Ayu measured the time the way Chiara had taught her.

It was already 6:58 AM.

She looked around. Quite the audience had gathered. Were so many people really confident he was coming back? Or were they just that bored?

In any case, it wasn't good. Most of the crowd consisted of Siddharth’s faction. But where were Lukas? And Wang Jun? And most importantly… where the hell was Chiara?

She took a deep breath, trying to relax. After all, the odds were Alonso had died in the cave. But, well, something told her that might not be the case.

Sure, her prank may have gone a bit far, but honestly, if he couldn’t survive that, there was no way he’d survive the death match either or make Chiara acknowledge him enough to properly defend his case against Siddharth. No harm done. And if he really did make it… well, she glanced at the bag she was holding. She had some compensation ready.

6:59 AM.

The sun was starting to peak more over the horizon. The rocky path was about to appear.

The view of the outcrop from here was difficult, not just because it was 5 km away but because it was small and flat. Still, she could make out a very, very faint outline. But… no human figure. At least, not standing.

Odd. He knew how to measure time, right?

She sat calmly on a rock near the shore, waiting. The rocky passage would reveal itself any second now.

And then…

7:00 AM.

It appeared. The passage to the tunnel manifested. It always surprised her how unnatural it looked, like something materializing out of thin air with no smooth transition. It felt so… fake.

But still, she stared ahead, eyes scanning the area. She could tell if someone was running by now. And there was no one.

So… he died?

Well, that was awkward.

She heard footsteps behind her but couldn't detect anything with her EM senses.

"Took you a while," she said, not bothering to look back.

"I’d say I’m just in time," Chiara responded, standing beside her and gazing out toward the lake.

"So… he died?"

"Seems so."

"And you’re calm about it?"

"Well, if he died, it’s because he wasn’t fit for this world." Ayu looked up at the sky. "I’m just a little disappointed. There was something about him that seemed… interesting. Alas—"

"Well, will you look at that," Chiara interrupted with a smile, causing Ayu to whip her head back toward the center of the lake. There, she saw it. A faint silhouette, running fast in their direction.

"No way!" Ayu started laughing and stood up, moving closer to the shore. As the seconds passed, the figure became clearer. "I told you he was gonna make it."

"Oh, did you?" Chiara grinned, glancing at the crowd around them, not too concerned. After all, now that she was here, what could they do?

Ayu’s gaze locked onto Alonso as he approached, and her eyebrows rose slightly.

He was nearly naked, wearing nothing but plant fiber and hide trunks, with vines wrapped around him to hold his sword and sling. His body was lean but finely sculpted, his muscles refined. Scars ran across his chest and arms, remnants of countless battles. His black, messy hair framed his face, windswept and wild.

There was something charming about him, though it was hard not to find it at least a little funny that he was running toward them almost naked, with such confidence.

But as he got closer, something felt... different.

She glanced at Chiara and noticed her gaze turn serious for a moment. Then Ayu looked back calmly as Alonso reached the end of the rocky path, standing just a few meters from her.

His eyes? Why... did she feel like she wasn’t looking at the same person? That gaze—she knew that gaze all too well.

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The eyes of a fighter.

But… Alonso never struck her as that type. He always seemed more like Chiara—one of the nerdy, EM-expert types on the island, the ones who thought too much.

But these eyes... They were the eyes of someone who fought with the life on the line, a true warrior. The eyes of someone who wouldn’t back down, no matter the odds.

For some reason, staring into those eyes, her heart began to race. Her breath hitched ever so slightly. There was an undeniable pull toward him—raw and magnetic—but it was accompanied by a flicker of fear, like standing too close to something unpredictable.

Why did he make her feel this way?

Suddenly, an image popped into her mind, making her jolt awake and blush slightly. She quickly pulled herself together. The image was of Alonso giving her a thumbs-up, followed by a question mark next to his backpack and clothes.

Just as he sent that, he started talking with Chiara—something short, in English, which she didn’t understand. Perhaps just a "Hello" or some other pointless greeting.

Whatever. She shot back an image of his stuff sitting in her cabin, letting him know they could head there now.

But then one of Siddharth’s men strutted forward, shouting something else in English. These noisy Indians, honestly. She watched calmly as Chiara responded with just a couple of words. After the brief exchange, he predictably backed off. Like, seriously, what was he gonna do anyway?

In Siddharth’s faction, the only people Ayu had any respect for were Siddharth, Arjun, and Imani. The rest? Wannabes. Most of them had only made it to the Oasis with a lot of help.

"Well, that sorts it out. I leave Alonso in your care," Chiara told her.

"Alright," Ayu replied. "See you tomorrow for the match."

As Chiara left, Ayu turned to face Alonso. He stood there, so serious, with that attractive gaze, yet nearly naked, and she couldn’t help but chuckle. She noticed him blush in response, which only made it funnier.

She sent him an image to follow along, and they made their way to the cottage. Once there, she motioned for him to come inside. He hesitated, clearly embarrassed by the situation, his face turning a deeper shade of red. It was… cute.

She handed him his things and said he could change here, and that she’d wait outside.

But then, he sent her an image. It was of him training—inside her cottage—with a clock showing three hours. What? He wanted to train inside her place? Sure, it was big enough, but...

Where was his shame? She chuckled again, amused.

Well, there was no real harm in it. It’s not like she had anything secret inside. Just some extra clothes... wait a second. Nah, he didn’t strike her as that type of guy.

After a moment, she nodded and sent him an image of a Christmas tree with presents underneath, which made him frown in confusion. Without waiting for him to figure it out, she tossed him the bag she was holding, smiled, and closed the door behind her.

----------------------------------------

Huh.

Alonso instinctively grabbed the bag, but sensed nothing inside. Odd.

He opened it and, to his surprise, saw three orbs! What the hell!

He could hardly believe his eyes. But then again, what kind of orbs were these? Surely not spider orbs—wait. The only type of orb he was lacking on this island... human orbs?

After hesitating, he reached inside.

> Stage 1 - 3.000%

>

> Stage 1 - 3.100%

But the last orb remained un-absorbed. He frowned, trying to figure out what had happened.

"It seems seven is the limit for humans," Houston chimed in.

"Seven? But why seven for humans when everything else has a limit of 49?"

"There could be several reasons. One possibility is that there are different categories of creatures. For example, category one might have a limit equal to the square of seven, while category two has a lower limit of seven. Category two would naturally be more difficult to kill, presenting a greater challenge, perhaps being limited in number, and offering more substantial stage progress—much like humans. I’m just speculating, but there could also be a higher category, where the limit is one, meaning seven to the power of zero. But this is all a wild guess at this point."

"And what’s the other possibility?"

"That humans are special in some way, and a lower limit was imposed to prevent excessive infighting, for obvious reasons."

"So, in that case, the first orb—the sixth of the human type I have absorbed—gave me 0.050%, the expected amount. And the second, being the last, offered the same as the first, a full 0.100%."

"Exactly. Quite the timely gift. That girl knows how to make her moves."

Alonso nodded. It was a godsend, really, with the battle approaching so soon.

This meant that Ayu, and probably Chiara, had already maxed out on them, which made it clear just how much human killing had been going on before he arrived… and, well, he had added three more to the list—not something he was proud of.

In any case, these orbs had to be incredibly valuable in the Oasis. He was certain more than half the residents hadn’t even come close to reaching this limit.

"Well, this is certainly going to speed up the training," Houston remarked.

Alonso smiled. He owed Ayu big time now. And to repay her... he had to win first.

"I'll leave the training in your hands, Houston-sensei," he grinned, gripping his sword tightly.