Winston squirmed and pawed at his captor, but Erynd maintained his iron grip. Giving up, Winston lay still, his body wrapped in the cloak.

  Eventually, Winston found a sort of comfort in the rhythmic bumps and shakes as the warriors left the forest behind. Realizing that there was nothing he could do, exhaustion crept into him. What little sleep he had gotten earlier was far from enough to sustain him.

  His eyelids drooped as the company of Caltherans wound through rough terrain. Finally, still trapped under Erynd’s arm, he fell asleep.

  After what seemed like just seconds of sleep, Winston was shaken awake as he was set on the ground. Blinking the dreariness from his eyes, he let out a squeal of discomfort as the warm cloak was pulled off him.

  Fully opening his eyes for the first time, he leaped back in alarm, wide awake. He stood in the middle of a massive camp. His ears were assaulted with the clanging of dozens of weapons as Caltherans rushed by, armed to the teeth.

  The tents weren’t what he expected either. He’d been camping with his humans before, and these tents were nothing like the one that he had slept in. Towering dozens of feet tall, the tents were made of an azure fabric that perfectly matched the skin tone of most Caltherans.

  For a split second, he wondered how the Caltherans had brought all of the weapons and tents to the tower. After all, when they’d been in the crystal courtyard, only about half of the Caltherans had been armed. He quickly dismissed the concern for the more immediate problem—finding out where he was. Spinning around, he searched for the familiar faces of the warriors who had brought him to the camp. He didn’t trust them, but he was desperate to see any familiar face, no matter how new.

  He crouched, making his already tiny body as small as possible, and backed himself against a tent. Heart hammering, he glanced around the camp, taking it all in.

  The camp was situated in a mix between a valley and a ravine, surrounded by sheer cliffs. Hundreds upon hundreds of tents were lined up in neat rows, with just as many fully armed Caltherans moving through the camp. In the center of the camp, a massive tent resided. It stood a hundred feet tall, seemingly without any supports.

  Winston was so entranced as his eyes explored the city of tents that he didn’t even notice the two Caltherans approaching him. Winston let out a squeal of surprise as he was lifted from the ground by Erynd.

  The other Caltheran fiddled with the hilt of his sword as he turned towards Winston, who was still trapped in Erynd’s arms, “You found that?”

  Eryrnd nodded, gesturing at Winston.

  “And it’s supposed to be a Contender? That’s ridiculous!”

  Erynd nodded once more, “That’s what our scout said, but honestly, I don’t trust him. He isn’t aligned with our force, or any force at all, as far as we could tell.”

  The other Caltheran frowned, the amber crystals dotting his face glimmering mesmerizingly, “Why—no, how was he part of your party?”

  Shrugging, Erynd responded, “We found him out in the woods a few miles out. He called himself ‘Caelan.’ He had so few crystals that he was barely even a Thren.”

  Winston’s ears perked up at the unfamiliar word, ‘Thren.’ Listening to the rest of the conversation, he found himself even more confused. Had Caelan left? He’d still been there when Winston had fallen asleep.

  “Honestly, even if he were more powerful, we wouldn’t have picked up some random warrior,” Erynd sighed. “But, we had no scout. He was our only choice.”

  The other warrior nodded, “Where is he now? He may be a Thren, but we need every scout we can get.”

  Erynd shook his head, his firm grip still around Winston, “He vanished halfway through the journey back. He could’ve been ambushed by some beast, but I doubt it. As few crystals as he had, he wasn’t half bad at what he did.”

  “Well, if this ‘Caedric’ of yours said that it was a Contender—” The warrior pointed at Winston before turning and beginning to walk away, “—then we have to verify it. Let’s get a move on.”

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  Erynd nodded, setting off swiftly after the warrior, but not before plopping Winston onto his shoulder, even taking the time to make sure Winston was comfortable.

  Watching from his perch on Erynd’s shoulder, the camp was completely different. Winston was no longer looking up at towering figures like he’d been doing his whole life, but eye-to-eye with them.

  From his new vantage point, Winston took in the camp once more. Contrary to his previous beliefs, there were not hundreds of tents, but thousands.

  Winston watched, entranced, as hundreds of Caltherans darted around the camp, the crystals adorning their bodies sending shimmering light in every direction. Winston could’ve sat there for hours, observing the bustling camp. Alas, the trip came to an end as they reached the massive tent in the center of the camp.

  The Caltheran that had accompanied them nodded and turned away, leaving Winston with Erynd. Winston tensed as they walked through the azure flaps that made up the entrance, preparing for whatever could be on the other side.

  As soon as they had entered, Erynd saluted the Caltheran sitting in the center of the tent.

  The Caltheran stood and walked towards Erynd. Winston watched the Calatheran’s face in mute fascination. On the Caltheran’s face alone were nearly two dozen crystals, shimmering from the light of the lamps strewn across the tent.

  Erynd bowed his head, “Serath Thalysar.”

  The Caltheran, Thalysar, nodded in return, “What is your name, Drathen?”

  “It’s Erynd, Commander.”

  Winston’s ears twitched. He was beginning to piece together what the words meant. He’d heard ‘Thren’ and ‘Serath,’ and now ‘Drathen.’ Were they some kind of indicator of power? Suddenly, as he stared intently at the commander, a screen appeared before him. Winston nearly leaped off of Erynd’s shoulder in surprise, but managed to keep a grip.

  [Caltheran(Serath) - Initiate 6]

  Winston tilted his head. ‘Initiate 6’? His screen showed he was only ‘Initiate 1’—what did that mean for the commander? The screen and his thoughts so entranced him that he didn’t even notice the conversation coming to an end.

  His eyes widened, and he let out a yip of surprise as he was lifted off Erynd’s shoulder by the commander.

  “That scout of yours said that this—” he pointed at Winston, “—is a Contender.”

  Erynd gulped and nodded.

  The commander turned to two Caltherans standing in the corner of the tent, beckoning them over. One was just another Caltheran warrior, but the other was…female? Winston hadn’t seen a single female Caltheran so far, but he was sure she was one. She had a slightly slimmer body and more feminine features, but other than that, she looked the same. Bald head, shimmering crystals, and a spear strapped onto her back.

  “This is Taeris,” the commander said, pointing at the male Caltheran before turning to the female, “And this Lorien. They are both vaelth. They should be able to tell if he’s a Contender or not.”

  Winston narrowed his eyes, focusing on each Caltheran in turn,

  [Taeris(Vaelth) - Initiate 4]

  [Lorien(Vaelth) - Initiate 5]

  Both of them were considered ‘Vaelth,’ whatever that meant, and had a similar number of gems upon their bodies.

  The man, Taeris, leaned forward, “It’s actually quite cute, you know—”

  “Focus!” Lorien snapped, slapping Taeris’s wrist. “But I admit, it is cute.”

  [Passive Charm lvl 3 → Passive Charm lvl 4]

  Winston let out a yip of surprise. It had happened again; his skill had leveled up. Did that mean his skill was what was making them fawn over him? He thought that he had always been cute, but he supposed the skill might’ve enhanced what he already had.

  He looked up to find that both Lorien and Taeris had their eyes closed, and their hands were glowing a rich gold. Then, just seconds later, the light faded, and their eyes snapped open.

  “We scanned the area within a few feet of us. There should’ve only been three Contenders. Us and Erynd, but there were four,” Lorien said. “That means…”

  “That the ‘corgi’ is a Contender?” The commander asked, a frown flickering across his face.

  Lorien and Taeris nodded.

  The commander sighed, “That shouldn’t be possible! The system itself said that we wouldn’t meet with other Contenders until the 11th floor, and the system doesn’t lie.”

  “Perhaps it’s an error? There have been rumors of Contenders of other species being mixed in in the past, haven’t there?” Erynd suggested, holding Winston before him and peering deep into his eyes.

  The commander shook his head once more, “That’s true, but none have been verified. Even the more reputable ones are still just that. Rumors. It just doesn’t make sense!

  “Well, there’s nothing we can do about it for now. What do you intend to do with the corgi?”

  Erynd smiled sheepishly. “Well…I was hoping I could keep it as a pet?”

  “That’s fine,” The commander said, much to the joy of Erynd. “Now begone, I need to think.”

  Erynd nodded before bowing and swiftly exiting the tent, but before he could get more than a few steps away, he froze along with Winston as a message appeared before them.

  As a full day has passed since you entered the tower, a new feature will now be integrated! The System Shop will be available to all Contenders in: 00:09:57