Chương 40: Fish out of water

Lucien walked up to the round table that Evel stood over and took a seat across from him.

"No need to be so stiff, we're on the same side now. We're both soldiers of Tempor!" Evel watched him in silence. Lucien slowly shook his head.

"Oh come on, not all your friends can always survive. Plus, I'm quite the talent, so I'm sure it would be helpful to know me a bit better. Don't let the past get in the way of our friendship." Evel grit his teeth, his caution turning to frustration. First it was Diana, now it was Lucien. Why did he have to give up every principle for power? If this was all the Path entailed, perhaps he was better suited to do something else. He tightened his fists, accidentally crushing the fish in his hands into a paste.

Lucien huffed.

"You'll let your emotions get ahead of making a potential powerful ally?"

"Unless you can tell me that you and Fern had an honest battle, I'm not interested in being friends." Evel snapped back before walking away. Lucien raised his eyebrow.

"And all your battles were 'honest'?" A picture of Iryna flashed across Evel's mind. He had been helpless as Bremin executed her. No, there was a difference. For one, he had made an effort, and more importantly, he had never pretended to be her friend. It was a risk she had taken when fighting that beast; she had simply gotten unlucky. Evel didn't turn back and continued with Lucien at his back. There were many tables, and he had no interest in sitting alongside the traitor.

As he walked away, he heard a final remark from behind.

"Alright, we don't have to be friends, but don't discount the possibility of us working together in the future!" Evel walked to the furthest possible table. His mind went back to his friends. How many of them survived? Evel stared at the still door across from him with intensity. He had forgotten all about the luxurious food, no longer in the mood to eat. Each second dragged out. Then, a small movement on the doorknob. The door creaked open, and Evel heard the waiter's familiar voice once more.

"... informed shortly. Food and drinks are around. Please be patient as more of those in your group arrive. It shouldn't be long now." A confident girl with jet-black hair walked in, her eyes scanning the room before they landed on Evel. It was, of course, Diana. Evel wasn't surprised she would be one of the first to wake up. With a subtle nod, Diana slowly approached Evel's table. She walked leisurely and took in her surroundings with each step. Before she got far, the door behind her immediately opened once more.

A strong, deathly aura washed into the room. Evel straightened up his back as a smile landed on his face; his mood was instantly lifted. Bremin. He wordlessly walked into the room before immediately locating and heading towards Evel. Unlike Diana, he didn't waste any time.

"Looks like I was the unlucky one. Of the first four to wake up, I fought the other three!" Lucien laughed to himself from across the room. It was the only sound in the hall. Bremin took the seat to Evel's right and immediately began eating. Well, his appetite hasn't reduced.

"Hey, Bremin." Evel greeted. Bremin swallowed hard.

"Hello." Then he continued eating. Diana finally arrived at the table. She traced her hands across the gold trimming of the table as she arrived.

"Thanks." She spoke in a quiet but firm tone. She was rubbing her now-healed ribcage. Lucien had almost killed her.

"You saved me, too, with your explosive shot. No need to thank me." Diana nodded.

"We've both saved each other many times. You've thanked me once; I'm thanking you now. Consider us even with no debts between us." Then, without waiting for a reply, she walked away. The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. Evel stared at the plate of food before him. The words themselves that Diana had spoken were normal, but the tone behind them was distant. Cold even.

To Evel, it seemed Diana was ending their temporary alliance, and they were now back to strangers. Evel didn't push for further explanation as Diana's figure approached the wall of banners. At that moment, the luxury of the room felt a little hollow. Evel shook off those gloomy thoughts. He had survived the challenge and had killed four beasts. Soon, he would get rewards for his deeds, and his future would be clear. If nothing else, he should rejoice.

"Eating that?" Snapped out of his thoughts, Evel turned to Bremin. Three empty plates were neatly stacked in front of him, and he looked at Evel's chest. No, he's looking at my food… Bremin's expression didn't change as he patiently waited for Evel's reply.

"Yes, I plan to."

"Ok." Bremin got up, walked over to the nearest table, and grabbed two plates of food, one in each hand. He returned to sit alongside Evel once again and wordlessly continued to eat.

"Say, Bremin, I was never able to figure out how your ability works." Although the topic was slightly taboo, Evel doubted an opponent having any understanding of Bremin's ability would put them in a better spot. After all, its effects were clear, and it was always active. Bremin swallowed his food, turned to Evel and nodded. Then he continued eating. Although technically confirming his statement, it wasn't quite what Evel was implicitly asking. Evel immediately realized his mistake.

He had never asked Bremin the question. In the end, Evel decided not to. Should Bremin want or need to, he would tell Evel himself.

"Able to figure out mine?" Evel asked curiously. He thought he had done a good job, but he would never underestimate someone of Bremin's calibre. Bremin shook his head between bites. The door creaked open once more, and this time four individuals entered, A wave of relief washed over Evel. Three people Evel didn't recognize. And Elena.

"Evel!" She exclaimed, throwing her arms up in the air.

"You're alive!" Evel immediately got up and jogged over to her.

"Were you able to meet up with everyone?"

"All but Fern. The rest of them are alive too!" Evel paused.

"Fern didn't make it." Elena's eyes opened for a brief second before she exhaled.

"To be honest, I assumed both you and Fern had died. Seeing you alive is already a win. Juniper may be devastated… How did Fern die? Did the two of you meet?" Evel hesitated. His eyes subtly shifted to Lucien before landing back on Elena.

"I saw her body… she died fighting a beast." Elena narrowed her eyes.

"You're not very good at lying." Evel averted her gaze. To Evel, Elena seemed like the type to seek revenge. Evel didn't want her making a powerful opponent, and Lucien was just that.

"Evel, you can tell me." Elena insisted. Evel sighed. I need to get my thoughts in order. I'm too readable right now.

"She died fighting a powerful opponent. I just didn't want you to take on the risk of getting revenge for her." Elena watched Evel closely.

"Evel." A beat of silence overtook them, He decided to give in. Elena was intelligent, especially when it came to people and emotions. She would likely pry it out of him regardless.

"The blonde-haired man who's looking at the golden banner with the crown and sun." Evel paused, "If his own words can be trusted, he teamed up with Fern to gain her trust, then later betrayed her during a fight against a beast." Elena continued holding his gaze before she sighed deeply.

"Listen, Evel, " She began, placing her hand on Evel's shoulder to console him.

"I learnt this from a young age, but I can imagine adapting to this new world may be hard for you. I'll give you this advice. Don't hold it against him. He was just trying to get as many rewards as possible; it's just a part of the challenge. I've seen that man hang around with Igneos of Obso. That's not someone you want to antagonize… Don't cut off an alliance with a powerful party due to past grudges." These hadn't been the words Evel expected.

"And if I died? Brenton?" Evel immediately retorted, a little angry at Elena's logic. She shook her head and didn't reply. Evel opened his mouth to apologize, but the words didn't come out. He couldn't bring himself to. He realized more and more he was truly a fish out of water. Elena patted his shoulder and walked with him back to his table. Upon seeing Bremin, Elena smiled.

"Thanks for taking care of my friend Evel here." Bremin looked up, shook his head, then went back to eating. Now, his pile of plates had grown to five, with him currently finishing the vegetables of the sixth.

"Don't take my words too seriously yet… Just keep them in mind. Right now, we need to celebrate that most of us survived. More importantly, I'm curious about how exactly you survived. Any rewards coming your way?" Elena lightened the mood. There were just too many things to consider. She was right. He was alive and would get to consider all these doubts another time.

"Things turned out pretty well for me. You?" Evel replied with a half-forced smile. He didn't want to tell her outright that he had managed to kill four beasts. Not yet.

"One quick fight at the start, then two more after I found the group..." Elena pointed to a distant man with dark hair and thin eyes.

"His group actually. He just gave me a foul look, so I think he may be holding a grudge. Then, after beating his group, we even managed to kill a beast!"

"Not too bad, but I expected more from someone of your expertise." Evel poked.

"Pff, you're saying you did better?"

"Just wait. If they don't announce the rewards publicly, I'll tell you later." Evel smiled, this time genuinely.

"Big guy won't even tell me how he fared in the challenges," Elena smirked.

"Now I'm really curious." Evel turned away from her to let her sit in her curiosity. The thoughts of inner doubt slowly drifted away. The rest of the group had survived and had even managed to take out a beast. None of the things he had feared had come to pass. More and more people trickled in, but Evel no longer had any reason to stare at the door. I should enjoy the good food. He looked down, ready to eat, when he noticed the plate in front of him was gone.

Evel turned to Bremin, the pile in front of him had now grown to seven. Bremin had his head turned to look at the banners, so Evel got his attention.

"Bremin, did you eat my food?"

"…Yes."

"Even though I said I would eat it?" Bremin remained silent, then got up from his seat and left. Evel let out a light-hearted chuckle as he prepared to get up to grab another plate.

"Here." He looked up. Bremin had already brought him another plate and placed it in front of him.

"Thank you." Evel grabbed the fish once more. Hopefully, this time his mood won't get ruined. Elena looked at him with a concerned expression. Evel wasn't exactly sure why, but it didn't matter. Right now, he was hungry. Evel savoured the bite. The taste was better than anything he had ever tasted in Yosten. Not to mention its price of zero Riaks. Thinking of the stonepods he had force-fed himself a few weeks prior, the meal he was having felt as if his Majesty the Emperor himself had made it.

It reminded Evel of why he was here in the first place. A better life. Agency. He had already completed the first step, and whatever rewards he would receive would propel him even further forward. A new feeling arose in his heart as he considered the future: excitement. Evel was excited.