“You know, I truly don’t get it.”

  “What? You just need to sneak on the tavern's second floor and aim at the tavern keeper's head.”

  “I’m not talking about the game, Suna.” Ackner sighed, and that caused Suna to snap his head up from the monitor, offering the man a much-deserved glare.

  One thing his brother unfortunately inherited from their parents was those annoying sighs.

  “I hope,” Suna’s mouth twisted. “you’re not going to give me a lecture about playing too much… bla bla bla,”

  “Oh, no, no, if anything, you should play all day you want to.”

  “Then what is the problem?” Suna asked, now genuinely curious.

  “You’re working,” his brother stated.

  “Okay?”

  “Why!”

  “What do you mean by why?”

  “You know what I mean. Grandpa's inheritance would last you your whole life. So you can play all day and be satisfied, no?”

  Right, his inheritance. Suna dragged his feet across his table base, rolling his chair across, and turned to face Ackner. He studied his brother's face, trying to detect any sign of jealousy or any of those annoying emotions that he wished every human got under control.

  His Grandpa’s inheritance had been quite substantial and was split four ways between Suna’s parents, brother, and himself. Unsurprisingly, his parents blew off their inheritance within a year, while his brother lost it all in a gambling streak. Suna loved the man, but not enough to help him up from the hole he had dug for himself.

  Luckily, though, Ackner met his wife and from then on, his life changed for the better. Now, they own a house and have even had a daughter.

  So, what happened to Suna’s inheritance? He chose the boring option, putting it all in a savings account, and it was enough to support his lifestyle, which was not much.

  It was just the obvious thing and less annoying to do, and yet because this… His parents had asked him to pay off their new debt, to which he refused.

  That caused friction all right. Which had grown wider with each passing day, and it had been years since they last spoke.

  But, these days, strangely, Suna wished he had not kept his inheritance and just used it to pay off his parents' debt. Suna eyed his brother, and screw it—might as well talk about it.

  “I’m thinking of paying their debt off,”

  “What?” Ackner blinked and abruptly stood. “Who are you? What have you done—”

  “Sit down,” Suna scowled. “It’s not for their sake,”

  “Okay… what are you talking about?” Ackner mumbled as he slowly sat down.

  “How do I explain it?” Suna bit his cheek, trying to form the words. He couldn’t find the words, so instead he told the story. “A year ago, I did just that. All day, I did whatever. Playing, watching.”

  “I know, which was why I’m asking—”

  He held up a hand. “Because it eventually turns sour. The whole experience. The game I like becomes a drag to play. The show I let stack drift apart from my brain, and the episode count became a wall. But once I restrict myself, it makes it more precious.”

  Suna continued.

  “But, those are all brain play. I need something stronger. If my finances were in ruin, I had to work while worrying over the roof of my head… then I would appreciate it more. The games, the shows. I would have more fun.”

  “So, you're a masochist?”

  “Is that what masochist means?” Suna asked. Ackner loved to throw words around, even if they did not fit the situation.

  Ackner shrugged, and a smile tugged at his lips. “Don’t give them the money, Suna. Don’t give me either. Keep it. I get that you like to… go overboard. But at least have some safety net. If you want hardship, then help Alice with Eve. It will be nice if both of us could get a wink of sleep.”

  “That rough?” Suna winced.

  His brother chuckled and nodded.

  “You bet she is!” A voice called out from below, the thump of footsteps rushed up, and Alice entered with Eve hugging her neck like some monkey.

  Alice was very beautiful; it was to the point Suna wondered why she settled for his brother. When Ackner introduced her to him, Suna had thought he had just been scammed out of his liver, and was about to offer his money to buy it back.

  “I hear you're volunteering, Suna!” Alice exclaimed, laying Eve down who grumbled in complaint.

  Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

  “Mom!” Eve groaned.

  “Well, you're hearing things,” Suna hissed, patting Eve's blonde hair. The five-year-old bobbed her head and crossed her arms, glaring at both her parents.

  “You imply wanting some work,” Ackner said, shooting him a wink before stepping out of the room with Alice fluttering her lashes at him. “Brother, buy us time, yeah?”

  Suna’s mouth gaped open, but Ackner slammed the door closed.

  “This is my apartment,” Suna gritted his teeth.

  “Don’t worry, Suna, I can sneak on them,” Eve grinned.

  “No, Eve. You don’t want to.” He sighed and smiled. Once in a while, it’s fine.

  No one was going to die anyway.

  --

  Pyreflame: 120

  “Huh,” Suna muttered. He retained it, the Pyreflame, not from the Pyredagger but thanks to its sheath that was tied by Suna’s hip beneath his Spirit Rabbit Cloak.

  [Pyre Sheath][Mystic]—Allows the user to have access to Pyreflame. Pyre Sheath shall recharge Pyredagger's own Pyreflame, different from the user's own Pyre storage.

  This was quite a huge weakness by the [Godknight]. Sure, it can create a powerful weapon in one move, but these weapons did not disappear, and it seemed he couldn’t recall them.

  Suna glanced at the huge Pyre Claymore held by one of the Tieflings as they ran across the snow-trodden ground, weaving between trees with Gale Step, enhancing their speed.

  He wondered what kind of destruction Pyre Claymore was capable of. He wanted to test it. Well, maybe later.

  For now, they burst into a small clearing following the [Godknight] back as the knight once again re-entered the forest ahead without a second thought.

  Suna glanced to his left, toward the grand wall that stretched between two gargantuan mountains where he had come from. Those walls were the cause of the Tieflings being stuck here.

  “Where is he going?” Suna called out to Amidela behind him as they kept running.

  “Rockfer! Don!” Amidela shouted to the other two Tieflings, “Was The First’s camp near here?”

  “No, they should have camped much farther west than here,” Rockfer—the one that carries the Pyre Claymore—shouted.

  “Unless they changed location, that is,” Don added.

  “I think, either Slea or Amidela was in a fight with him,” Suna said, still remembering the far exchange of blue and red flame that devastated part of the forest; he still could smell the burnt odor even from here.

  “Must be the human,” Amidela decided. “If it’s Floudea, then I think… he would only run after killing her.”

  Then could it be the [Godknight] able to find her? And currently running toward the Thiefmaster? Could he detect a strong foe somehow? Like when he was able to get James alone with him inside the throne room.

  “Fire ahead! Floudea spell!”

  Suna's head went up, and a bristling fireball melted the snow as it blasted apart trees toward him. He pivoted and cracked the tree beside him with his leg. Gale Step propelled Suna to his right, and he dodged the fireball which blazed apart the poor trees. He came to a stop; the snow below was charred.

  The Tiefling. Were they?

  “Everyone fine?” Amidela called out.

  “I’m alive,” Don said.

  “Come on, we need to hurry,” Rockfer said, blasting snow again to launch himself.

  That one was eager, driven by revenge. Suna didn't know whether that was a good thing or not. He was fully prepared to face the [Godknight] again with a slow, methodical approach. He hoped the two Tieflings who would be frontliners would engage and disengage rather than take a full frontal fight.

  They followed Rockfer, and more fireballs followed—two of which they had to dodge.

  He was near; Suna could sense the [Godknight] in the back of his mind. He glanced at Amidela, then said, “About John.”

  Amidela glanced back at him and shook her head. “I lost myself back then. Tell me all about what happened when we finished here.”

  “All right, I will.”

  Exchanges of steel clashed through the sky.

  They arrived.

  Far figures were fighting and Suna could make out repeated jabs of a spear into a sword causing the snow around the figure to be pushed apart by the sheer speed of the spear bearer. The Runebearer spear came alive as he let out what appeared to be ten instantaneous jabs into the [Godknight].

  Not receiving any rest, the [Godknight] faced another two Runebearers who were both as adept with spear. He parried with its one hand that held a thin rapier bristling with Pyreflame.

  All around them, bodies of Tieflings lay dead, with most burnt away to a crisp.

  Floudea was there, wearing her bulky mage dress and what appeared to be a Brimhat with the color of dark red. She pointed her wand at the [Godknight] and shot off a thin fireball to not burn the still fighting Tieflings.

  It was not just the three Runebearers, there must be a dozen Tieflings piled on the [Godknight] by now with their spears.

  But the [Godknight] with incredible speed parried any weak attack and punished them with a quick jab to the throat.

  It was terrifying yet beautiful at the same time.

  Then, it was just a fraction of a second. The [Godknight]'s body tensed a bit, and he glanced at Suna. A realization entered him.

  Pyreflame roared through the Knight’s rapier, which caused the Tiefling to stagger from the sheer heat. Floudea’s magic connected to the Knight, but his armor shrugged off the flames, and he brought his rapier in a circle with one hand above his head.

  Halo of bluish flame extended like a sudden lasso and enlarged to decapitate the three Runebearers along with what must be a dozen Tieflings.

  Suna saw how the flames formed and how the magic was about to extend.

  “Duck!” Suna screamed. He grasped Amidela's body and tackled her down.

  Don and Rockfer reacted in time and dodged the magic in time.

  Trees were cut apart. They collapsed, sending a hail of snow upward like some sudden soft blizzard.

  Suna immediately left Amidela and blasted the snow beneath him to rush forward.

  Floudea was crying; the Thiefmaster had dodged the Pyre Halo, but almost none of her Tieflings survived.

  Suna focused, not on where Jack, Slea, and Min were. Right now, he needed to stop the [Godknight] from charging toward the last Thiefmaster.

  Too far.

  So instead, he came to a stop, betting everything on Floudea’s reaction.

  Suna wove his index and middle finger, and an inky shadow trail formed into the Flint Shadow Bow. In one pull, Suna drew his enchanted Sootroot arrow.

  He screamed out, “Stop crying! Stand!”

  Amidela flinched, a jerk of reaction, and that was more than enough.

  The [Godknight] Pyre Rapier burst forth as he brought it up, wreathed in blue flame like a radiant force of nature.

  Suna released his arrow, and he watched their exchange with only hope.

  Around Floudea, flame shrouded her body, burning away her cloaks and mantling the Thiefmaster in layered armor of ember. Heat was woven so magnificently that white pure flame blossomed over the spot where the Pyreflame of the [Godknight] struck.

  The air turned into a hot mirage around them. Suna’s eyes widened as he watched his arrow turn invisible and was about to enter the Godknight. Suddenly, the heat melted apart the projectile, consuming it in bright flame.

  His arrow did not have any resistance to flames, and surely did not have much resistance or power behind it.

  Time was not to be stingy.

  Flame danced around the two white and blue flames, and Suna planned to disrupt it all.

  “Get ready to charge in!” Suna ordered the three Tieflings behind him.

  Heat was about to eat away at Suna’s skin. He had planned to release Shadow Arrow with his Flint Shadow, but this smoldering heat probably could burn it away.

  So instead, Suna switched his Spell Bow into his familiar Gale Bow and quickly drew Emberwind.

  He breathed out, and Emberwind's arrow came alive in his hand as he drew it. He applied Flint draw, causing a molten tail flared like an unruly flag behind the Emberwind. His own mirage of air was created around him, and Suna let the arrow blaze forward into the back of the [Godknight].