Time had passed on the thirteenth floor, and having determined what he wished to do. Eric made some effort to create some bridges with the other patrol members.
During the first days of the second week, Eric finally approached them with hopes that they would help him.
The fire wielder easily agreed, seeing no issue with his request and began helping immediately. The water wielder on the other hand, refused Eric’s request, and didn’t provide a reason as to why. Eric wasn’t really affected by the refusal and instead poured his all into what he was already learning.
During the second half of the week, just like the first, also went on without issue. He even managed to steal a pill from unsuspecting merchants, even while he was being accompanied by other guards.
He was able to do something so brazen due to the fact that not all the guards could actually sense mana or any of its various forms. It had only been Eric who thought that it was a prerequisite thanks to Lu Feng’s words. So, using Mana Projection, he snatched the pills while making an effort to keep his hands visible.
And that wasn’t all the good news, his fire training was proceeding better than he had expected.
Just like Lu Feng, the fire wielder spoke in metaphors and allegories that really tired and bored Eric, testing the limits of his patience. But after analyzing the words that he spoke with a more analytical view, searching for a more literal meaning, he actually learned what he needed to.
“I really fucking hate wuxia. Just tell me what you mean instead of depending on me translating it.”
Amidst all the allegory and fancy word play, the fire wielder was essentially telling Eric how to move mana around. There was also a strong component of visualization that played a part in what he was doing. Something Eric was getting really good at without knowing, thanks to his various skills and how he had already been using them.
Mana Sense and its evolved form, Mana Insight, required him to interpret and visualize the information that he got when he used it. Mana Insight less so, but it was still something that he did. Mana Projection also needed him to be aware of what he was doing, especially when he wasn’t looking. And to top it off, Mental Focus aided every effort he was already making when using the skills, helping increase his visualization capabilities.
During the final day of the week, Eric only got a single hour with Lu Feng, and just like the last time, he only listened to more things that he personally considered to be the epitome of useless bullshit.
However, something had happened, and it caused him to be more wary of his surroundings, also reminding him that he was a wanted person.
Or to be more accurate, I’m carrying something that many people want. I’m like a walking treasure trove just because of one item.
On two separate occasions, tower challengers made their way over to the patrol, their sights set on causing trouble. But upon arrival, their eyes kept darting between the patrol members. It was as if they knew the where, but they weren’t exactly sure on the who.
After dealing with them, Eric pondered the situation, but ultimately dismissed the entire thing, blaming it on System shenanigans. However, the strange situation did cause him to consider taking the infinite essence then and there, but he hesitated.
I don’t know what will happen when I take it, or how the people of this world will react to seeing it. I haven’t even taken it out of storage just in case others have a way to detect it.
But in the end, Eric’s biggest problem was his nature, his recently discovered true nature. Because of the very fact that he didn’t care, he felt no sense of urgency. He easily explained it to himself as needing the perfect environment and pushed the matter aside.
And like that, the second week came to an end.
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The fourteenth hour was fast approaching, and just like the previous thirteen, time passed without much spectacle. The first day of the tournament was only minutes away from coming to an end and not much more had happened.
“Still, at least we’ve managed to identify people of interest,” Stella said, her gaze fixing itself on others.
Her sight first landed on a woman with olive skin. Her alias was simple, it was Aegis. If anyone else had seen her fight, they wouldn’t have noticed anything out of the ordinary. She wielded a simple round shield in one hand and a pike on the other, and her fight was by the book, a simple exchange of blows.
But Stella, someone who spent most of her time next to a person with divine power—her secretary, Lydia—immediately caught on to the truth behind her attacks. The best guess that Stella could make was that Aegis’s strikes were literally guided by divine will. She guessed this because it was only the strikes that never missed that had divinity imbued.
Round shield and a pike make me think of Rome, maybe Greece. “Hmm, guess it doesn’t matter since the gods are the same,” she said out loud.
“Aegis?” Alex asked, interrupting her musings.
“Yes. Which god do you think is helping her? Or maybe not helping since it could be an artifact—You get the question,” Stella said, stopping herself from going on tangent.
“Yeah, I do,” Alex said, a small smile forming across his tired expression. “My guess would be that it’s either Athena or Ares. Ares was—is?... the god of war and Athena was something like strategy or the like. And for some reason, shield and pike make me think of army.”
“My thoughts exactly,” Stella said as she stopped looking at Aegis and instead shifted her attention toward a group of individuals.
At the very front of the stands, right where they ended, there was a group of fully suited people. But Stella’s eyes were set on observing only three of them, a woman with a ponytail, an older looking man, and a young man with a katana.
“It’s so obvious that they’re government, that it makes me doubt that they are. You know?” Anna said, playfully.
“Yes,” Stella agreed. “I think that other than the young man with the katana, I haven’t seen any of them smile or change their expression at all.” Stella didn’t hide the fact that she was watching them, and neither did they hide the fact that they were watching her. “Did you see what the older man did?”
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“Did you?” Anna asked, sarcastically. “The lady he fought just fell, and he didn’t fight anyone else. There was literally nothing to see.”
Just like Anna said, there was nothing to see during the older man’s—Robert’s—match. Within a second of it beginning, the woman that lunged at him fell face forward, completely unconscious. Then the man just stood there, his arms crossed as his teammates took care of the remaining opponents.
“I was hoping that maybe you’d noticed a concept being used or something,” Stella said, conveying the reason behind her question.
“Sorry to disappoint, but no. I’m not even sure I can sense concepts. As far as I can tell, I can only sense concepts similar to my own,” Anna explained. “And before you ask, I also didn’t recognize anything about the one with the katana.”
“Why would I ask you that? Do you think that I think that you’re an expert in all things sword related—”
“—And that it’s all somehow related her family?” Alex interjected, completing her words. “Yeah, she does, because we do.”
“Fair,” Stella agreed.
“I did however feel something from him,” Anna said, pointing at an ostentatiously dressed young Asian man. It wasn’t just his clothes that looked expensive, his gear, and even his name was luxurious, Child of Gold. “Pretty sure he’s family. But unlike the other one, he used his concept in smaller ways. It’s why it took me some time to put it together.”
“Smaller ways?” Stella asked, as she and Alex gave her all of their attention.
“Yes, smaller ways,” Anna repeated. “Instead of using their power to bisect someone, they instead used it to loosen the grip on their weapon, making their strikes weaker. Pretty sure he also used it on their legs, their footing seemed off.”
“Why can’t you do that?” Alex asked, genuine curiosity in his expression.
“Who says I can’t?” Anna asked.
“Can you?”
“I don’t know,” Anna responded with a shrug. “Anyways, is there anyone else of note?”
Everyone that had heard, even those that hadn’t been participating in the conversation up until now took the moment to remember what they had seen. It was hard to remember things clearly when your mind was already exhausted.
It had been more than fourteen hours since the tournament began. The sun had long since set, and the moons were high in the sky.
Seeing only a few people disappear from her peripheral vision, most now choosing to go underground in an effort to relieve the boredom, Stella remembered something.
“What about those three people that had come from the elf’s building, anybody seen them?” she asked.
“You mean them?” Alex asked, pointing at the screens above the arena.
But just as Stella was about to turn and look, a message appeared before her, telling her to get ready.
----------
In the arena, one of the figures that had escaped from the elf pagoda, the short and thin one, stood with their hand on their hip as the timer counted down.
When the timer finally reached zero, with zero hesitation the military geared figure, Eagle of Light, brought a gun out and shot it at their opponent.
Anyone that was watching immediately felt their attention being drawn toward the gun itself. When the trigger was pulled, the air rippled as mana was sucked in to the gun, powering the unique symbols and pathways that were engraved upon it. The lights flowed toward the barrel until a burst of concentrated mana was shot.
Their target was a young black woman who appeared to specialize in speed, at least by the way that she dodged the bullet.
Unfazed by missing the first shot, Eagle rubbed their thumb against the gun’s grip, revealing not only a column of weird symbols, but also showing one of them light up an orange color.
As their opponent hastily made their way toward them, Eagle shot two more times.
The first shot seemed to have been aimed at the same target and when it was easily dodged with a forward flip, everyone looking thought that Eagle had missed, but they were wrong.
The other shot on the other hand, appeared to have been shot without even aiming, the magical shot flying more than two meters away from their opponent.
Using their opponent as cover and counting on her to dodge the shot, Eagle had managed to easily strike another of her opponents in the leg. The precision with which they did it made it clear that that had always been their intention.
When their original opponent stood a few steps before them, dagger in hand, Eagle looked down at their gun, rubbing their thumb against another symbol.
Their opponent grinned at their carelessness; their dagger ready to stab deep into their chest. But when victory seemed so close that she could taste it, something struck her on the leg.
She stumbled a bit, but gritting her teeth, she kept herself steady, ready to advance… But then, another gunshot was heard, and her other leg lost all strength.
Eagle lifted their right foot a bit, enough for their opponent to fall underneath it. When she had settled underneath their right foot, they stepped down and unleashed a flurry of purple mana shots.
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“The orange bullets have tracking features,” Ryuji said, analyzing the fight that had just ended.
“And the purple bullets appear to cause pain,” Robert added as he tuned out the unending screams that came from the floating screen, until finally, the screen disappeared. “What do you think the other symbols are capable of?”
“No idea. The only thing I do know is that the first shot they made didn’t require any symbol, but it also used external mana. While the orange and purple bullets shot out without gathering mana.”
“A magical magazine?” Robert proposed. “Or perhaps an internal reserve that they can use if they wish. The first shot might have just been a distraction.”
“That’s possible. I hate the fact that there are too many unknowns. My confidence is wavering,” Ryuji confessed, tightening the grip on his sword.
“While I believe that things should be dealt with in a fast a simple manner, on this occasion I’m going to have to ask you to suck it up,” Robert said, his tone cold and without emotion. “We are being watched by everyone, to fall here would weaken our stance. Hold strong and trust your training.”
“Did you think I meant that I was afraid?” Ryuji scoffed, insulted. “I just hate not knowing things.”
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The other figure covered in military gear that was present on the arena was completely different than the previous one. They were taller, wider and the way they carried themselves held a hint of military discipline. Those that had seen it enough, easily recognized it, even Stella.
The figure’s name was Eldest Hound, and that name made Stella flinch. It wasn’t because she recognized it or anything, there was a hint, but nothing major. However, when it was coupled with Eagle of Light, her suspicions only grew.
I need to see the other figure’s name in order to be sure, she told herself.
Even though she was struggling to make connections, she still gave her all to observing the match, even more so considering where her mind was going.
That being said, there wasn’t really a match to begin with. The Eldest Hound’s opponents resembled them to a degree—tall, wide, and built for strength. It seemed obvious to everyone that this match would devolve into a strength contest. At least, that’s what everyone thought.
Contrary to everyone’s expectations, thirty seconds after the match began, the Hound’s opponents were met with complete and utter defeat. The Hound fought with minimal but practiced movements.
There was one opponent that they had to focus particularly hard on. No matter what blows they delivered, their opponent used his unnaturally tough head to receive the blow. But when the hound managed to pummel him into the ground with such force that they were knocked unconscious, the match was over.
“Shit,” Stella muttered, her worries basically confirmed.
“What is it?” Anna asked.
“I recognize the way that the Hound fought.” Taking a deep breath in, Stella was about to continue when she disappeared.
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Under the cover of night, four women, all wearing cleric clothing, moved through the tournament grounds with purpose. They stopped short of the underground area, where another of their kind, similarly dressed, joined them.
They barely advanced a few steps, when suddenly, a rush of golden, holy power assaulted one of them. The others did nothing to stop it.
The targeted woman then turned to the side, toward a small alley. “What do you want?” she asked, her tone one of that of an older woman, aged and poised.
“Always so testy,” a man obscured by the night and alley said. “Anyway, tomorrow there will be a meeting. It is time that we all meet, is it not?”
“Hmph,” was all the woman said before leaving.
The man peeked out the alley, his white clothes basically shining with the moons light. His sight landed on the underground entrance. “What did you do?” he asked.
Behind him, a faint yellow glow quickly faded into his shoulders. A moment later, that similar colored glint appeared in his eyes.
Turning to the night sky, the man smiled broadly. “Still as easy as I remember,” the man said, walking away.
