"You bastard!" The staff wielder roared.

He swung his weapon in a wide horizontal arc aimed at Lucas's head.

Lucas ducked under the swing and drove his shoulder into the lanky youth's midsection like a battering ram.

They both crashed to the ground, but Lucas was ready for it. He rolled with the impact, came up on top, and immediately rained down punches.

Left hook to the ribs. Right cross to the jaw. Another left to the temple.

The staff wielder tried to buck Lucas off, tried to bring his weapon up to defend, but Lucas was relentless.

He grabbed the staff with one hand, yanked it aside, and delivered a devastating hammer fist to the crony's nose.

Blood sprayed. It was not enough to trigger the barrier, but enough to make the point. Lucas drew back his fist for another strike when he felt the air shift behind him.

Pure instinct saved him.

He threw himself sideways as an Earth Spike erupted from the ground exactly where he'd been kneeling. The red-haired crony was grinning, thinking he had Lucas on the defensive.

He was wrong.

Lucas rolled to his feet and charged straight at the caster. The red-haired youth's eyes went wide with panic. "[Earth Wall]!" he shouted, and a barrier of stone erupted between them.

Lucas didn't slow down. He leaped, planted one foot on the wall, and used it as a springboard to vault over the top. The red-haired crony stumbled backward, already forming the hand signs for another spell.

He never finished it.

Lucas's flying kick caught him square in the chest.

They both hit the ground hard, and Lucas transitioned immediately into ground fighting. He pinned the crony's arms with his knees and delivered a brutal series of punches to his face and torso

"This—is—for—every—single—garbage—that—came—out—your—mouth!" Each word was followed by another strike.

The red-haired youth's nose broke with a sickening crunch. His lip split. A cut opened above his eyebrow.

But Lucas was careful. He knew exactly how much damage the barrier could absorb before it triggered.

He was riding that line, inflicting maximum pain without actually eliminating his opponent yet.

"Lucas, behind you!"

The warning came from somewhere close. It sounded kind of like Damion but it could have been someone else.

Lucas didn't waste time looking. He rolled off the red-haired crony just as the staff wielder, who had apparently recovered, brought his weapon down in a vicious overhead strike.

The staff hit the red-haired youth instead. His barrier flashed, and he was eliminated by his own ally.

"No! Damn it!" The staff wielder's face twisted in horror and rage.

Lucas didn't give him time to process his mistake.

He was already moving, closing the distance before the lanky youth could recover his stance. Lucas feinted left, and when the staff came up to block, he pivoted right and drove his fist into the crony's exposed ribs.

The crack of bone was audible even over the chaos of the battle around them. The staff wielder gasped, his weapon dipping, and Lucas capitalized ruthlessly.

He grabbed the staff with both hands, yanked it toward himself while simultaneously kicking the crony's legs out from under him.

The lanky youth fell hard onto his back. His head bounced off the packed earth of the arena floor, dazing him.

Lucas tossed the staff aside and dropped down, one knee planted on the crony's chest to pin him.

"Had enough?" Lucas asked coldly.

The staff wielder's response was to spit at his face.

Wrong answer.

Lucas had dodged the saliva that had flown at his cheek and now his face became serious.

He grabbed the front of the crony's uniform with his left hand and drew back his right fist.

The first punch broke the crony's nose. The second split his lip.

The third, fourth, and fifth were delivered with mechanical precision, each one calculated to inflict maximum pain while staying just below the barrier's threshold.

"You—wanted—to—fuck—me—up?" Lucas punctuated each word with another strike. "How—does—it—feel?"

The staff wielder's face was a mask of blood and bruises.

His eyes were swelling shut. But still, his barrier hadn't triggered.

Lucas was controlling his strength perfectly, keeping each blow just strong enough to hurt like hell but not quite strong enough to trip the protective magic.

"Please..." the crony finally gasped. "Please, stop..."

Lucas paused, his fist drawn back for another strike.

He remembered the countless times the original Lucas had been bullied by people just like this in the game. Even though it was just a game to him at the time, it still bothered him.

But he wasn't the original Lucas, so he would let that push him too far.

"I'll give you mercy this time." Lucas said.

Then he delivered one final, precise strike to the crony's temple.

The barrier flashed and the staff wielder vanished as well.

All three of Carl's cronies had been easily eliminated. He didn't even have to use anything but his fists.

If the workers are so pathetic then the boss can't be much better.

Lucas looked down at his bloodied hands and flexed his fingers.

"Not bad," a familiar voice said.

Lucas turned to find Zacard standing a few paces away with his spear resting casually on his shoulder.

The dark-haired youth looked at him with a unsettling cold look in his eyes and his expression as completely unreadable.

"I honestly didn't think you'd take that long to deal with those guys but then again I didn't expect you to fight them barehanded," Zacard continued. "That was very risky."

"Sometimes you have to make a statement." Lucas said. "And I may or may not have realized that I could bring my own weapon."

"You're one crazy guy, you know that, Lucas Estellan. I'm beginning to like you more and more." Zacard said and threw his head back and laughed.

"Not in the gay way, I hope." Lucas said with a smirk.

"Now you're just going too far." Zacard said but he let out a chuckle.

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