Chapter 8: Sier

When he opened his eyes, he was standing on a headland by the sea, where seagulls flew and danced. On the other side of the headland stood an armored knight wearing the same armor as him. Arthur looked around in fascination as he realized the advancement of virtual gaming. The game asked him to enter his nickname and he chose a plain The Arthur before changing it to Golden Arthur. The latter came from an unknown desire to be recognized, and Arthur was reminded of Jizo once again residing within him.

"Warriors, choose your weapons!"

The game's narrator had a familiar voice but Arthur couldn't remember who it belonged to. It was probably a famous warrior doing the voice acting for the game. These days, awakeners found all sorts of ways to earn money. Arthur scanned the list of weapons and realized they were all close combat weapons, like swords, lances, sabers, or claymores. He mastered none of them. However, he remembered his father teaching him some sword basic techniques when times were happy. He smiled nostalgically and choose a sword and it appeared in front of him.

His opponent was waiting with a lance in hand already. It seemed he was a veteran at this game given his lack of hesitation in choosing it. His nickname was Sier.

"Ready! Set! Fight!"

After the countdown was over, the fight began and Sier charged forward. Although the armor looked heavy, it was weightless. They were fighting using their bodies but with different appearances. As the opponent drew near, Arthur realized that he was at a disadvantage. Their weapons had different ranges. Although the sword was easier to use, Arthur wasn't that good at it.

With a flawless stance, the opponent thrust his weapon toward Arthur's heart. The game would end once a vital was struck three times from one of the players. Arthur panicked and tried to dodge to the left but his shoulder was pierced nonetheless. A stabbing pain was transmitted although it was nothing compared to the real pain if this happened in reality. Arthur tried to slash his opponent but the latter deflected it easily before stabbing again. This time, the opponent didn't miss and Arthur's heart was pierced and he lost a single life.

What followed was the most pathetic scene in Arthur's recent life. He tried to make a counterattack but his opponent left no room and riddled his body with wounds. In no time, he lost his second life and had only one left while his opponent had three.

'Should I just quit?' Arthur hesitated but decided against it. He was already feeling pathetic, and quitting now would make it worst. If he was to lose, that was okay too. However, he needed to land a proper strike on his opponent's body before he loses.

Arthur tried to focus like the time he was searching for even the tiniest bit of artifact in dungeons. He kept looking for a gap, a chance, or a distraction to land a proper strike. Suddenly, he felt lighter and stronger. He panicked for a moment as this was the feeling of his runes activating as his mana was drained. The opponent gave no time as he drew back his lance to strike his heart for the third time, Arthur slashed toward his opponents' neck. The increase in strength and speed startled the opponent and left a gap in his calculations. As this game reads your body's biometrics, it seemed that applying the runes had a similar effect like real life.

"K.O!"

[Sier has requested a rematch. Accept?]

Arthur declined and left the game. As he came to his senses, he found himself tired and sweating. He didn't feel it as he was in the game, but he did once he logged out. He checked his mana and it was empty. He felt quite tired as he drained his mana, but he was still stronger than normal as the runes remained active. It seems he could apply two runes at the same time now with his mana reaching 2.

Arthur found a couch and lied down there to rest. He checked the time and it was 1:02 PM. He still had some time to rest so he set an alarm for an hour and slept. Although it was an arcade, it was usually quiet because most people were inside the virtual reality games.

An hour later, his favorite song woke him up. Groaning, Arthur decided to change it later because he realized he would only hate the song if it kept waking him up. Arthur walked to the reception to reclaim what was left in the credit card he bought. He had one more hour before his test, so he was contemplating what to do until then. He was walking past the lounge when a man sitting alone talked to him and he halted his steps.

"I see why you're called golden." The man chuckled but his back was facing Arthur. The latter turned around and scrutinized the man checking if he was talking to him. Arthur didn't know how the man could see him, but it seems he was talking to him.

"Are you Sier?" Arthur guessed since his nickname was Golden Arthur. Although it was a game, he felt bad for using his ability as there was a no-ability rule in the arcade.

"I am. You can call me Si as well, that's what my friends call me anyway." The man raised his hand to his face and Arthur could see the smoke rising. Since he was still at the man's back head, he realized the man was smoking a cigarette. His hair was curled up but tied in a ponytail, giving the man a stylish yet delinquent-like ambiance.

"I'm not your friend."

"Not yet, yes." Si turned around and Arthur was finally able to see his face. He was a light brown-skinned man who looked in his mid-twenties. His yellowish-green eyes gave him an amiable yet sharp appearance. "Why don't you have a seat?" Si offered.

As he was thinking about how to turn him down, Arthur felt his head throb as he felt the Legacy telling him something. The pain was gone after a moment and Arthur decided to sit down. He didn't trust this man nor the being residing within him, but Jizo's will seemed to want to meet this man.

"What is it that you want? An apology?" His voice rang apathetic in his ears, and so it did for Si. The latter grinned and handed Arthur a cigarette, but he shook his head. He was never a smoker.

"No, I don't care about the game. I'm simply interested in your ability." Si took a second to smoke and continued, "What guild do you work for?"

"I'm not working for any."

"Oh? That's rare."

"I guess." Arthur tried to keep his words short, as he didn't want to reveal that he was awakened only recently. "So, tell me, if it's not about the duel, then what?"

"Scouting." Si gave a thin smile as he lit another cigarette, before tapping twice on the ashtray with the cigarette. "I'm looking for talented individuals."