Felicia was laying down on her bed, nearly sighing with every breath. There was so much on her mind that she found it difficult to sleep, which was really unlike her.

Moreover, because the blonde girl had run off to who-knew-where, Felicia couldn't even use Hoshino to distract herself like she had done the day prior.

Now, all she could do was think, about Verity, about Elio, about the questions that refused to leave her alone.

'Verity…'

That was the man who had taken up a lot of space in her mind recently. A man who was not that strong, nor that smart, but who, for some reason, had slowly gained Felicia's interest. The reason was simple. The longer she thought about it, the longer Felicia realized that Elio's words made sense.

Wasn't Verity weird?

His class clearly wasn't that of a Spearman, and yet he wielded a spear almost obsessively. If it was only that, however, it would have been fine. After all, it might have been that Verity had been unlucky in his Class selection during the first trial and had decided to wield a weapon regardless.

Yes, that would have been fine.

But Felicia recalled Elio's words.

The more she thought about them, the more Felicia wondered.

"He has… good intuition, doesn't he…? Really good intuition…" She mumbled.

Sometimes, Felicia felt that Verity could see the future. No, she was certain that he had a skill that let him see the future. The issue was when he had gotten that skill. Felicia recalled the events of the first trial. Looking back on it, Felicia was certain that Verity had saved her life thanks to the same skill that had saved them in the monster-infested cave.

'But how did he have a skill already…? He couldn't have been level three… and if he was, then how did he get that other skill?'

Indeed.

Verity had possessed two skills at that moment. The precognition skill, and the one that allowed him to evade unavoidable attacks.

But how?

Everyone else had only one skill, so why was only he different?

Felicia considered the option of a sponsor, but a sponsorship contract before the first trial had even started made absolutely no sense. Felicia did not pretend to understand the wills of these higher beings, but even a monkey could understand that there'd be no benefit to invest in someone who hadn't proven themselves.

And so, she considered Elio's words. Who was Verity? Was he really an imposter? Someone who had sneaked into their ranks to destroy them from within?

'Pff.'

As if.

Felicia somewhat knew Verity by now. If that was really what it was, then perhaps he could be considered the greatest actor of all time. He was shy, awkward… and even funny at times, but he wasn't calculated. Even with her enhanced Sword Master senses, she never felt that Verity was being dishonest with her.

Plus, she'd seen him before, outside of the Tutorial's trials, at the bank. Verity was a real person, not some spy.

In her heart, no matter how much he pestered her, Felicia knew that Elio's words held no weight, yet she still wondered just how much Verity was hiding.

She sighed again.

She hated worrying over matters like this.

—

'Sigh'

A rather old man with golden hair, golden eyes, and a slender frame sat on a throne made of ores that most on the continent would not even be able to name. He glanced down on an arena filled with young men and women, ready to take on any challenge that may be thrown at them.

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

Beside him were servants attending to his every need. One held a plate of berries and fed him every now and then, another fanned him with palm leaves, and yet another massaged his shoulders.

Yet, he still sighed, earning worried looks from his servants.

The man was Alarion Caelum Draymore Vi Hazemar, the Emperor of the most powerful nation on the continent, and effectively the man who held the most power in the entire world.

What made him sigh wasn't the event he was forced to attend twice every decade, nor the extreme heat that had filled the arena, or even that three of his four sons were utter fools that could never inherit the throne. No, what made him sigh were the extravagant seats positioned right across from him in the audience.

They were empty.

Yet again.

Emperor Alarion sighed even louder. Ever since he was a child, which was well over a century ago, Alarion had never seen these seats completely filled. These seats that were meant for the six strongest of the continent had remained empty for nearly as long as he had been alive, save for two.

Only the newly appointed Hammer of Judgement, Klyde Spauser, and the Apostle of Terras, Virgo of the Holy Temple, had ever filled their seats during the Rising stars tournament. The other heroes, Alarion had only ever heard of, and had only seen in portraits.

Evangelina Dreadmoore, the Spear of Hell.

Gerard, The Martial Emperor.

Senna Rella, The Heavenly Sword.

And Aurelius von Augus, the Sage of Four Elements.

They were people that one could not command to move, even if the one demanding happened to be the Emperor. Hence, even with all of his authority, Emperor Alarion could not compel them to attend this event.

So, he sighed again. He was like a child who was not able to meet his favorite superhero.

He was about to demand water be brought when–

"HAHHAHAHAH!!! HOW LONG HAS IT BEEN SINCE I WAS LAST HERE!!"

The Emperor's eyes widened.

Someone had walked up the staircase leading to the distinguished seats.

A titan standing at fourteen feet tall and muscles the size of tree trunks. Tanned skin that resembled the summer sand, and a rough beard that clearly indicated lack of grooming.

The Martial Emperor, the Ultimate Martial Artist, The Perfect Man, Gerard was here.

He was not alone.

A streak of silver hair flew past. "Do you always have to be this loud? I wish there was an 'off' option on you."

The Emperor stuttered, unable to speak proper words. "E-Evangelin–"

"Evie~ Don't be so mean to him, that's just how he is, plus, you can be quite intense sometimes too."

The silver-haired woman glared back at the one who'd just spoken the words, the latter who raised her hands in surrender.

She turned her head, and mumbled under her breath. "I'm sure Aurelius can attest to how 'intense' you can be too~"

"You wanna die!??" Evangelina snapped back.

The blue haired woman hid behind Aurelius' large frame, though still small in comparison to Gerard.

"The Master says to stop teasing Evangelina! Stop teasing!"

The blue-haired woman pouted. "You always take her side."

"HAHAHAH!! HOW GREAT IT IS TO ALL BE BACK TOGETHER, IS IT NOT!??"

It seemed like the Emperor's eyes were on the verge of popping out of their sockets. "Gerard, Evangelina…Sinna Rella… and even Aurelius..!! They're all here! With the other two, the six of them have gathered today!"

Seated not too far away, a young-looking man with short white hair looked to his left. "What a blessing we have before us. All of you have finally decided to show your faces, haven't you?"

His hands hung at his side as he said this, a purple tint covering them and veins building all over.

Someone hugged him from behind. "Oh stop it, you! Just say that you missed us! It's been so long, Virgo!" Senna said, a large smile on her face.

Then she moved to the seat directly to his right, and she extended a hand. "I don't believe we've met, have we? I am—"

Klyde blew air from his nose. "I know very well who you are, Fairy Queen. Introductions are unnecessary."

A glint streaked through Senna's artificial eyes and she clasped her hands together. "Amazing! You're just like Evie when I first met her! Stuck up and unbearable!"

Klyde's eyebrow twitched. "...What?"

Aruelisu immediately stood between them, sweat rolling down his temple. He threw Senna a reprimanding look. "The Master says to stop teasing! Stop teasing!"

Senna chuckled. "Sure~" And she sat down in her assigned seat.

Moments later, they were all seated.

Much at the awe of both the Emperor, and everyone else in the audience.

Even the challengers were shocked.

Especially Verity and his friends.

Verity raised his eyebrows. "Master?"

Marco laughed hollowly. "Old man?"

Hoshino waved energetically "Oh!! My Master is here!!"

Felicia sighed. "She's definitely going to drag me back after this… isn't she?"

Ife, who stood beside Verity, put her hand over her eyes as she looked up at them. "You said your master was a transcendental, right? How would they compare to those people up there?"

Verity scoffed, and he slowly raised his arm. "My master's right there."

Ife laughed. "Haha. Very funny. Seriously, answer my question."

Verity said nothing.

"You're saying your master is…" She squinted, ascertaining who Verity was pointing to. "You're saying she's the Spear of Hell?"

Verity shrugged.

Ife sighed. "...Yeah, maybe I shouldn't even be surprised anymore. You're just a magnet for insane people it seems."

"Heh, maybe that's why you're here."

Ife raised an eyebrow and she smirked. "Look at that. His tongue's gotten sharper."

At last, the announcer began his speech.

"Welcome to all of you who have come to witness this historic moment! Before anything, Please raise and offer your greetings to the highest seats within this Empire.

First, the Twin Lights of the Holy Temple.

His Holiness, Holy Pope of Terras, Pope Samuel.

Her Grace, the Holy Maiden, Lady Lagertha."

Those who followed Terras, the official Goddess of the continent, offered prayers and bowed with respect. After giving them a moment, the announcer introduced a third person.

"And now, please kneel for the ruling existence within these lands. His will is Absolute, his word is Law, ladies and gentlemen,

His Majesty, Emperor Alarion Caelum Draymore Vi Hazemar!"

The Emperor waved, and all within the Audience, whether noble or not, kneeled before him. At his signal, all were allowed to stand once more, and the penultimate challenge was truly ready to begin.

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