Clang!
Kali’s daggers slipped from her fingers, the twin blades clattering against the stone floor with a hollow ring. A moment later, her knees gave way, and she collapsed onto the ground, panting, sweat dripping from her brow.
Arthur, barely standing himself, rolled his shoulders, wincing at the strain in his muscles. He extended a hand toward her. "Good fight."
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Kali looked up at him, eyes sharp, assessing, before finally sighing and accepting the offered hand. Her grip was firm despite her exhaustion. As soon as she was upright, she bent down, retrieving her daggers before flicking them into her spatial ring with a practiced motion.
"Seriously, you’re a monster," she muttered.
Arthur just chuckled. He knew what she meant.
This fight had dragged on far longer than either of them expected. Neither could gain a definitive advantage over the other, which was absurd, considering Kali had over triple the mana quality and quantity that he did.
By all logic, she should have won easily.
And yet, she lost.
Barely.
It had come down to endurance, a test of who could hold out longer, who could force the other to slip first. At first, Kali had the upper hand—her reserves should have let her outlast him.
But Arthur never let her keep that advantage for long.
"You know," she said between breaths, wiping sweat from her brow, "your Deepdark is stronger than mine."
Arthur scoffed. "That’s only because of Erebus. And even then, I have way less of it than you."
"Yeah, but then you have Purelight." She exhaled, shaking her head. "How unfairly unbalanced."
Arthur smirked. "At least I’m a reliable guild master."
Kali gave him a sideways glance, a smirk tugging at her lips. "Technically, I’m the guild master on paper, since you’re still not a six-star adventurer."
Arthur shrugged. "Details."
"Details?" She scoffed. "Arthur, with the way you just fought, you could easily get that license. You’d be a six-star by tomorrow."
"I don’t want to take a test." He waved a hand dismissively. "Too much paperwork."
Kali stared at him, deadpan. "You’re ridiculous."
"I’ve been told."
She shook her head but didn’t argue. Instead, she stretched, wincing at the soreness settling into her muscles. "Well, I’m definitely going to feel this tomorrow."
Arthur rolled his shoulder, feeling the same ache settle deep in his bones. "Yeah. But it was worth it."
Kali gave him a look, then smirked. "It was."
They stood in silence for a moment, letting the aftershocks of battle settle. The arena around them, once a pristine training ground, bore the scars of their fight—cracked stone, scorched walls, and the lingering hum of dissipating magic.
Kali exhaled, watching him carefully. "You know, it won’t be long before you reach Integration-rank. And when you do, you’re going to be terrifying."
Arthur smiled. "I plan on it."
"Good," Kali said, stretching her arms above her head, her smirk still lingering. "Cause you need to keep up your end of the bargain."
Arthur raised a brow. "And what bargain was that again?"
Kali rolled her eyes. "I need you to be the strongest."
"Geez, fine," Arthur sighed, shaking his head. "I’ll be the strongest."
"Good," she said, satisfied. Then, she tilted her head. "Anyway, we need to talk about Ouroboros. Your room?"
"Yeah," Arthur nodded. "We need to go over some logistics."
"I don’t mind," Kali said, glancing down at herself. "But I’m sweaty."
Arthur shrugged. "Just shower in my room."
Kali considered it for a second, then nodded. "Fine, but I go first."
"It’s my room," Arthur pointed out.
"I had to train you," Kali countered, arms crossed.
"You agreed to it."
"Only cause I wanted to beat you up," she shot back with a grin.
Arthur scowled, but the banter remained lighthearted as they made their way back to the dorms, taking the lift up to the top floor.
As soon as they stepped inside, Arthur gestured toward the bathroom. "Go ahead. But don’t take forever."
"I’m not you," Kali teased before disappearing into the bathroom.
Arthur sighed, rubbing his temples. Why did he always end up surrounded by such troublesome people?
While she was in there, he moved to the desk, pulling up the latest updates on Ouroboros. The guild was progressing steadily, but there were still so many pieces to arrange, so many logistics to smooth out before he could push forward.
After some time, the bathroom door clicked open.
Arthur looked up—and immediately frowned.
Kali stood in the doorway, rubbing a towel through her damp hair, wearing his shirt.
"What the—why are you wearing my t-shirt?" he asked, his voice somewhere between exasperation and disbelief.
Kali groaned, throwing herself onto his chair. "I forgot my clothes."
Arthur ran a hand down his face. "Then go get them? How will you go back to your room now?"
"My clothes are in the wash," she said, waving him off. "They’ll be dry by the time I have to leave."
Arthur stared at her, unimpressed. "At least wear pants."
"What, the t-shirt is big enough," she said, pulling at the hem as if to prove her point.
Arthur exhaled. He wasn’t going to win this one.
"Just—whatever," he muttered, grabbing a towel and heading toward the bathroom. "I’m taking a shower."
"Yeah, yeah," Kali said, leaning back, spinning slightly in the chair.
As soon as the door clicked shut, she stood up, stretching.
Her eyes landed on the mirror near the wardrobe, and after a moment of hesitation, she stepped toward it.
The oversized t-shirt hung loosely on her frame, the sleeves almost swallowing her arms, the hem dipping low enough that it almost reached her knees. She turned slightly, tugging at the fabric.
"I look weird," she muttered to herself, frowning.
Then, after a beat, she smirked.
"Whatever," she said, flopping back onto the chair, waiting for Arthur to finish his turn.
Kali leaned back in the chair, watching Arthur as he ran a towel through his damp black hair as he showered pretty quickly. He moved with an effortless kind of ease, like someone who had already mapped out his next ten steps and was just casually walking toward them. It was irritating, in a way.
And impressive.
At first, she’d almost regretted making that mana oath to follow him as long as he gave her back her family’s Grade 6 art in the future. Almost.
But not anymore.
Kali Maelkith was a rising genius of the Western Continent, second only to Jin Ashbluff. Even though she wasn’t a necromancer—an oddity in a continent dominated by them—her mastery of dark mana, both in spell casting and with her daggers, had put her at the top alongside her Gift.
Yet Arthur was better.
There was no other way to phrase it. He wasn’t just talented. He wasn’t just skilled. He was something else. A paradox. An enigma. Someone who made the impossible look effortless.
If anyone was going to be the Paragon of this generation—the title reserved for the single most powerful individual among the most talented era the world had ever seen—she was willing to bet it would be him.
And the best part? He wasn’t content with his current level of strength or the fact he was Rank 1. He wanted more.
Arthur Nightingale wasn’t just aiming for the peak. He was planning to shatter the entire mountain.
Finally, he finished towel-drying his hair and sat on the bed, wearing just a simple black t-shirt and loose pants. He looked at her expectantly, stretching his arms behind his head.
"Alright," he said. "What did we want to talk about?"
Kali sighed, shifting in the chair. "Well, first off, that Elias guy you scouted is actually really good."
Arthur smirked. "I know."
She ignored him. "He’s doing a lot of the groundwork for the guild. The logistics, the networking, even some recruitment. Meanwhile, I did the hard work and got us officially established by clearing a six-star dungeon."
Arthur whistled. "Nice."
"But," she continued, crossing her arms, "I need to know about the three other recruits he showed me."
Arthur nodded. "Right, the three weirdos."
"Two weirdos," she corrected. "The third one is the problem."
Arthur blinked. "Problem?"
Kali exhaled sharply, giving him a pointed look. "Arthur, why the hell is Jin Ashbluff on the list?"
Arthur grinned.
Of course, he grinned.
Because of course this madman would try recruiting the prince of necromancers himself into Ouroboros.