Seth strode through the dimly lit corridor leading to the arena, putting on his combat gauntlets and tightening their inner straps. His hands curled into fists, knuckles turning white, the skin stretched to its limit. Always the damn Faertis. The information Devus had just shared with him still lingered in his mind and fueled him with intractable anger.

Lucius' three cousins—in their second and third years—had also shown a sudden Rank growth. But for them, it wasn't their Well Capacity that had increased, it was their Strength. That meant there was more than one type of enhancer involved, so the Fishlords likely weren't the only beasts supplying them. Could the head of the Faertis House, Lucius' father, have taken the time to build and organize such a network while only relying on the blond-ponytailed noble and his cousins?

Definitely not, Seth fumed inwardly, his mind filled with images of the dead prisoners. Their whole House is involved.

'We should skip class and go after them,' Nightmare suggested, standing up inside the beast-holder's domain. 'We're long overdue for a hunting trip. It's already been more than a month!'

Seth hesitated. They didn't need to kill every member of the Black Hounds to disrupt their activities, but he remained skeptical of their current chances of succeeding even if they only went after the weakest. And he still didn't know in which Rift they currently operated.

'I'll think about it after the match,' he then replied to the direwolf.

As he adjusted his gauntlets, he looked ahead and noticed a figure leaning in the hallway's wall a dozen feet away from the arena entrance—there Marine stood, arms crossed, her scarlet noble uniform hugging her curves.

She pushed herself off the wall, lips curved in an obviously fake smile. "I have to say I'm very disappointed, Seth," she said, her blue eyes gleaming with amusement. "You never even considered my offer, did you?"

Seth exhaled sharply, barely restraining his irritation. The thought of throwing a fight just to win her favor—or a date—had never appealed to him, and it sure as hell did even less right now. "This isn't the time, Marine."

"Oh, don't say that," the noblewoman answered, stepping closer. "This is your last chance to change your mind. You're up against an Iron this time. You could lose. And then you'd miss out on my offer, all because you wanted to win."

Seth clenched his fists. "Move aside."

Marine didn't budge, tilting her head as if studying him. "You know, it's really sad how you've been avoiding me. Finding you is always so… inconvenient." Her gaze flicked over him, and her smile returned. "I almost asked a few people to look for—"

Seth's gauntlet slammed into the wall beside her head and the impact cracked the stone, causing dust to drift down. His gaze burned with something feral as it locked with the noble's.

"Move. Aside," he hissed through gritted teeth.

Marine's eyes widened for a brief moment, then she let out a soft chuckle and stepped to the side with a graceful shrug. "So much rage," she mused. "What happened to you?"

Seth didn't even glance at her when he walked past and replied, his voice flat and cold, "Nobles happened to me."

The moment he entered the arena's bright sunlight, the deafening roar of the crowd greeted him. All the spectators in the higher stands were on their feet, cheering and shouting. With Jenna's recent elimination, Seth was now the only remaining commoner in the competition—the last one representing the average citizen.

As he headed toward Captain Michaelson in the middle of the arena, Seth caught sight of the nobles seated in the lower rows. Their evident disdain made their thoughts obvious: to their eyes, he didn't belong here.

'Show them Shadow Step,' Nightmare growled. 'Wipe those smug looks off their faces.'

'No, I don't need it,' Seth answered, looking at his opponent near the captain. 'Not against her.'

Standing beside Captain Michaelson was a young noblewoman who exuded an air of arrogance that nearly rivaled Lucius'. Her brown hair hung neatly to her shoulders, and her polished leather armor gleamed in the sun, betraying its infrequent use—either that, or she'd forced her servants to polish it before the fight so she could look great.

While approaching the pair, Seth glanced at the finely carved bow slung over the woman's back, then his gaze searched for any close-range weapons at her waist.

Nothing. Seems like Devus was right.

Seth had had trouble believing the Guardian earlier, when he had mentioned that she only fought with a bow, relying on her speed to stay at a distance from her opponents. Who would put themselves at such risk for no reason? It wasn't like the weight of a dagger would hinder her.

That overconfidence will be her downfall, Seth thought, grabbing the Protecting Belt Captain Michaelson was holding out. "Thank you, sir."

Shimmering blue words materialized above them.

Seth (Primalist Rank 25) vs Veronica Durengar (Rogue Rank 23)

The noblewoman eyed him. "You've only made it this far because you haven't faced any Irons in your bracket."

Ignoring her, Seth nodded to the captain, then turned around and walked to his side of the ring while putting on the belt. After reaching the white cross painted on the ground, he spun on his heel, and his gaze momentarily locked onto Veronica so he could cast Intermediate Identify.

Veronica Durengar

 

Class: Rogue

Rank: 23 (Low-Iron)

Subclass: -

 

Strength: ???

Arcane Power: ???

Toughness: ???

Well Capacity: ???

Agility: ???

Regeneration: ???

Blazing Oak Bow

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Weapon

Tier: Iron

Grade: Epic

Effects:

- Ignores 16% of Toughness.

- Uses 9% less aether for any spell using the bow.

- Increases damage from any Fire spell by 11%.

- Increases arrows' speed by 15%.

Reinforced Wild Boar Armor

Armor

Tier: Iron

Grade: Rare

Effects:

- Increases Toughness by 7%.

- Increases Agility by 11%.

- Reduce duration of Iron immobilizing spells by 30%.

Captain Michaelson's voice boomed across the arena: "Activate your belts!"

Seth infused aether into the protecting artifact, and as the protective layer enveloped him, he began filling Fog Shroud's grooves with aether. With a bit of luck, he wouldn't have to show his other trump card.

"Fight!" Captain Michaelson shouted, slashing his arm down.

Seth dashed forward and thrust his hand up, activating Fog Shroud and engulfing the arena in a dense mist. Veronica reacted quickly, releasing an arrow cloaked in flames, but it missed Seth, who had already moved to the side.

The noble's eyes narrowed as she changed tactics, sprinting away while firing two wind-encased arrows in quick succession. The projectiles, enveloped by strong gusts, tore through the dense fog and created fleeting gaps.

Guided by his core's Feral Instinct, Seth nimbly sidestepped the blasts and kept closing onto Veronica, who had now stopped running. Approaching her from behind, he lunged forward and raised his fist to strike—only for the noblewoman to stomp her heel into the ground, which caused a jagged pillar of rock to erupt from the arena's floor and catapult her away from Seth's impending attack.

Mid-air, she spun around and smirked, then fired again from her bow. The blazing arrow soared through the fog, morphing into a large and imposing eagle of flames.

Caught off guard, Seth had no time to dodge and crossed his gauntlets to brace for impact. The fiery bird crashed into the protective pads, sending waves of searing pain through his arms and knocking him back several paces.

Veronica's mocking laughter echoed through the fog as she nocked another arrow. "Did you really think that would be enough to win?"

Seth quickly regained his composure, then ducked just as the noble's next wind-cloaked projectile sliced the air where his head had been moments before. He darted back into the cover of the fog and extended his sense to the protective layer of aether covering his body—about a third was already gone.

That spell must have a cooldown, Seth thought, recalling the rocking jutting from the ground before starting to mentally count the seconds.

Weaving through the thick mist, he tried to close in on Veronica while she once again sprinted around and randomly shot arrows wrapped in gusts. The cat-and-mouse game went on for about twelve seconds until suddenly, the noble's footsteps halted. Smiling, Seth charged toward her to test his theory.

And as he had anticipated, Veronica reacted almost instantly. Without wasting a second, she cast her spell and summoned another rock underneath her, launching her away from his reach. She then spun and unleashed the same scorching eagle arrow mid-flight. This time, Seth was ready for the attack and rolled to the side. The flaming arrow hissed as it soared past him, its heat leaving a hot trail on his skin.

Scrambling upright, he barely had time to raise his head before another projectile, shrouded in a whirlwind, hurtled his way. Instinctively, he twisted his body and narrowly avoided it, but the shrouding gust of wind struck his shoulder and punched it backward violently.

Wincing, Seth darted away from the cleared path so he could slip back into the fog's cover. While sprinting, he quickly tore off his left gauntlet, his eyes locking onto Veronica as she burst into another seemingly erratic sprint. The moment she halted a dozen seconds later, Seth positioned himself in front of her, maintaining a safe distance of about ten yards to make sure he remained unseen with the mist slowly dissipating.

Then, he flung his gauntlet high into the air, sending it arcing over the noble. As the reinforced glove hit the ground with a thud behind her, Veronica instinctively used her Earth spell to propel herself away from the new threat. The noblewoman flipped again while airborne to shoot an arrow—only to realize no one was there. Her eyes widened in panic, and she tried to twist back to see where she was heading… but it was too late.

Seth leapt up and intercepted her mid-flight, driving his fist into her guts and slamming her to the ground as he had done multiple times in previous fights. Before she could recover, he pounced and pinned her down. His combat gauntlet and naked fist, charged with aether, rained down like hammers, each crushing strike eating away large chunks of her protective barrier.

Writhing in pain, Veronica managed to shove him off and began to crawl away. But Seth grabbed her leg and swung her to the side, smashing her against the arena's floor. As he leapt up a second time and drove his fist down, a golden barrier suddenly materialized around Veronica, blocking the blow with a resounding thud.

A warm gust of wind swept the remaining fog, and Captain Michaelson's voice resonated in the coliseum: "Seth wins!"

Instantly, the commoners in the higher stands rose to their feet and erupted into cheers and applause. Down in the lower rows, the nobles remained seated, their expressions ranging from shock to disdain, glaring at Seth as if he were nothing more than a wild beast.

He spared a brief glance at Veronica, who lay defeated beneath him, then turned to retrieve the combat gauntlet he had thrown. After picking it up, he inspected the worn and battered leather and sighed—that scorching arrow had dug a hole in the protective pad. I'll need to ask Yline if she can fix this.

'Good, fight,' Nightmare said from within his necklace before coming back to what they were talking before stepping into the ring. 'So… can we skip class? We could hunt and look at the same time for those Black Hounds guys?'

'We don't even know in which Rift they are currently doing their business. I can't just dive into every single one near Trogan hoping to find them and kill—'

Before Seth could finish, Director Ryehill rose from his seat and clapped his hands once, the sound echoing throughout the entire coliseum. "That concludes this weekend's matches," he declared, his voice amplified by aether to carry across the vast building. "I invite the other first-year students who have advanced to the next round to enter the arena for the announcement of next week's match assignment."

As Veronica stormed out of the arena, shooting Seth a venomous look, the sixteen advancing students gradually gathered in the center. Brandon was among the first to arrive, with Lucius trailing not far behind. An idea sparked in Seth's mind—there was one easy way to find out in which Rift the Black Hounds were operating.

"Hey, Brandon," he called out, making sure to speak loudly. "Any idea which enhancers Lucius' cousins have been using? I might need some for the rounds ahead."

The large Guardian frowned and tilted his head. "What are you talking—"

"Wow," Lucius laughed, interrupting Elena's brother and stepping up next to the man. "A commoner like you thinks he can get his hands on something as rare as Desert Lilies? That's hilarious!"

Well, that was easy, Seth thought as Lucius strutted off, the noble still chuckling.

Brandon patted Seth's shoulder and gave him an awkward smile. "Well, there's your answer, I guess. Though I'm not sure how that helps you."

Before Seth could respond, he caught sight of Elena striding toward them, glaring.

"Looks like someone's mad," Brandon said with a grin, stepping away. "Good luck."

"Don't worry," Seth replied with a weary sigh. "She's always mad at me."

"Why did you wanna know about those enhancers?" the noblewoman asked the moment she'd reached him.

"Just thinking ahead," Seth replied nonchalantly. "In case I could save up for one or two."

Elena's expression hardened. "Don't play dumb with me. We both know why you wanted to know. You can't go after… those people. It's too dangerous."

"I'm just gathering info," Seth said with a shrug. "I haven't been chasing them… well, not since you told me to back off."

"Yeah, because you were busy studying," Elena retorted, rubbing her temple. "And look at you now, poking at that nest of vipers as soon as you caught up with classes. It's like you don't care if you get killed."

"I care, Elena, but I just can't do noth—"

"Students!" Director Ryehill's commanding tone cut off their argument, drawing everyone's attention again. "Line up, please!"

Following the instructions, the students quickly arranged themselves into two neat lines. As Elena took her place, she cast a sharp glance at Seth, her emerald eyes piercing through him for a moment before turning away.

Director Ryehill clapped his hands once more; almost instantly, large words of glowing blue aether appeared in the air in front of his stand.

The director's voice boomed across the coliseum. "Next week's matches!"

Elena Surani (Elementalist Rank 30) vs Frank Ryehill (Warrior Rank 24)

Seth (Primalist Rank 25) vs Lucius Faertis (Elementalist Rank 29)

Silvius Crestor (Rogue Rank 26) vs Brandon Surani (Guardian Rank 29)

Maria Seralp (Rogue Rank 23) vs Julian Crestor (Warrior Rank 24)

Derek Vancaws (Elementalist Rank 22) vs Chris Durengar (Guardian Rank 24)

Darrin Springer (Rogue Rank 24) vs Arrel Vancaws (Warrior Rank 25)

Karron Woolfield (Priest Rank 22) vs Edam Dunn (Guardian Rank 24)

Dylan Sparr (Warrior Rank 22) vs Jaeda Emmon (Elementalist Rank 23)

Lucius almost immediately let out a loud, boisterous laugh, glancing at the two students on his side who both smiled from ear to ear. "Looks like I'll have the honor of eliminating the last commoner!"

Staring at the noble, Seth clenched his fists as grim memories surged in his mind: prisoners begging for their lives, their screams echoing as they were tortured and slaughtered, his childhood home, swallowed by flames, the last remnants of his parents reduced to ash, the people of Sunatown, their faces hollow with despair, scraping together every last coin just to survive under the Faertis' suffocating taxes, and finally Renwal—his cries of agony as the Paladin shattered his arms, Lucius watching on. And laughing.

Seth's nails dug into his palms to the point blood began oozing out. I'll crush him.

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