Chapter 14

  With my first school day finished, students were permitted to head out into town up until 9pm, but they would need to remain in uniform and could only visit pre-approved locations.

  It was one of these locations I led my team to: 'The Sweet Tooth'. It was a confectionery and tea shop. I chose it because the name alone seemed like it would put the other teams off. Well… Lily might go for it, but her team members didn’t seem the type to follow her here.

  Team 2, with Axel and Paris… there was no chance they would come here.

  I ordered three cups of lemon and herb tea and three cupcakes. Ada had given me plenty of spending money, and since I’ve always been a frugal person, I could afford to treat the others occasionally.

  “So, first things first, I think we need to know what each of us can do.”

  Fleur and Oliver stared at me blankly, then exchanged a hesitant look.

  I could understand the concern. If we were competing against the others now, who’s to say we won’t be against one another next time? In that case, it would not be to our benefit to share our abilities.

  “...As a show of good faith, I’ll start. You already know the basics. I am decent at close combat and can fuse with Tiara to gain her abilities. But you should know I can do this with any animal so long as we share a bond of trust. There are many ways this can be used, but just think of me as an all-around combat-type for our purposes.”

  “...Okay, I’ll go next…”

  Oliver started, but avoided eye contact and stared at his tea instead as he sipped gingerly.

  “Uh… I can enchant things, and I don’t need any tools to do it. Right now, I can enchant items with almost any novice-grade spell… They are only single-use, though, and the enchanted item will crumble afterwards unless it is really tough.”

  “Can you write up a list of the spells you can imbue?”

  “Sure, I’ll work on it later.”

  Oliver’s first Gift: Artisan’s Touch was the reason he could do this. It was a highly valuable ability, if it wasn’t for his second Gift, he would already be set for life working as an enchanter.

  He explained he won’t be of any help in a fight, as Fizzle would sever his connection to magic the instant it leaves his body. In short, were he to shoot a fireball, it would come out as a useless puff of smoke no matter what. Fizzle is also the reason his enchantments are only single-use, as it limits how much mana he can engrave into an object.

  “What about what was said this morning? Can you really use any of the magic sources?”

  “...Well, I can already use mana, aura, and holy-based magic for my enchantments. So long as I understand the theory behind how it works and can replicate the spell formula, I can alter my body’s mana to fit the mould so to speak. It's an involved process wherein I alter the elements to create a facsimile of the required source needed to manifest a spe— Uh… sorry, I got a little carried away there.”

  He blushed and lowered his head further.

  “Amazing.”

  He looked at me with surprise.

  “It might be too early to say before I see that list of spells, but you might be the reason we win this.”

  “You’re getting ahead of yourself.”

  Fleur spoke up for the first time since we sat down.

  “You saw Axel today, how do we possibly fight that?”

  “We have a whole month to study our opponents and develop counter strategies, but we’ll get to that later. It’s your turn, Fleur.”

  Oliver and I stared at her, silently pressuring a response.

  “Fine. I use a bow, like most of my kin. With spirit sorcery, I can ask for assistance from the spirits of nature…”

  She was staring at me meaningfully while saying this part.

  “...And I brew my own potions. I am confident that with the ingredients in the Verdant Divide, I can brew healing potions, mana potions, poisons, and explosives.”

  My eyes widened involuntarily. The last thing I thought of when I hear 'elf' is 'explosions'.

  “Would you like a list of concoctions as well?”

  “Yeah… Yeah, that will be great, thanks.”

  “Can you explain the spirit sorcery some more?”

  Oliver seemed to have a keen interest in this topic.

  “Rex would know. His soul is both nectar and poison for the spirits.”

  “Huh? What does that mean?”

  Oliver looked at me in surprise.

  “Nothing, don’t worry about it.”

  I met Fleur’s gaze with my own.

  This girl sees more than I expected…

  ***

  It took some time to shake off Oliver’s questions. And despite her obvious interest, Fleur didn’t push for any answers either. She ended up getting him to back off by claiming her comment was just an elvish saying that meant I was mysterious.

  Luckily, he bought it, and we were able to finish up and leave without any further issues.

  They returned to the dorm, and I snuck out again to see Soot.

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  The following days were mostly the same. By the third day, I received approval and funding to start building behind the dorms. Fleur and Oliver helped me plan and construct during the latter half of each school day for the first week.

  By the end of the second week, it was complete, and I told everybody about Soot. Fleur used fire-resistant resin to coat the wooden structure that would act as his home. Surprisingly, Meztili helped out as well, summoning skeletons each morning for Soot to ram and crush, satisfying his need for exercise. He enjoyed chewing on the bones as well and became rather friendly with the creepy girl.

  I thought it may be a ploy of some sort, so I always checked the bones he was eating to make sure no poison or strange spell was lying dormant inside. So far, there had been no issues.

  During the third week, I started receiving frequent challenges to duel. If it had been gold-class students, I would have understood the reason, but they were mostly bronze-class students with a couple of silvers.

  I found out Guy and Paris were having the same issue. A few tried to challenge Oliver as well, but he always refused, seeing as he didn’t prioritise his combat ranking. My standing improved a little, but they were all weaklings who weren't trying their best.

  My daily life consisted of lessons, sparring with Felicia and Axel, team training, researching Blightblade, and then spending the night in the Verdant Divide.

  It was surprising that it took Oliver so long to notice that I had yet to sleep in our room.

  I had made friends with some wild birds and used them to spy on the other teams, but what I saw did not bode well.

  As in, I dreaded having to work with them in future trials. They barely cooperated or practiced together at all. From what I saw, they settled on a basic plan in the first week, then went off on their own for the rest of the time.

  With only three days remaining before the trial began, I found myself pressed for time to complete the task Ada left me. She wasn’t responding to any of the messages I sent via carrier bird asking for clarification, and all I found in the books were vague allusions to a sword that “blighted” the countryside hundreds of years ago.

  School had ended for the day, and tomorrow was the weekend. That left me with three nights to cram some last-minute work in.

  I readied myself for the one thing I feared most since leaving the Feral Abyss. Sleep.

  I settled into my bed for the first time in a month and closed my eyes.

  ***

  The world was dyed with blood-red light. The sky had neither moon nor sun but only an eternally gazing monstrous red eye. My feet were submerged in a familiar warm red liquid that oozed between my toes.

  This was the world I was forced to exist in whenever I slept. It was the curse passed onto me by that creature seven years ago.

  The eye in the sky gazed uncaringly at the bloody field I stood in. The horrific sounds of brutal, unrestrained violence were ever-present here, as was the stench of death.

  No items from the outside world were permitted here, so as usual, I stood naked, facing down monstrosities and other cursed souls.

  “Help me! Heeelp!”

  I turned to the voice and saw a man running desperately. His arm seemed to have been torn from the socket by one of the denizens here.

  At my feet was the reward I earned from previous performances—a wood-cutting axe belonging to Roland. The real thing was broken long ago, but The Watcher allowed me this copy.

  I pulled it free from the fleshy, pulsating ground with a squelch and ran as hard as I could to the man as he tripped on an intestine.

  He spluttered and gagged as gore filled his mouth, but he saw me coming nonetheless.

  “Oh thank the gods! Another hum—”

  His words were cut short as my axe buried itself in his skull.

  I disregarded the corpse and looked for another foe.

  I swung, I cut, I cleaved, and I ran.

  Death and chaos surrounded me, for this is what the Feral Abyss became at night. This is where I lived for years. The eye above silently approved of my inhumane actions as I sought out more blood.

  And I, too, was cut down in due time. A great six-legged beast of brawn and bone skewered me through the chest with its singular horn.

  I quietly accepted this swift death.

  …

  “Oh Faelora preserve us! Protect me in my time of need. Mother of all, guard my soul and bring me—”

  The man I killed earlier was praying in front of me, I cleaved his head from his shoulders and returned to the endless battleground.

  My axe broke, I punched, kicked, bit, and ran.

  This time, my death was slow as I was swallowed whole and slowly burned in the stomach acid of an immense plantlike creature.

  …

  “Aaaaaaaaaarrrgh!”

  The twice-dead man ran at me in desperation. I see he tried to cast some sort of spell, but magic was forbidden in this crucible.

  The Eye returned my axe to my feet. I retrieved it and hacked the man’s arm off once more.

  “My arm! Aaaah! Please, please help me, where am I?”

  No mercy can be permitted here, but seeing his state, I could tell he would lose his mind soon and become yet another mindless husk. The Watcher hated those who would not keep fighting.

  “It’s only been one hour. Hold onto your faith for another seven and you will make it through this.”

  My words were the greatest kindness one could hope for here.

  I ended him once more.

  ***

  In a lavish mansion in Kronenstadt, Ada Jaeger was reclining on her sofa, smoking her pipe and leisurely reading the latest letter from her dear adopted son.

  “Hmm… He couldn’t find it huh?”

  She mumbled to herself. She couldn’t respond to his questions regarding Blightblade. After all, she only relayed the order in the same way she received it, and the being that commanded her was beyond her reach.

  “Sorry, kid, we’re all relying on you for now…Hm?”

  She nearly choked on her pipe as she reached the end of the letter.

  I’ll be spending the last three nights asleep. Send a message to my master.

  Ada had only returned from a mission for the Empire today, and this letter arrived two nights prior. She rushed to her study and waved a hand to quickly cast a spell on a bookshelf. It vanished from existence and exposed the hidden stairs leading down.

  She hurried down to the dark room deep under her living space. Blue spheres of flame shot out from her back and lit the braziers, lighting up the room and illuminating the large spell circle engraved on the floor in the centre of the room.

  “Damnit, Rex… Talk about short notice. Where is it, where is it?”

  She mumbled to herself while picking up different vials.

  “Here we are!”

  She victoriously raised a thin vial filled with green liquid. With an unceremonious smash, she spiked it into the middle of the spell circle and began weaving her mana through the air.

  Soon enough, a portal appeared showing the inside of a gorgeous forest. But Ada had no time to admire the vibrant colours and jaw-dropping majesty of the creatures within. She moved her hands rapidly, looking for a certain hut.

  “Come on, come oooon…”

  Finally, she found it, and a cloaked figure was hunched over outside.

  “Aha! Found you!”

  Ada ran up to the portal and yelled out.

  “Heeeey! Poggy! Your favourite apprentice says he’s coming to see you soon!”

  The figure flinched and slowly turned their head. A long, crooked, green nose is all that Ada can see of the enigmatic Druid.

  “...Idiot. He arrived nine hours ago. The Crucible has already ended for the night.”

  “Oh, so he’s with you? Can I see him?”

  The Druid cackled maniacally.

  “He’s occupied.”

  They turned their back on Ada once again, and with a flick of their hand, Ada’s portal was closed.

  “...I’d better give Rex a little extra for his allowance next week…”

  She felt bad for him. Poggy hated being disturbed without notice. He must be putting Rex through hell right now.