Chapter 44: Smash Bros

  The three people at the counter completely ignored Alex.

  It was something that rather annoyed him. Alex didn’t think himself as important, far from it actually, but it was hard for him to deny some resentment about the situation.

  A childhood of living in a prestigious sibling’s shadow would do that to you.

  Whether it was his parents, school staff, or important political figures, it was always the same when he was a child. All would brush Alex aside when he was in the presence of his brother Adam.

  It wasn’t even as though Adam was the older brother who was setting the bar for him either, they were twins after all. Alex was even slightly older, as the sibling who was born first. Something that he could never forget, given how many times he was reminded of that very fact.

  “Oh wow, lots of built up anger and resentment going on there. You’re really something else aren’t you?” Obby’s voice sounding in his head interrupted his ruminating thoughts.

  Hey, no listening in on my thoughts. We had an agreement. Alex mentally snapped back where only the sentient pebble could hear via their mental link.

  “Rather hard to do that when you are projecting your emotions and thoughts so strongly. If you don’t want me to eavesdrop, maybe don’t think so loudly. ”

  Alex ignored the magical rock and refocused his attention on the situation in front of him. Which was the three figures standing at the counter in the back of the shop.

  The look on Celeste’s face was one of annoyance, hinting to Alex that she was not happy about the current events. Either it was negotiations going badly or something else entirely, Alex didn’t much care.

  The woman can take care of herself, that’s for sure. Alex still remembered her showing off her spell when she was teaching Garret and him, not to mention the level of physical stats Alex was certain that she possessed.

  He moved to the side of shop and let his vision lazily wander across the items on display. All the while, he could begin to hear what the three at the counter were talking about. He began to learn that it was some kind of argument after all.

  “I won’t just be doing hand outs, Bek. Heavenly System knows, I’d be copperless and dead in no time if I started doing that.” Celeste said.

  “Not a hand out, just an advance. My sister got bit by something, she’s in a bad way. I can’t leave her like that.” The shorter and stockier man, Bek, said.

  “I ain’t got the medicine to spare. I’m squeezed dry as it is.” The words came out of Celeste in a way that sounded as though she had repeated the statement many times in the conversation already.

  “Look, we won’t take no for an answer Celeste.” The second man cut in now.

  Alex could hear the sound of metal on leather. The drawing of some kind of weapon from its sheath.

  “Metjen, think about what you’re doing.” Alex heard a slight waver in Celeste’s voice.

  He finally looked away from the wall of herbs and ingredients to view the back of the shop once more. The men were now pressed closely against the counter, Celeste having taken a step back towards the wall.

  From what he could see on the woman’s face, and the way her voice sounded, Alex wouldn’t fault anyone if they guessed she was actually scared. At least a little bit. A fact which confused Alex.

  These men are no threat to Celeste. Not at her level of strength. Why the act? He didn’t quite understand the woman. Though truly, Alex never really understood her to begin with.

  The second man, Metjen, placed his hand on the counter now. Alex could see the glint of metal off the dagger that the man gripped tightly in that very hand.

  Stupid games, stupid prizes. Alex intoned in his head.

  “You going to be the one to tell them what they’ve won?” Obby cackled in Alex’s mind.

  “Hey guys. If you knew anything at all, you’d know not to fuck over the town healer. You’re about to make a big mistake here.” Alex finally added to the trio’s conversation.

  “Who do you think you are, eh?” Bek turned his focus to Alex now.

  “Me? I’m no one.” Alex shrugged his shoulders, pretending to continue browsing the potions and items on the shelves in front of him.

  “Then as a nobody, you should maybe know your place and shut the fuck up, eh?” The second taller man, Metjen, said. Both men were now turned towards Alex, their attention squarely on him.

  Alex’s vision flickered over to Celeste. She was now smirking at Alex from behind the counter. Her eyes showed a glint of amusement for a moment before she silently gestured with her hands in a multiversal signal of “by all means, have fun.”

  Then have fun he shall.

  Alex had a lot of frustration and aggression he still needed to work out. Now just might be as good a time as any.

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  “Okay then morons. Come get your beating, then get out, I don’t have any more time to waste waiting around for you two idiots.” It was a bit more confrontational than Alex would typically be. Maybe the system was still trying to influence him from his old elemental attunement, or maybe he was just far more agitated lately than usual. Alex was leaning toward the later explanation. Mostly due to his current predicament of his broken mage core, and how that might affect his fire attunement. Regardless, Alex didn’t have time to ponder on the intricacies of The System and its mysterious ways in which it worked.

  “Knife on your left.” Obby interrupted Alex’s useless thoughts and zeroed his attention onto the threat at hand.

  The flash of metal went by Alex’s face in a blur just as he pulled back.

  Alex was faster than the other man, not by much, but enough. He could guess that Metjen’s agility was at least at five, thus had been refined, but it wasn’t up to par against his own agility of seven.

  He could figure out the same situation about Bek’s strength stat once the man tried to help his friend and swung a fist at Alex’s right side. The attack forced Alex to block. The impact of the man’s fist was absorbed on Alex forearm but it rattled his bones, making him to grunt from the pain.

  Alex wasn’t expecting the men to have refined stats, but he now felt stupid for thinking this. These men were natural denizens of Aetherios and had spent decades in this world earning experience points. Even if they weren’t out killing badgers, kobolds and completing quests, they would surely have some experience points to spend on their stats.

  The knife was Alex’s immediate worry for now. He didn’t want to have one impaling his arm again like with the fight against Kate.

  Red highlights began to appear on the two men’s body in Alex’s vision. Knee and elbow joints, eyes, neck, all Obby’s helpful displays showing their weak points. Like Alex didn’t already know the weak points of the human body.

  Metjen took another swipe at Alex with a sloppy sweep of the blade, sloppy, but fast. Alex turned his shoulder just enough to let the blade skim past his side, then caught Metjen’s wrist with his left hand. With a practiced twist, he wrenched the man's arm down and slammed Metjen’s elbow against the counter.

  The dagger clattered to the floor.

  “There,” Alex said, stepping back. “Now no one has to get stabbed.”

  Bek roared and charged, swinging a kick at Alex this time.

  He ducked, pivoted on the balls of his feet, and threw his right fist in a tight hook into Bek’s ribs. He felt the impact vibrate through his arm, solid and satisfying. Bek wheezed and stumbled backward.

  “Okay, ” Obby murmured. “Five copper says the big one’s about to try and grapple you. ”

  No bet. Alex quickly shot back. His limited fighting experience back on earth told him that Obby was exactly right.

  Alex spun around just in time to see Metjen rush him, arms wide like a drunken wrestler.

  He dropped low and drove his shoulder into Metjen’s gut, lifting the man clean off his feet and hurling him into the counter with crack of splitting wood and a rain of spilled herbs.

  “Do you know how hard it is to clean powdered root out of wood grain?” Celeste shouted from behind the counter.

  “I’ll buy more,” Alex grunted as he side-stepped another punch.

  Bek came at him again, slower this time, more cautious. His knuckles were bloodied from that earlier punch. Alex hadn’t even realized he’d blocked it that hard.

  “I’m gonna bury you,” Bek growled.

  Alex sighed. “You really won’t.”

  He danced in close, driving two quick jabs into Bek’s midsection, then swept the man’s leg out from under him. Bek crashed to the floor, gasping. Alex planted a foot on his chest and pressed down. Not enough to crush him, just enough to present a warning to the man.

  “Fight’s over.” Alex snarled down at him.

  Bek glared up, chest heaving.

  “Stay down,” Alex said. “Or I start giving you more medical expenses than your sister already has.”

  Obby chuckled in his mind. “Oh, intimidating. Try again, but do a Batman voice. ”

  Alex blinked heavily then cocked his head. He wasn’t sure how the hell Obby knew about Batman. Was the thing able to sift through his memories? Was it… omniscient in some weird system-shenanigan way? It was a question he will have to figure out the answer to at a later time.

  Metjen groaned from against the counter, coughing out what looked like dried lavender.

  Alex stepped back, letting Bek wheeze in peace. “Any more problems?”

  Neither man answered.

  Celeste, having watched the entire mess unfold with arms crossed, finally stepped forward and kicked Metjen’s dagger across the room with a clatter. “Next time you want a favor,” she said coldly, “try asking without threatening to stab me.”

  Alex gave her a nod, brushing medicinal herb dust off his arms. “So. Got anything for a bruised pride? I think I sprained theirs.”

  Bek groaned, then snarled and slapped the ground beside him. “You bastard,” he hissed.

  Alex simply shrugged. “Yeah, yeah. File a complaint with your dignity.”

  Metjen staggered to his feet, brushing leaves and dried petals from his tunic. His eyes were bloodshot, lip swollen, but his ego looked more bruised than anything else.

  “We’ll remember this,” Metjen spat. “You think you’re tough now, wait until the rest of our family finds out you stopped Liana from getting her medicine.”

  “Are you threatening me with future inconvenience?” Alex asked, folding his arms. “Because I’ve already had my soul shattered this week. You don’t exactly crack the top ten.”

  Bek muttered something about “getting even” and “watch your back,” but neither man lingered. With one final glare at Celeste—who responded with an exaggerated yawn—they stumbled out the shop door and vanished into the village streets. The little bell above the door chimed delicately as it closed behind them.

  Celeste exhaled and leaned against the counter, pinching the bridge of her nose. “Men like that are why I keep adding alcohol to my tea.”

  “You could’ve handled them,” Alex said, eyeing her sideways. “Why play the victim?”

  “I wanted to see what you’d do. Plus…” She smirked. “Revealing your strength, winning fights that bruise men’s pride, that’s an easy way to garner attention I’d rather not have. Think you’d have known that too, but here we are.”

  Alex tsk’d, then shook his head. “You’re not wrong. That probably wasn’t my best idea. Things have been difficult lately, I’ve been on edge.”

  Celeste walked around the counter, gestured toward the door to the back. “Come on. You look like hell. Let’s get you cleaned up, then you can tell me what the void you’re doing here. And where’s Garret?”