Chapter 23:
Doppolia: A New Magical World
We retraced our steps back to the first floor. King Endo quietly led us around the first floor, passing through multiple rooms. Five minutes later, we arrived at the back door of the mansion that led out to the outside. Where was he taking us?
To my surprise, there was a small wooden shed towards the back of the royal residence. It resembled a small storage space to house supplies. The king headed for that small shed. There was no way we could battle in such a small space! It lacked room to move around.
Forget trying to play cat and house. The moment the fight starts… I will lose!
King Endo calmly walked towards the shed with confidence. I curiously approached the small shed, assuming that it was our battleground.
“Why are we walking towards the shed?” I wondered, speaking to the king in front of me. “I thought we were going to the training ground.”
King Endo gave me the cold shoulder. His eyes only faced ahead. He refused to speak to me, attempting not to lose focus.
On the other hand, Garlan witnessed the King’s rudeness to me and spoke up.
He suggested, “Just wait, Mr. Satori… You’ll understand.”
Garlan’s simple suggestion only puzzled me more. What could possibly be in this shed? He probably came to pick up his weapon.
Unfortunately… I could not have been more off the mark.
The king’s servants reach for a lock on the shed’s double doors. They quickly inserted the correct code to unlock the door.
As they opened the doors, a strong gust of wind escaped the shed. There was nothing stored inside. Only a long, bright staircase descended underneath, greeting us. That’s when I realized. This was the entrance to the training ground!
The king led by example as he entered the room first, descending the stairs. Everyone followed behind the confident, yet relaxed king. As I gazed at the unknown abyss ahead, my legs grew sore.
Walking felt like an eternity, as if I sat at the very top row of a concert and had to exit the stadium.
…
To pass the time, Princess Kiriko, Amada, Hinabe, and the others inside the dining hall caught up to us. They could not comprehend the situation from their seats, so they raced down the stairs towards Prince Kaito and me for an explanation.
Amada “What are you doing, Takumi?!”
Anojin smugly explained the situation. “This poser decided to challenge the King to a duel in order to retrieve the Tri-Carver.”
“Challenge the king? Are you insane?!” Amada blurted in disbelief.
I instantly denied it. Even hearing her say that sounded ridiculous. “I didn’t want to. He’s the one who insisted on it.”
“Alright. Well, worst-case scenario is he’ll kill you,” concluded Amada. “Actually… scratch that. The only scenario is he’ll kill you.”
I smugly glanced at Amada while slouching my shoulders. “Wow, thanks for having faith in me,” I murmured to myself. I fixed my expression as I thought about our other member, Hinabe. I quickly looked behind me and spotted Hinabe, awake and kicking.
“I’m surprised you’re awake for this long, Hinabe.” I pointed out, giving her the proper credit.
She shyly responded, “Yeah. For some reason, I feel full of energy.”
Last time I recalled, she fell asleep just after we ate. And that was 30 minutes ago. Usually, she would pass out during the worst situations. Maybe she was getting stronger… if that’s even a compliment.
Anojin butted in, mocking my strength. “Hinabe needs her relaxation, unlike you. Have fun running around during the fight.” Anojin released a hearty laugh. “Ha, I’m going to enjoy this.”
He was not wrong. What more could I do in this fight? I hate that Anojin was right, but I refused to admit that. So, I fired back at him.
“Don’t worry about me. Once I get my weapon back, you can head back home to your grandpa while I defeat the demon king. Have him teach you a new spell or something.”
There, that got him! Anojin remained strangely silent. I knew mentioning his grandfather would have an impact on him. I took his silence as an acceptance of defeat in our bickering. I cheerfully chuckled towards him, adding salt to the wound.
I laughed so hard I shut my eyes while still walking down the long stairs. My body remembered the walking pattern I needed, so I wasn’t worried about walking blindly. However, I suddenly felt a rough push towards my back.
…
The push stopped my laughing as I lost my balance. I leaned forward and had no way of stopping myself. I was going to crash to the ground.
I looked over at Anojin, who was holding his stomach and laughing out loud. He laughed with an evil smirk. He wasn’t even sorry about pushing me. He just wanted to laugh at my expense.
“That’s what you get for speaking about my grandfather,” Anojin said, laughing excessively.
“Oh, yeah?” Before I faceplanted on the stairs, I turned to Anojin. Luckily, he was within reach. I stretched my legs towards Anojin and wrapped them around his legs. With all of my energy, I yanked him off his feet, forcing him to crash with me.
Anojin shockingly glared at me. “You son of a-!”
“Hehe.” Even though this fall was going to hurt, I giggled at Anojin with an evil smile, delivering my revenge.
Prince Kaito and the others watched on with troubled eyes as Anojin and I tumbled down the long staircase. Kaito instinctively reached his arm out to help me, but could not do anything. We both fell forward, colliding before even reaching the steps. The next thing I knew, we were rolling, punching, and kicking like a group of furious beasts.
Just a couple of steps away, King Endo continued his walk down. He gritted his teeth, disturbed by the ruckus behind him. He tried to stay focused but ultimately failed. He stopped walking and remained composed to keep his image. He slowly turned around towards us. “What is all that noise up there?”
Unfortunately for the king, just as he turned his body around, our bodies were already inches away from him. He had no time to react. He was swept off his feet, taking him and his bodyguards down like bowling pins. His servants remained on the staircase, but the king joined Anojin and me.
Now three men were tumbling. The crowd gasped at the king’s safety. His image was ruined by the minute.
“How did I end up in this ridiculous predicament? I am King Endo! I shouldn’t be playing these childish games!” He muttered under his breath. “Are you starting the fight already? I see you lost your honor, Mr. Satori!”
Annoyed by our stupidity, Endo took it upon himself to enter our brawl. Now it was a three-man fight before we landed.
There was hair pulling, skin stretching, and eye poking. There was little room for ideas, so we attacked whatever was close by.
With each step we landed on, we alternated in taking the hit. We did not plan that. We were fighting to avoid landing on the step, but that was just the result.
…
After what felt like a brutal five minutes of falling, a bright light was seen at the bottom. The end was finally near!
Once we reached the bottom step, we continued rolling into a large room, similar to a colosseum arena. We rolled toward the center of the room until a table halted our fall, making us split apart.
Eventually, the prince and others arrived at the bottom of the stairs. We made a great distance from the stairs. The crowd gazed in our direction. The three of us tried to regain our energy. My eyes tried to adjust after being dizzy. The bright lighting made it hard to see the ceilings. I looked around curiously.
There were shelves and tables arranged around us. The table that stopped our fall was covered with weapons and armor. Each weapon was unique, with different blades and hilts. There was also stained cloth surrounding the tables.
“This must be the training ground.” I thought to myself.
Anojin wearily asked, still dizzy from the tumbling. “Uh…what is this place?”
Unlike Anojin and me, King Endo hastily recovered his balance and glanced towards the back of the wall. He regained his composure, speaking with authority. “This is where we will be fighting.”
I gazed at where the King was staring. Towards the back of the wall, an open, golden coffin leaned against the wall. It displayed itself, overseeing the vast room. It hosted pieces of armor, bedded by the inner red padding and shielded by a thick piece of glass.
Next to the armor was a heavy, black claymore. Its hilt had white cloth hanging from its end, and its thick blade was stainless.
There’s no mistake. That must be the Tri-Carver!
…
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