The next day, early in the morning, the group awakened and began to get ready for their day's tasks. They were all aware of each other's jobs except for Kyllian's. Mika was finishing her breakfast at a table while looking at the sea. The cold air of the sea was blowing in her face, sending shivers in her body. She heard footsteps coming in her direction and turned around, Cynrik was walking up to her, adjusting his bandana.

  " Mornin miss Tsirek. "

  " Good morning Cynrik. "

  " So, you thought about the job? "

  " Yeah, refugees letters, seems easy enough. "

  " Yes and no, the issue is that we may encounter soldiers that will try to intercept those letters. The king is so parano?ac that he believes that any information leaving the country is a form of treason and could lead to his demise. "

  " Oh .. "

  " But don't worry miss! I'll protect you aight. "

  " I can protect myself thank you. "

  " I was saying that to be a gentleman. "

  She chuckled as he said that.

  " You? A gentleman? "

  " You don't believe me? "

  " I have been in the presence of high people and true gentlemen, you don't look like them. "

  Cynrik leaned forward on the table and smirked at her.

  " I'm just one of a kind."

  " Are you now? "

  " I can prove it to you, after the job is done. "

  " What can you do to prove it to me? "

  He stood up and winked at her.

  " I'll show you when It's done. I'll wait for you at the western gate, aight? "

  " Yeah, I'll be there quickly, see you later. "

  She took a sip of water as she watched him walk away and down the stairs of the tavern. " One of a kind hmm ? ".

  At the shipyard, Yordan, Logiticus and Maggie were to find Jonah's friend and work for him. They entered a building next to a warehouse. Inside, men and women were running around to stack crates of materials made to depart in the morning. Maggie walked up to one of the workers, looking for information.

  " Hi, hmm excuse me sir? "

  " Ye? What u need maam? "

  " I'm looking for .. your boss I guess? He is Jonah's friend, called Orlog? "

  " Oh yeah, the big guy is in the office up the stairs to ur right, carefull, he gets grumpy in the mornin'. "

  " Ok, thank you. "

  They walked up the stairs and knocked on the door, a deep voice answered on the other side.

  " You may enter. "

  Maggie opened the door and entered an office with a giant window, giving view to the whole shipyard from here. Other than that, the room was quite modest, a desk, three chairs and a nice carpet. Maggie laid eyes on Jonah's friend and was surprised at how he looked. According to the common descriptions, he would be called an ogre, gray of skin, two tusks coming out of his mouth, very dry and scaly skin all over his body. Despite his savage appearance, he was dressed rather elegantly with a leather vest and a silver necklace. He was looking at them while smoking on a pipe. Maggie proceeded to make the introduction of the group to the man.

  " Hi .. Hi, we are friends of Jonah, he didn't tell us you were .. "

  " Not human? "

  " No, indeed he didn't mention. "

  " That's why I like Jonah, unlike other humans, he doesn't care about race. He cares about purpose and what one can bring to another. So, what can you bring to me? "

  " Well, this is Logi, despite his age he is quite strong and can provide extra hands on the docks, so does my friend Yor who is very usef- "

  " I have no need for a cripple. "

  Yordan winced at his remark but kept silent, Maggie crossed her arms on her chest and stared at Orlog.

  " As I was saying, he can be useful, he is an historian and archivist, he can provide information about trade routes you may not know. "

  " I doubt it, do you know how long I have been in charge of this port? "

  " No.. "

  " Probably longer than you have been alive. So don't come to me trying to teach me shit about the ocean. I'll tell you what, if he can work like all of the other guys and doesn't slow us down today, I'll keep him, If not he gets the fuck out of my business. "

  " Deal! "

  " And what can you do? "

  " I am an engineer, Jonah told me you were looking for one to help on new boats. "

  " I see, he didn't tell me you were going to be .. "

  " A woman? "

  " Indeed. "

  " What I have between my legs does not affect what's in my head. "

  " Oh I'm not saying that in this way miss. I couldn't care less but the lads on them boats believe that even if the ship isn't sailing, a woman on a boat is a bad omen. Just prove them wrong and work well. Here are the terms on the contract. You come here at seven in the morning, you check in the book downstairs to prove you were there and you sign as you go back home. You go work, you are allowed one break of ten minutes in the day and it's ten, not twelve, not eleven, TEN! If you pass out or get injured, the company has to pay for it and you will reimburse us. When you start working for us, we own you, understood? Meals are not provided so you have to pay for it yourself before you get to work or get it during your break. You will be paid by the end of the week depending on how you perform. The job is simple, for you guys, the more crates you load, the more money you get. You break one, you pay the price of the crate and of all the items within. For you miss, you will have to talk prices with the captains of the boats you'll be working on. "

  Logiticus passed his hand through his beard.

  " How much is one crate? "

  " One crate is one copper coin, ten crates is one silver or ten copper, thirty crates is one gold or three silvers. "

  " What?! It's basically nothing! The most simple of meals is a gold coin, if we eat twice a day with the bare minimum we are making basically nothing in money. "

  " You can always go work somewhere else, time is money and right now, you are wasting my time. And I. HATE. Losing. Money. "

  The two men stared at each other for a few seconds, Logiticus sighed.

  " Fine. "

  Orlog laughed with his deep voice and inhaled some smoke from his pipe.

  " I love when deals go smooth, now get the fuck out of my office and get to work. "

  They exited the office, Yordan scratched his head while looking at the others.

  " Are you sure that we can't do something else as a job? Maggie? "

  " This is what we get for now, we will see after today, we better get going. "

  They went down the stairs and passed a young man carrying a bag full of letters, he was heading upstairs to the office. He knocked on the door and entered.

  " Morning sir, I have a few letters for you. "

  " Just leave them on the desk. "

  " Yes sir. "

  Orlog watched the man get out of his office and got up to look at the port from his window. He loved to take this time in the morning to relax and just smoke while he watched over his small empire. He turned around to look at the letters " probably new businesses that want to deal with us, ugh so boring .. What is that ? ". He noticed a letter sealed with a round crest with the arrows of a compass on it, his eyes widened as he realized who the crest belonged to. "The navigator ?! ".

  Kyllian had been sleeping less than the others, most of his companions were still asleep when he woke up. He got out of their room while yawning and went to get something to eat. As he was sitting down he saw Cynrik talking to a young woman in the street "what is he doing ?". Cynrik then started making his way towards the port " Hmm, isn't he supposed to go on a mission today ? ". Suspicious of Cynrik, Kyllian decided to follow him to see where he was going. Hiding behind walls and bushes, he trailed Cynrik for about ten minutes until he stopped near a small fishing boat, Cynrik approached the captain and talked to him.

  This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  " Morning friend, I have something for you aight. "

  " What do you need? "

  " You are going to Halvi aight? "

  " Yeah. "

  Cynrik pulled a piece of paper from his vest and handed it to the man.

  " I need you to give this to the second in command of the ship called "The red thorn".

  " And why would I do that? I don't know you. "

  Cynrik leaned in and put his hand on the man's shoulder.

  " The navigator wills it. "

  As he heard these words, the man looked at him in terror.

  " O-of course sir! Everything for the navigator. "

  " Great, have a safe trip. "

  " Th-Thank you .. "

  Kyllian made sure to be out of Cynrik's vision as he passed him and watched him head back towards the tavern. "The navigator? Who is that?". Kyllian walked back to the tavern to eat and decided to go train on the beach, Jonah told him most of the fights were happening at night and on rare occasions in the early afternoon. Finding an isolated place on the beach, he began to work on his balance in the sand. Training on unstable ground was harder but would pay off in the long run. He spent an hour on the beach, trying to perfect his kicks and moves. His left shoulder was still painful from being stabbed by Logiticus, he was heavily focusing on his legs as to compensate for the lack of strenght in his arms. The recent uses of his flames were causing even more damage. He had less feelings and less strenght in his arms as he used to. The thought of losing the ability to use his arms was frightening to him but he was done holding back. Done being ashamed of what he was but it was easier said than done. After a while, he decided to head back to the tavern to cool down, as he was making his way up the stairs, Cynrik was going down.

  " Hey blondie ! "

  " Hmm. "

  " Is that all you have to say to me? "

  " I have nothing to say to you, move out of the way. "

  " Pleasant as ever, are you annoyed because I get to spend time with your lady? "

  " She is not my lady and you annoy me by existing. "

  " Hmm, yeah you aren't convincing anyone. "

  " What are you playing at Cynrik? "

  " Me? I'm always serious, I don't play games! "

  Kyllian walked up to his face.

  " Don't play with me. "

  Cynrik smirked at him.

  " Trust me boy, if you and I were to play for real, I would win. "

  " Want to bet? "

  " Nah, I like the thrill of betting, this one would be a win for sure for me. Plus aren't you hurt by this scar on your shoulder? "

  " Fight me and find out, I'll give you one to match. "

  " Ahah, maybe after my trip blondie, I'll cya later. "

  Cynrik walked past him, feeling Kyllian's anger staring at his back. The young man sighed in annoyance and finished making his way up the stairs. Once he was on the terrasse he saw Mika, looking in the distance. She was tying her hair up in a ponytail, for a second he wanted to go and talk to her but he didn't know about what. He would have been fine just sitting in silence next to her but that would not have been right. His pride was telling him to go on, instead he walked up to Jonah who was already working at the bar. The man waved at him as he was cleaning a glass.

  " Morning warrior! "

  " Hmm. "

  " What's with the long face? "

  " It's just my face. "

  " I see, tonight are the first timers, you can fight a few rounds. "

  " Ok. "

  " If you win a fight, you gain one gold, the number of rounds you fight in the night depends on how many wins your opponent has gotten without ever losing. For example, you see this guy right there ? "

  Jonah pointed at a man, large as an ox, with a big black beard and a few tattoos.

  " That's our champion, he looks normal but he is a demi human, he has some giant's blood in him. Makes his skin super hard and also he has crazy stamina. "

  " How many fights did he win without losing? "

  " Two hundred and forty three. "

  " So If I beat him, I win this much gold? "

  " Yes. "

  " Easy, I'm just going to challenge him. "

  " Not so fast boy! You need to prove to me that you are worth it, the fights are organized by me, people don't want to see a rookie against the champion, no one would bet on you. "

  " I see. "

  " If you fight well enough tonight, I'll start thinking about it, I believe you can make your way up easily."

  As he was explaining the rules to Kyllian, Mika walked behind him and made her way down the stairs, from the corners of their eyes, they noticed each other. She kept walking despite seeing him turn his head. Jonah snapped his fingers in front of Kyllian's face to make him focus.

  " You listening boy? "

  " Yeah yeah sorry. "

  Mika met up with Cynrik at the western gate soon after.

  " So, how far do we need to go? "

  " Since we are going on foot, it will take us five to six days to go to that city and back. It's inland, called Pachopa."

  " If it's that close, why do these people not come here to post these letters themselves? "

  " Not only are their letters filtered but guards barely let any citizen out, you are allowed a week within the walls before they consider you a spy, if you do not have a job or a valid reason to enter the city, you will be refused at the gates. "

  " So, how are we supposed to enter? "

  " Easy, I'm a merchant, I have this. "

  Cynrik showed her a piece of paper he pulled from his vest.

  " I have a permit to deal in merchandise and technically scouting products is a valid reason to enter. We don't need to actually be carrying anything with us. "

  " Smart man. "

  " Ah so you admit it! "

  " I never said you weren't smart, you are just not the definition of a gentleman. "

  " I'll change your mind, ready to go? "

  " Yeah, let's' get going. "

  The two of them began to walk on a dirt path, in the direction of Pachopa.

  The sun was setting when Maggie, Yordan and Logiticus came back from their first day of work. The three of them sat at a table and in unison let out a sigh of fatigue. Maggie wiped the sweat from her forehead and looked at the sun in the distance.

  " How was your day guys? "

  Logiticus placed his head in his hand.

  " I feel like my body has been chewed, vomited and chewed again. "

  " Okay .. and you Yor '? "

  " Pretty much the same, except I only have one arm but our supervisors were happy enough. I'm considered able to work. "

  " At least this is good."

  " I don't understand how anyone is supposed to be able to make a living in this shithole with such low pay. "

  While they were talking, Jonah was beginning the ceremony that will begin the fights of tonight.

  " Ladies, gentlemen and demi humans. We are welcoming new fighters that want to test their skills! They come from different horizons, they come in all shapes, sizes and races but only a handful are made to become warriors!! "

  The crowd cheered, some were clapping, tapping their boots on the wood floor or slamming their drinks on the ground.

  " Let's welcome our first contenders! "

  A man with a big belly and large arms stepped up, Kyllian stepped on the other side and the crowd laughed as they looked at him. People were already betting on his loss because he looked frail in comparison to his opponent.

  " Boooo! Go back to your momaa ! You gon get crushed boyyy! "

  Kyllian was simply breathing, focusing on his opponent, muffling all the sounds around him. Jonah kept on going with his speech.

  " On my left, he used to be a blacksmith, then a sailor and now only a drunk fighter but he can still get that gold! Welcome Lucien! "

  The crown cheered and Lucien let out a scream to hype himself up.

  " On my right, do not underestimate this young man. I have seen him defeat five men in a matter of seconds with his bare hands! Welcome, Ash! "

  Kyllian looked at Jonah with a questioning look "Why is he lying and introducing me like this?" Before he could question it, Jonah winked at him.

  " FIGHT! "

  Lucien charged forward, he was strong but slow. Kyllian had no problem evading him. In a simple move he ducked and kicked his leg at the same time, causing him to fall face first on the wooden floor. As Lucien was pushing on his arms to stand up, Kyllian rushed him and stomped the back of his head. Lucien's body instantly went limp. The whole circle became silent as it took Kyllian barely any effort to take him down. Jonah smiled and stepped in the middle of the circle.

  " Ahahaaaa! You see this? This boy is a natural born killer! No hesitation, this is what we are here for folks! Because these are the rules, if you step in the circle, either you yield, you become unconscious or you die! "

  Kyllian slowly backed away into the circle and waited for the next contestants to fight. A few of the fighters left a good impression but none were coming near his level. That night, he won most of his fights without breaking a sweat but compared to how he usually felt, he was not having fun while fighting, it didn't feel the same. So he made a choice, he walked up to Jonah to ask something.

  " Jonah, I have something to ask you. "

  " Ahh, Ash the prodigy warrior, you are earning me a lot on your debut, so far you have beaten seven people. What do you need? Want to rest for tonight? "

  " No, I'm bored, I need something more challenging. "

  " What do you have in mind? "

  " Give me two opponents. "

  Jonah pondered on the idea for a second.

  " Hmm, high risk for you, but very entertaining. Sold, get ready! "

  Kyllian went back in the middle of the circle and waited for Jonah's announcement. Finally he stepped in the circle with him.

  " Ladies and gentlemen! We have had some good fights tonight but some of the fighters are still hungry for mooooore. Especially Ash right here! He surprised us all tonight, defeating seven contestants with barely any effort but what if he had multiple opponents?! "

  The people of the circle cheered in excitement.

  " So here I offer you the final fight of the night, please step forward, Kolgar, Ophilope, Nemetro, Daga! "

  Kyllian's eyes widened as he realized what was happening.

  " Jonah what the fu- "

  " You wanted a challenge? Here you go. PEOPLE! IT IS NOW FOUR AGAINST ONE! "

  The four men called stepped forward and surrounded Kyllian. He focused on his breathing and his surroundings. "I need to let my hands cool down, I don't want to ignite in the middle of the tavern.". Kolgar and Nemetro tried tackling him from behind, he ducked and swept them off the ground with a kick, giving him enough time to rush to Daga. He aimed at his throat with a chop and then delivered a succession of knee strikes to his face before throwing him towards the three others coming to his rescue. "That's one down.". The crowd was getting louder as the fight was going on. He was not finding any opening between the three remaining fighters, while he was trading blows with one of them ,he got hit in the back and landed on the ground. He covered his head as kicks and fists were raining on him. Rolling on the ground, he managed to pull away from them, his back against the circle. As he was about to retaliate, someone in the circle grabbed his arm while another grabbed his leg. It was not against the rules to grab a fighter, you just could not hit them. Before he could break away, he was hit in the face with a strong left hook and multiple body shots. He was about to be hit in the face again when he gurgled up some blood in his mouth and spat it in Kolgar's face, blinding him in the process. He headbutted the man holding him behind him and ducked under an incoming fist from Nemetro who ended up hitting someone in the circle. As he was turning around, Kyllian backhanded him in the face and pushed him into the crowd. Kolgar was still on the ground trying to get the blood off his eyes. Taking this opportunity, he rushed the last man called Ophilope and tackled him down. Letting go of all his inhibition he began smashing the man's head against the wood until his body went limp. He turned around and kicked Kolgar in the ribs as he was coming up on him , he then got tackled down by Nemetro who started punching down on him. Protecting his face the best he could, he then grabbed Nemetro's face and pulled him closer, acting more like a beast than a man he bit him as hard as he could. Literally taking a chunk of his throat and spitting it to the side. Everyone around them got silent, what they were seeing was coming from a nightmare. The young blond man, mouth and torso covered in blood, panting while two of his opponents were unconscious. One was blinded and the last was choking on his own blood. Kyllian walked up to Kolgar and flipped him on his back, he then sat on him and began punching his face repeatedly, the room was silent, only the sounds of his bloodied fist on an already defeated enemy were being heard. Thud, Thud, Thud. The sound of bone against flesh ringing hollow in the bar. He stood up, his bandages almost undone and bloody, Jonah was stunned "I think I have uncaged a beast.". He stepped forward in the circle at a safe distance from Kyllian.

  " Well well well! That was one hell of a spectacle! Give it up for the warrior, no, the BEAST! Under the new name, the beast of Ash! Reducing all of his opponents to cinders! Ahahaaa! "

  The room erupted in cheers and screams of excitement. Kyllian was still in his head, feeling danger around him, Jonah placed his hand on his shoulder and handed him over a pouch of gold.

  " Here, this is more than what you were supposed to gain but you earned it, same thing tomorrow and you will have double of this. You and me kid, we are about to be rich, tonight I saw a beast in you, a monster waiting to come out, let that savagery take over. So, what do you say? Do you want the monster to get out? "

  His eyes, now full of an old unhinged rage, Kyllian said the words that would seal his fate for the near future.

  " I do. "