Thousands of people had made their way to the tournament grounds. They all roamed the streets and took their time to investigate what this place had to offer.
Like Alex, they all made a point of confirming that they were still on the same planet.
Some used the sun, or the sky, while others used more esoteric and fantastical methods. Someone read the cards, others looked into a crystal ball.
There was one particularly large man who removed his shirt, glanced at the sky and stars began to appear on his naked torso. He then proceeded to trace the skies with one hand and his torso with the other.
The most amazing part of arriving at the tournament was seeing such fantastic abilities.
Some were an extreme application of basic skills, while others were far more unique and reminiscent of what Lydia and Tony could do. Skills and even miracles that could only be granted by beings of higher power.
Making their way through one of the courtyards, Anna had a dejected expression on her face. It seemingly grew more somber every time she came across another of the homunculi. She said no words, but her body said all that it needed to in order to convey what words couldn’t.
Stella walked alongside her in silence. Her expression was also a heavy one.
The implications of such creations were morally reprehensible. And she had a particular struggle as a small part of her easily accepted their existence, that same part of her saw the need in having them shackled the way they were.
It was almost as if that part of her saw something that she herself couldn’t comprehend. It was slightly alien and felt like no more than a simple bureaucratic decision.
However, something that Stella couldn’t be able to tell, was the fact that Anna felt a similar feeling. It was considerably weaker than what Stella herself was feeling but it was there, gnawing at her.
That feeling only compounded the issue of something that had become incredibly obvious, no matter how much she wanted to ignore it.
“My family… my family did this?” Anna muttered, her voice weak and hollow. “Why? There must have been a better way than this.”
Stella reached and grabbed Anna’s shoulder, pushing down the part that understood why things were as they were. “We just have to do our best and soon, soon you’ll get answers,” she said with firm determination.
The tournament location was evenly divided into four, one for each of the tower pagodas. But only one was bustling with activity, the pagoda and side that currently only had humans and nothing else.
Alex had theorized the purpose of the different pagodas. His suggestions went from different factions, all the way to different species.
Anna and Stella made their way toward the edge of what was, at the very least, the human section, hoping to see what was up.
“It’s odd that there aren’t more people, you know?” Stella said, trying to shift the topic. “We alone brought in at least two to three hundred people. Are we outliers?”
“Again?!” Anna said, with mock exasperation. “Can we be normal for once?” she added, dropping her shoulder as if exhausted.
She began to speak in a low tone, trying to reduce the amount of people that could listen. “First, our people are weird, which is true. Then our leveling is weird. The rest of the world has barely reached the evolution stage, while we and our people have already been evolved for months. Finally, our development.” Her tone returned to normal. “Can we be normal for once?” she asked, throwing her arms in the air.
“I don’t know?” Stella said, raising her eyebrow. “Can you be normal?”
“Oh, hell no. It’s way more fun this way,” Anna answered with a smile on her face.
“That’s what I thought. Now come on, we’re almost at the other—”
An attendant appeared before them, stopping their advance. “I apologize miss contestant and young miss.” The attendant bowed. “But currently, there are divisions between the different species.”
Young miss… Anna mused in her head. It was already a done deal that this was her family’s doing but this really cemented it.
“Between species?” Stella asked, quickly catching on. “Does that mean that there are three more species? Do the intelligent monsters count as a species?”
Stella asked because after spending an entire year in their new world, they had only ever encountered one more being that was intelligent and wasn’t human, Ratsvalch. A general for the monarchs, that from what they gathered, was the faction that monsters belonged to.
“That is not the case. Monsters are just monsters,” the attendant said, quickly shutting down Stella supposition. “The other three species are those that already inhabited the worlds that were used to bring Earth up to multiversal standards.”
“Can I ask for the names and descriptions of these other species?” Stella asked, hoping for a positive answer.
“You may, but I will not answer. I believe that the reveal would make for more intense battles.”
“What if I ask?” Anna said, banking on her connection.
“I regret to inform you that while you are of the family, you are not officially recognized as a member. You have yet to earn the right to compel those of us who serve your family,” the attendant answered, without emotion.
Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.
“Worth a shot,” Anna said, looking at Stella and shrugging her shoulders. “Should we go…”
Anna trialed off midsentence as she noticed that the pagoda she and Stella had been headed toward opened its doors.
Immediately, both of them sharpened their senses, specifically their eyesight, in an attempt to catch a glimpse of what exited the building.
The only one who managed to glimpse anything was Anna. Pointy ears, green skin, human size. Tall goblins? Hobgoblins?
But that was all she could gleam as the attendant raised their arm and as if a foggy window had popped into existence, the image became distorted.
“If you would please return to the pagoda. It is about time you are shown to your rooms. Shall we?” the attendant asked, gesturing for both of them to walk.
Stella turned to Anna with a questioning gaze and Anna nodded, confirming that she had caught something. Then both began to walk back.
Tournament of the Strong: 9:13:41
----------
Sarah navigated the ever-growing darkness like it wasn’t even there to begin with, which might be the case soon enough.
After the labyrinth was cut in two, the darkness that permeated the passageways that led toward the center began to leak out, causing the darkness to weaken.
Yet, it still wasn’t at the level that someone was able to navigate through with little to no assistance, much less with the level of ease that Sarah was doing.
In her hand, she was playing with a bone that glowed with a white fire. The illumination was quickly drowned out, serving no purpose, but it was clear that it was only a means of entertainment.
Soon, Sarah stopped before a certain entranceway, covered with a thick and viscous substance.
“I already have too much to do to also have to carry the burden of doubt and dread,” she said in an annoyed tone.
Magic began to materialize before her, digging into the thick substance. Soon after, the magic began to expand as a series of thin, vertical lines began to create a web that pushed the substance outward.
An opening big enough to allow Sarah’s passage was created, and she passed through without issue.
She made her way toward the center of the room and without wasting any time, snapped her fingers.
A tattoo that she had on her upper right arm began to shine brightly, its true form obscured by her lab coat. Then a gateway opened beside her and a series of spherical constructs made their way out.
The constructs began to scan the room and summon specialized equipment. Meanwhile, Sarah made her way toward the edge of the labyrinth, right where it was bisected.
She snapped her fingers again, and another tattoo on her upper right arm illuminated and more constructs made their way out.
However, these constructs, unlike the first ones, focused entirely on scanning the separation.
Turning her back to these new constructs, Sarah made her way toward a certain body that lay near the wall. Behind her, the constructs began to connect both sides of the labyrinth and prevented any further drift.
A spherical construct gently floated in the middle of the room and suddenly, as if something were fighting to escape from within, it broke into five identical constructs.
They shot toward each corner of the room, and one stayed put in the center. Suddenly, the entire room was illuminated, as if the sun were hitting it directly.
Sarah, completely unfazed by the sudden brilliance of the room, looked at the body from various angles.
“Minotaur…” She pushed her foot down on its arm to get it to face upward. “Young. Maybe thirty, might be thirty-two.” She pressed the tip of her shoe on its forehead and shifted her gaze toward the viscous wall. “Mind collapse.”
Then, she looked around the room, studying the magical circuitry, looking for something specific.
“Just like I thought. A complete prison. So, his mind and soul should still be here. There might still be a use for him. Maybe, he heard something about what went on here.”
----------
Eric blocked an incoming sword swing with great ease. Around him, were eight unconscious knights and two more were currently facing him, stopping him from doing any more harm. At least, that’s what they thought they were doing.
In reality, Eric was baffled by their strength, but not in a good way.
Just like the thugs had said, they were about as strong as he was, and they could get stronger once they used their special techniques.
The problem was that Eric mostly fought the thugs at the hideout using his body, no magical reinforcement. So, the thugs had no way of knowing Eric’s true max strength, not even he knew it, not really.
And their techniques are really just a way to apply mana, he thought as he focused his skills on the sword he was blocking.
They’re just injecting mana into their bodies. Which is what I just learned to do, but their bodies are those of normal unevolved humans. The only thing I am interested in knowing is how they project mana toward their weapons. One of them even launched it as a projectile.
Applying a small amount of mana through the roughly formed channels that still caused a sense of discomfort and incongruity within him, Eric easily pushed the attacking knight away.
“I—” he was about to speak, only to hear the swing of a sword coming from his side. Quickly dodging it and using more force than he had been up until this point, he quickly incapacitated the knight.
“Look, I don’t want to kill you,” Eric began, his body conveying his lack of desire or interest for that matter. “I just want the red diamond that’s in that box,” he added, pointing to the wooden box that was clutched near the chest of a young, well-dressed noble woman.
“You barbarian! You will die—”
“I have no problem killing all of you,” Eric said nonchalantly. “I’m going through my own existential dilemma right now and the only reason I’m keeping you alive is to see if I even care.” The air around him suddenly shifted. “But there are other ways to test myself. For example, I could see if I care after I kill all of you.”
Quickly, the only remaining knight made their way toward the young noble woman. “Forgive her, old sage,” the knight began, their voice feminine and pleading. The knight was also making assumptions about Eric to explain his strength. “But this jewel is proof of her legitimacy to the throne. We cannot simply—”
“Do I look old?” Eric asked, interrupting the knight.
Normally, Eric would have let that comment slide, but almost as if to prove to himself that he was more than a tool, he began to react to everything.
“Excuse—excuse me?” the knight asked.
Realizing what he was doing, Eric quickly answered. “Nothing. Again, I have my own dilemmas.” He let out a deep breath.
I was dropped in an alleyway with thugs, the System told me to find the red diamond and the thugs gave me a possible answer even after I left them behind. It’s like the story is on tracks. But I guess that in an infinite universe, everything is possible.
His mind began to turn, looking for another solution that didn’t involve him killing everyone. The problem… or solution, is that now that I’m here, I find myself in a situation that screams “succession battle.”
“One question,” Eric said in a normal tone, cutting the tension that had built up with his silence.
“Yes?” the knight replied, eager to ease the situation.
“This is about a succession battle, isn’t it?”
The knight hesitated for a second, but realizing the situation they were in, quickly answered. “Yes. Yes, it is.”
Eric nodded and pondered for a bit. “Did the king or crown heir die suddenly?”
The young noble—princess, gasped. “How did you know? I knew it! You must—”
The knight quickly ordered her to stay silent, as if it were a secret that wasn’t meant to be divulged and, in an effort to not anger the being before them.
This is totally the secret quest. Something dumb like “Find the secret behind the death of—"
You have encountered the secret objective of the Trial of Freedom.
New Quest!
Quest: Royal truths.
Objective: Discover the truth behind the deaths of the king and the first prince, heir to the crown.
Rewards: +25 Reward points.
And there it is.
“Fuck.”
