The heavyset man didn’t even have time to dodge. Jack’s fist slammed square into his jaw, and he crumpled to the ground like a sack of rotten potatoes.
Clutching his swelling face, he gaped up at Jack, voice cracking with disbelief. “You hit me? You actually hit me?!”
“Doesn’t matter who you are. Anyone who insults our son gets what’s coming to them.”
Just then, Jack’s mom, Alice, stepped over. She set a steady hand on Rick’s shoulder, her tone soft but unshakable.
That was the unwritten rule Jack’s parents lived by. Their boy could be at the very bottom of the food chain, a Scavenger scraping by in the slums, but they’d never let anyone slander him, curse him, or write him off like garbage.
“Is there no law left? No justice in the entire Link Kingdom?!”
The heavyset man scrambled to his feet, veins bulging on his neck as he roared.
“The gutter trash parents of a worthless Scavenger dared to lay hands on me? My son is an E-rank professional—an Archer! He’s gonna be in
Frostveil City’s elite squad before the year’s out!”
He spun on the nearby guards, spitting with rage. “Are you all blind? A bunch of Scavenger lowlifes just assaulted me in the middle of the street!”
The guards exchanged awkward glances. The man was screaming loud enough to rouse the dead, so they had no choice but to trudge over to Rick.
“Mr. Rick, per city law, you had no right to strike that citizen. Especially not when his son holds a higher profession rank than you.”
Rick didn’t show a single flicker of panic. His voice stayed even, no bite to it. “What’s the penalty?”
The guard captain looked at Rick with clear, unhidden respect, but he didn’t sugarcoat it. “You’re looking at jail time. Could be a month, three months… maybe six.”
“Rick!”
Alice grabbed his arm, fury sparking in her eyes. She couldn’t wrap her head around it. Some random guy had humiliated their kid, Rick had stood up for him, and now he was the one facing punishment? It was so backwards it made her sick.
“It’s okay, love. I follow
Frostveil’s laws, same as everyone else.”
Rick bent down to kiss her forehead, then slowly held out both wrists, letting the guards know he wasn’t going to fight the cuffs.
He could feel every eye in the square fixed on him, so he took a deep breath and spoke, his tone calm but sharp enough to cut through the chatter.
“Everyone listen up. My name’s Rick. I’m Jack’s father.
From today on, I don’t want to hear a single word of garbage about my son. If I do, I’ll make whoever said it shut their mouth for good. Even if it costs me my life.”
“Mr. Rick, I’m sorry about this.”
The guard captain gave him an apologetic nod, then started to fasten the cold metal cuffs around his wrists.
And right as the locks were about to click shut, a voice cut through the crowd—cold, sharp, boiling with unbridled rage.
“I’d like to see who dares.”
“Who said that?!”
The guards spun around, scanning the onlookers, and spotted him immediately.
It was Jack.
He stood at the edge of the city gate, eyes locked on the cuffs around Rick’s wrists, his whole body shaking so hard his knuckles were white. His dad valued his dignity more than anything else in the world, and now these people were parading him in front of the entire neighborhood like a common criminal, strapping him with cuffs meant for murderers and thieves.
Jack was the only one who knew exactly how much this was hurting him.
“Wait, that little trash didn’t die out in the wastelands?”
“Tough talk. Who does he think he is, anyway?”
“Does Jack still think he’s that prodigy everyone used to gush over? He’s nothing but a lowlife Scavenger now.”
“Jack, your father broke the law.”
The guard captain’s voice went icy. He respected Rick, sure, but Jack the Scavenger? He didn’t have an ounce of respect for that washed-up nobody.
“And what if I say you’re not taking him?”
Jack’s eyes turned glacial, locking straight onto the guard captain. The Blood Talons strapped to his hands trembled faintly, sharp edges glinting in the sun.
“You want your head mounted on a spike above the city gate? Be my guest.”
The guard captain sneered, slowly raising his spear.
“Saria. Time to pay back that favor.”
Jack turned to the woman beside him, his voice low and grim.
“Fine. I hate owing people favors more than anything.” Saria huffed a laugh. “What do you need?”
Jack glanced back at his dad, still standing there with cuffs on his wrists, and his voice dropped even lower, rough with suppressed anger.
“Pull out all the stops. Give me back the dignity they just stole from my father. After this, you don’t owe me a single thing.”
“Really?”
Saria stared at him, genuinely stunned. The favor she owed him was worth enough for Jack to demand a dozen rare, high-tier artifacts, enough to set him up for life. And he was blowing the whole thing, every last bit of it, just to make sure his dad didn’t get humiliated?
In that second, she looked at Jack like she was seeing him for the first time.
“Wait here.”
Her voice was dead serious now. Then, faster than the eye could follow, she vanished.
“What the hell are you all standing around for? Arrest that little bastard!”
The heavyset man was still clutching his swollen, bruised face, screaming at the guards at the top of his lungs.
“Who are you calling a bastard?”
Jack’s expression went ice-cold. He triggered Shadow Step, which had just come off cooldown.
One blink, and he was standing right in front of the man, the tip of his Blood Talons pressed hard against his throat. A single flick of his wrist, and this guy’s sad, useless life would be over.
“Jack, don’t do something you’ll regret. Put the weapon down!”
The guard captain yelled in panic. If a Scavenger murdered a civilian on his watch, his career was done for. No promotions, no benefits—he’d be stuck patrolling the slums for the rest of his life.
“Kneel. Apologize to my father.”
Jack stared straight at the heavyset man, his voice as sharp as a honed blade.
“You’d kill me? You don’t have the guts.”
The man didn’t even flinch, even with the talons a mere five centimeters from his jugular. Deep down, he was 100% convinced Jack—worthless, bottom-of-the-barrel Scavenger Jack—would never dare kill him. Kill him? Jack’s whole family would be buried alongside him.
“Then die.”
Jack let out a low snarl. The Blood Talons sliced through the air in a clean, graceful arc.
A look of total, stunned disbelief froze on the man’s face as blood geysered from his throat. Jack slowly lowered his weapons, letting the body slump to the ground.
“You can arrest me now.”
Jack looked at the guard captain, his voice completely flat.
“You’re courting death!”
The guard captain flew into a rage, gripping his spear so tight his knuckles turned white, staring daggers at Jack like he wanted to tear him apart. He was a C-rank professional: a Fearless Knight. Killing a lowly Scavenger was less trouble than stepping on a roach.
“Jack!”
Rick lunged forward suddenly, shouting over his shoulder at Jack. “Run! I’ll hold him off!”
Alice rushed to stand beside him, shoulder to shoulder, ready to fight to buy Jack as much time as he needed to get away.
“Run?”
Jack barked out a sharp, bitter laugh. In that moment, he looked almost feral, like a cornered beast ready to tear the whole world down.
“Surrender now, and you’ll get a fair trial under the law.”
The guard captain fixed his gaze on Jack, his tone cold as ice. In his head, he’d already sentenced Jack to death. But if he could get him to come quietly, it’d save him the paperwork of explaining a dead Scavenger to his superiors.
“Surrender?”
Jack’s voice dropped even colder, if that was possible.
“Come on, then. All of you. Today, I’ll paint this entire square red.”
“Arrogant little fool!”
The guard captain laughed, full of disdain. He was sure Jack had lost his mind. He was a C-rank, for god’s sake. Jack was an F-rank nobody, the lowest of the low. Even if Jack had some cheap trick up his sleeve, against raw, overwhelming power, it didn’t mean jack shit.
Jack watched the guards closing in around him, a cold, mocking smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.
The Blood Talons in his hand vanished.
In their place was a short, dark-red dagger, its edge humming with faint, corrupted energy.
“Cursed Blade. It’s your turn now.”