"Huh?!"


    To say shock was palpable would be an understatement.


    Not again!


    This was even worse than the first match!


    As a red light shed around Vali, dering her as the loser of the round, those who had expected to see her prowess first hand as well as those who had expected to scrutinise her body in high resolution, wore looks of disappointment and confusion.


    Why did this woman surrender?


    What did she whisper into her opponent''s ear?


    The sonic amplification effect of the thin barrier did nothing to let anyone hear even a little of what she had told Rudric.


    What was this all about?


    Rudric took deep breaths to calm himself. He cast his gaze away from Vali, as if ashamed to look at her right now.


    Their agreement...


    It wasn''t what he expected.


    Hell, no one would believe him if he told them.


    Soon, silver lights teleported the two off of the tform, returning them to their seats.


    Vali crossed her legs andid her hand on her titled chin.


    The rambunctious disapproval and usatory disappointment that boomed from the spectating stands, most of itdirected at her and her decision didn''t bother her in the least.


    She didn''t lose anything from her decision.


    ording to rules of the Preliminary Rounds, surrendering didn''t disallow participation into the second Preliminary round. Each contender had two chances to show their prowess in the Preliminaries after all and as long as they were still alive, they could participate in the Main event that came after.


    ''Sweet...'' Vali thought.


    Skullius in his seat was a little disappointed too.


    He too had expected to see this woman who had the moniker of Unpredictable fight but well... at a superficial level, she did seem to live up to that name. He certainly hadn''t expected her to surrender when faced with an opponent who was obviously nervous about fighting her.


    Heck, he too was also vignt.


    This was because of a single factor he had noticed with [Greater Mana Crafter].


    Vali had an enormous amount of mana!


    Even the Mage didn''t have half as much as she did.


    It wasn''t surprising that he hadn''t sensed this at the gathering as most of the contenders seemed to be capable of manipting how much mana leaked from their cores.


    As experts, this much was to be expected.


    No matter.


    There were still many chances for Skullius to see her in action. He was willing to face her in a bit too.


    The ss pane over which Guissepo sat on descended.


    The Game Master had a funny smile on his face as he announced.


    "I certainly didn''t see that oneing. This day may just be full of second long fights. Extravagant it is!"


    With a snap of his fingers, two more participants showed and thankfully, these two were seemingly evenly matched and had no intention of backing away from the fight.


    What the witnesses had been gunning for finally happened. An exciting exchange between powerful opponents that didn''t hold back at all.


    For at least thirty five minutes, the two swordsmen who were summoned to fight this time exchanged blows and showed some incredible techniques.


    As First Phase Masters, they weren''t capable of giving their Incarnationsplex forms but they battled it out without the need for showy natured abilities.


    The crowds were heavily entertained, as were some of the contenders.


    The winner of the fight was also decided without any fatality. Only an unconscious contender was left lying on the ground,pletely defeated.


    To this, the witnesses felt a deep sense of satisfaction. They were getting their money''s worth, though they technically paid nothing.


    The same result was true for the next four rounds that followed.


    Some were short, some were absurdly long, nearly reaching the match time limit but winners and losers were decided without kills, surprisingly.<novelnext></novelnext>


    Still, all the contenders fought as if their lives were on the line. The desperation was vivid in each strike.


    At the end of it all, Guissepo gave an enthusiastic show of apuse, prompting almost everyone to do the same.


    "Good show! Extravagantly good show, do you not agree? The adrenaline, the racing of hearts! Thebatants in our nation still burn with the love for a good fight!" he said.


    "However, this brings us to the end of the first day''s matchups. What will be in store for the next time we gather? Who knows. Surely, something even more entertaining."


    With the snap of his fingers, everyone was dismissed back to where they had been before the day''s event.


    **


    Bryne Family Residence.


    "So, did you find anything?" Skullius asked Silrat.


    They hadn''t seen each other since the gatheringst night as Skullius had retreated to his room after his long search for Red Rage. He was teleported to the venue of the event from there.


    "Nothing much. My guess is the only ones who know about that man are the EverSword House and whoever they are coborating with. There are some suspicions here and there though. The Families are not stupid. While they are all fighting for a position in the EverSword House, they do know that something is fishy," Silrat answered.


    "I see," Skullius nodded.


    "I fear that the other Houses are involved in this. If they are, this thing may evolve into something catastrophic. A possible invasion by Maqi and Emeradis would be the least of our problems then."


    "You think this EverSword House really wants to bring about some terrible disaster with the Evenfall though or that they are colluding for different goals?"


    "Who knows? What I fear is the former. Houses, as you''ve seen have tremendous resources at their disposal. If they provide those heathens with artefacts and tools... I hate to think that the pride bastions of our nation can be benefactors to such... evil," Silrat said with a pained face palm.


    "Yeah, well. I''m d I was never attached to you people to be begin with," Skullius said in a small voice.


    "What?"


    "Nothing."


    Skullius stood.


    "I have to make a quick stop at the Association and then go to the Isise afterwards."


    "Hmm. Might as well go togethe- wait, wait, wait! The Isise?!" Silrat shot up with a look of shock and puzzlement.


    "Why are you going there?!"


    "Right, I didn''t tell you. I''m not used to telling people things about me. Let me fill you in. So..."


    Skullius began to describe the situation.


    As for the specifics about his powers that he had told Silrat before, he had exined the fact that he had a Hidden ss (leaving about the part about its ties to Fulgardt) and demonstrated much of his powers while in his Hybrid Luman form. He had left out everything to do with his true self and ties to undeath but exined in detail about UNCoddled.


    "Another curse?" Silrat donned a constipated look.


    "Yes."


    "And it has to do with bad luck?"


    "Horrendous luck."


    "Ah... of course. Because bad luck is not enough."


    "Apparently."


    Silrat sighed.


    The exnation on this curse wasn''t that Skullius had eaten a baby of course, but his bullshitting did serve him well.


    The former Association Head decided this matter wasn''t worth focusing too much of his attention on. Skullius seemed to have a solution so he''d leave him to it.


    "So uh...where is that green hair girl?"


    "Yuyui? She rushed off to do something she said was important as soon as we returned."


    "I see. So she really... doesn''t die?"


    "I can kill her to prove it you know?"


    "..."


    Silrat froze at Skullius'' nonchnce.


    "Let''s just go to the Association."