The Queen Rose is still visible on the horizon when Nila advances, and Cain can swear her whoop of joy is not only in his head but audible across the ocean.
The advancement changed her form subtly. She is still a Wave Rider, but she gained a proper class of her own beyond the basic skills granted to her as a Companion. The Class is called Void Shaman and specializes in Transport based magical spells. Much like the Dark Phoenix, she can drag her ship into the void and travel at immense speeds within the darkness of the weightless realm in between realities.
For a ship's Captain, that is a huge addition to their safety margins, even if it does use a lot of mana with a loaded ship, but it also means she can make it home to her beloved in a mere two days instead of seven if she summons assistants with mana totems to keep the effect up. Cain is certain that Mythryll will be overjoyed at this news, just as he is certain that Nila will downplay the utility of it as an excuse to spend endless hours simply sailing the open oceans with her.
Aoi, the battle-loving Youkai has brought the remaining members of the group to a local barbecue restaurant, which surprised Cain. He was expecting a seafood place to be the local specialty, given the oceanfront view of the city, but instead, they liked to grill meat over a small fire pit built into the tables. The restaurant is really charming, covered in local trinkets and artwork, and the sauces that the food comes with are definitely being added to the repertoire of at least one of the cooks the next time Cain sees them.
"So, it is a bit of a walk, but this is a big city, and the arena is on the far side of town. There are True Born category fights tonight if you would like to go watch? It's too late to enter if that is something you want to do in the future, but you will get a good taste of the battles just by watching." The Youkai, who Cain learned is born and raised right here in Musashi, informs them.
Looking at her, she appears to be mostly human, but misshapen, the way witches were in the stories of Cain's previous life. Her fashion sense is much better though, a pair of artfully torn tight-fitting jeans with a sky blue blouse that matches her eyes.
"As long as you think we can still get tickets. It would be a shame to walk that far and not be able to get in." Cain agrees.
"Oh, this is the middle of the week-long tournament, they only usually sell out during the finals. Tomorrow is the semi-finals of the Beast Category though, which might get pretty packed since the fights have been really close."
The buildings here are all dark stained wood that reminds Cain of the Transfer Village in Beginners Valley, but with more magical lights and much cleaner streets. It feels deliberately rustic, like a historical city or a tourist attraction. That might be exactly what it is though. With the interior of the continent locked off to visitors, this place has been chosen specifically to do trade with the outside world, so it would make sense to put on a show for them.
That doesn't make it any less fun to visit though, and Cain finds a Ramen stand along the way, getting everyone a bowl since they have over an hour to kill before they need to be at the arena. Sure, they just had lunch, but Cain hasn't had a good bowl of Ramen since he got here, nobody on the Central Continent really knew what it was. That makes them even better people in Aoi's books. Anyone who buys her food and likes both ramen and the combat tournaments is a good person in her mind.
She was also right about the arena. There is a small lineup, but it is moving fast even fifteen minutes before the first fight when they arrive. Cain buys flagons of ale for everyone as they pass a Dwarven drink stand inside the seating area and Aoi leads them to a spot along the side and a few rows up that she insists is the premier viewing spot. It's not too low, and not too far up to watch from, and being along the side has a mostly even view of all the arenas.
The competitors are starting to come out to greet their fans, and Cain is reminded of a sports team, or a wrestling match, where part of the job is to hype up the crowd. Their group is attracting a lot of attention from the competitors who are down in the pit, and Cain sighs, knowing that trying to avoid excess attention in a place like this is a lost cause.
He's got all the ladies with him after all, so attention is expected. But that's not what caught their attention, someone who was checking them out looked over their interface, which shows them as [Cain's Companion]. Which brought him to their attention, and despite looking like a human, he is well aware that a full scan of his status will show that he is a transformed Ancient to a transfer their skill and level.
Even Aoi notices the stares and scans him for the first time, gasping at the revelation. "I totally thought you were a human. I mean, that's what your nameplate shows, and a Mythic Awakened human is already pretty remarkable. But to have the system just outright call you an Ancient? How awesome is that? You didn't even slip up one time and let the Guild know you were Royalty."
Like with the Demons on the Central Continent, the Royal families here must have some level of connection to the Ancients, which makes complete sense, given the power level advantage that those with Ancient blood get over the rest of their species. Cain decides to simply play it off and tease the Youkai instead.
"Nope, I'm pretty sure they're checking you out. Should I get their contact information for you?" He teases, laughing as she blushes an unexpected shade of blue.
