A few hours before the first round of the tournament began.
Inside the Hunter Agency's armory, retrieving Sizhu's staff.
"Are you sure you're only going to wear that patient outfit?"
Jianying pointed with his finger at the hospital shirt Sizhu still had on.
Sizhu nodded.
"This outfit is comfortable enough."
Mei Mei, Qing, and Yaoyao shook their heads.
"Brother Sizhu, you're hopeless."
"Brothel Sizhu should wear a robe like Yaoyao."
"You have no sense of fashion."
Jianying grinned at their remarks.
"Are you sure you don't want to change? I've got a white shirt and black trousers that would fit you perfectly."
Sizhu shook his head again.
And so, that night, he joined the tournament still wearing a patient outfit.
***
The bullies wandering around looking for prey.
"Boss, what about that big-axe guy?" one of the underlings pointed at a burly, bearded man carrying a massive double-headed axe over his shoulder.
The boss smacked his stupid underling on the head.
Whack!
"Aish, you idiot. Look for someone who looks weak so we can kill some boredom here. Fighting strong people isn't fun—we can't torment them slowly."
"What about her, boss? That pretty lady in the traditional outfit looks weak." Another underling pointed at a woman in a Japanese miko robe. She stood quietly, her eyes closed.
"We'll save her for later when the tournament starts. Find someone else."
"What about that dark-skinned woman, boss?" A man in a jacket and mask pointed at a beautiful, tan-skinned woman with short black hair. Before he could finish his sentence, she suddenly punched a man who dared approach her within five steps, intending to flirt.
"She looks strong. Find someone weak." The boss of the bully group sighed heavily—his underlings were hopeless at picking targets. He started to think about relieving his boredom by beating up his own useless lackeys.
"Hey boss, look at that awkward kid with the round glasses." A dark-skinned man from the West pointed toward a young man standing nervously near the field wall. The edge of this 6th-floor field led to the mountains, while to the right, the path led up to the 7th floor where other academy buildings stood.
"Now that's a weak-looking kid. Hahaha, perfect. We can warm up a little with him." One of his friends in sunglasses eagerly suggested.
The boss, wearing a black shirt, nodded with a wide grin.
"Let's give him a little lesson about the outside world."
They then approached the boy with the round glasses and beat him up for no reason.
***
The thugs who failed to harass a noblewoman and ended up injured.
"Damn it! That arrogant noble brat and that bastard! I'll make them pay!"
The three of them were wrapping their wounds with bandages. Going to the hospital would take too long time, and the first round of the tournament was about to start. Asking academy students for medical treatment was out of the question—their pride was far too high for that.
"Are you hurt?" A man in a black jacket with his face hidden under a hood asked. Part of his face was covered with cloth of the same color.
"Don't you have eyes, huh? Get lost before you regret it!"
The boss of the thugs barked at the hooded man, his eyes threatening and his expression annoyed.
The hooded man pulled something out from his pocket—it was three pills.
"Have you ever heard of healing pills?"
The two underlings shook their heads, while the boss stood up and began poking the hooded man's chest with his finger.
"Didn't you hear what I just said, huh? Are you deaf?"
Before the boss could raise his hand to throw a punch, a pill was shoved into his mouth. He started coughing violently as it slid straight down his throat.
"Ugh! Cough! Cough!"
"Boss!" The two underlings rushed over to their kneeling leader.
"These are for you as well."
Two more pills were tossed, and the underlings caught them as if they were marbles.
The hooded man turned around and vanished from sight.
"Hey, where did he go?"
"He just disappeared right in front of us."
The underlings looked confused. They also hesitated to swallow the pills in their hands.
"You okay, boss?"
"Ugghh!!! Hah! Hah! Hah!"
After groaning in pain, the boss nodded. Suddenly, he stood and checked the slash wound on his waist.
The cut throbbed for a few seconds before, like hundreds of maggots wriggling, the flesh began to knit back together. In moments, the wound was completely gone without a trace.
The underlings gaped at the sight. Believing in the pill's healing power, they immediately swallowed the ones they had.
"I feel… stronger than before…" The boss grinned broadly as he raised his hands. In the back of his hand, there are a symbol appears. Inverted black cross. Carving his right hand back.
He clenched them tightly. A sensation like water pouring through his body made his muscles harden.
"I'll kill those two in tonight's tournament! Hahaha!"
***
A few minutes after the tournament began. A brother and sister watched from inside the academy building. From a square wooden window, they gazed at the dark mountains beyond the wall surrounding the field.
"Brothel Sizhu will definitely make it!" Yaoyao said enthusiastically, watching the crowd pouring out of the eight gates toward the dark mountain forest.
"Yeah, Brother Sizhu will come back safe with the flag. He should've taken the firearm Uncle Jianying suggested. Guns are cool! They can shoot metal really fast! If Dad had a gun like that back then, he would've survived…"
The siblings lowered their heads, remembering the last time they saw their father's face that night.
Yaoyao hugged Qing's arm tightly. Qing gently patted his little sister's head.
"Don't worry, Yaoyao! I'll grow up fast and learn to use guns! Then I'll be as strong as Brother Sizhu or Uncle Jianying! Hehe."
Yaoyao nodded. "Yaoyao believes you. Yaoyao will grow up too and support brother from behind."
The two of them smiled brightly, gazing at the night sky lit by the full moon.
***