Advent of the Three Calamities

Chapter 868: A well-fabricated lie [2]

"How are you feeling? Are you sure you can keep going like this? You don’t look so well."

"...I am fine."

Leon tried his best to sound calm, but his half-beat-late response made Anne frown as she looked at him. Leon wasn’t fooling anyone. Not only was his face relatively pale, but the injuries that he had sustained were still clear to see.

Anne opened her mouth to say something, but soon stopped as she looked behind her, taking note of the others following from behind.

The group walked ahead, heading toward the massive pillar that stood at the center of the city. The street leading to it rose slightly, lined with dilapidated houses with worn walls and sagging roofs.

The road gradually widened as they drew closer to the structure, the number of people growing more sparse as the stench that had lingered in the air began to disperse.

Eventually, the road led to tall metal gates that rose several meters into the air, their dark bars reinforced and tightly set, encircling the massive pillar at the center. Several guards stood at the front, dressed in gray uniforms, resembling those of the Gate Wardens and Nomin, keeping a watchful eye over anyone who approached, their presence firm.

"I’ll go."

Anne stepped forward, interacting with the guards as she displayed a certain token to them.

The token was nothing special, carrying a few intricate patterns, but the moment she pulled it out, the guards’ backs straightened. They glanced in Leon’s direction before stepping aside, allowing the gates to open.

There was a certain level of respect in the guards’ gazes as Leon and the others passed by, prompting Keira to comment.

"Looks like you’ve got some fans."

"...Makes sense if you think about it," Aoife said, her attention fixed on the distant pillar. "This place respects the strong, and with Leon having just qualified to participate in these so-called Ranked Battles, it makes sense for them to look at him like this."

"I guess."

Kiera shrugged her shoulders.

The group continued forward, meeting more guards as they made their way toward the pillar. Anne led the way the entire time, and as it drew closer, Leon couldn’t help but admire the intricate structure.

From up close, the pillar felt even more imposing, its surface layered with platforms, protruding walkways, and interconnected structures that seemed to merge into the skyline itself.

Pipes, support beams, and reinforced segments wrapped around it in complex patterns, giving the impression of a self-contained city rising within the city. Leon tilted his head back to look up, feeling the imposing weight of the structure as it towered overhead, casting a vast shadow that stretched across the streets below.

Despite the imposing exterior, the interior was surprisingly crude, centered around a massive spiraling staircase that wound upward along the pillar’s core. Anne and the others moved ahead, their footsteps echoing against the hard surfaces as they climbed in silence, the steady rhythm of their ascent filling the open space around them.

Leon followed in silence, trying his best to keep his breath steady.

He focused all his attention on healing his injuries.

’Julien, something about Runes. To heal my injuries, I need to feel the Rune to heal myself properly. I know I can do it. I’ve already felt it before.’

Leon tried his best to feel the connection, focusing on healing the injuries he had sustained as they climbed the stairs. But it wasn’t long before the others stopped, and when he raised his head once more, his breath caught in his throat.

No door stood at the entrance of the second level, allowing him to see far ahead. Through the open passage, he could make out numerous buildings stretching in all directions, arranged in structured rows around a vast central plaza.

Walkways connected the structures in an organized network, and banners and signs hung from several facades, adding color to the otherwise monotone city.

Crowds moved through the area in steady streams, their clothing far more refined than that of those in the lower levels, the difference in quality immediately noticeable in the fabrics and tailored designs.

Looking up, Leon found the gray sky to be clearer here, sunlight filtering down more freely as the upper level no longer covered as much of the horizon, allowing brighter light to spill across the plaza below.

"The difference between this place and the lower level is almost night and day."

Anne’s words brought Leon out of his thoughts as she looked around, her expression calm.

"Thanks to Leon getting a rank, we’re all able to stay here. However, just because this place seems a lot better, don’t assume that it’s safer than the lower level. In fact, it’s much more dangerous. Everyone here is incredibly strong, unlike the lower levels."

Anne turned her attention towards Leon.

She stared at his pale face and features and placed her hand over his shoulder.

"We’ve gotten a residence to stay thanks to you, but I’m afraid that you won’t have much time to rest."

"Huh?"

"The situation here is even more ruthless than the one beneath. Every resource on the second level is even more important, and if you can’t prove your worth to the city, then you won’t be able to stay much longer. You have exactly one day before issuing a challenge and making it to the rankings. If by then, you can’t fight, we’ll be kicked back down to the lower levels, unable to qualify for a ranking battle for at least a month."

"What?!"

Leon’s eyes widened, unable to hide his shock.

"But I just..."

"I know," Anne’s voice was grave as she sighed. "I know you’re tired and haven’t fully healed from your injuries, but this is how the city operates. It doesn’t wait for anyone. I suggest you use the little time you have to recover while carefully selecting your opponent."

Anne proceeded to share more information with him as they walked out of the pillar, eventually reaching the familiar fence that surrounded its perimeter. As they stepped beyond it, they felt the gazes of those around them turn in their direction, the air growing noticeably tense.

Thankfully, everyone had disguised themselves in advance, allowing them to blend in with the crowd as Anne continued to explain the situation to Leon.

"Things won’t get easier even when you get a Rank. The moment you get a rank, you will immediately be challenged by someone for that position. You can’t refuse the battle request, and the most you’ll get is a couple of hours of preparation. Therefore, you mustn’t show any weakness while you fight. The moment you show weakness, you’ll immediately become the target of everyone who is eyeing your position."

Eventually, they reached the residence, and Anne continued explaining the entire situation to Leon. She went on about the rules and everything she had learned, speaking in detail as she recounted each point. Leon tried to listen attentively, but the more he heard, the grimmer his expression became.

’This is beyond ruthless.’

From what he understood, his life would only grow harder from this moment on. He had all the luxuries, but he would have to stake his life every day to maintain them.

Still—

Leon silently clenched his fists.

’...I can persist.’

Separating from Anne and the others, Leon entered his own room within the residence, which stood not far from the main plaza of the second level. The building’s architecture was nothing fancy, resembling many of the surrounding houses in the area, simple and functional in design rather than ornate.

Leon didn’t pay much attention to the surroundings.

He didn’t have time to pay attention to it as he immediately went to his bed and slept, trying his best to replenish his energies while thinking about the thing called ’Rune’ that Julien had mentioned to him.

At the same time, he also selected an opponent and gave the details to Anne, who took care of the matter for him. Secretly, he was quite grateful for her help, but understanding his current situation, he could only thank her in his heart before going back to thinking about the Rune.

However, regardless of how much he tried to sense it, he struggled to do so.

By the time he stopped thinking about it, the next day had already arrived, and with it came a knock at his door.

To Tok—

"Leon? Are you ready?"

"Yes."

Leon’s eyes gradually opened as he walked out of his room. The others were already waiting outside, staring at him with a serious expression.

He met their gaze individually before following Anne out of the place.

Everything from that point onward felt like a blur. He remembered returning to the pillar, ascending once more, and then parting ways with Anne.

BOOOM!

A thundering noise shook him from his thoughts, and by the time he looked up, he found himself standing inside a vast arena. The dim gray sky and pale sun shone down from above, casting a muted light across the space as his feet sank slightly into the sand scattered across the ground.

Tall walls surrounded him on every side, rising high and enclosing the arena, while crowds gathered along the upper edges, leaning over the railings to stare down at him with a mix of cheers and boos.

Surrounded from all sides, he felt like an animal.

Minuscule.

But at the same time, he felt something within his chest stir.

Something he couldn’t quite understand stirred within him as he looked ahead, locking eyes with his opponent across the sandy arena.

"Haa."

Leon let out a long breath, closing his eyes slightly as the noise faded from his mind.

’I guess this is it. I might really die if I’m careless.’

He could feel the heavy bloodlust lingering in the air, along with the strong scent of blood spreading in all directions.

Opening his eyes again to stare at his opponent, Leon’s body tensed.

’...There’s no going back for me.’

***

"Why did you not do anything, human?"

Hearing Owl Mighty’s voice inside my mind, I could only smile bitterly.

"What do you even expect me to do in this situation?"

"If you had talked with her, then you may have been able to stop her. That woman’s skills are formidable."

"I’m sure they are."

There was nothing to doubt about Delilah’s skills.

But that wasn’t the problem.

"Her mind isn’t stable. If I did say something, the consequences would’ve been disastrous. The fact that she didn’t even notice you should be enough proof of that, right?"

Owl-Mighty couldn’t see, but I could.

The darkness that lingered within her. The emotions that stirred wildly inside her. At that moment, she was a bundle of every kind of feeling. It was in my best interest not to provoke her.

Just a tiny bit was enough to ignite everything.

And I didn’t know what would happen then.

Therefore, it was best to just do nothing.

"...I see."

Although Owl-Mighty’s voice still held a trace of doubt, it didn’t press on. Instead, it asked me an entirely different question.

"What would you have done if she had tried to harm you? That woman... it did seem like she was going to do so."

"Is that so?"

Honestly, I had a feeling she was contemplating such things. The red within her told me so. In that moment, I did feel something cold reaching for my neck, but even then, I wasn’t worried.

Rather, I wished for her to touch me.

That way, I would have been able to suppress most of her emotions using my Emotive Magic.

’Well, it’s whatever. I know she’ll come for me again. That much... I can tell.’

Feeling my feet sink deeper into the sand, I began walking again. Owl-Mighty stayed by my side, offering an extra layer of protection in case something I couldn’t handle happened. At the same time, I pressed my hand against my thigh.

[Sense]

I removed all feeling from my body.

’I can’t stop here. I need to continue.’

I had a specific goal in mind, and I didn’t plan on stopping. Right now, the one thing I needed most was to train and improve myself.

Walking ahead, a series of notifications flashed across my darkened vision.

Just like that, time flew by.

In that time, I dreamt a lot. I had a lot of dreams.

But...

For whatever reason, I kept forgetting each dream, only tiny snippets slipping into my mind as I continued to train.

I completely lost track of time as I navigated through the desert and fulfilled my duties, my skills improving with each passing day while also absorbing even more blood from the monsters, and filling the gaps in the Rune contained within it.

Time flowed—

Three months passed like this.