After leaving with Sage, we walked in silence. She seemed lost in her thoughts about whatever Zoe had told her, and while I was curious and wanted to ask, Zoe clearly had her reason to not tell me.

  “What’s the job?” I asked, trying to focus on more important matters at the moment.

  “We can’t talk here,” Sage replied, keeping her quick pace as she led me between buildings.

  We stopped in a small alley between two poorly maintained houses. Sage opened a small door and, after taking a look around, entered into complete darkness inside.

  What was she pulling me into?

  Despite my hesitation, I stepped inside. After Sage closed the door, she activated a lighting stone. It was a small, dark, and obscure room with a table and a single bed. On the table, there was some clothing and a few bck magic stones.

  “Clothes for you,” Sage said. “We are going to a gathering.”

  “You’re taking me out on a date?” I asked.

  “No,” Sage shook her head with a smile. “Every month, there are organized illegal fights. We are going there, but separately.”

  “Why?”

  “Official tournaments are too me for some people, and they want more. The illegal fights were always organized, and they will be, it’s impossible to stop them. But tely, the person currently responsible for organizing them, Obsidian Dragon, has grown a bit too strong and is pushing things too far.”

  “She is really good at hiding them, especially since she changes guilds every month, so it’s hard to find her. We were close once with Gemma, but she somehow found out and didn't show up at her event. But I know where the next fights will take pce. And it's today. I want to try a different approach rather than preparing a full attack on her.”

  “And you just found out about this pce when I have a debt to you?”

  “It’s your fault,” Sage replied. “You see, willing participants can fight in those events, but they are not going to go as far as it’s possible. For those who want to see really brutal fights, they organize sve fights. Before, accidents sometimes happened and someone died, but tely, she has grown too confident and begun organizing a tournament that only one person can win - the st one standing alive. Sves are forced to kill each other, but because of that, she needs a lot of new sves every month. And that forced her to be more risky. She was buying sves from the boratory, and you helped to take it down. One of the people there knew the location.”

  “Does Gemma know about it?” I asked.

  “Gemma would want to send a full team, and the Dragon would run away again,” Sage replied. “I want to try a different approach, and I need you for that.”

  “Why?”

  “Well, despite many of my talents… I’m not the best with people, you know? But you don't seem to have trouble flirting and seducing women. So your mission would be to seduce her and go to her pce. Thanks to this,” Sage said, grabbing a small stone from the table, “I will locate you. There is a special pocket in those clothes to hide it.” She grabbed pants from the table and showed that under the band on the inside, there was a small hole in which she slid the stone, and then with a brush of her finger, the hole closed.

  “So I’m supposed to seduce her and hope she will take me to her pce for sex?” I asked. “What if she realizes that something is wrong? Or that I have a css? What if she teleports us so far away you couldn't reach me?”

  “One question at a time,” Sage said. “She can’t teleport you.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yes, I’m sure. Teleportation is not possible.”

  “Gemma teleported me from another world here.”

  “Gemma… is different. That she is able to do something doesn't mean that anyone else can do it. And as far as I know, Gemma can’t teleport. Whatever she did with you was not controlled enough to be used to travel.”

  “Even if so, the Dragon might realize that something is wrong and kill me.”

  “If she wants to kill you, just show her that you have a css.”

  “And that’s going to help?”

  “It’ll buy you time. She’s not going to kill a man with mana. And I will come to rescue you.”

  “What if her guards or she is too strong for you?”

  “That’s not possible,” Sage replied.

  I frowned, giving her a look. My life could be at stake and she was cocky.

  “But in the worst case,” Sage added, “I will involve Gemma. There’s nothing that can stop the two of us together. We just need to know where the Dragon is.”

  “Wait! Is she a real dragon?” I asked.

  “No,” Sage snorted. “I mean, they exist, but are super rare. She’s a vampire.”

  “A vampire?! And you didn't think you should tell me about it?”

  “You have experience with them,” Sage shrugged.

  “If she drinks my blood, she will know I have mana.”

  “Then don’t let her drink it.”

  “Seriously?”

  “Yeah, it's simple.”

  I looked at the clothes Sage had prepared for me. The task didn't seem that hard, and if I failed and didn't seduce her, then nothing would really happen. But there was a risk that something would go wrong, and the Dragon would realize I have mana and I would get in trouble.

  But sves being forced to kill each other in fights for someone's entertainment? Who would even want to watch sick shit like that? It was hard to just ignore it and turn my back on it if Sage thought I could help save them.

  “There’s one more thing,” Sage added.

  “What?”

  “The Dragon is attractive, strong, rich, she doesn’t exactly suffer from a ck of interest from men. But most importantly, she’s a businesswoman and she takes every opportunity she has. So… she organizes a small tournament there. Men that are interested must fight for a pce in her bed.”

  “What?”

  “She gets more fights this way. And she probably enjoys men fighting for her. There’s something hot in that,” Sage said with a smirk.

  “And I’m supposed to take part in that?”

  “Those are not to the death and you get medical help after. You don't use weapons, only your fists. And you have csses, even if they have more experience and are better fighters, you should win anyway.”

  “Don't underestimate me,” I said.

  “Oh, I wouldn't dare,” Sage said with a smile.

  “It all seems too risky,” I said.

  “I promise nothing will happen to you. Well… except when you are fighting in the tournament. But those are not to the death, and they’ll heal you after. And in case something goes really wrong, I’ll be there to save you.”

  Sage grabbed another stone and reached it toward me. I used my skill to identify it - the Truth Seeking Stone.

  “I promise that your safety will be most important to me during this mission,” Sage said. “If anything goes wrong, my priority will be to save you and then bring you back to Ortas.”

  The stone remained bck, confirming she was speaking the truth. But those were just her intentions, not predictions of the future.

  “She has dozens of sves held somewhere,” Sage continued. “We must free them, or they will die during future events. We must stop her!” Sage said with fierce devotion in her voice. “Just find out where she keeps those sves, and I will take care of everything else.”

  “I don't know, it all just seems too risky,” I said.

  “Please,” Sage said. “Do you remember Mari? The state she was in when you bought her? That’s a normal life for sves there, and they are forced to fight against each other. If you hadn’t bought Mari, she could have ended up there and been forced to kill or die with other sves. Think about all those women and men tortured and held captive, scared, unsure if they would live another month, just because a bunch of pathetic assholes want to watch a brutal show for their entertainment.”

  The passion with which Sage was speaking showed how important the matter was to her, and I suspected there might be some personal involvement for her in the case, but then something completely different crossed my mind.

  “Wait, how do you know what state Mari was in when I bought her?”

  “Tori told me,” Sage said, but the stone she was still holding shone with light, showing that she was lying. She gnced at it before putting it on the table.

  I looked at her, surprised, and wondered how she knew about Mari.

  “Do you really believe you could buy a sve so cheap?” Sage asked. “I was investigating your moves and I found the man from whom you bought her. Or rather, Gemma bought her for you.”

  “What? Gemma bought her? Why didn't she tell me? And does Mari know? What?”

  “I guess she didn't want you to die, so she bought you a strong sve for protection. I don't know why Gemma didn't tell you. And I don't know if Mari knows. I can lend you the stone if you want to ask ter, but focus on the job right now.”

  I sighed, reluctant to take the risk.

  “I would take down two thousand of the debt,” Sage offered.

  “Oh, hell no. If I agree, you forget about the debt completely.”

  Sage moved her lips like she was looking for words, which in and of itself was odd, but then she asked, rather than demanded, “Maybe we will leave fifty ryns?”

  “Can’t you just ask for whatever you want for that money? And I can pay back fifty ryns right now in cash,” I said.

  “There’s something I want from you, but I don't want to talk about it right now. But it’s nothing bad, and I’m pretty sure you would prefer to pay me back this way rather than pay back in money.”

  I sighed, still not convinced if I wanted to do it.

  “If you don't help me, I’ll go there anyway. Maybe I’ll catch the Dragon, but even if so, I’ll not find where she keeps the sves that are not taking part in today's fights. Someone else will use them, and they still will be damned. But you can save them.”

  “Or you could just find any attractive man to seduce her,” I said.

  “I need someone who will certainly catch her eye, and then win the tournament against men that live from fighting. You are the best option I have. I believe you are the only option to save those sves.”

  I groaned. She was clearly trying to use my compassion for those sves to make me accept the job, but it was working. So I made the decision, really hoping that I would save them and get out of there alive.

  “I want more,” I said. Even if I wanted to save those sves, Sage could easily afford to offer me better payment than just erasing a debt.

  “What exactly?” Sage asked.

  “You will let me live at the house in Ortas without any rent for as long as I want,” I said.

  “Sure,” Sage replied.

  “And,” I added, not finished, when something of great value in the long run came to mind, “You will train me.”

  “Oh god no,” Sage groaned. “That’s going to be super boring.”

  “That’s what I want.”

  “Half an hour, once a month for a year.”

  I snorted dismissively. “I’m not even going to consider that a serious starting offer.”

  “So how much do you want?” Sage asked.

  “Two times a week for two hours for a year.”

  “You won’t st two hours with me. One hour once a week.”

  “Two times a week.”

  “Two times, but for half a year.”

  “Deal.”

  “I’m willing to agree,” Sage said. “But you must know that I’m not going to train some weakling. I’m going to push you beyond your limits. You will bleed. You will cry. You will beg to stop, and I will just ugh and push you even harder.”

  “Okay,” I said, getting a bit worried. That sounded like cheap threats, but coming from Sage, I wasn’t sure if those were only threats.

  Sage snorted. “And you’re worried something will happen on that mission. You just asked for an even worse fate.”

  “What’s the pn and the next step?” I asked.

  “You change, and we are hitting the road. It's over an hour from here, so I will have time to tell you everything you need to know.”

  I changed into the clothes that Sage had prepared for me, and after she picked up a few items from the table, we left the room. We didn’t talk along the way, waiting until we were sure there was no one around us.

  However, it didn't come to that in the end, at least not completely, because when we left Ortas, Sage quickly turned off the path and whistled.

  “What are we waiting for?” I asked, when she gnced at me with a smile but didn't lead us any further.

  “For her,” Sage said, gesturing at the rge creature coming toward us from between the trees. As she got closer, I recognized easily what it was - a centaur. I had seen them before, but hadn’t had an opportunity to ride on one, or even talk with one.

  “Tobias, that’s Rynessa. Rynessa, that’s Tobias,” Sage introduced us.

  From her human form, Rynessa looked to be around thirty, quite attractive, with her body looking quite small, but it was probably just an illusion when compared to her big lower horse body.

  “Nice to meet you,” Rynessa said, bowing her head slightly, which in the end caused her to just look down at me, being a lot taller.

  “Likewise,” I replied.

  “You can trust Rynessa and talk about anything you want in her presence,” Sage said, as she grabbed a harness on Rynessa's body and swiftly jumped to sit on her back. I doubted I could talk about my css around her, but understood that it was about the mission.

  “Come on,” Sage said, reaching her hand toward me. “We must get going.”

  I grabbed her hand, and after she showed me where to put a foot, I jumped to sit behind Sage.

  “Get closer,” Sage said. “We don't want you to fall. Could cause a lot of trouble.”

  I shifted forward, still keeping a tiny bit of distance between me and Sage, with her ass dangerously close to my crotch. All my attempts were in vain, because Sage just pushed her ass back until she pressed it into my crotch. She leaned back, resting her back against my chest, with her head resting on my shoulder in a way that I could see a part of her face.

  “Getting stressed touching a woman?” Sage asked with a smirk.

  “If you wanted to cuddle, you could have just asked rather than paying me thirty-five hundred,” I replied, wrapping my arms around her stomach to hold on to her, with really no better pce to put them.

  Rynessa snorted, making a small circle around.

  “Remember who pays you, horsie,” Sage said. “And go.”

  Rynessa jerked suddenly, setting off, but in a way that bounced us both slightly up. Instinctively, I squeezed my arms, pulling Sage even more into me. Rynessa quickly returned to the road and headed in an unknown direction for me.