Sometime later, Kane showed up in the cage once again. The crowd chanted his name and his opponent alike. Under the watchful gazes of the audience, an inexplicable rush of excitement surged within him. He should’ve done a similar gig in his past life, save for the master-slave relationship. The rewards and fame should be appealing, though most likely not as attractive as slaying a high-ranked monster. That being said: What prize would he get if he won this tournament? Sharon nor the warden had never mentioned it.

Up above, Sharon avoided his gaze this time while Ral waved at him, drinking ale or beer based on the wooden jug he held. Man, Kane was confident that she would like that kiss, only to give the opposite result. It didn’t matter, though.

In front of him, the dwarf from before was stretching his limbs. Thick stubble covered his chin, looking mid-20’s despite still being young. Most of the dwarves, if not all, appeared somewhat older than they were. As the name suggested, their height was stunted, though he once saw a dwarf as tall as a short human. Probably a mixed race, but he couldn’t tell.

The dwarfs sported a longer endurance and a slightly stronger strength compared to a base human. They were able to adapt to the cold climate all thanks to their long beard growth and body hair. They might be short in stature, but that didn’t make them less formidable and instead more elusive. After all, a small target was much harder to hit than a big one. Nevertheless, their chunky legs hindered them to outrun most creatures, albeit they would outpace them.

“In the west corner, this dwarven man has tasted a hell of our brawl yet keeps coming back! We present you, Thamduuuuuth!”

“In the east corner, our beloved half-oni has proven to us that he is not as hot-headed and simple as he seems! Will he surpass our expectations again? Here he is, Kaneeee!”

The crowd cheered even louder, half deafening before they gradually turned the volume down. Observing his opponent, he noticed that Thamduth wore a bronze ring on his index finger. So, accessories were allowed. Back when he watched the dwarf fighting, he didn’t really pay attention to it.

“Nice ring you got there,” praised Kane.

Thamduth raised his brows as though he didn’t expect that. “Thanks a bunch. I crafted this by myself. My very first art.”

Then the referee shouted, “Begin!”

Both assumed a fighting stance. Kane opened with a fast jab and a reply. “What a coincidence! I’m a blacksmith too.”

“Really? You’re gonna talk during our fight?” Thamduth blocked and followed up with a counter left hook.

Kane caught it with his right palm. “My last two fights kinda bored me. You’re also not that strong, so…” He then landed a kick into Thamduth’s thigh. “I don’t expect much entertainment here.”

“You…!” Thamduth’s face contorted. “Don’t you dare underestimate me!” He swung a big punch at Kane. It missed him.

Kane sidestepped, avoiding it by a hair, then inched closer. “Thanks for being predictable.”

A string of combos began. First, a blow to the gut, followed by a jaw shot, and another one with an elbow to the nose. When Thamduth tried to back away, Kane grabbed both his arms, lifting him a little. He then drove his knee into Thamduth’s body repeatedly, before releasing him. In mid-air, Kane struck him with his foot.

Thamduth crashed into the cage. However, Kane hadn’t finished yet. He leaped and put one foot forward, approaching the dwarf.

“I give up!” he screamed.

Unfortunately, it didn’t stop Kane’s spear kick. His foot sunk into his belly, more precisely, into his liver. Thamduth’s eyes turned blank white. He collapsed in no time.

“The winner is Kane!” The referee declared.

That made three wins in a row. Kane went back to his cell, resting and waiting for the next match. As time passed by, Sharon hadn’t shown up yet unlike the usual, which means she was indeed angry. Wait, why did he start caring about that? Kane shook his head to get rid of her image within his mind.

On one hand, spending his time here was much better than at Niflenia. Honestly, all of the boring, theoretical lessons could go away forever. He would never apply those in real life anyway. Well, except those that involve magic but still, memorizing foreign terms and complex formulas wasn’t exactly his forte.

On the other hand, waiting for the next match was dull. Not much he could do in here besides exercising, eating, daydreaming, and sleeping. He began to miss the sky, the sunlight, and the school’s environment. Somehow. Although, he had experienced being trapped inside for a much longer duration in a much worse situation. This was nothing compared to that.

---

Back in the morning in Niflenia Magic Academy, more precisely in class E.

“Brian, do you know where Kane is?” asked Vauren.

“Err…” Brian looked somewhere else, scratching the back of his neck. “I don’t know, Sir. Maybe he’s sick. The last time I saw him was yesterday afternoon.”

“Hm, how strange. He hasn’t shown any symptoms if my memory serves me right.”

“Yeah…” agreed Brian reluctantly.

The students began to bicker with each other.

“Hasn’t Kane been trying to get close with Senior Sharon?”

“Yeah, and apparently he was the only guy who got accepted by the Alchemy Club.”

“Some jealous nobles probably kidnapped him or something, so he would never approach her forever.”

“Poor guy.”

“He’s biting more than he can chew.”

Brian bit his lip, regretting what he said yesterday. He didn’t expect that his joke would come true. Now, he felt responsible even though he wasn’t involved at all in that. His opinion of Sharon had changed, agreeing with Kane’s. He also pondered about his last reason for being suspicious.

On the other hand, Calypso was silent and trying to figure out Kane’s disappearance. He doubted that the half-oni would get easily kidnapped by ordinary people. Dismissing the baseless conspiracy, Calypso thought that Kane was finally fed up with the academic lessons and taking leave without notifying the school.

Then, a female student asked Lucrais, “Hey, is it true that Kane tried to woo Senior Sharon?”

“Err, he did. He even confessed to her right in front of me.” She nodded.

“Wow! He’s got a pair, I’ll give him that.”

“I thought he was never interested in girls!”

“So, how did it go?” asked the female student again.

“He got rejected.”

The students became ecstatic, laughing while at the same time pitying him. Boys and girls alike proceeded to ask Lucrais questions. She regretted saying that.

---

Oblivious to that event, Kane was fighting another champion. His current opponent was a male rubean. He had green skin with black motifs. Leaping from wall to wall, he tried to find an opening in Kane’s defense.

“Say, you’ve been awfully quiet since you talked with Kane. What did he do?” asked Ral out of curiosity.

“He kissed me,” said Sharon.

“Huh?” Dumbfounded, he asked again, “You’ve been mingling with men many times before and that still bothers you?”

“It is strange, I know that! But, I didn’t expect him to make the move first!” She shouted. “Besides, that forehead kiss was so… romantic.”

“I don’t get it.” Ral furrowed a brow.

“I don’t expect you to,” dismissed Sharon.

“Whatever. You can go ahead and do anything you want. I don’t care. But! You shouldn’t forget your mission.”

Sharon bit her lip. “You don’t have to remind me. I never disappoint Father, not even once.”

“Good.” Ral switched his gaze to the fight. “Oh, he won again. That was quick.”

“I have to visit him,” she said, concerned.

“For what?”

“To warn him.”

---

Kane closed his eyes, trying to sleep. The previous fight wasn’t too difficult albeit tiring. His opponent kept moving around in the arena, prolonging the fight. It took some time before the rubean to go down.

When he was about to fall into slumber, the siblings visited him.

“Kane, I need you to tell you something important,” said Sharon.

“Yeah? What is it?” replied Kane in a polite tone.

“Your next opponent is going to be a rough one. You must prepare yourself accordingly.”

“Finally!” Kane shouted. “Just when I’m starting to get bored!”

Sharon’s cold face broke into a smile as Ral cackled,

“Hahahaha! You’re a weird one, Kane. Isn’t stomping weaklings also fun in its way?”

“Fun? More like, pity.” Kane spat.

“You shouldn’t pity them. They deserve to be beaten for being weak,” argued Ral.

Kane shrugged, giving no clear answer. Ral was most likely as stubborn as him, if not more. Therefore, Kane decided to agree to disagree.

“Anyway.” Sharon cleared her throat. “Since the brawl has entered semi-final, the matchup was already decided. Your next opponent is a wandering battle monk from Marrah. She might be a girl, but you must be careful. Many of the audience’s favorite champions had lost against her."

“Battle monk…” Kane let out a low noise. His eyes were muddled, recalling bitter experiences of fighting them.

Sharon fixated her gaze at him, silently. She then offered a green pill. “Here, for you.”

“What’s that?”

“It’s a pill that makes one unconscious after ingesting it. Useful for any champion who doesn’t want to die. It’s forbidden to use that for obvious reasons, but then again, it should be fine as long as you don’t get caught.”

He eyed at it, pondering. To think that Sharon went that far to keep him alive… how touching. Nonetheless, he doubted the real effect of the pill. It was somehow too good to be true. Hiding his true feelings, Kane said as he took it, “Thanks. Must’ve been hard to get it.”

“Not quite. I made this one by myself back in the academy.” She winked. “Keep it somewhere safe and don’t let anyone see you swallow that.”

“Of course.” Kane nodded.

Ral’s smile disappeared and was replaced with a frown. “Come on, Sharon. Giving an easy way out… where’s the fun in that?”

“The fun part is that he would never get the Black Feather back once he used it.” Sharon then turned toward Kane again. “Do you mind what I’ve just said?”

“Not at all. I think it’s fair.”

“Whatever!” Ral clicked his tongue. “Don’t you dare use that too early. At least give me some entertainment first.”

“I won’t ever use it. I’m going to win anyway,” he assured. Despite his bold words, Kane reminded himself to not get too overconfident. He said that to boost his morale, as simple as that, while also appeasing Ral.

“Nice! Now, that’s the words I want to hear.” Ral turned back, placing his hand on Sharon’s shoulder. “I’m done here. I’ll wait for you in the seats.”

She gave a nod as he walked away. Not sure if Ral left because he was giving privacy just between Kane and her or just bored. Either way, the tension within the room had turned in a weird direction. An awkward silence ensued for a minute.

“Is there… anything you want to ask?” Sharon’s voice cracked for a little when she asked that.

“Could you show me that feather?”

“Oh, here you go.” Sharon opened the box. The Black Feather was intact. “Anything else?”

“Are you… still mad because of that kiss?”

Sharon arched her brows and hid her mouth. “Mad? Err… yes! I am, in fact, mad about it! Don’t… ever do that again, okay?”

“For a foxy woman, you’re bad at lying,” remarked Kane.

“Hmph! And for a naive-looking boy like yourself, you like to lie constantly,” she hit back.

“L-lie about what?” he fumbled in his speech.

“Pretending to be weak and helpless. To be honest, I have no idea why on Dunai would you do that. Every boy and man I’ve met always does the opposite. They keep boasting their mediocre skills and wealth and making empty promises to impress me.” Sharon then chuckled. “It’s sickening yet so funny to watch.”

“To my defense, normally people would panic when they get kidnapped, right? I just didn’t want to look strange in front of you.”

“I suppose that’s true. That was the first time I kidnapped someone. Until now, every Champion I’ve recruited has… consented.” Sharon nodded. “In any case, I prefer your true self, Kane. It’s not weird at all. In fact, I… nevermind.”

“I really appreciate that, Senior,” he thanked her.

“Sharon. You can call my name directly. I don’t mind.” Her eyelashes fluttered as she swiped her hair.

“Well then, Sharon. Let’s be honest with each other from now on. No more lies and tricks,” suggested Kane.

“I agree.” She smiled.