There were only so many things that Ludere could do to stem the tide of his desire to try Unarmed Combat. He really wanted to learn things about his new skill. And if they couldn't find the skill gem? It would be the perfect crime.

  That was what the stories said, right? Perfect crimes were when things happened just so…

  There was an alternate path he imagined if he hid it in his house. He could have sold it—but he didn't know who.

  He would have had to find a buyer.

  He knew people through work, but how much could he even trust Erebus?

  Erebus was many things, but quiet was not one of those. He was loud in ways that Ludere hadn't considered.

  But this? He threw a punch.

  He could sell this.

  The Skill Swap wanted him to use it.

  There were always people coming into the ring and he… He could find the best skills they had and then charge the children of Prefereti… But he would need to figure out how exactly to make this happen.

  The office he worked in was heavily scrutinized.

  They had to be nice, smart, and do things by the books.

  "Five Dinarii on the one by the torch," a different older gentleman said to Erebus.

  "Certainly, sir."

  The sounds of writing in triplicate echoed. Though they could easily see the ring, the builders had designed their room to be quiet. Most of the sound came in muted.

  Ludere's heart played a drum line in his chest, one of those Legion's standards that each boy memorized young.

  How could they not notice? His world was fully upside down, and he was… He was wringing his hands.

  It would have to work.

  He could use this. He could get Gia to coach him a bit longer, and get good at his skills, and then what? What would he do with it?

  It would be so easy for him with a bit of coaching.

  He needed to find somebody who could take his skills and use them. He needed quiet trading partners. He'd figure out his way to get here, hadn't he?

  Sure, he'd use his parents' help, if he could get it. He'd done a lot, but he could move on with what he had.

  At least unless the Prefereti looked into his dealings. Then they would wonder how… And he wouldn't be able to stop them. Then he would need to figure out how to lie low.

  He realized that he had been idly playing with his tunic. The hem was a bit frayed on that edge. He briefly thought about having to talk to someone about replacing it, and the cost would be… Roughly a week's wages.

  "You look like someone pissed in your bread," Erebus said.

  "Yeah, I'm thinking about how much it's going to cost to replace this tunic. I just felt a seam rip."

  Erebus winced. "Who's your tailor? Eumenedies? Isn't he good with it?”

  "He's always backed up because the Legion comes first. He has to work extra to even begin to get past their orders, and he doesn't want to hire anyone."

  "You should offer to help him, Ludere. He's getting older, and it's not like he can afford the help that he desperately needs."

  Ludere waved his hands. It could only get him so far to show up and apprentice to an old man. He had only gotten this job because of his analysis skill. That in and of itself was going to be enough for him to live a comfortable life. He would be dealing with the worst of the worst, the top-tier sandal-lickers that did all they could to keep up their appearances with the Prefereti… But money was money.

  The formed stone of the coliseum wasn't and could never feel like home. But he could make money here and find his way out to a little village on the coast, far from here, and maybe take a wife.

  That would not be too much for him to dream of. Maybe a girl like Gia, but perhaps not her, exactly. She was too nice—or, at least she was with the customers.

  "I'll see what I can do."

  Erebus snorted. "You're always in your head with these plans for the future. Just live in the now. The Legion can wait."

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  "The Legion is going to have to wait because they'll never catch me."

  Erebus cocked his head. "Understood. But they'll still take their pound of flesh."

  Ludere shrugged. He knew what it would cost. But there was always the chance that he would escape conscription. His father hadn't, and that had been an issue that he'd had to face along the way.

  "They can take it if they can catch me."

  "For the hundredth time, the Athletics skill isn't going to let you outrun the recruiters. You're going to have to go abroad or something. They're like persistent hunters."

  Erebus had physical issues that prevented him from joining, so far as Ludere was concerned, that wouldn't stop him. So what if he needed the structure of the System. Ludere would break the System if he got a chance.

  There was something in the air. A little pinch of something familiar wafted into his nostrils. A little salty mess that he'd enjoyed as a youth. Something that he hadn't smelled since the last…

  "Erebus. The demons are coming."

  "Fuck."

  Ludere grabbed a bronze spear from below the counter. He passed one to Erebus and then put two dozen on the counter.

  He grabbed one for himself.

  Below them, in the center of the arena, a large portal opened. Through it, the crimson light of the Demon Realm was clear.

  "Daemonic incursion! All men of combat age please prepare for battle! Anyone with magic skills please give aid! Follow the assigned pathways out, everyone else! Vivat canem!" The announcer's voice was everywhere and nowhere at once.

  Erebus was up and beside him. It was the duty of every man in the empire to fight demons. Several large demons lumbered through, after dozens of small imps that barely passed his knees rushed forward towards the fighters. Each of the little ones was covered in scabs and stretch marks and were vaguely humanoid, if he looked at them with his partner's eyes.

  "Spear wall!" The command demanded to be followed and Ludere grudgingly complied, heading down the stairs towards the commotion. Next to him, several of the Prefereti all flung powerful spells from their seats. A line of fire and ice all pointed to the same large beasts.

  The two human-tall beasts looked intelligent, as if they were not just here to have fun. They looked at the seating area that he was in, and started moving.

  Ludere gulped as the first of the tall, black demons reached the gladiators, flinging one against the wall next to him. The box seating that protected what had to be a senator, proved to be stronger than the gladiator.

  His hands shook. He was going to have to make it through this, one way or another.

  There were some spear basics that he had drilled so long ago. Why hadn't he kept going until he got the skill? That would have been so much easier.

  They moved faster, and Ludere suddenly didn't want to defend any of the Prefereti around him. He pulled the spear back into the guard position, bracing for another attack.

  There had to be a better way than this.

  He needed someone with the Spear skill and he was going to have to level it up if he survived.

  Erebus stopped. "They're going to get here faster than we can get there. I don't want to die tired."

  The shorter demons were coming, five side-by-side.

  They ran to the side of the pit and straight up it. The damned things were relentless, cleaving through man and woman on their way up.

  "Hold," Ludere said, doing his best not to panic.

  Next to him, several men many years his senior all lined up to take on the horde. He noted with dissatisfaction that he was one of the youngest men on the line. Hopefully the rest would have the skills to make up the difference.

  He didn't even have his Athletics skill to fall back on. If he wanted to run, he couldn't even do it. All he really had was the people next to him.

  He scanned the first demon. It was of course an Imp.

  Its highest skill was Fear. He didn't think that meant that it was afraid.

  He thrust his spear at it. His new skill, of course, wanted him to choke it out. That didn't seem like a good idea at all. He was hit by the notion that a level two Unarmed skill might be better than his brief training with the spear.

  He knew so many ways to cut a man down, but piercing felt like it would be very effective against the demons. One of the Prefereti next to him attacked a demon with a lightning bolt, and he wondered if he might be able to swap skills with that man.

  The imp dodged.

  Ludere cursed.

  He tried again, thrusting forward, careful not to overextend himself.

  Once again, he thrust, trusting Erebus to do his part. He was surprised that the scream he thought was Erebus's turned out to be his own.

  His screaming died down as he focused on what was right in front of him. It also helped that he closed his mouth.

  The skill screamed at him to wrestle with the imp and break its bones. He didn't even know if demons had bones, but he was willing to try.

  Abandoning the spear inside of the imp, Ludere pulled its arm back like it was a cinnamon stick he was trying to snap open. Surprisingly it went with him. He pulled it back until he heard a snap. The Imp tried to use its other arm to attack him as the first fell limply by its side. Small gouges lit up across his tunic as the brown turned darker with blood.

  *Unarmed Combat 2->3*

  The skill wanted him to do something to the imp's neck, and he obliged, working his way around its teeth and digging into it. The neck felt flabby, and for a brief moment Ludere wondered what the heck he was doing, and then the imp went limp in his arms.

  *Unarmed Combat 3->4*

  If this was how combat skills worked, he was going to get a lot out of this encounter. He turned to see another imp staring him down. He reached for the spear, but found himself unable to pull it out.

  Panting, he squared up into a stance that felt so natural that he found himself moving to attack. Who was this man who attacked? He was out of breath, but he knew that something was going to hit.

  The demon moved into his range and swung at him. He knew that he needed to dodge, but without his Athletics skill he felt so sluggish. It couldn’t come back sooner.

  The skill told him to kick the demon in the face. Its red and purple face looked entirely too kickable. All he would need to do is connect, and then get it while it was down and then Erebus would be able to help.

  “Ack!” The cry from next to him came. Erebus was retching, his throat torn out of his neck.

  This was entirely too much for him and his momentum into the kick died. He barely pushed hard enough to knock his demon back. It grinned at him, a maw of misshapen teeth looking like a lifetime of regret.

  Then he was stuck. He couldn’t move.

  There was something dark and purple sticking out of his chest. He passed into unconsciousness.