At the very end, Luluvi removed the outermost layer of clothing covering her body.
Her body had been completely pierced through by the barrage—
And she fell toward the ground below.
The victor had already been decided.
Without a doubt, the winner was Kanzaki Rei.
With the last remnants of her fading consciousness, Luluvi looked at Rei, who was still gripping her ankle and right arm.
You…
When exactly are you planning to let go?
Darkness swallowed her awareness.
Her final thought dissolved into nothingness.
…
Only after Luluvi's body disappeared from the arena did Rei finally release a long breath in the center of the battlefield.
In future fights… I really hope I don't run into archers in open terrain again.
After that battle with Luluvi, Rei had developed a slight psychological shadow toward archers.
"I definitely need to find a way to guarantee that I can close distance with enemies…"
"Or find a way to trap them inside a space they can't escape from."
Rei muttered quietly to himself.
This battle had once again revealed certain weaknesses in his combat approach.
But his post-victory reflection didn't last long.
Because the surroundings were rapidly dissolving.
The battlefield vanished piece by piece, gradually transforming into a pure white empty space.
At the same time, Rei's soul felt a refreshing sense of relief.
His spiritual perception told him that he was no longer being watched by the massive audience from earlier.
Rei glanced to both sides.
He wasn't the only one here.
Hummel, Luluvi, Rockridge, Fasiel, Vianca…
All eight finalists were present.
The way they looked at Rei carried extremely complicated expressions.
Fasiel's expression seemed almost relieved.
As a puppeteer, he had lost to Rei in a way that left him feeling inexplicably frustrated.
He still didn't understand how Rei had discovered him so quickly—or how he had been instantly defeated.
Rei hadn't used many flashy moves.
The way he broke through Fasiel's offense had looked simple and straightforward.
Precisely because of that, Fasiel had felt extremely stifled.
But after seeing that Rei had actually defeated Luluvi in the final battle—
He suddenly felt a lot less bitter.
Losing to him… doesn't feel quite as embarrassing anymore.
Meanwhile, the other competitor who had fought Rei before—Hummel—felt even more complicated emotions.
He had watched the final match between Rei and Luluvi.
And he immediately recognized something.
When Rei had appeared next to Luluvi during the chase—
He had used Hummel's own Origin Magic.
「Spatial Transposition」
Why?
How did he learn my Origin Magic?
Hummel simply couldn't understand it.
Origin Magic was something that couldn't be learned by others, even if someone deliberately tried to teach it.
Let alone…
Learning it just by seeing it once.
And just how many Origin spells did Rei actually possess?
「Elemental Void」 was probably an Origin spell.
「Void Devouring Return」 seemed to be one as well.
And then there was the Spatial Transposition he had copied.
Three?
Could it be that Rei's true Origin Magic ability allowed him to imitate other people's magic?
Hummel couldn't figure it out.
But the shock in his heart was undeniable.
Feeling everyone's gaze gathering on him, Rei simply maintained a polite and friendly smile.
Why are you all staring at me…
Haven't you ever seen a handsome kid before?
"Hahaha!! Excellent battle!!"
Suddenly, a booming voice rang out.
The illusory figure of Kaiga appeared before everyone.
Oh.
We meet again, Kaiga.
This version of Kaiga looked different from the one inside the War God Tower.
He wasn't as solid.
Instead, he appeared like a faint projection, as if he might dissipate at any moment.
"These past few years!! The quality of battles has only gotten higher and higher!!"
"It's made this old man see a world where martial arts truly flourish!!"
Kaiga spoke without the slightest hint of divine solemnity.
His tone was loud and heroic.
"Rei!! Your performance was far more impressive than I expected!!"
SWISH!
A scroll materialized before Rei.
"This is the reward I promised for the champion!!"
[Class Scroll: Prophet]
The Prophet Class Scroll floated down into Rei's hand.
Rei didn't immediately appraise it.
After all, the one standing in front of him—even if only a projection—was still considered a god.
"Hahaha!! The next time we meet!! I'll definitely give you an extra reward!!"
Kaiga made a promise to Rei.
Rei nodded and placed a hand over his chest, performing a respectful salute to a deity.
After that, Kaiga began distributing consolation rewards to the other competitors.
In truth, the consolation prizes weren't bad at all.
Luluvi seemed to have received a new archery technique.
The puppeteer Fasiel obtained a puppet core.
The summoner received an egg.
The warrior was rewarded with a combat technique.
It seemed the War God tailored rewards according to each person's profession.
Only Rei, the champion, received the promised reward:
「Class Scroll: Prophet」
Of course—
The value of that scroll was far greater than any consolation prize.
Rei stored the scroll away.
After Kaiga distributed the final reward, his projection gradually faded away.
An exit portal appeared.
The eight of them remained gathered in the small space.
The atmosphere became slightly awkward.
Leaving immediately felt…
A bit rude.
Eventually, someone broke the silence.
Fasiel spoke first.
"I'm Fasiel, from the capital of Loren. I'm currently looking for powerful mages or engineers willing to cooperate with me in researching puppetry."
"I'm Hummel, an Origin Mage specializing in spatial magic. I'm also based in Loren's capital. If anyone is interested, you're welcome to discuss magic and Origin principles with me."
When he said that, he looked directly at Rei.
After all, the only other Origin Mage present was Rei.
"I'm Vianca, a summoner from the Riga Kingdom… uh… do we really have to introduce ourselves like this?"
Rei didn't wait until the end to speak.
Instead he said:
"Brothers and sisters, we could say we've grown acquainted through battle."
"If I ever visit your cities in the future, I hope you'll take care of me."
Rei's words immediately softened the atmosphere.
Soon, everyone began exchanging introductions and offering polite compliments.
The conversation gradually became much more relaxed.
Taking advantage of the moment, Rei quietly gathered a considerable amount of information from their discussion.
For example—
The conflict between Riga and Loren.
This time it didn't seem to be merely a friendly war exercise.
It might actually become a real war.
Riga appeared to be testing Loren's true strength.
However, because Izparut was currently in the Loren Kingdom, Riga was still restraining itself.
Even though Izparut supposedly did not participate in wars—
If someone attacked the country where he resided, nobody could predict what might happen.
And Loren itself was far from weak.
Although Riga openly had three Level-6 combat class experts.
Loren also possessed a Level-6 Archmage.
Those were only the strengths visible on the surface.
A kingdom would never reveal all its power publicly.
For various reasons, a real war hadn't broken out yet—
But the signs were already there.
Aside from that…
There had also been sightings of Death Church activity within the Riga Kingdom.
Riga had begun actively hunting down members of the Death Church.
There were also new developments in spatial research.
Recent breakthroughs had filled in large gaps in the understanding of spatial magic.
The scholars of the White Tower were currently prioritizing research into space-related studies.
Talking with people at this level truly yielded different kinds of information.
If Rei had simply chatted with ordinary citizens in the City of the Circle, he would never have learned such things.
After a while, everyone finally began preparing to leave.
As Luluvi passed by Rei, her lips moved slightly.
"I'll wait for you at the First Gate of the Arena."
After saying that, she stepped through the teleportation portal and disappeared.
Rei quietly sighed.
Then he departed as well.
The First Gate
The battle arena was enormous.
Rei had originally entered through the Third Gate.
It took him quite some time to reach the First Gate.
Once he arrived, he expanded his perception.
He easily detected a woman wearing a hood that concealed her face.
The hood possessed perception-blocking properties.
But it couldn't hide her from someone with Final Sense like Rei.
"Sister Luluvi."
Rei approached.
Luluvi noticed him and couldn't help sighing softly.
Ah…
He really is just a child.
For some reason, that made her sense of defeat feel even stronger.
If the person who had defeated her had been some long-famous expert, that would be one thing.
But it had been an eight-year-old boy.
"Fight me again."
Luluvi released her perception and spoke immediately.
"No."
Rei answered without hesitation.
"Why?"
"Because you already know my trump cards."
Luluvi frowned.
"But you know mine too."
Rei shook his head.
"It's not the same."
He felt slightly speechless.
Do you really want me to say outright that I might lose?
Do you even realize how ridiculous your range is?
If they fought again—
Would she really let herself be caught so easily?
Rei wasn't like the War God, some kind of battle addict.
He had no interest in getting beaten up one-sidedly.
"If you win this time, I'll agree to one of your conditions!"
Luluvi boldly declared.
Rei tilted his head, his gaze drifting slowly over her body.
"Sister Luluvi… any condition?"
Luluvi's body stiffened slightly.
Suddenly she felt that she might have made the promise too easily.
But she forced herself to remain calm.
"Yes. As long as it's something I'm capable of."
"But if you lose… you must agree to one of my conditions as well."
Rei thought about it for a moment.
Then he answered:
"No… let's forget it."
Rei simply wasn't confident he could win.
And he didn't like doing things without certainty.
Agreeing to someone else's condition carried too great a price.
"However, Sister Luluvi, I'm curious about something."
"How exactly did you avoid my magic?"
This was the question Rei was most curious about.
How could someone slip away from magic like a worm sliding through soil?
Completely untouched by all spells?
Of course, he hadn't expected her to answer.
After all, such abilities were usually secret trump cards.
If she refused to explain, Rei planned to ask Pali, the scholar.
Perhaps a learned expert could provide an explanation.
And if possible—
He would love to obtain that ability himself.
"You're talking about this, right?"
Luluvi pointed to her outer garment.
It was a thin robe woven from light gold and pale green threads, as delicate as a cicada's wing.
"This was the reward I received from the previous War God Cup."
"Thread of Untouchability."
"I used the thread to create this robe."
"It has only one effect."
"Any magic below Tier 5, any curse, lock-on effect, or binding—once it touches the robe—will be forcibly disengaged."
So that was the Thread of Untouchability.
Rei had only heard the name before.
Now he realized—
Equipment crafted from that material truly deserved the name.
Nothing could cling to it.
Everything was forced to detach.
Back then, the receptionist had indeed mentioned that the previous War God Cup reward was Thread of Untouchability, even more valuable than Void Spirit Starwood.
How had he overlooked it?
If he had understood the material's effect earlier, the battle might not have been so difficult.
"Sister Luluvi… would you sell that robe?"
A twitch appeared at the corner of Luluvi's mouth.
"What do you think?"
Rei replied immediately.
"Ten million gold coins?"
"Not for sale."
"Twenty million?"
Luluvi paused briefly.
Does this kid really have that much money?
But she still answered firmly.
"Absolutely not. Even if you offered me one hundred million gold coins, I wouldn't sell it."
Rei responded instantly.
"Then what about two hundred million?"
"…What?"
Are you serious?
Two hundred million gold coins—
Even some mid-sized nations couldn't produce that amount.
This wasn't merely a question of strength.
Even powerful people would struggle to accumulate that much wealth.
Merchant guilds might earn billions, but that money was distributed among countless members. Individuals rarely received even one hundred million.
Rei looked straight at her.
"I'm serious."
"If I can produce two hundred million gold coins, would you sell it to me?"
Luluvi stared into Rei's eyes.
His gaze was calm and steady.
There was no trace of joking.
She answered seriously as well.
"No."
"This isn't about money."
"No matter how much you offer, I won't sell it."
Rei sighed deeply.
"I see."
Luluvi was too stubborn.
There was nothing he could do.
What a shame.
And she wasn't a bad person…
So he couldn't just kill her and take her equipment.
Even though he really wanted that robe, laws and morals still existed.
He wanted to grow stronger—but not to the point of murdering innocent people out of greed.
If only Luluvi had evil intentions toward me…
Then I could have taken that robe legitimately.
Of course, Luluvi had no idea what Rei was thinking.
She only noticed the deep regret in his expression.
Does he really want my robe that badly?
…
After meeting Luluvi, the two of them actually ended up returning to the hotel at the Center of the World together.
She was staying there as well.
They had never encountered each other before, though.
After all, the hotel's greatest priority was privacy.
Along the way, Rei asked Luluvi numerous questions like a curious child.
It turned out she had originally planned to join Izparut's party.
But due to the level difference, she had remained in the City of the Circle instead, honing her skills by battling members of many races.
Aside from sparring with Izparut, she had also fought Akasei once.
At the time, Akasei hadn't yet reached Level 5.
They had both been Level 4.
The result?
Akasei won.
Rei couldn't help thinking:
Wait… Luluvi… doesn't that mean you've never beaten anyone from our party?
"So, Sister Luluvi, what are your plans next?"
Luluvi looked up at the sky.
"This year's War God Cup is finished."
"I only kept my level from advancing in order to maintain my eligibility for the tournament…"
"I didn't expect to lose the championship in the end."
"Tch—"
The resentment radiating from her was quite obvious.
"I plan to advance to Level 5 Archer tomorrow."
"After that… could I travel with you?"
"You want to join us?"
Luluvi's face reddened slightly.
"Not necessarily join…"
"I just told them before that once I reached Level 5, I might travel with them for a while…"
Her feet shuffled awkwardly.
She clearly wanted to join—but felt embarrassed to say it directly.
"What about you? What are your plans next?" she asked.
"Right now, Sister Kumironi has discovered clues related to the Death Church."
"They're probably eliminating Death Church agents and disrupting their schemes."
"If everything is resolved, our original plan was to explore the Dungeon of Despairing Wails."
That itinerary had already been planned long ago.
In fact, it was almost public knowledge.
Many people knew that the legendary adventure party planned to explore the dungeon.
"Oh… I see."
"The Death Church?"
"If you need help, I could assist. I'm actually also a Level-4 Observer."
So that explained her strong perception.
Rei could also sense the admiration hidden in her voice toward the Legendary Adventure Party.
She concealed it well—
But there was still a hint of fan enthusiasm.
After all, they were the strongest adventure group on the continent.
Wanting to join them was perfectly understandable.
Still…
The Death Church…
Thinking about the infamous organization gave Rei an idea.
He couldn't kill good people like Luluvi to seize treasure.
But killing Death Church members was a different story.
Even a single Death Church outpost had yielded an enormous amount of hidden knowledge.
If he joined the hunt against them—
The rewards would surely be plentiful.
With his secret-detection talent, he could easily uncover the items they hid.
The Death Church had committed countless crimes.
They must have amassed many treasures through robbery and slaughter.
And the rituals that used souls for sacrifices were quite useful as well.
While extracting information from Luluvi, Rei's thoughts drifted to the scroll he had just obtained.
「Secret: Class Scroll (Prophet)」
「Hidden Object: Method of Prophet Advancement」
Activation Method 1:Master Ancient Ansu Language, Chronology, Precognition Studies, Future Studies, Fate Studies, Divination Studies, and the Art of Destiny Theorem.
The scroll itself contained hidden secrets.
But the activation requirements were extremely complex.
At present, the only thing Rei knew was Ancient Ansu Language.
All the other fields were completely unfamiliar.
And the Art of Destiny Theorem…
He had never even heard of it.
It sounded incredibly advanced.
Is this something I can even learn?
The academic subjects might not be too difficult.
With enough books and time, he could probably master them.
But that Destiny Theorem Art sounded far more complicated.
He should probably ask someone knowledgeable.
I'll ask Izparut first.
If Izparut and Kumironi didn't know—
Then he would ask Pali.
…
After learning Luluvi's room number and how to contact her, Rei returned to his own room and lay down on the bed.
It was already evening, though not quite midnight yet.
Rei opened An Zheng's manuscript.
The manuscript had finally been completely restored.
It was time to sit down and study it properly.
After all—
It contained the lessons of an 8th-Tier Archmage.
The pitfalls walked by predecessors were not paths he intended to repeat.