"Halt!"

A heavily armored guard stepped in front of Verity at one of Colosseo's many gates, halting his approach.

"For the next week, the city is closed to all not engaging in the Rising Stars Tournament. If you are not here to participate, or spectate, then you may return at a later date."

"I'm here to participate," Verity said.

"Identification!"

Verity handed his adventurer card and the guard inspected it closely. Eventually, the guard nodded and handed it back to Verity.

He then bent down, and retrieved an orb from a wooden chest at his feet.

'Is this the mana signature thing again?' Verity wondered.

"Place your hand on this magical artifact while you answer the following set of questions."

Verity nodded.

The guard began without wasting another second. "Race?"

"Human."

The orb did not react.

"Age?"

"Twenty-two."

The orb once more did not react.

"Main weapon?"

"The spear."

"Bring it out."

Verity pulled the spear from his system inventory but pretended he had done so from a dimensional bag, as that feature of the system wasn't something the people of this world possessed.

Final Embers, the spear that had followed him since the beginning emerged into existence, and Verity placed it in the guard's hands.

The guard inspected it, then returned it to Verity. "Good."

He then handed Verity a scroll, and he stepped aside. "You may enter. Welcome to the City of Trials, challenger Verity."

'Woah, that was quick…' Verity thought as he marched inside.

He opened the scroll and quickly understood it was meant to serve as an instruction manual for the rising stars tournament.

Rising Stars Tournament

Welcome! Welcome to the Rising Stars Tournament!

We are proud to receive the foremost warriors, mages, and mysterious combatants from the four corners of this continent, and we wish each and every single one of you an enlightening experience during your stay.

Although this is called a tournament, it would be more accurate to call it a 'culling', or a 'refining' method to select the most supreme young talent in soul, mind and body!

To that end, the tournament will be separated into six different stages, corresponding to the six inner regions of Colosseo. For each stage that the challenger successfully completes, they will be allowed to move further within the city, and to the handful of participants that reach the innermost region of the city, a great surprise awaits them!

Before you begin your journey, there are few rules you should remember.

Participation is restricted to young talents. For humans, this means an age of thirty years or younger. For demi-humans and other recognized intelligent lifeforms, equivalent developmental age will be considered based on official Empire records.

The possession of artifacts and personal weapons is permitted but their use may be revoked at any time at the discretion of the Trial Overseer. Additionally, artifacts over the rank of Refined are strictly prohibited, except if the wielder can prove they have crafted it with their own abilities.

Once eliminated, the challenger may change their status from participant to spectator, or they may leave the city, but they may absolutely not advance within the city as a challenger.

While Colosseo does not endorse the loss of promising youth, lethal force is permitted, and survival is not guaranteed during any stage of the trials.

While we recognize the role of birth and affluence in personal strength, it is strictly forbidden to wield outside authority once within the walls of Colosseo.

Challengers may not move within the city past the walls of each region unless they have passed a trial, but they are permitted to return to previous regions as they please.

Please note that although each challenger is screened individually before entry, you are to remember that these rules are absolute, and should you be found guilty of infringing upon any of them, you will be immediately disqualified.

You will be given one day of rest between every single trial, hence the officials of Colosseo encourage every single challenger to enjoy the rich culinary and cultural scene of their city during your stay!

The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

With that said, good luck challengers, and we hope to see you reach Colosseo's heart.

Verity found the instructions interesting. He had somewhat expected that killing would be allowed, so that did not necessarily surprise him, and he was somewhat thankful that Vera's ring had recently been broken, since it was a Mythical item.

Most importantly, he found the writing style of that letter quite amusing, and he thought that whoever wrote it must not have been much older than him.

He closed the scroll, and he finally lifted his gaze.

His brows rose. 'Wow… this place is packed.'

There were adventurers, knights, mages, alchemists, and people of various creeds all around him. It was to the point that he could not take a step forward without risking bumping into someone.

He brought his bracelet to his mouth. [Uh, where are you guys exactly?] He asked.

[In this magnificent restaurant up north!! Come quickly, lest I eat all of their food haha!!]

Verity paused. 'Oh yeah, no, it's fine. Go ahead without me guys, I wasn't even that hungry anyways.'

He then looked in front of him. '...What does the 'northside' even mean… Do I look like a compass?'

He brought his bracelet to his mouth, but before he could say anything, a large shadow was cast over him, and someone tapped him on the shoulder.

Verity turned around, and he looked up, and then looked up some more, and when his neck was on the verge of breaking, his jaw nearly fell off. "M-Marco!?"

The man was now towering at eight feet tall, at the very least.

Verity wiped his eyes. "Are you going to keep getting bigger?" He asked.

Marco smiled, and he shrugged. "Hopefully not, but Master is still about twice my size, so probably, yes."

Verity let out a hollow laugh. "Well, in any case, it's nice to see you. It's been a while."

Marco then slapped him on the back. "Hasn't it!? We haven't seen each other in more than half a year!"

Verity stumbled forward, nearly face-planting into the ground.

Marco scratched the back of his neck with an awkward smile. "Ah.. sorry, I still can't control my strength very well…"

Verity waved his hand. "I-It's fine. I'm glad to see you're doing this well, haha…"

—

Verity, Marco, Felicia, and Hoshino sat around a table in a restaurant named the 'Wyvern's Breath' which specialized in spicy poultry dishes.

Quite ironic, as wyverns were more akin to reptiles than birds.

It had only opened a year ago, and according to the brochure, its owner was new to the city, following his culinary dreams and leaving everything behind to open this restaurant with his wife.

Verity ordered a rice dish that resembled katsu chicken, but made with a bird from the surrounding regions, a cockatrix.

Marco also ordered a cockatrix meal, or it would have been more accurate to say that he ordered an entire cockatrix, a bird as big as he was.

Felicia, for her part, ordered their signature 'Fire Breathing Wyvern Fingers', which were not actual wyvern fingers of course, but were instead made according to a secret recipe.

As for Hoshino, for a reason none could explain, she ordered the spiciest item on the menu, the 'Wings of Instant Death'.

The three of them looked at her with a curious look, but they eventually shrugged, their face saying something along the lines of 'Well, whatever.'

Of course, when the plates arrived, all four of them dug in nearly instantly, as they were all quite hungry.

"Hmm! This is really good!" Felicia said about her Wyvern fingers. Excitedly, she extended a piece to Verity. "Try it!"

Verity took it from her hand and ate it. "Oh, wow. It really is." He looked at his own plate. "You should try this one too."

Verity pushed his plate toward her, but Felicia simply opened her mouth, waiting to be fed. Somehow, this reminded Verity of that night where they had ended up in the same room. 'Is she teasing me again? Hmph, I'm not the same man I was back then'

In one spoonful, he gathered rice, and a strip of cockatrix, and he brought it to Felicia's mouth, his hand trembling every step of the way.

She ate it with a smile on her face. "The sauce is sweet and spicy! I was totally expecting something more katsu-like." She chewed some more. "And the meat… cockatrix was it? It's really tender. It almost melts on the tongue!" She exclaimed.

Verity had to look away as she ate with a smile on her face, it was too much for him. And through this, his eyes landed on Hoshino, whose mouth was being ventilated by Marco.

"Nobody told you to order this!" Marco exclaimed.

"How der dey shry to burn a shar!!! Dish ish noshing!!" She said as tears flowed from her eyes.

She took another bite. "Hoshino!!" Marco yelled, pulling her from her plate as she struggled vehemently.

Verity shook his head. "...I'll go get milk… or something."

Marco nodded and thanked him, while Felicia moved beside Hoshino, both to help her, but also to try one of the Wings of Instant Death. She wasn't one to back away from a challenge, after all. Verity saw this, and made a mental note to return with two glasses.

When Verity returned with two full glasses of milk from the bar, someone was sitting in his chair. It was a tall man with hair as dark as Verity's, and from the side, Verity could tell that the man was incredibly handsome. He was wearing a long black cloak and a sword resembling a katana was sheathed at his side.

Verity frowned. 'Isn't that…'

It was the man from the first trial. The one who had slain two orcs, including the orc chief, by himself.

'What's he doing here?' Verity wondered.

When he saw him, Marco called him over. "Hey! Come meet this guy!"

Verity approached and handed the two glasses to Hoshino who was trying to recollect herself a few steps away. She grabbed onto his shirt and gulped the first one in one go.

In one motion, Marco grabbed the man's shoulder, and introduced him. "This is Elio! He was also in the first trial with all of us! Isn't it great that we've found each other!?"

Felicia spoke as she looked at Elio. "It is! What a reunion! I still remember your swordsmanship from back then, Elio. It was beautiful!" she said.

Elio smiled as he looked at her. "You flatter me. If it's not too imposing, I'd love to see how far you've come sometime."

Felicia tilted her head and gave a soft smile. Her face showed clear excitement. "Certainly!" She exclaimed.

Seeing the two of them look into each other's eyes, something unpleasant welled within Verity, but he shook his head and extinguished it immediately.

At last, Elio, who had not glimpsed at Verity yet, turned to greet him, but when his eyes landed on Verity, his face crisped. "...Who are you?"

Verity tilted his head. "...I'm...Verity?"

Elio stared at Verity, and his expression only darkened.

Marco, perhaps sensing the tension, stood up and wrapped his arm around Verity. "This is Verity! He's mostly the reason any of us survived the first trial."

Elio frowned. "Verity, Verity...Verity… A constant...No, that's impossible."

In a truly beautiful arc, Elio unsheathed a glistening viridescent katana, and pointed it toward Verity. "Reveal yourself. Who are you, truly?" He asked again, now releasing palpable killing intent.

The group reacted quickly, but Felicia was the first to move.

In a flash, Felicia unsheathed her own sword and pressed it against Elio's neck. Her face had not a hint of amusement, or her usual softness on it. "Sheath your sword, or your head flies."

Then, multiple orbs of light appeared in a dome around Elio, and a large hand placed itself on his shoulder, making him nearly sink into the ground.

The restaurant fell silent, and all of those who had been eating turned their heads, different looks on their faces. Annoyance, interest, fear.

"How dare you threh-hen my knighhtshhh!" She hiccuped fire. "I even shought you could join my Order!!" Hoshino spat with her mouth still burning from the wings and with her brows furrowing.

Marco's grip tightened. "This is probably some sort of mistake, right? Why don't we all just sit down and talk about this?" He said with an awkward smile.

Elio completely ignored the three of them, and he stared at Verity, mumbling to himself. "He shouldn't be here…A demon? No… not yet, not here…Then what? Magic?"

Verity, who had quietly activated the rune of Truth moments, looked at Elio. 'Distrust…confusion even, but why? What's his deal?'

Felicia's face hardened. "You have until the count of three."

Allowing Felicia to reach 'two', Elio clicked his tongue, and he sheathed his katana. His gaze then landed on Hoshino, Marco, and Felicia. "Whoever this man is, he is not who you believe him to be. I'd urged you to be careful."

He then turned away, and left the restaurant, mumbling to himself.

Verity stood still, milk glass still half full in his hand.

Only Hoshino's small hiccupping broke the silence. She snatched the second glass of milk from Verity's hand and drowned herself in it.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.