Cleaver Of Sin

Chapter 524: Pan

Suddenly, another customer who felt that Asher had been talking to the woman for too long spoke up, "Hey kid, stop flirting with Anna, children like you aren’t supposed to be into older women." The man who spoke stood from his chair, his voice loud and rough as he walked towards Asher with heavy, deliberate steps.

Asher turned his head, his purple eyes falling on the man as he approached, "Is she your wife?" Asher asked with a calm expression, his tone mild and almost indifferent. He already knew that the man who had come to bother him was at the Faintstar Life Rank; he was basically the weakest of the weak, someone who relied more on bluster than any real strength.

"What did you say, kid?" the man barked in anger. Although he wasn’t drunk, he seemed a bit tipsy, and he had an obvious love, or perhaps lust, for the woman at the counter, a poorly concealed attachment that made his behavior both pathetic and irritating.

"Pan, stop it, this child is a new customer, you shouldn’t chase away my customers," Anna spoke as her eyes shifted towards Pan. She sighed as though this wasn’t the first time the man was causing trouble for anyone who spoke too long with her, her voice carrying the weary patience of someone used to cleaning up after him.

"Look, the brick-headed Pan is causing trouble again, how many times will Anna reject him?" another man within the pub spoke, drawing everyone’s attention towards Asher and Pan, the surrounding murmurs rising like low static as the other customers leaned in to watch the brewing conflict.

"Tsk, he is flirting with you and I know it," Pan replied as he clicked his tongue, his eyes shifting from Anna to Asher as he continued, "Leave her alone, kid, and don’t return. If I see you again, I will break your legs. I’m only letting you go without any injury because of Anna," he stated as he gazed at Asher with an exaggerated glare meant to intimidate.

’He probably thinks I’m an unawakened,’ Asher mused to himself. Pan was releasing a bit of his Faintstar presence to intimidate him, letting a faint pressure leak into the air like stale smoke. Asher smiled faintly and replied, "And if I don’t leave, what are you going to do about it?" he asked, as he casually released the presence of a Faintstar Life Ranker and met Pan’s eyes without the slightest hint of fear.

Pan, sensing Asher’s presence, stared at him with caution for a moment, then that caution vanished the next instant, replaced by stubborn pride. To him, Asher was just a kid; although both of them were Faintstar Life Rankers, he believed that he was stronger.

After all, he was older and had more experience, or so he told himself to preserve his fragile ego. Besides, he couldn’t step back in front of everyone as they would call him a coward. And also, he believed he was higher in sub-Life Rank, after all, he was already in his thirties and had been fighting for years.

Nobody really reacted to Asher’s sudden change in presence. Being able to hide one’s Life Rank and presence was a basic skill that even the most untalented awakened could do, so none of them were surprised and treated it as a normal thing, merely another small trick that anyone with a bit of training could perform without effort.

But Anna already knew Asher was an awakened, as Asher had told her he would become an adventurer upon his return from the Blackstone Village. After all, how could he become an adventurer without becoming an awakened?

Pan didn’t speak anymore; there was no need to. His hand immediately shot towards Asher’s mug, lifting it in one swift motion, and he smashed it towards Asher’s head with crude violence. Asher stared at the attack moving in slow motion, the world feeling almost languid to his sharpened senses. Being attacked by a mere Faintstar Life Ranker made Asher faintly amused rather than threatened.

But he knew he had to act within the limitations of a Faintstar Life Ranker and put on a convincing show, so he immediately lowered himself from the wooden stool he sat on as he dodged with a clumsy movement. Pan’s attack missed, the mug shattering against empty air, but before he could attack again, Asher acted first. He picked up the wooden stool he had been sitting on, then smashed it against Pan’s knee with force.

Pan groaned in pain for a moment. Even as a Faintstar, his body was still stronger than any normal person; a wooden stool couldn’t exactly injure him... well, that was only because Asher was deliberately holding back from putting too much force into the attack, carefully measuring his strength so as not to expose himself.

Pan attacked again, his fist swinging downwards towards Asher’s position with reckless aggression. Asher immediately dove to the side as he dodged at the last second, making it seem as though he had barely escaped. But he didn’t just dodge; he immediately rose to his feet, seized an ale barrel from the counter, and smashed it towards Pan’s head with a sharp grunt.

But Pan raised a hand as he blocked with his forearm, the barrel shattering into wooden splinters as the ale within it splashed upon him, drenching his clothes and face. Asher didn’t hesitate; he immediately jumped into the air, his entire body parallel to the ground, then he stomped both feet into Pan’s chest with controlled but convincing force.

Pan felt pain tear into his chest as he screamed and was flung a few meters back, his body smashing into tables and chairs behind him. Those who were drinking there had already moved aside, dodging out of the way with their drinks still in their hands, enjoying the view and fighting rather than being annoyed.

"You fucking rat of a child," Pan shouted in anger as he could feel he had broken a couple of ribs with the attack he had just received. But before he could rise to his feet to attack again, Asher rushed towards him with swift steps and pinned him to the wooden floor, pressing him down firmly. "Get off me, fucker," Pan shouted at the top of his lungs, his voice cracking with both rage and fear.

Asher sighed in his mind, already bored of the entire situation, then he broke Pan’s arm from the elbow with a clean, decisive motion, the sickening sound echoing within the hall of the pub like snapping timber. Pan screamed at the top of his lungs, but Asher wasn’t ready to listen to such a horrific voice, so he punched him in the jaw, knocking him unconscious once and for all. With that, the entire squabble ended with Asher’s quiet and effortless victory.

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AUTHOR’S NOTE: Two bonus Chapters from Aura Nova’s Magic Castle will be coming today after I’m done with work.