Blade, Bullet, and Bounty

Chapter 1 The Night

It was a cold night in the kingdom Eden Cova, in a small tavern bar where both the adventurous and meek come for a bottle of freshly brewed Luna berry mead. Among the people were two people who had returned from a mission of hunting muck slimes, armor stained with brown debris, and the spilled contents of the mugs of their drinks. Michael Jones was tired of the bullshit jobs and decided to voice his opinion, "So what if each muck slime is worth one silver a piece? I say we go after something with a bit more bite and value, like a Stone Golem or a Were-Beast. At least we'd have some decent gold to our names. I'm getting tired of 'dirty jobs' and prefer something more valuable. My rockwood club is already worn to a dull edge, and I never have enough spare ammo for my dear Scatter Brains." He said, referring to his mother's hand-me-down shotgun he inherited. His partner, a Leonin female named Somathia Freeclaw, was bored out of her mind as she heard her partner continue to complain. Her golden fur was stained with foul-smelling stains as she drank from her mug and looked at Michael. "Now you know that when I tell you to go for the dragon, you'd better take it." She said with a sassy tone.

He placed his palm against his face before looking at her, annoyed, "Soma, you know that dragons are a team effort? We can barely handle a small goblin squad or a war hog pack. Honestly, it'd be better if we fought a Stone golem or Were-Beast since it's just one beast, and there are two of us." He suggested once more. She became annoyed as well and glared at him. "Sounds like you need a way to prove that plan liable. I think it sounds to be... Arm wrestling!" She roared as everyone heard the two and cheered loudly, the bartender getting ready to place bets. "Fine! The winner chooses the next mission, and the loser gets to admit they were wrong!" Michael said as he rolled up his right sleeve and placed his elbow on the table. "Bring it, you puny human!" She roared once more and put her bare arm on the table as the bar patrons began to place their bets.

The two glared deep into each other's eyes; Michael gave her a nasty look and grasped her paw tightly. She returned the favor with a death-like grip. The bartender put up a board to show off the betting odds. As soon as they finished the polls, it was a 90-10 with Somathia as the winner and Michael as the loser. Once they rang the bell, the match began! The two were pushing with all their might, each growling and forcing the other to concede. The time passed as the two were already sweating, and the patrons cheered loudly and tried to distract the other from losing. "Rrrgh... Looking pretty tired there, you shaven pussy cat! I bet you'd like to quit and know the bitter taste of defeat!" Michael sneered at Somathia as she growled and roared directly into his face to make him flinch. "I shall tear your flimsy human arm off and smack some sense into you with it!" Those were her last words before someone tossed a bucket of water over Somathia's head, making her berserk and roar again.

Michael glared at the asshole that did that before tossing the empty bottle of his remaining drink at the one who poured the water on her head, causing him to fall back and blackout as they continued their brawl of strength. Once they reached their limits, Michael faltered as Somathia grinned and pushed even harder. "You wait! I'll win, and we'll go after that dragon!" She jeered before Michael's eyes began to flare with a blue aura. He mustered up every last bit of his strength before slamming the gas on his body and finished it with a single pin of her paw onto the table, causing it to shatter. The crowd cheered had a mixture of cheer and boos as Michael fell to his knees and looked at Somathia, a shit-eating grin with a chuckle of confidence as his partner roared and smashed a hole into the wall with her bare fist.

"And the winner is Michael, the human! Now pay up, you slobs!" Yelled the bartender as the patrons received and paid their dues. The pot went to the battle's winner, and Michael couldn't get up quickly. However, he rose slowly before grabbing the sack of mixed winnings. "Treat you to a steak and beer at your favorite spot?" Michael asked Somathia; she growled and looked back at him, sighing and shrugging her shoulders before putting her arms behind her head. "Yeah yeah, I'll take it, idiot." She said with a huff, smiling as she helped him and left the tavern to hit up her favorite restaurant, explicitly run by Leoneans. "Hey. If you want, we can take on a dragon with some special hires once we make more money." Michael offered as he patted her back reassuringly.