Just like he had in the first, outermost ring, Kandy breezed through both fights he had in the second ring.

After making it to the third ring of the Crow’s Nest, the arena’s management had assigned him a simple bedroom and added a mark to his stone tablet that apparently gave him the privilege to eat as much food from the third ring’s commissary.

It was at the edge of said commissary, at a table next to a window, that Jabari was watching Kandy gorge himself on a massive plate of proteins.

“It’s really nice of them to give us free shelter and food,” Kandy spoke between giant mouthfuls. “I mean, the food’s not great, but it’s still better than what I used to eat when I was living with my pops.”

“They’re not doing it out of the kindness of their hearts,” Jabari replied dryly. “Once fighters get to the third ring, they’re considered ‘distinguished’ fighters, worthy of being individually recruited to one of the great houses of Emberos.”

He nodded towards a row of people standing near the buffet line. “See them? They’re here to observe how each of us acts, both inside and outside the arena. Some families care more about how well their retainers represent them. Others just want murder machines.”

“Didn’t you mention at some point that your family’s rich? Do they have any retainers?”

“A few.” Jabari shrugged. “But that has nothing to do with me for now.”

“Hm.” Kandy slowly nodded. “So is this related to why you brought me here?”

Jabari leaned forward in a conspiratory manner. “But of course. You see, Kandy. I’ve helped you a great deal since you arrived on Emberos, yes?”

Kandy suddenly felt very uncomfortable—and for more reasons than one. For some reason, his mind instantly traveled to a memory he’d been trying to ignore for the last while—those screams he’d heard while in Jabari’s underground laboratory. The fake wall.

But there was only one answer he could give to Jabari’s question.

“Yes, you’ve been incredibly helpful.”

“And I haven’t asked for anything in return.”

“...No.”

“Then, any decent man would conclude that you owe me a favor, yes?”

Kandy could feel that he was being backed into a corner… but at that moment, he wasn’t sure how to free himself.

It almost felt like he was in the forest next to Boomtown again, being psychologically pulled apart by Milton’s hurtful words.

Only this time… somehow, it felt worse. After traveling with Jabari for so long, he’d somehow come to believe that the two of them had become great friends.

But was this something friends did?

As he responded, it felt as if his heart was being torn apart.

“Yes.”

And with that single word, Kandy knew that whatever situation he’d just found himself in, he’d lost.

Jabari knew it as well—the mirth precariously hidden behind his serious expression said it all.

“You remember the crow people, yes? And you know of the ambassador centers. They’re all part of an organization that rules over Emberos in every way but name.”

“Just as the fighters who come through this Crow’s Nest tend to become retainers for the more affluent and powerful families of Emberos, each of the major families are beholden to this ruling organization, the…”

Jabari sighed. “Look, I know they’re terribly named, but they’re called the Order of the Crow. Trust me when I say, though, that they’re far more fearsome than their name would suggest.”

“That’s informative, but what do you need from me?” Kandy didn’t even bother to hide his uncomfortability with the situation.

“I need you to become their retainer.“

“That’s not all, is it?”

“You’re on quite the roll, Kandy.” Jabari leaned farther forward yet. “There’s an estate nearby that houses a large number of the Order’s greatest warriors, weapons, and other such resources.”

He stared right into Kandy’s eyes. “I need you to gain their trust, gain access to the estate… and destroy it. Preferably with their strongest retainers inside it.

“You can do that for me, can’t you?”

***

Kandy wasn’t even sure how he made his way back to his room after that meal. His mind was ablaze…confused.

As soon as he shut his door, he rushed forward and fell face-first onto his bed. Without even moving, he exhaled heavily into his sheets. He refused to even allow himself to think for several minutes, until he finally gave into reality and accepted that he would have to think things through.

“Alright. I suppose Beth would say that I should analyze the situation before acting, so what are the facts?”

He absentmindedly flipped himself so that he was facing the ceiling.

The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

“I really should have listened to my gut that night in the underground laboratory…” Kandy sighed. “This is what I get for ignoring it.”

First things first, it’s time to work inside the mind. Kandy reminded himself as he directed mana into his eyes and scanned the room.

Nobody’s observing me at the moment, as far as I can tell. Good. Now, what was the next step for problem solving?

Kandy frustratingly scratched his forehead as he tried to recall what little Tin had been able to teach him about logical thinking.

Ah, right. Weigh the pros and cons. Right now, it doesn’t actually matter what Jabari did. I can deal with that after I resolve the current situation.

Can I fight Jabari? I’m pretty sure I’m stronger than him, but if he was hiding just how…

Kandy’s eyebrow twitched. How manipulative of a person he is, then he may have been hiding his strength as well.

Then, he thought back to his first day traveling with Jabari. To Jabari’s reaction when Kandy had proven to be a better runner and fighter than he.

He was an arrogant man, though he typically didn’t seem it.

No, I’m certainly stronger than he is. Should I just kill him, then? That would solve my current problem. But then again, the Order of the Crow… I’d bet my dad’s favorite dagger that they’re that shitty crow Karasu’s underlings. As much as I dislike what Jabari is doing, it’s not like I don’t want to do what he’s telling me to do… I just don’t like how he asked, or rather, is trying to make me.

Kandy softly clapped his hands together.

Of course, I know exactly what to do now. I’ll kill Karasu’s underlings and, after that, I’ll kill Jabari. That way I repay my favor

Kandy shook his head. Wait, why am I so bloodthirsty? I’m not a murderer… or am I?

He groaned to himself and grabbed his pillow, covering his face with it.

There was a new problem at hand, then.

“Fuck this planet, man.”

***

Once in the third ring, fighters were required to participate in a fight at least once a week. It wasn’t much of a problem for Kandy, as despite being far superior in quality to those of the first and second rings, they were still not even remotely in the realm of skill and strength as even the weakest of the Boomtown residents.

Truthfully, he was almost getting bored of the fights. At least there was still the inner circle of the Crow’s Nest to look forward to.

Apparently the inner circle, as large as it was, held only a single arena and housed the four champions of the arena. Surely, those champions would be worthy foes.

And defeating one of them meant earning the right to live in the inner circle—a feat Jabari himself had never achieved.

Kandy grinned. Surely that would piss him off to no end.

Yeah, screw Jabari’s plans. He would do his fight of the week today, and apply for a duel with one of the Crow’s Nest’s champions. He could deal with everything else after that.

All credit to his plan, it started out pretty well. His opponent that day was a warrior who looked to be in the midst of his prime, with muscles growing on top of his muscles.

Unfortunately for him, Kandy had realized after fighting several other warriors of that archetype, that there was a very simple formula to guarantee victory against them.

“You can surrender before we fight, you know?” Kandy taunted. “There’s no shame in surrendering when the opponent is just so obviously superior.”

With that, the first part of the formula had been set. His opponent’s neck muscles tensed as they struggled against their anger and adjusted their grip on their spear to assume a more aggressive stance.

With ease that belied the amount of practice he’d put into his mana manipulation, Kandy augmented his legs and feet with mana. Of course, the second part of the formula was to simply be faster than his opponent. After all, their muscles wouldn't matter if they couldn’t hit him.

The third and last part of the formula for winning against the muscular archetype, was simply to execute well.

The round started and as expected, his enemy lunged forward, faster than Kandy had anticipated. Even as he dodged around his opponent’s spearhead and jabbed him in the neck, Kandy cursed at himself.

After fighting against a handful of lesser opponents, he’d become complacent. Sure, he’d successfully dodged the enemy’s attack, but it’d been a matter of millimeters.

How was he supposed to kill Jabari like this?

Kandy looked down at his opponent, who was rolling about the arena’s floor, clutching his neck and gasping for air.

Shaking his head, Kandy descended from the stage, only to find that his way had been blocked by two strangers

One had a crow’s head and wings, but a humanoid body, whereas the other seemed to be a fully human man.

Kandy almost wanted to bolt, and even then he still glanced downwards to make sure that he was still clad head to toe in the black cloth he’d bought together with Jabari to hide his identity.

After ensuring that he was, he looked the two strangers in their eyes and asked, “Can I help you?”

“We have been watching you,” the man said without a hint of emotion.

Kandy raised an eyebrow, expecting the man to continue, but he did not.

So, Kandy simply stared at the man, who stared back at him. All the while, the crow stared at Kandy as well, but the latter refused to look in its direction.

The idea of a crow-person simply raised too many questions, most of which he’d rather not think about.

The seconds turned into minutes, and eventually Kandy just couldn’t stand the awkwardness anymore.

“So is that all you wanted to tell me? That you’ve been watching me?”

“For now, yes. We have high expectations for you and your strange style of fighting.”

“Strange?” Kandy was surprised by the man’s answer. As far as he knew, his style of fighting wasn’t anything special. Was this man perhaps referring to his formula for victory? Surely not.

“Your movements, they’re quite different from those of any school of combat we’ve seen before. We would like to see more.”

Kandy shrugged. “Sorry about that. All of these opponents are just too weak.”

“Will you be challenging one of our champions?”

“Your champions? Do you work for the Crow’s Nest then?” Kandy asked.

The crow-man finally reacted to the conversation, cawing loudly towards the sky while ruffling its feathers.

The man chuckled out loud as well, before rubbing a tear out of his eye and responding, “It is more apt to say that the Crow’s Nest works for our organization.”

Jabari’s words from the day before rang through Kandy’s mind. So the Order had found him already.

Doing his best to show as little surprise as he could, Kandy calmly responded to the man’s earlier question. “Yes, I plan on challenging one of the champions. I was planning on making my way to the registration office right now, actually.”

The man and crow glanced at each other. “Good, good. We’ll be seeing each other again soon.”

“...Great.” Kandy abruptly turned and walked away from the duo.

The registration office in the third ring, like everything else, was far superior than that of the previous two rings.

Instead of a simple booth or just a random person, the registration office in the third office was more of a spacious lounge. Each warrior looking to register a fight was paired with a “consultant”, who provided them with sheets filled with the information of potential opponents they could potentially challenge.

That’s right, challenge.

Unlike in the earlier rings, those of the third ring could pick and choose their opponents—to an extent, of course. With the weekly duel requirement in place and the limited number of fighters in the third ring, most challenges were quickly accepted

As for those challenging the champions, those willing to were few and far between. Each champion was required to accept any and all challenges that came their way.

Only, the challenger had to bear the responsibility of their actions. Once the challenge was sent, they could no longer retract it.

And the payment, typically, was a brutal death before the eyes of thousands of spectators.

As such, when any fighter chose to challenge any of the four champions, the first words out of the consultant’s mouth were…

“Of course! Which one?”