A Hunter

I lifted up a small paper box, shaking it. Inside, I heard the dry rattle of small objects hitting each other. “Hey, are you sure this is food? This…” I flipped the box over. “Ma-ca-ro-ni and cheese?”

Martha checked the box I was holding, then nodded. “Yep. This is the best brand there is, swear on my life.”

She made a little cross over her chest, then tossed the box into the little red cart she was pushing, along with the rest of the items she had picked out.

We were currently situated in a building that resembled a flat brick, which to be honest looked pretty dull. What was different with this market, compared to those I was used to, was that everything was all in one place. And instead of stands selling one specific item, you apparently paid for it all at once.

Once Martha had picked out everything she needed, we arrived at what looked to be the place where you bought your desired items. It was a rectangular, metallic-looking platform, with a belt that was continuously moving, mysteriously. Several more of these platforms, maybe six, were fixed to the ground several feet away from each other, with a person wearing a green uniform behind each.

Something seemed wrong, though. It took me a moment to pinpoint what the problem was, but then it dawned on me. I tapped on Martha’s shoulder. “Where are the scales?”

“Scales?”

“Yeah.” I pulled out one of the boxes that Martha had selected. “How else do we figure out how much one of these costs?”

Martha gave a smile, taking the box from me. “Watch and learn, Gandalf.” Handing the box to the woman behind the counter, the woman held a device up to it, and a number appeared on the screen in front of me. Martha then proceeded to continue this process.

“You’re kidding me!” I got down on my knees, inspecting the device from up close. “There’s no way that’s not Detection Magic.”

“It’s called electricity, smarty-pants.” Martha smirked. “Everything here runs on it.”

I scoffed. “Electricity? What the hell is that?”

She opened her mouth to explain, but stopped suddenly as she realized the woman behind the counter was staring at us with a strange expression. The woman eyed Martha with what seemed to be a look of pity. “Brought home a dense one, didn’t you?”

Martha’s face blushed a deep scarlet of embarrassment, and quickly averted her eyes from the woman as she shoved our food into a little bag.

“Y-Yeah, well, it’s the heart that counts…” Her voice trailed off, before she glared at me, tugging at my shoulder. “Get up. We’re getting out of here.”

As we stepped out of the automatic doors, the cold wind of dusk greeted us immediately. The sun had already almost set completely, leaving just traces of orange on the edge of a dark sky.

Martha zipped up her coat and crossed her arms. “You. From now on, no more magic talk in public. And, ask me questions about Earth later, because it makes you look like a total idiot.”

“Yeah, yeah. I –” Suddenly, I felt a strange sensation, and broke off. Looking around, in the corner of my vision, I could see a slender-looking man leaning against the side of the building and staring at me. As I glanced over, and as our eyes met, he turned away. “… got it.”

“I mean, I don’t want to have to suffer from secondhand embarrassment by just standing next to you,” Martha continued.

“Mm,” I murmured, as I started to walk towards the man. I didn’t know what it was, but there was something suspicious about him. The man tilted his wide hat downwards, and I could see his eyes studying me. Stopping in front of him, I raised an eyebrow. “Sorry, is there something you want from me?”

There was a moment’s pause, before a wide grin spread across the man’s face. I had less than a split-second to react, and I barely leapt out of the way as a bright yellow beam burst from the man’s fingertips. Feeling the air around my left side superheat, I grit my teeth as the beam shot down into the pavement. A thin hole was seared into the ground when the beam had hit, and I could see embers glowing at the bottom.

Letting out a lilting laugh, the man removed his wide-brimmed hat and performed a little bow. In the artificial light, I could now see his face clearly. The man had the sharp yellow eyes of a hawk, and a crooked nose that curved over his neatly trimmed moustache. A thin cigarette jutted out from between his lips, and the man took another draw out of his tobacco, blowing a fine sheen of smoke in front of his angular face. Clad in a wine-colored jacket and a matching fedora, it was a face, I was realized with a jolt, that I recognized from the tattered flyers in my world.

Bounty hunter Eli. I let out a growl. “That didn’t take you long. You guys already figured out where I was sent to?”

“Trust me, it wasn’t too difficult,” Eli smiled. “With the right amount of money, those Royal Infantry mages can do anything. And, I have to say, that spirit user’s instincts really are razor-sharp.”

“Don?”

I felt a chill run down my back as I heard that voice. Turning around, I saw Martha standing there, a look of fear plastered across her pale features. I forgot she was still here!

“Get out of here!” I thrust an arm out towards her. “This has nothing to do with you!”

I saw her terrified expression slowly change to one of acknowledgment, and she nodded quickly. As the sound of her footsteps faded away, I was surprised to feel myself breathe a sigh of relief.

“My, do you actually care about what happens to that woman?” He stared at me amusedly. “I had thought someone like you would never give a second thought about anyone other than yourself.”

I tensed my body. It would be near impossible to defeat someone like him with only one Tier 1 spell left for me to use. It would be best to avoid combat entirely.

“Hey, Eli,” I started, beads of sweat slowly forming on the back of my neck. “You know, there’s really no need for us to fight. I was just playing with those Royal Infantry stuck-ups. I wasn’t planning of killing any of them, I swear on it.”

Eli stopped for a second, before chuckling loudly. “Oh, Conqaide, I’m not fighting you because of some kind of personal grudge. No, your righteous moral alignment won’t pay me, will it? I’ve killed innocent men, women, and even children to secure my bounty. What makes you think you’re any different?”

His tone changed suddenly, and I could see the mad glint in his eyes even from where I was standing. “Burn.”

Jumping to the side, I just hardly got away in time once again. The beam of light flew past me, before piercing the side of one of the automatic chariots parked there, what Martha had referred to as a ‘car’. As I hit the ground, gravel digging into my palms and knees, a pungent smell entered my nose. The smell of oil. I turned my head and saw that the hole the beam had punched in the car was dripping oil onto the ground.

I’m really going to have to do this, huh? I got up shakily, facing the bounty hunter. If the five kingdoms were actively paying bounty hunters for my head, the chance of convincing Eli to stop fighting would be highly unlikely. But…

“You’re probably thinking,” Eli said, lighting a cigarette with the tip of his finger, “how is he able to use magic? How can he fight as if this were our normal, everyday world?”

Eli used a hand to unlatch the button holding his robe together, throwing it open, and my eyes widened. Attached to his belt, right where the buckle would normally go, was a large shard of Manalite crystal. “Feast your eyes on this. The Royal Infantry themselves supplied each of us bounty hunters with Manalite to give us an edge against you.”

No Tier 1 spell would be able to fatally wound Eli anyway, so I figured there wouldn’t be much of a downside to using this now. “Detect!”

Is that Manalite on his belt real? In response to my question, words and letters swirled around to form an answer. Genuine crystallized Manalite. Purity: 97%.

Does he have any magical barriers? I asked again.

A faint magic barrier is present, that protects against weak physical attacks. There is no barrier that resists magic.

Unfortunately, it seemed as if I wouldn’t be able to exploit his lack of magic resistance, since I had just used up the last of my magic.

“Detection magic? What, you don’t believe me?” Eli assessed me with those cool, calculating eyes. Taking a long draw from the cigarette, he blew out a thin line of smoke. “Seems like you don’t have any magic left, either. Otherwise, you would have blocked or counterattacked by now.”

“Don’t you underestimate me, Eli.” Kicking hard on the side of one of the cars, I shifted its position a little to the left, and broke off the long metallic bumper on its front. Hefting it up onto my shoulder, I pointed a finger at the bounty hunter. “I don’t need magic to defeat the likes of you.”

“I’d honestly like to see you try.” Eli raised both hands, and a ray of light burst out from each fingertip.

Quickly, I dived behind a different car. Three of the beams scattered against the pavement, leaving little scars, and I heard the rest clang against the metal shell like hail. From what I remember, Eli is an Adamant-type bounty hunter. As in, he sacrificed his ability to use most other kinds of magic in order to specialize in one specific type.

Jumping out from behind the car, I swung my makeshift weapon with a growl. Deftly dodging my swings, Eli looked more entertained than anything. Giving one last blow, I swung my bat hard. Eli ducked down and the bat flew over his head, hitting a metal sign that read ‘STOP’ hard enough that its metal pole bent out of shape. Before Eli could shoot more beams of light at me, I ran behind another car. Given their positions, I could change which car I hid behind, and Eli wouldn’t know where I was.

“Oh? Are we playing a game of hide-and-seek?” Eli smiled, turning his head left and right. “But you’re going to have to come out eventually in order to take my Manalite crystal, correct?”

I scowled, grabbing a nearby piece of debris from one of Eli’s attacks off the ground. If I was going to beat him, I would need to time this just right. I couldn’t afford to make a single mistake.

“Come out, come out, there’s no use in resisting! There’s not one bounty hunter who could possibly lose to a magic-deficient coward like you!” Eli thrust an arm out, and a large beam of light erupted from his palm, striking all the way through a random car. As soon as his back was turned, I leapt onto the top of the car, and launched myself towards where he stood.

Tucking the bat under my left arm and pulling back my right hand, I flung the clump of gravel I had picked up as hard as I could towards him. “I told you, I don’t have to use magic to fight!”

The rock’s trajectory curved, slamming into Eli’s belt. With a clatter, the rosy pink chunk of Manalite dislodged itself from the middle, and I could see Eli’s smug face quickly morph into a scowl. He clearly didn’t expect that.

Knocking him off to the side from the air, I landed on the ground with a thump, and reached down for the piece of Manalite.

If I can just get my hands on it…

At that moment, a ray of light burst past me. I pulled my fingers back at the last moment, and I could feel the heat on the back of my hand as the beam flew past and shattered the Manalite crystal. I turned back with a look of shock. “What the hell? You destroyed it!”

Eli’s laugh transformed into a loud guffaw, and he sneered at me.

“Conqaide, you truly are an imbecile!” Pulling apart his robe, he revealed several more Manalite crystals attached to the sides of his body. “Why would I only bring one piece of Manalite? Do I look stupid to you?”

He brought up both hands, and another beam of light came flying at me. Jumping up and swinging my weapon, I deflected the beam to the side, and my bat smashed up into the side of a large circular mirror mounted on a pole. This swing made Eli quickly step back, in order to avoid the falling shards. I landed on the ground, pieces of mirror falling around me onto the floor, and I lifted the metal bat above Eli’s head, preparing to slam the weapon into his skull. “I don’t care if you have more Manalite or not! You don’t have time to aim another attack!”

“Fool.” Eli calmly twisted his finger midair. “Curving Arrow!”

The beam of light I deflected twisted in the air, and shot back towards me, burning a hole through my left shoulder. Sudden pain exploded through me, and I cried out in agony, my weapon falling out of my left hand. I dropped to the ground, cradling my shoulder. Warm blood soaked through my tattered shirt onto the gravel, and I realized that this was the first time in a long while someone else had caused me to bleed.

“You didn’t really expect such a straightforward attack to work on me, did you, Conqaide?” Eli chuckled, adjusting his wide-brimmed hat. “Seems like it was you who underestimated me in the end.”

Standing a distance away from me, Eli pointed his hand in my direction. More specifically, right at my head.

“In truth, I’d love to come over and just beat you to death like the worthless creature you are, but I can’t afford to come too close and have you getting any other funny ideas about these crystals.” He intentionally opened his robe, mockingly flaunting the dangling pieces of Manalite around his waist.

“Now, I’d say it’s about time to end this foolishness. This was barely even worth the visit.” Eli tossed his cigarette down, and it landed on the pavement right in front of me, ash and embers scattering on the floor. He looked at me cruelly, light gathering around his outstretched index finger. “Goodbye, Conqaide.”

The beam of light flew towards me, and I grinned. This moron actually fell for it.

Reaching behind me, I thrust out a large piece of the shattered mirror, and Eli’s eyes flew open. “That –”

“That’s right, you idiot!” I lifted the shard up to my face, and the deadly beam of light slammed into it. I grimaced as it immediately started to heat up to incredible temperatures, but kept holding on. Smoke curled up from between my fingers, and the beam curved back towards Eli. Before the bounty hunter had time to react, it tore through his gut, sending him flying backwards. He slammed into the side of a car, leaving a huge dent in its side.

Quickly, I flung away the mirror shard, and tightly clutched my hand. The skin had been seared off in some parts, but it didn’t look like too much of a major injury.

As I reached down to snatch something off the ground, a creaking noise abruptly sounded from behind me, and I saw Eli struggling to prop himself up with the side of the car. His left hand was over his stomach, and blood seeped out between his fingers, as he glared at me.

“That may have surprised me, but the same trick won’t work twice. You’ve got no other way to attack me now.” Eli smiled tightly, blood dripping from the right nostril of his crooked nose. “I’ve won.”

“I wouldn’t be… so sure.” I pointed weakly with my good hand. “I’d normally be in quite a sticky situation right about now, but you just had to get too cocky.”

“What are you talking about?” His eyes traced the path of my finger, and I could see the confusion set in his eyes.

“What, you mean you haven’t noticed?” I limped a little closer to him.

Sweat beading on his neck, Eli tried to back away, but slipped and fell to his knees. Bringing up his hands, he started to notice what was dripping from them. “This…”

“It’s the oil from the hole you punched in that car. I was lucky that the beam I deflected actually shot you back into the puddle of oil. But I estimated that you’d probably survive the initial shot, so…” I pulled out my injured hand, Eli’s cigarette gingerly clutched between my fingers, its embers still flickering on the end. “I figured a giant explosion would probably do the job better.”

Eli’s pupils dilated, and the bounty hunter held out both hands, light forming in front of them. “Conqaide!”

But it was just a little too late. With a flick of my wrist, the cigarette went flying through the air.

I dropped my arm, and clutched my wounded hand. “Turns out this coward really didn’t need magic to defeat you, huh?”

Instantly, a brilliant orange fireball erupted in front of me, the massive wave of heat from it knocking me back. The windows on the leaking car shattered, jets of flame enveloping every open area, leaving the entirety of its side charred black.

The heat slowly subsided, as plumes of dark smoke drifted into the air, covering the parking lot. Little pieces of flaming metal and debris rained down onto the ground, bubbling and solidifying.

I staggered backwards, alternating between panting heavily and coughing from the smoke. Taking a glance back at where the oil had exploded, I smiled to myself. Man, I’ve always wanted to say something like that.

But then my vision blurred, and I abruptly dropped down to one knee. The adrenaline from the fight was starting to wear off, and the throbbing pain in my shoulder was becoming much more apparent. I lifted my right hand up to the dim light of the moon. It wasn’t faring so well either. If the fight with Eli had gone on for a minute longer, I would have been a goner for sure.

Peering through the smoke, I could see a crowd of people running out from the market and gathering around the source of the smoke. They were beginning to panic, and I could see some of them taking out their strange devices, most likely to contact the authorities.

At any rate, I have to get out of here. Slowly dragging myself past the disrupted rows of semi-damaged cars, I limped towards the side of the road ahead. It would be best to leave this place before they cause enough attention to hinder me. I have to meet back up with Martha, too…

As I crossed the road, a single car raced past me. The harsh light cut through my head, and I stepped away, dazed. Why is that so bright?

I could hear my heart pounding, finding it difficult to adjust my eyes back to normal. As I continued forwards, I found that my breathing was becoming increasingly labored as well. Damn… I might actually have lost a bit too much blood…

Making a turn into an alleyway, I suddenly felt my left leg buckling underneath my weight, and I dropped to the ground, clutching my shoulder on the same side. As I pulled my hand away, I found it was warm and sticky. Breathing through ragged lungs, I used the last of my energy to prop my body up against the brick wall of the alley, which now felt as heavy as a boulder. The stiff bricks dug into my head and back, but I could barely feel them anymore.

My eyelids began to sink down, and I forced them open as much as I could. Maybe… maybe I’ll just take a little rest.

The world swirled around me, and everything began to fade to black. The girl… Martha can wait a little longer. Yeah… just…

A little rest…