“Why are you here?” Sam asked Marty as he entered the ger. After the apparent assassination attempt, he had spent quite a bit of time with Khaqan Ganbaatar, who insisted that he go under his protection. Reluctantly, he conceded as Marty wanted to use himself as bait to lure them out.

“Sam! A slave shouldn’t speak to master with that tone.” Sarnai reprimanded with an even sharper one.

“I’m sorry. Since when do I have to report where I’m going to you?” Marty replied with a slightly annoyed tone.  

Sam’s face showed slight fright after the chastisement.  

Marty felt slightly guilty, so he scratched his forehead and sighed before he continued. “I came here looking for you.”

Her fear turned to surprise, though not much as she probably had guessed that was the reason. “How did you get here?”

“Sarnai, would you mind giving us privacy?” Marty asked.

“Of course,” Sarnai replied as she exited.

“There is no simple way of explaining it, Sam. I don’t think I would understand it if I was not capable of doing it. While we are at it, I also have two conditions to my rescuing you. The first is that you tell no one that I saved you or how I did so. The second is, even though I think you are already, for you to stay away from Freed.”

A look of surprise appeared on her face as her mouth wordlessly opened and closed. After a couple of seconds, she nodded her head obediently. Just after she did, her eyes went wide as she saw what appeared next to Marty.  

As if a gust of wind came from nowhere, black dust entered the ger. Marty knew it was Cali, but Sam had no idea. Cali, who for some reason felt slightly mischievous, did not take her normal form. Instead, she took the form of a silhouette. It was eerily ghostlike as she appeared in the form of a young girl made up of the black dust. She whispered into Marty’s ear, and he couldn’t help but smile.  

“Really?” Marty said the information. “I suspected it was him, but it seemed far too obvious. I’d pat your head, but…” Marty continued with a grin.

At his statement, Cali immediately turned back to her normal little girl form.

“That feels good,” She said as she sat between his legs and he patted her head.

Sam was shocked but kept her mouth shut as she recognized Cali from the mall.

“At any rate, Sam, we are going to be staying here for the next couple days until the Kurultai is done. I have a couple more things to see through, and then I’ll take you home.”

“Why can’t you take me home now?” She asked, concerned.

“As I said, I have something to take care of. Because you are foreign, the majority of people here are aware of you. If you suddenly disappeared, it might put suspicion on me. I’m just avoiding any possible hindrances to what I will be doing.”

“I see. I guess that I don’t have a choice. Wait a minute; something doesn’t make sense. Sarnai said you showed up three days ago, but from what everyone’s told me, I’ve only been here for two days. If you came here looking for me, how did you get here before me?”

“I did that,” Cali replied.

“As I said, the method of travel is not something I can easily explain to someone. When I traveled here, I wanted to see if I could alter the location using time as a variable. Because Cali has more inherent knowledge, I left it to her as I still don’t completely understand it yet. Given that we couldn’t get an exact location of where you ended up, I figured we might as well try to come earlier than you to scout. Unfortunately, I couldn’t tell just how far before we had arrived then you and I had about 100 km radius to search. As luck would have it, you ended up here.”

“I see,” Sam replied with her hand on her head, and her brain had started to overload as she came to grips with reality.

“Cali, can you go keep an eye on… them?”

“I guess,” Cali said with a slightly pouty face as she looked up at him cutely.

“I’ll give you exclusive lap-sitting privileges for a whole day when we get back if you do,” Marty tempted.

Her pout quickly turned into a smile before it disappeared to her usual expressionless face. “Okay.” She replied as she jumped up, slowly descended, and disappeared into black dust before she touched the ground, and then exited out the tent.

“What exactly is she?” Sam asked after Cali had left.

“A spirit. She is a soul attached to mass with the magic of her world.” Marty replied as he got up to look for Sarnai, who he waved to. “Don’t tell Sarnai any of this,” Marty told Sam as Sarnai approached.

“Do you require anything?” Sarnai asked as she entered the ger.

“No, we no longer need privacy. I was expecting you to have gone to see Abaka.” Marty replied with a chuckle. 

Sarnai began to wear a slightly agitated expression, and her cheeks reddened somewhat. “Why would I want to go see that idiot?” She replied defiantly.

“To congratulate him.”

“Why would I do that? I didn’t want him to participate in the first place.”

“Why not?”

“Because… Losing wouldn’t gain father’s approval, and he’s no good to anyone dead.”

“He won,” Marty replied bluntly.

“I know that… I know that, but he’s no good in a fight!”

“Can you say that after what you saw?”

“… Did… Did you do something?” She asked him accusatorily.

“What do you mean?” He asked, unable to hide the grin on his face.

“Abaka he… He’s not good in a fight because he’s afraid of getting hurt.”

“Yes, I figured that out quickly. Which is why I hurt him... a lot.”

“What did you do?” Sarnai asked as the blood seemed to drain from her face.

“As I said, I hurt him and hurt him again. I’ve never seen anyone who is so afraid of something without it being because of trauma. From personal experience, the best way to overcome one fear is to drown it out with another fear. Something you value more than your own life.” He paused as he looked at Sarnai whose face was pale, but remained quiet before he continued. “So I falsely told him as he laid cowardly from me that I was going to tie him up and make him watch as I raped you. It was kind of desperate on my part because if he couldn’t overcome his fear of pain with that, he could’ve been broken for life. However, it turned out to be unwarranted. He looked at me with a dumbfounded expression for less than a second before he attacked me in a blind rage. I wasn’t expecting to feel so much killing intent from him.”

“What… What happened after?” Sarnai asked as she sat down from shock.

“I managed to subdue him though it took a couple of seconds longer than I anticipated. I told him I’d hurt him even more if he tried to break free, but he said he didn’t care. I could see in his eyes all the fear was blown away, and, at the same time, I could see a strength that was hidden behind it. Then I told him why. Even though he had never experienced it before, he instinctively knew that the fear of you getting hurt or the fear of him losing you was far more than any amount of physical pain that could ever happen to him. That there is no worse pain than watching the person you love being taken in front of your very eyes.” Marty finished with a solemn expression.

Sarnai, who had regained some of the colors on her face, looked up at him with eyes that expressed pity as he came to realize he had said too much.

“Marco, could it be that-”

“After that, I spent the last few days giving training from hell so he would lose that feeling,” Marty replied. “The results you saw today.”

“Why would you do this?” She asked him with soft eyes.

“As you say, it’s just one of my whims,” He replied with a smile.

“How did you?” She asked with a confused face as she had never said it in his presence.

“Let’s just say I have an extra pair of ears,” He responded with a chuckle. “I guess I’m a sucker for a good romance story. I asked a favor of Khaqan Ganbaatar to not match us together until the finals assuming both of us make it all the way there. We will give a bit of a show, but if that occurs, I fully intend to lose.”

“Is that okay?”

“I should ask you that. Is it okay that you have to share him with Shalgana?”

“Why wouldn’t it be?” She asked him bluntly. “She’s my friend, the daughter of a Khaqan, and I’d be… Married to Abaka.” She replied as her cheeks flushed in embarrassment at her statement.

“That’s only if everything goes as planned. It won’t happen if he loses.”

“Well, are you okay with losing?”

“Yes, why wouldn’t I be?” He asked her back.

“Even if you truly have no desire for the social position, Shalgana is a great woman who would only do right by you.”

“If, and I do mean if, that were the case, then I would be taking your best friend from you. How would you feel about that?”

“I would be happy if she ended up with someone as kind and caring of others as you are,” She replied immediately with a smile.

“I see,” Marty replied, unsure of what else to say. “At any rate, it would only be a last resort anyway. Hopefully, Abaka does well enough in the fights to justify giving you to him.”

Sarnai remained silent from embarrassment, and everyone else was silent for several seconds until Sam began to speak. “Um, this may not be the best time to ask, but can I take a bath?” She asked before she shrunk back into herself when she saw the strange expression from Sarnai.

“Sam, there is no bathing here,” Marty replied

“What do you mean?” She asked with a confused look on her face.

“They believe that washing their filth off will anger the water dragons responsible for the water cycle resulting in a drought.”

“What?” Sam said with a confused look on her face. “Them using any reason not to bathe is one thing, but things like dragons don’t-”

“Sam,” Marty interrupted loudly. “Things are different than from where we are from. It’s their own culture, and we have no right to judge it compared to our own. So long as their customs do not conflict with our morals, like not bathing, then we should be courteous to our surroundings. They don’t bathe because they revere the dragons as gods. Would you wash in a god? As to dragons existing, you can assume that what you know of logic, much less common sense, isn’t the same here. Like a certain young lady who can turn to dust. I can say for certain the dragons do exist. One showed itself as it was wary of me when I approached the river.”

“You saw one of the dragons?” Sarnai asked with a look of disbelief.

“Yes, while training with Abaka near the river a little ways from here. He took it as a sign to train even more rigorously than before.”

“What kind of world is this?” Sam silently asked herself.

“This part of this world seems to be loosely based on the Mongolian Empire. I’ve seen some comparisons to the City-States of Greece and the Native Americans, but it is most likely an alternative history of the Mongols.” Marty replied by reflex. After he had seen the confused expression on both Sam and Sarnai’s face, he decided to take his leave. “It’s about time I meet up with Abaka to check how he’s doing and maybe throw in an hour or two of training before the fights tonight,” He continued as he got up and made his way toward the exit.

“Wait a second.” Sarnai began as she stood up and made her way toward him. “Why are you going so far for us?”

Marty looked at her and quickly glanced at Sam before he glanced back. “We haven’t known each other for long, but I have a hard time abandoning someone in need, especially when they are good people,” He replied just before he walked out of the ger to find Abaka.  

Naturally, that wasn’t the whole truth. He had done a bit of snooping and found that Ganzorig, the expected winner and the grandson of the elderly Khan who vehemently objected to Marty’s participation, had a horrible reputation, especially towards women. Thanks to Cali’s reconnaissance, Marty knew for sure he and his grandfather were the one behind the attack, so it was also personal. He also projected himself and Freyja in Abaka and Sarnai, and he didn’t want to see another bad romantic ending. His plan was for Abaka to win the competition which would keep Shalgana out of Ganzorig’s hands and give him justification for entrusting Sarnai to him. 

...

Four fights would typically not be enough to eliminate all the combatants. There were two reasons for this. The first was due to the prestige the matches garnered. Every Fighter would represent a Clan so only a very few of their strongest would participate. The second reason was to take into account mutual defeat, disqualification, or withdrawal from injury. Surprisingly, it appeared as though there would barely be enough competitors left for the matches that followed.  

This time, Marty fought before Abaka. His opponent was wary of him. It was especially easy to win as he struck the Ki Point in his chest with Gentle Fist. Given that the average amount of Ki of the other combatants was Rank 4 to 5, they had more Ki than the average human in Camelot by far. However, they had not realized its existence, or how to utilize it wasn’t common knowledge. Even with that amount of Ki, it wasn’t possible to see Ki unless one focused it into one’s eyes. As a result, it would be doubtful to even know about Ki, much less its properties, below Rank 8 as that was when Ki automatically entered them. 

Abaka had only three days of training. He had progressed incredibly quickly and was an absolute natural with his Ki. Thanks to Marty’s deep understanding and Abaka’s talent, he had improved faster than Marty and already gained primary control of it. In his fight, he caught his stronger opponent off guard when he pushed him back as their scimitars clashed. Abaka’s Ki infused blade naturally strengthened the strike which surprised his opponent and created an opening for victory.  

It was the match after when many began to take note of a participant. His height was a few inches taller than the average man and more muscular. Marty took note of him, not for those things, but because he was especially ruthless. He would purposefully make nonlethal attacks to draw out the fight. From his expression, it seemed as though he enjoyed causing pain.

Marty frowned as Ganzorig defeated his opponent and even provocatively glanced at him. As Ganzorig walked away, Martey decided to visit his grandfather, Ariunbold, to thank him for his hospitality.

...

The makeshift town was illuminated only by sporadic campfires as the sunset a couple of hours ago, and the majority of the people were currently preparing for sleep if not asleep already. There were many shadows for Marty to take advantage of. Given his dark clothes and Cali, who destroyed some of the light in dust form, Marty quickly made his way through without being seen or heard by the few people who were still up. He approached the side of the ger that belonged to Ariunbold, where he heard hushed whispers.

“So what do you propose we do?”

“There is not much we can do. If he so easily repelled that kind of attack, it limits our options.”

“What about assassination tonight or use poison?”

“Too risky. The more people we send in for the assassination, the more likely they will be noticed Sending only a few men against him would not be wise. On the off chance he fails, he would most likely be captured and expose us. As to poisoning, there’s too much risk of having multiple victims. Sarnai is in service to Marco, and she is the daughter of Ganbaatar’s most trusted friend and general while also being Shalama’s friend. If she were to become an accidental victim as well, that would result in all the other tribes warring against us. Even if it wasn’t discovered to be us, we may take the fall as I have already stated my objection and would be the most likely suspect.”

“You would have us do nothing?”

“For now, go to sleep. Let me know if you have any more ideas in the morning than let me know. In the meantime, we have to have faith, my grandson.”

“Very well,” the voice said before its owner left the ger.   

After Marty waited a few minutes, he entered the ger. No one saw his entrance, nor did anyone see a cloud of black dust that surrounded it.

“You’ve been up to no good, old man,” Marty said as he leaned against the back of the ger with his eyes closed. Even though Marty did not have any vision of him with his eyes, he had more than one way to see him.

As soon as he spoke, Ariunbold immediately got up from the fire and took a stance toward him at an incredible speed. “Who is? You? What are-” He began before he froze as Marty revealed his eyes. Their red glow, accentuated by fire, was stronger in the low light.

“Even in your old age, you are still a Kahn,” Marty said with a chuckle.

“You, what are you?”

“What do you think I am?” Marty asked as he extended his hand. As he did so, the fire intensified, and part of the flame flew up and coiled around his arm. It revealed his arm covered in red scales and what could only be described as claws extended from his fingers. He controlled the flame to the tip of his claw before he put it in his mouth to eat. Marty had recently learned that he could eat fire as he instinctively put it into his third lung once it entered his mouth.  

“You couldn’t be. A Dragon?”

“Very good,” Marty replied with a smile as he watched the color drain from Ariunbold’s face. Given that they revered dragons greatly, it was an effective intimidation method.

“What… What do you want?” He hoarsely asked.

“Quick and to the point, I like that. I’m currently enjoying myself quite a bit, and that little assassination attempt was slightly annoying. Such methods are offensive to me, and I just thought that you should know if I even catch wind of a similar occurrence again… Well, let’s say that there will be a legend about how your bloodline disappeared in one night.” Marty replied with a wicked smile.

“I… I understand. My clan shall do nothing to anger you further.” He said with a slight bow.

“Do not misunderstand. If it is a fight in the Kurultai, I will hold no grudge. Just no more underhanded tactics, otherwise...” Marty paused as Cali in dust form glided over to him and coalesced a dust-like scimitar at his neck which caused him to freeze.

“Of course,” He replied with his eyes widened in terror at this incomprehensible encounter.

“Very good,” Marty continued as he made his way to the exit of the ger. “Oh, by the way, I have ears everywhere, so I better not hear a word about my identity spoken to anyone.” 

As Marty left, he heard Ariunbold collapse to the floor. “Cali, would you mind keeping an eye on him just in case?”

“Okay,” She replied without much fuss.

“Thank you,” He said with a smile as he made his way back to the area of Ganbaatar’s Clan. He slowly made his way through the outskirts of the gers as he was in no rush and needed little sleep. As he took in the fresh air under the light of the moon, he heard an unusual sound. A sound reminiscent of rain emanated a short way away from the gers. As he got closer, he realized it was the sound of beads as they clinked together. He moved closer and saw who caused the noise. There, as she danced under the moonlight with a scimitar in each hand, was Shalgana.

 

Shalgana had taken significant distance from the camp so that she would not be heard as she drew the scimitars at her side. She did this in secret nightly for many would protest to it as women were not encouraged to fight, but she couldn’t help it. She focused her breath concentrated on her heartbeat before she went into the various movements of her fighting style. The practice was similar to a dance. She often practiced and tried to improve it every time to focus on her balance, the utilization of her strength, and feeling of her body. Her eyes were closed to enhance her concentration before her routine came to an end.

“Exquisite.” A male voice said to her side.

Out of surprise, she instinctively brought her sword toward the voice. There, a few inches away from her scimitar, was Marco illuminated by the moonlight.

“You did not even flinch,” She said as she kept the scimitar pointed at him.

“I did not need to. You so excellently judged the distance based on my voice alone.”

“I see you are showing your face.” She continued as she sheathed her scimitars.

“There is no point to me hiding my face anymore. The person who I do not wish to see my face has already done so. Tell me, what is it you are doing out here at this time of night?”

“Practicing my fighting,” She answered calmly, curious to how he would respond.

“I was under the impression that women in your society are more focused on strategy and logistics in aspects of warfare instead of actual fighting. I would say that fighting for women is discouraged.”

“It is,” Shalgana replied with a slight hint of displeasure which Marty caught.

“You are unhappy with that?”

“I am. Why must men be the only ones who can fight? Am I not allowed to grow stronger so I can defend myself? Why can’t I be strong just because I’m a woman? Well, do you think me foolish? Do you think me naïve?” She asked him provokingly.

“Not at all. Some of the strongest people I know are women.”

“Oh? Do women fight from where you are from?”

“They do. Though fighting isn’t as prevalent in general, the majority are still male, but women are not discriminated against as much. At least not because of the differences of strength.”

“That sounds interesting.” 

“Since I have your attention, I was wondering if you would answer some questions for me?”

“I do not mind if you do the same. Sarnai has told me some interesting things about you.” She replied with a small smile.

“I see…” He replied with an expression that showed he was not too happy about that. “Firstly, is the answer you gave me for the question I asked when I first appeared the whole truth?”

“It is,” She replied after a momentary pause as she had not expected that question. “Why do you ask?”

“Shalgana, what do you want to do with your life?”

“What do you mean?”

“What do you want to do in the future?”

“I… I will marry the Jinong and have his children and do my part and take care of his family and affairs.”

“You misunderstood my question. I am not asking you what will happen; I asked you what you want.”

“What I want. I want… I want to spend my time learning. I want to learn how to fight, become stronger, and… and I want a husband who… Who respects me and forgives me for these foolish wishes of mine.” She replied as she turned a bit embarrassed with the realization that she had made a soft expression that she did not typically show. Further embarrassed, she looked back to Marty, who also had a slightly soft smile.

“I’m glad that you have some desires of your own. I’m satisfied with that response. Is there anything you wish to ask of me?”

“Would you spar with me?” She asked him almost reflexively though she immediately thought she should not have done so. It was a bit presumptuous for women to ask a man to spar. She grew worried when she saw the look of surprise on his face, but she relaxed as he did before it became a small smile.

“That’s fine, but the scimitars remain sheathed to limit noise and damage.”

“Very well.” She replied as a feeling of happiness and excitement took her. Though she practiced all the time, she was unable to find an opponent. The two of them removed their scimitars, secured the blade in the scabbard, and took their stances under the bright moon.

“Whenever you are ready,” He replied with a serious smile.  

She couldn’t help but smile. “Here I come,” She said as she charged toward him.

...

Shalgana did not know how long they had sparred for, but it was quite a while. Marty went easy on her, but she did not mind because she knew he was superior. However, she could tell he also had taken it seriously. He even went out of his way to ensure that she would not get hurt, and he even gave her some pointers to help fix the minor flaws in her technique. It was tiring; it was exhilarating; it was fun.  

[When was the last time I had fun? Not since I was a child.] She thought as they neared the end. Soon after, his scimitar tapped the side of her body, which marked her 54th lost… out of 54.

“Thank you for sparring with me,” Shalgana said with a slight bow.

“It was an unexpected pleasure, Shalgana,” Marty replied as he returned it.  

There was no arrogance in his voice nor pride. Instead, all she saw was an honest smile. [What a strange man] She couldn’t help but think.

“It is getting quite late. If there is nothing else you wish me, we should go get some rest.” He said as he re-attached his scimitars to his waist.

“I have another question. Why are you helping Abaka and Sarnai?” She asked him with some slight apprehension.

“She told you about that, too, did she? Well, so long as you don’t tell Abaka, it’s fine. It was nice seeing something as innocent as the love those two have. Causing happiness also creates it.” He replied with a smile as his eyes began to wander toward the moon.

“What a strange way of thinking.” She couldn’t help but say. “Is it… Is it true that you have no intention of winning the Kurultai?”

“I mean no offense to you or your ways. It is true,” he said with a nod.

“I see,” She said as she felt a small twinge in her chest.

“Is there anything else?”

“No.”

“I see. I will see you at the fights tomorrow. Thank you for a pleasant memory.” He said with a slight smile.

“Likewise,” She replied with the bow as they both went their separate ways.

As she walked back, her mind went over the events not recently occurred. [What a strange man.] She thought as she retired and lay down to sleep. However, sleep did not come to her quickly. As she lay there, she wondered what she felt. Then, she remembered what he had said; That he had no intention to win the Kurultai. [This feeling… is it… disappointment?]

Those thoughts crossed her mind, and she wondered for quite some time until sleep finally took her.

End of Day -125

 

In the next morning, Marty slowly made his way through the tribe to meet Abaka. He found him with little effort as he was with Khaqan Ganbaatar outside of Ganbaatar’s ger. Ganbaatar appeared to have stopped him to talk. Based on their body language, Ganbaatar seemed to praise him, and Abaka seemed to be embarrassed by it.  

Around this time nearby, Shalgana began to stir drowsily. She slowly began to look around and noticed that there was slightly more light than usual. She surmised she had slept in a little bit after the exertion of the previous night. The crackle of fire told her one of the servants must have been in early to start it.  

Because she knew there would be fewer fights than yesterday, and that they would begin later, she closed her eyes and rested some more. Even though she was only half awake, she could hear a *snap* and *crack*. She opened her eyes just quick enough to see the ceiling as it fell on her. Immense pain wracked her body with a tremendous impact on her legs and chest. The air was forced out of her lungs so she was unable to call for help as she gasped for air, but found she could barely breathe.  

Marty, who was nearby, also heard the *snap* and *crack*. He looked over toward the source of the sound just in time to see the roof of the ger collapse. He froze in surprise but immediately took action from what he heard Ganbaatar say next in a daze. 

“Shalgana.” 

Marty immediately draconified and focused his Ki to his legs as he took care to hide his changed features. In a burst of speed, he shot toward the collapsed ger.  

Shalgana had begun to feel dizzy from the pain, and her vision started to get blurry as her body was pinned under the roof. She began to panic as another *crack* occurred and she saw the remaining roof start to fall toward her. With closed eyes, she braced herself as there was nothing else she could do. However, the pain never occurred. She opened her eyes and hazily saw Marco, who stood above her as she felt herself begin to lose consciousness. The thought she had hallucinated briefly entered her mind as she saw Marco’s eyes were bright red and did not look human. He had a strange red glow around him as he held the roof before he shoved it to the side. Shalgana watched as the flames from the fire, and the lit ceiling suddenly shot towards his now outstretched hand which Shalgana thought was covered in red scales before he appeared to eat it.

Marty, who was relieved that she was still alive, took the roof that pinned her down, and very slowly lifted it off her. He carefully picked her up just as her consciousness passed. He turned around to see Ganbaatar and Abaka, who just arrived at her door.

“Ganbaatar, I need an empty ger, now,” Marty said with a serious expression and tone.

“That one is empty,” Ganbaatar said as he pointed to a nearby ger.  

Marty sent Cali, who was in her dust form into the ger. As he made his way to it, he noticed that there were many onlookers. “Sarnai get over here!” He shouted as he saw her among them. She very quickly made her way toward them as they approached the ger. Everyone momentarily froze when they saw Cali open the flap to the ger.

“She’s with me,” Marty said with a maintained stride as he entered followed soon after by the rest.

“How is she, Marco?” Ganbaatar asked after she was set down.

“I’m going to check on that now,” Marty replied. He began to concentrate and pour his Ki into her body to create an image of it in his mind. “Her ribs did most of their job, so she appears not to be bleeding internally, but one of her ribs broke, and it pierced her lung. Her left leg is also fractured. Ganbaatar, hold down her legs. You two, take an arm each.”

“What are you going to do?” Ganbaatar asked, quite worried for his daughter.

“I’m going to heal her. Do it quickly.” Marty replied as he lifted her clothes which exposed most of her body, but not any critical places. “Cali, cut here,” He told her as he drew a line on Shalgana’s body with his finger.

“Okay,” She replied as she turned her hand into a knife. All three of them have a look of shock on their face from either Cali’s hand turning into a knife or because Marty told Cali to cut Shalgana. Before they could react, Cali quickly and skillfully cut Shalgana open as Marty used Destruction Magic to destroy anything harmful on his hands. After she had finished, he began to separate the cut and couldn’t help but overlap the wound to that dreadful night, which caused him to make a slightly pained expression. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Shalgana weakly blink.

Shalgana was still drowsy and felt pain. She tried to move, but couldn’t. Just before she slipped back into unconsciousness, she saw Marco and one final thought crossed her mind. [Why… Why do you look so panicked, Marco?]

“Make sure she doesn’t move,” Marty said as they all tightened their grip. He used his Reinforcer Ki to grab the broken rib and proceed to move and place it where it broke off. Then he fused it back together with Healing Magic. To treat her collapsed lung, he put his Ki into it and gradually expanded it until it was roughly half-inflated. “Cali, heal her lung and then close the wound,” Marty instructed her, and she did so brilliantly as he watched Shalgana’s lung mend. Marty took a quick second to confirm that there were no other significant injuries, then proceeded to heal up the cut. It was a perfect heal as there was no scar blemish on her skin.

“You can let go of her now, she should be fine with some rest,” Marty said which caused the others to lessen their grip. He moved over to Shalgana’s fractured leg and healed that too.

“What… What did I witness?” Ganbaatar asked with a surprised look as he began to breathe easy again.

“There’s no easy way to explain it; just call it magic.”

“You can use magic?” He asked with a look of disbelief.

“More or less.”

“Abaka, why aren’t you surprised?” Sarnai asked him.

“Well, he told me not to tell anyone, but when we were training, I thought I would die from blood loss at one point. He healed me and gave me the same explanation. What I’m more interested in is her.” He said as he pointed to Cali.

“Cali,” She said with a small smile, but her face remained mostly emotionless.

“She isn’t human, and I can’t think of a good way to describe what she is. I’d appreciate it if you could keep it a secret.”

“I’m not too sure what to say. Seeing as you want to keep it secret, I promise you I will do so. You saved my precious Shalgana after all.” Ganbaatar said with a sigh.

“I’d appreciate if you two don’t say anything as well,” Marty said to the other two who nodded in affirmation.

“Marco, thank you so much. If she weren’t already promised for the Jinong, then I’d give her to you. I guess you have to win.” He said with a smile as the color began to return to his face. “At any rate, I’ll postpone the next round for an hour so you can rest after this. I’ll fetch one of my servants to watch over her.”

“Would you mind if Cali and Sarnai also watched over her in case something were to happen?”

“By all means, thank you,” He said as he walks out being followed soon after by Marty and Abaka. Without another word, Marty made his way over to Shalgana’s ger, which prompted Abaka to follow him. He inspected the ruined ger for about a minute before Ganbaatar appeared.

“Was it sabotaged?” He asked with a concerned look. “If anyone dared hurt my daughter I…”

“I would be surprised if it were sabotaged,” Marty said as he continued to look over the ger. “The wall band is frayed in a way which suggests it snapped naturally. That caused part of the roof to collapse, specifically this part.” He continued as he picked up one of the wooden roof parts. “As you can see, there is a little bit of rot which hastened the collapse. Given this evidence and the time of day that this happened, the chance of this being sabotaged is negligible.”

“I suppose so,” Ganbaatar replied with a sigh of relief. “Shalgana is alright, and that’s all that matters most. If you’ll excuse me, I’m sure the news of this has already spread to all the families. I’m going to need to tell everyone that she’s okay and that the Kurultai can continue.”

“Why are there so few roof supports? If there were more, this wouldn’t have happened.”

“You mean like northern gers? Those have more significantly roof supports because they have to bear the weight of the occasional snow. They are also more permanent where ours are lighter for travel.”

“If you increase the number of supports by 50%, it shouldn’t collapse as easily.”

“I will keep that in mind.” 

“Very good. I’ll see you during the matches.” Marty replied with a nod before he went to his ger to rest until the match. He touched his forehead gently as he realized that he was more mentally exhausted from healing Shalgana than he initially thought.