Chapter 107
Golden First Market Plaza near Fremont Academy, City: Three Prongs Fork, Republic of Shantu, Continent: Barat, the Year 2036, Planet: Grimoire
Explosions of pain and agony seared through his entire body as Grifton's internal healing kicked in. He hadn't known it would be this painful. Fortunately, it wouldn't take long for numbness to kick in, which signaled the end of the worst pain. However, it also meant he wasn't moving in the foreseeable future. A sigh escaped him.
"Good, you're awake." Madam Murray sat by Grifton's side.
"So, I made it alive?" Grifton wasn't as sure about his timing. He'd cut it damn close, considering just what obstacles he'd run into while teleporting to Corley's bar.
"You made it alive and successfully delivered the coins," Corley confirmed behind Madam Murray's left side. He looked relieved to see that Grifton was awake and alert.
Grifton heaved a sigh of relief and then coughed.
"Don't move too much." Madam Murray cautioned. "Those bastards did a real number on you."
Yikes, that wasn't good to hear. "That means I'll have to become a dragon again to get truly examined, hmm?" Grifton was resigned.
"Yes, but it'll be in the proper facility where you can reach your full size." Madam Murray reassured him. "There's quite a standoff going on right now. We're just waiting for a cleanup crew."
That didn't sound good to Grifton. "So, who're the fallen?" He saw Janus. "Hi there, Stan."
Janus grinned broadly at him. "The fallen are Crow's Heights members right now," he confirmed cheerfully. We're speculating who infiltrated the Lifter gang as members and might be active military snipers."
Ouch, he hoped they didn't overhear that comment from Janus. Grifton shook his head, amusement gleaming in his eyes. "Nah, you're insulting them with that assumption."
Janus winced. "Uh, okay, so please explain why you're so confident about their abilities." He invited with a cocked eyebrow.
Not hard to do at all, Grifton snorted. "Not likely. They're far-ranging experts with firepower." Now came the embarrassing part that he wished he could live down. "Errm, I guess most of the spells they've created." Grifton sighed. "Came through several failed attempts to take me down." He was amused when he heard the news.
"Hmm," Janus stroked his chin. "All right, what characteristics distinguish any of them from the rest?"
Grifton frowned when he thought about the question. "Hmm, give me a second." Interesting way to describe traits, but he could do that quite readily. "If you saw small sparks, it was probably Troy, Caleb, or Sampson."
Grifton ticked off a few others on his fingers. "There might be others in the group," he recalled having been the target of their ire a few times. "However, those three firebugs tended to play with fire even in their leisure time."
Janus eyed him in disbelief. "So, what you're telling me is that they sharpened their skills on you."
"Nope, not always. Only recently have the boss and lieutenants tried snagging me to join their gang, and I refused, thus putting a target on my back." Grifton shook his head. "They all have exceptional pyromancy traits that put mine to shame." He smiled faintly. "They taught me a few tricks, hoping I would join them."
Janus blinked. "So, you haven't used those tricks against them?" He actually looked somewhat disappointed.
Now, that wasn't nice of him. Grifton shook his head. "Nope, I didn't want to shred their pride." He folded his arms. "Besides, I would have to waste too much mana to pull off some of their spells." Grifton had a practical outlook on the situation. "I don't want to do that."
Practicality won out over splashy displays of mana wastage when Grifton did his work.
~*~
What an odd child he'd been. Madam Murray had to credit him for not bending the rules he'd made for himself. She was genuinely relieved that he'd chosen to maintain a certain number of standards. However, he still didn't act like a typical teen. When would she ever get to see him have an everyday life? She sighed in puzzlement over the jigsaw of contradictions he presented that never ceased to amaze her.
Grifton caught her puzzled reaction. "Oh, don't get me wrong," he smiled slightly. "Every now and then, we get into unofficial spars where we let loose with everything we've got." His eyes glinted with laughter. "When that happens, there'll be a colorful display near the deepest lake in the Central Valley." He folded his arms. "We make sure to contain our mischief somewhere harmless."
"Hmm, I would love to witness that," she admitted because it made her curious about what he could do if he put his mind to it.
Stan Janus grinned. "Okay, now that explains why I would see random firework displays on the odd night or two." He chuckled. "I got close enough to take a video of what you youngsters were doing."
When Madam Murray lifted her eyebrows at them. "That doesn't sound like you always got into fights." She was curious now.
"Uhm, well..." Grifton scratched his head and shrugged with a faint smile. "As you know, there are those international competitions, right?"
Madam Murray nodded. "I do recall those, yes." She frowned. "Didn't you stop participating in them?"
Grifton nodded. "I did, but the various gangs knew I was part of the champion list." He looked uncomfortable. "So, uh, they would call a truce between the various gangs on those occasions." A sigh escaped him. "I mediated between them and helped some guys and gals train." He shrugged when they stared at him aghast. "Nothing was ever officially mentioned, but I tended to help those who were considered underdogs."
"So, you didn't help those from Fang's Cliff academy or that sort?" Madam Murray found it hard to believe he could distinguish friend from foe.
"During that time, none of us were enemies, and we had a common foe." Grifton's face darkened. "We were being harassed by Crow's Heights gang members." He folded his arms. "They would kill anyone they knew was weaker than themselves; they made no distinction between enemies and classmates."
Madam Murray blinked. "Oh, that's why they're called rogue killers." It was the first time she'd encountered such antipathy displayed by Grifton.
"They're assassins," His gaze was flat. "They have no loyalty to anyone, not even the affiliated academies, and several sponsor their existence."
Hmm, that was deadly information to possess. Madam Murray finally acknowledged the reason why Grifton still didn't want to enroll in any institutes right now. She sighed at the complications that faced her and others in getting him to enroll in an institute of any kind now.
The undeniable fact that Grifton knew about some academies that sponsored Crow's Heights gang meant he was probably leery of joining any academy now.
~*~
Hmm, he hadn't known that Grifton would voluntarily mention those small gatherings in a neutral location. I suppose it makes sense; he can trust Madam Murray not to speak of what he heard in this conversation. Corley listened with interest and amusement.
When Madam Murray glanced at Corley. "Do you know anything about these activities?"
Hmm, should he contribute to the conversation? Corley hesitated until he caught Grifton's nod. Well, okay, then, it seemed it was alright to speak about it. Cool, it wasn't often that Corley could talk about what he'd witnessed.
Since he'd participated in several unofficial spars, "I can definitely say that Grifton can hold his own against anyone he goes up against." Corley could attest that was usually the only time Grifton cut loose and did a flashy display of his abilities.
Madam Murray looked amused. "You all should know that once you officially join the merchant caravans, you may get picked to represent your group in that competition again."
"That isn't something I'm looking forward to doing." Grifton grimaced in horror and then sighed in resignation. "Oh well, if it means I can do so with limited immunity, then I guess I'll enjoy it."
Janus caught his unease. Corley did as well. Something else was bothering him more. "About those recordings..." However, he was concerned when he heard that Stan Janus managed to make a recording or two of their activities.
Janus's eyes widened when he realized what bothered them. "Hmm? Oh, you mean the recordings?" When they nodded. He shrugged and sighed. "I made sure that it was stowed somewhere safe."
They were unconvinced, and Janus added, "I never showed it to anyone... well, other than Lamberton." He shrugged when all three of the listeners winced.
Lamberton wasn't known to tolerate unauthorized gatherings of that sort. Janus sighed. "He'd caught me returning from one of my excursions of clearing my head." He revealed what else happened to make him share the recording. "He'd also been curious about those odd events and was about to investigate."
They all winced again. "I'm surprised those events were allowed after that inadvertent exposure." Madam Murray muttered.
"I have to agree." Corley nodded. That was forbidden because their identities could easily be exposed.
A sigh escaped Corley as he considered what to do with the information. Well, if Lamberton knew and hadn't reported, maybe that meant he'd seen no need to kick up a fuss.