"There's one thing I should still tell you."
"Kumironi didn't awaken me because she believed I had talent."
The moment Rei finished speaking—
The thunderstorm around him exploded instantly.
Monsiel—Defeated.
So this was the so-called Level 2 mage striving to comprehend Origin Magic…
Rei genuinely felt disappointed from the bottom of his heart.
After that, he continued matchmaking.
Yet he still didn't encounter a single opponent who could truly challenge him.
He easily pushed his streak to 50 consecutive victories.
A brilliant, radiant crystal fell from the sky.
Expansion Mana Crystal
It increased the maximum limit of mana.
This was the win-streak reward.
Fifty matches had taken him just over twenty minutes.
At an average of six seconds per battle, how could it not be fast?
The part that actually wasted the most time was the matchmaking itself.
As his win streak grew longer, the queue time gradually increased.
Rei glanced at the rankings.
To his surprise, he had already climbed into the Top 50.
The rankings were based on a point system.
Points increased more rapidly the longer your win streak became.
Normally:
Win → +1 pointLoss → −1 point
After 5 consecutive wins, each victory became +2 points.
After 10 consecutive wins, each victory became +4 points.
After 100 consecutive wins, every win granted +20 points.
This meant that if a player never exceeded a 5-win streak, a 50% win rate would simply keep them hovering around 0 points.
Aside from that, the system also adjusted points slightly based on combat performance and the difference in ranking points between the two opponents.
Rei's current coefficient was 1.2.
His base points were 178.
His final adjusted score was 213.6.
Among Level 2 professions, he ranked 44th.
Among Level 2 mages, he ranked 3rd.
Rei took out a pocket watch from his spatial ring and checked the time.
Still early.
He might as well keep grinding for a while.
The next 50 battles were no different.
He still didn't encounter a single true opponent.
He did run into the ranked #9 assassin, but unfortunately that assassin couldn't even break through Rei's shield.
The entire arena was simply covered in a sea of flames, burning the assassin to death.
[100 Consecutive Wins]
Total score: 567
Rank #1 among Level 2 MagesRank #3 Overall
The player ranked #1 overall had fought over 4,000 matches, losing only 16 times.
Even without counting streak bonuses, that player's score should already exceed four thousand points.
And with only sixteen losses…
Their win streaks probably weren't small either.
"Forget it."
Rei had no intention of grinding his way to Rank #1 in a single day.
Today's battles hadn't given him much inspiration.
Was it because he was killing his opponents too quickly?
Akase had told him that by experiencing more battles, he might discover inspiration toward Origin Magic.
Apparently…
That wouldn't be easy.
Rei had only tried this today because he saw Monsiel's flyer and thought he might find some inspiration.
Still—
At least he had obtained the win-streak rewards.
100-Win Reward:"Notes of an Ancient Origin Mage"
Rei opened the notebook and skimmed through it.
But immediately discovered something unfortunate.
He couldn't even read the text.
Apparently, being transported to this world didn't mean he automatically understood every written language.
After reaching this rank, Rei also started to feel a bit hungry.
He decided to grab something to eat first.
Leaving the Combatant Gate, Rei stopped by the front desk to officially record his match results.
Just over an hour ago—
He had registered as a new arena combatant.
One hour later—
He had already achieved 100 consecutive wins and climbed to Rank #3 in the City of Circles.
The receptionist behind the counter couldn't stop twitching at the corner of her mouth.
Little brother…
Don't you think your record is a little too overwhelming?
The City of Circles truly was enormous.
Compared to a small town like Rain Town, where you could see the town's borders at a glance, this place was unimaginably vast.
He had heard that the city's population reached fifty million.
Even Chongqing—the most populous city in China—only had around thirty million people.
By comparison…
This city truly had a staggering number of residents.
And yet despite that population, it didn't feel crowded.
Which only further proved how immense the city's size really was.
Dinner was one of the City of Circles' specialties:
Grilled Aromabeast Meat.
The flavor was indeed excellent.
The only downside was the price.
It cost 25 copper coins.
Still, it wasn't a portion meant for just one person.
Rei decided to pack the leftovers and bring them back.
If the others wanted some, they could share.
If not, it would just become his late-night snack.
By the time Rei returned to the hotel—
Night had already fallen.
After thinking for a moment, he decided to visit the library room.
The Rain Town Library had clearly been much older.
Some of the books there were century-old editions.
The books here should be more modern.
With that thought, Rei headed up to the 30th-floor library.
The moment he arrived—
He saw a young girl sitting at the front desk, reading a book.
"…."
Rei didn't make a sound.
But a staff had already appeared in his hand.
"Why are you here?"
"They were hiring a Level 4 Scholar as a librarian here."
"So I came."
Pali.
The librarian from Rain Town.
She had appeared here.
Considering that she possessed the Diviner profession, and was possibly a high-level diviner, Rei absolutely did not believe this was just a coincidence.
Rei turned and immediately started walking away.
Then he spoke quietly into the air.
"Iz."
"Pali is here. In the library on the 30th floor of our hotel."
Iz had once said—
As long as Rei called his name within Iz's perception range, he would sense it.
BOOM!
Almost instantly—
Iz appeared beside him.
Iz…
Your presence really is incredibly reassuring.
Although this behavior felt a bit like running to a parent to complain, Rei had no interest in playing games with a mysterious class like a Diviner using his still-inexperienced knowledge.
However—
When Iz arrived and saw the girl reading in front of them—
His expression suddenly became complicated.
"Biti?"
"You… know each other?"
Pali closed her book and calmly looked at Izparut.
Izparut took a deep breath, as if trying to steady his emotions.
Then he turned to Rei and said,
"This is the… friend I told you I was looking for."
The word friend was spoken through gritted teeth.
Rei rarely saw such emotions from Izparut.
Recalling what he had just gone through, Iz's face darkened slightly.
When he went to her residence earlier—
He found a note on the door:
"Out right now. If you need me, go to 1224 Pingyue Street."
He teleported there instantly.
Another note was stuck on the door:
"If you're still looking for me, go to 52 Old Harbor Street."
Heh…
After searching again and again, just when he was about to give up—
He found another note:
"If you stop looking now, you'll never see me again."
When he finally found the last message, it said:
"This really is the last one."
But it didn't list an address.
And just then—
He heard Rei calling him.
So he teleported to Rei's side.
And there she was.
Standing right in front of him.
Pali waved cheerfully.
"Yo, Paru."
Izparut replied flatly,
"Can I blow you up?"
Pali shrugged.
"Not really. This is a library."
…They looked very familiar with each other.
Iz took another deep breath and asked,
"So you were in Rain Town from the very beginning."
Pali nodded.
"You knew Mese would go after Rei."
Pali nodded again.
"Then why didn't you warn me?"
Pali answered calmly.
"Diviners are merely observers of fate."
"You didn't come looking for me, so naturally I didn't come looking for you."
Diviners did not interfere with the fate of others.
Iz sighed.
He couldn't argue with that.
It was indeed the code diviners followed.
"Fine."
"I need a divination."
Diviners would not interfere with fate—
Unless someone actively requested their help.
Once someone asked, that request itself became part of their own destiny.
A slip of paper appeared in Iz's hand.
"Help me divine Mese's location."
The paper was the note Mese had left for Rei.
"50 million gold coins."
Pali spoke calmly.
The outrageous price even startled Rei.
Fifty million?
Are you trying to buy the entire City of Circles?
Yet Iz paid without hesitation.
He tossed over a money pouch, clearly a spatial magic item.
Pali caught the pouch and weighed it casually.
Then she took the paper from Iz and glanced at it.
She didn't pull out a crystal ball, tarot cards, or any kind of mystical divination tools.
After just looking at it briefly, she handed it back.
"Northwest."
"Valley of the Dying Light."
"Chase him directly. Eventually, you'll encounter him at the Secret Sea at the western edge of the Ruilen Continent."
Then she asked,
"Do you want to know how the battle will end?"
Iz chuckled softly and shook his head.
"No need."
Pali sighed.
"What a pity. That could've been another profit."
"He has probably already realized that he's been divined."
"If you delay too long before chasing him, the pursuit will take even longer."
Iz nodded.
Then he looked at Rei.
"Akase and Kumironi will protect your safety."