Barbarian Quest-Chapter 6
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Chapter 6
An Ankairan underground fight club. Contrary to the negative connotations of its name, it was a completely legal entertainment establishment.
โSo, itโs basically like a fistfight?โ Urich shifted his body to loosen himself up.
โUrich, Iโve told you over and over. You cannot kill anyone. Murder is against the rules here,โ Donau repeated himself. He drew a picture of a man getting beheaded and crossed his arms to make an X.
โBut what if they die from a really light hit? Eh, whatever. You donโt understand me, anyway.โ Urich chuckled at the thought. He had decided to join the fight club after learning that this was where he could get a lot of cils. Besides, he was quite confident in himself.
โThe men here are all weaker than me.โ
To Urich, they were all nothing but fools with average bodies. This place was full of weaklings who had never killed a single person before. It was hard to see them as fellow men.
โBut the women, on the other hand, were amazing.โ Urich grinned as he reminisced about his glorious night in the red-light district.
โOn this side of the mountains, money is everything.โ
Urich stepped onto the sand. The lost teeth of countless fighters were visible through the grains. As he entered the arena, the crowd erupted in a mixture of cheers and whistles.
โBoooo!โ
โHey, isnโt that the arm wrestler from the other day?โ
โMy moneyโs on you!โ
People screamed as they looked at Urich. Urich couldnโt care less about their stares. He was too busy thinking about what to do with his winnings.
โWhat should I do with the money I make from this? Some fun with the women again, obviously, but what else?โ
While Urich was busy daydreaming, his opponent entered the arena from the opposite side. The fighter was a gnarled man with knobby knuckles. He seemed like he had seen a fair share of action in the fight club.
โShould I buy an axe with the rest of the money? Their weapons were sturdier than mine. They must have better smiths here,โ Urich thought to himself.
Ding!
The bell rang to signal the start of the fight. Urichโs opponent came flying forward. f(r)eeweb(n)ovel
โWhat an unlucky bastard, having me as the first opponent!โ The fighter yelled. Urich dashed to the side.
โOne hit, right in the ribs.โ
Urich dug into the fighterโs flank. Even a seasoned fight club fighter felt as slow as a snail compared to the wild animals and warriors back home. The men here didnโt fight for their lives. As far as Urich was concerned, there wasnโt a single proper warrior in this room.
โFordgal Arten, the man who crossed swords with me, was a warrior who was prepared to die in battle. Such men exist on this side as well,โ Urich thought of the Empire knight that he had fought in the Sky Mountains.
Thud!
Urich punched the fighter with just the right amount of power. There was an audible crack coming from the fighterโs ribcage.
โIf youโre lucky, youโll live. If not, well, thatโs too bad.โ
Urich turned and raised his hand in victory without looking back at his fallen opponent. The fighter on the ground was showing the whites of his eyes and foaming at his mouth. Some men rushed into the arena to carry him out on a stretcher.
โU-Urich is the winner!โ
Urich looked around in boredom. This wasnโt fun at all for him. If it werenโt for the money, he wouldnโt even have entertained the idea.
โW-what just happened? He finished him with just one punch?โ
โHey, you bastard, what is this? This is rigged, isnโt it?โ
โYou saw the other guy laying there foaming at his mouth. Itโs not rigged.โ
The crowd was getting riled up and fights were breaking out. Many of them had bet on the fighter to beat Urich because this was his first-ever fight at the club.
โHey, Urich won fair and square! Hand over the money, now!โ Donau demanded the club manager.
The manager pulled out his coin pouch as he clicked his tongue.
โTell your guy to take his time in the next fight. If he ends it like this again, weโll lose the crowd.โ
โAlright, alright, I got it.โ Donau nodded carelessly as he snatched the coin pouch.
โThat one punch landed us a hundred thousand cils.โ
Donau couldnโt stop smiling.
โLetโs do it again, Urich!โ Donau raised his finger as he looked at Urich. Urich then went on to win three straight fights. Their total winning for the day was half a million cils, which was way too much for a dayโs earnings.
โHahahaha, what a day! You killed it, Urich! We just have to keep this up!โ Donau exclaimed as he downed his drinks. Urich, on the other hand, wasnโt lifting a finger and drank only what the women poured into his mouth.
โThis truly is heaven.โ Urich looked up at the ceiling with his flushed red face. Throw a few punches, make money, and spend that money on food and drinksโnot to mention the women.
โI canโt believe I was running around the plains hunting for animals. What a fool I was.โ
The courtesan poured some more liquor into Urichโs mouth. His uvula twitched as he swallowed the drink.
โDonโt overdo it, ladies. We donโt have nearly as much money to waste today.โ Donau sternly warned the courtesans who were roaming around the room in their translucent gowns.
โOh, then, howโs this?โ
One of the courtesans brought a hookah. They then dropped some weed in and lit it.
Bllgh, bllgh.
The woman took the hookah to her mouth first. The scented smoke flowed out of her mouth and nostrils.
โIsnโt that southern tobacco? Weed?โ Donauโs eyes widened with curiosity.
โThereโs no extra charge this time, Mr. Donau.โ
โHah, I see what youโre doing, but Iโll allow it.โ
Donau put the pipe in his mouth without hesitation and drew in the thick smoke. He felt like he was levitating.
โGive this a try, Urich.โ
Urich took the pipe and took a big drag.
โThis is...โ
His eyes widened. He recognized the scent.
โThis is the thing that that old shaman always smoked.โ
Though the delivery mechanism was different, the scent was similar to the herbs that the shamans always smoked. He had smelled the same smell whenever he was with them. Warriors avoided weed. They thought it was something that only the old, soon-to-die warriors smoked. It was forbidden for young warriors in their prime, although no one knew why. It was just frowned upon for warriors.
โThis isnโt so bad. The oldies and shamans were keeping this to themselves this whole time?โ
Urich felt drowsy. His bright and sharp eyes sank low, and his focus was becoming dull. Liquor was passing like water and food kept going in even though he was already full. The whispers of the courtesans sounded sweeter than ever.
โHow does this feel, Mr. Champion of the Arena?โ One of the women rhetorically asked Urich as she buried her face in between his muscular legs.
โNot bad, no, rather pretty good,โ Urich murmured as he gave in to the wave of pleasure. When he woke up, a new morning had dawned.
* * *
Urich and Donau made their money from the fights in the late evenings and spent the nights drinking with the women of the Ankairan red-light district. The party would go on for the whole night. By the time they woke up the next day, it was already late afternoon.
โGet up, Urich! Time to make some money,โ Donau woke Urich up from his sweet sleep. At this point, he was treating Urich like his servant.
โShut up, my head is ringing. You know I donโt understand what youโre saying,โ Urich muttered annoyingly as he got up with his hands wrapped around his aching head. He had been carrying on with his dissolute life with the help of Donau.
โItโs the afternoon already, huh.โ
The sun was already on its way down. Urichโs body felt heavier than usual.
โPhew,โ Urich took a quick deep breath. He munched away on the leftover fruit from the night before and called it breakfast.
โYouโre awake, my champion. Hereโs one for good luck.โ
Smooch.
A courtesan kissed Urichโs cheek with her red-tinted lips. At this point, Urich and Donau were practically living in the red-light district.
โHow long has it been?โ
Urich couldnโt remember exactly how many days it had been since he made it over the Sky Mountains. Was it thirty days? No, maybe closer to fifty. He hadnโt really kept track of the days; he had only repeated the same day and night over and over. ๐๐ป๐๐๐๐๐ซ๐ฃ๐ธ๐ซ๐๐.๐ฌ๐ธ๐ถ
โDonau,โ Urich called on his partner.
โWhat do you want, Urich? We got places to be and money to make. We got ourselves into a lot of debt so we canโt afford to waste another second.โ Donau snarked as he frowned. The lack of discipline and control in his life only made him spend more recklessly. He had debts everywhere, and even a loan from an Ankairan loan shark.
โMy axe,โ Urich muttered as he squatted down on the ground to scratch a drawing of a pair of battle axes.
โYou want me to buy you some axes? What for? You want to chop some firewood or something?
โAxe.โ
Urich emphasized his demand once more by firmly pointing at his drawing. Donau was reluctant to spend his money on Urich, but he nodded in agreement.
โFind, weโll swing by the smiths after the fights. But first, weโve got work to do.โ
Urich and Donau arrived at the fight club. The arena manager was already waiting for them.
โThere you are, Urich and Donau! Everyone here is dying to see your fights.โ
The manager greeted Urich. Urich had become the main attraction of the fight club. The undefeated Urich. Since his debut, he hasnโt lost a single fight. People didnโt care whether he won or not. They just went crazy for him every fight regardless of the outcome.
โLetโs make this quick, Urich!โ Donau said to Urich as he massaged his tight back and shoulders.
โYouโre my money, You cannot lose.โ
Urich sat there with his eyes closed, receiving Donauโs massage. He was having a hard time shaking off his drowsiness even though heโd had a good nightโs sleep.
โOh, I guess weโre starting now,โ Urich said as he stepped into the sandy arena. It took him a second, but he was finally seeing his opponent now.
โHe doesnโt look very strong. Maybe Iโll just punch him in the jaw and get it over with.โ Urich thought to himself as he walked toward his opponent. The fighter lunged forward.
Thud.
Urich looked down at the fist that buried itself in his stomach.
โI thought I dodged this one?โ
Thump!
A series of punches slammed Urich out of his position.
โWooaaah!โ The crowd roared at the unexpected sight.
Urich raised his arms to guard himself against the punches. He couldnโt believe what was happening.
โAm I rusty?โ
Liquor, women, weed. Urich had never led such an unhinged life before. For the first time in his life, he realized that his fighting senses had become dull. Urich was only sixteen. He thought he was only getting stronger and that the opposite wasnโt possible. He roamed the plains and forests hunting for animals and he battled against men on the battlefields.
โFucking hell.โ
Urich was always calm in his fights at the club because he knew he was overwhelmingly stronger than his opponents. He felt like he was a lion playing around with his prey, but today was different. Urich didnโt have the advantage. He cursed and raged in embarrassment and anger. He contracted every muscle in his body, not holding back a single ounce of strength.
Crush!
Urichโs fist slammed into the fighterโs face. The bones in his face shattered like they were brittle chalks, and his eyeballs protruded from their sockets from the pressure inside his skull.
โA-ah!โ
โN-noo!โ
The crowd screamed in terror.
Thud.
The fallen fighter was obviously dead. His face was ruthlessly mangled, and the eyeballs that were severed from the optic nerves were rolling on the sand. It would have been worse if he had somehow survived in this state.
The fight club in Ankaira was not a place where people fought to the death. It was just a place of entertainment for miners and gangsters to enjoy and gamble on exciting brawls.
โAh, I got carried away. I killed him by accident,โ Urich said casually as if it was no big deal and wiped the dead fighterโs blood off his fist.
โUrich! I told you not to kill him, that it isnโt allowed!โ Donau snapped at Urich. Things quickly became extremely difficult. A man had been beaten to death inside the city. There were plenty of witnesses, so they wouldnโt get charged for intentional murder. However, they still broke the rules of the fight club.
โTheyโll never let us in here again, damnit!โ
This was the real reason why Donau was so angry. The fight club was his source of income. He had been spending a fortune as if heโd already made all his money from Urichโs fights, which meant that he was about to be buried under a mountain of debts with no way of paying them back.
โDonau, Urich, donโt come back here for a while,โ the arena manager asserted. He said a while, but really, this meant a permanent ban.
โWhat just happened? Did he kick us out just because I killed one person? What, people donโt die in fights here?โ Urich jumped around, screaming in anger. The other men couldnโt make out what he was saying, but they quickly realized that he was outraged. The armed guards slowly approached them.
โStop it, Urich! Weโve got to get out of here.โ Donau urgently talked Urich down. If Urich got into a fight with the guards and accidentally killed one of them, that would really mean big trouble.
โThis guy is a killing machine.โ
Donau knew the real Urich. He had seen it himself. He jogged his memory back to their first meeting when Urich treated the lives of three men like nothing. A chill ran down his spine. The fear he had for Urich a while ago slowly came back. Urich was a terrifying man.
โMaybe itโs time for me to move on from this guy.โ
After all, Donau was a con man who thrived on betrayal and scams.