Pike walked around the sand dunes, retrieving all of his lost weapons. In the anti, I looked back at Ainash. Are you okay?
After a mont, she finally answered. ...Human beat . Did not win.
You passed the test, I said. All you needed to do was fight well enough, and you did. So youre good; youre a citizen now, and all that.
But in real fight, that Human would kill .
Dont worry, I dont think youre in danger. He seems friendly enough.
She frowned, gazing at Pike as he grabbed the icy spear. The mont he touched it to his belt, it instantly shrunk back down to a tal stick and attached itself to his waist.
Erani walked over to and whispered in my ear, Do you think shes okay?
I think so, I replied. Just a little shaken up.
She nodded, then looked over at Pike as he grabbed the two knives, both lying together in the sand. Furrowing her brows, she called out, How do those work, anyway?
Hm? he looked back. Oh, the daggers? Pretty much just magnetized together, and I can control the force applied with my mind.
So its just force Enchantnts controlling the movent?
Dont know much about the technicalities of it all, but as far as I know, these werent too difficult to make, so its probably that. Otherwise the Enchanter wouldve charged out the ass.
Oh, did you get these made from the privileges you got for winning the tournant? I asked. Access to Enchanters, and all that?
Nah, nah, this was how I won the Tourney. Pretty valuable to be able to go into a fight against the easier opponents and only use the basic weapons, that way the stronger ones you fight later on are surprised when you pull out your serious tactics. He hefted the massive greatsword next, nodding to it. All I used for the first couple rounds; everyone thought I was just so basic high-Strength Swordsman.
Is that one mundane? Erani asked. I didnt see any obvious magical effects with it.
Nah, lets control its weight. Make it lighter on the upswing, then heavier on the downswing, that sort of thing he said. Though youre right that it isnt obvious. Weight effects arent too intense. Here, try it; its heavy enough that you still cant lift it at its lightest if you havent shaped your Stats around Strength.
He set it on the ground, and Erani shook her head. No, no, Im fine. I believe youthats way too heavy for .
I glanced at her and suppressed a smirk. She wasnt refusing because she knew she couldnt, she was refusing because she probably could. With the Bond granting so many extra Stats to her, it was entirely possible that shed be able to pick up such a massive implent.
Pike shrugged, grabbing the sword and attaching it to his belt, too. Whatever. Well, anyway, if you three are all serious about entering into the tournant, Ill go ahead and give you so advice: dont tip your hand too early. If its possible to win without showing sothing off, fight without showing it off. Cause your opponents will be watching, and theyll prepare. Rounds are a day apart, and you can bring whatever equipnt you want in, so lots of rich bastards get pretty far by bringing in so potions that give elental resistance against everything they know their opponents use. Thats why I wonI could change out my weapons each round, and nobody could prepare for .
Noted, I said. Thanks for the advice. By the way, whats your Level? Just so we know who well likely be up against if we wanna win.
Just passed into the low 30s, he said. Though its often pretty tough to predict the Level of the winner. The Tourney before minethe secondwas won by so noble kid who couldnt fight for shit but was decked out in insanely expensive gear. Plus, therere plenty of rounds that are upset by outside conditions. Arena, or weather, freak accident, whatever. Will say, though, if raw powers your type of style like your monster over there, you might wanna train up another Level before the elimination rounds over, if you can. Extra numbers cant hurt.
Yeah, as long as we arent spending all our ti trying to complete it, that would be nice, I said.
Ah, youll be fine, he said. Elimination rounds normally pretty easy. Just trying to sort out the riff-raff. Had plenty of extra ti during mine. Anyway, I gotta get going. Duty calls, and all that. Hopefully Ill see you when one of you wins and gets recruited into the program.
With that, he turned and started walking toward the citys entrance. The guards and the first specialiststill looking quite miffed at how unimportant he was in all thisfollowed shortly thereafter, leaving us standing alone next to Precipices outer stone walls.
I looked back at Ainash, who still seed shaken up at her loss. Hopefully this next part would cheer her up a bit. So, are you ready to go inside?
It wasnt technically Ainashs first ti inside a Human city since shed entered Salvation to fight Jon, but it was her first ti inside a Human city legally, where she could walk around in the open air without worrying about anyone seeing heror about enemies ambushing her. Though, these outer reaches of the city werent exactly the most exciting place to be. All the unimpressive huts looked the sa, the streets were difficult to navigate, and the entire area didnt have much to do. I just hoped the inner circles of Precipice were betterat least, enough to make up for the disappointnt of these outer slums a little bit.
That said, Ainash didnt seem all that unhappy. She gazed around at the huts and the people as we walked through, and I even saw her smile slightly when we walked down a street only to find wed hit a dead-end.
What do you think? I asked.
She paused for a mont, as if trying to figure out a way to word what she wanted to say. Eventually, she responded, Reminds of ho.
Ho?
Lots of trees everywhere, sotis hard to rember where to go. Pass by animals in lots of places, and they do not even look at you. All are living their own lives, as you are your own. Fields and desert outside Human settlents feel toonot real. Like Humans took out ssiness. This is ssy, like ho. I like it.
I nodded. Im glad you do. Dodo you like being reminded of ho? I thought that maybe, because of how you were forced to leave
She walked in silence for so ti, staring ahead. After a minute or two, she closed her eyes for a mont, then said somberly, I miss mom.
Erani leaned over and wrapped an arm around her. I know baby, I know. I-Im sorry if we cantIf we arent
Ainash detached herself from Eranis embrace and walked to the side of the road, sitting down on the ground and sinking her fingers into the sand. We stopped and looked at her.
I am not strong, she said. Am very, very weak. If want to kill all Demons, cannot lose to a Human. Must get stronger. Do not know if I can win in Human tournant. Do not know if I am strong enough.
Erani grimaced. You dont need to work so hard. You can take a break.
Cannot. The single word was forceful and certain.
I thought back. In my own mories, Id seen Ainash die several tis by now. But in all of the tilines where shed lost a fight, Id always gone back to undo it. Sure, shed retreated here and there, but to actually, unequivocally lose in an encounter with an opponentHad it ever happened from her perspective since wed originally fled with her from the Demons invading her ho? Had she never experienced defeat?
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Have to get stronger, she said. Cannotcannot fight other Humans right now.
Are you saying you want to withdraw? Erani asked.
Ainash let out a wordless breath.
I t her eyes. I dont know if I can help you win every fight you have in the future, or even just win this tournant. But I can try. I can help you get stronger.
Erani looked over at , clearly unsure of my words to Ainash.
If you want to get stronger, I continued, youre going to have to accept that youre not strong right now. Ive experienced death countless tis. I know when Im beat. I know when I see an opponent that I cant win against. You have to understand that you cant win every ti. And you might not win next ti, or the ti after that, or the ti after that.
Ainash shook her head. Cannot lose ever again. No ti. Have to get stronger now.
Strength is fickle, I said. You cant force it. Maybe you can do a bunch of push-ups, or go out on a big long trip hunting for XP, or practice your magic until you almost pass out, and sure, thatll make you a little more powerful. Youll punch harder, have better Stats, whatever. But you cant count yourself as being truly strong just because you can lift a bigger rock than all your friends. Strength cos from failure. It cos from ssing up and fucking yourself over, and then looking back, and understanding what you did wrong. You add the misstep to your list of mistakes youll never make again, and keep moving forward.
No, Ainash said. If am strong enough, do not need to make mistakes. Enough power will
Its not about your raw power. Its not about how many obstacles you can force your way through before you collapse. Its about whether or not, once you inevitably collapse, you can get back up. Because you will. Im sorry to say it, kiddo, but you are going to fail. Over and over again, you will fall flat on your face, and you will ask yourself why did I ever choose this life for myself? Strength is being able to answer that question. Strength is saying because I want to be better than I was yesterday, or because I cant stand to see the enemy win, or because I want to protect the ones I love, or whatever it is you fight for. But you have to fight for sothing. And you have to figure out what that sothing is, because this life youve chosen will beat you down until you cant stand anymore, and youre going to have to find a way to get back up.
Still holding my gaze with her, I saw tears moisten Ainashs eyes. I held my hand out.
Kiddo, do you want to get back up?
I do. She reached out and clasped my hand, pulling herself back to her feet. Father, want to win.
You know its not guaranteed, right?
Yes. But want to win.
I nodded. Then Ill do my best to ensure you do with the little ti we have to prepare.
Ainash didnt respond, but I got two System notifications telling all I needed to know.
Threshold reached.
Your Bond with Level 33 Draconiad has deepened.
Due to your Bond being deepened, it has undergone the following changes:
Stat Increase: From 22 to 24
XP Gain: From 11% to 12%
Heat Resistance: From 49.4% to 52.4%
Mana Increase: From 110 to 120
Mana/Minute Increase: From 8.1 to 8.84
Threshold reached.
Your Bond with Level 33 Draconiad has deepened.
Due to your Bond being deepened, it has undergone the following changes:
Stat Increase: From 24 to 26
XP Gain: From 12% to 13%
Heat Resistance: From 52.4% to 55.3%
Mana Increase: From 120 to 130
Mana/Minute Increase: From 8.84 to 9.57
Erani leaned over to . Are you sure its best to encourage her competitive attitude?
She wanted to win. Who am I to deny the kid what she wants?
Over the next half hour or so, we wandered the city looking for a place to sleep. It was nightti, and tomorrow was the day the elimination rounds requirents would be announced, so we figured a full nights rest would be helpful for a day as busy as it would surely be.
Unfortunately, though, it seed like inns were slightly harder to co by as Id hoped they would be. Wed searched for so ti, now, without finding any. At least the temperature was much more bearable to walk around in now that it was dark, compared to the sweltering heat that beat down on us on our journey to the city itself.
While we wandered the maze-like streets of the outer ring of Precipice, I saw soone walking up to . Considering how late it was, most of the area had emptied out by noweveryone with work tomorrow had gone to sleep. So I prepared myself to either be begged for money, or mugged. Not that Id likely need to worry about a petty mugger, but still.
However, as they got closer, I saw that the womans clothes werent tattered, her hair wasnt matted, and it actually looked like shed bathed in the past couple monthsvery unlike the other people Id seen around the area.
Is that a courier? Erani asked. Shes got a ssenger bag.
Glancing at her waist, I saw that she did, indeed, have a bag that looked like it would be used to carry letters around. Seed like soone around here had late-night mail.
But then the woman stopped right in front of us.
Excuse , are you She glanced down at a piece of paper. Annor and Eita?
Uh, yeah, I said.
Ive got a ssage from you, she said. Well, it was supposed to be either delivered to you, or to another pair of adventurers nad Arlan and Erani, whichever I found first. Regardless, its from Miss Sylvie-Ann of the Shirean family. What she wants is for you to hear it imdiately, if you have the ti; its quite urgent
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