Chapter 62 – Alarm Bells (Again)

"So you're just going to keep the ring?" Jordan asked as he swung his axe lazily at Titus, who blocked with his borrowed sword. "Even though you've been told it's cursed."

"Yeah," Titus replied. "He didn't have to explain any of that to us. If I'd have found out by accident and he'd lied about it? Then yeah, maybe I'd take it off. Besides I thought you liked Darius?"

Jordan simply shrugged.

"And you're just fine with him knowing where you are at all times?" Petra asked as she watched the two practising their combat forms.

"I don't think that's exactly how it works," Titus replied. "It sounds more like he just gets a general sense of the direction the ring is in."

"And that's so much better then, is it?" Petra asked.

Titus shrugged, leaving his sword out for Jordan to knock aside with his axe.

Usually the training sessions were far more intense than whatever this lax back and forth was, but the group had trained hard all morning already, and after the previous day's arena battle where they'd once again almost all been torn to shreds, they felt like they deserved a rest.

The plan for the day was to take breakfast, a light training session, and then a visit to the merchants' hall where they all needed to refresh their equipment.

Following battles where their clothes and equipment had been burnt, ripped, damaged, or buckled, the arena offered free repairs as long as whatever it was hadn't been completely obliterated. That meant that the group still had everything they had last entered the arena wearing and holding, but that didn't mean they weren't ready for an upgrade.

The group spent the usual time in the hall checking out equipment they couldn't afford and making small talk with the merchants therein, though it wasn't until Titus saw something that he really wanted did he begin to lament his financial shortcomings.

Divine Ring of Mana Resonance

Value: 200g

Effect: Reduced mana cost for all spells by 10%

Effect: Hidden

Restriction: Mana Required: 30

Restriction: Cannot be worn by Warrior Class

Restriction: Cannot be worn by Defender Class

Restriction: Cannot be worn by Rogue Class

Wearing another ring wasn't something that Titus had really even thought about, not having been one for wearing any jewellery at all before his Stamina ring, but this item stood out to him. It was actually by chance that he'd even seen the merchant who'd shown him the piece when Titus had asked if he had anything to do with Mana or spellcasting, and the merchant had said he only just came by the ring on his way into the City.

Originally, Titus had dismissed even seeing the ring because of the price tag, but once the merchant had told him its name, he became intrigued. If ever there had been a handful of signs that pointed to the fact that Titus should have something, this was it. Naming the thing 'Divine' was one thing, and using the term 'Mana Resonance' was another, but the fact that the restriction wasn't made to only be used by Spellcasters – effectively leaving it open for Titus to use with his unique Class - was too much of a coincidence.

The only thing he wasn't sure about was the fact that there was some hidden effect of the ring, and he didn't know if that was something that would reveal itself immediately if he bought it, or if it was something that would remain a mystery.

Whatever the cause for the ring to be made available at this moment, Titus knew that he couldn't afford it. If he remained a Blue-Ranked Contestant for the next four years or so then he would have the funds for sure, but right now, this thing was so far out of reach it was laughable.

"There's no way I can afford this," Titus said to the merchant as he peered at the ring's information. "And I don't just mean now; I mean there's no way I can afford this any time soon either."

The merchant gave Titus a warm smile. It wasn't easy to see at first because the man had a huge bushy black beard, but it was certainly there.

"My father once told me that every man needs something to strive for. Something that he has seen and he says: I want that. If this is truly something that you want to possess – and I get the feeling that it is – then it will make you work harder so that you can afford it sooner. This is what we do as merchants: we provide the desire which fuels the hard work of the people, and this is how we help the City."

That was certainly a strange way of looking at it, but Titus really wasn't one to judge. Plus, his father had always spoken fondly of the merchants in the City, so he already had a kind of draw to them.

"Why don't you try it on?" The merchant said. "It is in my experience that once an individual has a taste of something truly great, it is more motivation than one can ever need. Only for a moment, of course, but you will see what you have been missing."

This hadn't been something that Titus had been expecting either, but he wasn't one to look a gift horse in the mouth. Tentatively he opened his hand and nodded.

This time, rather than rummaging around in his anywhere box, the merchant reached down into his pocket and retrieved a simple, dull golden ring and plopped it into Titus' palm.

From the look of the ring it was nothing special at all. It had no markings and felt slightly warm in Titus' hand but other than the description he'd already read, nobody would've known this thing was special in any way.

Titus really didn't need to be told twice. Other than his wooden Stamina ring he hadn't experienced the feeling of artificially increasing his stats, and he wanted to feel what that was like again. But beyond that, he wanted to see how it felt to own something – if only for an instant – that he truly desired.

So Titus put the ring on the finger next to his Stamina ring where it fit perfectly, almost magically, and he stared at the message that faded into his vision.

Effect Unlocked: Sacrifice has been upgraded to Sacrifice 2

New Skill: Sacrifice 2

Absorb 50% of the damage dealt to an ally. 

Cost: 100% Stamina Regen 

Duration: Until Dismissed

Cooldown: None

Titus stared at the text, trying to figure out how this object could've been meant for anyone else but him. As far as he knew he was the only person with the skill, and certainly the only Capacitor he knew of. But did this mean there were others? Or was this truly a sign that the ring was destined for him?

And then the world around him shook.

An explosion rattled the ceiling above and somewhere in the City, like the entire place had just been flattened by one colossal earthquake.

Titus wobbled on his feet for a moment and turned to look at his two friends but as he did so, the sound of another explosion reached them.

Even below ground as they were, both the feel and the sounds of the explosions were massive. Either something had just happened directly above them, or whatever it was had been so huge that simply nothing could stand in the way of the reverberations.

"What was that?" Titus asked as both Jordan and Petra stared blankly back at him.

Pulling the ring from his finger, Titus quickly turned back to the merchant with his hand held out to pass the item back but when he turned, he found the merchant gone.

Crowds of people, both merchants and Contestants, were all moving about the hall and asking similar questions about what was happening, but even searching for the bearded merchant, Titus came up short.

"He's gone," Titus said to his friends. "But I still have the ring. Is there somewhere I should hand it in?"

"There must be somewhere," Jordan said.

"Or maybe there isn't," Petra said. "Maybe you've just been given a gift and we should all keep quiet about it."

"Or it's a test," Jordan said. "Maybe the merchant is hiding somewhere to see what you'll do next, and if you do something wrong then the God of Balance will punish you for it."

"It's the God of Balance, not honesty," Petra disagreed.

Titus stared at them both like they were the angel and devil on his shoulders. But he didn't get the chance to answer either of them because a second later a loud clanging sound rang throughout the arena halls and into the merchants' hall.

The City alarm bells were ringing again, and they all knew how devastating it'd been the last time they'd heard the sound.

"That'll be us," Jordan said. "Forget the ring, we need to get ready for a fight. Put it on because we might need all the help we can get."

Titus looked around for the merchant one last time before he shrugged and slipped it on his finger. Besides, if the item helped them make it through whatever was happening then he could return it later.

"Contestants!" The combat Instructor, Theodore's voice rang out in the hall to bring everyone to silent attention. "We are to answer the call of the City! Gather your weapons and equipment and spread yourselves throughout the City as before! You all know the severity of this situation so do not hesitate, and do what you can to protect this City and its people!"

Titus wondered if Theodore knew what the threat was and where it was coming from, though with the speed of his announcement he guessed that the easiest thing for the Instructor to do in the absence of the Grandmaster was repeat the orders as they'd been given before. But that meant if high-level forces were coming from the south, then Titus and his fellow Blue-Ranked Contestants were going to be in for a hard day.

But Titus knew questioning the order probably wasn't going to be something he should do, so he and his friends made their way to the closest anywhere boxes – conveniently they were dotted around the merchants' hall as the merchants used them to retrieve their goods – and they each prepared for battle.

Titus still hadn't managed to replace his borrowed basic steel sword though, something that he only ever seemed to recall as he pulled it from the box.

Jordan covered his torso in his plate armour again and retrieved his axe and shield while Petra donned her leather armour and slid her Stiletto of Minor Poisoning into its sheath behind her back. The group were once again as ready as they were ever going to be, though again they had no idea of what they were going to face the moment they stepped outside of the Arena and into the City proper.

Most of the forces from the Arena were heading away from Titus and the rest of the Blue-Rankers, and as they shuffled towards the large doors at the top of the stone steps leading from the Arena. Heads bobbed up and down and side to side to try to see what had happened in the City to cause the explosion and subsequent shockwaves. It was only when Titus was greeted with the warm, bright sunlight did he take in the Chaos that had befallen the City.

After a moment of letting his eyes adjust, Titus felt like he'd been pulled from underwater. Bells, shouting, and screaming accosted his ears, and black smoke and orange flames billowed high into the air from a building less than a few hundred meters away. He didn't know what it was before it'd been obliterated, but now it was nothing but a smoking hole in the ground.

All around the broken building, small fires belched smoke into the sky as Citizens did what they could to extinguish the flames, carrying buckets of water and wet cloths, towels, and anything else they could get their hands on.

Titus watched as some of the Arena Contestants who had water spells moved to help in the effort but were ushered away by their superiors. Whatever this attack was, these Contestants were going to be needed far more as a repelling force than they were on clean-up duty.

The Blue-Rankers wheeled away from the rest of the Contestants and began filtering out into their previous formation throughout the City streets. The further they moved, again the quieter everything seemed, and again eventually Titus, Jordan, and Petra were alone, wandering through the City streets though this time in bright daylight.

But again they saw no Citizens, as presumably they'd either taken heed of the alarm bells telling them to keep inside, or they had moved to aid the efforts in taming the flames of the ruined buildings.

It didn't take long for the group to realise that the further south they travelled within the City, the quieter it got. The alarm bells still rang over and over but it wasn't like the last time when they'd come across monsters within the City that they had to fight against.

This time there was nothing but an eerie silence.

But then they heard something. Footsteps through the stone streets that echoed off the flat buildings on either side of the road, and Titus and his friends braced themselves for a fight.

Lowered in a ready stance, Titus watched as four City Guardsmen in red and silver armour darted around the corner before them.

The foremost of the Guardsmen saw Titus and his friends but didn't slow, simply running around them back the way the Contestants had come.

"Go to the North Gate!" The Guardsman called out as he passed. "Everyone to the North Gate!"

Before any of the three Contestants could stop the Guardsmen as they passed though, they'd gone, and it left Titus and his friends with a dilemma.

"Do we go to the North Gate?" Titus asked. "I mean, we were told to go South, weren't we?"

"We're always supposed to follow orders, right?" Jordan said, though his tone was far from convincing.

"But if we could've gone North and helped out there… surely that's the right thing to do, isn't it?" Petra said. "I say forget the south. It's quiet here and even the guards have moved to help so there must be something bad up that way."

Titus looked at the road south, and then north. "But without guards at the South Gate, what if something does come and we aren't here to stop it?"

The decision that they had to make was almost paralysing. Whichever route they took they knew it could mean trouble. If they followed their orders then it could've meant lives at risk, but if they disobeyed them and something happened then the ramifications could be severe.

But then the orders hadn't been given by the Grandmaster herself, so could they be seen as more of a suggestion than an order?"

"I say we head to the North Gate," Titus said. "If anyone asks, we can say the City Guardsmen told us to go and help there. Besides, there are other Blue-Rankers down here so if anything does come I'm sure they can handle it."

Neither Jordan nor Petra pointed out the fact that with most of the High-Ranked Contestants at the North Gate already, the addition of three very low-level blues wasn't going to do much. But then four unawakened Guardsmen were going to be magnitudes weaker than them as it was.

"Am I glad to hear you say that," a voice came from seemingly nowhere and a second later, Darius the Dreaded faded into view a few feet away from the group.