[You have passed the trial set by the Sacred Relic.]
I took a deep breath as I looked at the message before my eyes.
“Hoo… Hoo……”
Maybe it was because this Sacred Relic held greater value, but it was somewhat stronger than the Great Guardian I had faced before.
I’d wanted to finish it swiftly and cleanly.
But, contrary to expectations, it ended up taking quite a bit longer.
【No more? This was super fun!】
Leah, bursting with excitement, looked at me with sparkling eyes.
“There’ll be more soon.”
【Yay! Make sure to call me then.】
“Sure.”
When I turned, Pedrias was there, now wearing an utterly exhausted expression.
【C-Can we eat now?】
“We’re done for today. So go back and get in the mood, and try to win her over.”
【What does Irellin like?】
“Look at you, showing off how inexperienced you are. You’re supposed to find out things like that by asking her yourself.”
【Is… is that so? Still, isn’t it better to prepare if I know what she likes?】
“You’ll do fine.”
I gave him an encouraging pat on the shoulder.
【…Why… why am I here? What did you do to me?】
This time, Rynne, who’d been powered up with blood, seemed to have come to her senses, a bewildered look on her face.
“Don’t you remember anything?”
【Nope.】
“For the details, ask those two. I’m getting tired, so I’ll be heading back.”
【The blood! You said you’d give me blood!】
“I gave it to you.”
After sending the three back, I started walking over to collect the Sacred Relic.
There was a wide-brimmed hat.
When I picked it up, information appeared before my eyes.
[You have obtained the Sacred Relic: Archmage’s Hat.]
[Archmage’s Hat (Sacred Relic)]
- The hat of an Archmage who reached the realm of the 8th Circle with a human body.
- Increases comprehension of magic.
- Increases speed of magical research.
- When equipped, greatly increases elemental affinity.
- If lucky, one may converse with the soul of the Archmage and gain enlightenment.
- Usable only by humans.
Reading the description, I felt a sense of doubt.
‘Why is this considered more valuable?’
The Mana Spring Ring was a Sacred Relic crafted from an ancient Dragon, and its options even increased mana recovery and mana capacity.
While the options on this hat were excellent as well…
I couldn’t quite understand how the value of a Sacred Relic was determined.
‘Is it permanence?’
The Mana Spring Ring had certain requirements for use. On the other hand, this hat could be used permanently.
“Well. If I ask Rose later, I’m sure she’ll explain.”
With that thought, I moved on to check the rest of the messages.
This time, the message was a little different.
[The Sacred Relic: Archmage’s Hat affects only humans. Do you still wish to register it in the Dragon Lair?]
Currently, there are no humans in the Dragon Lair.
Except for me.
Registering a Sacred Relic that only applies to humans in such a place did seem inefficient.
“Can it be registered somewhere else?”
[It can be registered in the Golden Tower (Korea).]
Oh ho.
So it can be changed?
“Then I’ll change it.”
A message appeared at that.
[The Sacred Relic: Archmage’s Hat will be registered.]
[The mana comprehension, elemental affinity, and magical research speed of all humans affiliated with the Golden Tower (Korea) will be increased.]
An unexpected benefit.
With this, the overall level of the Golden Tower would rise, and the period before a second tower could be constructed, just as Rose had mentioned, would come that much sooner.
Smiling in satisfaction at the result, I returned to reality.
[You have met the entry requirements for the Arena.]
[Would you like to enter the Arena?]
At last, I could finally use the Arena.
“Yeah.”
Let’s check out what it’s about.
[Transferring to the Arena.]
Shuaaak!
I was engulfed in blackness, unable to see anything. In this weightless state, I couldn’t feel a thing. In such a situation, white letters appeared.
[Welcome to the Arena.]
[Before we begin in earnest, let me explain the Arena.]
[The Arena is a competitive content where the Successors of the Dragon Lord test their skills against one another.]
[Successors can convert their Sacred Relics into tickets to participate in the Arena, and if victorious, may acquire the opponent’s Sacred Relics.]
[The number of Sacred Relics in the Arena is equal to one’s lives. If you lose all your Sacred Relics, all your powers will be revoked, and your qualification as a Successor of the Dragon Lord will be stripped away.]
After reading the explanation, the purpose of the Arena became clear.
‘It’s a place to determine the True Successor.’
Not only me, but the others were also not true Successors, but Candidates.
And among them, only one could ascend to the seat of the True Lord.
[The top three ranked in the Arena are granted qualification to take the Successor’s Test.]
[Also, those who remain in the lower ranks for too long will have their qualifications revoked and all abilities and Sacred Relics confiscated.]
Seeing the additional messages, it seemed the Arena itself wasn’t for choosing the True Successor directly.
Rather, it was a filter to weed out those who stagnated or remained content.
[There are three methods of combat.]
[The first method is direct combat between Successors. All abilities may be used except for Summoning Guardians.]
[The second method is a direct battle between Guardians. In this method, Successors of the Lord cannot exert any influence. Tactics, orders, and the like cannot be given.]
[The third method is a full-scale battle. This method allows the use of Guardians, abilities, Sacred Relics—everything you possess. However, this is only available in higher grade Arenas.]
Recalling the combat methods, I remembered fighting the Intermediate Apostle when I acquired my first Sacred Relic.
The subordinate he brought along.
And the Guardian I summoned.
Those two battled first, and only after the result was determined did I intervene directly.
The Arena seemed to have adopted that combat style.
It appeared to be influenced by the fighting styles of Intermediate and High Apostles.
[Tutorial is complete.]
[The true battles begin now.]
[Would you like to match with an opponent?]
Having come this far, there was no way I’d leave empty-handed.
“Find one for me.”
It didn’t take long for a match to be made.
Flash!
A stranger appeared on a field.
A young man dressed in leather armor straight out of a medieval fantasy.
[Activating Golden Dragon’s Eye (SS).]
[Successor Candidate of the Dragon Lord.]
Just as with the Apostles, I couldn’t read the other Candidate’s information.
Still, I tried using my abilities anyway—
To see if I had become stronger, or if powers could be used within the Arena.
“Looks like it’s your first time meeting another Successor, since you tried using the Golden Dragon’s Eye?”
The opponent smirked, lifting the corners of his lips.
“Is that a problem?”
“It is. Take it from your senior—here’s some advice.”
His gaze suddenly changed.
He looked like a predator staring at prey.
“If you want to survive, target the newbies and stack up extra Sacred Relics.”
With that, he began chanting a spell.
Mana surged, forming a magic circle that soon became manifest as magic.
Dozens of tentacles shot out from the nearby stream, aiming for me.
‘What’s this?’
It was not as high-level as I thought.
I let his magic hit me, wanting to check something more.
Slish!
The watery tentacles grabbed my arms and legs. The pain grew as they tightened, squeezing tighter and tighter.
Feeling his magic firsthand, I was sure.
‘He’s weaker than me.’
His control over mana and magic was lacking.
“Well, well. I suppose it can’t be helped if it’s your first Arena match. Just think of it as earning experience with the loss of a Sacred Relic.”
As I watched him act like the victor, I clenched my fist.
I let mana flow and ignited flames.
With a burst of fire, the tentacles constricting my arms and legs evaporated.
I rotated my wrists and rolled my neck from side to side.
“…How did you break my spell? That wasn’t a spell a rookie should be able to break.”
“Are you sure you weren’t holding back?”
“…Looks like you focused on fire magic. In that case, there are ways to counter it.”
This time, the opponent conjured a lasso of flames and threw it at me.
I’d let him hit me before to gauge his strength.
But there was no reason to take this one.
“Ice Quake.”
From the ground erupted spear-shaped pillars of ice. The lasso landed on a pillar.
It tried to ensnare the ice, but—
Perhaps because his level was low, it couldn’t even melt a single pillar before the flames died out and the lasso vanished.
“I think you need to explain yourself. Is this really your best?”
“…What are you?”
“That’s what I’d like to ask you.”
You had to collect five Sacred Relics just to participate in the Arena.
And this guy wasn’t a newbie like me.
He’d clearly fought several matches before.
How could his skills be this lacking?
“I said, what are you?!”
To solve my curiosity, I’d have to beat him down. Just enough that the match wouldn’t end.
Drawing mana from my Dragon Heart, I clenched my fist.
Teleporting behind my opponent, I swung my fist.
KWAANG!
The explosion from my fist struck him full on.
He tried to cast a defensive spell in the moment of impact, but the force behind my punch was even stronger.
Crack!
The shield shattered and he took the blow directly.
“Gah!”
He flew through the air, rolling over the ground several times. But perhaps because he had trained his Draconic Body, he was sturdy.
He quickly stood, wiped the blood from his lips, and glared at me.
“You bastard, you’re faking being a newbie!”
“I’ve got way more questions for you. Why do you keep asking me instead?”
“You son of a—!”
A powerful surge of mana gathered around his body.
He was preparing his strongest spell.
I stood in place, letting him finish his magic, and then extended my hand, deploying Absolute Barrier.
I compressed multiple layers, raising the defense to its utmost limit.
“No matter how strong you are, you can’t block this! Die! Furious Gnome’s Fist Barrage!”
With those words, his magic was unleashed.
Kugugugung!
The ground shook violently and cracked.
The shattered earth formed into giant fists.
One, two, three…
The number of fists grew in real time, all flying toward me.
Dozens, hundreds of fists rained down.
They slammed into where I stood with all their might.
Wham!
KWAANG!
KWAANG!
KWAANG!
Just like the rubber fist barrages you’d see in an animation, fists of earth pounded my barrier.
I checked the amount of mana consumed with each blocked attack.
‘This one’s not bad.’
It was definitely not a bad level of skill, but even so, it didn’t match what I’d expect.
I infused mana into my foot and stomped down lightly.
“Earthquake.”
With a surge of mana, a powerful wave spread across the ground.
Earth rippled like a wave, sweeping away everything around.
Hundreds of fists were swallowed by the wave and vanished without a trace.
“Unbelievable…”
Seeing the opponent’s wide, startled eyes, I began chanting another spell.
“Bind.”
The earthen waves converged, wrapping around the opponent.
“Now, just answer my questions. If you do, I’ll end this nicely. But if you argue or dodge…”
Crackle!
Sparks flickered from my fingertip.
Mana, compressed to a high degree.
He’d know it was powerful enough to work even on the Draconic Body—after all, he was a Dragon Successor.
“I’ll keep frying you until you come to your senses. Understand?”
“Y-Yes, sir! Ask me anything you want!”