It was a simple enough concept, but the details were what mattered.

  I'd always been told that simplicity was one of the best ways to make something effective, and the more complicated my plan became the less likely I was to be able to pull it off. The easiest way for me to think about this would have been as a three-step process; find an opening, take advantage of it, close the deal. And since I couldn't do any of those things without finding someone to kill, the first step was to get myself invited into their guild.

  This could be done in a number of ways, but in the end it all came down to me needing some new equipment. It wouldn't hurt if that equipment was flashy and unique looking, but that might have been asking too much. But if I could just get them to give me access to the guild house where they hung out, that would help my cause. It was important that I wasn't seen as a threat by them when they let me in, especially if the rest of what I planned to do required them to let me use their equipment.

  And so far as I could tell there were only two places where someone like me would really stand a chance at getting in – both being taverns that hosted tournaments. The problem was that I was going to need more than just a weapon to participate, not that I knew how else to get that kind of stuff. If I was going to go the tournament route it meant that I had to find a way to get the money to buy my own gear.

  But before I could worry about that, I needed to get access to the actual tournament venue. I could probably try to just waltz up to the door and ask nicely, but given our history the last thing I wanted was to be forced to fight my way through a crowd of people who hated me – particularly since I wouldn't know any of their names or faces. That might work if I was just trying to enter the place, but I didn't want to risk losing my temper again and making sure they knew exactly what they were dealing with. I could see someone taking pity on me, thinking that I was just a lost young man who couldn't control himself when he drank, only to have me go berserk once I got inside their place.

  What I did have to work with was the fact that people tended to congregate in these types of places, and that the owner's son was still friends with a number of the other players. So I took his advice and headed over to the first tournament, only to get there and find out that we weren't even allowed to enter. Apparently the entry fees were too expensive for the poor commoners who worked for us. There was a second tournament, held two days later, that was much more affordable and open to everyone, and I decided to try my luck there. The problem was that the winner of the first tournament got to choose who would be allowed into their exclusive club, which put me at a distinct disadvantage before I could even start playing.

  "How do you get into their club?" I asked the guy standing next to me at the entrance. His name was Harn, and he was another commoner like me. The difference between us was that he was tall, had long blond hair, and was handsome enough to turn heads. He was also an adventurer, and had been part of some kind of team that had come out on top in the first tournament.

  He looked surprised at the question, but nodded once he found his voice. "You're already a member if you won your entry fee in the tournament, but they don't tell anyone that until after they let you in. It's a big secret for the members. They'll never admit that, though, so there isn't much point in talking about it."

  I shook my head. "Well, thanks for telling me. I'm not sure what I expected, but I was hoping there was a trick to getting in that I hadn't thought of. I guess I can just hope for another tournament win so I can be a member from the start…"

  Harn nodded and then smiled at me. "If I were you I'd just get one of the women here to tell you the trick. It's cheaper than paying the entry fee."

  That was actually a pretty good idea. The problem, though, was that I was still nervous around girls I didn't know. If I let a woman approach me in this situation, I'd probably end up being led away by her before I could protest. I didn't know the rules of etiquette when it came to that sort of thing, so I didn't know how much trouble I would be in if things went bad. The alternative was to find a different kind of woman and make use of the same trick.

  I made my way down the street toward the nearest tavern, but my mind kept jumping all over the place. What would I do if I won the second tournament? Would that finally get them to let me join their exclusive club? Or would I have to pay a third tournament fee as well? And if I was able to get in, how was I supposed to pay for the cost of the equipment and travel that I'd need to participate in the fights?

  No matter what I tried to think about, each solution seemed to lead back to the same question: what could I reasonably hope to accomplish in such a short time? Even if I did somehow manage to get in, I had no way to actually compete with these guys; I wasn't good enough to win a tournament. I was smart enough to understand the rules, so I wasn't going to make a fool of myself by pretending I was better than I was, but there just wasn't any realistic way to win.

  I pushed that depressing thought aside as I entered the tavern, because I didn't want to have it ruin my appetite. I ordered myself something cheap and simple to eat, which came with a mug of beer that I drank while waiting for the tournament to begin. When they started calling out the names of the competitors, I grabbed hold of my sword, ready to go, and walked confidently toward the doors. I didn't really care whether I was the worst competitor in the room; I just wanted to get in and prove that I could do better than the rest of them.

  The woman at the door looked me up and down before nodding to herself. "Very good," she said, opening the door for me. The inside of the room was packed full of people, many of whom wore the guild symbols of the house that sponsored the tournament. There weren't even any chairs in the place to sit down, although there were plenty of tables to stand on. I was starting to think that I might have come to the wrong place when I heard a familiar voice call out my name.

  "Congratulations on winning your entry fee!"

  I looked up to see a smiling blonde girl waving at me. She was about my age, with bright blue eyes, a small nose and mouth, and smooth brown skin. Her hair was cut into a neat bob, framing her heart-shaped face. She was wearing a tight blue tunic that emphasized her slender figure, and there was a single golden ring on each of her index fingers. It was only when I saw that she was smiling at me that I realized that I knew her.

  "Hey, Rissa! You remember me?" I asked her.

  She turned a bright smile onto me as she waved back. "Of course I do, you little shithead. It's been ages since we last talked."

  I laughed and grinned at her in response. "It has been a while, hasn't it? Are you here looking for me?"

  Rissa shrugged. "Nah, I'm not really into fighting or anything. Not that I don't like it or anything, but I'm not really interested. I just figured it'd be a good way to spend my evening; I love watching tournaments. Oh, and speaking of which, you're in the right place if you want to watch the tournament."

  That certainly sounded like fun, but I still hesitated for a moment. After all, I still had a lot of questions. Why was she here? Had she come to ask me something too? And most importantly, where was she going to sit? I still didn't want to look at her directly, so I was stuck wondering where she would be from the corner of my eye.

  "Are you sure you want to stand here?" she asked me, turning to face me instead. "We could just sit together in some empty chairs if you'd prefer."

  I shook my head quickly. "You can stand wherever you like. I'm glad you decided to come with me, though; I wouldn't have wanted to miss this."

  Rissa grinned brightly at me. "Me too! Hey, have we ever talked about what happened in the tournament before?"

  "Well, yeah, once or twice," I answered. "Why? Did you want to reminisce?"

  "That sounds great!" Rissa exclaimed. "Come on, let's grab some seats and find a nice view. I bet there are a lot of good matches today, so it's a great chance to catch up!"

  And that was how the two of us wound up standing in the middle of a sea of people, each one wearing different expressions as they watched the tournament unfold, while Rissa and I tried to decide on a good spot to watch. I still hadn't seen many battles yet, but I did notice that several of the participants looked pretty intimidating. Most of them looked like mercenaries who specialized in close combat, which meant that they probably had a ton of experience with weapons.

  As we were standing there, however, we were approached by an old man. "Excuse me, ladies, but would you mind moving over to this area?" he asked, gesturing to a large table to our left.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

  Rissa gave me a questioning look, so I turned to follow his gesture. Sure enough, a few tables away from where I stood, there was a small crowd of spectators gathered around. We had gotten closer to the front rows now.

  "I guess that is better," Rissa said, sitting down and leaning against my shoulder. "Now, how should we start?"

  I smiled at her. "How about you fill me in on what you've been doing these past few months? I haven't seen you in ages. If you don't mind, that is..."

  My comment brought her to silence for a moment. Then, after taking a deep breath, she turned to look me straight in the eyes. "Okay," she said, "I'm going to get straight to it. This is all going to sound weird, so bear with me for a second."

  I nodded firmly at her and waited patiently for her to continue. After a moment, I could almost feel her relax a little bit. "You know that I live in Vassilios, right?"

  "Yeah, you said that the other day," I answered. "Is this going to be about that?"

  If she was referring to that, I couldn't say that I was surprised. There were still a number of lingering questions I had about that whole incident. That wasn't to say I doubted Rissa's story, but I just needed to hear it for myself.

  Rissa nodded and continued. "Yes, well... I'm sorry to tell you this, but everything you told me isn't true."

  She paused to let her words sink in for a moment, then continued. "First of all, it definitely wasn't just a few guardsmen that attacked us. It was actually a group of more than a dozen men. At least, that's what I saw with my own eyes."

  A shiver ran through my body at those words. Even if I knew that a group of mercenaries had attacked her, I never expected the actual numbers to be so high. It made sense that they would need that many soldiers if they wanted to take her down, but I wasn't prepared for the reality of it.

  "Second," Rissa continued, "no one in Vassilios came to our aid either, despite the fact that they're supposed to be our allies. In fact, no one in any of the other cities around us tried to help us at all. The only ones who helped out were a few merchants from another city, and a group of adventurers who arrived after the battle was already over."

  "Wait, so they didn't even come to your rescue while they were right in front of them?" I asked, shocked by her explanation.

  "That's exactly right," Rissa answered. "They were probably trying to buy us off, but they just ended up buying themselves a new enemy. They didn't even bother with trying to negotiate. Oh, and I also heard that most of the local townsfolk weren't even told about the attack in the first place. Apparently, there were a few people who managed to find out what happened, but no one else was allowed to know about it."

  "So how did you escape?" I asked. "The guards must've heard about the mercenaries' arrival, right? Otherwise, we'd have found out when we went back to the inn."

  Rissa took a deep breath and nodded firmly. "Yeah, that's exactly right," she replied. "We managed to sneak out the back and make it into town without anyone seeing us leave. But the biggest problem was that we didn't get to use any of our belongings until then."

  I blinked. I hadn't known that there was anything else important inside the wagon that I had purchased from Rissa. Now that she mentioned it, though, that made perfect sense. That wagon was a mobile home, not a carriage or something. I suppose the fact that she hadn't noticed that it was missing until now should tell me about its importance to her.

  "Anyway," Rissa continued after a moment, "as soon as we arrived in town, we went to a local mage for help. He cast a spell that erased our memories and transported us to a different location."

  "What?!" I shouted at her. "You mean to tell me that we've been sleeping outside the whole time since that attack?"

  Rissa nodded firmly at my question. "Yep, that's right." Her answer had stunned me into silence for a moment. Then, after taking a deep breath and letting the air out of my lungs carefully, I spoke again. "Are you sure that you don't remember anything?"

  My question caused Rissa to pause before shaking her head firmly at me. "Not a thing," she said. "I woke up in an unfamiliar forest a couple days ago. I think we might have been teleported to a small village nearby, but I can't quite remember that far back."

  I sighed softly and nodded at her. "As soon as we got here, we immediately sought out help. Unfortunately, I don't really know anyone in Vassilios that could help us, so we had to travel all the way to the capital for help. I'm sorry, but I don't know what happened after that."

  Rissa shook her head gently. "It doesn't matter. I'm glad we met up again, even if we did just happen to meet a second time."

  I felt my cheeks redden at her words. "Hey, hey..." I began, then stopped herself. I didn't want to ruin the mood by making fun of myself. After blinking repeatedly for a few moments, I smiled at Rissa instead. "In fact, let's forget about all of this and just focus on having fun together."

  Rissa tilted her head slightly at my suggestion. "What do you mean?"

  I grinned broadly at her question. "Well, let's pretend like none of this ever happened, okay? All of these events that we talked about today are just some sort of dream. And that means that the people we know and care about are still alive somewhere. Let's go back to enjoying the rest of our lives as normal people."

  Rissa looked at me for a few seconds. Her face seemed to be telling me one thing: "Seriously?" But in the end, she shrugged. "Okay, let's try it," she said. "It may sound strange, but it sounds like a good idea to me." She paused briefly before nodding at me emphatically. "Let's go with it."

  I grinned and nodded back at her. "Cool. Okay, let's do it." I held out my hand to her. "Now, let's get a room and enjoy ourselves."

  Rissa grabbed hold of my offered hand and shook it firmly. "Right," she said. "And let's make sure our dreams never become nightmares again."

  The next several days passed quickly for us. We stayed at the same inn for the first few nights of our stay in Vassilios, then moved on to a different inn for the remaining nights. The only reason we left the inns behind was because we were trying to keep our identities secret and wanted to avoid any more attention from the locals than absolutely necessary.

  After several days of sightseeing in Vassilios, we ended up in a nice little café near the center of the city. It was an early morning, and we were both wearing our casual clothes; Rissa's usual leather pants and shirt combo, while I was wearing the black long-sleeved shirt and brown knee-length pants that had been a part of my adventurer gear, along with a pair of brown boots.

  We'd ordered coffees for each of us as soon as we sat down at our table and started drinking them. As we sipped quietly at our drinks, Rissa's eyes suddenly widened.

  "Ah!" she cried out excitedly. "Look at that! Look at him go!"

  She was pointing at someone walking past the café window. I followed her gaze to see a man wearing a red cape flapping loosely behind him as he walked with a slight limp. "Hmm..." I grunted. "That must be the Red Cap."

  "I'd heard rumors of a masked thief who was preying on the city," Rissa said, "but I didn't believe they were true." She paused. "Well... maybe I kind of did. Anyway, I guess I'm actually looking at him now."

  "He's a real jerk," I added, "even by the standards of thieves. Apparently, there were a bunch of them operating in town about six months ago, and the city guards managed to chase them all away."

  "Oh, cool." Rissa nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah, I've heard of this group too. I read a newspaper article about it. They're supposed to be the best thieves in Vassilios, after all."

  I nodded silently at her words. "You know... it makes sense that they would operate in a city like Vassilios. It's easy for them to get to and from, plus there are lots of valuable items being transported around. You don't really find that kind of stuff in Turgonia."

  Rissa gave me an amused look. "So, you're saying that because it's hard for you, the other races have to deal with the trouble of fighting in a war, right?"

  I blinked at her words. "Hm?"

  "You humans sure are weird," she muttered. "Anyway, what are we going to do about that thief? Should we just let him walk away and pretend we never saw him?"

  I shrugged. "I don't know... I'd prefer not to let him get away, but I can't exactly tell the city guards about him either. I'm afraid they'll arrest him if I do."

  "If he comes back and tries to rob us when we leave, though..." she muttered.

  I stared intently at her for a moment before shaking my head at her words. "Nah, that's a waste of time. He won't be coming back here. Not unless there's something about his outfit that's letting him blend in with the local population. In that case, I might give him another thought, but until then, he's not worth worrying about."

  Rissa nodded in response to my statement, but then she asked me a serious question. "Say you're wrong, though... what are we going to do if he comes back and robs us, then?"

  "Ah, right," I replied. "In that case, I guess I should probably try to beat him into unconsciousness, then call the guards and ask them to arrest him."

  "You're serious?" Rissa asked. "Just beat him up, without any kind of weapon, because he's a thief?"

  "Hey, if I'm wrong, I've got nothing to worry about," I said lightly. "I'm not the type to lose my temper at people who're trying to steal from me, so it's unlikely he'll even attack me. And if he does, well... I'll just beat him a little harder next time."

  Rissa seemed impressed by my words. "Yeah, that's pretty cool," she commented. "You're not scared of hurting someone, are you?"

  "Not particularly," I said, shrugging. "Even if a human died from a single punch from my fist, their body wouldn't have enough energy left to do any real damage. It's a shame, though... I'd love to hear one or two of those humans scream in pain as I hit them, but I guess I can live without that."

  Rissa snickered at my words. "Yeah, that's true. But don't worry; you're safe from us dragons. There aren't many ways in which we can harm you humans."

  The corners of my lips turned up slightly. "Yeah, and that's another reason why I'm so interested in fighting you all. Now that I've finally seen your race in action, I want to know how much more powerful I am than you are."

  "Is that right?" Rissa grinned at me. "You do seem to be quite curious about us, after all."

  I chuckled lightly at her words. "Hey, I'd like to learn a little about my enemy before I face it... that's only natural."

  "It certainly is," Rissa replied. "That's exactly what I wanted to hear. So then, you're all right with us dragons training you until you're ready to fight us?"

  "Yes, I think so," I responded. "I understand that dragons would be better suited to beating me up anyway, and I'm pretty sure our current plan will still work out perfectly fine. We haven't really changed anything about it except for a few small details. If it doesn't work out, we can always change things later, right?"

  "Well, uh... yeah," Rissa frowned. "I suppose so."

  I laughed softly at her expression. "Okay, then. In that case... let's train!"