Episode 125: “Huh?”
I was rendered speechless by the reality that unfolded before my eyes. For a while, I just stared blankly at Adrang.
Then, at some point, I snapped out of it and rummaged through my pouch. In my hand soon appeared the Box of the Dead.
‘Alright, first things first—update.’
I opened the Box of the Dead and hastily scribbled a note inside so Adrang wouldn’t see it. After closing the lid, the box emitted a dim purple light, and only then did I exhale the breath I had been holding.
Adrang, realizing something was off about my state, furrowed his eyebrows.
“Are you alright, my friend?”
“Uh? Oh, uh… yeah… I’m sure. Mhm.”
At the point when I made that uncertain reply, it was already clear that I wasn’t. Seseona and Carhalas to the side were also looking at me curiously.
Oh no. I really don’t need this extra attention right now.
“Well, uh… I must say, I was quite impressed by your daughter’s beauty.”
I threw out a flattery comment casually, partly to change the mood. After all, complimenting someone’s daughter seems to work wonders on fathers from any world.
I sneakily checked his reaction, and Adrang smirked.
“If you’re interested, I could arrange a marriage.”
This guy dives headfirst into jests and takes them way too seriously. How does ‘she’s beautiful’ turn into ‘take my daughter’? Is he just using Google Translate?
Speechless, I couldn’t think of a response, so Carhalas jumped in for me.
“Father! I am not in any such relationship with this person!”
Why must you always react so strongly? You’re making me uncomfortable.
Is your goal to make me cry? I already have enough on my plate, so please stop.
‘Suddenly an update?’
Without Ruci here, this update means either there is danger for me or Ruci approaching.
But danger in this situation? Out of nowhere like this?
‘True. Did anything sudden happen last time…?’
After reviewing the regression points later in Kern, we figured out the update logic. Each specific point back then was pretty random itself.
So there’s definitely something out there. Something in this vicinity that could potentially kill me or Ruci.
‘What could it be…?’
Unconsciously, I glanced at Adrang’s face.
To be honest, if I had to pick the person with the highest probability of killing me, it would be him.
[Character Information]
[Name: Bershults]
[Nickname: 4025703rd Hero, Ared Wolf Knight, 13th Cavalier, War God]
[Level: 381]
[Health: 3750/3750 Magic: 1390/1390 Physical Condition: Normal]
[Strength: 536 Agility: 611 Intelligence: 109 Hero Sense: 63]
His stats are slightly higher than mine, and if he seriously wants to kill me, the likelihood is high that I’d lose.
I confirmed his superior skill during our spar earlier. His battle experience—especially control over distance—is on a different level entirely.
‘Check out that Hero Sense at level 63. That’s monstrous.’
And he has a strong motive. Considering Adrang’s evident hatred for ‘witches,’ that alone could provide more than sufficient reason.
’If Ruci’s identity as the Demon King is exposed.’
Ruci, who’s known as the daughter of Diana, once tried to conquer the world. If her true identity as the Demon King becomes known, this regression point update starts to make sense.
And at that point, my gaze shifted back to the arena.
‘Honestly, if it’s someone inside that arena… there’s no real way to identify them.’
The second round of the preliminaries is down to its last third, but it still involves hundreds of matches. Even with just the participants left for tomorrow’s preliminaries—2500 people—it would be an impossible task to monitor each and everyone using the Eye of Mimir.
Worse still, the main issue is that distance—the Eye of Mimir’s range doesn’t cover from the stands to the arena floor.
‘And if it’s someone in the crowd… Even more complicated.’
Ultimately, with no real information at hand, the only one I can be cautious about at the moment is Adrang.
I sighed and subtly shuffled my seat away from Adrang.
It was a precautionary move that even I thought was overly cautious.
“By the way, Mr. Jung Yong! There are more masked participants than I expected. Honestly, I thought you were the only crazy… oh, no, unique person wearing a mask.”
Seseona mentioned something from the side.
I heard something strange mid-sentence but just nodded in agreement.
Carhalas explained earlier, but seeing it myself, it was clear there were far more masked individuals than expected—one in every three people, easily reaching around 300.
For reference, people can use pseudonyms and masks only up to the main event. Once the Cavalier competition begins, everyone will be required to fight with their real names and uncovered faces.
“Hmm? But why go through the trouble of wearing a mask to participate?”
“Because they have dirty things in the back but want the money and prizes.”
“Ah!”
That’s right. Most of those wearing masks are doing it to chase the big prize money and merchandise set aside for the finals.
“What kind of prize is it that so many people are participating masked?”
“Everyone who enters the finals gets 5,000 gold coins. The top 100 get an additional 5,000. And the main prize? They say it’s something called the Demon Dragon Sword—a very valuable sword from the Dragon Empire.”
Remembering what was announced at the opening ceremony, I responded, and Seseona widened her eyes and raised her voice in surprise.
“Wow. Just entering the finals gets you 5,000 gold coins, and top 100 is 10,000?”
“Yeah. That’s the minimum required for people to risk their lives.”
“I should’ve participated too. It would’ve been a great opportunity to secure our retirement funds. So regretful!”
“???”
For reference, the Martial Arts Tournament does not restrict the participation of masked individuals. Instead, it encourages them by including a rule that permits pseudonyms and masking until the main event.
There are several reasons for this.
The pervasive meritocracy in the Markeuteuriseu region.
The overwhelming confidence that any plot from mercenaries chasing the prize money will be resolved by the Cavalier community.
And also, to increase the credibility of the Cavalier competition by including them.
“…”
However, after observing all the matches, including those involving masked participants.
‘No one stands out.’
There was no one who particularly threatened me. Of course, there might be some powerhouses hiding their strength, but at least they didn’t show up on the surface.
In the first place, anyone who knows what they’re doing would hide their full potential during the preliminaries to avoid revealing their power too early, so that’s the norm.
“All matches in today’s preliminaries have concluded! Please take care as you return, and we hope to see you tomorrow!”
The event staff wandered around the stands, shouting, and soon the crowd began to disperse. I just stood there, staring blankly.
“You won’t be attending tomorrow’s State Banquet if you’re participating in the preliminaries, right?”
As I was about to stand up awkwardly and shake the dust off, Adrang casually mentioned this. The topic being what it was, I instinctively froze.
I awkwardly tilted my head.
“Eh… Does it run tomorrow as well?”
“The State Banquet continues every day until just before the Cavalier competition starts.”
“Well, uh… If I flunk out before that, I’ll definitely attend.”
“Total absence. Understood. Please convey that. Your testimony was needed, so it’s rather disappointing.”
“…”
While I felt a little guilty, it was also a bit flattering.
‘He interpreted “If I flunk out, I’ll attend” as “No, I won’t”… It means he recognizes my skills.’
I gave an awkward smile, and Adrang passed by.
“Let’s go, Carhalas.”
“Ah, yes.”
Carhalas followed Adrang out of the arena quickly. She briefly nodded to me as she passed, and I returned the gesture.
“Still as intimidating, huh~.”
“Indeed.”
Seseona and I exchanged a few words and then trailed Adrang from a distance.
After returning to the mansion, I went looking for Carhalas, suspecting she might have tattled on me to Adrang, but she was nowhere to be found.
According to Adrang, I was told she was heading to my room, but I didn’t see her there either.
With nothing else to do, I went looking for Ruci to discuss the sudden update of the regression point, but she was already soundly asleep in Seseona’s room.
“No idea.”
I scratched the back of my head and went back to my room to sleep. It was important to conserve my energy for tomorrow’s tournament.
The next day dawned.
Slightly uneasy, I headed to the arena for the preliminary matches.
‘Nothing happened last night after all…’
It still bothers me how much Carhalas told Adrang and why she disliked him so much, but I couldn’t find the opportunity to talk to her.
She was probably avoiding me because she felt guilty.
‘Anyway, we have plenty of time.’
Espada and Vestark stayed behind again today. My plan is to maintain the spoon concept until the preliminaries are over.
That way, when I bring weapons during the finals, the audience’s reaction will be all the more enthusiastic.
‘… It’ll be alright. We’re still in the preliminaries.’
Thinking about the mysterious fighter with the spoon who suddenly wields dual swords and devastates the enemy in the finals—it already gives me goosebumps.
“Participant 112 and Participant 512! Please report to Arena 33!”
And now, after waiting for a while, it’s finally my turn.
I stood on the arena floor facing my new opponent.
“Blue side, Participant 512, Jerry Levernon!”
My first opponent today was another masked man.
A clearly fake name was announced, and the masked man lifted his sword, signaling he was ready.
Swishh.
A katana-like single-edged curved sword rang out low. The cold gleam of the blade cut sharply through the eyes.
“Red side, Participant 112! The Blood-soaked Moonlit Shadow!”
Waaaah!
The cheers for me were far more enthusiastic than for the other man. I was surprised myself.
Apparently, word about me has spread overnight. I had to restrain myself from grinning uncontrollably.
“Arena 33, match begins!”
The match started. Alright, extra3, sacrifice yourself for the creation of the Blood-soaked Moonlit Shadow’s legend.
I drew my knife and immediately unleashed a torrent of malicious intent. The air grew heavy, and the knife of sinister intent swamped the masked man.
‘Right.’
The masked man shuddered and, maintaining his sword-holding posture, froze like a stone. Judging from his movements, it seems my malicious intent had taken effect.
His level doesn’t even reach 150? How did you think you’d win the prize money while wearing a mask? Have some integrity.
‘Still, there is always a possibility…’
Even so, he didn’t seem like anyone who could threaten me. But the update point I saw yesterday still weighed heavily on my mind. I grudgingly brought up his status window.
Simultaneously, I flicked my finger and teased him.
“Come on, attack if you dare…”
Just as my line was about to end, I skimmed his status window.
At that moment, time froze.
“…Uh?”
Bright flashes of sword light danced dangerously before my eyes. That’s all I saw. The world tilted, flipped over.
The vision fragmented like a broken television screen.
Hiss… Hiss…
In the midst of this,
The eerie breathing sound of the masked man tickled the final moments of my consciousness.
[Your Immortal Regression Point has been updated.]
[Date – Continental Calendar 1108, January 21, 8:58 PM]
[Location – Markeuteuriseu. Capital Crossfade, Martial Arts Arena]
“I deeply dislike lies.”
A faint sentence from Adrang echoed dully in my dazed head.
A roaring cheer drowned it out instantly.
I stared vacantly at the notification of the regression point update that filled my vision.
