Chương 18: Ambition

CLICK! Evel looked down to the source of the sound; the red compass had snapped to a new location. Evel's mood lifted, freedom was on the horizon! The sky had a brush of orange as the sun began its descent, its hot rays gradually replaced by a cool breeze. It had been about four hours of sitting under the tree, eating fruit, and occasional conversation. By now, even his injuries had partially healed. He had been able to replace his previous bandages with new ones from nearby leaves and more torn clothes.

Diana revealed in an earlier conversation that she had already killed three people before going for him already, a fact that reminded Evel of the situation he was in. He was in danger. Yet the woman beside him didn't strike much fear into his heart. She simply sat with a bored look on her face staring blankly into the trees. But the threat was real. She was clearly experienced in battle and had an insane affinity to support.

He looked down at the compass which had recently realigned and saw the direction it was pointing towards. It was towards Diana.

"Dammit." It seemed the supervisors or automatic system didn't recognize the two of them as a group. He looked over to Diana, seeing that she also had a foul expression. She had realized the same thing.

"What if we just went our separate ways and promised not to kill each other?" She offered with a forced smile. Evel snorted.

"We've gone over this, only if you leave your bow." Diana let out a deep sigh before her gaze travelled back out into the distance. For Evel, this makeshift arrangement wasn't too bad. He was injured, and despite the fact that both the Skydart behind him and the sniper to his side would take the opportunity to kill him in a heartbeat, he felt safe. His feet were healing up, and his mind had cleared up as well. Somehow, despite the potential risk of his situation, the reality of it was quite good.

Perhaps he could even stall the rest of the challenge in this situation. Sure, he may not get additional rewards, but his own life was the priority right? Yet a part of him wanted more. Diana's speech had made him think hard about how he could make the most of this opportunity. A seed of ambition took root within him. Evel gazed out into the clearing, observing his surroundings. A murder of crows flew overhead, with consistent, echoing caws. The trees rustled in the wind, as a few leaves gently floated down.

A trail of insects marched by his feet. A small rodent remained still, chewing on a fallen inane, unaware of the snake that followed close by. Evel watched in interest, as the snake slithered closer and closer until it was within striking range. Its head rose up from the ground as it prepared to strike, but it never did. Just as the meal seemed secure, the snake froze, before scurrying off into the distance. The rodent immediately stopped eating as well, and ran off, following the snake. Evel frowned.

What just happened. As if responding to his question a cold shiver ran down his spine as a deathly aura swept over his body. The corners of Evel's lips raised, as he instantly recognized the familiar feeling. Evel and Diana both jolted on their feet at the same time, both activating their abilities. Diana's aloof face had been wiped, replaced by a cold, hardened look. The hunter had returned.

She picked up the bow, temporarily disregarding the risk of Evel entirely as she readied her arrow, aimed in the direction of the aura. This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

"We need a temporary truce, this guy is dangerous." With the quick instruction, she took a few back steps as she fully focused on the new threat. Evel couldn't help but internally laugh at her instructions. Betray my hero? Absolutely not!

"Don't worry too much, that's just my reinforcements." He was quick to brag. Diana winced, but her gaze didn't leave the forest.

"How did someone like you become friends with a guy like him?" Evel shrugged.

"Lunch?" Evel hadn't seen Diana this serious before. Even in their previous confrontation, Diana clearly hadn't been going all out. This new threat however, was considered with the utmost caution. It was easy to understand why, after all, Bremin was unbelievably strong. But Diana was no slouch. In an even battle, or from a distance, perhaps she could beat Bremin one-on-one. Diana's eyes swiftly traveled to the Skydart behind her, before focusing on the forest once more.

She whispered, just loud enough that Evel could barely make it out,"Sorry man, this is my only option." In a rapid, fluid motion Diana pivoted her bow to Evel, and she took a deep breath in.

"COME OUT TO THE CLEARING AND DROP YOUR WEAPON OR I SHOOT YOUR FRIEND." Her scream boomed into the forest, and before long, from the shade of the imposing trees, a shadowed figure emerged. Donned in a bloodied grey hood, a bronzed skinned man with a deep scar on his lips walked out without expression. In his right arm he was holding a straight double-edged sword, and in his left a black compass. His head slowly turned to look at Evel. Diana's bow was firmly aimed at his heart but there was no fear in his eyes.

Evel gave Bremin a subtle but confident nod. Bremin's head turned back around to look at Diana. Then, He vanished. The ground cracked below his feet as he accelerated. At the same moment, Diana released the arrow at Evel, showing no signs of hesitation. While the arrow barreled toward Evel, she hurled a knife from her belt at Bremin. The way she aimed it forced Bremin to dodge right, where she would shoot her next arrow.

She quickly reached into her quiver, she only had between the time the knife traveled from her to Bremin to reload her next shot. But her arrows wouldn't budge! It was as if they were stuck to the bottom of the quiver. She gulped and frantically reached into her belt, her hands stumbling as she unsheathed her shortsword. She grit her teeth and took a defensive stance.

"Don't kill her!" A familiar voice rang from beside her. Her eyes opened in shock as her head jerked to see Evel who was watching her with a grin.

"You're alive?" When she tried to move, her legs were glued to the ground. But it wasn't because she was panicking. A firm wire had somehow coiled around her ankles and held her in place as Bremin got within reach. BAM! Her sword was smacked away flying. As she recovered from the recoil of the impact, a hooded figure covered her vision, his sword at her neck. With a pale expression, she slowly raised her shaking hands.

"I give up." Evel walked up to Bremin with a grin and patted him on his shoulder.

"To be honest, I doubted you'd come find me." Bremin looked back expressionless and took out a bloodied red compass. Then another. Then another. Then another. He dropped them at Evel's feet.

"There was nobody else." Evel winced. Ouch. So I was his last resort huh? Well, considering he hasn't killed Diana yet at my request, he's probably just bad with words.

"Well… glad you made it." Then, Evel turned back around to Diana, who was staring at him with disbelief in her eyes.

"How?" she demanded through a clenched jaw.

"My arrow, those traps, was the 60 a lie?" Evel couldn't help but smile, seeing his failed assassin now wholly defeated.

"No, my affinity is indeed that bad." As for the rest of her questions, Evel wouldn't answer them. He couldn't tell her that he used Eth to slightly push her bow off course, as he dodged in the other direction, after all, Eth was his greatest weapon.

"A magician doesn't reveal their secrets." Diana narrowed her eyes.

"You're scarier than you look," Diana said with a resigned smile.

"What now?" For the second time, she asked Evel this question. Again, he had managed to grab complete control over the situation and overcome her threat. Evel ignored her question again, asking a question of his own.

"So, how exactly does your ability work?" Although this was a question generally considered taboo to ask, Diana didn't attempt to hide her skills, not with a sword at her neck.

"It lets me manipulate the outcome of my shots, adding certain effects, explosions, increased weight on the target and all that… and I can only have two empowered shots at a time." This may just work… Evel shifted slightly, now facing both Diana and Bremin. In front of him were two of the most capable people in the forest; Diana watched Evel closely and Bremin's eyes remained fixed on Diana. With the seed of ambition sprouting within him, he made an extremely bold proposal.

"Why don't we form a team?" Unmoving, Bremin immediately asked, "Why?"

"You could get a reward for killing her, sure, but could you defeat one of the sealed beasts?" No response.

"I seriously doubt the rewards are the same for both humans and beasts. Beasts require groups, which means rewards would have to be split. So what would that loot look like split up three ways? I imagine it would be quite a bit more profitable than just one kill, I'll vouch for Diana in terms of her skill, she's on the same tier as you." Bremin remained silent.

"Works for me." Diana agreed immediately. After all, if they didn't form this team there was no reason for her to stay alive. The specifics didn't matter. Bremin looked blankly behind Diana, at the towering Skydart. If he felt unsure, he didn't show it.

"Us three?" Evel nodded determinedly.

"She'll cooperate?" If Diana were to stab them in the back during a crucial battle they'd all die, after all.

"We don't bear hatred against each other, a few annoyances maybe, but that's it. An opportunity like this won't come again, and she's shown to be quite ambitious. She'll grab onto it." Bremin's eyes shifted from Diana to Evel. After a second he nodded, and sheathed his sword. Diana recovered her footing and quickly sprung back up, rubbing her neck where the sword had just been. She looked at Evel, then at Bremin. With a sigh, she walked over to grab her bow that had been knocked over.

It seemed Evel had the right read on her. She'd take the risk. She walked back, weapon in hand as her eyes traveled to the giant beast ahead of her. The three individuals stood shoulder to shoulder, as the eyes of Evel and Bremin followed Diana's gaze. The beast ahead of them was monstrous and with just the three of them, the risk would be enormous. And so would the reward.