The Gift of Loot Chapter 27: Chapter 27: Schwarzenegger Could Never

Read chapter 27 of The Gift of Loot by Jack_Golightly on NovelPedia.

There was a frozen, crystalline moment where Thomas didn't know what the hell he was going to do. So he settled on bullshitting. "Preston? Never heard of him," he said flatly, then shut his damn mouth. Ashton, to his credit, didn't run or posture. Thomas could practically feel the tension radiating off him, but he stayed quiet, which was the smartest thing he'd done all day. "Look," Tall Guy said, almost cordial. "We're just looking for our friend, and we know you've spent time with him." He paused and looked at Thomas meaningfully. "We also know about the Brighten Estate." That was a gut punch. Either someone in the National Guard had talked, or, more likely, the Old Families had eyes on National Guard operations. Tall Guy continued. "Preston has people who care about him with real resources. It would be a shame if he were out there without that kind of support." "Dungeons are dangerous places," Brick Shithouse added. His smile was a lot sharper. "Accidents happen, especially to people diving alone." He glanced meaningfully at Ashton. All this time, Courtney said nothing, but she watched him with her limpid blue eyes, as if just begging him to tell them what they needed to know. While Thomas's eyes were fixed on the dude-bro group, his healing sight had picked up something else. There was an orangish blob of life energy edging along the dungeon wall to his left. Though strangely, he didn't think it was orange because of heat. It was just... something else. He didn't dare take his gaze off the dude-bro group. He just tracked it as it crept closer. "I'll pass that message along if I run into him," Thomas said, dropping the 'I never heard of him' act. No one had believed him anyway. The blob was not stopping. Thomas made no indication he noticed it at all. Jawline smirked and stepped forward. Of all of them, he most looked like he wanted to start something. "Look, we're going to find Preston with or without your help, but—" The orange blob had extended a tendril, and it was inches away from Ashton. Thomas swung his sword backward and to the side, and a pumpkin monster, of all things, was sliced right in half, real guts and pumpkin seeds spilling out everywhere. Ashton jumped and twisted around, but the monster was already dead. Thomas, meanwhile, hadn't taken his eyes off the group to strike. After more than a day in the dark, relying only on his healing sight, he hadn't needed to. Plus, it was a freaking pumpkin, and he was a level 2. It wasn't exactly a threat. Jawline must have decided this was his moment to be a hero because he lurched forward into a run, the spiked mace in his hand raised. Thomas's Combat Foresight kicked in, just like it did with dungeon monsters. He saw a ghostly outline of Jawline bringing his mace down, not in a regular chop as it initially appeared, but down and to the side in a move meant to take his head off. "Tad, no!" Courtney yelled. Despite having flashily killed the monster, Thomas barely knew how to use his sword. He certainly couldn't wield it against men and women who were trained, undoubtedly had better weapons, and probably had other tricks hidden up their sleeves, bought by mommy and daddy. Thomas moved to the side, slipping out of the strike's path, and brought a foot up just in time to hook Jawline's ankle. He was faster than the man. It was almost easy. He's a level one , Thomas realized as his foot yanked Jawline's leg from out under him. The man stumbled to the side, slipped on pumpkin monster guts, and fell to all fours. Still staring at the dude-bros, Thomas used his sword to push the tip right at Tad's kidneys. He was only able to do it that way because of his Health Sight, but in retrospect, it may have seemed eerie. Ashton swore and wisely backed away. Brick Shithouse stepped forward as if to help his friend, but Tall Guy and Courtney both stopped him, each with a hand on his shoulder. So Thomas stopped too. And so did Tad. "So much for wanting to talk," Thomas heard himself