Chapter 7: 1-7 First duel

The town was simply known as the town of Green Scar. It was surround by walls of stone with only three gateways for in and out. Erin and Lyra had reach the town without any complications. The elusive stalker did not purse them any further.

Erin couldn’t but think just what kind of monster was it to be so silent and completely near-odorless.

Well, never mind that thing. We’re saved now. I can relax.

The gateway Erin and Lyra used was the south gate. A tax of one copper coin was impose to non-residents every time they enter the town. Residents of the town were naturally exempted from the tax, with papers to prove, and apparently, adventurers were also exempted from this tax. In fact, adventurers were exempted from taxes in almost every city and town.

Fortunately, Erin had the pouch of copper coins she looted from the bandit. So no fuss were raise at the gateway like she had subtly anticipated. In spite of that, she was glad that it went smoothly. Her feet were hurting and she was a little bit tired from the running that they did.

And Lyra was right. The town guards were staring intensely at Erin. Not only was she of an infrequent race, she was a beauty to boot.

After they passed through the gate and entered a street, Erin was greeted by the sight of a lively town with wooden buildings built in an arbitrary order. It wasn’t that much different from the kind of architecture she knew but something was different and she just couldn’t point it out.

“Am I the only Demi-human in this town?” Erin asked.

After pondering for a second, Lyra answered, “there is a family of Dwarves here. They have been here for maybe about sixty years. If we’re talking about non-residents, there is a female Elven adventurer.”

While Erin did have some interest in meeting the Dwarves, she was even more keen on meeting the female Elf. If the Elves of this Evaren were anything like the Elves from the Evaren she knew, she would even gladly pay to talk to one. When she was crowned as the Sword Saint at the age of thirty four, an Elven Princess had came to congratulate him as her race’s representative. In Erin's own standard, the Elven Princess’ beauty stood on par with her current self.

As Erin reminisced about her former life, she began to realize just how many attention she was garnering. Like the guards, the people walking the streets all had their eyes glued to her. Some of the men even forgot about their own partner and ended up being reprimanded by their better half. There were even females who blushed upon witnessing her angelic beauty. However, no one had approach her yet.

Erin guessed it was most likely because of Lyra. She seemed to have quite a reputation in this town. Still, the gazes were incessant and getting uncomfortable the further they walked into the town.

Seeing her predicament, Lyra threw her cloak around Erin to prevent her from attracting any more gazes. Without her hood, Erin realized how much of a beauty Lyra was, although the townspeople didn’t seem to agree as Erin herself was attracting the gazes. Her hair was short but it fit her stature and demeanor. And her chest was enviable for a swordsman like Erin. They were half the size of her own bosom.

The cloak helped with curbing the gazes but any observant eyes could still see her face and notice the unnatural bulge on the top of the hood. She could hide her tail between her legs but her ears were another matter.

“Say, do you have a place to stay for the night?” asked Lyra.

Only now did Erin suddenly thought about that. Deep down, she was prepare to make a simple camp in the forest if she couldn’t get out by night. It wouldn’t the first time she made a camp offhandedly.

Lyra smiled. “Yeah, I don’t think so.”

To those words, Erin could only smile awkwardly.

“Well, I don’t mind sharing my room with you for a night. If you’re fine with sleeping on the floor that is.”

“What?!” Erin couldn’t believe what she just heard. “Share a room with you? Are you sure?”

“Um… I was the one who proposed it, of course I’m sure.” Then, Lyra pulled back a little. “Or are you uncomfortable with two girls sharing a room?” she asked with a low voice.

“Eh two g— No no, of course not.” Erin laughed nervously. She forgot she was now a girl for a second there. “If you truly don’t mind, I wouldn’t too.” Although she still had some reservations in sharing a room with another girl, she wasn’t going to pass up this opportunity to get to know a girl more. Besides, there were tons of questions she wanted to ask Lyra, personally and professionally speaking.

Lyra beamed. “Well then, we’ll get along, especially in bed…” She muttered her last sentence under her breath but Erin’s ears weren’t just for show but Lyra didn’t know that.

Although, Erin herself wasn’t complaining. In fact, she was actually looking forward to it.

Gosh, am I finally going to lose my virginity tonight? To a beautiful girl I just met no less?

As Erin flowed along her river of imagination, her attention was pull back to reality when a loud and coarse voice intruded into her ears.

“Quite a friend you found yourself there, Lyra.”

Both Lyra and Erin turned theirs to the unpleasant-sounding voice. It was a bald man in a fancy tunic and pants. There was a sword by his waist and another sword strapped to his back. True to his voice, even his expression spelled crude. He was sauntering towards them like he had all the time in the world.

“Kane,” Lyra chewed the man’s name.

“A different girl every time I see you.” The man named Kane chuckled at his own words. “How about a group session? I’m quite confident in my stamina and my skill to please woman.”

Erin instantly developed an intense dislike for this man who was named, Kane. Even the passers-by were unnerve by him as they distanced themselves as far away as they could. All of them only offer a momentary glimpse. None of them stop to watch the commotion.

“You? Pleasing women?” Lyra scoffed. “Says who? The wenches you paid for their services?”

Kane snickered, seemingly unperturbed by Lyra’s belittlement. “I’m sure you’ll change your mind if you shared a night with me. Unless of course, you’re afraid to find out.”

“The only thing I’m afraid about you is your ability to accept reality.” Lyra shot back.

The bald man stepped forward to Lyra to show his superior height. “Says the one who remained below level ten even after a week.”

Kane seemed to have hit a nerve as Lyra raised her fist. However, her fist was easily caught by him.

Kane laughed. “Do you honestly thing a meagre level seven like you is able to hit a level eleven like me?” Mocking her so, his fingers approached her grimacing face.

“That’s enough.” Having enough of the man’s attitude, Erin pulled Lyra back into her arm and shoved the man away with a light push of her palm. Her sudden movement pulled the hood off her head, revealing her fox ears.

“E-Erin…” Lyra muttered softly as she stared in awe and worriedly at Erin.

Kane sneered. “What’s this? A human girl no longer does it for you?”

“You call yourself a man? The lady has refused your invitation. You are obligated to respect that.” Erin put herself between Kane and Lyra. “You should be grateful that she was even kind enough to spare you her valuable time just to refuse you.”

Although Kane was a little startled by Erin who shared the same height as him, he quickly regained his composure. “I thought they say beast blood like you admire the strong but you’re not showing me even a little ounce of respect.” He grinned. “I’m starting to wonder if those were just a bunch of lies.”

“Even if that’s true, I don’t see any reason to give you any respect.”

His grin fell off. “Oh? Is that so?”

“Yes,” Erin retorted firmly. “Just talking won’t get us anywhere, how about we settle this in a duel with swords? Unless those swords you have with you are just decorations.” Despite being a virgin, she was used to defending damsels against bullies by challenging them to a duel. Now that she thought back, her chances of losing her virginity back then was aplenty.

Hearing her words, Kane’s brow began to twitch. “Fine, I accept your challenge.”

Lyra tugged on Erin’s clothes. “I know you can fight but he’s not just anyone’s opponent.”

“Is he that good?” Erin whispered back.

“He’s level eleven. He even might be level twelve now.”

“Is that high?”

“In this small town, he’s one of the highest. You can’t fight him, Erin.”

For the first time, she smiled as Erinthea. “Don’t worry. I’ll be alright.”

“E-Erin…” Lyra tried to persuade her to stop but Erin kept assuring her of a favorable outcome.

“Oi, are you two done saying your regrets? Or you gonna stall this further?” Kane taunted, all the while having a smirk along with his obscene gaze.

“I don’t have a sword with me right now. Perhaps you can lend me yours? That way, you can even make sure that I didn’t cheat by using some enchanted sword, right?”

Kane clicked his tongue. “Such a pert you are, vixen.” He said and threw the sword on his back to Erin. “Don’t blame me if you get hurt, little fox.”

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Erin was wondering why he easily lend her a sword but it became a clear after unsheathing the sword from its scabbard. It was a sword with its blade forged of silver. It was even dulled at the edges. This silver sword was actually in fact a decorative piece. Still, in the hands of the Sword Saint— well, former Sword Saint, anything works as long as it had the frame of a sword.

“The edges are dull.” Lyra noticed it too.

“Good. I don’t need to worry about killing him, then.”

Lyra could only stare in amazement. Erin had looked like a damsel in distress when she found her unconscious by the river with her disheveled robe. But now, even her back looked so reliable. It only made Lyra looking forward much more to their night together than before.

Lyra nodded as an assent before taking a few steps away from them.

“Come on now. The sun’s gonna to rise if you dally even more.” Kane taunted as he brandished his sword. The blade was steel unlike hers. “If you lose, you’ll be servicing me like the bitch you are until morning.”

“If I win?”

“You get to keep the sword,” he said and chuckled. It was not a proper weapon and he obviously knew that. Still, it was silver and silver cost more than steel per pound since they are used in crafting jewelries. In addition, silver was an excellent conductor of Magic.

Hmm, maybe I can have a blacksmith melt it down and forged into a silver-based alloy sword. It will work well with Arcane Edge.

“Done,” Erin said and went into her stance. “After you.”

His stance is solid but nothing special. This should be a breeze.

The man had some decent armor but only on the chest and forearms. He wasn’t wearing any protection for his head or face. This made it even easier for Erin to hurt him good.

She wanted to increase Sword Art as assurance but at the same time, she wanted to see how she would fare against a presumably “good” swordsman at her level. So, she decided to hold off from spending her skill points for now. For some reasons, her feet were hurting less now and she didn’t feel as tired as she was minutes ago.

Is this the work of the adrenaline?

“Don’t lose your focus on me now, bitch!”

As Erin expected, Kane started his offence with a straight charge by accelerating his speed with Magic. Erin easily parried his attack and kneed him in his stomach. He gasped wordlessly at the unforeseen attack before being knocked in the temple with the pommel of the silver sword. He went staggering back away from Erin.

“Amazing…” Lyra gasped in awe. Just from that single move, she could tell Erin was better than Kane with a sword.

“You fucking bitch!” Kane lunged again the moment he recovered his balance.

“And you’re about to lose to this bitch.” Erin retorted. She parried his attack again and hit his jaws with the blunt edge. He went stumbling back as he groaned in pain but he attacked again immediately.

Experienced with a sword but no where near a seasoned swordsman, let alone the former Sword Saint. He’s quick to give in to his emotions. Incredibly self-destructive. Only this much skill and he dared to flaunt. How impudent.

Kane’s slash was once again deflected but this time, she reeled him in close and disarmed him by hitting his wrist with the guard. The steel sword fell to the ground.

He cried out his pain. He stared at Erin with eyes filled with hatred.

“Feel like surrend—” Before she could finish her sentence, Kane tackled her to the ground.

You’re just like every other bullies. Typical.

“Erin!” Lyra shouted.

However, Erin was used to cheaters and she saw it coming. Using the momentum, she flipped backwards and threw Kane off of her before rolling back on her feet.

Whoa! That was easier than I thought.

Due to her lighter weight as a girl, the acrobatic movements were much easier to perform than when she was still a man, in body.

As Kane fumbled to get his back his bearings, a steel sword was thrust before his neck.

“You lose,” Erin declared.

All of a sudden, the crowd which was form before Erin realized suddenly erupted with cheers and applause.

Looks like he was really hated by the townspeople.

[Experience Gained. Level Progression: 10%]

Oh? Even things like this have experiences?

Erin was surprise but kinda expected it since she leveled up from— well, let’s just say she leveled up by not committing a life-taking act.

“This isn’t over,” Kane snarled.

Now, it was Erin’s turn to smirk. She tossed him the steel sword back. “You’re welcome to challenge me again.” She flashed him the silver sword. “I guess this is mine now.”

Showing one final look of resentment, Kane sheathed his steel sword and scurried away reluctantly from the scene.

“How is he not chased out of town?” Erin asked with a wondering look as she sheathed the silver sword.

Lyra smiled wryly at such a simple question. “He hasn’t broken any laws. He’s obnoxious, sure but he’s no criminal. He never crosses the line. All his fights were consented by the other party, so the guards can’t do anything either. What’s more, with his level, he’s contributing quite a lot to this small town’s economy and its safety.”

“If that’s true, then have I done a bad thing?”

Lyra chortled. “No, of course not. If he’s gone, we have someone even better now.” Saying so, her eyes turned fervent at Erin.

Out of a sudden, Erin’s stomach grumbled with an unladylike sound. Gazing awkwardly at Lyra with flushed cheeks, she asked, “I don’t suppose you know any eateries?”

“I know just the place,” Lyra said with a titter. “But before that, we’re heading to the Guild first.”

“What’s a Guild?” Erin asked with a canted head.

Expecting such response, Lyra calmly replied, “you’ll know when we get there.”

 

Erinthea - Forest-kin: Fox-kin

Level: 4 | Status: Mild Exhaustion | Famished

Might: 11 | Arcane: 10 | Finesse: 10

Magic Arts - Spirit Magic Lv. 3

Combat Arts - Sword Art Lv. 5 | Arcane Edge Lv. 1 | Fleet Foot Lv. 2

Innate Skills - Self-appraisal Lv. Ex | Night Vision Lv. Ex | Sixth Sense Lv. Ex | Toxin Resistance Lv. 1 | Lust Deviant Lv. Ex

Level Progression: 10%

Skill Points: 2

 

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