The Crystals

"What? I am not done. I haven't shown anything yet," Zohaifa complained.

Lazuli made an energy ball and let it float in the air.

"Try to shoot it," Lazuli instructed.

Chew!

Zohaifa shot a plasma blast and shot down the ball.

"I did it. So what?"

"I expected you to hit the center which seemed to be your target as well. But it hit through the edge. "

"I did it nevertheless."

"You over trained, didn't you?"

"Huh? I only trained once."

"How many fights did you fight during the pause?"

"Hmm… let me count. 1…2…5, I fought five fights."

"Were all the fights damaging to you?"

"Only one of them was easy. Others were hard."

"Few overtrain isn't too harmful. But pushing yourself to the limits repeatedly can cause permanent problems."

"But I healed in most of them with the mythos form. Except for the last one."

"I need to hear the details."

Zohaifa slid his vision across the environment searching for something.

"Red-1 is not here? He always comes when it's time to explain. I guess I will have to do it myself then," Zohaifa said to himself.

Thus, Zohaifa told all the incidences since he left the forest.

After the narration was finished, Lazuli huffed and said, "You waste a lot of time. You should stop describing every part of the fight. What would I do knowing how heroic you are? You are giving me info not making a composition of heroism."

"Sorry, I was just being honest."

"Anyway, it seems that you indeed overstressed yourself at the last. You received a beat down from the Lava Gladiator, fought the village elders, trained intensely, and fought the Lava Gladiator again with nothing but normal medications in between. The battering from the Crazy town is forgivable since you were healed by the Mythos form."

"So, what now?"

"I don't think you can heal by just resting. You might be healthy by the time the tournament comes

but nobody can fight at their best after such a long break."

"Isn't there anything to do?"

"Wait here."

Lazuli went inside while Zohaifa was left to sit with Marium.

"Wow! You are so amazing, Zohaifa," exclaimed Marium.

"Thanks."

"You defeated those evil monsters like a hero," praised Marium even more. But Zohaifa looked a little disappointed.

"Marium, Lava Gladiator was truly evil. But I can't agree about the absorpian."

Marium, being startled, asked Zohaifa, "But she was killing the people. And if she was not evil, why did you destroy her?"

"Zohaifa, what does this tournament mean to you?" she asked.

"It is important to me. It is my way of showing that it was worth saving me. That they did not save just a random kid."

"And if you lose?" asked Marium while biting her nails.

Zohaifa understood then the reason for Marium's gloominess. She was worried about how Zohaifa would feel after losing because she knows very well that I can't defeat Lazuli or anyone who can defeat Lazuli.

Thus, Zohaifa answered with a smile, "I don't hope to win anyway. I am just intending to prove my worth. If I can surprise everyone, she will see the potential in me. She might think I was worth it. Anyway, even if she doesn't, I would have proved my worth in the universe by then."