"Hmm..." Jinro groaned as he opened his eyes. His entire body was sore, and he had no feeling in his right arm, "Geez... That packed more of a punch than I thought..." He whispered, poking his bandaged right arm.
Afterward, he sat up and looked around and realized where he was. It was a pure white room with only a bed, which he was on, loads of medical equipment and supplies, and a sofa where two familiar faces rested. "Lola? Viktor?" Jinro called to his friends but found out they were completely asleep.
They wore casual attires, revealing bandages on their arms and legs. "I'm guessing they also got some trouble to deal with."
He laid back into the bed when the door at the far right of the room slid open. A man clothed in white from head to toe entered, carrying in his arm a holographic notepad. "Oh, hello. You are awake much earlier than expected."
"Doctor Phil!" Jinro exclaimed.
"Good evening, young master. I see you are recovering well." The man bowed.
"Well, sort of. I have no feeling in my arm." Jinro pointed, trying to lift his right arm but it remained unresponsive.
"Do not worry, young master. Examinations have already been performed, there is nothing to fear. The Souline pathways and the nerves in your arm are overloaded, they require rest to be functional."
"I see." Jinro nodded, "that's what I get for using a 3eme Étape Combination."
The middle aged man chuckled before turning serious. "I will perform a routine check on you. Lay down and relax."
...
"Everything is in order, you are recovering quite fast and will be soon on your feet but I recommend that you rest for a few days and avoid using your powers and arms as much as possible." The doctor declared, writing on his pad,
"I'll do my best with that," Jinro replied, scratching the back of his head. "After all, I doubt the Épreuves are done."
"Of course, I'll have some stimulants prescribed just in case."
"Thank you, Doctor Phil." Jinro bowed his head.
"You don't need to thank me, young master. I am just doing my duty." The man smiled. "Also I checked sir Viktor and Lady Lola. Aside bruises, cuts and a few cracked bones, they are fine."
"Thank Lokius for that, and thank you once again, Doctor Phil."
"Once again, I am simply doing my duty, young master. Oh, and before I forget, master Cranes wanted to give you this." The middle-aged man handed a sealed letter to the boy. The wax seal was a black lion on a cliff, roaring with its mane fluterring in the wind.
"... So he's here, after all." Jinro muttered while grinning. Phil nodded at him before making his leave.
"Are you going to meet him now?" Viktor inquired, looking Jinro slide the letter on the nightstand at his left. He and Lola had woken up during Phil's routine check.
Jinro sat up, grabbing his headband before meeting his friend's eyes. "Not just yet," He replied, laying on his pillow. "How long did I sleep?"
"A full week," Lola replied, fidgeting with a holographic screen coming from a ring. "You woke up earlier than I thought, especially after fighting a Goliath... I'm guessing you abused the regeneration factor of Dévoreur."
"Don't forget about that thing that kept on flying into the sky too." Viktor chimed in.
"Something like that is hard to forget. How dis you even pull that off!?" The pinked-haired girl asked, slightly bewildered. "Yeah, even if you have a Level 3 Talent, that doesn't mean you can just do stuff like that!"
"I wasn't alone, remember?" Jinro pointed out. "Joséline was on it, though I gotta admit it was far stronger than I thought it'd be."
"Joséline? The Level 5 Talent freak!?" Lola spat as she hid her trembling hands.
"Wait wait... You know her!?" Viktor exclaimed, almost jumping off his seat. To that, Jinro nodded, leaving the two speechless.
"Yeah, she... changed a lot since the last time I saw her and she seems to have forgotten me." In his mind, Jinro couldn't help but think about that alien feeling when he saw her, how cold her eyes were. "What happened to you..."
"Anyway, things must have been intense against that Upsilon grade." Lola, noticing Jinro's pensive demeanor, said. "Tell us what happened!"
Jinro snapped out of his thoughts and told them everything that happened inside the barrier.
"Didn't know you liked to gamble, man. Seriously, that was a ridiculous idea!" Viktor laughed loudly.
"For real! You must have been desperate to do a Combination with a stranger st the time! You could have lost your arm, you know?"
Jinro chuckled at Lola's remark, truly it was a risky maneuver, especially with someone that was so much stronger than him. "I wouldn't say desperate, the situation really called for it. Plus, there were a few factors to help. One, we're on the Holy Ground of Crestena, there is simply no damn way that a Upsilon grade—a Level 4-6 equivalent could just waltz in and not be eviscerated, it had to have been placed here.
Two, we know how brutal these Épreuves are, thanks to the testimonies of the many survivors..." Lola and Viktor nodded. They couldn't go anywhere without at least hearing a story about how many people died, but being into the action was another thing entirely.
"They wouldn't just pit a bunch of Level 1 against something they have no chance of beating. Plus, I don't think they were betting on having someone with that much Talent, and if they were... Let's not go there.
Three, observation and a whole lot of luck. My Dévoreur du chaos left a permanent wound on the Goliath... Something that had never happened before. But after it got up from having its face split open, I just figured we had to had to hit really damn hard, and the Attaque Croisée was the safest option. Had it been with anyone else, besides you or Lola... Death would have been the prize."
Viktor took a deep breath after listening to his friend's reasoning. "Once again, didn't know you liked gambling, man."
"Also didn't I tell you not to look at people's Crests, especially girls? You're gonna get in trouble for voyeurism at some point." Lola sighed,
"Come on, you're still mad that I accidentally saw yours? It was more than a year ago!"
Lola shook her head, "I'm not mad, just warning my friend." Her tone wasn't convincing one bit, "Accidentally, sure" She rolled her eyes at the thought.
"... Right, you're still mad about it. Didn't I show mine to make it up to you? Heck Vik even showed his!"
"I distinctly remember you taking pictures too!" Viktor chimed in, "I hope you deleted them, by the way."
"I told you I did!" Lola snapped at the dark-skinned boy, but both he and Jinro were giving her a side eye. A second later, they all laughed wholeheartedly.
"One question though..." Jinro turned to Lola, looking at her legs. "Since when do you wear skirts?"
The room fell silent once again. Lola smiled but not a smile out of amusement... Viktor a big step back, looking at Jinro as if saying Why did you ask that...
Before Jin could open his mouth, a leather glove slapped him across the face, going back and forth on his cheeks. "What are you implying!? Are you saying I can't wear skirts!?" Lola asked while slapping the everliving shit out of Jinro.
...
"That was a genuine question, you know." Jinro added, rubbing his swollen cheeks. "Fuck that hurts..."
"Did you say something?" Lola flashed a smile, ready to draw her glove.
"Nothing, Lady Eauster!" Jinro immediately retracted his statement, his cheeks could not go through another slap session. "On a more serious note, though. What happened to you guys while I was inside the barrier?"
The two friends' expression shifted drastically, Lola's darkened while Viktor's hardened... The screams of fear, anguish alongside the many deaths were still fresh in their mind. "We got teleported out of the building and into open..." Viktor commenced, and Lola picked up from there.
"...Where we got swarmed by a sea of Ruinbringers. Psi and Chi grades. They weren't hard to deal with but when you got assaulted by ten of them at once... It gets gruesome really fast. People fell and right, and before we knew it, only ten out of about 100 remained..."
"... I see. It can't be helped, you did what you could out there. I'm glad the two of you are okay in the end, just don't spend too much time on it. Things will get messier from now on." His words might sound cold but that was the reality of things. The Épreuves were designed to transform those who were able to survive into the next generation of Chaoswalkers—Those who will march against the Ruinbringers.
"Let's see what the old man has to say, shall we?" Jinro said, attempting to reach for the letter with his right, "... That's gonna take a while to get used to."
"Hello little Jin. First of all, congratulations on passing the first Épreuve! You've demonstrated great power and intelligent during your fight with that Upsilon grade! Things are gonna get tougher from here on, but I think you already knew that. So rest well, eat correctly!
Oh and come see me on the rooftop when you'll wake up, I have a surprise for ya! See ya! HA HA HA HA HA!" The trio looked as the hologram turned off.
"Yep, that's him alright." Jinro smirked. "I guess I'll go see what he has for me now. Wanna come along?"
"Sure—" Lola and Viktor were about to say when a screen popped from their rings.
"Rotten luck..." Viktor muttered while sighing.
"Sorry Jin, no can do. The second Épreuve is about to start, we have to go now."
"Well that's a shame. Good luck out there then, you better come back in one piece." Jinro said, thrusting his fist forward.
"Right back at ya, man!"
"Don't need to tell me twice!"
The trio fist bumped, smiling at each other. Lola and Viktor then left, ready to tackle the second Épreuve.