The Soul Keeper

As the metal gates closed behind us, I leaned my back on the cold wall of the shadowy hallway and took a few deep breaths.

"What the hell was that Kai?" Erik shouted wide eyed. "Did you use magic or something?"

I shook my head. I wasn't stupid enough to do that. "I used my stat points." I said as I moved away from the wall and headed to the room we were given.

"You what?" Vincent asked wide eyed. "Wait, what did you dump them into?"

I pushed the door to our room open and lowered myself on one of the benches. "Dexterity, Wisdom and Intelligence." I said with a faint smile. I summoned my interface as I spoke. As lines of pale blue text appeared before me, the others immediately crowded around me.

'Kai Friseal – Level 80 Soul Keeper | Exp: 1800/70000 - - Souls 100/100 + 864- - Mana: 1940

Fallen Grace Lv. 5 | Death's Scythe Lv. 5 | Dark Bolt Lv. 5 | Soul's Respite Lv. 5 | Explorer | Crystal Sage

STR: 10 – CON: 10 – DEX: 100 – INT: 100 – WIS: 91'

Silence covered the room as the group read the text. It was Joshua who broke the silence with a shriek. "No way, how many god damned stat points did you even have?"

"Plenty." I said with a chuckle. "Anyways, I didn't use any magic." I added, glancing at a dumbfounded Erik. He kept wordlessly staring to the pale blue text until I closed the interface.

"Erik?" I waved my hand in front of his face. "Snap out of it."

"Oh, uh, sorry." He mumbled and glanced at the others. "I can't be the only one who thinks those stats are ridiculous." Joshua shrugged, while Vincent nodded. "Yeah, they're a bit… unbalanced."

"What do you mean?" I asked as I took my sword from my inventory and carefully cleaned the few drops of blood still remaining on it.

"Well, usually stats are distributed more or less equally." Vincent explained hesitantly. "You have no constitution and no strength at all, but your dexterity and two magic related stats are basically through the roof. Why?"

"If I tried to be a jack of all trades, I'd fail at everything. The entire reason there are parties is so that everyone can specialise on only one, maybe two things. Am I wrong?" I asked. We'd talked about this with Asher plenty. And I knew that despite his smug attitude and controlling behaviour, he was the most knowledgeable person around when it came to game mechanics.

"You're not wrong but… Don't you think it's a bit risky? Not increasing your constitution, I mean." Erik asked.

I chuckled. "No, I'll be fine, don't worry." I lowered my gaze to my sword. "Let's focus on winning the tournament." I said with a smile.

"How come you're so invested in this?" Erik asked after a moment of hesitation. "You were against even joining it."

A smile flashed across my face. "It reminds me of good times. Come on," I said as I got up. Before they could ask what was going on, someone knocked on the door. Shortly after, the same Ereth who brought us here gently opened the door.

"Your next match will begin shortly. Please, follow me." When he glanced at me, our eyes met. I nodded, then looked at the other three. "Let's go."

"How…?" Vincent began to ask, then gave up and shook his head.

The Ereth led us to the huge metal gate. As we walked, he once again stopped me by my arm. "The crowd liked your last performance. Keep that up," He said with what I assumed was a smile. It was almost impossible to tell what he was thinking. "And you'll win our leader's favour."

I flinched. "I hope they like what they see." I said, forcing myself to keep a calm voice.

He smirked, then left me standing and headed back. As he disappeared in the shadows of the long hallway, I rushed to where the others were waiting.

"What was that all about now?" Erik asked. "What's going on?"

"He just told me to keep the crowd happy. So," I glared at him and Joshua. "No sitting on people's backs, ok?"

Vincent rolled his eyes with a sigh as Joshua grinned. "I'll try my best." He said jokingly. "Let's see who we're up against now."

We didn't have to wait long, as the metal gates soon opened, revealing an empty arena. As soon as we stepped out of the shadows, the crowd started cheering.

"And once again, we welcome Team Torchlight and their Pale Demon into the arena!" The announcer's voice prompted only more cheering. "And their opponents, the Silver Spears!"

The gates across the sandy arena slowly creaked open. Four women stepped out of the shadowy hall. They wore white clothes, just like everyone else in this city. They all carried spears and I could see daggers hanging in their sheathes on their hips. As they walked across the sands, I narrowed my eyes.

"Astrid?" I whispered, looking at one of the women. She'd cut her hair short and was definitely wearing make up, which threw me off a little, but it was definitely her. "Wait, wasn't she a dagger user?" I asked, glancing at her spear.

Erik and Joshua shrugged, while Vincent nodded. "Yeah, and she was somewhat good with it too. How do we take them on Kai?"

I glanced at the other women. Astrid was not the most dangerous person here. My eyes met with our other opponent, the one who seemed to be their leader. She wore her green hair in a ponytail. Tall and confidant, her posture was enough to make me be wary of her.

"I'll take the green haired one. Remember, fight to live." I warned them.

"And now, the last match of the day is upon us!" The announcers voice was accompanied by the cheering crowd. "Let us see, which team will emerge victorious! Fight!"

I lowered my body and dashed forward, leaving a trail of sand behind me. As my sword's blade clashed with my opponent's spear, a smile slowly formed on my face.

I could win this.