YM778.TV Chapter 15: Among the strong
"Just as you described. He tried to get my Codex measured."
Litha shrugged in an an an \'I told you so\', way and they began to walk away from the area. Temur was telling them about a restaurant he wanted to go to because their food was too good when someone ran into Jael from behind.
He turned, expecting an apology, but then he saw who it was. "Mopi!" Now Jael was even more confused because the \'running into\' was intentional.
And Mopi wasn\'t a good actor because he scratched his head and smiled sheepishly. "Ah...Jael! I don\'t know you are here. See me running into you...ah ah ah."
Jael looked down at the shorter boy with his brows raised. "You ran into me."
"Well, yes, sorry. It\'s a mistake, my foot slipped."
"That\'s strange. Why would an Iron rank be clumsy?" Litha looked at him with narrowed eyes and Mopi shrunk back, looking down and using his booted toes to scuff the ground. "Are you following us?"
Then she lowered her voice. "Do you snitch?"
He jumped back and pulled his hand in the air. "No! Of course not! I\'ll also get into trouble if I say anything!" He sounded offended.
"Now come on, Litha. I\'m sure Mopi just wanted familiar faces with all that happened. He got the worst of it, remember?" Temur said.
Litha snorted, opened her mouth to say something, then saw the look on Temur\'s face. "Alright. Alright, big guy."
He ignored her words and beamed at Mopi. "We are going to a restaurant that is serving cold monster meat; somehow, it has to be on fire as we eat it, but don\'t worry, our Iron body will handle it."
Jael smiled. \'I was right about Temur. He\'s like a big bear. A friendly big bear\'. They began to follow Temur\'s big bulk as he carved a way for them to effortlessly amidst the crowd.
They walked away from the registration area and joined a still-busy road, but with the bear leading the way, there was no hassle. He led them to a less busy street promising to lead them through a shortcut that\'s faster to where they are going.
The street is broader and deserted, an alley that stank of who knows what. Their booted feet are the only sound on the cobbled ground.
Hermit alerted Jael, and his right hand moved before he even knew it needed to; it whipped up like a cobra striking and caught the stone meant for his head. "What the" Jael said, looking at his hand in surprise; Hermit had moved to protect him from what his eyes couldn\'t see.
Temur and the rest heard and they moved faster than Jael, not Mopi though, who still looked clueless.
"Who are you?" Temur demanded, like a person removing a cloth and putting on another; he no longer looked like a friendly bear; all teeth were bared as he raised his sword.
The boy that threw the stone was an Elf with spiky brow hair; he crouched on top of a dumpster, and his Codex in the shape of a single eagle wing floating above him.
"I\'m Tim but don\'t mind me, big guy. I\'m only after that one." Tim pointed at who Thayer said he should test out. Really, why did it have to be the skinny guy who looked at everything as if this was his first time in the Tower? "I won\'t have minded if it\'s you, but alas I must beat that one."
Litha stood at the front, her hands on her hips. "Who sent you? We are not looking for a fight."
Tim stood and jumped down; he looked her up and down with a smirk then he looked at the guy. "You hide behind a girl?"
Jael...was baffled. How exactly did he get himself into this? But he knew one thing for certain: he wanted to shut that spikey Elf boy up. He joined Litha and then moved to the front of her. "Do you have a problem with that?"
Tim raised his hand. "Of course not. But now you have come forward. Do you want to fight me? I want to fight you, Thayer told me you are powerful. I want to see that myself."
"Thayer?" Jael asked.
Litha hissed, she looked around and as she expected, she saw a small drone flying above them. "Thayer Argent. He\'s a legacy Climber, a rich brat....."
"A powerful rich brat," Temur added.
"Yes, unfortunately. He\'s going around trying to recruit those who are strong to create a team to climb the Tower together. We haven\'t even started the first test but he\'s already doing something like that." Litha explained.
"So he had asked you two?"
"Of course. We turned him down."
Jael didn\'t know how to feel about that. On one hand, he doesn\'t want to draw attention or make enemies, and on the other hand, he feels pride that on his second day in the Tower, he is already being counted as one of the among the strong.
\'But do I have just start fighting? I don\'t even know how to fight properly. I\'ve not trained. What if I make a mistake and....\'
"Jael!" Temur rumble. "It\'s a free fight. I\'ll advise you to do it."
"But.." Litha began but Temur shook his head. She kept quiet. They both knew that in Tower, fighting can\'t be avoided; it is a must, and if you don\'t want to be stepped on, then let them know you can fight. "It\'s your choice." She said.
Tim waited. \'Jael. They call him. This was who Thayer said he should fight to prove his worth. Him? I\'ll fold him quickly and then I\'ll bend the other two\'
Jael stepped forward. That\'s right. This is the Tower here, and if he wants to climb to the top, then it would be better to start showing it now. "My name is Jael. Do you want to fight me? Lucky me, I\'ve not tested this body yet.
Not to talk of Hermit."