“So...only one of us can leave,” Zatchel said, his head downcast as we looked into our reflectionless pond.

I nodded, feeling incredibly empty in my heart. It all felt so wrong.

“Will...will you be the one to leave, then?”

I shook my head defiantly, absolutely shunning the idea. No, you should, I signed.

“No, Sayanica, you should be the one to go...I’ll be fine...just...dying here.”

I grabbed his shoulders, shaking sense into him as I shook my own head, and forced him to look into my eyes.

“C-come on, Sayanica, I’m...I’m a wreck without you!”

I glared at him.

“I-I don’t know if I’ll ever stop cr...” she averted his head from me once more and remained quiet. “I...I’d rather not live...in a world where you’re trapped here. He...Keolon, he said? He’s giving us silly promises. Even if we really did find a way to take you out too...it could be hundreds of years. I’d rather you die than go through that alone.”

It was difficult to express such complex feelings and thoughts through sign language, so I just hugged him. It was less an expression of love, and more one of assertion, though.

“It...I’ll never stop crying, Sayanica. W-we’ve been in here so long...we’ve endured for so long...I...” He sniffed. “I...I can’t stop being a crybaby without you. You know that.”

I refused to give up. The reason he thought I ought to be the one to escape was the same one that would convince him otherwise.

I could make my own desicions.

As usual, I woke up before anyone else and spent some time looking at [draconic bond] inherent skill I had learned.

[draconic bond tier 1]: a dragon has chosen its favorite person. Each bond is different, but as time passes, a [dragon]’s bond with their chosen [humanoid] will grow, letting them share thoughts, feelings, memories, and other stuff. Every bond is different, and its abilities and requirements are shaped by the values of the [dragon] who created the pact.

This skill is only aesthetic and is unrelated to the system.

I didn’t really know what to think about it, but I definitely liked feeling special.

[dragon]s were known as untamable beasts who wanted nothing to do with humans, and only the legendary [dragon rider] class could convince a dragon to work for them. It certainly made me unique to have a strong bond with...whatever Cobaltio was. Speaking of which, he was now called a [zathokin]. I decided I wouldn’t mention any of that unless it needed to be mentioned.

After an hour, I woke Maladrain and Reco up, then wrote about what had happened while they packed.

“Well, from the sound of it, nothing all that interesting happened. You flew with the [wyvern], tried to get back, got ambushed by a [displacer beast], then talked with the [wyvern]’s owner, he said some cryptic nonsense, and then he let you go because of reasons you don’t know.” Maladrain said as we finished packing up, which didn’t take long at all.

I shrugged. Yeah, basically.

“Will he be coming back, you think?”

I shook my head. I had the feeling I’d see him again, but that it would probably be under more peaceful terms.

“Well, that’s that, then. Reco, I’m finished, are you?”

Reco put a dagger into her bag. “Yeah, I am now.”

“Saya?”

I shuffled through my bag, making sure I hadn’t missed anything, then shook my head.

“Cobaltio?” he said jokingly.

Cobaltio couldn’t hear him but leaped up to me once I had my bag over my shoulders.

“Well, let’s get going.”

Since my leg still hurt a bunch, I ended up on Reco’s back. [frey diver] had [tenacity], an ability that helped her carry people, or escape from their grasp, so even with me and Cobaltio riding her, she didn’t lose pace. She seemed to like the physical stress.

It was almost midday when I finally had sight of the capital. What I saw as I approached it was, obviously, massive. From the distance, I saw its large walls were built of a bright white stone. Even from half a dozen miles away, there were small settlements and farms and plenty of people leaving and entering the road beside us. I even saw a black [gigamule] in the distance, standing taller than a house, quickly making its way into the city.

The road became paved once we got closer, and Maladrain and Reco were both in good spirits, happy to finally be back at the capital.

We made our way to the city over the next two hours, the outskirts growing more and more populated as we did. As I finally arrived, I realized just how large the city walls were. They towered over the houses, nearly 150 feet tall. I couldn’t tell how thick it was, but from the impression I got, it was probably not thin. I could see people walking through one of its walls, which was apparently just an illusion. According to Maladrain, the gate was built of enchanted stone that could phase in and out of physicality as needed, making it a perfect defense.

Not that the city needed the defenses anyway, because the Preclaimed Lands were by far the strongest nation of all the lands, which even I understood.

So, basically, the whole fortress was for show, and that amazed me.

As we approached the wall, Reco asked me, “Saya, do you think you’re fine to walk now?”

I nodded and started climbing off. I flinched as I hit the ground, my leg stinging from the impact. After making sure I was ok, they continued.

Maladrain walked through the wall backward, just to show me it was safe. I walked after him to find that behind the wall was an empty tunnel, about thirty feet in diameter and width. I quickly skipped through the tunnel ahead of the two adventurers and saw the city beyond, ignoring the mild pain from my wound.

The Capital was colloquially known as the Preclaimed City, though I didn’t actually remember its original name. It was said to have been made with the aid of the gods themselves.

Man, what show-offs they are!

I walked out of the tunnel before I took a good look at the city, bathing in the warm sunlight shining above. The city was built on flat ground and was miles across, holding countless buildings of all shapes and sizes.

The ‘Shining Pillar’ stood above everything, so tall that it dwarfed the next tallest building by comparison. It was built of stone so white and shiny that it was almost an eyesore, jutted into the sky so everyone could see it. It was a narrow cone with a flat end. I wasn’t sure what was on top of it.

The next tallest building was nearby and significantly more utilitarian. It was built of the same stone as the walls was and were about the same height. I could see a lot of the building’s wings from where I stood, each sprouting into other small branches. It was, like, the building, where the leaders of the Preclaimed Lands gathered in, the White Nexus.

In front of me, walking down the circular street on the very outskirt of the city as well as the one that led directly from the entrance to the center, people bustle around, doing whatever. There were [mule]s, [drake]s, [camel]s on the ground, and above the city, I could see just two people flying from place to place on [battim]s(large bats) and [wyvern]s.

Like Hannem, the capital was [human] dominated, but I also even saw a few surfkin, amphibious humanoids, who I hadn’t ever seen before. Hannem and my village were far too far from the ocean for me to see them around, and they were known for being much more nationalistic than the people who lived on the land. The two I saw had gills on their neck and face, rubbery skin colored a pale blue, and had unusual, baggy clothes that tucked their fins in.

As I gazed off at the city, Maladrain walked through the illusion behind me. “You’ve never been here before, have you, kid?”

I shook my head.

“Well, we might relocate you elsewhere, but this is where the main headquarters of the adventurer’s guild is, so you should get used to your lot here.”

I might be living here?

“Are you sure the guild wants Saya?” Reco asked, stopping beside us. “I mean, I don’t know if there’s any [oathbreaker] policies.”

Maladrain shook his head. “No, we don’t have any, and if we did then, Saya would easily be accepted as an exception.”

“Why’s that?”

“Because we have literally five other intermediate rookies and just thirty members, Reco.”

Reco clapped her hands together. “Oh, riiiight, half of them died when they got ambushed by that scouting party. Did we ever get paid reparations?”

Maladrain grimaced. “No, the Land of Rapids claimed the land they were exploring afterward and managed to skirt past post-ex-facto treaties.”

“Wow, that was reaaaal shitty of them. Don’t we have a guild in that land too?”

“Yeah...”

Well, that was a real encouraging conversation.

“Anyway, let’s get going to the guild.”

I held my slate up to Maladrain. {I can track where this is. Hold it so I can’t get lost.}

“Oh, sure, Saya,” Maladrain said, taking the slate. I’d just take it back if I needed to.

We began to walk through the streets, merging with the crowd. Maladrain seemed to know his way through the city even better than Reco, so we made our way through rather quickly.

There was a large variety of shops: salons, jewelers, armories, and restaurants, homes, government facilities, just about everything. Also, unlike the obvious increase of wealth as someone entered the outskirts of Hannem, the wealthiest homes and facilities were spread across town. We even passed by what seemed to me like a royal carriage, similar to the one Sayanica had been in, which was driven by a [drake] that sent me and Cobaltio a death glare as it passed by.

Spread out across the city, there were mansions far taller than the buildings around them. In fact, as I observed the buildings, I realized that the wealthier ones were always taller.

When I borrowed my slate back to ask Maladrain about it, he said: “There are thirty holy generals, most of whom live in the capital. Each of those generals has their own home in the capital that ‘stands’ above the rest. So, that big building is the Kadaiv mansion. The Kadaiv family actually live in Strongfort, a border city-state up in the mountains.” He then went on and on about how Strongfort technically had independence due to how different its needs were compared to the rest of the Preclaimed Land.

I spent the next hour gaping at buildings as we walked to the guild. Most of them were the same height, but Maladrain noted that any building could build higher than the mandatory limit if they paid extra taxes.

Suddenly, Reco said, “Hey, why don’t we stop at a restaurant?”

Maladrain sighed. “I’m not opposed to it, but if we go, you’re paying.”

“What, why me?!”

“Because restaurants are expensive.”

“You’ve got money, you cheapskate!”

“Reco, you’re a celebrity. I know you earn ten times as much as me. The guild probably pays you to stick around at this point because if you leave, we lose most of our advertising. Wow, Reco, you’re so cool, you make so much money, I’m sure you’re capable of feeding both me and this little kiddy-widdy!”

I snorted at the sarcasm out of annoyance, but my amusement leaked through.

“Fiiine, the food’s on me, but only because Saya is here. Well, I would have paid for her anyway, but you get the point. Saya, where do you want to eat?”

I moved my head between Maladran and Reco as they looked down at me, waiting for my response. I shrugged. Like I know anything about restaurants!

“Ok, sounds like we’re getting tamales.”

“What are tamales?” Maladrain asked as we began to follow Reco.

“Good stuff from my homeland.”

We arrived in front of a building with its kitchen open behind the counter we ordered at and sat at one of its three tables. I watched curiously as the [chef] cut vegetables and meat, made dough, then packed them together atop six wide, rectangularish leaves, rolling them together.

I suppose I didn’t mention this, but ever since I’d arrived at Hannem, the food was really good, at least compared to what I was used to. Symantha had personally made most of my food in Hannem, and we had brought perishable goods on our four-day journey here, all of which tasted decent compared to the long-lasting rations I had packed for myself.

I expected to lose the luxury of food, but so far, that hadn’t happened yet.

We were near an outhouse, so Reco had left to go to the restroom. Plumbing was a nice plus of Hannem and the Preclaimed City since, for obvious reasons. The impressive scale at which the plumbing had been devised wasn’t lost on me either, as I wasn’t even sure where they got the water to flush out the, uhh...gunk.

Thinking ‘the Preclaimed City’ over and over was getting dull, so I asked Maladrain, {What do people call the Preclaimed City?}

He looked away from the cooking with a strange expression. “The capital is usually called Keolos, named after my patron god.”

He had to add the obvious extra trivia, huh?

After another minute of idle waiting, I wrote, {What’s Reco’s homeland?}

“She lived in the Speate Lands, which are a subregion of the Desert Lands. Their food is outrageously good, as far as I’m concerned, but not everyone likes spicy food. I’m sure you can handle it, though.”

Was that a challenge!? In my head, I vowed to slather my thing in that ‘pepper sauce’ condiment they’d set on our table and establish my dominance.

In the meantime, I just continued the conversation. {Where do you come from?}

Maladrain remained silent for a bit, a concerned look on his face. “I, uhh, I come from the Dread Land. It’s that land that borders Hell if you didn’t know, north of here.”

Well, at least I knew why he chose the (fake or new)name he did. People from the Dread Lands had an infamously indulgent taste for names, as far as my village was concerned. Whenever they passed through, they were unofficially named the town laughingstock, which always made them flustered. The legend of the man who called himself the ‘White Death’ decades ago was passed through the generations in my village, and if that man was still alive, he would surely be treated like a famous comedian if he dared come back.

Maybe it was best for Maladrain that he didn’t end up passing through the village.

{Why did you leave?} I asked.

He looked to the side...

“That’s personal.”

...

Well, ok then.

“Oh, hey, Saya!” Reco yelled, jogging back from the outhouse. “Do you want to stop by an armory while we’re in the capital? Not now, of course, but later.” She stopped at the table.

{I only really want swords.}

“Well, you’ve got trash taste, but they’ve got plenty of normie weapons like that to go around. There’s greatswords, probably a scimitar or two, rapiers, slaying swords, and all sorts of stuff.”

Maladrain had the gems and gold we’d gotten from the [cobold] lair, so I had money to buy something if I wanted to. I shrugged. {Sure.}

“Cool,” Reco said, sitting down.

“You just want an excuse to look at weapons, don’t you?” Maladrain said with skepticism.

“Is that a problem? Oh, our food is here.” We went silent as the [cook] set three trays with two tamales on them in front of us. “Let’s dig in!”

I unwrapped my tamale, revealing a steaming-hot dough with various chopped veggies inside. I slathered an excessive amount of pepper sauce on one. Neither Maladrain nor Reco tried to stop me as I chopped it with my fork, then took a hefty bit of the tamale. Cobaltio snorted at the stinging smell of it, and tried to pull my head back by the hair. I only realized why too late.

As I munched on the food in my mouth, both Reco and Maladrain simultaneously looked to me, searching for my weakness. I tried to hide my pain, freezing my face as I chewed on the tamale.

It was, uhh, easy to bear, yes. The pepper sauce was so easy and delicious to eat, that I most certainly did not swap a skill for [poison resistance tier 1] over the minutes it took for me to gather the courage to take another bite.

I would not be defeated by this [devil] in pepper skin!

There was a quiet sort of conversation between the two adventurers as I took and savored my next bite.

‘You think she’s in pain?’ Maladrain asked Reco with a concerned expression.

‘What? No, she’s fiiine. Just look at her face. It hasn’t moved an inch since she took a bite.’ Reco responded with a sardonic smile.

‘Oh, yeah, that’s perfectly normal.’ Maladrain stared at me with a vaguely humored smile. “How is it, Saya?”

I moved my eyes to meet his, silent and unamused and sent a sarcastic thumbs up.

He looked back to Reco. ‘I think she likes it.’

Reco shook her head. ‘Yeah, I mean, why else would she take another bite?’ She sent me an irritating smile. “Are you sure you can eat that whole thing, Saya? I mean, not even I can do that.”

I took the bait, stubbornly stuffing another bite of the thing in my mouth. ‘Pathetic’ I said with a glare.

“Wow, you must really like that stuff,” Reco said, picking up the condiment bottle. “You’d surely appreciate it if I just...” She slathered more sauce onto my other tamale. “did this for you, would you?”

‘You sadist!’ Maladrain nonverbally screamed at Reco, his eyes wide.

I stabbed my fork, backhanded into the remnants of my first tamale, and crammed it into my mouth.

“Actually, I think you want just a little more.” Reco sprinkled an insubstantial but mocking amount of pepper sauce onto my other tamale. She sent me a charisma-empowered shit-eating grin that had been perfected over the course of nearly three decades and countless pit fights, and had probably been what many honorable men had seen in the last moments of their lives, knowing Reco.

I cut off a fourth of the next, pepper-enhanced tamale.

Maladrain was looking at me with concern and gestured to the tamale. “Uhh, Saya, you can always walk away from this, don’t let Reco-”

With one hand, I stabbed the fourth piece with my fork, then I grabbed everything but the piece I had cut off with my bare hand, then in two swift bites, ate it all, making their jaws drop from the unexpectedness of it all.

But, you see, that was when Reco made four mistakes that sealed my victory in stone:

1: she failed to take into account my strange behavior, leaving one-fourth a tamale, in particular, uneaten.

2: at this point, whatever was on my tongue that senses taste had long since died, scorched to nothingness under the pressure of the pepper sauce’s fire. I had endured nearly dying just two weeks ago, I wouldn’t be defeated by pepper sauce.

3: she allowed herself to be surprised by my action, giving me the opportunity to retaliate.

and...

Leaving no room for mistake, I channeled all my hatred towards Reco’s foregone smile and jabbed my fork towards her, activating [ruthless striker tier 1] to increase the pepper sauce’s potency(don’t ask me if it actually worked that way) as I shoved the piece of tamale into her gaping mouth. Taken by surprise, she reflexively closed it, not registering what I had just done.

Well, there was only one real reason you lost, Reco. One simple reason...

She realized what I was playing at and tried to swallow the tamale before she had to endure the pain, but in her rush to do so, she ended up gagging on it, whining in pain as the pepper sauce sizzled her tongue and mouth, coating it in liquefied hell. After some time trying to swallow it all, flailing around in a futile attempt to lessen the pain, she ended up running to the bathroom.

You really pissed me off.

...

“Uhh...” Maladrain began. “So...” He pulled out his canteen. “You, uhh...you want water?”

I slowly took it and took a swig.

Yes, yes, I would.