3 bar menu

The One on Top – Part 03

Ryver, a seasoned adventurer, did not think that Silver Face would agree to the deal that easily. He just thought it was worth a shot.

Silver Face did as Ryver instructed. He pulled a smoke bomb from the tool bag at his waist, and Ryver instantly fired an arrow. His aim was spot on, narrowly missing Silver Face’s hand.

“Oh?! Ryver missed! I can see another smokescreen coming, but he will surely just clear it away again with his magic item!”

The attack just now was simply for show. A smoke bomb fell from Silver Face’s hand and created a smokescreen.

Let’s see now…

Ryver was frustrated at the failed assassination attempt on Jillarte, but obtaining a magic item that could conceal his presence would be a godsend. With such a tool, he could carry out assassinations much easier. Ryver himself could conceal his presence, but Silver Face’s ability was far superior.

He’s moved to the left, Ryver thought. I can still sense him.

His Life Detection allowed him to clearly pinpoint Silver Face’s location even inside the thick smoke. The masked man probably couldn’t conceal his presence because he left his magic item behind.

Ryver immediately moved to the center of the smoke screen, and his eyes widened.

He had assumed that it wouldn’t be there, but Silver Face’s dagger was, in fact, lying there on the ground. It was a strange-looking dagger with a short but wide handle.

It could be a decoy, but it wouldn’t matter. Ryver could just blow away the smokescreen and shoot Silver Face.

If it was the real deal, then he hit the jackpot. His mouth twisted into a grin.

But at this moment, Ryver ignored the alarm bells ringing somewhere in his head. His Instinct had saved his life countless times before, but perhaps the excitement of possibly acquiring an unheard-of magic item left him distracted, or the loud cheers disrupted his concentration—whatever the case, he reached for the dagger after confirming Silver Face’s location, confident that he was safe enough.

Then, the magic item exploded.

Ryver wondered how a dagger could explode, but the person who could answer his question had already vanished without a trace.

“There’s an explosion at the center of the smokescreen! Oh! Someone’s flying! It’s Ryver! Ryver got caught up in the explosion!”

It was an explosion powerful enough to blow up the heart of the Black Dragon in the dungeon. A hit at point-blank range would cause some serious damage—but someone as strong as Ryver shouldn’t die from it.

Back then, the dagger only gave one second before the explosion, but this one was a modified version that allowed the time to be adjusted. The explosion was set to trigger after five seconds.

“I didn’t expect to win this way.”

The blast had also blown away the smokescreen.

Hikaru walked over to Ryver, who was twitching in the middle of the ring.

---

The gong signaling the start of the match had rung, but she stayed still. Jillarte could see herself staring at Selyse. Her body was relaxed.

Before the match, Silver Face visited her in her waiting room. That alone was enough to calm her mind.

“I want to cast a spell on you to win,” he had said.

When Jillarte was told to close her eyes, she was so nervous that she thought her heart was going to burst. She felt Silver Face moving and wondered when he would touch her. Thinking back now, it was extremely embarrassing how she expected something to happen.

What really happened was Hikaru opened Jillarte’s Soul Board and put all of her 4 available points into one stat.

“It’s done. You can open your eyes now. I know you will make good use of this.”

Silver Face did not tell her what it was exactly. A strange sensation in her body suggested some sort of magic spell.

“If you’re not going to make a move, then I will!”

Selyse bent forward and closed the distance between them instantly. Her upward slash was incredibly fast. Jillarte had never before experienced fighting a swordsman with such speed.

But…

I can see it!

Selyse’s attack was clearly visible to her eyes. As an adventurer, the right course of action when dealing with monsters was to dodge by jumping away, but Jillarte, judging that to be a risky move against Selyse, changed the trajectory of her opponent’s sword with the short sword in her left hand, parrying it easily.

Selyse’s eyes widened in shock. She wasn’t underestimating Jillarte, but she didn’t expect her to read her move this well.

Jillarte thrust her right-hand sword, which Selyse deflected with her small shield. As she spun, Selyse unleashed a kick, but Jillarte had already backed away, resulting in a miss.

“Strange,” Selyse said. “You’re clearly moving a lot better than yesterday. What happened?”

“It’s called magic.”

“Magic? Doesn’t look like the effect of any Support Magic.”

Jillarte smiled. I call it the magic of love. Just kidding.

She couldn’t possibly say that out loud.

Wait, love? I see… I’ve fallen in love with Silver Face…

The Dragonfolk were originally humans cursed by a drakon. On the inside they were the same as humans, which meant they were capable of loving them.

For the first time in her life, Jillarte realized that she had fallen in love with someone.

Silver Face said he would tell me what he wants after the tournament. I doubt he’ll say he wants me, but I’ll do anything if it’s within my power.

She couldn’t wait for that time to come.

“Jillarte,” Selyse said. “I really didn’t want to exhaust myself fighting you, but I have no other choice. I’m going all out.”

“I’ve been going all out from the start,” Jillarte replied. “I’m here to win the tournament. If I win…”

Silver Face would stay by her side. He would stay with her until the end of the tournament.

If she lost, he’d be gone. That was her commission to him, after all.

So Jillarte decided to fight to win and stay in the tournament as long as possible.

“Ha!”

“Hyah!”

The two began exchanging blows in the middle of the ring.

“A fierce battle has begun between Jillarte and Selyse in the Water ring! Fast, fast, fast! They’re too fast for my eyes to follow! Swords clashing, sparks flying!”

Jillarte was surprised that she could keep up with Selyse’s attacks. The her from yesterday would have lost track of her opponent’s movements and lost already.

No. It’s not that I can see her movements. I can feel them.

She could anticipate Selyse’s next move clearly, allowing her to act before she actually saw the attack. A master could predict their opponent’s next move simply by watching for the slight movement of the muscles. What Jillarte was feeling was close to that.

So this is the magic spell that Silver Face gave me…

Jillarte’s intuition was correct.

Hikaru had tinkered with her Soul Board and put all her remaining 4 points into Instinct, bumping it to 6.

While Selyse was superior to Jillarte in terms of swordsmanship skills, she had no points on Instinct. This was largely due to the fact that she had been in a party from the beginning, and things related to Instinct and Detection were left to Sara.

Six points in Instinct put Jillarte on the same level as an elite warrior. Hikaru thought she would be able to make good use of this ability.

And then…

Bang!

An explosion occurred in the next ring. Jillarte distanced herself from Selyse and looked in the direction of the explosion, where Silver Face was fighting Ryver.

---

Hikaru sauntered toward Ryver. From the looks of it, the explosion had hit Ryver directly. And since the man’s longbow was lying far from him, Hikaru could close the distance and put a blade to his neck and win. But before that, he had to confirm something.

Hikaru positioned himself behind Ryver so that even if he jumped back to his feet, he could active his Stealth and put some distance between them.

“Hey,” Hikaru called. “If you can hear me, say something. Why did you attack Jillarte? If I recall correctly, you got your slot from the Beastmen. Was it their idea?”

Why did he attack Jillarte? Was it on the Beastmen’s orders? Or was it a solo operation by Ryver?

Ryver did not answer. Is he out cold? Hikaru’s shoulders sagged.

“Wh-What is that fog?! I can’t see the arena well!”

A thin mist suddenly blanketed the arena. Visibility was reduced, and the spectators’ seats gradually became invisible.

“Wh-What?”

Hikaru did not see this coming. The ground around the arena swelled, and from it emerged bony hands. A face appeared next, screeching.

Undead monsters. Skeletons, Wraiths.

“Monsters… Wait, monsters?! Wh-What is happening? Ah, yes, yes. Attention, everyone in the audience! Please stay calm and evacuate immediately. Don’t push. What, me too? R-Right!”

Screams rose from the audience. The Undead monsters seemed to be appearing there as well.

“Tsk.”

Hikaru kicked a Skeleton that tried to come up to the ring. His Stealth was working, but not his Assassination. The Skeleton itself, however, did not seem to be very strong; it stopped moving when more than half of its skull was crushed.

A warrior representing the Beastmen in the Earth ring was struggling against a huge lump of earth—an Undead monster possessed by a departed soul. The monsters probably varied in strength.

This couldn’t possibly be a natural phenomenon. Someone must have summoned the Undead.

“Who the hell is behind this?”

Straining his eyes, Hikaru scanned the audience. He couldn’t see clearly, but there was a figure crouched still and reciting an incantation.

“Wait…”

Sitting alone in the reserved seating, hood covering her face and clutching a staff, was Caddie Fullblood of the Rising Falls.

Is Rising Falls the one doing this? Because Ryver was about to lose to me? But he’s already out cold and motionless…

Hikaru used his Life Detection and noticed that Ryver was on the move.

He thought he was very thorough, but there was one thing he overlooked. Ryver had 6 points on Instinct. He had protected himself at the moment of explosion.

Ryver had his longbow in his hand. The arena was in chaos, and the mist made it difficult to see him.

In other words, he could move freely.

Ryver aimed his bow and arrow.

“Guards, protect the audience first, not the candidates!” Jillarte shouted. “They’re all citizens of Einbiest!”