Chapter 6: Consequences

Consequences

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Adal questions the entire plan after it is all over. The consequences turn out to be far more reaching than he thought.

His mother has been very unhappy since learning of his betrothal to Riva. His father has grown quiet again but it is an angry kind of quiet this time. He has also grown cold to Toro the Fish Merchant.

Despite Adal's words, he suspects that Toro had a role in this affair. After all, his son is becoming a success and a very eligible bachelor, yet Toro somehow succeeds in foisting his unwanted daughter onto his son. Of course it must have been through some sort of trickery. This is despite the fact that it is known in the village that Riva resents her family and Toro may not benefit as much as Roko thinks.

Adal's and Riva's betrothal is not well known, though, making things worse.

After Adal's surprising win against Roccoco, fathers started approaching Roko about a potential marriage for Adal. Even Meta who lost embarrassingly against Adal makes an offer too. Some of those offers were very lucrative. They also involve girls who are closer to Adal's age and they are respectable in the village.

Roko has to inform each of those men that Adal is already taken. They, of course, inevitably ask by whom and he has to inform them it is Riva. The resulting reactions always makes Roko grow angrier. Word quickly makes it way around the village and Adal's father has to wade into that mess. There are many whispers.

There is also backlash from the win against Roccoco.

Buying and selling in the market has suddenly become harder. Some refused to do business with Roko. Others are charging higher prices and paying less. The reason isn't hidden – Bear is not happy with Adal's embarrassment of Roccoco. Most of the villagers do not care much for Bear, but some try to cultivate a close relationship as Bear is a large buyer.

Later, when Riva invites him to their new home, she proudly shows it off. She told him she was able to get it for a silver and 60 coppers with a further promise to pay eight more silvers. She says it is a steal. She had cleaned it out well and, with the remaining money, even hired some men to patch up the holes so it'll stay warm.

"We still need furniture and supplies, though for now, I can make do."

Adal only pays half attention. He is distinctively unhappy.

"I feel like you cheated me."

"What! What do you mean by that?"

"My family is very unhappy with me. Also, why is Bear targeting me so much more than you?"

"Hmph. I heard about the marriage offers you've been receiving. Is your family upset that you are already taken and without your father's permission? To a loose girl no less? Well, let me remind you that you promised upon your honor to marry me. I also remind you that I have been of great help to you. You would not have known about the common path without me."

Well, that is true.

"As for Bear's hostility, that is your fault. You were supposed to only last ten seconds against Roccoco. Instead, you humiliated and even injured him. With merely lasting ten seconds, Bear could ignore it and say you got lucky. You injured one of their own, though. He's also a rising star within the family. They can not ignore that."

"I've been hearing word around the village that people now firmly believe you're an Earth grade. It is true, but the fact that people are aware is important too. If the villagers think it, their servants will learn it too. When their servants learn it, Bear will learn it. They can not bear the idea that there is an Earth grade who is going against them and is in a relationship with me who they had casted out."

Adal scowls. "That makes it even worse. That means my entire fight with Bear is entirely because of you. I fought them to get your home and they also hate me because I'm with you."

"So do you intend to abandon me too? You need me! Others girls will coward pathetically at the first sign of Bear, but I stand tall. I'm the only one who can and will help you."

"So help me. What do I do?"

"Simple. Nothing. You are with a girl of ill repute. I will spread the word that you will eventually live with me in our home near the wasteland. You will also no longer compete."

"How will that help?"

"Bear targets you because they think you are a threat to them. That idea will go away if they believe you aren't moving up in life. We will, of course. We will not stay down. However, they won't know that. Because they don't know that, they will gradually let off."

He isn't very persuaded, but something else comes to his mind. Something he wants to ask Riva.

"What do you think about the idea of me killing Roccoco?"

He must be crazy for asking, but why not? After all, what will she do? Break off their relationship? He expected her to call him mad, but to his surprise, she seriously contemplates it.

"I…would be delighted if you did, but it isn't a good idea. Not now. I witnessed your fight against Roccoco and I know you're stronger than him. You lasted longer on the power stone. You can genuinely beat him in a fight. However, even if you can, it's not a good idea."

"Many of his cousins and uncles are extraordinarily powerful. The Bear family is extraordinary among these parts because they even have Sky grade. Two, in fact. They will destroy you."

Her candid response is very surprising to Adal. No shock, no horror despite him proposing the idea of killing another person. Would she be indifferent if he told her of all the people he had killed? Of how merciless he had been regardless of who he attacks?

Adal almost thinks of telling her, but he shakes the idea off. Too risky. His power, his actions must remain a secret as long as possible.

For now, he's more interested in Roccoco. Also, these Sky grades…he, like most of the village, had never had the fortune of interacting with someone that powerful. It is because of class, but also due to practical reasons. Most Sky grades don't remain in their home villages. Instead, they go far up north to the capital city Thannes.

Adal wonders how powerful they are.

"What if I kill Roccoco in an officially sanctioned match?"

She glares. "Why are you suddenly fixated on killing him? We got what we want already. There's no real need to go further and kill him."

"I think I just hate him. He's causing me and my family a lot of trouble."

"That's Bear altogether. If you want to stop their suppression, you'll have to kill a lot more than just Roccoco." He is quiet. "Don't tell me you're seriously considering that."

"Well…it does seem like an easy solution to my problem."

"My, aren't you a bloodthirsty one?" She chuckles. Her smile drops. "Does that mean all those rumors of you killing many bandits are true?"

"Not like as described, but yes, I did kill bandits."

She looks at him thoughtfully. "Adal, killing bandits is one thing, but Bear is another. They're too powerful. They're a large family full of Earth grades and, again, they have Sky grades."

Her eyes harden. "Frankly, I don't give two damns if you kill all of them, but I have our family and your safety to think about. The best thing for us to do is to wait and see what happens."

Never more than that moment did Adal feel Riva is the right woman for him.

She also turns out to be right about Bear. Months later, much of the hostility from them dies down. It really helps that, most of the time, Adal leaves the village to go to the common path for weeks at time. When he returns, he gives some supplies to Riva and his family to sell.

The money assuages his parents' anger towards him, especially as it's a significant sum. The money also makes Riva very happy. His family incomes increases enough that they grow comfortably and start buying small luxuries for themselves, including nicer beds. Roko also hires some men to help renovate their home. Riva purchases nice furniture and fixes up their home to the point it even looks presentable.

The months turn into years. Adal continues devouring and growing. He and Riva regularly test his power whenever he returns. It is achingly slow, though. Even almost two years after he first discovers the common path, he is only able to hold his hand against the stone for 72 seconds.

The common path continues to be a fruitful place to find potential people, but slowly, Adal comes to the realization that they do not provide the power they used to do. After many frustrating months where his power continues to grow slowly, he decides he needs a new path.

He returns to his village stopping by his and Riva's home first. His to-be wife hugs him upon his arrival and invites him to sit in their now very comfortable home.

Adal scowls. "I am not happy."

"Oh?"

"The common path is not as good as it used to be."

Riva hums dismissively. "Well, I guess it can't be helped. You've been going there doing heaven-knows-what for a long time now. Whatever good fortune you found there couldn't have lasted forever."

He scowls. "So what do I do now? "

Riva thinks. "I'll be honest. I enjoy how successful we've been. I expected life to be hard here, but I've been comfortable. As comfortable as I was with my family. That makes me happy. If you're not happy with things as is anymore, though, how about a new approach?"

"What?"

"Start competing again. This year's competition is over, but compete in next year's one against the Bear family and win, then compete in the inter-village competitions."

"I don't get it. I avoided that all this time and mostly stayed out of the village so that Bear would stop targeting us and my family. Even after all this time, things still haven't completely returned to normal. I still get glares from Bear servants and members."

"And I get spit at and merchants overcharge me."

"Now you want to bring all that back? Possibly worse?"

"You can't rob bandits forever, Adal. You need a steady source of income. Prove your strength, get inducted into a great family, and they will pay you well. We may even be able to move to a new village away from these people."

Riva never quite forgave the people of Swaying Forest for their ill treatment of her. She never forgave her family. She continues to hate them and find joy in the idea of going away.

The problem for Adal here is that money isn't something he worries about. It won't ever be. He has an enormous stash of supplies dating years back that is now worth at least 30 silvers. He never told Riva, but they won't need to worry about money for a while.

Instead, what he needs is more power.

"I'm not really into the idea of leaving our village, Riva."

She huffs. "Well, you still need a steady source of income. If you don't want to go into a family, prove your strength, and you can at least serve as a mercenary for hire. They are paid well."

"That…is a great idea."

It really is. Becoming a merc for hired means he will escort people who get targeted by bandits or be hired to attack other groups, right? Mercs have been known to be hired to fight in wars too.

In short, perhaps he will meet people who will provide greater power increases.

So he continues his increasingly fruitless wait at the common path until it is time for the magic test and combat competition.

When he and Riva shows up, it causes a huge stir and the members of the Bear family present are visibly agitated. They may have mostly let his victory against them go but they never forgot how he injured one of their own.

After the children completed the test – only one was Earth grade and it's a child of Bear, of course – it is time for the combat competition. Everyone stares at him expectantly and he doesn't disappoint. Riva goes off to the side to spectate as he signs up to compete.

There is a sudden stop, though, causing confusion. The proctors announces that due to some 'difficulties', they must temporarily stop the competition. They ask that everyone continue waiting.

An hour later, it becomes obvious what those 'difficulties' were. Servants had been sent to fetch Roccoco. He arrives with several members of his family. Most aren't very descript, but Adal noticed one particularly well dressed man among them. The other members of Bears, including Roccoco, are deferential towards him.

Adal stares at him curiously and he notices offering a wry look in return, but he soon departs to the sideline to watch with the other members who arrived.

Roccoco alone remains. He sends a withering glare to Adal, then goes up to sign up to compete too. The moment he does, the proctors announce the competition is continuing. Adal gets the feeling he knows who his first match is against too.

Bear is unreasonably petty. It's been two years and, since then, Roccoco has done well for himself. He attained higher positions, won some inter-village competitions, and even manage to court a pretty well off girl from another village. He is certainly doing better for himself than Adal. Despite all of that, he can't let go of that fight from years back.

The competition brackets eventually go up and, as he expected, his first match is against Roccoco. In fact, their match is the first in the entire competition.

As soon as it is announced, Roccoco walks onto the arena and stares at him expectantly. Adal actually hesitates. The plan going forward seem relatively simple but, as he learned over the years, the simplest of plans can go wrong. Usually, when whatever plan you're enacting involves hurting other people who knows who you are.

His instincts tell him this will go badly. He knows this to be true because he needs to win this to show off his strength and he will win because he is most likely stronger than Roccoco. Both he and Riva agree that stopping at the first sign of danger is best, but Bear will most likely not let him stop even if he only defeated one of them.

The sign of trouble is there, but if he doesn't go through with it, his growth may stop here. That scares him more than anything else. He steps onto the arena. The proctor tells them to begin fighting.

That's the moment things go terribly wrong.

When he realizes he would be fighting Roccoco, he only thought of the consequences beyond winning the fight. He never thought of the consequences of losing the fight. Why would he? Roccoco is a close combat fight and he's a range one. There is simply no way for Roccoco to get close to him, especially in an open space like an arena.

Except as it turns out, Roccoco can use range magic attacks. He started the fight by forming a large fireball and launching it at Adal. The attack moved slowly, but Adal is so shocked that he allowed it to get too close before trying to dodge. The ensuing explosion burned his arm and made bright spots appear in his eyes.

He pushes himself up shakily and stares at Roccoco in horrified awe. Adal never even heard of a magic user knowing more than one type of attack. He never saw any of the Bears use any other attacks. Hell, the Common grade villagers of the same type all use the exact same techniques.

Roccoco sees his expression and smirks. "I knew it. You didn't know I could do that, did you? Hell, I bet you didn't even know it was possible to know and use more than one attack." He laughs. "You dumb bastard. Almost all of us Bears can do it. We just usually don't because it takes a lot of effort and we don't need to. It's possible for powerful magic users to know more than one attack."

"Well, not you, though." Roccoco sneers. "You actually need to pay experienced tutors to learn them. I bet you thought you had a real chance against me, huh? Well, learn your place, trash."

He forms another fireball and launches it. This time, Adal is lucid enough to return an attack. He forms an energy ball and tosses it directly at the fireball. Upon collision, they simultaneously explode. Adal's energy ball is much more powerful but it has the effect of throwing flames everywhere.

Adal's clothes catch on fire and he has to roll on the ground to put out the flames. He is burned even worse and finds he's having trouble breathing. His own energy ball even has the horrible effect of making the blinding explosion brighter. It takes him several moments to start seeing well again and he looks over to see Roccoco rubbing the spots out of his eyes too. Otherwise, he is completely unhurt. His left shoulder is on fire but he doesn't even look bothered by it.

"Damn, that is bright." He says. He gently pats out the flames on his shoulder and smirks again at Adal's expression. "Are you surprised? Idiot. I'm a fire type. I have immunity against heat. I used to hold my hand in fire for fun."

Adal is feeling panic build up. He did not expect this at all. He lost a major advantage against Roccoco and got several more disadvantages in turn. He gets the urge to forfeit, but realizes that he can't. Bear likely won't let him. He…has to take this as a test. To grow. To overcome. He has no choice.

He goes on the offensive. Adal begins rapid firing energy balls. Roccoco dodges the first few as he forms another large fireball. Once it formed, he jumps behind it. Adal stops his offense. Roccoco looks out from behind the fireball. Again, that maddening smirk.

If Adal hits the fireball, it'll only hurt him. There will be another explosion where he'll be caught in the resulting flames. Flames that will hurt him, but not Roccoco. He will…he will have to wait for Roccoco to use this fireball then just try to hit him with an energy ball while he is defenseless.

That idea promptly falls apart when Roccoco starts forming another fireball while still remaining behind his current one. Adal turns to look helplessly at Riva in the crowd. Her eyes show alarm.

"Looking to your whore for help?" Roccoco mocks. "She can't do anything for you now."

The second fireball is launched. Adal jumps as far off to the side as he can and ducks into a turtle crouch. The crouch allows him to block off the blinding explosion but he can feel his back searing from the heat. It hurts so bad. He can barely stand back up again. His legs are shaking.

"Adal, it's over."

He refused to accept that it's over. He can't lose. Not here. Desperation takes over and Adal rapid fires energy balls again.

Roccoco takes cover behind his fireball and continues forming the other one. When an energy ball hits the one he is hiding behind, there is a large explosion. Much larger than the one his fireball normally gives. It throws Roccoco back. Another energy ball hits his second fireball and detonates that too.

The arena is utterly covered in flames and the crowd is screaming as bits of flames are sent their way too. With both fireballs gone, though, there is a sudden influx of energy balls heading towards Roccoco. He lets out a scream before several hits him directly on his body. The multiple explosions fling him rapidly before he is launched some distance away. He lands in an awkward angle, blood spilling out of his mouth, and no longer moving.

Adal only stops firing as he needed to put out the flames all over his body. He is one of the late ones to discover what happened to Roccoco. He heaves several heavy breaths, then lets out a sigh of relief. He just barely scrapped by his match.

As he crowd gathers its wits and realizes what happened, a buzz goes around and even some cheering. Adal has genuinely defeated a member of the Bear family and an Earth grade fighter. If there was any doubt before that he is now Earth grade, there is none now.

When the other Bears realize what happened, there is visible agitation and anger, but they are forced to declare the match in Adal's favor and continue the matches.

He didn't care about any of that. He's not fighting anymore. The win against Roccoco will have to be enough. His body hurt all over and parts of it still burn as if on fire. Adal limps through the crowd where villagers pat him, which he didn't appreciate from the pain it brought him. He makes it through and begins to leave the area.

"Where the hell do you think you're going?" A loud voice calls out.

Adal turns just as a man literally jumps over the entire crowd and lands in front of him. It's the man that came with Roccoco who the other Bears gave deference to.

He uses his palm against the ground to smooth out his descent, but the force of his palm is so great that it actually cracks the ground. He stands up slowly glaring at Adal. There are flares bursting from the skin of his body in small intense sparks.

"The competition is not over yet."

"I'm not fighting anymore." Adal swallows. "I'm forfeiting my other matches."

"I don't think so. You hurt my nephew. You're not leaving here without at least fighting me."

"I refuse."

"You don't have a choice."

The crowd murmurs.

"What? He's forcing Adal to fight him?"

"What the hell is going on?"

"What do we do?"

"What CAN we do?"

"Those damn selfish Bears!"

"Shut up!" The man shouts silencing the crowd instantly. "I will turn the rest of you into cinders if you keep talking nonsense."

A sinking feeling appears in the pit of Adal's stomach. From his periphery, he can see Riva exiting in another direction. He will have no such opportunity. Roccoco's uncle wants a fight.

Even if the man is the same level of strength as Roccoco, Adal likely wouldn't do well. However, it is almost a certainty that he is much stronger.

"My name is Goro Bear. Consider yourself lucky. You get to face a Sky grade."

Another huge murmur goes through the crowd with much of it being about his grade. Most of the villagers weren't even aware there were any in their village.

"I told you people to shut up!" He sneers at Adal. "Yes, Sky grade. I am the strongest man in the village. I will show you what happens-"

Adal didn't wait any longer. He rapid fire energy balls at Goro who retreat backwards. The proximity of the crowd to the attacks causes a massive panic and stampede which further impedes Goro. Adal takes this opportunity to try to run and continues firing wildly even as he makes his escape.

"You coward!"

Goro's angry shout is then followed by a loud hissing sound. Adal glances over his shoulder and his eyes widen in horror to see Goro's hand raised above his head and, in the sky, there is a massive fireball. Far larger than the one Roccoco created.

Adal just barely reached the edge of the forest when the fireball is launched. He jumps behind a large tree for cover. Minutes later, there is a deafening explosion and a white light seem to cover the entire area along with an intense heat.

The trees all around Adal are instantly uprooted and he is sent flying with them. He lands painfully on his arm far away in the forest. Quickly gathering his bearings, he is forced to push himself up with one arm – the one he landed on hurts too much – and move forward climbing over the many scattered remains of broken tress torn apart by Goro's attack.

He doesn't know how much time passed before he reaches his and Riva's home. He just knows it's dark now whereas it was light earlier. As soon as he gets in, he falls to the floor breathing heavily. His entire body hurts, especially his right arm. His entire body that burn as if on fire and there are patches of his body that are burned black and falling off in clumps.

When the sound of running footsteps appears, he braces himself though is unable to gather the energy needed to flee. The door slams open to reveal Riva.

"You damn fool!" She shouts at him. "Why are you here? You should have left the village!"

"Riva, help me up. Please."

She clenches her teeth, but does as asked. She helps lift him up and moves him over to a chair to sit. She also gets him water to drink, though even the coldness of the water feels painful inside of him.

"Look at you. You are badly injured. This whole thing is a disaster." He didn't say anything. "Look, we have to get out of here. They're coming for us."

"What?"

"The Bears. That damn attack by them caused a lot of damage. People were hurt, flying trees and boulders destroyed homes, and there was a fire. The village is angry and the Bear had to defend itself. They forced everyone to go home promising compensation later. They are searching for you, though."

"Once I could get away, I went searching for you. I thought to come here thinking that – fool that you are – you would come to the most obvious place. There's no doubt Bear will come this way. They will hurt you. They may even kill you claiming you attack them. Who will challenge them? That's why we have to leave."

"Where will we go?" He asks weakly.

"Where else? The wasteland. We have to leave the village. There is no time to waste."

Riva helps him back up and the two of them limp out of the house heading in the direction of the wasteland. They only turned to look back when they reach the barren edges indicating the end of Swaying Forest village. There, they see the smoke rising from the direction of their home.

"Those damn Bears." Riva sobs. "Did they destroy our home? Damn it. Everything is lost. Everything."

They continue their journey. Now away from the village, the cold of the climate hits harder, and Adal feels it especially bad due to his injuries. He directs Riva towards a rock face where he tries to create a cave. His energy is dwindling so much that it took him several tries before he could create one big enough for him and Riva to just duck in and lie down.

As his vision begin to fade, he hears Riva declaring acidly that this is not the end. They will return and make them pay. The Bears has persecuted them for the last time. She will not allow them to get away.