“I give up.”

The whole stadium went silent, then broke out into a burst of uncontrollable laughter. The dark, nervous, uneasy atmosphere was now gone because of these 3 words that were said by the masked man. Chloe stood there, dumbfounded at her opponent. After all of that, he simply surrendered.

“I told you, expect the unexpected,” he smiled as he walked off.

“Wait! Why did you surrender? Perhaps… do you know about… don’t pity me!” She asked as she returned her sword to her weapon ring.

“Don’t get the wrong idea. I simply came here to gain entrance into the academy. I don’t need any money, nor do I need a luxury room. So I decided to save my energy and duck out. Welp, see ya.” He said, waving his hand as he turned his back to her and walked out of the west gate entrance. Chloe stood there for a while, still baffled by what happened.

“Please, would the contestants exit the arena to make room for the next match.”

“Oh! Sorry!” As she stepped back into the waiting room, she was passed by someone who was already making their way into the arena. She didn’t even have time to greet him, he simply passed by her without saying a word. She frowned, then glanced over at Clyde.

“My apologies Miss Chloe, it would seem Sir Rein is not in the mood to talk. It may be he is doing this to mentally prepare for our battle. At any rate, I must also make my way to the ring,” spoke Clyde as he walked past her into the arena.

“Tell him I’ll be with the girls in the stands!” She yelled to Clyde, who held a thumbs up when he heard.

Chloe went up to the bleachers to meet up with Emria and Saphrilla. They were both extremely happy to see her, asking her what happened with the masked man who gave up. She didn’t know, so she simply gave them confused look before they were interrupted by the echoing voice of the announcer.

“Wow! That last match is gonna be a hard one to beat! Two swordsmen, one who hails from the Kazaha school in Orthlys, and another who dual wields blades! Wait, but we’ve never seen him fight, how’d I know what weapons he used? Haha, that’s weird. Anyhow! This match will allow these two contestants to finish what they began in the preliminary round! Without further ado, let the final match of the second round begin!”

“Mark my words Sir Rein, you will use your Spring this time. My prowess with a blade is exponentially greater than without. You will not catch me hesitating this time.” Declared Clyde confidently, summoning his sword and readying his fighting stance. Rein didn’t react to his remark. No smile, no laugh, nothing. He simply looked up at the announcer and yelled:

“Hey, is it okay if we unsheath our swords? We’re both swordsmen, so you don’t have to worry. There won’t be any casualties.” He expressed, which got the entire audience into a buzz of conversation.

Chloe wanted to stand up in protest, but instead, she simply wore an incredibly worried expression on her face. She’d had enough. She was about to explode into a rut of anger out of worry. She felt her hand being lightly grazed by a smaller one. It was Emria trying to calm her down. Chloe put her hands on her forehead and leaned against her knees, and slowly inhaled and exhaled, trying to release her anger. She looked over at Saphrilla and Emria, who were staring at her in concern. Chloe mumbled to herself:

“That idiot. He doesn’t trust me as far as he could throw me. And why in the world would he need to fight unsheathed? That’s flat-out stupid.” She said as she wallowed in her own sadness.

“So you and Rein did get into a fight.” Declared Saphrilla.

“I just… Don’t know why he’s ignoring me… And you two! Why are you both okay with this?” She asked them out of concern.

“Hmmm, it is a little weird… Why would he need the sheath off I wonder? But it doesn’t matter. If there’s one thing I’ve learned from living with Rein all this time, it’s to trust him. No matter the situation, he always somehow makes it work. And whatever his plan is, I have faith in him. I’m sure Saphy feels the same,” Expressed Emria while holding Chloe’s hand, reassuring her. Saphrilla nodded in agreement, followed by a sigh from Chloe.

“Furthermore, I believe Rein would be able to throw you quite far,” proclaimed Sahprilla, which drew out a laugh from the other 2 girls.

“Fine, I’ll trust him just this once.”

*************************************************************************************************************

“So? What’s your answer?” Rein pressed the announcer.

“My apologies, even though you two are experienced swordsmen, the rules explicitly state—”

“I’ll allow it!” A dominating voice interrupted the announcer, who let out a loud surprised reaction.

“But principal Julianne! We can’t—”

“I said it’s allowed. You don’t intend to argue against me, do you? The win condition will be to disarm your opponent of their weapon. I trust that would do for you, right Rein Xilris?” Said the brown-haired woman sitting in the large principal’s seat in the middle of the stands, followed by a word from her assistant Wallace.

“Mistress Julianne has given her approval! The contestants may proceed with the new rules!” He announced.

Rein summoned his twin blades, unsheathing them to reveal shimmering black steel that reflected the lights of the glowing stones that filled the walls of the cavern. Clyde proceeded to do the same, unsheathing his steel tachi. The blade was expertly crafted, with an exceptionally sharp edge, and an insignia engraved on one side. It was of an eagle, soaring in the sky. The eagle’s eye was especially accented, being engraved with shimmering ruby. It was the symbol of the seeking blade.

“I do not know what you plan to achieve Sir Rein, but I assure you that my seeking eye will not miss it,” Clyde stated as he turned his blade so that the ruby engraved eagle was facing Rein’s direction.

“Sorry Clyde, but I really can’t afford to lose this one…”

*************************************************************************************************************

Location: XXX, Orthlys

*Clack* *Clack* *Clack*. The sound of footsteps filled the long, dimly lit hallway, leading to a large, auburn wood door. The door swung open, and a masked-looking grunt ran through panting.

“What is the meaning of this disturbance! We have a very important guest!” Declared a blond-haired man in the room.

“Master Collins! We have lost a reading on the vitality board! It was a family member!” Said the grunt frantically.

“What!” Said the man standing up in a sweat.

“Though, I don’t recognize the name. Dwayne Collins and six slave rings were lost. I apologize in advance for asking, but who is this Dwayne?” Asked the grunt.

“Dwayne? What are you on about you lowly grunt! There is nobody in the family with that name! And why did you interrupt my meeting for six measly slave rings!” He yelled at the messenger grunt who came to deliver the news.

“Now now Doctor Collins, I think this news has some merit to it. It’s not every day that an unknown family member dies along with six slave rings.” Said a menacing-looking woman that the man was talking to.

“Oh, but my lady! I assure you, there is nobody in the family with the name ‘Dwayne’!” Doctor Collins reassured her. Suddenly, a deep, dark voice emerged from beside the woman.

“Have you two forgotten about Dwayne? Doctor Collins, he was your own son.” A grey-haired man proclaimed.

“Are you questioning me fool? Do you think I would forget my own son?”

“My doctor Collins, don’t you know you’re talking to my right-hand man? I would watch my mouth if I were you. What Luther says almost always correct.” Said the important woman passive-aggressively.

“Oh, my apologies my lady! But I really do not remember who this Dwayne person is!” Despite being the head of the Collins family, the man bowed down to her. The man she called Luther got up and looked out the window, pondering to himself the meaning of the sudden disappearance in memory.

“Man, it’s not like anybody could suddenly up and forget that little piece of shit. Especially since he was your own son…” Luther thought out loud.

“There is one more piece of news I have, master! There have been reports sent to us from this Dwayne individual that the presence of two mystical cursed Springs has been detected beneath the Hasbin gulf.”

“Two of the seven mystical cursed Springs that we’re searching for? My lady! This solves the problem we were just discussing! If we capture them, we can proceed with our plans!” Exclaimed doctor Collins. Luther sighed and began stretching.

“Aw, man. Guess I’ll go retrieve it then. Taksys has been itchin’ for some action anyways.” He spoke in a lazy tone.

“Hold on Luther. You do not need to go for this one. If this is the same place that the six slave rings were lost, there is a good chance that the boy we’ve been searching for is there.” Said the woman sitting in the darkness.

“Oh? You mean your nephew? Fine then, what do you suggest we do?” He asked her, sitting back down and kicking his feet up. She smiled maliciously and spoke:

“We hire Crypt to retrieve the curses…” She continued telling them the plan. “Are you in agreement doctor? I am relying on your co-operation for this one.” She proposed as she stood up, revealing her yellow eyes and flowing white hair. She wore a fancy black dress that showed off elegance.

“Of course. My loyalty is dedicated to you, Lady Melina.”