Despite my initial apprehension around the cultists. I have to say, they were rather decent people. And I only say decent because all of them definitely had a loose screw somewhere. Nonetheless, to each their own, I wasn't going to judge them.
"Hit,"
"Damnit, you win,"
Of course I win, I'm a damned legend at blackjack.
"Again?"
"Nah, I'm broke because of you,"
Wills, despite being a gambling addict, was absolute garbage at cards. But, I'd like to think that I'm just that good.
Counting my winnings, I'm four silver and thirty nine copper coins richer.
Nice.
I hate to say it, but I'm actually getting along with these fellows rather well, even more so than the guardsmen I worked with. They say people attract their own kind, so does that mean that I also have a screw loose?
Nah, surely not.
"So, Jeff where you come from?"
Wills asks a question as he plays around with his deck of cards.
"Hm? Oh, right. I used to work in Joost, as a guardsman"
"Joost?" Wills seems to ponder for a while.
"Like the Joost that just had a cultist rampage in the city square?"
"Is there another Joost in the kingdom?"
"Guess not," he chuckles, "So am I right you're that cultist they're hunting?"
We do not assume here.
"To assume, makes an ass out of you and me,"
"Uhm, so are you that cultist then?"
What a dunce.
"I am not that cultist,"
"You are that cultist," Laffer butts in.
"That wasn't me,"
"Sure bud, a rogue dark haired guardsman turned cultist with a white feathered companion, mutilated and murdered a demi human in the city square, before fleeing the city the same day,"
He sizes me up.
"I have no idea what you're talking about,"
"Feigning ignorance huh? Well, don't worry, demi humans are also our enemies, so you done a good thing,"
What? Was that a thing? I didn't know that the dark arts cult also had a vendetta against demi humans. Or they're racist.
"We aren't racist. It's just the demi humans we don't like,"
"Then aren't you racist then?"
Laffer looks like he's about to retort but stops, "Oh damn. Are we racist?"
"Nono, because the demi humans are like… y'know evil, and tradition… yeah!"
Wills, that was a pitiful attempt. Go to that corner and reflect. Yup, that one right there.
"Anyways, we might be racist, but you're also racist unless you had another motive for that crime?"
I'd like to refute that I'm not racist, but granted the proof is in the pudding. I definitely murdered a demi human in city square for no other apparent motivation other than racism. But…
"I was possessed it wasn't me,"
"Don't worry, I trust you buddy," He winks at me.
I'm tempted to flip the table on him.
But I calm myself.
"Hey, what are you doing?" Laffer says, swaying back.
"Hmm, just checking your reflexes,"
Damnit, how did he dodge that? I was waiting patiently to let his guard down and tried to swipe at him with my machete. Not to actually kill him, but more so to just hurt him, since a dark arts cultist would find a sword through their chest or a severed limb as nothing more than a flesh wound.
Tsk, looks like he wasn't kidding about being steel ranked.
"Did you think I would kid about something like that?"
"Frankly, yes," You're a cocky showboat so why wouldn't you try to inflate your rank a little?
"Hah, well, arrogance is reserved for those who have strength, unlike you,"
Ah, yes, my strength. Or rather lack thereof. This makes me tempted to take another shot, but it'd just be an embarrassing display.
For the past few days, I was attempting to perform the dark arts, but with little luck. I could somewhat use the basic skill, life transfer, which was used for moving my own life essence around. Helpful for regulating internal health, not so much for combat though.
So I'm still at the bronze body rank.
Of course, it's not that I'm incompetent at learning but rather it's very different to the standardised arts that I've learnt before.
Most standardised arts relied on the fundamental external essences to perform an action, but the dark arts mainly relied on esoteric essence varieties like life or plague. So it was normal that the method to manipulate such essences were also varied from the standard techniques.
Though I'm sure that once I get the hang of it, it'll be all good.
"I heard you asked the new guy to do something for ya'"
Oh yeah, "I asked him to teach and take care of Lazari,"
"Isn't she a demon though?" Laffer didn't seem to get it. "How would a demon even learn?"
"You do realise that there are multiple types of demons, yes?"
"Wait, wha- ahem! I mean, of course I knew. Why wouldn't I know?"
You're digging yourself a hole here buddy.
"I was just wondering why you would want to teach her stuff,"
"That is because she appears to only have a demonic bloodline and nothing else. For all intents and purposes, she is a little girl aside from having a bit of demonic abilities,"
"Mm, yes, I thought the same as well,"
Damn. How thick is your skin?
Nonetheless, the new guy, as Laffer dubbs him, has been doing a pretty good job. He's committed, passionate and ardent about the task I gave him, and he was also the one who was in charge of taking care of another girl in the cult. So the two have been learning together.
Looks like I asked the right guy after all.
"Good job new guy," I give him a thumbs up.
"What? B-but I was here before you were…" He grumbles.
The new guy, he's is an interesting fellow. In a different way to all the other people here. Apparently, he worked in orphanages and also as a tutor so he's pretty educated himself, as well as being adverse to crime and killing. Rather surprising to find such an upstanding citizen in one of the most wicked and vile cults there are.
Of course, this means that his personality is also on the milder side. Being a pushover essentially. So now I'm wondering if he's being blackmailed to be here.
Well, maybe not blackmailed per se, but maybe he was afraid of the consequences of rejecting the invitation.
Hmm, that seemed more likely, but let's ignore his plight for now.
Anyways, Lazari!
She still looks dead on the inside, but I'm also still willing to attribute it to demonic tendencies. She seemed to get along well with the other girl here, Sheeny. And by getting along, I mean Lazari sometimes exchanged words with her. A big leap in growth if I had to say.
I'm not exactly sure what the new guy was teaching her, but from what I could draw from Lazari, was that he was teaching her morality and ethics. And not even the weird kind that the cult has, but actually widely accepted and objective morals.
Not too sure whether that's a good thing, as she herself currently, from my understanding has morals which conflict with the morals that the new guy's teaching her, so I'm gonna have to get him to stop that. That would only curb her development.
Though, aside from revising what I was taught the other day, there was really nothing else to do. And Wills won't gamble with me anymore, so I really have nothing to do.
"So, is this all you do here?"
I ask Laffer.
"Hmm, yeah, but Lacer might need some help with somethin',"
Ah, finally something to do.
I'm getting bored of studying.