Chapter 26 – Balancing Act

The two Blues had led Henderson away after a fair amount of annoyed grunting and protesting from the Warrior. At one point, as the three disappeared from the sands, Titus heard him proclaim he'd 'show The God of Balance who was boss'. It almost made Titus smile to think what additional punishments the Warrior might've just got himself on the end of. But also, it was now more than clear that taking the easy way out of anything was never going to be the right call.

"Did you see that!" Petra announced with an unshakable smile plastered across her face. "And just think of the trouble he's going to get into after such a cowardly display! That's bad, right big guy?"

Jordan nodded with his mouth slightly open, though he struggled to actually speak.

"I've never seen the crowd react to a Contestant like that before... they just turned on him... but then... the way he acted... That's not how a Contestant is supposed to be..." he finally summarised under his breath.

"Damn right," Titus said. "And did you hear him say he didn't get any experience for that fight? What a waste of time, right?"

"Hey, let's go see if we can listen in to his debriefing," Petra said. "I can't wait to hear one of the Instructors, maybe even the Grandmaster herself give him a telling off! The look on his face..."

"That's not a bad idea actually," Titus agreed, "Let's get back down there, come on."

Neither Jordan nor Petra objected, with the three all turning their backs to the arena sands and descending back into the catacombs beneath.

It didn't take them long to find the place where Henderson was being told off. Mainly because they could just follow the shouting as, from what they could overhear, Henderson blamed Tarik and Omar for the displeasure of the crowd and also the ire of The God of Balance.

The three friends rushed through the torchlit hallways toward the voices and came to a halt just outside a pair of large, double wooden doors that led onwards to the arena prep area. Not having been inside the room yet, Titus had no idea what it looked like inside, but as they reached the doors, they overheard the arrival of Miss Kane, her voice unmistakable, if not a little stern.

"What happened?" she asked.

"These idiots couldn't stick to the plan," Henderson replied, clearly still seething. "They were supposed to hold the Gator..."

"Not with that you fool!" Miss Kane interrupted Henderson. "With your experience. What happened once the fight was over?"

The Grandmaster's voice was pressured, worried almost and her tone made Titus worried too. He thought about what she'd told him about taking the easy way out, and how it could have consequences for everyone within the Arena, and not just the perpetrator.

"You have no idea the jeopardy you could put yourself in, not to mention the rest of us and the other Contestants here in the Arena!"

"Those idiots?" Henderson replied. "They shouldn't be here anyway, not with what I can get done..."

"You are a brand new Blue rank with one fight under your belt," the Grandmaster replied. "One fight that you cheated your way into winning against a monster barely above your level. And you think that makes you some kind of champion, does it? Well, I am afraid that it doesn't work like that, not here anyway," her voice raised and fell as she managed to regain her control over her emotions, and there was a brief pause where Titus wondered if they had already gone their separate ways - he assumed there was more than one exit from the room beyond the wooden doors.

"Just... let me see your stats," Miss Kane said quietly and it was clear she was dreading asking the question.

"I don't want to..."

"Show me your full stats or leave this place right now!"

There was another pause.

"Oh..." Miss Kane's voice came again.

"I didn't get any experience from the fight. I don't know what the rest means."

"It seems that The God of Balance has indeed seen fit to punish you. I've seen this before, and it's not always permanent, though it can be. Your Class has been revoked, leaving you as Unclassed. As a result of this status, you are unable to receive experience points or level up, so your progress is now locked until you can prove yourself worthy of the gift you had been given, and for now it has now been taken away."

"This is crap!" Henderson raised his voice again. "I swear once my father hears about this..."

"I'm sure your father knows exactly why this punishment stands after what he just witnessed out there. And do you really think that money, power or status has any bearing on what has happened to you? Because if you think for one moment you're going to be able to buy yourself out of this mess you've made for yourself, then think again, Mr Valeri."

Before Miss Kane had even finished giving her final word on the subject, the wooden doors burst open and Henderson swept out past Titus, Jordan, and Petra without so much as a second glance. In fact, Titus wasn't sure the large Warrior had seen them standing there at all.

"Didn't your father ever tell you that cheaters never win?" Jordan announced loudly towards Henderson's back.

Titus grinned, but the expression was wiped from his face a moment later when Henderson stopped dead in his tracks, turned, and saw the three standing there. Then he drew the shining silver sword that he'd carried out into the arena from the scabbard attached to his waist and bore down on Titus, ignoring the other two.

Henderson's face was the deepest shade of red that Titus had ever seen it, and if the Warrior hadn't been moving so fast, he would've been sure that he could see tears filling Henderson's eyes.

But Henderson was moving fast. Too fast for Titus to amass a counterattack or dodge because a moment later he was pressed up against the stone wall beside the door, with Henderson holding his sword to his throat.

"You want to say that again?" he growled.

Jordan stepped forward, raising his hands to pull Henderson off Titus when the large Warrior addressed him loudly. "Make a move, and I'll cut his head off right now. This is between me and him. So you want to repeat what you just said?"

Titus didn't exactly know what to do in this situation. It'd been Jordan who'd called out after him, not Titus. But he'd never throw a friend under the bus like that, not even with a sword up against his throat.

Titus didn't reply. He could feel the razor-sharp edge of the blade beginning to cut into his flesh. It stung, and he knew that with a little more pressure applied, he was going to start feeling his blood trickling down his neck.

"Stop it Henderson!" Petra shouted. In fact, she shouted those words a little louder than was probably necessary, Titus thought and then a moment later it was clear what she'd been doing.

"Mr Valeri!" Miss Kane announced in the most authoritative tone Titus had ever heard in his life. "What do you think you're doing raising your sword to a fellow Contestant? Do you not think you've been punished enough for one day?"

"This one insulted me," Henderson growled. "And I'm not just going to take that from some down and out, good-for-nothing weakling who..."

"Who is your equal within my domain," the Grandmaster finished for him. "Now I want you to listen to me very carefully. This is not the path you want to forge for yourself. I want you to forget the world around you and focus on exactly what it is you desire and how you are going to achieve that, do you hear me?"

To Titus' absolute amazement, Henderson exhaled and began to nod slowly, and the pressure he was exerting through his blade into Titus' throat receded noticeably.

What was even stranger was that Henderson's eyes didn't seem to be focused on him anymore; rather they were looking at what Titus thought was his ear.

"Now I want you to lower your weapon, replace it into its sheath, and head back to your dorm. When you get there, I want you to get some rest; you've been through a lot today and I think a little sleep is going to do wonders for you, wouldn't you agree?"

Again, Titus was shocked, though this time his jaw actually dropped as Henderson took his sword from Titus' neck altogether, sheathed it, then turned and walked away from them all without another word.

"What in the..." Petra was the first to ask once Henderson had entirely disappeared.

"Do you smell that?" Jordan asked.

"Seriously, do you always think with your stomach?" Petra asked.

"No, I mean really, what is that?" Jordan continued.

Titus took a deep breath in and realised that he, too, could smell something. It was sweet, perhaps floral? He hadn't spent too much time around flowers in his life, so pinpointing something like that was always going to be difficult for him.

"Some say it smells like roses," Miss Kane answered. "And there are a few things I'm going to explain to you right now that I'd prefer you don't repeat. At least that way it'll prevent you from asking too many questions of the wrong people."

Titus stared at Miss Kane. She looked upset at what she was about to say, but she was right; if she'd just walked off right there and then, Titus, Petra, and Jordan would have so many questions that they probably wouldn't ever shut up about it.

"You heard the conversation that Mr Valeri and I had through the door, I presume?"

All three of the Blue-ranked Contestants nodded.

"Right, then you now understand the importance of both trying your hardest and never, ever trying to take the easy way out?"

Again, they all nodded.

"Mr Valeri will not be able to increase his level until The God of Balance has decided that he's repaid his debt for his actions. It isn't really something that anyone I know of can gauge, but the amount of time and effort to undo such a curse can vary from a small gesture to a lifetime spent doing whatever an individual can do to make up for what they've done."

Titus saw in that moment a flash of something he didn't recognise in Miss Kane's eyes. If he hadn't been looking directly at her at that very fraction of a second, then he might've missed it, but something was there - whatever it was - he was sure of it.

"Now onto what you just witnessed here. Again, can I trust each of you to keep this information to yourselves?"

Titus nodded, keeping his eyes on the Grandmaster this time, again searching for whatever it was that he'd seen. He assumed the others had agreed, too, because Miss Kane continued.

"I am not without some abilities myself. When I fought in the arena, I was a Spellcaster, particularly talented with mental magic. What you just saw was nothing more than a combination of a suggestion planted into our friend Henderson's mind and a dampening of his fiery temperament. Let me tell you, though, that boy has a harsher temper than almost any I've dealt with before. I'm sure he'll make an amazing Berserker one day, if he doesn't get thrown into the dungeons before then."

"That happens?" Titus asked, remembering the catacombs where he and Petra had almost found their end with a low-level Deadlands Boar.

"That's what you have trouble understanding?" Jordan asked. "I never knew you fought in the arena, Miss! What rank were you? Can you do any other spells? I have so many questions, oh man, I just don't know where to start!"

The Grandmaster turned to Jordan and smiled. "I'm sure that throughout your time here, you will learn more than I have ever known about fighting. But my time was long ago, and short to say the least. I suggest that you listen to your instructors, watch as many fights in the arena as possible, and... try not to get into too many fights with fellow Contestants."

"You got it Miss!" Jordan said with a smile. "And you don't have to worry; we don't plan on starting anything any time soon."

Titus was still thinking about how it was possible for Contestants to be locked away deep down in the catacombs, though he also wondered how badly someone would have to mess up to find themselves on the receiving end of that particular punishment. Miss Kane walked away from the group in the same direction that Henderson'd fled in, and it left the three friends able to speak freely amongst themselves.

"Can you believe the Grandmaster was a Contestant?" Jordan said. "I didn't even stop to think about it, but of course it makes sense, doesn't it?"

"That's what you're concentrating on?" Titus asked incredulously. "I almost died!"

"Nah, he's all talk," Jordan said. "But I've got a new respect for that Miss Kane you know."

"No..." Petra replied. "I think that Titus was very much in danger. Did you happen to take a look at that sword Henderson was holding? I don't know how much something like that would've cost, but its effects... I don't think his scrawny little neck would've stood a chance."

"No, I didn't get the chance to look at the sword," Titus said, his voice rising. "I was too busy almost getting my head cut off!"

"Well, next time you see it, take a good look at it, and you'll get what I mean."

"Just another example of daddy's money coming in handy then, right?" Jordan said. "I wonder how The God of Balance feels about something like that? I mean, it's got to be an unfair advantage, no?"

"Maybe," Petra said. "But honestly, I'm not sure how it all works on that front. Maybe weapons and equipment are ignored? Or maybe it's already been factored into that punishment of him. But I can tell you I'm going to be careful. Henderson's going to fall behind the rest of us if he doesn't manage to get that changed fast."

That was certainly something they could all agree on, and the more Henderson got left behind, the more obvious the gap would become. Not to mention that if there were fewer Contestants at his level, creating a party to fight against the lower-level monsters would also grow increasingly difficult without it appearing as if he were being carried through the battle. All in all, the friends concurred that the punishment for Henderson, who cheated his way through that battle, had more layers than any of them had initially realised.

There were a few more fights scheduled between the new Blue ranks and the lower-level monsters. It presented a difficult choice to the friends: whether to sit and watch, learning about the various types of monsters they might face in the future, or to engage in a final couple of hours' practice. Usually, this decision wouldn't have been up to them, as classes with Instructors were the norm. However, with the new Blues all in the arena that day, it had been designated as a day for either rest and observation or individual training.

In the end, they understood the need to concentrate on their own upcoming battle rather than dwelling on the future. Although they believed that their understanding of each other's strengths and weaknesses would be an advantage, they had never actually fought together as a trio before. While it sounded promising, that familiarity wouldn't be as effective without at least a little practice and strategic planning.

With this in mind, the group departed from the prep area to attend the large combined training area, where they could collaborate to formulate a plan that would cater to all of their strengths. This opportunity was a godsend for Titus, who still wasn't entirely sure how he could contribute effectively in the upcoming fight.