.

I left the excited whistles and cheers behind me.

Walked out.

The corridor was completely empty.

Two Lords wearing green uniforms stood there.

On their sleeves... I noticed the emblem of Sunset City with its many palaces.

They were organizers.

One of them quickly spoke.

"Would you like medical assistance, sir?"

he asked respectfully.

"No need," I replied.

I kept walking.

Then reached a resting room.

It was spacious... with an excellent bed.

I closed the door behind me.

Took a deep breath.

Then...

Immediately pulled out the Transfer Stone.

And teleported directly to the cave.

The Transfer Stone had greatly reduced my exhaustion...

But it was only Second-Level.

It wasn’t complete.

Its fatal weakness was the preparation time it required.

Even if it looked like only a few seconds...

During real danger and direct combat...

Those few seconds felt like eternity.

Especially because the stone forced me not to consume any accumulation.

No traits.

No strength.

No speed.

Meaning...

During those few brief seconds...

I would be utterly unable to respond.

"I need a teleportation trait..."

I whispered.

"It’ll make everything easier...

It’ll let me move freely."

I closed my eyes.

Then—

In an instant...

The smell of the arena vanished.

The sounds of the crowd disappeared.

Replaced by...

The cold air and calm humidity of the cave.

My feet landed against the stone floor.

I staggered slightly.

"Damn..."

I whispered.

My body was genuinely exhausted.

I had only used Flame Art lightly during the battle...

Yet I had fully pushed my mental capacity during the fusion.

I hadn’t imagined the exhaustion would be this severe after only the first match.

That grassy puppet...

That Lord...

He was truly powerful.

As for the tournament...

Preparations for the next battles were already underway.

But...

With only 3% accumulation remaining...

How was I supposed to sit there and watch?

I wasn’t stupid enough to leave myself exposed like that.

Even though watching would benefit me...

I could compensate for it later.

I sat down on the ground.

Leaned my back against the rock.

Then closed my eyes.

I already had a house within the cave...

But I chose to rest on the cave floor itself.

The silence...

Was strangely comforting.

After all those explosions and noise...

The cave felt like another world entirely.

Slowly, I raised my hand and looked at it.

It was trembling.

"I overdid it..."

I whispered.

The silver spears...

The giant blades...

And Flame Art.

All of that in a single battle.

I laughed quietly.

"If the fight had lasted one more minute...

I would’ve collapsed."

I tilted my head upward toward the cave ceiling.

Then...

My smile slowly widened.

"But I won."

I closed my eyes again.

And in the next moment...

A system notification appeared before me.

{ Diiing }

{ Victory in the First Round — Auction Tournament }

{ Reward: +3 Development Points }

My eyes widened instantly.

"Three?"

I whispered in surprise.

Then laughed.

"It seems Fourth Rank is truly generous."

But...

Before the notification vanished...

Another appeared.

{ Warning }

{ Mental Exhaustion Status: High }

{ It is advised not to use merged weapons temporarily }

I frowned.

"As expected."

Merging that many blades...

Wasn’t something simple.

"It’s the first time..."

I whispered.

"That the system has rewarded me without a mission."

The matter...

Felt strange.

And unsettling.

It seemed the system itself...

Was beginning to behave differently.

Fine then...

Time to sleep.

.

.

When I arrived at the arena the next morning...

My accumulation had fully recovered.

The results board showed that three matches had already taken place yesterday.

Today...

The schedule indicated three more battles would occur.

Tomorrow would conclude with four fights.

Then...

Everyone would rest for a week...

Before the second round between the losers resumed.

Each combat round...

Was followed by a week-long break.

That granted me two full weeks to recover... and prepare.

I raised my head upward.

The air was pleasant...

And the clouds kept the sunlight away from the battlefield.

Many Third and Fourth-Rank Lords sat nearby.

No one spoke to one another...

Except companions already traveling together.

I wanted to sit beside Ice Lord.

Ask him about yesterday’s fighters.

But...

He wasn’t in the stands.

Why?

"Because..."

I whispered.

My gaze shifted toward the arena.

He was walking step by step...

Until he reached his designated position.

On the opposite side...

Stood the blond-haired Lord.

Round glasses.

A red robe covered in volcano patterns.

I narrowed my eyes toward him.

"I remember...

His accumulation was incredibly high.

And also..."

I whispered.

"His Fourth-Rank aura was truly heavy."

A few moments later...

I found myself genuinely excited.

Anticipating the beginning of that battle.

Watching two powerful Lords...

Collide head-on from the start...

Sent chills through my body.

In an instant—

The announcement for the beginning sounded.

BOOOOOOOOM!!

The ground exploded beneath both Lords simultaneously.

Neither moved cautiously.

Neither tested the other.

Instead...

They charged directly at each other.

My eyes widened.

Ice Lord...

Was faster.

White freezing air exploded beneath his feet.

And in the next instant...

He had already arrived before his opponent.

He raised his hand.

A dense layer of ice formed around his arm.

Then he threw a direct punch.

BOOOOOOOOM!!

A wave of crimson flames erupted from the volcano-robed Lord’s body.

Fire collided with ice.

Steam exploded violently.

The entire arena vanished beneath white vapor.

But...

Inside the steam...

The sounds continued.

BOOOOM!!

BOOOOOOM!!

BOOOOM!!

Every collision...

Shook the stadium.

"They aren’t testing each other?"

one nearby Lord whispered.

"No."

Another answered.

"It’s obvious they already know one another."

Suddenly—

The steam exploded apart.

The volcano Lord’s body was blasted backward dozens of meters.

But he didn’t fall.

He raised his hand.

And behind him in the sky...

Massive flaming circles began forming.

One.

Then two.

Then ten.

"Oooh..."

I whispered.

Each circle...

Compressed terrifying heat within itself.

Even the air around the arena...

Began distorting.

Meanwhile...

Ice Lord stood calmly.

He slowly lowered his hand.

Then—

The entire ground froze.

Ice spread at terrifying speed.

White cracks covered the battlefield.

"This aura..."

I whispered.

"He isn’t even using a weapon yet."

Above—

The fiery circles rose higher.

Then...

The glasses-wearing Lord pointed with a finger.

Suddenly—

They descended.

Ten crimson suns...

Collapsed toward Ice Lord simultaneously.

At that exact moment—

Ice Lord lifted his head.

His white eyes...

Glowed completely.

Then...

He extended his hand toward the sky.

Suddenly...

Silence descended upon the arena.

Even sound itself vanished.

And in the next instant—

The flames themselves froze.

Ice Lord raised his hand.

Spread open his five fingers.

They were covered with white strands of frost...

Like ancient markings.

"Ancient Frost Marks."

One of the Lords behind me whispered...

Pointing toward those white symbols.

"Ice Lord has been using his Ancient Weapon from the very beginning."

Another Lord whispered.

I listened carefully.

I didn’t even need to hear them...

But I did.

The Unique Predictor...

Was already active.

The moment the markings appeared...

The Predictor recognized the Ancient Weapon.

Any weapon beneath Master-Class...

Could be identified quickly by the Predictor.

My gaze returned toward the arena.

The ten frozen circles...

Suddenly exploded with sharp pillars erupting from inside them.

Then—

From the frozen ground below...

Massive icy hands rose upward.

Each hand held a frozen sphere.

Then—

SWOOOOOOSH!!

The giant hands hurled the spheres toward Third Flame Lord.

BOOOOOOOOM!!

The impact exploded violently.

The giant spheres struck him directly.

He didn’t dodge.

Then...

From within the steam...

He emerged completely unharmed.

Several Lords widened their eyes.

Meanwhile Ice Lord remained silent.

As for his opponent...

He stood amidst the rising steam.

Around his body...

A dark crimson layer of flame rotated.

The fire wasn’t raging wildly.

Instead...

It was calm.

Compressed.

As though molten heat had fused directly onto his skin.

"A flame armor?"

I whispered.

But...

The Predictor gave me no description.

That alone...

Was enough to make me narrow my eyes.

Third Flame Lord slowly raised his hand.

Then...

Clenched his fist.

Suddenly—

The ground beneath the icy hands exploded.

BOOOOOOOOM!!

Pillars of crimson fire erupted upward from below.

The giant icy hands...

Melted instantly.

Meanwhile...

Ice Lord still didn’t retreat.

He raised his other hand.

Suddenly—

The flames stopped moving.

Then...

Ice began invading them.

"He’s freezing the flames themselves?!" 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

One Lord shouted.

But the next moment...

Was the most violent yet.

Third Flame Lord smiled.

Then...

Raised only two fingers.

In an instant—

The flames vanished from the ground.

From the air.

From around his body.

Even the heat disappeared.

An eerie silence descended.

Cold.

Then—

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!

Flames exploded from inside the ice itself.

The entire arena shattered apart.

An enormous crimson wave surged toward Ice Lord.

Even I...

Could feel its heat from the stands.

"Damn..."

I whispered.

"What kind of control is this?"

Within the explosion—

Ice Lord appeared.

He raised both hands.

The space before him froze completely.

Massive layers of ice appeared one after another.

One wall.

Then another.

Then a third.

But...

The flames continued surging forward.

BOOOOOOM!!

The first wall shattered.

BOOOOOOOOM!!

The second.

Then the third.

And at the final moment—

Ice Lord vanished.

My eyes widened.

"When?"

I whispered.

Then—

Suddenly—

He appeared directly behind his opponent.

His hand extended outward.

His palm pressed against Third Flame Lord’s back.

"It’s over."

Ice Lord’s voice emerged calmly.

And in the next instant—

Half the arena froze completely.