Chapter 53: Tournament (3)
The riddle was simple—extremely so. However, those not in the know would never guess it. In a world saturated with magical energy, very few things could be both "up and above" and yet found on the ground.
’And our understanding of it isn’t much different from what was deduced long ago,’ Jess thought, already knowing the answer. ’We only know what we need to survive it. And that’s enough. In there, you could lose everything—or you could shoot for the stars.’
Jess glanced at the two competitors. The elf’s face broke into a slow grin, while the woman frowned. The riddle was new and unfamiliar, yet it could be easily solved if they understood why they were here.
"A dungeon," the elf said with a calm smile, confident in his answer.
"Correct!" the host affirmed, and the crowd erupted in cheers.
’Damn it! I was too slow,’ Freya thought, gritting her teeth as she realized she’d lost the moment the crowd began cheering. ’The advantage goes to him. But that might not necessarily be a bad thing.’ She clung to a sliver of hope, refusing to give up just yet.
But then, the ground beneath her feet began to shift. The surroundings transformed into a dense forest, towering trees stretching high above—a perfect environment for an archer.
’Damn it!’ Freya cursed under her breath. But that wasn’t all. She felt something bind to her body and then vanish. It was invisible, but Freya didn’t need to be a genius to figure it out. ’I won’t be able to use my spells!’
"Begin!"
Abruptly, the mana wall dissolved, taking her heart along with it. The elf, who was supposed to be just ahead of her, was nowhere to be seen.
’Damn it!’ Without hesitation, Freya bolted forward. ’Staying here is asking to be eliminated without even knowing how!’