“Do you hear them? Toni’s introducing the Kobolds. Hey, I see Feral,” Momo looked over to her left and saw Servi’s chest gently rise and fall.  She looked so peaceful lying on the bed that she almost felt bad about disturbing her.

“You were amazing out there. I was a bit worried when you didn’t seem like yourself, but you were great. You beat Arty like it was nothing after having a little bit of trouble, but I think maybe you hit him too hard. I mean, his jaw looked bad, and you probably cracked a few of his ribs and broke his arm when you threw him against the glass. But knowing him, he was probably blaming you for Yerue’s death. Am I bad if I say Arty deserved it? Maybe… But speaking of that, you are strong. Really strong. I only wish I could be as strong as you.” 

For the next five minutes, Momo stayed silent as she watched the introductions. Once it was over, Feral walked back to Fisher and Dineria.  

“You know, it would be nice to be over there, talk to Feral and tell him he’s going to do super good. But if I did that, then you wouldn’t have anyone here. They’re my friends, but I only have one best friend. And that’s you. So please…” Momo teared up. “Please wake up. I’m afraid if you don’t, then you won’t ever wake up… It's the sleepinwillo, right? I know you're just asleep. I know that, but... ” 

With wet eyes and a warm hand, Momo watched as Toni announced who would fight who. Luckily for Feral and his fighter's spirit, he wouldn't have to wait long. With only 8 contenders, it shouldn’t take long for it to be done.

“You know, they probably did this so we could have the time to eat and drink to try to get some of our strength back.  Well, I'm not that tired, but Srassa might be.  I don't know how much Skill Energy she used, but it had to be a lot.  I think that's what Dineria meant when she said Instant Cast isn't unbeatable.  I think people who are blessed with it have a smaller Skill Energy Reservoir to balance it out. I guess it's both a good and a bad thing-- well, more good than bad, anyways,” Momo spoke loud enough so she wouldn't disturb anyone else. 

“Hey,” Momo gripped her best friend's hand a little bit tighter, “What do you want to snack on? I’ll pay for it, but you gotta wake up and tell me. Please?” tearing up one more time, Momo sat there with one hand on her grandpa’s sword, and the other was holding her best friend’s hand.  

With cold metal in one hand and warm skin in the other, the two feelings couldn’t have been further apart, but they represented the two halves of her life. One was of her childhood and the other of her adulthood. One was finished, never to be experienced again, and the other one was in danger.

Momo didn’t know which was which, and that scared her.  

“I wish you could see this. Feral’s about to fight, and he has his shield. His opponent is barehanded and smaller, so I think he can win this. No, I know he can win this.” 

Once in the area, Feral lifted his shield slammed it to the ground. The ground shook with what seemed to be a minor earthquake, even though it was impossible. His opponent, Gerkle, had a yellow tint to his tail but a completely green face and body.  His large hands were entirely covered in yellow scales. Most of his available skin covered his knees, and everything else was fur. He was almost like a giant werewolf, except much, much bigger.  

Of course, Feral was bigger and stronger. He had fewer scales and less fur because green skin covered most of his body, but as luck would have it, he had durable emerald scales covering his stomach, neck, and chest. Unlike a Koena, he couldn't move his organs around to protect them. A young Kobold would hope and pray to the Gods above for scales to cover their organs. It was their only protection since it would be expensive to make a suit of armor that would fit a Kobold and their ever-growing bodies.  They could use shields, sure, but it was rare to find one big and sturdy as the iron slab Feral used.

“Feral, wielder of such a shield…. I, Gerkle, will take you down!” stomping his feet, Gerkle rushed in with his arms outstretched.  

“Then do it. I shall not fall so easily!” Feral held his ground and bashed his shield against Gerkle, who was pushed back. He wiped his hand against his mouth and spat out a crimson mix of blood and teeth. He wasn’t deterred and ran in again. This time, making sure to wrestle his hands around the large shield.  

“My grandpa told me that Kobolds value strength. That’s why he’s trying to wrestle the shield away,” Momo said, telling her sleeping friend about what she was missing. “I honestly think Feral has the advanta—yep, I was right.” 

Feral had called upon all of his strength and turned around in a circle. He still had his shield, and Gerkle was trying to wrestle it away. He had neither the muscle in his hands nor the strength in his legs to stay put.  

Gerkle was pulled along, with his knees scraping the arena's floor and leaving behind two lines of blood. The sight of a pair of giant beasts engaging in such an act would be comical if not for the fact that the two belonged to a race that had a reputation for being bloodthirsty warriors.  

Feral hopped back and slammed his shield into the ground. Gerkle was along for the ride, cracking his jaw when his head fell downward. In a daze, he did his best to get to his feet, but Feral was already there.  With surprising swiftness, he spun around. Using his large, thick tail, he smacked his opponent.  Gerkle put his arms up to protect his face, but it was useless.  He was launched back half a meter and slid across the wooden floor of the arena.

“GUUUHHH!!!” Gerkle didn’t have the time to recover before his body shook with uncontrollable fear.  Glancing up, he saw Feral standing above him.  However, he wasn't empty-handed.  His large body and incredible muscles had lifted his shield. 

"Do it if you must! I won't ever give up!" shouted Gerkle, his voice filled with defiance and false bravado.

"Gerkle, I am the winner," Feral said before using his outrageous strength to chuck the thick raw slab of iron.  It landed on his opponent's hands while he scrambled to roll out of the way.

“AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!” screamed Gerkle, before passing out from the pain. The sheer agony of having eight fingers, sans his two thumbs, utterly crushed until they were flat, was a pain not many could understand. His bones in his hands were reduced to something less than dust, and blood poured like water being squeezed from a wet cloth. It was so bad that Toni had to call the match immediately. Feral lifted his shield, dripping with the blood of his foe, and walked out as a swarm of medics rushed into the ring.  

The audience was utterly silent.  Not a single person there had ever heard such a panicked, pained, and agonizing scream from a Kobold before. It was a cry of despair that wouldn't be forgotten anytime soon.

At the same time, three of the six medics began to use Remedium Lux, two of them poured a whole potion each over the crushed hands, and the last pulled out a small syringe filled with purple liquid and injected half into the wrists of each hand. It was a painkiller, and it was going to be necessary. Once he was awake, Gerkle would feel the most pain he had ever felt before as his body worked in tandem with Remedium Lux to repair his hands.  The bones, muscles, and skin regenerating would be a feeling he would never forget.

“Listen up, folks! Got some info from our top-of-the-line medics. Gerkle will be fine, and his hands will be as good as new by the end of the day. Our top men and women are doing all they can! Boy, our healers’ healing skills are something else, aren’t they? Since we have a lull in the action right now, can we give a big hand of applause for our medics?!! And let this be a warning to all you parents with small children! These matches are most likely going to be much bloodier than the ones before!” shouted Toni.  

The bleachers almost shook from the sheer amount of clapping and cheering for the healers. During that time, Claire and Jony, who had introduced himself to Marissa and her daughters, had a rough time trying to calm down the two girls. 

Eventually, Mari and Meri would understand that Feral only did it because if he had held back, he’d be insulting his pride, his opponent’s pride, and the pride of every Kobold warrior. But it took a lot of convincing and a little bit of crying for them to get that far.

“It kinda seems brutal, but recovery skills can heal almost everything. Well, the Rank 1 healing skill can fix almost everything. Remedium Lux can heal broken bones and bring back fingers and ears, I think, but it has to be used at the same time by a lot of people.  I think there's a Rank 0 skill that can cure any disease and heal any wound,” said Momo, as she watched an employee with a mop and bucket stop Feral. She wanted to clean his shield so it wouldn’t drip blood anymore. “I mean, I feel like I should be disgusted by such brutality, but I’m not. I know that, as a Warden member, I’m sure to encounter things even….. uglier? I think that’s the word I'm looking for.  I wonder what you think of it? You know, if you wake up and tell me, I’ll know.”  

Momo’s attempt at getting her friend to wake up didn’t go as planned, nor did it go unnoticed. A passing employee, the one who wiped the vomit off of Servi’s armor, walked over holding a damp rag.  

“How is she?” asked the medic.  

“I don’t know. Servi's just sleeping.” 

The medic used one hand to part Servi’s silky black hair and laid the rag on her forehead. Momo didn’t know if she was imagining it, but her best friend looked to be a bit more relaxed.  

“Thank you.” 

“You’re very welcome. If it’s any consideration, I hope your friend wakes up too. Seeing you and her reminds me of my friend. He’s a Singi, too, and I care about him.” 

“Thank you….” was all that Momo could say. Tears filled her eyes as the medic walked away.  

Toni’s voice came back a moment later. “Alright, folks! It uhhh…might be a while until the next match. As you can see, we have a little bit of cleaning to do. But hey! This is a good time to go grab something to eat if you're hungry. Might wanna make sure you have a strong stomach, though, because these fights are going to be intense!” 

During that time, Dineria, Fisher, Srassa, and the others all came to check on Servi.  They all wished she would wake up soon, and Srassa asked if she could get them anything.  

“I’m not hungry, but she might be. I wished she would wake up and tell me what she wants.”  

Please, wake up and tell me…. We can even go to that place with the dango and the noodles. You like noodles, right? 

"Momo, sweetie, you need to eat something. You’ve fought incredibly hard, and you’re probably running on fumes,” Dineria said, “I’m sure she wouldn’t mind, and she would probably prefer it if you went and ate something. You need your energy for the finals, especially if you’re going to face her.” 

That’s right. I need to be my best. We are going to face off against each other, right? I know we will! 

Momo smiled and nodded before turning to her friend, who wouldn’t wake up. “I’ll be right back, okay?” she walked with Dineria, Fisher, and the others to the stalls, where they bought lunch. It was around 4 PM, meaning it was a bit late for lunch.  Her stomach growled, alerting her to the hunger that suddenly showed up.  With renewed haste, she retrieved some dupla from her bag that Dineria protected and jogged over to a small chicken stand. 

“Can I get four chicken sticks and two cups of water?” asked the Singi.  The Dwarf behind the stall nodded as he dipped four sticks into a pot of hot oil. As he did so, Momo looked around and noticed that Feral was getting a whole turkey. Srassa bought a small bowl of rice and pork, and Silverado and the others chose to stop by a stall that sold steak bites. Momo saw Fisher talking with his wife and daughters. No doubt they were worried about Servi. Dineria, meanwhile, ordered a bowl of fresh cherries to sink her teeth into. Momo couldn’t see Claire or Jony anywhere.  

After devouring his tasty bird in two or three bites, Feral walked over to Fisher. After seeing his fight, Mari and Meri were scared. They hid behind Marissa, who apologized for her daughters' rudeness.  

“It is my fault. I’m sorry,” Feral apologized after Marissa did, and Mari and Meri bravely peeked their heads out from behind their mother.  

“I’ll try not to be scary. Can we still be friends?” asked the big man as he sat down. He had left his shield at the tent where he was sitting. There was no way it would be lifted by someone who wasn’t a Kobold or Servi, so he knew it wouldn’t get stolen.  

Extending a massive hand, he grinned, showing off his sharp teeth. Meri and Mari looked at each other and smiled before reaching and out, taking the outstretched, green palm. Their little hands couldn't even wrap around his pinky finger. Momo couldn't help but smile.

"Mama told me that you had to do that because you respected him.  She said that we shouldn't be scared. A-a-a-and we aren't, right?" Mari asked her sister.  Meri simply nodded.

Feral's such a sweetheart. He's so good with little kids that it almost makes more sense for him to be a teacher or something.

Five minutes later, Momo was back in her chair with four chicken sticks and two cups of water. After laying a napkin down on a small desk, Momo put the two sticks and one of the cups of water she bought for Servi on it.  Satisfied with how it was laid out, she sat down right beside her sleeping friend. 

“It feels weird eating while you’re like that. You know, if you wake up, we can eat together.” The Singi opened her mouth and bit off some of her meat. It was hot, juicy, and full of seasonings. There was even a little bit of pepper in it, but Momo powered through the pain scorching her tongue.  

My burning tongue is probably nothing compared to what Servi is going through. I don’t know why you won’t wake up, but it has to be painful. It has to be because you've would've woken up and told me to be quiet.  I've been rambling on and on and on and on... I promise I’ll do everything I can to help you, but you have to wake up. Please? 

Momo shed a lonely tear as she finished her meal and emptied her cup. Taking the two to a trashcan, she was back in no time at all.  

“Now then. I believe what Claire told me about souls speaking while holding hands. That’s why I won’t let go if I can help it. I thought that--”

The Elf in question took the opportunity to make herself known by walking into the tent.

“How is she?” she asked, taking a seat on the other side of the bed.  

“They say she’s just sleeping, but she won’t wake up. It’s just like that time…” 

“She’ll be fine. I’m sure she’ll be up soon.” 

Momo silently nodded. She wanted to talk to Claire some more. But that loud mouth Toni had to speak with his obnoxious voice and said the Kobold Tournament was about to resume. 

“Momo, I have to go back to my seat, but I want you to tell her something for me when she wakes up. Tell her I’m very proud of her. She’s a strong girl.  And there's one more thing.  It's something I think you really need,” Claire stood up, her red hair dancing around her neck.  Without saying a word, she walked around the bed and hugged Momo.

Momo sniffled and nodded silently.  With one hand grasping Servi's hand, Momo hugged Claire, pressing her head against her stomach. Claire continued to say nothing, only rubbing the pink hair of one of her favorite Warden members in complete silence. Eventually, she had to let go and walk away, but before the Elf got too far away, she turned around and said something that Momo realized she desperately wanted to hear.  

“And I’m also proud of you. I’ve never seen a Rank 10 fight like you have. I’m proud to have been the employee who signed you two up,” Claire added. She smiled at the girl who fought back her tears, then went back to her seat.

“She says she’s proud of us. That’s good, right? I guess you’re just resting up for the finals. That’s what you’re doing, right? Since that’s the case, rest up all you want.  if you can't see what's happening, then I'll tell you all about it."

Taking a deep breath, Momo began to tell Servi all about the ongoing Kobold tournament. All the while, she never, ever, ever let go of her best friend's hand.  The thought of doing so never crossed her mind for a single second.