Mistaken for a Returnee

Sulika led Aldritch through the same path she'd taken twice today and was somewhat proud to note he appeared interested in everything he saw.

From the mundane to the fantastical, Aldritch didn't care what it was, only that it was new to him. And upon reaching the underground, Aldritch couldn't help but stop and stare… At the structural integrity of the space.

"The ceiling of this cavern is held up only by the wards protecting the city." He muttered while staring at the ceiling.

"You think so too?"

"Unfortunately. To the casual observer it would appear the pillars are holding the ceiling in a stable position. While that may have been true at one point, the weight of the land above has likely passed the threshold for those supports. Should the barrier ever break, I believe this space would collapse along with it."

"Are you going to alert the ones in charge?"

"I'll think about it. If nothing else, I could use this information to smooth the way for replacing the ward stones around the island."

"Back again, Sulika?" A male human asked, stopping to chat while carrying a large barrel upon his shoulder.

Aldritch had some trouble guessing the age of humans. With their wide-ranging appearances and ages, he could've been anywhere from a teenager to his early forties and Aldritch wasn't certain he could tell the difference.

This human had dark skin, a shaved head, tired red eyes, and a wide smile that made him seem more friendly than anything.

"Hey, Burnie." She replied, returning his smile. "Yeah, I forgot to get my sword from Master Gorym."

"Can't forget that." He laughed. "See ya, Sulika." He waved goodbye to them both before waddling away with the barrel.

"That was Commander Bernard Lyons; he's in charge of the Hunters guild logistics department. Despite how he looks, he's actually only twenty-five years old." She explained while guiding Aldritch deeper into the cavern. "But you know what they say- stress ages you, right?"

"I'm guessing he looked older than twenty-five?"

"That's what I took from her words too."

They arrived at the doors to the training room after a few minutes of walking and Sulika all but dragged him into the room- much to the surprise of the hunters still lingering in the area.

Sulika hurried over to Maewyn, the only dwarf she knew by name and said, "Hey, sorry to bother you. I was wondering if you'd keep an eye on my friend for a few minutes. I promise I'll be quick."

The dwarf woman's eyebrows raised in surprise. "Captain Wysarie, you can't bring civilians down here. It's against the rules. What if he gets hurt?"

"I know, and again, I'm sorry for springing this on you. But I promise it's important, I wouldn't do this otherwise." Sulika leaned in close and whispered in her ear, "I couldn't leave him upstairs to annoy Abby and this might be the only chance he has of seeing the inside of the guild."

Maewyn glanced over Sulika's shoulder at the red-haired giant… "Alright, fine. But you owe me an explanation after this- and I want the truth. You get me?"

Sulika nodded.

"And if the GM asks, I'm telling him the truth; you brought him down here, not me."

"Absolutely, thank you so much." Sulika nodded and turned to find Aldritch observing the hunters as they were observing him. She tugged on the hem of his robe to get his attention. "Don't hurt anyone, got it?"

"You have my word." He lowered his head in understanding and watched her leave through those odd double doors… "But something tells me they won't care about my word." He finished, laughing quietly to himself before turning around- He found Eli standing in front of him, a heavy scowl on his face.

Aldritch ignored him for the moment and bowed his head towards the dwarven woman.

"Gor'karn Hillkin, durz thuven vor Aldritch'en Khalan Khal-Dran. Drazh'karn toth'ras - darak toth'ras. (Greetings Hillkin, you stand before Aldritch of Clan Blackshield. A pleasure to meet you.)"

Maewyn's eyes widened in shock. "Nor kharnaz? (A Kinsman?)" Surprised though she might've been, she recovered quickly and bowed her head to return the greeting. "Zar Maewyn Djinrathi nor Khalan Chal-Velkan. Nor doraz tothrak. (I am Maewyn Djinrathi of the Honey-Heart clan. A pleasure to meet you.)"

Aldritch smiled at Maewyn for a moment longer before his smile faded away and he turned to look at Eli. "Captain Valdove, nice to see you again."

Eli's eyes darted between Aldritch and Maewyn, uncertainty filling his eyes. "Sulika could get in real trouble bringing you down here." Eli muttered, looking Aldritch up and down like a piece of meat. "I don't know how you convinced her to break the rules for you. But I'd suggest you stop with the entitlement and leave before we have to throw you out."

Aldritch's left eyebrow raised in amusement and he had to fight back a smile. "Really? I'm the entitled one?" He stepped around Eli and headed deeper into the training room while Maewyn and Eli followed closely behind.

"I've known Sulika for years. She's the most upright person I know, and she loves this guild. There's no chance she'd risk her career without reason." Eli said to Aldritch's back.

"Well, you're correct there." Aldritch passed through the left archway, entering the melee focused side of the training room.

He eyed the free-weights, benches, and leather wrapped pillars with a curious eye. But what really caught his attention was the two hunters sparring the ring.

The first hunter was a large female half-orc in tight-fitting leather armor: she had long black hair that hung down to her waist- save for a single patch around her left ear that was shaved down to the scalp.

She swung a large battle axe with such speed and ferocity, that her opponent was on the brink of being overwhelmed.

The Caitsith she fought was a hulking specimen of his race: Dark orange fur with a dark, flowing pattern across his neck and face. His body was heavy with muscle and a strange coppertone armor, and yet somehow still agile enough to weave around the woman's Axe.

"Then you admit it? You coerced her into bringing you down here." Eli said, his voice coming from a spot just behind Aldritch's right elbow.

Aldritch ignored him.

"Hey, maybe you should back off of him, Eli. Like you said, I'm sure Sulika had her reasons." Maewyn said, being careful to keep her voice low to prevent the other hunters from overhearing.

No matter what, Eli was a captain. And it wouldn't do anyone any good if she questioned him in front of the lower ranks.

Aldritch watched the half-orc woman leap into the air and bring her axe down upon the caitsith's greatsword- The cat warrior moved like water, twisting his blade and turning his body in such a way that her axe cleaved nothing but air.

"He's good."

"She's still wet behind the ears, but the foundation is there. In a few years she'll be a force of nature."

"True, I think a change of armor is also necessary. That leather armor looks good, but it's restricting the rotation of her waist and hips- which is reducing the strength she can put into her swings."

Eli hopped over the ring rail and moved to stand in front of Aldritch. "Are you interested in sparring?"

"Eli-"

"Quiet." Eli snapped: he glared at Maewyn as if daring her to interrupt him again.

"What issue do you have with me?" Aldritch asked, finally looking Eli's way. And he wasn't the only one. Every hunter in attendance, including the two sparring, were watching the altercation with undisguised interest.

"I thought it'd be obvious." Eli let out a fake laugh and shook his head.

"Humor me."

"Alright." Eli sucked on his teeth "You're a rude, arrogant, narcissistic prick who's done nothing but cause trouble for Sulika since the moment you met."

"Is that how you see me? Interesting."

"That's how everyone sees you. Especially the way you talk- you act like you're some kind of badass, when all you've got going for you is your size."

"What's wrong with the way I talk?... Ah, I get it now." Aldritch couldn't help but grin down at Eli. "You're still upset about what I said yesterday, right?"

Eli's scowl grew deeper. "I wouldn't even need my team to bring you down."

"You might be right." Aldritch nodded, a smile still playing across his lips. "But I believe your arrogance is blinding you to the truth."

"So sayeth the man who's too prideful to admit the truth: if we fought, you'd lose."

Aldritch's mouth twitched as the bond with Oakairo flared to life.

The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

"This mortal dares to lecture us about Pride?"

"You're wrong. Tis my pride that compels me to tell the truth. If I believed you could beat me, I would say so. Maybe if you worked together with your team, it would be different. But alone?" He shrugged. "Unlikely."

"You're so full of yourself." Eli and a few of the other hunters laughed.

"So, I've been told."

Eli watched Aldritch for a few moments before smirking and turning away from him. "You two- get out." He told the combatants, who looked at him in confusion.

"But we've got another ten minutes-" The caitsith winced in pain as Eli's hand bounced off the top of his head.

"Don't do that." Eli replied, looking up at the caitsith. "I told you to get out… So, get out. You can train anytime, but he needs to learn this lesson now."

The caitsith and the half-orc both looked at Aldritch- who returned their glances with a friendly wave. "Don't mind us. I was enjoying watching the two of you spar, so if you'd like to continue, by all means do so."

"Oh no, you don't get to back out of this. You were saying all that stuff a minute ago, so don't try to backtrack now."

Aldritch tilted his head, a confused look in his eyes. "I'm not sure I follow."

"We're going to settle this, right here, right now." Eli replied and made a 'come here' motion with his hand.

"Settle what?"

"This! We're going to settle THIS!" The longer they talked, the more obvious it was Eli was losing his patience. "If you can last just three minutes in the ring with me, I'll take back everything I've ever said about you. But if you can't, you have to stay away from Sulika." He finished, grabbing a wooden sword and pointing it at Aldritch-

But Aldritch just gave him an incredulous look and said, "Why should I care if you take back what you said?"

Which was not what the hunters were expecting him to do.

"He insulted you." Maewyn said. She was glad he wasn't fighting… But she was also curious why he wasn't. "Doesn't that bother you?"

"No." Aldritch replied before turning to face her. "I know the truth, what he says has no bearing on it."

"So, you're a coward too?" Eli spat at Aldritch's feet.

Aldritch heard a low growl reverberating through his bond. "This mortal irritates me."

"Me too." Aldritch sent Eli a look of disdain before turning around and heading for the main room.

As soon as it was clear Aldritch wouldn't rise to Eli's provocation, the other hunter's lost interest. Everyone except Eli, who attempted to follow him- but a heavily muscled arm stopped him.

"What in the hells are you doing? Why do you keep picking a fight with him?" She shoved him back towards the ring, picking up a wooden sword for herself in the process. "If you want to fight so much, fight me."

"No, it's okay. I'll fight him." Aldritch said, returning to the ring with a sword identical to Eli's in his right hand. "If he wanted to spar, all he had to do was ask. Behaving like a petulant child was unnecessary and unbecoming of a captain."

Eli smirked and shrugged his shoulders. "You say that, yet here you are."

"Well, truth be told, I do find you remarkably irritating. I'm also curious about the strength of a captain class hunter, so this is a win-win for me- Ah, but I did promise Sulika that I wouldn't hurt anyone. So, do let me know if I swing too hard. I'll need to heal your wounds before she returns to collect me."

"Oh, I didn't realize you were Sulika's property. Do you usually let a woman boss you around?"

Aldritch's eyes narrowed at the provocation. "I try to do as I'm asked out of respect for the one asking; gender or relation does not come into the equation."

"Keep telling yourself that." Eli replied, lifting his sword and pointing it at Aldritch's chest.

Maewyn rolled her eyes at the two of them before stepping aside. She'd stop them if she had to, but Sulika never said anything about protecting the giant from himself…

Aldritch followed Eli into the ring. He was aware of the many eyes falling upon him, but he didn't linger on them for too long though he did find the bloodlust heading his way to be quite interesting.

Someone here really didn't like him.

"Rules of engagement?"

"As I said before: If you can just survive for three minutes, I'll take back every-"

"I couldn't care less about that." Aldritch sighed. "You want a three-minute match, yes?"

"Yes." Eli replied through gritted teeth.

"Then a three-minute match it shall be. How will the winner be determined?"

"The person left standing at the end of three minutes is the winner. Also, if you lose your weapon, you lose the match. If you get struck in a vital area, you lose the match. If you can no longer hold your weapon, you lose. Is that clear?"

"Yes." Aldritch inspected his weapon for a moment before raising it towards Eli.

"I assume I'll be the referee then?" Maewyn climbed into the ring and stood between the two combatants.

Everyone was watching them now, eager to see how quickly the giant would be brought down by the guild veteran.

It was common knowledge that size and natural strength only went so far in a duel. It could make up for some skill at the lower levels, but at the level of Captain Valdove… Well, it became more of a detriment than anything.

"Begin-" Maewyn's voice was overshadowed by the sound of wooden blades smashing against one another.

Eli began with a quick thrust aimed at Aldritch's face- which was instantly parried. He followed it up with a slash at Aldritch's chest, which was also parried. And a second thrust towards his face, which Aldritch dodged by moving his head slightly.

Eli smirked at making the giant dodge- which rapidly shifted to surprise as he dodged a stab that almost took out his right eye. He parried a slash aimed at his chest, then ducked a stab aimed at his left eye.

"That's one"

Eli slashed at Aldritch's leg and was parried away.

Eli stabbed at his heart, and Aldritch twisted his body away from it.

Eli brought his sword down on Aldritch's head and was surprised when the Giant suddenly stepped out of range by an inch.

Aldritch followed up on the step by sending a slash, stab, and swipe of his own - all of which forced Eli to give up offense in favor of defense.

"Two, three, four."

Their blades locked together in a clash over dominance. Eli pushed against the giant with everything he had, and Aldritch… Didn't budge an inch.

"Five, six, seven, eight, nine."

Eli shifted his stance and pushed past Aldritch- he reached the giant's back and aimed a stab at his spine.

Aldritch moved with surprising speed, dodging the initial stab and deflecting the guard of the blade away from him- But Eli wasn't done yet. Following the momentum of his stab, he twisted his body and tossed out a few kicks aiming to disorient the giant.

Aldritch quickly stepped out of range of the kicks, allowing them to fly harmlessly through the air.

"Wow; Fourteen."

Maewyn watched the duel in shocked silence. She'd figured the giant would be a decent fighter, but this was more than just 'decent'.

Eli was a level forty-four ranger. Sure, he was better with a bow than he was a sword. But even with a handicap he could easily overwhelm a normal martial class due to his higher stats and advanced level boosting his reflexes to their utmost… If there was a difference in their stats, Aldritch didn't seem to notice.

If anything, Eli came across as the one who was struggling to keep up when their swords clashed.

"You know, you're better than I thought you'd be." Aldritch muttered. "It's still not enough to beat me, but you do have some skill to back up your temper."

"You're not so bad yourself." Eli replied before suddenly stabbing towards Aldritch's throat- the blade was pushed aside almost without effort.

"If you'd only control yourself, you might make for a good soldier." Aldritch parried a slash, causing Eli to stumble past him.

"That's a lot of words coming from the guy who also hasn't landed a hit."

"One minute left!" Someone shouted.

Eli pushed his body even harder: stabbing faster, swinging harder, and using his superior footwork to dart in and out of Aldritch's blind spots.

The giant parried what he could and avoided everything else, smiling all the while.

"Thirty seconds!"

"I must admit," Aldritch began, swiping away a slash at his throat. "You're a better duelist than I am. Each of your attacks are like strokes from a master painter. Tis truly fascinating to observe firsthand- I am thankful for the opportunity."

Aldritch moved his head to one side, dodging a slice that would've damaged his eye.

"Fifteen seconds!"

"If I'm so much better than you, then why are you still wearing that irritating smile!?" Eli shouted; he quickly entered a rhythm of attacks that fell upon Aldritch like the rain.

Aldritch continued his defense without breaking stride a single time, the assault only ending once their blades were locked together. "Because I know something that you don't."

"Five seconds!"

Eli lunged forward and focused everything he had into a stab aimed at Aldritch's face…

Rarely, a warrior will execute something called a 'Perfect strike'.

The 'perfect strike' is a move that encompasses everything the warrior has experienced throughout their life and funnels it into a single attack. It takes all of their strength, their skill, and even their will, and uses it to unleash a devastating attack that the warrior couldn't pull off on their own.

Because the perfect strike is not a technique usable by the warrior themselves- it is an instant of divine intervention…

Aldritch moved his head slightly out of the path of the sword and grabbed the wooden blade with his left hand, forcing Eli's momentum to come to a sudden and complete stop- A large shadow covered Eli's face, *POW!*, and stars filled his vision a second before he landed on his neck, knocking himself out.

Aldritch used "Wisdom of the Great Sage" to scan Eli for any sign of damage. Aside from a mild concussion and a fractured collarbone, Eli was as healthy as to be expected. So, Aldritch used "Regeneration" and "Rejection of Pain" On the unconscious elf before calling it a day and exiting the ring.

"Should that last one count as two deaths or just one?"

"Does it matter?"

"Of course."

"Two then; one for the initial hit and one for the broken neck if I'd pushed a little harder."

"Ah, that makes sense. Thank you for your cooperation."

"What in the hells was that?" Maewyn exclaimed as she ran over to Aldritch's side.

"I'm not sure what you mean."

"That hit- how'd you do that? It was so fast it was all a blur, but I could've sworn I saw you catch his sword and then punch him with the same hand."

"You have very good eyes."

"And what was that thing you were saying before you punched him?"

"Ah, nothing of consequence. Tis a small thing, not really worth mentioning, I only thought it funny at the time."

"C'mon, I must know-"

"Aldritch!" Sulika called, getting their attention. She held her reclaimed sword above her head with a victorious smile on her face. She grabbed Aldritch's wrist and started hauling him towards the double doors.

"Thanks for watching him. Come by the usual place tonight and I'll buy you a beer." The two of them disappeared through the double doors, leaving Maewyn and a very confused audience of hunters in her wake.

Maewyn leaned back slightly and peered through the archway to the ring.

She couldn't help but feel a little sorry for the man snoring in the center of the ring, a large bruise forming across his left cheek. "Wonder what Sulika would've said if she saw Eli right now…"