Stars crossed his arms, "I can't believe this worked."
Pang~
Givale slid to a stop, "This was your previous wielder?! You sure know how to pick them!"
"I'm not so sure about that. . ."
A complex series of emotions arose to the surface. His previous Wielder was long since dead, there should have been no way for Givale and Mira to fight him. There shouldn't have. . .
Stars felt his hands tighten. Who was he kidding? After all he was there every step of the way. He was the sword that was swung each and every time. It was ingrained in his memory, even as his wielder passed.
While he was alone those moves repeated in his memory. Time and time again. Creating a mimic of his wielder was no issue, it was never an issue. He just never wanted to face it.
Stars looked upward, only an endless expanse of space and light. Galaxies dotting across his special space. He closed his eyes, 'Sorry Givale, I guess in the end I was never angry at you.'
Picking a fight over something so small. How disappointing. What would Akiol have said?
He was the Senior around these parts! To let things like his unwillingness to revisit memories get in the way of Givale and Mira. How childish of him!
'This silent persona isn't like him. If it was truly him then what would he say. . . ?'
"Surface level, that's what I can rate it at best."
Givale's expression turned ugly, "What?!"
"Self taught is it? Maybe you had someone to guide you considering how young you look. While it's a testament to how talented you are. In the end it remains surface level."
Stars slightly nodded, this arrogance was very much like him. Belittling his opponents while fighting. An poor trait that was prominent in him.
"Do you know the reason why self taught people end up dying so early? Because it can't compare to the work generations put in to complete a fighting style. Hundreds of fantastic minds working endlessly to eliminate flaws and perfect it."
Givale grit her teeth, Akiol mentioned something like this before. How she shouldn't go and create her own style without a significant amount of experience. So she couldn't completely refute what he said.
"Ren, warp the time here."
Stars snapped his eyes open, "What?"
"Did you not hear me? Warp the time. That's the reason why you brought me here wasn't it? To teach these two disciples. Although it pains me to know you summoned me for something so insignificant."
'No this isn't right. This person was merely an illusion, the results of putting my memories together right-?!'
Then it hit him, the fact that both Mira and Givale spotted his previous wielder in his special space. It wasn't just a reflection of his memories.
Stars grit his teeth, "What did you do to me?!"
"The only thing I did was fail. Now do as I say already, else I won't help these two."
"You're-"
"Ren! Warp the time already! Stop wasting my time!"
Stars lowered his head, "Fine."
"Good, now you two! Come at me together, I intend to figure out exactly how you fight!"
Mira lifted his axe and placed it on his shoulder, "Stars, is this supposed to happen?"
Stars answered simply, "No, but don't waste this opportunity."
~ ~ ~
"To think the Honorable Leader would get involved."
"You don't sound displeased."
Humive laughed, "Why would I? The South should be able to continue fighting."
"Are you not for their disbandment?"
"I originally was. However once you spoke of a Martial Lord candidate I lost all interest in such petty matters."
Merin raised an eyebrow, "It didn't seem all that petty before."
"The South was not something I bothered to pay any attention to. Horrow barely knew how to keep it together. But this Wrock person, I'm intrigued to see what he might do."
"No comment on the other representatives of the South?"
"Not yet, although they're quite interesting. They indeed have potential to become some of the greatest fighters. Each could be on the level of an Ace. Yet only one has the potential to be on your level."
"So what's your plan?"
"I'll have to postpone that. Inth went and made a mess of things."
"Not going to bother to tell me?"
"Why would I? It would be far better to reveal as a surprise."
"Do I at least get to know when?"
Humive paused for a moment before answering, "Tomorrow."
"I'll look forward to it."
"In the meantime I shall send a challenge to the West, this should tell everyone our silent stance on things."
"We might get pointed out for targeting."
"Such thoughts are now out the window. If anything this should put us in a good light."
"In the end you're still thinking of the Province."
"It's my responsibility."
~ ~ ~
Tilia sat down and let out a heavy sigh. Yielya tapped her with her staff, "You good?"
"That was rough. I would rather not face another Ace anytime soon."
Horrow looked towards her, "Why not? You put up the best fight against one."
"I won't be able to pull something like that again for a bit of time. I used quite a bit of trump cards and they won't be ready again anytime soon."
"I'll keep that in mind."
Wrock tapped his foot, "I can't believe it's still not enough. It feels like no matter how much stronger we get it's never quite enough."
"It's always been like this hasn't it? Especially before.", Kan'na added.
"It has, but it's getting tiring. Fighting against strong opponents is great, but struggling constantly isn't."
"That's interesting coming from you."
"I've reached a point where I won't be able to improve just from battles now. Not without the right strength."
Aaron frowned at that sentence but did not comment.
Kan'na took a seat, "You know, it wasn't too long ago when we felt like there wasn't much to do. Now we're in a constant state of trying to get stronger."
Yielya shrugged, "When you all keep fighting absurd people you're bound to feel this way."
Horrow added, "The purpose of The Gated Arena is to help talented warriors grow. If you do not struggle, then are you truly growing?"
Wrock shook his head, "That's not the point."
What the party was currently struggling with was the problem that plagued them from the beginning. Their strength. While they certainly have improved, they haven't actually fought with everything they had.
To make a comparison, it was like going back to the beginning of a game to do a few things you haven't. With it they obtained a few things they missed out on, even made room for future improvement. But they've done this whole process already, and it's reached the point of having limited returns. When facing against strong opponents you know you could have beaten, if you had your original strength, is frustrating.
Now that sentiment was finally catching up. It wasn't like they could stop either, the only way for them to continue to improve is to reach the level of strength they had when they beat the Demon Lord. For now, any improvements would come almost directly from making small adjustments or gaining more strength.
This sentiment was mostly prominent with Wrock. For his path of the pugilist relied heavily on perfecting his martial arts, but he couldn't perform all of them at his current level. For the rest of the party it was slightly different.
Kan'na had no qualms with her current situation. It was thanks to this that she expanded her knowledge of magic and more. For her the problem lied in the lack of mana, but she temporarily solved that.
Yielya hardly needed to grow stronger, her healing was most likely still among the top of her Stage. Along with the fact she had an incredibly powerful secret Class, she never concerned herself with her strength.
For Tilia, it carved new paths in the art of defending. She hadn't realized there was more ways to defend than with just a shield. Her War Sight had opened her eyes, and she was constantly experimenting with it all.
For Jarvis, it pained him to lose the bonds he made. There wasn't a single one that carried over with him, and he had to start with scratch. He attempted to make up for this by meeting new creatures, and it worked to an extent.
As for Akiol. . . he was currently figuring that out.
Wrock crossed his arms, "In the end it's strength huh?"
"Mhm, it's strength."
"Hmmm."
Wrock looked towards the Arena, his Spirit fluctuated within him. In and about, like an unsettled bird. This feeling had persisted for quite some time, and it only calmed when he released his Spirit in battle. His hand tightened around his other arm. This feeling was incredibly unsettling and uncomfortable. He knew exactly why it was doing this too. It was a shame the only thing stopping him was uncertainty.
With a sigh he mumbled, "Guess there's only one way to find out."