Two days.
Two full days since the last coin we had went to the inn fee.
Now it was morning.
We were sitting at the guild table with empty bowls in front of us.
Rael leaned forward across the table.
"GHHHHHHHHHH—!"
The noise came from deep in her chest like an angry animal.
"I am starving."
"We are all starving," I said.
Rael slapped the table.
"MY hunger is worse!"
"Hunger is not competitive."
"It is for me!"
"Rael," I said slowly, "your stomach is not a unique event."
Rael leaned her head on the table.
"GHHHHHHHHHH—!"
Senna stared calmly into her empty bowl.
"I recommend ignoring her. She will eventually lose the energy required to complain."
Mira sat quietly staring at the guild door.
Very focused.
Like the door might become bread if she stared long enough.
"We are completely broke," I said.
Rael lifted her head.
"I know."
"Zero silver."
"I heard you."
"The bridge—"
"I KNOW ABOUT THE BRIDGE!"
She slammed her forehead on the table.
"WHY DOES HUNGER HURT SO MUCH?!"
Someone at the next table whispered:
"Are they dying?"
"Maybe."
I slowly lowered my head onto the table.
Three adventurers walked in.
Mid-rank gear.
Confident.
The woman leading them stopped at our table.
"You're Nobody's Party."
I lifted my head.
"That is unfortunately correct."
She pointed at me.
"You're him."
"I am several things. Narrow it down."
"The Undying."
I blinked.
"The what."
"The Undying. The one who died in the market and came back."
I slowly turned toward my party.
Mira stared at the door.
Senna stared at her book.
Rael stared at the ceiling.
"You knew."
Silence.
"ALL THREE OF YOU KNEW?!"
Senna cleared her throat.
"It has been circulating."
Mira spoke without looking at me.
"People talk."
Rael nodded.
"It's a good name."
"YOU LET ME WALK AROUND WITH A TITLE LIKE THAT WITHOUT TELLING ME?!"
"It never came up."
Someone nearby whispered loudly:
"That's him!"
"The Undying guy!"
"Didn't he die three times?"
I covered my face.
"This is getting worse."
The messenger continued calmly.
"Our leader challenges you to a duel."
I pointed at Rael immediately.
"Fight her."
Rael raised her hand.
Flames flickered around her fingers.
The messenger looked at the axe.
Looked back at me.
Then walked away.
"The Undying," I muttered.
Rael nodded proudly.
"Still a good name."
Gareth of Ironwall Party approached.
He was enormous.
Not tall.
Wide.
Extremely wide.
The kind of wide that suggests doors are optional.
Four teammates followed behind him with tired expressions.
The guild hall went quiet.
Gareth reached our table.
Picked up one corner.
SLAM.
The table split in half.
Bowls rolled across the floor.
"WHOA—!"
"HE BROKE THE TABLE!"
From behind the counter the guild secretary sighed.
"Twelve copper, Gareth."
I stared at the broken wood.
"That table had dreams."
Gareth looked at me.
"Are you mocking me."
"I am mourning furniture."
He grabbed my jacket.
Lifted me off the floor.
Rael jumped up.
"HEY!"
Senna grabbed Rael's sleeve.
"WAIT!"
Mira stepped forward quietly.
Gareth ignored them.
"We fight," he said.
"I lose," I replied immediately. "Let's save time."
"I win. Your party joins Ironwall."
Rael's axe came halfway out.
"KAEL!"
"I'M JOKING!"
Gareth still held me.
"If I win," I said carefully, "what do I get."
"KAEL DON'T—"
"Forty gold."
Everything stopped.
Rael froze.
Senna froze.
Mira blinked once.
"Put me down," I said.
Gareth did.
Rael grabbed my shoulders.
"ARE YOU INSANE?!"
"Probably."
"HE WILL BREAK YOU."
"Forty gold."
Senna pinched the bridge of her nose.
"This is statistically catastrophic."
Mira leaned close.
"You don't have to do this."
"I really do."
Outside.
A crowd gathered instantly.
"THE UNDYING IS FIGHTING!"
"AGAIN?!"
"IS HE GOING TO DIE AGAIN?!"
I drew my sword.
Took a stance.
Classic anime stance.
The crowd murmured.
Gareth squinted.
"Where did you learn that."
"Television."
He walked forward.
I stepped left.
He followed.
I stepped right.
He followed.
I tried the redirect move.
He walked straight through it.
Pushed me into a wall.
THUD.
"OOHHHH!"
Rael screamed:
"KAEL GET UP!"
Senna shouted while writing:
"THIS IS IMPORTANT DATA!"
I pushed off the wall.
"This man is cheating!"
"He's just walking!" someone yelled.
"That is unfair!" I shouted.
I tried a fake.
Left then right.
Classic move.
Gareth ignored it.
Grabbed my jacket.
THROW.
I landed on the ground.
The crowd exploded.
"HAHA!"
"THE UNDYING IS LOSING!"
I stood up.
"This is going terribly."
Gareth spoke calmly.
"You can yield."
Rael screamed:
"DON'T YOU DARE!"
Senna shouted:
"THIS IS A POOR EXPERIMENT!"
I glanced at Mira.
She just watched quietly.
Forty gold.
I gripped the sword harder.
Something burned on my hand.
I frowned.
"That seems new."
Light crawled along the blade.
White.
Quiet.
The crowd froze.
"EH—?!"
"WHAT IS THAT?!"
Rael yelled:
"KAEL WHAT DID YOU DO?!"
Senna screamed:
"DON'T MOVE!"
The mark on my hand glowed.
Sharp lines.
Bright.
Vein energy twisted in the air.
I blinked.
"I feel like this is either extremely good or extremely bad—"
Then the world went dark.
I woke up on the street.
Grey sky.
Mira leaning over me.
"You fainted."
"How long."
"Two minutes."
Rael dropped beside me.
"WHAT WAS THAT?!"
Senna ran forward.
Eyes wide.
Her book was closed.
Closed.
"There was a crest!" she shouted.
"A what."
"A crest on your hand!"
I looked.
Nothing.
Senna pointed wildly.
"The Vein energy around you bent!"
"Bent?!"
"I DON'T HAVE BETTER WORDS!"
She stared at me.
"Kael."
"Yes."
"What are you."
I looked at my hand.
"I have absolutely no idea."
"That concerns me."
She opened her book and started writing furiously.
Gareth stepped forward.
Placed forty gold coins on the ground.
"You didn't yield."
"I fainted."
"You didn't yield."
Fair.
He walked away.
The crowd slowly dispersed.
Still whispering.
I picked up the coins.
Forty gold.
Rael grinned.
"WE'RE RICH."
"We are less doomed."
Mira helped me stand.
I looked at the sword.
Just a sword.
No lightning.
No glow.
Same sword from the pig pen.
"That wasn't me," I said.
"No," Senna replied quietly.
"It wasn't."
High above Breth, Veyra sat very still.
Watching.
The crest frozen on the screen.
Perfect shape.
Perfect timing.
Except it wasn't.
"Too early," she whispered.
That wasn't supposed to happen yet.
Not for several arcs.
The viewer count exploded.
She didn't look at it.
She watched Kael instead.