After hearing Wan Li’s explanation, it seems that last night, it wasn’t only I who got an upset stomach but all of us. Wan Er was about to use the comfort room too when she saw us there. Of course, Luo Ying Yue was the same.

They were staying at the guest house even before we barged in due to the assassination incident. However, since she’s a real “guest” at the guest house, we haven’t met at the dinner table. The higher caste uses a different dining room instead of the one we were allowed to use.

“Wan Er and I were actually part of the Wan Family, which works under the Noble Luo Family. Other than participating in the newbie competition, the real purpose we were sent here is to protect the young miss.”

Hearing her words, most of my guesses were confirmed. I sighed after realizing how powerful the Luo Family sounded, given that they even had subordinate families working for them. .𝘤𝘰𝑚

“I’m really lucky I was forgiven just like that. If madam Luo decided to just punish me, I wouldn’t have made it out of that room alive.”

When Wan Li heard my mutter, she giggled.

“Although I can’t say it’s much better now that you gained her interest.”

Having an influential family keeping tabs on my current and future actions? Just imagining it makes me feel tired.

“By the way, how’s Wan Er?”

Trying to change the topic, I remembered Wan Er. Her Yellow Phoenix Xiao Huo was hit by the [Nightmare] skill and should still be fighting inside her soulscape. Wan Li shook her head as she appeared worried.

“She’s still at the stadium’s medical facility. I left them when the Goddess of Healing Eta took charge of the scene. It should be fine now, but I’m still worried…”

Seeing her worried look, I kind of felt bad after asking the question. But before I could comfort her, she quickly recovered.

“Still, it was her own decision to fight. Worrying about her now would be disrespecting her will.”

“Yeah. Though I will still take revenge for her in tomorrow’s battle. Rather, it’s probably just me blowing steam though.”

I said while half-serious.

“Right! You’re his next opponent. Do you have a winning plan?”

“Of course. However, similar to the fight with that dragon, it’s not like everything goes according to plan. Still, I’ll make sure to beat him to a pulp no matter what.”

Honestly speaking, although I’m reluctant to admit it, Aster is a powerful adversary. I probably have a low chance of winning. However, I will still win! I swear I will!

—

The night passed quietly and the bright morning sun woke me up from slumber. Today I didn’t have to go to the stadium in a hurry as only two fights were scheduled. One in the morning and one in the afternoon.

Instead of hurrying, I used my free time to do several more sets of my usual morning training. Of course, I only made Ember do the usual set and let her rest for the battle later. My body is slowly shaping up as my training transformed my magically produced muscles into proper and usable ones. With this pace, I think my body would be well prepared for the feedback from Ember’s future 2nd stage of evolution.

After training, I took a shower before heading toward the stadium. Despite only having two matches for the day, the number of audiences was seemingly even more than it was yesterday. When I reached the waiting room, it was just in time for my match.

“Today is finally the semi-finals of the tournament! Our final four contenders will be fighting for the right to claim a spot in the finals! Who will reign victorious? Who will go home as a loser? Let’s not wait any longer!”

“From the East Gate, a no-name who climbed up to here with just a 1st stage beast! Now, there’s nobody who doesn’t know his name! Let’s all welcome Will and Ember onto the stage!”

With my introduction finished, I quickly entered through the gate and headed for the ring. The audience’s cheers were loud enough to almost block out even the announcer’s voice.

“And from the West Gate, a tamer who isn’t fit for being one! A bastard who shouldn’t even be in the tournament anymore! Will he finally lose his taming ability after another outburst? Let’s all witness Aster and Fang!”

From the other gate, a man about as tall as I am at around 180 cm with flaming red hair appeared. He had his hands inside his pocket as he walked toward the ring. He had his head tilted slightly upwards as if to look down on everyone else. The sneer on his face completes his “Scum of the Earth” appearance. All in all, he looks like a typical small-fry villain.

“Heh! A slime?! Why would I fight such a weakling?!”

Right after reaching the other corner of the ring, he quickly shouted as if to taunt. Of course, I didn’t get taunted easily. Although I am angry with what happened to Wan Er’s tamed beast, maintaining a relaxed state of mind is paramount to winning the match.

“You’re probably someone who grew up pampered, don’t you? If you don’t want to fight, why don’t you call your [Papa] and ask for help? He’ll probably cradle you like the baby you are.”

As I responded with a taunt, his expression quickly turned to disgust before anger took over.

“You… You maggot! Nobody is allowed to disgrace me! I’ll kill you!”

Far from my estimates, he was actually really easy to piss off. Maybe the bullshit I said was on the mark? Anyways, as we were exchanging words, the announcer quickly announced the start of the match.

“Let the match start!”

Hearing the signal, I quickly sent orders to Ember.

“Ember, our enemy is someone who can enter shadows! To avoid surprise attacks, let’s remove the stage first!”

The stage itself isn’t a single slab of stone but rather closely packed large marbled tiles. The gap on each slab has shadows too, upon which the Shadow Wolf could travel through.

[Shadow Movement] can be used to enter a shadow no matter how small an area it covers. However, inside the shadow, it can only travel to shadows that are connected to it. What’s more, the user can only exit the shadow space using a large enough shadow for their whole body to pass.

So, to ensure our win, getting rid of such variables was the first step.

Ember, after receiving my command, quickly expanded. In an instant, she expanded enough to cover the whole ring with her body. The shadow wolf, on the other hand, quickly hid inside the gap’s shadows completely evading the “attack”.

After Ember enveloped the whole ring, before the Shadow Wolf could even move toward the location of her core, the stage vanished into thin air.