“No, you can’t make fun of him… he would probably turn you into a raccoon.”

Sebas stared at Gis, who winced at his thoughts for a moment, before shaking himself out of the delusion.

“Not happening, ye shut yer fuckin mouth boy, too mouthy.”

Sebas shrugged, “I can understand that, do I really have to apologize to that girl? It feels like sucking up to my debtors.”

“Are you one of the local exnoble kids who get exorbitant loans?”

Nod.

“Oh fuckin’ hell. The Eruka branch does stupid shit because their god forgives the priest and their affected victims, just pay the money and be done with it when you can, there isn’t a time limit… is there?”

“I believe I become what is called a “Godly Donation” If I fail to pay it off by 18.”

“Fuck… Do you need help?”

“Well, I can beat up most loan sharks, but if the gods come down towards me like they have recently, I won’t be much.”

“The gods, plural? Have interacted with you?”

“Humanity and Hunt.”

His head rocks back, and Gis pulls out a small pipe, filling it with some sort of dried herb pieces, “Yzdite…” Gis said before lighting the small pipe with a small flame he grabbed with his fingers.

“I’ll… talk with you about it later.”

Sebas shrugged and pulled a hammer from the tower of smithing, letting the tower fall onto the table, and picked up a small piece of ore between his pointer and middle finger.

“PUT THE COALS ON THE FORGE YOU SACK OF NOTHING,” Sebas pointed the rock at his blacksmith, mocking his words that had been said before, much to Gis displeasure, he picked up a shovel from the corner of the room, and started to layer fuel into the furnace.

Sebas crushed rock bits beneath a flat hammer, looking over to the man who began to listen to his orders.

“DON’T USE ALL THE COALS UNLESS YOU’RE GOIN’ TO REFILL IT,” Sebas yelled at his blacksmithing mentor.

“I can and will beat you with this shovel,” Gis said with deadpan malice in his tone.

Sebas grinned with a lively devilish smile that met ear to ear with his mentor, and crushed ore beneath his mallet, “Yeah do what I say old man.”

“That's it! Imm’a kick your ass you little shit!” Gis yelled while he began to chase him throughout the shop floor with a shovel, while Jenva was called for by a joyful yet fearful Sebas who bounded throughout the shop and climbed across countertops.

“QUIT MOVING YOU LITTLE SHIT.”

“JENVA HELP, HE’S GOT A SHOVEL AND HES MAKING THREATS.”

Jenva walked through the door to the shop at the sound of mayhem, and just watched the chaotic pair in shock, leaving back through the door when Sebas took the chance to leap from Gis, his foot landed on the already angry dwarf’s head and launched him to the opposite side of the room. Gis’ skin turned red, and hammers began to fly around the room from wrathful vengeance.