Immediately after the encounter, Casper thought it'd be wise to leave the gathering — his spidey senses were tickling.
But before doing so, he left a message with Xio to tell a certain noble that he had thoughts on selling it.
Soon after, he boarded a carriage to his apartment.
As he passed by the dimly lit streets, Casper witnessed the city's dullness. Bars spilled their warm glow onto the pavement, drawing in half-tipsy patrons.
Across the way, weary office workers trudged home with bleak eyes. A street vendor packed up his cart, yawning under the flickering lamplight.
Witnessing all of this Casper couldn't help but think of a certain club, Should I start a fight club for shits and giggles? He thought seriously, But I don't have a house big enough to host it.
Then, he had another thought. Speaking of houses, I really got to find a better one with the money I'll get for the Apothecary formula.
Though the more he continued on his journey, Casper couldn't shake the itch to start a fight club.
After a while, Casper couldn't resist the feeling anymore. His urges clawed at his mind until it felt impossible to think of something else.
He leaned forward and knocked sharply on the wooden partition of the carriage.
The coachman's muffled voice followed. "Yes, sir?"
"Change of plans," Casper said, his tone calm but had a hint of agitation to it, "Drop me off here."
The coachman nodded and gestured for the horses to slow down, after coming to rest Casper quickly got off and paid the man a soli.
After paying the coachman, he quickly cast his gaze on a man aimlessly walking forward.
Casper swiftly caught up to him and reached out to tap his shoulder.
The worker turned, startled, blinking through exhaustion. "Uh… yes? Can I help you?"
Casper smiled slightly, a strange glint in his eyes. "Yeah," he said, sounding almost casual. "Would you hit me?"
The man squinted, unsure if he'd misheard. "What?"
"Punch me," Casper repeated.
"I—sir, is this some kind of joke?" The worker took a step back, glancing around.
"Come on, do me this favour." Casper said, waving his hand.
"Why?" The man questioned.
"Why? I don't know why, I don't know. Never been in a fight, you?" Casper asked quickly, shaking his head.
"No, b—but that's a good thing." The man said in confusion. He scratched his head and looked at Casper with disdain, "Sir, are you alright?"
"Never been better. How much can you know about yourself if you've never been in a fight?" Casper persuaded him, he ran his hand through his hair and looked at the man expectedly.
"Now come on, hit me before I lose my nerve." He said, gesturing him to fight.
"This is crazy." He shook his head, but nonetheless he followed through. He placed his bag on the ground and raised up his hands.
"So go crazy. Let 'er rip." Casper said with a smirk.
"Hey, are you sure man?" The guy questioned once again.
"I don't know, but who gives a shit? No one's watching. What do you care?" Casper stated, jumping up and down to pump himself up.
"You want me to hit you? Like in the face?"
Casper pointed at him and chuckled, "Surprise me."
The man looked around and sighed, "This is so fucking crazy."
He pulled his hand back and lunged towards Casper, hitting him straight on the side of his head.
Casper staggered, taking a few steps back and let out a weak groan. "Motherfucker!" He yelled, and took a few steps back, leaning against his knees. "You hit me in the ear!"
"Argh!" He whined and shook his head, trying to make the ringing stop.
The man winced, and comforted him. "Shit—sorry! You alright?" He asked, coming next to him.
"No, no, don't apologize," Casper interrupted, straightening up with a grin that was half‑mad and half‑amused. "That was… actually kind of perfect."
Casper then straightened himself and countered with a strong punch to the man's stomach, which caused him to fall down to the ground in pain.
The man coughed and spat out some saliva, "Kh-heuk."
Casper walked over to him, clutching his ear and offered a hand up.
The man pushed his hand away. He clutched his stomach and pushed himself off the ground, "Damn that really hurts," he wheezed.
"Right!" Casper exclaimed loudly.
He then quickly followed up, "Hit me again."
Soon the two of them continued their fight into the night, chuckling as blood spilled from their mouth and their eyes swelled up.
What none of them knew was that this was the moment that would birth another secret organisation that was centred around Casper — Fight Club.