Depthless Hunger

As Kai walked through town, he tried not to skip like a love-struck idiot. It took some actual discipline, because his mood was fantastic.

From the way veterans complained at the bar, he'd gotten the impression that sex automatically made relationships complicated and messy. Everyone was either gripped by the truest love in all history or bitterly complaining about their partners. But so far, being with Juray had been... simple. There was a casual intimacy that hadn't been present before, but otherwise they still respected one another and worked on potions together. One very major thing was different, of course, but that seemed to leave them both happy.

With that relationship buoying his spirits, Kai had finally pushed through a number of tasks he'd been putting off. He'd taken the jeweled dagger from the smugglers to a weapons dealer and confirmed that, yes, it was simply an expensive dagger. Kai wasn't even surprised. He had gotten about fifty Eagles from the sale, and combined with the other items he'd recovered, he had over three hundred. Hardly a fortune, but enough to buy some of the magical items that top clan members received.

Not that he would, when there were so many other potential needs. Being in a relationship with Juray didn't grant him free supplies, but they did spend more time working on her Class potions. Using them, he'd been able to delve deeper and confirm, once and for all, that his Laborer Class didn't hold any other secrets.

Knowing that for certain was freeing in a way. He'd resolved to completely ignore it going forward and focus on what he could control. All his training over the past weeks had been paying off.

Name: Kai Granfian

Total Power: 59

Laborer Class: 11 (9)

Physique Level: F-2 (34)

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When he'd passed the ninth stage of Laborer, instead of evolving into a new form, it had begun granting him less overall power. Even though Physique improvement was supposed to slow substantially in the F rank, he'd still gone up two levels, which put him ahead of many of the adult hunters he saw.

Most strikingly, a Soul Level of 4 was higher than all but the serious veterans. He was fairly certain that it would never increase without more fights with his life on the line, so he didn't expect it to rise while he was in Monskon City. Though he had a few plans for how to potentially increase it without unnecessary risk, those were still in the works.

Overall, he didn't feel useless anymore. He might not be able to fight the elites, and in ten years Inafay would probably be far beyond him, but he wasn't weak. If there was really an attack, he would be able to save significant numbers of people from monsters.

Memories of the beast in the Frontier slithered through his mind and Kai's good mood temporarily faltered. If there was a true monster incursion like Gunjin feared...

For now, there was no reason to think about that. It was still some time until the next expected incursion, which wasn't predicted to be an overwhelming one. That gave him plenty of time to improve himself further.

Aside from his continued training, his primary goal was to find another source of power. Despite others warning him against it, he was seriously considering a trip to the Krysal City States. Power might come down to money there, but if he could somehow acquire their crystals, there was no way fate could reject him. It was just a matter of finding a chance that was an opportunity instead of pure recklessness.

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Tempting as it was to go back to visit Juray again, Kai was instead going outside the city to meet two burly men. He didn't exactly have an alliance with the Tonjin brothers, but he suspected they were willing to meet with him. Since he already had ways to find opportunities in the upper and middle tiers of the city, he needed to explore the lowest as well.

Eventually he found them in the same bar where they'd met before, Lofgan with a huge tankard of beer and Raghi with mug of mulberry wine. They smiled when they saw him, but Lofgan started the conversation gruffly.

"Fhazi is mad at you. Thought you should know."

"Why is he mad at me?" Kai gestured for a small beer and sat down at the side of the table between them. "I don't think I've even seen him in weeks."

"Apparently he was sweet on Inafay." Lofgan shrugged broadly, though it was hard for him to shrug in any other way. "Most rumors say she just hires you as a practice dummy, but he has his own ideas."

"Not really 'sweet on her,' " Raghi said into his mug. "Wants to fuck, more like."

"And I don't blame him! But obviously she's not going to pay attention to the little bastard."

Once that conversation might have made Kai uncomfortable, but now he found himself remarkably nonchalant. Instead of worrying about Fhazi any more, he turned the conversation toward the brothers and their current efforts at training.

Both of them had reached G-8, which he'd been able to tell at a glance, and felt like they were slowing down. Apparently men their size were only given strength-based techniques, which eventually led to bottlenecks in power. Kai was able to share a few suggestions with them in return for the Lantrian clan's best training methods for raw strength.

A more unexpected problem was that they were both slowing in their Class development. Prodigies like Inafay expected to hit Level 25 at minimum, but apparently average warriors only got significant help to 10 and usually stalled out in the teens. It made sense from a cynical perspective, since the power from their Class was enough to make a significant difference, but more would result in diminishing returns.

"Our best chance was the Hunter Trials," Raghi said morosely.

Kai lowered his drink enough to speak. "The enhancement scrolls were what you needed?"

"Yeah. But those were only for a few of the best. We never had much of a chance."

"There's the brawl, maybe." Lofgan spoke up, then immediately looked like he regretted it. The brothers glanced at one another as if they hadn't wanted to bring up the subject, so Kai pounced.

"What brawl is this?" he asked lightly.

The two traded monosyllabic attempts at dodging the question, but couldn't get away with it. Kai eventually persuaded them to tell him everything: apparently the "Brawl" was an underground fighting tournament hosted by one of the smaller families looking to increase their status. They were offering prizes usually only available from the stronger clans, but inviting less famous hunters, hoping to poach them from other organizations.

That had been exactly the sort of thing Kai had been hoping to learn about. The Tonjin brothers also knew about black markets and a monster fighting arena that sounded truly fascinating, but the Brawl was the event happening soonest. Kai badgered them into giving him the information and planned to attend.

Three days later, he walked through a run-down part of the lower city where he'd rarely visited. His mood was still excellent, and he was curious how well he could do in the informal tournament. Because it took place in a single day, he thought that his stamina would give him an edge, plus he had a healing potion from Juray in his pouch. The scrolls the brothers cared about wouldn't do him any good, but there were rumors of other prizes, even Krysali crystals.

He arrived at an unmarked building, where two guards frowned at him but led him to a hidden door in back. Their Power was only around 25, which didn't suggest the level of the tournament was particularly high, so his optimism dialed up just a little more.

On the other side of the door, he found himself in what he could only describe as an unusually large alleyway. The nearest buildings had enormous overhangs that almost brushed up against the city wall itself, leaving a shaded space underneath. From above, the enclosed space would be entirely invisible, but it contained a combat circle and even some rough stands for people to watch.

Immediately he looked for the Tonjin brothers, who were easy to spot due to their size. When they saw him, both immediately looked aghast. Lofgan made some sort of wild gesture of warning, while Raghi mouthed something that Kai couldn't quite make out.

"Not you too?" Fhazi shoved someone out of the way to emerge from between them. "I should have known you'd be here, Kai."

Both brothers lowered their heads, faces dulling to simpleminded bodyguards.

"These two idiots thought they could fight without me knowing and win treasures that would just be wasted on them." The Lantrian scion pulled on his gloves. "Grandfather says that it has to be allowed, but that doesn't mean we're going to let you win."

Even this development couldn't ruin Kai's mood, but before he could say anything, others began shouting from the ring. The fighting was already beginning.