"If you ask me, the outside world is just a little more convenient. If the various races came together to fight the Beasts, we'd be in a better situation than now." Pida sighed as Phina described the outside world. "So, what's your goal here? What do you need to do to leave here?"
"..." Phina hesitated before taking another deep breath. "I-"
"Don't tell me." Pida smiled bitterly. "I don't know if I'm going to be on your side when my grandpa meets you."
"Fair enough." Phina was more than content just having someone to confide in. "Alright, let's rest up and head for the capital of Angelic Nightfall."
"Alright, then." Pida chuckled lightly as he stood up.
"Hey, Pida..." Phina weakly called out.
"What's up?" Pida turned back.
"C-Can I get a hug?" Phina asked as she quickly stood up, embarrassed.
'She must have had a really tough time handling being lonely.' Pida laughed as he walked up to Phina and pulled her into a deep embrace. "It's alright now. You can trust me with your secrets...I mean...you already did."
Phina teared up a little. She finally, for once, had comfort in this place. She felt deep comfort within his arms. The warmth of his body almost made her body melt as the stress in her muscles disappeared.
"I don't think I've ever had a hug." Phina said through a chuckling sob.
"Honestly? Me too." Pida chuckled awkwardly as he couldn't recall a single hug.
"Did you lose your memory too?" Phina asked as she returned the hug.
"Nah." Pida smiled. "My parents were assholes and my grandpa doesn't really do hugs."
"No siblings?" Phina asked as she looked at him. As she looked into his eyes, she realized how close they were. She could actually feel his breath on her face. His blue eyes were piercing and clear, empty of any deception.
"Two." Pida said as he lightly broke off the hug. He then sighed as he walked to his bed. "My eldest sister ran off somewhere when I was born and my younger sister is more of a businesswoman, her tender heart won't take any sight of blood, as such she always hated hanging around me since all I did was kill beasts with grandpa."
"You know...from what I know, a General in the Exodia could buy an Arena, though the price is just fucking stupid." Phina entertained the thought of buying the Killers' Arena and freeing Pida. He was the first true, equal, companion she had. She was in no way equal to Kira when she first met her. She had no knowledge, strength or experience. Jack was a little young for her to truly relate to. All the Exodia Cadets treated her as if she was in a completely different world due to her talent. Pida was around her age, his talent was in no way inferior to hers, not to mention that she spent the most time with him, not even the Cadets got that amount of personal time with her, rather they spent time fighting rather than just...existing next to each other.
"How much does it cost?" Pida asked, hope in his eyes. If Phina could buy the Arena, then everything in the Killers' Arena would quite literally be solved.
"I'm sorry for bringing it up...I need to be a General first. I've experienced the power of the Generals first hand...I don't think I can reach that." Phina explained dejectedly.
"Seraphina." Pida looked at her with hope. "How much? Maybe I can help you."
"I don't know this Arena's price, but the lowest I know of is at least half a million Exodia Points." Phina explained.
"How much do you have saved up?" Pida repeated with determination.
"30,800 Exodia Points...and it will be much harder to get Exodia Points after the Cadet stage." Phina sighed in frustration.
"How do you earn Exodia Points anyway?" Pida said after sighing.
"From learning Sk...ills..." Phina's eyes widened in realization. 'I got a thousand EPs from just first place in the Flashing Steps. I even got 5,000 EPs from learning Holy Devastation...what if I fully learn a Law-rank AND a Lord-rank Skill?'
"What's wrong?" Pida inquired.
"We might have a chance..." Phina smiled. "Hey, system. How much EPs will I get when I learn Bow before the Lord?"
"You will earn 3,000,000 Exodia Points."
The system's cold voice brought Phina unending happiness.
"I can buy it!" Phina smiled. "If I can learn the Skill I need to leave, then I can earn 3 million!"
"Wait...are you serious?" Pida's eyes widened.
"What do you think? Would you help me buy the Arena?" Phina looked at Pida with expectation.
"..." Pida started deeply contemplating. He then chuckled. "Looks like grandpa isn't that high on my priority list anymore."
"Does that mean you'll help me?!" Phina beamed.
"I guess I'm looking forward to helping you, 'Shira'." Pida smiled in reluctance as he reached out for a handshake.
"..." Phina embraced Pida as she squealed in excitement. "Let's do this!!"
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"How's the report on Seraphina?" General Ram Walter asked her Vice General in pitch black armor with a blue ponytail and ocean blue eyes.
"According to our info, she's still alive. In fact, she's completely hidden. Not thanks to her ability, but thanks to the incompetence of those around her." Vice General Steel chuckled with a baffled expression. "Like, honestly, this dumbass stared directly at her face and thought it wasn't her."
"What's her progress on the Skill?" General Ram asked calmly as she flipped through a few papers on her desk.
"73.68%." Steel reported according to the latest percentage of the Skill leaderboard that had Phina's sole name on it.
"Only a 1.34% increase?" General Ram sighed as she massaged her forehead. "Seems like this investment was a failure."
She clicked her tongue in frustration. "What a waste of three Founder-rank Skills..."
"I personally think she might make it." Steel chuckled.
"How so?" Ram inquired. She highly valued her Vice Generals' inputs.
"She plans to buy the Killers' Arena after she learns the Skill. She already has quite the talented Advanced-ranker by her side. He's not that far away from the Expert-rank either." Steel explained. "I think they have a chance, but the only thing that's stopping me from being confident of their chances is the Middle stage of the Expert-rank. I remember you were stuck in that stage for close to 30 years."
Ram sighed. She had truly suffered back then. She was a complete prodigy at her early stages of life. She was at the Peak stage Advanced-rank at the young age of 16. She hadn't reached the High stage of the Expert-rank until she was 45.
"No matter, General." Steel said. "I will keep an eye on her using my personal funds."
General Ram was shocked. Looking inside an Arena cost an absurd amount of EPs. The only reason she could do it was because she had the bill as an Army expense, which was taken from the Army's annual budget.
"But I have a condition..." Steel smirked. "I want her on a personal mission when she gets out."
"You know you can just ask me for help." Ram said as she returned to her paperwork.
"You're not that young anymore, Ram." Steel chuckled.
"Oh, you want her for THAT." Ram cringed in disgust.
"It's tradition." Steel laughed.
"Whatever, man..." Ram shook her head to clear her mind. She frowned as she flipped to a certain document. "Steel, I need you to get back to the frontlines as soon as possible and back up General Wilfer."
"Are the Beasts pushing harder?" Steel asked with seriousness.
"What's worse is that the Balancers' Exodia has a mission to escort a genius Beast into His Eternal Majesty's City for training." General Ram said heavily.
Vice General Steel felt a chill go down his spine. Leo Adam Walter's main goal was producing a World Lord, either Beast or Humanoid. It didn't matter to him. If a Beast was talented enough to earn his attention, he would order the Exodia's Balancers division to escort the Beast safely into his territory. Same with a talented Humanoid. The fact that this Beast was invited meant that sooner or later, the Beasts would gain a Lord-ranker! They needed to either devastate the Beasts to a scale where the Lord-ranker needed to retreat and protect his kind until his lifespan ran out. They had no hope of gaining a Lord-ranker of their own in time, so their only hope was to go all-out and strike them down.