WIEDERGEBURT: Chapter 34

There were many ruins scattered across the continent. Some were small. Some were vast. Some were buried deep underneath the ground, while some were even rumored to be floating amongst the clouds. Very little was known about these mysterious ruins, which had been present since before the Catastrophe. Even after thousands of years of study, humanity was only able to scratch the surface.

The ruins that Kari and I were exploring were deep within a mountainous region located far to the south of Midgard, at the very edge of the Northern Plains. According to what our colleagues had said, this mountain range filled with tall peeks that ascended into the clouds and deep ravines that seemed to have no end was all that separated the Northern Plains from the Rotfang Forest.

It had taken us a total of 36 days to reach these ruins. They were located on a bluff so high that the air was incredibly thin, making it hard to breath. My lungs felt like they were constantly starved for oxygen. This was my first time being up somewhere this high. Unlike our colleagues, who only seemed to be having minor issues, myself and Kari were red-faced and huffing as though we’d jogged through the Endless Desert for months on end, which caused quite a few of our companions to laugh at us.

I have to admit: I felt a little ashamed.

“Are… are these the ruins?” asked Kari as she and I stood beside our three other companions. Like us, they were also members of the Explorers Guild, which we had joined on the recommendation of Erica.

“Not quite.” One of the men beside us grinned. “This just the entrance. The ruins are located inside the mountain.”

The man who spoke was called Danivan Fotturist. His large, well-built body made him look like a warrior, but he had no actual combat skills to speak of. He wore sturdy pants and a thick jacket. Scuffing his black boots against the ground, he gazed at the objective of our hike with his dark eyes as a stiff breeze swept his shoulder-length black hair into a frenzy.

“So the ruins are located in the mountain.” Kari frowned as she gazed at the large door, which towered over all of us. It looked more like an archway than a door. I could see no crack that would open it.

Numerous Runes were etched into the door, many of which I now recognized thanks to everything I’d learned in the last few months. Kenaz, open to new strength. Bekano, the prospering of an enterprise of venture. Ehwaz Reversed, a craving for change. I had no clue what these Runes meant when they were combined, but I at least recognized them.

“I’m surprised the people who found it didn’t try to open it,” I said with my arms crossed. I should have worn a jacket. I was freezing! “Ruins always have treasures that were left over from the time before the Catastrophe. Most people would gladly commit murder to get their hands on whatever is inside.”

Two of our other companions glanced at each other after I finished speaking, a pair of fraternal twins.

The woman was a delicate-looking person with thin arms and legs. Her lithe body made her seem slight and some people had even mistaken her for a child before. I’m sure those people regretted their actions after she finished beating them to a pulp. She was a highly talented Spiritualist, or so I’d been told. I had yet to see her in action myself.

“It’s not that the ruins were never opened,” her brother said. He was taller than his sister, standing about a head shorter than myself. Like his sister, he didn’t look very strong, but that was deceptive. I’d just witnessed this man climb up numerous sheer cliffs with nothing but the strength of his arms for several hours without stopping.

“What do you mean?” asked Kari.

“The people who found these ruins were a small sect called the Mountain Sect,” said the female twin. Her name was Felicia Valentine. Her brother’s name was Markus. “They sent a small group inside of these ruins, but they never came out. After waiting for a month, they realized their team was probably dead and sent a request for us to explore these ruins and hopefully discover what happened to their members.” Felicia tilted her head. “Doors like this tend to close on their own. I suspect the team who went exploring got locked in after it closed on them from behind.”

“That’s also why we brought you two along,” Danivan said with a grin. “You two might be new and not as good at discovering traps as we are, but the two of you are hella strong. If we run into trouble, we’ll be relying on you to get us out of it.”

“Just leave it to us,” Kari said as she thumped a hand against her chest. Like me, she was wearing her normal clothes, which consisted of black pants, silver armor plating, and a flowing skirt made from the threads of a Metallic Spider—an A-rank Demon Beast—that we had barely survived against during a quest two months ago.

Since there was little point in us staying outside, Danivan walked up to the door and used Rune Writing to create a thin line of Spiritual Power that connected the runes at eye-level. Once he did that, the Spiritual Power shot to the other Runes higher up, which he couldn’t reach, and all the Runes were soon connected by a glowing blue line. The energy made from the line suddenly swirled around, congealing in the center of the door. A crack soon appeared. It went from the top to the bottom, straight down the middle.

The door opened with a loud groan.

“Okay, everyone. Let’s go,” Danivan said. “I’ll be taking the lead to watch for traps. Felicia and Markus will take the rear.” The fraternal twins nodded. Danivan turned to me and Kari. “I want you two in the center. Keep your eyes peeled. If we run into something like a golem or some other autonomous defense system, we’ll be relying on you two to take care of it.”

With Danivan leading the way, the remaining for us formed up behind him, walking through the door, which led into a wide but dark hallway. Visibility was skewed. We could barely see two meters in front of us. Matters were only made more difficult when the door behind us suddenly shut.

“There’s no need to panic,” Danivan said as he pointed his finger in the air and made a circular motion. A ball of fire suddenly appeared above his palm, illuminating the dark area around us. “Come on.”

I noticed that the walls of this hallway were slanted as we walked. They formed something of an inverted V-shape with the ceiling. Like the ruins that Kari and I had explored back in Litten, this one also had numerous carvings on the walls, though they were different. These carvings depicted a short creature with a vaguely humanoid appearance. What I noticed the most about this particular creature was its really thick beard.

The first room at the end of the tunnel reminded me of an entrance hall thanks to its spacious interior, numerous columns, and the staircase several dozen meters in front of us. However, while most staircases in entrance halls went up, this one went down.

“I suppose we should head down the stairs,” Felicia said as she looked around with narrowed eyes. “It does not look like there is anything else up here.”

“You seem to be right.” Danivan nodded. “Let’s go down, but keep your wits about you.”

Everyone nodded at his words as the five of us set off, traveling down the stairs, which turned into a stairwell. We needed to be careful when walking. Many of the stones used to form the stairs were loose at best and missing at worst. Several of the stairs nearly collapsed when Danivan touched them.

The further we walked down these stairs, the more I realized how deep these ruins were. I couldn’t begin to guess at how far down we traveled. However, I could at least tell that we’d journeyed deep inside of this mountain.

At last we reached the bottom of the stairs. Everyone released a soft sigh of relief.

I glanced at the bottom of the stairwell and discovered another long tunnel-like hallway that led further into the ruins. Danivan and the others also noticed it. With a gesture of his hand, the large man led us into the tunnel, careful to watch where he was stepping and paying close attention to the walls.

“I’m surprised we haven’t run into any traps,” Kari murmured as she glanced at the motifs.

“Most ruins don’t actually have traps,” Felicia said. “I mean, there are sometimes automated defenses like golems and such, but actual traps are actually pretty rare. Most of the ruins that have traps are ones that are the burial sites for important figures of the past.” She glanced at us. “That said, there will likely be some sort of defense mechanism here, so be careful.”

“We will,” Kari and I said at the same time.

The next room was even larger than the entrance hall. I couldn’t even see the ceiling, and the small fire in Danivan’s hand wasn’t bright enough to illuminate more than a few dozen meters in either direction.

We walked along the stone floor, which was chipped and cracked from age. I noticed several large dents in the stone as we walked and frowned. It looked like something heavy had smashed into these sections. The further we moved inward, the more dents and marks we discovered.

Danivan soon stopped after reaching a certain point. I didn’t know why at first, but then I discovered a large crater that looked like something huge had crushed the area. If that was the only thing interesting, I might still have wondered what made him stop, but aside from the crater, there was also a body.

The body only appeared to be half a body, the upper half, as its legs looked like they had been crushed into a pulp by whatever powerful force had created the crater. The torso was lying just outside the crater. Meanwhile, the stench of blood and rot filled the air as the corpse’s internal organs hung out from the bottom of its torso. This figure was wearing a black cloak that covered its body.

Kari and I shared a startled look.

“Well, damn. It looks like this might be one of the members of the Mountain Sect,” Danivan said.

“I don’t think so,” Kari said as I walked up to the corpse. A hood covered its face.

Markus glanced at Kari, his brow furrowed. “What makes you say that?”

Kari answered them as I knelt before the body. “When me and Eryk were in Litten, we ran into people who were similarly dressed. They had kidnapped a group of girls who wandered into the ruins.”

“I have heard of a cult that has been inhabiting ruins in the last few years,” Felicia admitted. “There was a rumor about them a few years ago, but then they disappeared and no one heard from them again. It seems there has been a resurgence of this cult recently.” She gestured toward the corpse. “Do you think this person belongs to that cult?”

I didn’t hear Kari’s reply. At that moment, I had pulled back the hood to finally get a peek at what was underneath, and what I saw made me gasp.

This person did not look quite human, but made me think they were a combination of Demon Beast and human. Strange black spots covered their pale, sunken in face, which had more in common with a bare skull than a human head. The eyes of this creature were pure black. There was no whites in its eyes, and they had dark red irises. Aside from their face not looking quite human, this person’s hands were covered in thick claws that blended into their fingers.

“I don’t know if this person is part of a cult, but I can tell you right now that this creature isn’t human.” I stood up.

Kari, Felicia, Markus, and Danivan looked at the creature, its face and hands now revealed. Their expressions had been filled with disgust before. Now, however, a new emotion was mixed into it. Uncertainty. Or perhaps even fear of the unknown.

“Let’s keep going,” Danivan suggested after taking a moment to recover his wits. “Regardless of this person… thing… we still have a job to do.”

We continued moving, eventually reaching another large door. Two platforms sat on either side of the door. This one looked like it had been guarded by a pair of golems, but the golems were no longer functioning. In fact, we saw one of the two lying several meters to our left, its body broken into numerous fragments and the hammer it had been using lying next to it.

The door was already open, so we just needed to walk through. What we found on the other side was another room, a smaller one, which was surprisingly well-lit with glowing monster cores embedded into the wall. As we walked across the stone floor, our group glanced at the columns that stood lined up in a row on either side of us. There were about six on each side.

We soon reached the end, where we discovered several bodies lying next to an empty archway that stood before the back wall. The bodies were a mixture of humans and catpeople. They wore various thick and sturdy clothes, and some of them still had their mountain-climbing gear attached to them. All of them were quite dead.

“I guess we found the group from the Mountain Sect,” Danivan muttered with a sigh. “I already expected them to be dead, but it still sucks to see.”

“I wonder what killed them,” Markus said. “Do you think it was those cultists?”

“Who knows,” Felicia said.

Kari and I walked up to one of the bodies and knelt before it. This person was a woman. Her pale skin appeared to be chilled from a combination of the cold and being dead, but she hadn’t reached a stage where her body was beginning to undergo necrosis. Perhaps the cold had stalled it? The two of us tried to find out how she had been killed. We found nothing.

“This is strange,” I muttered. “There’s no stab wound, Spiritual Residue, or anything that tells us how she was killed. It’s like her spirit just up and left her body.”

The only thing about this woman that I found strange was her face, or rather, her expression. Her eyes were wide and her mouth hung open. The expression she wore was one of pain, of agony and terror. However this woman died, it was likely the furthest thing from a pleasant passing.

“Let’s check the others,” Kari suggested.

Danivan, Felicia, and Markus stood back as Kari and I checked the remaining five corpses for injuries, but all of them appeared to have died the same way. There wasn’t a single injury on them. What’s more, there was no Spiritual Residue, which made this mystery all the more baffling.

“I get the strangeness about them not having any wounds to show us how they died, but what’s the importance of Spiritual Residue?” asked Danivan as he crossed his arms.

“When a living creature dies, they leave behind a trace of Spiritual Residue,” I explained. “It takes a long time for this Spiritual Residue to dissipate. Even if several months have passed, there should have still been some lingering around these bodies. It’s almost like their Spiritual Power was completely eradicated or sucked out of their bodies.”

As I explained the concept of Spiritual Residue to Danivan and the others, Kari walked up to the archway situated in front of the wall. I glanced at her out of the corner of my eye. Then I looked at the archway. It was quite big. I would say it was at least two and a half times taller than I was and wide enough that it would take two of me lying lengthwise to reach either end. There were a number of Runes etched into it.

Kari placed a hand against the Runes, then called out to me. “There is some strange Spiritual Residue surrounding this archway, but I don’t know what that means. I can’t understand what these Runes say.”

“I can’t understand them either,” Danivan admitted. Considering he was the one who taught us what we currently knew about Runes, that was saying a lot. “Felicia, inscribe these Runes into a scroll. We’ll see if we can’t find a match in our library once we get back home.”

“Okay.”

Felicia walked up to the archway and pulled a scroll, a quill, and a bottle of ink from a pouch at her waist. She set the scroll and ink on the ground. After dipping her quill into the ink, she began drawing both a sketch of the archway and the Runes that were etched into it. During this time, Kari backed away from the archway and walked over to me so she wouldn’t disturb Felicia.

“What do you think?” Kari asked.

“I don’t know.” I shook my head. “I can’t figure out anything from just this.” I paused. “That said, I am now certain of one thing.”

Kari glanced at me with her head tilted. “And that is?”

“Those cloaked creatures are going to bring us nothing but trouble,” I said in a serious voice. Kari didn’t disagree.

Felicia soon finished drawing the Runes into her scroll, which she rolled up and stored back in her pouch, along with her ink and quill. Once that was done, our group left the way we’d come. When we returned home, our sect would deliver a report to the Mountain Sect informing them about the fate of their comrades.

***

The days to the Spiritual Grand Tournament slowly passed. I spent most of those days either training with Fay, working at the library, or spending time with Kari. Some days I also dropped by the Alchemist Association to receive my cut of the profits they were making from the alchemy pills I’d taught them to refine. Even though not even a month had passed since I introduced those pills, I had already earned 226,250 valis, and that was just the cut I received. I believe the total amount earned was around 905,000 valis.

Fay had been acting a little surely around me, which I didn’t necessarily understand. She still dutifully came to our training ground every day she didn’t have classes, still trained in the Flash Step and the one other Spiritual Technique she was working on, but she would often not respond to me when I tried to speak to her about anything that didn’t have to do with training. A gap seemed to have grown between us. The problem was that I didn’t know why or how it appeared.

While Fay appeared to have distanced herself from me, my training, at least, was progressing well. I had finally mastered my Spiritual Power. While I didn’t have the amount power that I used to when I was in my prime, I had the benefit of beginning my training early. By exercising my Spiritual Power everyday and using alchemy pulls to recover, I was increasing my reserves at a steady rate. I estimated that it would be possible to reach my peak in the next five or six years if I kept going like this.

Kari and I had been spending less of our free time in the library. Granted, I didn’t have much free time to spend, but whatever time I did have free was spent with her. We mostly spent it walking around Nevaria. However, I had also begun helping her practice some of her Spiritual Techniques. While I couldn’t teach them to her, I could use Spiritual Perception to sense when the Spiritual Power she was channeling fluctuated or became disrupted.

Outside of me helping her and walking around the city, we spoke a lot and even planned on what ruins we would explore once I won the tournament. I felt like Kari had really opened up after my battle against Albert. She smiled even more than before, laughed more than she ever had, and she was a lot more receptive to my advances. Not only did she not reject me when I held her hand, but she was actively initiating contact between us. There had even been times where she would lean into my side as we sat on a bench in the library or wandered through a park.

They were enjoyable times, but before long, the day of the Spiritualist Grand Tournament finally arrived.

***

I woke up on the day of the Spiritualist Grand Tournament to discover that I was trapped by a pair of arms and a long, thick tail. A quick glance to my left revealed Lin. The girl was hugging my arm as her tail coiled around my torso, waist, and legs. Her exotic face was mere centimeters from my own. She took in deep breaths through her open mouth, which revealed a pair of fangs. She would shift occasionally but otherwise remained still.

I sighed.

This was not the first, third, or even thirteenth time that Lin had snuck into my bed. Despite the fact that her bed—which cost a lot of valis—was even larger and more comfortable than my own, I always woke up to find her snuggling with me.

To be honest, if I didn’t have feelings for Kari, I don’t think I would have minded this girl slipping into my bed. In fact, I’d have probably enjoyed it. Thinking about it like that was a moot point, however, a bonafide exercise in futility. The woman I loved was Kari, and that was all there was to it.

“Wake up, Lin,” I said.

Lin groaned as she stirred awake. She pushed her arms underneath her and sat up, her nipples growing slightly stiff from the cold air as goosebumps broke out on her skin.

“Ugh… it’s too early to be awake, Darling,” Lin grumbled and began to lay back down and snuggled close. “Just let this princess sleep for five more minutes. Better yet, let her sleep until her body is a few degrees warmer.”

“Absolutely not.” I pushed the girl back. “In case you’ve forgotten, the beginning of the Spiritualist Grand Tournament begins today. I can’t afford to be late.”

“Hmph. That’s all you’ve been thinking about these days.” Lin narrowed her eyes and glared at me, though she also unrwapped her tail from around my body and allowed me to go free. “Either you’ve been spending all your time training, or you’ve been spending it around that Kari girl. This princess has said before that she has no issues with you having concubines, but that is only if you pay more attention to her than you do them.”

“You can say that all you want, but I can’t change how I feel, and I can’t act in a way that isn’t true to myself.”

I left Lin to ponder those words as I went into the bathing room and washed my face, chest, and shoulders. These days, I always kept the tub full because it made washing off easier. I would just drain it when the water became dirty and refill it soon after. It helped that my backyard had a canal running through it.

After making sure I was at least somewhat clean, I went back into my bedroom. Lin was still present. She sat on my bed and frowned at me as I opened a dresser drawer and began putting on my clothes.

The first thing I put on were the dark gray pants. After that, I put on the light blue under shirt with the triangle-shaped dip that showed off a bit of my chest. The front and back was long almost like a tabard. It trailed down to my knees. The dark blue vest went on over the shirt. I closed the high collar around my neck with a golden cinch. The vest covered the tops of my shoulders and sides of my torso, but there was a huge gap going down the center. It featured long sides that went down to my knees, similar to my shirt. Once that was done, I threw on my belt, slipped on the dark gray sleeveless gloves that went up to my shoulders, and then stepped into my boots.

This was the outfit that Fay had first bought me when I was going to have a meeting with her father. I thought it would be nice if I wore this when I beat Grant Leucht to a pulp—if Fay didn’t beat him first.

I still had one more stop to make, so I needed to leave soon. However, before I could walk out the door, a hand grabbed mine.

“Lin?”

I looked at the girl who was gripping my hand. Her head was tilted down, casting shadows over her face. That didn’t hide her frown, however, which I could see clear as day.

“You’ve been… ignoring this princess a lot these days, and she does not approve.” Lin finally looked up, and I flinched upon seeing tears gathering in her eyes. I’ve seen Lin get frustrated before. However, she’d never looked at me like this.

“I’m sorry,” I said. “I haven’t been intentionally ignoring you. I’ve just been busy. There’s so much I have to do that I’m rarely ever home.” Lin didn’t look pleased at all, which caused me to turn around and place a hand on her head. “Listen… after this tournament is over… I was thinking we should try walking around outside.”

Lin perked up. “Really? You’ll finally let this princess go outside?”

I nodded and rubbed her hair, which was really soft, like chiffon or silk made from the fur of a Ice Horned Goat. “The winner of this tournament earns a lot of prestige and fame. I’ll be in a position where even if the people who see you panic, no one would dare attack you so long as you are with me.”

After rubbing her eyes to rid them of tears, Lin tossed me a mild glare that was filled with no heat. “You had better keep your word. This princess takes promises made by her husband very seriously. She’ll eat you if you break your promise.”

“Yes. Yes. Don’t worry. I won’t break my promise to you.”

I thought it was weird that I didn’t even wince at her comments about me being her husband anymore, but I believed that was a sign of me getting desensitized to her. She called me “Darling” and referred to me as her husband ever since returning to her original form. It actually bothered me that I was no longer bothered by it.

“Well, I’m off.”

“Be safe, Darling.”

My first stop after leaving my house was the smithy in the Merchant’s District. It was early, so I didn’t have to deal with anyone else being awake just then. Fortunately, the blacksmith was up bright and early like always.

“I figured you’d be here sometime this morning,” the gruff man said the moment I entered. “Heard you’re going to be in the Spiritualist Grand Tournament today.”

“Seems everyone knows about that these days,” I muttered.

“People like to talk.” The blacksmith shrugged. “Wait here for a moment. I’ve got what you requested.”

The blacksmith went into the back and returned several seconds later with a massive object wrapped in cloth. He set it on the table and unwrapped it, revealing what most people would have politely described as a massive slab of metal.

From hilt to tip, the ruler was about two meters in length. The hilt was about 30 centimeters long, wrapped in a crimson leather the color of blood, and featured a pommel with a jagged crown shape. If the hilt looked plain, then the quillions looked like nothing. It was just a bar of solid metal that was thicker than my bicep. The main feature of this weapon was easily the blade.

I didn’t think you could call it a blade since it wasn’t really sharp, but this part of the weapon extended 170 centimeters. Not only was it long, but it was at least 30 centimeters wide, or thereabouts. Easily the largest part of my weapoon, the blade was sectioned off into 11 segments that were marked by dault lines that went all the way around the blade.

“This is probably the most unusual thing I have ever made,” the blacksmith admitted as I grabbed the weapon by the handle. “I’m not even sure how you are supposed to use that thing.”

With a soft grunt, I lifted the weapon with a single handle. It was a little lighter than I was expecting. Perhaps that was due to the materials. My previous Dragon Tail Ruler had been made from mythril, a type of extremely light alloy that humans couldn’t refine because they lacked the technology. It was said to be indestructible, but that wasn’t necessarily true since my previous weapon had been destroyed during my fight with the SSS-rank Elemental Bird Demon Beasts.

This weapon was made from plain steel.

I gave it a few test swings before nodding. While it was certainly not what I would call light, it was fairly easy to swing. Not only could I swing it in simple up and down motions with a single hand, but I had a full range of motion available.

“You don’t need to worry about that.” I set the Dragon Tail Ruler against my shoulder and turned a smile to the slightly disgruntled blacksmith. “I know exactly how to use this thing.”

***

Fay was standing in the corner of a large waiting room with numerous other people who were also waiting for the tournament to begin. Of course, she was also waiting for Eryk. He had yet to show up.

Thinking about Eryk made her feel a little depressed. Ever since that moment when she had caught him and Kari holding each other, she had distanced herself from him. She still trained with him every day, but she no longer talked about inconsequential or everyday life matters like before. Their relationship now was almost like two business partners who didn’t trust each other.

She knew this was her fault, that Eryk hadn’t really done anything wrong. He had told her that he liked Kari. She was the one who’d stubbornly refused to give up, and now she was reaping the rewards for her stubbornness.

But I don’t know what else I can do…

In an attempt to get her mind off the matter of Eryk, Fay observed all the other people who were in the room with her. There were a lot of people. She recognized some of them, like Grant Leucht, who stood over in another corner. He hadn’t spotted her yet. She aimed to keep it that way. However, aside from the few more prominent members of the nobility, there were many people she didn’t recognize, such as the old man who looked like a farmer, or the hulking brute of a man wearing nothing but a loincloth and wielding an ax.

“Is that you, Fay?”

Fay felt her blood run cold as a familiar voice reached her ears. Wearing a grimace, she turned around to find Grant standing before her. He wore a silver breastplate that gleamed brightly as though freshly polished. The armor was segmented so it wouldn’t hinder his movement. Beneath the armor was a black tunic with long sleeves. The armor came with gauntlets, greaves, and a skirt-piece that protected his groin.

“Grant, I’d been hoping to avoid seeing you,” Fay didn’t bother hiding the rancor in her voice.

Grant merely laughed. “What are you saying? By the time this tournament is over, you and I will be engaged. There’s no reason to avoid me.”

“That remains to be seen,” Fay said in a frozen tone. “I have no intention of ever marrying you.”

“That is unfortunate because you will become my Second Wife, whether you like it or not.” Grant narrowed his eyes. “There’s no escaping from fate, Fay. You had best accept it while I’m still feeling amicable. If you continue to resist me, then I’ll be sure to remember your insulting attitude after we’ve been officially married. During that time, I will ensure that you are taught proper obedience.”

Fay narrowed her eyes as red hot anger flowed through her body. This boy, who was like a dog that would hump anything it found attractive, dared to talk about teaching her obedience? She had never felt so insulted in her life.

Yet just before Fay could open her mouth, a loud whoosh! sound like the air being cut entered her ears, and a massive slab of steel suddenly blocked her view of Grant. She followed the metal to the one holding it. Her eyes widened when she saw who it was.

“Why are you bothering my friend?” asked Eryk, his glare turned on Grant.

“Are you getting in my way again?” Grant ignored Eryk’s question and returned the glare with a nasty sneer.

“So long as you are willing to keep bothering Kari and Fay, I will keep getting in your way,” Eryk replied in a mild voice. “Besides, you won’t be marrying either of them.”

“Hmph!” Grant snorted and turned away. “We’ll see about that. I’d tell you not to lose so I can beat you myself, but I somehow don’t think you’re going to have any hope of winning the preliminaries, nevermind winning enough rounds to face me.”

Eryk waited for Grant to walk away before lowering his weapon. He glanced at Fay and smiled.

“Sorry for interfering,” he said. “I know you could probably deal with him on your own, but I just can’t stand that guy.”

“It’s fine,” Fay muttered softly, not sure how she should feel. Her cheeks felt a little warm, but her chest felt cold, like an icy fist had clutched it in its freezing grip. “I appreciate that you are willing to stand up for me.”

“Of course I am.” Eryk shrugged. “I care for you.”

Fay didn’t know whether she should laugh, cry, or blush. Eryk was able to make flattering and heartfelt comments like that so easily, but he didn’t seem to realize how she interpreted his words. To him, they were probably just the sort of thing he’d say to a friend, but to her, they meant so much more.

“That outfit…” Eryk mumbled as he looked her up and down.

“Is something wrong with my outfit?” Fay asked, feeling just a little embarrassed.

She was wearing a black and red coat that flared out just above her hips and stopped at her thighs. Gold outlined the hem of her jacket. A black and gold chestplate went around her chest, held together by a set of leather straps. She only had one shoulder pauldron. It was small, had the same black and gold color scheme, and sat against her left shoulder. Her right shoulder was free, but she had a tight sleeve held together by leather bands that went all the way down to her hand. Aside from the jacket, chestplate, pauldron, and armsleeve, her outfit featured a white undershirt, black pants, and black boots that had red and gold knee pads.

“No.” Eryk shook his head. “There’s nothing wrong with your outfit.” he turned his head away, and for a split second, Fay thought she saw him blushing. “You look good.”

“Oh…” she breathed, her cheeks suddenly burning.

The rest of their time in the waiting room was spent in awkward silence until someone came in and told them all to travel up to the arena.