Chương 165: Chapter 154-Chosen Defeat

Defeat. It fucking sucks. One second you're king of the world, and the next you're eating dirt. I used to lose all the time back before I met Kat. Fights that I was too weak to win. Beatings that I wasn't able to talk myself out of. Hells, I even lost my blanket to a rat. Dark times those days. I'm used to losing, but I guess this recent string of wins has made me soft. Not everything goes my way. I know that. But it still fucking sucks. Hopper eats his soup in silence. Penelope is nowhere to be seen.

The cafeteria is a bit quieter than usual, or maybe it's just me.

"You guys seem… down. Everything okay?" Garus asks as he takes a bite of his salad.

"Everything's fine," I [Lie] as a memory of Carina disappearing flashes through my mind.

"Okay. Well, the Spring Festival is coming up. How are your club activities going?" Garus asks as I take a chewy bite of my steak. Hopper stirs his soup in a melancholic manner.

"The Archery club is going to put on a display and even let some kids play with these bows we made."

"That's cool. What about you, CJ? What are you and Lady Helia going to do?"

"Nothing too fancy. Just a field of Poppies. What's the Magic Research club going to do?"

"Where going to display our research into mana crystals and their capabilities. It should be a pretty fun time. You guys should stop by," Garus says with a small smile. Hopper gives me a look.

"Yeah. We'll definitely see if we can find the time, but we might be a little busy."

"Okay, that's fine. Uhm, by the way, how did the gift go?" Garus asks as he looks around to make sure no one is listening.

"Gift?" Hopper asks with a hint of curiosity.

"Oh, was it supposed to be a secret from Hopper?" he asks.

"Was it?"

"I… was going to tell you," I [Lie].

"Tell me what? Wait, Penelope's birthday was yesterday. I didn't see you give her a gift. What gift did you give her?" Hopper asks with an amused smile.

"It's not weird for me to give her a gift. She's my friend. You gave her a gift," I point out.

"Yes, I did. I gave her some sunflower oil for her greatsword. Now, what did you give her and where and when and what did she think?" he asks in rapid succession.

"It was just some earrings."

"Well, I wouldn't say that. They were pretty nice, and you put some thought into it," Garus reminds me.

"Thank you, Garus, for that little tidbit," I say, hiding my annoyance.

"So, some nice earrings. Not bad. When did you give them to her?" he asks, not dropping the subject.

"Let's talk about something else. How's it going with he who shall not be named?" I ask Hopper.

"Shh. She might hear you," Hopper says as he looks around for Luna.

"Who are we talking about?" Garus asks.

"Nobody."

"I don't know. Maybe we should-""What are you guys talking about?" Luna asks as she stands at the head of the table. My heart just about jumps out of my chest. Gods, is she quiet when she wants to be.

"We were talking about what we're going to do for the Spring Festival. What are you going to do, Luna?" I ask as I carefully choose my words.

"The Endurance club is going to have a competition to see who can complete the Gauntlet of Spirit Crushing," she says with a hint of pride.

"Gauntlet of what?"

"The Gauntlet of Spirit Crushing. First you spend twenty minutes in freezing water, then you immediately hop into a boiling pot of water for twenty minutes. If you get through that, you need to endure a hundred strikes from a wooden sword. In the end, you must run ten laps around the University," she explains. Garus, Hopper, and I share a look of terror.

"That sounds amazing. I hope you get a lot of people to attempt that," I [Lie].

"Yeah, we didn't get much turnout last year, but considering that we made it easier, it should draw in some adventurous spirits." This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

"Easier?" Garus asks in surprise.

"I know. It's a shame we had to make it easier, but everyone has to start somewhere. Would you like to try the Gauntlet, Garus?" she asks with a gleam in her eye.

"Uhm. I'd love to, but I'm busy with my own club stuff. Maybe next year," he lies. Luna turns to me.

"How about you, Chosen One? What to take on the Gauntlet? I'm sure it would be easy for you."

"You're right. Which is why I'm not going to do it. I'd rather not outshine everybody, but I do think that Hopper would love to do it," I [Lie] as I turn to Hopper.

"Really? Hopper never wants to do anything like that," she says with an excitement that could boil over at any moment. Hopper looks at me with betrayal written across his face.

"I would love to, Luna."

"Then we should go and train now. Don't worry, I'll keep it light. Only ten seconds in the boiling water," she says gleefully as she drags Hopper away.

"You're evil," Garus says with a worried look.

"He started it. Plus, he wants to spend time with her. It's a win-win situation," I say as I take a bite of my steak. The sound of my knife tearing through the steak grows. The murmur of the cafeteria dulls. Garus's voice fades into the background. The image of me [Throwing] The Chosen Blade into Edward replays in my head. The blade leaving my hand. The sound of it stabbing through him. His gasp for breath. Over and over again.

"CJ, are you okay?" Garus asks.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I [Lie]. Garus nods.

"You cut through your plate."

"Oh, the steak's pretty tough. Must've used too much force," I [Lie] as I look down at the cracked plate.

"CJ, I spent a long time keeping things to myself, and if there's one thing I learned. It's that eventually they burn a hole in you. I don't know what's going on, but please talk to somebody, anybody, before that happens. Everybody needs somebody, right?" he asks with a knowing glance. With a nod, I sigh.

"I guess you're right. I'm going to get some training in. I'll talk to you later, Garus," I say as I walk away. Penelope sits down in the middle of the training field.

"Thinking about becoming a tree?" I joke.

"You know I rented this field out, right?"

"Gonna kick me out?" Penelope shakes her head and pats the ground next to her. Without much thought, I sit down and look at the beautiful blue sky. White clouds pass overhead as a spring breeze brushes past us.

"How are you feeling?" I ask.

"Like I got defeated without having even seen the enemy."

"So, good?" Penelope lets out a small chuckle.

"No, bad."

"Damn, almost got it. Had a fifty-fifty chance there."

"You're an idiot," she says as she bumps into my arm. A silence falls between us. Birds fly in the distance, and the faint shimmering of the barrier can be seen. In the distance, you can hear construction work as the clock tower is close to being rebuilt. Not too far from that, some Second Years are playing a game of soccer. Everything feels calm. I see why she came here.

"Do you think she's fine?" I ask, breaking the silence.

"I think so. If the Prideborn wanted to kill her, she would've had it done right there and then."

"Now the only question is why didn't she?"

"I know there's no point in saying this, but you should be careful. Prideborn is responsible for the death of at least two Chosen Ones. The most killed by all the Sinborn," she warns me.

"Actually, she's killed 3. From what I've heard, she's seemingly invincible. Nothing we [Throw] at her will even leave a scratch," I say as I think back on my conversation with Yellow and Pink.

"Hmm. Invulnerable? We've fought a similar creature before. Remember Bianca?" she asks.

"Yes, but we were at least able to hurt her. It didn't stick, but at least we were able to."

"Outside of the Gods, there are no truly invulnerable beings. Some may seem that way, like Biance, but we found a way around it. We can do the same against the Prideborn. There must be some condition or [Contract] that gives her this power," she says with a steadfast tone.

"How can we be so sure. Three Chosen Ones have gone up against her and have fallen by her hand. What if there isn't a condition to her invulnerability?" I ask.

"There is. Everything comes with a cost. My [Shield] costs mana. Hopper's [Mana Channels] cost him hours of grueling training. The [System] always maintains a cost and will never allow anything that goes against that," she explains.

"Okay then. What do we think is that cost? It would have to be something substantial. I mean it's making her invulnerable even to the attacks of a Chosen One," I remind her.

"I doubt it would be MP. The amount needed would be substantial even to a Demon. It could be an oath."

"How could an [Oath] make her invulnerable?"

"An [Oath] is a promise made to yourself and the [System]. The stricter the conditions of that promise, the stronger you could be. It can be tied to a specific [Skill] or your soul."

"Like [Unbreakable]?"

"Exactly. Tying it to a [Skill] is safe, but tying it to your soul produces a stronger effect. There is, of course, a downside. If you break that promise or any of the conditions, you would be left without a single speck of power. The [System] would strip it from your soul without a second glance. Which is why oaths are rarely made to your soul," she explains.

"If the Prideborn made an oath on her soul, we could force her into breaking it."

"That or make it impossible for her to fulfill the conditions needed to access that power. Leaving her vulnerable to our attacks."

"How do we figure those conditions out?" I ask with a hint of excitement.

"I have no idea!"

"... I hate you so much," I joke. With a shared laugh, we start to theorize on what the conditions for the Prideborns' invulnerability might be and how we could get around them.