The day after I moved into the hotel, I began to sense the auras of Gods of War and mages unknown to me. They were always nearby, whether I was in my room or on my way to Butch’s workshop. So far, there was no aggression, but I clearly understood that I was already being closely watched, and I wouldn’t be able to leave the capital quietly. Although it was nerve-wracking, I pretended as if nothing was happening. Most likely, they would act after the Northern Empire’s magical tournament concluded.

  As for the tournament, I was on my way to the draw ceremony, where the sixteen teams were to be divided into Groups A and B for the round of sixteen. I had plenty of time before it started, so I stopped by a roadside restaurant to have a drink. I placed my order and sat at a table near the window, watching as the city was being decorated for what seemed to be the main event of the year. While observing, I unintentionally sensed six high-ranking Battle Ancestors enter the establishment. That piqued my interest—such powerful groups were rarely seen in the capital.

  “Please, don’t turn around.”

  A young man, around twenty, with the power of a Battle Master, sat behind me.

  “If you want a private conversation,” I replied, “that won’t happen. I’m currently being watched by two Gods of War. I suggest you leave, Your Highness, Second Prince.”

  The six Battle Ancestors spread out across the hall, driving away all the regular visitors simply with their presence.

  “Strange, you recognized me so easily, Aney.”

  “Not you, your entourage. I’ve heard of them.”

  “Don’t worry about the Gods of War or the mages. I have an artifact with me—no one can hear us right now, not even my own companions.”

  So that’s how it is. Interesting. An artifact stronger than the senses of two Gods of War? I’ve never heard of such a thing.

  “If you came here to try and recruit me to your faction, Your Highness, you’re just wasting your time. I’m not interested in you, your brother, or your imperial court.”

  “It’s a pity to hear that, Aney. I had some hopes, but today I came for a different reason.”

  “Oh? Is that so?”

  “Yes. I came to thank you for not siding with my brother and for not trading your life for the lives of those loyal to me. I truly appreciate such behavior.”

  “It’s nothing. You and your people had nothing to do with it. I just don’t like your bastard brother, that’s all.”

  “Even if that’s true, I still owe you a debt of gratitude.”

  He placed a small package on the chair beside me.

  “Take this, Aney.”

  “What is it?”

  “A magical belt that can completely conceal your aura. Not even a God of War will be able to see your power—unless they grab you by the hand. It might come in handy soon.”

  “Well, thank you for such a gift.”

  “I sincerely wish you luck. Sadly, it’s the only thing I can offer with my current strength.”

  With those words, he stood up and left. The same did the Battle Ancestors. I didn’t believe him. No one searches for and gives gifts to someone they don’t value. I stashed the package away and, after sitting a little longer, left the restaurant.

  The capital’s arena, where the competition was to take place, was simply gigantic, designed to accommodate three hundred thousand spectators. And even now, on the day of the draw, it was packed. I stepped onto the field, where several team captains were already standing, chatting animatedly. They seemed well acquainted. I stood a bit apart from them and looked around. I shouldn’t have done that—on the VIP tribune sat Vist with some other mages, laughing joyfully as she looked at me. That bitch. I would’ve gladly smashed her face in. I turned my back to her, pretending I hadn’t noticed her in the crowd.

  “Ha! Your name’s Aney, right? They say you’re that bastard who bragged about taking down the entire capital academy team by himself!”

  “Hahaha! He’s just a dumbass from some backwater kingdom—what else could he say?”

  “Yeah, the fool wanted his hour of glory!”

  Seven team captains approached me. Damn it, I really didn’t want to get into a conflict right now.

  “Disappear, idiots.”

  It had no effect at all. My words only seemed to provoke them to throw more insults.

  “Just look at him, what a moron…”

  “Go back to the shit-hole you crawled out of…”

  I looked toward the organizers, who saw everything but pretended nothing was happening. Bloody fools. Eventually, the group of mages got so brazen that one of them pulled out a staff and began poking it at me. That was the final straw. But at the same time—an opportunity. Heh, I could play this situation to my advantage.

  “You little bastards think you’re immortal!”

  I unleashed my aura. The worthless fools fell where they stood. The sound of their bones cracking echoed across the arena as I crushed them meticulously. Organizers rushed toward me, the mages on the tribune jumped to their feet, while the crowd went completely silent.

  “Back off!” I shouted at the organizers, amplifying my voice with aura. “These bastards attacked me!”

  I pointed at the staff lying beside one of the mages.

  “Anyone who comes near me now—I’ll consider an accomplice and crush like a bug!”

  In complete silence, I looked around. Hundreds of thousands of eyes stared in silence. Hundreds of thousands of bodies were too afraid to move. For when a high-level Battle Ancestor is enraged, he kills first—and only then thinks. I approached one of the mages and lifted him by the face into the air.

  “Got anything to say before you die?”

  “Mmm-mmm…” he mumbled something into my palm.

  I looked into his terror-filled eyes and realized I didn’t feel a single drop of pity. In any case, he was already a dead man.

  “There’s shit in your mouth—I can’t understand you, and I don’t care.”

  The mage’s jaw began to crumble into fragments, and his face felt in my hand like a sack of ground meat. Two streams of blood flowed from his reddened eyes.

  “Honored Ancestor, stop! Let’s talk this out!”

  The shout came from the tribune, where the distinguished guests were gathered. I turned and saw a tall mage next to Vist clutching the railing.

  “And who the hell are you to stop me?!”

  “‘I’m the rector! The rector of this student! Please, return him to me—we’re ready to offer any compensation!”

  “Compensation, you say?” I looked at the wretch dying in my hand. “Sounds interesting. Let’s make a deal—your eternal servitude to me under the Eye of the Judge. That compensation would satisfy me.”

  “You! I’m a mage of the eighth circle—how dare you offer me such a thing?!”

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  “Don’t want to? That’s your choice!”

  I clenched my fingers, and the mage’s head exploded through them, splattering everything around with brains, skull fragments, and blood. Lifting the body from the ground, I hurled it toward the rector.

  “Returning him, just as you requested, dear rector!”

  A horrible scream echoed from the tribune where they stood as the mage’s corpse slammed onto the stone floor at their feet.

  “And now,” I shouted, “an offer to the other six rectors of these wretches. The same price—their lives in exchange for a lifetime contract. Any takers?”

  To back up my words with action, I grabbed the face of the next wretch and raised my hand high. The mage’s body dangled like a dead fish on its thin neck.

  “Aney! That’s too much!”

  Vist. Finally, that wench found her voice.

  “Ah, it’s you, Vist. Speak your piece—I’m busy, as you can see. In the midst of a slave trade, no less.”

  “Stop! You have no right to kill them!”

  “No right? You’re cracked in the head. These wretches attacked me first. And let me warn you” I drew eight spears from my storage and aimed them at the mages on the tribune with my aura. “As you can see, these are ninth-class spears, far faster than any of your spells, mages. So I advise you not to interfere!”

  “Aney, this is just too cruel!” That wench wouldn’t shut up.

  “Really? And taking my friends hostage, trying to crush them—that’s not vile and cruel, Vist? You did just that a few weeks ago, or have you already forgotten? Even though they never threatened or bothered you. So why are you whining about cruelty now?”

  “Fine, Aney, maybe they are guilty—but surely this can be resolved without murder?”

  “Ha-ha-ha, of course it can! That’s what I’ve been offering from the start! For a lifetime contract with you, I’m even willing to spare two wretches! What do you say, Vist?”

  “I say you’re overstepping!”

  “Overstepping, you say? Didn’t you overstep just as much when you ordered these fools to attack me so I’d kill them? Do you think everyone around is too stupid to realize your plan? But alright, I’ll play along this time!”

  As I expected, my words caused a furor in the stands. All eyes turned to Vist.

  “What nonsense! You’ve completely lost your mind!”

  “Have I? Then why are the captains of every Imperial academy here beside me—except for the one from the capital? Of course, I understand you crave first place, but your methods, Vist… You’re even more of a wench than I imagined.”

  That hit like an explosion. Vist looked around, cornered.

  “So what, Vist, no contract?”

  I crushed another mage’s head and flung his body at Vist, then grabbed the next one. A few auras of the Battle Ancestors burst onto the arena.

  “Sir Aney, we are the law enforcement unit. Please, stop!”

  “Oh really? And what does law enforcement want from me?”

  “For you to cease these killings—we will conduct an investigation…”

  “There’s nothing to investigate. These wretches attacked me, so now they die—according to the Empire’s law on self-defense. Or are you assuming responsibility for challenging Imperial law?”

  “No, not at all! But—“

  I didn’t let him finish. I killed the mage in my hand and reached for the next. I heard a shout from the tribune where one of the rectors lunged at Vist with fists, accusing her of his student’s death. Finally! Now the Mage Guild would no longer be a threat to me until they settled their internal strife. And I would make sure that didn’t happen anytime soon. Four still-living reasons lay before me.

  “Stop!” The Ancestors drew their weapons, slowly approaching me.

  “One more step—and you die!” I turned one of the spears toward them.

  That worked immediately, since ninth-class weapons weren’t something they could contend with.

  “Wait, wait! My family—they’re very influential in the Empire…”

  The mage I approached began to bargain for his life.

  “Oh really? And what’s that to me?”

  “My family… they’ll give you anything if you let me live!”

  “Anything, you say…” I stepped on his knee and pressed, grinding it to dust. “And what would a rural fool like me do with “anything”? You called me that just a few minutes ago, didn’t you? Just so you know, fool, idiots need nothing!”

  I grabbed him by the face and lifted him into the air.

  “So, rectors? The offer still stands! No takers? Fine!”

  Another headless body flew toward Vist’s tribune. Chaos had broken out there, just as I wanted. I moved toward the fifth mage.

  “Stop!” A loud cry rang out from the sky.

  The voice reeked of the Church. Finally, one of those who’d been watching me these past few days decided to reveal himself. The God of War. Now I couldn’t afford to get distracted, so with one precise strike of the spear, I split three mages lying on the ground in half.

  “Abomination!” the voice bellowed.

  Hovering above the arena was the God of War, clad in a gray robe. Well, he was as strong as Munk, so I actually felt relieved.

  “Hooo… The esteemed God of War got tired of watching from afar and decided to take a closer look?”

  “Foul wretch, you’ll answer for these murders!”

  “Then maybe the Church should answer for its sacrifices?!”

  I pulled out the journal of the former bishop Matan and waved it in the air.

  “What do you say, Cardinal? Shall we reveal the truth to the people?”

  “I wouldn’t do that if I were you!”

  “You’re not in my place, Cardinal. And what could you possibly threaten me with? Death? A month ago, you clergy already decided to kill me…”

  “What nonsense!”

  I saw that he was about to lunge at me.

  “No, no, no,” I wagged my finger, “try to attack me, and tomorrow tens of thousands of copies of this diary—your damn bishop’s diary—will be spread across the Northern Empire. Do you want that?”

  “You won’t do it!”

  “Why not? I have nothing to lose, so why not write myself a nice obituary on the way out?”

  Damn, that dialogue had been heard by hundreds of thousands of citizens and guests of the Imperial capital! I’d hit the jackpot today! To smear the Church in filth in front of witnesses… I was extremely pleased. And my bluff had worked.

  “Live—for now…”

  The Cardinal vanished even faster than he had appeared. Clearly, he wasn’t the one making decisions. He ran off like a loyal dog to report to his master about the diary in my hands. Perfect. Now I was certain they wouldn’t dare touch me in the capital. Everyone would immediately assume the Church silenced me to protect its dirty laundry. But it was time to return to my sheep—meaning, the dead mages.

  “Officers of the law, I believe the incident is resolved. The attackers have received the punishment they deserved. Thank you for your cooperation!”

  “Lord Aney, you’re too harsh, but formally, you broke no laws, so farewell.”

  Good, all right… Now, only the mages remained in the stands.

  “Rectors of the academies whose students lie dead on this arena may now descend and retrieve them.”

  Four rectors moved from the tribune toward the stairs leading down to the arena. Finally, I turned to the organizers of the drawing.

  “Gentlemen, I won’t hold you any longer. You may begin.”

  “Lord Aney, this may not be the right moment…”

  “Why not? Representatives of all participating academies are here on this arena, so nothing stops you from pulling those damned numbered balls from your black box.”

  I hid all my weapons and walked up to them, then brazenly shoved my hand into the box and pulled out a white ball.

  “Number six, Group B!” I shouted across the arena. “Come on, folks, get your numbers! I want to see my opponents from Group B! If your team captain happened to die on this arena just recently, any representative of the academy can pull a ball in their place. Be it the rector or just a student! Come on! Don’t be shy—step right up!”

  People started coming forward one by one to draw their numbers, then took their places according to them. I watched closely to make sure everything went fairly. Finally, after the last participant took their place, the organizers created the match table and assigned academy names to the corresponding numbers.

  “The drawing procedure is now complete!” one of the organizers announced loudly.

  I headed toward the exit of the arena, but stopped halfway.

  “Vist! I haven’t forgotten my promise! I will crush the entire capital academy team on my own, without an ounce of mercy! Remember that.”

  Filthy wench, I added silently. But the look on her face was worth it.

  Well, thanks to my actions, I had delayed the inevitable and weakened at least two of my enemies—the Mage Guild and the Church. That was already a decent outcome. Maybe I’d even manage to leave the capital without suffering heavy losses.

  There was one week left until the competition, and I had nowhere to go. Come up with strategies? I thought that unnecessary. I was only up against sixth-circle mages, so the simplest solution was to use a sixth-circle spell—Time Stop—to freeze the opposing team for five or six seconds, preventing them from raising their mana shields. Then I’d just shatter them with a first-circle spell—like fireballs, for example. That was my plan for the fights. Of course, it was brutal, since not every mage would survive a fireball without protection. But we weren’t kids playing in a sandbox.

  “Ouch!” I yelped when Vasa gave me a light smack on the back of the head in the hotel room.

  “You’ve got not just power, but balls too! Starting a bloodbath at the drawing and blackmailing the Church… The only problem is your brains—just like mine!”

  “On the contrary, dear Vasa, I thought it all through before pulling that off. And I’m satisfied with the result!”

  “What the hell are you talking about, calf! You’ve made a pile of enemies!”

  “Only at first glance, dear Vasa. I’ve made some hesitant and sowed discord among others, which will weaken them for a time!”

  I had to explain the outcome of my actions to the Goddess of War in detail.

  “Wow, you’re so cunning—I’m almost jealous! So what will you do now? Until the competition, I mean?”

  “I don’t know. I have a lot of free time and no idea what to do with it.”

  “And there’s no training ground—since someone destroyed it…”

  “Dear Vasa, surely it’s been restored by now?”

  “Of course, you speedy devil! Still, you had to wreck it so thoroughly!”

  “Once again, my apologies, dear Vasa.”

  “You know, I’ve got an idea…”

  “What kind of idea?”

  “You heard from the First Prince about the battle arena, right?”

  “Yes, but fighting weak opponents won’t help me much… Or are there Gods of War there too?”

  “Oh no, they’re not there, but…”

  Vasa pulled out a platinum plaque, similar to my gold one.

  “Want to have one of these?”

  She twirled it in front of my nose. I didn’t understand, so I asked:

  “And what is that?”

  “This is what puts you on par with the Gods of War or the guild masters in this Empire!”

  “And they just hand them out at the battle arena, dear Vasa? I find that hard to believe.”

  “Well, not easily, but… Have you ever heard of the winner of a hundred battles?”

  I silently shook my head from side to side.

  “To get one, you’ll have to defeat a hundred High-Grade Battle Ancestors without leaving the arena.”

  “Only that?”

  “Also, there’s a betting pool, and the odds for such fights are rarely less than ten to one… And someone still owes me for palace repairs…”

  “Dear Vasa! Message received, I’m in! When do we go to the arena?”

  “Ha-ha, I knew you’d agree! Tomorrow morning will be perfect.”