What happened after...is still pretty hard to believe. I probably don’t have to explain that apparently I am a bad judge of people.
After bailing on our plan ceased to be an option, I demanded money from the guy as I’d initially planned. Everything up until that point had gone smoothly...but part of me couldn’t get over how strange the guy was.
There were three of us and only one of him. Since we were all Bronze-classers, that meant he was facing a threat three times his own ability. And yet, he was completely unbothered.
I started to get madder and madder. I called out to Gahedd and Lukas to join me, then charged him.
I couldn’t make them go first—I mean, I’d basically just dragged them along. If I lost to the masked guy, at least they’d be able to make their escape.
If I was the only one who went down...well, that wouldn’t be too bad. He might chase after them, but I didn’t think he’d be so vindictive. He was just a Bronze-classer, after all—not that I was one to talk, I guess. And who’d bother going to the trouble of tracking down two people in a city as big as Lucaris?
So, I charged.
But the results of that were more pathetic than I imagined. I couldn’t even remember it clearly—my memories cut off around when I was bringing my sword to bear. The masked guy had still been way out of my range, standing there in a casual way that was weirdly difficult to pin down. He had a weapon at his waist, but showed no sign of reaching for it.
Yet, in the span it took me to inhale a single breath, his mask was right in front of my face.
I almost screamed, but no sound came out. The skull mask was exquisitely modeled, and up close it had a strange appeal to it. I had the out-of-place thought that it probably wasn’t as cheap as I’d first assumed it to be.
Come to think of it, that was probably when I instinctively gave up. I could tell my sword would never reach him.
He’d closed the distance in a mere instant. How was a two-bit adventurer like me supposed to beat a guy who could do that?
It had been wrong of me to even consider robbing him in the first place. Maybe my entire way of life until this point had been wrong too.
No, I’d done one thing right: I’d charged at him first. Gahedd and Lukas were still behind me. I didn’t know if they’d be able to make it out, but as long as they ran now and the masked guy didn’t give chase, they’d get away.
They were my only genuine friends in this entire city. Even if I was a goner, I wanted them to live. If they survived, I could go out knowing my life hadn’t been that bad after all.
If I had one regret, it was probably that I hadn’t gotten to go on one last job with them.
No use crying over spilled milk, though. I’d just have to make sure I partied up with them again in my next life.
That was the last thought that went through my mind before everything went black.
✦ ✦ ✦
When I slowly opened my eyes in a dark, quiet room, I was extremely surprised.
I didn’t know what had happened after I’d been knocked out, but I’d been sure I was going to die. The masked bastard had definitely been strong enough to finish me in one strike, and since I’d tried to rob him, he’d had no reason to show me any mercy.
And yet...
Suddenly, a human skull appeared in my field of vision. “Oh, you’re awake,” it said.
I barely managed to stop myself from screaming.
The skull man stepped back, and a beastfolk appeared. “He woke up later than the other two,” he said. “You might’ve put a little too much force into your blow, Rentt.”
The man had a jet-black coat of fur, the kind of glittering eyes only felines had, and a lithe build. He was probably a pantherfolk.
Pantherfolk were pretty rare, and all the ones in Lucaris were relatively well-known among adventurers. He wasn’t an acquaintance by any stretch, but I recognized his name and face.
“You’re...Malga...?” I asked.
“Oh, you know me?” The look in his eyes was sharp as he studied me. “I don’t remember a customer like you ever stopping by...”
I smiled bitterly. “What, is that your idea of a joke? A Bronze-classer like me could never afford anything from your shop.”
Malga considered that for a moment, then turned to Skullface. “Hear that, Bronze-classer?”
“What do you want me to say?” he said. “I get what he means, though. It was only a short while ago that I came into some coin. I’m only as well-off as I am now thanks to a few lucky strokes of fate.”
“Lucky strokes of fate, huh? I guess our meeting counts as one of those.”
“You think...?” Skullface approached me. “Hey. Drink this. I didn’t mean to hit you so hard. Must’ve let my control slip a bit.” He held a cup that smelled of flowers and herbs. The scent reminded me of medicine.
“What is it?” I asked.
“An herbal infusion. It’s effect isn’t that potent, though, so it’s more to calm you down than anything. Better than nothing, though. It’s also a bit of an experiment. Just drink it.”
As he held the cup out, I realized he’d slipped something kinda terrifying in at the end there. I wanted to refuse...but then I remembered how he’d taken me out in one blow.
My body must’ve instinctually realized how meaningless it was to resist him, because I obediently took the cup and brought it to my mouth.
Upon drinking the infusion, I was surprised at how invigorating the taste that spread through my mouth was. The warmth diffused through my body, and I could feel my muscles and joints relaxing. The dull pain in my side that had been throbbing since I’d woken up quickly faded away.
“How is it?” Skullface asked.
“I feel better,” I said. “Dunno why, though. Still...thanks.”
That was how I met Boss Rentt and Brother Diego. At the time, I had no idea what was going to become of me. I thought I’d be handed over to the authorities, be forced into slavery, or even killed. The possibility of anything else didn’t even occur to me.
Instead, that was when it all began—when I started to think that maybe, just maybe, lucky strokes of fate really did exist.