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That meant they had some time to get their eggs in a row and get back to their preparations for the Proving Grounds, which were growing closer with every passing day… even if the Secret Eye hadn’t actually been nice enough to tell anyone when the damned tournament would be taking place yet.

Even after Vix left, the air in the tavern was a little uneasy. Arwin and the rest of the Menagerie didn’t blame Rodrick for what he’d done at all. None of them were saints. There were times when one had to step into the shadows to keep the light shining — but tension didn’t evaporate from the air quite so quickly.

Everyone went off to busy themselves with something just to calm down from that night’s events. Lillia still had dinner to work on, Rodrick and Anna had more research to do, and Reya joined in with the imps to help with the dinner rush.

Arwin took the time to head back to the Infernal Armory. He had a lot of plans for the equipment he’d make for the Phoenix Circle and Olive, but it wasn’t the best time to start yet. That would be best saved for the morning.

Instead, Arwin’s gaze lingered on the inactive Soul Guardian that stood at the back of his forge. It needed its core — and it was more than just the armor. Verdant Inferno had asked for a core quite some time ago.

He’d still yet to figure out how to make one, but that was very quickly becoming one of his top priorities. The Mesh rewarded little as much as challenging oneself to the point that they discovered something new.

But, for that night, Arwin focused on the strange anti-magic swords that he’d gotten from Twelve. He was convinced they would be instrumental. There were a great many forms of magic that worked in more ways than he could count. All were dangerous and powerful.

But something that cut through magic like butter — that was the counter to them all. If he could find a way to harness it…

Arwin shook his head. He didn’t want to get too ahead of himself yet, but he needed strength. This was a path to it. It was a path he absolutely planned to walk.

He spent several hours looking over the blades and testing them in multiple ways, trying to determine their origin and how they were made. He submerged them in lava, observed their durability, and ran them through a number of other tests.

None were successful in revealing anything groundbreaking, but Arwin’s understanding of the strange metal continued to increase. He was only certain of a single thing — the anti-magic properties of the blade had nothing to do with its metal.

They were made from the same material as the normal black weapons that Twelve had used, but they couldn’t have been tied directly to his class because their magic had remained after he’d died.

While that was a step in the right direction, it unfortunately didn’t give Arwin any insight into how to replicate the weapons. He was forced to put them aside and head back inside to take a bath after several hours of work.

Night was well underway by the time he’d cleaned up and made his way into Lillia’s room. He crept over to the straw bed, not wanting to wake her up, only to find the pointed tip of a tail prodding him gently in the stomach.

“You’re late,” Lillia said, finding his hand with her own and guiding him down to sit beside her.

“Sorry,” Arwin said sheepishly. “I got caught up working. I was trying to figure out how Twelve’s weapons functioned.”

“I gathered as much.” Lillia rested her head against his shoulder and let out a slow breath. “Any luck?”

“Progress. I wouldn’t quite call it luck, but I’ve had progress. What about your garden?”

“Only tried to kill me briefly today. It’s making good progress. I’ve got an Ashleaf Tree growing at a pretty good rate in our basement. We should be able to harvest a bunch of its wood for you to make more limbs for people.”

“You’ve got an Ashleaf Tree growing in our basement?”

“A small one, yes.”

Arwin decided not to question that. “Well, we probably won’t need too much from it quite yet. I’ve got a lot of material left over from the older one.”

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“For now. We’ve had a lot of people come knocking, you know. And I know you. The moment this tournament is done, you’re going to be making limbs left and right. If they aren’t all weapons, then it’s going to be hard to turn people that need them down. That means you’ll need a lot of stock.”

It was hard to argue with that. After all, Lillia was right.

“Yeah,” Arwin agreed. He flopped back onto the bed and pulled Lillia along with him. She let out a yelp before they both hit the straw.

“Hey,” Lillia complained through a mouthful of straw. “Seriously?”

“Sorry. We should probably get a better bed,” Arwin said with a chuckle. He found Lillia’s face in the darkness and wiped the offending straw away from her mouth. “There was a really scuffed bed store in Milten. I’m sure they’ll have something a bit more suitable.”

“A problem for later.” Lillia pulled herself up and rested her head against his chest with a yawn. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and threw a leg over his waist, pulling in close. “How were Olive and the Phoenix Circle? I haven’t had a chance to see how they work together.”

“They were pretty good. Not exactly a trained unit, but they’re getting along well… though Maeve and Elias were hiding some abilities. Not really a surprise.”

“Not great for the tournament, though. They can’t have surprises from each other.”

“Maeve and Elias have some form of combo technique that makes it quite apparent that they’re monsters,” Arwin said. “It’s not something they’ll be able to use during the tournament.”

“Unfortunate. You think they have any chance of winning, then?”

Arwin hesitated for a few seconds before he responded. “I think I’d have to see the other teams.”

“That’s a fancy way of saying probably not.”

“Not as things stand,” Arwin corrected. “I haven’t made them armor yet.”

“You’re going to go all out, then? That’s a bit dangerous, isn’t it?”

Arwin let out a slow sigh. He stared up at the ceiling — or rather, the darkness directly before of his face. There could have been anything in front of him and he wouldn’t have known. He idly ran a hand through Lillia’s hair as he pondered her question.

“I am,” he finally said. “And yes, it’ll be dangerous. But I don’t think we can let that hold us back any longer. Rodrick is a good example of that. I still don’t know everything he’s capable of. Far from it — but he’s not holding back. He knows what’s at stake, and we’re the ones with the most to lose here. It’s not fair for us to play it safe while he’s putting everything on the line.”

“Aren’t you worried about what the guilds will do if they find out the full extent of what you’re capable of?”

“They’ll find out eventually,” Arwin replied. “I’m not going to go shout my abilities to the world. I’ll take every step I can to make sure nobody can figure out what our full strength really is, but we can’t afford to play it safe forever. The Adventurer’s Guild certainly isn’t just waiting around. When the time inevitably comes that real trouble lands on our doorstep, we need to be able to fight back. I don’t want to be on the backfoot anymore.”

Lillia scooted up to give him a quick kiss on the cheek. “If that’s what your call is, then I support it. It’s a lot easier for me to push my power in secret. The changes aren’t quite so… apparent. Not unless someone attacks the Devil’s Den, that is.”

“It’s not an impossibility.”

“I know.” Lillia’s tone darkened. “We both have to be a little more proactive with our power and pushing our limits, don’t we?”

“We do. But, fortunately, we’re in a very good spot to that. Money’s not a problem anymore, and we both have just about everything we need to work at full tilt. You’ve got a steady flow of customers—”

“And a garden.”

“—and a garden. Keep growing the inn. I’ll focus on improving my crafting. Then I’ll make all of us new armor or update your old stuff. The greatest limit on crafting classes is lack of resources, and we don’t have that problem right now. If we’re both pushing what we can do and discovering new things about our classes, we’ll advance quickly. And even if our opponents are stronger than us, powerful equipment can seriously shore up that difference.”

“You sound like you’re preparing for something.”

“More like doing what I should have been from the start,” Arwin replied. “I’ve got plans for Olive and the Phoenix Circles’ armor — but I need to figure out how to make a core first.”

“I thought a core was for your Soul Guardian ability?”

A smile crossed over Arwin’s lips. “It is. Mind helping me out a bit tomorrow? I think your expertise might go a long way in figuring things out.”

“Of course. Maybe it’ll give me some inspiration.”

“Thank you.” Arwin gave her a kiss on the forehead. “I’ve already got some ideas that I think should have some potential.”

“I’m looking forward to seeing them, then. And if you can make more than one Soul Guardian, I want one for the Devil’s Den.”

“Consider it done.”

“Look at that. I didn’t even have to convince you. That’s unfortunate. I was fully prepared to.”

Arwin’s cheeks heated and he cleared his throat.

“On second thought…”

Lillia’s gentle laughter barely reached his ears through the muffling darkness filling the room.

She convinced him, and soon after, the two were fast asleep, entangled together in a ball of limbs and a tail with a hope that the following morning would come slower than promised.

It didn’t.

But, when the following day dawned, they rose with determination on their minds.

The Menagerie had taken a half-step onto the stage already. They would not try to shy back any longer. The Proving Grounds would be the stage to demonstrate what they were capable of. Power begat power. If they wanted allies to fight the Adventurer’s Guild and to be ready for any opponents that arose in the future, then they couldn’t afford to remain as they were.

They had to grow stronger.

Strength came through challenge — and that challenge was staring them right in the face. If they could show the world their might, then more doors would open. It would draw attention… and it would draw opportunity.

Their path was set.

They had to win the tournament. Not just for the Phoenix Circle, but for themselves as well.