The referee hopped in and raised Brilnia’s hand, announcing her as the winner. The audience burst out in an absolute uproar.

“For a second there, I thought you would end up continuing to fight,” Syn said.

Aleister took in a deep breath. “Now you speak up, huh?”

“This is your fight. I’m just observing.”

“Well, keep your observations to yourself.”

“You fared better than I expected.”

“Not bad, if I say so myself,” Luo Yun said as Aleister entered the preparation room. “You made Brilnia enter her rage state. You can consider that a win in itself.”

Aleister nodded as he downed an entire waterskin. He let out a long, alleviated gasp before talking. “So that’s what that was.”

“You didn’t know about it?”

“No. How would I have known?”

“I figured you knew from having dug up some material containing the information, or asked someone else at the very least.”

“And you figured this, how?”

“Because you never asked me.”

“Fair enough.”

“Good thing she didn’t start the fight off that way. Most likely had to do with some sense of dwarven pride or honour.”

“And the fact I’m not a Weaver.”

“That too.”

“How bad are your injuries?” Luo Yun asked as he crouched down and handed Aleister a new dry towel. “

This is the problem with armor and sharp weapons. Can’t judge an injury unless there’s an obvious cut or missing limb.”

“My body could not ache anymore.” Aleister wiped the dirt and sweat off his face. “Thanks for the towel.”

“Hahaha!”

Aleister heard a hearty chuckle echo from the hallway outside his room. Lord Kilciar entered the room. Seeing him stand this time only increased his presence’s intimidation. A female attendant stood behind and to each of his sides. They wore decorative floral dresses that only accentuated their features.

“Lord Kilciar,” Aleister said, bowing. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”

“That was an excellent attempt by you out there. At least, the third and fourth rounds were. I was almost afraid this opportunity had gone to waste before then.”

Aleister smiled. “Your compliments exceed the amount of gratitude I can display.”

“Unfortunate that you could not pull off a miraculous victory, but at the very least, it was an exciting attempt.” A cool breath escaped from his mouth as he spoke, reducing the temperature of the room. “I hope I will see more of you in the future. Specifically, in the upper brackets.”

“Most certainly.”

“Glad to hear it,” Lord Kilciar said as he and his two attendants left.

“Bit of a pointless visit I’d say.”

“And I would happen to agree.” Luo Yun shrugged. “It’s just to maintain formality.”

Aleister stood up, but found moving was a bit of a struggle. Every one of his bones and joints screamed in pain. “Guess my body is in a worse state than I thought.”

“Do you need me to help you get back home?”

“I wouldn’t say no.”

“Alright. Just rest up here for a bit. This arena is small and the attendees will no doubt linger and crowd the exits. Better to just wait. I’ll take you home once everything is sorted.”

Aleister walked into his room and dropped onto his bed. His bag still strapped around his chest, and his feet still touching the floor. With Luo Yun’s help, they managed to any busy bodies that may have bothered him.

“Don’t feel too great, do you?” Aunt Lavinia asked, walking through his still open door.

“Ugh. What are you doing here?”

“I own this manor? What does it matter why I’m here?”

“Fair enough.”

“I watched the fight. You would have lost in the first round had the girl decided to go all out.”

“Yes, I realized that.”

“Good.” She whipped out a large bottle. A thick and congealed red liquid swished around. “Drink this.”

“Some sort of medicine I presume.”

“It’s your run-of-the-mill potion of healing.”

Aleister grabbed the bottle and popped the top off, catching a whiff of its pungent smell. It caused him to gag on the spot. “It smells bad so you know it has to be good.”

“Not true. Like I said, it is fairly standard. Anything more potent and instead of healing you, it would rupture your viscera, contort your spin, obliterate your bones, annihilate—”

“I got the message.” Aleister smiled. “Thanks.”

“No need. Besides your fight, the real reason I handed this over was to drag you to Castle Kaynmur. Mitre woke up several days ago and is currently resting up in one of the guest rooms.”

“About time.”

“Yes. I told him that you were busy preparing for an important fight, so he couldn’t see you until today. And after the match, you were nowhere to be found, so he returned to rest up in one of the guest rooms. I promised him I would drag you over tonight. So—drink up.”

“Great. He witnessed me lose?”

“About a hundred people watched you lose.”

“Yes, but as his older brother, I need to be a shining example for him.”

“You still have time. He might have become a Weaver before you, but you still have garnered much more experience through the several years you trained with Gilmore and for the rest of your fights.”

“That’s right, he still is a child.”

“You’re still a child. Now hurry and drink up. It’s already late in the night.”

Aleister nodded. He pinched his nose and gulped down the potion in one take. The slimy texture and bitter taste did not make for a pleasant experience. He belched up a putrid odor while holding it down. I didn’t help that potion’s effect took several moments to kick in. He sat there in silence and waited.

His skin soon itched all over. His muscles tightened. And for the most part, the pain he felt faded away. The potion replaced his pain with a sort of pleasant numbness. His stomach growled and became slightly bloated.

“Come,” Aunt Lavinia said. She walked out of his room without waiting a second longer.