Line and Jade walked slowly, carefully looking for enemies that could potentially threaten them. With Jade's scouting Path, it was easy to make detours and avoid them.
The two that had previously fought them came at surprise so Jade could not act that quickly.
They made small talk about their daily lives and the cultures of the different regions.
Upon listening further, Line found out that Jade was from Wilden. Line stated that he was from Central City and explicitly mentioned its beauty, especially at night.
With the Hyperion Trees stretching as far as they could see, Line and Jade used it to hide in the tree's shadows.
Upon noticing that there are two figures in front of them, Jade opted for them to turn right and dodge the imposing danger.
Their goal was to stay as long as possible and get counted in the final stage of the For Honor Tournament. Jade was not that confident in her combat abilities. Still, it was a great honor to participate in it.
Additionally, the reward for just participating in the third stage was quite significant!
It was stated that those that are counted in the last 16 participants were to be given a boon sponsored by the King himself.
The rewards were based on how high a participant's rank is.
If they managed to enter the top 8, which is the quarter-finals, then they would be given 200 White Elrodite.
Upon reaching the top 4, semi-finals, a boon specifically chosen by the King and 500 White Elrodite were given.
As for the 2nd place winner, 1000 White Elrodite, and a Lost Soul was given.
Lastly, the winner of the For Honor Tournament would be given 1000 White Elrodite, a Lost Soul, and a piece of Guidance, which is the highest form of power in Elrod.
Many individuals that received a piece of Guidance became renowned figures. Mikella Reiloush was one of many that have a piece of Guidance flowing through their veins.
And among the Pure Pathbearers, she was at the apex of their rank. Many people are speculating whether she has already ascended to a Beyond because of her prowess. Well, she was the closest to ascending but her power was closely, if not comparable, to that of a Beyond.
Last year, it was the student council president that received a boon from the King. It made him rise up the ranks and become a distinguished individual in Knights Academy.
Line, who was walking behind Jade, broke the silence that was between them.
"How is it in Wilden?"
The girl with silky black hair, who wore a leather vest along with a cotton inner coat, and a brown baggy trousers, suddenly turned around and met eyes with Line.
Her black eyes stared at his crimson-red eye and then she responded:
"Cold.. but not as cold as people may think or maybe I'm just used to it by now. But being situated in the mountains, the snow was already bound to be expected."
"I see. Ahh- there are so many things that I'm curious about but I mainly want to know about the scenery there. Is Wilden high up in the mountains?"
The girl with a black ponytail nodded, "Yes but also no.. The City of Wilden is separated into two areas, the mountain-top area, and the base area. The mountain-top area is mainly where most of the people live and go to their respective jobs and academies. While the base area is where the armies and militaries usually stay at."
She continued:
"Of course, people still lived in the base area but the population is mainly composed of Elrod's Knights. Also, their training is rigorously difficult as far as I know."
Line tilted his head, wondering about the composition of Wilden.
"If the knights are situated at the base area, then how does the mountain-top stay protected from wandering abominations?"
"You really don't know?" Her mouth formed into an O shape and her hair bounce as she turned her head, "It is mainly due to the Duke's will and influence. He governs the entire mountain-top and nothing comes across his domain."
She tilted her head to the side to think.
"Uhh.. I think that partially, the snow and cold came from his Soul. In order to protect us from the abominations, he extends his domain outside and makes sure that everything doesn't come closer to the city."
He stared at Jade for a couple of seconds as she shrugged her shoulders and looked oblivious.
"I'm not too sure about it though.."
"A-alright."
"What about you? Tell me about Central City.."
The two walked and traversed the large forest, carefully maneuvering their way above the roots and fallen trunks.
Line talked about Central City proudly, sharing his experiences from being in it for the past 16 years.
"There's the food, which has changed considerably from being rye bread to serving full-course meals such as burgers!"
"Burgers?"
"Yes!"
He told Jade about the different recipes that the people have come up with in the past years. Additionally, the technological and architectural aspect of Central City has also come a long way.
Jade looked amazed as the Line told her about many foreign things!
She learned new words such as elevators, espresso, lampposts, teriyaki, and many more!
"Wow.. Central City is quite advanced technologically huh.."
"I know right.. and based on the claims that I've heard. It only became even more technologically advanced once King Julius sat on the throne. It is said that him along with the brains of the Queen, paved the way for the Central City to become more advanced as it was!"
"Only a few decades? How did they manage to achieve a lot in such a short span of time?"
"Don't underestimate 40 or so years.."
"Right."
Filling the silence, the two talked and became acquainted with each other even more..
"So.. what's with that agility of yours? I saw you take down that scrawny man and bulky man in less than 10 seconds!"
"I prefer to keep it confidential but it is something related to enhancing my body."
"Oh. Then can I ask one more question?"
Line, who walked side by side with her, stared at her direction and nodded.
"Sure."
"I noticed that your eye changed color? Is it something normal, your eyes were pure-black like mine.."
Silence ensued for 2 seconds, then Line smiled wryly, "I usually don't tell anyone this but I'll make an exception. Whenever I use my Path to its utmost limits, I strain the blood to my head thus causing my eye to be crimson-red. If I fight or excess my body one more time then my other eye would turn red too.."
"That's quite the repercussion.
"I know."
Of course, it was all made up.
The origin of Line's crimson-red eye was something that no person would ever think off.
Inside that black-haired persona, was a boy of 16 years old. He had white hair, a deep-golden left eye, and a.. crimson-red right eye.
He wore a marble-white armor, and looked like royalty.
Of course, the man in front of Jade was the Prince. He disguised himself as the black-haired boy in order to work towards one of his plans.
The original Line had already lost the second stage and was sent back to the Participant Hall.
Veritas, who was disguised as Line, needed to do so in order to hide himself from a potential attack.
Especially in a place such as a dark forest, an unexpected attack would be quite the triviality.
Who knew what evil was set-up in this place?
Thus, he hid as a normal and mundane looking boy, mixing in with the participants of the second stage.
The event was streamed but it did not have cameras anywhere and only captured significant moments such as battle.
Veritas knew that the battle between Line and the two Pathbearers were also recorded so he used the dust cloud as an opportunity to sweep in and hide himself.
Line had already vanished when he was thrown onto the tree-trunk, it was an inevitable loss! But with Veritas' interference, he used the Winds to sneak in and used Visionshaper to disguise himself.
Once the dust cloud, which was conjured by him, dissipated, Veritas had already perfectly become Line.
He only needed to act like him in order to cause no further suspicions.
Suddenly, Jade stopped in her tracks and hid in a nearby log, Veritas following behind her.
"I sense 4 people and 2 wolves.. no, 3! Wait.. 4?"
Veritas looked in the distance while hidden behind a log.
"They're fighting against each other!" Jade whispered.
In the not so far distance, in a clearing within the Hyperion trees, a boy with black hair and crystal-blue eyes was staring at two figures who were towering over him.
Beside him was a brown-haired boy, and two wolves.
It seems that the confrontation between the two was inevitable and a battle would soon envelop the forest clearing.
Two tall figures stood in front of the black-haired boy and imposed their will towards him.
One could see that the surroundings were turning hotter by the second.
Veritas saw the figures in the distance with his enhanced vision and his eyes suddenly widened!
'That's-'
The black-haired boy unsheathed his steel blade and got ready for a fight.
'That's Bello!'