Lightning Is the Only Way

Gravis stood up, walked to the entrance, and opened it. He saw two young men who were about as big as him, yet looked entirely different. One carried a big axe and had brown, brutish hair, while the other had a sword hanging from his waist and hat blonde hair tied in a ponytail. The man with the axe was muscular, and Gravis could see his muscles through his clothes. The other guy seemed refined and carried a smile.

"Yes?" asked Gravis neutrally. He wanted to get back to reading the Lightning Codex. Gorn told him that he should reread it until he perfectly knew it by heart, and Gravis would follow that advice.

The man with the axe grinned in disdain. "I've heard that a new guy with incredible strength joined our guild," then he laughed loudly. "But you really-"

"What do you want?" Gravis cut him off.

The man with the axe got angry and wanted to say something, but the other one gestured for him to be quiet. "The previous owner of the house is the younger brother of our leader, and he has been living here for-"

"Get to the point," Gravis interrupted again. He didn't want to waste more time here.

The man with the sword took a deep breath to remain calm. "Would you be so kind as to switch houses with-"

"No."

BANG!

The door was slammed shut in their faces, and the wind threw their hair back. Both of them blinked a couple of times at the now-closed door and didn't know what to do. That was not the reaction they anticipated. Weren't new guys supposed to ask and learn about the guild and how it worked around here?

The man with the axe exploded and banged on the door with his fist, multiple times. After some seconds, the door opened again, and Gravis looked at them with annoyance.

said no,"

couldn't remain civil anymore. "Listen here, you little

BANG!

the man was now thoroughly infuriated. He took out his axe and wanted to hack the door down, but the other

me go! I will tear his fucking little mouth apart and shit down his throat until all

the man with the sword tried to calm Fred. "He can't stay in that house forever!

right, Steve. We just have to wait for him to come out," then

can 'spar' with him as much as you want. Come on, let's wait over at the street. We can sit down and keep watch over the

and sat down, watching Gravis' entrance.

back down on his cushion and continued rereading the Lightning Codex. He had to learn everything by heart. If he started

two days reading until he finally memorized the whole thing. As he put the Lightning Codex down, he yawned. All this learning had exhausted him. On top of that, he was also starving. Gravis decided that he

bored on the bench. They were taking shifts in watching the entrance, yet both were bored

thought about it. "What if he has rations in the house?" asked Steve back with a

up. "This is so frustrating," he said while kicking the ground in boredom. "We could've made some serious buck in the last couple of days, yet we're only standing here watching a fucking door." He sat

It's for Boss. You know how Boss always supports us without ever asking for something back. Think about what Boss did for you," he said to Fred. "Don't you

not nearly enough repayment for what he's done for us, but it's a start." Like this, they continued

Creak!

the main street, probably on his way

eat something. He wasn't even sure where he could get any food, but there surely was