Ever since he was a boy, Edward had always been rough and stubborn.
He wasn't exactly mannerless, neither was he unjust. He was just very thoughtless.
The one who slowly curbed that habit of his was Anabelle Frederick.
Perhaps it was her cute nature, or the fact that they had such intimate interactions as friends.
Edward slowly found himself changing. And, before he knew it, Anabelle had become something of a limiter he placed on some of his more... excessive character.
In conclusion...
"U-understood."
... Edward removed Lemi from her position and placed her on the ground.
The shocked Half Elf looked at the muscular boy with disbelief, but he simply couldn't meet her gaze.
He could feel a swirl of emotions within him--none of which were inherently negative. Still, he was certain of one thing.
'Does Lemi see me as a wuss, now?' Despite thinking about the girl--if she could even be called that--he still couldn't bring himself to glance in her direction.
"Much better. I'm proud of you, Edward. You did the right thing." Ivan smiled, patting his meaty muscles.
"T-thanks..." The tired and emotionally anxious Martial Artist responded.
He would not have been in this mess if Ivan had just been more understanding. However, he also understood that he and Lemi's actions caused the redhead's outburst.
Ultimately, he couldn't blame anyone but himself.
'Ivan is right. I should focus on this mission!' Steeling himself for the challenge ahead, Edward clenched his fist and bulged his muscles.
The least he could do to absolve himself from his guilt was to actually get results.
********
The trio kept walking for hours, making sure to do things Ivan's way--concentrating on the mission and the mission alone.
However, after walking in the empty tomb hallway for so long, the group began to feel a bit weirded out.
"Haven't we been walking for too long? Do you think we're walking in circles?" Ivan was the first to speak.
Apparently, the other two didn't want to say anything first.
"I thought so initially, but I've been paying very close attention to the walls and floors. Unless there's a special trick at work, I don't think we're walking in circles."
"Yeah... I've been using this detector for a while now too. We're definitely on course." Lemi brought out a special radio thingy.
It looked wacky, with an antennae on top, but it was the real deal.
Lemi invented it to test Mana Particles in the air, and search for distortions or the locations with the highest amount of power.
"It's not sensing Mana here, so that means we can't be in an illusion too."
"Then what's going on?"
"Let's keep going. There's nothing else to do. Maybe we can speed things up a bit?" Ivan sighed.
To be honest, he was expecting some sort of action--like the time in the Labyrinth Of Despair.
Unfortunately, he was just stuck with nothing to do but walk.
"I agree. We should increase our pace."
"Yeah yeah."
All three of them activated their Mana, and then charged though the hallway. Edward and Ivan still paid rapt attention to their vicinity, ensuring they weren't being misled, while Lemi kept observing her device.
>VWOOOSHHH!!!<
Since it was a tomb, they had to keep their speed within a certain extent. If they went too fast, the facility around them could be destroyed.
***********
After a few more hours, they finally made some progress.
The dull-colored walls and floors assumed different colors. The sudden brightness and colorful ambiance made the transition strange, but the three kept charging.
The bricks had multiple colors--green, red, yellow, blue, purple, orange, etc.--colored on them.
It resembled a playground more than a tomb at this point.
"I still sense no Mana. None at all!" Lemi groaned.
Was her device broken? Did it not work? She was certain it was functioning before they entered the tomb!
Even Jared confirmed it before...
'Tch! Let's not think about him.'
The three finally saw--with their enhanced sight--the end of the absurdly long hallway.
"FINALLY!" They all declared at the same time.
Excitement played on their faces as they prepared to face whatever challenge lay in store for them.
'What will see see? I can't wait!' Ivan's eyes widened as he grinned uncontrollably.
He had been working his butt off to get stronger. It was only natural that he sought who to use his strength on.
Edward, on the other hand, simply wanted to redeem himself in the eyes of Lemi.
They hadn't said an actual word to each other after he removed her from where she sat atop him, and frankly, he was getting worried.
'It's okay! It's not too late. I can impress her by putting these muscles into action.'
Breathing calmly, he set his eyes on the goal.
It could have just been their imagination, but the trio felt their bodies moving faster then ever as they closed in on the target
In a few more seconds, they arrived at the target destination.
Their eyes bulged in surprise, their faces contorted in confusion, and their minds tried to make sense of what they saw there.
"What's this...?"
"It looks like a... spin wheel?"
"W-why is something like that here?"
Right before their eyes was a multicolored circular board that had about twenty two gradients.
Each gradient had different colors--spanning from white, to yellow, to blue, and so on. Then there was also black.
The gradients also had words written on them--but no one in the trio could understand what was inscribed there--or even what was going on.
"I-I don't get it. There's nothing after the hallway... just this wheel?"
It sounded like a bad joke--especially after they had traveled for hours to get here. How could they meet no enemy or clues? The reward for all their efforts was a simple Spin-The-Wheel Game.
"Maybe we should just destroy the walls. There's probably something beyond here." Edward suggested, unable to take it anymore.
Ivan would have readily agreed to his suggestion if he hadn't been using his brains recently.
"No... there has to be a reason for all this." The young man's eyes squinted as he focused on the wheel.
'What could it mean?'
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[A/N]
Merry Christmas, everyone. If you're Jewish, Happy Hanukkah. Seasons greetings to my dear fans and readers. I cherish and love you all.
Remember, Privilege chapters are discounted by 90 percent next month. Think of it as my new year present.
Do have a lovely time.
