The audience’s immediate reaction was a deafening clamor of both enthusiasm and anger at the outcome of the duel – for some it a was a ray of hope that even the coveted gold ranks were fallible, and for others it was a wave of disbelief that the match was legitimate to begin with. For Clarisse however, it only raised more questions. Between Sera’s remarks and what she saw, everything only seemed to confirm her pre-existing suspicions that her kitsune mentor was more than who he claimed to be.

  Nikolas’s own reaction to his victory was muted, even more so than his usual demeanor. Ignoring the outbursts of the crowd and the couple of adventurers spilling out from the audience to check on Kaara, he made a beeline towards the gate, where Rika was standing.

  “Good job winning that for the guild!” Rika smirked at him as he came closer, though there was more to her mood than just infectious happiness at the moment. “You don’t seem too worn out by it, though… care to explain?”

  “Later,” Nikolas shrugged at her question, simply walking past towards the main hall. “Can I borrow one of the empty rooms?” he asked her, raising a hand with an open palm in preparation.

  “Fine,” Rika rolled her eyes, reaching into her pocket to toss a pair of keys on a loop towards him. “Don’t think you’re getting out of this, Nik!”

  “Yeah, yeah.” came an exasperated response from the kitsune, who had already begun heading inside with his back to her the moment he caught the keys. Flying ahead of the rest of the pack, Sera zoomed past the receptionist to catch up to him as he turned the corner.

  Rika watched him turn the corner and disappear into one of the side rooms usually reserved for treating injuries. It took her a few seconds of reflection to realize what had just happened. “Huh… no hesitation despite burnt hands… you really are something else entirely, aren’t you?” she spoke under her breath, before quickly being brought back to the moment by adventurers crowding around the doorway to get back in.

  Clarisse found herself as one of the last adventurers to leave the arena, followed closely by the humongous barbarian from Kaara’s party, who was now carrying the latter slung over his shoulder. She glanced back momentarily, and found that despite the warrior’s unapproachable stature, she had something to say. “I’m sorry for what happened. If I hadn’t asked Mr…” she began, but the rest of her apology was cut short by a hearty bellow from the armor-clad giant.

  “Hahaha! There’s no need to fret, young one,” the barbarian smirked, though his tone quickly shifted to become as smooth as flowing water as he looked at the lithe redhead. “Such is the life of an adventurer… better to be humbled in jest than to be humbled in a quest, I say! Your friend fought admirably!” he exclaimed, raising his free arm in a triumphant clutch upwards. “Verily, I was enthralled by his courage and ingenuity! Say, those little daggers from his arms- wouldn’t you say those were a stroke of genius, Ciela?” he nudged the disgruntled rogue walking beside him with his foot, who let out a snarl in response.

  “Yeah, totally…” The rogue rolled her eyes at the barbarian before settling her steely gaze on Clarisse. “He fought more like a brute than any respectable rogue if you ask me. What kind of rogue stands there and takes a spell head on just to get a few hits in??”

  Clarisse shrunk between the warrior’s sheer size and the rogue’s cold stare, opening her mouth but finding herself unable to answer either of them. The nagging sense of guilt in the back of her mind wouldn’t leave her so easily, but neither would her instinct to defend Nikolas despite agreeing with the criticism levied on him. The tension in the air between them only grew, before a fourth voice interjected from behind all of them.

  “The kind that wins,” It was the party’s ranger, who had so far kept his opinions to himself quite passively. “He took a risk, and it paid off. That was his decision – don’t take it out on her. Moreover, Kaara should have known what he was doing, wasting his mana gem like a fool.”

  Clarisse breathed a sigh of relief as both of the other gold ranks backed away from her at the ranger’s prompt, quickly walking past the crowd to search for Nikolas in the main hall.

  “Was it worth it?” Sera asked, hovering over Nikolas akin to a helicopter parent as he was wrapping layers of bandages over his hands. Despite her behavior, she didn’t seem very concerned about the state of his burns as he hastily draped them, instead watching his eyes for any response. Likewise, Nikolas seemed more focused on the aesthetic of covering up the burns than for any semblance of medical treatment.

  “It was necessary,” Came an apathetic reply from the masked adventurer as he looked up at her, relying on muscle memory to continue wrapping the thin covering on his hands with the cadence of a practiced veteran. “I’d like to not risk anyone else picking up on our mana bond for now.”

  “You do realize that you’ll come off as controlling if you continue to stop her from training with anyone else, ever?” The doll quizzed him, landing in the palm of the hand he was bandaging to interrupt him. “Did you think about that?”

  “Oh, that’s rich coming from you,” Nikolas let out a dry, dismissive laugh as he slipped his hand out from under her and locked his gaze onto the doll. “But yes, I know. And I have a plan – I’m going to tell her about the mana bond.” he decided, tucking the edge of the bandage right before his elbow and moving to the other hand.

  “Is that really a good idea-?” Sera raised an eyebrow, the inflection in her tone reflecting “You also have to deal with exposing a bit of your true capabilities in front of the others now.”

  “Doesn’t matter if it is or isn’t. It’s what I need to do,” Nikolas declared, and anger bled through the apathetic facade as he worked on covering the burns on his left arm. “You should know exactly how that feels.”

  The doll crossed her arms, looking at the locked door behind him with a huff. “Don’t pretend like you have the same kind of responsibilities as I do just because you have an apprentice now.”

  “…” there was a pause where Nikolas reflected on his own predicament before replying. “Sorry. You’re right, I’m not tied down like that.”

  Sera looked back at him, the limited nature of the wooden doll unable to convey the extent of her concern as she beheld the masked rogue. “I miss having you around. Are you sure you want to continue this… living dangerously in the overworld? I could ask Shakuni to let you return, all you have to do is ask…” she stepped closer to him, placing a hand on his forearm and rubbing it slowly.

  Nikolas swiftly withdrew his hand from her, staring at the doll for a brief second before shaking his head and getting up, as if merely letting the idea fester was dangerous for him. “No… I want to do this. You know I know the risks, Sera. But if I don’t take this chance, then… everything I’ve done will mean nothing.” he looked at her with betrayed eyes.

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  Sera wilted, letting out a defeated sigh as she accepted that her attempt to sway him had ended fruitless yet again. “Clarisse is a pure soul. If you insist on going down this path and if you fail, please don’t drag her down with you. Besides that, you have my full support.”

  Nikolas nodded, adding the finishing touches on his left arm unconsciously as he spoke. “She doesn’t deserve to be dragged into this, but I can’t do it alone. I needed to start with one person, and maybe she’s that person. I intend on protecting her even if it means I have to out myself to everyone.” he said, a subtle crack in his voice breaking through the apathetic tone as he thought about the redhead.

  “Good,” Sera replied, putting on a somber smile as she floated towards his backpack. “I should get going now… see you later, Nik.”

  “See you later, Sera.” Nikolas replied, shutting the backpack over her once the doll turned inanimate and beginning to reattach the contraptions which held his wired daggers under his wrists. Once he was satisfied with how everything was attached, he unlocked the door to enter the cacophony which was the rest of the guild hall.

  “There he is!” Felis was the first to approach Nikolas exit the sideroom, standing at the barside and mixing drinks for the crowd. “The man of the hour! Our very own champion!” he announced, catching everyone’s attention much to the kitsune’s ire.

  “Nik!” Clarisse waved to him, seated at a table with the rest of the gold-ranked party except Kaara, who was being treated by Joshua in one of the other side rooms. Each of them had a drink in front of them, presumably all brews by Felis. It seemed Clarisse hadn’t touched hers yet, waiting for Nikolas to return.

  Nikolas maintained his muted reaction towards everyone as he made a beeline for Clarisse. “Can we step outside?” He asked, cutting through the group’s conversation and talking to Clarisse directly.

  Before she could respond, there was a loud chuckle from the barbarian, who slammed his drink down before speaking. “Nonsense! You must join us, partake in ale and regale us with a story!” He laughed, before his teammate interjected.

  “Laufey’s paying today, so you better accept,” Ciela spoke up with a narrow sneer. “Giants don’t take kindly to their gifts being refused.”

  Nikolas’s eyes darted towards Clarisse before he let out a sigh, understanding how she had gotten trapped in this mess, though part of him thought that she would have accepted even if the impolite connotation was absent. “I suppose I don’t have a choice then, hahaha.” he feigned amusement as obviously as he could, taking the only empty spot at the table, next to Clarisse.

  “Time to spill your secrets then!” Ciela chirped, taking a swig of ale from her glass before settling her sights on him, rouge to rouge. “There’s no way a bronze rank is good enough to beat Kaara, so who are you, really?”

  All eyes were on the kitsune, even those from other tables nearby. “I only began as an adventurer less than a year ago. I’ve worked many jobs over the years,” Nikolas shrugged, improvising as he spoke. “Of course, there was the war too. You don’t get out of one alive if you don’t know how to survive… and well, I’m here, aren’t I?” The intonation betrayed a smug sentiment as he touched on a topic he knew was a sore point for almost everyone.

  There was an awkward silence in the hall, only murmurs and other sounds of general agreement could be heard from the crowd before Laufey spoke up. “For a fox, you fight quite honorably!” he exclaimed, being one of the only people who hadn’t picked up on the severity of the topic which had been broached. “I killed many foxes during the war, talented tricksters they were! Always weaving traps for their enemies, quite like that last exchange of blows you had!”

  “Laufey!” the ranger exclaimed, looking up at his tall companion, though not scolding him any further upon receiving a look of drunken confusion back. “What?”

  “I’m sure they were,” Nikolas defused the situation with a chuckle, pretending to take a sip from his glass but only letting the drink touch the slits of his mask before lowering it and wiping off the stain on his bandages. “I’m not as talented as the rest of my kind, unfortunately.”

  “I’d like to test your strength myself then!” Laufey continued, much to the annoyance of his party. “What say you, Nikolas of Junnhaven?” he bellowed, causing everyone’s attention to once more land on their table.

  “If we’re both here in a few days, maybe,” Nikolas shrugged, before sliding back in his bench and getting up. “We should get going now. We did promise Mr. Shirev we would help him load the new stock today, didn’t we?” He glanced at Clarisse for a prolonged moment, hoping she could catch the cue so they could escape.

  Clarisse had been mortified over the thought of Nikolas fighting a giant akin to Laufey’s brutish build when he looked at her, and quickly snapped back to a false smile. “Oh…” She let out a short sound as she pieced together what he meant and forged a lie. “Yeah… yes! He agreed to let us eat for free a few times if we helped him out… It’s about time for that. Thank you for the drinks!”

  Across the hall, Rika rolled her eyes from her desk. Their hasty departure wasn’t subtle in the slightest, but she decided not to intervene on account of knowing that they would be back the next day for quests and she could question Nikolas then.

  Nikolas slung his backpack over his shoulder again, looking back towards Rika almost as if he sensed her thinking about him. They caught each other’s gaze for a split second, before he quickly ushered Clarisse out and followed behind her despite the disgruntled complaints of the gold ranks.

  “Where are we going?” Clarisse asked her companion as they made their way out of the town square, though as far as she knew they were only wandering to avoid the others at the guild.

  “Outside the city.” Nikolas replied, walking alongside her with his hands stuffed into his pockets.

  Clarisse raised an eyebrow, but decided to go along with him. She found herself staring at him a moment afterwards, getting a good idea of what he looked like without the cloak and hood now that it had been discarded. The potion bandolier slung over his shoulder for instance, which housed a number of extra potions besides his alchemy kit. This was accompanied by the metal braces which housed the daggers she had seen him use from under his wrist and numerous pockets running down the length of his pants. Underneath his bandages, the shape of his arms were also visible to her. Though something seemed off about them, she couldn’t pin it to any reason she could think of at the moment.

  “Sorry about getting you into that fight.” Clarisse spoke softly once they had left the city walls behind and were graced by streaks of yellow from the late afternoon sun, still feeling guilty for causing a scene at the guild.

  “It wasn’t your fault,” Nikolas replied, glancing back at her. “There’s something you should know about us.” he said, rummaging through his pockets to unveil a potion she hadn’t seen before.

  “About… us?” Clarisse questioned, the tone of his voice only serving to confuse her further. So far everything in the unknown seemed to be about him, so why would he phrase it so?

  “We have a mana bond,” Nikolas stated, waiting a moment for it to register before elaborating. “It means we can share mana between each other freely, and that’s probably happening as we speak.”

  “Mana bond? Wait, what do you mean we can share mana?” Clarisse questioned yet again, completely unfamiliar with the phenomenon.

  “Here, drink this. It’ll help you understand,” Nikolas said, pushing the potion he had been holding into her hands. “It might taste bad, but trust me on this.”

  As naive as she was, the redhead only thought once before uncorking the strange-shaped glass bottle and drinking it. She blinked a few times once it was down her throat, unsure of what to expect of its effects. The potion tasted bitter, more so than anything Clarisse had tasted before. A moment passed and the bitterness went away, but with the bitterness she felt the rest of her taste also dull. She glanced at her companion with a panicked expression, before finding that the rest of her senses were also dulling. It was hard to walk, or even feel her surroundings as the potion took full effect.

  She could feel a sudden emptiness within her, similar to her encounter with the giant sprite – she was completely out of mana. “Nik…?” she called out, scared of what was happening to her before she felt her balance disappear and fell forward. The ground was getting dangerously close, and yet however much she wanted, her arms wouldn’t move up to protect herself. She let out another cry, but this time she wasn’t able to hear herself.

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