Rising Kite - A story from the world of HWFWM

“You have my most overflowing gratitude, mistress Geller.” Stoic Boar said as he took a seat in the private dining room they had been led to by the serving staff, Phiona and Rachel sitting down opposite him across the table.

Kite was about to sit down next to Rachel when he suddenly felt an aura attempt to spike his, the sudden spiritual hostility coming from the bronze-ranker accompanying Stoic Boar. But while Kite’s aura was nothing out of a competent ordinary in regards to subtlety or suppression, he did have a startlingly good spiritual defense since his tempering in the jade-sky gate. This meant that the attack meant to startle and probably chastise Kite instead slid off, although with the subtlety of someone stumbling after missing a lunge.

Both Gellers’ eyes snapped to the man, who stiffened in embarrassment but decided to press on. “My apologies for the disturbance, mistress Geller. I was merely attempting to have your retainer know his place, as he meant to sit down at your side. Do you want me to remo-”

The man got no further, words catching in his throat as Phiona’s aura lashed out with the spiritual equivalent of a leg sweep, shattering his defenses and keeping him down in a thorough suppression.

“Young master Stoic.” she said, gaze returning to the noble who had been a bit slow on the uptake with the spiritual clash around him. “I find that your choice of retainer reflects poorly on you. This man is my student, and is free to seat himself wherever he would like while in my presence.”

Stoic Boar licked his lips, a nervous tic, before smiling. “A most unfortunate misunderstanding, mistress Geller. And my apologies to you, young man. I did not know that the mistress Geller had taken a student here among our locals. Please sit and eat with us. May I inquire your name?” The man finished, attempting to smooth over the earlier transgression.

In this situation, Kite was glad that he had spent some time with Will, getting some informal training in the decorum of situations such as this. Grateful to not be in the lead, Kite glanced at Phiona who had not voiced any objections as she remained poised and elegant. “Thank you, young master Stoic. I am called Kite Flown in on Winds of Fortune, referred to as Kite.” he said while sitting down. The noble quickly turned his attention back to Phiona and Rachel, but Kite did pick up a lingering interest from his aura as his attention seemingly wanted to shift back.

“While I am not the most well-versed in the customs here, I am a woman who prefers directness. Why have you insisted on this meeting, young master Stoic?”

“Ah, I see. A woman of my own heart.” Stoic Boar lied smoothly. “Then I will indeed get to the point.” At this time, food had been served and the Stoic scion took a bite out of a fried fish with a herb-covered crust before continuing. “I am merely here with an offer, and to present the services of my family. While we may have been beneath your notice so far, I assure you that we are the city’s most prominent producers of equipment for adventurers, be it commissions or serial. It would be unfortunate should you come to judge our city from the wares of more… eccentric providers.”

“Young master Stoic, are you accusing me of having poor judgment?” Phiona asked, not even bothering to hide the trap in her question.

“Why no, of course not, mistress Geller. I just felt an obligation to help you make informed choices. As you seem to be here without retainers, a woman of your standing can’t be expected to investigate every service provider herself.”

“And what makes you think that I am even in the market for new equipment and in need of your services?”

“I- Well, you will have to excuse me, mistress Geller, but an illustrious figure such as you can’t help but be noticed. And rumor had already spread that you had been seen visiting a local crafter of rather ill repute, of course unbeknownst to you.

When I heard of it, I could not help but immediately seek you out. The crafter, Daybreak Peony, she has potential, but can not be expected to eke out even a sliver of that potential without some experienced guidance. My family has generously offered it to her, but alas she remains set in her way.”

“I see. Rumors?”

“Yes, mistress Geller.”

“Then you must have very talkative friends, young master Stoic, as I have only visited that particular crafter once, and that was this very day.”

“Why yes, mistress Geller, I-”

“From what I hear, I must extend my thanks to the young master for your concern, but can assure you that everything is as it should be. I have other business with Daybreak Peony.”

“I see. Business, you say? Has the Geller family taken an interest in her? Then could this not be a fated encounter, mistress Geller? If both of our families have taken note of Daybreak Peony’s potential, then isn’t this the very heavens showing us that further collaboration might be beneficial to us all? If your business-”

“Our business will remain our own, young master Stoic. We thank you for your offer, but I will decline.”

“Mistress Geller, I-”

“Firmly.”

Stoic Boar’s smile remained frozen in place. For the briefest second, one could almost see the gears of his mind working overdrive, eventually deciding to cut his losses.

“I see, mistress Geller. Now was indeed not an agreeable time for such talk. I will make sure to firmly reprimand my retainer for their tardiness in not promptly reporting your indisposition at this time.” He said, rising and bowing politely. “We can hopefully broach this topic another time. I bid you all a pleasant day.”

And with that, the noble and his entourage swiftly left, their food only half-eaten. In the silence that followed, Kite turned to Phiona.

“Once more you show your mastery, teacher. He truly found no way of getting through your defenses.”

“Yeah, Nona is great at acting as the ice princess.” Rachel said, leaning against her cousin. “I can never get it to work, but give me a chance to play airheaded heiress and you will be in for a treat.”

“Still, he was nothing if not persistent. And my defense did not hold all the way, as you may have noted that he still threw out the hook of a potential future meeting. We can probably assume that he means to work us over time.”

“So, what will you do about it?” Kite asked.

“Unless something drastically changes, then nothing. Even a persistent man cannot empty the ocean with a pair of chopsticks.” Phiona answered, seeming confident in her ability to resist such a tactic of attrition

“But there is something that we should do.” Rachel added. “Enjoy the free treats.” As if to make her point, she took another bite of food. “Because this is soooo good.”

“Save me Kite. This investigation is soooooo boooooring~.” Wander said, from where she had almost melted onto the table in theatrical distress.

“Nice to see you too, Wander.” Kite said with a chuckle as he sat down, Braid also joining them. “Is this what was so urgent?”

Kite had been on his way back from the trade pavilion, having picked up some quintessence for Peony, when one of Wander’s rats had happened upon him. Her squealing plea for help had led to her guiding him to the apartment at the Fourth step which she and Braid shared during their stay in the city, restlessness being revealed as the source of said distress.

“Yes~...” the woman moped, looking up after a few seconds with a disappointed look. “There is a damsel in distress here. I do not feel that this is given proper attention~.”

“Some say that a bit of restlessness may help one find one’s direction. Have you tried meditation?” Kite teased, earning himself a pout. “Can you tell me anything about how the investigation is going?”

“Contrary to my companion’s disposition, I would say that it goes well. We have several leads we are pursuing, but all will need proper time and care.” Braid said, giving Wander a chastising look.

“But said time and care mostly have me scurrying around the city, looking and listening at mostly irrelevant things. Kite, you don’t understand how many naked people I’ve seen as I’ve snuck about. People are so naughty when they think that no one is watching~.” Wander complained.

“Is that what is causing your distress? Naked people?”

“No, it is that I have no time to go get some for myself, since I am always scurrying around this damp place and looking at people. And I can’t just swarm in there and ask if there’s room for one more, can I~?”

Both Kite and Braid looked at her in a moment of stunned silence at her outburst, before both had to stifle laughter, a snort escaping Kite before he could help himself. This earned him a withering look from Wander.

“What’s so funny? Just because you can gallivant around and do what, or who, you want doesn’t mean that some of us diligent and hard-working adventurers can’t long for that too~.”

“Sorry, sorry.” Kite said, holding his hands up in placation. “It is quite alright to have wants and needs. But I must object to the notion of that being how my days are being spent?”

“They aren’t? Then why are you always going about with beautiful women these days? And you were surely out on a date with that normal ranker last week.” Wander accused.

“Wha- How- you saw me and Brook?” Kite spluttered, blindsided by the notion that they would have had an audience.

“Well, as I said, I do nothing but scurry about this city. And your awkward sweetness was like a beacon on a misty morning. But come on, what are you, fifteen? You both sure were blushing like it~.”

“I, well, its a bit of a story…”

“Please! Anything to distract me~.” the woman pleaded, but Kite could also note a dangerous glint of curiosity in her eyes.

And so, Kite spent a while with his two colleagues, relating the story of adolescent love and their unexpected reunion.

“- so we are just in the early stages of figuring it out. I’m meeting her again tomorrow.” Kite finished.

“Aaaww, that’s so sweet~.” Wander almost squealed, making Kite think that her and Rachel might get along splendidly. “So the other one’s you have been seen with are the Gellers and that crafter? And you are sure that there is nothing there? They are all quite pretty. That red-haired one? Just… Yum~!”

“I am quite sure. You do know that it is possible for people to be around one another without lusting for each other, right?” Kite asked dryly, an eyebrow raised.

“Not from what I have seen around this city, let me tell you that~.” Wander retorted, and was about to continue when Braid broke in. He had returned to work a bit into Wander questioning Kite of his love life, but now slapped a paper down on the table.

“Sorry Wander, but it is time to get back to it. I may have found another nexus of threads here.” he said, pointing to the document and corresponding map of the city.

“What? But Braiiid~!” the woman protested, but still took the document and began scanning through it, several rats separating from her body to perch on her shoulders and read simultaneously. The process was startlingly quick, and Kite assumed that her myriad nature helped her process the information, and she soon handed back the papers. “Heaven’s be damned, I guess that you are right~.” she muttered. “If this is what you think it is, we might call upon you soon Kite. So please stay around the city for a few days, okay?”

Kite nodded. “I will mostly be training with Teacher this week, so feel free to find me if the need arises.”

“And the date is tomorrow!” Wander added. “Rest assured that I will be following your every step~.”

“Please don’t.” Kite pleaded.

“Oh sorry I didn’t catch that got to run important adventurer business very urgent byeeeee~.” was all that could be heard from the woman, her separation into her swarm state causing the words to gradually transition to a squeak as the swarm of rats flowed out the doors and windows.

“Kite, is everything alright? I get the feeling that you are watching for something.” Brook asked, as they were walking side by side in one of the few public parks that sprawled along one of the boulevards. Space inside the city remained at a premium, which meant that it was not very sizable but at least well maintained, the statues common to the city even more prominently on display.

“Sorry, I don’t mean to be distracted. It’s just something a colleague said to me, nothing of import.” he replied. “But I must admit that I am rather good at keeping watch these days due to my perception power. Having a complete circular field of view does help.”

“What? How- how does that even work?” Brook asked, his statement apparently awakening the budding scholar in her.

What followed was a series of different tests, with everything from Brook holding up varying amounts of fingers, positioning herself in different places and even throwing pieces of gravel at him to see if he could react. The almost childish testing was thoroughly enjoyable, Brook even giggling at times when she threw rocks at her childhood companion.

But their fun did come to an end when the weather decided to act against them. It began as a light rain, but the winds soon picked up along with the increasing downpour. At first, Brooks' umbrella had kept her dry enough but Kite noted that it would not remain so for long.

“Come, step close.” he said, reaching out to lay an arm around her shoulders and gently guide her up against his side. While the enchantments of Kite’s hat were meant to shield one person from the elements, one could fit two people in there as long as they accepted the close proximity.

Even as the winter squall had started in full force, there was a cylinder of calm where the pair now stood, Kite only belatedly realizing that he had acted without asking first.

“Sorry.” he said, looking down at his furiously blushing companion with some chagrin. “I didn’t even ask first. Are- is this acceptable?”

“I- It…” she began, but managed to collect herself. “It is fine. Thank you, Kite. It was sudden but… After all, we have been a lot closer than this in the past already.” Kite couldn’t help but peek a bit into her aura, and seeing that her surface feelings matched her statement he withdrew before delving deeper. But it did not take supernatural senses to glean that she was probably as confused as he was.

“Still, it is quite a wonderful hat. And so pretty.” she said, looking up at the painted inside.

“It is indeed.” Kite agreed. “It was a gift from uncle Walker before I left. That man has truly always taken care of me.”

“I remember being a bit scared of him at first, when I was still a child. But you are right, there was always a kindness in him. One that I think you helped to bring out.”

As the rain showed no signs of letting up, they spent some time slowly walking about the park, now empty of people as most sane citizens had already fled to shelter as the rain almost fell sideways and the trees and bushes bent at an almost constant angle. While they talked, they took some time to look at the different statues and their maker.

“I like this one.” Kite said, looking at a rather abstract creation of reddish stone. “It feels like a blade in its sheath, but kept ready to be drawn in the defense of others.”

“I… I think it is one of the young master Relentless’ works.” Brook said, leaning forward slightly to look at the plaque.

“I think I have heard of him. Do people talk about him a lot?” Kite asked, remembering the name from overheard conversations.

“Oh yes, he is quite famous here. One of those people most either love or want to be. Apparently he does a lot of work killing monsters in the region, more than anyone else. And he is nice to people too. They say that it is almost assured that he will be the one to represent the city in the upcoming Grand Proving.”

“Grand Proving? What is that?” Kite said. He may have heard the term before, but only in passing.

“Oh right, Gilded isn’t populous enough to have representatives there.” Brook said, before explaining. “The Grand Proving is one the biggest tournaments in the kingdom, and only a few chosen silver rankers from each city deemed prominent enough may enter. Apparently there are duels involved, but the most prestigious part is fighting against waves of monsters. It is held in the mirage arena of Heavenward, and the results of the chosen competitors can have real and lasting impacts on the whole city for decades to come.”

“And this young master is one of those who will be competing?”

“Probably, at least according to what people think. Bastion isn’t prominent enough to send more than one competitor. The young master of the Relentless family is only bronze rank right now, but no one doubts that he will reached well into silver in the eight years remaining until the tournament.”

“Then I can see why he is so respected, if he is the hope of the city.” Kite noted.

“Indeed. But the history of the Grand Proving is even more interesting. Did you know that it was the Queen of Jade and Sky who made the decree of its creation?” Brook asked, proceeding to enthusiastically tell Kite of the history of this grand event, apparently laid down by the same diamond-ranker who had created the jade-sky gates and their trials, apparently very keen on having her people temper themselves.

Having spent the afternoon in each other’s company, they found themselves close to the city gates as it was time for Brook to return home. “I should probably go now, before the rain returns.” she said, looking toward the road leading out of the city, which was fortunately tiled to save her from walking through the mud. “But I also promised to invite you to come visit us next sixthday. My family has been clamoring to meet you again.”

“That sounds lovely. I will be there.” Kite said.

“Thank you, for the company today.” she said, and they were left standing a bit awkwardly in front of each other. Fortunately, both seemed to reach the same decision as they simultaneously leaned in for a quick embrace before Brook turned to go, waving back at him from the road.

Kite looked after her, feeling quite happy with how the afternoon had progressed even though there were still jumbles of confused feelings left within.

“I guess figuring things out will indeed need its proper time.” he said to Glint who hovered next to him, before turning back towards the city.

“Soooo? How did it go? A woman needs details, Kite. Details!~” Wander squeaked from where one of her bodies sat perched on his shoulder, easily keeping her balance as he was fending off a trio of foes.

“Is this really the time?` Kite asked, using a conjured barrier to fend off the one of the two bronze-ranked opponents, a pair of women with a rather dangerous look, deflecting a swung axe with his staff and the lone iron-ranker’s heavy mace with the sheath of his sword. A kick sent the axe-wielding bronze-ranker stumbling back while Kite locked the sheath in place and drew the curved blade.

In the cramped warehouse where they were currently fighting, there wasn’t enough distance to his target for Kite to really need to use his intent, but he still employed it as it meant that the slash would connect just a split moment earlier than expected, making it an excellent tool for feinting. However, in this particular strike even that feint was unnecessary as Kite was clearly more skilled and of higher rank than the iron-ranked lowlife who had made the questionable choice of joining in this particular attempted ambush. The rippling slash dug into the man’s thigh, the rending force detonating an instant later and severing the leg in a spray of blood and torn muscle.

Trusting that said iron-ranker would not get up from that, Kite could return his focus to the two women; the axe-wielder and her companion. As the other woman’s head had transformed into that of a shark when combat began, it was not hard to guess at least one of her essences. Both looked to be foreigners, and from their core-laced vicious auras and brutal style of fighting, Kite suspected that these were people who had lived and operated on the rougher side of civilization.

Around them, the big warehouse down at the First step was laden with crates and barrels stored in stacks or on shelves, although some parts had collapsed as another of the ambushers was using his essence powers to send wooden splinters into the swarm of rats flowing over and around him, while Braid took this opportunity to create ritual circles with his threads before channeling lightning through them to stun and incapacitate some of their weaker ambushers.

This evening had not gone entirely as planned for the three adventurers. What led them there had been a series of leads indicating some kind of meeting in this warehouse between several mercantile parties. As it had been time sensitive once Braid had made the connection, the three had gone ahead to scout it out after sending word to the branch director. What had awaited them had not been a clandestine meeting but an ambush with four bronze-rankers and a handful more iron laying in wait, masked by crude but decently effective aura concealing formations.

Wander’s stealthiness and keen nose had warned them, and they had decided to see if they could flip the trap on their would-be ambushers and see what came falling out.

“A more pertinent question; did you catch the trail of the person who left as we did our little entrance?” Kite asked as he used another barrier to deflect a thrown hatchet while the shark-lady came charging towards him. Instead of meeting her head on, Kite decided to reshape the battlefield a little.

His part of the fight was currently taking place between rows of huge, crate-laden shelves, leaving little room for dodging beyond smaller motions and backstep. That was why his opponent seemed quite surprised as Kite threw himself to the right as she came charging. At iron-rank, Kite had been very hard to pin down and restrain. Since its ascension to bronze, that ability had also made him a lot harder to contain. Even though his motion wasn’t overly forceful, his momentum still carried him straight through the closest crate and the shelf it stood on, the normal rank material splintering into hails of fragments upon contact.

Through the newly made hole in the ‘wall’ that was the shelf, he saw the shark-lady move past, unable to halt her charge. The ax-wielder was hot at her companion’s heels, skidding to a halt and turning in through the hole in pursuit, just as Kite’s impromptu plan had foreseen. In response, he chanted a short spell.

“Wall.”

The corridor between the shelves where Kite had been just moments before was suddenly encased in a box of force, its walls following the shelves. This left the shark-woman trapped inside his barrier-cage, while the axe-wielder suddenly found herself with a wall against her back and huge crates close to either side. And in front, Kite had just conjured his spear, the weapon whistling softly as it moved through the air in a flurry of thrusts.

While the flurry wasn’t the most decisive of attacks, and each attack too light to inflict lethal damage, it was still one of the techniques that Will had drilled into Kite.

“Showing your foe a storm of strikes might leave them reeling and reacting, caught trying to defend against the winds rather than thinking clearly and seeing the folly of their actions.”

His friend’s words proved their truth in that moment, as the woman’s lack of formal training became evident. She was pressed back against the force wall, frantically attempting to block Kite’s rapid attacks, a task made rather awkward by the close confines. Kite got several decent jabs in before her mind seemed to bring her instincts into check, roaring as she swung her hatchet in powerful, wide arcs.

Through his magical perception, Kite saw the special attack channeled through the weapon and how it easily tore through the crate to her right, and a quick flick of his weapon had the spear shaft connect with her weapon briefly. The sound of an ephemeral mirror cracking rang out, the attack dissipating as more mana was forcibly drained from her. Not prepared for the sudden cancellation of her special attack, her wild swing continued. But instead of tearing through the other box like a knife through tissue paper, the axe only crashed through the surface before losing its momentum and lodging its head inside.

She made to pull her weapon free, but Kite let his spear vanish and instead brought out his staff, taking a step forward as he once more thrust towards her chest. The blunt force of the powerful weapon sent her staggering backwards, draining more mana through his special attack and making her loose the grip on her weapon as she was once more driven back against the barrier wall behind her, the prolonged contact meaning that even more mana was rapidly being drained from her as the pace only increased.

As she now stood without a weapon, the following relentless assault Kite delivered would have done mistress Dew proud. Without her axe she seemed robbed of many of her offensive options, and the conjured walls and barriers of coral didn’t hinder Kite for long. He changed between spear and staff, constantly jabbing and battering his foe until she finally collapsed, bleeding profusely from many wounds but mostly being almost drained of mana as the ramping drain from contact with the barrier and the flurries of mana-draining special attacks took their toll.

Kite held back any killing blows, as prisoners and answers were a most important commodity for his colleagues, and instead turned to the shark-headed woman still stuck in between his barriers. He had been a bit surprised that she had not broken out earlier, but had caught a glimpse of her struggles which made him say a silent prayer of thanks to Fortune.

As it turned out, almost all of the woman’s offensive options seemed to stem from her powerful bite attacks, having attempted a few mean-looking special attacks earlier. And as it also turned out, it was quite hard for jaws to find any purchase on a flat wall of force. This had left her pummeling away with her own strength and the occasional bashing swipe of a conjured shark’s tail, a far less effective path to freedom.

Employing his evolved essence gift to send a stream of mana to the barrier she was pounding away at, he was rewarded with a frustrated roar as the cracks she had been able to inflict started vanishing. Seeing as he had the woman surprisingly well contained, Kite turned back to Wander’s body still perched on his shoulder.

“How is it looking for you two?”

“Oh, it’s fine~.” she squeaked. “I am draining quite a lot of my target’s blood at the moment, so his struggles will soon cease. And Braid has just finished off his one bronze-ranker and has the three irons all tangled up. He should be here any second now~.”

Kite nodded but couldn’t suppress a little shiver at Wander’s casual description of draining blood from her opponent, imagining being swarmed over by blood-sucking magical rats. He now knew that she indeed had the blood, rat and myriad essences for the swarm confluence, her draining attacks helping replenish lost rats from her swarm form.

Meanwhile, the trapped woman had backed off from the force wall, pacing back and forth a bit before walking up to stand before Kite, the almost translucent barrier not doing much to obscure her toothy shark’s grin.

“Hey, pretty boy. You better let me out of here. I’ve got friends. Nasty friends. Friends who will come looking should I disappear.”

Kite regarded her for a bit while idly using one foot to push the downed axe wielder back into contact with the mana draining force wall as the woman had stirred slightly.

“I see. Then may I inquire where said friends are at the moment?”

“Oh, they usually haven’t got time for small fry like you, but mess with me and they will make time.”

“Ah, I see.” he nodded, keeping his tone pleasant. “You will have to forgive me, but I will have to take that risk. Nothing personal.”

“Listen you-” she began, but seemed to reign herself in. “But wouldn’t such a pretty boy like you be open to cutting a deal instead? What do you want? Coin? Drugs? Restricted stuff? Or maybe something more… physical?”

Seeing a woman with a shark’s head trying to strike a sensual pose was not what Kite had expected to see that day.

“Thank you for the offer, but my stance remains firm. But I can give you a counteroffer.”

“Oh?”

“Let us collar you and come nice and quietly, and I will make sure that you are not partially devoured by a swarm of blood drinking rats.”

“Wha- what kind of-” she began, but froze as her dead-looking shark’s eyes seemed to take in her surroundings. Wander had apparently finished her first opponent, and had moved in for some intimidatory support. All around the force-caged corridor were rats. They had spread out over the shelves, crates and barrels and was looking down at the woman with an unnerving intensity. Kite wondered if it was just a trick of the light, or if Wander could actually have her eyes glow red.

A few minutes later, the shark woman, now having turned back to normal, was led out along with the barely conscious axe-wielder, one of the other bronze-rankers and about half of the iron-rankers. All were bound together by Braid’s threads, the blue glow faintly illuminating the thugs in various states of bedragglement and injury.

“Then we just have to wait for reinforcements to better contain these ones when we move from the city.” Braid said, turning to his companions. “I believe that Kite and I should suffice for the task, Wander, as I believe that you may have other things to keep you occupied.”

“Mhmm~.” she squeaked happily in assent. “Take care of the bad guys for me~.” The rest of her bodies then scurried off into the night.

A rather boring wait followed, Kite and Braid idly talking while their prisoners remained seated against the warehouse wall. One of the bronze-rankers once tried ripping through the threads to escape, but got a hasty demonstration of Braid’s powers as said threads could become very sharp should the man wish for them to. The constant hustling of the First step could be heard from between the buildings surrounding them, the harbor never resting, but the owner of the warehouse which had been their target was not affluent enough to afford waterfront property.

About half an hour later, a cadre of adventurers arrived, led by Azure Devil.

“Well, it seems like I missed all of the fun and excitement.” the elf bemoaned, idly scratching the scars on his shaved head. “And here I thought that you liked me, Braid.”

“Sorry, Azure. It was time sensitive, and turned out to be a trap. But that in itself is a valuable piece of information, although one best left for a location with more privacy.” Braid answered.

“Still, it’s rare to see so many prisoners as combat easily gets out of hand. Is this your doing as well, Braid?”

“Only in part. Kite’s talents are rather versatile in that regard as well. Between the two of us, we could keep enough of them alive for questioning.”

“Huh, I see.” Azure said, turning to Kite. “So you’re the reason that these scum are so compliant? Mana drain?”

“Indeed.” Kite said, gesturing with his head towards the twin vortices that he still kept active, applying a constant mana drain to the bound bandits which left them all groggy and disoriented, although he had to stop at times to avoid them falling completely unconscious.

“Then I imagine that you will be quite sought after by the adventure society, especially if you reach silver. They are always on the lookout for those adept at bringing rogue elements in for questioning. And the society is quite generous towards those who keep its interests in mind.” the elf said with a grin.

“Thank you, senior, I will keep that in mind.” Kite said with a polite bow.

“Only looking after my juniors. Us outcasts got to show some solidarity.” Azure replied magnanimously. “But let’s bring these ones in. I’m sure that the director will be most pleased.”

“Then you can take your leave if you’d like, Kite. I imagine that you cannot just forego sleep entirely, given your training schedule. We will contact you again as soon as we know more.” Braid said, Kite wincing slightly as he was reminded of the rather strenuous morning which awaited him.

“Well, they say that the path towards the heavens is forged through adversity. I will just have to pray for that to be true.”