Elsewhere, near the center of Raitzal, existed it’s world famous famous martial arena.

No other word existed that described it as well as the word ‘grand’. Designed like a coliseum, it was so tall that it seemed to touch the sky and so wide that it made first time spectators wonder if the entire cities population could be hosted inside it.

This was not the case. There was certainly an ample amount of seating for spectators, but the real reason for it being so large, was to create an apt battle setting for the ground shaking fights that took place here. Warriors far and wide came to participate in Raitzal’s arena, and some of them, could alter the terrain itself.

The light from the morning sun reflected off of the magically reinforced stones used in it’s construction, creating a fantastical image that drew spectators in. Typically, crowds of excited people would wander around the area, taking bets, selling food, or just hanging around, but today there was none of that. Instead, a different group of people had filled the venue.

There were men and women of all different types and appearances, some weren’t even human, but the one thing that they all had in common was that they were fighters. Some were mercenaries, some were adventurers, some of the more properly dressed ones were even representatives of another nation's military, and all of them were here to fight in the tournament.

And within that crowd, a certain duo filtered through the waves of combatants.

“Galand! Hahh, hah, wait up!”

A spindly mage clutched the gnarled staff he held in his hands and used it to support himself as he stopped to catch his breath. He greedily sucked air into his lungs as he wheezed over and over.

“Oh for the love of yer-!” Galand- who appeared to be nothing but a walking wall of muscle- abruptly stopped his gait and turned around with a shocking speed while other contestants around him darted to the side to avoid being trampled.

“Ruphus, are you comin or are ya gonna jus stand round all day pantin like a lass in heat?!” Galland roared in a exasperated tone. Although he probably wasn’t trying to intimidate his companion, the pressure his yell gave off nonetheless startled the mage.

“Wha-! You act like I’m the one at fault here!” Rufus’ shock quickly turned sour as he talked back at his friend.

“You’re walking as fast as I can run, and I’m not the only one being disturbed here! You look like a behemoth charging through a horde of goblins” He stomped in frustration as he gestured to the surrounding crowd.

“Heh, but really your jus too frail now arncha?” Galland grinned at him, revealing his unaturally sharp teeth, creating a carnivorous smile that scared a few of the spectators.

“Why you giant bafoo-” Rufus’ words trailed off as he cocked his head, staring at something in the crowds. Within the sea of people walked another duo, this one drawing monumentally more eyes then even the brute. His eyes widened in surprise and he excitedly stood up straight and raised his hand

“Oi! Elia! It’s me, Rufus, and Galand! We’re over here!”

The crowd gasped in shock seeing the other group, and quickly parted to make way for the newcomers

From within the sea of people walked a lady of incredible beauty. Her silvery hair lightly hung off her back and danced in the wind. Her clear skin practically sparkled in the sunlight, and nigh perfect facial features stood out in particular as a tantalizing smile appeared on her lips.

She was Elia Belinde Rozen, Rozen’s Princess, and the strongest ‘Saint’.

“Rufus, Galand! It’s been so long! How have you been?” She quickly walked up to them, a man covered in armour that appeared to be made of polished bone followed quietly behind like a shadow.

“Oh, life's been good, me and Galand just got here…” He peeked around her, having just noticed the warrior who was following her.

“Uhm, sorry, would you like to introduce your friend?” He gave a sheepish smile as he scratched his head.

“Oh? That’s Averus, my guard, and an S-Rank Adventurer” She turned around after that casual introduction and lightly tapped the chest of the Imposing man.

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“Wha-!” Rufus gasped

S-rank adventurers. The peak of the adventuring profession, and the heroes of mankind. Each one was said to be the equivalent of an army, and could tackle a calamity class dragon head on and win. Typically, these rare and legendary people would be be coveted by entire countries as secret weapons, and even Rozen, a country of incredible power in this world, only had a handful of S-Rank adventurers at their disposal.

The fact that Elia had an S-Ranked adventurer guarding her just went to show how much the country truly valued her.

Rufus and Galand had been adventurers together for a long time, over five years, and had befriended the princess after having partook in her protection detail during an embassy three years ago across the border to discuss the use of her power on the southern front.

Although they were considered quite powerful at B+ rank, seeing an S-rank Adventurer who could be considered the absolute peak of the adventuring community, was quite the experience.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, dear friends of the princess” Averus’ gently handsome features wrinkled as he gave a full smile and bowed low.

“Oh no! An S-Ranked Adventurer like yourself needn’t be so humble around B Rankers like us” Rufus panickedly rushed to stop him and ended up giving a bow himself.

“Hehe, quite the polite one eh? I’d like to have a bout’ wit ya sometime. Even if I know I’ll lose, fightin Mr S-Ranker would be an experience” Galand grinned and raised his hand which Averus shook.

“Wha- What are you going on about?! How could you be so rude!” Rufus quickly leapt up and admonished his friend in a panic. His hands waved comically waved around in the air and his face flushed red in anger.

“Pff- hahaha!” Elia doubled over in barely contained laughter, her bell like voice froze Rufus in his tracks during his unsuccessful attempt at reigning in Galand.

“No, no, sorry.” She smiled. “It’s just that Averus hardly cares for obtrusive formality like that.”

“Indeed, please treat me as you would any other adventurer” Averus straightened up as he made his request.

“That would be nearly impossible for me…” Rufus trailed off in amazement before giving a slight cough.

“V-very well. My apologies if I offended you, Averus.”

“Of course not. I understand S-Ranked Adventurers are rare, however if we are to face each other in the arena, it would be best if our relationship wasn’t so cordial.”

“Huh? You’re participating in the tournament?” Rufus asked confusedly. “Aren’t you supposed to be the Elia’s guard?”

“Oh, he’s fighting as the Royal Representative” Elia quickly chimed in, and seeing her explanation wasn’t sufficient, continued.

“Averus here was recently promoted to S-Rank after defeating a fire dragon a scouting detail discovered flying near Hilton a few moons ago. Since the Royal family themselves are the ones who backed his ranking, he’s here to both guard me and fight as our representative.”

“So that’s how it is…” Rufus murmured, and then immediately his expression deflated a bit. “So that also means that we have no chance of winning this tournament” He said with a sigh.

“O’ perk up Rufus, it ain’t like like we joined this to win anyhow” Galand gave a loud laugh and slapped his friend on the back, causing him to yelp in pain.

“Son of a…” Rufus complained loudly as he rubbed his back, before something else caught his eye. A plum of strangely bright red hair that stuck out like a sore thumb as it bobbed up and down, filtering through the waves of people surrounding them.

“Wha- Galand wait here, I gotta confirm something!” He quickly darted into the crowd, ignoring the alarmed cries behind him as he pushed through the sea of people in front of him.

“He really is here… that bastard…” Rufus tightly gripped the gnarled staff in his hands. Made from the stump of a thousand year old treant, it’s mana conductivity was leaps and bounds above any staff he could get at even the best of blacksmiths, and right now he was silently pouring energy into it from his enormous mana pool.

The red haired mage was there, standing at one of the many booths set up outside of the arena for tournament registration. A silly smile was etched on his face, and armed with nothing but what looked like an empty barbeque skewer, he looked fairly out of place amongst the hardened faces around him.

“... what is he doing here? The tournament? But then why did he attack us in the forest…” Rufus murmured to himself.

Why would someone so ridiculously strong target them of all people inside a forest hunting ground primarily used by C-Ranked Adventurers? Rufus couldn’t answer that question. It made no sense, unless he had some other objective in mind.

Rufus gritted his teeth and prepared his staff. Whoever he was, it didn’t matter. The stranger boasted power comparable to the top echelons of a country, but his name and face was completely unknown to him, despite his efforts to keep up with all the powerful individuals coming to Rozen for the tournament.

If such a being held ill intent towards the venue where the ‘Saint’ Princess was, then it couldn’t be good. The option of going back to get help from Galand, or perhaps Averus still remained, but in this sea of people, there was no guarantee he would be able to find the red-haired man again, or in such a vulnerable position.

He was out of his league in terms of raw power, but in a sneak attack, he still had a chance. No matter how powerful the red-haired man may have been, he was human, and his flesh would burn the same as anyone else's.

Rufus gave up a silent prayer, asking for forgiveness to anyone who might get caught up in the blast, and raised his staff to fire.