User Name

Yukali

Race

Dragonkin

Bloodline

Cinis Ustrinum Anguis

Age 18

Level 3

HP 240/240

MP 140/140

Feats

One with the Sword

Haunted Stare

Background

Servant of Nobility / Traumatic Childhood

Class

Monk LV. 3

Sub Class

Locked

Title

ScaledFist

Exp 0/100

Attributes

Strength 22

Constitution 24

Dexterity 15

Intelligence 14

Wisdom 14

Charisma 11

Luck 6

Skills

Intermidiate Sword Use

LV 4 5/100

Examination LV 2 20/100

Cloaked Blade

LV 2 10/100

Ki Fist

LV 5 20/100

After leaving Naraak, they began to make their way to the Mine with the Airship port. However, it was proving to be more difficult then planned. The mine was close to the border with the heightened tensions from the Empires wars several checkpoints had been placed on the roads. With Megan's minor authority, they were able to get through fairly quickly, but each of them still took up quite a lot of time.

Then they also had to deal with groups of necromancers wandering about the area. Yukali and the others haven't run into one yet, but they did encounter several groups of undead that were wandering around. If that wasn't bad enough they found evidence that the Empire and Kingdom of Solas had sent soldiers into the Kingdom of Keston. So they had to make sure not to get between the pair of warring factions. They had to move around one valley as there was a battle occurring in it.

Which is why when Jack contacted them asking them to make a detour to the Well of Purification they were grateful for the break. The Well of Purification was a special place that had it's origins dating back to before the goblin wars. Due to its importance no single nation could claim it. As such a zone of free land surrounded the well. Within this zone a single city was created to support the pilgrimages to the well.

It was a small city, and while considered a holy place, no temples of gods were allowed within the zone. Everyone was entitled free access to the city. But in order to take up residence within the city a person must give up their nationality and all material possessions must be thrown into the well. All permanent residents of the city were in fact monks that took care of the procedures regarding the well and the pilgrims to it.

Still due to the lack of taxation in the area, it drew numerous merchants who liked to do business here. They had to leave within a month but by swapping out with others they could run shops indefinitely within the city. Jack would be coming in a day or so when he finished whatever he was doing. Till then he had asked them to keep an eye out in the city for anything weird or out of place.

Of course Megan was not happy about seeing Jack again, but Yukali had convinced her to put aside her feelings for the moment and deal with the situation at hand. It also helped that Megan was no longer suffering from the intense nightmares she had been having. Since they had left Naraak, Megan had at least opened up and Yukali was able to provide her a shoulder to cry on. 

Once they got to the city Megan pretty much stayed inside the inn and ventured out only rarely to get something to eat. The others got to walk around the village keeping an eye out like Jack asked. Yukali got to encounter a bewildering variety of people from all over the world who had come to see the Well. Every so often Dafter would accompany her much to the delight of the children in the city who liked to gawk at the mushroom man.

Today however Dafter wished to go hunting in the neighbouring forest. He felt his skills were getting rusty, plus he had a craving for deer. Ritalassa headed out with him as she wanted to try out her new summoning skill. They had extended the offer to Yukali, but she declined as she had plans for today.

Once a month a festive celebration took place in the city. Due to the properties of the well numerous people set out a pilgrimage to be purified within the fires. Every month a party took place where these pilgrims would be purified. Naturally that was limited to those who retained their will after being corrupted. Those that had lost all reason were just tossed down the well.

Those suffering from corruption would be taken to the massive building in the middle of the city where the well was. The well was a more of a massive pit that seemed to have no end in how deep it went. From vents in the side spewed a special flame that burned off any corruption that it came in contact with. Unlike regular fire that rose, this fire would fall into the depths of this pit. This fire also created an odd hum that ran throughout the city and made Yukali's teeth tingle.

Within metal cages, those who were corrupted would be lowered into the fires of the pit. The depth they were lowered would be determined based on their level of corruption. Since the fires fell downwards, the lower the depth the more intense the flames which was needed to drive off the stronger corruption. A group of purification monks kept watch over the Well to guide those who were corrupted to bathe in the fires of the well. Those who were not corrupted could not go into the main part of the well.

Rather visitors that wanted to witness the purification must go to the observation platform that was situated above the well. Because Yukali had joined up for the festivities, she was required to sit on the platform and observe the corrupted pilgrims be lowered into the flames. Several festival activities had sprung up for this month's purification, but the one Yukali was interested in was a fighting competition that required participants to fight weaponless.

Yukali was most proficient fighting with a sword, but she had taken lessons in fighting barehanded. Perhaps it was her heritage, but she enjoyed a good fight. While she did fight a few monsters on the way to this city, she found the fight wholly lacking in challenge. What she desired to do was fight someone with a brain that could put up a good fight. This tournament had caught her eye, and she quickly signed up for it.

The tournament was to take place in an arena that was next to the building that housed the well. Instead of the round robin format she was used to, the tournament was a single elimination type of contest. Perhaps because the tournament happened every month. At the moment eleven others had signed up for the competition and a few of them looked like they would be a challenge for Yukali. But before the competition is able to get underway the corrupted individuals need to be purified.

So Yukali was stuck on a distinctly uncomfortable chair watching as several people suffering from corruption lined up to get in various cages beneath her. As most of the people only suffered from minor corruption they lined up at the first cage. A few did go to another one, with one person having to be helped to the last cage which had a five carved in the roof of the cage.

Before the cages were lifted, there was a brief ceremony where the monks blessed the people within the cages. After that the cages were lifted by massive chains out over the well. The mechanism moving the cages roared to life and it sounded like it was right underneath Yukali. The first cage was lowered gradually into the flames.

The flames looked like no fire Yukali had seen. While they shared the same color as a campfire, though a bit redder it behaved strange. It looked like it had weight to it, and flowed more like water being sprayed out from the side. As the cage was lowered, it had pushed aside the flames briefly before the flames began to spill into the cage. The people inside began to scream in agony as the corruption within them burned out of them.

Since the cage was so close to the surface of the flames, Yukali could see one of the people inside as the flames swept over him. He screamed as the flames seemed to go through him, and reddish gunk burned off of him. The screaming went on for a few minutes before the cage finally lifted up from the flames with the people inside looking exhausted. Despite overhanging the well, Yukali found it strange that she felt no warmth from the flames rather it felt rather chilly.

Seconds after the first cage was raised the fifth cage was moved out to the center of the well. The chain that held the cage aloft was a huge metal chain that was at least double in thickness compared to the first. Inside the cage the twisted form let out a wail as the cage was starting lower. Yukali had always thought the flames only burned corruption, but observing the char on the chains it's obvious the flames burned more then just corruption. It must be based on the depth as the fifth cage looked far more sturdier than the first one.

With the lowering of the cage, the occupant of it seemed to go crazy in an attempt to escape. Then it dipped into the flames, and the occupant began to let out a horrific howl. The sound seemed to pierce through Yukali, and as the person had the corruption burned out of them, a black smoke began to climb out of his body. The cage kept dropping until it went so deep that Yukali could no longer see where it was going. 

Even so, she could hear the corrupted person screaming as they were burned from within. This went on for several minutes, and Yukali could see the chain start to turn red. After a bit the cage began to lift, and the screaming had stopped. When the cage burst free from the flames she could see that all remained of that corrupted person was some charred cloth.

"That's a shame." A person said next to her. "That poor person came here too late to save themselves. At least the corruption has been destroyed."

Yukali felt a bit sick from witnessing a person burned alive even if they did it in an attempt to save them. After the cages were raised and placed back onto the platform, there was a short ceremony where the people who had been purified were blessed and splashed with water that had been purified by the fires. When the ceremony was over a monk approached her and guided her to the building next to the well where the arena was.

The monk took her a waiting room where she met the other contestants. She had seen a few of them during the purification ritual but did not have a chance to speak to them. She glanced over them and found most of them did not look that experienced with the exception of an old dwarf who was nodding off in a chair and a Devilkin woman who was picking at her nails with her tail.

Before Yukali could move to take a seat, the door swung open with a bang and a man walked in with a confidant swagger. Glancing at him, she saw he was dressed in the robes that indicated he was a mage from the Empire. A high-ranking one given the medals and ribbons on the robe. When he entered, he screeched to a halt in front of her and gave her a look of pure disgust.

"Wow they really just let anything that walks into the door join the competition. Don't they know what pieces of shit your kind is?" The man said glaring at Yukali.

"If I'm a piece of shit, you're something I would scrape off the bottom of my shoe if I took a walk through a sewer. In fact I'm surprised you can even speak. Though I wish you wouldn't because the smell coming out your mouth makes me want to vomit." Yukali said right back at the bigoted Empire Mage.

The mans face turned a beet red of rage, and it was obvious that he wanted to respond. At that time he took a deep breath and left to take a seat in the far back of the room. She herself took a seat at the opposite end. After a few more people trickled in a monk wearing an official looking garment came in and said "I see that all the contestants are here. We have already scheduled out your first round fights."

He gestured to a wall where a series of names were listed next to their opponent. "I will go briefly over the rules of the fights. Each fight will be no more than ten minutes. If the fight has not been settled by ten minutes, the winner will be selected by the judge. Each winner will go on to the second round. The fights are to be fought with no weapons and minimal armor."

He gestured to a mannequin "This is the only type of armor that is allowed in the arena." 

On the mannequin was a select piece of leather armor that only really covered vital spots. It was rather thin too, so not really practical in a life or death fight, but for a tournament was good enough. "If you need to purchase some armor, we do have some available." The monk continued.

The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

"Excuse me" one of the fighters, an adolescent boy probably not even sixteen interrupted the monk. "But is it accurate that if we win the competition we will get a cash prize."

The monk turned towards the teen and nodded "Yes. There's a prize of ten large silvers this month. It was generously donated by the pilgrims who came here to be purified. But there is an additional prize this month. The top three winners will win a free pass to join us in an expedition to the caves of purification."

Yukal noticed that the demonkin woman looked surprised and said "What? Were those not sealed over two hundred years ago?"

"Yes" The monk nodded "Recently the caves were unsealed, while we are still slowly investigating the caves, the upper levels have been cleared to be inspected. Which is where the top three fighters will come in. They will get a chance to mine whatever they find in the caves. All right for the rest of the rules of the fight. No Weapons are allowed beyond your body. In addition no magic is allowed. If you break one of these rules, you will be disqualified. If you opponent gives up you must immediately stop. Please do not kill your opponent either. This is a sacred event, not a bloodbath."

The monk went to the arena door and said "Alright for the first fight we have Irastad the Miner versus Maytoth."

The old dwarf snorted awake and stood up and made his way to the entrance of the arena. A confident looking human joined him at the door. The organizer opened the door and said "Good Luck."

After the fighters entered the arena the Demonkin woman came walking up to Yukali and took a seat next to her. "So I haven't seen you at the tournaments before. You new here?"

Yukali nodded at the amiable woman and said "It's my first time here. Before I came here, I didn't realize there was a monthly tournament here. What about you?"

"Oh I like coming around here every month or so for the challenge. Plus while the amount of coin varies, it's usually enough to pay for a few months' work. I manage to usually place in the top three." The Demonkin smiled in a friendly way and held out her hand "My name is Saverat."

"Yukali." She gripped the Demonkin's hand and shook it. The Demonkin gave it a strong squeeze and Yukali asked "So I have a question for you. You seemed shocked that the Caves of Purification were open. I've never heard of them so what are they?"

Saverat nodded and said "Well it's not surprising to hear you don't know of them. Not many actually do, it's pretty old history that only locals would know about. Even then they've been sealed for so long most folks have forgotten about them."

"For the most part they are a series of caves that extend around the well supposedly reaching the bottom of the well. At least that's the rumor, but no one has ever been done that far. Way back when a group of explorers set out to explore the caves to find out the secrets of the well, but only a few returned alive. The leader of the expedition was stark raving mad by the time he got out and forcibly sealed the caves. The monks kept everyone away since then, but it looks like they changed their minds."

"If the caves are perilous, then what is so special about the chance to go into them?" Yukali asked.

Saverat looked around and then whispered "I've heard the topmost floors of the caves are not as dangerous. The reason why it's so special is that with the presence of the purification fires nearby it imbues special properties to rocks nearby. Most of the rocks on the surface have already been taken. But the ones in the caves are still likely down there plus they have been sealed so are likely even stronger."

"These rocks have gone on auction before, and have gone for at least a few big gold coins. The ones in the caves could go for thousands of gold coins." Saverat continued then said "Just one rock could be enough for you to retire."

"So what exactly are the actual values of these rocks besides being rare?" Yukali asked.

"Well I'm not entirely sure myself. I've heard it can be used to boost magical powers, especially ones dealing with fire. In addition if you mix it into armor, you can create enchanted armor that is resistant towards corruption."

Yukali wanted to ask a few more questions but at that time the doors to the arena opened. In came the old dwarf and the buff man was carried in by a few monks. He looked to have been knocked out. The monk official nodded and said "Congratulations Irastad on your win. Next up is Saverat and Erick the Blazing Mage."

"Oh that's me." Saverat said. She stood and Yukali saw that the Empire mage from earlier stands.

"Be Careful, that man doesn't seem like he will fight fairly." Yukali warned Saverat.

Saverat nodded and said "The Empire ones never do. But they aren't hot shit without their magic. I can take him." Saverat went to the Arena door and said "You ready to get your ass handed to you Mage boy?"

He glared at her and said "I will break you."

"Hah, we will see about that." Saverat said scoffing.

With that the two fighters entered the arena. Yukali went up to the monk official and asked "Is there a place I can witness the fight?"

The monk shook his head. "In order to keep the fights fresh and not give any advantages to either side, Fighters are not allowed to view the fights. However, you may ask the losers of the fight for any advice against their opponents if they decide to stick around."

Yukali nodded and went back and sat down. The fight this time only lasted five minutes and then the arena door burst in and Erick strode in looking pleased with himself. As he passed by Yukali and smirked "If we meet in the arena I will do ten times worse to you then what I did to her."

Yukali frowned at him and saw a pair of monks carrying in a liter that Saverat was laying in. Concerned for the demonkin woman, Yukali saw that her left arm was broken and a bone was sticking out. One of the monks told Yukali "Please excuse us, we need to bring her to the infirmary."

Saverat opened her eyes and said "Fucking bastard. He broke my arm before I was able to give up. Yukali keep an eye on that fucker if you fight him. He was doing something strange with his hands. Felt like I was getting hit by a runaway carriage."

Saverat lapsed into silence and the monks carted her through a door labelled the infirmary. Yukali glanced at Erick who raised his nose at her dismissing her glare. She took a seat and waited through three more fights to happen before her turn to fight came up.

"Yukali the Dragonkin versus Verandyl the wrestler." The monk official called, and Yukali met Verandyl at the arena door. He was an elf whose arms were so thin, he looked as though he had last eaten a hundred years ago. Still she got the feeling he knew how to fight, so she could feel her blood start to boil at the thought of getting into a decent fight.

They nodded at each other, and they entered into the arena. The arena was about five hundred feet across surrounded by a tall wall ontop of which were numerous bleachers that were a quarter filled with spectators. The spectators were currently cheering their arrival. A monk wearing a official judges uniform came to the center of the arena and indicated where the fighters would stand. Yukali took her place about ten feet apart from Verandyl.

The official looked at the both of them making sure they were ready and raised his hands. When he dropped them, he yelled "Begin." With that he quickly backed up to the edge of the arena.

The Elf seemed to grow wings as he practically leaped across the entire ten feet with a surprising speed. If she hadn't raised her guard against him, she would have had definitely been caught flat footed. As it was, she had barely managed to grab onto the elf and fling him way from her. The elf tumbled a few feet way and Yukali ran up and tried to punt him with her foot.

Seeing her coming, the Elf rolled up onto his feet and avoided her kick. At the same instant he attempted to grapple her. As he was pretty gangly for an elf, Yukali had a hard time getting a grip on him as he kept squirming around trying to get her into a pin. He would also occasionally throw punches into her midriff which hurt like the dickens. Still she had at least a hundred or so pounds on the elf and he was having a hard time moving her around.

Because of the angles it was hard to throw a good punch at the elf, but she finally managed to grab onto one of his arms and jerk him upwards. As the elf yelped in surprise she brought her head down against his stunning the elf. Gripping him fully she hurled him hard to the ground and got him into a pin where she began to throw punches down onto him. Even if stunned, Verandyl managed to throw up his guard and block most of her blows to his face.

Employing some kind of trick, the elf managed to slide out from underneath Yukali like an eel and rolled away. As he stood, Yukali could see that his nose was now bleeding and his face was beginning to puff up. Still he looked like he was willing to continue this fight and began to circle around Yukali seeking an opening. She got into a fighting stance and knew since he was so quick she would wear herself out chasing him so she stood waiting for him.

As the minutes began to pass as each fighter looked for an opening, she began to suspect that the elf was just trying to run out of time. Tired of playing this waiting game she intentionally left an opening at her side. Doubtless Verandyl likely knew it was a trick, still the Elf took action and charged at her side. He was still remarkably swift on his feet, and almost managed to latch onto her and get his arms around her neck.

Almost. As he reached her, she made her move and grabbed onto his arm, jerking him into a grab. This pushed the both of them to the ground where she managed to get her arm around his neck in a chokehold and tightened. He struggled for a bit, but could not slip out from her grasp. Seeing that he had no chance of breaking free, he tapped on the ground indicating that he had lost the fight. She let him go and stood.

"Glory to the gods for the fight we have just witnessed. I announce Yukali the Dragonkin as the winner of the match." The official said to the stands. "Please be sure to clap for her victory over Verandyl."

The spectators gave a hearty clapping, and she helped Verandyl up to his feet. "You gave me quite a good fight." He said. "I hope we can have a rematch sometime."

"I hope so too." The two of them walked back into the waiting room and Verandyl waved goodbye to her and left. 

"Winners of the first round please gather in front of me." The monk in the waiting room said. "Congratulations on winning round one. You will directly advance onto round two. The rules of the round remain the same as the previous round with one small exception. Due to the numbers of the contestants that entered the fight, one of the matches will result in th winner getting a pass to the final match."

The monk looked around and said "As such that fighter will automatically be in the top three and get one of the passes to the caves of purification. This will be selected entirely randomly of course. Now that we are clear on that, the first match of the second round will be Erick the Blaze versus Irastad the Miner. Please enter the arena when you are prepared."

The dwarf rose and joined Erick at the door. The dwarf nodded at Erick who just ignored the greeting by the dwarf. As the pair went out, a man wearing leather armor sat down next to her. While not the most massive man in the waiting room he was still packing some muscle into that armor. "Hi, names Reynold. You fight here in the past?"

"No, first time here. Name is Yukali."

He nodded and said "Me too. I'm actually here with some friends on business. My friend Jezebel has joined this tournament as well." He pointed at a battle hardened looking woman.". We are in fact on the hunt for a giant black bird that has been seen flying around these parts."

"What?" Yukali said, surprised. "Last I heard a giant black bird was seen up north in Naraak. Did it come south? Or are there more of them?"

Reynold shrugged and said "So far only one has been sighted. Sightings have been putting it moving south. A few days ago we got word that it was seen in this area. So we are tracking it for the bounty. We are taking a break from the hunt to enjoy this festival."

Before Yukali could ask more about the giant bird he was hunting, the arena doors burst open again. In strode Erick. He was not looking as confident as before, but still was smiling despite the torn robes he was wearing. Behind him wobbled the dwarf looking rather out of it. In addition the beard of the dwarf was torn half off making the result look rather scraggly.

After the dwarf had left the room, the official said "Okay next fight will be Reynold versus Jezebel." Reynold stood up and made his way to the arena door and smiled at the woman who joined him. They entered the arena and fought for ten minutes before they walked in joking with one another. They shook hands and Reynold took a seat.

"For the last fight of this round, will be Yukali versus Oriah the Shephard." The official monk stated.

Yukali stood and walked up to the arena door. The fighter she was against was the kid who had asked if there was a prize. He joined her, and she was briefly surprised that he had actually won his first fight. She got no sense of battle sense from him. Thus, she put up her guard just to be safe, she had long learned not to be overly confidant. Obviously he must have some skill to win a fight.

She took her spot like last time and waited for the judge to drop his hands and start the fight. Before he could however there was a slight rumbling of the ground. The judge paused for a minute or so before deciding there was no more danger and dropped his hands starting the fight.

Wanting to take charge of this fight right away, Yukali charged towards the boy. At the same time the boy let out a roar of pain and began to quickly expand in size and grow copious amounts of hair. Yukali was tall but this werewolf was easily a head taller than her and when it had finished changing ran to meet Yukali's charge.

It was incredibly fast and was likely as equally strong. The problem for it was it obviously had no real fighting experience. Plus the boy was obviously fighting against the instincts of the beast as it never tried to bite her. As such Yukali found it quite easy to dodge the blatant swings of the beast. It let out a roar of frustration and tried to seize her.

Taking her chance, she sidestepped the werewolf and jumped onto it's back. It let out a surprised grunt and attempted to dislodge her. But she clung fast to it and managed to get it into a chokehold. It moved around furiously trying to get Yukali off. It's movements slowed down until the werewolf passed out from the lack of air. Releasing it, she watched as the wolf transformed back to the boy.

"Glory to the gods for the fight we have just witnessed. I announce Yukali the Dragonkin as the winner of the match." The official said to the stands. "Please be sure to clap for her victory over Oriah the shepherd."

The kid awoke when his name was said and looked around confused and said "Ah damn I lost."

Yukali walked back into the waiting room and the kid took off before she could say anything to him. He looked really embarrassed for losing. The Monk official stood and said "With that fight round two now comes to the end. Congratulations on the winners for advancing. Lots were drawn randomly and it is decided that Yukali the Dragonkin will be getting the pass to the final match. Which means the next fight will be between Erick the blaze and Reynold. Would those fighters please go to the arena."

The pair of fighters looked at each other and went through the arena door. Yukali kept an eye on the door and about six minutes later, Erick walked in looking like a cat that stole cream. Reynold himself came walking in looking really beat up. His clothes were torn nearly off, and his nose looked broken.

He walked over to Yukali and said with concern "Be careful of that mage. He did something suspicious during our fight. All of sudden his strength doubled. If there weren't magic detectors in the arena I would say he was using magic." With that he made his way towards the infirmary. Jezebal went with him looking concerned for her friend.

Erick came up to her after Reynold had left and said "Well now it looks like it comes down to the two of. A heroic mage versus the scum monsterkin."

"I was thinking more along the lines of showing the crowd what a racist piece of shit looks like when he's beaten up." Yukali said, glaring at him.

The monk official got between them and said "Save it for the arena. It's presently time for the last fight of the day. Yukali the Dragonkin versus Erick the blaze."

Entering ahead of Erick, Yukali took her place across from him. Erick cracked his neck and got into a fighting stance as the official shouted for them to begin the fight. Yukali circled Erick looking for an opening. As loathe as she wanted to admit, the fucker did seem to be decently trained in fighting. Yet there was something weird about him as well. 

It was like an alarm was blaring at the back of her neck as she watched him. Erick took a pose and then launched himself towards her with a frighteningly fast punch. As she barely dodged it, she felt a familiar energy inside his arm. She identified it as Ki. Now that she knew what she was looking for, Yukali could see he was pushing ki into his arms to make his blows far more stronger and faster. 

If she had been caught unawares, she would have had no chance against him. She took a deep breath and accessed the ki within her letting it loose throughout her body. While she had not wanted to fight using this energy in the tournament as she considered it bad sport, even if it wasn't technically against the rules. Yet this Erick seemed to have no regard for that, so it was up to her to teach him a lesson. She met his fist with her own, and a small explosion blasted the pair apart.

Erick had been wearing a confidant smirk throughout the fight, but after the blast, he looked surprised and confused. He shook his head and got back into a fighting stance, and Yukali was the one this time to charge at him with a series of blows. Using his ki, he was able to block most of her blows, but it was taking a toll on him. When she saw an opening, she kicked the legs out from under him. She jumped ontop of him and began to slug at his face.

Erick roared and a blast of ki sent Yukali flying off. She rolled away and quickly got to her feet. Erick got up shakily, she thought that he must have expended most of his ki already. As she began to circle him, the arena began to shake again. However this time the shaking seemed to go on and on and the building began to crack and crumble under the onslaught.

The spectators began screaming and began to flee out the exits as best they could under the shaking. Yukali was having a hard time keeping on her feet, and as she began moving towards the waiting room door the ceiling began to fall. Dodging the falling rocks and junk, She and Erick moved towards the exit. Erick stopped to help the monk who had tripped and fallen.

At that moment a huge piece of roof came flying down towards the pair. Time seemed to slow down for Yukali as ki roared to life and she exploded forth and slammed her body into the falling piece sending it flying off. Once she landed, she helped Erick carry the monk into the waiting room where it was more stable. After a bit the shaking finally stopped.

It took awhile for things to settle down, but luckily no one was killed an only a few people were hurt in the earthquake. However, the arena was completely ruined. There was no way that Yukali could continue her match with Erick in the state the arena was in. So she was waiting nearby to see what the officials wanted to do about the tournament when Erick approached her. He looked around and said "I will only say this once. Thank you for saving my life." 

He looked like he wanted to say something else, but a monk came walking to them. The monk looked at both of them and said "Due to the Earthquake we have decided to declare the last fight as a tie. As such you will be splitting the award money amongst the both of you."

Erick shook his head and said "She can have the money. I just want the chance to go into the caves."

The monk nodded and said "That is your right as you placed in the top three. However, due to the earthquake we must make sure the caves are safe to enter. So it will likely be a few days before we take you into the caves."

Yukali nodded and said "What about the well? Is it safe?"

The monk said "The well is built out of incredibly robust materials. It suffered no damage from the earthquake."

She let the monk know where to contact her when the journey into the caves would be undertaken and looked around to find Erick had already left. Seeing she had nothing left to do, and the people of the city were busy cleaning after the earthquake, she headed towards the inn.