The stares, fingers, and mummers came in his direction like tidal waves, cautious yet also admiring. As if a stigma was craved to his body, everyone avoided him and pointed at him. It took moments to realize why, as the screens filled the hall. It was his earlier actions.
It also took another moment to find Emma in the crowd, standing next to the reason for his earlier failure and realization. He felt torn between whether to bring attention to her or to act like a stranger. He was conscious of the image he had painted of himself.
"Arthur?" His worries disappeared when she was the one to walk over, singled out by the crowd. "You…" She stumbled on words to find. "You did well?" It wasn't a question, but a statement filled with uncertainty as if she wasn't sure what to say.
"Yeah, it's good that you've passed as well," Arthur smile warily. "I've caused quite a mess, I think." He said apologetically.
"Hah, just a mess?" Emma laughed, defusing the awkwardness and tension. "I have no idea why you chased them so much, but I know you have your reasons. You're not an unreasonable person. As for your talent… Even I, who recommended you, was shocked."
Her words warmed Arthur's heart; a trust like this was not easily established. However, her sly expression afterward wiped out such feelings.
"Plus, it would be a good advertisement for our workshop, hoho," Her laugh was that of a sly-businesswomen that made Arthur's brows twitch. However, he liked how unrestrained she was around him.
"As for the princess…" Emma furrowed her brows and glanced behind her. Leaning on a wall beside a couch was the princess, looking at Arthur warily.
"Yeah, I hope we just forget about it." Arthur glanced her way and changed the subject. Even if he got angry, the princess didn't hinder him while knowing his reasons. She was innocent, maybe too innocent. "Did the person I… chased get teleported here?" He couldn't spot Tyrin in the crowd.
"The injured ones would be teleported to the infirmary first." Emma looked at him, squinting his eyes. "What did he do to you to get you bent on taking him down?" She seemed unable to understand.
"Mm, a personal feud of a sort." He wouldn't just tell her about the potential attack on the kingdom.
The rest of their time was spent waiting while worrying about Roy. At long last, he was able to find a box that had only one teleportation remaining. It seemed his cautiousness did him good as most of the contestants were eliminated due to haste.
When Arthur saw the relief, pride, and joy mixed on Roy's expression, he knew he was a step away from taking something precious of him. He was glad that he didn't, in the end.
The boxes kept decreasing until only one was left. Funnily enough, it was the box Arthur left near the stream. A pillar of white light appeared from the box and it pierced the sky, signaling the last chance for the remaining people.
Those who were still cautiously wandering the giant forest, searching for the boxes, seemed to get a message at the same time as they turned their heads toward the light. It was the ending of the last round.
Coughing in embarrassment, Arthur glanced at Emma who was staring at him with raised brows. Her meaning was obvious since he has chosen a place filled with traps to teleport from. It was an honest mistake, but it resulted in most of the people who had tried to get the box to be eliminated.
Teleportation runes activated one after the other. Most were of elimination, but some get to touch the box using unorthodox means and cautious studying of the meadow. After long last, the final contestant passed.
Those who haven't passed yet got teleported away. Those who did pass received a message from their rings, signaling the end of the first region.
'Congratulations on passing the first region, you may wait for the ceremony that would take place in an hour. Please enjoy your time.'
The rest of the events came in a blur as everyone waited and chatted. Roy, Emma, and Arthur found themselves a couch as they began to chat about the forest. The princess kept glaring at Arthur, making him helpless.
'Weren't you the one who attacked me?' His mouth twitched in annoyance. After a while, she left him alone and kept staring at her cup while sitting in a corner by herself.
"Maybe we should invite the princess over?" Emma voiced out to the two. "She's also from our kingdom and she looks…" Arthur guessed the unsaid word was pitiful, and he felt the same. Roy agreed and Arthur shrugged.
After a few moments, Emma was back with princess Nera who Arthur got to know her name from Roy. They all sat down together and an awkward silence accompanied them.
"So, Arthur, tell us what happened to you in the test." Roy, appearing quite satisfied with his social skill and conversation maneuvering, picked out the worst topic to talk about.
"Nothing worth mentioning," Arthur smiled, feeling the princess grip her cup tighten. "Took care of a couple of annoying flies, that's all."
"Uh, flies? I didn't know such a monster existed in the forest…" Roy adjusted his glasses innocently. He was about to continue showing off his social skills to the princess, but she slammed the cup on the table.
"How can you talk this way about people from your kingdom!" Princess Nera seemed genuinely furious as she admonished him.
"I can, and I did."
"You…"
"Stop with this childishness, princess. My business has nothing to do with you." Arthur glared and the princess glared back. Their bodies spewed off a dangerous aura as if they were getting into a fight the next moment.
"How dare you?" The princess's face was frosty, her tone threatening. However, Arthur didn't back away as well and the tension rose until it was as thick as Roy's head, who tried to intervene and say something about their kingdom having no species of flies.
Emma tried to calm the two down as well, but it was the rings that had stopped their fight as they buzzed and informed them that they would be teleported. Everyone stood up, not wanting to fall as soon as they appeared in front of the crowd.
Their world changed again and they appeared on the platform, the sun hazy with its colors, late in the afternoon. As soon as they did appear, the host grandly welcomed them again.
"Tomorrow," He said after some congratulations for those who passed. "Only a hundred of you would be left. As for today, the world shall know your glory!"
When his words ended, their rings glowed like miniature stars as their color changed and some engravings appeared. Their earlier black appearance disappeared and was replaced by a bronze-metallic surface. One word was engraved on it too.
RAC101.
Runes Apprentice Cups, the First after the Hundredth.
This was a sign of glory. It represented being one of the top thousand Runes Apprentices in the world. It might sound undeserved, but reaching this place was simply too tough.
If you didn't have a recommendation, you needed to go through the preliminary rounds. As for the forest, it encompassed an essential factor and that was your perception of runes. This could only be harnessed by years of working around runes and studying them.
Them standing here was proof of their hard work and talent. Everyone got emotional, except for Arthur himself. He stood there blankly as he received the applause of the crowd.
He listened blankly as the host told them they would receive a room for the night and they could enjoy their time in the inner structure of the coliseum.
He listlessly walked with Emma and Roy as they headed to their rooms, where their numbers could be known through their ring. And when Emma asked him what's wrong, he flinched as he only realized that there 'was' actually something wrong.
'It feels undeserved.' He thought to himself and a round of blackness appeared in his chest. After he told Emma everything was okay and he bid them farewell, Arthur walked back to his room.
He felt neither happiness nor pride in his achievement, he dared not to. His ability was given to him by the legacy, something he stumbled upon after Jizo saw something in him. He suffered all those years, but it was unrelated to his current achievement.
Memories flooded his mind as he remembered a part of the conversation that he had with Jizo under that black sky. The reason he has been given so much.
'So, you want me to stop the world from going back to that Era? The Era of Yore?' He asked Jizo, bewildered as that Era was said to be the peak of humankind. There was no threat of mythical monsters and humans regained supreme. It was all tales, but it seemed true since Jizo asked him to stop its reappearance.
'To reach that Era humans will open gates and venture to the other world. They can't, history can't repeat itself. They dream of greatness, of omnipotence, but they're foolish. The only thing waiting for those who dream of such is… the end of things.'
'I can't stop the whole world, it's absurd.'
'Maybe,' Jizo smiled. 'But I chose you to try.'
'Why?' He asked after being stupefied.
'That's an answer you'll find yourself.'