Cling!
Clang! Cling!
Swoosh!
The fight was going on a lot longer than Rey hoped.
But, as much as he would like to end it immediately, he had a good reason not to.
He didn't want to look so experienced. He didn't want to stand out very much. It would make people want to recruit him and he wasn't looking to join a party. He also didn't want to catch the eyes of possible important, high-standing humans or be the center of rumors. So, he decided to be on the defense for a while.
He thought that'll make people believe that he was having a hard time.
Obviously.
That didn't work.
To the audience, it was already clear who would win this match. In their eyes, Rey looked like he was just playing around with a toy, amusing it. And not really having a lot of fun while doing it too.
The crowd was silent as they watched. Some even left the building, finding it too boring of a match. Others left to spread rumors.
It's been ten minutes.
Within these ten minutes, Simon was fusing with rage, rage that seem to keep rising as the seconds go by.
'Why?' Simon snarled as he swung his sword, 'Why?!'
Rey dodged once more, his movements as silent as a feather in the wind.
'Come on!' Simon gruff. He made a swift turn and another swing, only to be met with nothing at all.
'Aargh!'
It was frustrating.
Simon had used every attack he possess, yet this hooded guy continuously and successfully blocked each strike. Then even when there was an opening for this guy to attack, he didn't. Instead, he waited for him to make the first move.
It was infuriating.
He was being played around like some toy.
"Come on!" Simon yelled, "Attack or something!"
Rey glanced around the room, seeing how at least half the audience was gone now.
'I guess this is enough,'
With a twist of his sword and a strong swing through the air, a gust of wind blasted forward, shooting straight for Simon. Simon raised his saber to block, but the strength of the wind caused his arms to go flying up instead. And in a flash, Rey was right before his eyes. Simon's sword was knocked out of his hand and he was pushed backward. Then, in another quick move, Rey struck him with the hilt of his sword.
Thunk!
With eyes rolling to the back of his head, Simon dropped to the ground.
And just like that, the match was finished.
Rey had won.
There were no sounds of cheers, just whispers, and mutters lost in the steps of the dispersing crowd. No one even bothered to pick up Simon from the ground he lay on. In fact, they went to take away his Adventurer's Pass instead.
'Boring,' Rey thought as he threw his sword back into his inventory.
"Come to the front desk," the referee said as she began putting all the chairs and tables back in place.
Rey nodded, but before heading to the front desk, he made his way back to Leon first.
'He's probably already asleep-'
"-Rey!" a voice echoed through the building.
Rey stood frozen in place, mouth agape and eyebrows high.
Everything around him seems to blur and fade to white. The little crowd disappeared in the background and the noise muffled under silence.
Rey pursed his lips.
From a distance, he could see a familiar silhouette. Its hands waved high in the air with the widest grin on its face. Bright eyes glittering in the light. The locks of blond hair flowed in the wind. He could even hear a loud cheer echoing through the walls of the building, routing for him.
It was a familiar scene.
A warm, happy scene.
One that he took for granted.
"Le-"
And in a glimpse of an eye, everything was gone.
That warm, fuzzy feeling was now replaced with the winter cold. The head held high was now down and sound asleep on the hard, wooden table. The voice he heard was nothing more than just an imagination, a mere memory. Something that was once always there.
Rey took in a shaky breath.
Step.
Step.
Step.
He walked until he stood in front of Leon.
"I won, Leon," He whispered as he ruffled Leon's hair, "I won,"
He waited.
He waited for just a few seconds, hoping to hear that voice that he once heard before. Hoping that it wasn't just a mere imagination. That Leon was truly there, cheering for him like he's always done. No matter what the circumstances were.
"Leon," he called once more.
Leon made no movement, dead to the voice calling to him. Yet, Rey still waited for just another few seconds.
And as expected, there was nothing.
He took a deep sigh, then pulled Leon onto his back and began making his way to the front desk.
"Just sign here and here,"
Rey did as told, and in just a few minutes, he received his Adventurer's Pass.
Making money and traveling around will finally be a bit easier now.
He then walked out of the building, not caring for the stares that people sent him. They even made a pathway to let him through.
While Rey didn't think anything of it, still believing that his 'act' was enough to keep him out of trouble, rumors have already begun to spread.
The saying of a new and mysterious adventurer who made a bet and won against an A-class swordsman.
Left behind in the previous arena, Simon had stood up with a little stagger. People laughed and teased him, but he didn't care. His eyes were full of malice as he went to pick up his saber.
'How dare you make fun of me?!'
And just like that, Rey achieved his first enemy in a new land.
Leon would find this situation quite believable, as everywhere the protagonist goes, trouble will always follow. It didn't matter how much the protagonist may try to avoid it, they were bound to get it somehow, no matter how small. Leon had accepted this fact for ten years, that this is how it must be. That this is how fate made it to be. That the protagonist has no choice, but to follow this path.
As much as it is unfortunate for Rey, to Leon, this was nothing more than just a make-believe world. Hence, Leon was able to stand on the side and simply act for the sake of returning home.
Ten years, Leon had watched the protagonist struggle. And as much as Leon had pitied him, that sympathy was not enough to interfere with the story. There was absolutely no way he was going to risk his life for mere character's happiness when he hasn't even obtained his own.
Thus, he let the protagonist's one true love die.
He let the capture of the protagonist be sold in the black market.
He let the protagonist suffer torture in slavery.
He let the protagonist lose many things in life, but they were things the protagonist was fated to lose anyway. Leon wasn't going to fight it, he just needed to do his part. Nothing more, nothing less.
As Rey walked the roads of this city with Leon sleeping on his back, he realized that they haven't eaten anything all day.
He was planning to just go back to the inn and let Leon rest, but now, he felt so hungry. And if he was hungry, that meant Leon was hungry. So now, he must go find food.
Luckily, there were many fine restaurants on this path.
He was just going to follow his nose and let his stomach choose. That was until the head resting on his shoulder suddenly lifted.
"Ah, you're awake," Rey set Leon down to walk on his own, "Good, let's find something to eat,"
Rey smelt something good from a restaurant ahead and was planning to go there to eat, but when he grabbed Leon's wrist and was going to pull him along, Leon didn't follow. Instead, Rey had to stop him from falling forward from the pull.
Rey began frantically checking to see if there was something wrong, "Are you okay? Did something happen? Leon?"
Leon was quiet, but his head was turned to the side, his eyes glued to something else.
"Leon?"
Rey continued to carefully look over Leon, but after realizing that there was really nothing wrong, he gave a sigh of relief.
He was just about to pull him along again but stopped when he saw the tiniest glint in Leon's eyes.
"Leon?"
Rey immediately took a closer look, hoping his eyes weren't deceiving him.
"Leon," Rey could almost break into a smile but saw that that small glint was quickly fading away.
Rey could feel himself panic, unsure of what to do. It was the first sign of life that Rey had seen in days and he didn't know how to keep it that way. Didn't know what he was supposed to do. He just kept chanting Leon's name.
"Leon, Leon, Leon-"
He hoped that there was a chance that sign of life, that tiny glint in his eyes, would come back.
It didn't.
Rey could tell.
Leon's eyes were once again dull, full of nothing.
"Leon," Rey said for one last time, calmer this time, his head leaning against Leon's shoulder.
His hopes were crushed once more.
And this time, it wasn't a mere imagination.
Or was it?
Maybe he really was going crazy.
He stayed in that position for a couple minutes, not caring for the stares that people were sending him. He needed to recuperate.
'It's fine,' he told himself, 'Leon is still alive. Leon is still breathing, there'll be other chances. Leon will come back. Leon is still here-'
"-Um,"
Rey glared at the stranger interrupting his healing time.
"U-uh, it's just . . . " the stranger pointed at a faraway stall, "I think . . . he wants at that,"
Rey furrowed his eyebrows in confusion and turned his head to look at where the finger was pointing at.
Then he looked at Leon.
Leon's eyes were still dim, but they were gazing at where that stall was located.
The stranger fumbled around before handing money in Rey's hand, "Here, I know it's not much, but please help yourselves,"
Then, the stranger quickly ran away.
" . . . "
Rey twitched, 'DO I LOOK LIKE A BEGGAR?!"
After calming himself down, he then led Leon to the stall.
The stall was nothing more than a small food cart selling the greasiest-looking bread he's ever seen. It wasn't even a full baguette, but a fourth of it. In fact, that fourth was cut in half so you didn't even get to eat the entire thing. It was then toasted and smothered in some sort red looking sauce and the stickiest-looking cheese. And then topped off with more cheese and more sauce and whatever stuff the cook was putting on there.
In the end, all Rey saw was a greasy piece of bread that shouldn't be eaten by any living being.
"Welcome!" the cook happily greeted, "Looking to try a slice of my Tomato Cheese Bread?!"
Rey stared skeptically at the food, not sure if he should be feeding Leon this. But looking at Leon, he remembered what that stranger had said. And now that they were up close to the stall, he could definitely see that Leon had been staring at this bread.
With a deep sigh, Rey reluctantly bought a slice of the Tomato Cheese Bread.
"Thank you for your purchase!"
They went to go sit at a nearby bench.
Rey stared at the bread, still unsure if he should feed Leon this.
'I might as well take the first bite,'
Crunch.
And just like he thought, it was greasy bread.
There is no way he's feeding this to Leon!
Just then, large teardrops began to fall from Leon's eyes.
Cling!
Clang! Cling!
Swoosh!
The fight was going on a lot longer than Rey hoped.
But, as much as he would like to end it immediately, he had a good reason not to.
He didn't want to look so experienced. He didn't want to stand out very much. It would make people want to recruit him and he wasn't looking to join a party. He also didn't want to catch the eyes of possible important, high-standing humans or be the center of rumors. So, he decided to be on the defense for a while.
He thought that'll make people believe that he was having a hard time.
Obviously.
That didn't work.
To the audience, it was already clear who would win this match. In their eyes, Rey looked like he was just playing around with a toy, amusing it. And not really having a lot of fun while doing it too.
The crowd was silent as they watched. Some even left the building, finding it too boring of a match. Others left to spread rumors.
It's been ten minutes.
Within these ten minutes, Simon was fusing with rage, rage that seem to keep rising as the seconds go by.
'Why?' Simon snarled as he swung his sword, 'Why?!'
Rey dodged once more, his movements as silent as a feather in the wind.
'Come on!' Simon gruff. He made a swift turn and another swing, only to be met with nothing at all.
'Aargh!'
It was frustrating.
Simon had used every attack he possess, yet this hooded guy continuously and successfully blocked each strike. Then even when there was an opening for this guy to attack, he didn't. Instead, he waited for him to make the first move.
It was infuriating.
He was being played around like some toy.
"Come on!" Simon yelled, "Attack or something!"
Rey glanced around the room, seeing how at least half the audience was gone now.
'I guess this is enough,'
With a twist of his sword and a strong swing through the air, a gust of wind blasted forward, shooting straight for Simon. Simon raised his saber to block, but the strength of the wind caused his arms to go flying up instead. And in a flash, Rey was right before his eyes. Simon's sword was knocked out of his hand and he was pushed backward. Then, in another quick move, Rey struck him with the hilt of his sword.
Thunk!
With eyes rolling to the back of his head, Simon dropped to the ground.
And just like that, the match was finished.
Rey had won.
There were no sounds of cheers, just whispers, and mutters lost in the steps of the dispersing crowd. No one even bothered to pick up Simon from the ground he lay on. In fact, they went to take away his Adventurer's Pass instead.
'Boring,' Rey thought as he threw his sword back into his inventory.
"Come to the front desk," the referee said as she began putting all the chairs and tables back in place.
Rey nodded, but before heading to the front desk, he made his way back to Leon first.
'He's probably already asleep-'
"-Rey!" a voice echoed through the building.
Rey stood frozen in place, mouth agape and eyebrows high.
Everything around him seems to blur and fade to white. The little crowd disappeared in the background and the noise muffled under silence.
Rey pursed his lips.
From a distance, he could see a familiar silhouette. Its hands waved high in the air with the widest grin on its face. Bright eyes glittering in the light. The locks of blond hair flowed in the wind. He could even hear a loud cheer echoing through the walls of the building, routing for him.
It was a familiar scene.
A warm, happy scene.
One that he took for granted.
"Le-"
And in a glimpse of an eye, everything was gone.
That warm, fuzzy feeling was now replaced with the winter cold. The head held high was now down and sound asleep on the hard, wooden table. The voice he heard was nothing more than just an imagination, a mere memory. Something that was once always there.
Rey took in a shaky breath.
Step.
Step.
Step.
He walked until he stood in front of Leon.
"I won, Leon," He whispered as he ruffled Leon's hair, "I won,"
He waited.
He waited for just a few seconds, hoping to hear that voice that he once heard before. Hoping that it wasn't just a mere imagination. That Leon was truly there, cheering for him like he's always done. No matter what the circumstances were.
"Leon," he called once more.
Leon made no movement, dead to the voice calling to him. Yet, Rey still waited for just another few seconds.
And as expected, there was nothing.
He took a deep sigh, then pulled Leon onto his back and began making his way to the front desk.
"Just sign here and here,"
Rey did as told, and in just a few minutes, he received his Adventurer's Pass.
Making money and traveling around will finally be a bit easier now.
He then walked out of the building, not caring for the stares that people sent him. They even made a pathway to let him through.
While Rey didn't think anything of it, still believing that his 'act' was enough to keep him out of trouble, rumors have already begun to spread.
The saying of a new and mysterious adventurer who made a bet and won against an A-class swordsman.
Left behind in the previous arena, Simon had stood up with a little stagger. People laughed and teased him, but he didn't care. His eyes were full of malice as he went to pick up his saber.
'How dare you make fun of me?!'
And just like that, Rey achieved his first enemy in a new land.
Leon would find this situation quite believable, as everywhere the protagonist goes, trouble will always follow. It didn't matter how much the protagonist may try to avoid it, they were bound to get it somehow, no matter how small. Leon had accepted this fact for ten years, that this is how it must be. That this is how fate made it to be. That the protagonist has no choice, but to follow this path.
As much as it is unfortunate for Rey, to Leon, this was nothing more than just a make-believe world. Hence, Leon was able to stand on the side and simply act for the sake of returning home.
Ten years, Leon had watched the protagonist struggle. And as much as Leon had pitied him, that sympathy was not enough to interfere with the story. There was absolutely no way he was going to risk his life for mere character's happiness when he hasn't even obtained his own.
Thus, he let the protagonist's one true love die.
He let the capture of the protagonist be sold in the black market.
He let the protagonist suffer torture in slavery.
He let the protagonist lose many things in life, but they were things the protagonist was fated to lose anyway. Leon wasn't going to fight it, he just needed to do his part. Nothing more, nothing less.
As Rey walked the roads of this city with Leon sleeping on his back, he realized that they haven't eaten anything all day.
He was planning to just go back to the inn and let Leon rest, but now, he felt so hungry. And if he was hungry, that meant Leon was hungry. So now, he must go find food.
Luckily, there were many fine restaurants on this path.
He was just going to follow his nose and let his stomach choose. That was until the head resting on his shoulder suddenly lifted.
"Ah, you're awake," Rey set Leon down to walk on his own, "Good, let's find something to eat,"
Rey smelt something good from a restaurant ahead and was planning to go there to eat, but when he grabbed Leon's wrist and was going to pull him along, Leon didn't follow. Instead, Rey had to stop him from falling forward from the pull.
Rey began frantically checking to see if there was something wrong, "Are you okay? Did something happen? Leon?"
Leon was quiet, but his head was turned to the side, his eyes glued to something else.
"Leon?"
Rey continued to carefully look over Leon, but after realizing that there was really nothing wrong, he gave a sigh of relief.
He was just about to pull him along again but stopped when he saw the tiniest glint in Leon's eyes.
"Leon?"
Rey immediately took a closer look, hoping his eyes weren't deceiving him.
"Leon," Rey could almost break into a smile but saw that that small glint was quickly fading away.
Rey could feel himself panic, unsure of what to do. It was the first sign of life that Rey had seen in days and he didn't know how to keep it that way. Didn't know what he was supposed to do. He just kept chanting Leon's name.
"Leon, Leon, Leon-"
He hoped that there was a chance that sign of life, that tiny glint in his eyes, would come back.
It didn't.
Rey could tell.
Leon's eyes were once again dull, full of nothing.
"Leon," Rey said for one last time, calmer this time, his head leaning against Leon's shoulder.
His hopes were crushed once more.
And this time, it wasn't a mere imagination.
Or was it?
Maybe he really was going crazy.
He stayed in that position for a couple minutes, not caring for the stares that people were sending him. He needed to recuperate.
'It's fine,' he told himself, 'Leon is still alive. Leon is still breathing, there'll be other chances. Leon will come back. Leon is still here-'
"-Um,"
Rey glared at the stranger interrupting his healing time.
"U-uh, it's just . . . " the stranger pointed at a faraway stall, "I think . . . he wants at that,"
Rey furrowed his eyebrows in confusion and turned his head to look at where the finger was pointing at.
Then he looked at Leon.
Leon's eyes were still dim, but they were gazing at where that stall was located.
The stranger fumbled around before handing money in Rey's hand, "Here, I know it's not much, but please help yourselves,"
Then, the stranger quickly ran away.
" . . . "
Rey twitched, 'DO I LOOK LIKE A BEGGAR?!"
After calming himself down, he then led Leon to the stall.
The stall was nothing more than a small food cart selling the greasiest-looking bread he's ever seen. It wasn't even a full baguette, but a fourth of it. In fact, that fourth was cut in half so you didn't even get to eat the entire thing. It was then toasted and smothered in some sort red looking sauce and the stickiest-looking cheese. And then topped off with more cheese and more sauce and whatever stuff the cook was putting on there.
In the end, all Rey saw was a greasy piece of bread that shouldn't be eaten by any living being.
"Welcome!" the cook happily greeted, "Looking to try a slice of my Tomato Cheese Bread?!"
Rey stared skeptically at the food, not sure if he should be feeding Leon this. But looking at Leon, he remembered what that stranger had said. And now that they were up close to the stall, he could definitely see that Leon had been staring at this bread.
With a deep sigh, Rey reluctantly bought a slice of the Tomato Cheese Bread.
"Thank you for your purchase!"
They went to go sit at a nearby bench.
Rey stared at the bread, still unsure if he should feed Leon this.
'I might as well take the first bite,'
Crunch.
And just like he thought, it was greasy bread.
There is no way he's feeding this to Leon!
Just then, large teardrops began to fall from Leon's eyes.
