To his surprise, there were no monsters that came by to harass him, even after three hours of healing and refining. Even so, Arthur chose to move away from the archway, climbing the rest of the short hill upwards towards the peak. As the day was beginning to end by this point, he chose to search for a place to rest, but with the narrow peak and lack of proper areas to rest, his options were tying himself up to the top of a tree or just finishing it.
"Got a boss, at the top, who I might not, be at a loss...." Arthur whispered to himself, as he climbed. He was tired, his body ached - not because of any lingering injuries, but from the memory of such injuries. Not that he didn't have a few here and there, but nothing that would slow him down in a fight.
If not for the fact that he recalled the pain, the way his body hitched. It would take time and retraining, assessing and stretching himself out to relax those muscles out before he was back at it; though the advantage of having adrenaline flood through him constantly helped to reduce the moments where he forgot that he should - or had been - injured.
No wonder so many Climbers spent time doing things like yoga or slow stretching or tai chi, moving their bodies through full range of motion after they left. Or took part in things like dance competitions or showcases, or got involved with sporting competitions. It actually had practical effects, to force them to reacquaint themselves with their healed, undamaged bodies and to learn the full extent they had changed.
"Does that mean I should be joining the Climber Fighting Championships?" Arthur mused out loud.
It was a good way of making money. There was a lot of money involved - not just in prize money or appearance fees but also the side bets. Many times, things like monster cores or enchanted material or even services were bet, though Arthur really only knew of that by rumor.
Not as though, before this, he had the right to even get involved.
"Yeah..." he took a moment to regard how far he had come, as he scanned the darkening surroundings, still searching for a place to rest.
Up the tree, or...
Light ahead. He frowned, slowing down. His jaw dropped, as he got a closer look, surprise registering visibly on his face. His mouth didn't drop open like a cartoon character, but it was certainly hanging.
After all, the last thing he had expected was a Malay longhouse set at the top of the peak, lights glowing and welcoming to him. He stopped, considering his next steps.
Stop here, and rest somewhere? In the hopes that whoever lived in there didn't come out. Or risk the denizens within, hoping that whatever the final test was, wasn't going to trigger immediately. The fact that it was a house, rather than a giant cave or something left him feeling hopeful that was the case.
While rare, it wasn't unusual for the final test to be something other than a straight out combat role.
Of course, he also wasn't looking forward to the other potential options. Most of them, he was even less suited to clearing than stabbing someone in the gut with his spear.
...
"Wait? Am I an idiot muscle head?" Arthur muttered to himself, then considered. He wasn't a tank - resolute and strong. He wasn't the sniper or the sneak or a mage or the climber equivalent of all that. He definitely wasn't someone who made things... And while he was the leader, half the time in fights, he wasn't giving commands, so much as slotting in when someone like Mel was ordering others around.
Though he did, occasionally, do that.
So... maybe? At least, he wasn't entirely loss to that.
Arthur grimaced as he neared the garden area, a series of low bushes and then just open space. He glanced down at one spot that was just beaten earth in a large rectangle that he could not help but guess was a training ground, though that was his own inclination, he knew. There were other, obvious, reasons for a place to be entirely bare of grass.
A loading and unloading section perhaps? Parade ground? He wasn't sure, but not everyone trained for hours a day and wanted flat, comfortable and easy to move in piece of land.
As he looked around, he found his gaze lingering on one particular section of darkness. He slowed his footsteps a little as he stared at it, waiting for the shadows to resolve. As twilight deepened, more shadows spread out all across the surroundings and Arthur found himself reaching for his Shadow Sense, allowing his chi to spread through the surroundings.
Moments later, the shadow detached itself, resolving into a figure clad in nothing more than what some might call a skirt. Of course, the sarong was just a traditional piece of cloth that reached towards the ankles, wrapped a couple of times and tied off easily. Paired with an extra piece of cloth over the shoulders at times - or, as the figure before him showcased, nothing at all - it was simple and practical in the hot and temperate tropics.
Other things were more interesting to Arthur than the man's state of dress. The kris that was belted to his side, that a hand rested close and the simple spear in his other hand was among them, but also the small tudung that he wore. Arthur blinked, trying to remember if that was time period correct, then dismissed it as unimportant for the moment.
"Hi, boss. We can cakap tak?" Arthur asked, as he neared the man but staying out of lunging distance of the spear.
"You are late." Closer now, Arthur was certain - the man was a good four inches shorter than him. That was good, though it did make the fellow a rather strange guard. Well muscled though, in the 'I work for a living' kind of way, rather than the 'I take a lot of steroids and hit the gym to look good in too tight muscle shirts' form. Brown and tanned skin, and flatter nose like most Malays.
"I... what?" Arthur asked.
"Are late. Tun Rahman is waiting," the guard said.
"Right, right. And, of course, I'm here to see him." Arthur forced a grin, offering a slight bow as he stepped closer. "It was a bit of a fight, getting here."
"Did Tun Lok attack you?" the guard shifted, staring behind Arthur.
"No. I..." he hesitated, then continued. "Beasts. Big harimau. I killed it though."
"So the rumors were right, you are a great warrior," the guard said, offering a nod. "Good. We need all the men we can get."
"Right, right. Of course, and there's a lot gathered already?" Arthur said, following as the man lead him onwards. "Lots of, you know, other warriors?" He was beginning to understand what was happening, and it was making his heart drop and his stomach hollow.
It was a quest, a damn scenario quest. Which meant he would have to play a part, figure out what the objective was and complete it, in whatever way he could. Like a bad game of charades.
Of course, it was never that simple.