End Online: Volume 4 (24 page)

Fen stumbles back a few steps but immediately stamps her foot on
the ground and causes innumerable ice spears to explode from the ground like a
blooming flower. The attack only damages the sister slightly, but I am relieved
that it causes her to retreat.

"That's quite the partner you have there. Make sure you
hold onto her, she's strong!" AmberMoon exclaims in admiration of Fen, who
despite being slightly distracted still has lightning reflexes and consistent
judgement.

The busty girl starts swinging her cris at me and I immediately
move out of the sword's line of sight from fear of what happened last time. As
expected, clear white blades of light fly from the sword at an astonishing
speed and in a direct line from where it was swung. I barely manage to avoid
each one which almost seems to anticipate where I will be rather than where I
just was.

Starting to feel oppressed, I decide to take the initiative and
attack. I use 'Backstab' and appear behind her. Rather than attacking her
directly, I bring my knees together and crouch down, poised to attack at any
moment. AmberMoon immediately spins around with her sword in front.
Fortunately, it passes directly over me as I am already low to the ground.
Surprise blossoms on her face as I spear my body up and slash both of my swords
with a speed she has no hope of avoiding.

I deal a large amount of damage to her in the attack but far
from enough to put her at a disadvantage. With a grunt of effort, I jump three
meters into the air and somersault over her, hoping to attack again from a
blind spot before she can recover. I am not fast enough, however, as she
corrects her posture and brings her shield around to block my attack and push
me back at the same time. I am once again at a loss as to how she can locate me
when all she should be able to see is my afterimage.

"You must be curious," She says with a sly grin,
"just how can I see you. I have a skill of the 'unique' rarity that allows
me to detect disturbance in the air. It is supposed to help me detect arrows
and surprise attacks, but it is extremely effective against you."

I curse my luck. It isn't that the skill is overpowered, it is
simply the perfect counter for my ‘White Warrior' class skill.

"You should probably be more concerned about your partner
though," AmberMoon says while giggling.

I glance at Fen's companion status in my vision and see her
health is alarmingly low. My heart rate doubles and I immediately turn around
to look at her. AmberMoon's sister is quite damaged and low on health, but
still managing to avoid Fen's ice assault and attack with a sacred art that
turns her sword into a black whip made of smoke-like tendrils. The attack cuts
through any ice wall and wraps around to cut Fen across her shoulder.

"Fen! Retreat, now!" I shout out to my companion and
dash over toward where she is.

Fen glances at me and I see the stubbornness on her face. I
don't have time to fight against her will so I attempt to pick her up and drop
her off the edge of the ring. Before I get the chance to, that whip-like object
obstructs my path and even manages to strike one of my legs.

"Y-you have the same skill!" I call out to the sister,
dumbstruck.

"But of course! We did acquire it together!" She
happily chimes out back toward me.

The situation turns grim and I fear losing Fen if I am not
careful.

"Fen, back away!" I call out and charge toward the
sister.

The wolf girl tightens her expression but still backs away from
the enemy. At the same time, AmberMoon appears next to her sister and they
confront me together.

I don't even try to use my dire flame. I know from my previous
exchanges with these two women that they would easily dodge my spell, so that
is a waste of time that I cannot afford.

Doubt swirls in my heart, but I know I cannot afford to lose
right now. If I do, Fen is sure to follow me to the grave and I will lose her
as a companion forever. Weighing the risks and rewards, I steel my resolve.

I activate 'Perceptual Sight' and everything around me slows to
a fraction of what it was before. At the same time, my head starts throbbing
with the familiar migraine I get from activating this skill. I tried using it
in an earlier round with my hood up and my speed diminished, but it still gave
me the exact same headache.

'This isn't right, this sacred art is even more powerful than
before! But I haven't trained it since then!'
I ponder at an accelerated speed. Each thought stabs like a
shout in my skull as a result.

The movements of the sisters seem to slow in front of me. Each
of AmberMoon’s footsteps, which seemed so profound earlier, now look like she’s
carefully placing her foot down. The black, tendril-like smoke whip also gently
glides through the air toward me.

My speed doesn't increase in this state, but my reaction speed
is exponentially higher and I can utilize my speed to impossible limits. I
easily duck under the whip, then make several quick steps to avoid AmberMoon’s
assault. Even the sword energies released from her blade are simple to evade.

The noise of the crowd is like a slow drone in my ears, but I
cannot let that distract me. It takes my full concentration to suppress the
growing pain in my head as I slash my blades at the sisters multiple times.

All everybody else sees is me become a blur, reacting to every
attack like I already knew it was coming. I pass through the sisters in the
space of seconds, leaving behind a pattern of sword slashes on each one like
fractured glass.

Both AmberMoon and her sister have looks of utter astonishment
as their health almost instantly hits zero, and they fall to the ground
together in a heap.

I cancel the sacred art and drop to one knee, my hands on my
head as if it will abate my headache. My ears start ringing and even the noise
of the spectators shouting out their excitement is blocked. I vaguely sense
someone holding me from behind, but even my sense of touch is overwhelmed by
this pain.

Gradually, the headache does dull down, but unlike the last few
times, it doesn't completely disappear.

'Urgh, is it because I used the sacred art for a longer period
of time?'

"-ampion, please rise." A deep voice resounds in my
ears as the ringing fades away.

I look up and see a man as large as a bear standing above me. He
has rugged blonde hair that extends past his shoulders and a face of
determination forged from countless battles. He wears a large golden chestplate
with countless silver inlays over his violet robes.

I hurriedly stand up in front of him and still feel oppressed by
his dominating presence. He is easily two and a half meters tall and I need to
tilt my head up just to look him in the eye. I also notice that Fen is standing
right behind me, staring at this man with wariness. I am confused about the
look she is giving him, but this bear-like man starts talking and distracts me
from my thoughts.

"Champion, I am Emperor Renault Gaiden. You have faced many
challenges in this tournament, yet have prevailed over them all."

"Your eminence." I bow to the emperor, caught up in
his atmosphere.

"I am here to grant you your rewards; receive them with
pride. I hope that you will return to participate in the next tournament!"

The emperor hands me a money pouch and a strange stone tablet
before turning around and walking off the stage. Only now do I realize that the
entire crowd has gone silent, staring at me with curiosity and wariness. I can
only imagine what someone ignoring the approaching emperor must look like.

I open the money pouch and inspect the contents, there are
indeed 100 platinum coins in there. Each is equivalent to a hundred gold,
making the value of these coins 10,000 gold. Putting the money pouch on my belt
next to my other one, I inspect the strange stone tablet.

The tablet has all kinds of pictorial symbols carved into one
side of it like an ancient language, but whatever language it is, is completely
unknown to me. Not even after inspecting the tablet does any knowledge surface.

I place it in my inventory and walk off the stage with Fen. As
we leave, the crowd comes back to life and their shouts fill the arena behind
us.

"Fen, we need to go find Grael. You don't know where he is,
do you?"

"No... I do not."

I get excited, wondering what rewards Grael will give me if I
pass this tablet onto him.

We leave the colosseum and start heading toward the ‘Honey Tree
Inn’, where our party has been gathering since coming to Swordbreak. After
barely even crossing a quarter of the distance to the inn, however, two hands
viciously snake out of a small alley and pull us both in.

"G-Grael!" I stammer in surprise at the man in front
of me.

"Did you get it?" He asks, looming over me.

"I-I did."

I hurriedly withdraw the stone tablet from my inventory and
present it to him. Grael snatches it out of my hands like lightning and
concentrates his attention onto the pictorial carvings.

'Can he decipher this tablet?'
I wonder to myself, growing more and more curious about the
tablet and the strange symbols carved into it.

Graels expression suddenly lights up, a mixture of surprise and
pleasure.

"Hahaha!" He booms out in laughter, "Yes! This is
it! What good fortune I have."

"Grael, about the tablet. I got it for you... Do I get
something as well?"

The expression of the dragon in human form suddenly hardens and
turns ice cold as he turns his attention toward me.

"Why would a worm deserve a reward?! Hmph, you already
received a new weapon and also have been granted some of my power. That will be
your reward."

My heart sinks into a bitter helplessness. I did indeed receive
those things from him, but I still expected something more.

"There are six more tablets just like this," Grael
suddenly says with a glare. "If you can bring them to me, I will give you
a reward."

"T-there are more?"

"Did you not hear what I just said? There are more, and you
can get them for me."

What he says is hardly a request and sounds more like a demand
to me. But if I do come across another one of these tablets, perhaps I can get
another divine reward. It is an opportunity that would make me lose sleep if I
turn it down now and regret it later.

"I will do my best. But, where are they?"

"That is for you to find out! But I suspect they are spread
out over the other continents."

"O-other c-continents?!"

"Yes, so travel to these other continents and find
them!" He starts to walk away before turning and saying one more thing.
"If you ever get a 'Compact Soul Gem', bring it to my home. As for you,
wolf girl, do not forget what I taught you. If you do as I instructed, you will
continue to get stronger."

I stand there confused as he disappears into the crowd of
players. The moment he does so, a message appears in front of me.

I close the message and glance between Fen and where Grael
vanished, trying to comprehend all the new information.

'More tablets? A 'Legendary' quest that is locked? Other
continents? Fen following Graels instructions? Bring him a 'Compact Soul Gem'?
It is too much! I don't know where to begin.'

I stand in the alley with my head reeling when I receive a
message from Mason, telling me to hurry over to the Honey Tree Inn. Gathering
my thoughts together with my mind still full of questions, I rush over toward
the inn with Fen.

***************************************************

"Lost! It took you long enough!" Mason calls out as I
enter the inn, causing everyone in the room to look at me.

How could my name possibly not be known throughout Swordbreak?
As soon as I become the center of attention, all the players and even some of
the NPC's burst out in applause, wolf whistles, and congratulatory comments for
becoming the champion of the latest tournament. Many people start buying me
drinks as well.

I shrug my way through the crowd, dragging Fen by the hand, and
arrive at the table with the rest of the party.

"Look at all the excitement. I suspect everyone here will
be drinking for the next few days by the looks of it," I say with a
chortle as soon as I sit down.

"A lot has happened," Mason bobs his head while
smiling.