Chapter 67: Chapter 66: A Rematch

Tess had just finished using the bathroom and was returning to their dedicated private room in the guild when she ran into Ilmir. The two sort of…awkwardly stopped, not quite sure what to say or do.

After a moment, Ilmir hesitantly spoke up. “Uh…hey.” She said. “Long time no see, I guess. Um…do you mind if I ask a question?”

“Go ahead.” Tess said warily. “I’m listening.”

“Ah, good.” Ilmir replied, scratching the back of her neck embarrassedly. “You…wanted a rematch, right? I was just wondering what sort of time frame you’re thinking for that. Before, you said it would be after you graduated, but it’s been a few weeks since then so…just curious.”

Tess started. “I’ll be honest, I kinda forgot, I was focused on other things. I’m ready any time, really. Probably not today, since we’re finishing up the Jagged Cliffs, but any day after is fine.”

“How does tomorrow sound, then?” Ilmir asked. “I’m kind of looking forward to this, and I want to nail down a date.”

“Tomorrow works.” Tess confirmed. “I’ll let everyone know, and we can meet here at like…noon. Don’t think it’s going to go the same as last time, though, I’ve gotten much stronger than before.”

“I’ve gotten stronger too.” Ilmir said. “So, don’t you think it’s going to go as you plan, either.”

“Linear warriors, quadratic wizards.” Ellie said, stepping up to the two of them.

“What?” Tess and Ilmir both asked, turning to face the newcomer.

“Just saying that one of your growth rates is a bit more…exponential than the others.” Ellie replied with a smirk. “What’s all this about, anyway?”

“Ilmir was asking me about the rematch I mentioned wanting to have.” Tess explained. “We ended up setting it up for tomorrow. Though…why are you here? Weren’t you waiting with everyone else?”

“I got some info that there had been a bit of a disturbance, so I came to take a look. Also, why not just do this thing now?” Ellie asked.

“Because right now we’re finishing off the Jagged Cliffs, remember?”

“Yeah, but this should only take like…ten or twenty minutes.” Ellie countered. “We just go grab a Gauntlet of Challenge, have you two duke it out, then once Tess wins, we pack up and go on our way.”

Ilmir raised an eyebrow. “You seem awfully confident that she’s going to win.” She said. “Surely you of all people know the difference between your stats.”

“Ilmir, you’re backsliding.” Eyfura said gently, walking up to her. “Remember what Doctor Miras says about that.”

Ilmir jumped slightly. “G-grandma, when did you get here?!”

“That’s beside the point.” Eyfura replied. “You need to stop letting your prejudice affect you.”

“Y-yes, Grandma.” She turned back to Ellie and Tess. “Sorry.” She mumbled. “That was uncalled for.”

“It’s fine.” Tess replied. “I know changing your way of thinking is hard.”

Ilmir perked up. “Really? You’re not mad?”

Tess shrugged. “I’m not happy about it, but I can understand it. As long as you’re genuinely trying to change, I see no reason not to forgive you for it.”

“So, what’s all this about, then?” Eyfura asked, walking over to Tess and giving her a quick hug. “Not that I’m not happy to see you or anything, just curious as to what you all are getting heated over.”

Another quick explanation later, Eyfura nodded. “I get it.” She said. “I can go get a Gauntlet prepped if you would like.”

“We need to make sure this is fine with Maven and The Rumors first.” Tess said. “Just…hang tight and I’ll go ask them.”

“We’re fine with it.” Maven said. “And before you ask, we came in case you needed help or something. We didn’t exactly get a lot of details from Ellie.”

Ellie looked to the side awkwardly. “Sorry.” She said. “I just wanted to get here as soon as possible, so…”

“We get it.” Ker soothed. “Don’t worry about it too much. It was mostly because Alice was worried, and we figured it couldn’t hurt to come check.”

Alice blushed and looked away. “I just…you know, this is a sensitive topic. I wanted to make sure things didn’t get too heated.”

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Maven walked over to Ilmir, looking her up and down with an unimpressed expression. “So, you’re the Ilmir I’ve heard so much about, huh?”

“I…suppose I am.” Ilmir replied. “What have you heard about me?”

“Do you want the political answer or the honest answer?” Maven asked.

Ilmir winced. “Honest. I need to know, sorry.”

Maven shrugged. “I’ve heard you’re an insensitive jerk who used trauma as an excuse to try and cause a rift between these two so you could get closer to Ellie. Or…well, I know that’s not entirely accurate, but my understanding of the situation doesn’t paint you in a very positive light.”

Ilmir’s ears and tail drooped. “Yeah, you’re…completely right to think that way.” She said. “I was pretty awful. I’m…trying to be better, though.”

“So long as your mistakes are not repeated, I have no reason not to believe that.” Maven replied, sticking a hand out. “Pleasure meeting you.”

Ilmir tentatively accepted the proffered hand and shook. “Likewise, I think.”

“I’m going to go get a Gauntlet, then.” Eyfura said. “We don’t have the luxury of having a cleared arena this time around, so we’re going to have to find one ourselves. The next best thing is probably going to be a dungeon, I’m thinking…probably inside Big Bertha’s chamber in Slime Tower. If we just clear her out of the way, we should have plenty of room for a good fight.”

“Are you allowed to take the guild’s Gauntlet outside?” Maven asked curiously. “Those are supposed to only be used under direct supervision of guild staff, right?”

Eyfura grinned. “One, I’m technically one of the guild’s highest ranking officers. Two, I’m not getting the guild’s Gauntlet. I have a few spares for…reasons. So, we’ll be using one of my personal ones just in case.”

“How…” Maven trailed off, then shot a glance at Ava, who nodded. “Ah. I see. Reasons.”

“Got it in one. Now, I gotta go grab that Gauntlet, so you all meet me in the lobby of Slime Tower’s top floor, I should only be like…ten or fifteen minutes.” And with that, Eyfura departed, hurriedly making her way down the hall towards the exit.

“I suppose that’s our cue.” Jin said. “Let’s get going.”

The walk over was quiet; Ilmir didn’t seem up to initiating much conversation, Ellie was more than happy to ignore her, Tess and Maven weren’t quite sure what they would even say, and any attempts at conversation made by The Rumors just ended up dying quickly.

So it was no small relief when Eyfura showed up to Slime Tower’s top floor only five or so minutes after the rest of them had arrived.

“I didn’t keep you waiting too long, right?” She asked. “I ran into a bit of traffic, there was some…I don’t even know what was happening, but there was a huge crowd outside some business on the way to my house, and I had to take a detour.”

“Not at all.” Ker said. “It’s only been a minute or two.”

“Oh, good. Shall we all party up and head on in, then?”

“Yeah.” Alice said, a note of agitation in her tone. “Let’s get this over with.”

Partying up, entering the boss room, killing Big Bertha, and then preparing for the duel took only a couple of minutes. Most of that time was taken up by Eyfura making some sort of…protective circle for the noncombatants to stand in, so they would be safe from any collateral damage.

And soon, Tess and Ilmir were placing their hands on the Gauntlet. After but a moment, they were teleported to opposite edges of the room, and the fight begun in earnest.

Unlike in their first fight, Ilmir didn’t immediately rush in. Instead, she kept her distance, coating her swords in lightning and fire and sending the beams towards Tess. That was fine, though; she had ways of dealing with that now.

Isabella, take care of the lightning. Tess instructed. Silky, use Rallying Cry and buff us up.

On it, mistress! Silky said. There was a squeak from within Tess’s shirt sleeve, where Silky was hiding, and Tess was suddenly just that bit faster and stronger. Isabella erected a wall of earth that the lightning beam crashed into and dissipated against, and Tess rushed around the wall, running directly through the beam of fire.

As she did, she activated Phoenix Fire, and watched as the beam of fire was incorporated into her own coating and the flames grew ever brighter. She deactivated Purifying Flames and, for a brief moment, burned through some Mana to not only focus the coating into a line that speared towards Ilmir, but also turned up the heat as far as it would go.

And that was hot. The fire went from a dull red to a brilliant blue in a moment, and the air distorted from the sheer heat of the mass of flame. Not that Ilmir seemed to mind the heat itself; she likely had equipment that compensated for extreme temperatures.

But the lance of fire itself wasn’t something to be ignored; it was as thick around as Tess’s body, and the temperature was really just a secondary effect. Ilmir deftly dodged its first pass, but Tess brought it right back around to hit her back, then let the flames return to their usual shape.

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