Slave Management (3)
Slave Management (3)
I climbed up onto the wall. A brawl between kids and adults wasn't something you saw every day, so I was content to just watch.
It didn't look like the ones I'd trained were going to lose, either.
The training time had been short. But the kids had an advantage that more than made up for it.
The perk that came with my class, Apostle of the Sun God!
It was as if they'd inherited part of my power. Priests directly under an apostle grew far faster than ordinary priests. That was because they inherited part of the apostle's sacred radiance and abilities.
And even if I was a little rough around the edges, an apostle was still an apostle!
In other words, those kids had basically gotten a free ride!
"Let's see..."
Hmm. Yeah. Hector.
Little bastard. He fought pretty well.
Every time that brown hair swayed, someone slammed into the ground. The Song of Fire he'd learned had been slightly modified to suit him.
His airy movements had become a bit heavier.
There was no lightness in his outstretched hands. Only force. It was still weak, but Sacred Power was adding strength on top of it. A monstrous strength that a child's body shouldn't have been able to produce.
All that telling them to pray day and night during their month of training had paid off.
Ordinary kids couldn't get this strong in a month. It was all the power of the perk.
The Apostle of the Sun God's class-unique skill extended part of its effect to those directly contracted with me. It was different from the Sacred Mark an ordinary priest granted. Even if theirs wasn't as strong as my own Sacred Mark, its growth rate was bound to be fast.
My current level and skills were lacking, so it wasn't complete, but... even so, it had this much power. Perks really were perks for a reason.
Boom! Boom!
Why did his fists sound like cannon fire? That was impressive as hell. Look at that. He was using Sacred Power pretty well, too.
I turned my head. Pavel. The blond kid looked a little more like a girl than a boy. Honestly, the Song of Fire suited him better than it did Hector.
His smooth, fluid movements subtly taunted his enemies. The thugs ground their teeth as their punches missed by a hair.
"You little rat...!"
Then, the moment they let their guard down—wham.
A precisely placed punch drove into a vital point. The thug staggered back, wheezing. If that had been a sword instead of a fist, that one move would have killed him.
The kid was like a viper.
When I looked away from the blond, I saw the one with black hair like mine. Quieter and more serious than I'd expected. Linden.
His textbook movements were calmly pressuring the thug in front of him, one step at a time. You'd have to say he was born for one-on-one combat.
The thug's back hit the wall as he was driven onto the defensive. The startled man tried to flee, but at that moment, an unstoppable kick slammed into his temple.
Hm. Clean.
Now let's see... the girls.
"Aaaah!"
"Natasha! Shut your mouth!"
"B-but I'm scared!"
This must have been her first brawl, but she was dodging remarkably well. Marie was closer to Pavel's style: speed over destruction. A clean strike to the throat left a thug gasping for breath.
Marie didn't seem to need any help... Compared to her, Natasha was...
"D-don't come any closer!"
She kept screaming, but Natasha's kicks landed with real weight. Monstrous strength.
No, seriously. She was freakishly strong.
The same explosive force I'd heard from Hector's fists came from her too. Call it natural strength. It was hard to believe that much power came from such a small body.
The thug's feet briefly left the ground. He went flying and rolled around, gagging.
I rubbed my hands together.
Good.
Very good.
My teachings had taken root perfectly!
"Heh heh heh."
With this, we'd control the commercial district. The protection money the merchants had been paying would go straight into my pocket.
I rubbed my hands together eagerly. Black Steel? Fuck those guys!
The Church of Ra was taking over this place!
"You... fuck...!"
Falcon, the one who'd gone down first, got up trembling. For a so-called leader, he'd recovered fast. Hector's eyes lit up and he tried to charge, but I held him back.
"I'll handle it."
I hopped down from the wall. I stood in front of the guy.
"Falcon. You're not the real boss here, are you? Right?"
"You... fucking... brat... the blood on your head... isn't even dry yet...!"
"What are you talking about?"
I scratched the top of my head. I ran a hand over it.
"There's no blood."
"Aaaargh!"
He charged. The attack was completely telegraphed, so I could see openings everywhere.
[Song of Fire activates.]
[Physical abilities increase.]
I could see his attack trajectory clearly. I wasn't holding a sword, but I had my fists.
Obvious openings. I simply drove my fists into them one after another.
"Hey, kid. Your chin's wide open."
Crack!
After shattering his jaw, I grabbed his head. I spun the gagging bastard around and slammed him into the ground.
"Hey."
I straddled him, grabbed Falcon by the hair, and lifted his head. Fear filled his face as blood streamed from his nose.
Oh dear. How pitiful.
But that didn't mean I was going to go easy on him.
"How much do you have on you?"
. . .
"Black Steel won't be mocked... ugh!"
"You little brats, where do you... ack!"
"These bastards have lost their... urk!"
Victory after victory.
I systematically drove Black Steel back. Since I'd started this, I had to see it through.
"Wreck them all!"
"Leave it to us!"
Hector, who'd been uncertain at first, took the lead. The now-confident kids piled in behind him.
We took Black Steel down group by group. It would have been difficult if they'd all gathered in one place, but the idiots had split up, so beating them all down wasn't hard.
"Wreck them!"
"Kill them!"
Hector seemed to have a lot of pent-up resentment. Well. From what he'd told me, they'd done all sorts of things to him.
Watching them get slammed around up front made me grin. Heh heh heh. My little bundles of cash.
Look at them rolling all over the ground!
Swish swish swish!
I stripped every one of their wallets. Then I headed for the last stronghold.
Boom!
I kicked the door in. The organization members I'd taken down so far numbered about thirty.
That was a lot for a back-alley thug gang. But now it was the last of them.
When the tavern door opened, startled organization members came into view. Unlike before, they pulled out clubs and short daggers.
"Who's there?!"
"What the hell are these bastards doing?!"
"P-please help."
I sniffled and forced out a tear, then pinched my thigh to add another drop.
"O-outside... people from somewhere else..."
"What?"
"Someone's running wild in our territory?"
The man sitting on the second floor set his glass down with a clack. He signaled to a few of the organization members around him.
"Go check it out."
"Yes, sir!"
Five of the ten went out. I staggered to my feet. I brought the kids from outside in and shut the door.
Then—clunk.
After locking it from the inside, I leaned in close to Hector.
"How was my acting?"
"It was am- amazing, boss."
"The boss is the god of acting!"
"...He's insane."
"What a sly fox..."
"You're so cool, boss!"
Little shits.
Now they got it instantly.
With everyone's eyes silently fixed on me, I picked up a wooden sword. A moment later, heavy thumps sounded from behind the door.
"Wh-what the hell? It's locked?!"
"What? Open it right now!"
They pounded on the door, but what could they do? The door was sturdier than I'd expected.
My eyes met the man on the second floor who looked like the boss. The one-eyed man smiled coldly.
"...You impudent little brat. Do you want something from me?"
"I want that seat."
"Give it up. You'll die."
"Whether I die or not is for me to decide."
I pulled out my wooden sword. The remaining organization members, sensing something was wrong, rose with their weapons.
Their boss clicked his tongue. He gestured lightly.
"Put a few holes in his gut. Knock some sense into him."
I stepped forward. I glanced back at the kids.
"All of you, watch."
My first real fight against armed opponents.
If I was going to live here, this was a fight I'd inevitably face someday.
It would be good experience.
"This is how you beat people."
I tapped the wooden sword against my shoulder and drew a short breath.
And the next moment.
I kicked off the ground.
"This bastard?!"
The words just washed over me. I only focused. I twisted my body and thought about where and how to strike.
[Song of Fire activates.]
[Physical abilities increase.]
I saw it—the opening. I deflected the incoming dagger and brought the wooden sword down hard, smashing the thug's foot.
"Gaaah!"
I spun and shattered his jaw. As the bastard went flying, spraying blood, a baseball bat came swinging from behind.
Right side.
I could see everything.
But opportunities like this were rare. How many chances would I get to fight like I was trampling weaklings?
I'd use this chance to experiment. Test my limits.
[Ember activates.]
Flames burst from my hand. Unlike before, these were genuinely hot. The sight alone was impressive enough to make the thug charging with a baseball bat falter.
"F-fire?!"
"It's magic!"
"It's the power of Ra!"
I swept Ember across the thug's hand. The man screamed as the flames caught.
"Fire!!! Fire!!! Get water!!! I said get water!!!"
What a baby.
It was just a first-degree burn at most.
With flames gathered in one hand, I exhaled and adjusted my Sacred Power. I closed my eyes amid enemies who hesitated to rush me.
I was already strong, but hmm...
What if I used Prayer of Fire?
[Prayer of Fire is used.]
[Your body becomes somewhat warmer.]
[Physical abilities increase slightly.]
Still not enough...!
The most important thing was missing...!
[Blessing is used.]
[Your mood improves somewhat.]
Mental care, too!
"Fully buffed!"