I slowly got out of that terrible bed and finally walked out of the medical room. With my cup of course.
That was everything I had.
One tiny dented cup with a new crack on it and this new super cool C Rank skill I did not have any idea on how to control.
The corridor outside the medical room was really quiet
Like so quiet that if I dropped something on the floor, it would sound like someone just dropped a full on bomb.
I checked in on Oracle while I walked.
"Oracle!"
"Yes"
"The new skill Magic Shot..... How does that work exactly?"
"It allows the user to fire concentrated magical energy through any object or body part at the point of release," Oracle said. "The output will scale with the users magic capacity and there intent. Currently unrefined. Accuracy not guaranteed."
"So I can fire this magic shot through something other than my cup."
"Theoretically, yes."
"Like what exactly?."
"Oracle requires more data....!You have used it only once against a Grade Eight dragon. Oracle does not have enough information to give accruate guidance yet."
"Fantastic......." I said.
"Your welcome!"
I then turned this random corner.
Sable was standing at the end of the corridor.
She looked at me with a bright smile when I came around the corner.
Her eyes lit up, like a flame just lit in her eyes..
"OH THANK GOD!" she said.
I stopped walking.
"ARE YOU OKAY?" She was already moving toward me. "I have been trying to find out where they took you! Nobody would tell me anything! How are you feeling? Do you need anything? Have you eaten? Are you in pain?"
She had the look of someone who had just spent the last couple hours preparing for bad news and was only just starting to believe it.
"I am fine.." I said.
"You passed out in the middle of the arena," she said. "That is not fine. That is the opposite of fine. How is your magic capacity? Did they check everything? Who treated you? Was it someone good?"
"I was treated carefully by Ciel," I said. " A Healing specialist. She is a registered Gauntlet medic."
Sable stared at me for a second.
"I do not know who that is," she said.
"She seemed to know what she was doing."
"Seemed?" Sable said. "Seemed is not good enough. You nearly died."
"The cup is fine though!"
I said with a smile.
She looked at the cup.
Then she looked at me.
"I am so glad you are okay," she said quietly.
She said it like she meant it.
[ GUTTER INTUITION: Minor irregularity detected. Source unclear. Filing. ]
I filed it and kept walking.
"How long were you unconscious?"
"A couple hours," I said.
"A couple hours," she repeated.
"I am fine Sable," I said.
"You threw a cup at a Grade Eight dragon and passed out in front of forty thousand people and seven kings," she said. "You are allowed to not be fine. THIS IS ALL MY FAULT FOR BRINGING YOU HERE!."
"But I am fine, and its not your fault."
She looked at me for a second.
"Okay, fine..." she said.
She did not sound convinced.
Moments later we finally arrived at arena gate.
The preparation area was so loud.
There was Thirteen candidates. All of them were either warming up, or standing around looking at each other trying to figure out who was worth worrying about. I only recognized a couple from Phase Two. One of them being Toven. He was in the corner doing some weird shit with his hands that you would think be stretching. but it was more like he was trying to start a fight with himself. The second being Fen. He just sitting on the floor with not a care in the world eating another one of his mystery snacks and looking completely unbothered by everything around him.
Then the announcement came.
"ATTENTION ALL PHASE THREE CANDIDATES!"
The preparation area hushed up real quick.
"PHASE THREE OF THE ROYAL GAUNTLET WILL NOW BE EXPLAINED! UNLIKE THE PREVIOUS PHASES ONE AND TWO WHICH WERE INDIVIDUAL ASSESSMENTS! PHASE THREE WILL BE CONDUCTED IN TEAMS OF TWO!"
The arena erupted in screams and cheers.
Candidates were looking at each other. Some with the look of relief and some who looked pretty pissed off. I noticed Toven laughing at nothing in particular and Fen kept eating.
I then looked at Sable.
She was already looking at me.
"Teams," I said.
"Teams," she said.
"I work alone.."
"You passed out after throwing a cup," she said. "You do not get to have opinions about working alone."
"Fair....."
"TEAMS HAVE BEEN ASSIGNED BY ROYAL INSTRUCTION! CANDIDATES WILL FIND THEIR TEAM ASSIGNMENTS ON THE BOARDS TO YOUR LEFT!"
Almost everyone had rushed over towards the boards.
I did not move.
"Oracle," I said quietly.
"Yes."
"How many people are on a team?"
"Unknown," Oracle said. "Insufficient data."
"USELESS, AGAIN!"
I then walked over to get a good at the board.
[Six teams.]
[Two candidates each.]
I found my name.
[Team Six.]
[Rymur Kaito.]
Second spot empty.
Then voice through the arena speakers. Not the announcer.
Something older.
But it filled the entire arena without effort.
I remember that voice.
"Candidate number seven has been removed from the Gauntlet effective immediately."
It was Brenn Earthwalker.
The arena went completely silent. Not one sound.
"WE DETECTED UNAUTHORISED SUMMONING MAGIC DURING PHASE TWO. THE INVESTIGATION HAS CONCLUDED. CANDIDATE SEVEN IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE CREATURE THAT APPEARED IN THE ARENA."
The crowd erupted all at once.
I stared at the speaker system.
"Someone summoned that dragon...?". I said quietly.
"Oracle,"
"Yes."
"Someone summoned that dragon?"
"Yes, Apparently... " Oracle said quietly.
"On purpose?"
Oracle did not answer that.
Brenns voice came back through the speakers.
Very calming and collected. Like he was reading a shopping list.
"THE VACANCY ON TEAM SIX WILL BE FILLED."
A pause.
"SABLE VORN!"
The preparation area went still.
I turned my head.
Sable was standing exactly where I left her.
I noticed her look up toward the viewing box.
Two seconds.
Then she looked away.
I looked up at the viewing box.
Brenn was already looking somewhere else.
Gutter Intuition fired.
[ GUTTER INTUITION: Scanning. ] [ GUTTER INTUITION: Source unclear. ] [ GUTTER INTUITION: Filing. ]
I stared at the viewing box for a second.
Then I looked at Sable.
She walked over to me without saying a word.
I looked down at the board again.
[Team Six.]
Rymur Kaito. Sable Vorn.
It was just the two of us...
"Oracle," I said.
"Yes."
"Did someone summon that dragon for just me?."
A pause.
"Oracle is unsure..."
I then just stood there in the preparation area with my dented cup and a new C Rank skill. And one teammate I had barely spoken to.
I did not think about that too hard.
"PHASE THREE BEGINS IN THREE MINUTES! ALL CANDIDATES MAKE YOUR WAY TO THE ARENA!"
I looked at Sable.
She was already looking at me.
"Ready?" she said.
I could tell she was nervous, but was trying her best to keep it together.
I gripped the cup tight and took a deep breathe.
"Lets go Sable,"
"Lead the way..."
And we walked toward the arena.