It was a frustrating day for the Hunt family's eldest son. Though he'd entered the preliminaries in search of rare herbs, almost every tree on the mountain seemed to be hiding trouble.
Within Last Heaven, few would dare get in this noble's way. However, now that he was in the middle of nowhere, every single commoner seemed to be set on taking him out.
Wherever he went, random spells would fly towards him. Trees would fall and try to squash him. The hard forest soil would turn into mush, and an endless number of pitfalls were laid upon his path.
"Would you just fight me already!?" shouted the teen. Unfortunately, his enemies kept more than enough distance to run in case of danger.
To solve this problem, Arthur made his way to an open plateau. Since he was now stationary and there were no more trees to use for cover, a hit and run tactic would be much more difficult.
"Well, I was getting bored of this game anyway." said one of his former classmates while walking towards him.
"If you had a problem with me, you should have just said so."
"You know I couldn't." retorted the teen. Status was not something so easily overcome.
A few moments later, the first fight of many began upon the rocks. Arthur won easily and expected the harassment to stop. To his ever growing disappointment, it didn't. Even after hours had passed, the duel requests seemed endless.
"So, this is where you were hiding." said a tall teen upon finally finding the youth. "Any last words, your Majesty?"
Arthur's eyes went from the enemy's confident smile to the dozens of bodies strewn all around him and then back to the teen.
"This…" he gestured towards the students that tried to attack him previously. "This doesn't bother you at all?"
"Why would I care about these failures?" scoffed the newest addition to the plateau. "My beef is with you and with what your kind has put us through."
Arthur found it rather ironical that he'd insult his fellow commoners while trying to avenge them at the same time. With every passing minute, the noble's opinion of the lower class was going down the drain.
"You know, if you guys were a bit more united, your situation might not be so bad."
"You're one to talk."
"...Let's just get this over with."
The tall student obliged him and charged forward. Several feet before reaching Arthur, he summoned vines beneath the teen's body which threatened to not only immobilize, but also pierce right through him.
However, in one moment, Arthur was just standing there with a bored looking expression. In the next, he was behind the student with a sword in his hand.
After decapitating another nuisance, the noble inspected its body. Since the commoners wouldn't let him search for herbs in peace, he saw no choice but to take their loot as compensation.
Besides, even if he acted like a Saint, some random punk would still attack him every 10 to 15 minutes. Due to all the distractions, it took the youth five times longer to finish even the simplest of tasks. However, out of sheer resilience and determination, the noble persisted through everything, and by the time the sun had set, he'd even cooked dinner.
"Why, hello there, Arthur!" Just as he was about to bite into his roasted fish, the boy heard an eerily familiar voice coming from the forest. "We've been looking for you."
Arthur turned around and his eyes went wide. He let go of the meat and made a run for it, only to find himself surrounded by Ethans several steps later.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you." advised the original.
There was something odd about these illusions. While Arthur could normally tell them apart thanks to his mana sense, two of these phantasms seemed no different from Ethan himself.
"I thought we were friends." said the boy trying to stall for time.
"Of course we are." answered Ana sarcastically.
"Why do you think you're still conscious?" added Ethan.
As if to prove his words, the phantasms disappeared, all except for the two weird ones. There were now three Ethans surrounding the teen, and he couldn't tell them apart.
"There's no reason for us to fight." said Arthur. "If it's tokens you want, I have plenty of them."
"So do we." answered Ana with a shrug.
"What we want is that fancy bracelet you're wearing around your arm. Throw it over and you're free to go."
Arthur wanted to counter Ethan with "robbery is illegal," but it seemed a bit hypocritical. He hadn't stolen the clothes off his victims' backs, but the teen did pick up all the herbs and valuables he could find.
"Are you sure you want to rob your benefactor?" he asked.
"You're going to tattle tale that big bad Ethan, who your own brother is housing by the way, robbed you before dinner and ran off with your stuff? My impression of you isn't so low Arthur."
If word were to get out that something like this happened to the family's next guardian, his reputation would be all but destroyed. The Hunt's standing would also take a hit.
"I don't need help to solve my own problems." warned Arthur annoyed.
He started running his mana circuit, and the two followed his lead. As more and more energy gathered within their bodies, the noble teen began calculating his odds.
'God damn it, can I even escape?' His opponents' levels seemed to match his own. Not only was he outnumbered, but one hit from Ethan could spell certain death.
"Is there any way we can talk this out?" he tried one more time to make peace.
"You can cure hunger in all of Last Heaven." answered Ana.
"You can pay back the 200 gold you owe us." said Ethan after 'calculating' inflation.
During their months within the cave, Ana had told him of her transaction with Arthur. However, this fact didn't actually bother him. What pissed off the mage was the blatant favoritism the youth showed his friend.
'You owe me 10 coins, prick.' he thought while eyeing him carefully.
Suddenly, the forest behind them started rumbling and numerous mana signatures were felt. Ethan cancelled his phantasms and all three mages heightened their senses.
Soon after, more than a hundred teens made their entrance. Everyone was armed to the teeth, and their circuits were in battle mode. While the boys were surprised, Ana's face contorted in anger.
"Long time no see, Miss Taylor." said one of the students at the front.
"Did Charles send you?" asked Ana after recognizing the youth as one the three who stomped her unconscious.
"Indeed." The mage answered flatly. "I'm just doing my job."