Chapter 407 (Patreon)

The room fell into silence for several long moments after Kana introduced herself. Zaa’rd, Telia, and Prime each stared at her as if they were waiting for the illusion to break, as if some hidden truth would suddenly reveal itself and explain how a sixteen-year-old girl could stand in the same room with three evolved-class adventurers without the slightest trace of fear. None of them seemed willing to accept it at first, but eventually the strange tension began to fade, replaced by a reluctant understanding that Kana really was exactly what she claimed to be. She was young, absurdly young for someone of her strength.

A knock suddenly echoed from the door and shattered the silence.

Zaa’rd's ears twitched immediately, and his long tongue slid across his lips as he stood up. Kana swore she saw a few drops of saliva fall onto the floor as the wolf-headed man hurried toward the door, his attention already fixed on whatever was waiting outside. 

“It’s finally here!” he exclaimed, sounding far more excited about dinner than he had been about meeting a new party member. He opened the door and waved them inside. “Please enter!”

Five people entered carrying large plates overflowing with food, and within moments the table was covered with enough dishes to feed a small adventurer party for several days. The smell of roasted meat, herbs, freshly baked bread, and thick soup quickly filled the room, making Kana realize that far more time had passed than she thought.

Ah. It’s already dinner.

Zaa’rd wasted no time. He grabbed a large piece of roasted meat with his bare hands and tore into it with his enormous canine teeth, ripping through it with such enthusiasm that Kana couldn't help but stare. 

“This is why I requested this inn!” he declared between bites. “Their roasted elk is out of this world. I’m glad humans were created in this world. Praise the gods!”

Kana shook her head. He reminds me of Suri.

The thought made her wonder what Suri would do if she were sitting at this table.

Prime, on the other hand, was the complete opposite. He held his utensils with almost absurd precision, carefully cutting his food into manageable pieces before eating them with the sort of graceful movements Kana had only seen from nobles during formal meals. There was something strangely refined about the way he ate, especially considering that he claimed to have been born in the lawless city.

Prime noticed Kana staring at him and gave her a faint smile. “Don’t mind him. He’s quite messy when it comes to food, but let him be. I’ve heard all southern folks are like that. He’s very clean when he does his job, so you don’t need to worry.”

Kana blinked, then couldn't hold back her curiosity any longer. “Are you really from the lawless city?”

Prime's smile became slightly wider. “You must have been there already. I may not behave like someone from the lawless city, but I was born and raised there. It’s simply a matter of habit. All of my actions are proper.” He raised his fork slightly as if he were teaching a formal lesson. “You should learn from me. This is how you properly eat.”

Prime continued explaining the correct way to hold the utensils, how much food should be taken at once, and even how one should position their hand while cutting meat, until Telia finally leaned toward Kana and interrupted him.

“Don’t mind that man.”

Telia covered a small smile with her hand. “I’m a noble from the empire, but I admit that he moves more nobly than most nobles I’ve met.”

Prime stopped halfway through his explanation and cleared his throat. “This is the proper way.”

Kana almost laughed.

Instead, another question came to mind, and this one was much more important to her. “Miss Telia,” Kana asked, “can you make anyone younger? I heard your conversation earlier.”

Telia paused and lightly slapped her mouth,”My damn mouth.”

Kana's eyes remained fixed on her.

The question wasn't something she had asked out of simple curiosity. She had already begun imagining the possibilities. Fifty years from now, her body would inevitably age. Her bones would become weaker, her movements slower, and even the things she could do effortlessly now might eventually become difficult. But if someone could return the body to its younger state, then perhaps age itself wouldn't have to become a limitation. If she continued raiding dungeons and growing stronger, maybe she could extend her life far beyond what was considered normal. More importantly, perhaps the same thing could be done for her mother, or even Suri's mother.

Telia's lips curled into a sharp, teasing smile. “I thought you were rather boyish, but I suppose I was wrong. You’re interested in staying beautiful forever too.”

She immediately shook her head. “Unfortunately, no. This is my exclusive skill, something I developed myself. At the moment, it's restricted to my class. If we happened to have the same class, perhaps it would work on you. If not, I could always tell you how to create it yourself as long as we have the same class.”

Kana suddenly stood. “You created a skill?!”

Zaa’rd froze in the middle of tearing apart another piece of meat and looked at her.

Telia seemed just as surprised by Kana's reaction. She coughed lightly before answering, suddenly looking a little embarrassed by the attention. “Uhm... yes. You simply need to become obsessed with something until the gods finally recognize your effort.”

Obsessed? Kana slowly sat down again. Just how obsessed did she have to become to create something like that?

Prime calmly wiped the corner of his mouth with a clean white cloth before adding, “Forget about it. It took her more than thirty years to create something like that.”

Kana's eyes widened. Thirty years?!Thirty years of obsession sounded less like a training method and more like a lifetime project. She immediately decided that becoming stronger through dungeon raids sounded considerably more reasonable.

Kana settled back into her seat and glanced at Telia again, her mind already filled with questions. How had she created her evolved-class skill? What had she done for thirty years? How had she reached the class of [Great Sorcerer] in the first place? And how many other skills could someone create if they were willing to spend decades pursuing a single idea?

There were too many questions.

For now, however, Kana decided to leave them unanswered.

She had a feeling she would be with them for a long time.

…..

Isabelle forced herself to breathe slowly as she finally reached the position she had been waiting for. Her legs were beginning to ache from the long movement across the battlefield, and every instinct in her body was telling her to stop, but she ignored it and kept her attention fixed on the enemy. She might have been slow compared to most of the other students, yet there was one thing she had learned to trust about herself: she knew where to stand. She knew how to find the angle where an enemy would least expect an attack, and more importantly, she knew how to wait. She was now positioned at the farthest left flank behind Valdis' team, far enough away that none of them had noticed her presence, while Suri's illusion continued to conceal her completely.

Beads of sweat rolled down her forehead as another enormous fireball descended from the sky.

The impact shook the arena.

Even from where Isabelle stood, well outside the center of the battlefield, she felt the shockwave pass through the ground and into her legs. Dust jumped from the surface around her boots, and for a moment, she wondered if the entire arena might collapse beneath the pressure. She looked toward her own team and saw another [Ice Spike] tear through the air, striking the barrier surrounding Valdis' group. Then another followed, and another, each one launched from a different angle in an attempt to force the enemy's barrier specialists to spend more mana.

Isabelle released the breath she had been holding.

They were still fighting.

That was enough.

Still, she couldn't move yet.

Patience.

She had repeated the word to herself so many times that it had almost become part of her breathing. She wasn't entirely sure whether it was something related to her class or simply an instinct she had developed through years of practice, but she could tell when the moment was right. There was a feeling that came before she pulled the trigger, something difficult to explain to anyone who had never experienced it. The battlefield seemed to narrow, the noise became distant, and everything that mattered reduced itself to a single point.

That feeling wasn't there yet.

So she waited.

The final fireball descended.

For a moment, the battlefield disappeared beneath a cloud of dust.

Isabelle narrowed her eyes. Then she saw movement. Suri stood among the haze, her staff raised toward the sky.

Isabelle's eyes widened.

Hundreds of weapons suddenly appeared above the battlefield.

At first they looked like illusions, transparent shapes shimmering in the air, but then the weapons solidified one after another. Swords, spears, axes, and countless other sharpened weapons formed a terrifying storm overhead, filling the sky above Valdis' team. They weren't as massive or elevated as Valdis' fireballs, but there were far more of them, and their sheer number made them arguably more frightening.

Then they fell.

The weapons descended like rain made of steel.

Isabelle's fingers tightened around her crossbow.

Now.

She loaded an arrow and slowly raised the weapon.

The barrier surrounding Valdis' team was already flickering violently. The students maintaining it looked exhausted, their movements becoming slower with every attack. They had spent enormous amounts of mana defending against the fireballs and Yuri's continuous [Ice Spike], and now they were being forced to withstand Suri's barrage as well.

They were close.

Very close. A thin green line appeared in front of Isabelle's eyes.

Her skill had already calculated the trajectory. The line extended from the tip of her crossbow toward her target.

Valdis. Then the line shifted slightly. Their scout.

Isabelle's breathing stopped. She could take both of them if she fired carefully.

The rain of weapons intensified. Hundreds became thousands. The sky seemed to vanish beneath the countless blades descending toward the enemy. The barrier flickered again, brighter this time, struggling to remain intact.

Then it shattered. The sound was almost like glass breaking.

Isabelle's finger tightened against the trigger. She was about to fire.

Then she stopped. The weapons were still falling. They weren't stopping.

A faint green light suddenly flashed through the dust.

Isabelle's eyes widened.

One of the pendants had broken.

Another green flash appeared.

Then another.

And another.

The meaning was immediately clear. The protective pendants worn by the students were breaking one after another, which meant the participants were being eliminated from the battle.

"Stop!" The command thundered across the arena.

The man in charge of the battle had finally intervened.

Isabelle lowered her crossbow. For several seconds, she simply stared at the battlefield.

She saw Suri in the distance, her expression twisting into an irritated frown as she lowered her staff. Apparently, the order had come sooner than she wanted.

Isabelle scratched the side of her head.

Suri hadn't followed the plan.

The plan had been to push Valdis' team until their defenses collapsed, eliminate their key members, and secure the victory without seriously injuring anyone. Instead, Suri had apparently decided that if she was going to attack, she might as well bring the entire sky down with her.

They had won.

At least, Isabelle thought they had.

But there was a problem. If anyone had been seriously injured or, worse, killed, the victory could easily turn into a disqualification.

Isabelle waited anxiously as the dust slowly began to settle. One by one, the figures of Valdis' team emerged from the haze.

Half of them were standing with broken pendants hanging from their bodies.

But they were alive. More importantly, they were still standing.

Isabelle finally released the breath she had been holding.

Then she noticed something strange. Almost every weapon that Suri had summoned had somehow missed the students after their pendants broke. The blades had slammed into the ground around them, burying themselves in the arena floor, but none had struck the students directly.

Isabelle stared at the battlefield for another moment before finally lowering her crossbow.

She had been worried that Suri had completely lost control. Apparently, she hadn't. A small smile appeared on her face. She’s not as crazy as the rumours. 

Post note:Some explanation on Valdis powerup- his class [Pyromancer] is like a pure damage long range dealer kind of mage. Skills are naturally powerful but there’s downside - long casting time, very vulnerable while casting, and consumes a lot of mana(if not for his +mana items, there will be no mana left after he cast one stronk skill). 

Yes. He won’t be effective in 1v1 battle.

1st chap of the week.

Hope you enjoy the chap.

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