Path to the Heart

The second match of the second round of matches was still going on so I sat back down with everyone. This time around, everyone who recognized me congratulated me and patted me on the back. What a load of fakes.

"Lord Smarus, I heard you went to the nurse's office. Are you okay?" Aurora asked me as I sat next to her.

"Yeah, I just burnt myself," I explained and showed her my hand.

"Whaa!? You punched that guy so hard that you caused a fire!?" Lily sat forward. "That's amazing!"

"Lily, didn't you hear the impact of the punch? It was like BAM! And BOW!" Myra mimicked the sounds.

"I only punched him once," I sighed.

"Still, it is quite impressive," Aurora nodded her head.

Myra and Lily were still talking about the punch. They apparently really kicked it off during the training sessions. If I didn't know better, I would've thought that they were best friends for years. Aurora turned her attention back to the match. All of the girls sat to my right, so I couldn't clearly see Luna, but I could tell she was thinking about something.

"So it is true you defeated a brute in one punch," Donkor, who was sitting to my left, spoke up.

"Yeah," I smiled at him. I looked past him, towards Sonia. "It worked like a charm!"

Donkor gave me a puzzled look at me and Sonia. He wanted to ask a question, but Luna spoke first.

"Smarus, how come you didn't use that when you fought Ace? It looked like you were able to use that skill rather efficiently, even if you did harm yourself…" She began her thought.

I understood what she was thinking. Based on the confidence I had on the skill and how effectively I used it, it was easy for someone to assume I had been training with it for some time. Unfortunately, that was not the case. I just used the knowledge from the game and how I saw Arlo use it.

"I didn't have it when I fought Ace. I just got it today," I shrugged.

"HUUHH!?" Everyone except Sonia gasped.

Yeah, I figured this was bound to happen, but why were they this shock? I never really played by the rules, to begin with.

"Smarus, please explain," Donkor narrowed his brow.

I extended my middle finger, showing off my ring.

"This is why I dropped out of training. It was to get a skill called Steal. With the help of Sonia, I was able to upgrade it to Gluttony!" I explained to them.

There was no use in hiding any secrets from them since I intended to have them all join my clan. I only hoped that they wouldn't use this against me one day.

"I heard about that skill, but it was recorded as a useless skill," Luna rubbed her chin.

"Useless to everyone who didn't have Darkness."

I expected some sort of reaction, but no one even blinked. Donkor and Sonia already knew, but still… I was kind of disappointed.

"Yeah, I can see that," Lily nodded her head,

"It suits you Lord Smarus," Aurora agreed. Myra shook her head up and down.

"I knid of figured. You have that… feeling about you," Luna shivered.

"Guys, I have feelings you know," I sighed. "Moving on. I can take people's skills and make it my own. Regardless of class and affinity," I explained.

"Steal as in the target won't have the skill anymore or what?" Donkor said with a hint of concern.

"I dunno. I assume it's based on how I steal it, but it's not my problem," I shrugged.

"If you just got that skill today, then you must have stolen it during your fight with Arlo. If you constantly steal skills, will your body be able to keep up with it?" Aurora was now concerned.

I thought for a moment. I wanted to explain what my class really was in full, but that would also lead to explaining that I encountered the guardians and how I died the first time. That would have been a pain. I couldn't lie either since Aurora was able to sense when someone was lying.

"I'll just have to keep my body in top shape as well as train with whatever skills I get. There are also some skills I can learn to help monitor that," I summed it up.

They all nodded their heads as they processed this. After a few moments, Luna gasped.

"Wait, how do you know what skills to stea…"

The crowd exploded in excitement, interrupting Luna. The winner of the match was just declared. When I saw him, he was a short, muscular guy. It seemed like he won using his bare fist. He stood at the center of the ring and turned in my direction. He pointed at me. Really? This again.

"It looks like Smarus has another challenger!" The announcer hyped up the crowd.

This time I decided to play along. I stood up and crossed my arms. The crowd went silent as I began to speak.

"This is your first and only warning, and I'm sure you saw how my last battle went. Surrender now, and keep your honor," I smirked and tilted my head back.

The crowd gasped as I held my ground. Their attention turned to the man to see how he would react.

"Unlike the arrogant fool and the brute you fought, I've spent my entire life honing my combat. I will not lose to someone who resorts to cheap tricks!" He balled his fist and walked off of stage.

"What a load of crap," I sighed.

"Smarus! You should respect his challenge," Donkor said.

"If he has to point me out in the crowd, he already lost. It's no different than admitting that I'm better than him," I sat back down. "This is why I hate crowds."

"This tournament isn't about you… nevermind," Donkor gave up.

There were two more battles before my next match. After I win that battle, I'll fight for the right to participate in the semi-finals. From there, I would technically be in the top four, so I can just surrender in the next fight. However, if Bodil or Donkor make it to the semifinals, I will battle them. I didn't care to bother otherwise. I sighed.

"I'm getting some food," I stood up.

"Heh? You'll have to fight soon," Donkor looked up.

"I'll have a light lunch."

"I'm coming too!" Lily stood up as well.

"Enjoy your lunch, Lord Smarus," Aurora bowed her head.

"Hey Lily, bring me back a snack!" Myra requested.

"Roger!" Lily playfully saluted.

Luna looked like she wanted to come with… too bad. I was sure she would stick close, so I'll have plenty of time to talk to her later. Lily and I walked to where the food stands were set up to find something to eat.

"Lily, what do you want to eat?" I asked her.

"Hmmm… Maybe something fried… or steak," Her mouth began to water.

"Don't drool, it's gross," I sighed.

"I can't help it! The thought of how much yummy food there was is making me hungry!"

"I guess it can't be helped," I chuckled. "Let's get a little bit of everything and some for everyone else."

"I like that idea! We should test everything so that we get the best food!" Lily was excited.

She wasted no time trying out samples, buying treats, and talking to the vendors. Although it was my idea, I felt like I was the one who tagged along. It was a nice change of pace until a group of students walked past us. We were sitting at a bench when they began making their comments.

"Wow, I would never have thought to see a half-elf!" One of them failed to whisper.

"They're even worse in person. She doesn't have the beauty of a real elf. I doubted she could even use half the magic elves could!" 

"Looks like the only trait she picked up was man's appetite," The three students snickered.

Lily looked down and dropped her fork. She covered her ears with her hair.

"S-smarus, I'm not hungry anymore," She was sniffling.

I sighed as I stood up. I walked over to the three students, fuming with rage.

"What you said was very rude towards my assistant. I expect an apology," I confronted them.

"The fact that she's your assistant speaks volum…"

I grabbed his face and slammed it on the ground. The grass reflected a vivid purple color as my eyes glowed. I pulled a knife from my inventory.

"I should cut out your tongue, scumbag!" I coldly said, barely above a whisper.

His eyes showed immense fear. Tears were beginning to emerge in his eyes.

"H-hey man. It's not that serious," One of the students tried to stop me.

"I'd hold my tongue. Otherwise, you should be more concerned about what I'll do to you," I warned him.

He took a step back in fear. I grabbed the man's face from before and forced his mouth open. I held my knife against his cheek.

"Any last words?" A smile slowly broke out as the student cried.

"Smarus!" Lily's voice brought me out of my anger. "Please, just leave them."

I looked up and saw that her eyes and nose were tinted red, but she wasn't holding her ears anymore. I sighed.

"You three should be glad. My friend just saved your lives. I'd thank her," I stood up and put my knife away.

They immediately bowed their heads low to Lily and ran away. I chuckled as they ran with their tails between their legs. Lily came up and grabbed my sleeve.

"Thank you Smarus… Really," She was still looking down.

"Hold your head up. You're a member of the Dragonborne clan," I began to walk back to the bench. "If anyone has an issue with you, I will personally dispose of them."

Her face lit up as I said this. She pushed her hair back behind her ears and smiled. I couldn't help but give a small smile as well. I was glad that she wasn't permanently affected by this encounter.

"Thanks, Smarus! That's actually nice of you," She giggled.

"Hey, I'm not a complete jerk," I chuckled" I take care of my own," I picked my fork back up.

Lily looked down as she blushed. She began to play with her food, and she had a wide smile on her face.

"Yeah, you do…"

Wait… This pattern seemed familiar. I felt like I was about to get a …

Ding! Lily's Character Log Updated!

 Yup, there it was. I resisted the urge to sigh in front of Lily. Why was I avoiding relationships so much? At first, it was because most of the people I met were characters in the game, but then I got to know them. Would it be irresponsible for me to ignore their feelings? Would it be weird if I left my morals from my old world to adopt this world's morals? What a pain. This was too grey of an area for an antisocial nerd like me.