Capítulo 83: Meeting Bargaf, the Son of a Hero
Little Joe was already at the market and, ignoring everything else, headed straight to the stall of the third dwarf, who was the youngest and strongest among them.
The dwarf stood next to his booth, which contained only two nearly wilted flowers on its surface. Beside it, a sign announced:
"I offer assistant services to anyone who pays me 20 bronze coins per day."
And written in smaller letters, little Joe read:
"I'd rather not do this. But I have no choice."
Little Joe approached and felt his dialogue skill activate as he read the sign carefully. While doing so, he observed the dwarf intently—a dwarf who hardly seemed like one, as he was much taller than Joe. On the other hand, the supposed dwarf was also observing him closely.
"We always have choices. Sometimes the hardest ones bring the greatest rewards."
"What are you talking about, kid? Can't you see I'm offering my services?"
"Reluctantly, it seems," said little Joe as he grabbed the small sign, showing what he had read. He continued: "If you don't want to work, why offer your services then? Just don't work."
"What are you talking about, kid? You don't even know me, and you're already criticizing me," he growled.
"About this here—didn't you write it?"
Suddenly, the dwarf, who wasn't so dwarf-like after all, asked:
"Can you read the ancestral script of the dwarves?"
"What do you mean, ancestral script?" little Joe feigned, suspecting that the system had automatically unlocked a skill derived from his dialogue ability.
Confused, the apparent false dwarf began asking many questions:
"Are you a dwarf? What family do you belong to? Why are you so short and skinny? Are you perhaps a noble spy disguised as a dwarf?"
"And are you even a dwarf? And from what family? Why are you so tall and bulky? Are you perhaps a giant in disguise?"
"????? What are you talking about? What is your—"
The dwarf didn't even finish his questions when the troublesome boy Rudy appeared again, this time accompanied by three market guards. These men had the authority to prevent fights, thefts, and any behavior unbecoming of the place or its commerce.
"That kid there hit me!" Rudy declared, pointing at little Joe as the guards eyed him skeptically.
"You're telling us that this short kid hit you?"
Realizing how embarrassing that sounded and knowing that dwarves could be oppressed by anyone, Rudy quickly added a lie:
"That's right. But he only hit me because that dwarf friend of his helped. Otherwise, I'd have handled it myself."
"What? I'm not friends with anyone here, especially if they're not a dwarf!" the burly dwarf defended himself.
But it was too late; the guards had orders to arrest anyone breaking the market's rules. The orders were especially strict if a dwarf was involved—they'd be beaten and expelled from the market.
Taking advantage of the confusion, Rudy also lunged at little Joe. Taken by surprise and warned by Sime not to retaliate, Joe just endured it, getting beaten soundly. While Rudy didn't give him a chance to defend himself, the system issued an alert:
🔺😎 [System Alert!] Your resistance is increasing. [Your defense has evolved from 0.18% to 🛡️ 1.18%].
The burly dwarf was also getting beaten by the market guards without fighting back, knowing that retaliating would only worsen the situation.
But seeing one of the guards helping Rudy to beat the little boy—who wasn't even a dwarf and had been speaking with him just moments ago—Bargaf couldn't hold back.
With strong, precise blows, he took down the two guards fighting him. Then, he turned on the pair assaulting little Joe.
Though Joe seemed to be on the losing end, the system was converting the damage to his body into resistance, automatically evolving his defense.
🔺😎 [System Alert!] Your resistance continues to increase. [Your defense has evolved from 1.18% to🛡️ 2.18%].
Even so, little Joe was genuinely getting hurt from the excessive blows.
🔺😎 [System Alert!] [Your defense has evolved from 2.18% to 🛡️ 3.18%]. [PS: Keep taking hits.]
"??? How can my defense be evolving if I'm feeling pain from these hits?" little Joe asked in the midst of the brawl.
[To facilitate your development, I am nullifying the effects of your defense. This way, you can increase your resistance far beyond normal without needing to spend XP.]
Encouraged by this tactic developed by Sime, little Joe charged eagerly at Rudy and his accomplice, who were still hitting him frantically.
🔺😎 [System Alert!] [Your defense has evolved from 3.18% to 🛡️ 4.22%].
Outraged, the burly dwarf knocked out the market guard and the troublemaker Rudy at once, then turned to little Joe and said:
"Get out of here, boy, and don't get involved in this!" He helped Joe to his feet and dusted him off.
"But you didn't do anything wrong, sir dwarf."
"You don't need to call me sir dwarf. I am Bargaf Token, son of Heron. Since my father was imprisoned and disappeared, the persecution of dwarves has never stopped. Now, get out of here and take this with you," he said, handing Joe the two wilted flowers in a small bag.
"It's a pity, but I really wanted to find out what job you were going to offer me."
"The reinforcements had arrived, and five more enraged soldiers appeared, advancing on the dwarf Bargaf.
What followed was a solid five minutes of fighting, but due to exhaustion, Bargaf gradually gave in until he was brought to the ground, subdued by one of them.
[This is your opportunity to level up your resistance to the maximum. However, this resistance will only become effective after 24 hours, and you'll need to escape once you reach your maximum level.]
'And if I can't escape after reaching my maximum resistance level, what happens?'
[You will never again enjoy the opportunities life has to offer.]
'So you mean I could...?'
[If you think it's worth it, just keep fighting. Try to help Bargaf escape from the hands of the market guards.]
'But these guys are beating up Bargaf, who's way stronger than me. What will they do to me?'
For a moment, little Joe thought he heard Sime smile:
[That's the intention]
"Remembering that he could stop those guards anytime he wanted — after all, he only had to command his loyal ants to bite those guys — he hesitated. But then, he would lose a unique opportunity to max out his resistance.
Rushing toward the guards trying to restrain Bargaf, he shouted:
'Let him go!'
The guards didn't even pay attention to him until little Joe punched one of them in the face.
The response was immediate.
🔺 😎 [System Alert!] [Your defense has evolved from 4.22% to 🛡️ 5.27%.]
A flurry of blows from the market guards rained down on little Joe.
🔺 😎 [System Alert!] [Your defense has evolved from 5.27% to 🛡️ 6.33%.]
The boy thought he'd have a chance to run if things got out of hand, but the ferocity of the blows he was receiving was only matched by the speed at which he was leveling up.
🔺 😎 [System Alert!] [Your defense has evolved from 6.33% to 🛡️ 7.40%.]
Now, the market guards alternated between beating little Joe and Bargaf.
🔺 😎 [System Alert!] [Your defense has evolved from 7.40% to 🛡️ 8.48%.]
The moment to flee was approaching. The question was: would he manage to escape before being fatally taken down by those guards?
🔺 😎 [System Alert!] [Your defense has evolved from 8.48% to 🛡️ 9.56%.]
🔺 💀 [System Alert!] [Your defense is about to reach a critical level! I strongly suggest you retreat from this fight now.]
Then, one of the guards prepared a punch to finish off little Joe. But at the last moment, aching all over and lost in dark thoughts, little Joe was startled when strong, calloused hands grabbed his own and pulled him out of the chaos.
A punch still landed on his side but with much less impact.
🔺 O(⊙_⊙)O [System Alert!] [Your defense has evolved from 9.56% to 🛡️ 10.01%.]
🔺 💀 [System Alert!] [Your defense has reached a critical level! Your luck ability is being temporarily modified to ensure your survival.]
'Get out of here, Mr. Joe, or things will get worse for you too.'
Without turning to see who was speaking, little Joe confessed:
'I wanted so badly to help him because I can't stand injustice. I think it's my fault he's being arrested.'
'Maybe you can do something, Mr. Joe, but we need to get him to safety first. Your physical condition is concerning. Let me help you while we talk a bit at my stall,' said Finerg, the mining dwarf, while Benki, the crafting dwarf, shielded him, blocking a punch from one of the market guards and preventing little Joe from being hurt even more."
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