The next day, Chase woke as he normally did, groggy and tired as he glanced at Luna who was snoring loudly in her hammock.
He stood up, yawning and stretching as he stepped over to the crate on the far edge of the room, the morning rays of light shining through the old window and meeting the top of the crate with a vibrant glow.
He had been anticipating this.
Although his prized set of armor that he had worn into the battle of Equus: Had been destroyed in Olympia with no hope of being repaired... He knew for certain that his next set was going to look even better than the last.
He chuckled deviously, rubbing his hands together before unlatching the crate's lid.
Lifting it slowly, the sun's light instantly bathed what confused Chase instantly.
He was blinded.
"Son of a-
"Language..." Luna groaned, turning over in her hammock.
Chase rubbed his eyes dejectedly, squinting as he turned his gaze back towards the set of armor once again.
At the top of the crate... Sat an ivory chest piece... White plated armor glowing vibrantly under the bathing light of the sun.
"Does he really think I'd wear this.....?" Chase groaned, lowering his body once again as his finger brushed against the warm metal...
"It's durable..." He muttered, pressing his finger into the center of the chestplate...
Luna then sat up in her hammock, squinting her eyes as she glanced at the armor.
"I like it." She eventually said with a tired yawn.
"Really? Aint it a bit too... Ya know? Flashy?" Chase shrugged, glancing at the armor once more.
"What are you? Some kind of edge-lord?" Luna groaned, thinking for a moment before launching a pillow at his face.
...
The three of them, including Luna, Equan, and Chase began to head towards the city.
Two of them donned in masks that would have anyone think suspiciously of them.
Chase especially... Wore a very concerning mask upon his face, with his spiked golden hair flowing with the breeze of the vast kingdom.
However, surprisingly no one said anything as they entered the city, except for Luna that is, who gasped in awe as they stepped into the city.
Even Equan stopped in his tracks, accidentally bumping into a merchant who grumbled and shoved past as Equan still stood in shock at the giant city that stood twice the size of Equus...
far off beyond the countless buildings with red tiled gables, each standing at different heights, yet all of them towering above the large crowded street: Stood a giant black coliseum on the Eastern side of the city...
Chase grinned behind his mask resembling that of an onyx tainted human skull, and grabbed Equan by his shirt, pulling him along as floods of tourists and merchants alike flowed into the boulevard around them.
They walked with quick pace, making their way deeper into the loud and bustling city streets. Chase continuously shot glances behind him in order to make sure neither Luna or Equan were dragged away from the group.
Eventually they found themselves in a less crowded part of the city, still with a very wide and busy road, but not full to the point where the three of them were being pushed and shoved by other people.
The three of them stopped, looking up in awe as a bard was thrown across the sky, strumming a vibrant tune on a wooden violin as he soared over the street.
Children ran past, shoving each other and laughing as they all piled up in line before what looked like an ice cream stand.
Luna grabbed Chase's arm, pointing viciously at the stand with determination written all over her face.
"I want..." She mumbled, almost drooling as the old man handed one of the kids a large scoop of ice cream twice the size of the bowl it was in.
"We're broke..." Chase grumbled, pulling her as the three of them continued towards the coliseum.
That wasn't the only time though... As only a few moments later, Luna grabbed his arm again, trying her hardest to drag him towards what looked like a fortune teller stall...
Chase didn't budge, trying not to laugh at Luna who was pulling on him with her absolute might.
"Luna... We're broke..." Chase grumbled again, causing her to stomp her foot like a child, but was forced to continue following along.
Until they finally made their way to the coliseum... A giant fortress standing at the center of countless merchant stalls, among other things.
They walked through the plaza in front of the coliseum where two young nobles were dueling with wooden swords and yelling vulgarities at the top of their lungs while an entire group of onlookers handed an old guy money as they cheered for their respected fighter.
Equan couldn't help but laugh as one of the boys got decked in the head by the other.
Several of the onlookers immediately cursed as the other half of the group began to celebrate.
Chase would have lied if he said that he wasn't enchanted by the epic city around them.
It was such a different feeling than the cities he had visited beforehand, but perhaps it could have been the fact that two out of the three cities he had visited... Had gone up in flames by his own hands...
Luckily, he had no intentions of burning this specific city to the ground, and hoped that that fact wouldn't change in the near future.
Chase asked an elderly woman who had her own stand: Where he could sign up for the coliseum.
She tilted her head before grinning and pointing at one of the several entrances to the coliseum.
He followed where she had pointed, with his friends following close behind with intrigue in their eyes.
And the next thing they knew, they were standing in a line of about four different people. Luna; however, was standing on the other side of a small fence, since she had no intention of joining the battle for coin.
The guy in front of them was wearing what looked like the skull of a ram on his head, and a fur coat as a backplate, with quite litterly nothing else on but the underwear and giant curved axe that hung on his back.
Chase raised an eyebrow with a grimace, leaning around the man and looking at the man who was signing the fighters up behind a half-shattered desk...
He was... A slime?
It was quite clearly a blob of slime with reading glasses on its... Face? As a thread of slime was outstretching from its base, holding a small pencil in its hands.
Chase shook his head in confusion, turning towards Equan who looked just as equally confused.
Eventually they made their way to the front of the line, nodding in greeting towards the slime before them.
"Names?" Chase was taken aback by the almost... Cute? Feminine voice of the slime.
"Ch- Ahem... Sorry, Elite, and this is my companion Actor..." He choked several times, getting side-eyed by Equan as he almost revealed his own identity far too easily.
The slime chuckled, writing the names down on an old scroll of parchment with about fifty names above it.
"I'm assuming you two will be doing the duo-fights?" She asked, forming a slimy smile with another thread of slime where he assumed her mouth would be.
They nodded in response.
"Mind me asking what classes?" She asked, tilting what Chase assumed was her head, although it didn't look like much, as the entire form of the slime simply leaned left.
Chase scratched the back of his head, before Equan responded.
"Paladin and Archer!" He declared, grinning behind his mask. Chase quickly shook his head, putting his hands up in protest.
Everyone in the line behind them, suddenly shot him glares of pure killing intent and disbelief.
"Archer and Paladin... Got it... Wait! Paladin?!" The slime yelped, ceasing to finish writing on the page.
Equan nodded his head, leaning against the desk with an obvious grin hidden behind his mask.
"Yup! That's right! My friend here... Is one of the most recent Paladins to be named... But! You gotta keep that a secret and just watch his first battle!" Equan laughed, making Chase want to strangle him where he stood. However, it did fill him with joy seeing that his friend had returned to his original state.
"Speaking of that..." Equan tilted his head.
"When is our first fight?" He followed up, turning his glance towards the slime, who used her strand of well... Slime, to push her glasses up on her face.
"Actually... Right now!" She chuckled, pointing towards a magic bracket that quickly formed behind her.
"Shit." Equan instantly regretted his cocky words.