"That's not for me, is it?" I asked as I looked to the door. Mr. Forsyth sighed, then shook his head.
"No, that's a problem we have," Mr. Forsyth said. He stood up, then walked to the carriage door and opened it. Then, without much more hesitation, he walked out and confronted the person that had bothered him. Icarus jumped from his seat, startling the others still seated, and followed Mr. Forsyth outside.
I quickly ran after Icarus, chasing him into the street as the small dragon went to see what the commotion was about. After the two of us were outside, we both stopped and turned to look at Mr. Forsyth and whoever he was arguing with.
The other party was a group of men, each about fifty years old. The one in the front, the one that was arguing with Mr. Forsyth, was nearly sixty years old and had bright white hair. He had a massive scar on his face that blinded one of his eyes and a nasty scowl that was pointed toward Mr. Forsyth.
The man was so angry he hadn't even noticed Icarus yet, though a few of his companions had.
"Forsyth I've had enough of your son's bullshit!" The man yelled, "Get that little brat out here and let him deal with his own problems!"
"Stone, I've told you more than once!" Mr. Forsyth replied, "My son didn't do those things! I'm starting to get pissed off from your behavior towards my family! Back off or I'll arrest you!"
"How the hell are you going to arrest a captain," Stone chuckled with arrogance as he backed away. He turned to the men behind him, his boys, who were all still staring at Icarus with varying expressions. It seemed that Derek was expecting some sort of applause or something because he was utterly shocked when his boys didn't cheer for him.
Stone turned toward the magnet of their attention, then finally saw Icarus. He turned to Mr. Forsyth, his eyes wide as he pointed to the Dragon Wyrmling at my feet.
"Where the hell did you get that?" Stone asked with anger, "What the hell have you been hiding, Forsyth?"
"Back off, Stone," Mr. Forsyth said, stepping between Icarus and the angry sixty year old. Stone stopped and looked up at Mr. Forsyth. Then, with an aggressive shove, Stone made his way around Mr. Forsyth as he dashed to Icarus. However, before Stone could get his hands on the small dragon, I stepped forward and struck my hand forward. My hand instantly went around Stone's neck, grasping onto it like it was a handhold on a rock climbing wall.
Then, with a light push, I lifted Stone high into the air. The old man instantly shot his hands to his neck, struggling to pull my grip away from his skin. I looked at Stone, my eyes filled with anger.
﹃
Derek Stone
Race: Human
Level: 21
HP: 70
MP: 65
AC: 15
Rank: C
Skills: Sword Skills, Persuade, Resilient Push
Status Effects: Intoxicated
﹄
"You!" Stone struggled to say as his face began to go red.
"Shut up. You'd be lucky if I didn't smear you to the ground," I threatened as I tightened my grip. I was tempted to squeeze the man to death, and almost did. I was full of hatred, blinded by it. A simple comment caused me to lose all sense of reason. Stone's eyes widened in fear as he saw my expression.
Suddenly, I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned my gaze to the side, my eyes still glaring daggers as I met eyes with Mr. Forsyth.
"Put him down," Mr. Forsyth told me, his voice soft. I looked at Mr. Forsyth for a moment longer, then sighed as I released my grip. My anger began to dissipate, but I still felt annoyed by Stone's mere presence. After Stone dropped to the ground, he immediately began to cough and hold his throat in pain. Mr. Forsyth told to me, then put his hand on my shoulder and nodded, "Thank you."
'It's too bad I didn't get XP from that' I thought as I sighed. I took one last look at Stone, who was beginning to back away from us, before turning back to the carriage. Icarus followed me inside, then climbed onto the chair as I made my way back to my spot. After I sat down, I heard Mr. Forsyth confronting Stone one more time.
"If I see you near my family again, I don't care who I anger. I will bring you down," Mr. Forsyth said. Then, I saw him hop into the carriage and close the door behind him. Mr. Forsyth gave a deep sigh as he sat back down, then looked to me, "Thanks for the help, I think."
"I'm sorry I got involved," I quickly said, feeling awkward. Now that I was thinking back on the event that had just occurred, I soon realized it probably wasn't in my place to intervene that aggressively. Hell, I probably shouldn't have left the carriage.
"No, Derek needed somebody to put him back to his place," Mr. Forsyth sighed, "He's as strong as me, and we share the same rank in the town guard. The only difference is that my position is slightly superior to his."
"Is he after your job?" I asked. Mr. Forsyth nodded.
"He can't get it through a proper method, so he's been harassing my family for a few months now. Just recently he's begun blaming Jonathan for theft and other false crimes. He's willing to do anything to dirty my reputation," Mr. Forsyth told me. I nodded, then turned to Icarus and began stroking his neck as I listened to Mr. Forsyth speak, "Most of the guard know about the various crimes he's committed, but his position makes it hard to work against him."
"Position? Are you talking about his rank in the guard?" I asked. Mr. Forsyth nodded his head.
"That, but one other thing. He's the brother of the lord of this city," Mr. Forsyth said, "It's hard to bring Derek down without besmirching Lord Stone's name."
"I see," I nodded.
"But enough about that, how did you do what you did earlier? You picked up Derek like it was nothing. He weighs over two hundred pounds, you know!" Mr. Forsyth said, his voice slightly raised. I shrugged.
"He's just weak," I answered. Then, after the entire carriage fell into silence, I realized my mistake. I was SS ranked, but also a dragon. Naturally, I would be stronger than everybody around me. Unless they were nation-sized heroes or demon kings, there wouldn't be very many that could match my growth rate.
I quickly inspected Mr. Forsyth, who was still silent with his mouth open in shock.
﹃
Casey Forsyth
Race: Human
Level: 22
HP: 73
MP: 73
AC: 11
Rank: C
Titles: Righteous Fellow
Skills: Sword Skills, Shield Skills, Hard Working
﹄
"Oh," I whispered, further realizing my mistake. Compared to Mr. Forsyth, my stats were only slightly higher, but my level was just a fraction.
﹃
Aureys
Race: Dragon
Level: 2
HP: 90 (+)
MP: 135 (+)
AC: 30 (+)
Rank: SS
Equipped Items: Dark Merchant's Suit
Titles: Dungeon Master
Skills: Appraisal, Morph, Ancestral Magic (LOCKED), Summon, Acrobatics, Combat Expertise
Status Effects: 20% discount for human-sold items (Clothing Bonus), +5 HP, +20 MP, +20 AC
﹄
"Ahh, I swear," Mr. Forsyth said as he slumped in his chair. He suddenly seemed exhausted, but he had a wide smile on his face, "You're full of surprises, aren't you? What's your level?"
"Sixteen," I lied. There was no way I could tell him I was only level 2, "I did a lot of training as a kid."
"I see. Well it looks like you're qualified for the second job I had prepared," Mr. Forsyth said as he palmed his forehead in shock, "Would you like to hear it?"