Watching the excited Wanderers spilling out all sorts of secrets on their own, Alnea had a strange feeling in his Heart. Were they all from the same clan?
No, Alnea thought, shaking his head. The robes they were wearing marked them to be from different clans. Most of them were probably from different countries altogether. And yet, the same Wanderers, who did not even dare to stand close to each other outside of the Arena, were speaking so amiably with each other, as if they were all long lost friends…
At the very least, the Blood Arena seemed to be safer than the rest of the city, Alnea noted. At the same time, it also seemed to be the place for Wanderers to vent out their frustrations. However, not all Wanderers seemed to be keen on enjoying other Wanderers tearing each other to make themselves feel relaxed, and alive. While the rest of the Wanderers were discussing the Wanderers fighting in the Arena, a man dressed in a white robe sneered at them, and said, “What are you cowards mumbling about?”
Too excited to even bother with the man’s jibes, most of the Wanderers ignored the man, but one of them, a man in a blue robe, turned towards outspoken man, and said, “You should watch your words, Zain.”
“Or what?” Zain said, overflowing with disdain. “What will you do? Fight me?”
“…This is not Inar, Zain. Your clan may have a lot of influence back in Inar, but in the Lost City—
“Stop bringing my clan into this,” Zain said, frowning with displeasure. “Did I say anything wrong earlier? If you are not cowards, then why are you willingly controlling your rank in the Arena? You do not even dare to go beyond your quota in the Black Desert Trials. And you dare to comment on others?”
“…This is the reason why no wants to team up with you, Zain. You may be strong, but your mouth is the worst.”
“What about my mouth? I only speak the truth. If you cannot handle the truth, then what does it have to do with me?”
“…If we were not from the same country, I would not even have bothered trying to talk some sense into you.”
“Do you think I need your help?” Zain said with a snort. “A team would only drag me down anyways. It would be better if I complete the trials on my own.”
“And how has facing the trials on your own gone for you?”
“Much better than it has gone for you.”
“…Forget it. Do as you wish,” said the man in the blue robe, and turned around, shifting his focus back to the Wanderers fighting on the stage. Of them, three were women, and five were men. All around eighteen to twenty years old. Even the Wanderers in the crowd were of the same age. Only a scant few looked to be couple of years younger. Around sixteen to seventeen years old.
In comparison to them, be it Alnea, Cecilia, or Yuri, they truly did look a little young. And weak. No wonder they had been targeted by other Wanderers. But that was only on the streets. Within the Arena itself, few people gave them a second glance. Even the white robed Wanderer, Zain, despite belittling all the Wanderers around him, did not garner much attention. Only the mental patient, or Brandall as other Wanderers called him, was different from the rest.
As Alnea was sharing what little information he was collecting with Yuri, he noticed a burning gaze fall upon him. Normally, being stared at by other Wanderers would not have bothered him much. Especially since his age made him so conspicuous in the Lost City. From the moment he had entered the city, he had been targeted by all sorts of Wanderers. The greedy eyes of those Wanderers… In a sense, they were like the hungry eyes of the Oren Beasts he had been dealing with for the past half year. But just in a sense.
Those Wanderers were all targeting him for the Blood Coins that they could earn from him. Maybe a few were targeting him out of jealousy, or just pure pettiness. Yet none of them were truly his enemies. None of them were after his life. None of them had malice within their eyes. The gaze he was feeling at the moment though… Such thick malice. There was no difference between the Oren Beasts he had fought in the Night Canyons and the man staring at him. They were all his enemies.
Steeling his Heart, Alnea turned towards the direction he was feeling the malice from with grim eyes only to notice that the man staring at him was none other than the mental patient, Brandall. Disregarding everyone else in the Arena, the man was staring at him with a fiery gaze, while urging the platform he was standing on to move closer to Alnea. Was something like that possible in the Arena? It was something that he would have to experiment with next. But first, he had to deal with the crazy man.
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
“You sure took your time, kid,” Brandall said. “I thought that you were too scared to come.”
“Wouldn’t things have gone exactly according to your wishes then?” Alnea said, trying to pry the secrets hidden in the depths of the man’s eyes. “I would have been forced to leave the city, and you would have fulfilled the orders that you were given.”
“Stop making up stories. It is not going to help you. I will still—
“Is there any need for this farce now?” Alnea said, interrupting the man. “I have already entered the Arena. Our fight is doomed to happen. And both of us know that we are not going to keep our hands.”
“…You sure know a lot for someone who is just an unfavoured,” said the mental patient, narrowing his eyes in a scowl. Just as he was about to add a few more words, the man paused and looked past Alnea’s shoulders, forcing him to look back too.
There, with ever shortening distance between them, both Cecilia and Yuri were urging their platforms to move closer to his. The platforms were still attached to the walls of the stands, but that did not prove any problems for the girls to navigate their way through crowd between them. He had just learnt that the platforms could move, and the girls were already rushing towards him… He had thought that the girls would rein themselves in when coming to the Lost City, but they seemed to be just as crazy as they were in the canyons… He should have a talk with them later.
“Green robe…” Brandall mumbled as the girls reached Alnea’s side. “I thought that the recent stance of the Serpia clan against the Heterodox Wanderers was too extreme, and that there must be something shady going on behind the scenes. It looks like I was right.”
“Was it you, or the people whose orders you are following that came up with those thoughts?” Yuri said, looking at the man as if she was looking at a dead man.
“No wonder you have been targeting Alnea. It looks like you are a dog of the Lotus clan,” Cecilia added in with snort. “I should have guessed that I will meet scums like you in the city.”
“…You are going to regret helping the boy.”
“The only thing I am going to regret is that I missed the chance to break your bones with my own hands.”
“Worry not, little girl,” rang out a voice from behind Cecilia. Moments later, two more platforms carrying the other two Wanderers who had issued the Blood Challenge moved next to those of Alnea and the girls. “After I am done with you, you will not be left in the shape to regret anything.”
“…I thought that it was only the Lotus clan’s dog who was a mental patient,” Alnea said to Yuri. “But it looks like I was wrong.”
“Indeed,” Yuri said with a nod, looking at the green robed man with pity. “Of all the people he could provoke…”
“…Whose side are you two on?” Cecilia said, glaring at Alnea and Yuri. The way she flared her nose though, along with all the blood rushing to her face made her look so cute that neither of them could hold themselves back from bursting out in giggles. Unfortunately, some people could not bear to see other people happy.
“It looks like you are having fun,” said the jealous woman moving her platform to stand next to the mental patient number two. “Enjoy it while it lasts. After all, it may very well be the last time you laugh.”
“Why?” Yuri said, blinking with fake innocence. “Will you use Arcanas on yourself to rid the world of the most hilarious face ever in existence?”
“…You have quite a good mouth. However, it is not quite good enough to save you from my claws.”
“So, you are a beast,” Yuri said, nodding along with the words of mental patient number three. “No wonder your face looks so hideous.”
“Let us not argue with these kids,” mental patient number one said to his compatriots. “We will show them what happens to those who disrespects their seniors in the Lost City.”
“Calling you mental patient is already giving you enough respect,” Alnea said. It looked like the scums had learned their lessons though. Ignoring his taunts, the mental patients urged their platforms to scatter back into the crowd, leaving him alone with the girls.
“…It looks like these Wanderers are not too bad. At least they knew when to withdraw and guard their Hearts.”
“Don’t worry,” Cecilia said, slapping Alnea on his back. “After what we have been through, these cowards are no match for us.”
“That may be true, but Alnea must still remain careful,” Yuri said to Cecilia, before turning towards Alnea. “Our opponents are just some weaklings. Your opponent though…”
“…The Lotus clan must have arranged people to watch your fight. Try not to reveal too much of your strength.”
“…Cecilia is right, you know? No matter how powerful he may be, just my sword is enough to take down the Lotus clan’s dog. Besides, it would not matter even if the Lotus clans learned of my strength. By the time they send their next attack, I would have already set foot on the path of Scholars.”
“…We just dealt with a group of Heterodox Wanderers. And we don’t know how many people from the Lotus clan are here in the Lost City. Being a little more careful is not going to hurt you.”
“…Fine, fine. I will be careful.”
“…Fool,” Yuri mumbled, before turning back towards the centre of the Arena, where the Wanderers were fighting. “Get ready. From what the guards had said, Blood Challenges are given priority in the Arena. If things play out according to my expectations, then the next battle may very well be ours.”