The citizens of Blackten filled the air with roars of cheering. The ground vibrated from the sheer excitement of the event taking place. Inside the colosseum style structure were spectators situated in stadium style seating. In the center the main event taking place was a matchup of man versus monster.

“Behold monsters from the Void! This first specimen, a ruthless marauder clan of Gnoll’s!”

The announcer filled the crowd with fiery anticipation of the deathmatch.

Sitting within the musty dungeon cell, Relanis fiddled with a piece of straw as it began to levitate into the air ignoring the constant commotion outside. A barred window gave him a perfect view of the entire colosseum dirt floor and battles. After losing interest of staring at little objects and being unimpressed of the size of the colosseum compared to modern stadiums back home, he quietly sat practicing his new power.

Rattling and footsteps became louder along with a familiar voice. Relanis immediately released his new power [Force Control] and looked forward out of the dungeon’s barred gate.

Sedric and Marc arrived along with the guard that escorted them to the cell. The guard remained to the side leaving them to have a chat.

“Sedric, you’re still alive! Wait, how’s Marc alive! I saw your head roll out of the carriage earlier! I saw everyone in the carriage die from werewolves!” Relanis felt extremely confused and shocked at the same time.

“Calm down. Everyone is perfectly fine and no one is dead. Helena suspects Ambassador Von knows the reason for what occurred to you. We will figure out what happened and promise to get you out. However, you’ll most likely have to stay here for a minimum of three weeks before you can leave.” Sedric said with a pained expression.

“Three weeks! What the hell Sedric… Why three weeks exactly?” Relanis remembered Helena’s gruesome death as he replied.

“There’s a King’s Tournament happening in the colosseum two weeks from now and the winner will become king and have the ability to pardon you. Marc, Tessa and I have entered the tournament and will make sure we pardon you. This is all whether or not we can find proof of what happened to you and have you released sooner, so the bare minimum is three weeks.” Sedric consoled.

“If, I was attacked by an illusion. I find it hard to provide substantial proof, so the most reliable option is the tournament. How’re you so certain the three of you can even win this tournament in the first place. What happens if you don’t win!” Relanis countered wanting to grab hold of some form of security for his release.

“Have faith in us. We will not let you rot away in this cell, if worst comes true. I promise we’ll do our best.” Sedric said as Marc nodded agreeing with his words of a prison break.

“Alright fine, I just have to leave it to the three of you. The food could be a little better, besides that there’s not much to complain about. I’ll relax and watch the tournament from here. Be careful Sedric. That illusion felt so vividly surreal and I was fooled to the point of fighting for my life. That person is still out there and that’s trouble for us.” Relanis accepted his fate and decided the only thing he could do was wait and rely on his friends.

“We know and that’s why Helena is attempting to train her mental powers so we can defend against future mental attacks, as well to keep a close eye on the ambassador.” Sedric gave his farewell after informing and reassuring Relanis that everything would be taken care of.

Walking out of the dungeon’s entrance Marc and Sedric met back up with Tessa and the escort.

“How’s he holding up?” Tessa wondered not joining them in the visit due to a two person visitation limit.

“He’s back to normal now and knows of our situation and his own.” Sedric replied to Tessa’s concern.

“We should continue our training right away. We have several options to free Relanis, the main being us three and the other Helena. Let’s do our best to guarantee his safe return.” Marc took the lead and started heading back to the villa to resume their training as both of them agreed and followed him.

Off on her supply run Kira was escorted by two guards as they commuted to the bustling trade district.

Wagon carts drawn by oxen and horses strolled along the road transporting goods either to or from the many stalls that were currently set up in the wide open spaced square. The stalls sold goods ranging from cookingware and fabrics to weapons and rare minerals. Kira looked across the entrance of the square and became enthralled by the scenery of all the people and stuff to be bought.

Kira walked five stalls in and stopped in front of the middle aged woman dressed for the hot weather. A peculiar material caught her eye as she moved an object to the side revealing fragments of tungsten ore.

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“How much for the gray rocks?” Kira feigned ignorance as she stared at it with her crafted reading glasses, providing detailed information on the ore.

“You have quite a good eye milady. This is a rare material extracted from the lowest depths of a cavern only I have access to. Would you like to purchase some?” The alchemist merchant smiled eager for business.

“I’ll take all of it, but can I see a list of your inventory?” Kira wore a stylish elvenware with the hood down exposing her long black silky hair.

The merchant was speechless expecting for a price war. But excited too as she sought out an inventory book from her backpack. “Of course, you may see the inventory milady.”

Kira scanned through the book extremely satisfied. “This is excellent. I’ll take everything. My escort will take care of the bill.”

“I’m the alchemist Jasmine. May I have your name milady for this wonderful business transaction?” Jasmine respectfully bowed.

“You can call me Kira and you will be happy to hear that I will need a hundred pounds of these gray rocks delivered every week for the next three weeks until further notice. I may also include several other ores. I would like to discuss certain matters with you tomorrow over breakfast at Princess Vera’s villa.” Kira looked at the guard. “Can you make sure she’s led into the villa in the morning?”

“Once the Princess approves it, yes.” The guard replied.

Kira parted with Jasmine and continued shopping for all the materials she specifically wanted to find.

Across the city on the palace grounds, Von and Helena walked through many hallways entering the ambassador's personal library. Many books filled the circular room surrounding the focal point of Von’s worktable. The area was well kept with elegantly engraved wooden shelves. Helena gazed around the room to view the contents of several of the books. She unshelved a book as she placed her golden blonde hair behind her ear to read.

“You told me mind reading is rare among our race. But, this book says there were thousands of mind readers. What happened to them?” Helena walked closer to Von, sitting in one of four chairs around the table.

“It’s been seven hundred years since then. They were mostly slaughtered during wars and that’s not just limited to mind readers.” Von sat in his chair with his arms crossed. “I’m happy to talk history with you. However, are we not here for you to improve your abilities?”

Setting the book down she looked up at Von. “You’re the teacher, I’ve been ready to learn.”

“Okay, I’ll allow you to enter my mind. Let me know what you see or feel.” Von suggested.

Helena stared at him with her light yellow eyes and attempted to sense his feelings.

“Stop, I told you to read my thoughts not my feelings.”

“You told me to let you know what I feel!” Helena countered.

“You need to stop listening to my mouth and start listening to my thoughts.”

Helena felt aggravated and tried again only to see Von’s unemotional face. “I see the color blue.”

“Wrong try again…” Von snapped.

Several hours passed with Helena blurting out his treasured trip to a river when he was a child. “You weren’t fat back then.” Following her success a new skill prompt appeared.

[Memory Reading] Lvl:1 - Advanced form a mind reading. Allows the reading of thoughts in addition to retrieve past memories from an individual.

Von stood shocked as he realized the extent of her powers. He was expecting her to describe his favorite dish of pasta that was going to be served for dinner. Von immediately blocked off their connection as he could feel Helena scouring his mind for information.

“Oww… What happened.” Helena held her head as a pulsating headache caused her severe discomfort for a few seconds.

“You have learned how to read thoughts. The rest I’m sure you're capable of figuring out yourself. If you may I have other duties to attend to.” Von spoke with the same deadpan face as he escorted her out of his workplace.

Helena managed to fit in a quick appreciation as she silently walked back to the villa, replaying the scene of a kid rescuing a little girl from a river and her thanking him with a kiss on the cheeks. A memory of ambassador Von’s first love.

***

Author's Notes: Same as before I'm posting this right when I finished, so it has not been edited at all yet and things will most likely be added once the chapter is entirely completed. If anyone has any thoughts or idea's as for what kind of materials Kira would be interested in please don't be afraid to leave a comment below. Any thoughts about what has happened so far are also welcomed. Hope you continue to enjoy, Thanks for reading.