The walk back to the lower districts was quiet, save for Kai's ragged breathing. The soul-binding contract was a heavy piece of magic. It didn't just heal him; it linked his mana circuit to my Ledger. Every time his heart beat, I felt a tiny microscopic fraction of mana transfer to my reserves. Passive income. It was a beautiful thing.
"So," Kai gasped, clutching his patched chest as we navigated the muddy alleys. "You're a healer? A rogue cleric?"
"I'm an accountant," I corrected, not looking back. "Healers work on faith and charity. I work on Return on Investment. Right now, you are operating at a severe deficit. I expect you to start generating profit before midnight."
Kai stared at my back, likely wondering if he had traded a quick death in the forest for a slower, madder one.
Before he could voice his regrets, three figures stepped out from the shadows of a collapsed clock tower. They wore rusted chainmail and carried crude, serrated blades. The Iron Fang gang. Bottom-feeders of the slum economy.
"Well, well," the leader sneered, tapping his blade against his palm. "A noble boy in the mud, and a bleeding dog. Hand over the coin pouch, pretty boy, and we might leave you your boots."
Kai tensed, reaching for a sword he had dropped back in the forest. "Master... I can't fight three of them. I'm running on empty."
"You don't need to fight," I said, stepping forward. "You just need to follow the audit."
The blue screen of my Ledger flared to life, casting a cold, calculating glow over the alleyway.
[Audit Eye: Activated]
[Targets: 3 Low-Level Thugs]
[Group Asset Value: 12 Copper Coins | 1 Stolen Mark IV Mana Battery (Hidden in Leader's coat)]
My eyes locked onto the bulge in the leader's coat. A Mark IV Mana Battery. A highly restricted, black-market power source. To them, it was probably just a glowing rock they couldn't pawn. To me, it was the down payment for my empire.
"Kai," I said, my voice dropping to a precise, mechanical cadence. "Thug on the left favors his right leg. It's an old injury. He'll overcompensate if you feint low. Take his center of gravity."
"What?" Kai blinked.
"Just do it!"
The thugs charged. They were chaotic, a mess of wasted energy and terrible margins.
The one on the left swung wide. Just as the Ledger predicted, his weight shifted poorly onto his bad leg. Kai, driven by the absolute compulsion of our contract, dropped low. He didn't even need a weapon. He swept the thug's weak leg, sending the man crashing face-first into the cobblestones with a sickening crunch.
[Enemy Liquidated. 0 Mana Expended.]
The leader roared and lunged at me.
[Incoming Debit: Lethal Strike]
[Counter-Measure: Calculated Deflection]
I didn't draw my dagger. Instead, I sidestepped by a fraction of an inch, grabbing his wrist as it extended past my face, and used his own momentum against him. I slammed his elbow over my shoulder.
Crack. The joint snapped like a dry twig. The leader screamed, dropping his blade. Before he could recover, I drove my knee upward into his chest, collapsing his lungs. He hit the ground, gasping for air like a fish on dry land. The third thug took one look at his broken friends, dropped his knife, and bolted into the darkness.
"Amateurs," I muttered, adjusting my cuffs.
I knelt beside the groaning leader and reached into his coat. My fingers brushed against cold, heavy metal. I pulled out a grease-covered, spherical object that pulsed with raw, blue energy. The Mark IV Battery.
"Is he... dead?" Kai asked, trembling as he stared at the carnage.
"Dead weight, maybe," I countered, pocketing the battery. "A dead man can't pay his debts, Kai. But a broken one? He's a future revenue stream. Let's go. We have a meeting with a shark, and I hate being late."