Skill Hunter -Kill Monsters, Acquire Skills, Ascend to the Highest Rank!

250. Negotiations

They stood there for longer than Ike expected. Fifteen, thirty, forty-five minutes passed, and still no sign of Rufus. Standing at the wall, arms crossed, Ike frowned a little to himself. Had he misread the situation? Maybe Rufus really was too proud to ever come to his door. Or maybe the monsters had killed Rufus' men, and Rufus, down to the very last of them. Maybe he should have run over.

At that thought, Ike shook his head. He wasn't going to exert effort to help Rufus. Rufus came to him, or he didn't, but he wasn't going to overreach his own exhaustion to go find the man and offer him help—help that Rufus might yet refuse. If he offered it, he was subservient to Rufus, and propping the man up. If Rufus came to him and asked for help, then Rufus was subservient to him. That was the relationship he wanted, not the former.

Gods, I can't even imagine. Being subordinate to Rufus? Yikes. It sounded like a way to die real fast, if he was honest. A commander who ignored the situation in front of him to listen to the biased views of his advisors… yeah. If he won this, and subsequently had to hand over the reins of kingship to someone, it wouldn't be to Rufus. Scar, maybe, or Vi. Vi definitely knew how to lead an organization, the way she ordered her men around. Scar struck him as a bit like himself; a scrappy kid who knew how to fight, but probably wasn't that interested in leading or ruling. So I guess Vi's the best answer. Sure, it was a little worrying handing over the kingship of… who knew how many cities to an assassin clan, but on the other hand, they'd probably rule efficiently.

Though, to be completely honest, he was pretty sure this whole trial, and the handing over of kingship, was largely symbolic. The cities here were warlike and constantly at war with one another, according to Wisp. He couldn't imagine they'd all unite and happily bow their heads to one king or queen just because that person had passed some random trial. At best, this trial gave one of the clans some form of legitimacy to their claim of kingdom, but that was all. They'd have to beat all the other clans into submission to actually gain control of the area.

After all, if someone suddenly declared themselves king of my homeland… Ike snorted at the thought. Lord Brightbriar would have a few things to say about that. Anyone trying to take over the area would have to be legitimately strong enough to conquer every other city lord, and good luck, honestly.

Unless the skill was that powerful. He licked his lips in anticipation. If it really was a world-shaking skill like that… heh. Who cared about Lord Brightbriar's plans and his subtle puppetry? He could simply bash his way up to his city's highest levels and directly challenge Lord Brightbriar to a duel.

For a moment, he allowed himself to imagine it. Him, charging through the city, tearing Lord Brightbriar from his glittering throne and mashing his face into the dirt until it completely lost its handsome features. He grinned for a few seconds, then waved his hand, banishing the thought. No skill was that powerful. Whatever the skill was, it would probably scale to the user's Rank at best. He should consider it like Lightning Dash: a powerful edge, one that could be near-infinitely extended, but not an absolute, overwhelming power with no counter.

Mag perked up. He'd been perched on the battlements the whole time, sitting on the very edge of the crenelations in human form, bare toes wrapped over the edge, but now he stood. "They're coming."

Ike stood up firmly, pushing his thoughts into the back of his mind. Wisp crept up beside him, lurking at the wall. Mag jumped off the wall, transforming his arms mid-leap. He winged up to the top of the tower and perched on the flagpole, watching from high above.

A line of ragged figures paraded out of the forest. Rufus led them, but the old man was close behind. One of Rufus' men was badly injured, to the point he was being carried by other mages rather than walking on their own. The mercenaries had vanished entirely, gone somewhere rather than sticking around to the bitter end. At that, Ike let out a silent sigh of relief. He hadn't wanted to deal with those guys. He'd dodged that group as hard as he could. He didn't want to get stuck with them after all that.

Rufus glared up at Ike. Ike looked down at him, doing his best not to smirk. Ha. After all that nonsense, all that posturing, here you are. Looking up. Begging for help.

Rufus gritted his teeth. He took a deep breath, then looked Ike in the eyes. "Greetings, fellow challenger."

"Greetings," Ike returned, a bit of a grin on his lips.

"I seek refuge," Rufus started.

"Sure. Come on in."

Rufus startled. He stared at Ike in surprise.

Ike smiled. "Well, there's a few conditions, of course. But I'm sure you, someone who has already failed the trial, would understand a few conditions, right? Your life is in the winner's hands, after all."

Rufus glared, but lowered his head slightly, rather to Ike's surprise. Then again, I suppose he was just unable to react to unexpected circumstances. If he knew this trial well, then he knew it was an option to lose, but not die, and the consequences thereof. He cleared his throat and continued. "You'll be expected to fight and follow my orders. On my signal, you will take the field. When I signal, you will retreat. Do you understand?"

Rufus glanced at the old man. The old man nodded, and so, Rufus hesitantly nodded.

"Hey! Eyes on me, kiddo. I'm not asking your grandpa. I'm asking you," Ike said, jabbing his finger at Rufus.

Rufus whipped around. He glared at Ike. "What did you call me?"

"Kiddo! If you don't want to be treated as a child, then don't look to someone else to answers. Give me your own answer. Do you understand? Will you follow my orders? I don't want you to tell me that grandpa over there will follow my orders. I want you to tell me that you'll follow my orders." Discover exclusive content at empire

Rufus' face flushed red. His mouth opened and shut, like a fish out of water. He started to glance at the old man, then forcibly turned his head away. Looking Ike in the eye, glaring as ferociously as Ike had ever seen him glare, he said, "Yes."

"That's what I'm talking about." Ike lifted his eyes to the rest of the group, including the old man. "When I say rest, you rest. When I say fight, you fight. Am I clear?"

The mages nodded. A few saluted.

"I can't hear you."

"Yes, sir!"

Ike nodded. He looked down at the group and nodded slowly. His gaze landed on the old man, and he narrowed his eyes. "If any of you show the least sign of rebellion, I will have you executed on the spot. The trial gives me that right."

It was complete bullshit, but they wouldn't know that. Rufus furrowed his brows, confused and lost. The other men whispered amongst themselves, fearful. He watched the old man, waiting for him to squint or show some sign of disbelief, but the old man stared straight back, unflinching. He snorted and turned his eyes away. He couldn't tell if the old man had seen through him and simply hadn't reacted, or actually believed him. Between the old man and Rufus, he definitely was more cautious of the old man. Rufus was a toadie who thought he could be king. The old man was the actual threat.

"If you agree to my terms, then I accept your surrender," Ike said. "Relin, open the gates. By stepping through the gates, you indicate that you acknowledge your surrender and accept my terms."

The gates creaked open. Rufus marched forward, his eyes glued forward, refusing to look at the old man. The old man smiled slightly and followed after him. Like that, Rufus' men entered Ike's forces.

Now, we just wait for Vi and Scarlet.