[Level-4 Archer: Ice King — Frozen Sky Domain — 1v1 Duel — Looking for punishment, 14-win streak. Loser calls me daddy]
The archer's 15-win streak had become 14.
…Wait.
So losing one match subtracts one from the streak?
And when Rei beat him just now, the guy didn't call him "daddy" either.
Well… whatever.
Rei had no particular hobby involving forcing people to call him that anyway.
Next, Rei fought nine Level-4 competitors in total as warm-up matches.
After experiencing their strength firsthand, he came to a rough conclusion.
They were about as strong as Level-4 Lord-class monsters.
In a one-on-one fight against such monsters, most of these people would probably be able to solo kill them, simply because of the difference between human intelligence and monster instincts.
Of course, it might also be that the opponents he encountered were all fairly strong.
Anyone who dared open their own duel room and accept challenges likely had at least some real skill.
After all, no one who was completely weak would voluntarily ask to be beaten up.
Still…
Rei felt an itch in his heart.
He really wanted to try his Warrior combat techniques.
After going through the trouble of class-changing into a Warrior but not using it, it felt like ants were crawling inside his chest.
Eventually, Rei stopped fighting and entered the Gate of Spectators instead.
He randomly picked a paid viewing arena that looked interesting and took a seat.
Paid spectator arenas usually featured high-level experts, which made them worth watching.
Sitting in the audience, Rei casually began decoding the documents given to him by the Church of Life.
"Location of the Spring of Living Essence…"
"A Hundred-Year Report of the Death Church…"
"Ninefold Renewal of the Heartskin?"
"Life Reconstruction Method…"
These secrets weren't all related to the Death Church.
Apparently, the Church of Life had possessed these materials for a long time but had never found anyone capable of deciphering them.
Now that Rei had appeared, he could finally help solve these puzzles.
The Cipher Scholar profession was probably one in a hundred million.
And advancing it to high levels required extremely high Spirituality.
Low Spirituality meant weak cognitive ability.
A Cipher Scholar with weak thinking ability…
It was hard to imagine someone like that ever reaching the upper ranks.
Rei could already foresee that he might maintain long-term cooperation with the Church of Life in the future.
The Cipher Scholar profession was truly in demand.
Then again, professions centered on knowledge were always valuable.
The battle in the arena below had already begun.
Rei had deliberately chosen a Mage vs. Archer match.
This time, he didn't focus solely on one task.
Instead, he split his attention.
While decoding documents, he also watched the fight below.
Archers were typically extremely agile.
They needed to create distance quickly in order to maintain a safe damage output.
Among the mainstream combat professions, archers possessed the longest attack range.
Which meant that in combat there would always be a distance where:
The archer could hit the opponent—but the opponent couldn't hit the archer.
If the archer maintained that distance consistently—
Victory was almost guaranteed.
However, in this match, the archer was clearly at a disadvantage.
Tornado.Rain of Fire.Minor Meteor Spell.Devouring Pitfall.Lava Field.Gravitational Pull.
…
"Oh…"
This mage knew quite a lot of spells.
Using gravity, he pulled both fighters toward one another.
Pulling. Drawing.
Then layering it with slowing and immobilizing magic, trapping the archer while bombarding potential escape paths.
The archer tried to retreat—
But the ground behind him was covered in lava and sinkholes, while the detour path was blocked by a tornado.
At Level 4, flight was possible.
But the gravitational pressure made flying extremely difficult.
If the archer attempted to escape by flying, he would move at snail speed.
Which meant—
He would simply become a target in midair.
"Good strategy."
The archer was confined to a small zone and could only rely on his agility to dodge incoming spells.
At the same time, setting up so many battlefield effects meant the mage had less time to cast direct attack spells.
Arrows shot toward the mage like streaks of light!
But the mage waved his hand—
A violent gust of wind swept forward.
The arrows' trajectories twisted away.
「No-Chant · Gust Spell (Tier-2)」
This mage had mastered no-chant casting for at least one spell.
While watching the fight, Rei continued writing on fire-script paper.
"Oh… got it."
"The Hundred-Year Report."
"Former Death Church bases… records of individuals with extremely high Spirituality…"
"And… babies…"
Reading the decoded report, Rei felt a surge of disgust.
So it was true.
This was a church that extracted Spirituality from infants for sacrificial rituals.
For the past hundred years, they had been transporting living humans.
It seemed they had been repeatedly attempting some kind of mass sacrifice ritual.
[16th Sacrifice Result — No Response][22nd Sacrifice Result — No Response][43rd Sacrifice Result — No Response]
…
Most of the ritual attempts ended with the same result:
No response.
The battle below had already ended.
The mage's body had been pierced by several arrows—
But he still won.
As soon as the match ended, his injuries immediately healed, thanks to the arena's restoration rules.
After resting briefly to recover his mana, he prepared for the next challenger.
During that same interval, Rei finished decoding the remaining documents:
Ninefold Renewal of the Heartskin
Life Reconstruction Method
Location of the Spring of Living Essence
Internal Death Church personnel list
Once he finished, Rei stood up to leave.
He had only come here to sit somewhere while solving the puzzles.
Now that the documents were decoded, it was time to return them.
And then—
Out of the corner of his eye, Rei noticed someone.
A gold-haired girl appeared at the center of the arena.
Her ears were slightly pointed.
Her skin was as smooth and pale as snow, reflecting light.
Her chest was proudly pronounced beneath her armor.
Her gaze was cold and razor-sharp.
The audience instantly erupted into excited chatter.
"Luluvi…"
"Luluvi?!"
"She actually came here!"
"I heard she hasn't visited the Combat Arena for months."
"Who knows what she's been doing lately—she's probably improved a lot."
"I can't believe a 2-silver ticket gets us to watch Luluvi fight. Totally worth it!"
Rei recognized her face immediately.
After all, Luluvi posters were everywhere in the City Within the Circle.
There were even fan banners cheering her on.
She was basically treated like a citywide idol.
Luluvi glanced at her opponent.
The room title read:
[Level-4 All-Element Mage — Demonstrating Mage Tactical Play]
The mage hosting this arena had quite a large audience.
His strategic combat style attracted many other mages who came to observe and learn.
Luluvi selected Ready.
[Ready Confirmed]
Her opponent clearly looked nervous.
But he still started the match.
[3… 2… 1… Battle Start]
BOOM!
A Tier-2 Groundfire Spell erupted.
Apparently this mage also possessed several no-chant spells.
But Luluvi simply took one step forward and calmly exited the spell's range.
She raised her bow and aimed.
The mage quickly cast Gust Spell, trying to defend against the incoming attack.
BOOM!
But then—
A massive beam of light erupted from Luluvi's longbow!
It blasted across the battlefield in an instant and slammed into the arena barrier.
The blinding radiance made it impossible to open one's eyes.
When the light faded—
Only rolling clouds of dust remained.
And a huge trench carved through the ground as if a thousand oxen had plowed through it.
The earth itself had been gouged into a curved crater.
Incredible destructive power.
And the beam had arrived instantaneously.
There was no time to react.
Rei's pupils shrank.
This was completely different from every archer he had seen before.
Could she rival Kaiga?
Rei couldn't help comparing her to the War God Kaiga.
Suddenly—
A powerful perceptive sweep passed over him.
The next moment—
Their eyes met.
The spectator stands were technically part of the arena structure, though protected by the War God's restrictions, preventing battle damage from harming the audience.
At that moment—
They stared directly at each other.
Luluvi gave a cold smile.
Her lips moved silently.
"Rei, right? I finally found you."
"Don't lose before you face me."
Rei tugged lightly at his mage robe.
This woman's perception was terrifying.
He was wearing a robe designed to block detection, yet she still found him.
Rei didn't respond.
He simply turned and left the spectator seats.
After leaving the Gate of Spectators, Rei immediately used Flesh Reconstruction to change his appearance.
He swapped into plain clothing and adopted the face of an ordinary middle-aged man.
Outside the arena, he blew a small whistle.
Soon, a white pigeon with emerald wings flew down.
Rei attached a ring to its claw.
In the next instant—
The pigeon accelerated, twisted through space, and vanished instantly.
A Realm Pigeon.
This was one of the primary methods of long-distance communication in the world.
Another option was the Mind Altar, which allowed people to communicate across vast distances.
But both parties had to stand on corresponding altars simultaneously.
Because spatial magic had suffered a massive collapse, the only beings capable of precise long-distance traversal were creatures born with spatial bloodline abilities.
Realm Pigeons were one such species.
The five decoded documents were now sent back to the Church of Life.
Of course—
Rei had already memorized all their contents.
"Luluvi…"
"No wonder Iz spoke so highly of her."
Rei checked his equipment and items.
Should he try poisoning her somehow?
Archers usually didn't have strong detoxification abilities.
Or maybe steal her bow?
…That felt a bit shameless.
If he got caught, he'd probably be mocked for life.
And it would damage his reputation.
Besides, stealing someone's personal weapon wasn't exactly easy.
At that very moment—
Luluvi had absolutely no idea that the Root Mage who defeated Kaiga was currently contemplating a series of shady and underhanded strategies to win.
As far as Rei was concerned—
Honor in combat was optional.
If it was useful, he could have it.
If not, he could discard it without hesitation.
Winning through clever strategy and intelligence was his guiding principle.
Poisoning an opponent before battle?
In Rei's opinion—
That was simply another form of intelligence.
"…Still seems inconvenient to pull off."
The tournament was about to begin.
Around the Combat Arena, several massive new gates appeared.
「Gate of the War God」
"Fight! Fight! Achieve the supreme battle!"
"Sigh… that guy really is a battle-obsessed lunatic."
"Too bad I didn't ask him how he became the War God last time."
Rei stepped toward the gate.
Passing through it, his tournament eligibility was verified.
Once confirmed, he entered the battlefield.
The arena resembled an ancient city.
Its layout vaguely resembled the City Within the Circle, though far more ruined and collapsed.
No…
Floating into the sky, Rei scanned the horizon.
There was no visible boundary.
It felt like a real location, not a fabricated arena.
Rei flew outward for about ten minutes.
Still no sign of the battlefield's limits.
[Event — War God Cup About to Begin]
[Your opponent has entered the battlefield]
[Both sides are preparing. Combat will begin in 10 seconds]
A strange spatial fluctuation swept across Rei's body.
The next moment—
He was suddenly teleported back inside the city.
"…Spatial teleportation."
Rei replayed the sensation in his mind.
This was his first time directly experiencing spatial rules.
It felt… peculiar.
With his extremely high Spirituality, Rei could sense that countless eyes were watching him.
The War God Cup had a massive audience.
His opponent stood across from him.
Rei hadn't seen her name on the rankings before.
Her name was Anka.
She appeared to be a female mage, judging from her robe.
But the design was unusual—sleeker, more combat-oriented.
It even exposed her pale thighs.
Anka looked slightly surprised upon seeing Rei.
[Countdown — 10]
"You're also a Level-3 Mage?"
"Which city are you from?"
Rei replied calmly.
"The capital of Loren."
"You?"
Since the fight hadn't started yet, Rei decided to gather information.
Last night he had also studied a book called "Reading Expressions."
Now he could detect lies through subtle facial movements and hide his own emotions more carefully.
"Loren, huh… must be nice."
"Born in the land of magic."
"I'm from Seir City, Kingdom of Reiga."
She didn't seem to be lying.
If she was, then she was extremely skilled at deception.
The Kingdom of Reiga…
That was the nation currently at war with Loren.
It was said to be a kingdom that revered martial combat arts.
Assassins and warriors there were extremely powerful.
This was the Month of War and Fire.
Both kingdoms had reportedly gained benefits from the war.
But what about the common people?
[Countdown — 7]
Anka asked again.
"So you came here to travel around and experience Level-4 battles?"
"No."
"I came to win the championship."
Rei had slightly increased his height and put on a mask.
Now he looked like a short adult mage, not a child.
He had also disabled his title display.
"Champion, huh… big talk."
[Countdown — 3]
Anka spun the staff in her hand.
It was unusually long and sharp—
Almost like a spear.
"Let me make something clear first."
"I may be from Reiga… but I'm not a weak mage."
Rei nodded.
"Mm. Actually, I'm not very weak either."
A trace of irritation flashed through Anka's heart.
His tone carried no emotional fluctuation at all.
It was as if he hadn't taken her seriously in the slightest.
A Loren mage… looking down on a Reiga mage, huh?
Fine.
When she knocked him down in a moment—
He would regret it.
It was time these Loren people learned something.
The true power of a dual practitioner of magic and martial combat.