I rubbed my head. What happened? The last thing I remembered was fighting Nate. That's right, I lost—wonder who won the other two matches. Jude was a good kid, but I hoped that Carter won. Likewise for Mira. Though, unlike Jude, I still knew close to nothing about Tamara.

I rose to my feet and tripped. If I hadn't caught myself using the rim of the bed, I would've hit the ground. Not that it would've been awful. The carpet here was super soft.

My lips curled into a smile. If I were still a thief, I would've had a field day with this place. Though, I would've needed to come up with an escape plan first.

I rubbed my knees and stood to my full height while cautiously holding on to the bed's frame for support.

Tamara passed by me in the hall with a plateful of orange and apple slices. The enigmatic girl moved her head around as if to the rhythm of music, though she lacked any visible headphones. If she wasn't mute, she probably would've hummed a tune.

"Hey, Tamara. Where are you going?" I asked.

She turned around and waved as soon as she heard me.

"Taking a snack to your room?" I asked.

She shook her head and pointed at the room next door. It was hers and Ling's. But, if the fruit wasn't for herself, then it had to be for Ling.

"Taking them to Ling?"

Tamara beamed and nodded. Her eyes widened. With a smile, she held the plate out to me.

"You're offering me one?" I asked, pointing to my chest.

She held out two fingers.

I chuckled. "Alright. I'll take two." I grabbed one of each and popped them into my mouth. The apple was sweet and crispy, just like I liked it. While the orange was also sweet with a hint of sour. "So good!"

Tamara covered her big grin and moved her plate closer to me.

"Thanks, but is it alright if I take more? They're for Ling."

She nodded, moved her hand to her cheek, and closed her eyes. I felt like a kid again, playing charades with my mom. If only she and Dad were still around.

"Ling's still sleeping?"

She shook her head. Her fingers contracted and spread out.

I scratched my head. Did she mean to expand something? Wait, could it be... "Is it to make her feel better?"

Tamara nodded and pointed at me.

"Me too?" I smiled. Well, it did perk me up a little. Almost made me forget my embarrassing defeat at the hands of Nate.

She glanced at my room.

"What's wrong? Looking for Mira? She wasn't there when I woke up."

Tamara furrowed her brow. Was she worried about Mira?

"Did you win your match?"

She nodded.

If so, then Mira likely passed out based on her reaction. Wonder who won between Carter and Jude.

"Do you know how Carter is doing?" I asked, taking another apple slice.

Tamara averted her gaze.

"So, you do know something. It's bad, isn't it?"

She bit her lip and shrugged.

"You aren't sure? Then, I'll go pay him a visit. He's in his room, right?"

Tamara turned her hand back and forth.

"Not sure about that either, huh?"

Tamara closed her eyes. Seemed like she wanted to be more helpful.

"It's alright. I'll go investigate. Go take care of your friend."

Tamara smiled slightly and returned on her way. She might've been a little odd, but she seemed nice.

I looked around at the other rooms. Carter and Aurelius's room was across from Tamara and Ling's. I slowly opened the door and peered in to find Aurelius putting a plate of apples and oranges on the nightstand.

Rob slept with his head on Carter's bed. Was Carter's situation that bad? His arms were covered in more bandages than before, extending to his elbows.

"Kanja?" Aurelius asked, glancing at me.

"What happened to him? Did he lose against Jude?"

"Not exactly. He officially won, but it was a hard-fought victory. It went down to the count."

I closed my eyes. "Did his hands get frostbite?"

"No, those injuries are his doing. Carter's flames are stronger than he let on in your matches," Aurelius said, shifting his gaze to Rob.

"He's an idiot," Rob mumbled as he opened his eyes.

"Pretty sure we don't need you to say that," I said, sighing. "Wait, aren't you Carter's childhood friend? Did he hide his true strength from you all these years?"

"Looked like he awakened them during his battle with Jude," Aurelius said.

Rob shook his head. "No, he actually first did so against his father. However, Cart didn't seem to recall when I questioned him about it after he woke up from that battle. He was hurt pretty badly, worse than now. That might have to do with the clan chief telling him to give up being a mage."

"You're saying he doesn't actually hate his own son?"

"Can't say. The clan leader did kick out his firstborn too. That man is a hard one to read, more so after the death of Carter's mother. Even my dad can't tell what he's thinking, and they were best friends." He reached his hand out to Cart's and lightly touched his thumb. "Maybe it's just me wanting to believe that there's still some mercy in the man Cart and I used to admire."

I sighed. Couldn't help but recall my dad and his baffling actions.

"Ow, that hurts," Carter said, opening his eyes.

Rob smiled. "You're finally awake." He poked his thumb again.

"I said it hurts!" Carter said, pulling his hand away.

Rob laughed. "Does it? Then you should've stopped when you could. Did you want to get yourself killed out there?"

"N-no," Carter said. He stared at his hand. "I just wanted to win." He scratched his head. "Wait, did I win?"

Aurelius nodded. "Yeah."

He smiled. "Great! Uh, but how?"

I gawked at him. "You forgot?"

He gave me a shy smile. "S-sort of."

Aurelius laughed. "How did that happen? I know you were thrown around a few times, but don't think you hit your head badly enough to cause memory loss."

Carter rubbed his head. "The last thing I can remember is getting angry at Jude for telling me to give up."

Rob crossed his arms. "Anger, that's the common thing. But I made you angry, and you didn't react like that."

Carter blinked. "What are you talking about?"

"Remember your match with your dad?"

"What? Of course, I... do... kind of. Only know the start and the end. Dad was kicking me around, so maybe there wasn't much after what I can recall anyway."

Rob sighed. "You turned yourself into a living fireball."

"I did? Wait, was that why you asked how I managed to use all those strong fire spells?"

Rob nodded. "Yeah. But you didn't even remember using any on that occasion either."

"Weird." He gasped. "Maybe the power takes a heavy toll on my head, which causes me to forget stuff! Maybe that's why I'm bad at tests!"

"Really?" I asked, blinking.

Rob laughed. "Nah. I think that your trashy grades at school were because of your bad study habits."

Carter grumbled.

"What kind of habits?" Aurelius asked, taking a seat on his own bed.

Rob crossed his arms. "Well, he would go play instead of doing his homework. He often told me to do the same."

"You didn't listen, did you?" I asked with narrowed eyes.

He chuckled. "Nope. I was too afraid of failing."

"I didn't fail, though," Carter said, puffing his cheeks. "I got Cs."

I laughed. "You were satisfied with Cs?"

He nodded. "Yeah, saw it as C for Carter!"

"Why are Cs bad?" Aurelius asked, looking at Rob and me.

"Well, they're very average. Mediocre, some might say."

Carter winced as if his best friend had delivered him a gut punch.

"Do you not use letter grades back home? Do you use numbers instead?" I asked.

He shook his head. "Neither."

"No grades? Sounds like my kind of place!" Carter said, grinning.

"We had trials instead. They work similar to the entrance exam but are more task-oriented. As long as we fulfilled the task, we passed. It didn't matter if we used our brain or brawn to solve it. Often, all of one's survival skills were needed."

"Sounds pretty harsh," Rob said.

"Harsh? Sounds like fun!" Carter said, grinning.

"Glad to see you're lively. By the way, have you seen Mira or Jude?" I asked.

"Yeah, I passed by them on the way back from the kitchen. They were heading to the training room in the ship's hull," Aurelius said.

"They aren't tired?" Rob asked.

"Told them to rest, but they said they had slept enough."

Carter jumped to his feet. "Can you show me to the training room? I need to get ready for my match with Nate tomorrow."

"Rest," I said, glaring at him.

"I can't! Not when the next match is tomorrow!"

"It'll be tomorrow afternoon. You have all morning to do so."

"Then I might be too exhausted to put up much of a fight."

Rob sighed. "You idiot. Look at yourself in the mirror. You already look like you won't put up much of a fight against Nate. Now, rest!"

"Fine." Carter returned to bed. "Happy now, Mom?"

Rob patted his head. "Good boy!"

Is he treating him like his kid or his dog?

"Do I get any snacks? I like the gummy kind," Carter said with a smirk.

"Only if you continue to behave," Rob said with a smirk of his own.

Carter closed his eyes. "Okay. I'll behave. Miss you, Mom." Tears streamed down his cheeks.

Rob frowned. "Carter..."

"Mom. Don't go," he mumbled, grabbing Rob's arm.

"He really misses her, huh?" Aurelius said, frowning.

Rob nodded as he stroked Carter's upper arm. "His mom meant the world to him. She's the one who motivated him to become Magus Maximus."

So, that's why he wanted to become the next Magus Maximus so badly. Here I thought he was simply doing it to show off to his dad who had abandoned him.

"I get how it feels to lose a loved one. I still dream about my grandpa to this day."

I lowered my head. Dad and Mom would appear in mine too. However, Mom would sometimes appear as a blur, especially as time went on. It felt as if I had forgotten her.

I shut my eyes and clenched my necklace. I didn't want to forget her, but I was!

"You okay?" Aurelius asked.

I gulped. "I need to get some fresh air."

He put a hand on my shoulder. "I'll accompany you."

I clenched my locket. "Be strong, Kanja," Mom's voice echoed in my head. I even felt a soft hand stroke my face.

"Maybe I should join Jude and Mira instead. My magic needs some polish," I whispered.

Aurelius smiled slightly. "Alright. I'll accompany you there. You need a sparring partner anyway, right?"

I smiled. "Thanks, Aurelius. Sorry that I couldn't have won despite the help Cart and you gave me."

He shook his head. "No need. You tried your hardest. Keep at it and you'll get stronger!"

I smiled weakly. "If you say so."

Mom, I wasn't strong. Even though I did well to hide it, I was still the same crybaby you used to sing to bed. But I will become strong enough to protect those I care for. I wouldn't ever allow someone else to die if I could help it.

**Solar Note: Hope you enjoyed the chapter, if so then please consider clicking on that Star icon :)**