City of Desire [Kingdom Building]

“To the safe journey!” we said and clinked our glasses as we drank before turning to a sumptuous meal.
 
We have been invited to the dinner by Captain Perry. 
 
It is a tradition and also a chance for the captain to make friends with the rich merchants from the powerful mercantile houses.
 
The dinner was good; it had some dishes that had not been tested before. The captain had shown with much great flair.
 
I mingled with them, laughed when I needed to, spoke when I had to, and even told a few accolades and jokes from the earth, which made them laugh hard.
 
It was important I make good connections; just now, I made a deal with Locke Hercule about the books I need for my collection and the small library I want to make for the girls.
 
I have even got a good discount, but it is not important as the connection I made, which made him invite me to his birthday party, which he is throwing at the end of next week.
 
As for how it will benefit me, there are numerous ways, but the most obvious is if he needs anything, which I sell, then he will come to me, as I will go to him first; if needed to make any large order of books again.
 
Most importantly, for the business I am in, I need to have more friends. It is not the most respectful business, and the pressure comes from all sides; these people help a lot in bearing it.
 
Back on earth, mingling was part of the job. I had to mingle to get clients, and I was good at it and had even learned to enjoy it.
 
“We will reach Deerpond soon,” said the captain as he looked at the watch as I got up the leave, the rest staying to enjoy more drinks and smoke cigars.
 
While I drink, I can’t bear the smoke.
 
I bade goodnight to the captain and others and walked toward my cabin, wanting to finish studying the few more contracts before turning off the lights for today.
 
Hun!
 
I was about to reach my cabin when suddenly the warning bells rang out through the ship. Dan, behind me, immediately became alert as he quickly removed his sword, and I did the same.
 
I have gotten the looks when I took the sword to the dinner, but I am glad I did, as I might need to use it now.
 
“Rogue!”
 
Dan shouted and leaped forward with a speed that I could see barely catch and clashed against a figure that came out of the shadow, revealing a man completely covered in a black cloth, holding a long dagger in his hand.
 
Who disappeared after the first clash and appeared behind dan, who reacted immediately and swung back his sword.
 
I was watching the battle when I noticed a shadow moving through the wall toward me; I stepped forward and swung my sword without wasting the moment.
 
Clang!
 
My rapier clashed against a short sword that came out of the shadow of a short woman.
 
As I clashed, I nearly threw my sword as I got the shock through my body, but I did not. All the hellish training with instructor David had gotten me used to these kinds of attacks. 
 
Though I needed to take a step back, the power behind the blow was nothing to scoff at, and now, she was coming at me.
 
I used the quick steps to dodge the attack, but my opponent seemed quite skilled as she changed the direction of the attack as I dodged it, but this time, I was ready.
 
Clang!
 
My rapier clashed against her sword, again taking a step back while dodging the coming strike, before ducking again to dodge another attack, before moving my rapier to defend.
 
The rogue is not giving me any chance to relax, attacking me without wasting any time, using different skills.
 
I am quite used to such strikes; the instructor used many fighting styles, and his quick ones landed hundreds of strikes on my body within minutes, but it had also forced me to do better.
 
Hun!
 
Suddenly, her figure became blurry, and the daggers multiplied as she came at me.
 
‘Fuck!’
 
I curse; I hate this kind of attack; it makes dodging hard, but dealing with it is not impossible. 

 
This is one of the trickiest skills the rogues have, and I have the practice to deal with it.
 
So, instead of taking a step back, I moved forward with Quick Steps and attacked with Consecutive Strikes.
 
Clang Clang Clang
 
My rapier begins to clash against her short sword fast; each strike of hers would have a numbing shock attached to it. 
 
It made it very hard to counter her, not to mention her strikes are also powerful. I needed to move continuously to divert the power of the strike through my body, or I won’t be able to move my hand. 
 
Even now, it is started to get numb.
 
Rip Rip
 
Suddenly she increased the speed of her attacks, and I defended, but two still touched me. 
 
One had ripped suit from the stomach and the other my shoulder; the second strike touched my flesh, drawing an out long cut, but not deep enough.
 
“You are very good, but your level is too low to do anything to me,” she said in a hoarse voice, which was obviously not her real voice.
 
As she finished, she came at me again, and I pushed the consecutive strikes to go even faster and stronger than they were.
 
I am disadvantaged in this fight; not only is her level greater than mine, but she also has more skills, and most importantly, this space is perfect for her. Rogues thrive in these kinds of small places.
 
I am just glad that Dan is keeping that powerful Rogue at bay, not letting it forward, no matter how much it has tried.
 
He had the experience of fighting on the ships, which is why I had chosen him instead of Jonah.
 
Rip!
 
Another of her strikes hit me, which I was barely able to avoid, though her sword had torn my jacket and shirt vertically, sending buttons flying everywhere.
 
“You have ruined my suit,” I said as I pushed forward, “I am sure you will have money to buy another,” she said in a hoarse voice, which had a hint of smugness that was not there before.
 
Reeeee!
 
She once again moved to strike me and jumped back suddenly when a sharp whistle rang out.
 
“See you again, rich boy,” she said and began retreating toward the exit with the powerful rogue, who also stopped and now retreating with the girl.
 
We did not follow them; it is already a great fortune that we are in one piece.
 
“You have improved tremendously since last time, Mister Silver.” “If you had fought that rogue at the time of fighting orc, she would have carved you into pieces,” he praised.
 
“It is all thanks to instructor David; he is training me hard,” I said before my expression turned serious.
 
“She was holding back; I did not feel her intent to kill, which the orc had when I had fought him,” I added, to which he nodded.
 
“This is likely a loot raid; they just wanted to loot and escape,” he said. To that, I couldn’t help but nod.
 
These rogues were thieves; killing would have made things complicated for them. We are no simple merchants; half of us belong to powerful mercantile houses; a single kill would have a witch hunt for them.
 
Suddenly his expression has changed, “Mister silver, check the money pouch,” he said, and I looked into my pocket and found the pouch gone.
 
“That bitch!” I cursed; I did not even know when she took it. 
 
No wonder that bitch had sounded smug.
 
“Let's go,” I said and walked toward the direction of the deck. “It would be much safer to stay in your room, mister Silver,” said Dan, but I did not listen.
 
There were a couple of imperials and a few crowns in the pouch, a total value of five thousand crowns. I am not angry because of then stole the money but because she was able to do it without me noticing. 
 
When I reached the deck, I saw spells flying and rogues jumping in the river, with one fighting against Captain Julian. 
 
It was a battle to watch.
 
They are both fighting so fast that I can only see the blur; even mages and archers are having a problem targeting the last rogue.
 
At first glance, it is obvious that Captain Julian has the edge, but the Rogue is too agile, dodging most of the attacks that Captain Julian throws at it.
 
The battle had only lasted for a couple of seconds after I arrived before the last Rogue jumped into the river, dodging the spells and arrows thrown at him.
 
There are no injuries on Captain Julian like some of his men, but he is in a bad mood, and I would, too, if I had been in his place.
 
And I am angry.
 
“Mister Silver, my apologies that you had to suffer the attack,” he said, looking at my state and Dan. 
 
“It would have been great if the passageways had some guards, Captain,” I said with obvious anger and walked back toward my cabin with Dan following behind me.
 
I have made the best decision in not backing down when it comes to guards. If I had listened to the assurances of Damon Hardt about the security, then I would have been completely defenseless against the rogues.
 
Who knows, they might have even kidnapped me; it is common knowledge that the house of Silver pays ramson for their kidnapped members. 
 
It is also common knowledge that after the ransom is paid, the house pays many times more money to mercenaries and hunters to hunt down and kill the people who did the deed.
 
The house had put a colossal bounty just to find leads on people who killed my father, and once they do, Grandfather is going to increase that many times to kill those bastards.
 
[Warrior Level 4]
 
[Skill Gained: Weighted Strike]
 
I had closed the door behind me when the text appeared in front of me. 
 
Unsurprisingly, I had leveled up; I would have been surprised if I did not level up after the incident. 
 
What is surprising is that I have got the skill; Weighted Strike, a skill that increases the power of the attack.
 
It is a great skill; if I had it when I was fighting against the rogue, I wouldn’t have been at such a disadvantage.
 
I looked at class and skill for a few seconds before removing my clothes and applying a healing potion on the cut across my shoulder before laying down on the bed to rest.
 
Such attacks are not good for my health, but they are the hazard of this world; I am just happy that at least I have got a level and skill out of it.

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