"You're different from what the rumors say," Kim said.
"Really? What do they say about me?" I asked.
She thought about it for a moment. "Do you really want to know?" she said.
I nodded. Even though I knew the rumors, they were about Silas, not me, so I wasn't affected by it.
Seeing my nod, Kim continued, "They say you're a womanizer, pervert, tyrant, monster, evil, and many more things."
The worst part about the rumors was that they were all true. After Silas was kicked out of his family, he started pressuring women and businesses with his name into doing what he wanted.
After hearing about these awful rumors, Silas's father publicly disowned him and declared that the family had severed all ties with Silas, emphasizing that people should not heed anything he said under the Raven name.
This marked the beginning of Silas's downfall as he lost everything.
His transformation began when he eventually became the leader of the Eclipse Order and fell in love with Amara, the previous leader.
Under her influence, he adopted a more rational, strategic approach, shedding his impulsive tendencies.
Pretending to consider Kim's words, I replied, "Wow, whoever spread those rumors must have been really jealous of me."
Kim remained silent for a moment before asking directly, "Are they true or not?" She seemed genuinely curious, especially given the stark contrast between the rumors and what she had seen of me so far.
"Unfortunately, they were," I admitted honestly. "It wasn't my proudest moment, and I've been working hard to redeem myself ever since." This was my truth, and my intention moving forward.
Kim smiled warmly, "If you're serious about rebuilding your reputation, meet me next week at the Starlight Mall. We'll start from there."
Curious, I asked, "What exactly are we going to do?" I was cautious, wary of making decisions that could alter the storyline significantly.
"It's a secret for now. You'll have to trust me," she replied, her smile captivating.
"We've only just met though. Trust doesn't come easy," I countered, finding my response reasonable.
"True, but if you plan on continuing in this tower, we'll be seeing a lot of each other," she reasoned.
Considering her point, I acknowledged, "You have a point. Alright, I'll meet you in a week at the Starlight Mall."
Kim continued to heal me for another thirty minutes until I was fully recovered and ready to leave.
I went back to the front desk and requested another fight. An hour later, my name was called for arena ten.
As I arrived, I was taken aback by the full audience. I had unwittingly become a popular choice for betting against—essentially a guaranteed win for those willing to wager against me.
Entering the arena, my face, name, and fight record were displayed prominently on a large screen above us. My opponent, unlike Joe, had a negative record.
Joe had only lost two fights and won twelve, while this new opponent seemed less experienced. At least this time, I hoped, the fight wouldn't be over in ten seconds.
The countdown initiated, setting the arena abuzz with tension. As soon as start echoed through the air, he launched three sleek daggers at me, their deadly intent slicing through the silence.
The speed of the daggers were no where near as fast as Joe.
And with swift reflexes, I dodged, a proud grin flickering across my face as I evaded each lethal dagger. Yet, in a twist of fate, those very daggers arced back, finding their mark with precision, embedding into my left arm.
Pain flared, a sharp cry escaping my lips.
Undeterred, he unleashed a flurry of daggers, their edges spinning in a deadly dance around me.
Twenty blades shimmered malevolently in the air, encircling me like a deadly vortex.
In that moment, an idea struck like me lightning.
Using my ability, the arena quaked as unseen forces repelled the daggers, sending them crashing harmlessly to the ground.
Gasps of astonishment erupted from the spectators as I seized one of the fallen daggers. With a flick of my wrist, I propelled it forward, using The Absolute to accelerate its trajectory toward my opponent. He reacted fast, countering with another dagger, the echo of steel in the air.
My eyes narrowed as I noticed a pattern: his daggers, once used, lost their power. Exploiting this weakness, I wuickly gathered the discarded weapons scattered about the arena.
Realizing my plan, he closed the distance in a blur, launching into a relentless assault of attacks.
Each strike found its mark, and with my lack of hand to hand prowess, a brutal kick to the stomach sent me reeling, the daggers slipping from my grasp.
Cornered, I surrendered to the inevitable as his dagger pressed against my throat.
Even though I lost, I considered it a personal victory. The fight lasted twenty-three seconds, which was twenty seconds longer than my previous one. Moreover, I successfully used The Absolute during the fight, and wielding that power felt as natural as breathing. It was exhilarating to tap into such abilities.
My main challenge remained hand-to-hand combat. Clearly, I needed a mentor for that.
As my opponent helped me up from the ground, I congratulated him and then made my way back to the infirmary. There, I found Kim treating another patient. Upon seeing me, she chuckled, "Back already?"
After sitting down on one of the beds in the infirmary, I blurted out, "Who wouldn't want to be in the presence of such a beautiful person."
The room fell silent, and I hurriedly cleared my throat, realizing how inappropriate my comment might sounded. The adrenaline from the recent fight was clearly affecting my judgment.
Trying to diffuse the tension, I asked, "When did you start working here?"
"Just recently. I love helping people, and this place sees a lot of injuries, so it felt like a good fit," Kim replied, finishing up with her patient before coming over to me.
"You're not as badly injured this time," she observed in surprise.
"I had an unfair match earlier, that's all," I explained, brushing off the severity of my injuries.
Switching topics, I ventured, "Hey, do you happen to know anyone who could teach me a few things? Like a mentor?"
Kim nodded thoughtfully. "I do know a few, but they usually expect compensation."
"Never mind," I sighed. Money was nonexistent currently.
It seemed I had no choice but to find a job, something I was accustomed to from my time back on Earth.
After Kim finished treating me, I left the infirmary and returned to the front desk to sign up for another fight. Throughout the day, I faced three more opponents and lost each match faster than the last.
Word had spread that I lacked skills in hand to hand combat, causing my opponents to overwhelm me from the start. Even using The Absolute, my abilities weren't developed enough to turn the tide.
The thrill from my second fight had faded, replaced by frustration and a sense of stagnation.
Despite my efforts to find a mentor, most declined, viewing me as an easy source of profit. Those who might consider teaching me were deterred by the potential backlash of aiding the person who's been giving people the most profit. And no one was willing to offend so many people over a raven with no wings.