Chapter 29 - Awakening

I had another dream, this one featured the terrified look Maxwell had on his face when I killed him. I killed him; I didn’t even feel bad one way or the other about it. To be fair, I suppose he did deserve it.

Besides, he’s a competitor.

I felt warmer now; the cold had begun to fade as a light shone onto my eyes. I woke up, I didn’t appear to be in the Arctic anymore. I couldn’t see anyone either.

The hut I was in appeared to be a straw-like material, mixed with wood. It appeared to be a more primitive area compared to the large, elaborate constructions of Astora and the industrialized Iron City.

It almost felt simple, like it was nice, in a way.

Then I realized my clothes were gone. I was covered head to toe in a woolly blanket, and a folded cloth under my head served as a pillow. But hey, on the bright side, I no longer had a hole in my stomach.

Then I realized, not only were my clothes gone, but my weapons were too.

I began to panic. I felt my heart race. How did I get here? Where are Grace, Elowyn, and Tetsuo at?

Luckily, my questions were answered when I heard a noise in the next room. Two people entered, one of them was a demihuman woman, who had dog ears, surprisingly. The second was Grace, whose cat ears stood out.

“Grace? Where are we? Where am I? What’s going on?”

Grace didn’t respond, but the woman next to her did. “Relax, you are in the Arcadia Grasslands. Home of the Arcadia Tribe of Demi-Humans…you are in our home territory.”

“But why am I here? I’m confused.” My head began to hurt; thinking about the situation was too much.

“Relax your mind, I will let your friend explain the rest.” With that, she left, leaving me alone with Grace. I looked at her now, expecting answers to this strange predicament.

“Elowyn took us here, Reuben ordered our capture and execution. We didn’t exactly have the time and opportunity to heal you there.” However, this begged the question.

“Why didn’t we go back to Arclaneia then? I’m sure the elves would have liked to help us out.” However, at the mention of Arclaneia, it made Grace’s face darkened.

“Ryu burned it to the ground. Most of the elves have run off by now and are scattered. Not to mention, the whole world is in chaos right now. This is the safest place by far.” Grace mentioned all of these things. A huge power imbalance in the world, and this all happened while I was unconscious.

“Jeez, how long was I out?” I asked, feeling a bit groggy.

Grace simply shook her head. “You’ve been out cold for a few weeks, Elowyn is healing as well.”

I then wondered one more thing. “Where is Tetsuo?” I asked, I at the very least needed to know where he was.

“He’s in the village, on the outskirts of it anyway, they don’t allow humans in here, not even elves or dwarves. We only got in because I was here.” Grace spoke a bit frustrated. I imagine she had to deal with a lot to get us adequate treatment here.

Suddenly, the flap to the inside of the room opened, and in walked a stern rabbit demi-human. He carried himself as if he had seen better days, with a limp in his step, and gray hair, not to mention the eyepatch as well.

“Greetings, I am Nial Arcadia. My family has run this tribe of demi-humans ever since the war of the Goddess branded us with these features.” He seemed host-like enough, yet I could see him look on at me with a mixture of reservation and distrust.

“I ask that once you finish up, you leave. Only demi-humans may live or stay here. Frankly, you should be lucky we even allowed you to recover here in the first place.” His voice was dripping with hatred.

I wanted to argue, tell him he was wrong. Yet it was his home, his city. I didn’t have the right to be here, and they've already done enough for me.

“I understand. As soon as I’m able to, I will be out of your sight.” I agreed reluctantly.

He gave me a satisfied smirk, and I couldn’t help but get more frustrated. If I hadn’t won already against Maxwell, I could only imagine the pain it would be in getting his help.

He then turned towards Grace. “I hope you consider the opportunity I’ve given you, it will allow you to learn the best spells there are. Besides, you’re a smart lass, you could do well without any bad influences.” With that, he turned to leave.

I looked towards Grace, wondering what was going on.

“He…he offered me a chance to study here for a few days, learn a couple of spells. He says they will make me more combat efficient.” She admitted.

“Are you going to take the time to study?” I asked her; I was a little curious about her own thoughts. She seemed conflicted.

“I think I will, that way when the time comes. I can be strong for you guys, too.” She sounded vulnerable. I wasn’t quite sure what she meant by that, but before I could ask her, I was called for.

After some time, I made it to another room, and Elowyn and Tetsuo sat there. She looked far better, though her face looked a bit paler.

“I heard what happened. I’m sorry to hear that.” I didn’t really know what else to say. Tetsuo sat there grimly. His face is contemplative.

“First father, and now Arclaneia. Still, there is hope of reuniting my people by bringing them to a new banner. Astora.” She proclaimed. It seemed she was hanging in there, especially if she was good enough to scheme. “There is just one problem.”

“I suppose that’s our next stop, but what do you mean there is a problem?” I asked. Of course, there had to be a roadblock even for waltzing into a country with no ruling monarch.

“Since there is no central authority, there is a lot of infighting. Not to mention, other competitors have heard about the situation and have been fighting nonstop, turning it into a warzone.”

Elowyn’s words brought a spark within me. “Well then, we’ll have to go, besides. If there are competitors there, it is beneficial for us to go.” I felt her plan was good, and the roadblocks shouldn’t be too much of a concern.

“With me, you, and Tetsuo. I doubt there are too many competitors who could pose much of a threat to us.” Except for one, of course. The image of the dark knight Ryu Nakamura flashed through my mind for just a moment.

“Very well then, we leave in a few hours, since everyone is awake and all,” Elowyn muttered. “The demi-humans are not known for their hospitality, and I fear if we don’t make haste, we’ll be greeted with pitchforks.”

She did have a point there. I remembered the cold face of Nial Arcadia. A leader is a manifestation of the people themselves. I imagine many demi-humans here wouldn’t be too thrilled to have outsiders walking among them.

“I’m already set to go.” I was ready now, whatever awaited us at Astora. I knew it wouldn’t be pretty.

Still, there was no going back from a path we decided on, not even if we were met with horrors along the way.

I went back to where I woke up. I saw my weapons lying on the bed, and I picked them up, ready to once again continue the fight. However, I heard a noise behind me, it was Grace, she looked at me with a melancholic look on her face.

“You’re leaving, huh?” She looked guilty.

“Yeah, we’re heading to Astora for a little bit. I promise we’ll come back to get you once we’re done. So you stay here and study.” I reassured her, I didn’t plan to abandon her, especially since she was a vital teammate.

“I see, when you come back, though, I’ll be much stronger. I’ll be able to hold my own and protect you guys from threats like you’ve always protected me.” Grace’s declaration was touching. I felt my chest tighten a bit.

“Very well then, I’ll be looking forward to the new you.” I smiled, I couldn’t help but do so, I can’t say I wouldn’t miss her, even if it realistically would be only a few days.

With that, the two of us waved goodbye, if only for a little while. I left the building and walked towards Elowyn and Tetsuo, who were all ready to go. The three of us rode our way towards the city of Astora.

Finally, we made our way through the gates, but suspiciously, there wasn’t anybody guarding the gates. As we walked by the gates and into the town, we picked up an awful stench. I felt like I was going to puke.

The dead piled up and down the streets, yet as we moved forward, we saw the bodies of monsters. Mutated, bloated beings made manifest by some unknown magic. Yet despite all the things we had seen, we had yet to see any competitors, and I failed to feel any remote stinging on my cheek.

“It really does seem like there are no competitors left,” I remarked. I felt a little off-put by the scenery. Eventually, we stumbled across a ruined building, the Heroe’s Guild Headquarters. I wondered if Brent and Collette were alright.

I opened the door and saw a mess throughout the room, what once was a lively hub for adventurers to get work and do good, now a ruined shell of its former self.

In the middle was Collette, holding a shaken-up Brent. His body shook uncontrollably in routine spasms. His body would eventually calm down before, in turn, shaking once more.

“What happened here?” I asked. I didn’t even have the energy to be shocked, or upset, or even to shout and be happy that they were alright.

“Just a few hours ago, many people began to turn into monsters, large behemoth demons that are obsessed with destruction.” Collette managed to get out after some stunned silence. “I think…I think even Brent is beginning to turn.”

Then those beings, they were humans, or once were. They had been turned into demonic beings.

“Why is this happening? How do we reverse this?” I asked, but Elowyn answered for me, sensing the despair in Collette’s voice.

“There is no cure, and there is no way to reverse it. When someone turns, we can only put them out of their misery.” She took out a knife and began to approach the duo.

“Wait! Please! Don’t kill him!” Collette shrieked. “He’s not turned yet! Maybe he’s sick! Maybe he can be saved! Just leave us be…if anything happens, I’ll be the one to deal with it. You guys should go on.”

I wanted to protest, and I’m sure Elowyn did too, but we had nothing else to say, nor argue.

“Fine, but don’t do anything stupid. If the situation gets dangerous, run to the castle, that’s where we’ll be.” That was the least we could do, offer help if she needs it. Maybe we should have killed Brent then and there; maybe there was a chance he would come through.

“It’s because of that tower…” Elowyn informed me. She then turned and pointed to a sinister-looking tower in the distance; it was familiar somehow.

“It appears at the end of a competition, it is a gateway to the in-between, where the Goddess arrives.” She still looked puzzled. “When it appears, its magical energy turns people into monsters, though most people are immune. I have never heard of it working on such a large scale before, though.”

“Something unusual, huh? Well, I’m sure we’ll be finding out soon enough, but we should hurry for now.” I urged, if more and more people were turning into monsters due to the Goddess’s influence, we really had to act fast.

Remaining participants: 13/100.

Game status: In progress.

Razan Hamada Status: Alive.