Chapter 207 – Unexpected Encounter
“Correct. No need to worry, you’ll be paid properly.”
He closed his eyes for an instant, following which he acquiesced.
“I’ll do it.”
His comrades were startled by his decision.
“Are you serious, Ouxai? We don’t know anything about him.”
“And it’s your precious rest day.”
“It’s fine, guys. I’ll take the risk. And with that money, I can take another rest day, right?”
Since he made sense, they didn’t try to persuade him anymore. The fisherman then turned toward me.
“I’m Ouxai. Come with me, trader.”
“Please call me Tila.”
“Good, Tila. Come, let’s go earn some money.”
I followed him out of the tavern. Now that we had a deal, I paid a bit more attention to his person. He was a tall grey wolf, a young rank zero in his twenties, with water affinity. His strides were quick and confident, showing he had a strong and determined character.
He headed straight toward the docks and walked on a specific pontoon. He then stopped and pointed at a specific boat.
“That’s my boat. It’s small, but it’s reliable.”
Just like he said, it was a compact boat, one that could maybe fit five people at most. It had both sails and oars, with a large fishing net resting at the back.
“It’s a nice boat.”
“I can tell you know nothing about boats. No need for extra flattery. I got it from my mother, and I’ve been keeping it in shape since. Never had a problem with it.”
I nodded, and he raised his eye to look up, squinting at the sun.
“Tila, meet me here in five… no, in four hours. I’ll come back with what you want.”
“I’ll be here. Do you have any good ideas on how to keep the fish alive on your boat?”
“Yeah, I think it’s possible. Leave it to me. Just prepare the money for when I’m back.”
“Great. I wish you good luck.”
“Thanks.”
He untied the rope keeping the boat attached to the docks, jumped on his ship, raised the sail, and immediately left the port. I watched him maneuver around the other boats expertly, and a few minutes later, he was already far on the horizon. It helped that there was a nice wind constantly blowing over the coast, making it great for traveling swiftly.
I now had four hours to waste and went back to stroll around the city. After roaming for a bit more on the port, I returned to the city center. Turning a corner, I noticed a cheering crowd standing in a circle, surrounding something I couldn’t see from where I was. Curious, I walked there, squeezing through the people in front of me until I managed to get a view of what was happening, and was startled.
Two species were fighting in the middle, using their fists to throw vicious blows at each other. Both were rank 2 sorcerers, one male fox and one female rhinoceros. So far, it wasn’t anything exceptional since this sort of thing happened a lot, even in Geola.
The thing was, however, that the woman was none other than Selva, the mercenary rhinoceros who escorted me two times already. I looked around to check where Wico was, but couldn’t see her flying form anywhere.
Left with no other choice, I could only watch the match unfold in front of my eyes.
“Focus on her left side, Frik! Her left side!”
“A straight punch! Don’t you dare lose against a foreigner!”
“50 coppers on Frik!”
“One silver on the rhinoceros! She’s strong!”
“Traitor! 70 coppers on Frik!”
“Now! Strike now! Ah, no, not like that!”
The crowd was extremely noisy, and there was even one specific canine woman going around collecting bets. The combat was very intense, especially since both were of the same rank and, as coincidence would have it, also of the same earth affinity. They were giving their all to break their opponent's defense, using feints and complicated footwork, but both had a hard time concluding the fight. It was well-known that earth affinity sorcerers were particularly skilled in safeguarding themselves, making the combat a long one, which also excited the onlookers even further.
Both fighters were noticeably bruised now, but the fire in their eyes was burning strongly, neither willing to retreat even one step. Selva was using Wico’s martial art I had seen her fight with and practice, which used a combination of hands and leg strikes. The fox, on the other hand, was focusing mostly on hand strikes while moving quickly around Selva, seeking an opportunity.
At one point, he feinted, striking her, only to swiftly rotate to the side and strike again from there. Selva’s eyes flashed. She took the hit with her body and, against expectations, she grabbed the man’s arm and didn’t let him go, enduring the pain of the hit.
“Argh! Let go! Let go!”
The man struck her arm, trying to escape her hold, but she didn’t budge a centimeter. Then, she lifted her other arm and sent a strong blow toward his belly.
“Ugh! Shit!”
He had no choice but to get hit, groaning in pain, and Selva didn’t stop there. She hit again, and again, all the while he was striking her arm to get away. In the end, he was the first to fall, the damage to his belly accumulating too quickly. His legs lost their strength, and right as Selva was going to give the finishing blow, a man stopped her fist. He was a rank 5 fox sorcerer and nodded slightly at her.
“You win, rhinoceros. Take the money.”
I noticed there was a bowl with money on the periphery of the fighting area, which Selva promptly pocketed, wincing a little in pain as she bent forward. Most of the crowd seemed disappointed by the results but a few cheered for her.
“Haha! Five-to-one odds. I earned big!”
“Darn it, Fik!”
“Can’t believe he let himself get grabbed like this.”
“You fought well, rhinoceros!”
“One more match! One more match!”
“Yeah! Venar! Go and beat her!”
“Venar! Venar! Venar!”
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