Chapter 73-

Adleth made her way towards the waiting hall for her upcoming match. While members of the tournament staff were in the arena fixing the crater that Elric made, Adleth wanted to observe Elric from a distance to gather information on him. She knew from a glance that he was a Traveler that had chosen the gift that gave them incredible strength. But she needed to know why one was here in this part of the continent.

‘Hill Giants are supposed to roam the Ganadown Mountains because of the immense number of beasts there.’ Adleth thought to herself. ‘So why is one here? Why is he participating in a silly little tournament?’

Adleth let out a sigh. This wasn’t the first time her higher ups had sent her on cases like this. But this was the first time she had to deal with two cases at the same time. She was originally sent to find out what was the source of the disturbance in the mountain near Tusk. When she arrived there, she saw that there were remains of an unknown magic near the base and from within a cave that looked to be smoothed out by some unknown force. Then she saw Toshio and a girl approaching the same mountain, so she watched from afar. But it was a surprise that she saw Toshio enter a cave and pull something out from said cave.

Just when she thought her job wouldn't get anymore interesting, now she finds out that a hill giant is participating in the tournament where she and this traveler are competing in, near the mountain that she was sent to investigate. She doesn't know if the hill giant has a connection with Toshio or that mountain. But she does know that Toshio has some connection with that mountain. She even noticed the flail stop midair before it hit him. Recognizing it as one of the spells from the void element, friction.

“Why do all of these Travelers have to be problematic?” Adleth said as she made her way to the waiting hall. “But at least things are becoming interesting.”

Adleth pulled out a black orb from her bag. She was lucky to have spotted it when one of the staff members was trying to fix it. She managed to buy it from them because they thought it was broken. But she knew what really happened to it and planned to keep it as evidence.

*****

Toshio was on the ground level sitting on a patch of grass in a small courtyard. He had taken off his shoes and had his feet buried under some dirt. Some people passed by him wondering why he was doing this, but they just let him continue with whatever he was doing. He was in his best attempt at a meditative pose to try to increase his affinity with earth mana. Since he can’t increase his stats at the moment, he is doing his best to improve his skills with the time he has before his next match. Right now, he's trying to send his own mana deeper into the earth below him. His intelligence stat has increased a bit since the last time, so he has a bit more mana to send down.

[MP: 2,000/4,803]

Toshio continued to push his mana into the ground below him when Elisa arrived back from her search. She waved at Bob who was holding onto Nagishi’s pet lizard until he returned to pick her up. Then she saw Toshio sitting in his meditative pose. She knew what Toshio was doing since she saw Sona do it a few times back at the mercenary camp. It was a type of meditation that those who study earth magic use to strengthen their connection to the earth element. Elisa sat down next to Toshio as she waited for him to finish.

[MP: 10/4,803]

Just like before, something flowed from the ground and into Toshio's body. Toshio felt a strong surge of energy flow into him.

[Earth magic has successfully reached Level 4.]

Toshio let out a groan as she stretched his limbs. He had to maintain that pose for what felt like hours. So, he was glad that his hard work had paid off and that he could move again.

[Channeling Lvl.4 Earth Mana while using Medis’s Terra-Breaker Style now gives you 20% damage reduction and +20 to Strength.]

‘With this and the effect of my jacket, I should be able to block half of anything that hits me.’ Toshio thought as he looked at the jacket’s description in his inventory.

[The Marv Jacket: A leather jacket made by Q from the scales of a great serpent. Its enchantment provides better protection from physical attacks. Adds 30% damage reduction when worn.]

Just like when Yaku forced him to climb up a river, Toshio can’t let every obstacle get to him. He must do his best to deal with these situations, even this one where an elf thinks that he could be something evil. Then Toshio noticed that Elisa was sitting beside him.

“How did it go?” Toshio asked.

“Good news or bad news?” Elisa asked.

“Bad news first.” Toshio replied after he took a second to think about it.

“I couldn’t find that big guy in the waiting hall.” Elisa replied back. “I even asked around and nobody knows where he went. Most of them think he got disqualified after what he did during his last match.”

“Alright. So, what’s the good news?” Toshio asked.

“The good news is that I now know where Adleth is. I just saw her making her way to the arena with the others.” Elisa explained. “You want to see how it goes?”

“Not right now. I want to do a few more things before my next match.” Toshio replied as he started putting his boots back on.

Elisa continued to look at Toshio as he put his boots back on.

“What is it?” Toshio asked.

“I still can’t get used to the fact that you’re actually over thirty now.” Elisa replied with a chuckle. “You technically aged twenty years in two years.”

“Is it really that weird?” Toshio asked. “Is there any other person that went through a similar thing?”

“Not that I know of?” Elisa replied. “You’re probably the first one to have aged twenty years and regained your youth. How old are you now exactly?”

Toshio hesitated a bit since he didn’t want to say it.

“Thirty-seven.” Toshio muttered.

“Really?!” Elisa said, surprised at the number. “You’re as old as my mother.”

“I regained my body from before I entered that place, so technically I’m still nineteen.” Toshio replied before he rubbed his chin. “Although I still had my beard and long hair from the experience.”

“Do you get joint pain sometimes?” Elisa asked as she nudged Toshio’s shoulder. “Do ya?”

“No.” Toshio groaned, then he let out a chuckle.

Toshio actually did indeed feel his age during his last moments in the desert and during his fight with the mannequin creature. But his aches and pain went away when he regained his youth. Though it was due to him becoming a Chosen, so Toshio doesn’t know what else that comes with. Back when he first became a Chosen he gained it as a title. But even now it doesn’t have any info or displays any benefits that come with it.

[Chosen Lvl.1]

[Chosen: No description at the moment.]

[Bonus: ???]

After the two chuckled from the topic, Elisa’s smile was replaced with the look of curiosity.

“So, what happened when you got out of that place?” Elisa asked. “You said that this entity made you into a chosen, took you out of that place, and ditched you. But you never explained what happened in between.”

“A lot of stuff happened in between. Some parts I don’t even remember because I was unconscious.” Toshio explained.

“Then start with the last thing you remember before you were unconscious.” Elisa said as she gave Toshio another nudge. “You have plenty of time to talk about the rest later.”

Toshio thought about it for a moment.

“I remember as soon as I freed her, I started dying.” Toshio said as he tried to remember. “I felt cold and I couldn’t move. I guess the mark took over most of my body and started killing me? But before my mind faded, I remember feeling a drop of something warm enter my mouth. That was when she gave me a drop of her blood and made me… into this.”

Toshio looked around for a moment to make sure that nobody was watching. Then he pulled the back of his clothes to give Elisa a look at the strange tattoos on his back.

“Woah.” Elisa said as she looked at the tattoos.

“Whatever this means, it has something to do with something called a Chosen.” Toshio explained. “She told me that each god apparently has one and that they are supposed to do what they say or something like that. If you look closely at my eyes, you could see that they slightly glow.”

Elisa looked closely at Toshio’s eyes, cupping her hands over her eyes to try to see the glow.

“You’re not kidding!” Elisa said as she kept looking. “Your eyes are almost like Sona’s.”

“Do you know what that means? Did Sona ever tell anyone why her eyes glow?” Toshio asked.

“She never told us.” Elisa replied. “Sona never talked about it when some of the people at the camp tried to ask about them. Some of us have a betting pool on what it could mean. I don’t gamble, but I do have ten gold coins placed for a secret druid bloodline.”

Then she went quiet with a serious look on her face.

“Then does that mean Sona is also one of these Chosen?” Elisa asked. “Did she make a deal with a god… or something like the entity that you met?”

“I don’t know.” Toshio replied. “But now isn’t the time to think about those things right now. I’d rather focus on preparing for my next match and what I wish to do when this tournament is over.”

“What do you want to do after this tournament?” Elisa asked.

Toshio thought about it for a moment. He then looked at the two pink dots on his wrist.

“I would like to find an old friend.” Toshio said with a smile.

“It’s a girl, isn’t it?” Elisa asked with a grin. “Did you meet someone during those two… or twenty years?”

“It’s not like that.” Toshio explained. “She’s someone that I haven’t seen since before I went into the dungeon.”

“That so happens to be a girl.” Elisa replied as her grin got wider.

Toshio didn’t know how to explain Alice to her without sounding crazy. If he said that a small fairy that was his friend had traveled with him back when he was in the mercenary camp. But nobody else could see or hear her besides Toshio would sound ridiculous without any proof.

“I just want to see her to see if she’s alright.” Toshio explained. “Is there anything wrong with that?”

“Then let's finish this tournament and clear things with that elf, so you could find that friend.” Elisa said as she punched Toshio’s shoulder.

“Sure.” Toshio replied.

*****

After Nagishi got his wounds treated by the healers he was on his way to find his friends to pick up Princess.

‘Man, I can’t believe I lost!’ Nagishi muttered to himself. ‘That redhead really knows how to throw a punch.’

Nagishi was rubbing his jaw since he hadn’t known that Elisa dislocated it until one of the healers relocated it for him. He knew that the people of this world were built differently, but he never imagined this strength from someone around his age. Nagishi heard that some of the people and travelers in other parts of the world could break blocks of steel with their bare hands, swim across oceans without getting tired, run faster than sound, cast magic that could destroy a mountain, and some rumors say that a few of them could even lift boulders the size of a city and throw them a mile away. Nagishi never met one of these high-level adventurers, but he wanted to see one of these feats of strength and wondered if he could reach such a level.

‘I might need to rethink my training?’ Nagishi thought as he felt his bicep. ‘I can’t go far relying only on Princess’s electric vomit. Speaking of which, I should pick her up and meet up with Zarele.’

As Nagishi passed a door in the hallway, he noticed the sound of voices around the corner.

“You’ve been consuming multiple bottles of the elixir between your matches, have you?” One of the voices asked. “You know that we gave you a prescription. Only one swig every hour. Not one bottle every half hour.”

“Then there must be something wrong with your batch.” A deep voice replied. “I drank one before the tournament, but my pain keeps returning and I don’t feel that my full strength has returned. I thought that the Elixirs of the Archmage were supposed to restore the body and increase one’s power?”

“We've told you this before. This version is a special batch that has a slower healing and power boost.” A third voice explained. “We don't want to let the tournament officials notice your strength suddenly increasing between matches. You're already strong enough without drinking the elixirs.”

Nagishi had to cover his mouth to keep them from hearing his gasp. He heard about Elixirs of the Archmage and knew that they were supposed to be illegal. This made Nagishi worried since he knew what trouble this would bring. Wanting to gather some more information on the group, Nagishi continued to listen as he tried to peek through the keyhole.

On the other side of the door, he could see the guy with burn scars that Toshio bumped into and the two figures in robes that followed him. Except now their hoods were down, giving Nagishi a look at their faces. One was a dark-skinned man with a strange rat tail hairstyle, while the other was a skinny bald man with tattoos on his head. They were looking through bottles of a purple liquid in Elric’s bag.

“You should still have enough for the rest of the tournament. But we insist that you cut back on your intake of these things.” The rat tail guy said as he closed the bag and handed it back to Elric. “They might be able to satisfy and hold back your immense hunger, but you shouldn’t fill your stomach too much with them.”

“We might not have to use all of them since they changed the rules.” The bald man said as he patted the bag on his side. “If the tournament is going to end sooner, then we'll have to start our plans sooner. So, for now just keep taking out your opponents. But not too quick and don't pull stunts like what you did in your last match.”

Nagishi couldn’t believe what was happening. But from the sound of it, he needed to inform the others about this information. Nagishi heard that they were wrapping up their conversation, so he quickly sneaked around a corner before they opened the door. As the two people who were talking with Elric pulled their hoods back up, the bald one stopped and looked at the corner where Nagishi went.

“What is it?” The other man asked.

The bald man didn’t say anything as he slowly walked towards the corner. Hearing the man approach made Nagishi afraid. He didn’t want to run since it’ll let them know that somebody was spying on them. But there weren't any places to hide before the man could find him. Nagishi needed an escape.

“Out of our way!” A group of the tournament staff shouted as they rushed through the halls.

Nagishi saw that a group of the staff were rushing with a man who was being carried on a stretcher. It was almost like a miracle, because it gave Nagishi the escape that he needed.

“Buddy!” Nagishi shouted as he followed after them. “Will he be alright?!”

As he was running with the staff, one of them looked at him in confusion.

“Who are you? Are you related to or a companion to this man?” One of them asked.

“Yeah. He’s my good old friend, Greg.” Nagishi lied.

Laying there on the stretcher was a man covered in blood and he had arrows pierced through multiple joints, his lower torso, and three that were pierced through his left shoulder. The wounds looked like he tried to fight a group of archers on his own and became a pin cushion in the end. Nagishi could tell that he was still alive because his eyes blinked slightly as if he was coming in and out of consciousness.

“Y-Yep. Good old Gregory.” Nagishi said as he did his best to avoid looking at the wounds. “Is he going to be alright?”

“If we could get him to a healer quickly, yes.” Another staff member replied.

“Sorry, but we’re going to have to ask you to wait elsewhere.” One of the female staff said to Nagishi as the group ran past him.

“Right.” Nagishi said as he stopped and watched them rush to the medical area.

He stood there still processing what he just saw for a moment and doing his best to not puke up his lunch.

“So many arrows and blood.” Nagishi said as he took a few breaths.

Then he snapped out of it when he remembered what he was going to do earlier. Just as he was about to run around another corner, he nearly bumped into a familiar face.

“Woah.” Zarele said as she took a step back. “Watch where you are going.”

“Zarele? Why are you-” Nagishi said before he reminded himself again of his mission. “Nevermind. You and I need to find the others now.”

He started running, forcing Zarele to run after him.

“What happened?” She asked.

“I’ll tell you when we get there.” He replied. “We need to-ack!”

Nagishi was cut off when someone grabbed the back of his collar, nearly choking him as his shirt pressed against his throat from the momentum.

“You need to do what, halfblood?” Adleth said as she held onto Nagishi.

Zarele saw that Adleth had appeared out of nowhere and quickly snatched Nagishi.

“Oh f*ck.” Nagishi said when he realized who it was.

They could see that she looked a bit roughed up from what looked like her previous match. Dirt and some blood that wasn’t hers were on her clothes, but she didn’t look like she minded her appearance.

“Where are you two running off two?” Adleth asked as she pulled Nagishi close and wrapped an arm over his shoulder. “You both know that those that lost can’t go back to the waiting hall, right? So why don’t you tell your big sis why you are in such a rush to go back there?”

Zarele was about to rush in, but Nagishi held a hand up to stop her. Adleth had her coat over her shoulders. This allowed her to bring it over Nagishi’s shoulders and hide a dagger that was pointed at Nagishi’s neck. The blade was so well hidden that nobody but them knows that Adleth just took Nagishi hostage.

“Lead the way please. We have some friends to meet.” Adleth said to Zarele.

Unable to do anything, they had to listen to her and the three of them started walking.

“Why are you doing this?” Zarele asked. “We haven’t even done anything wrong.”

“It’s less about you two and more about your friend.” Adleth replied.

“What exactly has Toshio done?” Nagishi asked. “Shouldn’t you list his crimes or something like that?”

“That’s not information that I should be telling you.” Adleth replied, pressing the dagger a bit closer to keep Nagishi quiet.

“Who are you even working for?” Zarele asked.

“You’ll have to die if I told you.” Adleth replied.

Zarele went quiet for a moment, before asking her next question.

“You know who Toshio met and what Toshio is now, right?” She asked.

Adleth was quiet for a whole second after Zarele asked that.

“If my nonexistent group is right about it… then I may have to kill your friend before he does anything bad.” Adleth replied. “Now stop asking questions and walk faster.”

*****

Toshio is currently repairing his sword after working on his friction sword swings for his daily quest. He had to rest to restore his own mp twice just so he could finish it.

[(0/1,000) boulder punches and (1,000/1,000) Friction enchanted slashes completed today.]

[MP: 4,393/4,803]

The sword lost a good amount of its metal from the many friction enchanted swings. The edge is now razor sharp, but it was because using friction on the blade was like scraping it along rocks each time you swung it. The magic was useful in keeping a sharp edge on the sword, but it grinds down the blade faster than any whetstone or grinding wheel.

[Durability: 79/100%]

Normally Toshio would have to reforge blades that have been sharpened too many times back when he was working at a blacksmith. But he could repair this sword quickly thanks to his earth mana and enchantment on his new sword.

[Enchantment #2: Channeling Earth Mana into the weapon allows you to strengthen it, change its shape, or repair it.]

He could do this by channeling his earth mana into it as he rubs a large piece of metal against it to replace the metal that got grinded off. The only downside was that it had to be the same type of steel that the blade was made of.

[Durability: 86/100%]

Toshio hummed to himself as he was repairing it. It was something that he picked up from Jason back when he worked with him. Something about keeping your mind clear and focused while you work. When he was almost done he saw that a member of the arena staff approached him. It wasn’t until he saw who was following her when Toshio stopped working.

[Durability: 94/100%]

Behind the lady was Nagishi, Zarele, and Adleth. Adleth had her arm over Nagishi’s shoulders in a friendly way. Zarele was standing near them with her arms crossed as if nothing was wrong. But Toshio could tell something was off by the way Nagishi was a bit stiff around the neck and shoulders, and the slight eye twitch Zarele had.

“Excuse me sir. One of the previous contestants wishes to pick up their belongings.” She with a bow.

“Belongings?” Toshio asked.

At the same time he said that, Princess let out a small belch.

“Right… I almost forgot about her.” Toshio said as he returned his gaze back at Adleth.

“When you are done gathering your belongings, please make your way out of the waiting hall and to your seats.” The staff member said to Nagishi and the others.

“Will do.” Adleth replied with a smile.

When the staff member left, Adleth continued to keep her arm over Nagishi’s shoulders.

“Is this still necessary?” Nagishi asked as he looked at the arm over his shoulder.

He and Zarele knew that the arm over his shoulder was an illusion. Adleth’s real arm was hidden under her coat, keeping the dagger pressed against his back and ready to stab his right lung if anyone tried anything.

“Didn’t want your friends here to try anything funny when I arrived.” Adleth replied as she glanced over to the two girls and Bob, who now looked like they were about to start a fight.

“Like you didn’t give me a reason not to after what you just did.” Zarele replied in an angry whisper.

“What do you want?” Toshio asked.

“First, excuse your two ladies. I just want a friendly talk with you, your silent friend over there, and this fella.” Adleth replied, holding onto Nagishi a bit tighter. “Do that and your halfblood friend will be able to see tomorrow.”

Toshio glared at her for a few seconds in silence.

“Elisa. Zarele. Please wait somewhere else.” Toshio said to them.

“What? Don’t tell me that you want to listen to-” Zarele said before Toshio cut her off.

“Just do it. I’ll be fine.” Toshio reassured her.

Elisa grabbed Zarele by the arm and started guiding her away from the courtyard. Zarele almost struggled against it, but stopped when Elisa whispered something in her ear.

“Trust the eyes of your friend.” Elisa whispered.

Zarele glanced at Toshio for a moment. She then broke away from Elisa’s grip.

“Just don’t try anything.” She said to Adleth before leaving with Elisa.

Adleth waited until Zarele and Elisa left the area. When they did, she tossed Nagishi to the ground near Toshio.

“Ow!” Nagishi said as he looked at Adleth.

“Tell your friend what you found, halfblood.” Adleth said as she sat down across from Toshio.

“What are you talking abou-” Nagishi asked before he realized what she meant. “You were spying on them too?”

“What’s going on?” Toshio asked. “Someone please explain.”

“Dude. You know those guys that were following that bug guy that you bumped into?” Nagishi asked. “The one that looked like a cooked sausage.”

“Yeah.” Toshio replied.

“I was on my way to find you when I stumbled upon their conversation.” Nagishi explained quietly. “Turns out that whoever they are, they’re planning something for the tournament. Whatever it is, it involves giving the big guy Elixirs of the Archmage.”

Toshio sat there in silence for a moment, confused. Both Nagishi and Adleth were looking at him for a response, as if they expected him to know what the item was.

“What is that?” Toshio asked.

“You don’t know what they are?” Nagishi asked. “Those things are well known everywhere.”

“If they were released recently, I’m pretty sure I was… busy when they became well known.” Toshio replied.

“They weren’t released recently. They were known to the public four years ago.” Adleth explained in an angry tone, as if she was offended. “Those elixirs are one of the most famous breakthroughs in elven alchemy! The creator behind it spent five hundred years to perfect the recipe! Nobody could not know about those elixirs!”

“Well I never heard about them or ever saw them in any shops? Not like I could’ve even afforded them at the time if they were that well known.” Toshio replied. “What are they and why are you so upset about these guys having them?”

“Because it’s what they did with them that’s the crime here!” Adleth explained as she started angrily pacing back and forth. “They were originally made as a medicine to treat those who’s mana were corrupted by dark forces and rehabilitate crippled magic users into reconnecting to mana! Those elixirs were a gift to the world by the elves back when the fifth war of blood had taken place! So to see them being tampered with by those scum and used for combat purposes is a direct insult to us elves!”

Toshio hadn’t seen any other elves show any sign of anger other than Lura. So seeing Adleth upset reminded Toshio of how upset Lura was the few times Toshio did something that annoyed her. So he could tell that Adleth was clearly bothered by this.

“Why is it so bad?” Toshio asked Nagishi.

“If it was some other type of medicine, yes.” Nagishi explained. “But the way they are using it is like magical steroids with the blood of devils.”

“Say what now?”

“It’s rumored that the ones that tampered with it used actual devil blood in the recipe, along with other illegal ingredients.” Adleth said as she sat down and pulled out a flask. “This turned a remarkable breakthrough of medicine into a drug that creates monsters who eventually goes on berserk rampages if they take too much. And it certainly sounded like that hill giant was taking too much.”

“Hill giant?!” Nagishi asked.

Toshio saw the look of fear in Nagishi’s face when she said that.

“Did I forget to mention that the big guy was a hill giant?” Adleth asked after she took a swig of her flask.

Toshio thought about the last time he heard that name.

“Travelers that pick the Godly Strength gift give them five thousand strength.” He remembered Alice explained.

He then remembered that hill giants were travelers who chose the Godly Strength gift. It then made sense how he was able to cripple that one man without any effort. Toshio knew that man was strong, but five thousand strength was more than five times his own strength

[Strength: 907]

“So why don’t you arrest those guys or something like that if it’s that bad?” Toshio asked.

“Because it looks like they are just some underpaid hirlings.” Nagishi answered.

“What?” Toshio asked.

“Those guys are most likely selling their versions of the elixirs under the ones that make it.” Adleth explained. “They don’t meet up with the ones that provide it. They get their orders and the elixirs from secret drop offs. So even if I catch them, they wouldn’t be able to tell me where the ones behind it are working from.”

“Then why not deal with the hill giant?” Toshio asked. “Also is it alright that we talk about this here? Shouldn’t we be having this conversation in a more secret area?”

“Relax. I already placed a spell to keep our talk secret.” Adleth replied.

She then tossed a handful of coins aside. Toshio expected to hear the sound of the coins hitting the ground, but instead heard nothing as they bounced and rolled around. He didn’t even hear the audience or the sound of anything beyond them.

“I didn’t even realize that?” Nagishi said as he tried clapping his hands. But no sound was being made.

“As for the hill giant issue. I was about to investigate him to figure out why he was this close to civilization. But that was before I realized what they were giving him.” Adleth explained. “That stuff makes them easily angered, which explains his stunt with that guy who was shooting fire.”

Why are you even here?”

“I’m here because I want to kill two birds with one stone.” Adleth said without breaking eye contact. “That’s a saying that you travelers say, right?”

Adleth reached into her bag and tossed something to Toshio, who caught it with one hand. He was then surprised to see that it was the same crystal orb that turned dark when Toshio touched it.

“Do you know what that is?” She asked.

“A crystal orb that shows your magic power or something like that.” Toshio answered.

“So why did it turn dark like that after you touched it?” Adleth asked. “I know that it was you that touched it last because it has a faint trace of your mana in it.”

Toshio remembered that Lura mentioned that elves have better magical senses than any other race. So he should’ve expected for Adleth to sense it if Lura had sensed it too.

“If this is because I broke it, I don’t have the money to replace it.” Toshio replied.

“You don’t know what you are yet, do you?” She asked.

“Not unless you stop stalling and actually tell me.” Toshio replied, slightly annoyed.

“You are an anomaly. An unknown thing that came out of someplace that was never meant to be found.” Adleth explained. “You’ve seen what that place held within it. So you know that it wasn’t something that anyone could walk into.”

Toshio felt his eye twitch and his fist clench. Despite wanting to hear what she was saying, something inside him wanted to not hear anymore of this explanation.

“Not only did you go into that place, but you got out with something that shouldn’t have been removed.” Adleth continued. “You even went back and took something else from that place.”

“Are you going anywhere with this explanation?” Toshio said as he stood up. “Just tell me what I am or who was in that place.”

“I have no idea.” She replied with a shrug.

“What?” Nagishi replied.

“What do you mean that you have no idea?” Toshio asked. “You sounded like you knew what was inside that place.”

“I said that place was never meant to be found and that it held something that shouldn’t have been removed. I didn’t say that I knew exactly what you were or what was inside that place.” Adleth replied. “That place was sealed off. So the only person that knows that is standing in front of me.”

Toshio was now upset that this conversation didn’t give him the answers that he was looking for.

“I don’t know the answer. That’s why I’m asking you.” Toshio replied back, annoyed and pinching the bridge of his nose.

“I came here to find any potential threats and eliminate them.” Adleth explained. “So far I found one anomaly that came out of an unknown place and one hill giant being fed some dangerous drug. I could just eliminate both of them starting with you? Or I could increase my chances of dealing with a threat that I know about?”

“So you’re offering a partnership?” Toshio asked.

“A temporary truce if you wish.” Adleth explained. “I won’t judge or eliminate you until you finish helping me deal with this hill giant issue. Once that’s done I might end up sparing you if you show that you’re a trustworthy individual. But at any point I see that you are indeed a threat, I will eliminate you and your group in an instant.”

“That sounds unfair!” Nagishi shouted. “What did we do? It just sounds like we may die regardless of the outcome!”

“So you want us to work with you knowing that you may kill us at any moment if we step out of line?” Toshio asked.

“If you are indeed a threat, anything that has to relate with you may too.” Adleth explained. “That includes your position at the guild, any involvement of your existence, and those that know about you and the place that you entered. So pretty much a scorched land solution, but a much more controlled burn. I’m not going to hunt down some random shopkeeper's second cousin that briefly passed by you or something like that.”

As Nagishi was arguing with her about the deal, Toshio thought about it for a moment. He remembered the advice that Lura had told him before her departure.

“The moment you let your guard down, that’s when the knives come out.”

“Keep your emotions in check, and never show weakness. That’s the only way to survive in this world.”

He never expected to use her information the same day after she left. But since now the others were involved, he had to keep himself calm to keep himself from making any unnecessary mistakes. He needed to use her advice to see into this deal that Adleth is offering.

“The way to tell who’s trustworthy or someone that’ll serve you well is by trusting your instinct. Watch how they react under pressure. Do they panic, or do they keep their wits about them?”

‘Adleth is too quick with offering this deal. That must mean that she may not be able to deal with a hill giant?’ Toshio thought to himself. ‘She mentioned killing me if I don’t agree to work with her. That must mean that she wishes to take out the easy threat first so I don’t cause her issues when she deals with the hill giant. The way that she was easily upset about the elixirs and the flask to calm herself must mean that this is a stressful situation for her.’

“And never, ever trust someone who’s too quick to make promises. If it sounds too good to be true, it usually is. So trust your gut, kid. If something feels off, it probably is.”

‘I need to work with her. But in a way that the others and I could also get out of this in the end.’ Toshio thought. ‘I must have an ace up my sleeve if I want that to happen.’

Then an idea came to his mind.

“Alright. You have a deal.” Toshio said as he held his hand out.

Both Nagishi and Adleth stopped their argument as they were both a bit surprised when Toshio agreed.

“What?” Nagishi asked.

“Perfect!” Adleth said as she took his hand and shook it. “I'll do some investigating to see if those two guys are working with any more people and what they may be planning. You just need to worry about dealing with the hill giant when you face him and keep him from hurting any innocents.”

“How do you know that I will be fighting him?” Toshio asked.

“Oh you'll be facing him.” Adleth replied. “Not many competitors are left. Especially after seeing how my last match went.”

Nagishi saw the quiver of arrows on her back. That's when he realized that it was her that turned that man into a pin cushion.

“Yep. I'd back out if I saw that too.” Nagishi said as he gagged for a moment.

“So I get the hard job, while you go spy on some others?” Toshio said to Adleth.

“Don't make it sound like I'm sending you to your death.” Adleth replied as she took one last swig of her flask before putting it away. “That hill giant mentioned being in pain and not being at his full strength. By the look of his injuries, he must’ve decided to work for those people to treat his injuries and regain his former strength. So he’s probably fifty or thirty percent of his max strength.”

“He’s still a hill giant that’s drinking those elixirs!” Nagishi replied back. “Even if he’s at thirty percent of his max, those elixirs would probably put his strength around three thousand! How is he going to fight a man like that?”

Nagishi was right. Even if Toshio fought him with earth mana to boost his strength and used enhancement magic to double it, he would still fall under two thousand. It may be more than half of three thousand, but Toshio knows how much with just over nine hundred points of strength gives him. If Toshio could rip large tree stumps the size of shacks out of the ground, that guy could most likely rip it out with one hand and throw it like a basketball. Even if he could somehow match his strength, he doesn't know how high his other stats are.

Toshio needed something else to help him deal with a hill giant. Toshio then looked down at the black crystal orb in his hands.

“I’ll leave it up to you to figure that out.” Adleth said as she left the area.

The sound of the audience, wind, and nearby footsteps returned when Adleth left. Both Toshio and Nagishi let out a sigh at the same time. Elisa and Zarele rushed back into the courtyard when they saw Adleth left.

“How did it go?” Zarele asked. “Did she decide to spare you or kill you later?”

“Kind of.” Nagishi said nervously. “You see…”

“She wants us… well me to deal with the big guy that nearly killed that fire caster.” Toshio explained. “Apparently he is a hill giant and the people that he’s working with might cause some issues. So Adleth wants me to help her with this issue as a way to judge me.”

“Wait. What was that about a hill giant?” Zarele asked.

“Nagishi would explain the situation to you. Right now I need to prepare like crazy if I want to stand a chance against him.” Toshio said as he started pushing both Nagishi and Zarele out of the courtyard.

“W-Wait! I have more questions about what’s going on!” Zarele said as she was shoved out.

“Ask Nagishi. Just stay out of danger and let me deal with my own issue.” Toshio said as he closed the large door.

Toshio took a few moments to calm himself. He then turned around to see Elisa picking up the coins that Adleth had tossed aside.

“You know that you don’t have to go through this alone.” Elisa explained as she counted the coin in her hand. “We could set up an ambush just like the ones we used at the mercenary camp and deal with that big guy. If we’re lucky, we could strike enough crippling blows to weaken him for an easy fight.”

“I have to be the one to deal with him. Alone.” Toshio said, interrupting her.

“Why? If that guy is a hill giant, then shouldn’t we focus on striking when we have the element of surprise?” Elisa asked. “They don’t know that we know. So they wouldn’t expect an ambush.”

“Because it’s my job that I have to deal with and so far the only way that I could prove myself to Adleth that I’m not a threat.” Toshio explained. “But I also need this to prove myself… to myself.”

Elisa saw the look of guilt on Toshio’s face. Toshio still had some guilt from the time he and Zarele nearly died to Lavont. He also couldn’t forget how he lost Lux since he couldn’t save him fast enough. This situation is a perfect chance to redeem himself for his lack of strength that day.

“Alright.” Elisa replied after a sigh. “I won’t intervene in your fight with the hill giant. But the moment things aren’t going well or if Adleth doesn’t keep her word, I’ll step in. Deal?”

“Deal.” Toshio replied.

“I’ll leave you to prepare for your fight, since you don’t need me distracting you.” Adleth said as she took Princess from Bob.

She was about to leave the area when she stopped for a moment.

“You’ve changed a lot from the boy that I knew.” She said with a chuckle. “You were almost scared of every sign of danger that came our way. Now you’re running into danger and I don’t know if that’s a good thing? Just… remember to come back to your friends, alright?”

She then adjusted the goat hide cloak and left before Toshio could say anything.

“...”

“You have a bad habit of pushing others away.” The familiar voice said in Toshio’s head.

‘I don’t need to hear my own voice say things like that to me.’ Toshio replied. ‘But since you’re here, I need a favor.’

There was silence for a few seconds until he heard a reply.

“What kind of favor?” The voice asked.