7/19 - King's tower - unknown room

Alex's sword clashed with the statues. The metal from their blades rang out in this room. They both traded blows but they were blocked by the other. Their attacks were quick and wasted no time making their next attack. I can feel the blows from where I'm standing. I mean, I've seen how good he was before in sword training but I never thought he was this good.

"I won't allow you!"

Alex strikes the statue's sword to deflect it. He then ducked under the statues' next attack. He rolled away from it only for it to come at him regardless. Alex blocked its attack, but he was sent rolling off to the side. Legion was getting frustrated looking at this. He wanted to move in but restricted himself.

"This is the end!" the enemy declared as it made a series of stab attacks at Alex.

It looked as if he was having trouble hanging in there. With that many stab attacks, I don't know if he can hang in there much longer. They came from above this time. I thought he was going to get his head split open from that. However, what happened next caught me off guard. Alex intercepted the attack by using the butt of his hilt. He grinded it against the sword and made a blow against the armor. His sword made a vibration against the armor. The statue crumbled to pieces...

"Alex, that was amazing!” I congratulate him, as I run towards him.

"Thank you, that thing was a tough opponent."

He stylishly sheathed his sword and went over to the door. The door behind us was wide open now. I guess it opened when the statue died. Albeit, I don't think any of us wants to turn back now, so it was pointless to ask.

"Proxy, may I ask you a question," Legion asks.

"Sure boy scout."

"When will you stop calling me that?"

"When I get bored with it."

"I can tell that won't be until a long while. But away from that: why are you all here?"

"We came here to look for treasure."

"How come?"

"So we can fund an army."

"An army? Are you planning on invading the kingdom?"

"No, we're fighting against a bunch of bandits. They're pretty large in number and are known for messing with people outside the kingdom. So Alex wants to fight back against them with everyone else back in our camp."

“Is that so?”

“Quite,” Alex answered. ”I have no intention of raiding the kingdom. I’d rather bring peace outside the kingdom than make that place mine.”

“Such a noble cause. I commend you on taking up such a fight.”

“Thank you, but it hasn’t begun, so I would like that to be said after we fought them.”

King's tower, room 2

We found ourselves in another room, this time, however, it was nicely lit compared to the other room.

"This is certainly different, still, we should be on guard for another. . ."

Something came down from the roof and landed with a hard pound on the ground. It was a statue of a female wearing armor and a blindfold.

"Please, this test isn't meant for fighting, it is meant to weigh the skills of your intellect. Now, step up to test your intellect."

Something spawned out of nowhere. It was a table with long legs.

"We shall play a game. If you win then you'll be allowed to go onto the next room. However, if you happen to lose. you shall be killed!"

It was as bloodthirsty as the other one.

"Enough of this, you won't subject us to these games!"

Legion took his sword out and pointed it towards the statue.

"Do not threaten me! If you wish not to challenge me, then you can die!"

Spikes appeared from the ceiling. You gotta be kidding me!

"Play the game, or die."

We have no other options here, this thing is the one calling the shots. To be honest, I'm no good at thinking too extensively, but since one of us needs to, then I'll do it.

"I'll-"

"I'll do it," Richard cut me off.

"Richard, what are you doing," I asked, questioning if he was insane.

"I don't know, but if it's an intelligence test, then I think I should be the one to go up. At least, that's how it should go in theory."

His whole body was vibrating like crazy. His nerves must be going up the roof right now. In that case. I went over to him and slapped his back.

"Ow, what was that for?"

"Cheer up, buddy. I know you got this one in the bag. Your brain is a lot better than mine in many regards, and that should be considered a feat."

I just gave a big ol' grin to calm him down. It seemed to have worked the trick because he stopped shaking and relaxed his body.

"You're right, thanks, Proxy."

"No problem. Now, go knock that thing dead or whatever."

Richard walked towards the table. He was facing across from the statue.

"So, what's the game," Richard questioned.

"I'm feeling generous today, you pick."

"In that case, how about a fast game: Tic tac toe."

"I am not familiar with that game, what is it?"

"It's a game with a box of 3 rows and 3 columns. One player is X and the other is O. The first one to fill three-boxes in a row wins."

"Very well then, a simple game but it's acceptable."

The statue spawned in a box. It was sleek, whiteboard of 3 rows and 3 columns.

"The first one to lose dies, is this understood?"

Richard looked back at us. We only gave him thumbs up to keep him encouraged.

"Y-yeah, this is fine!"

"Then let us begin!"

...

I took the first turn. Placing an X on any spot other than the middlebox would be careless. So I placed one in the middle.

"I see, then I shall pick here!"

We began to place pieces on the board until it was full. It was a draw.

"We'll have to play again," I told the statue.

"How come?"

"It was a draw."

"Are you sure you're not cheating?"

"No, I'm not, that's how it goes. If neither player was able to win a set, then they play again."

"Fine then, another set."

We played another match, then another, and another. They ended in ties. During another set, I was going to place an x on a spot.

"Are you sure there?" the statue asked as if it was teasing me. "Maybe it'll be a wrong move, maybe it'll have you mess up? Well...?"

Damn it, she was messing with me. I can't let it mess with me! I placed the x on the spot that I wanted to put it on. I noticed that if I didn't before it would have allowed my opponent to get the upper hand. We continued with the ludicrous amount of ties. I couldn't get an opening, it was too risky. I just have to find a way, any way, some way to win.

"These bouts are growing tiresome, but yet, that's what you want, right?"

What did that mean? I want to win this, so we can get out of here.

"There is a part of you that wishes to get out of here, however, that part contradicts that wish since you desire to play safely because of the fear that you'll make a mistake."

"Just be quiet."

"Furthermore, you wish not to make a mistake, so you won't disappoint anyone, especially Proxy."

"Shut up!"

"You feel as if playing second fiddle to him and others will keep them from being disappointed in you. However, you wish to prove yourself too. Many of your desires and wishes contradict each other."

"I said shut up!"

"...But in the end, you are too insecure to be able to prove yourself to anyone, to Proxy, to Nunnalé, to yourself, and especially your brother."

"I SAID SHUT THE HELL UP!"

I slammed my fist against the table! In a blind rage, I placed a piece on the board on a spot that I thought would prove to be a winning move. But I wasn't thinking about what would happen if I did that. It let it take a point. "Shit!" The ceiling came down but stopped half-way.

"Lose one more time and that ceiling will be your end."

Shit, shit, shit! I really screwed up! This was a mistake, a huge mistake. I shouldn't have been the one to do this, I'm not good enough to do this! I should’ve let someone else handle this!

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry! I thought I could do this, but I'm not brave enough to do this, I'm just a gutless coward!"

"The hell are you talking about!? Stop speaking bullshit!" Proxy's voice boomed through the room.

"Huh?"

"I said stop bullshitting, man."

"But, I-"

"No, don't say another word. Don't make an excuse for yourself, you're cooler than that!"

"..."

"If you don't believe me then why don't you remember what happened in the mine. You did some crazy shit, especially getting your chest broken to protect Nunnalé, and she was someone you didn't know; that takes more than just guts."

He started slapping my cheeks with both his hands.

"So don't sit here and tell me you don't have the guts to kick this statues ass in tic tac toe! Play the game damn it!"

"Ow, ow, that hurts! I get it, I get it! Knock it off!"

I slapped his hands away from me.

"You didn't have to slap me."

"Are you sure?"

"Of course I am!"

I shakily fixed my glasses. Despite his aggressive way of doing it, he was able to get me back into a better state of mind. I needed to get back to playing the game, I can't let us die like this.

"Right, let's keep playing!"

“That’s right, get ready for round two, statue jerk!”

We began the next set, this time I needed to not just go on the offense, but on the defense as well. That means I need to take the middle and corner boxes. Just as planned, I took the middle, but the statue blocked a block on the left. I went for the lower-right corner, in return, it blocked the upper-left corner. I then placed an x on the lower-left corner.

"Pointless!"

It blocked the upper-right corner. It had a clear way to win by the upper row across.

"You did a good job, but on the next turn, I shall be the one to win. Take your last turn and be done with it."

I couldn't believe the arrogance of this thing. It was so caught up in its own ego. Yet, I'm glad it is.

"You should take a better look at the board," I said.

"Why for," it arrogantly asked.

"You'll see. . ."

The statue took a look at the board. It took it a second to realize what happened. “But how!?"

"Easy, I went first. When putting a piece in the middle it allows many avenues to win a game. When you blocked me on the side, my plan was set in motion. I took the lower corners in the guise that I was going for a diagonal win, but in reality, I was going for an across win. However, even if you saw my plan, I could always go for a diagonal win as a fallback."

"So you were manipulating this game the whole time?"

"Not really, it relied on making a specific move, and even if you didn't this time I would've kept playing until you did."

I placed the piece in the middle-bottom box. This led me to win due to getting three across. In truth, I also wanted to win and explain how I won, so I can rub it in its face.

"Impossible, how could I lose!?"

The statue began to crumble like the other one.

"I'm sorry my king, forgive me. Your loyal servant was not enough to guard your vault, please forgive me," the statue cried as it crumbles to pieces.

The table too disappeared shortly after. My body began to relax on its own. The stress was leaving my body. . .

"Yo, you did it, buddy!" Proxy jumped at me swinging his arm on my shoulder.

"Good job, I thought we were goners there for a second," Gil ended by taking a large breath as he swung his arms around me.

"Gilhart, you're supposed to have belief in your comrades," Alex reprimanded as he rubbed my head.

“Excellent job, buddy!”

“You won us the day,” Alexander said.

I pushed up my glasses, trying to hide my flushed face. I didn’t know how to face them. . . But.

"Proxy, the door."

"I know, let's go open that sucker!"

Proxy and Legion went off to investigate the door. Gilhart went to help them. This left Alexander with me.

"You did an extremely good job," Alexander complimented me.

"Thank you . . ."

"You sound upset, why?"

"I just. . . Even after beating that thing, what it said to me is still lingering in my mind. What it said about me, it wasn't wrong. During the match, I was scared of making a move since it would probably get me killed. I was scared to let you guys down at the last moment, especially Proxy."

That statue was able to see right through me, but how was it able to? How did it know about Nunnalé, Proxy, and my brother?

“No need to worry, he had complete trust in you, so don’t worry.”

“Easy for you to say, I almost turned us into mincemeat after that statue taunted me.”

“Even so, we are still alive and you were able to beat that thing, and he knew you could do it, so take pride that your friend believed in you.”

I guess he did tell me I was capable instead of getting angry at me for messing up. He helped me find the courage I needed to proceed. He could’ve been wrong about me, but he was so confident in me having the guts he said I have. It’s reckless of him, but that reckless confidence is something I rely on, I suppose. It’s funny, Alexander seems to have the same thing as well.

“Now, let's go onward!" Alex says as he marches onward.

“Yeah, let’s go.”

Honestly, I don’t know if I have the guts Proxy and Alexander thinks I have, but even if I don’t I’ll try my best not to let them down!