SSSSS-Rank: Negative Leveling

The commander's hand tightened on her sword as she stared at Khorvash. "That is a pureblood dragonkin. Silas kept it locked up for a reason. Do you have any idea what you've unleashed?"

"A person who was wrongfully imprisoned," Luthra said, though he had to lean more heavily on Khorvash to stay upright. "She's not a threat."

"Not a threat?" The commander's voice rose. "Dragons burned three cities to ash in the Southern Wars. They're walking natural disasters."

Khorvash's eyes flared brighter, and the temperature in the cavern jumped several degrees. "Those weren't my clan. Don't paint us all with the same brush."

"All dragons are—"

"What? Monsters? Killers?" Khorvash took a step forward, and several Syndicate soldiers raised their weapons. "I've been trapped in a cage for years while humans ran a slave mine above my head. Tell me again who the monsters are."

The tension was thick enough to cut. Luthra could feel both sides getting ready to fight. The freed slaves pressed harder against the wall. Several guards had arrows nocked.

"Everyone calm down," Luthra said, forcing his voice to carry authority he didn't feel. "Commander, what's your name?"

She glanced at him, clearly annoyed at the interruption. "Captain Reyne of the Eastern Syndicate Branch."

"Captain Reyne. You came here to find out what happened to Silas, not to start a war. I'm telling you what happened. He's dead. I won the duel and due to that, the mines are mine now. That includes making decisions about who goes free."

"You can't seriously expect—"

"I expect you to follow Syndicate law." He straightened up as much as his broken ribs would allow. "Unless the Eastern Branch has stopped honoring legal duels?"

That hit a nerve. The Syndicate's whole structure was built on might-makes-right. If word got out that the Eastern Branch ignored a legitimate succession, it would be seen as weakness.

Captain Reyne's jaw clenched. "Show me the body."

"It's in the courtyard. Head's a bit separated from the shoulders, but you'll recognize him."

She gestured to two of her soldiers. "Go verify this." They jogged off toward the surface.

While they waited, Luthra tried to think through the pain and exhaustion. He had maybe five minutes before he collapsed completely. His vision kept going dark at the edges.

Rebecca tugged on his sleeve. "You look really bad."

"I'm fine."

"You're lying."

Khorvash shifted her grip, basically holding him up now. "The kid's right. You need medical attention."

"After we deal with this."

The soldiers returned, one carrying Silas's head by the hair. Captain Reyne examined it closely, checking for signs of illusion or deception. Finally, she nodded.

"It's him." She dropped the head, hitting the ground with a wet thud. "The succession is legitimate. The mines are yours."

"Good. Then you'll respect my decisions about my property."

"Within reason."

"The slaves go free. All of them. The dragon stays free too. Anyone who has a problem with that can take it up with me." He managed a cold smile despite the pain. "Though I'd recommend waiting until I'm healed. I'm grumpy when I'm injured."

Captain Reyne looked at him, really looked at him. A man who could barely stand, surrounded by enemies, making demands like he held all the cards. Either he was insane or he knew something she didn't.

Her eyes went to Khorvash, whose scales were starting to glow with internal heat. Then to Rebecca, whose hands were wreathed in unstable red energy. Then to Misha, Borris, and Jako, who had positioned themselves between the freed slaves and the Eastern Syndicate soldiers.

"You're serious about this."

"Deadly serious."

She was quiet for a long moment. Then she sheathed her sword. "The Eastern Branch has no interest in taking over mine management. Too much hassle and not enough profit. We came for our tribute payment, nothing more."

"Tribute?"

"Every Syndicate operation pays a percentage to the other branches. Silas owed us three months' worth."

Misha spoke up. "There's a strongbox in Silas's throne room. Should be enough to cover it."

Captain Reyne nodded. "Then we have no quarrel. Though I should warn you - the other branches won't be as reasonable. The Northern Branch especially. They've been wanting these mines for years."

"I'll deal with them when they come."

"If you're alive that long." She looked at his injuries again. "Word of advice? The Syndicate respects strength, nothing else. Right now you look weak. That makes you a target."

"Noted."

She turned to her soldiers. "We're leaving. Get the tribute and move out."

As the Eastern Syndicate forces withdrew, Luthra's legs finally gave out completely. Khorvash caught him before he hit the ground, her arms surprisingly gentle despite the scales.

"Okay, hero time is over," she said. "You need a healer."

"Don't have one."

Misha stepped forward. "There's a medical station deeper in the mines. Basic supplies, healing potions. It's not much but it's better than nothing."

"Lead the way."

As they moved through the tunnels, the freed slaves following at a distance, Luthra felt consciousness slipping away. The last thing he heard was Rebecca's voice.

"Is he going to die?"

And Khorvash's response.

"Not if I have anything to say about it."

---

Three Days Later

Luthra woke to sunlight on his face, which was weird because the last thing he remembered was being underground. He tried to sit up and immediately regretted it. Everything hurt, but it was the dull ache of healing rather than the sharp pain of fresh injury.

"Finally awake?"

Khorvash sat in a chair beside the bed, reading a book. She looked different in daylight - her scales caught the sun like gems, creating tiny rainbows across the walls.

"Where are we?"

"Silas's old quarters. Misha figured you'd earned the nicest room. You've been out for three days."

"Three days?" He struggled to sit up again, and this time she helped him. "What happened? The slaves, the Syndicate—"

"All handled. Misha took charge of logistics. Got the freed slaves fed, treated, and organized. Most of them left yesterday for the nearest city. About fifty stayed to work the mines as free laborers. Proper wages this time."

"And the Eastern Syndicate?"

"Took their money and left. Haven't heard from any other branches yet, but Misha says it's only a matter of time."

He looked around the room. It was ridiculously opulent - silk sheets, golden fixtures, art on the walls. All of it screamed of Silas's ego.

"I hate this room."

"Yeah, it's pretty awful. But it has the best medical supplies." She set down her book. "Your injuries were worse than you let on. Three broken ribs, shattered finger, internal bleeding, severe burns from magical backlash. The healer we brought in said you should have been dead."

"But I'm not."

"No. You seem absurdly hard to kill." She studied him with those ember eyes. "What are you, exactly? You're not a normal human."

"It's complicated."

"I've got time."

Before he could answer, the door burst open. Rebecca ran in and launched herself at the bed, nearly knocking him over with a hug.

"You're alive! I thought you were going to die and leave me here with all these boring adults!"

"Can't breathe—"

She let go, grinning. "Sorry! But look what I learned while you were sleeping!"

She held out her hand, and a small ball of black-and-red energy formed above her palm. It was stable, controlled, nothing like the wild magic she'd been throwing around before.

"Misha's been teaching me! She says I'm a natural disaster waiting to happen, but in a good way!"

"That's... good?"

"It means I can help next time! No more hiding while you fight all the scary people!"

Khorvash laughed. "She's been driving everyone crazy for three days. Asking when you'd wake up every hour."

"I was worried! He's the only person who doesn't treat me like a stupid kid!"

The door opened again, more sedately this time. Misha entered, followed by Jako and a reluctant-looking Borris.

"Good, you're awake," Misha said. "We need to talk about the mines."

"What about them?"

"They're profitable, but barely. Silas was a terrible manager. More interested in collecting statues than actually running a business. With proper management, we could triple the output."

"Okay?"

"The question is whether you want to run them or sell them. The Northern Branch has already sent an offer."

He thought about it. He had no interest in running a mining operation. But these people had nowhere else to go, and the Northern Branch would probably just restart the slavery.

"We keep them running. Free labor only. You manage operations. I take a cut to handle protection."

"Protection from what?" Borris asked. "You can barely stand."

"I stood long enough to kill Silas."

That shut him up.

Misha nodded. "Agreed. We'll need to hire more guards, establish trade routes, deal with the other Syndicate branches. It won't be easy."

"Nothing ever is."

She turned to leave, then paused. "By the way, there's someone here to see you. Says you have unfinished business."

"Who?"

"Some old man with a metal arm. Has a lot of armed guards with him."

Luthra's blood went cold. "Moria."