208 – Ally

Most people in the room had gone quiet as they watched Vivi and Mina’s brewing altercation, as was only sensible when sharing a confined space with two orichalcum-or-higher adventurers. The guards looked especially nervous; it wasn’t like they could do much to stop a fight.

Regardless of the reasons for their scrutiny, Vivi was left suppressing the urge to squirm as many appraising gazes lingered on her, some subtle and some not. Thankfully, Mina drew more attention than her. The necromancer had been the one to showcase her strength, though probably nobody present was capable of recognizing just how fast she’d moved beyond ‘too fast to track.’

Vivi cleared her throat. “We’ll talk about what happened after we get signed up,” she told Suyin.

“Very well, Honored Sister.” There was a hint of forced neutrality in her words.

When Vivi’s turn in line arrived, the administrator made no mention of the drama-filled confrontation. He briskly and politely explained the terms of the orichalcum-rank open division qualifiers. They were much the same as the previous tiers, though with an exception: a simple win/loss record wouldn’t guarantee advancement. Some people who won three and lost two might move forward, and others wouldn’t, since there were a limited number of slots in the tournament. Apparently she might have to undergo one or two final filtering matches if she ended up straddling the cutoff.

Vivi didn’t pay close attention, partly because she was distracted by her encounter with Mina and partly because she wouldn’t lose any matches in the first place. The fine print of the qualification terms hardly mattered.

A few minutes later, she and Suyin were striding out into the packed arena stands. Vivi had mentally run through the interaction she’d had with Mina, and thankfully, the crazy woman hadn’t said anything incriminating in the unsalvageable sense.

“You and Xun bumped into her earlier, I take it?” Vivi said, since it seemed like Suyin was restraining herself from broaching the topic.

“Briefly. We watched one of her fights several days ago. Master drew her attention by aggravating her, though I don’t know how.”

“Ah. He can sense souls too?” It didn’t seem like a common swordsman trait, but Xun wasn’t a common swordsman. She doubted his skill manifested in the same manner as her own perception, but high-ranking individuals across all disciplines would be able to detect unusual phenomena.

“Souls?” Plain curiosity warred on Suyin’s face against something else she couldn’t identify. The latter won out; Suyin grimaced and dipped her head. “Apologies, Lady Vianora, but please don’t say more.”

It wasn’t a response she’d expected. “You… don’t want an explanation for what happened in there?”

Suyin laughed humorlessly. “Of course I do. But Master rarely gives me orders. He told me not to entangle myself with that woman, and to not question him about her. While you are not him, the spirit of his command is clear.”

“I see,” Vivi said, taking a few seconds to adjust to the unexpected reply. “Does that mean I can’t ask about what happened between you three?”

Suyin glanced left and right as if scanning for eavesdroppers.

“I’m shielding our words, of course,” Vivi said. It had become a habit to toss a barrier up whenever the topic drifted anywhere sensitive, her being who she was.

Suyin relaxed. “Then yes. I see no problem with that. But I can’t tell you what Master saw, whether he knows her from the past or by reputation, or anything else. He told me nothing. As for what I saw with my own eyes: his interaction with her was nearly identical to yours, beyond the—” She paused. “—identity matter. He did something to irritate her, and she took offense and stormed up to antagonize him. It ended with threats but no violence.”

Suyin’s brow furrowed.

“I’ve caught her watching me a few times since then. But she’s never approached.”

“She’s been watching you?” Vivi asked, suddenly alarmed.

“From afar. She’s doing it to get a rise out of Master, I’m nearly certain.” Her nose wrinkled. “It’s working. He’s been agitated.”

Vivi hadn’t been especially concerned by the necromancer, but that Mina was targeting Suyin changed matters. Xun was hardy, sure, but Suyin was practically a bronze-rank compared to the three of them.

“Also,” the disciple said slowly, squinting at Vivi, “Master seems cautious of her. He israrely cautious of other people, Lady Vianora. I understand that you’re a composed woman and that you didn’t flinch at Master’s goading either, but I assumed that was because you had detected his intent. That you knew he was a good man, ultimately. That woman, however…” She trailed off before shaking her head to clear it. “Did you really not sense danger from her?”

Of course Vivi had. But was Mina on the same level as a top-tier Cataclysm or the King of Dragons—meaning a real threat? No, definitely not. She would even go so far as to say such a thing would be impossible, except that word didn’t belong in her lexicon given everything she had seen.

It was unfortunate that Suyin had read into that passive disregard of Vivi’s.

She wasn’t smart enough to come up with a great excuse for it. “She’s strong and unstable, but I doubted it would escalate into a fight. Not in public.”

“You must’ve had some faith,” Suyin said dubiously.

Vivi shrugged. “You mentioned your and Xun’s encounter happened ‘several days ago.’ Before I left?”

“Yes, shortly before.”

“And you didn’t tell me about it?” She took care to not sound accusatory.

Suyin blinked. “I didn’t see how it involved you, Lady Vianora.”

That’s… entirely fair.

She’d gotten into a habit of inserting herself into other people’s affairs. Why wouldn’t she try to fix problems when they appeared? At least the ones that she could, though maybe this one she couldn’t. Staring menacingly or goading reactions out of other Titled was pretty mild in the grand scheme of things. What would Vivi do about it? Intimidate Mina in turn and tell her to leave Xun and Suyin alone? Without revealing herself as the Sorceress, that wasn’t a viable plan of attack.

“Or did you mean you would have liked a warning?” Suyin asked. “Master told me to wash my hands of it, to forget her entirely. He sees that as the best way to avoid further entanglement. I figured that discussing her with you would violate such an instruction. It’s only because of what just happened that I am now.”

“It’s fine,” Vivi said. “And I didn’t mean a warning. Just that if there’s some strange Titled trying to mess with you and Xun, I would’ve liked to know, even if it’s not my business.”

Suyin gave her a curious look.

In an attempt to break up the serious conversation, Vivi said, “After all, what would I do if my teacher were hurt? I’m still not where I need to be.” She patted the handle of her sword.

Suyin huffed. “Truthfully, I’m nearing my limits on where I can take that style, but as for the intention of your words…” She clasped her hands and bowed. “This disciple is honored that you consider her an ally rather than a mere acquaintance.”

Vivi hadn’t expected the earnestness. She rarely handled such a thing well. “Of course,” she replied awkwardly. “I’ll speak with Xun about the necromancer.” Her brow furrowed a fraction. “Why isn’t he here now?”

An annoyed expression flickered onto Suyin’s face. “Chasing some woman or another, I’m sure. I don’t keep track of him.”

He’s leaving her alone, despite a crazy necromancer stalking her? Even if Mina is targeting Suyin just to goad Xun, that seems reckless.

Except she was being silly. Suyin was a grown woman; Xun wasn’t going to watch over her twenty-four-seven. Suyin surely had protective artifacts or other measures to ensure her safety, too. It wasn’t like Vivi guarded Saffra constantly, and the beastkin was in more relative danger, being the Sorceress’s apprentice.

Maybe I’m a bit of a worrywart.

The conversation tapered off, and Vivi mulled over the situation.

The crazy woman wasn’t a pressing concern like a lot of matters she had dealt with, but an unhinged necromancer on the loose who was aware of Vianora’s real identity was worth her attention. The latter part more than the former—the link to Vianora. The first was a given: it’d been obvious the tournament would pull in a few of the less heroic Titled.

The threat earlier to ‘kill her or worse’ didn’t sit right with Vivi, but she didn’t know whether the necromancer would follow through. In some ways, Mina had been controlled in her actions. She’d taken real offense at having her soul scrutinized, yet had stopped herself from escalating. She hadn’t even touched Vivi’s hair when denied.

In the end, insulting words were just words.

Regardless, Vivi would be following up with both Xun and Rafael.

She and Suyin had leaned against an open part of the railing as they talked, and an especially loud cheer from the crowd had her distracted gaze turning to the fight below. As engrossing as the conversation topic had been, she’d half forgotten that combat was underway.

The first competitor was a man in golden armor wielding a shining lance of similar color—no doubt the Golden Lion the teenaged duo had been bickering about earlier. His opponent was transmogrified into a twelve-foot-tall bear with gray fur.

A bear against a lion. Hah.

Vivi peered closer. “Didn’t you fight that druid earlier?”

“I did.”

“And beat him.”

“My closest match so far, but yes, I came out on top.”

“He’s doing pretty well against the lancer.”

Suyin tilted her head, obviously sensing a question.

Vivi wondered if she was being rude, since her curiosity stemmed from comparing relative strengths between the three. “The kids earlier were making it sound like the Golden Lion is strong. If he’s not demolishing someone you won against…? Not to imply anything, of course, I just expected him to be in the upper ranks of Titled.”

Meaning, someone so strong that even Suyin’s talent couldn’t overcome the many-hundred-level gap.

Thankfully, Suyin only seemed amused. “You don’t know Meridian’s hometown hero?” Fortunately, Vivi didn’t have to answer, because Suyin continued, “Suppose that makes sense. You’re an elf, and you don’t seem like you care much about keeping up with known Titled. ’Specially the weaker ones.”

Well, the first part didn’t apply, but the second one did. Rafael had given her a list of Titled and pleaded with her to memorize it to avoid any diplomatic incidents, but while she’d registered ‘the Golden Lion,’ it had only been a flicker of recognition.

“More or less,” Vivi said. “So he is on the weaker end?”

What’s with the whole ‘six championships’ thing the girl was going on about, then? she thought.

“It’s not like one of the strongest people in the world would sit around play-fighting,” Suyin said with a snort. The initial words had been delivered casually, almost bored-sounding, but a second after they left her mouth, she cleared her throat and straightened from her leaned-over position on the railing. “Er… not that one or even two hundred levels past Titled isn’t one of the ‘strongest people in the world.’ That was poorly phrased.”

“I get what you mean.” People like Aeris, the Archbishop, or Mizar Keresi, the truly elite, were leaders in one way or another. Most high-Titled had responsibilities and obligations. They didn’t partake in the sports-styled tournaments the city hosted on the regular. “He’s in it for the game.”

That probably meant a lot of long-standing fans were going to be disappointed with their heroes. Vivi doubted the Golden Lion would make it even to the top sixteen based on what she was seeing below.

Suyin turned to blink several times at Vivi. Then the woman flushed, a combination of reactions that Vivi found very odd.

“What is it?”

“Just making me feel bad about how judgmental I am,” Suyin grumbled, crossing her arms on the railing and putting her chin on her forearm. “I wouldn’t have said ‘for the love of the game.’ I’d have said ‘for the fame and adoration.’ But I know nothing about him. That’s unfair.”

“I wouldn’t say the two are exclusive,” Vivi said. “Honestly, I bunched them together.” She doubted many championship fighters existed that didn’t revel in the attention they got.

“I think you’re trying to make me feel better,” Suyin said wryly.

She wasn’t, but Suyin continued speaking before Vivi could insist on the point.

“Wonder why he’s here in the open division qualifiers,” the disciple said. “Not a chance he didn’t get a ticket through. All known Titled had to have, especially the golden boy.”

“To get a feel for the other fighters?” Vivi suggested. “I assume he mostly fights other people in his circuit, or however that works.”

Vivi was briefly distracted, wondering how sports-like fighting worked in regard to the System. Did it grant substantial experience, or was it no better than sparring? A tournament fight wasn’t life or death, but it seemed higher-stakes than training battles, which felt like something that would give extra benefits.

As always, the System was a major unknown; there was little point in musing over its hidden mechanisms. Though maybe that was why she liked doing so.

In the end, the Golden Lion won his match, and he wasn’t pushed to his limit either. While not a powerhouse like Aeris, he was clearly a superb fighter.

I’m sure he’s out fighting monsters like everyone else, Vivi thought. That was where real experience—capital E experience—came from, so the man couldn’t be a sheltered noble, at least in the domain of life-or-death combat.

Suyin shook her head as if breaking out of a trance. “Ah, we got distracted again,” she said. “Good fight, but we’ve our own training to worry about. You have a spot picked out?”