Chapter 90: Iron Dragon (3)
"If my assumption is correct, what I can give you is the ability to break through that plateau. I know where you could get Mana Marks that match you and your three attribute traits."
That was a startling statement that even took Zephyr by surprise.
Setting aside his exact understanding of his own plateau, how could a small-time player like him break through a plateau that a Top Global player couldn’t?
’He must have an enormous amount of self-confidence, like that of a top-tier researcher. Or...’
"You know Kalgarth very well, don’t you?" Zephyr said. "You..."
Zephyr suddenly shuddered.
Anyone who knew Kalgarth that well must be a Top Global.
But the rankings have remained unchanged for many years—to the point that he has held his #353 position for many years, while those at the top have simply been filling vacant spots.
However, there is one spot in the rankings that has changed... recently.
Very recently... less than a year ago.
And that person, in fact, met both requirements.
"A top-tier researcher, a creator of top-tier tools, a Top Ranker who knows Kalgarth very well... you are..." If it weren’t for the fact that the power he sensed from Lucius’s body was so low, he would have fallen to his knees.
Lucius maintained the same blank expression.
Zephyr looked around; no one was watching them. However, these days even the walls have ears. He swallowed and cleared his throat.
"It seems the title has changed bodies, but not its existence," he whispered.
Lucius smiles slightly. ’He’s shrewd. No wonder he’s a Top Global. He’s figured me out already.’
"If it really is you, Lord Lucius, I can trust you. However, right now, I’m the Global Top. So I hope you don’t treat me like a subordinate," Zephyr said as he resumed walking.
"I can get you into the Top 100 with your Set of 60. But then you’ll have to be my subordinate," Lucius replied.
"Be the subordinate of the son of the man who killed my wife? I don’t like the sound of that," Zephyr joked.
"I see, so that really happened... Vaelen was actually my aunt."
"I hope it wasn’t your father who told you that."
"What do you mean? All I want to do is kill that old man. We don’t get along. In fact, I’m surprised you’ve let him live this long."
Zephyr remained silent and said nothing more.
"If you want my protection, I’ll give it to you. But first, come see me in Kalgarth. If you can’t make it there, you’re not worthy of it," Zephyr said before disappearing, leaving behind only a gentle breeze.
Lucius kept walking as if nothing had happened. He looked up and down Scrap Street, bought a few things, and then returned to the workshop.
He acted as if nothing had happened.
--
A few weeks later.
The first day of the Qualifying Tournament.
Early morning, at the Workshop.
Lucius checked his ranking...
Thanks to the milestones he had achieved and his accumulated feats, his ranking—which had previously placed him in the top 250 of the D Rankings—skyrocketed into the top 100 of the D Rankings.
[Ranking #1,050.]
Currently, there was no one in the city who doubted his abilities. That frightened some and piqued the interest of others.
Lucius Asturias, the scum of the Asturias family, was about to enter the Top 1,000 of the city’s most powerful men.
And today the Qualifying Tournament began.
His first match...
"You’re fighting the Silent Assassin, Rank 1,010... That guy fights in strange ways and already has the strength of a C-Rank. Do you think you can beat him?" asked Clara, sitting next to him.
"Thanks to the money I’ve earned from Milestones, Feats, and that big jump in followers—plus the reward from creating that milestone—I’ve been able to buy everything I need for arena battles. It shouldn’t be a problem," he replied.
Clara smiled and looked at the sword resting on Lucius’s lap. "Well, that’s a nice sword. But why do you plan to use only swords? What about your magic?"
"My magic is special, Clara. I can’t use it in meaningless battles. The Silent Assassin has the strength of a C-Rank, but he still hasn’t managed to beat anyone in the Top 900. That’s not enough for me to use magic."
"I admire your confidence..." She smiled. "I have to fight someone in the Top 3,500, and I’m already feeling the pressure."
’Though it’s not really confidence...’ Lucius sighed and looked at his system.
Mana Overload and Acceleration Overload create [Meteor Impact]. A spell of approximately Rank C, but perhaps Rank B.
The Meteor Impact spell cannot be combined with another spell—at least not for now.
Mana Echo, Mist Field, and Void Magnet together create an astonishing three-part symbiosis that nearly killed him the first time he used it. Not because it’s as dangerous as Meteor Impact, which puts enormous strain on his body, but because he literally nearly decapitated himself.
The ability is called: [Execution Zone: Silver Threads].
It’s a spell that’s difficult to control.
Both of those spells are out of the question for such early use, unless Clara helps him from the stands—but in the very first few days, they’re both scheduled to fight at the same time, so that will be impossible.
That’s where a slight drop in level for the created Symbioses comes in, but with an increase in their usefulness...
-
[Mana Echo + Mana Overload = Echo of Magical Destruction]
The Silent Assassin raced across the arena and unleashed his most powerful attack with his four mana-imbued assassin daggers.
[Silent Assassin of the Sunset]
The mana roared like a dragon and surged forward, intent on swallowing Lucius’s harmless figure.
However, Lucius suddenly turned around. His hand was enveloped in mana, and a strange echo rippled through the arena as his fist collided with the Silent Assassin’s oncoming dragon.
[Echo of Magical Destruction has been activated.]
The mana dragon was instantly shattered, and Lucius’s fist struck the Silent Assassin on the other side of the arena... not physically, but as an echo.
It shattered his eardrums and shook his inner magic.
[Lucius wins!]
[Ranking on the Rise: #1,010!]