Verse 1.5-Main Quest : Arena

Thorjen POV

From the bustling cobbled streets to the narrow roads, the merchant stalls where vendors sung enticing rhymes to the locals. The golden roofs and the slanted salt coloured stone houses built almost on top of one another. The entire scene was just how Thorjen had imagined it since he was still a small child. Overlooking the vast expanse of cloudy heavens. Dreaming of the mainland.

After saying his goodbyes to Gili. He spent a good amount of time simply touring the western part of the citadel. Which was the first area he had arrived at after entering through the towering gates. Still clothed in his shabby wears and dragging along a very bashful mule by his side. Thorjen wasn't silly enough to think he probably wasn't drawing a little bit of attention to himself right now. But he didn't care enough to take notice in truth. All the hardships he had gone through felt worth it just to witness this incredible whimsical city he had dreamt about for so long.

He always appreciated the vast cloudy skies and the tall mountain-tops. The Azure feather sect was situated at perhaps the highest point of any sect in the skies. So the incredible colours the different parts of the day conjured tended to be quite the picturesque sight to behold. But even with all its splendor he felt it didn't hold a candle to the great human city before him.

A warm scent of wheat filled his nostrils suddenly, drawing Thorjens attention to one of the nearby merchant stalls, dwelling to the right side of his walk. On display the stall had an array of fluffy golden loafs with buttery bases aligned in neat rows before the public. The sheer scent alone was enough to set his mouth salivating.

'I don't have any money though' he grimaced when he remembered his current state of affairs. His thoughts then drifted towards a previous time. A few days before hand when he and the Moon Jin troupe had completed the final stage of the hidden floor.

2 days ago

The other two groups had finally arrived and gathered around the grotesque cut armor seated against a wall covered in black tree vines and deep tangled roots coiled with blooming purple flowers. Thorjen couldn't remove his stare away from it. His fast beating heart was noticeably louder than usual within his chamber of bones. Something felt incredibly off just by him standing so close to the armour. Geary's demeanor had also weirdly changed. Her playfulness was all but gone and there seemed to be an aura of melancholy wrapped around her. Not to mention he found it both odd and slightly worrying that she avoided eye contact with him ever since they entered into this place.

"So that's it then?" Asked Morgan not so much impressed.

"The demons king heh...hard to believe this was the same armour he had on when he ran the rivers of Beast Valley with blood." Max chuckled with a slight sense of weariness

"What does the benefactor want with...the demons kings armour?" Asked the soft spoken voice of Rain. Her question looked to have drawn a dark mood against the group. Thorjen could sense what he was probably thinking was also the question tangled within their mentals as well. 'Does he plan on...becoming the next demon king?' He was about to deeply weigh the pros and cons of this quest and whether he had been unknowingly following a trail towards a cliff of disaster. He then suddenly heard an enthusiastic clapping sound. Including his own, all eyes turned towards the slenderly buxom figure of Geary.

"Quest completed! Well done everyone" Geary announced with the sweetest of smiles. "The benefactor has already informed me that he'll be paying everyone times 10 the usual rate for this quest, as a fair trade on the amount of gold he'll be receiving once the sale of this epic armour goes through fufufu!'

Thorjen heard a string of gasps and cheerful exclaims after that.

'Sale? th-they plan on just selling the demon Kings armour?' He pondered on whether or not that might actually be the worst thing to do.

He felt an arm wrapping itself over his shoulder roughly, jolting him free from his thoughts.

"Hahaha hear that weak one- looks like we've just hit the jackpot" It was surprisingly Morgan who appeared beside him. Thorjen had noticed a strange slight change in his attitude towards him since his arrival. To be honest, most of the others seemed to show him some kind of weird politeness towards him all of a sudden. It was definitely somewhat suspicious but he remembered those voices he heard through Geary's magic and couldn't help turning slight red when he recalled what he understood all of them to be doing.

"10 times pay basically means I don't need to take on any difficult quests for lets say...the rest of the bloody year! hahaha-all hail the benefactor!"

"ALL HAIL THE BENEFACTOR!" The entire group roared in unison.

Thorjen felt a little left out, all he could do was watch them rejoice and dance in the spirit of making what sounded like a large sum of money. 'Money ey...wonder if I can get some martial pills and techniques to help with my cultivation.' The concept of money wasn't entirely lost on him. But he was never placed in a situation where he needed it. The azure mountain operated on credits, which were earned by chores, advancing in cultivation and also becoming personal disciples to one of the sect elders.

Geary approached him during his deep thinking, which made Morgan swiftly retract his arm away from his neck and side step a few feet away to rejoin the others, who were engaged in discussions about how they'd spent their money.

"Hey cutie-something the matter?" Her sultry voice once again stirred a feeling of anxiety within his stomach

"Er-n-no...just wondering...who is this benefactor." He asked with a curious glint within his eyes

"Fufufu you have some personal reservations about us handling such an accursed relic don't ya? It's understandable. I know the sort of heart you carry. But...But I guess it might be better for you to form your own judgement once you meet him...which will be... soon."

Thorjen's confusion only deepened upon hearing her words. Before he could raise more questions to his thoughts, Geary turned towards the others and cleared her throat loud enough to gather everyone's attention again.

"Lastly! I would like to remind us all of the pact we made as members of this troupe. Secrecy, loyalty and...truth. Therefore I'll be sharing with you all the next phase of the plan. Ahem...the benefactor has decided that the one tasked with delivering the demon kings armour shall be none other than ...Number 6."

Suddenly the laughter's ceased. And Thorjen saw the looks of fear, pity and sheer annoyance riddled across each one of their faces. He didn't have anything left to say, he merely glanced upwards at the very large breasted witch beside him again. She gave him a wink which he felt completely stir his heart once more.

'Sigh...my life is fated to be one filled with hardships isn't it...'

*New Quest Unlocked - Delivering The Demon Kings Armour*

*****

Thorjen stood before the merchant stall selling those sweet scented loaves on display. He was staring at his index finger on his right hand with his eyebrows scrunched together. Geary had supplied him with a spatial ring which currently contained the demon kings armour. The sheer thought of that made his innards churn, but he had **** in the matter. He was promised a sizeable reward personally from this so called benefactor. Luckily to help ensure his safety, Geary had casted a powerful charm to hide the ring against his finger from the naked eye.

'I almost forgot I was supposed to hand this over once I arrived...It...it wont hurt to check out the arena real quickly before I did that though'

Thorjen had no desire to keep this for himself. Why would he? considering he would most likely be called a traitor if anyone found out he was in possession of something which belonged to a powerful being like the demon king, a being who once waged war against the entire multitude of races. The sheer thought of getting caught made his heart shudder.

"Ay boy why you just standing there...you don't look like a local...you know what- take this as a welcoming gift to Lucia. Next time you'll pay me double" Said the merchant with an ugly smile. Thorjen's brow slightly raised in shock. He nodded his head and simply reached out towards one of the loaves.

"Th...thank you...kind sir." He finished his thanks with a grateful bow. Swiftly disappearing through the crowded narrow streets again in no time at all.

Other POV

The merchants cheerful gaze dutifully turned cold once the half elf had left. His eyes fell low, almost to the point of looking empty and vacant. A small dark feathered crow appeared from the shadows and perched itself on the merchants shoulder. Against the crows forehead was a glowing magenta coloured triangle.

"How was he..." asked the crow

"Hmm-mmm...Normal."

"hehehe- and could you see it?"

"...no..."

"Good! so far so good."

Thorjen POV

Thorjen enjoyed that fluffy buttery loaf more than he would've expected. He wasn't sure if that was because it was the first actual thing he had eaten since...forever, or if another reason was at play. He did make sure he carved the location of the merchants stall into his memory for the future. The narrow path eventually brought him to an intersection within the city. He noticed a tall sign board with makeshift wooden arrows pointed into the direction of the five different paths moving away from one another.

• Western
• Eatern
• Central (Arena)
• Outskirts
• Palace

His heart fluttered with delight once he read the words 'Arena,' Wasting no more time he raced down the middle street, hastening towards the place where he was hoping to reunite with his loved ones. ' Mother, Threyja...Julien!-I'm...I'm coming.' His smile was as wide as it had ever been, very soon, he'll be reunited with his loved ones again. And things could finally go back to how they were in the past.

Half way along his brisque walk he eventually came across a large group of people gathered by a towering open roofed oval shaped arena.

He noticed numerous white cedar pillars wrapped around the entire building. Thorjen also noticed some statues decorated in gold. His gaze caught sights of a sculpture which immediately caught his attention. The statue was placed on a towering tall pillar which sat above the others around it. Five golden images of what Thorjen assumed were famous knights. Observing the high raised statue a little more, his eyes slightly twitched once he noticed the four out of the five golden figures were women, and noticeably they were all quite...endowed.

An Elf, A woman with animal like ears, two human women, one looked to have straight hair, whilst the other had larger more curlier fiery hair and had a noticeably large axe against her back. 'The detail is almost so lifelike' He thought to himself. He also felt something weirdly familiar about the Elven woman.

'Hmm...wait a minute...no way...It couldn't be...could it.' The image of his mother immediately appeared within his mental, the likeness was too uncanny for him to miss. But then again, why would there be a golden statue of her dwelling in the heart of the human citadel. Not to mention who the heck were the rest of the fellows.

Whilst he was almost starstruck at the high chance one of those golden tall statues was in fact...his mother. He didn't know the moment when his silent daydreams were also shared by someone arriving beside him too.

"Incredible isn't it? And to think those five were once called the most famous party to ever have been formed...the hero party" a fellow spoke beside him

"Auh?" Thorjen was slightly startled as he was assured he didnt sense nor see anyone approaching from that angle. By instinct he took a step away from the fellow.

"Ahaha-sorry-sorry I have a bad habit. Feet like a cat you see-ahaha! but I mean no harm." The voice was soft and rather playfully childish, once Thorjen also had a chance to take a careful look at the stranger. He noticed rather youthful features about him too. He carried smooth unblemished skin, raven black hair which slightly fell against his face in a way it covered most of his brows.

'He looks like a little boy' Thorjen thought whilst he observed the youth clothed in black and purple martial robes similar to that of the cultivators he was used to seeing upon the mountain. The youth sensed Thorjens sharp gaze towards him, in return he twisted his head a little to the side and smiled.

"My names Vo-...I mean Modred- you can call me modred haha" the boy sung with a sweet smile.

'Modred? weird name' he thought. But nonetheless felt the boys demeanor seemed genuine so he nodded towards him and said.

"Thorjen."

"Ah nice name...say you an Elf by any chance" Modred said whilst gesturing towards his two ears.

"Auh-yes-well...H-half Elf" he stammered slightly awkwardly

"Ahaha nice-nice-that's pretty cool. Half Elf and Half human...best of both worlds id say aha"

Thorjen was a little surprised by that, he hadn't met anyone else other than Geary who spoke fondly of his dual bloodline. Once the elders discovered his acupoints were blocked, they used his dual bloodline against him. And after recalling the brief encounter both he and Gilli had with those guardsmen, he suspected a lot of humans were probably not too keen either.

"Th-thank you" he turned his eyes towards the golden statues again. Lost in the dream like valor of their appearance. "The hero party" he mouthed dreamily. He was assured that must be his mother, there was almost a certainty about it the more he looked. His thoughts were snapped in half once he heard various loud voices coming from the gathered crowd just ahead of him.

"STEP BACK-STEP BACK! NO ONE PASSES WITHOUT 15 PIECES OF GOLD!" Roared one of the large sentinels guarding the entrance

"What the fuck!"

"fif...FIFTEEN!"

"Thats day light robbery. Half of us barely make that a day"

"Wheres the Queen-h-how can she allow this"

*Whoooosh"

"ARGHHHHH" they screamed as they were tossed to the ground from a single swipe of the brutes iron club

'That's a little ****' Thorjen grimaced.

"Ah- looks like we have to pay to get in. Hmm I better go check with my uncle if he can fit the bill...Oh-it was a pleasure to meet you Thorjen. I suspect...we'll be seeing one another again...Goodbye now" the boy was swiftly on his heels down one of the narrow roads again. Thorjen barely got a word in before the boy was gone.

'How strange...but he seems alright.' He placed his eyes upon the crowd again. Seeing just how easily those helpless people were sent flying across the ground left a bitter feeling within his chest.

'That's not how you treat people...but if its 15 pieces of gold....Then I have to pay it...But how do I...' He had no money, no weapons nor anything worth much. Suddenly his eyes flashed open as he remembered he had perhaps two methods to acquire the gold.