"Look what I found clinging to the wall! A little hungry rat!"
Thanks to my passive, I stuck the landing on the main table, shattering it and drawing every thug's gaze.
...
"Hoo, now what brings this little rat to our party?" Yute stood, grinning wickedly as he approached.
I was surrounded by the entire group's forces. Every member was male except for that one woman.
They all had tattoos on different parts of their bodies. All of those tattoos represented their previous group that was now crossed.
Deserters, people who abandoned their previous groups for multiple reasons. Banished from the group for being too heinous, expelled for being a nuisance, thrown out for sheer incompetence, or voluntary abandonment because the group's ideals conflicted with their own.
"!!!" I felt movement at my side. Spinning, I stabbed my dagger into a hand reaching for me.
"Aaagh!" The bald man shrieked as blood poured from his forearm.
"Haha, little rat's got some spirit!"
"Pfft—hahaha, you let a kid do that to you?"
The room erupted with laughter at the injured thug's expense.
But I was at a disadvantage.
Before sneaking in, I had prepared spells: Strong Sandstorm, Quick Wind Ram, Strong Wind Ram, and a Neutral Wind Infusion. I'd already used Quick Wind Ram outside, which meant only three were left. Any other spells would require chanting.
"You look pissed, kid," Yute sneered. "Gissy, who'd you take from today?" he asked the warrior woman.
"A homeless man and a demi-human prostitute," she answered flatly.
"You don't look like a homeless brat's son… so maybe you're related to some used goods?"
"Ahaha, maybe I'm your dad, kid!"
"Careful—he wants to kill his father! But which one is it?"
Their laughter filled the room.
"Gross. Imagine knocking up a demi-human—I'd vomit."
"You don't get it. Demi-human girls are the best. That's their only use."
"Yeah, made to satisfy us—"
The words died as my dagger pierced one thug's throat. He collapsed instantly.
It took the whole room a moment to accept te fact that kne of their members had just fallen dead to a kid they considered useless.
"You bastard rat!" Another thug rushed me—unarmed, slow, and clumsy. I slashed his side open with ease.
"Tch! He's no mere rat! Everyone, grab your weapons!"
Not happening.
[Sandstorm]
A roaring cyclone of sand engulfed the decrepit house, blinding everyone inside.
Amid their confusion, I carved through them—dagger in one hand, picking their pockets with the other. Most were broke, but I snatched a few coins.
"Heurk!"
A kick slammed into me, halting my momentum. My dagger barely intercepted the follow-up strike, sparks flying.
"I see him!" someone shouted as an axe slammed into the floorboards, stuck fast.
"Hold on! The storm'll end soon!"
I dashed toward the exit—but a shadow blocked my path. A knife flashed. I barely parried and staggered back.
"So you can see too, huh? And that technique…" The scrawny man stepped into view, ribs showing beneath his skin. He pointed his knife at me. "You're like me. A thief."
If he's a thief… then—
"We're equals." He lunged with a horizontal slash.
I ducked, and his blade tore into another blinded thug instead.
"Right… here!"
An axe whistled down toward me. I rolled aside just in time.
"You idiot, don't shout your attacks," the skinny thief hissed.
"That's how I focus," the burly man with the axe replied.
"…As long as you get results, fine. Just follow my lead."
"Aye aye!"
The skinny thief leapt at me again, knife first. I countered, but he parried, forcing me into a flurry of exchanges.
"You're good," he grinned.
"Better than you," I shot back, breaking away and rushing the big man.
"Now!" the thief called. The axe swung down. I sidestepped, slipping past on his left—and relieved his pocket of gold, a bomb, and a matchbox.
I sprinted on, slashing down any blinded thug in my way, and vaulted through a broken wall into the night air.
I rolled on the grass as soon as I landed and got ready to begin the call to my allies.
Lighting the fuse with a match, I hurled the bomb skyward—
[Wind Ram]
With that spell, the bomb gained altitude. Higher and higher, the bomb got close to an explosion.
The blast cracked the sky above, almost looking like fireworks. A home-made signal flare with only a regular bomb and my own spell.
Hopefully, they saw it.
"Ohhh, so that's how he looks," the big, burly thug with the axe mentioned in a stupid tone.
"Didn't you see when he crashed on the table?" the skinny thief asked the other one as he readied his hand to slap the burly one on the back of his head.
"I was staring at the sub-boss' boobs."
"Heh, fair enough." he retrieved his hand.
Their perverted gazes slid toward the warrior woman.
"She's hot, isn't she, rat?" the thief licked his lips.
"Too bad the boss already claimed her."
"I've got more important things to focus on." I drew my second dagger.
My breathing slowed. My stance steadied. My body had endured countless two-on-ones before.
But these weren't goblins. These were real human beings. They're smarter than the feral goblins I've fought in the past.
"Well, don't die too quick," the axe-wielder sneered.
I won't die to you. But to the entire gang? That's another matter.
The sandstorm still raged inside. My only spell left was Neutral Wind Infusion.
I charged. My daggers locked with the thief's, forcing him back step by step.
The big man swung horizontally—wide, sloppy. I ducked, the thief vaulting overhead. Axe Guy staggered from his own momentum.
I darted past them, slipping back into the storm.
There, I'll be safe no matter how much they try to hit me. Even if the skinny thief can also take advantage of the class' passive, he doesn't look strong enough to defeat me.
Inside, chaos. Blinded thugs swung wildly, hitting air or each other.
"Arid winds of the eternal western desert—sing and blind all who dare oppose!"
[Strong Sandstorm reserved]
Behind me!
I quickly turned and swung my dagger, which clashed against a knife.
The thief intercepted me again, knife flashing.
"I won't let you slip away, little rat."
"Tch."
"I probably can't kill you, though," he sighed, disappointed. "Maybe someone else will have fun with you." His laughter was manic.
What is he—
"!!"
Without any warning, I was punched in the face with enough force that I felt as if I had just been hit by a charging rhino.
The punch sent me flying, blood bursting in my mouth.
"Ptuuh!" I spat crimson onto the floor.
"Sub-boss, you hit him!" the thief called out triumphantly.
"Right in the face, sub-boss! Amazing!" some random thug called out, praising the only woman even if he couldn't see anything due to the sandstorm.
"Gissy, take care of him," Yute ordered.
"But boss, my brother and I can—"
"Save your strength. Let her handle it."
"…We'd never get tired, even after hours against this rat," the thief protested.
"He used a bomb. Which means he isn't alone."
A shadow lunged at me. I dodged the sword swing—but her fist drove into my stomach.
"Hurkh!"
Her blade slid onto her back as her fists pummeled me, one after another. A final punch to the face left me sprawled on the ground.
"Would you look at that? The spell finally ended."
"Can I go in now, bro?" the axe thug asked.
"The air's clear. Fine."
I staggered upright, dazed. Her sword struck the ground—not a miss, but intimidation.
Her expression said it clearly: don't move.
Yute surveyed the room—his men, bloodied, dead, or rubbing their eyes.
"Had fun?" he sneered.
"I didn't…"
"It doesn't matter what you think, Yirili!" the skinny thief smacked his brother's head.
Yute's boot smashed my face. The pain was sharp, but still nothing compared to the warrior woman's fists.
"I don't know who you're trying to avenge, rat. But give it up." Another kick slammed into my arm, dropping me.
"Wait, boss! He cast spells. Could he be from Aurum Academy?" the thief blurted.
The swordswoman's eyes widened at the thought.
"Is that true, little rat?" Yute yanked my hair, forcing me to meet his sadistic grin.
"…"
"Tough guy, huh?" He drove a fist into my gut. Blood gushed from my mouth—straight onto his face.
"You brat!" He hurled me down. "What do you gain from that?"
I forced myself up, wiping blood from my lips.
"Yeah! You'll only get more beatings!" the warrior woman snapped—though her tone carried something else. Worry?
"I was just buying time…"
I braced for my friends to crash in, heroes smashing down the wall.
…It didn't happen.
"Buying time for what? Don't tell me to—"
Boom!
A bunch of ice spikes and a lightning bolt tore through the wall, blasting bandits off their feet.
Through the smoke, their shadows appeared.
Not intimidating in the slightest…
But Fran's confident pose was enough to make me breathe easier.