/
“Oh, I didn’t know there was a place like this.”
Oliver commented as he looked at the arena set up in the basement of the party venue.
It was similar to the illegal fighting arena in District X, but cleaner and more sophisticated.
“At Sapphire, they have many facilities for the customers’ various pleasures… Will you give me your coat?”
Jane asked, reaching out her arm to Oliver, who was taking off his coat before heading into the arena.
“Oh, thank you.”
“Thank you? I’m actually sorry.”
Jane’s words were sincere.
She felt a slight sense of guilt for making Oliver a spectacle.
“Um, I don’t know why you’re sorry. As I said earlier, I expected this much.”
“That may be so… but I’m a friend of Dave. I feel sorry for using a friend for my own benefit,” said Jane, scanning the surroundings.
Her words were not an exaggeration.
Many magnates attending the party were drawn into the sudden event, influenced by the incitement of Shamus and the surrounding atmosphere.
Not only the nouveau riche who made their money by chance, but also nobles from outside of Landa, well-known businessmen within Landa, and investors were all interested.
It was no easy feat as everyone had different statuses, thoughts, and interests.
Yet, they were all brought together by the somewhat vulgar subject of a fight, and were even showing interest in it.
“Who’s that woman?”
“Her name is Jane. She’s indebted to Lady Miranda.”
“An investor?”
“Though her experience is modest, it seems she has more impressive connections than expected. She brought a warlock to fight with a wizard. He’s a well-known solver these days.”
“Are they in a relationship?”
“Aren’t they obviously?”
“Why are they fighting?”
“The student from the Magic Tower insulted the woman, and the warlock slapped him with a glove and challenged him to a duel.”
“Isn’t that different from what I heard?”
“Does it matter? We just need to enjoy the show.”
“Who do you think will win?”
“They say the solver is quite skilled, but wouldn’t it be difficult to underestimate a student from the Magic Tower?”
There were some misunderstandings, but for an investor who survives on connections, it was a favorable situation.
Depending on what Jane does, it could be used very advantageously.
Just like Shamus who instigated the fight.
“Haha! It’s been a while. How have you all been?”
“Well, I’m doing well. I heard you’ve been doing well too, Shamus.”
As he walked around the party, he drew people’s attention by announcing Dave and Derek’s fight with his distinctive loud and jovial voice, and naturally attracted some of that attention to himself.
Oliver had been curious about why he so actively instigated the fight, and now he seemed to understand why.
‘That short moment, even calculating to this extent… it’s truly amazing. It’s to the extent that I feel I should learn from it.’
“Miss Jane.”
“Yes?”
“To be honest, I don’t feel angry or uncomfortable with this situation… I’m actually surprised.”
“Really?”
“Yes, I was impressed by Mr. Shamus’ skill. He amplified that short quarrel and brought the situation that is most advantageous to him.”
Jane looked at Shamus, who had been promoting the fight to gain investments.
“Of course, depending on the perspective, it may not be a commendable action, but as a businessman who seeks profits, I think it’s admirable and praiseworthy. That’s what I think.”
“What are you trying to say?”
“I hope you can do the same, Miss Jane. I like that about you.”
“You mean, acting shrewdly?”
“No, striving for your own goals. And later, when you succeed, please help me a bit.”
“…Phew, alright. I will not pretend to think unnecessarily and will focus on my work. So, you should also concentrate on your own work, Dave.”
“Of course, I cannot afford to be distracted when facing a wizard.”
“No, that’s not what I mean.”
“Yes?”
“I mean, you should beat the crap out of him. If you win impressively, it will save face for both Shamus and me.”
When enough people had gathered, Shamus excused himself and grabbed the microphone, going up onto the stage.
When he stepped onto the dense stone arena, the cheerful sound of footsteps echoed around him.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
One by one, the party guests who had been buzzing around the arena fell silent, fixing their gaze on Shamus.
From the moment Oliver saw him, he felt that he had a natural talent for attracting people’s attention. He was truly versatile.
“Dear gentlemen and ladies! …I am Shamus, who has been given the honor of hosting today’s surprise event. I am truly honored to meet you! Today, we have gathered to resolve a long-standing curiosity in Landa!! Specifically, who is stronger, a student from Landa’s proud Magic Tower or a solver who hones his skills on the streets!!!”
It wasn’t a simple line, it seemed somewhat factual.
Gentlemen in silk suits and hats, noble ladies with flamboyant feathered hats, female druids, and a mercenary captain wearing golem prosthetics on both hands were among the numerous people invited to the party, and they all were intrigued by this duel itself.
“Even the students of the Magic Tower are each regarded as monsters. We’re about to verify whether that’s true……! Now, I won’t rob anymore of your precious time with further sweet talk! …In the blue corner! Representative Solver from District T! The leader of the Fighter Crew!! With a mission success rate of 100 percent!!! Landa’s strongest warlock, Daaveeeee!!!!”
Everyone’s gaze turned to Oliver, and Oliver responded to their gaze.
“I’m not the leader of the Fighter Crew. No, I’m not. I’m not the leader of the Fighter Crew. They are they, and I am I.”
Everyone who had come to watch in the arena did not hear his words. Even Shamus casually brushed it off as if it wasn’t a big deal.
“It doesn’t matter. We’re just here to enjoy anyway. No one will misunderstand.”
He blatantly lied. As Oliver tried to argue further about this, Shamus promptly introduced the next competitor.
“In the red corner! From Landa’s proud Magic Tower, the Elemental faction! And from among them, the powerful fire sub-faction Agni student and a noble from the renowned Redhill family, Derick Redhill!!!”
Shamus pointed to the opposite side of Oliver, and the eyes of everyone gathered in the arena were drawn to that direction.
Derick with his red hair was about to come up, just like Oliver, taking off his outerwear, and upon closer inspection, Yareli was beside him.
‘It’s strange. Even if Mr. Derick isn’t a direct descendant, Miss Yareli is a direct descendant from a solid family, and her grandmother is even the Grandmaster, why would she come to such a place… is there some sort of situation?’
Oliver involuntarily examined Yareli.
She seemed worried and said something to Derick, and Derick, as if reassuring her, nodded and went up to the arena.
He appeared displeased with the current situation and glared at Oliver with distaste.
‘Um, he originally didn’t want to participate.’
Oliver recalled the words Shamus had used to persuade Derick to participate in the match.
‘You plan to run after creating this situation? Are you okay with that? It’s up to you to leave, but then, the word will spread around that a Magic Tower student ran away, that will not only affect investments but also tarnish the reputation of the Magic Tower and your faction… I’m really worried, can you handle it?’
Coerced with the threat disguised as concern, Derick had no choice but to accept the challenge.
If things really went this way, his standing in the Magic Tower would be at stake.
Shamus shouted cheerfully.
“Are both competitors ready?!!”
Oliver responded affirmatively, and Derick, filled with dissatisfaction, nervously nodded and subtly released his mana.
Upon hearing the responses, Shamus exited the arena, and at the same time, a magical barrier surrounded the perimeter of the arena.
It certainly seemed to be of a different quality than the illegal fighting ring in District X.
“Start… the match!”
——Boom!!!!
With Shamus’ declaration of the match, the arena was swept up in an explosion.
The entire arena shook slightly with the loud noise, and all the guests at the party were taken aback.
They had heard of the power of a wizard, but seeing it in action was likely a rare occurrence.
Oliver was also amazed.
To think that combining two magics could wield such power.
‘Controlling the oxygen concentration with mana and causing a small flame to explode… Amazing. He maximized the range and power relative to the consumption of mana.’
As Oliver admired this, he released the shadow enveloping him.
His form was as beautiful as a flower blooming.
“Oh… look over there! He’s fine! He’s fine even inside that explosion!!”
One of the spectators surrounding the arena exclaimed, and the other spectators also looked at Oliver in surprise.
It seemed to be quite a shock that he survived the explosion that filled the entire arena.
And that included Derick, who had launched the attack.
He seemed slightly surprised at seeing Oliver, who had covered his whole body with shadows.
As if he had not expected him to withstand it.
But that was only for a moment.
Unlike when they had fought before, Derick calmly regained his battle stance instead of being swayed by his emotions.
It was likely the work of Kevin.
When Kevin trained Derick, he emphasized mindset and thinking rather than skills or tricks.
In fact, as soon as he confirmed that Oliver did not intend to attack first, he used the mana gathered at his fingertips to create wind for a preemptive attack.
[Squall]
A sudden gust of wind blew from bottom to top, and small stone fragments and dust on the ground were blown toward Oliver on the wind.
Oliver reflexively covered his eyes, and in response, Derick quickly shot over a dozen fireballs.
The timing, speed, quality, and quantity of the attack were all excellent. His skills had definitely improved since the last time.
‘Impressive.’
[Shadow Spike]
Thunk! Thunk! Thunk! Thunk! Thunk! Thunk! Thunk! Thunk! Thunk! Thunk!
Along with the sound, Oliver’s shadow stretched out like a squid’s leg following the trajectory of the fireballs, erupting from below and instantly neutralizing the fireballs. It wasn’t simply blocked with power, but attacked the vulnerable part of the spell formation to sabotage the spell.
After grasping the basic feeling from the past confrontation with Derick, he had improved it based on the fight with Bathory.
‘This is how she neutralized my Greed Fire.’
Thinking of Bathory who ripped apart the Greed Fire with the blade of blood, Oliver mused.
Though the characteristics of blood magic had helped resist the Greed Fire, it was undeniable that Bathory’s techniques were outstanding separately from that.
He was taken aback when it first happened, but he felt that it was quite profitable to learn in this way.
“You… What did you do?”
Derick asked with an astounded emotion.
He was not the only one surprised.
From the general guests at the party who had come to watch Derick’s fight, to other wizards including Yareli, all of them showed surprised emotions.
As if they had seen some incredible, unbelievable trick.
As usual, Oliver answered plainly.
“I tried to neutralize the magic itself by destroying the weak part of the spell. It’s not easy, but it’s more doable than I thought.”