Chapter 50: War Game (BEGIN!)

Standing tall, he shouted, "Let's get serious!" Energy surged around him as he activated Strong Body, "Mysterious Heroine X!" 

With a fierce slash of his spear to the side, a powerful gust erupted, scattering dust and debris outward. Ryuu responded without words, removing her cloak with a fluid motion, allowing it to drift gracefully away in the moonlit air, revealing her true form. 

She was a slender elf with smooth, porcelain-like skin, delicate features resembling a fairy's ethereal beauty barely hidden by the green mask covering the lower half of her face. Her sky-blue eyes gleamed with calm intensity beneath short, vibrant green hair. She wore a white sleeveless top, green shorts, long brown gloves, boots, and a white sash holding her weapons.

The moment her cloak touched the ground, both warriors vanished from sight with a gust of wind and they reappeared simultaneously in the center. Ryuu instantly slashed down with a powerful downward slash, but Rex immediately countered, holding his spear horizontally above him to block the blow. 

The impact sent a tremendous gust of wind outward, buffeting the watchers standing on the hill, the ground beneath cracking from the sheer force. Without pause, Ryuu swiftly ran her wooden sword down the spear's shaft, aiming to cut Rex's fingers holding it. Reacting quickly, his left hand released his spear momentarily and spun it with his right, whipping the shaft around in a horizontal slash toward her ribs. 

But she gracefully flipped into the air, evading the attack that flew under her and delivering a swift horizontal slash aimed at his neck. Rex ducked, narrowly dodging the strike and the moment Ryuu's feet touched the ground, he lunged forward with a thrust. 

She effortlessly dodged to the side, then immediately countered with an upward slash that struck his spear upwards with thunderous force. The weapon collision generated another burst of air, shattering the rocky terrain beneath and sending fragments flying.

Before he could recover, Ryuu lunged forward with a thrust aimed at his chest. Rex dodged quickly to the side, regaining control of his spear, but as he was about to attack, she pressed her offensive. He quickly spun his spear to parry her next strike, forced back step by step as she aggressively closed in.

Sparks erupted continuously from their furious exchanges, debris and dust swirling violently around them with each collision. The slender elf darted swiftly beneath his guard, her smaller frame allowing for rapid, precise movements. Each strike she delivered forced Rex to bend slightly lower, compromising his stance, while her agility kept him constantly off-balance. 

Rex desperately parried and blocked, attempting to leverage his longer reach, but Ryuu skillfully slipped inside his range, continuously pressing forward without pause, matching and exceeding his every move.

From their elevated viewpoint, the observers could only perceive rapid blurs streaking across the ground—two distinct flashes of color moving at astonishing speed. A vibrant green blur aggressively chased after the darker black one, sparks flickering brightly as their weapons collided repeatedly, accompanied by gusts of wind that carried swirling dust and shattered rocks. 

Level One adventurers strained their eyes, completely lost, their gazes frantically darting around, failing to keep pace with the swift movements below. Even the Level Twos struggled, barely managing to glimpse occasional slower exchanges between the two 'Level Threes'.

Despite the incredible speed, it was clear to everyone watching who was being forced backward.

"I… can't believe it," someone on the hill mumbled, eyes wide in disbelief.

"The elf is overpowering him," another uttered.

Between clashes, Rex suddenly spotted an opening. With a slash, he dragged his spearhead along the ground, ripping it apart and launching rocks and debris straight toward Ryuu. Forced back, she quickly parried away the larger pieces with her sword while dodging the others.

Just then, Rex charged through the debris, thrusting his spear directly at Ryuu's forehead. Her eyes widened at his sheer speed, forcing her to twist sharply aside. In an instant, Rex spun, shifting the momentum from his thrust into a horizontal slash aimed at her temple. 

Ryuu immediately ducked beneath it, her green hair flowing slightly behind her. But, as if expecting this, Rex altered his spear's trajectory once more, slamming it downward at her. Desperately, Ryuu leaped sideways, rolling just as the spear struck the earth.

*BOOM!*

The ground erupted in a violent explosion, massive chunks of earth soaring high into the sky, some sailing dozens of meters away. An enormous cloud of dust billowed outward, momentarily obscuring the scene completely, then with another powerful slash of his spear, Rex unleashed a gust of wind that instantly cleared the dust.

Ryuu stared at the destruction—a massive conical scar extending at least ten meters outward, its narrowest point at Rex's strike, widening dramatically farther away. Her gaze shifted to Rex, whose amber eyes glowed fiercely, his dark expression radiating intense, palpable killing intent.

Ryuu lowered her stance as her expression turned equally as deadly, her blue eyes glowing. Then, both warriors vanished, reappearing with an explosive clash. Now they fought with even greater speed, destructive power amplifying their every movement. Explosions ruptured the earth repeatedly, violent gusts clearing away the rising dust.

Even the onlookers began to feel the force of their exchanges, dodging chunks of earth hurled their way. A missed spear thrust obliterated a massive boulder, reducing it instantly to flying fragments. A narrowly dodged horizontal slash sent an intense wind slicing across the landscape, passing the watchers nearly a kilometer away, forcing some weaker Level Twos to stagger backward.

"Th-these are Level Threes?" a woman stuttered in disbelief.

"No way…" a Level Two werewolf muttered, unable to follow their movements except during brief moments when they stopped for furious exchanges that devastated the terrain.

"Chandra?" another adventurer called to the tall dwarf, who remained silent. 

Chandra was Soma Familia's strongest, aside from Rex Magnus of course, and close to reaching Level Three himself. He had witnessed many Level Three battles during his career, but none compared to this astounding display of speed and power...

"Ah..." He mumbled as he folded his arm. 'Interesting.'

"Mister Bell…" Liliruca called softly, "Isn't Miss Ryuu a Level Four?"

"How can Rex keep up?" Mikoto mumbled, straining her eyes to the hardest. 

There was no answer. Liliruca glanced upward, seeing Bell intensely focused, crimson eyes rapidly darting, attempting to follow the incredible battle unfolding before them. Even with his enhanced stats, Bell struggled to track their movements. 

Yet, he couldn't look away—this wasn't mere training; it was a genuine clash between upper-class adventurers, lethal at any instant, far beyond anything he'd experienced with Ais or Tiona when they were training him. He couldn't afford to miss a single moment.

The two combatants continued fighting relentlessly. Though their strength and endurance seemingly matched, Ryuu was visibly faster and possessed superior dexterity compared to Rex. Not only that, she had extensive experience over him—over five additional years as an adventurer, more years as a swordsman before becoming an adventurer, with countless battles and duels.

However, with six minds simultaneously active, Rex closed that gap entirely. Three of his minds were using Scavenger, one employed tremor sense, another maintained the Strong Body technique, and his primary consciousness focused sharply on combat. This combined mental synergy allowed Rex to predict and counter Ryuu's moves with extraordinary precision, closing the gap between them with raw technique and skill.

The battle reached a tense deadlock, each fighter momentarily gaining an advantage only for the other to swiftly reverse the situation. A back and forth that led them both shots of breath, as they pushed their bodies to the limit, trying to win the duals of weapon. 

Suddenly, Rex lunged forward with a thrust, Ryuu narrowly evading, leaving a thin red line of blood drawn across her cheek. As Rex pulled back his spear, Ryuu leaped away, touching her cheek briefly and glancing down at her fingertip to confirm the presence of blood. She lifted her gaze sharply to Rex, who gave her a smirk.

"Heh."

Her pupils contracted sharply, and with explosive speed, Ryuu rushed forward, attacking ferociously. Rex swiftly blocked one blow with his spear shaft and deflected another with the blade, leaping backward to evade her next strike—but Ryuu was quicker.

Her wooden sword's tip sliced upward diagonally across his chest, effortlessly tearing through his shirt. Rex retreated further, looking down to see a fine, shallow cut appear, a thin red line of blood emerging slowly.

Looking back at Ryuu, he saw the corners of her eyes crinkle slightly, indicating a smirk beneath her mask. She echoed his earlier taunt,

"Heh."

Both warriors surged forward again, their battle intensifying dramatically, each strike becoming faster and more aggressive. Pride ignited their fury; spear and sword clashed with unmatched brutality, blood drawn repeatedly from both combatants as they continued their devastating dance amidst chaotic surroundings, with the thunderous sound of weapons colliding.

"They're trying to kill each other," someone uttered shakily.

"Holy shit, they're actually trying to kill each other!" another shouted in disbelief. 

Sparks and explosions erupted continuously, most Level Twos barely tracking the rapid blur of their movements, beginning to notice blood splattering the battlefield. Even those that couldn't see the blood felt the raw killer intent radiated powerfully from the combatants, washing over them like a tidal wave.

"Someone should stop them!" a young girl shouted desperately.

"Zanis!" the Level 2 Boaz cried. "Stop them before they kill each other!"

Zanis calmly adjusted his glasses with his middle finger and replied coolly, "No."

"What do you mean, no?" the Boaz shouted frantically. "We need them for the War Game!"

Zanis met his gaze evenly. "You do it, then."

"Rex...Ryuu..." Mikoto whispered, gripping her katana tightly as she watched the fighters, their battle progressively destroying the rocky terrain. 

The two had drifted further away—nearly two kilometers distant—during their fight yet their powerful exchanges and destruction reached the watchers clearly.

Suddenly, every competent adventurer felt it unmistakably—magic. Amazingly, both combatants were chanting spells amidst their relentless, high-speed battle, a level of concurrent chanting unprecedented. However...

"Fuck no, I'm out," a Level One adventurer exclaimed, turning to flee, others quickly following suit.

"Mister Bell, we need to go," Liliruca urgently called, but Bell remained transfixed, eyes bloodshot from not blinking.

"Bell!" Welf's shout finally snapped him awake. "We gotta move!"

"But—but—"

"Leave them be," Zanis interrupted, watching intently. "I doubt they'll launch their spells."

All the remaining eyes turned to the confident Zanis that didn't move from his spot, watching the fight. And then... he turned and fled with everyone else quickly following him

The two warriors continued to clash as they chanted, their magic surging and then...

"Luminous—!" Ryuu shouted, leaping into the air, hundreds of shimmering green orbs surrounding her like radiant stardust, her beautiful yet bloodied face staring down fiercely.

"Berakh—!" Rex roared, pulling back his spear as swirling blue energy gathered around its length, concentrating intensely at the tip.

Their eyes locked for a split second, realizing simultaneously—someone would surely die if these spells were unleashed. And for what propose? Wasn't this supposed to be a spar?

Unable to hold back entirely yet unwilling to deliver a fatal blow, they adjusted their aims abruptly.

"—WIND!" Ryuu released her magic skyward, hundreds of green lights streaking far away, crashing into the distant terrain with tremendous quakes.

"—HaKele!" the condensed blue energy entering the spear and Rex thrust forward. 

Then, without pause, it exploded outward instantly into an immense blue cylindrical beam, rapidly expanding and obliterating everything in its path in front of him for hundreds of meters away, carving a massive trail of destruction.

The running adventurers felt the earthquake beneath their feet as the spells were unleashed, the deafening roar causing their ears to ring and a powerful gust of wind nearly knocking them off balance. It continued for a few seconds, then, silence. No one spoke.

Bell swiftly turned back, racing toward the hilltop to see the outcome, several others hastily following him. Just before reaching the summit, two streaks crashed onto the hilltop with a resounding boom, kicking up a cloud of dust. From within the settling dust emerged the two combatants.

Ryuu had donned her cloak again, concealing her injuries beneath the fabric. In contrast, Rex's condition was clear—his clothing torn and bloodied, a long diagonal slash prominently marking his face.

A tense silence hung in the air as the groups stared at each other, until someone finally ventured to ask, "Uhh... who won?"

"Yeah, who won?" another voice echoed anxiously, concerned now for their bets.

"I did," Ryuu calmly replied.

"Nuh-uh," Rex countered immediately. "If we'd actually aimed the magic at each other, you'd be dead. My spell was designed to obliterate a single target. Yours was obviously an area-of-effect."

"Nuh-uh," Ryuu returned without a change in expression.

"How about we call it a draw?" Zanis interjected firmly.

"Booo!" someone shouted indignantly.

"Who won?" another voice protested loudly. 

"My bet! My money!"

"Rex won!"

"No way, look at his injuries! The elf obviously won!"

Arguments erupted until Zanis raised his voice slightly, "Keep talking, and I'll revoke your Soma privileges for a month."

Instantly, every member of the Soma Familia fell silent as if muted by a switch. No one even breathed.

Smiling faintly, Zanis clapped his hands. "Why don't you two go your separate ways, heal up, and rest for the night?" He decided not to say anything about the health potion they will waste because the two of them decided to ignore his warning and went all out.

Rex nodded. "Next time we fight, you won't be able to match me, but for now." He extended his right hand. "Truce?"

She nodded without speaking and turned to leave, leaving his hand hanging. He played it off by running the same hand through his hair, which drew a laugh from someone in the crowd - quickly stifled when he turned their way.

"Haah..." He sighed, massaging his forehead as he walked away. 'I need to sleep.' The battle had been too intense, especially with Six Minds constantly active. At least it clarified where he stood stat-wise.

At base, he estimated himself at peak Level 3, maybe early Level 4. With Strong Body activated plus Predator boosting his combat ability against marked Prey, his effective stats rose to mid-Level 4, verging on peak. 

Combined with his other abilities, he could contend with one of Orario's strongest Level 4s. Nearly a two-level jump thanks to his SSS-ranked stats from previous levels and unique skills. It was maddening. 

'Damn, Ryuu.' He mumbled, massaging his wrist that held his spear. "You got me good."

This marked only the second time he'd gone all-out, the first being against the infant dragon. He had been so focused that when he had tried reallocating one of the three minds using Scavenger to use Body Furnace for heat advantage and Blue Papilio Powder for healing, Scavenger had judged the attempt extremely low quality. 

He guessed it was because the moment he dropped one of them, Ryuu might have overwhelmed him and led to his defeat. He'd needed all three minds just to keep up with Ryuu, unable to even deploy his full arsenal.

'But...' He sighed again, examining his palm. 'I'm growing so fast that in days, Ryuu won't touch me.'

After five days, he remained at rank 'I' across all stats. Most of that time had been spent training Mikoto, Zanis and Chandra in the Cave Labyrinth, gambling in many different casinos, and having fun with his three little friends when he was free. So he had barely earned 3 points per stats for the past five days, the slowest he had ever grown since he entered this world.

However, after two to three proper expeditions to Water City, he will return with S in all stats. By then his base stats would make him a max level 4 and with his combined arsenal, he would be close to a peak level 5. He would become capable of dominating Ryuu effortlessly.

"A shame." It truly was. Even Ryuu wasn't capable of being his rival. 'And by the time I became a level 4 and decided to go all one like I did with Ryuu, even the level 6s of Loki shouldn't be a problem. At level 5 or 6, I should be able to contend with Ottar. At level 7…' 

He will become unparalleled.

For some reason, he felt a bit sad at that thought.

'But thankfully I didn't use the level 3 third rank spear that I had custom made by Goibniu Familia.' He looked down at the spear in his hand as he started using his magic to heal himself after regaining some mind. 

Just one use of Berakh HaKele had made rust spread across the weapon's surface, cracks spiderwebbing through its structure. This was the most damage he'd ever done to a weapon with a single use—because he hadn't let the magic settle properly, instead forcing it out as an immediate beam.

"Rex!"

He turned to see the three Musketeers approaching, slightly surprised. "You guys came?"

Momiji handed him healing potions while Kaede replied, "Obviously." She lowered her voice. "We're the best Level 1s in the Familia, 'member?"

He nodded as he accepted the flasks, then he turned to the silent Pallum. "Hi Coco."

"Hi Rex." She smiled at him, waving. "You're strong."

"I am Rex Magnus Lapis Beifong, the Red Dragon of Infinity." Rex laughed. "Of course I will be strong. HAHAHA!"

The trio just stared at him silently.

Meanwhile, Bell's group quickly chased after Ryuu, finding her not far away leaning against a boulder.

"Ryuu!" Bell called out as he rushed to the obviously injured elf, even though it was hidden under the cloak. 

Thankfully they had brought their bags with healing potions and magic swords to watch the fight—Liliruca had warned them not to leave their belongings unattended with the Soma Familia around. Bell retrieved three high-grade potions from his bag and handed them to Ryuu.

Her slender fingers brushed against his as she accepted them with a quiet, "Thanks." 

As she opened the first bottle, Liliruca asked, "Ms. Ryuu, aren't you Level 4?" Ryuu nodded while drinking the potion, causing the girl to mumble, "So Mister Rex is Level 4?" 

She didn't understand. The Guild had just confirmed he was hiding his level and was actually Level 3. How had he suddenly become Level 4?

"Was he always Level Four?" Welf voiced what they were all thinking, but Ryuu shook her head.

"He was Level 3 against the Black Goliath," she said. That had been her assumption. If he'd been Level 4, he could have withstood the Goliath's howl without much issue. Even Asfi had believed him to be Level 3.

"So he leveled up after the Black Goliath..." Mikoto mumbled.

"How didn't you know this?" Welf glanced at her. "Hasn't he been training you?"

All eyes turned to Mikoto as Bell asked, "Mr. Rex trained you?"

"While you trained with Ais, I asked him to train me." Mikoto explained. "But he never mentioned his level, and I didn't notice he wasn't a level 3 anymore."

Ryuu finished all three flasks, her injuries healed, as she returned her thoughts to the fight. Rex was indeed a recent Level 4—their first exchange proved that. But after he activated that skill with the red-ringed eyes, not only did his stats improve to almost rival hers, but his technique surpassed hers. 

By a mile.

If she was slightly slower, she wouldn't have been able to contend with him. 'He almost defeated me despite just reaching Level 4...' And she has been a Level 4 for seven years...

She didn't like it. 

She concluded that must have grown rusty after five years at Hostess of Fertility with little adventuring. She doubted he would be able to go against her prime five years ago. 

"I'll go check on Rex-dono." Mikoto said as she separated from the group.

That night, all the anticipation for the coming war game vanished. Given how strong their Level 3s were, they knew the War Game would be a breeze. No one was even worried anymore, Bell included. They were more excited to fight and have 'fun' during the war game than they were scared of losing.

That night those who slept, slept well Morning came, and the War Game everyone had been waiting for finally arrived.

Every bar in Orario opened early, with workers at restaurants and food stands standing ready for the incoming rush. The game had received massive attention because several gods demanded posters be hung throughout the city as advertisement. These deities wanted the largest possible audience to build tension.

Almost no adventurers even considered entering the Dungeon today. Instead, they packed into their favorite bars, with more streaming in every minute. Workers and citizens who got the day off made their way to Central Park.

But no one anticipated the War Game more than the gods. Many deities crowded the thirtieth floor of Babel Tower, perched on the edges of their seats, brimming with excitement. Hestia and Apollo, the two gods at 'war,' were among them. Those not in Babel Tower watched from bars or their homes with followers.

"Lord Hermes..." Asfi called quietly, trailing Hermes while clearly uncomfortable among the gods and goddesses in the tower's wide chamber. "Are you certain I'm allowed here?"

"Yeah, don't worry about it." Hermes laughed off Asfi's concern as she tried to make herself smaller. "The only ones who'd care aren't here anyway."

The god reached into his shirt and pulled out the black watch Rex had given him. "...Should be about time." It showed three minutes until noon. Hermes lifted his chin and took a deep breath.

"Well then, Ouranos, we need your permission to use our 'power.'" Hermes's words echoed through the chamber.

The response came moments later.

"—Granted."

The heavy syllables spread across the city, heard from Guild headquarters to bars to Central Park's crowd. With Ouranos's permission, deities throughout Orario activated hundreds of magic 'windows' of various sizes that appeared in bars, the Guild's garden, and Central Park. Each floating circle showed different angles of the castle, Apollo Familia's oversized emblem, and the surrounding prairie.

"Now that the mirrors are in place, I'll set the stage once again!" roared the announcer, a dark-skinned Ganesha Familia member named Ibri, his voice echoing through the mirrors. "Today's War Game is a Blitz Castle Siege between the allied Hestia and Soma Familia and Apollo Familia!"

Some screens across Oratio switched to show him standing atop a temporary stage in Guild headquarters' front garden, where over a hundred people had gathered. The dark-skinned announcer held a magic-stone voice amplifier. Ganesha stood to his right, grinning behind his signature elephant mask while striking multiple flexing poses.

"The gods have added some SPICE to this War Game to keep things exciting!" he began. "First—each side picks seven champions, each carrying a flag. These champions can only hold two flags max at any moment: their own and one they snatch from the enemy! No non-flag-bearer can hold a flag, and no flag-bearer can hold more than two flags."

He leaned forward dramatically. "Break these rules? That's a 15 million valis fine, no exceptions!" The audience gasped collectively. "That's right folks - we're playing CLEAN and MEAN!"

"Now here's how we win!" Ibri continued. "Attackers need all flags—their seven, Apollo's seven, plus the castle's central flag! The instant they hold all 15 flags together, they win."

"I am Ganesha!" The god flexed behind him and Ibri nodded like he understood.

"Right, I forgot to mention." He raised a finger. "Anyone from the attacking side can carry the central flag. Even flag-bearers can carry it, but that's risky—if defeated, the defenders get three flags!"

"And for defenders to win? They just need eight flags when time runs out. If attackers don't get all fifteen flags before time runs out, the team with most flags wins." He clenched his fist. "And we're doing this FAST! Forget three days—they've got THREE HOURS!"

Boos erupted from those who bet on the Soma-Hestia alliance. Three hours? Too short. Way too short to breach those walls. Even a day would be tight, but three hours?

"I know, I know." Ibri sighed. "Too short, but the gods decided. We just trust their judgment. Right, Ganesha?" He held the mic out.

"I am Ganesha!" the god roared.

"There you have it, folks." Ibri shrugged. "Now, once those walls are breached, all fourteen flag-bearers must stay inside for the duration. Simple? No. Exciting? ABSOLUTELY!"

He glanced up at the countdown now in single digits. "Let the game..." The timer hit zero.

"BEGIN!"

[Author's Note: I hope the fight between Ryuu and Rex was enjoyable. I felt like I haven't put in any real fight for a while and thought this was the perfect chance for him to fight someone to test his strength and skill. 

The chapter was a bit long because I wanted to end it with the War Game starting so I can just jump straight into the game next chapter. I hope you guys didn't find it tedious to read. 

Also, thanks to some suggestions from my readers, I switched up the rule of the war game a bit to make it fairer. Mainly increasing the amount of flags the defending side need to hold to win and increasing the duration from 1.5 to 3 hours.

"Thank you for reading and have a wonderful day!" Author said calmly.]