Redwind stared at Emerald and then back to Bluewind.
[Did you forget, you foolish Elder?]
Emerald was an Alchemist, and a great one at that. The rumours were that she was behind the low grade mountain pills which had been offered in the auction lots of the commerce pavilion. She was also quite close with the crippled Arrayist, who had also made a name for himself.
Ken stared at Emerald, who had grabbed onto his arm and had pulled it closer to herself, trapping him against her breasts.
[What are you thinking, Emerald?]
It seemed she was annoyed, and had to do something to get rid of her annoyance.
[Well, if this is the way you need to calm down…]
At least she wasn’t attacking the Bluewind Elder, then this would become so much more difficult.
The Bluewind Elder stared at Emerald, also in shock.
[Right, this woman…]
He couldn’t overtly offend her, though he had offended Ken plenty. “If you are wishing to make such a bet, then I will return the bet as well. I will offer a wyrd black pill, which will cleanse the winner of any impurities.” He had been thinking about giving his son, who was out on the stage about to face the Newblade warrior, the pill. He would win no doubt, but this way his son would also receive another low grade mountain pill and more.
Second Elder Newblade was looking at Emerald, trying to decipher what she was trying to do. She had glared at him when he tried to distance himself, and then offered so many pills for his son if he won?
[Are you trying to say you will refuse my distancing?]
Emerald kept Ken close to herself.
[Since master wants to have fun betting, then I have to help! I’ll bet on Newblade, even if they lose! These bastards are really annoying!]
She looked down to see Ken’s eyes, seeing the confusion and worry within them.
[Emerald! What are you plotting? Why are you betting so much on the Newblade family? No, not on the family, for the family! The Elder will be mad if you take that chance away from him!]
[I understand, master! It’s not enough!]
“I’ll bet two low grade mountain pills!” Emerald declared.
The other Elders almost vomited blood from what she said. Was she really willing to bet so much on a match between two Apprentices? Wasn’t this too much?
[Emerald! You’ll get us killed!]
Bluewind stared at the woman, seeing her cuddle her master.
[So you’re annoyed that I was bullying your master? Very well!]
“Hmph! Then I’ll offer the sword which is being made by the Smith Blackforge,” Bluewind said, smiling. To think she would offer so many pills for the Bluewind family.
Newblade squinted his eyes slightly.
[Why are you betting so much for our family?]
With the pills which Ken had refined for them, as well as the array that he had displaced, his family had been able to increase their strength by quite a bit, and his son had come to fight in the dueling arena to test himself. It was bad luck to go against the son of the Bluewind’s Fifth Elder, but there was still a slim chance.
[Are you saying you believe in us that much?]
Wildroar grit his teeth.
[This bastard! He has such a crazy woman by his side? I’m jealous! Why don’t you die you crippled bastard!]
“I will also bet a dawn breaker pill,” Newblade said. “If they take the wyrd black pill, then the dawn breaker pill, the purity of their ki will increase further.”
“How generous!” Fourth Elder Bluewind grinned wide. What a profit he was making.
“Then I will bet a technique for the Bluewind warrior to win,” Redwind said.
“Hmph! Don’t leave me out of this!” Wildroar crossed his arms. “I’ll offer a technique to whoever wins!” He didn’t want to bet on anyone specifically, he just wanted to join in.
A worker came to write down the items and accepted them. Emerald dropped down the pills casually into the cloth and then looked to Ken, whose eyes were panicked.
[Master? Wait… did I do something wrong?]
Emerald wondered if she had misjudged the scene, as all the others had.
Then she looked to Newblade, who caught the look. Emerald narrowed her eyes.
[This is all your fault!]
[I understand your intentions, Alchemist.]
[You’d better return all the pills!]
[You want us to have a deeper relationship.]
[Master is mad at me because of you!]
[I will surely take it to heart.]
[Do you want me to kill you?]
[I won’t refuse the closeness between us any longer!]
[Bastard!]
[I accept your good intentions!]
The misunderstanding grew further.
All the while, Nana ate her fruit.
[This doesn’t concern me at all…]
Ken sighed out and then looked down to the bout, watching as the two warriors squared off against one another. He placed down a few gold coins on the Newblade family in the public odds, which would take the entire pot and spread it back against the winners depending on how much they bet.
“Don’t worry, Newblade,” the Bluewind warrior said. “I’ll allow you the first move.”
“If you’re going to offer, I should accept,” the Newblade warrior replied. He looked up to see his father watching, and then saw the Arrayist and the Alchemist nearby.
[Wait, why are they here? Are they here to watch me too? Since you’ve come, I have to win then!]
The Newblade warrior calmed himself and began to channel his ki. He had been so close to mastering a particular technique, and had come here to test it in order to gain greater insight into it.
“Ten Petals, Bloom!” Newblade drew his sword quickly, swinging diagonally as he did.
Bluewind drew his own sword, defending against the blow, but found that there were nine more attacks coming. They were much weaker, and with his strength, he managed to barely deflect the ten attacks.
[What! This guy isn’t so weak!]
However, that first blow had been the set up for the second technique, one which he was trying to master. The Newblade warrior leapt up into the air, with petals flying behind him.
Bluewind stared up at him, readying his attack, but then saw the petals behind him.
[Wait, isn’t that the…]
“Ten Petals, Fall!” Newblade gathered as much of his ki as he could, straining his muscles as he tried to follow the arch of the technique with his sword. The petals began to form properly, following the trail of the blades. His arms burnt with great pain as he tried to finish the technique, which would disappear if he didn’t do it correctly.
“Do you think your technique would beat me? Bluewind, Bluesword!” It was the basic technique of the Bluewind family, one which was related to the Redsword’s family. A blue blade appeared and shot towards the Newblade warrior, who commit to his technique completely.
Though the blue sword would strike him, he needed to commit to his technique or he’d lose it. Even if he would be harmed greatly, he couldn’t just let go. He growled out in pain and effort as the blue sword struck through his side. He vomited blood.
[Son!]
Newblade couldn’t leave his seat, and he could only watch as the blue sword stuck out of his son’s side.
Then came a gasp through the audience, as the ten petals which had been following behind him, rushed past the Newblade warrior and flew towards Bluewind.
“What?” the Bluewind warrior gasped, drawing his sword up to try and defend himself, but the ten petals fell across his entire body all at once, causing him to drop down.
The Bluewind warrior was near death, and quickly the dueling arena’s people were on the scene.
Ken offered two pills, one to the Elders beside him. “These pills should assist in healing them over the day.”
“Thank you, Arrayist Ken,” Second Elder said, taking the pill and dropping down onto the arena floor to check on his son.
The Fourth Elder leapt up without even acknowledging him, going to check on his son, who was mortally wounded. Luckily, the dueling arena was more than prepared for this, as it wasn’t the first time that a bunch of noblemen would nearly kill each other.
Emerald suddenly straightened up. She had bet on the Newblade warrior, which meant that she would retrieve all the benefits. She looked down at Ken, who seemed to be stressed still.
[Why are you so upset still, master?]
Ken looked up to Emerald, seeing the quizzical look in her eyes. He brought up some fruit and then pet her head. “Are you enjoying yourself.”
“Yes?” Emerald replied, a little unsure of the answer. “Are you alright, Ken?”
“I’m fine.”
“Father, did you see?” The Newblade warrior coughed up some blood.
“Hush, my son. Take this pill and swallow it.” The Newblade Elder slipped a pill into his son’s mouth, which was already helping him heal.
“I did it,” he said. “I managed to complete it! Did you see? Did he see?”
“We saw, we saw.” Second Elder brushed his son’s hair gently. “You’ve been rewarded for your efforts too.”
“I won?”
“Yes, yes you did.”
Redwind stared at Emerald and then back to Bluewind.
[Did you forget, you foolish Elder?]
Emerald was an Alchemist, and a great one at that. The rumours were that she was behind the low grade mountain pills which had been offered in the auction lots of the commerce pavilion. She was also quite close with the crippled Arrayist, who had also made a name for himself.
Ken stared at Emerald, who had grabbed onto his arm and had pulled it closer to herself, trapping him against her breasts.
[What are you thinking, Emerald?]
It seemed she was annoyed, and had to do something to get rid of her annoyance.
[Well, if this is the way you need to calm down…]
At least she wasn’t attacking the Bluewind Elder, then this would become so much more difficult.
The Bluewind Elder stared at Emerald, also in shock.
[Right, this woman…]
He couldn’t overtly offend her, though he had offended Ken plenty. “If you are wishing to make such a bet, then I will return the bet as well. I will offer a wyrd black pill, which will cleanse the winner of any impurities.” He had been thinking about giving his son, who was out on the stage about to face the Newblade warrior, the pill. He would win no doubt, but this way his son would also receive another low grade mountain pill and more.
Second Elder Newblade was looking at Emerald, trying to decipher what she was trying to do. She had glared at him when he tried to distance himself, and then offered so many pills for his son if he won?
[Are you trying to say you will refuse my distancing?]
Emerald kept Ken close to herself.
[Since master wants to have fun betting, then I have to help! I’ll bet on Newblade, even if they lose! These bastards are really annoying!]
She looked down to see Ken’s eyes, seeing the confusion and worry within them.
[Emerald! What are you plotting? Why are you betting so much on the Newblade family? No, not on the family, for the family! The Elder will be mad if you take that chance away from him!]
[I understand, master! It’s not enough!]
“I’ll bet two low grade mountain pills!” Emerald declared.
The other Elders almost vomited blood from what she said. Was she really willing to bet so much on a match between two Apprentices? Wasn’t this too much?
[Emerald! You’ll get us killed!]
Bluewind stared at the woman, seeing her cuddle her master.
[So you’re annoyed that I was bullying your master? Very well!]
“Hmph! Then I’ll offer the sword which is being made by the Smith Blackforge,” Bluewind said, smiling. To think she would offer so many pills for the Bluewind family.
Newblade squinted his eyes slightly.
[Why are you betting so much for our family?]
With the pills which Ken had refined for them, as well as the array that he had displaced, his family had been able to increase their strength by quite a bit, and his son had come to fight in the dueling arena to test himself. It was bad luck to go against the son of the Bluewind’s Fifth Elder, but there was still a slim chance.
[Are you saying you believe in us that much?]
Wildroar grit his teeth.
[This bastard! He has such a crazy woman by his side? I’m jealous! Why don’t you die you crippled bastard!]
“I will also bet a dawn breaker pill,” Newblade said. “If they take the wyrd black pill, then the dawn breaker pill, the purity of their ki will increase further.”
“How generous!” Fourth Elder Bluewind grinned wide. What a profit he was making.
“Then I will bet a technique for the Bluewind warrior to win,” Redwind said.
“Hmph! Don’t leave me out of this!” Wildroar crossed his arms. “I’ll offer a technique to whoever wins!” He didn’t want to bet on anyone specifically, he just wanted to join in.
A worker came to write down the items and accepted them. Emerald dropped down the pills casually into the cloth and then looked to Ken, whose eyes were panicked.
[Master? Wait… did I do something wrong?]
Emerald wondered if she had misjudged the scene, as all the others had.
Then she looked to Newblade, who caught the look. Emerald narrowed her eyes.
[This is all your fault!]
[I understand your intentions, Alchemist.]
[You’d better return all the pills!]
[You want us to have a deeper relationship.]
[Master is mad at me because of you!]
[I will surely take it to heart.]
[Do you want me to kill you?]
[I won’t refuse the closeness between us any longer!]
[Bastard!]
[I accept your good intentions!]
The misunderstanding grew further.
All the while, Nana ate her fruit.
[This doesn’t concern me at all…]
Ken sighed out and then looked down to the bout, watching as the two warriors squared off against one another. He placed down a few gold coins on the Newblade family in the public odds, which would take the entire pot and spread it back against the winners depending on how much they bet.
“Don’t worry, Newblade,” the Bluewind warrior said. “I’ll allow you the first move.”
“If you’re going to offer, I should accept,” the Newblade warrior replied. He looked up to see his father watching, and then saw the Arrayist and the Alchemist nearby.
[Wait, why are they here? Are they here to watch me too? Since you’ve come, I have to win then!]
The Newblade warrior calmed himself and began to channel his ki. He had been so close to mastering a particular technique, and had come here to test it in order to gain greater insight into it.
“Ten Petals, Bloom!” Newblade drew his sword quickly, swinging diagonally as he did.
Bluewind drew his own sword, defending against the blow, but found that there were nine more attacks coming. They were much weaker, and with his strength, he managed to barely deflect the ten attacks.
[What! This guy isn’t so weak!]
However, that first blow had been the set up for the second technique, one which he was trying to master. The Newblade warrior leapt up into the air, with petals flying behind him.
Bluewind stared up at him, readying his attack, but then saw the petals behind him.
[Wait, isn’t that the…]
“Ten Petals, Fall!” Newblade gathered as much of his ki as he could, straining his muscles as he tried to follow the arch of the technique with his sword. The petals began to form properly, following the trail of the blades. His arms burnt with great pain as he tried to finish the technique, which would disappear if he didn’t do it correctly.
“Do you think your technique would beat me? Bluewind, Bluesword!” It was the basic technique of the Bluewind family, one which was related to the Redsword’s family. A blue blade appeared and shot towards the Newblade warrior, who commit to his technique completely.
Though the blue sword would strike him, he needed to commit to his technique or he’d lose it. Even if he would be harmed greatly, he couldn’t just let go. He growled out in pain and effort as the blue sword struck through his side. He vomited blood.
[Son!]
Newblade couldn’t leave his seat, and he could only watch as the blue sword stuck out of his son’s side.
Then came a gasp through the audience, as the ten petals which had been following behind him, rushed past the Newblade warrior and flew towards Bluewind.
“What?” the Bluewind warrior gasped, drawing his sword up to try and defend himself, but the ten petals fell across his entire body all at once, causing him to drop down.
The Bluewind warrior was near death, and quickly the dueling arena’s people were on the scene.
Ken offered two pills, one to the Elders beside him. “These pills should assist in healing them over the day.”
“Thank you, Arrayist Ken,” Second Elder said, taking the pill and dropping down onto the arena floor to check on his son.
The Fourth Elder leapt up without even acknowledging him, going to check on his son, who was mortally wounded. Luckily, the dueling arena was more than prepared for this, as it wasn’t the first time that a bunch of noblemen would nearly kill each other.
Emerald suddenly straightened up. She had bet on the Newblade warrior, which meant that she would retrieve all the benefits. She looked down at Ken, who seemed to be stressed still.
[Why are you so upset still, master?]
Ken looked up to Emerald, seeing the quizzical look in her eyes. He brought up some fruit and then pet her head. “Are you enjoying yourself.”
“Yes?” Emerald replied, a little unsure of the answer. “Are you alright, Ken?”
“I’m fine.”
“Father, did you see?” The Newblade warrior coughed up some blood.
“Hush, my son. Take this pill and swallow it.” The Newblade Elder slipped a pill into his son’s mouth, which was already helping him heal.
“I did it,” he said. “I managed to complete it! Did you see? Did he see?”
“We saw, we saw.” Second Elder brushed his son’s hair gently. “You’ve been rewarded for your efforts too.”
“I won?”
“Yes, yes you did.”
