Nate stared as Aisling guided everyone except for Kiri out of his room. Luc had started muttering about smuggling operations after declaring that they were going to be rich. Nate had every intention of seeing what his mentor had in mind in terms of making gold and mana off of his Skills. But that was going to be a talk for after the competition. There was still one match left to fight and in its own way, it was more difficult than his fight versus Null.

Turning he held the gaze of his best friend.

“So..top two,” he said awkwardly. He’d never been in direct competition with a friend before, let alone a physical confrontation. The whole situation made him feel uncomfortable. He’d spent so long focusing on his fight against Null. Preparing, planning and overthinking it. Now that it was over and done with, he was left with the reality he would have to fight Kiri. He didn’t see how she could hope to beat him either, which made him feel worse. It was like Aisling had told him as they travelled to the Capitol. When he knew what or who he was fighting and had time to plan and prepare, he was unbeatable.

Kiri clearly picked up on how uncomfortable he was and walked over, throwing an arm around him, “Don’t worry about it too much. I always knew beating you would be a long-shot. You just know me too well. And Coralie made me play the only Skill I held back. On the brightside, I got a date.”

Kiri waggled her eyebrows at him as he laughed.

“Yeah, I guess you did. Going to make Flash pay for it?” he replied with a smirk.

“Nah, I think I embarrassed him enough,” Kiri shrugged, removing her arm from his shoulder.

“You’re sure you’re okay with this? The prizes aren’t amazing or anything,” he asked. He wasn’t opposed to throwing the fight after all. What did he care about a few Orbs? It sounded like he’d be able to afford plenty after Luc started selling his creations.

Kiri just shook her head though, “I wouldn’t want to win like that. It would feel hollow. Besides, we’ve got plenty of other rewards coming. Access to some of the Guild’s Dungeons for sure. Not sure how many runs but it has to be at least two. I’m more interested in getting this over with so we can get back to that. We’ve still got to get to level forty. And after seeing what some of these people can do, I really want to see how far we can push our Skills.”

He nodded agreeably. He felt the same way, after all. It was easy to forget that the whole Tournament they’d been fighting up in levels, even if they were also fighting down in terms of tier. It begged the question - would it be the same at the University? The Unseen he had uncovered had been Epic after their first Class evolution. Would a Noble family spend even more on their first and second born? If they started at Epic, they could be Legendary after the first evolution. Only a single tier below Kiri and himself. How would they fare against such people? Especially if they were at the Orb limit. What about Skill Orbs and Skill Synergies? Just thinking about it made him realise that as lucky as his start was, he couldn’t grow complacent. The multiverse was wide and if he intended to gather the strength to return to Earth, even if only to visit, then he needed to have the power to defend himself and his friend.

Kiri snapped her fingers in front of his face, drawing him out of his rogue thoughts.

“Thanks,” he muttered, blushing a little.

Kiri didn’t comment on it. It was one of the many things he loved about her. “We should get back to the field. They’ll have fixed it soon and I want to be there when Coralie loses to Null.”

He was already walking to the door with her when he glanced at her in confusion at her last comment.

“What? Why?”

“To comfort her, of course. And set the tone so she can comfort me when I lose to you,” Kiri said with a roguish grin.

Rolling his eyes, he walked out the door laughing. He felt a slight twinge in his chest but his sphere of awareness didn’t detect anything and he wondered if maybe he’d pulled a muscle or something. When it didn’t return he shrugged and made his way back to the field.

It was a short walk back to the arena and as he and Kiri strode in front of the stands, the cheers from the crowd were so loud he considered if he could make his barrier block or at least reduce the sound. Kiri played it up a bit to the crowds, waving and even pausing to strike a pose, bringing out all four of her Tethered arms. The crowd ate it up and he glanced at her with a raised eyebrow.

She grinned back, “I was thinking about ways to make some money while we’re in the Capitol. I’m considering competing in some underground fight clubs. Just building up the hype a little for my debut, you know?”

He thought about it for a moment and realised it was actually a pretty good idea. She could heal herself, soul energy regeneration wasn’t limited in the Capitol like mana regeneration was. It would also let her practise her Skills, which unlike his, were definitely far more combat-focused.

“Sounds like a great idea,” he replied. “Let me know if you need me to make you anything for it.”

He didn’t bother mentioning it, but he was totally going to go watch. It sounded like a great source of ideas for some new paintings.

Entering the area set aside for the competitors, they noticed Null and Coralie were already there alongside Britt and Flash. Ameera and Karim were absent and he thought they might have gone to join their mentors or something in the stands. Meanwhile Britt and Flash remained to support their teammates. He was a little surprised that Gregory, the Arcane Archer he’d faced, hadn’t returned to do the same, though the guy had mentioned branching off to pursue his own ‘path’.

Null offered him a friendly nod and he could see the conflicted look Coralie gave Kiri. He thought it must’ve been an odd experience for the woman. He wasn’t referring to just being pursued romantically. It was pretty clear Flash had been doing that for a long time, in his own way. However, to be pursued romantically by someone stronger than her was probably a new experience for Coralie. Though that was only the case if Kiri could pull off such a thing again. He hadn’t gotten a chance to ask her about the details of the Skill. After all, it didn’t seem like the right thing to do until after their match.

His thoughts were interrupted as Prefect Raoult stood, the crowd instantly quieting in anticipation.

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“What a day! I said it before and I will say it again. Not one, but two upsets. First Coralie, our very own Ice Queen was beaten by Kiri Beaufoy of Helmfirth. A… well, I think we can all agree she’s more than just a Dagger Dancer after the fiery display she put on. Refusing to be cut down. Healing from what we would’ve expected to be life-threatening wounds,” boomed out Prefect Raoult, giving the crowd a second before continuing. “Then the competition favourite, Null Raoult - yes, my son - beaten by Nathaniel Weber of Helmfirth. A Battle Enchanter, showing us all that the routes to power are many and varied, especially if you’ve got a knack for spells. Gravity magic in a Silver Badge competition. It was a first for me and I expect it was the same for many of you!”

The Prefect paused for a moment, letting the crowd digest his words. “But now, we’re down to the last two matches. Our homegrown heroes, Coralie Allais and Null Raoult will face off for the third and fourth place prizes before we get the answer we’ve all been waiting for. Who is our number one from this crop of Silver Badges? Arguably, one of the strongest in the country of Etrua. Lets not sell our Silver Badges over level forty short, after all. It’s time to have our answer! Coralie Allais versus Null Raoult!!”

The crowd cheered as the two competitors took to the field. The look on Coralie’s face told Nate everything he needed to know about what she thought her odds were. He felt queasy and wondered if he was feeling bad for her.

“Think she has a chance?” he sent to Frick.

“Nah, Boss, she’s cooked. Pretty sure she needs mana to use her Concept. She won’t be able to lock Null down or use ranged attacks on him,” replied his Familiar.

The moment the battle started it was obvious how right Frick was. Coralie’s Freezing Domain seemed to have no impact on Null as he chased her about the field. His only real surprise was that the battle took longer than expected. Even with Null breaking her ice mirrors left and right, Coralie was quick, moving as though she was skating over the frozen ground. Constantly bringing up new ice mirrors to relocate herself and using some sort of ice armour that seemed to resist the strikes of Null’s sword, even if all it did was reduce the depth of the wounds the swordsman inflicted.

But within two minutes, it was all over, with Null managing to strike Coralie in the gut with his blade. Golden light followed as the Prefect announced the winner, to no one’s surprise. That didn’t seem to matter to the crowd though as they cheered loudly. He supposed he could acknowledge that the match had been exciting, even if one sided, if only because of the level of skill put on display. But with the battle for third and fourth over, it was finally time to take to the field against Kiri.

He was feeling weird about it and couldn’t put his finger on what it was. It was more than just discomfort at facing Kiri. Like a buzzing in the back of his mind. Ignoring the Prefect's words he trudged out onto the field. Kiri made her way out as well, giving him a reassuring smile which he mirrored, even though he didn’t feel it. The nagging feeling was growing worse and he wondered if he was on the verge of having an anxiety attack or something. Squaring up in the middle of the arena, the crowd went quiet as Prefect Raoult espoused the glory of the Adventurer’s Guild for what must’ve been the third time today. Nate just wished he would finish already so he could get the match over and done with. The buzzing was getting worse and he realised it wasn’t just inside him anymore. It finally clicked what was going on and he went pale.

“Oh no, Boss,” Frick whispered, the Familiar’s voice tinged with genuine fear.

Runic Knowledge - Concepts had slowly been building in intensity and he’d not realised that it was the source of the buzzing. The unease was something he felt in his chest as the air around him ignited. The flames surrounding him were a vivid red the colour of blood, but that wasn’t what made him afraid. His Awareness of the Runic Artist couldn’t sense beyond a couple of metres and within that short range, he could tell space had been locked down.

He tried to activate True Teleportation, throwing as much mana as he could at the Skill but no matter what he did, it was like the world beyond the flames didn’t exist. Turning to face the stage he could see all six Platinums were on their feet. Aisling had lightning sparking around her as she attacked the flames and while he couldn’t tell what Luc was doing, he could see the man was incredibly focused on him, blood leaking from his nose. He had no idea what that meant but it couldn’t be good if the Riftwalker couldn’t break the spatial lock.

Hoping that his own spatial spell would interfere with the lock, he tried to cast Minor Spatial Lock. The spellform bloomed before him looking like a warped cage of mana but it felt like throwing a glass of water into the ocean, barely creating a ripple. Looking back up, he could see Luc was now standing directly outside of the cage of flames he was in, his hands touching the blaze, the fire blackening the man wherever he touched the barrier, even as those same hands caused a warping in the flames distribution. His mentor was trying to force his way inside. He felt a tear sting his cheek then. He hadn’t expected Luc would go so far for him, or that anyone would, except maybe Kiri.

Glancing behind him he could see Kiri was up against the flames as well, stabbing at them frantically with six white glowing blades, her mouth open screaming as she tried to get to him. She must have been using her soul energy, which meant whatever this barrier was, it prevented soul energy from crossing as well. He listened to Runic Knowledge, trying to determine the Concepts involved so that he could escape. There had to be at least ten different Concepts involved but there were three that seemed to dominate the spell or skill being used on him.

Space, of course, was prevalent, locking him down and preventing his escape, even as he thought it might be tunnelling. He had no doubt that whatever this prison was, it was going to teleport him somewhere when it finished doing whatever it was doing. There was a second Concept heavy in the air around him. Was it…Hunting? No, that wasn’t the right one. It was more like ‘looking’ for something. Seeking. Space and Seeking…and finally…something that felt like hunger. It took him a few more seconds to realise what it was as the feeling grew stronger. Greed. It was Greed. That was his last thought as the spell finally activated and he was drawn into the summoning spell.

*************

Kiri fell forward as the flaming barrier collapsed, Nate nowhere in sight. The crowd was dead silent as she screamed, her voice filled with a mix of rage, frustration and pain. Luc collapsed unconscious across from her, even as golden light enveloped him. The waves of spatial mana that had been coming off the man had almost dropped her, even with the flaming barrier between them. The golden light didn’t abate though and she could see that whatever the flames had done to the man's arms didn’t seem to be vanishing.

The same could be said of her daggers. Nate himself had made them all rare tier and she’d destroyed over thirty, the flames corroding them at an astonishing rate. Deverell appeared beside her and she collapsed against her mentor crying as the stadium remained dead silent, unable to process what had just happened. An Adventurer had just been abducted in front of all their eyes and the watching gazes of six Platinums.

She had to believe her best friend was okay. They’d find him! He’d be okay!

She looked at Deverell and took comfort in his stoic expression, even if she knew she was lying to herself. They could do it. Aisling and Evindal appeared, carrying Luc off the field while Deverell helped her make her way towards the stage. They had to discuss what they were going to do and how they were going to get Nate back!

*************

Arikanvil looked up from his workbench as he sensed the demonic energy near the spatial ring he had given to the mortal. Focusing his attention he sensed the summoning spell that had enclosed the mortal. An interesting turn of events. Setting down the latest failed experiment, another attempt to replicate a portion of the Dead Realm technology, he traced the spatial energies of the summoning back to the demonic realm, as though doing such was child's play. As the demonic summoning ritual completed, he vanished from his research station. His curiosity was piqued and he would have an answer.