It was still dark outside and Kenta woke up from a nightmare. He decided to go out for a walk, thinking that it would help him forget. He dreamt about Ryuji holding the scythe and fighting a shadow entity while everyone else was lying down in blood, and the capital was on fire.

As he was walking he spotted Olaf walking around relentlessly around the library. Kenta approached him slowly.

*Step*

*Step*

(Kenta) - You can't sleep?

(Olaf) - I got some terrible news. How can I sleep?

(Kenta) - What news?

(Olaf) - The book we managed to find was one of many.

(Kenta) - How many exactly?

(Olaf) - Hundreds, maybe thousands, I don't know.

(Kenta) - Woah, that is a lot.

(Olaf) - And that is not the only bad part. The inscriptions on the book resemble black magic.

(Kenta) - What if is not?

(Olaf) - I have seen the ancient language when I was in the village. There is a high chance that those books date from before we were even alive.

(Kenta) - Old black magic books, but why would that be bad? We only manage to find one after such a long time.

(Olaf) - That is because this one was guarded by an Elemental, what if the others are not?

(Kenta) - We don't know that.

(Olaf) - Anyway, those books in the wrong hands can create chaos. Destroy entire kingdoms.

*Sigh*

(Kenta) - I already know what you are going to say.

(Olaf) - We are going to find as many as we can and destroy them.

(Kenta) - Can they even be destroyed?

(Olaf) - The Wanderer might know a way.

(Kenta) - But we don't know when he will arrive.

(Olaf) - I will try to reach him with my owl.

(Kenta) - But haven't you lost your owl a long time ago?

(Olaf) - He should have returned to my house by now.

*Mumbling*

(Kenta) - That's convenient.

(Olaf) - How is Ryuji?

(Kenta) - Good. He managed to befriend the scythe.

(Olaf) - That is good news, but he will need plenty of training.

(Kenta) - None of us know how to handle a scythe, and it will be hard.

(Olaf) - Find Eleanor. She will help you with it.

(Kenta) - I didn't know she was a scythe user.

(Olaf) - She was once, but when she remained in the castle she preferred the sword.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

(Kenta) - How long you will be stuck here in the library?

(Olaf) - It shouldn't take more than two or three days.

(Kenta) - Let's hope the Wanderer will be back by then.

*Step*

(Kenta) - Do you have any idea where to find Eleanor?

(Olaf) - Try the king's chamber, she might be around.

(Kenta) - Thanks!

Kenta went straight to the palace to search for Eleanor. But she was nowhere to be found. Kenta decided to head back to the inn and see what are the others up to. By the time he arrived at the inn, everyone was gone. He noticed that the people from the capital were heading toward the arena. And he went there as well. When he arrived he heard someone yelling.

(Ryuji) - Hey! We are over here!

*Step*

*Step*

(Kenta) - What are you doing here?

(Eleanor) - I brought them here to see the event.

(Kenta) - Oh, right, is that time of the year.

Once a year many people gather in the capital to show off their strength and skills in an arena fight. The winner would be granted a wish by the king. There are no rules, but the fight will be stopped before the opponent's death. If they sustain a bad injury they will be taken to the medical mages and be asked if they wish to continue in such a state.

(Hayato) - I wonder if he will be here.

(Ryuji) - Who?

(Hayato) - The winner from the last year.

(Sol) - Just because he won and was an archer like you, doesn't mean he was good.

(Hayato) - You just lost your bet on your wannabe magician.

*Stand up*

(Eleanor) - Stop it! Both of you.

(Ryuji) - Will there be any scythe users?

(Kenta) - Usually, there are a few skilled ones participating.

(Ryuji) - I really want to see them.

(Eleanor) - Are you a scythe user?

(Ryuji) - Is complicated.

(Kenta) - Olaf asked me if you can teach him a few things, Eleanor.

(Eleanor) - Of course, it will be my pleasure.

(Ryuji) - You are a scythe user?

(Eleanor) - Was, but it was hard to keep up with the others, and came back to the sword.

(Ryuji) - I look forward to our training.

(Hayato) - It's starting.

The announcer came in the middle of the arena and presented the contestants. There were all kinds of races, from dwarves to giants, elves, and orcish, and even one khajiit. Each one of them had different weapons and armor. After the presentation, they each received their opponents via a ticket. The whole event was based on a one-versus-one match, with the winner advancing to the next stage. The arena was protected by a magical barrier so that the people spectating will not be hurt by magic or any other kind of attacks the opponents throw at each other.

After a short break, the first match began, it was between a dwarf and a human. The dwarf had a hammer and a shield and the human was using a spear. The fight was looking in the human favor until the dwarf used some kind of special attack stunning the human, and making him unconscious.

The second match was between the khajiit and an elf. Hayato was rooting for the elf because he was using a bow, and the khajiit was using daggers. After a couple of minutes, the khajiit got badly injured, making him incapable of continuing the fight.

The matches continued, each and every match being more intriguing and tense to watch. But the last match was between a human holding a book and a giant. In a split second, the giant fell down and the medical team went into the arena. Everyone was shocked. The announcer heard what happened and had to take a hard decision to eliminate the human as well. The giant was declared dead. The crowd started yelling and cheering for the human but was not satisfied with the announcer's decision. The human was asked to limit his powers and not kill any more contestants and advanced to the next match.

(Kenta) - Any idea what was that?

(Eleanor) - It did feel kind of weird, for a giant to fall down that easily.

(Sol) - That book looks suspicious to me.

(Hayato) - It kind off looks familiar, don't you think?

(Sol) - Now that you mention it, it does, but I have no idea from where.

*Whisper*

(Zeka) - It is a cursed tome.

(Ryuji) - Have you guys heard that?

(Kenta) - What?

*Whisper*

(Zeka) - Only you can hear me.

(Ryuji) - Zeka said that he is holding a cursed tome.

(Eleanor) - Who is Zeka?

(Kenta) - Long story, will tell you later.

(Sol) - Ah, the cursed tome looks familiar with the book we recovered from the Elemental.

*Shocked*

(Kenta) - This is bad news.

(Hayato) - Why? It is just a book.

(Kenta) - Spoked with Olaf this morning, and there are more books like the one we found. All contain black magic.

(Sol) - That explains the death of the giant.

(Ryuji) - Shouldn't we tell the announcer to not let him advance?

(Eleanor) - I would say, let's see what happens next. If he will kill any more people he will be arrested by the capital.

(Kenta) - She is right, no need to rush. We are still not sure if it is a cursed tome or not.

*Whisper*

(Zeka) - Hmph. . . I am not wrong.

And the matches continued after a short break.