Chapter 1251 Chapter 1251 Lost in Thoughts
Thyme clapped their hands together to get everyone's attention on them once again. "Before we all leave, I have a few messages to relay. First, the next event will likely run through the regular lunch time. As such, when you return to the inn, you'll find I've got not just snacks for everyone, but a spread of things for lunch. Feel free to eat early, or save some room to eat a late lunch once the second event of the day is over.
"For everyone participating in that event, know that you have thirty minutes after I finish my speech here to eat, and then get ready for it. Perhaps you'll want to save eating for after, perhaps you want to have a quick snack. This is all up to you. In that same vein, I also understand that this particular event could be really boring to watch if the competitors all try to get as far away from the platform, and each other.
"As such, I will be leaving a doorway that connects to a room in the inn. You can return to the floating platform I'll have prepared whenever you want. Additionally, I will be showing off illusions of all five competitors on separate walls down in the basement from the first day. I'll? be doing the same in the sky, so take your pick of where you want to watch things.
"A final last note, before I open things up for questions. Gareth here does need to rest. I suspect he'll be out for the rest of the day, and after discussing it with Green, I'll be leaving him in this coffin looking device, and leaving that in their shared room. If you wish to check up on his recovery you'll need to see Green about it. Despite appearance, this coffin is actually heavily enchanted with healing magic. I made it look like a coffin because it really is for people on the edge of death. Now, any questions?"
*I don't have any questions. You?*
[Not really. It all seems straightforward. Well, I have questions about that coffin but it doesn't feel appropriate to ask them right now, or even just while it's in use.]
*Where do you think we should watch the next event? I was able to look through your eyes without too much trouble.*
['Without too much trouble' she says. Kat, you were bleeding from your eyes at one point during your tests and having your own eyes open while trying to watch through mind causes everything to overlap. That is some trouble.]
*I have regeneration, my eyes healed. I probably shouldn't have tried to 'see' that way anyway, it was bound to cause issues. I'm more thankful that despite all the blood it didn't really hurt. That means you can't be mad at me.*
[That's really not the point.]
*I think it somewhat is. I'm not in danger really.*
[I don't like that you think getting hurt is no big deal.]
*It's really not a big deal though. At Rank 3 I might even be able to regrow limbs, so it really is just pain.*
[Don't you fucking dare test that Kat.]
*Look, I know the idea isn't nice to contemplate, but it's better to know if I can or not before it becomes necessary.*
[Nope. I refuse. I know you Kat. You'll start trading limbs as part of your normal combat strategy if you learn you can regrow them. I have enough problems with your combat style as it is, and I'll not be giving you permission to make it worse.]
*Yes dear. No cutting of my arm for fun.*
[Good.]
"It seems we've got no questions, lovely!" said Thyme, dragging Lily and Kat out of their mental argument with somewhat embarrassed looks on their faces. Both had forgotten that Thyme had been waiting for people to ask questions, or that the pair might have questions for Thyme at all. *Woops.*
Thyme snapped their fingers, and a small door appeared at the back of the room. It looked like a completely normal door for the inn, which Kat supposed made sense. "Go forth, and eat… or relax for thirty minutes, I don't care," said Thyme as a clock appeared behind them and started ticking.
Kat looked over at Nixilei and asked, "So what's the plan for you?"
Nixilei shrugged, "In a larger sense, I'm not yet sure. It will depend on exactly what contraptions Thyme has for us when it comes time for the next round. I imagine a lot of planning will have to be done in the immediate aftermath of that reveal. As for right this moment? I think I'll check out the snacks… and potentially fill my pockets as well. Thyme never said we couldn't bring food or water with us.
"The question will be if the extra weight is worth it. That's something I'm less sure about. I might just eat what I have before dropping off the platform. The water might be more important… but it also weighs more," explained Nixilei.
"Can't you use your storage rings?" asked Kat.
Nixilei's eyes widened. "Oh… oh right. I suppose you wouldn't know, and I guess we never thought to tell you because you don't have one… storage rings are allowed to be worn, but not access during tournament rounds. In between bouts is fine, but not during. It's one of the few rules that applies to the whole tournament so Thyme doesn't have to say it. It's why we all have sheaths and what-not for our weapons. Well, that and it's a bit slower to pull a weapon from your storage rings so it's still worthwhile, but for a lot of things the rings are just better," Nixilei explained.
*Oh. That makes sense.*
[I feel sort of like an idiot. How did I not notice they weren't using their storage rings?]
*Probably they don't exist on earth and they just look like normal rings no matter how you look at it. I wouldn't worry about it. Seems like an easy mistake to make.*
[Sure, but I was also ignoring a really useful tool. Storage rings open up so many possibilities.]
*So…? should I look into getting one?*
[Maybe? I wasn't really thinking about that considering we don't have any money for this world, and you probably need mana to use it, but at the hub they'd have demon versions. Even if I remember you mentioning to me that they can be somewhat restrictive.]
"Hey, you two, I'm off to get some snacks," said Nixilei.
Kat and Lily winced in synchronisation and Kat apologised for them both. "Sorry about that, we seem to be very distractable at the moment. Don't worry about us, just go work out what food you're going to smuggle into the task,"
Nixilei grinned back and gave the pair a nod before getting up and heading for the door. Kat looked around and saw that everyone else had already left so it was just the two of them. "Well… I guess it's just us now,"
Lily decided that was a good enough excuse and transformed back into her human form and leaned into Kat, giving her a kiss. "Well that's quite nice. Still, I'm not sure about getting a storage ring. You can't use them in the Hub easily, and I'm not sure if we could take it into the tournament depending on what exactly the rules are. Plus, I have no idea what something like that would cost,"
"I imagine it's based on the amount of space inside it," offered Kat and she pulled Lily into her with her tail.
"I can see that… but then the question is, do you save up for a big one you'll possible never fill just so you don't have to upgrade it consistently?" asked Lily.
"How long do they last though? Surely not forever?" said Kat.
"Huh… yeah that's not something I thought about. I guess we should both try to remember to look this all up once we're finished 'competing against' Stan," said Lily.
Kat gave Lily a kiss on the cheek and let out a hum. "So… what do we do now? We've got thirty minutes to kill, and then we've got two whole hours of doing just about whatever we want. I do want to be around for the obstacle course, so if you don't mind we'll be watching that… but have you got anything you want to do with me while Nixilei is off flying around?"
"So… this might seem a little weird but I sort of want to build a sandcastle with you. After seeing all the cool stuff Kress did with his… and the other teams as well of course. Even if we don't have a Timmy to help out or special adaptive buckets I'm sure Mint has a few normal ones. It's not something I'd normally enjoy, and the sand will probably be annoying… but I just feel sort of inspired," answered Lily.
"Of course Lily, whatever you want," said Kat tightening the hug just a bit more.
This 𝓬ontent is taken from fre𝒆webnove(l).𝐜𝐨𝗺