A day ago, Gideon would have hesitated. Back when he was still level one, clueless, weak, and half convinced this world was nothing more than a dying hallucination.
Now, even at level ten, the difference was obvious.
He could feel it in his body. In his balance. In the way the air seemed to part when he moved.
More importantly, he could see it in their eyes. The way the three men shrank back when they took in his frame, the tension in his shoulders, and the quiet confidence in his stance.
Gideon rolled his arms slowly. Cloth tightened around his biceps and chest as his muscles flexed, deliberate and threatening.
The pain in his feet faded beneath the rush of adrenaline and satisfaction.
"What?" he sneered. "You planning to tuck your tails and run like cowardly rats?"
"Hah! Fuck you!" one of them barked.
The man lunged. Gideon caught the punch cleanly, twisting the wrist inward hard; they could hear the bone pop. The man screamed as his knees hit the floor.
"Shit!" he yelled. "What are you two staring at? Fight him!"
The two of them rushed at him, one with a bat raised high. Gideon released the first man and stepped in, shifting his weight to his right leg before snapping his left foot forward.
The kick slammed into the attacker's ankle, sweeping it out from under him. The man crashed hard onto his back.
Without breaking rhythm, Gideon ducked the wild bat swing and drove a punch into the man's jaw. The crack echoed through the room as the thug went limp instantly.
Gideon picked up the bat, tapping it lightly against his palm.
"So," he said calmly. "You two done, or do you want me to keep using my left foot?"
Sweat poured down their faces as they exchanged a look.
"This isn't over!" one of them hissed. "You hurt Skull Fang members. Our boss won't forget this!"
They dragged their unconscious friend up, backing toward the door.
Gideon answered by hurling the bat. It smashed into the wall inches from their heads.
"Oh, shut up," he said flatly. "Get out before I lose patience."
They ran like cowards, hitting everything in their path like fools.
Elaine panicked and immediately knelt to salvage what she could. Pill bottles and tablets were scattered across the floor, but thankfully nothing liquid had shattered.
Gideon and Summer joined her, carefully picking up what remained clean and returning them to their containers.
Some of the medicine looked similar enough that they handed everything back to Elaine to sort herself.
Once the chaos settled, Elaine sank into the chair near the window and let out a long sigh. She adjusted her round glasses with trembling fingers.
Her braid had come loose, strands of dark purple hair catching the sunlight as it poured through the glass.
Her purple eyes looked exhausted. Dark circles were clearly visible beneath them. Even so, she was undeniably beautiful, her doctor's coat failing to hide the curves of her body.
Gideon blinked and frowned inwardly.
'Is it just me, or are women in this world built differently?' he thought. 'Is the average bra size an F or something?'
"Thank you, Summer, and…" Elaine's gaze shifted to him, hesitant.
"My name is Gideon Beckett."
"Oh." She nodded. "Thank you, Mr. Beckett. I'm sorry you had to experience that. This is our first meeting, and you shouldn't have fought them."
She adjusted her glasses again, her gaze dropping to his feet. "You're injured. I noticed earlier. You kept your balance and only kicked with your left foot, which isn't your dominant side."
Gideon's eyes widened. "You noticed that?"
She smiled faintly. "It's my job. I'm a doctor. Sit down. Let me treat it."
"Wait," Summer said firmly, stopping her. "Tell us what really happened first, Elaine."
Elaine hesitated, then sighed. "It's nothing serious. I borrowed medicines from them and couldn't pay them back."
Summer crossed her arms. "That's not the full story. They're Skull Fang. That's practically a syndicate, not just some survivor group."
Elaine looked away. "Even so, this doesn't concern you. Please don't interfere. Your mother would be upset."
"Don't bring my mother into this," Summer snapped. "She'd insist on helping if she knew. Because of you, Freya is still alive. So tell me the truth. We'll help however we can."
Elaine fell silent.
Gideon listened carefully, piecing things together. The three men earlier had worn ski masks marked with a skull pierced by a slanted arrow.
He had seen that symbol before. His eyes narrowed.
'Right. The ones I killed when I saved Freya have tattoos with that symbol.'
He cleared his throat. "If I can give my opinion," he said. "They're already my enemies. I killed three of their members to protect Freya. You don't need to hold back."
Summer nodded immediately.
Elaine finally exhaled. "Fine. It's antibiotics. I owe them cores for it."
"How many?"
"…Fifteen A-rank cores."
"What?!" Summer grabbed Elaine's shoulders. "That's insane! For antibiotics?!"
"It's about twenty-five ampules and antibiotics are really rare, Summer. Even Freebound doesn't have it," Elaine said quietly. "I managed to secure ten, but the interest kept increasing. Now it's twenty-five cores total."
Even Gideon covered his mouth.
He had just fought a single A-rank Aberrant, and it was a pain in the ass.
"Can't you pay in firearms or ammo?" he asked.
Elaine shook her head. Summer and Gideon exchanged grim looks.
"So… we help her, right?" Summer asked, eyes hopeful as she turned to him.
"Sure," Gideon replied, grinning. "But you need to help me too."
Summer's eyes narrowed. "What kind of help? Do I need to get fucked five times a day? Our agreement was twice and—"
Gideon covered her mouth instantly. Elaine did the same to herself, face burning red.
"No," Gideon snapped. "I need you to show me a place that's free from faction control, safe from Aberrants, and stable enough to live in."
He shook his head. "Can't believe you think about something like that, you pervert."
Gideon needed to plant the Seed of Aaru as soon as possible.
Summer froze for a second, then her cheeks flushed bright red. She tried to protest, mumbling angrily, but Gideon's hand was still firmly covering her mouth, drowning out whatever she was trying to say.
Her eyes burned with embarrassment and outrage as she struggled uselessly, glaring at him.
Then Elaine spoke, "I think, I know the perfect place."