Conundrums and Fisticuffs

Auclair looked at the burning city while everyone else stood beside him.

"What do we do now?" Norman asked.

He was growing exceptionally tired as they hadn't stopped for a long rest since coming there. He wasn't the only weary one either.

"I say we find a place to hold up and hit the hay. We've got a month to do this so we don't need to rush it." Jackson explained his thoughts.

Auclair crossed his arms and tapped his fingers in thought. After much deliberation he turned to them.

"We shouldn't take the time limit for granted. We have a month, so let's do it in a week."

"Are you nuts?" Gwen asked while raising her eyebrow. Nobody could see it behind the mask, but they understood it from her tone alone.

"No. If this is a game, surely we get better rewards for finishing long before the intended time. We also definitely get more awards for placing first; I know that from experience."

'So he finished in first place for the tutorial.' Jackson smiled under his mask.

"But I do agree we need rest. We also need the bomb collars off." Auclair determined. They had all been worked to the bone and then forced to run for who knows how long. Their collars also would probably had been broken by whatever that previous contestant had done, but he wasn't going to put it to chance.

They looked back towards the burning city and Auclair, Norman, and Jackson discussed possible hiding spots. At the same time Norman quickly began stripping the bombs down and taking them off of everyone's necks, including Gwen.

They concluded the hiding spot didn't need to be complicated because the city guard was probably not going to search for them anymore. Eventually they came to a decision.

"Four of them, all in gas masks… They're wearing irregular clothes and investigating the city. I'm fairly certain they're also contestants." Someone said while letting their legs sway in the wind off a rooftop.

A companion of theirs leaned over and looked across the burning city. They scratched what they could of their chin and sighed.

"Then let's follow them. Once they're in a secluded spot we'll jump them for any information and gear."

"Looks like they're getting ready to leave." Another companion pointed out.

Auclair jumped off the perch the group was standing on and entered an alleyway. They weren't too far from where they decided to hide.

There was a place that seemed to be a slum. The rampaging undead were sure to head there to get what could be equated to be a free snack, but there were almost certainly hidden spots.

The eerily quiet streets gave Norman the chills and everyone was extremely alert for any potential threats.

Auclair stood at the front with Norman behind him and Gwen behind Norman. Jackson was at the rear of their formation with a rifle. They all stopped when Auclair suddenly froze.

He tilted his head in confusion and took off his gas mask for a moment. Norman and Jackson were perplexed at his sudden actions and readily wanted him to put it back on. None of them completely understood how the disease spread, so it was absolutely unsafe for him to have done that.

Auclair obviously didn't care what they thought.

"What is that?" He asked himself in a barely audible mumble. He spun around a few times and sniffed the air a bit.

"…Some sort of fruit? Cherries maybe?" He sniffed the air some more with furrowed brows, completely ignoring Norman and Jackson.

Auclair began searching the surrounding threads of fate. He had barely done it since entering the city because of the density of the threads. That was a weakness of it; a weakness that had never ceased to annoyed him.

However he wasn't looking at the streets.

He rose his gaze to the rooftops and saw exactly what he was looking for. He slipped his gas mask back on and began speaking.

"There's a group of four nearby. They're on those rooftops." He pointed into the air and the three looked over.

"Recon abilities… Hahhh- always ruining a good surprise." Someone said as they began standing up. Their three companions also stood up.

'Green-Eyes, Hobo, Knight, and last but not least, Wizard.' Jackson thought to himself, giving the four contestant's nicknames as soon as he saw them.

From left to right, the first contestant had striking green eyes. Jackson thought they were truly beautiful. So the name Green-Eyes was self explanatory.

Next was someone who looked like they hadn't seen the interior of a building in countless years, so Jackson simply dubbed them the Hobo. Then there was the Knight decked out in fancy armor. Lastly, the person on the far right seemed like they were a wizard walking straight out of a fantasy movie.

They had a pointy hat, had a broom strapped to their back, and wore a robe with constellations on it.

Jackson stifled a laugh at the sight but quickly grew professional. He had heard of contestants like it before from his previous squad mates. His expression hardened and he explained to the others.

"They're fledgling hunters. Seems to be a whole group of them too."

Norman nodded and added on in the explanation, "They purposely fail Hex Trials while stockpiling power and gear. Then they slowly move up in rank. I can't say its a dumb strategy, but it sure won't win any favors amongst the viewers."

Green-Eyes grinned.

"Well you seem to be a smart cookie. But then you should also know we don't care about the fame, we just want our wish."

"Obviously." Norman replied.

"Let's get the show on the row already." Wizard said to his fellow companions.

Jackson raised his rifle and fired a round at the wizard. It hit a thick transparent shield that they had created in front of him.

"Bold." Wizard remarked.

"Annoying." Jackson replied.

Hobo hopped off the building and looked at Auclair. He bowed slightly as Gwen shot a fire dagger at him. He moved as little as possible to avoid it while finishing his bow gracefully.

"Bring it out!" Gwen yelled at Auclair, referring to his Ego.

"I'm resting, so no." Auclair replied while focusing his attention on the approaching man.

Green-Eyes watched the scene with a humorous expression. He nudged Knight who jumped off and ran towards Gwen, gaining her attention. Green-Eyes then clapped his hands together spreading confetti everywhere.

From the confetti emerged a strange puppet.

"Alright boy, let's see if you're worthy of my marionette." Green-Eyes smiled at Norman and their puppet launched itself off the roof.

Connie appeared from behind Norman and the puppet temporarily froze. It regained it's mobility as Green-Eyes targeted tried to get past her with his puppet.

'So he can summon creatures. But why a little girl? What a disgusting person.' Green-Eyes' smile changed to a frown at the misunderstanding and became more motivated to kill Norman.

Auclair returned the old man's bow gracefully. Hobo smile gently like a proud grandparent and took a stance.

'Unarmed? It's been awhile since someone's fought me like that. He picked me so he must have good eyes and be confident in his abilities. Or he's an overconfident idiot.'

Auclair took his stance and the two looked at each other for a moment. Hobo threw a punch and Auclair's eyes went wide.

'Shit!'

He rose his arms and blocked his face. The punch connected with his arms and sent him flying into a wall.

As dust flew everywhere, the old man gave another bow and turned around to watch the other fights at a distance.

"Trying to be courteous? It's not over yet, you fuck." Auclair vilely said as he stumbled out of the building with a devilish smile and manic eyes. A thin slimmer of blood trickled down his forehead.

"Your punching power is eight out of ten. Your hand speed is ten out of ten. Your toughness is unknown. Your stamina is unknown. Your mobility is so far, an eight out of ten. Lastly, your technique is a seven out of ten."

Auclair quickly said while cracking his neck. He ran his hand over his blood and used it to slick back his hair. Due to the limited vision of the gas mask, if it got in the way, he'd have a serious problem.

"Seems I was right. You do have a modicum of experience." Hobo replied. Internally he was impressed that Auclair had come up with those numbers from his first punch.

"…"

Auclair didn't bother to reply as he ran forward to close the distance. He avoided a jab that the rest of the contestant's couldn't even see. Auclair sent a jab towards the man's undefended ribs which he promptly blocked.

Auclair smiled and continued throwing light jabs. He was figuring out the man's defenses and the man tried to return the punches. After the first punch Auclair wasn't being caught unaware anymore and avoided all the hits.

Auclair continued probing the old man's defenses while the rest continued their fights.

In the corner of Auclair's eyes, he could see Gwen fighting the Knight with a high degree of skill. The armor seemed to completely block the heat from her daggers so she was sending them towards the armor's gaps. Despite being in a suit of armor, the Knight was very agile.

Auclair theorized it might've had some enchantment.

Since Gwen kept trying to sneak the daggers into the gap at the knees, Auclair knew she intended to immobilize the Knight and the crush him with the giant maces. The Knight kept hitting the daggers back with his sword or tanking it with his armor.

With each block he moved in closer and closer, but that just made it easier for Gwen to aim her daggers.

Then there was Jackson who was running around the Wizard as the two fired projectile after projectile at each other. Jackson was constantly taking cover from the Wizard to avoid being hit while the Wizard stood in the open with their shield that blocked the bullets perfectly.

The Wizard's shield didn't seem to be cracking but all the cover around Jackson was slowly dwindling as it got destroyed. Jackson decided a frontal approach was idiotic and ran into a building, disappearing instantly from sight.

The Wizard wanted to push, but didn't know what tricks Jackson had up his sleeve. Most contestants could use magic and since Jackson hadn't yet, the Wizard thought he was hiding an attack or couldn't attack with it yet.

Finally, Norman, Connie, and Green-Eyes were fighting. Although it was more apt to say that it was just Connie and Green-Eyes fighting.

It seemed Norman was still going against Auclair's better judgment and was keeping his Regret around. She was fighting vigilantly for her brother though so Auclair assumed he was utilizing her for his main attacks.

Auclair didn't know if Norman had any other fighting power, but held out hope. If not, Norman would be even less incentivized to get rid of the Regret.

Green-Eyes just kept manipulating the puppet expertly and avoided Connie's strangely devastating attacks. Earlier Green-Eyes had froze his control when he sensed the strength of her. He took extra care to avoid all hits from her while trying to reach Norman.

Seeing that Connie was protecting her brother with complete efficiency, Green-Eyes switched tactics.

"Sorry little one." Green-Eyes muttered as they changed target of their puppet's attacks.

The puppet opened their palm and a long spike suddenly protruded, ripping through the material creating it. At the sudden attack, Connie failed to avoid it completely and it grazed her cheek.

Connie tapped her cheek and looked at the blood with wide eyes.

She glared at Green-Eyes and released a deathly aura. Her hair began rising on her head and she began to age a few years.

Auclair threw out a massive kick for the first time, completely surprising the old man. It sent him flying into a building much like Auclair had earlier.

"Connie! I'll protect your brother, so go back to his shadow!" Auclair yelled across the battlefield.

Connie, now in her early teens, ignored Auclair.

"Connie…" Norman called out to his sister. She looked back at him and her angry face was quickly replaced by a worried one.

"Trust him." Norman said with a lump of saliva in his throat. It was strange seeing his sister get older; it made it difficult for Norman to speak.

"Young men are so impatient nowadays." Hobo said as he walked out from the building. The attack seemed to have caused him to sustain a large amount of damage.

"…"

Auclair ignored the man and watched Connie as she ran over to Norman. She disappeared behind Norman a moment later and Auclair smiled.

Auclair quickly created signs with his hands. When he finished, everyone could hear some laughter echo in the street. A jingling bell rolled in the street as the laughter continued.

"Come out again old friend." Auclair said under his breath.

From behind Auclair, a pale humanoid creature seemed to step out from behind Auclair. On its head was a cap 'n' bells that jingled with every step. Its face was contorted from its constant howling laughter.

It buckled over while still laughing before pulling out a sickle and scythe.

The summoned creature was a sickly looking Jester with strange proportions. It's limbs were long, it had empty looking eyes, and one finger too many on each hand.

It raised its head and its hollow eyes seemed to be looking in the direction of Green-Eyes' puppet. It burst forward and raised its two weapons and prepared to fight, all while still laughing.

It kept laughing and laughing until it grew hypnotic. The sound bounced off the walls in the street again and again until it seemed to have multiplied. The laughter began coming from every direction as the Jester closed in on the enemy puppet.

The Jester hooked the puppet that tried to dodge with its sickle before slicing the puppet in half with its scythe. As the puppet fell to the ground, Auclair smelt the cherry smell again through his mask.

He furrowed his brows as Hobo threw out a lightning quick punch which Auclair barely avoided. Auclair let the Jester take over as Norman's temporary protector while he focused back onto the old man.

"I'm done probing your defenses by the way." Auclair said nonchalantly.

"What?" The old man blurted out.

Hobo threw a punch which Auclair promptly grabbed and twisted. Auclair rose his other elbow and rapidly brought it down on the back of the old man's joint. A loud crack resounded as the old man's arm bent in a direction it wasn't intended to.

The old man yelled with bloodshot eyes while veins emerged in his neck.