Second World

Jack couldn't believe it. Was this guy planning to pick a fight wherever he went? Jack was beginning to think that his act of saving Bowler might well bring him more troubles than blessings.

As Bowler continued to berate the gangsters, the leader made another gesture to the white-robed Magician. The Magician came closer and used his Inspect skill on Bowler. He then whispered something to the leader. The leader made a disdainful smirk before nodding to one of his subordinates.

The subordinate pulled out his longsword and came forward while uttering, "If you want to be a hero, at least make sure you are strong enough, for God's sake. I hate people with a big mouth like you."

As the gangster with the longsword came forward, the crowd separated forming a corridor with Bowler and the gangster at either end.  When they saw each other for the first time, their eyes went wide.

"It's you, the loudmouth fool!" the gangster shouted.

"It's you! You motherf***ing backstabbing prick!" Bowler yelled back.

With the two of them pointing and cursing at each other, it was obvious that they knew each other. Another person from the gang came out as well.

"Unbelievable! How can you still be alive?" he said. "You must have a shit load of good luck to have gotten away from those Goblins."

"Yeah, I used up all my bad luck when I met you two traitorous assholes!"

From their exchanges, Jack figured that these two were Bowler's old teammates who had tricked him into becoming Goblin bait and then abandoned him: a Fighter and a Ranger.

The gangster with the hatchet approached. "You two know that clown?" He asked.

"Yeah, he's the fool that we mentioned, the one we used as bait."

"Didn't you say he was dead?"

"That's what we thought. We figured there was no way he'd get away from that group of Goblins. I have no idea how the idiot managed to escape."

The man with hatchet spat, "well then, go finish what you started. Take it as an initiation task for you two joining our gang. Our Weary Wolf Gang doesn't take in members who do things halfway."

The Fighter with the longsword gave a savage grin. "It will be a piece of cake," he said.

His partner, the Ranger, took out a dagger and chimed in, "actually, I'm kind of glad he managed to make it. His jabbering drove me crazy during our time together. Now I get the chance to shut him up for good."

As the two of them walked forward with menacing glares, the man with hatchet yelled out, "those who are not involved, please step aside, or else we will not be responsible for any harm that is inflicted on you!"

The crowd moved further away after hearing the threat, creating a wider space between Bowler and the two incoming gangsters. Jack found it funny and sad at the same time. These people had been hollering about unfair treatment a few moments ago, but now that someone had stood up for them, they acted as if this had nothing to do with them. Jack figured this was one of the reasons why weak people were easily bullied.

Bowler, on the other hand, didn't show any sign of backing off. He took out his staff and said, "We are going to settle our score today. You think I'm afraid because there are two of you? I also have my brother and sister here."

As Bowler said this, the two approaching men realized that there were still two people near Bowler who were not stepping aside. Jack gave Bowler an exasperated look, thinking, 'So he had intended to involve them from the start? No wonder he acted so courageously.'

Fierce Flame, however, was not about to let herself get dragged into the mess, she moved away and said, "I'm not involved in this."

Bowler looked at her and said, "Sister! How can you be so heartless? I thought we were starting to grow on each other?"

"Grow your ass!" Flame denounced him with disgust. How could this guy be so shameless?

Jack applauded Flame for teaching this shameless guy a lesson. He, however, didn't move away. He might not have many friends, but he never let down the ones he did have in their time of need. Since he had only met the fellow two days ago, he did not completely trust Bowler yet.  However, Bowler had never done anything that made him a bad friend. Therefore, he would consider Bowler as a friend and would stick to his code and not abandon a friend in need.

The Fighter laughed with contempt, "Heh, trying to act tough. Even if you have helpers, don't think that you will get out of here alive. And you there!" He looked at Jack, "if you interfere, don't blame us for showing no mercy."

The gang leader with the hatchet called for the white-robed Magician, "check his level."

The magician did as he was told, but after a while, his forehead formed a frown. "I can't see his level," he reluctantly admitted.

"How can that be?" The leader asked.

"Well, based on my experience, there are two possible reasons: either is his Inspect skill is higher grade than mine, or he is at least two levels higher than me."

"Isn't your level already 10? Are you saying he is level 12? How can that be? We have continuously hunted monsters together in a group and we aren't that level yet. They are only three people. Two, really, considering that loud mouth used to be those jokers' mate. How could they grind monsters better than us?"

"Then his Inspect skill must be already Advanced Apprentice," the magician shrugged. "How he upgraded his skill so fast is an equally intriguing mystery."

"Never mind. Fox, be ready to cast your spell to assist when needed," the leader said to the Magician in black robe by his side. "We can't afford to let any of these people see us as weak."

Fox nodded, and moved into a line of sight that would allow her to interfere when needed.

When the two approaching gangsters came within five meters of Bowler, he cast Energy Bolts. He had the advantage of long-range attacks; he would not just stand there and wait for those two to come to melee range. The four bolts scattered out, two bolts headed to each of the men.

The Fighter simply barreled through the bolts. They caused less than 20 damage each. He was aware of the amount of damage Bowler could do, since they had traveled together, and was completely unafraid of this spell. The Ranger did a roll on the ground and the bolts sailed past him. The target seeking mechanism of Energy Bolts couldn't do a sharp turn back, so they expired after a while without managing to hit the Ranger.

The Fighter's forced advance closed the distance to Bowler very quickly. Bowler never expected this and was completely panicked! He stepped backwards as fast as he could, sweat pouring off him.

"You can't run away!" The Fighter shouted as he used Power Strike. His longsword swung in an arc that targeted Bowler's head. But before the weapon could connect, a loud clang rang out. The longsword was stopped just a few inches from Bowler, shocking everyone. 

Jack had extended his hand and stopped the longsword with his black sword. The Fighter was using his two hands to push his longsword forward, but Jack's one extended hand was completely steady. The Fighter felt like he was pushing against a solid wall. Not managing to move forward, he broke away and retreated two steps.

"Who are you? Do you really intend to make enemies of our Weary Wolf Gang?" He yelled.

Instead of replying to the man, Jack turned to Bowler and said, "Move back. Attack when you find the opportunity."

"You are the man!" Bowler said with profound gratitude and retreated several steps back.

The Fighter, angry at being ignored, bellowed, "So you're tired of living already! You will regret your decision today! No, you will not live long enough to regret your decision!"

Jack looked at the Fighter with icy distain.. "How noisy! If you're going to attack, just attack already. What are you running your mouth off for?"