Haruto opened his eyes as the pale morning light cut through the window. He was back in his room, but the quiet of the morning couldn't erase the complete chaos of the previous night.
Lilith had caused an absolute uproar. She had spent hours teasing and pressuring the three goddesses, pushing their patience to the absolute limit. But the real shift happened when she announced she was taking Aetherna back to the castle. Haruto's logic was sharp: with the Wizard Quest starting at dawn, the weapon spirits needed to be completely removed from the equation to avoid triggering any massive system alerts or political interference.
Haruto had firmly backed her up. He issued a strict, non-negotiable order to the entire team: No one uses a weapon spirit today. Aetherna hadn't taken it well. When the decision was made, Haruto could see the look of quiet betrayal in her small eyes. She wanted to be by his side, to be his ultimate weapon.
To soften the blow, Haruto knelt down, looked her in the eyes, and gave her a classic, bored-gamer reassurance.
"Listen, kid. A Level 8 anomaly like Kallen can't do a single thing to harm me. My stats are locked in. Just sit back, relax, and enjoy the game from the outside like a true spectator."
He gave the exact same order to Rutherford, stripping the giant spirit of any combat duties for the day. Lilith watched the exchange, assuming Haruto was just being a protective parent, desperately trying to keep Aetherna out of the line of fire. She had no idea about the actual data—she was completely oblivious to the fact that the little girl she was escorting to the castle was actually the most devastating, world-ending SSS+ Rank spirit weapon in existence.
Haruto steps downstairs, adjusting his collar one last time. The time for talking is officially over.
Down in the main hall, Toya, Lustra, Ivory, and Bellona are already waiting. The atmosphere is thick with pre-battle adrenaline. The moment Haruto walks into the room, their eyes lock onto him.
"Today, we completely smash them," Bellona says, cracking her knuckles with a fierce grin. Toya nods silently, his grip tight on his gear, completely locked in.
What catches Haruto's attention, though, is the absolute silence from the three goddesses regarding his ban on weapon spirits. Not a single one of them complains or asks why they have to leave their highest-tier gear behind.
Haruto's gamer instincts flag this as suspicious. It clicks in his mind: during his initial trial, Lustra had only pulled out her legendary spear at the very last second. These goddesses have been hiding the true nature of their weapon spirits from him this entire time. They aren't just normal mages with fancy gear; they are intentionally keeping their true power layout under wraps.
They're hiding something big, Haruto thinks, his eyes narrowing slightly as he looks at the three of them. Why keep the spirits a secret from me if they're supposed to be my shields?
Everyone gathered around the dining table for breakfast, but the usual chatter was completely gone. Even Lustra and Ivory, who usually complained about everything, ate their food in grim silence. Every person in the room was locked into their own thoughts, mentally preparing for the chaos that was about to unfold.
As soon as they finished their meals, Haruto stood up, adjusted his casual attire, and led the team toward the main exit.
The moment the heavy wooden doors of the mansion swung open, Haruto stopped in his tracks. The atmosphere outside was incredibly tight. Instead of the usual open courtyard, they were greeted by a wall of steel—almost 20 to 30 heavily armed royal guards were stationed right outside the door, creating a strict, suffocating perimeter.
Asobi, who was standing by the door to see them off, whispered to Haruto,
"I noticed them pitching up positions an hour ago. They've blocked every single exit."
Haruto stepped forward, his eyes narrowing as he looked at the lead guard.
"What's the meaning of this? Why are you guys surrounding my house?"
The lead guard stepped forward, his armor clanking loudly. He didn't look angry, but his face was completely rigid.
"Lord Haruto, as a primary candidate in today's Wizard Quest, we are under strict orders from the higher-ups. Our jurisdiction today is to ensure absolute security. We are here to endure that you do not leave the perimeter prematurely, that you do not try to run away, and to escort you safely and directly into the Academy Colosseum."
Before Haruto could snap back, Kobi appeared from the side of the mansion, pulling up the royal carriage. He looked at Haruto and gave a firm, reassuring nod.
"Your transport is ready, Master Haruto. I will be driving you straight through the guard escort."
"Fine," Haruto muttered, realizing there was no point in arguing with a wall of royal code. "Let's just get this over with."
Asobi stepped forward, looking at Haruto, Toya, and the three goddesses with a soft, genuine smile.
"All the best, everyone. Come back in one piece."
They all nodded, climbed into the carriage, and Kobi snapped the reins. The 20 to 30 guards instantly flanked the carriage on all sides, marching in a tight, mechanical formation as they moved out into the village streets.
Inside the carriage, the atmosphere was dead silent. The wheels rumbled against the dirt road, but Haruto couldn't focus on the noise. Suddenly, a strange, hollow sensation washed over his chest.
His vision flickered for a fraction of a second. His hands felt cold, and an intense wave of physical weakness started creeping into his bones. The sheer density of his Physical Boost seemed to waver, leaving him feeling bizarrely drained.
What the hell is this? Haruto thought, his teeth grinding as he gripped his knees to hide his trembling hands. Am I... actually nervous? Is the 'Bored Gamer' seriously getting stage fright before a boss battle?
He forced his eyes toward the floor, trying to run a diagnostic on his own mind. But deep down, his instincts were screaming a warning—this weakness didn't feel like normal human anxiety. It felt like his connection to the server was experiencing a massive, sudden drop in signal strength.
The carriage ground to a sudden, jarring halt. Haruto blinked, forcing the strange, hollow weakness down into the pit of his stomach as the door was thrown open.
Stepping out, the sheer scale of the environment hit them like a physical wall of sound. They weren't at the main academy gates; they had been escorted directly to the grand amphitheater located right behind the academy grounds.
The scene was absolute chaos. A roaring sea of thousands of people flooded the area. Lines of citizens choked the entrances, ticket sellers were shouting over the din, and the clank of thousands of royal guards keeping the crowd in check echoed off the stone walls.
Looking up toward the high-tier spectator boxes, the entire nobility of the kingdom seemed to have arrived. Flags bearing ancient crests fluttered in the wind, and right in the center of the royal pavilion sat a massive, gold-trimmed carriage bearing the unmistakable seal of the King himself.
The moment Haruto's group stepped onto the pavement, the buzzing chatter of the crowd near the entrance snagged. Heads snapped in their direction. Thousands of eyes tracked the "Bored Gamer" and the three literal goddesses walking beside him. The whispers started instantly, but Haruto didn't look back.
Flanked tightly by their heavy guard escort, the group marched straight past the crowds and into the dark, echoing tunnels of the stadium, heading directly toward the designated waiting room. The heavy thud of the guards' boots behind them felt like a countdown timer echoing through the stone corridor.
The heavy iron door clicked shut as the guards took their positions outside. But barely two minutes later, the lock turned again, and the gate swung open.
Instead of another soldier, a woman stepped into the freezing waiting room. She exuded absolute confidence and maturity, dressed in a striking, elegant purple gown that practically screamed high status.
She walked right up to the group, a sharp, knowing smile on her face.
"Hello, everyone. My name is Gelli, and I am the owner of this grand amphitheater."
Haruto, still trying to shake off that strange, internal coldness, immediately went into defensive gamer mode. He waved his hand dismissively.
"Look, we're fine here. We don't want to buy anything, and we're definitely not spending any credits on premium waiting room upgrades."
Gelli let out a rich, amused laugh, stepping closer into their personal space.
"Oh, relax, handsome. I'm not here to take your money. In fact, it's quite the opposite."
She leaned against a stone pillar, her eyes glittering with the thrill of a master merchant.
"Do you have any idea what your Wizard Quest is doing out there? Right now, billions of credits are flowing through the betting markets and trade channels because of this single event. Our village's economy is bouncing back to record highs, and the alchemists are practically drowning my bank account in gold just to secure vending spots. As the official host of this entire venue, I'm making a fortune off you."
She looked directly at Haruto, her gaze tracking his lean, densified frame with deep intrigue.
"Since you're the main attraction making me rich... what do you say I give you a little something in return? A little edge or a favor before you step out onto the sands?"
Haruto looked at Gelli, raised an eyebrow, and was about to ask what she meant, but before he could speak, she simply smirked and clapped her hands twice.
The heavy iron door opened, and a maid stepped into the room pushing a large wooden rack. On it hung various sets of standard armor, rows of steel swords, and long iron spears.
"Consider this a token of my appreciation," Gelli said, waving her hand casually as she turned back toward the door.
"No need to thank me. Take whatever you need from the rack to survive out there." With a sharp click of her heels, she vanished down the corridor, leaving the team alone.
Haruto, Toya, and the goddesses walked over to the rack to inspect the gear. Since they had followed the strict protocol of leaving their weapon spirits behind, they had arrived at the amphitheater with almost zero baseline equipment. But as soon as Toya touched the metal, his master smith instincts made him grimace.
"This stuff is incredibly cheap quality," Toya muttered, knocking on a breastplate that gave off a flimsy, hollow sound.
"There isn't a single shred of mana enchantment on these pieces. The durability stats must be absolute garbage."
"Well, something is better than nothing,"
Bellona countered, grabbing a set of lightweight leather-and-iron guards.
They quickly began equipping the basic armor pieces just to have some physical layer of defense. Haruto adjusted a cheap bracer on his forearm, letting out a classic bored sigh.
"Figures. Free stuff in a game is always trash quality."
But as he looked at the rack again, his gamer logic kicked in. Wait. AETHERIS said no weapon spirits are allowed today... but nobody said anything about normal, basic iron. Haruto reached onto the rack and pulled down three standard steel swords. They didn't have souls, they didn't glow, and they had zero magical attributes—they were just raw, physical blades. He slid one into his own belt, then turned and tossed the other two across the room. One landed perfectly in Toya's grip, and the other was caught cleanly by Bellona.
"Weapons spirits are locked," Haruto said, a cold, confident grin returning to his face as his fingers closed around the cheap hilt.
"But normal swords are completely within the rules. Let's see how Kallen handles a textbook physical build."
Ivory stepped up to the rack, crossing her arms with a confident smirk. "You really think I'd let you walk out there wearing garbage-tier equipment? Watch this."
Haruto watched closely, his gamer senses tingling. Of course... Ivory is a goddess. She can easily enchant this stuff on the fly.
Ivory raised her hand and whispered a sharp, rhythmic incantation. Instantly, a bright, celestial light erupted from her palms and washed over the cheap armor pieces. The metallic plates stopped rattling and began to glow with a deep, pulsing magical circuit.
"There," Ivory said, wiping an imaginary speck of dust from her sleeve. "Now it'll actually hold up against Kallen."
Lustra inspected her glowing bracers, highly impressed.
"Wow. This enchantment is solid. It can easily absorb and withstand any blow below Level 10."
Ivory turned to Lustra, a teasing, smug look on her face.
"Oh? And since when do you know so much about the technicalities of magic theory?"
Lustra's cheeks flushed with irritation.
"Excuse me?! I happen to be a Master of Magic myself, thank you very much!"
"Please," Ivory scoffed, waving her hand.
"Your magic is just basic Elemental Control. You manipulate what's already there. My magic is Reality Magic—I can actually create elements and matter out of nothing using my own raw mana."
Hearing this, Haruto's analytical mind immediately found an exploit.
"Wait, if you can literally manifest matter out of thin air, why didn't you just create high-tier custom gear for us from the start?"
Lustra pouted, crossing her arms, while Ivory sighed, her smug expression dropping into a serious one. "It's not that simple, Haruto. Materializing objects requires an insane amount of mental focus and precise mana calculation. Doing it for an entire party takes way too much time. Besides, while I can create the raw, reinforced materials, shaping them into high-grade combat armor still requires a literal forge—which we don't have right now. Why do you have to ban weapon spirits in the end?"
Before the two goddesses could start bickering again, Bellona grabbed her sword, her eyes flashing with pure battle lust as the heavy stadium gates began to grind upward.
"Alright, enough talking!"
Just as Bellona's words cut through the tension, the heavy iron door swung open once more. Gelli stepped back into the threshold, her presence radiating the sharp authority of a woman who owned the entire colosseum.
"The countdown has reached zero," Gelli announced, her voice crisp and businesslike.
"Your Wizard Quest is officially live. Please step out onto the arena sands. And... try to put on a good show. My economy depends on it."
As she turned to leave, Haruto closed his fingers around the hilt of his newly enchanted steel sword. The strange internal coldness was still there, but his gamer logic completely overrode it. He gathered his team into a tight huddle right before the threshold of the tunnel.
"Listen up, we will work as per the plan" Haruto said, his voice dropping into a low, commanding frequency.
"We execute a blitz protocol. Toya, you're our frontline. You lead the charge and break their formation. I'll be operating as your primary backup, tracking your frames and covering your blind spots."
He turned his eyes toward the goddesses.
"Lustra, healing is strictly prohibited by the tournament parameters, so drop the support mindset. You and Ivory will handle mid-range artillery. Use your elemental control and reality magic to lock down the map and disrupt their backline."
Finally, his gaze landed on Bellona.
"Bellona, you're with me. We flank Toya and suppress anyone trying to counter his vanguard strike. Clear?"
The team responded with a synchronized, grim nod. The synergy was locked.
They turned toward the long, vaulted stone corridor ahead. At the far end, a blinding barrier of natural sunlight cut through the darkness, framing the exit like a loading screen to the final level.
With Haruto leading the vanguard, their boots struck the stone floor in a steady, lethal rhythm. As they crossed the threshold and stepped out from the shadows of the tunnel onto the scorching arena sands, the world exploded.
The sound hit them like a physical shockwave—a deafening, cataclysmic roar from tens of thousands of spectators packing the amphitheater from the sands to the sky. The sheer volume of the crowd vibrated through the very code of the arena, welcoming the Player to the ultimate execution grounds.