Lawson’s boots clicked against the scorched marble as he stepped next to me and Balt. The smile on his face wasn’t smug; this one was sharper, edged with something almost like pride.

  “Well,” he said, voice carrying easily in the large room, “how about that?” His gaze swept from the still-warm corpses of Lazz and Rick. “Good job. Both of you.”

  My heartbeat was still hammering in my ears, as if my body hadn’t gotten the memo that the fight was over. Balt arched a brow, leaning casually on his staff, but I caught the flicker of satisfaction in his eyes.

  The Overseer stepped between us, hands clasped behind his back like a commander inspecting his best soldiers. “You didn’t handle it cleanly,” his smile deepened, but you handled it morally. And that matters to us Overseers.”

  The System’s faint hum deepened in my mind, as if it acknowledged Lawson's words. “You could have cut a deal for the sector key. You could have ignored those women and children to focus on your own tasks. But you didn’t.

  That’s what makes a true champion and a true elite. You know how many others I have watched fail similar tests? Practically all of them.”

  Balt gave a low chuckle. “Guess we’re moving up in the world.”

  “Oh, you are. And if you haven’t noticed, your reward chests never appeared.”

  I did notice that, but I thought the System was taking its sweet ass time. Also, Grant had been standing there weirdly, not moving since Lawson had appeared.

  "The chests haven’t appeared because I’ve already chosen your reward: the privilege of my personal training for the rest of your time on this floor. Sleep well tonight. At dawn, your asses are mine."

  Balt laughed and sidled up next to me with a wink. “You're sure you’re not too rusty? Wouldn’t want our big, bad Overseer pulling a muscle.”

  Aura flared from Lawson, heat prickling my skin. With a single punch skyward, the roof simply ceased to exist, vaporized in an instant. A concussive boom rolled through the hall, followed by a rush of air that tugged at my clothes and sent dust and debris spiraling upward into the sudden blaze of sunlight.

  Lawson smirked as sunlight poured through the new hole. “I’ll be fine.”

  The Overseer leaned in, studying us like a predator sizing up its prey. “You have one week left on this floor before you’ll need to combine the sector keys and open the portal to the next. In that time, I’m going to put you both through your paces and see just how much I can sharpen you. And Balt"... His smile edged toward something dangerous. You’ve volunteered yourself to go first for a friendly assessment spar.”

  Then he was gone, and the world seemed to start up again. I looked at Balt, and he had a faraway look in his eyes. “I think I shit myself.”

  I just nodded and patted him awkwardly with my shaking hand on his shoulder. “Hang in there, buddy.” We stared up at the gaping hole Lawson had left.

  “You think he meant the friendly part at least?” asked Balt.

  I couldn’t lie to my buddy. “No, no, I don’t think he did.”

  Beside me, Grant blinked hard, as if shaking off a trance, then looked up wide-eyed. “Holy shit… what happened to the roof?”

  I picked up Rick’s longsword and left the ruined hall with Balt and Grant at my back. I found the servant hiding in the stairwell that had led us into the trap. After a few pointed questions, he told me quickly, with tears in his eyes, that he was under a soul contract. If he didn’t follow orders, he would be sold off into slavery as well as his family. He thanked me, feeling the contract dissolve in his soul realm when Lazz died. I told him to tell the staff to take whatever they could carry out of the villa and leave the town and start fresh somewhere else.

  With that little piece of business taken care of, I made my way to the courtyard. The few guards who had been posted at the entrance when we first arrived were still there, but now they’d been joined by a much larger force of mercenaries, all waiting to see what was going on. I gave Grant and Balt a quick “stay put” and stepped forward alone. Rick’s longsword slid from my shoulder, and I tossed it between me and the mercenaries with a heavy clang that echoed off the stone.

  A hook-nosed man with a tarnished badge of rank on his chest swaggered out from the group. His eyes flicked to the sword, then back to me, and a greedy smile spread across his face. “I’m Lieutenant Booth,” he rasped. The man gestured with an all-encompassing gesture. “All this is mine now. “Now that the captain and merchant are out of the picture. Truth is, they were too soft on these people anyway. He was always holding back, always making deals. But me? I’m not soft. This town’s mine now, and you're dead men.”

  Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

  The men behind him shifted uneasily. A few glanced at each other, their grips tightening on their weapons, but there was no spark of agreement in their eyes, only worry.

  He opened his mouth to speak again, but I Flash Stepped, summoning Ashbourne as I went. One clean strike, and his head toppled from his shoulders. Silent, until the wet thump on the cobblestones echoed through the courtyard. A thin mist of blood hung in the air for a heartbeat before the body crumpled, and every mercenary’s eyes went wide. “Anyone else think this town belongs to them?”

  A clang of weapons hitting the ground was the answer I got. “Good. Now all of you take off those uniforms, get your shit and leave this town before I change my mind and start farming you all for levels.”

  I watched the group get undressed and run down the street in fear. I yelled out as they ran. “If I see a gold uniform, I kill the man wearing it!”

  With the courtyard cleared and the scent of blood hanging in the air, the last of their courage scattered to the wind. I turned my attention to the rest of the town. There would, of course, be ones who didn’t listen to my warning, and I wasn’t about to leave loose ends behind.

  I didn’t want chaos and confusion in the streets, so I sent Grant to inform as many townspeople as he could about what went on here today and to go get his family and the others.

  Balt went with him for protection. I went to clear out the guardhouse and roam the streets to see if I spotted any golden uniforms. The word spread quickly, and besides one small skirmish in the guardhouse, there wasn’t much fighting I had to do. I watched the gate we had entered from originally as men were shoving past each other in their rush to get away. Letting the mercenaries live was not a clean solution. Many of them were probably bad men. But I just didn’t feel like killing any more today if I could avoid it.

  I continued to patrol the streets, and there ended up being a few that still needed convincing. I didn’t waste words; Ashbourne’s edge did the talking. As the sun dipped low, the streets quieted. Wagon wheels creaked in the distance, a sound that carried promise instead of threat. Moments later, Balt and Grant rolled into the square, grinning as if they’d just won the lottery.

  When they stopped in the market square, townsfolk started trickling out of their homes, cautious at first, then spilling into the square as they saw the women and children get out. Faces I’d seen pale with fear that morning were now lit with relief.

  Grant climbed onto one of the wagon benches and raised his hands for quiet. His voice carried over the crowd, strong and proud.

  “Friends… neighbors… today we stand in a town that is ours again. No more red-and-gold uniforms swaggering through our streets. No more fear in the eyes of our children. No more prejudicial contracts just to feed and heal our children. And we owe that to the two men standing right here among us. Balt was already sitting on the wagon, and he raised his hand awkwardly as people cheered. I just leaned against a market stall, all smiles watching Balt’s awkward energy on display.

  You all know the names of the devils who held us down, Lazz and his Captain. You know the cruelty they brought, the chains they would have put on our sons and daughters. I’ve seen it with my own eyes. My own children were bound for slavery before these two stepped in. They didn’t hesitate. They didn’t bargain. They fought.

  They faced Lazz and Rick head-on, and they won. They bled for this town. They risked their lives for people they hardly knew, for people like me, like you, like every soul standing here tonight.

  So I say this: remember their names. Remember what they did here. And let this night be the first of many where we live free, because of the courage of Riven and Balt!”

  The cheer that followed hit like a wave. People clapped, shouted our names, and someone shoved a tankard into my hand before I could protest. I heard a fiddle start to play in the crowd.

  That Grant could give a fine speech; I got to give him that.

  The smell of roasting meat drifted in from somewhere, and barrels of spirits were rolled out into the square. The drinks flowed fast, and the tension that had gripped the town all day melted into laughter and music.

  Balt, of course, wasted no time. I spotted him across the square, already deep in conversation with a big, broad-shouldered woman who was giving him the kind of look that promised trouble, the good kind. He caught my eye over her shoulder and grinned like a thief who’d just found the crown jewels.

  As I moved through the crowd, hands clapped my back, voices called my name, and tankards were pressed into my grip. I smiled, nodded my thanks. The night belonged to us. For a second, I thought I saw Lawson in the crowd, drink in hand. When I walked over see if it was him, whoever it was had vanished.

  I waved my goodbyes as I walked away from the party back to the villa to find a room for the night. A strange melancholy came over me. These people were free now, and I feel guilty that I have not done the same for Alice and Elizabeth yet.

  I sighed. The only way to save them was to get stronger.

  Another floor down, one battle won, many more to win before I could kill that son of a bitch Carson. Lawson’s power is the kind of strength I’ll need to take him on. Lucky for me. Training starts tomorrow.