Opening my eyes, I'm once again greeted by the tower's warm interior. It's still warm, still metallic, and I'm still the last one to wake up. Sitting up, I shake my head and transform into my feline form. I then turn to the others.

"How long was I out?"

"A minute, maybe two." Auranta answers.

"I see." I survey the others. Aylin and Vulen are resting with their backs to the wall while Yuto and Boriss are sitting near Flinar, ready to lift him up. "Well, if there is nothing else, let's head down and leave."

As soon as we exit the tower, our presence is noticed by everyone. The rest of my crew, the tower crazies, and the [Mercenaries] rush to our location.

"Vulen, Aylin! Where's Yutani? Is that Flinar? What happened?" One of the [Mercenaries] asks rapidly. The man is tall, bearded, and rather mature looking. He carries himself like a leader.

"Dead Geris. All dead." Vulen replies solemnly.

The [Mercenary] shifts his gaze on me. His hand moves to the blade at his hip. "Did they-"

"They saved us," Aylin adds quickly. "We'd all be dead if not for Quasi and his crew."

Geris relaxes his grip. "What happened?"

Vulen shakes his head. "It's a long story, one I'd prefer to tell sitting down."

"Is that man injured?" The [Head Priest] asks as he arrives with an ensemble of excited [pilgrims]. "I'm a [Healer] if he requires treatment."

"He does. Where do you want him set down?" I say.

"Near our fire." The man points.

"Yuto, Boriss, you heard the man." I glance at the rest of my crew. "Nepenthes, assist the [Head Priest]."

"Yes, [Captain]."

Once they leave, my attention shifts to the highest leveled elephants in the room. That is Gunnar, Leif, Grendel, Breaven, and Anna.

"Have you communed with the divine?" Breaven is the first to speak. The man has that hero worship look on his face not uncommon with the members of cults. Considering the look is directed at me, I can't help but shiver at a distant distasteful memory.

"Breaven, maybe we should ask such questions later?" Grendel rests a hand on Breavens shoulder. "I'm sure Quasi would like to rest first."

"Quasi? As in Quasi Eludo, [Captain] of the Timbergrove?" A voice echoes from the entrance to the warm cavern.

All present shift their focus to find a large, armed group approaching. A group numbering in the thirties. At the front of the group is a man wearing an armored, extensively runed coat with a runed, sheathed crow-handle cutlass at his hip. He looks competent, as do the individuals closest to the man. With a blink, I focus on him and his crew.

Malthazor Garfield: Level 72 [Windseeker Sky-Captain]

Rowan Ironfell: Level 49 [Windhunter Security Chief]

Kirin Silvaran: Level 49 [Windward Quartermaster]

Brand Cindervale: Level 61 [Incinerator Ship-castor]

Though only two of them have a job in the expert rank, all four of them have the bearing similar to those who are experts. Thankfully, none of them are named- though Malthazor is clearly going to be difficult.

"That's me." I step forward. "Need something."

The man raises an eyebrow when he sees my majestic feline form, then chuckles. "A [Shifter], interesting." He shakes his head. "I'm Malthazor Garfield, and I am here to retrieve a certain band in your possession."

Oh. He's the [Bounty Hunter] sent by Gladius.

"I already sold it, sorry." I lie.

The man grins. "Good, so you still have it. Hand it over and I'm willing to leave you with your life. Refuse, and I'll make sure your fur is put to good use on a pair of boots."

How does he… damn. It's probably some kind of skill that can tell if I'm lying. I better watch my words carefully. Maybe I should try to avoid violence and be as respectful as possible? With his level, his threats have a decent bit of bite. Though, I'm kind of annoyed that threats to my life involve skinning me. I mean, don't get me wrong, I'd probably make very comfy pair of boots… wait a fucking second!

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"How dare you!" I growl. "You want to make boots out of my glorious fur? Are you mad? My fur is the softest thing in this world and deserves to be made into proper attire like a scarf or hat. Hell, I'd be alright with gloves. But boots? That's just fucking insulting."

Malthazar raises an eyebrow at my outrage. "Then you'd best hand it over."

"Really? You insult me, threaten me, and actually think I'd ever hand anything over to you? Yeah, go fuck youself."

Malthazar lowers his hand on the hilt of his cutlass. "Are you sure about that? You're not exactly in a position to win a fight. The only reason I'm even offering you a way to avoid conflict is because of that [Samurai] at your side. I'd rather avoid needless risks if I can."

Yuto rubs the hilt of his weapon with his hand, ready and waiting to react in case anything happens.

I chuckle at the man's words. "First off, I'd argue that I'm stronger than the [Samurai], and second off, I don't think you realize who you should truly be afraid of." I glance up at the [Frost Lord]. "Ain't that right, Gunnar?"

Gunnar sighs and steps forward, hands resting near his axes. "If you attack him, I will be forced to defend. Retreat or die."

Malthazar frowns at the [Frost Lord]. "I am a [Bounty Hunter] from the Raven Guild with a reclamation contract for an item under Quasi Eludos ownership. Interference with my investigation by the island's authorities risks losing support from the guilds."

"Don't care. If you attack him, you die." Gunnar readies his axes.

Anna and Leif share a glance before stepping to their lord's sides.

Breaven equips his shield and readies his mace. "If your aim is to attack the apostle, then know that you will have to go through me."

Grendel stares at his brother in arms, shakes his head, then readies his own weapons.

Boriss also steps forward, ready for battle, as does the rest of my crew. With each person readying to fight, Amlthazars frown gets lower and lower until he looks a bit nervous. Though he still outnumbers us two to one, we now hold more experts.

"Fine. Brand! Blast them."

"Finally!" The man swings his staff and unleashes a massive wave of fire.

"Anna!" Gunnar warns, but the woman is already reacting. She swings her own staff to unleash a wave of frigid mist.

The two spells meet and explode into a fog, signaling the start of the battle.

_____________________________________________________________________

Gunnar drops his axe and teleports immediately, repositioning his body just enough to avoid the whip as it strikes the ground. He twirls left, dodging it again before throwing his axe at Malthazar.

With one arm extended and the other behind the man's back, the man flicks his wrist, parrying the axe. He flicks again and Gunnar immediately teleports to his weapon. Malthazar turns, sliding the handles up and then down.

Gunnar grimaces at the movement as he slides to the side. All he can perceive from the man's weapon is the handle. The whip is made out of air, and in that sense, it is invisible. If not for his [Perceiving Aura], he probably would have been dead already.

"How long are you planning on running around?" Malthazar taunts, but Gunnar doesn't take the bait. Instead, he continues to dodge and try to predict the movement. [Perceiving Aura] allows him to perceive everything within three feet of him. This includes the invisible whip of air.

Unfortunately, the man is flicking his wrist as minimally as possible, making such a thing far more difficult to learn and adapt to. For now, he's on a time limit. Either he'll figure out a way to counter the whip or he runs out of stamina.

While the two highest leveled individuals dance with death, the mages do their own dance- one a mix of fire, ice, and wind.

Brand strikes the but of his staff with a release of mana, creating an explosion of fire that manifests dozens of flaming serpents. The serpent's ascend and slither through the sky towards the other mages.

Anna and Auranta react by blasting the serpents with spears of ice and blades of wind. Not a moment after the serpents are destroyed does Anna form a barrier of ice that blocks a torrent of flame. Auranta swings her staff, redirecting several fireballs aimed at them.

Auranta flutters down from her vantage point to be next to Anna. "How's your mana holding up?" She asks.

"Not good," Anna says. "This heat is making my spells cost too much to cast."

Auranta stares at Brand. The man is grinning as he prepares another spell. "And making his cheaper. Do you think we can outlast him if we try to conserve mana?"

Anna shakes her head with a grimace. "If it was any other [Fire Mage], I would agree. But Brand is part of the Cindervale family. Cindervales are known for having large pools of mana and for creating some of the strongest [Fire Mages] in the world."

Brand raises his staff, flames licking the ground around him as he prepares an even stronger spell.

"Then we endure the best we can and hope an opportunity presents itself." Auranta exclaims. She ascends back up and prepares to counter whatever Brand is about to throw at them.

While the mages trade spells above, below is a violent and different story. Rowan and Yuto are a flash of blades, one with a greatsword and the other with an Odachi. The two weapons meet several times a second, each swing aimed to kill, only to be countered and riposted. Such is their speed and ferocity that no others dare approach or risk getting cut down on accident.

Around them, the battle rages violently as the former [Gladiators] prove that experience can make up for a lack of levels. Micheal, Agris, and Baldric are holding their own remarkably well, while Gino does his best to just stay alive. As for Boriss, the man is a killing machine. Even surrounded, he counters, shifts, cuts, and ends lives with incredible efficiency. Even Breaven and Grendel, experts that they are, are struggling to deal with multiple peak advanced classes fighting them. [Paladins] are a very defensive class known for staying alive and not for ending lives.

Which is why poor Leif finds himself fighting Kirin Silvaran. Fighting being a poor word to describe the one-sided battle. Though Leif is also an expert and should be at equal footing against Kirin, his lack of experience outside fighting monsters does him a great disservice. All the man can do is defend against Kirin as best he can until help arrives.

While the chaos of battle continues, a certain cat is found to be walking forgotten in the midst of the fighting. He travels leisurely through the battlefield, passing allies and enemies alike until he reaches the other side of the battlefield.

Eventually, the cat reaches its destination and looks up.

"Oy, I've got a question." The cat exclaims.

Brand, startled, looks down at his feet to find the cat staring up. His eyes go wide.

The cat smiles, its lips widening far more than anyone would expect to be possible.

"Have you ever been punched in the face?"

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