Chapter 506: Chapter 506
Chapter 506
At the Noxarian faction, things were going as usual though there was an underlying tension. To most, it wasn’t anything major, but to Dame it was like a storm cloud that refused to drift away.
He could currently be seen in a dimly lit bar with his close friends: Finn, Bray, and Talon. The four were seated at a wooden table, the air around them heavy with smoke, ale, and unspoken worries. Each man nursed a drink in hand, their conversation dipping between silence and frustration.
"So wait, your dad wants you to take half the men Beatrix is bringing to fend her off? Who even does that?!" Talon shouted in shock, slamming his mug down as he watched Dame gulp his drink in pure frustration.
After chugging it down, Dame wiped his lips with the back of his hand and let out a bitter sigh. His bloodshot eyes drifted from one friend to another, his shoulders weighed down as if the world sat upon them.
"Yep, that’s pretty much everything." He muttered before hiccuping and chuckling at his own misery.
"But that’s suicide." Bray retorted, his face twisting in disbelief.
"Exactly." Dame hiccuped again as he met their gazes. "That’s my punishment for trespassing and I have to face it like a champ. No excuses."
"Aren’t you supposed to be training or preparing though?" Finn asked with a raised brow. "The battle is basically a few weeks away. Time isn’t on your side."
Dame leaned forward, pressing his forehead briefly against the table before glaring at Finn. "What more can training help with? How much more will preparation matter?
Will it help me breakthrough to the next stage overnight? Will it give me the power to fight off a stage 5 warrior who’s already on the cusp of stage 6? Will it help me protect three hundred men who will die for nothing but my father’s orders?
Will training suddenly hand me allies? Will it gift me the strength of legends? Tch! I’m basically walking dead meat at this point, waiting for the day of my execution. Whether I go peacefully... or tragically, does it even matter?"
He shrugged at his own words, bitterness dripping from his tone. His hand stretched out, reaching for Talon’s drink, but his friend quickly pulled it away.
"That’s enough. You’ve been drinking yourself into a stupor every single day for a week now." Bray snapped sharply, grabbing Dame’s hand to stop him. His tone was strict, but his eyes betrayed the concern of a friend who hated watching someone sink further into despair.
"Have you tried reaching out to the Crimson Lotus Clan? They might be of help." Finn suggested, but Dame only shook his head in defeat.
"Tried. They refused, saying it would get messy for their clan to get involved. You know? Being neutral figures." Dame chuckled dryly and hiccuped again.
"Though Alba said if I could bring her something worth her time, she might consider helping me. But when I tried meeting up with her, I heard they went on a mission to another faction and who knows when they’ll be ba..."
Clink!
The door to the bar swung wide open and two figures stepped inside. Conversation halted for a heartbeat as eyes turned to them. The woman’s pigmented reddish skin stood out immediately, commanding attention without effort.
Dame’s eyes widened the instant he saw her. His drunken haze seemed to burn away for a moment as the figure strode confidently over, her presence drawing quiet stares from every corner of the room. She took a seat directly across from him while the man beside her settled down calmly.
"Looks like you’ve been busy letting yourself go, huh?" Alba chuckled lightly, her voice tinged with mockery as she studied Dame’s slouched posture.
"Alba? You’re back from your mission so soon?!" Dame exclaimed, almost choking on his words.
"What can I say? We’re efficient. Job done, so here I am." Alba shrugged casually, folding her arms. "Any new development?"
"Nope. My dad still insists I go for this battle." Dame sighed heavily, exhaustion dripping from every syllable as he dropped his head down.
The man beside Alba gave Dame a pitiful look. He knew what this battle meant. It wasn’t a mission. It was an execution order dressed up as duty. Without help, Dame would not return alive.
"I asked you to get me something I’ve never seen or heard of. How is that coming along?" Alba pressed with a raised brow, her yellow eyes narrowing slightly.
She didn’t actually expect Dame to bring her anything worthwhile. Deep down, she had only said it to give herself an excuse to decline his plea for help without outright rejecting him. Getting her clan tangled up in Noxarian matters was the last thing she wanted.
"Something you haven’t seen..." Dame trailed off as his eyes flickered with sudden realization. He hiccuped again before hurriedly rummaging through his pockets, his hands shaking slightly as if clinging to a fragile sliver of hope.
"I actually have something." He muttered, causing the female and even Dame’s friends to raise an eyebrow of suspicion. His lips curled into a dry chuckle as he tapped his chest.
"I carry it on me at all times because who knows when you’ll suddenly turn up." With that, he reached into his robes and pulled out a small leather pouch.
Tossing it onto the table, it slid across the wooden surface until it stopped right in front of Alba. She quickly clutched it, her yellow eyes narrowing as her expression grew serious.
Opening it cautiously, she saw five blue pills and three purple pills sitting neatly inside, each glowing faintly with a mysterious luster.
"Huh? What’s this?" she muttered, her voice edged with disbelief. According to her knowledge, there were only three known pills in the entire world of Vayun: green, red, and yellow. But now, she was staring at blue and purple pills that should not exist.
"You said to bring something that would shock you, right?" Dame’s drunken haze seemed to vanish in an instant, his face sobering as his tone carried unusual weight. "Well, there you have it. The purple pills restore a warrior’s Ki to the maximum for five whole minutes, even when completely exhausted.
And the blue pills? They boost a warrior’s speed by an entire stage... though only for two minutes."
"Wait, what?!" Alba and the man beside her exclaimed at the same time. Their chairs scraped against the floor as they leaned forward, eyes wide in disbelief. Alba clutched the pouch tighter, then slowly shifted her gaze back to Dame with a sharp glare.
"Are you trying to play a sick joke on me right now?" she demanded, brows furrowed. But the look on Dame’s face made her words falter. His eyes were steady, his expression dead serious. There wasn’t even a trace of mockery in him.
’Although my Ki isn’t fully exhausted, it’s halved. Let me test if he’s right.’ Without hesitation, she plucked one of the purple pills from the pouch. Her friends’ eyes widened as she popped it into her mouth and swallowed it down.
Within two seconds, its effect surged through her body. Her dantian suddenly flooded with energy, refilling at an astonishing speed. In less than ten breaths, her full Ki was restored to the brim. Alba froze, her pupils shrinking as her jaw went slack. Her mouth parted in disbelief, but no words came out at first.
"But... but how?" she finally whispered, still staring at Dame as if seeing him for the first time.
Dame leaned back in his seat, chuckling faintly. "Got help from a powerful individual."
The man beside Alba furrowed his brows and reached into the pouch. Pulling one pill out, he turned it in his hand, noticing faint carvings etched into the surface. Alba leaned in as curiosity overtook her shock, and together they saw it clearly.
Two bold initials glinted faintly under the tavern’s dim lights.
SM.
"Proudly made by the one and only..." Dame spread his arms wide, a dramatic grin cutting across his face. "...Supreme Magus."