Asher the Insane

29 - Adran the Chosen

I wish my brother and I could have fought in the arena together, but he was definitely the stronger of the two of us.

Heh, the disparity in strength was so great that I wouldn't even consider taking part in the arena competition and even though the fights are to the death, the rewards seem so much greater.

Riches, fame, and a wish personally granted by King Drach himself.

...

It doesn't matter, anyway. I couldn't register any longer. It would be held today, and if I were to change my mind right now, it would already be too late.

At least I could wish him good luck.

Taking a sip of the tea I ordered from a stall close to the Colosseum, I sat in quiet contemplation, enjoying the scenery, letting the sun hit my face and then again, taking another sip.

Sadly, I have to imagine that some dreams will stay just that, dreams.

In just a few short hours or so, Iadra is going to prove to the world that he is the strongest in all of Jento, maybe all of Castirin. Our family will then have to be recognized and be famous all around, but still...

"Hello there, Adran," a young woman said as she approached me.

A strange, but bad feeling had come over me.

The woman was tall with short black hair. I thought she was very beautiful, but there was something wicked behind the smile she had.

"Uh, hello?" I responded, unsure.

She sat down on a chair next to me, "How are you doing this fine day?"

"I'd like to think that I'm doing better every day. ...Excuse me, but do I know you?" I asked in genuine puzzlement, because I felt like I had known this woman from somewhere.

Why would a beauty like that go and talk to me?

"Well, maybe under another appearance, maybe, but who cares about that? Listen, I'm gonna need you to fight in the arena for me, alright?" She more or less demanded of me.

I sighed, "well. I would like to... but I'm not very strong, you see."

"Don't you want to fight?" She then jumped on the table, either smashing the ceramic tea utensils under her boots or throwing them off the table, and looked to the sky, and shouted as loud as she could," Tatakai! Tatakae!"

"Tata-what?" I furrowed my brows.

"You'll fight!" She stomped around on the table, breaking the already smashed ceramic into even smaller pieces, "Fight and win! And you know why you're gonna fight?"

"...no?"

"Cause if you're not, then you're gonna die because of the curse I put on you," she exclaimed.

"YOU DID WHAT?!" I spat out my tea.

She laughed, "check your status menu if you don't believe me."

I open it up and looked. There was one spell on me.

[Certain Struggle]

I didn't know this skill at all.

"After 12 hours ,the targeted unit will receive 81347% unavoidable true max HP damage
(Incurable)."

"Why did you do that?! HOW did you do that?! "

"I won't tell you anything unless you fight for me," she said.

"Okay, okay, fine, just, please, take that curse off me."

"First, let me see what I'm working with. Faye, could you...?" She said to the air.

"You're Adran Arre. Quarter-Light-Elf-Quarter-Red-Dwarf-Half-Human, got a complicated family history alright. When all of you get together during a holiday I imagine there's a lot of love going around, am I wrong? Do Red-Dwarves and Light-Elf like each other? Or do they hate each other, like most other races in this world? What even are Red-Dwarves, or Light-Elves? The names don't tell me anything, and you look just like a normal human guy-

Let's just go on before this is going to bug me the whole day.You have... almost no skills, that's obviously bad and your level... only twenty? Oh, come on, Adran. Has no one ever taught you that in a RPG world you first thing you do is grind? You have no skills because your level is so low and your level is so low because what?Do you just not feel like going out and getting some experience to then waste on skills?And, lastly, your unique skill is [Viridescent Thumb]. It lets you grow domesticated plants 7% faster. Wow, now I understand. Trying to get strong with that skill as a starting point must not be an easy task."

"And how do you know all this information?"

"Shut up. You're not strong on your own but no worries. I'll just give you a ton of skills."

"You can just do that?"

"Course I can. Who do you think I am?"

She looked at me as if I must have known, but I just flat out told her, "...I have no idea."