Emil slumped into the fluffy cushioning of a couch within the common room of the contestant mansion. With half of the remaining participants now eliminated, he had the luxurious space to himself.

  The soft caress of the couch did wonders to soothe the persistent, pulsating pains awash over his limbs. He tried not to move. His match against Gaius did numbers on his body. He closed his eyes, basking in the comfort, on the verge of a blissful sleep.

  If not for the incessant nagging of a certain person.

  “Look at you, falling asleep after beating Gaius. Did one victory against the eighth seed make you cocky? Do you think the Second Prince is a trivial opponent? Do you want to lose pathetically like Lira did against him?!”

  The endless buzzing droned on. Emil reluctantly pried his eyes open. He might have been more inclined to listen if the nagging came from his favorite scarlet-haired friend. Instead, to his surprise, the source of his distress was Kai.

  “…What are you doing?” he asked.

  “What are you doing?” Kai pointed at him with a nasty scowl. “You’re the only one out of the semifinalists who is lodging around like this is a sleep party! I thought you had ambitions to reach the finals!”

  “…I do. But I’m not exactly in a position to train,” Emil said, lifting up his arm weakly as if to prove a point, “The rest of them didn’t get their shit kicked in by a fucking dragon.”

  “And that’s the problem!” Kai took a seat on the coach across from him.

  Didn’t he get eliminated? Is he even allowed to be here? Emil shoved those questions to the back of his mind as Kai began his ramblings.

  “There’s a severe gap between you and the rest of the semifinalists. You’re missing something. What do you think it is?”

  “Umm, money?” he blurted out half-jokingly.

  Kai smacked the table in frustration. “Take this seriously dammit!”

  But it’s true. Rory and Liesel were the apex of Ardair’s nobility, while Anna was the daughter of the Seibert Merchant Company.

  Letting out an exhausted sigh, Emil pushed himself up from his lazy position, wincing as his joints and limbs protested from the movement. Kai seemed to genuinely want to help him for whatever reason, and so, out of consideration, he gave his question some serious thought.

  “…I’m over reliant on my martial prowess. I don’t have the same command over my Gift as the rest of them.”

  “That, and you’re also missing a ‘kill’ move. Something reliable that you call upon to instantly give you an overwhelming advantage or turn the tides of the battle,” Kai explained, “For example, Rory’s Excalibur. Liesel’s Niflheim. The paralysis effects of Anna’s Volt. The remaining semifinalists all have something in their arsenal that could change the momentum of a fight in a pinch. What do you have?”

  “My, uh, fists.”

  “My ass. You have nothing,” Kai snapped, “All I’ve seen you use are simple stone projections. The most complex phenomenon you’ve created so far was the stone fist that knocked Gaius out of the air. But even then, it seemed like you were only able to put it off because Gaius gave you time to prepare.” Kai narrowed his eyes. “You have an issue with complex phenomenon.”

  Emil winced. Not only was his body hurting, but now his mind was also taking mental damage. He hated how spot-on Kai was his assessment.

  “…The complexity isn’t the limiting factor. I have no issues coming up with intricate ways to use my Gift. But it’s my speed,” he admitted, “I can’t conjure the complex structures in my head fast enough to be useable in combat.”

  “You’re lacking practice.”

  “What do you mean?” Emil asked. The perplexed look on his face earned a long groan from Kai. His shoulder slumped while his hands massaged his forehead in disbelief.

  “How do you not know this? How the hell did Gaius and I even lose to you?!” he stomped the ground in frustration.

  Whatever man, I only awakened this Gift like two months ago. Emil thought in his head, slightly amused at the half-Gharian’s reaction.

  Kai sighed. “You’re probably thinking about all the individual details in your head as you’re creating the phenomenon.”

  He suddenly his finger. A small pocket of water spontaneously manifested above his hands. The cascade of liquid immediately morphed into the intricate shape of a broken tulip, complete with minute details down to the petal. It only took a second for the flower to fully form.

  “Liesel did something similar when she was showing off that day before the preliminaries. This is not some secret technique that only House Belle knows, nor is it the result of our innate Processing abilities. This is simply memorization and repetition,” Kai explained, “Complex phenomena become easier and faster to create once you stop needing to think about each individual details. It should be second nature—just like how you don’t need to think about breathing and walking. You simply do it.”

  Emil nodded. All of what Kai said was logical. The issue, however, was timing.

  “Sure, I guess. But I only have this evening. I doubt that’s enough time to get a ‘kill’ move prepared enough for combat.”

  “It might have been enough time if you didn’t waste the entire afternoon on the couch!” Kai protested, before suddenly narrowing his eyes, “Another thing. Your Gift. I don’t understand why you’re restricting yourself.”

  Restricting myself? Emil blinked, confused by the accusation. “What do you mean?”

  “I see. So it’s subconscious. You don’t even realize you’re doing this,” Kai groaned, slapping the side of his head in disillusionment, “There’s incongruence in the way you fight. When you’re fighting with your body, you’re extremely aggressive, border line barbaric at times. But with your Gift, you almost exclusively use it in a defensive manner. You obstruct movement with stone projections and creating holes on the ground, you block with stone walls, and you protect your body in stone armor. Those are the moves that you most commonly use during your fights.”

  “…Yeah? I suppose so.”

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  “But why?!” Kai screamed, almost hysterical, “Why are you limiting yourself? Why are you overcomplicating things? Just throw a piece of rock at your opponent! And do it again! And again! And again, until they surrender! It’s so easy!”

  “Erm—”

  “Your Gift is called Bulwark, which implies that you associate your Gift with protection and defense. But actually, your Gift is broader than that. It’s manifesting and manipulating earth. You can toss it. You can smash it. You can destroy it. You can do literally anything with earth. So why are you in restrictive with your thinking?”

  Emil leaned back against the couch, falling deep into contemplation as he processed Kai’s words. Kai had a point. When he compared himself to the freedom in how Kai and Liesel used their Gifts, the contrast became startling clear. Fundamentally, there was no difference between them aside from the element that they controlled.

  He thought back to the moment of his Awakening. Bulwark was bestowed onto him in that intense moment of duress when he was trying to save the orphans from dying in the collapsing Nostra facility. The image of “saving” and “protecting” must have been ingrained in his subconscious.

  And I was probably using this association to prevent myself from accidentally using the wrong Gift at the wrong time.

  If Bulwark was protection, then Blaze was destruction. The difference in this mental association is what allowed him to not mix up his Gifts during these intense periods of combat. Emil was hesitant to break the association for fear that it might cause him to break his cover. But Kai was right. This restriction will only hinder his growth.

  “…Why are you telling me all this by the way?” Emil suddenly asked.

  “Huh?” Kai raised an eye.

  “I’ll admit this has been really eye-opening. So thank you. But there’s no reason for you to be helping me out, is there?”

  Kai scratched the back of his head, visibly uncomfortable at the question. “I don’t like unpaid debts. You gave me a second chance to participate in the knockout rounds. Even if it was against that damn Ice Maiden, I got to show off to all those pompous nobles and self-important elites. Ardair is now aware of the name Kai Kiyeng. That opportunity doesn’t come out often.”

  “Ah, so even you have a conscious. Now that’s surprising,” Emil teased.

  “Oh, shut up,” Kai clicked his tongue. “Just make sure you win tomorrow. It would be so embarrassing if I said this much just for you to lose.”

  Here we go.

  Petra strapped the side of her thighs with an assortment of knives, positioned expertly for easy access in a pinch. She draped a black cloak over her shoulders, covering the array of vicious weaponry concealed on her body. She tossed over her hood and wrapped her mouth in a black cloth. Night gear. A typical outfit for an outing into the night of Azure City.

  She bid a farewell to Mia and Raz before silently creeping out of her residence from the backdoor. Procedural caution. She didn’t want her neighbors to see her leave in strange attire.

  Her objective tonight was to investigate the malicious actors that Emil spoke of two weeks ago before the start of the Clash of Dawn.

  It was embarrassing for her to admit, but she hadn’t made any concrete progress on her investigations. Petra visited the area where Emil encountered the malicious actors a few times, trying to provoke a reaction or catch them in action. Nothing. The miscreants continued to lay low, seemingly content to remain in the shadows. The absence of activity confounded her—to the point where she considered that perhaps Emil was mistaken.

  They could have just been regular hooligans who were at the wrong place at the wrong time, just as the Sentinels were relocated to their new posts.

  The thought revisited her many times. She shook it off, forcing to herself to focus. On the odd chance that her junior was wrong, she would be angered at the wasted time, but nothing bad would arise. But if she happened to be wrong, then the consequences might be severe.

  As the Clash of Dawn winded down to its final days, Petra grew increasingly frustrated. Out of options, she decided to use a last resort.

  She entered the Second Sector of Azure City. A dank, putrid stench hung in the air—a nauseating mix of beer, piss, and trash. The effects of the Sentinel’s absence were starting to rear its head. Disorder filled the streets as drunk civilians stumbled around in a meandering stupor. Vulgar words blared in the air as she strolled by. A man tried to grab her arm. She immediately side-stepped the attempt and lashed out with a vicious kick.

  Her assailant slumped to the ground, immediately unconscious. Petra paid him no more attention as she continued to her destination. This sort of incident was becoming a regular occurrence. With Clash of Dawn ongoing, the Sentinel’s attention was divided between the Hidden Laboratories and the First Sector, where majority of the nobles and other wealthy elites were staying. For the Council of Mana, the growing disorder of the Second Sector was an afterthought—something to be dealt with once all the important guests had left the city.

  Here it is.

  Petra was before a run-down establishment on the corner of the main street. Inscribed on a rusted wooden board that served as its storefront were the words, “Azure’s Ale.” She smirked at the bizarre name and scrolled in.

  The familiar gloomy lightning remained unchanged since the last time she was here. She took a seat by the counter. After a few minutes, Lugner, the bartender, appeared.

  “Hello, how can I serve you on this fine evening?” he asked in his usual faux, noble mannerism. Petra grinned beneath her mask. She couldn’t help but smirk each time she heard that over-the-top cadence. She procured a silver coin and placed it on the table.

  “Ah, a repeat customer. Please, right this way.” He beckoned towards the backrooms of the establishment. Petra soon found herself in a soundproofed room alone with one of the best information brokers in the city.

  “So, madame, you are undoubtedly familiar with my services. How can I be of assistance?”

  “Any notable abnormalities or incidents in the past three weeks?” Petra asked while placing a chunk of coins on the table.

  Lugner nodded, eyeing the coins with greed. “There were plumes of smoke spotted far in the western section of the Third Sector at night. Sentinels were spotted entering the woods. That was almost exactly three weeks ago,” he said, pocketing two of the silver coins.

  That’s likely the Hidden Laboratory that Emil destroyed. Good to know it reached the ears of the information brokers. But this is not what I need right now.

  “How about the Second Sector?” she tried again, “I’m looking signs of trouble, unrest, anything unusual or out of the norm that might be occurring.”

  “The entirety of the Second Sector is experiencing an abnormal time, madame. You don’t need me to tell you that petty crime is on the rise,” Lugner said with a professional smile, “The signs are all in front of you.”

  Petra leaned back against the chair, frowning at the vague response. He’s telling me to be more specific. She clicked her tongue. The frustrating thing about Lugner was his tendency to play these annoying games. As an information broker, the less their clients knew, the more business they could extract. Lugner, in particular, was meticulous about the information he was willing to divulge and the number of coins he could squeeze out from each transaction.

  “Besides the guests attending the Clash of Dawn, were there any suspicious groups or individuals that have entered the Second Sector over the past three weeks?”

  “What do you consider suspicious?” Lugner asked.

  This bastard.

  “…I’m aware that the Sentinels changed their patrol assignments three weeks ago,” she said, conceding this piece of knowledge, “I’m looking for individuals that might have encroached onto the Second Sector around that time. Non-natives of Azure City. Foreigners. Folks that the locals don’t know. Does that ring a bell?”

  “Now you’re speaking my language,” Lugner said as he moved five silver coins towards his side of the table, “There was a person of interest spotted with a Gharian on the outskirts of the southeastern quarters several days ago. Male. Tall. Sturdy. Likely a warrior. What made him notable was his appearance. He had sharp eyes and features reminiscent of those from the East.”

  Petra frowned. Emil didn’t mention anything about an Eastern warrior. Still, she was curious. Ardair did not have a friendly relationship with the eastern nations. It was rare to see a foreigner from the area, much less one this deep in the heart of the kingdom.

  “What was he doing?” she asked.

  Lugner moved another couple of coins to his side. Petra winced at her rapidly depleting budget. Damn you, Emil. I’m deducting this from your salary.

  “Not much apparently. The Gharian that he accompanied, however, was spotted speaking with a group of individuals of unknown affiliation.” Lugner must have noticed the gleam in Petra’s eyes as he immediately took the last coin from the pile. Without being prompted, he retrieved a folded map from his jacket’s pocket. “They were seen here.”

  Petra noted the location. Finally, she had a lead.