"Bastard! This is the man you found for me!"

  Inside a VIP lounge at the Grand Arena,

  Abak Larry, a Black Wolf Beastman, was flying into a violent rage.

  "Are you blind? How could you bring me such an idiot!? "

  "B-B-But Lord Abak, he’s truly a powerful warrior......"

  The subordinate knelt on the ground, trying to defend himself.

  Crash!

  Enraged, Abak hurled the teacup in his hand to the floor, shattering it into pieces.

  "You call this 'truly powerful'!? He was taken down in one hit!!! Tell me—does the world have any 'powerful warriors' who get one-shotted—!?"

  "......"

  The subordinate hung his head in silence, but muttered silently to himself:

  Of course there are—when they face someone far stronger......

  "What’s that look on your face?! Do you have a problem with me!?"

  "......No, my lord."

  "No problem? You’re practically ready to rebel! Get out! I don’t want to see your useless face again—get out of here!!"

  "Yes......"

  The subordinate scrambled to his feet and fled the room.

  After leaving the VIP lounge, he clicked his tongue in annoyance.

  "Tch...... What’s the point of yelling at me? That woman’s as strong as a monster. Unless she’s unlucky enough to run into Boguna Sind halfway, the White Cat Clan isn’t going down anytime soon."

  He shrugged his shoulders. With the sound of things shattering still echoing from the VIP lounge, he turned and walked away—paying no mind to his enraged master inside.

  After all, he’d been told to get out. There was no way he was going back to comfort him.

  ......

  "Hulim! It worked! I advanced too!"

  Miko rushed over to Hulim, her face lighting up with excitement.

  With the preliminary round over, the Top 100 contestants had been decided. Thanks to avoiding any particularly strong opponents, Miko had successfully fought her way into the rankings.

  "You both did excellent work!"

  Bars said with a smile.

  "But the real challenge starts with the rematch tomorrow. Hulim, I have no doubts about you. As for Miko—don’t you forget what I said......"

  "It’s just the Round of 32! I’ll win and prove it to you!"

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  "Heh~"

  Bars smiled without another word and turned to leave.

  "Come on. Let’s head back for the day."

  "What’s that supposed to mean? Why are you smiling like that!"

  "Nothing. Just feeling happy."

  "Wait! Do you think I’ll believe that? Explain yourself......"

  The group merged into the massive crowd streaming out of the Grand Arena.

  As night fell and the once-bustling stadium fell silent, a group of suspicious-looking men slipped in through a side door. Many of them carried large crates, their contents unknown.

  "Hold on! Who are you people!? "

  A stadium guard stepped forward, ready to stop them.

  "Hey—"

  His colleague suddenly pulled him back.

  "Mind your own business~."

  "What? W-What are you saying!? "

  Unaware of the danger he was in, the guard snapped at his colleague.

  "We’re guards! How can we just stand by and do nothing!"

  With that, he grabbed his weapon and marched toward the men.

  "All of you—stop right there!"

  "Tch!"

  Seeing his stubbornness, the colleague clicked his tongue in irritation. He pulled out a dagger and silently approached the guard from behind.

  Slash!

  The dagger plunged into the guard’s back.

  "You—"

  The guard stared in disbelief at his colleague, who’d been chatting and laughing with him just moments earlier. His eyes were filled with confusion and shock.

  "You brought this on yourself......"

  The only response he got was his colleague’s icy, indifferent voice.

  A short while later, the guard closed his eyes forever.

  As for the intruders, they hadn’t paid him the slightest attention. Only when passing the two men did their leader say flatly:

  "Clean this up. Don’t leave any traces."

  "Yes, sir!"

  The colleague bowed his head in response.

  The group then vanished into the shadows of the night-shrouded arena.

  ......

  Time flew by, and the next day arrived in the blink of an eye.

  A dense crowd poured into the Grand Arena once again. After three days of preliminary auditions, the competition had officially moved to the four large sub-arenas.

  Each sub-arena now seated nearly 10,000 spectators, making the venue far noisier than before.

  Thankfully, Hulim and the others no longer had to rush from one arena to another. The four sub-arenas all featured special viewing areas, and as members of the White Cat Clan, they had direct access to the VIP lounges.

  What’s more, Hulim and Miko had been assigned to the same sub-arena—so Bars and the others didn’t need to split up to watch their matches.

  Inside the East Contestant Waiting Room, where Hulim was waiting,

  many contestants breathed a sigh of relief. The tournament favorite, Boguna Sind, hadn’t been assigned to this arena—meaning they wouldn’t have to face him until the Round of 32 at the earliest.

  However, a significant number of contestants paid little attention to this. Some quietly prepared for their matches, while others secretly observed their rivals, trying to identify opponents they needed to be extra wary of.

  Hulim was one of the most watched contestants, thanks to her high ranking on the Top 100 list.

  Though Hulim herself doubted the list’s reliability, it was currently the most important reference for all the competitors.

  Her skepticism stemmed from one particular contestant in the waiting room—a Dog Beastman with a mid-tier ranking who was the only one who truly caught her attention.

  He sat quietly in a corner with his eyes closed, holding an unusually long sword in his right hand. He seemed to have been forgotten by everyone else; almost no one in the room paid him any mind.

  Hulim had first noticed him during the preliminary round, when she’d accidentally caught one of his matches.

  He’d defeated his opponent slowly and methodically, taking a long time to secure the win. His performance had been so unremarkable that some spectators had even fallen asleep during the match. That’s why his ranking was so low.

  Yet Hulim had spotted several telltale signs during that match.

  For one, he’d never drawn his sword. Despite being forced to dodge his opponent’s relentless attacks and looking flustered for long stretches, he hadn’t suffered a single scratch. It wasn’t until his opponent’s magic power was nearly exhausted that he’d finally struck, finishing them off with ease.

  "......"

  His fighting style couldn’t be more different from mine......

  Just then, the Dog Beastman—who’d kept his eyes closed the entire time—suddenly opened them. He lifted his head and locked eyes with Hulim.

  Hulim casually looked away, as if nothing had happened.

  The Dog Beastman also pretended the moment hadn’t occurred. He closed his eyes again and resumed his meditative state.

  "......"

  Hulim fell into deep thought.

  This was the first time since joining the tournament that someone had noticed her staring......