It was already morning.
"So," Vaylan said. "How do we kill him?"
Zara didn't even lift her head. "We don't."
"Come on. He's not invincible."
"He tossed me like a ragdoll," she muttered.
"Yeah, but he can be hit," Vaylan said. "We just have to hit him better."
Lato rolled over. "You're not wrong. He's tough, not immortal."
Zara looked up. "My blades bounced off."
"You stabbed the middle of his back," Lato said. "That part's most likely pure muscle. Thickest layer on his body."
"Great," she muttered. "So don't aim for the brick wall. Got it."
Vaylan nodded. "We just need to find the soft spots. He's big, sure, but he's got gaps. Armpits, backs of the knees, neck. Maybe his tail. Even the inside of the thigh."
"Eyes," Lato added. "He doesn't blink often. No helmet."
"Right," Vaylan said. "And he telegraphs all his swings. Huge wind-up."
"And he drags his axe when he walks," Lato said. "That's not style. That's ability."
Zara finally sat up straight. "So if we keep moving, keep baiting swings, we can tire him out."
"Exactly," Vaylan said. "We don't need to win through power. We win through pressure."
"And precision," Lato added. "Small wounds in the right places can do what brute force can't."
"Cut the tendons. Burn the nerves," Zara said quietly.
"Not a bad plan," Lato said, smirking.
Vaylan looked between them. "So… what's our timeline?"
Zara opened the ration pouch, counted with her fingers, and sighed. "Three days. That's it."
"Then what?"
"Then we eat nothing," she said. "Because we're not eating the rats."
"They're huge," Vaylan said.
"They're poison," she snapped. "Cooked, dried, doesn't matter. I watched a guy in Skunghir eat one. He started vomiting blood in ten minutes. Eyes bled. Died in an hour."
Vaylan put a hand over his stomach. "Okay. So not the rats."
"We train," Zara said. "We train until we either beat him, or starve trying."
"And what exactly are we training?" Lato asked. "Because last I checked, you still don't have skills."
Zara's eyes darkened. "I don't need them."
"You kinda do," Lato muttered.
"No," Vaylan said. "She just needs something else."
Zara raised an eyebrow. "Like what?"
Vaylan stood. "Daggers."
"I already use daggers."
"I mean dagger techniques. I know some from beyond the Veil. I learned it from the Nusantara tribe. It's a martial art that even kids who don't have mana learn."
"I doubt that would work," Lato replied.
"Beyond the veil, most people don't have mana," Vaylan explained.
Zara narrowed her eyes. "You're serious?"
Vaylan nodded. "The technique, it's called silat. It's built around controlling your opponent's balance with small cuts and fast movement."
She stood slowly. "Alright. Show me."
Vaylan moved behind her. "First, your grip. Hold near the guard. Not too tight."
He adjusted her fingers gently.
"Now your stance. Staggered. Lead foot pointed forward, rear foot angled. Keep your balance."
Zara shifted.
"Now," he said, "this is the basic flow."
He stepped forward-right, then back-left, then forward again in a triangle. "Triangle footwork. You're always circling. You never attack straight-on."
She copied it. Her movement was a bit stiff.
"Good. Now add blade motion."
He stepped. "Low jab to the thigh. Pivot. Cut up under the arm. Withdraw."
She followed. Jab. Step. Slash. Pull back.
"Again."
She moved faster. Jab. Slash. Withdraw.
"Use your off-hand to grab the wrist, elbow, or shoulder. Always be controlling something. Pain is a tool. Off-balance is better."
He demonstrated, lightly grabbing her forearm, pivoting around her, and placing the flat of his blade against her back.
Zara turned, panting slightly. "That was fast."
"Because I didn't stop moving."
She tried it again. Triangle. Jab. Hook. Withdraw.
Then again. Smoother. Quieter.
Lato watched from the side. "I hate to say it, but this might actually work."
"She's a fast learner," Vaylan said.
Zara looked at both of them. "I want another round."
***
Two days had passed since they fled the throne room.
Steel rang against steel.
Zara danced forward in a blur of motion, her twin daggers slicing toward Vaylan with perfect rhythm. He caught the first with his saber, the clang echoing through the ruined chamber. She spun low, bringing the second dagger in from the opposite side.
Vaylan pivoted, using the momentum of his parry to knock the second blade wide. "Good," he said through clenched teeth.
Zara didn't reply. She dropped low and swept his legs.
He fell.
Before he hit the ground, she was already pouncing.
[Fleet Foot]
Vaylan vanished in a flash of motion, flipping over her and landing softly behind. Before she could react, the hilt of his blade tapped the side of her neck.
Zara grunted, lowering her weapons. "Tch. That's five losses now."
"You did amazing," Vaylan said, sheathing his saber. "I had to use a skill to dodge that final attack."
"Must be nice," she muttered. "Having a skill."
He opened his mouth to respond, but Lato stirred from where he'd been napping on a rock. His ears twitched.
He turned his head toward the distant entrance. "Someone's coming."
Both Zara and Vaylan went still. Weapons raised.
A lone figure walked into view. Hooded. Calm. Not even trying to hide his steps.
He stopped a few paces away, then lowered his hood.
He was... beautiful.
Wavy golden hair. Golden eyes. Skin like polished ivory. Lips that curved with a kind of quiet charm. He looked barely eighteen.
"Sorry to startle you all," he said with an elegant smile. "My name is Pierre. Pierre de Ficquelmont."
Zara's eyes widened. "Wait—de Ficquelmont? Isn't that a branch family of the Van Loere?"
Pierre chuckled. "My, aren't you knowledgeable."
"You mind sharing?" Lato said, eyes narrowed.
Zara flushed. "Katalin used to read me storybooks when I was a kid. There was one I remembered well. The Tale of the Orange Prince and the Poisoned Apple."
"Ooh, I'm curious," Vaylan said, lowering his blade. "Tell me the story."
"I suggest we don't let our guard down," Lato muttered. "There is a stranger literally in front of us."
Pierre raised his hands. "Woah, not a trusting one, are you?"
He removed his sheathed sword and dropped it onto the ground. Then kicked it gently toward Vaylan and sat down cross-legged. "Go ahead. Tell the story."
They all slowly sat, though Lato kept glaring.
Zara cleared her throat.
"Once upon a time, in the Orange Kingdom, there was a noble prince named Ludwig Van Loere. He was kind, brave, and beloved by the people. But he fell in love with a peasant girl, someone his royal mother disapproved of."
Pierre nodded.
"The queen tried many ways to separate them, but nothing worked. So one day, she gifted the peasant girl a beautiful apple, red as rubies. She didn't know it was poisoned."
Vaylan's eyes sparkled. A genuinely interesting fairy tale.
"But Ludwig did. To protect the girl, he ate the apple himself. He died that same night.
The queen was executed for treason against the crown. The peasant girl, stricken with grief, was adopted into nobility through marriage to Ludwig's cousin, Charles de Ficquelmont. She never bore children. She never loved again. Her heart belonged to Ludwig, the prince who should've ruled. But with his death, his younger brother Edwin took the throne. That's how the current Orange royal line began."
Pierre was smiling gently. "A tragic story. And mostly true."
Vaylan blinked. "Wait... what's the Orange Kingdom?"
Zara flinched.
Lato's eyes moved toward her.
Pierre tilted his head. "You don't know the Seven Kingdoms?"
Zara jumped in. "He—uh—got hit on the head. Hard. Has amnesia. Right, Vaylan?"
Vaylan looked confused. "Oh. Yeah. Big rock. Right on the forehead."
Zara laughed awkwardly. "Hahaha! Anyway, since your dumb skull forgot everything, let me explain. I'm not repeating this."
She took a breath.
"There are Seven Kingdoms that rule the Tree. Each kingdom controls a range of floors."
"The Violet Kingdom rules Floors 0 to 19. That's us. The lowest rung."
"The Indigo Kingdom rules Floors 20 to 29. Then the Blue Kingdom for 30 to 49. The Green Kingdom has Floors 50 to 59. The Orange Kingdom covers Floors 60 to 79. Red Kingdom takes 80 to 99."
"And all of them answer to the Divine Emperor. The only person who's ever climbed to the top—Floor 100."
"That is only a rumor. Floor 100 does not exist," Pierre answered coldly.
"But there's an exception," Zara added. "Floor 50. Floor 50 belongs to the Wood Elf King."
Pierre nodded. "Impressive. Not many even know about the Wood Elf King. But there's actually two exceptions. The other being the Mother of Dragons, but that's a story for another time. I'm impressed you know of Floor 50."
Zara looked away. "I read."
Pierre's eyes lingered on Vaylan. "But if he really doesn't know the kingdoms, or the Tree... then he's either an idiot, a liar or..." He smiled. "Something else entirely."
Zara tensed.
Lato stood slowly, his tail moving.
Pierre chuckled. "I think I'll keep my thoughts to myself. For now."
Lato narrowed his eyes. "So why are you here, exactly? What do you want?"
Pierre tilted his head. "Well, for starters, maybe you could all introduce yourselves first. You're being awfully rude considering I haven't done anything threatening."
"I'm Vaylan!" Vaylan said with a grin, raising a hand.
"Zara," she muttered, still eyeing him carefully.
"...Lato," the cat said, flatly.
Pierre smiled. "Didn't expect a beast tamer to be down on Floor 0. Fascinating."
Vaylan looked confused, but didn't correct him. Neither did Lato.
Pierre folded his hands. "Anyway. I'm here to confirm something."
"Confirm what?" Zara asked.
"I've heard from my men of a terrible beast within this labyrinth. The whole area should have been dormant, abandoned. But if what I heard is true... then the avatar of a constellation sleeps within."
"A what?" Zara asked.
Even Lato blinked. Vaylan tilted his head. Neither said anything, but the tension in their shoulders showed it.
"You don't need to know," Pierre said. "But judging from those practice duels, I'm guessing the three of you plan to fight it."
He stood slowly. "Let me help. Call it a temporary alliance. Our interests align for now."
Zara and Lato looked at each other.
Pierre raised his hand. "I know you don't trust me. But unless you want to die, or leave here empty-handed, I'm your best chance."
He turned to Zara. "And I don't want a single coin from the loot."
"None?"
"Not a coin."
"AWESOME!" Vaylan said, throwing both arms up.
Lato groaned.
Zara stared, stunned.
And Pierre smiled.