Chapter 66

Chapter 66

Dojae held the paper he drew and headed toward Catania.

“Katania, what does it say here?”

“Typhoon. That’s a troublesome field. I hope they drew well on their side?”

Katania chuckled as she looked at Dojae’s paper.

Then she thrust her own paper forward. Judging by her satisfied smile, it seemed she’d drawn a satisfying arena, though she didn’t know what kind of field it was.

“How do you make a field?”

“How? Of course, with magic. The five most skilled mages in the kingdom are on standby. They’ve probably already drawn the magic circle over the entire field.”

“That’s amazing. I never knew magic could be used like this. Maybe I should gather all the awakened mages and start an entertainment business…”

“What? What’s an entertainment business?”

“Never mind, just talking to myself.”

Dojae turned his steps toward the man named Sitharan.

His opponent in the quarterfinals was a gray elf radiating masculinity.

“You’re Sithah?”

“That’s right! Are you Lee Dojae? Which field?”

In this draw, the eight players each select a different field.

Then, they coordinate with their opponent to choose one of the two fields.

The four unselected fields are then used again for the semifinals and finals, but this time the selection is made by audience vote, not the participants.

“I got the Typhoon Field. What about you?”

“I got the Rock Field.”

Dojae and Sithah checked each other’s papers.

Though Dojae couldn’t see what was written on Sithah’s paper, there was no reason for Sithah to lie since they’d submit it anyway.

“Alright, what field do you want?”

“I don’t care! I’m the one who’s going to beat you and move up anyway!”

Sithah declared with a confident expression and voice.

Dojae thought it was good that his opponent in the quarterfinals had such a straightforward personality.

“Then I won’t hesitate. Let’s go with the Typhoon Field.”

“Hooo. You deliberately chose a tough field! You must be thinking you can wear me down and get the upper hand. Wrong! I come from a forest where it rains often.”

Shitah pointed at Dojae with his finger.

Dojai nearly burst out laughing at the grown man acting like a shonen manga protagonist.

“Huh, huh… I didn’t exactly choose it with that intention…”

“Nervous? Looks like you’re scared of me. Don’t worry. I’ll spare your life!”

“Hmph… I’ll take your word for it. Whose life is in danger?”

“What?”

Sithah’s eyebrow twitched.

Though spoken with a hint of sarcasm, the provocation proved more effective than expected.

“Well then, I’ll be off. I need to submit this paper now.”

“You bastard! I’ll make you regret those words!”

Dojae left the trembling Sithah behind and headed toward the tournament officials.

Whether this provocation would prove advantageous or disadvantageous remained uncertain, but since he’d fallen for such a cheap provocation, there seemed little need for concern.

***

“Um… Mr. Salta? I got the Wave Field, but Mr. Salta…”

Zzzzt-!

Salta glared at Fukun, then tore the paper he was holding into shreds.

“Get lost.”

“Yes! Then I’ll use the field I drew!”

Fukun backed away from Salta’s killing intent and hurriedly fled.

‘Why has she changed so much?’

Hukun was already acquainted with Salta.

Fifty years ago, at the last tournament.

Despite being a first-time participant, Fukun luckily advanced to the main tournament.

But his first opponent was Salta.

Salta, already one of the most promising contenders for the championship back then, was an opponent far too formidable for Hukun to handle.

After suffering a bitter defeat in his first match and feeling discouraged, Salta approached Fukun.

‘Even at such a young age, your skill is remarkable. I almost lost.’

‘Those sharp, piercing attacks were chilling, even for me.’

‘If you train hard, you might become even more skilled than me by the next tournament.’

Salta offered a warm smile as he encouraged Fukun.

Despite clearly winning by a huge margin, Salta showed tolerance and acceptance.

Not only that, but Salta didn’t hold back on advice.

She pointed out Huchun’s weaknesses and taught him ways to leverage his strengths.

‘Thanks to that, I worked hard to hone my spear skills too.’

Hukun had originally used a sword.

However, following Salta’s advice, he switched to the spear.

Then, just as Salta had said, Hokun’s spear skills grew rapidly.

A hundred days of spear training yielded better results than a thousand days of sword training.

Thus, he made it to the main tournament once more. After defeating a formidable opponent in his first match, he stood before Salta again.

‘What happened to him…’

Salta’s reaction was not just cold, but downright frightening.

A dark aura emanated from Salta, making it difficult to even approach him.

Hukun quietly watched Salta like that.

The Salta he had respected and admired stared wide-eyed into the void, muttering to himself.

‘Still, I will definitely show you, Salta, how hard I’ve worked.’

Hukun steeled his resolve and handed the paper to the attendant.

Salta, however, was so consumed by her headache that she couldn’t think about Hokun or anything else.

Snap.

‘Damn it, that voice again.’

Salta clenched his teeth so hard his gums bled, trying to endure the headache.

– Kiiyaaak!

– AAAAAHHHH!

Screams came at random times.

Sometimes it was a woman’s wail, other times a man’s roar.

At its worst, dozens or even hundreds of Grey Elf voices, regardless of age or gender, screamed as if crushing his brain, and he couldn’t tell whose voice it was.

Each time, Salta lost her mind, smashing and killing everything.

The unbearable urge to destroy only subsided after she was drenched in blood, and the voices finally stopped.

One day, while wandering in a state of complete ignorance about who he was or why he lived,

While washing the blood away at a lakeside, a single leaf, radiating an enigmatic aura, drifted down beside him.

– Participate in the tournament. The answer lies there.

As he touched the leaf, a cool, clear voice spoke.

His mind remained a tangled mess, like a fog of confusion, but he felt a glimmer of light.

Salta picked up the leaf, fashioned it into a headdress, and followed the voice to enter the tournament.

But the screams that had been absent until now were echoing once more.

– Kiiyaaak!

‘Please shut up! Please just disappear from me!’

Salta’s mind went blank again from the boiling rage, and she grabbed her sword.

The stares of those around her focused on her, but she didn’t care.

All Salta could think about now was killing everyone present.

But then.

Woong-.

The leaves forming her headdress vibrated softly.

Gradually, the screams subsided and the killing intent calmed.

Thud-.

Salta lowered his sword and collapsed to the ground.

Someone approached him, but he had no desire to engage.

He was about to respond with his usual “Get lost,” as he always did, but the moment he saw the face, he couldn’t bring himself to speak.

“Lee Do-jae, stop. What are you trying to do?”

“It’s fine, Catania.”

“What’s okay? Let’s just go.”

“Don’t worry.”

It was that guy covered in a robe with a woman who looked vaguely familiar.

The familiar woman had been on my mind since the second preliminary round. A strange feeling welled up inside me, almost suffocating, like I was on the verge of remembering something.

“The fields for all matches have been finalized. We hope everyone enjoys a restful evening tonight.”

As soon as the tournament official finished speaking, the quarterfinalists exited the waiting room.

Three remained.

“Katania, I need to talk to you and Salta alone.”

“Huh… I really don’t know anymore. I’m tired, so I’m going to rest.”

“Thanks.”

The familiar-faced woman departed, leaving only the robe-clad man before Salta.

Then he spoke as he removed his robe.

“Follow me.”

***

Dojae submitted the paper labeled Typhoon Field to the official and was asking Catania detailed questions about the field.

But then, Dojae felt a tingling sensation at his temple, accompanied by a thick, sticky energy.

The source of that energy was Salta.

Salta gripped his sword, radiating an unpleasant aura.

Sizzle-.

Simultaneously, the back of Dojae’s hand burned with intense heat.

The spot where the memory of his sealed right hand lay resonated with Salta’s energy.

But immediately, a new energy was sensed—the same energy felt from Aktria.

Caught between the memories of his sealed right hand and Salta’s aura, Dojae recalled Kang Young-chan’s Transcendence Stone.

And it was this possibility that had brought Dojae to Salta, despite Catania’s protests.

“What are you doing here? Why is a High Elf here?”

Dojae had put his robe back on to come outside, but he showed his face to Salta.

Of course, wearing the ring, he appeared as a High Elf, not a human.

He deliberately showed his face to increase his persuasiveness.

He believed that if he showed something special, he could bring Salta out with him.

“I said I’d help you.”

“Hmph, I don’t need any help. Get lost.”

“Telling someone who offered help to get lost? That’s quite the attitude.”

Thud.

Salta grabbed the collar of Dojae’s robe.

Then she pulled him forward with force.

Dojai was dragged upward, his collar gripped so tightly he could feel Salta’s hot breath.

‘What kind of strength is this?’

Doja pushed Salta away, barely managing to free his arms.

“Let go and talk. I don’t want to fight; I genuinely want to help.”

“Bullshit.”

“If I can’t help, you can kill me. Destruction and death are your daily routine, right?”

“Shut up. I don’t want to kill anyone.”

“What? Then why are you killing people?”

CRASH.

Salta slammed his fist into the wall, punching a huge hole through it.

“I hear screams. Women, men, children, the elderly. Screams from people I don’t even know keep coming. These screams won’t stop until someone dies, so there’s nothing I can do.”

“Then why don’t you kill yourself?”

“I can’t even kill myself. Every time I tried, the screams grew louder. When I came to, there was nothing living around me.”

“I had no idea you were in such a situation.”

“So if you don’t want to die too, get out of here.”

“Wait. I’ll help you. And just so you know, don’t be surprised.”

Dojae opened the pocket dimension, speaking first in case Salta might mistake the situation and attack.

Fortunately, Salta showed no surprise or aggression, remaining utterly impassive.

Dojae, feeling awkward, pulled out the pile of stones he had stored in the pocket dimension.

Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud-thud-thud

Then he immediately cast Golem Armor.

Not a full set of golem armor, just on his right hand.

A pile of stones from the floor climbed up Dojae’s leg, forming a long, thick gauntlet around his wrist.

Wooong- Wooong-!

The sealed memory of his right hand, appearing only when the Golem Armor was cast.

The memory of the sealed right hand, now in the form of a gauntlet studded with beads, emitted a peculiar light and trembled violently.

“I’m going to touch your body. I’ll say it again—this isn’t an attack, so whatever happens, don’t panic.”

“Hmph.”

Salta snorted derisively.

Dojae thought Salta must have been a pain even before she went mad, and slowly brought his right hand closer.