The next day after the tournament day had arrived, and Slace was heading to the library to meet up with Livia.
Slace noticed the Colosseum earlier, which was already going under construction in preparation to be ready for next year's tournament.
Upon reaching the library; he walked inside, he headed towards the front. Livia was there at the stand waiting for him; she then spoke knowingly of why he was here.
"I suppose you're here for your share of the cash, no?"
He nodded as he threatened her.
"If you don't fulfill your half of the deal, I'll make sure to kill you."
Livia simply chuckled at the threat, asking for Slace's guild name. Guilds served as quest areas for guild parties to take up and earn money, but they also worked as banks.
"So what's your guild name, Ecals?"
Slace replied, answering.
"Kurai."
Livia wrote it down, glancing up in curiosity.
"That's the clan of the Light and Dark Kingdoms the kingdoms destroyed, right?"
He nodded, a white lie coming from his mouth, but his tone conveyed some deep hidden sorrow.
"I'm just a fan of the clan…"
Livia responded; she didn't comment on his tone, but she was suspicious of Slace.
"Alright then, I'll be getting your cash; we can take it to the guild house."
He simply nodded agreeing; he wanted to collect his cash and depart from this kingdom as quickly as possible.
Livia lifted her hand up, showing one of her magical abilities by using levitation to bring the bags of cash over.
She ceased using her magic when she brought the bags of gold near Slace; they fell, making a thudding and clinking sound.
He gazed down at the bags, realizing that this would take multiple trips than just one due to the sheer amount of bags; after all, there were five bags, and he only had one arm.
Livia spoke, tossing a bag towards him; it was empty but large.
"Here, this is for the gold."
He took the bag, crouching down and pouring the bags of gold into it.
The process only took a few moments as he picked up the bag full of gold, seemingly unfazed by the amount of weight in it.
After that they both walked down to the guild house located outside of the knight kingdom. Guild houses were prohibited within the knight kingdom.
Upon arriving they entered to find a bustling ground and lots of chatter. Being in a guild was a rather popular job, especially since they gave out good money.
You could see people dining, talking, checking out the quest board, attempting to create a guild party or register for a bank account, making money deposits, etc.
There were guild houses everywhere around the world; each kingdom had 1 or 2 except for the knight kingdom, and all of these guild houses offered a restaurant, guild house, bank, and even parties for your guild party or friends.
Slace didn't care that much, but this is important to keep note of.
Anyways, they went to the front as Slace dropped the cash on the counter. A clerk came forward looking at both of them; he worked for the guild.
"So whose cash is this here, and where will it be deposited?"
The guild clerk obviously meant the account.
Livia came forward requesting something as she handed the clerk a piece of paper.
"This gold is in my ownership, but I want to transfer it to him if that's possible; his account is Kurai."
The clerk looked over the piece of paper; it was the ownership agreement. He then nodded, grabbing the cash, and asked,
"Is she right about that, sir?"
Slace just nodded as the clerk simply went ahead and put it in the back of the guild house.
As the gold was deposited, Slace and Livia walked away from the front as she took out a book from her bag, handing it to Slace.
"Here is your book you requested; you can keep it. Thank you for your work; I appreciate it."
He simply tilted his head to the side, speaking with a bitter tone.
"Whatever… I was just doing this for myself anyways."
Livia didn't comment on that as she began to leave, waving goodbye; she had to get back to work. Slace just ignored her, as they were most likely never going to meet again.
Slace found a seat in the guild house after that, sitting down and reading the first book, the history of the world, he murmured.
"Nothing has changed except for two things. The knight kingdom is at war with the fire kingdom, and the water kingdom merged with the ice kingdom.
"They still don't consider the Light and Dark Kingdom as a kingdom ever since they destroyed it," he murmured with a bitter tone.
At least Slace knew why Sloane got to the tournament so late now.
The magic hadn't changed either; it was typical. Soul cores hold magical energy inside of them that disperses around your whole body as a presence. You use this magical energy to use magic; if you use too much or very powerful magic, you'll become exhausted. Of course you can train your magic and how much energy you put into it, but that's the gist of it.
Everyone who has a decent amount of magical energy has two to three magic traits; royals have three to five. Explains why Nao never used magic.
Slace then talked for himself; he was just talking to himself trying to remember how many magical traits he had.
"I remember having about five…"
Slace has his own personal magical traits, being two of them; then he had England's magical trait, being one, and also his kingdom's light and dark magic, being two.
He closed the book, the title saying "The World of Zero." That must be what the world is called, although nobody knows why that name was chosen in this world.
He then got up, leaving the book; it was pointless to keep now. He also decided to make a new earth arm with his earth magic, attaching it to his shoulder again.
Anyways, as he left the guild house, he saw an unfortunate, gruelling sight in his eyes.
Bjornulf and the rest of the group in the tournament, except Sindre and the representatives, were there waiting for him.
Bjornulf and Nao walked up to Slace, Nao giving Slace a pleading look as they both requested something of him at the same time.
"Can you help us save Sindre from his representative?"
Slace looked at them, a long pause before he shook his head, giving an irritated, almost revolted expression.
"I'm leaving; why should I help you? Sindre should just help himself."
Slace said he was declining the request and walked away, but then Vira grabbed onto his hand, holding it tightly, and Slace stopped, but he was getting really annoyed.
"What… do you want…?"
Vira stepped closer, whispering in Slace's ear. She then stepped back as Slace groaned in frustration, putting his palm on his face.
He then took his palm off his face, talking about their request.
"Fine, I'll help you; just leave me alone after…"
Nao smiled happily as Bjornulf jumped, yelling loudly—too much of a reaction for Slace. Herald and Vira just stood there watching.
Bjornulf then spoke, clenching his fist with a determined look in his eyes as they walked to the knight's kingdom.
"Let's save Sindre! It's our quest!"