Gutters leaned backwards, barely escaping the blade swinging down past his face. He leaned too far, and was about to fall, so he jumped instead, springing away from Larry. He tucked his legs and did a backflip to get his legs back under him. The circle of nobles whooped and jeered at the display. Not one of them cared that Gutters had almost died just then. Judging from their eager faces, they were looking forward to it.

  New skill acquired! Dodge (Basic)

  It came as a huge relief. Larry and Gutters were too closely matched, and a mistake could mean death. Gutters ran back toward his opponent, swinging his own sword. Larry smacked the blade wide and leaned in for a thrust. Gutters dodged it far more easily than before, the new skill kicking in immediately. He stepped in close and smashed the hilt of his sword into Larry's face. The boy fell backwards with a cry and Gutters stabbed him in the stomach. Not a lethal blow, not if there were healers nearby.

  The cheering crowd grew quiet as they watched a couple of boys pick up their fallen friend and drag him off to the infirmary.

  "You're supposed to kill him," Toby said softly. Gutters looked at the leader of this pack. There was more wild savagery here than he'd ever seen in Middle district. Made all the worse by how nicely they dressed and talked.

  "Isn't he your friend?"

  "Selwyn's Orders are higher than friendships, frog. If you really were a noble, you'd know that. Linton, show the frog how fights are supposed to end. Don't hold back."

  Another young man stepped into the ring, starting the third fight in a row for the blue-skinned boy. Gutters was thankful for his Endurance skill, even at the Basic level.

  "Shouldn't I let someone else have a turn?"

  That was met with scornful laughter.

  "You should, frog," Linton replied. "So hurry up and die."

  He drew a thin blade and leapt forward in a lunge.

  Zig sprinted through the city for about an hour. Occasionally he'd stumble across a sailor, but for the most part he kept clear. He didn't know how many there were. He didn't know what they could do. Twice he saw a man with a blue glow around one eye. It was the same kind of glow he'd briefly seen in the warehouse. He didn't like the look of that at all. He threw rocks, bricks, and sprinted in the opposite direction.

  Buying time.

  Eventually he thought he might have shaken them. He ran out the west gate and into the forest. He felt a lot better once he was among the trees. He didn't run on the road they'd made, that was a straight line of sight from the city to the mine. He hoped the others also had the sense to stay off the path. He kept near it, so he could navigate his way. Eventually, he made it to Red Mine.

  "Guys? Are you here?"

  "Zig!"

  Hepp was waving from on top of the tower they'd built. He had his bow strung and plenty of arrows were jammed into the dirt at his feet, ready for him to pluck and fire.

  Zig came to the front gate, usually just a wide space that allowed mine carts and fallen trees to be brought past the fort walls. Knob was hard at work fortifying the place. He waited for Zig to get inside, then pulled out the last couple of structural supports. The two walls collapsed sideways, instantly closing the gap into a steep pile of dirt.

  "It's not as effective as a vertical wall," Knob explained, "but it'll force them to climb while we're attacking from above."

  "There is no way your Goblin Crafting skill is only basic."

  "It's not," Knob replied with a smile. "And this is three skills working together. I've got Goblin Trapping and Construction as well."

  The half-goblin jumped onto the newly formed dirt pile and started cutting steps into the back side of it, so the Red Daggers could easily traverse on their side. Gretta joined in, her heavy iron shield jammed upright into the ground nearby, ready to be picked up in an instant. Jints had gone into the mine itself, arranging what few belongings the team had with them. Zig looked out to the forest.

  "Anyone seen Teeth?"

  "Not since she left with you," Hepp called down from his tower. "But I'll keep an eye out."

  "Don't worry, Zig," Gretta added, "she's literally Teeth. She'll be fine."

  "I... I hope so."

  Zig didn't know what he would do if... He looked around at his friends, his companions. He couldn't bear to lose any of them. Not a single one.

  "How about Jane? Gutters?"

  "I don't think anyone's connected them to us. They're probably at that fancy ball, you know the one that the town was preparing for? They'll be drinking and dancing. Zig," Gretta put her hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry about the things you can't control. Worry about the things you can."

  "Right. Thanks, Gretta."

  Zig got stuck into the work. There were still plenty of fallen trees around, and Zig got an axe and sharpened the ends of a few, dragging them over and digging them into the dirt pile, spikes facing outward. Another obstacle to slow them down.

  Maybe they wouldn't come at all, and the Red Daggers were worried about nothing? Zig wasn't confident about that at all. He'd bumped into that glowing eye man too many times to be a coincidence. He was able to track Zig somehow.

  Sure enough, as the night was getting late, Hepp spotted a tiny blue glow creeping through the trees. He called out to the others.

  "Looks like they're here, everyone."

  Knob went into the mine. He wasn't a fighter, and there were things he could prepare down there. Hepp stood ready with his bow, and Zig and Gretta stood at the top of the dirt pile that used to be the front entrance. They stood there, waiting, watching, as sailors came out of the shadows of the trees. A dozen, first. Then two. Then three. Zig turned his head to confirm what he already knew.

  You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

  They were surrounded.

  Gutters was fighting for his life. He had skills in Rapier and this new one, Dodge, but so did nearly every noble in this room. They'd been practicing their whole lives. And Gutters didn't think any of them were at the Basic class like he was.

  His latest opponent, Linton, was a step up from the previous one. He stepped more gracefully, this thrusts were cleaner, more precise. Gutters felt a bead of sweat trickle down his forehead. His grip on his rapier was getting a bit slippery with sweat. He tightened his hold on the weapon. To drop it now would be death. Linton wasn't going for injury. Every thrust was toward a vital spot. Every swing was savage, trying to take Gutters' head off completely.

  New skill acquired! Troglodyte Grip (Basic)

  At any other time in Gutters' life, he would be ecstatic. A second skill, within minutes of each other. It was like Zig had kept telling them. Skills came in times of pressure, when you are really pushed to your limits. Gutters felt his grip become much more secure on his weapon. Even his feet felt firmer on the ground. His shoes made better impact on the floor, less likely to slip.

  This probably synergizes with my Dance skill, too.

  Linton slashed at Gutters, and the half-troglodyte ducked and took a half-step backwards. He immediately surged forward, using the extra grip to change momentum quickly. He planted his foot on the other boy's chest and kicked him hard. Even at Basic, Gutters' Strength skill sent Linton flying to the other side of the circle. Gutters didn't wait for him to get up. He was tired of this game. He jumped, springing into the air, almost hitting the ceiling. Gasps came from the crowd.

  "The frog can actually jump," one of the boys sniggered. They all watched Gutters sail through the air in an arc. His cape caught the wind, flaring out dramatically. Vibrant red flashed as the light caught the inside material.

  Gutters came down and landed on Linton. Hard. Blade driving deep into his chest even as his knee drove into the boy's stomach. There was the sound of snapping ribs, followed by silence. Everyone had been looking forward to bloodshed. Only, they expected frog blood. Not the death of an actual noble.

  Class Shift Event - Basic -> Adept

  All at once, every one of Gutters' skills got upgraded. He felt stronger. He felt energized, as the upgraded Endurance kicked in. The blue skinned boy with the large, innocent eyes looked up at the nobles. There were drops of blood on his face, and more staining his fancy white shirt.

  "Who's next?"

  Teeth was a tired horse. Tired and angry. Tired and angry and...

  What was that?

  The faintest movement in the shadows.

  Teeth stepped forward. Only, it wasn't forward. It wasn't backwards, or sideways either. It was in a direction that didn't exist until now. One moment she was in the middle of the street, eyes roaming across different spots, the next step she was under the eave of a house, on the side of the street and further down. She had stepped into the building's shadow like it was nothing at all. And it was late at night. Shadows were everywhere.

  Teeth snapped down, just a hair too late. She bit into some cloth that tore, but the man himself managed to step into another shadow, much further down the road. Teeth didn't mind, she simply stepped after him. Now that she could walk in the shadows, the man's hiding was as silly as someone taking a single step away, thinking the distance helped. She reached through the shadows again and took a bite. The poison was taking its toll, and she swayed a bit as she moved. Instead of killing the man, she merely bit down on his hand. There was a scream as the man shadow-stepped further away, but the hand remained in Teeth's mouth. She spat it out, and it landed on the cobblestones with a wet thud.

  She looked around to see where the man had gone. Really looked. On the visible surface of the street, he was a ghost. Completely undetectable. Not even close by, the man was down at the very far end of the street. Seeing into the world of shadows, the coward was hiding about two steps away from Teeth, clutching the stump of his hand, trying to drink some kind of potion as fast as he could.

  Teeth took two steps forward.

  Guzz, Torod, and Blackhook stalked through the woods together. They were out for blood. Plenty of sailors had died tonight, their blood soaking into the streets of Liston. Vengeance needed to be carried out. The reputation of all sailors was on the line. More than that—far more—was the prize that waited for them.

  What kind of person could take on dozens of sailors and live? Guzz blinked, seeing through the darkness with his enchanted eye. He remembered the boy hitting Bell with his club. The top half of the man had been ripped off completely. Bits of Bell were still coating the top of Guzz's head. Then there was whatever smokescreen skill that was. The lad was a monster. Guzz had several skills leveled to Extreme already, but his class was still stuck in Advanced. This could be it. He just had to get to the boy before anyone else. Speaking of which...

  "You. Boy."

  Guzz pointed to Ironbeard junior. The boy was still with them, holding two knives as if that were twice as dangerous as one. Now that they had cooled down, after the long walk in the forest, Guzz had some questions.

  "You said the club was a fake. That got Bell killed." Guzz stalked over to the boy and loomed over him. "I loved that sailor."

  Guzz had hated that sailor. He was new to the role of captain, and tried to intimidate his way out of every situation. He also had picked up Blackhook's nasty habit of spitting everywhere. The world was better off without him.

  "I—I told the truth," the young captain stammered. "It said 'sailors are stupid' on the side. I don't know the language, but surely that's not a real enchantment—"

  Guzz reached up and plucked a little bit of bloody flesh from the top of his head, looked at it a bit, then flicked it onto Ironbeard's face. It landed with a soft pat, then fell to the forest floor. The young boy gulped.

  "It sure acted like a real enchantment. You know what, we were supposed to wait for the fighting to begin, but..."

  Guzz reached for the long, curved knife at his side. He was just drawing it when the first wave of arrows sailed out from the fort. There were five, and four of them found a target. The fifth target was Guzz himself, and he leaned out of the way just in time. Shouts filled the air as the sailors scrambled to find cover behind trees.

  Guzz looked through the gloom and locked eyes with a tall blonde boy. The two looked at each other, each recognizing that the other could see through the darkness. The boy lifted his bow a second time, and five arrows flew, all aiming at Guzz. The captain grabbed a nearby sailor—not Ironbeard, unfortunately—and pulled him in front as a shield. A scream was quickly cut off as the sailor was riddled with arrows. The boy was strong, several of the arrows pierced right through the body and stopped only at Guzz's stiff leather armor, giving his skin scratches underneath.

  "Hmph."

  Guzz double-checked that the dead sailor in front of him was also wearing thick leathers, before tossing him aside. It looked like the Alchemist wasn't the only prize for the night. This archer seemed worth killing as well.

  "Get behind trees, you useless lumps! Anyone with range, aim for the top of the tower. There's an archer there, just one. Keep a steady stream, don't give him time to aim!"

  Guzz looked around, but the boy-captain was gone. He cursed. He activated his eye, scanning through the trees...

  There.

  The boy was running away, back toward Liston. Guzz let him go. There were far bigger fish to catch tonight. Guzz paused. On second thought, the boy had seen him draw a knife. It was a big offense, to draw a blade against a captain. That could spell trouble if he talked.

  "Gunter, Gaps, come here."

  Two of Guzz's better fighters jogged over. Guzz pointed them in the right direction.

  "Little Ironbeard couldn't stomach the fight. The coward is running, leaving his fellow men to die. You know what to do."

  The two sailors nodded, and ran off into the forest without another word.

  "Wind's Fire," Guzz shouted out loud, getting the attention of all the sailors from his ship.

  "We'll take that dirt hill. Watch for the archer, but he should be occupied. On my mark."

  Guzz waited for the archer to fire one more round. He was struggling a lot more now, as sailors were popping out from behind trees to fire back at him. Five arrows sailed into the night sky. This time, only one of them hit a man.

  "Now."

  The sailors surged forward, racing toward the hill that only had two people standing on top to defend it.