By the time Ron André and Nora returned to Ron's Wonderful Flower Shop in the City of Chaos, it was already close to 10 PM.
Jorina and the other employees had closed up and gone home, leaving only Yuna and Hasky behind.
Yuna had long since returned to the third floor, but in reality, she had been monitoring Hasky the entire time through shadow marks in the living room.
For Ron's safety, this was necessary.
Hasky was, after all, a beastfolk who had come off the battlefield. Even with his Battle Aura Vortex shattered, he still posed a potential threat.
On top of that, the destruction of his tribe could push him into unpredictable behavior.
Yuna couldn't read minds like Ron—who could rely on system tasks to gauge danger—so all she could do was keep everything under surveillance.
Fortunately, this was her specialty.
…
Stepping out of the storage room, Ron and Nora reached the second floor and saw Hasky sitting on the sofa, staring at the coffee table with a deep frown.
Ron glanced over.
The table was covered in Legendary Kill cards, with a few still clutched in Hasky's claws.
From his glowing green eyes, Ron could clearly see confusion.
"What's wrong? Did Jorina and the others play Legendary Kill with you tonight?" Ron asked as he sat down casually.
Nora glanced over, found nothing unusual, and headed to the bathroom to bathe.
Hasky looked up at Ron, holding two character cards.
"This… was invented by you… Your Highness?"
"Yeah. What's the issue?"
"There is an issue. A very big one."
Hasky spoke seriously:
"Look at these two cards."
He spread out 'Wolf Ancestor' and 'Fire Legendary Mage' in his palm.
"When I played earlier, I used the Wolf Ancestor and attacked a mage within distance 1."
"But after dealing damage, I could only reduce one point of health."
"That makes no sense!"
"If it were truly the Ancestor, once he lands a hit, the opponent shouldn't survive at all—it should be an instant kill!"
"Only one point of damage? That's absurd!"
Ron's expression turned strange.
Was this guy nitpicking… or just genuinely naïve from growing up in the Frozen Tundra?
Also, his logic clearly had holes.
"I already made that Wolf Ancestor pretty strong. Did you not read the skills?" Ron asked.
"First skill: [Backstab]—when you use 'Strike' on a target within distance 1, damage +1. Doesn't stack with weapons."
"So technically, you should've dealt two damage."
Ron held back a laugh.
"The girls probably forgot. That card was added recently—they're not familiar with it."
Hasky flushed slightly, but still muttered:
"Even then… only two damage. One-hit kill would be more realistic…"
Ron shrugged.
"Can't help you there."
He continued explaining:
"Second skill: [Wolf Claw]—when you use a weapon and deal damage with 'Strike,' you can discard the weapon to deal +1 damage."
"But it can't be used together with [Backstab]."
"Each has limits, but combined well, it's strong."
"With good luck and the right cards, you can take someone out in one turn."
"In fact, if more people played this, I might even nerf it."
Hasky immediately panicked:
"No! I didn't win a single round today! If you nerf it, how am I supposed to play?!"
Ron: "???"
"You could just… use other characters."
"…Wait, I can use other characters?" Hasky blinked.
"But there's only one beastfolk character…"
"Who told you players have to match their race?" Ron laughed helplessly.
"Don't you draw characters randomly at the start?"
"Random?" Hasky frowned. "We just pick."
"I saw them all choosing human characters, so I thought I could only pick beastfolk…"
Ron covered his face.
Jorina and the others barely had time to play, and compared to Element Cards or Mahjong, Legendary Kill was far more complex.
Its mechanics—like Magic Duel's compendium—had a high entry barrier.
Most of them only understood the basics.
They ignored phases, misunderstood skill types, and sometimes even forgot distance rules.
Total beginners.
And these beginners had taught Hasky…
No wonder he was so confused.
"I'll teach you properly," Ron said, leaning forward to gather the cards.
He couldn't help but feel a little bad—Hasky had used the same character all night.
Might as well give him a real introduction.
…
February 25th, Afternoon
On this day, many noble ladies canceled their afternoon tea and gathered at Queen's Street.
Something big seemed to be happening.
On the third floor of the flower shop on Monlis Street, all four competition rooms of the 'War of the Gods' Cup were packed.
Even sitting on small stools, the noble ladies maintained elegance, holding drinks like "Abyss," "Starry Sky," "Green Trap," or "White Temptation," chatting about the matches.
Among them, Sylvie, dressed in a black nun's robe, stood out.
Her posture was perfect. Her expression was serious.
Her technique is refined.
Unfortunately, none of it helped her results.
As the final round of the second half ended, Sylvie once again secured 16th place.
Mrs. Kelly and Mrs. Offman took first place in the two halves, respectively, receiving their prizes from Nora.
Sylvie, meanwhile—champion of last place twice—received two all-day drink vouchers.
After the ceremony, she left quickly to oversee healing duties for the Spring Martial Tournament.
Thus, the first 'War of the Gods' Cup concluded successfully.
Widely praised.
Partly because… no one else came last.
In that sense, Sylvie had made a "great contribution."
Later, Nora even asked Ron if Sylvie deserved extra rewards.
"Just play more 'War of the Gods' with her," Ron said with a smile. "She'll be happy."
…
Meanwhile, the Magic Battle Arena had been preparing intensely for Ranked Matches.
That afternoon, the announcement was posted.
It sparked a heated discussion.
Supporters, critics—both existed.
But Ron moved forward regardless.
Skill gaps were widening.
New players were getting crushed, losing motivation.
Veterans, meanwhile, stagnated from farming easy wins.
Separating players by skill level had become necessary.
"Your Highness," Betty greeted as Ron arrived on the second floor.
After greeting others, Ron sat beside her.
"You saw the announcement. Thoughts?"
"It's a great system," Betty said thoughtfully.
"It improves match quality and prevents one-sided games."
"Players can actually learn and improve instead of just getting crushed."
"Though… what about the ring matches?"
"They'll still be part of rank progression," Ron replied.
"Details aren't finalized yet."
"Don't worry—you can give feedback later."
He paused.
"I actually wanted to ask you something else."
Betty froze slightly, her mind instantly drifting into fantasy.
"What is it, Your Highness?"
Oblivious, Ron continued:
"We've created several new Element Card designs, along with models for the God of Magic, Magico."
"You're a dedicated player, so I'd like your input."
It wasn't quite the "dinner invitation" she imagined—
But her eyes still lit up.
"Really?!"
"New Magico models?!"
"And new Element Cards? New legendary spells? Or low-tier counters for high-tier magic?"
"…!"
Her rapid-fire excitement made Ron sweat a bit.
"If you want to know, come see for yourself."
"But just so you know—you only have advisory input, not final say."
Betty shook her head eagerly.
"Of course not!"