However meaningless it might be, Jashua closed the door of the structure that lacked a roof and a facade, and began to walk.
"I experienced very strange events today; I am thinking about them!"
"Do you plan on telling me about them too?"
When Jashua arrived at her side, one side of Nafız's face was looking inside the structure, while the other faced the valley. She spoke while swinging her right leg, which she dangled down.
"Let me start first; I found the first dungeon on the continent. The ones in the Wild Swamp were for overcoming restrictions in one's current state, but the ones here deal with restrictions from the past. Would you like to take a look?"
The Young Count answered by shaking his head from side to side to mean no.
"I have a bigger problem regarding the past right now. Someone I don't know at all can see my past!"
Jashua extended the paper in his hand toward Nafız; meanwhile, the Blood God turned her face to him, and the Young Count's single eyebrow raised.
"Your face has returned to its old state; you look exactly like a human again?"
"I look exactly like a human, huh? How interesting, I think so too!"
The face illuminated by the moonlight was whole, unlike last night. The half that had turned into an orc seemed to have made peace with the other side.
"Never mind me, talk about the person who saw your past!"
"I think before that, I need to explain what happened in the arena today."
After Jashua finished his words, he sat facing the valley view and began to recount his struggle with the Ten Lilies. He explained everything one by one, down to the finest detail. He had just reached the part about the girl covering her face with her hair when Nafız stopped him.
"That's it; this is what you call a Blood Prince. Well done, I wish you had the chance to kill them!"
Upon receiving the praise, a smile appeared on Jashua's face; not like the terrifying ones from before, this time it was a genuinely warm smile.
"Unfortunately, the Blood Arena forbids killing, but the real problem lies in the flimsy energy thread that pierced my energy shield. Its owner's face was covered with her hair; I couldn't see her clearly nor could I catch her, but I learned her name. Someone the other disciples nicknamed 'Tin' and who has the right to stay in the Temple."
When the word Temple was mentioned, Nafız's expression changed; seeing this, Jashua paused, but she signaled him to continue with her hand, so he kept speaking.
"The lecherous Sheikh Atractivo brought the girl to the sect, and it is said that she is cursed."
"Cursed?"
"Yes, a few people wanted to bully her, but they found their dead bodies the next day!"
"Very interesting; useless but stays in the Temple. Weak, but those who mess with her die!"
Nafız put her hand on her chin and began to think; her stance made Jashua become serious as well. Ten minutes passed in silence like this, then, for some unknown reason, Nafız shouted excitedly.
"Let's go to the Blood Arena together tomorrow. Let's see what this girl is all about!"
"Alright, with your permission!"
After tomorrow's plan was made, Jashua let himself fall down the cliff extending into the valley; his goal was to spend the night hunting.
"I don't know if I did a good thing or a bad thing by feeding you that remnant, but I hope one day you will forgive me for the childhood you couldn't live!"
Looking after the Young Count, Nafız leaned her head against the wall, closed her eyes, and said hello to another dreamless sleep.
The night was silent except for the screams of wild creatures; when dawn broke and the inside of the ruined building was illuminated, Nafız opened her eyes too. Jashua had already returned and had set about waiting for her to wake up, leaning against the opposite wall.
Nafız remembered the times she slept leaning against opposite walls with Alyon. The only difference was that, unlike Jashua, Alyon always woke up after her.
"I wonder what you are doing, you big head!"
After stretching a bit, the Blood God sprang to her feet in a single move, and Jashua suddenly appeared right beside her. The Holy Blood Sect was starting the day, and the duo inside the Garbage House was about to dive right into the middle of the process.
"Jashua, there is apparently an orientation class for newcomers. What do you say, shall we go take a look before the arena?"
"Why not?"
The massacre he committed at night had calmed the Young Count down. His hasty demeanor was gone, replaced by his usual calm stance.
Since the Garbage House was a remote settlement point, nearly half an hour passed until they reached the small hill where the class would be given. When Nafız and Jashua arrived at the open-air area, they were a bit surprised.
There were four people who managed to enter the sect this year, but the area was completely full. They passed through without making a sound and sat aside; looking around, they could see a crowd of roughly a hundred people.
"Yes, the other two have joined us as well. Now we just have to wait for the white-haired one!"
When the person on the podium prepared as a slight elevation spoke, everyone turned to the direction he was looking, and this direction was where Nafız and Jashua were sitting.
"Alis won't come; you can start whatever you are going to say!"
When the eyes of a hundred people turned on them, Nafız spoke, followed by the whispers of others.
"Is that him?"
"No, it was the hulking kid beside him. He was the one who devastated ten of our clansmen in the Blood Arena!"
Someone with a Black Lily tattoo on his hand quietly exclaimed to the other beside him, and his friends surrounding them were listening too. Along with these people who had occupied a corner, the interest of those remaining on the other side was also on the duo.
"I haven't seen the girl fight, but her points are also abnormal; even if she can't be as good as the kid named Jashua, it's beneficial to be careful!"
"The Bloody Moon Fiefdom has no population here; we can pull them to our side!"
Beside those who were hostile, there were also those who wanted to enter a relationship of interest. And outside of these two sides, there were those who admired Jashua's performance yesterday.
"Count Jashua has arrived, look at his hands!"
"There are still blood traces; yesterday he finished off the Ten Lilies with those hands!"
"The others won't let it go; if he comes to the arena today, they will confront him!"
When a sound began to come from every head, the man on the platform used as a podium coughed to silence the environment and then began to speak in a soft tone.
"You can tell your other friend what I am about to say later, for this will be the only lesson you receive in this sect. The Holy Blood Sect does not train its disciples like the others; it gives them opportunities and leaves the rest to them. We need geniuses who can raise themselves, not helpless ones in need of training!"
The man raised his head and scanned the crowd of a hundred people; he stood proud until one of them spoke.
"I wish you wouldn't offer so many opportunities; we are confused about which one to utilize!"
The man turned furiously to where the voice came from, but everyone in that area had turned their heads to the sky. This situation angered the man addressing the crowd even further.
"The system was the idea of the Third Elder himself, and he is the one who put it into practice. If anyone wants to criticize the direct action of a person responsible for the internal affairs of the sect, let them come and speak here!"
This was a barely veiled threat, and it worked; not a peep came from the disciples who stood like statues.
"Let's get to you; the answers to all the questions you might ask regarding the sect and its operation are available in the guide given to you when you stepped into the Holy Blood Sect. You can find the answers you seek by yourselves by looking there!"
"Finally, due to unexpected reasons, the Bloody Vortex will open earlier than normal this year. Though it has no importance for you, after all, disciples below the Essence Materialization stage are not allowed to participate in the trials!"
As he uttered his final words, his tone became increasingly arrogant, and his gaze focused particularly on Jashua. While he didn't even glance at the youth coming from the Third Elder's clan, he was behaving as if challenging the Count of the Bloody Moon Fiefdom.
"Hey, look at me! What kind of thing is this Essence Materialization you speak of?"
Nafız could not endure it when all attention turned to them. With a tone at least as arrogant as his, she called out to the man on the slightly elevated platform.