“I’m obviously Miss Yena’s friend.”
“No, that’s too suspicious. I thought it could be true at first, but not anymore.”
“Is it because Miss Yena lost money?”
“That’s not the issue!”
Hiss!
Yena hissed and sharply brandished her dagger.
Yena’s current spiritual power is about the same as mine, but she has the advantage of parrying.
I might not be able to win, but I certainly couldn’t overpower Yena before the dungeon ends.
After all, Yena needs to have some stake in clearing the dungeon to regain her memory and finish her training.
[Ugh]
[Shiver]
[They’re friends…]
[When will Yena get her memory back?]
[Wouldn’t just killing her bring her back?]
[Yena Yena…]
[Maybe I should have hidden it better]
[Lily, pretend you don’t know]
“But you should have at least said something. There’s a limit to hiding it.”
For progress, even Yena, who has lost her memory, needs to know certain things.
If I kept hiding the purpose of the dungeon like it was a cutscene, it would only breed resentment and doubt.
‘Even now, I’m still doing that.’
Yena continued to glare at me, not easing her suspicion, even as the next competitor entered.
“Where are you looking when you speak?!”
“Besides, even if you kill me, I could restart here… Ah. Yes. Go ahead and speak.”
“Ugh…! What did you do to Lily?!”
“I’m telling you, it’s Lily.”
“Lies! Don’t lie! If you don’t provide evidence, it’s useless!”
“Hmm… then let’s do this.”
“?”
I momentarily calmed the thrashing cat and pointed to a large sign towering high above.
At the edge of Yena’s gaze was a huge spell wall, with a large announcement of the competitors’ match list and a call for players.
Alongside that was the prize for the ultimate winner of the season.
“You and I are participating in the grand battle. If you can defeat me at the top, I’ll tell you everything.”
“…Meow? Wh-what…”
“Of course, if we meet in the middle and you win, I’ll tell you then too.”
“Wait a second. Participating in that is a bit…”
“Why? Are you scared?”
Flinch.
Yena’s hand trembled.
Sorceress Yena and Sorceress Lily are friends, but they aren’t equals.
If you think about it, Yena is ‘strong’ for a Level 6 Sorcerer, while Lily is relatively ‘weak.’
Sure, Yena doesn’t treat Lily any less because of the power difference, but when it comes to a fight, Yena is confident she is much stronger.
[Scared?]
[LOL]
[Yena’s mad]
[Even with memory loss, it’s the same]
[For real LOL]
“Who… said I was scared? That’s not what’s important right now—”
“If you’re scared, then it can’t be helped. Being weak isn’t a fault. Then I guess I’ll just go alone…”
“I can’t help it. Being weak isn’t a crime, after all. So, I’ll just participate alone…”
“I will! I’ll tear them apart!”
■
“…So you want to sign up as a player?”
“Yeah.”
“…Meow.”
At the entrance of the arena.
The giant wearing a panda mask scanned both of us and nodded.
He matched the panda theme, and his spiritual power was roughly at the level of a Level 4 Sorcerer.
I wondered if signing up would be that easy, but since the arena always welcomed new faces, as long as you signed up, you could usually jump right into a match.
Of course, the safety concerns are 100% your own responsibility.
“Let’s see… Both are Level 5 and 6 Sorcerers. You can be placed in the low-level matches. Now, write down everything you can do and your information here.”
“Got it.”
“…Meow!”
As I received the paper, Yena snatched it angrily and started scribbling with a brush infused with her spiritual power.
When I got the player list, it didn’t have much information, but there was a lot to write down here.
‘Name, age, origin, race, spell, jewel…’
Maybe the info about players would be ‘more’ relayed to certain individuals.
“When does the matches start?”
“Let’s see… There are a lot of scheduled matches. The next one is in 3 hours. The main match will take place tomorrow when the underground market closes, so keep that in mind.”
“Ah.”
[Huh?]
[Are we waiting for 3 more hours?]
[Oh no!]
[Yena has to spend another whole day like this, hahaha]
[I wonder if a smack to Yena’s head would make her forget]
[The panda is huge!]
“It’s written here, but if you win the low-level match, you can receive 2 pieces of the staked money. It may seem small, but consider it a good deal since it’s just a low-level match.”
“Understood.”
“Got it, meow.”
“Also, if you win in the low-level matches, you earn a challenger’s right for the main match. You can receive a lot of staked money, but winners of the medium and high-level matches can join as well.”
Thud!
The panda collected the paper we wrote on and placed it on the wooden tablet-shaped jewel on the table.
After a moment, the papers glowed red and vanished somewhere.
“In other words, even Level 4 Sorcerers will participate in the Level 3 matches. If you’re unlucky, even Level 2 Sorcerers might join.”
“Is that so?”
“Among those, there are some who would rather you die than win. It’s better just to play the low-level matches and get out…”
“I don’t mind. I’ll participate in everything.”
The aim was to contact Ryuin, who wields the Iron Soul Sword, but persuading Yena was also important.
In the end, whether it’s the final match or before that, I’ll end up facing Ryuin at least once.
More importantly, I might be able to snag what I want from the ‘prize’ placed at the arena.
The panda sighed while looking at me and shook its head.
“There’s always that kind of guy. They don’t know the value of life and rush in like a moth to a flame.”
“So the prize is guaranteed, right?”
“Do you think I’d lie about that? Of course, it’s guaranteed.”
“Then that’s good.”
“…Are you participating too?”
When the panda glanced at Yena, she slammed her hands on the table and glared at me.
“Of course I am, meow!”
“…Looks like there’s not just one madman.”
After a moment, the two of us received strange nameplates and went back up to the audience seating to watch the matches.
Since there wasn’t a solid sorcerer like Ryuin, I didn’t bet everything and couldn’t analyze all the matches, but I managed to accumulate some spirit stones.
Currently, I had 40 Level 4 Spirit Stones collected.
I attempted to lend some spirit stones to the pouting Yena in the middle, but she simply said, “I’m good, meow,” and took out her emergency funds.
Though I had been broke and just watching for the past two hours.
[LOL]
[Yena’s out of luck…]
[Yena, Yena…]
[By the way, doubled after three hours against Lily.]
[Info) This dungeon does not let Kiki boost luck.]
[Wow!]
“Do you want some?”
“I’m good, meow! It’s time for me to fight, meow.”
With a flash!
Yena grabbed the glowing nameplate and stomped down below.
Yena’s position was at the red gate, facing off against another Level 5 Sorcerer.
Low-level matches feature Level 5 and 6 sorcerers.
Intermediate matches feature Level 4 and 3 sorcerers.
High-level matches feature Level 3 and 2 sorcerers.
Whether it was because the matches were already underway or the higher-ranked sorcerers hadn’t shown up, most of the battles were low-level, with only a few at the intermediate level.
There were hardly any high-level matches.
For sorcerers at Level 2 or 3, they likely had plenty of jewels, spells, and spirit stones, so there was no need to clown around in the arena.
Nonetheless, if they did participate, it suggested they were after something beyond material gains.
Like Ryuin Aban, who hid his power in the matches.
As I briefly lost myself in thought, two competitors entered the arena.
Yena and a Level 5 sorcerer who seemed somewhat skilled among the bunch.
She had more spiritual power than any Level 5 sorcerer I had seen up until now.
“Now! Is the sorcerer Yena at the red gate ready? And the sorcerer Jugen at the blue gate? Everyone, please place your spirit stones before we begin!”
[Lily, who are you betting on?]
[Yena?]
[All-in, let’s go!]
Whirrrrr!!
All 40 spirit stones that I had prepared were sucked in like paper.
The 40 spirit stones I had prepared were all sucked into the paper.
Of course, it was Yena.
Since we made a bet, Yena won’t lose, especially given her low rank in this situation.
She didn’t look that strong compared to her opponent, so it seemed I could win spirit stones at high odds.
I already have a record of getting defeated by Ryuin, so I doubt too many will come my way.
-Then the match… starts!
‘If it’s just about triple, that’d be profit…’
BOOM!!
[?]
[???]
[What the hell?]
[Huh?]
[??????]
As soon as the match began, a rough front paw—no, ‘front leg’—shot out and crushed the Level 5 Sorcerer.
The Level 5 Sorcerer didn’t even have a chance to resist and behind Yena, a faint black spirit emerged, undulating as it rose.
While everyone fell silent again, Yena murmured, glaring at the audience seating on the third floor where I was.
“After the curse. Technique Deployment. Extension. Black Cat Manifestation.”
-Wha, what’s that!
-That girl is strong! Isn’t this cheating?
-Using the after-cursing technique… she’s not ordinary.
-This is invalid!
-This wasn’t written anywhere!
-Ha ha ha ha, I’m winning again! This is why I love the underdog!
-Hey! That woman is a Level 6 Sorcerer, right?
-It’s invalid! Do you think I’ll accept such a victory?
-What will you do if I don’t accept it? Do you think you can beat Geomhon?
-…Cough!
The audience buzzed louder than when Ryuin fought.
Understandably so, because unlike Ryuin, who fought while hiding his strength, Yena finished off her opponent as soon as the match began.
Ryuin had used his jewel filled with strong power, but Yena used her innate ability.
Thanks to Yena, I won quite a bit, but things have become slightly complicated.
‘I need a fierce fight to maintain my betting odds.’
Now, it’s definitely a sure bet on Yena’s side, and I can’t win a lot of spirit stones in future matches.
Most importantly…
‘How much more is she hiding?’
Yena’s skills were not just at this level.
That summoning technique was limited by her front paw, and she hadn’t even mentioned the way she activated the tech before reciting the incantation.
Yena silently whispered, only looking at me.
“Prepare yourself.”
“…That’s scary.”
Perhaps the biggest danger in the dungeon isn’t Ryuin, but Yena.
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