Is it because of my loss of essence...?
No it can't be, because I'm even slower than before I could use it.
"Who is going to break the equilibrium first!?" Followed by cheers and jeers—some praising me that I could hold on, while others criticized him for not being able to take me down.
It was chaos.
Is that it? Is it because of the crowd? Am I anxious?!
'Focus, Tjer—I didn't want to involve myself, but I can't...'
'You are far too weak right now!'
'It's the first time I've fought in front of this many people!'
"Boy, I normally don't like guys, but now that I look up close... don't you have a sist—"
I felt the handle of my sword burn in my palms as everything went silent, snapping me back to my usual state of mind.
I cut through his sword—and sliced his chest open alongside it.
"AGHH!!!!"
"T-The boy has WON! Out of nowhere he moved fast enough for most eyes not to see!"
"Was this just luck, or did he get accustomed to the pressure you guys bring!? Whatever it is, he got through to the next round!"
"TJER! TJER! T-TJER!!!" One win was enough to change their tones.
"No rest is given as his next opponent entered the field. Give it up for~ LEN!!!" The crowd received different from how they received me, cheering as he entered the field.
"Believe me—I am not like the previous opponent. So don't be mad if you injure yourself, kid."
"I'm not worried about it." I held my sword in front of me, with the crowds getting louder, the announcer screamed,
"BEGIN!!"
Once again we met in the middle, the opponent held a blade shorter than a sword, and longer than a normal knife,
I have fought those already.
As his attacks started, I could deflect it all,
It's not even a tenth of Arih's speed...
I simply put my blade in front of his attacks, unable to feel any impact, I couldn't even feel a single drop of sweat.
I moved past his knife, and put my blade on his shoulder—right against his neck.
"I give up!" He dropped his knife while he lifted both hands in the air.
"ANNNNND once again, Tjer won!" It wasn't just the announcer that was getting louder, the crowds were even worse.
"The next opponent is surely trembling in his shoes by now! This kid that came from knows where—is showing us what true talent looks like!" The crowd became more deafening with each word from the announcer—only praise was left.
I could feel the left side of my face cringe, making me lower my head.
And the next opponent got announced already, he didn't even say anything, and just stood still, with his trembling spear in front of him.
This may get troublesome... I've never fought a spear user.
And I jumped forward, meeting him on his side—splinters flew through the air, as our weapons met.
He was too weak.
The announcer and crowd went silent.
Both exploded after a second of silence,
"AND HE DOES IT AGAIN!! He didn't even give a single chance to his opponent—Wonder boy Tjer!!!"
The crowd went from muddled cheers to clear ones, screaming after the announcer.
I couldn't lift my head, but my lips started curving as the cheering continued.
The next two opponents weren't noteworthy either, their trembling increased, while they looked at me in silence—I finished it all without a single exchange.
"ANNNND Wonder boy Tjer is through to the next round!"
"Ten matches fought, and two winners. How early is it going to end!?"
I could feel drops of sweat forming as I walked back, hearing the crowd applauding me, while they screamed the name given to me—all in unison.
A feeling unlike before—it was praise different from Lusd.
Will I be able to leave, or do I need to wait for everything to be done...?
"Sir, can I leave now, or do you need me to wait?" I asked one of the guards in the fighters' room.
"You can leave whenever you want." He said, without even glancing in my direction.
"Thank you." I said, and walked past him—rushing to the exit.
Luckily the building isn't away from the inn—it's great that the innkeeper knows his way around. It was in between the second and third road—en route to the inn.
No time passed before I arrived at a building that cast a shadow over the entire block, a building filled with windows—the library.
I should be able to gain all the information I need.
Will they have it in my language? What is my language even called... I could feel my shoulders slump over—I shook my head, straightened my back, and walked forward.
'What are you going to search information on?'
'I need to learn more about beasts in case I encounter some during my travels, the workings of this world, and about curses...'
As I pushed the door open, I was met with a musty smell, showing me the multiple stories—filled with books, but the empty spots between the shelves were obvious. No sounds could be heard in here.
It was a sight I had never seen before.
A type of building I'd never entered before.
What could they even mention in so many books? Where am I even supposed to go—is there someone I can ask?
I looked around to see whether there was someone I could ask for help.
I could see a woman sitting behind a counter, turning the pages as she read a book—everything she did was in silence.
The only sounds were the echoes of the steps I took towards her.
I walked up to her desk, and asked,
"Good morning, I was wondering whether you could help."
"good morning... yes" It was difficult to hear her as she whispered to me from a distance—not even looking up at me.
"It's right there, and the third floor." Before I could even ask anything she pointed to the empty shelves behind me.
"Uh... how do you know what I want?"
"learn more." She waved me away, while flipping to the next page.
"...Thank you?"
I walked over to the books she pointed at, while approaching the place—I knew exactly where to search, and the same happened on the third floor.
I had gathered the books I needed for this world—unable to find anything on the history, having realized that knowing a bit of history could've been helpful.
But there was one more book I had with me, as though I got pulled towards it.
I looked at the cover, but it was scratched away, I couldn't see anything—except for the title,
The hero's journey
It was about a man whose name had been lost.
The only name he was known by was,
The First Hero.
The man who defeated the evil named Finn.