My number was called together with my opponent's.
A tall boy, broad shoulders, and a two-handed sword. From the look on his face, he was one of those who had been training seriously for years, convinced that pure strength was the answer to everything.
I almost felt sorry to shatter his dreams, but indirectly, I was also doing him a favor.
We stepped down into the arena. The sand crunched under my feet as I entered the white circle. I could feel the eyes on me, not only from the candidates, but also from the Explorers.
I had chosen a dagger as my weapon, something I was comfortable with, and a type used by many.
Max raised his hand.
"In position."
My opponent planted his feet firmly into the ground, leaning forward slightly as if assessing the distance. I stayed still, arms relaxed at my sides, waiting for this whole thing to be over.
"Begin."
The boy gripped the sword's hilt with both hands and charged forward, letting out a roar to intimidate me.
A predictable move.
I waited until the very last second and, when the blow came down from above, I stepped aside with a slow movement, slightly unbalancing my body, as if I had barely managed to dodge.
The blade sank into the sand, raising a cloud of dust.
I placed a hand on his shoulder and, with a controlled push, sent him stumbling toward the edge of the circle. Unfortunately, I held back too much, and the push wasn't enough to send him out, but it was enough to make him lose his balance.
He jumped back to his feet, growling, and began a series of rapid strikes. This time, I blocked them, moving like a skilled but not exceptional beginner. I didn't want to give the impression that I was far above average.
When I saw an opening, I feinted toward his side, forcing him to divert his sword, then grabbed his wrist and pulled him toward me, throwing him off balance. A knee to the chest was enough to send him falling backward.
The sword slipped from his hand and stuck in the sand beside us.
The boy tried to crawl toward it, but I pinned him down with my knee and drove the dagger into the ground just a few millimeters from his neck.
Max raised his arm.
"Winner: Candidate 57."
I dusted off my pants, feeling the boy's hateful glare, but paid it no mind.
While he was escorted out, I was led toward the stands along with the other winners.
The duels went on for a while longer. Every time someone fell, they were carried away by two members of the Explorers, with no chance to return. In the end, only fifty people remained.
Max stepped forward.
"Good. From now on, you are official candidates. Not members yet, but promising enough to be part of our faction. Obviously, anyone who doesn't work will be thrown out, so you'd better start tomorrow."
A murmur rippled through the crowd. I could imagine that most of them thought that once they got into the faction, they wouldn't have to worry about anything anymore. Too bad they didn't know that recruits were no different from underpaid workers.
When we were dismissed, we could finally leave the dungeon. Night had already fallen, so I went home, where Lena seemed to have just arrived.
"Adel, you're early."
She smiled, ruffling my hair, making me let out a small sigh. Being treated like a boy was still something I wasn't used to.
"Looks like it. And you, how's work in the fields?"
"It was a bit hot today, but not too bad."
She kept smiling while preparing dinner, but my gaze fell on her rough hands and tanned skin from all the time spent working the land.
I frowned in irritation. I had already asked her if she wanted to stop working now that I was earning so much, but she had refused.
"Frowning so much will give you wrinkles on that pretty face of yours."
Hearing her joke, I gave a bitter smile.
"Are you sure you don't want to stop working?"
"Are you asking me again to take advantage of my younger brother's hard work?"
"Come on, Lena, we're family. What's mine is yours."
Her gaze softened slightly, but she still shook her head.
"Adel, I don't want to be a burden. My greatest pride has been raising you, and I have no intention of stopping my efforts just because now you can take care of me too."
Hearing her final decision, I could only raise my hands in surrender. If that's what she wanted, I could only let her be, but once we reached the continent, I would make sure to fulfill her dream.
"Alright, you win."
"Good."
Seeing her nod with satisfaction, she didn't seem much different from a child — and in some ways, she was. She had never had the chance to experience a real childhood.
"Lena, there's something else I need to tell you."
Seeing me grow serious, she listened carefully.
"For the next while, you'll need to stay on Valren Island."
I immediately noticed her confused expression and continued.
"Because of a mission, today I joined the Explorers."
"YOU WHAT?!"
Seeing her stand up in anger and shout didn't surprise me.
The Explorers drained the life out of everyone, turning their lives into hell. They imposed high taxes for no reason, and if you couldn't repay your debt, you became a slave.
"It's just a mission, Lena. Do you really think I'd join them?"
"...Is it dangerous?"
Even though she now knew I had a "stigma" and was a Grade 1, she still couldn't help but worry.
"Not much. More than anything, I used a false identity and, even though I'll be staying in the citadel, I want to avoid any connection to you. That's why it's better if you don't stay here for a while."
"How long?"
"Hard to say. I'd guess two or three months."
That was my estimate based on what I knew would happen in the future.
She lowered her gaze, hands clasped in her lap. I could see the tension in her fingers and the anxiety she was trying to hide.
"And if something happens to you?" she murmured, almost as if asking herself more than me.
I stepped closer and took her hands, giving them a light squeeze. "Come on, I can easily handle groups of monsters, what's being surrounded by a few idiots?"
A small laugh escaped her lips.
"Lately, it feels like you're growing up too fast."
"Thanks to a sweet sister."
"That honeyed tongue of yours won't get you anywhere."
"You say that, but those cheek twitches betray you."
"See what I'll do to you now!"
I let myself get caught up in that lighthearted moment, listening with satisfaction to Lena's laughter.
****
(The next morning)
"Feels a bit strange."
Lena looked around the house, emptier than usual, with a note of emotion in her eyes.
For her, who had been born and raised in that little shack, leaving it couldn't have been easy.
"Think of it this way: your new home will have a bedroom as big as this entire shack."
"Isn't that a bit wasteful?"
"Wasteful is having dozens of bedrooms that stay empty most of the time."
Mine was an obvious jab at the nobles and their strange pride in appearances.
"A member of the Merchants will accompany you. Also, if you meet Alfred or Erik, tell them I won't be present for the first week and to hold on to some of the monsters I've already requested."
"Alright... just be careful, okay?"
I smiled, patting her head, and headed toward the citadel.
The citadel was further inland on the island, flanked by the bastion overlooking the cliffs and housing the dungeon.
The walls were tall and imposing, worthy of the legacy left by the kingdom of Agorath, but the long years without maintenance showed.
At the entrance, a line of people waited to get in. Most were slaves, recognizable by the chains on their wrists and the iron tags around their necks, engraved with their masters' marks. Their faces were blank, stripped of all hope, and their bodies bore bruises and old scars. Some carried heavy loads, bent under the weight like beasts of burden.
Among them, a few were well-dressed: fat merchants in silk robes, women with glittering jewels and scornful looks, guards in polished armor. They passed without even glancing at the misery around them.
The Explorers patrolled the area as if they were the real owners of everything, which wasn't far from the truth. They laughed among themselves, shoved each other, and didn't hesitate to strike anyone who annoyed them.
One of them grabbed a boy by the hair for being too slow unloading a cart, making him fall to the ground. "Move, trash!" he shouted before kicking him in the ribs.
No one stepped in.
Showing the badge I'd earned from the test the day before, I entered the citadel, and the contrast was even harsher.
Outside, people lived but with dignity. Inside, it was the opposite. Near the gate, the streets were lined with shops and stalls selling rich spices, colorful fabrics, and beautifully decorated weapons. But further in, separated by a metal fence, were filthy alleys where the stench of sweat and refuse was suffocating, and where slaves slept huddled under ragged cloths.
Every now and then, you see days-old bodies hanging, left there as a warning. People walked by without even looking.
That was what the archipelago had become, a place where law was nothing but the will of the strongest, and human dignity wasn't worth more than a copper coin.