[STT] Chapter 87: Consequences (Patreon)

Ben POV

Ben looked down at the fallen noble at his feet. The noble was down on one knee, his right hand missing up to his elbow, and his face was full of shock, disbelief, while his eyes were full of pain.

He was hyperventilating, his breath coming out in quick, shallow gasps. Blood poured out of the wound, soaking into the ground beneath him, and Ben was sure that if he didn't get help soon, he'd bleed out.

The chain whip turned out to be heavier than he'd expected, and it was a bit too long for Ben's taste, but it was still a very nice weapon. It had a very interesting construct woven into it, so he was curious to tinker with it later.

The crowd was silent.

Ben could feel their eyes on him, so many eyes, yet they didn't make a sound. He didn't know if they were shocked, awed, or afraid, but this went about as well as he'd thought it would. Maybe even a bit better, if he was honest.

He hadn't expected to win so easily. He thought it would be a tougher fight, but it wasn't. Then again it might just have been his skills, he had quite a few good ones. What was concerning was that he seemed to be hitting way above his level. It was a good thing, surely, but it also meant attention on him that he didn't want or need.

He couldn't lie, though, he'd enjoyed the fight. He'd enjoyed seeing his hard work and planning pay off. And he liked the feeling of overpowering an enemy that was much stronger than him.

There was a certain satisfaction in it.

And it wasn't just because Martin was an arrogant prick who thought he was better than everyone else. Ben had a feeling he would have enjoyed the fight even if Martin had been a nice person.

It was just the thrill of fighting that excited him.

Which was quite a new thing he was finding out about himself.

Before, he was never one to seek out fights. He never had a reason to. He was just trying to survive, and fighting was not the way to do that. But now, it felt different. He wanted to fight. He wanted to test himself. He wanted to get stronger. It was a new desire, a new drive, and not gonna lie, it frightened him a little.

His body was still jittery with adrenaline.

He looked up, his gaze falling on Alice and Ethan, who were staring at him with unreadable expressions. He couldn't tell what they were thinking, and that worried him. Did they think he'd gone too far? Or were they impressed? He didn't know.

A mana spike in the distance pinged [Mana Sonar], and his eyes met Theodore's in the distance, who had a smile on his face, dimples flashing as he nodded his head in approval, then waved and vanished.

What in the…

"..."

Ben's mind returned to the situation at hand, and the severed arm in his grasp.

The crowd, by now, had erupted into whispers.

"Is he dead?"

"No, he's still alive."

"Did he just cut off his arm?"

"He did. And he took his whip."

"Who the hell is that kid?"

"Is he really a commoner?"

"Did you see how fast he was?"

"He was like a ghost."

"I heard he was a Tier 1."

"Yeah, but he's clearly higher than that."

"Maybe he was hiding his strength. I couldn't even see him move."

"Nobody saw him move, dipshit."

"Who called me that?! How dare you! Show yourself!"

"Rayne won't let this go."

Ben ignored the chatter, and looked down at Martin, who had long since started avoiding his gaze, his shoulders shaking.

Ben approached him, and silence fell once more, the crowd holding their breaths. Ben stopped in front of the noble, and Martin flinched, as if expecting a blow.

Ben sighed, and knelt down, so they were eye level.

"So, do you want to keep going, or do you want to yield?"

Martin's jaw tensed, moving from side to side, the pain clear on his face. He didn't answer, but his eyes were shaking, very slightly, and Ben could tell he was at the edge. For a moment, he thought Martin might actually try to stand up and be stupid.

Don't tell me you want to keep fighting. I don't want to hurt you more.

Ben waited, and the seconds ticked by, but Martin did not move.

He's not saying anything. Does he think this is somehow less humiliating than saying he yields?

Martin ground his teeth.

"...ield," he said through gritted teeth. "I yield."

The crowd erupted in chatter: some cheered, some booed, and some were outright gleeful.

"HA! Did you hear that?"

"Serves him right!"

"Good job, kid!"

"I knew he was going to lose!"

"Who is the commoner anyway? Someone find out!"

"Is he really a commoner?"

Ben didn't pay attention to the crowd, he just stared at Martin, who looked defiant yet defeated. His lackeys quickly made their way to him with a man who looked to be the healer, so Ben neared him, making the man tense up.

"Here," Ben said, holding up the arm. "An arm, restored afterward. Those were his terms, weren't they?"

The healer glanced at Martin, who nodded with a pained expression, and took the arm with a smile for some reason, giving Ben an appreciative look.

Ben was weirded out. He hadn't planned on severing the arm, it just happened. Why was the healer so happy? The healer kept on smiling as they held Martin down. "Hold still, young master. This will hurt."

"What—AHH!"

Ben ignored Martin's scream, noticing Alice and Ethan, who walked over. The moment she was close enough, Ethan set up a sound talisman and Alice punched him in the shoulder.

"Ow." Ben said in monotone. "What was that for?"

"For being an idiot!" She said, looking upset. "What were you thinking? He's a noble, Ben! You can't just go around fighting nobles!"

"I didn't go around. I stayed right here. I didn't go anywhere."

She glared at him. "You know what I mean. This isn't a joke. You've made an enemy out of House Rayne. They won't let this slide. They'll come after you."

Ben shrugged. "They were going to come after me anyway. Might as well have some fun with it."

Ethan shook his head, a small smile on his lips. "I see. You really are something else, Ben. I didn't think you'd win. I mean, I thought you might, but not so easily. He wasn't the best of his House, but he wasn't weak either."

"Yeah, he wasn't bad. He just wasn't good enough. And I've got a lot of good skills."

"That's not the point. This is going to cause problems." Alice sighed. "Big problems. You know what? It doesn't matter. Let's just go."

Nodding, Ben turned to Martin, who sat there as the healer worked on him, especially his arm. He hadn't looked away from Ben for a second, glaring at him with hatred.

Ben walked over, and crouched in front of him again.

"I will take the whip now." Ben said to Martin. "And the thousand essence shards. I'm expecting those later."

Martin's eyes blazed with anger, and he seemed like he was about to explode, but the healer placed a hand on his shoulder, and Ben could see the man's muscles tense as he held himself back.

Finally, he spoke, his voice full of venom. "Fine."

"Pleasure doing business with you."

That seemed to have set off Martin, though, as he struggled against the healer and his lackeys, who held him down. "He hid it. He hid his tier! Let go of me! He hid it, and she knew! This was Vane's doing, they set me up! You set me up, you set me up in front of everyone!"

Martin was screaming, his face red and his eyes bloodshot.

Alice's frown deepened, and she whirled on her feet. "I had nothing to do with this! Don't you dare drag me into this mess you created!" Her hackles rose. "You're lucky you're still breathing, Martin. If I had my way—" She stopped herself, then walked up to him with a flinty expression, stretching out her hand. "A thousand."

"What?" Martin hissed.

"You heard me," she gave him a thin smile.

"You bitch..." Martin seethed, but he reached into his spatial ring and fished out the essence shards with his remaining hand, dumping them on the ground.

Alice frowned, picking them up. "This is less than a thousand."

Martin glared at her, and then at Ben, who watched on, his expression blank. "That's all I have on me right now."

Alice let out an exasperated sigh. "You're lucky I'm in a good mood. I will collect the rest later."

"Or you can pay up with nutrition pills," Ben offered, and Alice caught up, tapping her foot in agreement.

Martin just growled, but didn't take long to cough up the nutrition pills, and Alice collected them.

"Let's go," she said, turning her back on Martin and the crowd. "There are too many eyes on us."

As they walked away, the crowd parted for them, some of them still whispering amongst themselves, while others just stared. A few even looked excited, their eyes glinting with curiosity, but most just looked at them with a mixture of awe and fear. Ben was not surprised.

He glanced over at Alice, her face a mask of anger.

"You alright?" He asked.

"No," she snapped. "I'm not alright. This is a disaster. And the worst part is that I can't even blame you. You did nothing wrong, and yet we're the ones who are going to pay for it."

"How so?"

She looked at him, her eyes blazing. "How? How? Think, Ben! House Rayne is not going to let this go. They'll come after us. And what do you think will happen then?"

"I don't know. They'll come after me, maybe?"

"They'll go to my House. My father. They'll claim that I used you to humiliate House Rayne. And they'll demand compensation. And my father will have to give it to them. And it'll be my fault."

"Can you not just pin it on me, I mean it is my fault—"

"What do you take me for?" Her glare intensified. "I'm not going to abandon you like that. I don't care if you're a commoner. You're my friend."

"..."

Ben didn't know what to say to that. He wasn't used to people defending him like this. It felt... weird. But also good. He didn't know how to deal with it, though.

So he just looked away, and kept quiet.

"Maybe Martin will be too much of a pussy to admit he lost to a commoner," Alice tried to lighten the mood.

"Did the noble lady just cuss?"

"..."

Alice chose not to rise to the bait, and just ignored him. "He might just hide it. Honestly, that would be the best. Anyway, please tell me you at least got a level or two from this farce. If I'm going to suffer, I want you to get stronger."

"I did. I got two levels, actually."

He looked at his notifications.

[Ignition Step Lvl 6 > Lvl 8]

[Mana Cannon Lvl 12 > Lvl 13]

"That's good, I suppose. A small consolation prize." She sighed. "Now, about your evolution..."

Before Ben could say anything, he felt a familiar tug on his body. A light engulfed him, much like when he'd been teleported back at the soldier camp. Alice and Ethan appeared startled, and they reached out to him, but it was too late.

The ground changed under his feet.

Suddenly, he was standing on a rug.

He found himself in a tent he'd never seen, warm and inviting. A woman sat on a chair, a cup of  tea in her hands, steam wafting up and vanishing into the air.

[Hunter] rattled like a caged bird as the pressure of a mountain seemed to have crushed down on his shoulders, and a [Mana Cannon] went off before he'd finished taking in his surroundings.

She lifted a finger, and the blast unraveled in the air between them like a sleeve coming unpicked, thread by thread, turning to tendrils of harmless mana that wrapped around her finger.

She looked him over the rim of the cup, yet he couldn't meet her eyes, gaze lowering without his control.

Something deep inside him told him, if he looked her in the eyes, he would die.

"Hello, little bird."

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