“Impressive! I had heard rumors about your four girlfriends, it seems they’re completely real… I already find it hard to date one person, I don’t even want to imagine four. Another reason to respect you.” Saule actually looks very surprised—his gaze gives it away.
“Well, you know, it’s not easy. The first time they met there was a slight tension, at least in my head. As the hours and days passed, everything cleared up.” I remember those days living together, a smile of mixed feelings forms on my face. “Everything was wonderful, except when they teamed up to mess with me—I couldn’t beat them.” I let out a sigh.
“I can already imagine it. My father already has trouble not upsetting my mother, and I’m having some difficulties just getting a girlfriend. Keeping four women of such high status happy must be a headache.” We both laugh at Saule’s comment.
The doctors are finishing treating him, making sure everything is in place and that he doesn’t have internal injuries from overexertion. I politely refused any treatment—I can heal externally, and if I have any internal issues Glia helps me. That sleepyhead is still absorbing mana from the cores like a black hole.
“It’s time for me to go. My friends must be worried about me, and if I take any longer Brendu will come looking for me.” I check the time—I’ve been talking with him for almost an hour.
“Does your woman control you? I didn’t expect that from the person who just defeated me.” I can see on his face how he’s trying to hold back laughter—Saule is more playful than expected.
“You’ll understand when you date a princess.” I simply answer with resignation—even if she wasn’t a princess, it would still be difficult.
Saule’s body stiffens when he hears my answer. “I’ll ask you for advice in the future—of course, if they give you permission to see me.” We both laugh. “I hope to see you soon, I’ll contact you if it’s something urgent.” He shouts as I turn my back and walk toward the door.
“I hope you don’t only contact me for advice—it can be for training too.” I raise my arm and wave my hand without turning around as a farewell.
I never thought Saule would be such a pleasant person. In less than an hour we talked about many topics—even about my love life. People always talk about how simple it is for men to become friends; the strongest friendships between men are born through fighting or drinking.
That’s exactly what just happened between us. Trust came in a single moment—we didn’t have to force anything, everything simply flowed naturally. Did the fact that we were trying to kill each other help? Most likely. Respect must have been born at that moment.
There must be just over an hour left before Arisa’s match. The entire audience is probably buying food and drinks right now—I imagine some of them won’t even want to go to the bathroom.
When I open the door to the room, something similar to before happens again—I get a sense of déjà vu. All my friends throw themselves at me as soon as they realize who entered. This time I only reinforce my body a bit and decide to receive Humyr’s massive hug head-on.
After a minute of congratulations and laughter, they finally let me go. Brendu is the only one still stuck to me like glue. When I finally try to move, I have to walk carrying Brendu’s body to the sofa where we usually sit.
“Your fight was insane, it was crazy. It felt like watching two ruby ranks fight—it didn’t look like sapphire ranks at all. I couldn’t take my eyes off it for even a second.” Shawu is shouting while trying to imitate some of my movements with her daggers.
She’s actually replicating most of my movements almost perfectly. Shawu has developed her own style based on my fighting style. If she keeps improving at this pace, her strength in the ruby rank will be terrifying.
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Everyone starts commenting on their favorite parts of the fight—even the twins are talking more than usual. They ask me how I felt in those moments, and I answer them as best as I can.
There are moments from the fight that are hard to remember. My brain was so focused on not losing or getting close to death that I couldn’t concentrate on memorizing everything around me.
In the middle of my explanation—taking my time to recreate it with my Thundersnow Fangs in hand and even some constructs—something happens. The door, reinforced with enchantment runes, is being forced open, and just a second later someone enters the room.
Everyone freezes. I’m not using my Personal World because I’m resting my mind after pushing it to the limit. I’m the first to act—I teleport instantly toward the door, my abilities receiving a massive amount of mana as fast as possible.
My sword swings directly toward the person’s neck—I intend to kill.
My weapon hits something hard. It feels like striking an immovable wall—the recoil makes my hand tremble, I almost drop my sword. I tighten my grip, my body ready to continue attacking, and try to drive my second sword into the person’s chest.
My entire body freezes instantly—I feel every part of me being restricted by a powerful jurisdiction. Through my sensory ability, I can see that all my companions are in the same situation.
I use all the accumulated gravity mana in my body as a base to create an explosion of power to try to free myself—it works halfway. I can move a little, but immediately my body is paralyzed again, and I feel a cold sensation throughout my entire being.
Wait… this ability feels familiar. I try to look directly into the person’s eyes, but I can’t—I only see a distorted, blurry face. It seems to be an object or a skill.
The woman in front of me snaps her fingers, and a familiar face appears. “I just came to greet you and congratulate you. Is this how you receive people? You lack manners.” A mischievous smile rests on her lips—she did this on purpose.
“I wouldn’t have attacked you if you hadn’t hidden your face and forced the door open with brute strength.” I reply with clear annoyance—it’s obvious she wanted this kind of reaction.
“Someone like me can’t just show their face to everyone. Even if they can’t sense the difference in power, it’s annoying to be bothered for having a pretty face.” Eisty keeps talking; I just roll my eyes.
“Can you release us?” She looks straight into my eyes. “Please.” I give in quickly. Eisty smiles, and I feel her jurisdiction disappear in an instant, as if nothing had happened. I look at her a couple of times—she truly feels like a normal person. She hides her strength well.
All my friends are a bit shaken; some look at her with fear and respect. They didn’t act because they saw me talking to her—Areci and Brendu also raised their hands to stop them.
“Guys, this is Eisty Gelor—you’ve probably heard of her.” As soon as I introduce her, everyone freezes. I can feel even more tension and respect in all of them.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you all. I’ll memorize each of your faces.” She greets cheerfully. “I was just passing by to congratulate you on reaching the final—it was a splendid match, I enjoyed watching it a lot. Now I have to go, there are important people waiting for me.” She ruffles my hair, turns around, and leaves while closing the door.
“This woman…” Before I can finish my sentence, a chill runs down my spine—I decide to stay quiet for my own good.
Several seconds later, everyone finally reacts. Humyr is the first to speak. “That was… uncomfortable. Meeting someone like Lady Eisty like that wasn’t expected—my brain is still half frozen.” Everyone else nods; the only calm ones are Brendu and Areci.
“She’s one of the people my mother has forbidden me from antagonizing. She’s even a rank above most obsidian ranks. She’s a living legend and carved her place in history at a young age.” Shawu drops onto the sofa.
“Yeah… after all, she wiped out a Count family, defeated several grade 6 monsters, and many more fascinating stories.” Ogine also looks like he’s melting into his seat. “How do you know someone like her, Maki?” Ogine’s question turns all eyes toward me.
“It’s a strange story…” I explain how I met her brother, how Eisty came to visit me with Susan, and the conversation we had. “So now I’m something like her disciple… although it feels more like we’re aunt and nephew.” Our relationship feels strange—she treats me naturally like family, and my instincts tell me it’s fine.
Everyone goes silent. All my friends widen their eyes; some sigh in resignation, others shake their heads in disbelief.
Time passes quickly as we joke about my possible futures. Now it’s our other star’s turn to head into the arena.
“Will we see each other in the final?” I ask Areci, wanting to motivate her through teasing. “Otherwise I’ll have to avenge your defeat.” I wink at my friend.
“Don’t doubt it—I’ll win this match without fail.” She extends her fist, I return the gesture, and we bump fists. Everyone cheers her on as she finally leaves.
Now it’s time to enjoy a great fight—both will go in with the intention to win.