[STT] Chapter 80: Disrespecting a Noble (Patreon)

Rising from the water, Ben faced the three idiots on the riverbank. He stared at them calmly, feeling no fear or worry. Why should he? Even now, [Hunter] wasn't worried, which meant they were either Tier 1, or even if they were Tier 2, they weren't an actual threat to him.

"What do you want?" Ben asked, stalling for time as he thought about what to do in his situation.

If he jumped out and smashed them like a Tier 2, the whole camp would probably know in a few hours, and the protection he had due to being a Tier 1 would evaporate, and anyone wanting to challenge him to a duel would be able to do so.

But if he pretended to be a normal Tier 1, he could keep the element of surprise hidden for a while longer, which might come in handy. And it would also stop whoever was behind these idiots to send in someone stronger. So he just had to make this appear like a fluke. Or, at least, make these idiots say that he had help, further cementing their misunderstanding that he was Theodore's pet or whatever.

"We just want to talk." The leader of the group said, a twisted smile stretching his lips. "See, you disrespected someone you shouldn't have."

Sighing loudly, Ben nodded. "I see, I see. Can I at least put my pants on first?"

Sure, he had his undergarments on, but he wasn't walking around half-naked.

The lead noble snorted, crossing his arms. "Sure, but don't try anything. Or we will have to get rough."

Ben couldn't help but want to laugh at that, because his life was the literal definition of rough already. The noble kicked his clothes over, and Ben picked up the bag of holding wrapped in them instead of the clothes, pulling out a new set of clothes and putting them on as he put his dirty clothes in, letting out a secret sigh of relief when he saw the expression of surprise on their expression.

They didn't know his holding bag was just right there. Thankfully. If they'd known... well, it was better for them not to know.

The middle guy snapped out of his stupor first, "What the hell is that? Show us your clothes."

"Don't be ridiculous. You're trying to hurt me, but you want to see my 'clothes'? I don't think so. Now. What was it you wanted?"

###

The Leader POV

The leader sneered. The gall of this lowly peasant! He should be begging for mercy right now, not acting like he had some sort of backbone. He was nothing but a nameless commoner.

Someone to be stomped out under their boots.

And yet here he was, acting like he had the right to speak to them as if he was an equal.

It's infuriating.

"We want you to know your place, boy. You think you're special because you caught Theodore's eye? You're nothing but a pet. And pets get put down when they bite their owners."

"I don't even know who that is. So go back and tell your master that, whoever he is."

The leader let out a laugh. It was adorable, how he pretended not to know. Did he think they were stupid? That they didn't know he was getting private lessons from the man himself? That they hadn't heard how that man had protected him?

"You really think we're that stupid? That we don't know what's going on? You're not fooling anyone. Now get down on your knees and beg. Maybe we'll let you keep your legs."

The boy just stood there, staring at them like he couldn't believe the absolute nerve they had.

He was getting really annoyed at Ben. His face, especially. Why did he seem so unbothered? He looked dead inside, as if there was nothing they could say or do to him that would make him feel afraid or embarrassed.

Was he that confident in Theodore's protection?

"Enough talking, come here! We won't kill you. You need to be able to crawl back."

The leader was pretty satisfied with this situation. He felt great. Nobody was around, this would be pretty quick. He'd just let his friends handle this. Those two were one of the best Tier 1s they had, they'd even defeated a fresh Tier 2 together once. A Tier 1 like Ben should be easy pickings.

As they walked near the kid, however, the leader wondered why Ben stood there calmly as if two Tier 1s weren't charging at him. Was he that confident? He scoffed. As if. Arrogance would be the end of this commoner.

He heard a pop. Looking closely, he realized...

Was that a fireball?

He laughed. That was so small it sputtered into steam.

But why is the steam so thick?

He looked closer and saw Ben firing away at the water with his feet.

Huh, what is he doing—this idiot.

He turned to his friends, intending to say something funny.

"You see that—"

Where did he go?

Where was his friend? Did he charge in recklessly?

There was a ripple of fire where his friend had been just a moment ago, and he heard a splash nearby. Turning, his mind came to a halt. His friend was face down in the shallows near the bank, struggling to his feet as he blinked away the water and looked around frantically. But why did he look so confused?

The leader frowned. The water was barely deep there. Why did he act like he was drowning? Why did he go there anyway?

His friend stared at Ben with fury in his eyes, walked out of the water clenching his side with his hand. "What did you do?" He asked, but Ben didn't answer.

His second friend charged, fists up, yelling.

Good, good, get that bastard.

He'd begun suspecting something, so he himself remained behind, eyes peeled. He was sure he wouldn't miss it this time around.

A concussive blast rippled out of Ben and his friend exploded backwards. The leader saw it. The mana. It flowed out from the boy and into a sphere. But that was all he was able to see before his friend was hurled back, skidding on the ground like a rock on water.

The leader felt his jaw clench and his heart thumped in his chest.

He's Tier 1?

Impossible!

That wasn't a Tier 1. Or was it? He was just a commoner, and Tier 2 at his age? That wasn't possible! So the question was, who was helping him? Was he being buffed? Or was someone else attacking them?

Because that was the only explanation.

The leader looked around, but there was nobody around. Not a soul. He was beginning to panic. The commoner was looking at him with a cold glare, and he suddenly felt very vulnerable.

So his brain moved at break neck speeds. What kind of skill was that? It didn't seem like an elemental skill, it was just... pure mana? A sphere of mana? But how? Mana rebelled against him, so how was this commoner using it as he was?

It has to be some kind of skill that's helping him.

Theodore probably gave it to him. Commoners get lucky sometimes with their skills.

The leader moves, exploding forward with wind mana powering his feet. His sword was out before he had taken the first step, his skill boosting him to the max. He was one of the best swordsmen in the camp, and this bastard would taste his steel.

Ben disappeared with a blast from his sword hack, and pivoted overhead to smash a kick into his head.

The leader looked up with horror, feeling the wind rush in his ears, but all he saw was the bottom of a bare foot. They slammed into his face, and his world exploded into black.

When he came to, he was in the air, peak of his arc, falling back down.

As he looked at the sky, he wondered, just when had the boy had time to—

SMACK.

His head hit the ground with a thunk and he blacked out again.

###

Ben POV

Ben watched the last guy collapse. That had been...

Way too easy.

He'd thought they'd be a little bit of a challenge, but they went down effortlessly.

Sighing, he walked over to the idiots and searched them for anything useful. He found some coin, but nothing much else. Shuffling through their pockets, though, he paused, making a weird face at what he was doing.

Since when did I become a thief...

They came to beat him, though, so it should be fine right? It was almost like a reward for winning. Not that he needed the money, but still, it was the principle of the thing.

He stared at the three unconscious idiots.

I forgot I needed to get a name out of them...

Dealing with the other two was easy once he dealt with their leader. They were only fast because of their skills, but they had little control over their mana. It was as if they'd been pampered their whole life and had never been in a real fight. Sure, they were strong, but he'd had his share of tough opponents. He was much faster and controlled his mana way better than them.

Even their swordsmanship wasn't that great. They relied heavily on their skills to do the work for them and had no actual battle sense.

Now, he had three unconscious idiots at his feet, and he still didn't have a name. He considered what to do.

Next Chapter

AN: B2 was giving me a bit of trouble so I took a few days off to plan ahead/brainstorm. We're back on daily. Also B1 ended on chapter 75. chapter 76 is the first chapter of book 2. I forgot to update collections so I've done that now.