"So, how long ago did you get to this floor?" The mage who had first waved me over asks as I approach the group of five.
"About seven hours ago." I say. "I haven't really been here too long."
"Just seven hours? How long did it take you to get out of the slums?"
"Not even an hour. I took out some local crime leader and scared off his underlings. I got my next mark right after that. What'd you guys do for yours?"
The mage laughs, patting the fighter in the group on the back. "Flynn here sparred with one of the gate guards to prove we were worthy of entrance. It worked pretty well. We weren't even in the slums for 20 minutes."
"Impressive. Did you try it with the guards to the next section of the city as well?"
"We didn't dare to." Flynn says, shaking his head. "They are each level 40, and it would be very stupid to think I could take one of them on."
"No kidding." I say, identifying each member of the group. They were all exactly level 25. When I was level 25 I wouldn't have had any confidence facing down a level 40 opponent. Maybe I would now, but only if it was necessary. "Is this your plan for getting the next mark?"
"Yep." The mage cuts in. "Hopefully we put on a good enough show to be allowed entry to the fighting arena within the next ring of the city. We'd probably be fodder there, but it shouldn't be too bad dealing with whoever tries to come after us in here."
"Well from the looks of it, you are also gonna have to deal with me in there." I stick out my hand. "I'm River, nice to meet you."
"Ryker." The mage says, shaking my hand. "And I am sure the five of us could handle you."
"You wanna make a bet on it?"
"Confident much?" The archer asks, her face clearly showing how unamused she was. Ryker at least laughed, though I hadn't meant it as a joke.
"I'm serious." I say. "I'd wager I can at least fight on equal grounds against the five of you."
Okay, that definitely came across as over confident. Arrogant even. I couldn't help myself. This was the first opportunity I'd ever had to truly compare myself to others who were at a similar level to myself. Sure they were five levels lower, but there were also five of them. Put together they had 95 levels on me. That wasn't really saying much, as I'm sure anybody 95 levels higher than myself could kill a hundred of me, but that wasn't the point.
"What exactly would you wager?" Ryker asks.
"Well it isn't unreasonable to assume the winner of this tournament gets their mark upgraded, so whoever wins our little sparring session wins the mark upgrade."
"Sounds fun." Ryker says, and at the exact same time Flynn speaks.
"Seems like a waste of time."
"Oh don't be like that." Ryker says, elbowing Flynn. "You worried we might lose?"
The healer of the group finally speaks up for the first time. He seems to have identify as well, as he knew my level. "He is five levels higher than us, and from the looks of it wasn't traveling with anybody. He must have something to back up that confidence."
The entire rest of the group seems to contemplate that for a moment, and the archer speaks up again. "Have you been traveling through the floors alone?"
"Yeah." I say, shrugging. "It's better for levels that way."
"Sounds boring being alone for so long."
YOU ARE READING
Magic Made Simple
FantasyThe question of why has been a question on the mind of River ever since he was a child. To understand why things worked had led the course of his entire life, right up to the day it nearly killed him. In an experiment gone horribly wrong, River and...
