by Aaron Oster
“And how long have you been sitting there?” she asked, turning to glare at the grinning man.
“Long enough to see that! I think you broke him.”
“What do you want from me, Gold?” Loquin asked, trying not to let him get to her.
“Oh, nothing. Just wanted to drop by for a visit,” he replied, rising from the couch. “Excellent job on getting Morgan into the tournament, by the way. I would have gone about it a bit differently, but that’s just me. Until next time, Locky.” He winked, then vanished.
Loquin slumped down into her chair, letting out a long sigh. She knew she’d be stepping on Samuel’s toes when she’d interfered all those years ago, but there was a plan to follow. Morgan had to grow stronger, and the next step was to have him win the Skyflare. It was by no means a sure thing, as the competition would be extremely challenging, and if she even tried to interfere or cheat, she’d end up as a smoking pile of ash.
She might have been playing it loose with the rules, but there was only so much the Author would tolerate. The fight to receive the Skyflare was something he took seriously. It would actually hold over ten percent of his attention for the entire duration of the tournament, which was more than he focused on anything else in this universe. He’d always enjoyed a good fight, and he’d made sure he’d get one.
After all, a drop of the Author’s blood was a powerful artifact indeed.
27
Morgan and Sarah were escorted to a suite of rooms on the far side of the castle, furthest away from the other competitors. The Queen had agreed to Morgan’s proposal, then had immediately left, leaving her guard captain to take them to their room. Neither of them spoke the entire way there, each one lost in their own thoughts.
Once they entered the room, the guards shut the door behind them, and the sound of a key turning in the lock was audible. Looking around the room, Morgan could see that while richly furnished, it didn’t contain so much as a single window.
“Looks like the Queen doesn’t trust you’ll hold up your end of the bargain,” Sarah said with a snort.
“Doesn’t matter,” he replied with a shrug. “We’re not staying here anyway.”
“We’re not?”
Sarah turned and gave him a questioning look.
“What about the information about your past? And what about the Skyflare?”
“I’ve reconsidered,” Morgan said, beginning a walk around their rooms and checking all the walls. “I would like to know more about my past, but I’ve decided that I can live without knowing.”
He began rapping his knuckles against the walls, testing for weaknesses.
“But what about restoring your body and memories?”
Morgan shrugged.
“I don’t really care about the memories, so much as finding out who took them. And the only reason I want to know that is so that I can kill them. As for restoring my body, I’ve got a feeling that it’ll correct itself in time.”
“And what if it doesn’t?”
Morgan stopped what he’d been doing and turned back to Sarah. Her face was set in a somber expression and her eyes had become watery.
“What if you pass up on this opportunity and you never recover?”
“It hasn’t bothered me up until now,” he replied. “I don’t think it’ll affect me moving forward.”
Sarah had been moving towards him as he spoke, and she reached down to take one of his hands in hers. When she met his eyes, he could read the pain and sadness that was flooding into her. It was practically coming off her in waves, and it was all he could do not to flinch back from it.
“But it does bother me,” she said her voice quivering slightly. “Please, Morgan. You know I’ve never asked you to do anything for me. I’ve always gone along with what you wanted and what you thought was best. But for once, please, do something for me. Stay here and compete in the tournament.”
Morgan opened his mouth to refuse her request. By all rights, the wisest course of action would be to leave right now. The other nobles already knew that a supermage was competing in the tournament, but he had gone over the Queen’s exact phrasing in his mind. She said that she’d had it announced that a supermage was competing for them, but not once had she mentioned him by name. If they left now, they could probably get at least an eight-hour head start. But when he started to speak, something completely different came out.
“Alright. If it means that much to you, I’ll stay.”
He was completely shocked at his words and at the complete lack of logic in his decision. But when Sarah’s face broke out in a brilliant smile, he felt his doubts fade somewhat. He wasn’t doing this for himself, he was doing this for her. As Sarah released his hand and headed for one of the two beds on the far side of the room, Morgan had an epiphany. This was the first time he’d done something entirely for unselfish reasons. Sure, if he won he would be getting a powerful artifact and the information he’d come here for, but just moments ago, he’d been preparing to leave. He smiled to himself, even as he headed for the other bed. Maybe he would recover after all, even if he didn’t win the tournament.
Morgan was pulled from a deep slumber by the sound of the bolt turning in the lock. He sat upright and leapt nimbly out of bed. He’d slept in his armor, despite the discomfort it caused. Just because he’d agreed to stay, didn’t mean he was about to let his guard down. Sarah was still out cold however, dressed in a linen nightshirt, her chest rising and falling in a steady rhythm.
The door swung open, and Morgan’s eyes widened as the last person he’d been expecting to see entered the room.
“Eric?” Morgan asked, staring in surprise as the healer from the academy walked into the room.
He was followed a moment later by another person Morgan recognized, though he wasn’t as familiar. Percival, the man who had been in charge of overseeing ranked matches back at the academy, followed Eric in, pulling the door closed behind him.
The commotion finally roused Sarah from her slumber, because she sat blearily up in bed, looking at the two men in confusion for a few moments, before her eyes widened as well.
“What are you doing here?” she blurted, getting quickly out of bed.
Eric, who had been silent thus far, broke out into a wide grin.
“It is good to see you both again. As to why I’m here, well, that’s a long story. Let’s just say that I was taken in by the Queen a few days ago when she heard I was a healer.”
“You just came to the palace, said you were a healer, and she hired you just like that?” Morgan asked skeptically.
“Well, not exactly like that,” Eric replied with a chuckle. “But after Percival vouched for me she did.”
“And what is he doing here?” Morgan asked as his eyes flicked to the muscular, dark-skinned man.
“I was to be the West Kingdom’s champion until you showed up,” Percival replied in an even tone. “Instead, I get to train you for the next three days to get your rank up to the minimum.”
“If that’s the case, why’s Eric here?” Sarah asked. “Did you just drop by to say hello?”
“Well…” Eric began.
“He’s here to put you back together every time I break you,” Percival cut in, folding his arms over his chest.
Morgan examined Percival, discovering that the man was rank 36. That wasn’t too much higher than his own.
“And what makes you think you can beat me?” Morgan asked, folding his arms over his own chest.
He might be lower ranked than the man, but with his skill set, he was fairly confident he could beat him in a fight.
“Experience,” he replied in a flat voice.
He must have read something in Morgan’s expression however, because his face darkened.
“I can see that you don’t believe me. That’s fine, we can have a little spar once we’re inside the beast zone.”
Without further ado, he pulled a shining key from his pocket and opened a portal. Morgan caught a flash of red, and a number 3 be
fore the key went back into his pocket. That meant that he was heading into an Advanced beast zone that was at the very least, rank 30.
“Fine by me,” Morgan replied.
Although he’d just woken up, his reiki had already wiped the sleep from his mind, and he felt as alert as ever.
“What about breakfast?” Sarah asked as she began tugging on her boots.
“The guards will deliver something,” Percival replied. “You’ll have plenty of time to do as you wish, as you will be staying here.”
Sarah stumbled, only just managing to catch herself on the corner of her bed.
“Wait, what? I’m not coming with?”
Morgan was surprised as well, but Percival just nodded as though it made perfect sense.
“Why should you come with us? You won’t be competing in the tournament, and therefore, have nothing to add.”
Sarah looked a bit crestfallen at that, but Morgan wasn’t about to stand by and let Percival dictate what he could and couldn’t do. Besides, he didn’t trust the man and he’d feel a lot better having Sarah with him in case he decided to attack.
“She’s coming with us,” Morgan said.
“She stays here,” Percival replied, eyes narrowing.
The tension in the room began rapidly mounting as the two of them faced off, each unwilling to back down. Finally, Eric stepped in, diffusing the situation.
“How about she comes along, but agrees to stay with me the entire time? This way, she’s out of your way while you’re training and can assist me, should I need it.”
Morgan and Percival shared a glace, before both of them nodded.
“Very well, but if she starts to slow us down, she’s going back. This won’t be like your training back at the academy. We will be spending every waking moment inside this beast zone. You will get four hours of sleep each night, and half an hour for meals.”
“Half an hour for each or…”
“For all three. That’s ten minutes per meal. Now, we’ve already wasted enough time. I can see that you’re already dressed for combat, so let’s go.”
He gestured to the portal again, and this time, Morgan moved forward. He was excited to see what types of beasts occupied this zone and was looking forward to the training ahead. Even if it would be brutal.
He stepped out onto a sandy beach. The sun shone brightly overhead, and the smell of salt was carried by the breeze. Turning his head to the side, Morgan’s eyebrows shot up as he saw a massive body of water. It was so vast, in fact, that it stretched as far as he could see, touching the horizon miles away.
Morgan had never seen the ocean before, but he guessed that this was it. Or at least, an ocean. He took a deep breath of the salty air and watched as the waves crashed against the surf, coming halfway up the beach, before receding once again.
“You’ll have time to admire the view another time. Now, we train.”
The serenity of the scene was ruined as Percival stepped through the portal and pointed to a spot down the beach. Rolling his eyes, Morgan followed the man, even as Sarah and Eric emerged from the portal. A moment later, it vanished, leaving them effectively trapped until Percival saw fit to release them.
“This place is beautiful,” Sarah gushed as she caught up with him. “If we have to spend three days here, you won’t hear me complaining.”
“Yeah,” Morgan agreed. “It’s nice here, but I have a feeling that I’ll hate it by the time we’re done. Percival seems to have a personal grudge against me, and I’m guessing it’s because I stole his spot in the tournament.”
“You assume correctly,” Percival said, stopping in place and turning to face them. “I have been training for this tournament for the last twenty-five years. I and nearly a hundred others. We all trained in the hopes that we would be selected to represent our Kingdom and claim the ultimate prize.
“Then you show up, a boy who isn’t even fully grown, and in the blink of an eye, you take what was rightfully mine. Now, to add insult to injury, I have been tasked with training you. Condensing years of lessons into three days. There’s no way our Kingdom stands even the smallest chance of victory. But, I will do as my Queen demands. Now face me.”
Morgan rolled his eyes, then went to face the angry man, stopping to stand before him. He could understand his anger, but what he didn’t understand was why it was directed at him. He hadn’t been the one to enter into the tournament. The Queen had done that for him. If anyone deserved his anger, it was her.
“What exactly are you hoping to gain from this fight?” he asked, raising his hands before him, and taking up a fighting stance.
“I admit that I will enjoy breaking you, but I would not do so pointlessly. The tournament consists of three challenges each year. The first two change with each tournament, but the last is always the same, a battle royal between the contestants.”
“I thought this tournament was point-based,” Morgan said, raising an eyebrow.
“It is. And you’ll be awarded points based on several factors. How long you stay in the fight, how much damage you take and manage to dish out, and how many opponents you defeat. Of course, if you die, you’ll be disqualified. Something which I’m guessing you’ll be doing fairly quickly. If you die in the first challenge, however, I’ll get to replace you.”
Percival’s face hardened.
“We’ll see what you’re really made of. The rules for the fight are simple: render your opponent unable to fight and you win. The use of any skills is forbidden. Now then, let’s fight!”
Morgan shrugged, then evened his breathing, as he focused on his opponent. Percival had his hands raised, and was lightly balanced on the balls of his feet. His guard was up, but Morgan was fairly certain he could get past it.
He grinned, feeling the rush of battle and rushed in, taking a massive swing at the man’s head. If he was as tough as he claimed, he would survive the blow, and if not, it wouldn’t bother him one bit.
Morgan closed the distance between them in a blink, and swung with enough power to crush a boulder to rubble, however, his attack missed. Percival leaned back, causing his attack to go wide, then brought his knee up, catching Morgan with a rib-cracking blow. Wincing, Morgan threw himself back, avoiding the follow-up punch aimed for his jaw.
Percival followed him however, and Morgan was forced on the defensive, desperately trying to block the barrage of punches, elbows, and kicks. He made sure to keep his breathing even, and the pain from his ribs soon faded, though he could still feel his broken bones grating with every movement.
He leapt back from an attack, getting a few feet of distance between himself and the bigger man, then darted in again, this time aiming a kick at one of his knees. Percival’s foot snapped up, blocking the attack with his shin, then used his own momentum against him, driving his leg forward and throwing him off balance. Morgan caught himself, only to have Percival’s fist slam into his unprotected stomach, sending a spike of pain shooting through his body and knocking the wind out of him.
Staggering back, Morgan tried to regain his breathing as pain began lancing through him from all his accrued injuries. Then he felt something smash into his head and stars danced before his eyes. He slammed into the ground, then felt an impact on his broken ribs, sending him spinning through the air.
He cried out as he landed with bone-jarring force, rolling on the ground until his halt was arrested by a boulder. His body bent backward and Morgan could feel the individual vertebra in his spine creaking from the strain, as the wind was once again knocked from his lungs.
He landed on his stomach, gasping as he tried to regain his senses through the haze of pain and broken bones.
“Is that all you’ve got? Pathetic.”
Morgan looked up and through hazy vision, saw Percival standing over him with a sour expression on his face.
Grimacing, Morgan forced himself back to his feet, finally managing to take a deep enough breath to get his core active again. He spat to the side, and grinned at the man.
“It’s not over, not by a long shot!”
Then, he moved forward once again, throwing a short punch aimed for his solar plexus. Percival shifted his body to the side, turning it into a grazing blow, then pulled his elbow up and slammed it into his back.
Morgan heard a cracking sound, even as he was driven to the ground once more. He lay there, breathing deeply and attempting to rise once again, but found his body unresponsive. Through the haze of pain, he realized that his spine must have broken, so he was effectively paralyzed.
He didn’t lose consciousness, however, even as Eric ran over and crouched down next to him. He could see Percival standing off to one side, looking very pleased with himself, and Sarah, standing just a bit away, and looking both angry and horrified at the same time.
A soothing sensation ran through his body then, and Morgan let out a massive sigh of relief as his bones knit themselves back together. After only a minute, he was back on his feet, tilting his head and rotating his body from side to side, to test his ribs. Thanking Eric, he went to face the man who had just pounded him into the ground.
“That the best you got?” he asked with a raised eyebrow.
Percival’s smug look vanished in an instant.
“I just broke seven of your ribs, fractured your skull, ruptured several internal organs and broke your spine. I believe that I won that little fight, if you could even call the beat-down I just gave you a fight.”
“Yes, you beat me,” Morgan said, pulling his arm behind his head and stretching. “But it’s been a while since I’ve fought anything other than beasts. I came into this fight swinging with all my power, but that isn’t the correct approach to take when fighting another person.”
Morgan finished stretching his arms and began doing the same to his legs, completely ignoring Percival, whose expression was darkening by the second.
“I think I’ve got the feel of your attacks, though, and you won’t have such an easy time beating me this time.”
Percival’s fists clenched as Morgan rose to his full height, then they unclenched, and he resumed his previous fighting stance.
