Chapter 146

Chapter 147. The Tip of the Iceberg (2)

The night before the Group B tournament.

Anis and Taragon, who had already competed, wanted to give Keter some advice.

But Keter was lying upside down on the sofa, lazily waving his feet.

“You don’t have to tell me.”

Seeing Keter’s indifferent attitude, Mail actively tried to persuade him.

“Keter. I know you’re strong. But as you’ve seen, this tournament is designed to disadvantage us archers. Anis and Taragon were lucky to have Sir Rajis’ help, but if it weren’t for him—”

“Come to think of it, it’s really fascinating.”

Keter interrupted Mail, stretching his leg all the way to the table.

With incredible flexibility, Keter picked up a cherry from the table with his toes and tossed it into his mouth.

“If you know I’m strong, why are you worried?”

Crunch, crunch.

Keter chewed the cherry, seed and all, as he spoke.

“Because even if you’re strong, there are limits. A person’s stamina and Aura aren’t infinite.”

Keter didn’t deny Mail’s words. Having experienced fighting against an entire nation in his past life, he deeply understood that.

But…

“I agree that there are limits, but I don’t think I’ll reach them against those guys.”

“…!”

“If I need help, I’ll ask for it myself. Does that make sense, bro?”

“If that’s your decision, fine. And… never mind.”

Mail decided not to ask why Keter was lying upside down on the sofa or why he was eating cherries with his toes.

Mail shook his head as he turned to Anis, Taragon, and Catherine.

“I expected this. Keter’s not the type to listen quietly.”

Anis wasn’t disappointed because he hadn’t expected much in the first place.

“But the match is tomorrow… He’s not preparing at all. Or maybe I just didn’t see it? Keter preparing for the tournament.”

At Taragon’s question, everyone shook their heads. No one had seen Keter training or checking his equipment.

“My philosophy is that arrogance leads to carelessness, but with Keter, I’m not sure. Where does that confidence come from… I’m really curious.”

“Isn’t it because he’s strong?”

At Catherine’s words, the Triad made faces that said, “Well, yeah…”

No one could deny that Keter was strong.

But it was also an undeniable truth that the world wasn’t so simple that just being strong could solve everything.

“…….”

Amid the silence, Catherine casually brought up a topic.

“But have any of you seen Keter fight seriously?”

“…….”

At that, everyone looked at each other.

Then silence. No one had seen Keter fight seriously.

“I’ve heard he fought dozens of mercenaries. There were no serious injuries on either side. He fought while controlling his strength. Anyone would know how difficult that is.”

“He fought Baydant’s Orichalcon mercenary, Burgundy, but it didn’t go all the way. Even then, Keter was dominating.”

“There’s no eyewitness to the story of him subduing Baydant’s knights.”

“When I sparred with him on the Single-Plank Bridge, it felt more like he was playing than sparring.”

All four of them spoke about what they knew of Keter’s fighting style.

Then they realized.

They had a rough idea that Keter was ridiculously strong. But no one had truly seen Keter’s full power.

“What would happen if Keter fought seriously?”

“Martial arts that can defeat dozens of mercenaries. Archery that surpasses the Twelve Zodiac Palaces… Keter’s full power…”

“He’s also a master of medicine and cooking.”

“Um, young masters. You haven’t seen Keter use Demon Archery, have you?”

At Catherine’s words, everyone nodded.

They knew from Catherine that Demon Archery was archery that used Mana as its core, but they hadn’t heard exactly what it could do.

Catherine’s eyes trembled just from imagining it.

“I’ve seen Keter demonstrate it. There are three core techniques in Demon Archery, and if I show you, you might feel a little more at ease.”

“Three core techniques?”

“Wait, Keter demonstrated Demon Archery?”

“Keter has both Mana and Aura?”

“Wait, if Keter uses Mana for archery, it makes sense. That explains his mysterious archery.”

The Sephira Triad got excited and raised their voices. Catherine calmed them down.

“Young masters. From what I’ve heard, Keter only used Aura in the archery he showed you. The core techniques of Demon Archery are very visible.”

“Visible…?”

“What exactly are these core techniques? Can you show us?”

“Hmm… It was impossible before, but after treating Lyze, my Mana has increased a lot, so I can probably mimic it.”

Catherine took the Triad to the Training Ground.

“Phew, I’m nervous showing this in front of you. The first thing I’ll show you is the ‘Acceleration Gateway.’”

Catherine took a deep breath and spread her arms wide. Mana swirled in her hands, and soon two pillars of Mana formed.

Between the pillars, a flow of Mana was visible, but the Sephira Triad couldn’t figure out what it was for.

“Could you throw a pebble through this Acceleration Gateway?”

At Catherine’s suggestion, Taragon picked up a pebble from the ground and lightly tossed it toward the gateway.

Then, something amazing happened.

Whoosh!

The pebble, which had been flying at a moderate speed, accelerated tremendously as it passed through the Acceleration Gateway.

“……?!”

“Wh-what just happened?”

“I’ll throw one too.”

Anis, who had found a pebble, also threw it with all his might toward the Acceleration Gateway.

The pebble, flying at high speed, passed through the gateway and shot off at an incredible speed, so fast that it was impossible to follow with the eyes. It was so fast that it could have shattered from air resistance mid-flight.

Mail muttered with a dazed expression.

“I’ve never heard or seen such magic.”

“If we pass an arrow through the Acceleration Gateway…!”

Gulp.

The Triad swallowed hard almost simultaneously.

The Acceleration Gateway was, as the name suggested, a magic that accelerated anything that passed through it.

If an arrow, which greatly depends on speed and distance, were to pass through this gateway, how powerful and far could it be shot?

Anis wanted to test it immediately, but—

Fizzle.

The Acceleration Gateway lost its form and collapsed.

Catherine’s forehead was drenched in sweat.

“Haa, haa. I’m sorry. This is the first time I’ve tried to make it in its complete form. The Acceleration Gateway Keter made was big enough for a person to pass through. I have no idea how he did it.”

“B-big enough for a person to pass through?”

“That’s impossible…!”

Catherine was exhausted, but seeing the usually composed Mail and Anis so shocked gave her strength to continue.

“And he didn’t just make one, he could make multiple at the same time.”

“Guh…!”

Mail, who knew best how difficult that was, was mentally shaken.

“K-Keter’s not just beyond common sense in archery, but in magic too…?”

Everyone’s gaze turned to Keter, who was lying in a strange position on the sofa meant for sitting.

Catherine drove the final nail in to reassure the Triad.

“By the way, the Acceleration Gateway is the easiest magic in Demon Archery. If you saw the ‘Refraction Panel’ and ‘Dimensional Tunnel,’ you’d be even more shocked.”

At the mention that the Acceleration Gateway was the easiest, the Triad felt like they were losing their minds.

They couldn’t even begin to imagine what would happen if Keter went all out.

* * *

Tournament day, waiting room.

An official came to Keter’s waiting room.

“Keter. As you saw from yesterday’s match, we’ll be collecting weapons and Elixirs according to the rules.”

“I’m empty-handed.”

“…Huh?”

Keter spread his arms.

“I’m not carrying anything.”

“Hahaha, that’s a funny joke.”

“Search if you want.”

The official didn’t believe Keter. How could someone participate in a tournament empty-handed?

But after searching the entire waiting room, there were no bows or arrows. No Elixirs, not even a common potion.

“Ahem, ahem. I see you’re not carrying anything. So, here’s the thing. A noble who supports you has personally sponsored this ‘beverage.’”

“Beverage?”

“Yes, you can start with food, it doesn’t violate the tournament rules.”

“It looks like an Elixir.”

The official gave him a look as if to say, “Why are you asking that?” and whispered in a subtle tone.

“It’s not an Elixir. It’s just a healthy drink. And don’t worry. I’m the official in charge of you. If I allow it, you can start with anything.”

It was a flimsy and arbitrary rule. It was a new rule today, and since Eslow didn’t care what they did, it was a loophole.

“Just a healthy drink, huh.”

Pop!

“Eh, if you open it here… Guh!”

Keter suddenly grabbed the official’s mouth and forced it open. Then he poured the so-called beverage in.

The official tried to resist, curling his tongue and blocking his throat, but Keter’s chop to his Adam’s apple made him lose strength.

Gulp, gulp.

“Cough! Ah, no!”

The official’s reaction wasn’t that of someone who had drunk an Elixir.

Elixirs have severe side effects if taken without injury, but they’re not fatal. Yet, the official acted as if he had ingested extreme poison, running off in a panic.

Keter closed the waiting room door as if nothing had happened.

“If it’s so healthy, you drink it.”

Keter had easily countered Galahind’s scheme.

* * *

A short while later, the match began.

The starting point, like Anis and Taragon’s, was the edge of the island. Behind them was a coastal cliff, and ahead was a dense forest.

Almost as soon as the match started, Keter was ambushed. Two 2-Star Knights, who had somehow obtained swords immediately, charged at Keter from both sides.

It was an even worse foul than what Anis and Taragon had experienced, but Keter reacted as if he had been waiting for it.

He grabbed the heads of the two knights and smashed them together.

Thud!

The sound of watermelons breaking echoed as the two knights collapsed, their foreheads colliding.

With a single move, Keter had subdued two participants. He took their badges and did something incomprehensible.

Whoosh!

Instead of keeping the badges, he threw them into the sea.

According to the tournament rules, damaging badges was prohibited. But there were no restrictions on discarding them.

The audience watching the match thought Keter was insane. Why would he throw away valuable badges? Did he not want to win the tournament?

But the audience didn’t know.

Throwing the badges into the sea was just the beginning.