Chapter 181 (1/2)

For a long time Randidly looked at the body hanging there. It was frustrating in a way. Shal claimed to be able to differentiate when or when not it was “necessary” to kill. And in his heart, he admitted that this was possible to an extent, and perhaps Shal was even more skilled at it than he. Most likely more skilled, even, Randidly admitted to himself.

But now… This man would make trouble for them. Randidly knew that the man this Jacktat worked for had a deep feud with Claptrap. He was also arrogant and petty, and the reason that he had allowed Randidly to inflict so many wounds on him, utilizing Edge of Decay to slowly weaken him, was that Jacktat couldn’t see past the fact that he was not an Artisan.

He was just a young disciple. And perhaps Jacktat hadn’t even bothered to learn that. This was just another mission for Jacktat. A routine job of intimidation and retribution.

This brought up another reason; Jacktat was not a good person. It was perhaps a flimsy reason, but it was a reason still.

He would make trouble in the future, he threatened their lives and livelihoods, he was not a good person…

Was this enough…?

Was this motivation enough to take a life?

Shal remained silent below, remaining stuck in training of some sort. Or, as Randidly actually suspected, dealing with the Aether Starvation that he had mentioned earlier. If even Shal was reduced to this sort of state by this… perhaps it was more troublesome than Randidly had feared.

Divvet glanced at the long sleeved woman across from him, who winked and flounced away, leaving them in peace. Then he sighed and turned to Randidly.

“Congratulations. It was a well fought match. That is the level of those I expect to be the contenders in the regional tournament. Although this man was beyond level 25, that is the type of opponent you will face. Are you prepared?”

Randidly nodded, trying his best not to stare at the corpse that remained on the boat, bleeding out. Divvit followed his gaze and sighed sorrowfully. Then he walked over to Randidly and clapped him on the back.

“Shal will be training for the next few days. We will need to leave in a week if we are to arrive in Deardun in time. You have already trained long hours in the Prison: why not take a break? Find your center. The Regional Tournament is long. Prepare yourself.”

Then Divvet turned away and glared at the male spear attendant, who was struggling to his feet. “Oy, foolish training dummy, clean up this mess. And stop making such an aggrieved face; you may have outlasted your opponents in perversion, but that does not make your performance satisfactory in my mind. Not at all.”

Randidly glanced around. Both Teliph and Helen were sitting with their spears beside them, breathing slowly. After a moment of hesitation, Randidly walked to the far end of the ship and took all the extra mana from his rings so he could summon a Weeping Cloud.

It was nice, for a while. To just enjoy the cool feeling of rain. Relieving, too, after all of the pointless drama of the past half hour. This was just a random flailing of the merchant that had tried to take over their boat. Randidly’s mouth tightened at the thought of a serious organization moving against them while Shal was occupied like this. Divvet was strong, but it was clear that one person alone was enough to deal with him.

That, or that mysterious woman was very, very strong.

But Randidly supposed that Divvet already knew about Shal’s condition, and wasn’t willing to risk a full on confrontation while Shal was recuperating. Randidly grimaced. It just demonstrated how weak he was, that his fight didn’t matter. There were much larger fish to fry than him.

On the other hand, he had done it. Held his own against an Artisan. Although washed up and idiotic as he was, it was an accomplishment. What chilled Randidly’s heart was that Divvet seemed to think that level was what the Regional Tournament would be at. If Jacktat had been a little more intelligent with his moves, or responsive to Randidly’s strategy…

But no, it wouldn’t do to think overmuch on it. What happened had happened. Randidly had taken the man’s life.