"…Yes.

"Yes, I am quite affluent."

Edris responded to Ace's question with a shameless smile. He thought about his savings in the bank, which were multiple folds of the penalty amount of their contract.

"I guess I can't hide anything from you."

— ...

"However, it's still insufficient."

Although Edris had saved some money from his different jobs, it was far from his goal. It was unfortunate, really. Forget about travelling the world, the money he had right now wasn't even enough to buy an apartment. It was a lot for someone with few connections and no background, but Edris was aiming for more.

— Yet you're throwing gold around like nothing.

"Strategic gold-throwing," Edris twirled the spoon around. "I'm investing in things that will offer greater returns."

Noticing the suspicion in the entity's silence, he then asked him a question.

"Do you know how much the tournament reward is worth?" Not expecting a reply, Edris continued speaking. "A hundred thousand gold yones."

— ...

"And it's a minimum." Edris held back a grin as he thought about the wonderful connotations behind his words.

He wasted four gold bars so far negotiating with the competitors, adding up to a few hundred gold yones. And then there was the money he spent on various potions, ranging from all types of elixirs to the pricier enhancers. The former comprised a broad scope of functions, from fixing inanimate objects to food flavouring; the latter was a type of elixir that could only be used on humans. Edris kept all of those to himself, of course.

But even so, these sacrifices were nothing compared to the net profit he would gain after receiving the monetary reward.

"I would be making a fortune." He nodded to himself, satisfied by the results from his mental calculation.

The voice in his head seemed to have caught on to his thought process as Ace cooly made another comment.

— In that case, money won't be the only thing coming your way.

The participants wouldn't have known because it wasn't officially announced, but Edris had his speculations.

The Wulin Tournament in Nolmes originated from the Adalan Kingdom. Hosted annually in the central city of Zacriya, the competition stood as one of the few collaborations between the two kingdoms.

While Zacriya was known for magic, Adalan took pride in their combative abilities; naturally, both sides desired to gain more diversity in their specialities and grow stronger as a powerful nation.

What would happen if someone won a tournament focused on combat within a kingdom specialising in magic?

"The kingdom is looking for people with potential." Edris shrugged as Ace came to the same conclusion.

This tournament's main goal was neither for entertainment nor the development of relations with other kingdoms.

It was to scout talent.

The large monetary reward was nothing to the kingdom compared to the greater return the winner would bring to Zacriya in the long run.

— If you do end up winning, you're going to be recruited.

Edris smiled at Ace's statement. Indeed, the winner of the tournament would probably be invited to join one of Zacriya's factions. It was an attractive offer, especially for a small tournament like this one. Everyone knew the opportunities that came with working in the kingdom's factions.

However, that was not part of Edris's plan.

"Ace, we live in a civilised society." He shrugged. "If they do ask me, I'll just turn them down."

He was only planning to take the money, not the offer. The reason was simple.

Although the pay was desirable, working in the factions meant strict restraints on personal freedom. It also meant that he had to deal with the messy political system and aristocracy, which was everything Edris hoped to steer away from.

Despite contemplating the troubles that would come from the recruitment, he didn't share his thoughts with the voice in his head. Instead, he gently smiled.

"My refusal is for the sake of Zacriya. They would surely be wasting their resources on someone like myself, who only wishes to live a peaceful life."

Taking in Ace's silence, Edris then raised his hands before him, as if gesturing an act of reassurance. "Oh, don't worry! I promised I would help you out, so I won't ditch you until I fulfill my part of the contract. I'm a righteous person, after all."

Listening to Edris call himself "righteous" with a shameless smile was truly dumbfounding. Ace couldn't help but let out a cold laugh.

— What bullshit.

"What foul language."

Despite his half-hearted scolding, however, Edris did not disagree.

***

"Young master, it's time."

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It was the day of the semifinals. Faren Ablemore touched the surface of his staff, embracing its coolness under his fingers. He was currently in the tunnel, the waiting area of Dialesenn Arena. Beyond the tunnel was the open field, the battleground for the semifinals.

He was up against Edris, the foreign traveller who had been the target of discussion amongst the Nolmes citizens ever since the start of the tournament.

Winning against him would ensure his spot in the finals this afternoon.

"Young master. Please be mindful. Rumours had it that he was a user of dark magic."

His butler's voice grew apprehensive as he recalled the information on the traveller's previous matches. People who channelled dark magic were said to be vicious and immoral. Even though dark magic enhanced the strengths of their abilities, its usage was largely frowned upon.

Strength-wise, dark magic may even have an advantage over regular magic.

However, none of that mattered to Faren.

Although hypnosis was dangerous, he was confident in his mental strength. He was also unafraid of the ring of fire due to his own attributed magic.

Grip tightening on the staff in his hand, Faren started making his way towards the light at the end of the tunnel. The heaviness of his weapon did not only come from its physical weight, but also from the dignity he had as the youngest member of the Mage Brigade and as the son of the Ablemore family.

This tournament would be his first step towards his goal of becoming an archmage. He would prove his capabilities to the world by winning this competition. He was also sure that whatever the reward items were, they would help enhance his magic abilities drastically.

Faren was going to win no matter what.

His figure faded into light as he stepped foot onto the outside arena. Allowing his eyes to adjust, Faren straightened his posture as he asserted his presence amidst the enormous field. The four quarters from previous matches had merged into one.

Unlike the earlier rounds, the seats were now almost filled by spectators pouring into the arena. In fact, there were more audiences this year than any other previous one, marking a new attendance record for the Wulin Tournament.

The spectators, seated all around the arena, roared with excitement at the sight of the Ablemores' eldest. Enthusiasm made its way through the air as Faren approached the center of the arena. The atmosphere accumulated excitement as all eyes fixed on the tunnel from the left.

It was then Faren saw him.

The hypnotist who was capable of creating a storm of fire. The voices of spectators who had been cheering waned as they eyed the foreigner with curiosity and caution. With steady steps, Edris made his way toward the center of the battlefield.

His dark hair, shining under the sun, starkly contrasted with Faren's brownish red curls as the two men faced each other. Contrary to the latter's expectations, Edris had an unexpected demeanour for someone who used dark magic. It was calm, almost harmless. Unlike most magic users, he also did not carry a staff with him.

Was he already at a level where he did not need to use a medium to channel his mana?

Faren thought that people really couldn't be judged based on their appearances.

"Faren Ablemore." With a slight bow, the red-haired mage introduced himself for etiquette's sake. Edris returned the gesture.

"Edris."

A half-hearted response, yet strangely, Faren didn't feel offended by it. He was more taken back by the traveller's smooth, contemplative voice.

After the introduction, the two men stepped away from each other, increasing their distance on the battlefield. The crowd held their breath as everyone waited for the sound of the gong that would start their match.

Bong!

There it was—the signal.

Faren immediately raised his staff into the air and started to channel his mana. It didn't matter if the opponent was a dark magic user. He just had to land the first hit. Faren was confident in his spell casting speed.

However, he soon realized something was wrong.

It was because Edris was nowhere to be seen.

"What?" Pushing his panic behind him, Faren jerked his head sideways, just in time to see Edris approaching him from the left, closing their distance at an incredible speed.

The former pointed his staff towards him, the tips of his weapon illuminating with an orange glow. With a surge of mana accumulating on the tip of the staff, Faren's pupils constricted as the pent-up energy exploded into a beam of light. The spectators cheered as the magic concentration blasted towards its target, whiffing up a whirling path of dust behind its trajectory.

The attack was fast, but Edris was faster.

A gasp escaped from Faren as he watched the traveller pivot to the side, evading the beam of magic that shot past, barely missing his face by an inch.

He couldn't believe his eyes.

For a mage to have such swiftness in his movements!

However, he didn't have time to be astounded because with that short moment of hesitation, the distance between them had closed even more, and Edris was coming at him with a roundhouse kick.

A roundhouse kick?

Not hypnosis?

What about the firestorm?

"Ugh!" Faren shook slightly as he quickly channelled a shield to block off the traveller, who had spun his right leg forward at the barrier of light.

Fortunately, he was able to generate the shield right before Edris landed his attack. The impact caused the wall to collapse almost immediately, but the man also stumbled a few steps backwards to cope with the recoil.

"For a magic user, you have pretty strong physical strength. But why aren't you using your actual abilities?" Faren was asking Edris a question despite being amidst a battle. It was because he was truly confused. His knuckles whitened as the mage tightly clenched the staff in his hand.

"Are you looking down on me?"

He couldn't understand why the man standing before him, who had summoned a storm of fire and used hypnosis for all his past battles, was only coming at him with physical combat. After observing Edris's placid face, he knew he wasn't being taken seriously, and it was stirring up a fire in his heart.

Contrary to Faren's tumultuous thoughts, however, Edris's mind was in a completely different place.

What luck.

Although his expression remained unchanged, Edris was mentally frowning at the current situation.

The moment he had made eye contact with Faren Ablemore, Edris had abandoned all his plans down the drain. Unlike his previous opponents, this one was from an upper-class family. A whole magic user—the type with lofty aspirations, too. On glance at the man's resolved face, Edris knew it was no use trying to bribe him with money.

The only option was to face him head on.

Naturally, Edris had considered this situation beforehand and invested several enhancers in increasing his physicality before arriving at the match.

The spectators could only stare, captivated, as the battle dragged on between the two competitors on the field. Their eyes barely kept up with Edris's movements as he swiftly roamed around the enormous area, evading Faren Ablemore's magic attacks one after another.

"How are you dodging all my attacks? How do you know where they're coming from?" Breathing heavily, a droplet of sweat rolled down Faren's temple as he blasted another beam, only for it to miss as Edris dropped down, lowering himself to ground level.

At that moment, the corners of Edris's lips twitched, but Faren had been too preoccupied to notice the subtle change in his expression.

"I can hear it."

From the audience's perspective, Edris was now someone who was not only skilled at magic but also had excellent sensory abilities. There were few people in Nolmes who could go against Faren Ablemore, let alone evade all his attacks with ease.

However, there was a reason why Edris was able to avoid all of Faren Ablemore's attacks.

He had an ace card, after all.

— To your right, two o'clock. A long range attack.

Ace's deep voice recited in his head like the book of answers.