Chapter 134: Discipline
Chapter 134: Discipline
Calamity enjoyed his drink. It was Jordanian beer brewed in the high mountains of Jordan, a small island in the far-left corner of the Blind Sea.
A guild, who built their guild headquarters there, brought some of that to the Gathering- they also ship it to the mainland and sell it there, fetching a high price due to its rarity and unique flavor.
It was a strange drink in a sense, since the drink tasted different depending on who drank it.
For Calamity, it tasted like the most delicious drink, which was why Jordanian beer was one of the most addictive drinks in the New World.
However, in Adam's case, it tasted like a soda that was left sitting under the sun for an hour and had gone flat.
It wasn't bad taste, but not good enough to make him drink it.
"I heard you found that wretched crystal," Calamity said with a drunken smile. "Congratulations~"
"Thank you." Adam answered with a very flat tone.
He didn't hide the fact that he wasn't in a mood to talk to him, hoping that he would take the hint and leave him alone soon.
However, whether it was because he was ignorant or drunk, Calamity didn't notice the flat tone and just chuckled before drinking again.
"It must be tough to be an S-ranker," Calamity said. "All the expectations. Ah, I also remember when I left the tutorial-I joined Death Mercenaries, and those pure-blooded fuckers sure liked to bully me."
'Pure-blooded.' Adam seemed to know the strange term.
It was a mocking term used to refer to the ones that were aligned with the Pro-Strong movement-Death Mercenaries were full of them.
The strong rule-the weak slaved the world was a cruel place for those who did not fit into their narrow definition of strength.
"Not going to lie, it was wise to go to Dawnwatch." Calamity stood up, then looked at Adam with a grin. "You probably wouldn't have survived if you were in my shoes."
Adam didn't answer; he just cracked his knuckles and looked at him with a flat, unwavering expression.
"Heeeh..." Calamity chuckled at the expression and then walked off the porch, waving his hand. "See you soon, buddy. We'll probably meet on the big battlefield once the war starts!"
"Yeah..." Adam cracked his knuckles loudly. "See you soon..."
The drink by his side had lost its taste.
He didn't feel like drinking anymore.
'I'll go tell Digby and others that I'll go log off so they won't wonder where I am.'
After standing up, he stepped off the porch and walked down the darkly-lit town streets. The bonfire gloriously burned in the distance as he made his way towards it.
It turned brighter and brighter with each step he took.
There were mercenaries everywhere-around the bonfire dancing, laughing, and singing— around tables playing Mad Marbles, telling stories, and enjoying drinks-some had retreated to their inns with their lovers, and others were engaged in heated discussions under the night sky.
At that moment, Adam bumped shoulders with someone. He was too occupied trying to find Digby, causing him to accidentally bump into someone.
"Hey, look where you are going." A sharp-voiced man said, then placed his hand on Adam's shoulder and shoved him back forcefully.
Adam stumbled back and nearly fell to the ground, but quickly caught himself before he lost his balance.
A group of drunken men looked at him with strangely annoyed gazes. They wore sigils of a scythe slicing through a heart.
'Necroman Guild.' Adam's eyes turned cold.
Those were the worst kind of people to bump shoulders with, especially when they were drunk.
"Apologize, you little shit." Karma again placed his hand on Adam's shoulders and shoved him back.
This time, Adam was prepared and was only forced to take a couple of steps back.
This small confrontation quickly gathered attention. Some were hoping for Karma to kick the ass of the S-ranker. That would be a sight to see.
"I am sorry. May I pass?" Adam asked and patted the dust off his shoulder, as if he had gotten dirty from Karma's touch.
"Little shit." Karma raised his hand and slapped Adam across the face. "Watch your tone, fucking mercenaryman trash!"
His friends laughed, the spectators gasped, and more gazes turned in their way.
Adam touched his cheek and felt the sting of the slap, but he didn't look like he was in pain.
"What the fuck are you doing?" Zahn came striding across the grass, his face twisted in anger, his voice laced with anger.
"Just disciplining a little shit." Karma said with a laugh. "He thinks that since he is here, he is on equal footing with the rest of us. He ain't. He ain't shit."
Calamity enjoyed the show from the sidelines. He was grinning, laughing, and drinking.
This was something he expected to happen and hoped for it to happen.
It was easy for S-rankers to forget their place-while that title helped a lot, it also made them
ignorant.
In the end, the New World worked with a strength-based hierarchy. The S-rankers also had to remember their place.
Zahn stopped Karma from doing anything and said, "The disciplining is left for the guild to do. You wouldn't like that I would discipline you now, would you?"
"It's easier for him to learn this now than later." Karma said with a laugh. "If we had met
under worse circumstances, I would've already killed him."
"You're pushing it." Zahn said in anger.
"It's fine." Adam suddenly said and told him to move aside.
Zahn, with a frown, stepped aside to let Adam pass.
"I thank you for the lesson." Adam said, looking at Karma's black, round eyes.
It wasn't sarcastic or condescending.
He truly meant it.
The S-rank title had gotten in his head-he had to admit that-and he forgot the simple fact
that he was weak!
The hierarchy of strength was the only thing that kept the New World in check. It was needed for the order to be maintained.
"It's good that you understand, unlike someone else." Karma turned his gaze to Zahn, mockingly. "I don't blame you for not knowing; being around losers like them, they didn't
teach you properly."
Zahn's forehead twisted in anger, veins popping out as he clenched his fists.
Smack!
A fist connected with Karma's jaw, sending him sprawling to the ground. The beer in his hand
spilled all over his new shirt.
All eyes landed on Adam, shocked at the sudden violence.
Adam mounted Karma and smashed his fist into Karma's face over and over again. The bones broke, the flesh split, and blood spattered everywhere.
"You may 'discipline' me as much as you want, but don't you fucking dare insult my guild,
you fuck!"
The fist finally came to a stop, covered in blood and shaking from the adrenaline. Karma's face was a mess of bruises and cuts, blood dribbling down from his forehead to the chin. He looked like he was unconscious.
"Whoo..." Adam breathed heavily, looking at Karma's bloodied face with indifference.
"You shit!" A friend of Karma's finally came back to his senses and kicked Adam off his friend's body.
The members of the Necroman guilds were angered, their eyes burning with drunken rage.