551: Kidnapping

Kidnapping

John finally regained consciousness and opened his eyes. The first thing he noticed upon waking up was that he was no longer in the arena. He quickly got out of bed and took a defensive posture as he scanned the area. Once he got a good look at the room he was in he was finally able to calm down. He was now back in his designated room at the dormitory.  2

Once he calmed down John did some stretches and exited his room. When he got out he saw a lot of people moving around. John spoke to one of the passing people. 

"What's happening?" 

"Oh, you're finally awake, congratulations on passing the preliminaries." 

"... Thanks, but what's happening?" 

"Oh This, well since most of us weren't able to pass the preliminaries I and the others thought that there was no point in staying here. So most of us decided to head back home. Some already left while you were sleeping." 

"Wait, sorry I'm a bit confused. What exactly happened after I fainted?" 

The person John was talking to sighed as he explained the important things that happened after John had fainted. He told John about how the Emperor healed John and told him that he was impressed by his battle. Then there was the eldest son of the Emperor who was able to defeat Xia the Eternal at her full power. He told John about the people who were able to pass the preliminaries with him. Then finally he recounted the part where Samson the strongest champion was killed by the Emperor. 

John was overwhelmed by the sequence of events that happened right after he had fainted. He felt a little bit regretful as he wasn't able to witness those events with his own eyes, especially how the Emperor said that he was impressed by John's performance. 

After thanking the man for the information John headed out to clear his mind. The wounds he had received from the previous battle were already gone, but he still felt some sort of pain in his body. 

...

When John exited the dormitory he saw a familiar face. Melody was talking to a projection of the tower master from their region, the same tower master that had taught John's childhood friend Alisa. Once she was done talking to the projection she noticed John and approached him. 

"It has been some time since we last talk John." 

"Yeah, it has. We were much younger then, when you were taken by the tower master. Who knew that you'll turn into quite a beauty. I couldn't recognize you at first, I even thought that there was another Melody in the Mages Tower." John smiled awkwardly. 

"Oh, have you actually fallen for me? Well, if it's you I don't mind stealing you away from Alisa. We could elope right now." 

"How about I take you and Alisa together?" 

"I'm alright with that, but Alisa might kill you." 

"Well, I guess I tried. Do you mind dying together then?" 

"Oh my, you won't even fight for our love."

"Sorry, sorry, let's stop. I can't keep up with this joke anymore." John shrugged his shoulders. 

"... I wasn't joking though," Melody whispered to herself. 

"Hmm, did you say something?" 

"It's nothing, I was just thinking out loud... Well, anyway, are you really not willing to think about my previous proposal?" 

"I don't really want to become a mage, the basic spells I know are enough for me." 

"... I guess you are kinda, sorta, a good swordsman, you did win against Xia the eternal even though her power was restricted." 

"Heh, at least I won, unlike some people." 

"Well, I suppose luck is part of your skills." Melody smiled at him sweetly. 

"Whatever, a win is a win." John shrugged his shoulders as he answered.

"Heh, you're right, a win is indeed a win no matter how it came to be... Anyway, I'm sorry that I won't be able to watch your next matches. Master is very disappointed that I was defeated and that you won, so I need to head back to retrain. Do you want me to pass a message to Junior Sister Alisa?" 

"Tell her that I got through the preliminaries and it's all thanks to the talisman she gave me. Also, tell her that I might not be going home anytime soon even if I do lose in the tournament." 

"Oh, are you staying here in the Capital?" 

"Yeah, I think that I'll get stronger faster if I stay here." 

"I see... So is that all you wanted to say?" 

"Yeah," John nodded his head. 

After that the two talked a little bit more and as Melody was about to leave John gave her something. 

"Here you can have this, it's an extra protection talisman I got while I was strolling around the city." 

"Thank you, John, I hope the next time we meet you'll tell me all about your adventures here in the Capital."

Melody bowed her head and left alongside the other geniuses that had already lost. John watched as the silhouettes of the group of people disappeared into the road ahead. The once noisy dormitories had turned silent as only he and Tyr were left. 

...

John and Tyr weren't that close but for some reason, Tyr continued to bother John asking him to spar with him. John, of course, didn't want to spar with Tyr, since the latter was famously known to always go too far when sparring. Many of Tyr's sparring partners have been reported to always be injured from minor injuries to severe ones. Seeing that the Quarter-Finals were happening in a few days, John could not afford to have an injury. 

After trying and failing to invite John to spar with him, Tyr went out to look for other people that he could spar with. Once Tyr was gone, John went back to his room so that he could digest the numerous things he gained from the battle he had with Xia. 

...

On the following day, the Emperor's disciple Arthur had come to question Try and John. They were basic questions as to where the two of them were at, and what were they doing during eight p.m yesterday. Also, he had asked if they had spoken to any of the tournament participants that have left yesterday, that and other minor questions. Once Arthur was done questioning them, John asked. 

"Sir Arthur, what is this all about?"

"Yesterday around eight p.m, almost all the tournament participants that were supposed to head back to their own hometowns are now missing." 

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