Skeletal Dragon Avatar

Core snatchers

Over the last 4 months of convoy travel, Matt had killed a lot of different monsters, not only that but also a lot of bandits that sought the wealth of the convoy, not all adventures or guards had survived the convoy to the capital, the original 30 adventures had shrunk to 23 and the original 15 guards had shrunk to 11, this was rather normal though as death was just a part of life in this world, Matt adjusted quickly, the thoughts of his old world seemed further and further behind him, almost like a fleeting dream

‘Oh well… I like it here, I get to be myself’

Matt showed a smile, he was currently in a bar inside the walls of Kel, the bar was named ‘Wanderlust’ and was one of the best stocked bars in the outer city, Matt and the other adventures were currently celebrating getting paid from their time in the convoy, Matt himself had landed 16 gold coins from the whole ordeal, considering he had been fed during the 4 months he figured that it was an okay salary, he was currently chugging beers with Seb that was in a merry mood, Lise was there too, she looked a little more reserved as she sipped a fancy looking drink. In the end Matt quietly sneaked out of the party with his belongings, now that he had been paid and said his goodbyes (in his own way) it was time for him to get established in the capital city, as previously mentioned the city had about 1 million people living in it and was separated into 3 parts, the slums, the outer city and the inner city, currently Matt found himself in the outer city, if the slums and the inner city were two extremes, then the outer city was the mixing bowl that mixed them together, as such the outer city had the good things of both the slums and the inner city, but also the bad parts, such as the group of people that were currently surrounding Matt

“This one looks rather good, what level is it?”

One of the people’s eyes flashed briefly before that person spoke

“Level 1, he has a core”

“Tch, another dud… What should we do, leader?”

A bulky man who Matt felt the most danger from spoke out

“Meat is meat, even if it’s bone marrow you have to snap the bone to get”

“I got it, boss… Come here kid, I won’t make it hurt”

A person walked out from the crowd with a dagger drawn, the blade flashed under the moonlight, these groups of people were known as core snatchers, they were basic killers that roamed the streets at night and killed drunks, orphans and anyone that had formed a core, Matt glanced around at the 4 people that  had boxed him in against the wall of a building and sighed before a dark green light flashed in his eyes. Matt waited until the man with the dagger had approached him before he kicked off the ground, moving faster than the dagger man could react he put a palm over his head and swept his legs before he smashed his head against the cobblestone, an unpleasant sound much like that of a watermelon being hit by an oak baseball bat sounded out as the dagger man’s leg twitch slighted as Matt tore the dagger out from his hands and calmly stabbed the corpse in the chest before he removed the core under the eyes of the other 3, then he asked

“Anyone else?”

The leader clicked his tongue and shook his head before he spoke to the one that had evaluated Matt’s level

“Didn’t you say he was level 1?”

“That’s what my skill says, yeah”

The leader clicked his tongue again and spoke

“Let’s go, don’t let me see you again, brat”

The remaining 3 people quickly left Matt that also hurried on, he soon found an inn with a bar that still were open and walked in, under the light of the candles inside the inn his bloodstained hand became clear for all to see, he had just removed the core of a person a few moments before after all, the bartender raised an eyebrow and asked

“Core snatchers?”

Matt nodded

“Yep”

The bartender nodded and threw a rag to Matt as he showed a smile

“Then the first beer is on me”

Matt wiped his hand of blood before he took a seat at the deserted bar and took a swig out of the lukewarm ale, then the bartender asked

“New in Kel?”

“Yeah, arrived with a convoy today”

The bartender sighed before she asked

“Do you need some coin?”

“I’ve got enough for now… Though, what did you have in mind?”

The bartender showed a wry smile and spoke

“I’ve only survived because I got no core, that said I’ve grown tired of core snatchers and the city guard thinking they can drink here for free… I could use some muscle”

Matt thought about for a bit before he asked

“What’s the pay?”

“Well… I’ll feed you for one, that, and you can sleep upstairs… besides that I’ll pay you 5 silver a week, what do you say?”

Matt thought about it for a bit before he shook his head

“I want to raise my level”

Matt thought that the bartender would be discouraged, but she was anything but

“Oh… Then you definitely need to stay here! I can pay you in cores instead of coin! Please, you definitely won’t regret it!”

Matt was about to decline more firmly when someone opened the front door while calling out

“Hey sugar, give us the usual!”

The bartender clicked her tongue, Matt turned around and laid eyes on the core snatchers whom he had just killed a member of, only this time instead of 3, there were 7, the leader narrowed his eyes as he saw Matt before he began yelling

“That’s the brat that killed Tom!”

Matt frowned and asked

“Can’t you use your inside voice? I’ll see to you in a bit, just let me finish my beer”

“Get him!”

Matt sighed before he spoke to the bartender

“Sorry about the mess”

“I’ll forgive you for bringing trouble if you agree to work for me”

Then Matt stood up and turned around before he asked the angry core snatchers

“Want to take it outside?”

“Do you have any idea of how fucked you are!? You’re dead brat! Get him boys!”

Matt looked at the 4 core snatchers that were charging at him as his perception of time slowed down, he took a step forwards, it was like he was walking calmly, like he was taking a stroll in the park, even as the first core snatcher slashed down with his dagger Matt remained calm, taking half a step back before he ducked under the next swipe of the dagger that were aimed at his throat, then while he was ducked down he took a step forwards and punched the side of the first core snatcher’s knee which succeed in snapping the poor core snatcher’s kneecap, a terrible scream sounded out from inside the bar, a scream that was cut short when Matt stabbed a bone spike into his throat

“That’s the first”

Then he dodged the next dagger slash, and another one, from the next core snatcher’s dagger, by the 3rd slash Matt seemed to have gotten the timing down and parried the dagger with a bone spike from the bottom of his left palm before he punched the core snatcher’s throat once, then he dodged the next significantly slower swing before he punched the core snatcher in the throat again breaking the core snatcher’s trachea completely, as the core snatcher choked on his own blood while grasping his throat Matt suddenly raised his hand in front of his neck as a crossbow bolt passed halfway through his palm, it had clearly been aimed at his neck by the core snatcher leader that clicked his tongue as before he yelled to the remaining 4 core snatchers

“Get him, you retards! Prove your worth, whoever kills him will get to play with the woman!”

The 4 of them looked at each other before they all nodded, though the moment they all had looked away from Matt he had pounced at them and landed a kick at the neck of one of the core snatchers sending a crisp sound of vertebrae shattering ringing out in the bar as the corpse of the core snatcher collapsed like a sack of potatoes

“That’s 3”

Matt stepped back, dodging the stab of one of the core snatchers while he grabbed the outstretched hand before he pulled the core snatcher in and stabbed him in the stomach with a bone spike that came out from his knee, severing a pulse artery before he lifted him and used him to block a crossbow bolt from the leader

“4”

As Matt still were grasping the hand of the last core snatcher to attack him, he quickly acquired the dagger he was holding before he kicked him aside, using the corpse to block one of the 3 remaining core snatchers before he charged at the leader, then wielding the dagger he instantly closed the distance to the leader that was panicking while trying to reload his crossbow

“Wait, we can talk about th—”

“Nope~”

Matt stabbed the dagger at the leader that blocked with his palm, the two struggled for a moment before Matt stabbed the tip of the dagger into the eye of the leader causing him to let out a scream of pain, at that movement one of the two last core snatcher finally arrived to back up the leader and stabbed the dagger into Matt’s side, Matt let out a roar as he pushed the dagger through the leaders palm and into his brain before he twisted it around causing the scream of the leader to suddenly stop before he kicked away the other core snatcher that had just stabbed him in the side as he pulled the dagger out of the eye socket of the leader and threw it with surprisingly accuracy at the core snatcher he had stalled earlier with a corpse, the dagger flew across the room and landed in the middle of the core snatchers head, killing him instantly

“6!”

Then he approached the final core snatcher as he pulled the dagger out of his own side, the disarmed core snatcher pleaded for his life as he raised his hands

“Please don’t kill m—”

Matt’s eyes shone with a dark green light as he roared

“Did you really think that would help you!?”

Then he grabbed the core snatcher by the neck and stabbed it through his temple, ending his pleading as he twisted it half a round before he let go of the core snatcher and walked back over to the bar and sat himself down heavily before he locked eyes with the bartender and asked

“Do you have anything stronger than beer?”