Thanks for the Kofis Allison, the next 4 bonus chapters, including this one are sponsored by you. Thank you for the encouragement, I really really appreciate it 😀
Also, please be patient Allison and dear readers, for it takes me time to write a sensible chapter, so the bonus chapters wouldn’t be updates in a single day, but I will update them as soon as I am done with them.
~
Ruzen was standing in line for food when he felt something dangerous approaching him. Out of instinct he moved before a rush of air still managed to strike him on his arm.
Wincing, he looked back and found a female contestant standing not that far off.
Before he could even scramble to make out a sensible sentence, she had already taken out her dagger and was ready to throw it at him.
The surrounding competitors were slow on the uptake – since it happened too abruptly – so Ruzen maneuvered his way around the competitors to avoid unnecessary interference. He knew most of them were still puzzled and not really attuned to their surroundings. Since even low level participants were able to grab for chances in this competition for their debut.
Ruzen didn’t wait for the dagger to strike him, he called forth his technique of ghost hands, and got close to the female, close enough to strike her directly with his energy laden sharp claws.
Regretfully, these claws disintegrated the minute they came into contact with the female’s radii of presence and all that was left was his palm which couldn’t be stopped before it managed to slap that soft face.
Ruzen was struck dumb, his technique disintegrated. Just like that.
And the female, her burgundy eyes glared at him with malice as her cheeks started to redden due to impact.
Because everything happened so fast, the ‘beings’ that were capturing the visuals were still slower, and only managed to show the last minute ‘slap’ to the audience.
In fact, even managing that was surprising, considering that these ‘beings’ were level 7 ‘beings’ and they weren’t suitable for combat type recordings. Keepers were generally not fast enough with their skills and techniques, so slower ‘beings’ were acceptable, yet, this time, Ruzen and that woman’s exchange had been so fast, the beings weren’t able to capture everything. It was blurry and vague; thus the audience just saw Ruzen slapping the female contestant.
With wide eyes, Ruzen stared. He had been told that his enersym was strong, but because he was still learning, he hadn’t been able to wake up his full potential. While the female in front of him had a lower level of enersym, yet she was stronger than him in terms of stealth and combat, that much he could tell.
“Al’Bae, I finally found you.” Her sharp voice whispered, making Ruzen stunned with disbelief.
She knew… Al’Bae?
“You are mistaken; I am Ruzen.” Ruzen was stern with his response, he did not need old ‘acquaintances’ to come after him with the purpose of harming him. And he also did not wish to learn about his body’s previous owner, so better stay away. Things did not look right.
Being tangled with this chaotic mess might be bad for his future.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
“Keeper Acornis? Why is she here?” someone asked in concern. It was obvious that the crowd had finally realized that something was wrong, and everyone was watching Ruzen and ‘Acornis’ in curiosity. Some looked alarmed.
“Qts… vlv tf rijq tfg?”
“Lf vlv rbwfatlcu… kjr abb ojra obg wf ab rff.”
“…ktja lr tjqqfclcu, jgf atfs ublcu ab oluta?”
Eehfc ogbkcfv, la rffwfv ilxf jii atfs rjk kjr tlw rijqqlcu tfg, yea wjsyf rbwf bo atbrf qgfrfca vlv rff atf fcalgf fzmtjcuf yfakffc atfw, sfa kfgf cba kliilcu ab rtjgf atflg mbwwfcar. Pa kjr olcf flatfg kjs, Eehfc kjrc’a fjufg ab vfofcv tlwrfio bea bo agfqlvjalbc. Snfc lo atfs rjk tlw rijqqlcu tfg, fnfc j ilaaif mtliv xcfk atja rbwfatlcu wera yf kgbcu obg la ab tjqqfc. Ktlcur pera vlvc’a jmmfifgjaf klatbea yjrlr.
Those with keen senses might even have heard what Ruzen said to her, so it was clear that he wasn’t one at fault. Anyhow, his main concern was where she had come from. Just by looking at her one could tell she was already very famous among the crowd and it wasn’t her first time exchanging blows, since her attack had been top tier and so accurate.
Ruzen didn’t think there would be another like him, so she must have a different story and background.
“I cannot be mistaken, you are Al’Bae,” Acornis was positive she was right with the way her tone didn’t leave any slip of uncertainty. Her attitude was that of one who was confident and sly, dominating even.
One could tell she was pampered and wasn’t willing to agree with anyone else.
Despite the attitude, Ruzen felt alarmed at the way she kept staring at him, a slight craziness in her eyes which recognized his own… craziness… or potential of, since even he knew he wasn’t that mentally imbalanced yet.
Maybe, that fellow… Al’Bae, he could have been similar to her… maybe they weren’t even enemies, but their greeting style was… certainly unique.
“I won’t say this again, I am Ruzen and I don’t know you.”
Even then, Acornis didn’t show any sort of hesitation, rather the glimmer in her eyes brightened to a frightening degree. “So you were successful…” then she started to laugh. The sharp girlish sound eerily echoing around them.
Ruzen felt a chill crawl up his spine, exactly who was successful and with what? He didn’t think it was anything good.
Gritting his teeth, he summoned Ghost Hand again, a layer of energy encircled his paws and formed into sharp claws. The raw strength in his hand wasn’t lethal, but if it hit someone, the consequences would be severe. He hadn’t wanted to use this technique so soon, but at present he needed to fight back if he wanted to stay away from unnecessary damage. “I am not going to say it again, back off and don’t even think about speaking nonsense. Are you silly in the head?”
The sharp insult at the end did not faze Acornis, but he did hear gasps from those who couldn’t believe he said that.
Acornis tilted her head as she studied his warning ‘claws’ and she wasn’t the only one, several others who now surrounded them, watched on in curiosity.
Ruzen felt both surprise and vigilance in the air, all directed towards him.
After a short stand still, Acornis decided to leave, and without much hassle she left for her room.
When the ones around were sure she could no longer hear them, all sorts of talk could be heard.
“What was she up to?”
“I heard Keeper Acornis was this year’s guest, but is she allowed to mingle with us?”
“I am now scared of what she may have cooked up…”
“How does she know you?” someone directly asked Ruzen, and it turns out the one who asked was a lady with soft short black hair, her skin pale against the cursed mark on her forehead. She wore a black long skirt and a beautiful silver blouse with blue flower prints. Although the ornaments were far less than others, her delicate slim figure and cute face made up for the lacking.
Ruzen did not think she was counted as any sort of ally, but he didn’t think there was any harm in answering her back, “I am also not sure. Maybe she mistook me for someone else?”
The girl hummed in response, but she couldn’t hide her curious eyes from giving her away. She was probably not believing Ruzen.
Rolling his eyes in his mind, Ruzen did not pay her any mind. He ignored the looks thrown his way and decided to forget about the incident. He was hungry, it would be better to focus on eating instead.
~
The night hunt was generally a test designed by the available ‘guest(s)’ each time this competition took place. These guests were outsiders who came to the protected lands as ‘envoys’. These envoys, whatever division they belonged to, they could design a night hunt for that division, it was a form of respect given to them considering the benefits they brought to the land, such as trade pact, treaties, armory, weapons, and other miscellaneous elements.
At times, these ‘guests’ were allowed to participate as well, but that happened very rarely. Most times, the guests were not bothered with such activities, and most times they believed it was beneath their rank to personally participate with others who were not as strong as them.
This time, it seemed to be this Keeper Acornis who had designed the night hunt, and she was actually crazy enough to participate as well.
Seeing the opportunity to learn gossips and intel, those who hadn’t bothered to go down to eat earlier, were already flocking the area as Ruzen sat in the center, eating. Everyone was discussing the reasons for a guest to attack a participant without cause and most believed that Ruzen and Acornis knew each other from before.
Rumors had it that Acornis served a powerful Human King of south, but because that province followed democratic regulations and because of certain regional customs, that human King wasn’t as known as was their ruling empowerment.
Trade of Weapons was their main strength and forte. So it wasn’t strange that the envoy was here this year, seeing that due to certain border complications, the Ghost King’s men and the border protectors needed as many resilient weapons as they could get.
Ruzen’s master had told him that he needed to be vigilant against anything that could cause him his downfall, so Ruzen was attentive and ascertained that this Acornis was really someone he should stay away from.
He wasn’t really curious to know about what she had spoken, when it would matter, he would just find her and ask. But for now he felt it was better to stay away then to get close to her. He did not have a hobby of seeking his own demise.
When night came, Ruzen dressed up in his chosen clothes, and picked up the sword. Thankfully the ‘being’ that followed him did not record him while he changed, and for that, Ruzen was relieved.
The corridor was lively when he moved out, closing the door behind him. He could see other contestants making their way towards the platform shaded by the blanket of stars, a chill in the breeze suiting their occasion.
[Attention participants, today’s night hunt has been designed by Keeper Acornis. Please keep in mind that she will be participating in the hunt as well. The theme of the hunt is to capture the 3rd world beasts lingering in the woods. The level of beast(s) captured would be proportionate to the points awarded, with 12th grade 3rd world creature awarding the highest point of 24 and 1st grade 3rd world creature awarding the lowest grade of 2.
Now for the rules of the night hunt… Please do not kill your opponent or the 3rd world creature. If the rules are not followed, participants would be punished. Also, participants are allowed to fight for a creature, losing and winning is decided upon the basis of damage received by the participants… May blessings and luck grace you.]
Ruzen did not know the time period for capturing the beasts, but if the test was called ‘night hunt’, surely, they couldn’t stretch it beyond dawn.
He saw a person dressed in white standing on the platform as participants gathered around him, and decided to hurry and go so as to avoid any misinformation and delay.
Turns out, the man in white was the guide they had to follow, he would be taking them to the forest where this hunt would take place.
When Ruzen stood with the others, that man seemed to have sensed him, as he shot a deep look at him, but that was it, and the next second he was already minding his own business.
Unlike him, the participants who had gathered into groups were wearily looking at Ruzen, not betraying what they were thinking. Although one could see how glamorously they were all dressed, Ruzen’s gender neutral style and getup really set him apart from them. He did not look gentle and delicate at all, instead he looked as if he was going to some kind of war.
“Participants, please follow me towards the hunting location, keep in mind not to kill your opponents, and as soon as you have captured the 3rd world creatures, put them inside this crystal ball which I will give to you, remember not to break the crystal, because it won’t only kill your captive, it will also disqualify you immediately.”
Those present were attentively listening, and nodded grimly when they heard the warning. They seemed to know these things which Ruzen was still unaware of, but it didn’t matter, he would follow along the crowd and listen to this guide’s advice carefully.
“Also, those who would pull in sufficient numbers, we will award them a chance to compete against the winner of the warrior division, if they win against a warrior division participant, they may have a chance at getting selected as the Keeper candidate for our… Ghost King.”
…candidate?! For Ghost King!
The shocking announcement rendered the crowd stunned. Some even gasping rather loudly. And they weren’t the only ones who were struck, those in the audience were also left bewildered.
Thanks!!!!!
Thank you for the bonus chapter ❤❤
I look forward to see the reaction of Ruzen😖
I feel bad for them they don’t know the King found his keeper.
Hummmm if this is something the King prepared, it means he is confident of Ruzen’s ability.
Thanks for the chapter!
Thank you for the chapter!
thanks for the chapter <3
Awww, finally some enlightenment. So the old owner of the body did something intentionally to get Ruzen to replace him. 🤔 Wonder where he went of to.