Book 3: Chapter 6 (2/8)

Arthur wasn’t being offended after hearing Kain confidently stated that he will never lose to him. Arthur laughed out loud then put out his right hand and said, “Shall we continue our spar?”

“Of course. Maybe... just maybe you can gain a tiny advantage against me in our physical strength spar.”

Kain and Arthur started fighting again using only their physical strength. Kain began using his powerful legs to attack alongside his Ice Spear while Arthur also revealed more abilities that his Dark Knight class had for both defense and offense. Their fight went on for six hours. Both Arthur and Kain came to the conclusion that both of them were tied during this friendly spar as neither of them gained the advantage against the other.

Laying on the grass near a big tree next to Arthur, Kain closed his eyes and said, “Weakling.”

Arthur’s eyes were looking into the peaceful beautiful evening sky. Hearing Kain called the nickname he had given him, Arthur answered, “Yes?”

“You are the only real friend I have in Toria Continents.”

“What about the other Blood Mages? Aren't they also your friends?”

“I went through horrible training at the age of three until I went undercover as a Student Mage in Mages’ Academy of Nosh. None of the Blood Mages is my friend.”

“Training at the age of three... I can imagine how hard it must have been for you. The Mages Council didn't allow magic training until the age of ten because training at the age of three is way too hard for children at that age.”

"If it was just training, then I wouldn't bitch about it. It was... never mind. I'm very happy to have you visit me today."

Sensed Kain didn't want to talk about his childhood, Arthur could assume how difficult it must have been for Kain. Arthur said, "Even though we were born to be enemies, I'm still glad to see you alive."

“I humiliated you in our first duel at Mages Academy of Nosh. Because I intended to make you my arch-enemy.”

“Eh... interesting.”

“Do you know why I wanted you to be my arch-enemy?”

“Not really. Is it because you are just an asshole?”

“Because it’s fun having someone that hates you very much but couldn’t kill you. I enjoyed that feeling. I enjoyed having an arch-enemy that is weaker than me.”

“Kain.”

“Hmm?”

“Your mind is messed up.”

“Yeah, I know."

"If you intend to make me your arch-enemy, why did you propose that we become friends then?"

"Because I could feel the hatred you have for me had faded when we were participating in the stupid Student Mages Battle Tournament in Flumen city. If I can't make you my arch-enemy, then I wanted to make you my friend."

After a few seconds of silence, Arthur said, "I'm glad we became friends."

"How are things between you and Adela? Are you going to marry her and have children?"

"She thought I was dead and married someone else while I was stuck inside the Timeless Dungeon."

"Haha… suck to be you. Jaane waited for me though. We are so happy..."

"You are an asshole, Kain."

Approximately ten minutes later. Kain asked, “Since you and I are still friends at this moment. May I ask you a favor?”

Arthur couldn’t believe what he had just heard. He thought to himself, “Kain is asking me for a favor. He had never asked anyone for a favor before.”

Arthur said, “Sure, only if it's within my power.”

Kain opened his eyes and asked, “If I die, will you protect Jaane and my two children?”

Arthur immediately understood what Kain meant by that. Fighting against the Mages Council won’t end well for Kain. Especially when Noe Clerico was still there to protect it. Even if Noe Clerico wasn’t there, the Champions wouldn’t stand idly letting Kain succeed. Kain could defeat any of the Champions in the one versus one battle, but he wouldn’t be able to defeat them all. If including the assistance from the Demi-Humans, the Blood Mages, and the Rogue Mages, Kain’s success chance wouldn’t be high enough for a guaranteed win. It was typical for Kain to believe that he may die during his attack against the Mages Council.

Arthur gave Kain a firm answer, “At my current magical power, there is no doubt that I will be promoted to be one of the Champions of the Mages Council. After becoming a Champion, many rules of the Mages Council won't apply to me. If you die, I will use the authority of the Champion to protect Jaane and your children. If the authority of the Champion alone isn't enough, then I will protect them with my life. I promised.”

Kain closed his eyes again and said, “Thank you, my friend.”

"Now it's your turn to do me a favor."

"If it's about not attacking the Mages Council, I can't."

"No, not that. If I die, will you spare my parents?"

"Yes."

"My mother has a lot of children, even though I don't get along well with them. Will you spare my brothers and sisters too?"

"As long as your brothers and sisters don't raise weapons against me, I won't harm any of them. You have my promise."

"Thank you, Kain. When are you going to attack the Mages Council?"

"Not anytime soon. I needed more time to prepare."

"Aren't you afraid that the Mages Council will attack first?"

"That won't happen."

"How can you be so sure about it?"

"Noe Clerico told me. He wanted me to have my fun before turning me into one of his minions. And I'm certain that Noe wouldn't want to have a real fight with me before I'm ready."

"If Lord Clerico was the person who told you that, then I have no problem not believing it."

“If I can convince the Mages Council to legalize Blood Magic, will you stop the war with them?”

“That won’t happen. If Blood Magic could be legalized that easily, the Mages Council would have done so a long time ago.”

“What about-”

"Weakling, just rest and enjoy this peaceful evening with me. Starting tomorrow, we will be enemies."

After an hour of peaceful silence laying on the grass next to Kain, Arthur said, "I wish you weren't a Blood Mage."

Still having his eyes closed, Kain said, "I wished so too."