We drink together as we continue the discussion. I try to keep the visit prompt so the others won’t have to wait too long, but what is left of the conversation drags on a bit despite that. The drinks are good, and Juire is intent on enjoying his drink with a new partner. It takes a while, but after nagging at him, Juire finally explains the basics of what I need to know as a sponsored fighter. Even that conversation is far too long, but I manage to gather the key points.

The basic rules are:

Once the roster is finalized, the contestants will draw lots to determine their place on the bracket. Physical enhancements are alright, but all forms of magical items and enchantments are forbidden. Until the final two rounds, magic is not allowed. The winner of a round is determined by an impartial judge appointed by the king.

There were some other rules, I’m sure, but Juire began to slur his words towards the end and I couldn’t understand him that well.

“I’m quite busy so I will take my leave here,” I say interrupting Juire who is now just spouting complete gibberish

“Ah, wait! Let me… Cresendo!. Kay, bye bye then.” Juire says as he bolts up to grab my shoulder

When he says that odd word I feel my body reverberate for a moment. It is incredibly unpleasant. As the feeling stops, a chill runs down my spine, which only furthers the discomfort it left me with.

“What did you just do?!” I ask turning quickly to look at him again

My fear and anger at his sudden use of some strange skill or magic on me fades as I notice that he is already out cold.

Sigh

Even asleep, there is still a strong air of intimidation around him. It’s almost surreal considering the odd contorted face that he is making. Any of my five senses should be telling me that this man is completely harmless, but my instincts cry out to me that he is a force to be feared.

Nothing in the list of skills that came up with his status set off any red flags with me before, so perhaps whatever he just did is something different. The “Status” skill doesn’t seem to appear in the status window either, and it felt quite similar so perhaps it was something harmless as well. Am I being too trusting? Perhaps it’s the alcohol. Either way, I’m not getting any info about it out of him for a while.

Why is he so drunk anyway? I had just about as much as he did, I think, but I feel a bit tipsy at best. Is he just a lightweight?

I meander out of the building with little resistance. I received a few strange looks as I went to leave, but none of them seem to be filled with hostility so I decide to ignore it.

I was worried initially about having them wait for me since it seemed a rather boring task, but when I see the group again I notice that Bik and Kiel are joking around and having a great time while they wait. I almost feel like I shouldn’t interrupt them.

Kiel and Bik have been getting along rather nicely it seems. I rarely see them talk to one another while we are busy, but in the rare moments that we are relaxing, they tend to hit it off quickly. I wonder what they talk about?

“Sorry for the wait, shall we get going then?” I say as I walk up to them

“It’s about time! We had time to come up with a whole new combo attack while you were gone!” Kiel says with a triumphant face

“Combo attack?” I ask confused

Is that what they were talking about so happily?

“Ya! Basically, it’s like this, I go in like fwoosh, then he goes pop right here! Then we go fawawaah pow~!” Kiel explains fervently using a series of hand gestures

“I… don’t get it honestly, but I’m glad you’re having fun. Make sure to show it to me sometime.” I say trying not to look too confused

Kiel seems to notice my confusion and starts scratching his head while blushing.

We continued to talk about the combo attacks that Kiel and Bik had been devising on the way to the adventurers guild, though I couldn’t really understand any of it. When Bik tried to explain it, it would be a lot clearer, but he would also stop for large segments of time trying to think of the right words to say.

When we arrive at the guild hall, I’m left stunned. The building is glorious in both its magnitude and pristine look, so much so that it reminds me more of a castle than a guild hall.

I had no idea that it would be this… big. Buildings that look this well maintained are so rare that it gives off the feeling of being very high class. Were adventurers meant to be that kind of entity?

“It always feels so intimidating standing in front of this place,” Kiel says with a nervous face

“Only one thing to do about that then… Let’s go in.” I say equally nervous