Two hours later, they gathered around the fire with a spread that would have looked extravagant in any tavern. Slow-roasted boar ribs glistening with spices. Herb-roasted Crystal Rabbits that practically glowed with elven magic. Forest Chicken soup that smelled like comfort.
Even Kora had woken, drawn by the incredible aromas. Dani helped her sit up, supporting her still-weak partner with gentle care.
"This smells amazing," Kora murmured, her voice hoarse from extended sleep.
"Captain's recipe," Dani said, ladling soup into a bowl. "Figured if we're going to send Krad into an impossible fight, we should do it with full stomachs and good memories."
They ate in comfortable silence for a while, the simple pleasure of good food after hard work. Krad devoured three helpings of everything, his bottomless appetite on full display.
[ System Buddy: Your stomach is a dimensional void, I swear! ]
"It's really good," Krad said through a mouthful of boar. "Like, criminally good."
"That's because you helped hunt it," Mist explained. "Food tastes better when you've earned it. One of the first lessons I learned as a young Slayer."
Queen Hania picked at her rabbit delicately, clearly not used to eating after so long as the Cursed Queen. "In the Green Kingdom, we had grand feasts before major battles. The entire court would gather, nobles and soldiers alike. We believed that sharing a meal created bonds that would hold even in the darkest moments."
"Did it work?" Krad asked.
"Sometimes." Hania's smile was sad. "Not against Damos, obviously. But yes, knowing your companions as people, not just warriors, it helped. Made you fight harder to protect them."
Dani stared into her soup bowl, seeing memories. "We did this after our first S-Rank mission. Five years ago, before Kora lost her combat magic. We'd cleared a corrupted temple, barely survived. Captain made this exact soup, and we sat around the fire until dawn, just talking. About our dreams, our fears, stupid jokes that probably weren't even funny."
She looked up, tears streaming freely now. "Tessa wanted to retire someday and open a flower shop. Can you imagine? One of the most powerful fire mages in the guild, dreaming about selling roses. Mark wanted to build an orphanage, use his strength to protect kids who had nothing. Said he'd been one of those kids once."
"What about you?" Krad asked. "What was your dream?"
Dani laughed, the sound broken. "I wanted to be like him. Wanted to build my own squad someday, find lost kids and show them they could be magnificent. Guess I failed at that one."
"You didn't fail," Kora said quietly, her weak hand finding Dani's. "You're doing it right now. Teaching Krad, helping him find his strength. Captain would be proud."
"He'd be proud of you too," Dani replied, squeezing back. "Burning three weeks of your life for someone you barely know. That's exactly the kind of crazy heroic shit he'd approve of."
They laughed together, the sound carrying notes of grief and love tangled inseparably.
Mist raised his bowl. "To fallen companions. May they feast in whatever lies beyond, and may we honor their memory by living fully in the present."
They all raised their bowls, even Krad who barely understood the weight of the moment but felt it nonetheless.
"To Captain Valdris," Dani said.
"To Mark," Kora added.
"To Tessa," they said together.
"May their strength live on in those they trained," Queen Hania finished.
They drank deeply, the soup warming them from the inside.
---
As the meal wound down and the fire burned low, Dani stood with obvious reluctance.
"I need to take Kora back to the guild," she said, her voice steady despite the emotion behind it. "She needs proper rest, and the guild masters need to know what happened with Xerxes and Han."
"You're leaving?" Krad felt a surprising pang of loss. They'd only known each other for a day, but in that day, they'd fought impossible battles and built something real.
"I have to," Dani replied. "Kora's stable, but she needs better care than ruins can provide. And the Continental Association needs to know about Xerxes's experiments, about the Moon Eater awakening, all of it."
She looked at Krad intently. "But before I go, I want to give you something."
Dani reached into her storage ring and pulled out a bundle of cloth. When she unfolded it, Krad saw it was an outfit, complete and clearly high-quality.
"This is a Slayer's Combat Set," Dani explained. "Custom-made by Crimson Blade's best crafters. It's enchanted with basic protections, durability enhancement, minor mana efficiency boost, nothing flashy, but solid."
The outfit was something else entirely, a second skin of black fabric that moved like shadow, too fluid to be real cloth. Crimson fissures cracked across the surface in jagged patterns, glowing faintly as if the darkness itself was bleeding light. The jacket had no visible seams, just sleek geometric panels across the chest that pulsed with his heartbeat, and a high collar that could fold and shift like living material.
The pants were the same strange fabric, sections hardening or flowing depending on how he moved, tapering into seamless boots with crimson treads. A segmented belt wrapped his waist, compartments flickering in and out like they existed halfway between dimensions. On the left shoulder, the Crimson Blade emblem, a red blade crossed with silver flames, wasn't stitched on but carved into the fabric, burning from somewhere beneath the surface.
"I can't accept this," Krad stammered. "This is too much---"
"You can and you will," Dani interrupted firmly. "You're going into a tournament fight against someone who's never lost. You're going to represent not just yourself, but everyone who's helped you get here. You're carrying all of us with you."
She pressed the bundle into his hands. "Besides, you look like a street urchin who fell into a fight by accident. Slayers are showmen as much as warriors. Look the part."
Krad held the outfit carefully, feeling the quality of the materials. "Thank you. This means..."
"I know." Dani smiled, and for the first time since he'd met her, it reached her eyes fully.
[ System Buddy: Full Status ]
[ System: Alpha: Basic Information... ]
Name: Krad
Age: 16
Race: Elf
Class: Mythical Vessel / Brawler
Level: 321
Experience: 847,293 / 950,000
Title: Lunar Vessel (Unknown Effects Active)
[ Attributes: ]
Health: 1,000 / 1,000 (Fully Recovered)
Mana: 1,000 / 1,000 (Fully Recovered)
Stamina: 850 / 850 (Enhanced)
Strength: 287 (+45 from Training)
Agility: 312 (+67 from Training)
Endurance: 298 (+53 from Training) Intelligence: 245
Wisdom: 198
Luck: 127 (Abnormally High)
[ Active Skills ]
Evade (Level 3)
Uses Remaining: 14/14 (Fully Restored)
Cooldown: None
Effect: Creates afterimage decoy for 0.5 seconds
Moon Step (Level 2)
Mana Cost: 50 per use
Effect: Explosive vertical or horizontal movement
Fundamental Strike (Level 1) [NEW]
Effect: +5% damage to basic physical attacks
Stamina Cost: -8% on basic strikes
Basic Recovery (Level 1) [NEW]
Effect: -25% fall damage, faster recovery when knocked down
Breath of the Ancient World (Level 1) [NEW]
Effect: +12% natural regeneration when meditating
Mana Cost: None (Passive when active)
[ Moon Eater Techniques (Restricted) ]
Devouring Palm (Sealed)
Awakening Required: 15%+
Effect: Erases targets from existence
Endless Consumption (Sealed)
Awakening Required: 15%+
Effect: Mass absorption of nearby entities
[UNKNOWN] (Multiple techniques locked)
Awakening Required: 20%+
[ Mythical Beast Status: ]
Entity: Moon Eater (Primordial Devourer)
Current Awakening: 10%
Debt Owed: 1 (Unspecified Future Payment)
Influence Level: Moderate
Containment Status: Stable
Warning: Each awakening increases permanent corruption
[ Corruption Markers ]
Silver Eye Manifestation: 10% (Inactive)
Horn Growth: 0% (Suppressed)
Reality Distortion: 5% (Passive Aura)
Lunar Affinity: 25% (Permanent)
[ Equipment: ]
[ Equipped ]
Crimson Blade Slayer Combat Set [NEW]
Durability: 500/500
Defense: +45
Mana Efficiency: +8%
Movement Speed: +5%
Set Bonus: Bleeding Edge
Critical hits have 15% chance to cause bleeding
[ Upcoming Challenge: ]
Rage Tournament - Final Round
Opponent: Liyab (Champion)
Time Remaining: 4 hours, 17 minutes
Location: Sorsogon City
Stakes: Unknown
Victory Probability: 8.7% (Updated from training)
Krad stared at the interface, his golden eyes wide. "I'm... Level 321?"
"You absorbed a lot of power fighting Han's copies," Mist explained. "Plus the training pushed your attributes significantly. You're growing at a rate that should be impossible."
"Eight point seven percent chance of winning," Krad read aloud. "That's... better than zero?"
"Way better than the 0.0001% you started with," Dani pointed out. "You've come incredibly far in less than two days."
Kora smiled weakly from her resting position. "The Crimson Blade set will help too. That Bleeding Edge bonus, if you land critical hits, you can wear down even stronger opponents over time."
"And the mana efficiency boost means you can use your skills more often," Mist added. "Every little advantage counts."
Krad looked at the outfit in his hands, then at the people around the fire. Dani and Kora, who'd lost everything and still found the strength to help a stranger. Mist, who'd trained him brutally but with obvious care. Queen Hania, who carried the weight of centuries but still offered wisdom and comfort.
"I won't let you down," he said, his voice thick with emotion. "Any of you."
Dani stepped forward and pulled him into a quick, fierce hug. "You already haven't. Just stay alive, okay? That's all I'm asking. Stay alive and keep fighting."
She released him and turned to help Kora stand. The healer was still weak, leaning heavily on her partner.
"Thank you," Krad said to Kora. "For three weeks of your life. I'll make them count."
Dani activated a teleportation crystal, the guild's emergency extraction method. Soft blue light began to envelop both women.
"Hey, Krad," Dani called as the light grew brighter. "When you win this tournament? Come find us at the Crimson Blade guild hall. We'll be waiting."
"When I win?" Krad smiled despite the tears stinging his eyes. "Not if?"
"When," Dani confirmed. "Because Captain taught us to believe in impossible things. And you're definitely impossible." The light flared, and they were gone.
Krad stood in the sudden silence, holding the Slayer outfit, feeling the weight of everything that had led to this moment.
"Come on," Mist said gently. "Let's get you changed. You've got a tournament to win."
Queen Hania began cleaning up the feast, humming a soft elven melody that sounded like hope mixed with sorrow.
And in four hours, Krad would face Liyab. But for now, in this moment, surrounded by the remnants of a good meal and good company, he let himself believe that maybe... just maybe, eight point seven percent was enough.