The rain was falling hard. The perfect scenery for the group of 4 rank C mages currently being cornered by the rank B demon wolf. The smaller area of Florida City Miami had fallen to the monsters awhile ago.
The mages had come here in hopes of expanding civilizations walls again. After taking down three rank C serpents the stupid wolf had shown its face. The dead bodies of their two llamas lay on the broken concrete.
The wolf barred its fangs and stalked closer one paw step at a time. The shredded alleyway was a literal dead end for them. Their eyes widened in fear as the end approached.
Up on a rooftop a figure had stopped to watch the battle. He was medium sized with a solid build. Even from a glance people could tell he worked out on a daily basis. Even under the rain pants and rain coat one could tell he was not someone to mess with.
The wolf pounced ready to enjoy its meal when the figure also made his move. He leapt down the side of the building bouncing from a roof and then sliding down a broken gutter. In the past it might have been called extreme parkour.
From his back he pulled a katana from its sheath. Mind you he did this while riding a broken gutter. Once he was about eight feet from the ground he sprang from the gutter.
He flipped into a summersault while decapitating the wolf in one blow. Then he landed solidly on two feet. A perfect finish even a pro-gymnast would envy. He scanned the area checking for any more beasts before turning to the group of hunters.
"You should leave." He stated firmly. They wouldn't last long here. They were clearly safety zone dwellers.
One of the hunters was staring at the wolf's head and whispered quietly "who are you?"
He rolled his eyes under his hood, "you can call me Kip if you must." He retorted with an annoyed voice.
"Ok, um Kip, we are headed back to the safe zone, you should come it's not safe to wander here, Especially not alone." Said one.
"No thanks" he replied leaping easily into the air and bounding off an old guard rail onto a broken railing of a balcony with a broken window.
"Wait" one yelped.
Kip paused turning back toward them.
"What's your hunter rank?" he asked
"Don't have one" Kip replied. A murmur of curiosity spread between the hunters. The fact that an unranked was wondering the unsafe area. He could of laughed at how predictable their chain of thoughts were.
"You need to return, you aren't authorized to be in this area." Stated the one who seemed like the leader.
Kip could have laughed even harder. It took a little effort this time to keep his face expressionless. Earlier he had over heard them talking about how they sneaked out of the safe zone without permission themselves. Not that he cared they lived in two different worlds.
When he failed to respond the hunter tried again. "Unauthorized leave is grounds for a rank reduction. Any mage wouldn't dare."
Kip tapped his foot impatiently these idiots knew nothing. "Who ever said I was a mage?" he asked.
He sensed another two wolves headed this way, silly pack mentality. He jumped back to ground level and started walking up the alley. Sensory training, with the Majikku in the air even a human without an element could learn to utilize a few things. The ones who couldn't were already dead.
Magic less, please, he could use sensory, physical enhancement, speed enhancement, and a few others. Those fancy flame throwing mages had nothing on him. His skills were much more practical, they had to be or he would have died a long time ago. He laughed inwardly at the thought of the school he had attended long ago. He much preferred his current freedom, no one was dragging him to some safe school.
"We are some of the best rank C's and we will become even better currently we can take down up to rank 5 beasts! Hey I'm not done talking to yo…." His voice cut off as he saw two wolves enter the alley and barred their fangs.
Kip slipped forward fast. He may not be a mage but his martial arts were second to none. He decapitated the wolves without much difficulty. He hated people who bragged about being good or potentially becoming the best in the world in the future. What mattered was who was alive at the end of the day, you or the beast.
He decided to grace these low lives with a reply. Mainly just because he was bored, he didn't run into a lot of people.
"Leave already, unlike your rank reduction, unauthorized access here often means death. I happen to live here." That shut them up.
He glanced at his back. Lame he didn't even have to draw his second sword. These so called mages were quite pathetic. He turned the alley and returned to the roof tops. It was far easier to travel up here. Now the main question, should he bother to watch them go back? Or would they be stupid enough to walk to their own deaths? Or should he see about lunch? So many potential options.
His stomach growled a little in protest. Lunch it is! Kip thought and he began jogging along the rooftops. His home wasn't far from here. If you could call it that anyway. The apartment was no longer maintained and he had moved into one of the inner most units where the rain couldn't reach him.
He read the sign above the doorway 'home sweet home' he felt a wave of sadness at the thought of the Tempest then quickly pushed it from his mind as he entered his bachelor pad.