"Welcome! Welcome, everyone, to the Knight's Mausoleum!" a man greets all the contenders at the quay of the harbor.
As Flare descends onto the floating platform, she looks around and observes all of her potential opponents, with Weiss who's behind her. There are at least around 500 people around on different quays. From her ship, there are her, Weiss, Solaris, Jojo, Isaac, Roland, and…
"Are we finally there…" Boyd mumbles as Captain Walker carries him down.
"Ha Ha! We're standing on solid ground here, lad. Now, get a hold of yourself!" Walker laughs, before throwing Boyd to the quay.
Boyd lands face first onto the quay, but all he does is mumbling.
"Mmm…Mmm…"
"Ooo…."
"Is Uncle Boyd doing all right?" Flare whispers to Weiss.
"The old man never got over his seasickness. I guess that last storm before we arrived here really did mess up his head," Weiss sighs.
"Hoo…this old man can't handle some waves. That storm came in 'Boosh!' and 'Blargh!'! If I wasn't trained, I would have fainted," Jojo giggles.
"We were at sea for a long time, but this is disappointing," Solaris scoffs as she glances at Boyd.
"…Urgh…"
"Spin…Spinning…"
"I think…I'm going to throw up…" Boyd mumbles.
For some reason, Weiss was the first to come and volunteer to help Boyd ease his stomach…or rather, encouraging Boyd to vomit by pressing it.
"What in the world are you doing?" Flare whispers that he doesn't want the attendant to see what is happening at the back.
Luckily for her, Jester Roland's appealing costume took all the attention since the attendant kept looking at him since they docked.
"I've been traveling with him for years, but never once I saw his face, not even a peep."
"Don't you even want to see it?" Weiss whispers back.
"See what?"
"He's been hiding it from us for far too long…"
"???"
"Uncle Boyd's real face, you idiot!"
"…"
"…"
"I've been traveling with you guys for a few months now, and it…is really interesting..." Flare mumbles, closing in.
"Yes, yes, I've always wanted to know how he looks like when I saw him on board," Jojo joins in the discussion.
"What nonsense? I'm not interested. You kids can go do what you like," Solaris scoffs, joining the briefing from the attendant.
"What do you think you'll see when I open this helmet?" Weiss suddenly asks Flare and Jojo.
"…Maybe…he has loose, old, wrinkled skin, like an old man…?" Flare wonders.
"Or maybe, he has a pointy nose, long beard…" Jojo adds.
"Old man's not a leprechaun!" Weiss interrupts.
"…Maybe, he has a mature look, with handsome eyes…" Flare imagines.
"…I thought he was old…" Jojo murmurs.
"Or…he has devilish eyes, an evil smile, and sharp fangs!" Weiss adds.
Within seconds, their hearts thump louder and faster than ever before. Their senses multiplied endlessly as they waited for the perfect moment. When the three of them heard Boyd gag, they all immediately knew what to do. Quickly, as Weiss drags Boyd to the edge of the quay, at the same time, Jojo instantly pulls out his helmet. Flare hastily lies down and glances at Boyd, trying to take a good look at his face. However, all of a sudden…
"What are you doing? The attendant is…" Isaac suddenly interrupts.
The sudden interruption briefly disrupts their focus when they twitch and turn to face him. During that interval, Boyd vomited out green vomit washed his mouth with seawater, and quickly grabbed his helmet from Jojo's grasp. Without even getting a peek when they turned back around, Boyd was already standing with his helmet on.
"AAAAHHH!!!"
"AAAAHHH!!"
"AAAAHHH!"
"Get lost, Four-Eyes!" Jojo tries to smack Isaac.
"You screwed us, stupid old fart!" Weiss adds with a kick.
"What?!"
"We failed because of you!" Flare states.
The attendant then explained to all of them everything that can be accommodated and found on the island besides the Knight's Mausoleum, which is the main attraction. He explained that there is a tavern where people can find extra work or meet with the other contenders. There are 16 cottages in total, meant for those who are qualified for the main event. Each cottage has four separate bedrooms for the contenders who manage to qualify for the top 64.
All contenders will be fighting today and be filtered from a massive amount to exactly 64 of them. The Knight's Mausoleum is an ancient coliseum-like structure used by the previous age. The attendant reminded them to fill out a form at the counter inside the building. When Weiss heard of this, he was quite amazed by the systematic flow of contenders and recalled that when he left, things were much more chaotic.
However, when Flare tries to inquire further, Weiss ignores her question and proceeds to the counter after the attendant dismisses them. There is a long queue extending from the counter to the quays, and it continues to turn longer. The three of them quickly dashed to the long line.
"This is a long line. Hopefully, Solaris will come back earlier with that cream ice," Jojo drools as he lines up behind Flare.
Currently, they are exactly in the middle of the long line. Boyd was nowhere in sight.
"Ah, yes. He told me he will be at the tavern when this is over for today," Flare states.
"Old man must've wanted to get drunk early today after a long voyage," Weiss smirks.
As they proceeded forward, Jojo began to ask questions.
"So, this is the Knight's Mausoleum, eh? I thought it would be more…grand?" the kid murmurs.
"There aren't any conditions here, unlike the Homefront Examinations. You just have to defeat your opponents. That's why even criminals and psychopaths come here to fight, which makes it less grand than you can imagine," Weiss explains.
"Eh…you look like you know about this, Big Bro," Jojo replies, amazed.
"Who are you calling Big Bro, little kid?" Weiss retorts.
"Um…"
The two of them stopped bickering with each other when they heard the mumbling Flare.
"…"
"…What's the Homefront Examination?" Flare asks.
The moment Flare asked that question, both Weiss and Jojo looked at her in shock. Shocked by her lack of knowledge.
"Hey, hey, Big Bro, is she really this dense?" Jojo whispers, his left hand covering the left side of his lip.
"Hmm, on rare occasions, she is dense," Weiss mumbles.
"Why don't you stop mouthing me off and start explaining?" Flare utters, irritated.
Weiss just sighed and looked at Flare.
"It's an examination held annually in Atlis. Every year, it is held somewhere on the elven islands which an applicant must pass to become a proper, licensed Trooper," Weiss simplifies.
"Troop…trooper?"
"Huh…" Weiss just sighs.
"The exam is still new, going on for about 3 years, to build a more structural system regarding adventurers and other individuals. They are divided into 5 divisions. The State Department, the Treasury Department, the Maester Department, the Defense Department, and the Missionary Zeal. Each division has its type of troopers. Before even taking the Homeland Examination, they will test and classify you between a Rookie and a Novice. A Rookie is behind Novice in terms of rank," Jojo explains gleefully.
"You can apply to one of the divisions when you are a Novice," the kid adds.
"When you finish taking the examination after becoming a Novice, you are assigned to one of the five divisions. You can also apply for two divisions, which makes you slightly higher than a single-applied applicant. You can take three at once if you are capable, but there is a group of examiners who will check whether or not you are qualified," Weiss continues.
"It's still a little blurry…" Flare mumbles, holding her head in confusion.
"Do you remember when Cross pulled out that tag before fighting you?" Weiss asks.
Flare nods.
"What about it?"
"His tag is dark green, with one star stamped on the other. His rank is Soldier, the lowest rank in the Defense Department Division. Do you know what that means?" Weiss asks.
Flare just shook her head.
"It means you are lucky that you won."
"That wasn't luck. I mean, I could see his slow movements," Flare defends her victory against Cross.
"If a man like him is beaten by someone without a tag, then the lowest ranks must be weak. No doubt that the entry requirement to gain the lowest rank in each department is easy," she adds.
"Don't flatter yourself. The exams a multi-staged. Of course, the lowest is easy, but what matters is that you have to rise higher so that a lot of things can be accessed to you."
"Huh…" Jojo hums, looking at Flare.
"What?"
"I just thought that you are quite ignorant and dumb, that is all," Jojo apathetically expresses his opinion of her.
"Why you…"
Jojo quickly runs behind Weiss and uses him as a wall to prevent Flare from capturing him.
"By the way, what are the ranks? I would like to know that," Flare inquires as she is circling Weiss, chasing Jojo in circles.
Further back, Solaris and Isaac are just standing there, silently waiting for their turn.
"What in the world are they doing?" Solaris sighs.
Isaac remained silent.
"Not the talkative one are you? Well, figures, since you are a holy man," Solaris states.
"What is that supposed to mean?" Isaac asks, closing his book.
There is a Divine Faith symbol in front of the book.
"Let's just say I don't trust you, holy people. Always around with their holy book…" Solaris mocks the priests.
"…"
"The Codex dictates that you should not be tried for hedonism since you choose to now finish your words, Missus Solaris," the reverend replies after remaining silent for a while.
"Huh, you guys and your 'Codex'," she adds.
"I take you to have problems with piety," Isaac responds.
"Hmph!"
"Ones that difficulties from the word of god, are the ones that will first fall in the search for knowledge…"
"A scripture, from the Tomes of Akath," Isaac explains.
"Yeah, yeah, I bet you can also name all 5 gods the Divine Faith worship…"
"No, no. Not 5, 4. Archbishop Lincoln High King Ragnar and Church have decided that one of the deities be removed from the annals of Cantor history," Isaac interrupts.
"Well, whatever, it's not like I remember any of them anyway," Solaris scoffs, facing her back to Isaac.
Reverend Isaac just ignores Solaris' mockery and continues to read his book. Back at the front, Flare is still chasing Jojo.
"Well, in the Defense Department, you start as a Soldier, then an Officer, before finally a Commander. Maester Department, you start as an Acolyte, then a Sorcerer, then a Mage. For the State Department, you start as an Agent, then a Detective, before reaching Enforcer. The Treasury Department applicants start as an Assistant Manager, then a Manager, then a Regional Manager. The Missionary Zeal start as Priests, then Bishops, before becoming a Cardinal," Weiss again simplifies, his eyes following the motions of Jojo and Flare circling him, before finally grabbing them both at the head.
"All divisions then accumulate where an applicant is named a Knight, which is already a great honor," Jojo finishes.
"So…it ends there?" Flare asks as Weiss puts them both down.
"Well, there's more, but since our turn is next, I thought we'd stop for now," Jojo smiles, pointing at the counter.
"By the way, you know so much about the exam. I assume you already received your tag?" Weiss asks Jojo, to which the boy quickly digresses.
"I failed on the third stage of the exam. I'm thinking of retaking it this year," Jojo responds.
"I see…"
"Please fill out this form," the person behind the counter instructs the three of them.
When they did, she began to write something on a piece of thick paper and tore it apart into three, before handing it torn paper to them.
"Miss Jane, you are number 202."
"Mister Weiss, you are number 203."
"Joe Johannesburg, you are number 204."
They proceed to the side to let the other contenders register.
"Joe Johannesburg?" Weiss teases.
"It's my long name. Too long, in fact," Jojo murmurs.
"Johannesburg…I feel like I've heard that name before," Flare mumbles, which for some reason, caught Jojo's full attention.
Once Solaris had finished registering, Jojo quickly ran off to her.
"It's nothing. You must've mistaken me for someone else," the kid smiles at Flare.
Flare just smiles back before Jojo and Solaris vanish through the huge crowd.
"What was that about?" Weiss asks Flare.
"…Probably nothing…"
"…Should we get inside and watch the match, or should we go and meet with Boyd at the tavern, Captain," Weiss inquires.
"Stop that Captain, captain, thing already," Flare retorts.
"…"
"…"
For some reason, Weiss is smirking.
"…What? What are you on about?" Flare asks, puzzled.
"Of all the names…Jane?" Weiss responds.
Weiss grimaces and repeats;
"Jane?"
"Oh, wow. That's just great!" he chuckles.
"What's wrong with Jane?" Flare pouts.
"…I don't know. Can't you think of anything a bit…creative, like…Venus…or Jupiter?"
"What does that even mean?"
"What does, 'Flare' mean?" Weiss sarcastically remarks.
Behind the counter, a man is standing there, just observing the two of them from afar. He puts his two fingers on his ear and reports something.
Above the coliseum, on the center balcony inside, the Underworld King is sitting there on his throne. He is watching the early set of contenders fighting from above. There is a glass of wine placed on the table next to his throne, but he hasn't touched it yet. It could be said that he is so focused on watching the fights, that he has no interest in drinking in the morning. Behind him are two guards, wearing armor with a lion's face shaped at the front.
Within seconds after the report, another man wearing the armor came in and whispered something to the Underworld King. When the king receives the report, for some reason, he smiles before dismissing the messenger. While continuing the watch the fights below, he mumbles something to himself while smiling.
"Sir, is something the matter?" one of the guards asked.
"It's nothing, Hawke. Just an old man's memories," the king replies with a warm smile.
"…Yes…sir…"
"After all these years…" the king smirks.
"You've finally come, nephew…"
* * * * *
"You have pretty hair…" Boyd drunkenly blurts to the woman sitting next to him in the tavern.
His right hand is lazily supporting his sleepy head by the jaw as he stares at the petite woman with his half-opened eyes underneath his helmet. Boyd could only guess her height, but for some reason, he was sure that she was a bit shorter than him despite her small frame.
The turquoise-colored eyes, ashen-haired woman, just smiles half-heartedly and glances away. However, the Moon Elf did take another glance at Boyd before looking away again. After that, she continues to eat her creamed tart. Boyd is inside the tavern with a mug of mead in his hand…in the afternoon.
"Oi, Elania, Hawke's already calling to us," said a brown-haired Sylph with messy hair that covered his ears came from outside the tavern, opened the door, and called out someone.
Flare continues to observe the Sylph since it is her first time seeing one. Sylph characteristics remain mostly similar to humans, the only difference between the two of them is that the Sylphs have a pair of translucent wings attached to their backs, similar to fairy, thus granting them the ability to fly. According to legend, some of them have bird-like wings rather than the translucent ones. Nevertheless, Flare quickly turns her gaze away once she had enough of observing the person calling out to this Elan.
"I'll be there, Go on first, Alward," the ashen-haired woman answers his call, quickly finishing her tart before walking out.
At the same time when the woman walked out, Flare and Weiss walked in and passed her before dashing to the counter to meet with Boyd. Before Boyd could even drink the next mug of mead, Flare quickly snatched it from his hand like it was nothing.
"Damn it, I was late," Weiss utters.
"What do you mean?"
"If we were a tad bit early, we could've seen his lower face when he drank," Weiss adds.
Flare just shook her head and turned to Boyd.
"…Why'd you have to get so drunk in the afternoon?" she asks.
"Hmm…"
"Mmm…Mmm…"
"Ah…Oh…"
"Pardon me, I was absorbed by how…bland the taste of the mead, Your High…Uh, no offense," Boyd apologizes to both Flare and the barkeeper, who just chuckled.
He managed to stop calling Flare with an honorable.
"…No, I am not drunk. I simply wanted to test something I read in a book about drunk people. It says there that people usually ignore the talk of someone drunk because it is just pure, sober thoughts or pure nonsense," Boyd justifies his action.
He later added more proof of my walking in a straight line without any complications. He could even avoid a speck of dust on the floor.
"Although I am not drunk, people would assume so by looking at my mead and the slightly altered tone of my voice," he adds.
"…"
"…Not again…" Weiss sighs.
"Woah…"
She quickly turns to Weiss.
"Is…Is it possible for someone to talk like this when they are drunk?" Flare asks.
"It's not the first time. He won't slouch or anything, but he will spout these random thoughts and experiments and magical theories from nothing…and most of them are true," Weiss replies.
"…"
"Once, he drew a diagram of a crossbow after drinking nearly one barrel of rum…2 years before it was made public back in Cantor," Weiss adds.
"…Think he might be a…prophet or something?"
"I am still here, you know," Boyd interrupts.
Boyd quickly tries to snatch back his mead, to no avail.
"Anyway, how are your matches? I assume the numbers have been given to you," Boyd asks.
"They have, we are just waiting for our turn," Flare responds.
"So…"
"So…what?"
"So why are you still here? You have a chance to observe your enemies can give you a slight advantage, right?" Boyd blurts.
Flare, finally realizing Boyd's point, excuses herself and quickly dashes to the coliseum, alone.
"…So…" Weiss murmurs.
"Hmm…?"
In an instant, Boyd turned from his bumbling attitude to a more serious demeanor.
"You're asking for my input about it, aren't you?" Boyd asks.
Weiss remains silent and nods.
"Would it give you peace, even when you know that everything around you will crumble down into nothing?" he added, slapping the hard truth on Weiss.
"You know, I'm old. I may remember things a little rosier than they were before. I mean, if you want to exact vengeance and it makes you feel good, do it. But remember…"
"If you go down this road, this road…"
"You can't go back. Do you understand?" Boyd adds.
"…I understand."
"Good…"
Boyd just rests his head on the counter.
"So…just like that?" Weiss asks.
"Like that, what?"
"I mean, no barriers? No dragging? No hitting? Just…do what I got to do?"
Boyd remains silent for a while.
"If I were to block you…it won't make a difference, because you will one day come here by your own volition. Not mine, not Flare's, not anyone's, but your own, and you will do what you wanted to do here today," Boyd explains.
Weiss turns silent, unable to say or rationalize anything. Boyd nods and signals Weiss to follow him outside. After walking for a while, the two of them ended up back on Captain Walker's ship. Boyd had asked the captain if he could sleep there while the ship was still docked. The captain gave Boyd a quarters of his own in the deck below, where he and Weiss are now. Boyd pulls a game board of checkers and invites Weiss to play. Weiss just followed his lead, ignoring the fact that his match might start soon. After arranging it, the two of them play a quick game of checkers, silently.
"…So, what is your plan?" Boyd asks, moving a game piece.
"…"
The old man is only greeted by silence.
"You do realize that the Underworld King…well, you know who he is…"
"What do you want me to do? Expose them? You do know…." Weiss tries to intervene.
"I'm not saying don't, but I'm asking, are you ready?" Boyd adds.
When Boyd asks him that, Weiss slowly approaches Boyd, with burning rage in his eyes.
"…I've been with you for 5 years. I'd trained, bled, broke my bones, contracted diseases, all for this moment. I mean…come on, old man. You've got to help me…"
"I've got to get better and settle this. I have to get back in there. I can hear…"
"I mean…you haven't even called a soul to help me with my condition," Weiss responds to Boyd's silence.
"You haven't even tried. All those hits I did before, it was my own choices. Now, aren't you going to do anything? Aren't you even going to say anything?!" Weiss raises his voice.
Boyd just looked down once and remained silent as his eyes just observed his student.
"I've done everything you have ever asked me. Everything!"
"I have given everything, EVERYTHING I HAVE EVER HAD!"
"…And you're just going to sit there and stay silent. I'm asking for your help here, old man!"
In an instant, Boyd puts his hand on Weiss's shoulder and pats him several times.
"Boy…I wish I had the answers to your questions, I do…but unfortunately…"
Boyd just sighs, unable to finish his own words.
"…I'm just the same as you. I've had my petty, vengeful journeys, some bigger than others. Some are already done with, some still aren't to this day."
"People say…the older you get, the wiser you are. There is no better, exquisite lie than this. This saying is just a concept of illusion to give older people an imaginary superiority in life, even though they know no better. Some of their bits of advice help, some don't, but we take them."
"I'm getting ahead of myself, my point is, Weiss…"
He gently grips Weiss's shoulder. His grip is gentle, but firm.
"…It doesn't matter what you choose."
"Whatever path you take, you know, this old, rusty, bumbling old man, will support you in your matters. Got it?" Boyd responds.
Weiss remains silent. He bit his lip in anger for some reason, but he nodded. Suddenly, Boyd just dashes away after peeping out the window.
"What's going on?"
"I believe I have a mission from god to observe someone on this forsaken island," Boyd slurs.
"You're still drunk, aren't you?" Weiss chuckles.
"No, I'm not."
As Boyd ascended to the upper deck, Weiss quickly noticed who Boyd was observing.
"Oh, come on, that woman?!" Weiss bleats.
Boyd just pulls back his neck and looks at Weiss.
"No, no. That would be awkward, wouldn't it?"
"You're still drunk…"
The two of them reached the pier before Boyd decided to briefly stop and turn to face Weiss.
"Point is, if you think what you are doing is right, do it," Boyd simplifies his lecture and creeps forward.
However, Weiss just took it…confusingly while smiling.
"…You're telling me to do the right thing, while stalking a woman?" Weiss chuckles.
"Shh Shh Shh Shh!" Boyd shushes before disappearing into the crowd.