Chapter 377: Arnold
Arnold’s hands were slick with sweat. He gripped the hilt of his sword, keeping the smile plastered on his face as the old woman’s words rang through his head like a ringing gong.
Years of training had led to this moment. To the point where he could join the Striking Hermits, a low-ranked combat guild. To where he worked his way through the ranks, training every free moment he had, just to get selected to represent the guild.
His teammates were no different. He knew that well. Alyssa had been trained by her father since birth. She knew her way around a dagger like nobody else, and she could read enemy attacks as if they were a book.
Gerald was just as skilled in his own way. The large man’s class let him absorb blows like they were nothing. He might not have been the strongest hitter, but Arnold had yet to see anyone ever make Gerald so much as stagger. There was no need for him to hit hard. He just had to soak up attention until Arnold and Alyssa cleaned everything up.
At least, that had been their plan going into the tournament. It hadn’t taken long for things to start falling apart. They’d been through a number of practice fights and dungeons, but fighting other people for real? That was different.
Things had only gotten worse when the old woman showed up at his door and told him that he was going to die. Arnold would have laughed her off as some other team’s attempt of intimidating them if they were even worth intimidating.
But nobody really knew who the Striking Hermits were. The guild wasn’t so bad to be noteworthy, nor were they good enough to draw attention. They may as well have been invisible. Another few faces in a sea of them.
No, the woman hadn’t been lying. She’d been completely serious. Arnold could tell that from just a single look into her eyes. Like two black gates leading straight to the afterlife itself, they’d bored into him and refused to be denied.
Arnold’s hand tightened even further around the hilt of his sword. His knuckles were white, now. The old woman had told him exactly what would happen… and he’d refused to drop out of the tournament anyway.