Chapter 580 - Brave

After making a deal with Savant, I don't return immediately. Instead, I move to my room, where I sit down and enter my mind space.

Whitey waits there, as he always does. This time he chooses one of these enormous salt mines we have on earth. The air is thick with the sharp, dry scent of salt that clings to the throat with every breath. Massive pillars of untouched rock salt stretch toward a ceiling lost in darkness, supporting the vast, excavated chambers. The walls glisten in the dim artificial light, their rough, uneven surfaces carved by years of work and machinery.

Distant machinery hums, with the steady grind of drills and conveyor belts echoing through the tunnels, even though I'm sure there is no one here other than the two of us. Now and then, a faint tremor runs through the ground.

The floor is uneven, coated in fine white dust that clings to boots and drifts lazily with each step.

Whitey is wearing the same gear as the workers would wear. Stiff coveralls coated in salt dust, heavy boots crunching against the ground, and thick gloves that seem to make everything feel just a bit clumsier. A miner’s helmet sits firm on his head, its built-in light casting a narrow beam ahead.

And I still have the pajamas on, as for some unknown reason Whitey has decided that I won't have the same clothes as he does.

Asshole.

"You know, I have never been in a salt mine before," I gesture around, "Yet this smells and sounds real."

"It's all from your memories and imagination. I wouldn’t be surprised if it's fairly far off from reality," Whitey says as he sits on the ground.

I reply, "That's true. What do you think of my disciple?"

"She is just a half-demon," he snorts, "but her ego is bigger than some of the demons I have met. The same as her master."

"Was that a compliment?"

"Compliment your face against the wall."

"After you."

"Her heart isn't that strong, but it could be worse. Supplying her lacking parts with mana might help her too."

"That's the goal. I don't think that either I or she will ever have a proper demonic kinetic heart capable of generating the output a proper demon could, but supplying it with mana should work. And what do you think of Velis?"

"How the fuck would I know? I never met a powerful demon without a demon heart. He has a demon eye that is likely tied to one of the primordial energies out of the common five, but I have no idea what it is."

"That healing based on absorbing blood seemed nice."

"Your healer can heal without needing to do something as convoluted as using blood."

"That's true, but she might be a special case. I also suspect that the eye Velis has might not be his only trait; he might have some physique as well."

"Without a proper heart, he needs to grow very strong or no demon will ever accept him. Hell, I knew some who would kill him right away while calling him a cripple."

"Personal experience?"

Whitey smirks, "What do you think? Funnily enough, no one called me that more than once."

He stands up in one smooth movement, "By the way, that fossil came here and talked to me while you were with her and watching the disciple event."

Starting to stand up, I freeze mid movement from sheer surprise and look up at Whitey.

He sees that reaction and smiles even more brightly, "I also didn't think she could come here without you present. Want to hear what we were talking about?"

"A bit."

"You fucker, I can see that the curiosity is killing you. A bit," he snorts.

Taking a few steps back, he puts some distance between us. "She came here to antagonize me, trying to make me push you more while pretending she's after something else. That bitch might think she can hide it, but she can't escape my senses. I saw it in her movements. And I know she thinks I have no chance. To her, I'm just a tool, not a person."

Kinetic energy around Whitey rises, his crippled heart generating it and his damaged body channeling it. He uses this energy to move at all times, compensating for his injuries. I know this. I've learned a lot from his memories, our conversations, and our spars.

And even though he is not showing it, Whitey clearly dislikes the situation he is put in. There are only two choices left to him. He can either attempt to kill me and take over and rely on Lissandra, or he can just disappear.

Nothing more, nothing less.

But as many times before, I say nothing.

I let kinetic energy build within me, charge at him first, and let the fight wipe these thoughts from our minds.

***

After the fight, I open my eyes and glance down at the pajamas I'm wearing.

I shake my head and stand up to check myself in the mirror. Leaning in closer, I observe the reflection of my eyes and move a strand of hair from my face. Then I take a moment to breathe deeply, then teleport into our living room.

The screams and noises hit me immediately like some sort of sonic attack.

Trying not to stick out too much, I move to the corner and quickly sit down, masking my mana, thermal, and kinetic signatures as much as possible. There is a young human boy to my left who also moved into the corner. He looks almost startled and fixes me with big brown eyes. He is very thin and his curly brown hair is messy.

"Min-Jae is your master?" I ask quietly.

He nods twice and stays quiet, making no attempt to continue the conversation.

What a good boy.

Feeling more comfortable with a kindred soul, I cross my legs and observe the room.

Myrra is in the epicenter of everything. She and Maya are currently organizing a vicious, illegal minion fighting tournament. It's all done over the table in the middle of the room where the little guys are forced to fight for the amusement of group 4 and the golden eyed catgirl.

The minions are forced to arm-wrestle.

Curiously, it is Maya who explains the rules and makes sure the minions do it properly so as not to get their bones snapped. Sophie has even created and strengthened the wooden table, and Myrra is organizing it all and setting up the matches as well as hyping up the contenders. There is even a nurse in the form of Lily, ready to heal any wound that might occur, while Izzy and Min-Jae mess around in the background.

I notice most of the group members are keeping up some form of training. Min-Jae is making his body heavier, Izzy is moving the flames of the Fragment of Eternal Fire through her veins, and Sophie is training with the mana orbs I taught her, which are floating nearby. It's something I also do and continue to do, even as the world around me turns black for that split second before the system heals my wounds.

During the illegal minion fighting matches there is an incident where Deva uses more than one arm and complains about rules being set against her race; a part where my minion kicks Enan's shin under the table to gain a quick advantage; or a part where my minion gets into it and trash talks so much that Sophie has to stop her; or the incident where my minion breaks her own arm as she gets into an unorthodox position; or the part where my minio…

Hah. Whatever.

Enan and Vega seem to be favorites as they have somewhat similar physical stats, and while Vega focuses more on dexterity, Enan prefers a bit more strength. Even Deva sometimes surprises me with unexpectedly decent body strengthening based on mana.

As I watch the sparring, I create a mana arm that is nearly invisible, made from as little mana as I can, and use it to sneakily take some food off the table.

I start nibbling on the snack from the bowl and even offer some to Min-Jae´s disciple who carefully takes and slowly nibbles on them.

"I'm Nathaniel."

"Irwys."

I nod in acknowledgement and the pleasant conversation ends there.

***

After the arm-wrestling tournament, Maya and Myrra organize a few more illegal events. They move outside for tug-of-war; they do bottle flipping, which Myrra enjoys a lot for some reason; and there is even a potato sack race.

At first, I think it might be a waste of time, all of this instead of more training, but seeing the disciples so competitive and happy, I decide to let it go. They slowly relax and stop acting as cold toward one another. Even Irwys joins in after they keep trying to pull him in.

And of course, it's all mostly pushed by Izzy, who seems to have found a way to manipulate Myrra into doing her bidding. She does it in a very simple way: she just tells her about fun stuff, and Myrra, excited about new things, does it without even thinking much. But maybe, in part, Myrra does it for herself as well, to take her mind off things that might bother her.

As for Vega... well, even though she is competitive, she stays more distant than the other disciples. She smiles, but never too much. Even so, she competes to the end and doesn't cheat. Well, not that much at least.

Slowly, the allotted time is coming to an end, and the start of the third event draws closer. One hour before Vega has to return to her planet and the event begins, a notification pops up.

The 3rd event, Chronicle of the Past, will start in 1 hour!

Everyone will have the opportunity to engage in a 1v1 combat challenge with one being from the database of the Earth's tutorial: beings such as natives from the already completed floors.

Every participant will be given 1 challenge, so choose wisely!

Challenged beings will be Avatars, possessing no memories other than those required for combat. They do not possess emotions or the ability to talk and have no motivations other than defeating the challenger.

Vega is still held by Myrra and forced to pose for photos and even to change into many of the clothes I have given her. Myrra even goes through the pile I got and tries to find matching ones for herself for a photo.

I myself have barely escaped and now sit far away to the side when Lissandra appears nearby.

"Little pup, during…" she halts her words, and I follow her eyes, looking at my angry gecko pajama, "Little pup, I have the person you will challenge during the 3rd event."

"Who is it?"

"Absolute Candidate Ruby."

"I see. Wasn't she under level 300 when I met her on the 2nd floor?" I ask.

I still remember her class and the text I saw back then over her head.

[Phase Warden - lvl ??]

"Yes, but do not let that mislead you. She had spent years honing herself under my guidance. If you go easy on her Avatar, you will not get the chance to correct your mistake."

She turns to leave when Vega, who has come closer, calls out, "Master, is this the person who bullies you?"

"Yup," I confirm.

Lissandra halts and lets Vega step closer until they’re just an arm’s reach apart. Vega, wearing a daring expression, looks up at the silver-haired woman.

Her tiny heart pounds in her chest, but she refuses to let it show. She stares defiantly at Lissandra, holding her gaze even as she starts trembling. Her heartbeat is like that of a frightened little bird, and though her hands shake, she clenches her fists and lifts her chin higher. Droplets of cold sweat run down her forehead.

With a quiet surge, Lissandra expands her presence and mana, spreading it through the space. The weight of it presses against Vega, making her stumble back with a strained breath. Yet, she clenches her fists, plants her feet, and meets Lissandra's gaze once more.

Her heart races as if it’s about to explode, and tears well up in her eyes.

Then, after a few more seconds, Lissandra smiles and says, "Good."

With that, the pressure vanishes, along with Lissandra.

I catch Vega before she collapses and teleport us back to where we were training. Sitting down against a tree, I hold her trembling body as she starts sobbing, shaking from fear and the experience.

I don’t say anything and just let her feel that I’m here.

It takes a long time, but eventually, she calms down. Sniffling, she wipes her snotty nose on the sleeve of my angry gecko pajamas. Just this once, I let it slide, watching with equal parts amusement and disgust.

"I’ll get her next time," Vega whispers in an uncharacteristically quiet voice.

"You better hurry. I called dibs on her."

"I will!" Vega grins at me and hugs me tighter, taking the opportunity to wipe her teary face on me again.

For the next few minutes, I give her some last-minute instructions and supplies I prepared. Nothing too powerful that might slow her growth, but enough guidance and mana stones to help. Some of them might not be allowed to teleport out, but there’s nothing I can do about that.

There’s also plenty of clothes, Earth food, and other things I or Group 4 got through trading.

Finally, I extend my palm toward her. "Now give me the things you stole."

Vega opens her mouth to protest but, seeing my expression, gives up. There’s not a hint of shame, just disappointment at getting caught.

She hands over a small upper epic dagger Dennis found on the 6th floor and likes because it looks cool, a few orbs made of some mysterious metal Min-Jae trains with, a bracelet Maya wears sometimes, a beanie with a cute teddy bear Izzy got herself, and a few more items.

Only when I have them all do I let go and glance at the last few seconds remaining.

"Hopefully, I’ll see you in a year, minion. So don’t go dying to some loser or weak-ass monster."

"I won’t! And if I do, it’ll be the coolest death ever!"

"I bet it would."

One last long hug and I reach out, wiping away the last traces of tears from her face with my pajama sleeve. "You were very brave."

"Yes!" she beams, opening her mouth to ask something.

But then she realizes something and glances at me, at my pajamas, then at the sleeve I just used to wipe her tears. Her eyes widen. "W-was… WAS THAT THE SLEEVE I—"

I interrupt, already feeling my lips twist in a smile. "Yes."

"Assho—" she doesn’t get to finish before disappearing, returning to her world.

***

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